by Alicia Rades
4
It took a moment for reality to sink in. I’d just hopped on the back of a stranger’s motorcycle so he could take me God knows where. What was I thinking?
Marek drove so fast through the streets of Eagle Valley that a scream erupted from my lungs. I squeezed my eyes shut and wrapped my arms around him so tightly I thought I might crush his ribs. Instead of slowing like I wanted him to, he took it as an invitation to increase his speed.
Relief flooded through me when I felt him apply the brakes. I finally opened my eyes. We were in front of Galen High.
Three stories of red brick complete with white stone accents towered above us. The third floor was mostly slanted roof, but three peaks with small balconies housed extra windows for the top story. The Jacobean-style building featured five chimneys and a beautiful ornate window above the front doors. The only thing standing between us and the brick beauty was a vast manicured lawn bordered by a deciduous forest.
This place looked more like Galen Mansion than Galen High School.
I steadied myself against the bike when I dismounted it.
“Are you okay?” Marek asked. He reached out toward me, but at the last second, he pulled away.
“I’m fine.” I slipped off the helmet and shook my hair out like that proved something.
I followed Marek up the sidewalk to the front entrance. Each step closer to the school had me questioning my sanity. I tried to reassure myself I was safe. Aside from a middle-aged woman jogging across the road with earbuds in, the street was quiet. I had to remind myself I was doing this for answers.
Marek sat on the top step. “We’ll have to wait for Fletcher to unlock the door.”
I took a seat beside him. Just when I opened my mouth to ask more about this Fletcher person, Marek spoke again.
“So, tell me about yourself.”
I felt a blush rise to my cheeks and tucked a strand of brown hair behind my ear. He couldn’t actually be interested in getting to know me.
“What do you want to know?” I asked.
He shrugged. “How have you grown up your whole life not knowing what you are?”
Good question. “You mean, not knowing I could shoot fireballs out of my hands?”
“They’re not fireballs,” he said with a laugh, “but yeah. Are you adopted or something?”
The question caught me off guard. “No. Why would you say that?”
“I’m sorry. I just figured your parents would tell you—”
“Well, they didn’t,” I bit harshly. I took a deep breath to steady my tone. “My mom definitely doesn’t know about any of this.” If she did, she wouldn’t have taken me to three different therapists by the time I was eight. “I guess it’s possible my father knew…”
“But?” Marek prodded curiously.
I wasn’t sure why I opened up to him. Part of me said it was because I wanted answers and figured the more I shared, the more he’d share. Another part of me suspected it was his inviting smile. Something about him held an air of trustworthiness.
“My dad has never been around,” I told him vaguely. “He left before I was born.”
“Oh,” Marek said simply, dropping his gaze to his feet. I could tell he regretted asking the question. “So, what brought you to Eagle Valley?”
Silence settled once again as I considered the question. I remained quiet for so long that I was sure Marek was wondering if I’d actually answer.
“I did,” I finally said.
He tilted his head in question.
“My mom and I move a lot,” I explained. “She’s always on the search for a new adventure. She can’t stay in one place for too long. It’s like no place is ever good enough for her.”
I didn’t mention why I thought that was. Mom would never admit it, but I suspected deep down, she hoped to someday run into my father again.
“Mom usually chooses where we’ll go next,” I said. “This time, she let me choose.”
“Why Eagle Valley, though?” Marek asked.
“Fate, I guess.” It was the only thing that made sense. Coincidence didn’t just land you in the lap of a dreamy guy with all the answers, did it? “When Mom said I could choose, I knew I wanted to move to the Midwest. I’ve always loved it here. It’s so green in the summer, and I love the snow in the winter. But I didn’t really care what part of the Midwest we moved to, so I tacked a map to the wall and threw a dart at it. It landed on top of Eagle Valley.”
Marek pressed his lips together and nodded, considering the information.
“Aren’t I the one who’s supposed to be asking the questions?” I teased.
He shot me a smile.
Dayum. He could smile at me any time he wanted.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
“If those things were demons, what are we?”
Before he could reply, the sound of an approaching vehicle stole both of our attention. The gray crossover pulled into the school parking lot across the street and parked in the closest space.
Marek stood. “That’s Fletcher. He’ll be able to answer your questions.”
A thin man with gray hair stepped out of the vehicle. He wore tan slacks and a blue button-down shirt. A messenger bag bounced against his hip as he rushed up the walkway. He stuck his hand out in my direction when he reached us. I shook it.
“Samuel Fletcher,” he introduced himself. He sounded slightly winded like he was in a hurry. “Most students simply call me Fletcher. You must be Ryn. James told me about what happened last night.”
I was about to ask who James was before remembering it was Marek’s first name.
Fletcher stepped past us and stuck a key in the front door. He held the door open for us while he spoke. “He says it gave you quite a shock.”
An uncontrollable laugh bubbled up from my chest. “You could say that.”
I fell silent the moment I stepped through the doors. The architecture inside was even more spectacular than the exterior.
