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“We stand no chance without the Enchanters powers. We’ve known this was a possibility for a time now. But Wilder, thereisan Enchantress. Whatever problems you’re having training her, get over them. Halley needs to learn her powers quickly. She may be our only hope at survival.”
Without responding, I stalked out the door, hating his words, hating that they were true. I needed to ignore my own feelings towards the girl and actually start training her. The thought of the Hunters may be enough to instill fear inside her soul, but when the Hunters were at our door, she better be ready to let that fear go and do what was best for our people.
Chapter Thirty
Eli
Halley, Kalani, Maeve, Knox and I were all seated in the Enchanter dorm living area, trying to wrap our minds around what was happening. After Wilder had dropped the bomb on the class that the Hunters had attacked, Zachariah had cancelled classes for the rest of the day and sent everyone back to their dorms. The girls and I had decided to congregate here and not even two minutes after we had arrived, Knox had knocked on the door, explaining that he hadseenwhere we were planning to meet up and ran in to Maeve on his way.
I was genuinely surprised today when Knox had decided to sit with us at lunch and even more excited when he joined us here. Knox was my opposite in many ways, one being that he wasn’t a people person like I was. However, he seemed to be trying to get to know Halley. I wasn’t sure if that was part of her training or if he just wanted to hang out with more people, but I liked it. I enjoyed being around Halley, and Kalani and Maeve too, but I had felt bad ditching Knox so much in the months since Halley arrived. If he started hanging around then I wouldn’t feel so bad about all the time I spent with Halley. And I couldn’t help but want to hang out with her. Although I could tell she had walls put up, she was fun to be around. She was determined and smart, and yeah, she was beautiful too, which was a perk. But also, I just enjoyed being in her presence, especially when the three of us would practice our powers together. Most Ethos hated being around other people, constantly having to feel their emotions, so if I wanted to have friends, I had to hang out with other Sectors. And I was the exception to Ethos. I loved being around other people. Yeah, feeling their emotions sucked, but sometimes it was awesome. I loved being able to feel someone’s excitement, joy, pride, even their love. But right now, I understood too well the struggle of being around others. Because right now, all I could feel was the fear and tension in three of the four bodies around me, Halley blocking me. Part of me instinctually wanted to take those feelings away and replace them with something happy, but I knew that wouldn’t be right. Not only had Knox made me promise to never alter his emotions, but this was something we needed to feel. The Hunters were back and nothing good would come of it.
“Does anyone know what actually happened?” Kalani whispered, and I could feel the tendrils of grief coming off of her. All we knew was that four communities had been attacked and there were casualties. I could tell that Halley was scared, but she hadn’t grown up in fear like the rest of us. And she didn’t have anyone to worry about in the communities, like Kalani was clearly doing.
Looking to Knox, knowing he could find the answers, I saw him sitting with his eyes closed, already searching through the past and future for answers.
“What’s he doing?” Halley whispered quietly into my ear, making me jump. We had been sitting next to each other on the couch, but her nearness caught me off guard. I caught a whiff of the smell of her shampoo and inhaled deeply. It smelled like a warm summer’s day, and I quite enjoyed it. Lately, I had been finding myself looking at her more and trying to get closer to her when I could. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but I couldn’t deny that sometimes I wanted more. Ignoring those thoughts, I focused on what was important right now, which was not my growing infatuation for my friend.
“He’s looking for answers. He closes his eyes to focus better.”
Nodding her head, Halley fell back against the couch and scooted closer to me. Although I couldn’t actuallyfeelher fear, I knew this had shaken us all up, and I told myself that she was scooting closer for a sense of protection, but some part of me hoped she was moving closer because she wantedmycomfort. Before I could think about whether her actions meant more, Knox snapped his eyes open, focusing back on the room in front of him instead of the world outside of us.
