The Beautiful Monster

"You have to learn how to breathe and control it. Don\'t strain too hard," Melina said.

Elias let out a shaky breath, still maintaining the flame. He breathed in and out steadily, feeling that pressure start to grow less intense.

He could feel his strength draining slightly the more that he held the flame.

Melina must\'ve been able to tell because she moved her hand in a swiping motion. The flame suddenly cut off completely, dying right then and there. She walked over to Elias with a smile on her face.

"That was great. We can definitely work with that," she told him before glancing at Tyler. "Pretty cool for a first time, huh?"

Tyler chuckled and bumped his shoulder against hers playfully.

"Not as cool as what you can do," he replied.

Elias gave Melina a grateful look for her compliment. It was the boost of confidence that he needed because he was still a little nervous to use his fire ability. He didn\'t want it getting out of control and then someone getting hurt.

"You can control the air or something?" he asked her. He was curious about Tyler\'s comment.

"I can manipulate gravity a little," Melina replied before turning toward Scott. She put her hand up toward him. "Sorry, Scott."

Scott was suddenly knocked back a few feet.

Laughter broke from Elias as he watched Scott fly through the air and then hit the ground with a huff. He turned to Melina.

"Wow. That\'ll definitely come in handy," he told her. He could see her using that move against Alaric.

If he could figure out his fire ability better, that would be a good move to use against Alaric too. He was worried to find out about Alaric\'s abilities, though.

Demons were mystery creatures. There weren\'t many of them. There wasn\'t much known about them besides them being evil and powerful.

They were the most wretched form of supernatural creature. A demon who wanted to control the earth. Elias wasn\'t looking forward to fighting that nightmare.

Melina smiled before grimacing a little, placing her hand on her temple.

"It takes a little out of me, but I can get stronger," she replied. "I know some spells too."

"Like what?" Elias asked her. He had seen his mom perform spells, but they weren\'t anything too serious. 

"They\'re manipulation spells. They make people think something is happening to them when nothing is happening," Melina explained. "I didn\'t learn the spells that actually hurt people. Dark magic isn\'t something to fool around with."

"Use one of the manipulation spells on me," Elias told her as he took a step back from her.

"Are you sure?" Melina asked with a wary look on her face. "It doesn\'t feel good."

Elias nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. He believed that he could handle it.

"I\'ll know that it\'s fake," he pointed out.

Melina still looked unsure, but she focused on him. Latin words that Elias couldn\'t understand sounded from her, and the next second, it felt like a hand was around his throat.

Elias placed his hand on his throat with slightly widened eyes. He couldn\'t believe how real that spell felt.

Then, it started feeling even more real as the pressure on his throat tightened until he couldn\'t even draw in a single breath. He couldn\'t breathe. His body jolted as he tried to fight for air.

Melina waved her hand once Elias was brought to his knees, stopping the spell.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Are you sure it doesn\'t do anything? I couldn\'t breathe," Elias asked her as he breathed in steadily. He felt like normal now, but he felt like he almost died just a few seconds ago.

"I heard you breathing normally," Alyssa spoke up. "It was all in your head."

Elias\' eyes widened as he looked back at Melina. He had no idea just how powerful she was. She completely took over his mind, making him think that something real was happening to his body.

"I think if we keep practicing, we might have a shot," he told her. He wanted to be optimistic, and they were more powerful than he thought that they were.

Melina smiled at him in agreement.

"I think you\'re right. If you can get stronger with your fire ability, I can figure out a way to mix it with my magic. We\'ll give them hell," Melina said with a determined glint in her eyes.

It was the first time that Elias realized how dangerous Melina could be. She always acted so kind and patient, but she could be lethal if she chose to be.

She held back a lot, but then again, so did he. They could do an immense amount of damage, but their consciences held them back. Maybe it was time to loosen up. Their lives could depend on it.

"I\'m done being the punching bag," Scott grumbled as he approached them, wiping dust off his clothes.

"Well, we\'re not done just yet. You brought us together to do this. You have to endure it," Elias told him, feeling completely amused. He didn\'t mind these training sessions at all, especially if they got to throw Scott around.

Scott gave Elias a pointed look.

"Bring it."

Elias glanced at Melina and smirked as a surge of determination took him by force.

"With pleasure."

**********

The group decided to stay an extra day in town to keep practicing out in the field. Elias and Melina tried to figure out ways to combine their skills, to become one team.

Even if some of their ideas didn\'t work out, Elias was glad that they were figuring out how to work together.

He honestly didn\'t expect them to come this far so quickly, but he believed their determination got them to where they were at.

Elias enjoyed one last night in the motel room with Alyssa, cuddling her close as they shared a bottle of wine that he had come across in town.

He kissed her on the forehead as they lounged in the motel bed together.. The television droned on with some sort of late night informercial.