by S R Watson
“Deity? What does that mean?” I want her to just spit it out. What is she trying to tell us?
“Deities are divine. I’m saying that you’re a demigod, and Genesis is a demigoddess,” Professor Winters explains.
“So you’re telling me that my parents are gods? Demi means half god and half human, right?”
“Are you even listening to yourself?” Genesis snaps. Her glacial eyes are nearly clear. It’s both freaky and sexy. I can’t help but stare into them as she stands there being a smartass. “She’s telling you that your parents aren’t your parents. Now it makes sense, knowing I’m adopted, but how could my real parents be gods?”
“You’re the one not listening, smartass. Demi means only one parent is a god. The other parent has to be human so that means one of my parents may still be biological. Just because you have adoptive issues …”
“Alright!” Mr. Blakey yells. “Enough. Both of you. We’re here to get answers, not attack each other. There are more important things to focus on here. The two of you are unique on this Earth, and this puts you in danger.”
“How is that?” Genesis asks, turning her attention away from me. Fucking redheads. What a little spitfire.
“For starters, you don’t have the protection of a group. Witches have covens, werewolves have packs, and vampires have clans. Seeing as the two of you are the only ones of your kind here on Earth, you only have each other. Which brings me to my next point.”
Professor Winters walks up behind me and places her fingertips at my temple. She chants some two-syllable word repeatedly. Genesis immediately doubles over, crying out in agony. She walks over to her and repeats the process. I brace myself to feel whatever pain she inflicted on Genesis, but nothing. Oddly enough, her cries stop even though the professor is inflicting her magic directly.
“I don’t feel the pain anymore,” Genesis confirms as she sits up straight.
The professor and Mr. Blakey look back and forth between each other.
“Why did Genesis feel pain when you did your juju to me but not when you did it to her? And why didn’t I feel anything either time?”
“That wasn’t juju, Elysian. That word is derived from evil,” Professor Winters chastises. “The two of you are connected. You feel what is being done to the other, but you’re the stronger one. When I was inflicting pain on you, she absorbed all of your pain. Felt everything in your place. When the roles were reversed, she didn’t feel anything because you were absorbing her pain. Only your pain threshold is higher, so it wasn’t enough to make you notice.”
“Holy shit! This is crazy.”
“Language,” Professor Winters and Mr. Blakey warn simultaneously. I look over at Genesis; her eyes are wide with disbelief.
“Could we be related? Same parent?” she asks.
“No. Your DNA ruled that out. But there’s more. I’ve studied a bit about quantum entanglement. It starts with a simple connectivity and continues to build into inevitable entanglement. Once the quantum entanglement is complete, you’d be like two halves of a whole—absorbing and sensing each other’s energy. I don’t know why you both have the infinity symbol, but it’s your link to each other. You were meant to find each other, and I think the branding is a form of magnetic energy that pulls you two together. Now that you’re in the same place, it fades under the surface.”
“So if we’re a great distance apart, then it would reappear?” I ask, confused.
“Exactly.”
“Why are we the only two?” I ask.
“That’s a good question, and one I’m afraid I can’t answer today.” She looks over at Mr. Blakey. “As I said before, being the only two makes you vulnerable. Outside of this school are supernatural beings that would seek to harm or even eliminate you if they find out what you are.”
“But why? You just said there are only two of us. We’re not a threat.”
“It has to do with hierarchy. I said you two were vulnerable. I never said you were weak. Deities are more powerful than anything that walk this Earth. Once you learn to harness and control your powers, you will be a threat and even more so as that power strengthens. So you can see why some would find it advantageous to eliminate you before you reach that pinnacle.”
“Great! So not only am I some demigoddess, but I’m also a threat to all supernatural beings that walk the Earth. I can see the line forming now to knock us down a peg or two.”
“So don’t tell them,” I suggest in reference to the other students. “I have to agree. We’re already the new kids on the block, so this just places a monumental target on our backs.”
