part0010

“Mark, you passed out, but you’re safe now,” Callie said as I looked over to her. “Mrs. Crane was in to see you last night, she said you would’ve had severe hypothermia if you’d stayed outside any longer.”

“Yeah, you scared us there for a minute,” Logan said.

I looked down and was covered with layers of blankets. The heat from them was starting to get to me as I pushed them down.

“What happened, Callie?”

“We were talking and you just fell back in the bed. We had to change your clothes and cover you up. You really scared me, Mark, I told you to change out of them!”

“Sorry, I should’ve listened to you. I was out the rest of the day yesterday?”

“Yeah, Mrs. Crane said you needed to recover so we didn’t try to wake you.”

I pushed the blankets down further and sat up.

“Do you want to talk about what happened yesterday?” she asked.

“Oh right, I totally forgot about that. Are they going to kick me out of Dracfort?”

“Mark, no one expects you to control your abilities right away. What does it feel like when you use them?”

“I feel angry, like my blood’s getting hotter, spreading throughout my body. It just builds up until I can’t keep it in anymore. ”

“I saw your eyes turn red and then pure black. You looked so angry, like you wanted to kill Kayden.”

“Why do you and Autumn hate each other?” I changed the subject.

“We’re talking about you right now, Mark.”

I could tell she really didn’t want to talk about that but something had happened between them. She walked over and sat next to me on the bed.

“When you’re ready, we can help you control your powers. I think the best way to do it is to draw it out of you, practice using that evil for good.”

“Why do you even care about me so much? All I’ve done is hurt people and get them killed. Why don’t you people just leave me alone? Maybe I’m supposed to be with the Syreni, I don’t think I can lead you guys.”

She reached over and grabbed my hand, “I’m not giving up on you.”

I didn’t know what else to say to her, I felt so defeated. I was in some way responsible for the deaths of Veronica, Andrea, Jason, Taylor, Patrick, and Cheryl. I’d almost killed Kayden yesterday and Callie the day before. There was no way I would be able to face the Syreni and kill Aurora.

“I know you don’t know me that well, but I’m asking you to trust me. Come with us, we can help you at least try to control it.”

“There’s no sword fighting today or whatever else you guys do here?”

“No, Mrs. Crane and Dexter are meeting with Josiah today.”

“Fine, I will give it one shot but if it doesn’t work, you have to promise to let me leave.”

As we walked through the woods, I felt like someone was watching us. We were supposed to be meeting up with Logan, Devin, and Laila to train me. They would not be able to help me, but I promised Callie I would give it a shot.

“It’s just up here,” Callie uttered, pushing dense brush out of the way.

Just through the trees was a field with grass higher than my ankles. I immediately thought of the vision of the Order fighting the Syreni in a field like this. In the middle of the field were Logan and Devin dressed in leather armor. Laila was sitting on a blanket to the side, laughing at the sight of them.

“You ready for this?” Callie asked.

“I guess so,” I uttered as we approached the others.

“For the record, I’m only doing this because I want to see what it’s like to be lifted into the air,” Devin laughed.

“We’re going to get this, Mark,” Logan said.

“So, how do I use my powers?”

“Well you said they come out when you get angry, right?” Callie questioned.

“Yes, at least I think that’s what triggers it.”

“So, we trigger it.”

“Like intentionally piss me off so I attack you guys?”

“Woah, I didn’t sign up for getting attacked,” Devin cut in.

“No one’s going to get hurt, that’s what I have this for,” Callie said, pulling out a stun gun.

“Where did you get that?” Laila asked .

“Found it in Mrs. Crane’s office but it’s only here for a last resort.”

“Okay, so get me angry, I guess.”

“Just so you know, we’re all friends here and the things we’re going to say are only for your benefit,” Callie uttered, grabbing my arm.

I nodded at her and stood a few feet away from them, ready for the worst to come out, ready for the rage to take over.

“You’re a demon freak!” Devin wasted no time getting right into it.

“You’re not really the chosen one, Josiah just wants to use your powers,” Logan chimed in.

“You guys are going to have to dig deeper.”

“You are the reason all your friends are dead!” Callie screamed at me. “You couldn’t help them when they needed you the most. Your own mother threw you to the wolves, abandoned you when you needed her support. Your shitty little town is full of bloodthirsty, inbred, freaks—and you’re one of them. Veronica, agent Taylor, Jason, