The Caelian Cycle Boxed Set

by Donnielle Tyner

  “No. What are we doing?” It had been forever since I had hung out with Liam’s siblings. The thought of spending time with them revitalized my spirit. They were always around right after his death, but a while back they’d made themselves busy with attempting to move on. Most days, I both resented and desired their ability to just move on.

  “Hey space cadet!” Lacy yelled in my ear.

  “Sorry. What were you saying?”

  “There’s a party Saturday night at Michael’s college. His campus Human-Caelian Alliance group is hosting, so there shouldn’t be any issues.”

  I heard the hope in her voice. A party sounded both exciting and like the worst idea ever, but I missed my friends. Maybe this party would be the kick in the pants needed to get on with my life.

  “Sure,” I replied, pulling the phone away from my ear as Lacy squealed.

  “I’m so happy! We have missed you so much!”

  “I missed you both, too. Sorry I haven’t made an effort to call.”

  “Hey, don’t mention it. Every one grieves differently. I went to a counselor and Michael threw himself into the alliance. Oh! And Michael approached our parents about Liam.”

  “Oh my God. What happened?”

  “Mom was devastated. I think she regrets giving him up.”

  “And your dad?” I held my breath waiting for her response on this sensitive topic. Liam’s father had always been vocal about his anti-Caelian beliefs.

  “He didn’t say anything,” Lacy whispered, her voice laced with disappointment.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah. Me too.”

  My keys jingled as I struggled to unlock my bedroom door and hold the phone to my ear at the same time. When the lock clicked open, I bumped the door with my hip and pulled my heavy bag in behind me. Exhausted from the day, I threw myself on the bed and released a deep breath, still clutching the phone to my ear. There was nothing but silence. I didn’t mind it though. I knew Lacy would need a few moments to gather herself; she hated being emotional when it came to her asshole father.

  “Anything new with you?” Lacy finally spoke.

  “Not really. Becca and Madison forced me out of bed and back to class,” I replied.

  “Good for them. If it were me, I would have done it sooner, but I’m not allowed on your campus.”

  “I wish you could visit.”

  “Me too, but I see the point of their policies. Too many haters out there. Ugh! Hold on, Mom is beeping in.” Lacy clicked over, leaving me to my thoughts.

  Caelians had been around for decades, but that didn’t negate the animosity aimed against them. Most non-Caelian humans, who we call norms, were wary of us. They believed our powers and physical differences to be unnatural, while others agreed with the families and thought the meteorite and resulting changes were natural evolutionary phenomena. Both sides had their opinions and shared them, openly and often, but never were physical. It was the extremist wings of both sides that truly caused the problems. The anti-Caelian group known as the Human Purist Coalition was violent, attacking both the prestigious families and innocent kids on the street. The Order of Caelum, while seemingly harmless, was at the opposite end of the spectrum. Followers believed norms to be inferior and that the meteorite was God’s way of evolving humans. The church itself was irony personified since many of their parishioners were, in fact, norms.

  “Hey!” Lacy’s interruption broke me from my thoughts. “Sorry that took so long.”

  “No problem.”

  “Mom wants me to get home. Ever since Liam, she has been trying to force our family to participate in these family nights. Which wouldn’t be so bad if my dad wasn’t a jerk about it. I don’t even know why she cares. It’s not like she ever invited Liam over to the house.”

  I didn’t know how to reply to her complaint. Lacy had a family and I would give anything to have a family night, even if I didn’t get along with them.

  “Anyway,” she continued, “We’ll pick you up Saturday around 7pm. Okay?”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll be waiting outside the gate.”

  “Can you wait inside the gate until you see my car? I just don’t like the idea of you…”

  “Yeah. No problem. I wasn’t thinking,” I interrupted. There was no need to hear the end of her sentence; I understood where she was going.

  “See you then. Love you!”

  “Love you too!” I replied.

  A voice woke me from my slumber. I didn’t even know I had fallen asleep. Rebecca’s voice drifted from our shared bathroom, singing a pop song off-key. I’m sure if I was attracted to her, her voice would have sounded like an angel’s.