“The communities in Arizona, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Oregon were attacked.” I felt Kalani’s relief filter over her as her family’s community wasn’t mentioned. Knox continued, “Over 100 Divines were killed with more injured. Dozens of armed Hunters attacked each community, the Guard didn’t stand a chance. Zachariah is meeting with the Council now to determine the next course of action. The Guard isn’t large enough in itself to go to war with the Hunters or to protect the communities. The shields are failing with no one to reinforce them. They’re talking about the possibility of training the students to fight. And they’re talking about you.” Knox turned his gaze towards Halley, and she flinched in shock.
“Me? Why would they be talking about me?” Halley asked, confusion lacing her tone, but as the rest of us eyed each other, we all knew the answer. Before the Enchanter’s died off, they were our protectors. They went into each battle, shielding those they could, healing others, and the exceptionally strong using offensive enchantments. If we went to war, we would all be massacred without the help of an Enchanter. Unfortunately, our only Enchantress was sitting here, and with a front row view to her learning, I knew she wasn’t ready enough for a war. But it seemed she may not have a choice. Not wanting to be the one to voice this truth to Halley, I was thankful when Kalani placed a hand on her knee and spoke softly.
“Halley, Enchanters were known for being our protectors. Sure, they may not be as strong physically as Shifters and Drax, but they had the ability to shield. The ability to heal. The power to cause destruction. Really, their abilities were endless. They were the only reason our kind wasn’t killed off in the first war. If the Hunters continue to attack, they’re going to want your help, Halls.”
Halley jumped up from the couch then and with her emotions running rampant, I felt when her mental barrier fell, feeling everything from fear, to anger, to uncertainty fly around. “Me? They want me to help? I can barely shield myself let alone an army of Divines. And healing? That seems pretty fucking advanced for someone who just learned they were an Enchantress. I can’t do anything to help.” Shaking her head in denial, Halley started pacing the room, mumbling under her breath about how this couldn’t be happening to her and how she had avoided danger for too long to be thrown into it now. I wasn’t quite sure what danger she was talking about, but gazing at Kalani, I could see that one of us needed to say something to calm her down. But instead of one of us speaking, it was Knox.
“The Hunters lost some numbers in their attack. They made their initial point, but they aren’t planning to attack so soon after the first ones, when we will now be on alert. I can’t see exactly what their plan is, something is blocking me, but we have time. You have time, Halley. The Council just wrapped up their meeting and it’s been decided that the Guard will be coming to the academy to begin training the students in combat. No more scheduled classes until further notice. We’re preparing for a war.”
No one else spoke, all of us internally absorbing Knox’s words. We knew the Hunters were out there, we always had, but none of us thought the chance of war was hanging over our heads, let alone we would be expected to fight. For the next several hours, we all sat in silence, stewing in our own thoughts, no one wanting to leave the slight sense of comfort we felt in this room. And as everyone’s eyes began to close in sleep, I sent a wave of calm in every direction, knowing that if I could help ease the fear in any way, I could stay up all night.
Chapter Thirty-One
Knox
Waking up, there was a large kink in my neck from falling asleep sitting up. I wasn’t sure what had brought me to Halley’s dorm last night. Sure, I hadseenthis is where Eli would end up and I could play it off like I wanted to be with my best friend when our whole world went to shit, or that I was just doing my duty to get to know Halley better, but some part of me wanted to be here for the stubborn girl. Before Zachariah had left for the meeting with the Council, he had informed me that my duty was more important now than ever. That if we were to go to war with the Hunters, Enchanter’s would be a necessity to our survival, and if I could delve into Halley’s past, maybe I could find more of them. As for now, Halley would be used as a weapon. And for some reason, the thought of her being put on the front lines with absolutely no experience, I had felt the need to comfort the girl. Of course, I was pretty sure I did the opposite, instead scaring the shit out of her. But thankfully, her actual friends had been there to help ease some of her fears. And as I stretched and saw Eli still wide awake, bags under his eyes, I knew he had spent the whole night easing all of our fears. Although sometimes he pushed my buttons, he was the best type of man, his selfless act last night only proving the fact. As I stood up from the couch, Eli turned to look at me.
“They’ll sleep for a few more hours. Go get some sleep man. They’re calm enough now. You need rest yourself if you’re going to keep this up.”
