He continued, “To have and to hold, from this day forward,” he paused again. And I repeated after him. “For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health,” I repeated, he started again, “until death do us part." And I repeated. I meant every word, and I swore it to him. This was my promise to him. He would have me until I no longer could breath.
Then he turned his head and addressed David, David repeated after him every word I did and we were solidified as husband and wife.
I thought I might have heard the priest say something then, but all I could focus on was the look that changed in David’s eyes. He was no longer a single man. He was my husband, and I was his wife. When his face changed, I knew what the priest must have said, and prepared myself for my first kiss to my husband.
No amount of previous kisses could have prepared me for this one though. David was probably trying to hold back, but it was like he was finally able to release all his built up energy and emotion that he was holding down so tight for so long. He let it flood through his kiss, and though the kiss might have appeared chaste to the unobservant onlooker, it was the most passionate kiss I have ever experienced. Probably the most passionate kiss shared between lovers in all of time.
I felt it when David tried to pull away, but also felt his reluctance in doing so. I could hear the applause from all the people I loved the most. The music changed, and together, hand in hand, we walked back down the aisle, as Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly.
ARISE (A Descendant Trilogy Novella)
Read the prequel to Power to find out what happened 16 years before Allison received her Power.
Chapter 1
Rick
For a long time I didn’t know what my purpose in life was. Was it to just be a good Order Member? Was it to truly fight the Rising? Was it just to be a regular man who did as much as he could for the greater good, but never really accomplish anything worthwhile?
The problem is, you can never really understand what meaning your life had until it’s gone. Hopefully that day wouldn’t come for a long while, but it didn’t mean I would ever stop thinking about it.
As an Order Member, a fairly powerful one, it was my duty to remain loyal to the Council and obey their rules, and to be as honestly good as possible. That was about it. I have descended from four of The Primitus[2], the first humans granted Power from the angels. And as such, I am not able to sit idly by while the world carries on unknowingly.
It is my destiny, I think, to be here, working with the Order. It is foreseen that a great evil would come upon this world. It is foretold that one day a woman would be born who has descended from all of the nine Primitus and therefore be powerful enough to save us all. But the Prophecy never tells us when this will happen. We must all be on high alert at all times.
For me, in my everyday life, it never meant much for me. As an Order Member who has descended from Esperence and Temperence, among others, it is normally my duty to help train the newer Order Members on how to wield the Power to create a shield and move things with their minds.
Most often, the Teachers are the ones who do the training, they teach the newer Order Members about our history, and often how to control the Power, but as I have descended from more than just two or three, they have asked me to help in the training.
It was not something I minded. I actually enjoyed it most of the time. I enjoyed being able to help people the best way I could. And if it meant I got to work with the Trainers and help to build up our forces, to help them become ready to face the evil, than I would do it willingly. The only problem was that more often than not, it was taking our Order Members too long to become fully trained since they didn’t start using Power until they were adults. We have a ritual to bind the children’s Power once it is unleashed at the age of six, and it will remain bound until their 21 birthday when another Order Member will go to fetch them. Then they will arrive here at The Compound, a gorgeous fortress buried deep inside a wall of a mountain in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, my home.
And as far as the other options, the other duties to be completed: binding the power or going to fetch them as they reach adulthood, I would much rather stay here and train them. It was rewarding to be able to help someone learn what they can truly accomplish, how powerful they are.
I had been living in The Compound now for almost thirty years, after coming here on my 21 birthday as we all do. And really, even after living here for thirty years, I still could never get enough of it. The Compound was huge, around 40,000 square feet of hidden passageways, elevators, living quarters, the Hall, and so many other places I hadn’t even visited yet. Not everyone chooses to stay here after they come, but why wouldn’t you want to?
Outside, in the rest of the world, there are so many dangers, not only to one’s own life, but to one’s very soul. So much evil infects the people of the world, and here in The Compound, it was almost like a tiny piece of Heaven on Earth. Were we perfect? No, not by a long shot, but it was still so much better than anywhere else.
I was just about to leave the Hall after training with David, a new favorite of mine that I knew would have extreme success here, when Christopher came up to me. Christopher is a Council member and a great man. Being in the Council was a great honor for anyone; it meant that you were honest, reliable, dependable and truly Powerful. Most of the Council is in their early hundreds in years, but some were far older.
Being infused with so much Power, it kept us alive longer and almost always healthy. There were no diseases that could hurt us, no normal ailments that would cause us harm. We either died in battle with a Rising Member, if you could call it battle, as we rarely actually fought, or of old age. And when I say old, I mean really old.
But Christopher was not only a Council Member. He was the man who brought me back here to The Compound thirty years ago. He was the man that even had bound my Power when I was only six. Of course I trusted him completely because he was in the Council, but even more than that I trusted him as a dear friend.
