Rebirth: The Sacred Isle Series

by K. E. Miller

  I was only sitting for a moment when Madalynn, Alas, and Melvina walked in. They sat in their normal seats in the front row. Alas and Melvina chatted away with whatever the day’s gossip was as Madalynn pulled out her compact and began adjusting her already heavily applied makeup.

  As I bent down to get my books out of my bag, I thought about how even something as exciting as a new student didn’t upset the carefully structured hierarchy of the school. I pulled my textbook and notebook out of my bag and looked up to find Aaron taking the seat next to me. He didn’t even glance at me, so I assumed he hadn’t seen me.

  “You shouldn’t sit there,” I said quietly, hoping no one would notice I was talking to him.

  He turned to me and I was briefly shocked by the dark expression in his eyes. He frowned at me, seemingly upset that I’d spoken to him.

  I was used to people not wanting to hear what I had to say so I continued, “You shouldn’t sit next to me. Your new friends won’t like it. If you want to stay popular you should go sit with Madalynn.”

  I pointed to the front row where Madalynn was now fixing her hair. Aaron shrugged and looked away, clearly disregarding my advice.

  “Suit yourself,” I whispered as Mr. Hastings walked into the room, timing his entrance perfectly with the bell.

  “Happy Friday, everyone!” he called in his usual greeting. He was a tall, average looking man, with well-worn tidy clothes. “Get out those journal entries from last night and let’s have some volunteers to read aloud.”

  Hands went up around the room. After three students had read and gotten feedback, Mr. Hastings moved on with the lesson, completely capturing all of my attention away from Aaron, who remained seated next to me.

  When the bell for lunch rang, it seemed like class had been only fifteen minutes long. Everyone hurried out of the room, excited to see their friends for an hour.

  As I left the room, I saw Madalynn animatedly chatting to Aaron as they walked in front of me all the way to the Dining Hall. I ignored them as they stayed right in front of me throughout the lunch line.

  I sat down at my usual table and was relieved when I saw Jaden walk in, knowing I would be much safer with her by my side. We ate in companionable silence before heading off to the remainder of our classes.

  ***

  That night, Jaden left immediately after eighth period with the promise to return Sunday morning. I ate dinner alone in my room, turning on our small television so the room didn’t seem so quiet.

  Not knowing what else to do with myself, I went to the library to get a head start on my homework for the next week. I knew on a Friday night there wouldn’t be anyone there and it would be safe for me to sit for a while and work.

  I had a paper for American History due, so I went to the history section to find some books. I turned down an aisle and nearly ran into Aaron, who seemed to have been intently staring at one of the shelves.”

  “Sorry,” I said. “Didn’t know anyone else was in here.”

  “It’s my fault,” he replied, darkly.

  He turned to leave. He’d only gone a few steps before I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “What book were you looking for?”

  He turned back to me and I glanced at the floor to avoid making eye contact.

  “I’ve been here for three years. I know this library pretty well. The librarian has her own system that doesn’t always make sense. Maybe I could help you find it,” I spoke quickly and realized that I was nervously rambling.

  I glanced up and he was giving me a curious look. I instantly regretted offering to help. His face darkened as though he sensed my sudden discomfort.

  “It doesn’t matter. I don’t need it,” he said.

  “Are you sure?” I asked, unable to stop myself.

  “Yes. It’s not important.” He paused before adding. “Have a good night.”

  He turned and walked away. Even thought I’d heard him speak so little during his time at Ardara, wishing me a good night was the nicest thing I’d heard him say to anyone.

  I found some books for my paper and went to the table where I’d left my things. I settled in for hours of research and managed to forget all about Aaron Tremain.

  Chapter 2

  Aaron

  The swarm of teenagers who had decided to befriend me, were vapid and cruel. To any observer, it would surely appear that I fit right in with them. Perhaps I didn’t spend nearly as much time, or any really, torturing other students. I did however, appear to have enough disregard for anyone but myself that my place among the elitist group that had immediately adopted me was unquestioned.

  What my aloofness and occasional bouts of anger hid was my constant attention to the world around me. My so called “friends” failed to realize that my disinterest included them and their school, but they believed my lie. Everyone did. I impressed even myself this time at the level to which I had managed to convince the world that I was someone I wasn’t.

  Attending Ardara Prep wasn’t even my idea. I’d been on so many wild goose chases over the years, that I had expected this to be the same. Sure, this time there was a recording of a male voice making contact with Nolen, the leader of the Resistance, asking for help protecting the Prophecy. The Council had managed to trace the call back to the school. None of that meant that this time there was actually something to find.

  The girl did give me pause though. The resemblance was uncanny. I’d never seen anyone so closely resemble Sophia. Admittedly she was the only reason I remained at the school. Normally I would have checked it out and then left in under twenty-four hours. This time, however, I found myself unable to walk away.

