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“Nice to meet you Halley, as Zachariah said I’m Eli. Let’s get going, I have so much to show you.” Ignoring my confusion about my lack of power, I was bouncing on my feet again, eager to show her around. I loved people, especially new people, and I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about her.
Halley and I were walking down the steps as I started ranting about the school. She still hadn’t spoken a word, but it didn’t bother me, I’d get her to open up eventually. I liked to think that was another ability I excelled at. “So, the building we were just in was Central Territory. All the academy staff has offices in there so if you need to find someone, that’s where to look. Also, that’s where we get our food. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And if you want a midnight snack, all you have to do is bribe one of the cafeteria workers. They love bribes.” Pointing to the two buildings on the side of Central, I explained “That’s East and West Territory, all classes are taught in there. Zachariah should have your schedule in your room, so you’ll know where classes are held. But mostly, East is for first- and second-year classes and West is for third and fourth year. Of course, if you’re advanced, you’ll be in higher classes. Not to brag, but this is my first year and already I have a class in West. Same goes for my best friend, Knox, although this is his second year.” Realizing I was about to go off on a tangent, one of the ones that often-aggravated Knox, I steered back on track. “Besides the three main buildings, there’s five dorm buildings. They’re split up into Divine Sectors. I know what you’re probably thinking, why would we split them up? Aren’t we all supposed to coexist? Totally fair questions. And to be honest, we are all chummy together, but considering the certain things each Divine needs, it makes most sense to split us up. Oh, and obviously nobody lives in Enchanter Dorm. Duh.” I shook my head. I was giving her information that was apparent, that wasn’t my job. And she still hadn’t spoken. Maybe I was talking too fast? I turned to look at Halley and spotted her a few steps behind, taking in everything. She looked in awe. I could understand the feeling, Willow Grove was a pretty magical place. When I had first arrived here, my reaction was similar. Of course, I had grown up in Maine myself, but it was a quaint town surrounded by the forest. Willow Grove was like a fairytale book come to life. The buildings were styled around gothic architecture with an air of modernity added inside the buildings throughout the years. Every time I took in my surroundings I was in awe of the serenity and beauty of the place. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I continued on with Halley.
“If I’m talking too fast just let me know. Knox, my best friend I was telling you about, he says I do that sometimes. Or if I’m saying stuff, you already know, just – “
“I don’t know anything you’re talking about.” Halley interrupted and I focused on her voice for the first time. It was raspy and quiet. I liked it. But then her words sunk in.
“Didn’t your parents tell you all about Willow Grove growing up? My mom and dad never shut up about it.” A pained look crossed over her face, and I caught a push of her emotions before it closed off along with the look in her eyes.
“Look, I already had this conversation with Madden and Zachariah so let’s keep it short. I didn’t grow up with Divine parents, I didn’t grow up in a Divine community, and I didn’t even know Iwasa Divine, if any of this is even true.”
Holy shit. She didn’t know anything about Divines? That was unheard of. We stuck together like glue, except for the nomads, but there were barely any of those left, and even they still knew about our people. And she didn’t have any parents. That was really fucking sad, no wonder I felt the push of her emotions when I brought that up. I knew this may be sensitive for her and probably stressful, so I tried as hard as I could to contain my excitement, butholy shit.This girl was basically a human! She grew up in their world and only had the vague knowledge of Divines that humans learned early on in school. And I barely knew anything about the human world, even though we were a part of it. We didn’t mingle with them for a reason. Suddenly, I had so many questions for Halley. So many things I wanted to know. I held back the questions, just barely, realizing all the questions she probably had and how much more pressing they were than mine.
“Well then Halley, I have so much to show you. Let’s go.”
Chapter Five
Halley
My tour guide, Eli, wouldn’t stop talking. Even before I told him I had no clue about anything, he was a chatterbox. But ever since I spoke up, he was talking even more. Although I was still nervous and scared out of my mind something terrible was about to happen, his constant chatter was quite endearing. He was like the little kids on Christmas morning in movies, full of energy and excitement. Part of me wondered what kind of life he lived to have this kind of joy, I figured it must have been the exact opposite of mine. Currently, he was rambling on about the Divine community he had grown up in. Apparently, it was in the same forest as the academy and barely a thirty-minute drive. He kept explaining how wonderful and amazing the community was and how he loved growing up there. In the middle of explaining about how amazing the food was that his mom cooked, which I wasn’t sure how that helped me learn more about the Divines, I interrupted him.
“Have you ever been outside the community?” The way he described growing up, it sounded like he never had. I found that hard to imagine, how could you never leave the confines of such a small town?
A small frown appeared on his face, and I couldn’t help but study this side of him. Since we had met, he has had a large grin on his face, and I found the frown aged him. Instead of the young, excited kid, he looked more like the twenty-year-old man that he was. Not that the rest of him didn’t clearly indicate that fact. He was nearly as tall as Madden but with more lean muscles. His shaggy blonde hair hung in front of his cerulean eyes, shaping his strong jawline and falling to his shoulders. I briefly wondered if every man I met here would be insanely attractive. He pushed the wavy locks behind his ears as he debated my question.
