by Reid, Susan
Them, being a male and two female dark divines, going by their prominent blackened tattoos. They were surrounding a being on the ground that I couldn’t physically make out right away. The aura was faint and weak, but it was definitely a mortal. However, there was an immortal either trapped, or hiding out— inside of him. A void? No, not this being. Though weakened, it was more powerful and intelligent.
The black hooded immortal stood poised, as if it was waiting for me to do something, in challenge. I adjusted my sight to see what humans were seeing in the mortal realm.
He wore all black. A blazer and slacks, with a small square of white at the collar of his black shirt. Appearing hunched over as a small, elderly, white-haired, male priest wasn’t original, but given what he truly looked like, it was a clever disguise for him.
Black, cursed feathers floated and whirled all around him, as if they were a part of his inky black, near non-existent signature and aura. I couldn’t distinguish if they were actually coming from his own wings, if he had any, or the crows. Maybe both.
I couldn’t cloak myself, at least not out here in front of so many mortals, not to mention the ones who were pressed against the café window, or those now gathering around on the sidewalks. I guess I had better do something or attempt to do something before the real police showed up. I really didn’t want to turn my attention away from the mysterious, crow-bearing demon across the street though.
I stole a quick glance at the mortal on the ground, in the middle of the dark divines. He was being jerked around spasmodically, as if they were electrocuting him. Initial low whispers of feverish chanting began to escalate in pitch. They were trying to exorcise the immortal entity out of him and the entity was fighting against it. This wasn’t my business or issue, but it was too late. I couldn’t walk away now, especially since none of the dark divine cared who was witnessing this masked beat down.
Though something told me this may have been a possible set up, I acted anyway. I began reciting a curse that rendered the dark divines immobile. They would see me coming but they would not be able to attack or run.
I took off at a jog towards the fight. A lone siren began to blare a few blocks over. Great, someone somewhere else must have called the police already.
“Get down on the ground now!” I yelled, just so I could appear to be handling this as normally as I could—for all the onlookers.
A vortex of strong, electric heat pushed over us with a rush, and before I could even see where it had come from or who had done it, the three dark divines had been siphoned through it, back into the spirit realm. I was stunned. Whatever the energy was, it had released them from my own magikal hold on them —right in front of so many mortal eyes.
Morning Star?
I turned back around to see the avian contrived fallen, gliding swiftly over, and then diving towards me. Crows emerged in screeching hordes, pouring out of each large sleeve of his robe; like flapping missiles, all aiming for me. No— they were aiming for the other being that took possession of the young man. He was still lying unconscious on the ground, beside the open door of his car.
I threw a wall of light up to shield the oncoming demon, and though it slowed him down, it didn’t stop him.
“What the…” I didn’t have time to question why it didn’t stop him, other than my light hadn’t been strong enough against his power.
There was no time to worry about rules now. He wasn’t playing by them anyway. I cloaked myself and willed my sword. With a quick spin of the hilt in my palm, I held it firm and steady; waited— and then slashed.
My obsidian blade was nothing more than a blur, as it sliced across the front of his dark robe, ripping it clean open. Hundreds of crows scattered and dispersed in storm of deafening caws and screeches. Not for one moment did I think I killed him, but I sat dumbfounded, seeing the robe fall limp. The birds continued to fly and twirl dizzyingly around me in a wild, yet controlled, black, uniform tornado. For a split second, they moved to form what I was sure were two glaring, red embers, burning with loathing.
I continued to slash and swing at the slightest movement, unsure if I was actually hitting anything amid the confusion. I wondered where the hell the robed demon had gone. Finally giving in, I called light from within and brought it up to my fingertips in the form of lightning. It crackled with electric heat, and I formed it into a ball in my palm. I was ready to throw it, just as several of the large crows moved swiftly once again and reformed themselves into separate, sophisticated, deadly homing missiles. This time, they were aiming straight for me.
Throwing another wall of light for protection wasn’t an option— obviously. I needed something more powerful. I threw the lightning ball anyway. I was shocked, watching the crows spread apart, and expertly dodge each vein of light. They immediately took formation once again, like an annoying cloud of gnats.
I swiftly crouched to one knee, with the point tip of my sword embedded firmly into the asphalt and braced myself. I concentrated on bringing every ounce of light in me, to the surface of my flesh. The powerful glory was now inflaming to feed my escalating wrath.
The light flared brightly through both of my eyes, and my skin began to shimmer. The crows slammed into me with excruciating force, one after the other, and ricocheted a blinding pain that burned and radiated throughout my body.
Each one screamed, disintegrating completely upon impact and contact with my glowing flesh. The burn of black magic from the essences of their creation, seared my skin, fighting for domination against the light for entrance.
The immense effort of pulling forth light began to weaken me. This was something I’ve never had to do, let alone felt as a result of before. I felt a rush of both determination and panic all at once, tensing my entire body in fierce defiance.