“We don’t exactly have a curriculum for you since you’re the first of your class. A program will have to be customized for you, which may incite suspicion from your peers,” Mr. Blakey points out.
“Well, not necessarily,” Professor Winters challenges. “They’ll both start with the general courses that are the foundation for every student. From there, the different course load can be explained away by them explaining they haven’t advanced to the more difficult courses yet. Since most students transfer from our Dublin campus, it isn’t a stretch.”
“The choice will be yours whether to share your classification with your peers, but I can see how a lie or omission would quickly become daunting and lead to mistrust. I have to get going, but Miranda will explain the next step.” He gives a simple nod before leaving.
“Randolph has a point. But this is a lot to take in. Take a few days to process all that we’ve told you, and then make the decision together.”
“So what’s next?” Genesis asks, changing the subject.
“Well, from our collective baseline assessments, you have the power of glaciokinesis, and Elysian has the power of ignikinesis.”
“English, please,” I joke.
“Ice and fire manipulation,” she clarifies. “But Elysian, you also reported increased strength and speed. Genesis, you reported unconscious teleportation to a lake. Today, we’re going to work on finding out what your individual powers are so that we have a baseline for your studies and training. I don’t promise that we will uncover all of your abilities as some may not be available yet.”
“How can some of our abilities not be available yet?” I ask.
“Some powers lay dormant and can only be brought forth with increased knowledge and mental readiness. Using our powers requires a lot of energy, and if our minds and bodies are not conditioned to handle it, we can cause harm to ourselves. So if abilities remain in a dormant state, it’s often to protect us from ourselves.”
“I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Genesis admits.
“Same,” I agree.
“Good. I’ll be the one working with you today, and based on our findings, I’ll create a specialized curriculum in addition to your general studies. For now, let’s head to our identification lab. It’s where we can safely try to lure out your powers.” She laughs.
I can’t believe she just made a joke. It’s the first relatable side I’ve seen from her thus far. Between her, Mr. Blakey, and Professor Guenther, they are all too serious. Freaking mind readers that answer all your questions before you get a chance to ask. If I’m being honest, it’s nice to have someone to endure all of this with—even if she is insanely hot with a smart mouth.
Chapter Seven
Genesis
I’ve been running on this treadmill for the last fifteen minutes, yet it feels like I’ve ran a marathon—not that I’ve actually attempted one. Beads of sweat run down my forehead and chest. My chest heaves, and my throat becomes increasingly dry as I fight for each breath. Still, I maintain my composure and form as the programmed machine increases the speed yet again. It’s set to increase every five minutes. A red light on the display dash blinks to warn me of the increase. The only motivation I’m holding on to is the fear of falling flat on my face in front of the ridiculously handsome guy who I’m apparently connected with. He couldn’t be more beautiful if he tried. Gorgeous cerulean blue
eyes, a chiseled face worthy of a god, a dimpled chin, and a muscular physique that is impossible to ignore. He has tattoo sleeves on both arms and his left chest that gives him the edge of a bad boy, except they’re Disney, Christmas, and God related— as in the man upstairs. He’s an enigma for sure. I watch as he powerfully makes strides next to me, his breathing even. Normally, I’m not attracted to the jock types, but I’d be lying if I said my heart didn’t quiver at the sight of him. Too bad he comes off as a douche know-it-all with little regard for authority.
I’m so deep into my internal monologue that I miss the warning of the next speed increase and lose my rhythm and footing. My hands flail out in front of me, crushing all hope of saving face. I unleash some sort of stresscicle and turn the entire treadmill into a block of ice, which then sends me flying backward. I brace for impact with the ground, but strong muscular arms catch me. Elysian’s swift movements were a blur. My embarrassment was momentarily distracted by his superhuman speed. He was running alongside me, yet he had time to both react and catch me before my ass hit the floor. I take back what I said about him being a douche know-it-all.