“Rick, I need to speak with you if you have a moment.”
“Of course, give me just a second.”
I turned back to David to address him. “You did very well today.” This was obvious, he always did very well. His lineage had been tracked back to several of the Primitus, the most I had ever seen a person descend from so far. He picked up on the training almost instantly, not taking years as many of the others did.
“Thank you.” He said after nodding to me.
“We will reconvene here tomorrow, at the same time as usual.”
But before he could agree, Christopher interrupted him. “Actually, David, your training is officially over. I doubt there is anymore that we could teach you. You will be staying with the Teachers from here on out. Rick has other duties he will be attending.”
David looked to me briefly, not that he would question a Council Member. But I still nodded, despite having no idea what “other duties” I might have.
“Very well, I will see you when I get the chance.” He said to me.
“Of course. And I am proud of you. You have amazing strength. I know you will do great things with your life.”
For a moment, his eyes grew sharper, the green of his power glowing just beneath the surface. He took my opinion very highly and appreciated the comment. I meant every word of it. I truly did know he would do great things. What he would do, I wasn’t 100 percent sure of, but I had already had a vision of him. He was standing above a Rising Member, one I didn’t recognize but I knew from the smell of death in his Power that he was a high ranking Rising Member, and David stood victorious.
Something like that is almost unheard of. To actually fight a Rising Member. Of course we attempt to defend ourselves against them, but we never go searching for them. But in the vision, it was apparent this Rising man had been sought out. I knew David would change the way the Order did things.
“Thank you.” He expressed before we parted ways.
I followed Christopher as he wove his way
through The Compound. We walked out of the Hall, the training area for us, and into the hallway that led to the elevators. Those elevators were not the normal kind. They didn’t only go up and down, but also sideways, so as to get to every location in this fortress.
After exiting the elevator, I was struck by our location. I was in a part of The Compound I hadn’t seen before, but still knew what it was. It was the Council’s Hall. Down this prestigious hallway I would be able to see the office for each of the six Council Members, and at the end, behind a massive door carved with in intricate detailing of Michael the Archangel, would be the Councils Chambers. The room they convened in to decide the fate of the World.
Chapter 2
Ann
It seemed that every day was getting harder, not the other way around. They always say that time heals all wounds, but they all lie. Time doesn’t make it go away. Time doesn’t bring him back.
It had been nearly a year since my husband passed after a mugging gone terribly wrong. He had gone out to pick up some milk…that’s it. We needed milk to make some Kraft macaroni and cheese, so he ran out to the grocery store nearby to bring some home.
But he never came home. He was stopped and attacked by a man that wanted to make a quick buck. Little did that idiot know that we had no extra money to give up. And unfortunately for my dear Lee, the extra $10 in cash wasn’t enough for him. The mugger wanted the car too. Then before he drove away in our beat up, only-form-of-transportation Volkswagen, he pointed a gun out the window and shot my husband.
Not only was it devastating because I loved this man, he was my high school sweetheart, but he left me alone to raise our daughter. I had always wanted a large family, with many children, but I knew it would never happen now. I could never love another man. I could never open my heart again to feel such strong emotions knowing that they could so easily be ripped away so painfully.
It was only me and my daughter now. My little angel, she looked so like my own mother, but even more so like my grandmother. My daughter was fair skinned, but not pale, with luxurious deep brown hair that shimmered in the sunlight. Her eyes were deep brown, just like mine, and she had thick perfect lips and rosy cheeks.
She was beautiful and all mine. And despite my heart break, I would never give up. I would fight for life, fight for her. My Allison.
I walked out of the bathroom, after getting ready for work, so that I could go wake her. It used to be a tag-team thing, where I would make the breakfast and Lee would wake Allison, but it would never be like that again, I would never have help. She would never have a father.
I swiped the tear that slid down my cheek.
“Allison, sweetie, it’s time to get up for school.” Being five years old, she was in kindergarten. She loved it, always loved to learn. She was so smart already, reading before even starting school. She could add and subtract and was far beyond the average child. This isn’t the bias of a proud mother, only fact.
She rolled over in her bed and smiled up at me. She was no longer fazed by her father’s passing. Children are resilient, and thankfully, or perhaps regrettably, have very short memory spans. She had told me before that she still remembered him, but I didn’t know how much she really did.
“Okey-dokey.” She said and began to throw the covers off her legs. I kissed her head once before pulling out some pants and a shirt. In Texas, in September, it was still blistering hot outside. Despite this, they weren’t allowed to wear shorts to school, so pants it was, and a short sleeve shirt with Dora on front. She would get her own socks and shoes on, so I left her room to whip up something quick to eat.
I loved Fridays. It was the end of another week. Another week I managed without him. Another week I kept Allison safe and well. Another week I survived.