A large foyer opened to the second level, where a balcony overlooked the commons area. Plush sofas and chairs surrounded a massive antique fireplace to our right. To our left sat a large staircase with a dark walnut banister. The same wooden texture covered the floors and bordered the doorways. Even the white walls and ceiling featured carved wooden accents.
Hints of a lemon-scented cleaner filled the air, but it couldn’t completely cover the smell that reminded me of an old museum. There was nothing modern about this building, but it contained a unique charm that made me feel at home.
“You’re kidding me,” I blurted as I took in the scene. “This place is a school?”
“It is now. It used to be a mansion,” Fletcher explained. “It belonged to the brothers who founded Eagle Valley. My room is this way.”
I followed behind him, but my attention remained on the architecture. Fletcher led us under the balcony and to a hall behind the grand staircase. I stole a glance inside a pair of open doors directly across from the front entrance. It was a small cafeteria dotted with dark wooden tables that matched the rest of the antique décor.
We entered a wide hallway and took the second door on the right. Three short rows of student desks faced a large desk at the front of the room. A modern whiteboard hung on the wall behind it.
“It’s unfortunate you had to find out this way, but I’ll explain the best I can.” Fletcher dropped his bag on his desk and fell into the chair behind it so hard that it rolled across the floor a few inches. “Please, have a seat.”
I followed Marek’s lead and sat in one of the desks in the front row. My heart hammered quicker than I would have thought possible as I anxiously awaited answers.
“So… um…” I couldn’t get the words out. Where did I even start? “Any idea what’s happening to me?”
Fletcher straightened in his chair. “Well, it appears you’re a Davina.”
“What—what does that mean?” I tried to keep an open mind. “Am I, like, an alien?”
Both Marek and Fletcher laughed.
“Of course not,” Fletcher said.
“So, what’s a Davina?” If possible, my pulse grew even louder in my ears. “All I heard last night was something about angels and demons. I figured I was insane. But if Marek saw it all too…”
“We’re not angels or demons,” Fletcher said like he wasn’t pleased with the terms. “We’re similar, but the stories have it all wrong.”
“So, you’re not aliens or angels. Mutants?” This whole place definitely gave off an Xavier Institute vibe.
Fletcher smiled in amusement. “No, Ryn. We’re where the stories of angels and demons came from, but we prefer not to use the terms as we have no religious affiliations. Not with any modern religion, anyway.”
I glanced between the two of them. They stared back as if expecting me to take their word for it.
“Davina have been around much longer than humans have,” Marek explained. “Unfortunately, so have the demons.” He said the word demons with an air of disgust.
“I thought you said this wasn’t an angels and demons sort of thing,” I pointed out.
“Not like you’re used to,” Marek said.
“It’s an insult,” Fletcher clarified. “They’re really called Aedes.”
Uncertainty crossed my face. These guys must’ve been as crazy as I was.
“Who all knows about this?” I asked. “Everyone in Eagle Valley?”
“Oh, no,” Fletcher said seriously. “We’d never reveal our secret. It’s our duty as Davina to protect humans from the Aedes. We’d much rather they live in peace not knowing what was out there. We’d prefer not to cause a panic, and frankly, most of us aren’t keen on the idea of becoming lab rats. Our secrets are kept within the walls of Galen High.”
“Everyone at Galen knows?” I asked in shock.
“It’s a Davina-only high school,” Marek confirmed.
Holy shit. Allie went to Galen High. My best friend was an angel.
And here I thought I’d made normal friends this time.
“Here, and at other schools like ours, our students learn how to use their Davina skills,” Fletcher explained. “Many of them go on to become Protectors and leave Eagle Valley to fight the Aedes. Eventually, most return to raise families, and we move on to training the next generation.”
I remained quiet as I let the information sink in. How could I be a Davina? How could anything they were saying be true?
It can’t be, I thought to myself. It’s all one big prank to psych out the new girl.
“Show me that thing again,” I demanded. I stuck my palm up in Marek’s direction and wiggled my fingers.
He eyed me like he didn’t know what I was talking about.
“The fireball thing,” I said.
“I told you; they’re not fireballs.” Marek stretched out his palm, and a glowing white orb appeared.
I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The longer I stared, the more I realized other colors swirled inside it. Though they were subtle, it was mesmerizing.
Fletcher stood and popped the cap off a marker. He began to write on the whiteboard like he was teaching a high school history lesson. “It’s called essence. The Davina believe there are four energies that make up a person: their body, their life force, their consciousness, and their essence. The four are all interconnected and work together to create balance.”
He drew lines on the board connecting each of the words. “The body is obvious. Life force is most closely tied to the body. It’s the energy that keeps the body living. Consciousness refers to a person’s thoughts. So, what’s left?”
It took me a moment to realize he wanted me to answer. I stared up at the four words he’d written.
“Essence,” I answered. Whatever that means.
“Right,” Fletcher said. “But what is essence?”
How am I supposed to know?
I stared at him blankly.
“It’s your soul,” Fletcher said passionately. “It’s your character, who you are as a person.”