“Wow! I’m impressed,” Professor Winters admits as she appears from behind the glass office. “Elysian, I do believe we just witnessed one of your abilities in action.”
“Thank you,” I say politely as he helps me back to my feet.
“Of course.” He smirks. And just like that, my original opinion of him returns exponentially.
“Impeccable timing to take out this,” Professor Winters states, pulling a probe thing from her lab jacket. My eyes widen. “Relax, it’s just to take your temperatures.”
She slides the wand-like probe over my temple and then repeats for Elysian. She heads back to the small office behind the glass, so we follow her.
“What does our temperatures tell you?” I ask as she records her findings onto a clipboard.
“Well Genesis, your temp is 93 degrees, yet you show no signs of hypothermia. Elysian is on the other side of the spectrum. His temp is 109, which ordinarily would be hyperthermia. Neither of you have temps sustainable with human life, yet you’re both standing here unaffected.”
“She didn’t feel that cold to me,” Elysian says.
“That’s because you’re so hot,” the Professor explains. I snicker. “Your body temp is hot, so it absorbs your ability to feel how cold she is,” she corrects, after realizing it sounds like she was saying he was hot. Which he is.
“So we’ve learned that stress is the trigger to accidental use of your powers. And your body temperatures may be a correlation to the stress. Your baseline temperatures were both 98.6, which is the normal temp for a human. Your stress responses or when your powers are at play drive your temps in opposite directions. I’ll record the parameters of the treadmill that invoked that stress response,” she says, eyeing me. I wonder if she knows my “stress response” was more likely from getting ready to face plant in front of the handsome jackass and not the actual speed increase.
She nods in the affirmative, and I wish the floor could swallow me whole. Of course, she knows. She’s probably been reading my thoughts this entire time. She’s helping me save face in front of Elysian. She takes our other vital signs to ensure that we’re stable.
“Why don’t the two of you take a break while I get someone to defrost the treadmill?” she suggests.
“Do we have to stay here?” Elysian asks.
“No. Genesis, your belongings should be in your room by now if you want to check. Elysian, your things are being driven down, so give it another day or so.”
“Two days? After giving my buddy’s address, I thought someone would just teleport it all here. What about my motorcycle?”
“Don’t be dense. They can’t just bewitch all your stuff here like I Dream of Jeannie,” I chastise.
“First of all, that’s two different TV shows. Second, nobody asked you. Easy for you to say because your stuff is probably waiting in your room.”
“Now, now kids,” the professor warns. “It’s within our ability to teleport it all here, but it’s also against the rules. We can’t use magic or our abilities for personal gain. If caught, it’s a punishable offense, so you would do well to remember that. You’ll learn all about the rules in your first class. For now, we will transport Elysian’s belongings here the old-fashioned human way.”
“So I guess making an ATM give me a limitless amount of money to buy myself a mansion is out of the question,” Elysian jokes. I roll my eyes so hard I’m surprised they don’t get stuck.
“Now you’re catching on,” the professor agrees. “Now get going. You only have an hour.”
I leave first, and the muscular douche follows. “Ummm, what are you doing?” I finally ask when it’s clear he’s not traveling in a separate direction.
“Following you.”
“I guessed as much, but why?”
“So far, you’re the only person I know here, and since it’s pointless to head to my room without my stuff being here, I thought I’d go with you to check on yours. Afterward, we can grab a bite to eat …”
“Are you always this forward? Like inviting yourself to do stuff with people?”
“Are you always this bitchy, or is that a side effect your superpower?” He smirks.
I stop in the middle of the sidewalk. “I’m not bitchy. You just ask stupid questions and act like a know-it-all,” I accuse.
“You don’t know anything about me, sweetheart. But your talons have been out for me from the moment you laid eyes on me. Even after I saved your ass from hitting the floor, you had something snarky to say about me being dense. I’m trying to process all of this just like you. You’re not the only one feeling out of sorts and unsure about what this means for your future.”