  Shaking off my quick nap, I grabbed my bag and began my homework. In order to avoid Rebecca, I plugged in my head phones and forced myself to study. Today had been hard, but worth it. I loved my friends and appreciated how they saw that I was ready to face people before I even knew I was ready. I made it through the day with only one incident, and really, it was Mrs. LaMotte who got her panties in a bunch. Well, I had been feeling a little panicky, but how was I supposed to deal if she wouldn’t let me work at it?

  I stopped reading and noticed Rebecca sitting on her bed across from me, staring with a Cheshire cat grin. I pulled out one of my headphones.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Welcome back,” she replied.

  “Okay? I’ve been here for a while.”

  “I can see the fight returning while you are sitting there pretending to read and trying to ignore me. Whatever you are thinking about, keep it up. I see it in your face. I feel it. The real Sadie is breaking through.”

  “I was thinking about how today was worth it and how I have the greatest friends ever.” I paused, feeling tears threaten to break through. “I want to try and get better.”

  “It’s a step!” Rebecca nodded at me. She stood and stretched, baring her midriff. “Would you do me the honor of escorting me to dinner?” She joked, while bowing ridiculously at the waist.

  “It would be my honor,” I replied, reaching my hand out for her assistance getting off the bed.

  Dinner was less eventful than lunch. Only a few people stopped to stare. The food service lady gave me a genuine smile and placed an extra-large serving of chocolate cake alongside my lasagna and salad. Our table was in the far north corner of the cafeteria, close to the windows facing the gardens. The gardens were exquisite this time of year, until they wilted under the hotter than hell heat of the Texas summer. Flowers of every color bloomed along paths leading toward a large fountain depicting water Caelians manipulating the streams. The fountain was a new addition to the old building; it was a donation a few years ago from the wealthy Solas family. They owned the biggest marketing firm in the United States and they were a family one aspired to join. It was difficult to get in, but if you did you were set for life, especially if you could make a big contribution to the family business.

  The Solas family was one of the three major families. Families Koenig and Moreau, the other two, were the oldest. Their power was substantial and widespread. They could trace their origins to the World War. Both sides originated from the soldiers present during the battle. The Koenig family was founded in Germany, and moved to the United States in the sixties. Like the Order of Caelum, the Koenigs believed that the meteorite forced the next step in human evolution, but unlike those who follow Caelum, they believe normal humans to be inferior. Their politics and anti-norm propaganda only attracts a certain type of Caelian. A type I have no desire to associate myself with.

  The Moreau family moved to the United States a few years after the World War, when tensions were still high between the UK and Germany. Germany held the European continent after the war, since they were the only side willing to use the newly created Caelians in their army. The UK allied themselves with the United States to create the Western Alliance.

  The Moreau family believed humans and Caelians were equal and should share the world as such. They weren’t as
exclusive as the Solas family, but they still didn’t accept just anybody. As an unTalented, it would be difficult for me to be accepted, since I didn’t have any skills that could contribute to the family or the medical industry.

  A hand gently patted my cheek.

  “Earth to Sadie,” a deep-timbered voice said from my left.

  As I turned to see who had broken my reverie, my nose brushed against the nose of John.

  “Whoa. Personal space bubble.” I jumped back, indicating where the edges of my bubble belonged.

  John jerked his head back in a deep belly laugh, with a few unattractive snorts thrown in. John has been a friend of mine since the beginning of high school. He and a few others transferred from another orphanage that was making the switch to being female only. I remembered the day he arrived. He strutted in, swinging his lanky arms with a swagger that was impressive, not remotely scared of his new situation.

  Plenty girls were excited at the arrival of a new boy, since we had all been together since childhood, and threw themselves at him. Madison and I were among the few who left him alone in those first days. It wasn’t that we weren’t interested, but we didn’t want to be “those girls.” It worked out well for us. About a week after he arrived, he began sitting with us at lunch and we’d been friends ever since.

