by Pia Philip
As he rolled out a list of changes, Alex couldn’t help but roll her eyes as her head fell back in exasperation but she kept her mouth shut. If he managed to make the other members agree with her plan she might actually try and tolerate the man but as his list of changes extended she found it harder to figure out if her plan was even being used. The others nodded their head with everything Giorgio suggested until he finished. Thomas beamed at him as if he was god and Alex felt her distaste for Giorgio increase but at least they know had a plan hopefully similar to what she had proposed.
“After you fully heal, you will be getting a new timetable,” Thomas said as he stood up, “In this school we have three subjects based on training but they are so intense only our juniors and above can attend them. However, due to our new circumstances you will be attending all three.”
“So we will only be attending three classes?” Max asked with surprise.
“Oh no, you will also be attending Demonic studies, and coordination 204, what you won’t be attending is things you won’t need like English and Mathematics.”
A loud cry of joy escaped from Alex’s mouth and she grinned from ear to ear. She didn’t have to attend math class anymore so no more major embarrassment. They left Thomas’s off in silence but Alex was still grinning from one ear to the other.
“I don’t like the plan one bit,” Sam said as he dropped on Alex’s bed ”Using you as bait is going to backfire on us, I’m sure of it”
“Yeah me too, and the special task force that Giorgio selected is stupid. Sure, they may be great at Fighting and strategizing but most of them are idiots. If you put them in dangerous positions they wouldn’t know what to do. They are what I call theory fighters.”
“Oh, but most of them are seniors so at least we have some people who have experience so it can’t all be bad right?” Alex asked as her smile slowly started to disappear; “Besides we have a month or so to train anyway.”
“That is if you don’t get kidnapped or die during training.” Max muttered as he followed Sam’s suit and flopped on her bed next to him.
“I actually love training thank you very much,” Alex said in a huff as she folded her arms, “I trained the most because of the disadvantage being a girl brought me.”
“She’s right you know,” Sam agreed, “She can train for hours at a time before getting tired.”
“Well let’s just see how long you with stand,” Max smirked as his old obnoxious self-appeared, “Hey where’s Zara?”
Zara, Alex looked at the clock wondering where she was until she saw the time. It was already dinner time. Her belly groaned telling her to do the same and go get dinner. The others smiled in approval before following her.
The Dining room was overflowing with students, she had never seen it so full before. Spotting the half empty food table, she slammed her second mind barrier on before diving into the crowd. She reached the Food table and was halfway through piling her plate full of food when she felt a strong presence try and enter her mind. She froze and slammed a third barrier down wishing that she had hurt the jerk who had tried to read her mind. It seemed that all mind readers didn’t care about others privacy. She scowled as she scanned the room looking for the culprit but found none. Giving up, she picked up her plate and searched the crowd for Sam and walked straight into a wall of pure muscle and steel. She staggered back almost toppling her overflowing plate of food to the ground.
“Are you okay?” A familiar voice asked. Alex looked up and saw that she had bumped into Michael. Her face broke out into a huge smile. She hadn’t seen Michael since they had first arrived.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen you in ages,” She smiled, “What have you been up to?”
“Classes but that’s about to get harder,” he said as he leaned forward and his voice took a sudden serious tone, “Thomas told me about the mission.”
“Really, I thought it would be people with a lot of experience, I had thought mostly seniors would be told,” She said bewildered, she knew that Thomas thought their group were war genius’s but he wasn’t really going to put her life in Lewis’s hand was her? She shuddered at the idea. If he was, she was going to make sure, he did not have a big role in her protection or there was no way she was going to go along with the plan.
“They are, were the exception, they think that the Dark Angels are mad at us too and will more likely take the bait if they see all of us,” Michael explained, “They hate getting beaten.”
Alex was about to say something when she felt it again. Someone was trying to enter her mind again. She scowled furious at the breach of privacy. She spun round and glared at everyone who looked her way. She noticed Sam give her a worried look as he and Max walked towards them.
“Is everything okay?” Max asked as he and Sam exchanged worried glances.
“NO, some idiot has been trying to read my brain for the last five minutes.” She growled, “They’re looking for something I just don’t know what it is yet.”
“They might find out that you’re an Angelonian,” Max hissed suddenly alarmed. He made a hand gesture to Thomas and the rest of the High Council who had decided to stay to overlook the training and protection of Alex. Instantly he got up and walked over to them silencing everyone they walked past.
“What’s wrong?” Thomas asked as he grabbed Alex’s arm and moved her in front of him in a protective stance as the others surrounded the hall.
“There’s someone here who has been invading her brain for the past five minutes,” Max explained,” I think he’s fishing for something, he may have already found out she’s an Angelonian.”
“Time to move,” Thomas said, he guided Alex towards the nearest exit, “Were going to have to move you to a safer building, preferably where the seniors are so they can protect you.”
“What, I don’t need protection,” Alex cried, if they moved her, she wouldn’t be able to see Zara as much. She looked round and spotted Zara amidst the crowd of onlookers. She lowered her voice as she turned her head so that she had Thomas in view, “I’ve survived this far without protection or training, I think I can handle it.”