Eli nodded but hesitated to move. And I understood it. Kalani had fallen asleep in a ball curled up on the floor, Maeve wrapped in her arms, but Halley had fallen asleep against Eli’s shoulders. I wouldn’t want to move if I was in his place either. With one last look toward Halley and a wave of emotion that would last for several hours longer, Eli stood up and walked with me out the door. As we trudged towards the Ethos dorm, I could see the weight this was putting on my friend. Eli’s heart was huge, the biggest heart I had ever seen, but things like this weighed down on him. Most Ethos would run in the opposite direction of sadness and despair, not wanting to feel all those emotions, but Eli ran towards it, wanting to do everything he could to erase those feelings, even if he didn’t do so with his powers. It’s what made him such a great friend, but sometimes I worried about the toll it took on him.
Stopping at the entrance to his dorm, I turned Eli to face me, needing to do my duty as his best friend and protect his heart like he protected others. “Eli, there’s going to be a lot of nasty emotions in the next couple weeks. I know you; I know you’re going to do everything in your power to make sure people aren’t overcome with those feelings, but don’t forget to look out for yourself. You can’t help others if you aren’t strong yourself.” Eli simply nodded and although I hoped he would take my advice to heart, I worried he wouldn’t.
Knowing there wasn’t much else to do, I took off towards Main Territory, knowing Zachariah would want to see me this morning. Although I wasn’t technically on the Council yet, they often asked me to help investigate the future when things like this happened.
Zachariah’s door was open when I arrived, clearly expecting my arrival. Perks of being a Seer I guess, there were rarely unexpected intrusions. Shutting the door behind me, I took a seat in front of his desk and spread my arms wide. “Lay it out for me. What should I be doing and what should I expect?”
Zachariah sighed, the long night clearly affecting him just the same as it had affected the rest of us. “I’m assuming you already took the initiative to look into the Council meeting that was held?” I didn’t bother responding, he knew the answer as well as I did. “It seems war is the only option on the horizon. Halley is not strong enough to create new shielding barriers for each and every community across the country and we do not have time to teach her to that extent. Head Councilman Jay has decided that the best course of action is to use the resources we have. A select few of the Guard will be arriving tomorrow afternoon to begin training all the students in combat. We cannot expect the children or elderly to fight in this war, but the students here are some of the strongest among the population. Of course, those capable to fight with also be training in the communities. If the Hunters want to bring a war to our doorstep, wewilldo everything in our power to be prepared. I’m assuming I do not need to explain to you how important it is for you to develop your relationship with Halley and learn as much information about the Enchantress and her past as you can. Truly, she may be our only hope.”
Nodding my head, we continued talking about the rest of the semantics about our new schedule. For the foreseeable future, all general classes will be cancelled, and all students will be required to take two classes a day in combat skills. Halley will continue her training with her four tutors, but we are to now focus on trying to help her learn defensive tactics, including healing and shielding. If it was even possible for four men to teach her that in enough time. According to Zachariah, who was the strongest Seer in existence, Councilman Jay was having the same struggles as us seeing when the Hunters would next attack, but we assumed we had at least a month to prepare. A month. A month to turn a group of students into an army. A month for us to teach a girl that didn’t even know about the Divines to be the strongest of us all. Yeah, good luck to us all.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Halley
I should run.The thought ran through my head unfiltered for the hundredth time since Wilder had dropped the news of the Hunters attack. Sometime last night, all five of us had fallen asleep in the common room, but this morning it was only Kalani, Maeve, and me. I figured Knox had important things toseeand Eli checking in with his parents. The remaining three of us had been slow to wake this morning, but after a long, quiet hug, Kalani had left to go call her family and Maeve had gone to destress from feeling the negative emotions flowing from us all. My heart ached for both of them, especially Kalani. She had become my best friend and I hated to think of how scared she was. I didn’t have any family left, but I knew how it felt to lose those you loved. And I knew from our talks that Kalani loved her family fiercely and would be terrified about the possibility of Hunters attacking them.