  John changed a lot over the years and yet in some ways, stayed the same. He grew to be about 6’4” and filled out a bit in the chest, but his arms and legs still looked a little long for his body. His olive complexion complemented his Caelian features, which always reminded me of springtime in Texas—shoulder length hair the shade of bluebonnets waving in the field, and eyes as yellow as the hot Texas sun.

  “It’s good to see you back in public,” John stated when he stopped guffawing. “I hear you stopped bathing.” He inspected my face and hair. “I’m so glad that was just a rumor.”

  “Shut up,” I replied, smacking the back of his head.

  “Whoa! Personal bubble,” John teased.

  I chuckled. John never seemed to understand what personal space meant. He was the first to wrap an arm around you or lie across your lap without asking. I had to invoke the personal bubble rule once he decided that placing his face as close as possible to mine was hilarious and it ended in an accidental kiss in the middle of sophomore Talent training.

  His pranks were never-ending once he discovered his Talent: light manipulation. At first, he could only redirect small beams of light, but after months of dedicated practice, he was able make his entire body invisible. Even though he would get debilitating headaches, he continued to use his Talent to scare students and faculty. His shenanigans, although annoying, did cause him to expand his abilities beyond most of the seniors at Saint Vincent’s. He was able to hold his invisibility for hours, spreading the field out to encompass one or two people without a headache. As of the previous month, he had begun expanding his barrier to more people.

  “Now that you’ve rejoined society, will you be at defense class tonight?” John asked. The seriousness of his voice betrayed the joy dancing behind his eyes.

  “What? Did you miss me?” I joked.

  “Yes.” His expression was no longer joking.

  I squirmed in my seat, not keen on letting the seriousness continue. John was a friend you could rely on for a laugh and a good time. Seriousness was an emotion he seldom expressed.

  My fidgeting wasn’t lost on him, and I know he let me squirm for a while before letting me off the hook. “It’s been a while since I had the pleasure of getting my ass kicked by a pretty girl.” The elation was back, glittering behind his sunny eyes.

  “Oh, please,” I mumbled, relaxing back into our comforting banter.

  “Seriously though. Besides you and Maddie, none of the other girls are willing or able to kick my ass.”

  “Because we aren’t trying to get in your pants,” Madison piped in.

  John held his hand over his heart in mock pain.

  Dinner passed quickly with John at the table. He kept the jokes coming and after a while, I laughed along with everyone else. Rebecca and Madison gave me hopeful smiles throughout our meal.

  On the way back to our room, Madison caught up with Rebecca and me. She grabbed my arm and linked it with hers. I felt the heat of her Talent under her skin and it spread throughout my body, moving thick like honey and warming me from within. This was a new sensation, and I wondered if Madison’s abilities were expanding. Madison turned to ask me something, but she squinted at my hair instead. Shocked, I reached up with my free hand.

  “What? Do I have something in my hair?” I demanded.

  “No. The lights were reflecting off your hair, giving it a weird orange tint for a second, but it went away.” Her lashes swept up as she blinked rapidly before returning her gaze to mine. “What are the plans this weekend?” Madison asked.

  “I thought we were taking things slow,” Rebecca stated, shooting a glare at Madison. Madison returned it with a raspberry. I stifled a laugh at her playfulness. Rebecca opened up her mouth to reply, but I cut her off.

  “I made plans with Michael and Lacy. It’s been a while since I hung out with them, and I feel like leaving the grounds for a while.”

  “That’s great!” Rebecca squealed as she linked her arm in my free one. For the first time since Liam’s passing, I felt like I would be okay.

  Chapter 5

  Saturday arrived faster than I anticipated. Each day I felt a little bit stronger and more at peace with myself. Even my bad moments grew fewer and farther between. In the recesses of my mind, I struggled with two halves of myself. The one gaining ground wanted to be happy and to truly live, but the other half struggled with guilt. Guilt for surviving and guilt that I was moving on happily. My heart knew that Liam would want me to be happy and to enjoy life, but my guilt kept dragging me down. Hopefully, tonight I could leave my guilt at home and have a great time with Michael and Lacy.