My eyes widened, and my words came out in a rush. “The fireballs are part of your soul? What happens when you throw one at someone? Are you throwing away part of your soul?”
What had I gotten myself into?
“No, no,” Fletcher said quickly. “They’re only a physical manifestation of your essence energy. It can be recharged.”
Good to know.
“If a person’s body is damaged and their life force severed, their essence returns to the earth to be used by later generations,” Fletcher continued. “Essence is the only thing that survives after death.”
I paused for a moment to think about it. “So, it’s like reincarnation?”
Fletcher pressed his lips together in thought. “In a sense. Your energy gets recycled.”
I took a moment to let this sink in. “Where do the demons fit in to this?”
“Good question.” Fletcher returned to his chair.
I knotted my hands in my lap. How could this really be happening to me?
Fletcher began to recite the story like he’d told it a hundred times. “In the beginning, there were gods with unimaginable power. The gods yearned for children, but only the highest gods, called Divinities, were afforded the privilege. Their children didn't inherit all of their powers to begin with, and they didn't want the lesser gods diluting that power. Wanting the best for their children, the higher gods created a paradise they called Vehena. They gifted this realm to their children, the Davina.
“The lesser gods, known as Sanctities, saw what the Divinities had and began having their own children in secret. Their children were called the Aedes. When the secret got out, the Divinities called for the Aedes' execution. They believed their lack of power was an abomination, and they were furious that the Sanctities had broken the laws of their realm.
“The Sanctities begged for mercy and to spare the lives of their children. The Divinities agreed, but the arrangement didn’t work out like the Sanctities hoped. Instead of sharing the god's realm or allowing the Aedes into Vehena, the Divinities stripped the Aedes of their immortality and marked them with darkness so they would never forget the sins of their fathers.”
I glanced to Marek to see if he was buying all this. He stared up at Fletcher with a look in his eyes that told me he believed every word of it.
Fletcher continued. “The Divinities banished the Aedes to a dark, desolate realm called Malum. But even the gods couldn’t stabilize the gateways between realms, and the Aedes returned.
“To remind everyone how powerful they were, the Divinities laid upon the Aedes a second curse. They could return to the god's realm, but they could do nothing but walk the realm and observe. Aside from the ground at their feet—and, of course, the Divinities and Davina—they could only interact with objects that originated outside the realm. Anything they brought from their realm wouldn’t truly exist here. Their curse served as a constant reminder that this realm was not their home.”
Fletcher took a breath. “The Sanctities were also cursed. They couldn't see, hear, or interact with their children or anything from their realm. This was to prevent alliances and keep the Sanctities from having more children. It was another way for the Divinities to exercise their power.”
The Divinities sounded like a bunch of jackholes.
“This was the worst curse of all,” Fletcher said. “It sparked a war, and the gods destroyed each other. The earth was what was left from the ashes of their realm.”
“Shut up.” I couldn’t help it when the words flew from my mouth. “You’re saying gods used to live on the earth?”
Fletcher nodded. “It was their realm before it was ours. After the dust settled, the earth acted as a bridge between Vehena and Malum.”
And I was just supposed to believe in this religious nonsense?
Marek must’ve noticed the disbelief written on my face. “Let him finish the story,” he whispered.
Fletcher cleared his throat. “The D
avina had nothing to do with the Great War, and so they sought to form an alliance with the Aedes. The Davina didn’t agree with the actions of their parents. They wanted to set things right again. To solidify their alliance, the Davina tried to bring back the Sanctities and reunite them with their children. They called upon the power in the sands of the earth, but instead of bringing the Sanctities back, a new race—the humans—were formed. The curse of the Sanctities remained.”
“That’s why humans can’t see demons or their cloaks?” I interrupted. “Because of that curse?”
Fletcher nodded. “Precisely. In a sense, humans were created from what remained of the Sanctities, but they didn’t possess any of their divine powers.”
Goodbye, science.
“The Davina grew to love the humans,” Fletcher said. “Several mated to create human-Davina hybrids that possessed the power of the Davina. That’s where we come from.”
“Except we’re not as powerful as the original Davina,” Marek clarified.
“Correct,” Fletcher agreed. “Much of our Davina power has been bred out throughout the generations. We’re a closer match for the Aedes now. They’re getting tougher to defeat.”
“You’re at war?” I asked.
Fletcher nodded. “Since the dawn of civilization.”
Seriously, what the heck was going on? I was being introduced to a whole new religion here. What if I didn’t want to be a part of this?
I shot up out of the desk. “I—I’m sorry.”
I took one look at Marek’s shocked expression and knew I’d never find the words to explain myself. I did the only thing that made sense in that moment.
I bolted.
5
“Ryn, stop,” Marek called down the hall.
My breath hitched as he caught my wrist and whirled me around to face him. I jerked my hand out of his grasp, but he only reached for me again.
“Stop it!” I struggled against him and accidentally elbowed him in the ribs. Hard.
I broke free and raced to the end of the hall and turned to the right. Before I could get my hand on the front door handle, Marek slipped in front of me and blocked my path. I ran straight into his chest and nearly tripped over his feet.
