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I had to try hard to hold back my sarcastic retort. Questions for me? If anything, I felt I should be the one asking the questions. These people seemed to know as much about me as I did myself. Whereas I found myself the one in the dark, like the rest of my life.
“First and foremost, I need to know what community you come from. Your record on the registry only contained your name and birthday.”
I started to shake my head at the beginning of his question. “I’m sorry sir, but I’m not sure what you mean by community. I’ve moved around my entire life; I couldn’t exactly give you a hometown.”
Zachariah’s eyebrows scrunched together; I’m sure mirroring my confused gaze. “How odd. Your family were nomads then?”
Again, confusion seemed to be my only answer. “Nomads? To be completely honest with you Zachariah, I have no idea what I’m doing here or what this place is. That man, Madden,” I corrected, “found me in New York City and told me I was a Divine and had to come to this school. I thought he was maybe a little bit crazy, but I didn’t have much else choice in the matter.”
In fact, I’m almost positive that if I had refused, Madden would have thrown me over his shoulder kicking and screaming.
By the wide-eyed look on Zachariah’s face, I could tell he had not been anticipating this answer. Immediately, my instincts started screaming at me. I had made a mistake. They knew about me but clearly, they hadn’t been expectingme.And I was the dumbass that had gotten in a car and driven twelve hours to the middle of nowhere with no escape. Mom would be so ashamed of me right now. I quickly stood up from my seat and began stammering, needing to find a way out of here.
“Clearly, I’m not the person you were looking for. I’m not meant to be here. So, if you could just show me the way out, I’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
I started backing towards the door as Zachariah continued to stare at me with a lost expression. He began muttering under his breath about how this was impossible and there had to be some sort of mistake. I agreed with him there. There had definitely been a mistake and I needed to get out of here and run. Run like I always did.
I stood at the door now, planning my best escape when Zachariah spoke to me again.
“Halley, I can understand your need to escape currently, as you’re sure to be confused and scared, but trust me, that’s not your ideal choice. You do not know the area or of the way out. Please, sit back down. We have more to discuss than I thought.”
His words only further served as a conduit for my fear, reiterating that I had no way out. I still tried to turn the knob to the door, but it didn’t budge so much as an inch. I turned back to Zachariah with panicked eyes.
“Halley, I’m not trying to scare you. I promise you; this is a safe place. The door is only locked as a precaution from when the academy was built. It will open once I allow it to. However, I find that this conversation between the two of us is vital. Please, sit back down and I will explain what I can.”
Futilely turning the knob again, I realized I had no other option. In my head, I rationalized that if I sat down and listened to what he said, eventually he would unlock the door and then I could find my way out, no matter how tough. I had gotten through worse situations.
Zachariah gave me a reassuring smile as I eased back into my seat, but it did little to assuage my fears. I nodded at him, implying he should start talking.
“I will assume you know about Divines. Most of the world does. We came to this realm over 500 years ago when the Darkness took over our world. At first, we were welcomed with open arms. With our abilities, we were able to help the world immensely. However, as it often happens when people are different, anger sparked about the unfairness of our abilities. A bloody war broke out and after thousands of our kind were murdered, we went into hiding. These are the communities I spoke of. Less than fifty communities are in this realm to this day and all Divines live amongst the safety we created. Unless, they have chosen the nomadic path. There are very few nomads, but they choose to blend in with the humans and live an ordinary life. Of course, their children still must attend our academy once they come into their abilities, to continue to protect us from the Hunters.”
I followed along so far. All students were taught about the Divines and the war in elementary school and even though Mom homeschooled me, she still taught me the history. Of course, there hadn’t been a sighting of a Divine in over a century, so it seemed more like a bedtime story for kids than an actual lesson. It seems though that there had been no sightings because the Divines were doing their best to keep their livelihood under wraps. I also had no clue what Zachariah meant about hunters.
“Our history is taught in human schools, the bare minimum at least, but in the communities and here at the academy we give our kind an in depth look into our past. And that brings us back to my first question. It is now apparent that you did not grow up in a community or with nomadic parents as it seems you have no understanding of the Divines or this academy. So, I shall change my question. Where did you grow up?”
And here it got dicey. On one hand, I could be honest. It seemed Zachariah was trying his best to be honest with me. I could tell him the truth about how Mom had kept us on the run and hidden as long as I could remember. That she was always going on about the threat that chased us. And that when Mom had been killed, I continued to run and hide, hoping the threat would never find me. But how did I know these people weren’t the threat? If I told the truth, they would immediately know I was the girl they were looking for. With that unknown possibility, I decided to go with a version of the truth.
“My mother died when I was young. Too young to remember her or my life before. I never knew my father or any other family. I’ve lived in many foster homes over the years and have been travelling on my own for a few years. I never knew anything except that I was a part of the human world.”
Zachariah looked at me like he didn’t quite believe me, and I had to keep my knees from bouncing, a nervous tick I’ve had since my youth. After a few moments, he nodded, deciding to accept my answer. At least for now.
“That explains much of this situation. I promise you Halley, everything I am telling you is the truth. And from our registry, youarea Divine. Of course, part of our policy is testing your blood for the Divine genetics and determining your Sector. This will be the start of your day tomorrow and we will figure out where to go from there. But for now, your escort is here and will give you a tour of the grounds.” Just then a knock sounded at the door, and I wondered how he knew the escort was here before the knock. Perhaps, he had a camera outside the door.
Zachariah stood from his chair, and I followed, both of us heading towards the door. He put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. “I can assure you of two things Halley Jameson. You will learn all you need to about our people and your place among them, and youaresafe.”
I nodded my head, hoping he was right. Because I had never been safe before and the idea that I finally could be, well it tasted like a breath of fresh air. And I wanted more.
Chapter Four
Eli
Zachariah’s door opened before me, and my eyes darted to the girl standing beside him. I wanted to take everything about her in and not just due to my ability. The whole school was talking about this girl and besides Madden, I was the first one to meet her. I tried to stand still, but bounced slightly on my feet, giddy with anticipation. Growing up in a Divine community was great and all but there were rarely new people to meet. Even across the entire human realm, all community members knew of each other. We were a tight knit group; it was the only way to keep us safe from the Hunters.
The girl was beautiful, I noticed immediately. She was short with a slimmer build. She had long, pale red hair and golden-brown eyes. High cheekbones and lush lips made her face a sight to behold. But looks weren’t what I was searching for, so I continued my appraisal. Her small hands were clenched into fists and tapping against her thighs, indicating her anxiety. Her lips were pursed in either annoyance or perplexity, I’d figure out which later. And those hypnotizing eyes were eyeing me up with clear distrust. That emotion was the one I latched on to and delved deeper. I pushed my ability out, trying to clear away the foggy matter that I often encountered with new people, before I could get a read on their emotions. I saw her eyes widen as she felt my ability push against her but for some reason, I couldn’t get the fog to clear, as if a shield was pressing against my intrusion. I focused harder but still nothing.
“Eli, I’d like you to meet Halley Jameson.” Zachariah spoke and I lost my concentration. Turning my head towards him, I caught sight of his questioning gaze. Obviously, he realized I was having trouble using my abilities and he wanted to know why. I wanted to know why too. I had never met another Divine that my abilities didn’t work on.
The girl nodded her head at me, obviously not intending to shake my hand or speak. That was fine with me, I could talk enough for the both of us. And I was told to explain everything about Willow Grove to the girl, so talking was what I would do.