  After breakfast, I decided to finish my homework before leaving in the evening and made my way back to my room. Lucy had been texting me all morning. Her parents had been fighting a lot. She never really understood what started the fights, but they always ended up being about Liam. I had no idea how to help her, since I never had parents, but I listened. I wished there was something I could do. Lucy and Michael didn’t need their parents splitting up so soon after their brother died.

  Just outside the entrance to the girl’s wing, I bumped into someone hard. The top of my head came in contact with someone’s face, and a loud crash followed. Mrs. LaMotte was lying on the floor, legs up in the air, propped up by an overturned table. Pieces of glass were strewn about on the foyer floor. The scene would have been hilarious if it weren’t for the red in Mrs. LaMotte’s face getting darker by the second. The sight caused me to be shaken from my shock.

  “Mrs. LaMotte, I am so sorry. I was texting my friend. She’s having parent issues and I just wanted to…” I reached down to help her stand when I felt an intense tingle flow from our clutched hands. Stunned, I turned to look at Mrs. LaMotte. She almost never used her gift of electrical manipulation because the consequences were dire, and I had never heard of her using it on a student.

  Fear gripped my heart. I just knew that she was going to shock me, causing me to pull her harder. She lunged from her seated position, losing balance, and in turn grabbed my other arm with her free hand. The tingles intensified and I began to cry.

  “Please don’t…” I whispered closing my eyes, resigned to whatever she had planned for me.

  “Shhh!” Mrs. LaMotte replied as she wrenched her hands away, shaking them with a frenzy. The tingles lingered, decreasing in strength until they were nothing but a faint tickle. As soon as she let go, I opened my eyes and found hers staring back at me. Her penetrating stare was fixated on my face with a mixture of fear and curiosity as she rubbed her forearms, as if she were feeling for an injury.

  I opened my mouth to ask her what happened when she cut me off with a swish of her wrist. Her
face pinched in recognition of some unknown conclusion she kept to herself.

  “Don’t worry about it, accidents happen. I’ll call the janitorial staff to clean up and remove the table. Please resume your day.” Mrs. LaMotte turned back toward her quarters, just outside of the girl’s entrance. “Oh, and I hear you will be leaving campus today. Don’t forget to sign out, and curfew still stands. I don’t want you to join Madison in janitorial duty.”

  I nodded and then turned back in the direction of my room. What in the world was that? Had Mrs. LaMotte used her Talent on me and didn’t want to get punished for it? If so, why was she scared? And why didn’t Madison tell me she had janitorial duty? The last thought brought a smile to my face; Rebecca was going to love that little bit of gossip.

  Once in my room, I threw myself into my studies. When I closed my final book, I glanced at my alarm clock. It blinked 4 pm. I had been so engrossed in my work that I forgot to each lunch. Just as the thought entered my mind, my stomach growled. The cafeteria would be opening for dinner in another hour, but laziness won as I thought about walking downstairs and across the main building.

  “Mini-fridge dinner it is,” I said aloud to no one in particular as I stood up to examine what I had available tonight. The pickings were slim, but I had enough lunchmeat and string cheese to curb the hunger. I had a few hours to kill before I needed to get ready, so I decided to clean.

  The dorm rooms at Saint Vincent’s were decently sized, with enough room for a pair of full-size beds, chests of drawers, and desks. One couch shared a common area with a coffee table and TV, which sat upon our mini-fridge – a luxury courtesy of my trust fund. Every dorm shared a bathroom with one other room. Four girls to a bathroom was rough, but a far better arrangement than other orphanages, which had one bathroom per floor. Saint Vincent’s design was a mixture of hotel, church, and college. The main building, an imposing five story structure, was in the center of the property and contained the cafeteria, commons, and two wings that held the students on the upper floors. The faculty who chose to stay on campus resided on the first. One staff member’s room opened to the entrance to the stairs on each wing as a dorm mentor, AKA buffer, to keep the opposite sex out.