“Well, I technically have been out of the community, to come to school here.” He finally responded as a smile reclaimed his face. “And let me tell you, my home is awesome,” there was that word again, “but Willow Grove is way better. The freedom of no parents is just one of the many perks.” He sounded so genuine in his answer, but I couldn’t help but push.
“But have you ever been to the other cities. You know, the ones where the rest of the world lives?”
As quickly as his smile had returned, it disappeared again. “No, no I haven’t. Only some of the Divine elders have as well as the Guard. It isn’t safe for us. Knox and I tried to visit the human city once, but our parents caught us before we could. Better they did, we were just dumb kids and against a Hunter, we would have had no chance.”
At the mention of hunters again, I became more intrigued about the hidden world the Divines have decided to live in. From what I could tell from growing up in the human world, everyone had forgotten about the Divines. It was just a part of our history from long ago. But they seemed to think that they were being actively hunted. I couldn’t understand and it made me want to learn more. Really, walking around the school grounds and hearing Eli talk made me want to learn more. Their lives seemed so different from the one I had grown up knowing and I relished in the opportunity of a new adventure. Wasn’t that what my whole life had been made up of? One adventure after the next as I moved from city to city.
Eli walked up the steps towards a slim building with at least ten floors. The building was tucked back in a smattering of trees, slightly hidden from view. Unlike the three Territories, the dorm was plain, made of brick and small windows equally spaced on the outside. Spreading his arms out wide, Eli forgoes our earlier conversation and transferred back to tour guide mode.
“This is Ethos Dorms. All the Ethos live here, obviously, given the name.” He smacked his hand against his forehead before continuing, “and obviously, you don’t even know what Ethos are. No worries, Zachariah should have your schedule and books in your dorm, and one of the books is History of Divines. If you want more information before class, the book will tell you enough. Anyways, the important thing is that until tomorrow morning when you learn about your abilities, Ethos are the best to be around. I’m an Ethos so I can speak for us all.” Eli said with a grin and wink my way. “We don’t have any physical abilities that could accidentally harm you so you’re perfectly safe here. And with that, as much as I hate to ditch you, I have to leave. I really do need to get to class. But for now, you’re on the first floor, room 106.”
Walking backwards towards the door, Eli gave me one more grin, one I was almost certain was his default setting.
“It was great meeting you Halley. Hopefully, we have some classes together. I think we’ll have a lot of fun getting to know each other.”
The room I was given was more spacious than any room I had stayed in before. Not surprising considering that when I wasn’t sleeping on the streets, shelters and cheap motel rooms were my stays of choice. There was a singular bed in the middle of the far wall, with a large window opposite. A wooden desk and chair sat adjacent to the window, with two doors on the remaining wall. I assumed one was a closet and the other a bathroom. I didn’t check, for now my sole focus was on the books and papers sitting atop the dresser. According to Eli, this would contain my schedule and books for classes. Since the most pressing issue at the moment was figuring out all I could about where I was and the Divines, that was where I started. I looked at the papers first.
The first was a generic welcome letter, stating how exciting it was that I had reached the age for my abilities to manifest and how happy Willow Grove Academy was to welcome me into their school for the next four years. I pushed that aside and looked at the schedule beneath. At the top was a date, time, and place listed with the words –Sector Assignment.I realized the date and time was for tomorrow morning at 8:00 am in Central Territory. Clearly, this was what Zachariah was talking about when he explained I would figure out if I was really a Divine and what kind of Divine I was. For now, that was the most important time of my life. I browsed the rest of the schedule and saw I was in five classes.
9:00 am – The Human Realm and Its Dangers: East Wing 105
10:20 am – Introduction to Your Ability: Varied
1:00 – An In-Depth History of the Divine Community: East Wing 202
2:00 – Physical Activity: West Wing 100
4:00 – The Future of the Divine Community: East Wing 207
The classes seemed vague, but I realized I was excited. I had never been to a real school, but I had watched enough movies that I was intrigued to see what it was really like. Although, I had to snort at the human realm class on my schedule. From what Eli had explained, I’m pretty sure I could teach the class, I clearly had more experience in the human realm than any other Divines. Placing the schedule on a clear spot on the desk, knowing I would need it tomorrow, I looked down at the first book in front of me. It was simply titled “The History of Us” with five figures dotting the cover. This was the book I needed right now. I couldn’t start at the academy tomorrow with a bunch of people that had grown up Divine and not even know about the different abilities; one ability which I could have. Slipping off my shoes and getting comfy on the bed, I cracked open the book. Looks like I had a lot of reading to do the rest of the day.
Chapter Six