“No, you can’t, you’ve almost died in several occasions,” Thomas bellowed, “I am not going to risk your safety again or god knows what your mother might do if she finds out I dint try to stop you.”
“Don’t bring my mother into this,” Alex cried in angst, “She won’t find out anyway, because nothing bad is going to happen.”
“But what if something does and she finds out, you have no idea how scary your mother can get,” Thomas muttered as he lead her through the door and into the hall where the High council were already waiting. Alex couldn’t get it round her head how fast they had got out of the hall. There was probably another exit.
Michael, Max and Sam burst out of the hall and raced after them as Thomas led Alex down the corridor and out a door. They stepped out into the front yard. The sun was already set and the luminescent moon was quickly climbing. It cast a ghostly glow across the grass and set a soft feeling of it being haunted. Alex shivered as they crossed the grass and walked out the gate. They walked across the empty city until they reached a building that was all too familiar to Alex. Her eyes opened wide and she her feet stopped moving. The building was the exact image of the building in her dream. Even in the dark, Alex could tell that it had soft grey bricks and the windows were abnormally large.
“What is it?” Sam asked as he took hold of her elbows.
He peered into her face and his heart lurched at the sight of the fear written on her face.
“This is the building from my dreams,” Alex whispered as she backed away. The last time she had visited the place, she had been chased away from her mother.
“I know you might be scared but it was just a dream,” Thomas assured her as he steered her once more towards the boarding house.
“Yeah, but the last time I thought that, I got hunted down like an animal,” Alex muttered as they entered the house. As she took in the
building, it hit her how small the population of seniors there actually was. Most probably quit or died before they reached their senior year.
They lead her up a set of stairs, leaving the corridor she would’ve normally taken and Alex gave a sigh of relief. She wasn’t going to be staying in the same room; she wouldn’t have been able to sleep if she was. It was one thing to stay in the same house, but to stay in the same room and bed was impossible.
They led her to a bare white room that looked like it belonged in a clinic not a house. She looked at Thomas in horror. He didn’t really expect her to stay there did he?
“It’s not as bad as it seems,” Thomas said though his voice suggested otherwise.
Alex looked at the room again trying to see what wasn’t so bad about it. The carpet had burn spots and was frayed at the edges. There was a water stain under the window and in the right corner which obviously indicated a leak. No, the room was not as bad as she first thought. It was ten times worse. She looked up and saw the only redeeming aspect of the room. Her symbol was engraved on the plaster and as she stepped into the room, she watched the letters and shape revolve around the diameter of the circle. What she originally thought was a triangle in the middle of the symbol actually proved to be a highly intricate Italic A. it had writings inside the letters, writing too small to read from where she was standing. She didn’t notice that Max had arrived until he spoke.
“What do you think you’re doing by putting her here?” Max bellowed, “She’ll probably end up catching a disease if she stayed here.”
“It isn’t that bad, until recently, this used to be used by a residence,” Thomas said.
“Yeah and what happened to the resident,” Max growled, “Did he die of air poisoning”
“Max!” Thomas warned Alex had never seen someone stand up to Max but that was to be expected but as the two men stood facing each other, their noses only mere inches apart, she couldn’t help but coward at the sense of power they commanded.
“The resident got into a fight and the place got a bit destroyed but it’s been redone and now it repels against attacks from the outside,” Thomas said, “It wasn’t my choice but Giorgio promised that he would clean it up in a few hours.”
“Giorgio’s behind this!” Sam and Alex cried in Unison.
“Alex, we’re leaving,” Max said as he grabbed her right arm and Sam her left. They started to drag her out of the room, but her body refused to let her leave. Her feet stopped moving when she reached the door. Max turned and looked at her in bewilderment.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” She said exasperated, “My body won’t move.”
“It’s you mark, this room is covered in the mark and they were reacting to you who bears the mark,” Thomas explained, “It’s been millenniums since the last Angelonian, they don’t want to lose you again, which is why you will be protected here.”
“I get what you mean but I don’t think I like the fact of being trapped in one place,” Alex said nervously as she glanced around the room,” I’m not an animal.”
“I know, it won’t trap you here against your will I don’t think,” Thomas said, “If you want to leave, just leave.”
Alex looked around the room one more time wondering if she could stay in a place like it. She wasn’t a princess but even back in London she lived in a moderately good home but if Thomas said it was going to be redecorated then it was going to be redecorated. She trusted him. Giorgio however, she wasn’t so sure.
Alex went back to her old dorm to collect her stuff, she had been told to return in an hour. She was under 24/7 surveillance from then on. Outside her dorm door was Michael and Max who now under orders were treating her like a little kid. They wouldn’t let her do anything for herself. It was frustrating; if Max was bad before now he was intolerable.