The invading vile darkness was feeding, and adding both fuel and power to the rage, lust, and sin filled part of me, that made me a demon. Though each stab of the crows razor sharp, metal beaks hurt incredibly— the after effects of the revolting darkness, slinking and seeping into my veins began to feel…damned good.
VIII: Starling:
The bells were loud…almost painfully loud. I nearly tumbled out of bed and fell head first onto the ground. Though I was jostled out of my sleep, I slept soundlessly with no memory of any dreams whatsoever.
It was peaceful here.
Last night, after Lira had taken me to gather some personal supplies, she showed me where the bathing room closest to me was, and then where the tailors’ quarters were. I was still tripping over the fact that small, minty smelling, herbal leaves, were used in place of toothpaste, but they all said that nothing man-made of the mortal realm existed here.
She then introduced me to a gigantic tether pole, on one side of a huge trampoline, in one of the enclosed training courtyards. I love trampolines. It was among a few of the things that were becoming familiar to me.
We currently had the entire training room to ourselves, which I was thankful for. I did begin to notice that we were gaining an audience from the walkways of the second level though—or maybe it was just me who was being watched.
The ease of flexibility, the surge of energy and power that I felt racing through my muscles during many impossible acrobatic poses, came easily to me. We both had a blast, jumping, flipping, twisting into backflips, somersaults, backwards somersaults, and helicopter spins.
Lira was right, this was much more fun. She was complimentary of my agility and acrobatic skills. I admit, I had been showing off just a little bit. It was a total and thrilling rush; flying high into the air, grabbing onto the rope at the top of the pole, and then twirling back down to the ground like a fast moving tetherball. I felt like a little kid again, without a care in the world, or fear of possibly hurting myself. I think it probably had a little to do with knowing that I was immortal now, too.
I checked on the floating lily, it still looked the same as it had last night. I didn’t think it was going to make it, but I’d certainly give it
a fighting chance. It was too beautiful to wither away and just die. I paused for a moment and touched it again. I was hoping that another scene from my memory would replay in my head, as it had last night, but nothing came to mind.
I sighed, with one last look at myself in the mirror.
I focused on my eyes, examining my facial features more in depth, but unsure of what I was expecting. Then, I smiled with excitement and satisfaction. My aura began to shimmer brightly. It was…incredibly illuminating, the light practically whiting out my entire face. The others hadn’t been exaggerating at all.
Wow.
Panicked, I felt silly. I was nearly blinded by my own aura. I had to turn away from the mirror fully, shutting my eyes to allow my pupils time to dilate and refocus, so I could see again. Surely, that wasn’t normal, being blinded by your own aura?
Not good.
I’d never be able to look into a mirror again.
Sunlight shone brilliantly through the small square window. By the time the last bell tolled, I had already gathered my things and headed out to the bathing rooms to freshen up first.
The Hall looked much different during the daytime. It was teeming with many others, wearing the same pant and tunic sets, and the other form fitting clothing that I saw last night. I got a few smiles and nods of welcome this time, but the peculiar looks far outweighed them all. I was not going to let it deter me; we were all here for the same reasons.
~~~***~~~
Though the grounds and the corridors of the Hall were breathtakingly well-groomed, my assumptions had been correct. I hadn’t seen Lira this morning and I hadn’t run across any of the others yet either. That frustrated me, because now—I was lost.
I figured that following the scent of food would lead me towards the dining hall, but no. This place had so many identical ‘T’ ending corridors, that I swear I must have walked a complete square at least five times.
“There you are! You’re gonna miss breakfast.” I heard from behind me.
I turned around to see Lorelei and Anthony, both dressed in the similar black form-fitting outfits, that I had seen a few warriors wearing last night. It was a sexy and dangerous look. Suddenly I couldn’t wait to be fitted for mine.
“I would have too if you guys hadn’t shown up right now.” I smiled with relief.
“I told you she was gonna get lost.” Anthony smirked.
“Come on, we’re on our way out to the training fields, we’ll drop you off at the dining hall. I think Scarlet and Crystal might still be there. You’re going to meet Sean and Diana afterwards though, for orientation.” Lorelei said.
“Well, I’m actually not really hungry right now,” I replied. Truthfully, I was just anxious to get to the tailor and request something similar to what Lorelei wore.
“Are you sure?” Lorelei asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded.
Lorelei turned to Anthony. “You go ahead. I’ll meet you out there.” She said to him.
“I can take her if you want,” Anthony offered.
Yeah, they were definitely in love with each other. I found that so refreshingly sweet.
“I’ll take her.” Someone behind Lorelei and Anthony spoke up.
They both turned around, and through the gap between them, I saw—her, the girl who apparently didn’t like me very much.
No one replied initially, and I didn’t say anything at first either.
She reached us with a smirk plastered to her face. “Sean has been looking for her anyway. I’m heading that way too, so I’ll take you.” She said to me.
Lorelei glared at her for a moment with suspicion, and then turned to face me. “I can take you to Sean, Starling. It’s up to you. I don’t mind at all.” She stated to make sure that the girl heard her.
“He’s expecting me too, Lorelei. It only makes sense.” The girl groaned, with a roll of her eyes.