I’m stunned silent. He’s right. I’ve never been the one to lay into people. I’m more of a bite my tongue and ignore you kind of girl. I can admit that I’ve been just a bit rude. Okay, maybe a lot.
“Look. You’re right. I’m stressed as evidenced by my turning shit into ice, but I shouldn’t be taking out my frustrations on you. You haven’t done anything to me. I apologize.”
“You’re forgiven. It looks like we’re in this together so let’s start over. Hi. I’m Elysian Remis, and I love both Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie.”
I double over in laughter. I love how he slid those old 70s sitcoms back at me. “Hi. I’m Genesis Aldaine, and I love all the Nick at Nite old shows.”
“We’re going to get along just fine, Ms. Aldaine, because so do I.”
I guess he isn’t so bad. We walk side by side, discussing all our favorite shows. He tells me about wrestling and his studies at Penn State. He is surprised to learn that I spend absolutely zero time in the gym but not surprised about the book nerd part. He jokingly calls me an overachiever, and I can’t disagree. Before long, we’re at my dorm room. The door swings open before I can reach for the handle.
“Oh hi,” Loren greets as she looks back and forth between us. “Your stuff is here. I just put the TV in the corner and all your other stuff on the bed so you can organize where you want to put it all.”
Elysian gives her a small wave. They formally introduce themselves while I stand there awkwardly.
“Where are the good places to eat around here?” he asks.
“I was heading out for a bite myself. I can show you unless you two had other plans,” she says, not conspicuously at all.
“No. We only came to see if my things were here. We have to be back within the hour, so food sounds good,” I assure.
If she was feeling Elysian, I wasn’t going to stand in her way. Hopefully, I made it clear that she had the green light.
“Great. Let’s go.”
She leads the way, giving us a tour as we walk. Every aspect of this campus is a phenomenal contradiction to the city itself. The columns and archways are a beautiful sight to behold. I plan to explore the grounds more when I get the time.
“I’
m down for sure,” I hear Elysian comment.
“What about you?” Loren asks, looking at me.
“What about me?” I ask, confused.
“We were talking about the party tonight. It’s Friday, so you can usually find something going on around campus. Tonight, Madison is throwing a party in the west wing. It’s one of our hangout spots.”
“Isn’t she the one you were warning me about? I believe your exact words was that she was a conniving twat,” I recall.
“Yeah, but we’re not going to the party for her. It’ll be a great chance for you and Elysian to meet some of the other students,” Loren explains. “Besides, you already turned down a chance to hang last night.”
“Fine. I’m not really a huge partier, but I guess it can’t hurt to meet people. It’s going to take time to adjust to all of this as my new norm.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Elysian chimes in. “We might as well embrace this change as much as we can.”
We arrive at the main cafeteria. There is a salad bar on one side of the room, a grill for fast type food, and a station with the meal of the day.
“Salad it is,” I say.
“The food is actually pretty good here,” Loren assures. “Their mushroom burgers are the best, but the beef stroganoff they’re serving at the main station is decent too.”
“I’m vegetarian,” I point out.
“You are?” Elysian asks, surprised.
“Well, I’m sure they have other options. They’re pretty inclusive here to the student’s dietary needs. I just never noticed those options because I’m all about the beef.” Loren grins.
“Hi, Loren. Who are your new friends?” a petite brunette asks.
“Hi. I’m Elysian,” he introduces.
Of course, he would be the first to speak up. She’s gorgeous. Her perky breasts threaten to make an appearance outside of her white button-down shirt, tied at the waist, her blue plaid skirt barely hitting mid-thigh, and matching knee-high socks complete her ensemble. It’s the most obscene school uniform I’ve ever seen … Well, the way she wears it is obscene. The same uniform looks normal on Loren. All this chick is missing is the pigtails to her chest-length straight hair to complete her porn style. She bats her whiskey-colored eyes in Elysian’s direction, not even trying to hide her flirtation.