  Despite my fascination, I was no more hopeful about the future than I had been before coming to Ardara. Yes, the girl had a remarkable resemblance, but that was as far as the similarities went. She was shy and allowed the others to push her around. Plus there was the fact that she was human.

  My job investigating for the Council required observation and objectivity. This was why I now found myself pacing angrily around my dorm room on a Friday night. I’d been caught off guard and that wasn’t a good thing. I’d managed to avoid interacting with Shaylee despite my errors in sitting next to her in not one, but two classes. Who would have thought that my biggest mistake would occur outside of the classroom?

  The library. What were the odds? It reminded me too much of the past. It reminded me of her. I’d only gone to the library to kill time while I waited for the school secretary, who was working late, to leave.

  My open laptop on my desk dinged. I sat down and saw that it was the person I most wanted to kill that was calling me. I took a deep breath and accepted the call.

  “Tremain,” he said, his pale round face filling the screen.

  “Dominic,” I replied with a curt nod.

  “Have you found the traitor yet?”

  His bloodshot eyes pierced mind as he attempted to convey his perceived power through the computer screen.

  “Whoever is on the recording covered their tracks very well,” I said. “I obtained the records of the Students and Staff housing and I find no irregularities or suspicious calls. I recommend that I remain on site until further notice to continue investigating.”

  Dominic’s eyes narrowed and he leaned closer to the screen.

  “You’ve never requested an assignment extension,” he said with suspicion.

  “I do believe there’s something here, or there was. Either someone has covered their tracks very well and it will take me more time to uncover clues or they have since left this location and I require time to track them.”

  I’d been prepared for his suspicion. My lie was ready and waiting. I’d formulated it the second I’d laid eyes on Shaylee, knowing just what would happen to her if Dominic discovered her existence.

  Luckily, I’d proven my loyalty enough times that Dominic believed me.

  “Very well. We can spare you for a while, but I expect results,” he said.

  “I understand,” I
replied.

  He nodded and then the screen went black.

  I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and closed the laptop. I probably had about a month before Dominic remembered my extended assignment and wanted an update. I could most likely get away with another month after that before he finally sent someone to check on me.

  Student curfew was at eleven. Five after eleven I stepped out of my room, confident that few if any students would still be wandering around risking a detention. If I got caught, I knew nothing would come of it. I doubted any of the staff would even say something if they saw me. I couldn’t be so sure about the students however.

  I made my way over to the Administration office. Breaking and entering was something I was familiar with and it was one of the less objectionable parts of my job with the Council. To my surprise the door wasn’t even locked.

  Sitting at the secretary’s desk, I fired up the computer. I wondered briefly if it violated some confidentiality law to not have any kind of password needed for the computer. If I really cared about the Council’s agenda, I would report the lack of security at the school, but of course I didn’t care and it suited me to have them so lax, so I’d keep it to myself.

  I pulled up the student roster. As I scrolled through student names, I realized that I’d yet to find out the girl’s last name and it would take longer than I wanted for me to find her by her first name. I pulled up the senior class photographs and found her easily.

  Shaylee Neale.

  I stared at her name in shock. Braeden and Alain Neale had once been dear friends. So loyal and kind. It had to be a coincidence the girl shared the same name. The Neale’s had evaded the Council for so long. Their deaths had been tragic. The house fire had been ruled an accident, but everyone knew it hadn’t been. No one had ever mentioned a child, at least not to me.

  I pulled up Shaylee’s records. Under parents it simply said unknown. There was another name listed, however. Andrew Hastings, the Italian teacher, was her legal guardian. I leaned back and stared at the screen, trying to process the information in front of me.

  Hastings was nowhere on the Council’s radar. He wasn’t even on the list of possible suspects I had worked up before coming to Ardara. He was a nobody so Shaylee had to be a nobody too. Right?

  I powered down the computer and returned to my room. Once there I began a complete background check on both Shaylee and Andrew, careful not to use any resources that were connected to the Council. If the Council sent anyone else things would end very badly for Hastings and his ward. If anyone became involved, they would eliminate the perceived threat first and ask questions later.

  I discovered that Shaylee had entered foster care when she was three months old. She’d been bounced around to four different homes by the time she was two. That was when Andrew Hastings’ petition for guardianship had been granted by the courts. She’d been with him ever since. What did Andrew want with a human child? He’d been petitioning the court to get her out of foster care for nearly two years before it was granted.

  As for Andrew himself, there was nothing extraordinary. He’d been in education for a long time. He got his current job at Ardara four years ago and owned a small house in Salem. He had no living relatives and no connections to the Resistance that I could find.

  There was nothing, perhaps too much nothing. Someone at this school had contacted the Resistance and it seemed to me that person had to be Andrew Hastings.

  ***

  The next day, I followed Andrew from the school to a small cafe in town. It was rare for me to go against what the Council wanted as it would severely damage the access I had to secret Council information if I was found out. If anyone discovered what I was about to do, it wouldn’t just affect my job, it would get me killed.