Lorelei narrowed her eyes, and turned back around to face her. “As I said, it’s up to Starling, Jamie.” She flatly reiterated in clipped words.
“It’s okay; you guys go ahead and go. I guess I’ll see you later on.” I cut in to end the escalating argument.
“We’ll hold a seat for you at dinner,” Anthony said.
“Thanks.” I smiled appreciatively at Anthony.
I didn’t like the smug smile on Jamie’s face. I walked past her, with my own eye roll. I was not in the mood to get into anything with her. There was no reason for it and I would make sure that I established that with her, soon.
Jamie fell into step beside me. It was silent between us, initially.
“He wanted to see you one on one first, before you started your orientation. It was my suggestion.” She then said.
I looked over at her with a furrowed brow. “Your suggestion? Why?”
“Well, as everyone’s probably been telling you already, you’re different. He’s curious, we all are— aside from you rising all late, that is. I felt like you needed a guide.” She simply said.
That statement held so many holes.
“I don’t need a guide…” I began, but she cut me off.
“Don’t be silly. It would be an honor, seeing as we’re gonna be roommates now,” She grinned.
I stopped and so did she. She was trying to suppress a feigned innocent smile.
“My roommate?” I repeated with a raised brow.
“Yes. I’ve already moved my stuff in, and just so you know— that flower of yours is already dead. I did the humane thing and threw it out.” She smiled.
Fury instantly ignited in me at her audacity. She moves into my assigned room without me knowing, and the first thing she does is throw away a flower that wasn’t even hers to get rid of? I wondered if she planned all of this from the first time that she saw me? Wasn’t that Devlin girl supposed to have been my roommate? Durien said they had been close friends too.
My body grew rigid with heat and anger, how dare she? Was there no one else who needed a room, or a roommate? Where were all the other new risers? We’d end up killing each other!
“What was that?” She took a step backwards. The look on her face changed from sarcastic bitch— to curious apprehension.
What was what? What was she looking at? Her eyes were inquiringly searching mine.
“Who the hell do you think you are? That was my flower!” I fumed, instantly gaining the attention of others around us. She laughed. “I was just kidding. You’re an unstable one. I didn’t realize that it meant that much to you. Interesting. You get angry easily, and that’s not a good thing.” She clucked her tongue and shook her head.
“Look, I don’t know what your problem is, or what you have against me, and I don’t care. You don’t know anything about me—I don’t even know anything about me right now, but I do know that we’re both here, on the same side, for the same reasons.” I began, my anger slowly decelerating.
Her face went pensive. “Are we?” She then asked.
I gave her a perplexed stare. What was she talking about?
She smiled again. “So, where did you get it? Stargazer lilies are hybrids, grown from intentional bulbil cross seeding. We have lily of the valleys here, but we don’t have lilies like that in this realm, which is probably why it’s dying. The fact that it even made it over along with you, is almost—magical.” She whispered the word ‘magical’ with an air of accusatory sarcasm.
I had no idea where it came from, or what she was trying to drive at, and even if I did— it wasn’t any of her damned business.
I glared at her.
She eyed me, “Given that you obviously don’t even remember where it came from, I’m surprised that it seems to hold so much sentimental value to you.” She smirked, and then continued to walk on.
She baited me and I fell for it. This was going to be an arduous training.
Hate is a strong word, so okay—I really didn’t like her.
I don’t know why I was expecting to be entering an office of some sort. It was a library, and one that would excit
e and keep any librarian or bookworm busy for a long, long time. I gaped at the floor to ceiling shelves, literally packed with books of all sorts. There were several shelves of books, guarded behind iron bars with symbols painted over them, forming unique glyphic patterns. I wondered what those were; let alone why those particular books were locked away.
A long, wooden table sat in the middle of the library, with several, wooden chairs, pushed in all around it. Only two of them were currently occupied. In one, was a woman with light brown hair, wrapped into a French twist, and in the other, was a man with close-cropped black hair. It was either graying or expertly frosted with highlights. He didn’t look that old, maybe in his late forties, and he was handsome—for an older man.
They had been talking about something in a low whisper. Once I entered the library, they halted their conversation, and the lean man scooted back and stood up from his chair. His tunic was a cream-colored tint, with gold threading along the bottom of his shirt hem. The woman studied me too. They both exchanged a brief glance between each other, much like the others had when they first met me yesterday.
I didn’t like the way they were staring at me, but I’m guessing it was because they were surprised to see my aura for themselves.
“You must be Starling.” the man spoke first. He had a slight British accent.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, welcome to the Northern branch of the Divine Hall. I’m Sean, one of the head advisors here.” he introduced himself and held out his hand to shake mine.
I picked up my pace, meeting him halfway with my hand extended, and we shook. I eyed his brandings, the silver shapes and lines resembled double, hook-ended long swords.
“Nice to meet you too, Sean.” I replied.
He smiled, and small wrinkles formed at the corners of his dark grey eyes. I instantly regarded him as fatherly.