When I came home that day life felt lighter, softer, and easier. I felt like things would be okay, for some reason, I felt things would change. Maybe all those counseling sessions had finally started kicking in and my subconscious was going to finally release this strangled hold on my sanity. Perhaps I could finally move on, and for once not cry myself to sleep.
I tucked Allison in bed, took a shower, then curled up on the couch with a glass of wine and a good book. I hadn’t read since Lee died. You might think that the escape would be good for me, that I would want to disappear into a good story, but I couldn’t. I could never think of anything but him and being alone. I was alone with Allison. I was so young, too young to be a single mother. 27 was still an enjoyable age, an age where you had fun and lived your life to the fullest.
But my life hadn’t been like that for a long time now.
That night was different though. I wanted to read. I wanted to experience something other than the tears running down my cheeks and soaking my pillow before I gave in to exhaustion.
And I did. I read a great novel that night, staying up well passed 3:00 in the morning. I woke to Allison running in and snuggling up in my arms on the couch.
We stayed in each other’s arms for a while before I got up to make up some waffles. Saturdays were even better than Fridays. No work. I got to spend all day with the real love of my life. And the smell of syrup was already soothing all my frazzled nerves.
Again I felt even better than the day before. Things would get better, I felt it in my bones. Until I turned around and saw our family picture. That last one we took, right before Christmas the year before. Allison wore her red velvet Christmas dress, I was in a bright red shirt and black skirt, and Lee looked so handsome in his deep red shirt and black slacks.
We had been the perfect family, so young and full of love and excitement. We had fought for each other from the beginning against the wills of our families. We had beat the odds, coming from two different religions, which was a huge thing to our families. I had been raised Catholic, while he had been raised Baptist. You might think that those two aren’t very different, both Christian, but you would be wrong.
Our parents hated each other. But it didn’t matter now. He was gone, and we didn’t win. We didn’t beat all the odds. Only the easy ones.
I ran off to the bathroom, ignoring the smoke that billowed from the toaster signaling the waffles were ready. I hung my head over the toilet and spewed what little I had in my stomach.
My knees hit the ground as I hung on to the ceramic bowl, clutching it for dear life. What little life there was left. Sobs shook my shoulders until I finally could rest my head on the edge. Tears continued to stream down my face as I remembered everything about him, the way he laughed, the way he smelled and the way he felt when he held me. I would never be held again.
A tiny knock on the door shook me from my self-pity.
“Mom, I gotta pee.”
I cleared my throat before answering her. “Okay. I’m almost done.”
I slashed water on my face, dried it, took a deep breath and then opened the door.
She zipped past me and had her pants down barely before her tiny bottom landed on the seat. Before I thought of something.
I had to do something. I had to get out of this house. I had to clear my mind. I couldn’t allow myself to wallow while I had this beautiful child to care for.
“Let’s do something fun today. What do ya say?” I asked her, creating a large grin across my face.
She looked up at me surprised that I was asking her this, especially while she was in the restroom.
“Cool. I mean, yes. Let’s do something fun.”
But what…what could we do? Where could we go? I didn’t have much money, being a single mother living on a book-keeper/accountants pay. We only got a little money from Lee’s life insurance policy.
“Well, what sounds like fun?”
She looked serious for a minute. Then said, “Well, let me think about it, then when I get out of the bathroom, I’ll tell you.”
I rolled my eyes. My little modest child that didn’t want me to see her in the restroom. I just shrugged and walked back to the kitchen. Though I was no longer hungry, I needed he
r to eat before we left. As I walked to the counter, I avoided our family picture.
She ran around the corner and shouted, “How about the zoo?”
Well, how about the zoo? We hadn’t gone in years, and she loved the animals. I took my ring off for the first time since it went on and decided I needed to stop living in the past, even if only for a few hours.
“The zoo is perfect, baby.”
6
* * *
[1] Please go to the end of the book for a list of the Primitus and their abilities.
[2] Primitus-See appendix at the end of the story for a list of the Primitus
Table of Contents
Copyright
Authors Note
Dedication
Chapter 1 Dreams
Chapter 2 An Old Friend
Chapter 3 Fiesta Park
Chapter 4 Hospital
Chapter 5 Goodbyes
Chapter 6 Airplane
Chapter 7 The Compound
Chapter 8 Lessons
Chapter 9 The Enemy
Chapter 10 Training
Chapter 11 Artists
Chapter 12 Plans
Chapter 13 Reunion
Chapter 14 Return
Chapter 15 Discovered Truths
Chapter 16 Preparations
Chapter 17 Battle
Chapter 18 Peace
* PRIMITUS
* Descendants
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Excerpt from HOPE (The Descendant Trilogy #2)
Excerpt from ARISE (A Descendant Trilogy Novella)
Table of Contents
Copyright
Authors Note
Dedication
Chapter 1 Dreams
Chapter 2 An Old Friend
Power Page 25