  I walked into the cafe. Andrew Hastings sat with his back to the door, sipping a large coffee and reading a book. I paused just inside the door, once again contemplating my decision. I took a deep breath and determinedly walked over to his table. I slid into the seat across from him and attempted to look as non-threatening as possible.

  Andrew glanced up at me, surprised. I caught no hint of fear or suspicion in his gaze, but his body was tense.

  “Do you know why I’m here?” I asked, keeping my voice low to avoid any potential eavesdroppers.

  “Well their coffee is excellent, but you don’t really strike me as a coffee drinker,” Andrew replied.

  “I’m here because the Council has a recording of someone at this school attempting to contact the Resistance about the Prophecy.”

  I watched his face carefully as I spoke. Other than a slight twitch in his left eye, he gave nothing away.

  “I wouldn’t know anything about that,” he replied.

  “Really? As someone with a human ward who bears a striking resemblance to someone the Council feels constitutes a real danger, I would think you’d be the number one suspect.”

  Andrew’s face turned red.

  “Shaylee is none of your business,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “What are you doing with a human, Andrew? Not only are they going to kill her, but by associating with her you’ll likely be eliminated as well.”

  “Don’t threaten me,” Andrew spat.

  “It’s not a threat. I have no desire to hurt you or the girl. If I did, I would have already reported both of you. Council Mages would be swarming this place if I wanted them to, but I don't. However, I won’t be able to hold off the Council forever. They will come looking and when they do it’s not going to end well.”

  The color drained from Andrew’s face.

  “Why are you warning me?” he finally asked. “It’s no secret you’ve been doing the Council’s bidding since the Exodus.”

  “It’s true. I’ve done my share of dirty work for the Council, but that doesn’t mean I agree with everything they do. You and Shaylee don’t deserve to die just because she shares a resemblance with Sophia.”

  “I take it you don’t believe in the prophecy,” he said.

  “The prophecy isn’t real.”

  “You’re a fool if you really believe that and I’ve never thought you to be a fool.”

  “What makes you so certain?” I asked.

  “Because Shaylee is the daughter of Alain and Braeden Fallon, or Alain and Braeden Neale as they later became known.

  “That’s not possible,” I argued. “I knew them before the Exodus. They tried to have children for years.”

  “And do you remember what Sophia told them. She said they would one day have a child and that child would change everything. And then they finally managed it around eighteen years ago. They kept it a secret for as long as they could, but eventually word got around to the Council. Dominic sent Mages after them. They died protecting Shaylee from the Mage fire that consumed their home.”

  Andrew sounded so confident about his information that I felt the first feeling of doubt about the Prophecy.

  “How did you end up with Shaylee?” I asked.

  “Her parents designated me as her guardian in their Will, but there were some legal issues and Shaylee ended up in the foster system. It took me nearly two years to get her out, but it was enough time hidden from the Council in the human world that I’ve managed to keep her safe. I’ve even kept the truth hidden from her to protect her and I cast a charm on her so that others will believe her to be human.”

  “If that’s true it’s going to be quite the shock for her when she Transitions,” I observed.

  “I thought she’d be safer that way,” he shrugged.

  “You should just take her and leave,” I said. “I can only hold them off for so long. When they do come, I might be able to convince them that she has nothing to do with the Prophecy, but they will still kill her.”

  Andrew shook his head and said, “If I run now, they’ll know for sure that she’s someone worth tracking. If I can make it to her Transition, she’ll be able to protect herself.”

  “That’s
assuming everything you’ve said is true and that the prophecy is real, which it isn’t. When Shaylee transitions all you’ll have is a confused Mage who has no idea what she is or what to do with her power.”

  “I’ve hunted the prophecy since the Exodus. If the Neale’s believed in it, then so do I.”

  I admired his conviction and there was a significant part of me that was desperate to join him in his belief.

  “Do you have any evidence at all?” I questioned. “Other than who her parents supposedly were.”

  “Just the dreams she used to have as a child. I know it’s not enough to sway you. Perhaps if you got to know her you could get an understanding of who she is.”

  “I can’t get involved,” I said. What I didn’t say was the Council wasn’t the only reason I didn’t want to get too close. I didn’t think my soul could take another disappointment. “For now, all I can do is watch and wait. Until I see for certain that she is who you claim I can’t become involved. It would draw too much attention.”

  “I understand,” he replied. “I’m just grateful for any help you’re willing to give me.”

  Andrew and I left the cafe separately. I waited a good ten minutes before following him out the door. As I stepped out into the cold, I paused as I pulled my coat tighter around me for protection from the wind.

  I turned to head to my car and walked straight into Shaylee. She’d been walking quickly so the force of the impact nearly caused her to fall over. I reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, staring up at me with wide vulnerable eyes.

  “It’s my fault,” I replied. “I shouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the sidewalk.”

  I released her arm and took in her red nose and cheeks.

  “Perhaps you should take a break and go inside where it’s warm,” I suggested, suddenly fearing that she would get sick.