Page 85 of A Silence So Divine

SHE WHO SEES

Sight will deceive you

Heart will betray you

Mind will defy you

Voices will sway you

All that is written

Is held in the Soul

Allow Fate to guide you

Relinquish control

Placing the book on the table, I meet Veda’s expectant gaze. Cecil lets out a humorless snort, gripping the back of my chair.

“This is a little Woo-Woo, don’t you think?”

Veda raises a challenging eyebrow, cocking her head to the side.

“More Woo-Woo than Eden’s brain scrambling screams?” The words are true, but harsh. I can’t help but flinch when I hear them.

It effectively shuts Cecil up, though.

An arm brushes my shoulder as he begins to flip through the pages. A flash of a man with elongated teeth has me reaching forward, gripping his wrist. He stops on the page, and my eyes grow wide. This drawing is even more eerie. His canines narrow into a blade, and the only color on the page is the red of his eyes. The title reads: HE WHO FEEDS

“What is that?”Goosebumps rise on my arms.

“The Nocturnus.” She scowls as she says it. “My least favorite of all the Gifted.”

“Like a Vampire?” Cecil sounds as bewildered as I feel. The book before us isn’t huge, but it certainly isn't small. How many different types of “Gifted” are there?

“Vampires are based off of the Nocturnus, yes. They have their differences, though.” She lets out a laugh, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. “If you cross paths with one, garlic will do you no good.”

“Noted.”

Cecil is so close, I can feel the rumble of his voice in my chest. It distracts me more than I’d care to admit.

“There,” he mutters, bringing the book closer to our faces. This page is in the worst condition. There are pencil marks that have since been erased in the margins, and the corner has a diagonal line where it had been folded over. Whoever owned the book frequented this page.

The drawing depicts a girl with her mouth wide, eyes squeezed shut. Screaming.

“She who Keens,” Cecil reads aloud. I can feel his eyes on the side of my face. “Why are some of them ‘she’ and others ‘he?’”

Veda reaches forward, tracing her nail over what was once a paragraph on the edge of the page. All that remains are smudges. “The book was written on the original of each Gifted. Some were men, some were women.”

Cecil’s exhale is audible, and I can tell he’s getting agitated. Peeking over my shoulder, I watch him rub at his temples. I understand the sentiment exactly, I’m just too nervous to show it.

“You realize how crazy this sounds, right? If this is all real, why wouldn’t you havetoldme?” There’s a hint of betrayal weakening the firmness of Cecil’s voice.

Veda reaches for another book, black with faded white lettering. The title simply readsFatum. With a deep breath, she straightens her spine. Her gaze is unwavering as she peers at us.

“The only way this is going to work is if you two have an open mind. You, especially.” She glares at Cecil. “I will tell you everything I know, but only if you’re ready to hear it. No interruptions, no doubts, no arguments.”

There’s a swirling in my gut. I want to know, but I’m terrified of what I’ll find out. All my life, I was confined to that house and the beliefs that my father fed me. Now, each day, every truth I knew is shattered. I’m not sure how much more I can take.