Alex cast one last look around her room avoiding the places that held Zara’s possessions. She was just about to leave when she remembered the Crolonian. She had tucked it away under a loose board on the other side of the room. She quickly tiptoed to the board and gently lifted it up. A faint glow was emitting from the darkness. She plunged her hands inside and scrabbled around until her finger touched the hard edge of the Crolonian. She pulled it out and laid it out on the floor before unwrapping it from the grey cloth. Her breath caught in her throat. It had changed. Instead of the normal dull brown cover, it was a rich chocolate color which only emphasized the now golden symbol. Alison was branded underneath it in soft Italics, she almost missed it.
What was with that name? She had heard it everywhere she went. Even the damned demons after her called her that. Deciding not to ponder on it any longer, she wrapped it back in its cloth and tucked it under her arm before leaving the room without a second glance.
Chapter 18
A couple of hours later, she was standing outside in the front lawn with the mere items still in her possession. She had given Zara her mother’s necklace and was missing it tremendously but since she hadn’t seen Zara all day she didn’t have the opportunity to ask for it back although even if the opportunity did present itself, she wouldn’t have the guts to ask for it back. Zara needed it more than she did even though it was the only thing of her mother’s she had.
The thought sobered her as she shivered in the cold night air. The moon had raised high in the sky by now and it aluminized everything beneath, she couldn’t help but be afraid. She folded her arms tightly around her as if trying to disappear like she was. She really did not want to stay in the house that haunted her dreams but it seemed like she did not have a choice in the matter.
A strong gust of cold air blew past her and she thought she heard an ever so faint Alison.
All color that had surfaced in her face due to the cold, drained. There was only one thing that called her by that name. Her head spun round as she tried to figure out where the noise was coming from. She saw nothing. She was just being paranoid after everything that had happened she reasoned. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
“Ready,” Sam said as opened the door. For the past hour he had been inside helping decorate her new home. She would never think of it as that. She considered it as a prison, somewhere where she couldn’t run away because she would be under the watchful eye of every senior student in the building.
She breathed a fed up sigh before walking into the house. The room looked considerably better. Okay, considerably better was an understatement. The once bare walls were now painted a golden cream color. The carpet had been replaced by a cream white one that fortunately did not have any patches. Her bed was a chamber bed that looked out of place in the small confines of the room. It took too much room but she wasn’t about to complain. It looked comfy enough. She turned her head to the read and froze. Her symbol was stamped in the middle of the wall. It mirrored her dream.
Had they planned this? How did they know about it? Speculations sped through her mind making her feel dizzy. It was all too much to take in. She stumbled as she tried to clear her head.
They couldn’t have done to, she hadn’t told them where it was, she was sure. And she was sure that she had a really strong mind shield on 24/7. She could even detect when someone was trying to get into her brain now. Sam.
The name popped into her mind instantly. He knew just about everything, same with Max, but he was the only one that she could think of that didn’t have a strong mind shield. The moment the thought entered her mind, Alex felt a wave of shame assault her. Sam wasn’t that stupid, he would do anything to keep her safe. Damn, he even followed her to probably the most dangerous place ever. It was probably a coincidence but she couldn’t help the nagging suspicion that it wasn’t.
“Are you okay?” Thomas asked. She opened her eyes to answer him and saw the glint in his eyes. He knew. He had planned it.
“Yes, why do you ask?” she asked her anger beginning to simmer, “feeling guilty about something?”
Thomas gave a soft chuckle, although there was nothing in the situation
that they were in.
“Okay, you got me. We wanted to see if it would trigger anything that might reveal something useful.” He admitted. At least he was truthful although that didn’t put Alex’s mind at ease only solidified her suspicions. There was a leak among her friends. The seven rules of warfare flooded her mind. At least now she knew that she was going to be following them closely now, starting with the keeping a close eye on my allies, especially Max. Thomas had said we, which must have meant that someone had willingly given the information away and Max was in the closest with the council. Yeah, she had better keep a close eye on him and the others. She couldn’t risk even the smallest leaks because even though she knew deep down Max would never intentionally give away harmful information she didn’t want to take a chance, the mission was too important.
“What do you mean, ‘we’, who told you, cause i sure didn’t,” Alex said as she folded her arms stubbornly. She was going to get to the bottom of this.
“No one told me anything, dear,” Thomas said softly, “remember I can read minds.”
“I know you can read minds, but I can now detect who’s trying to read my mind, so I ask you again,” Alex said as she her hands on her hips, “Who told you.”
Behind Thomas, Alex saw Giorgio watching closely his eyes narrowed as if trying to concentrate on something. She didn’t know what until she felt a slight, ever so faint presence enter her mind. Instantly, she slammed down the shield and watched with just a tad bit too much contempt as Giorgio flinched.
“Don’t try that again or I might just injure your delicate little brain,” She said as she rolled her eyes
“As much as I would like to ease your suspicious mind, I’m afraid I cannot.” Thomas said a sheepish look crossing his expression taking years of his age.
“And you expect me to trust you,” Alex bit out. She gave an empty bitter laugh. She was in a foul mood, she should’ve seen it coming. She was naïve to think she had found someone who was on her side and not trying to get something out of her.
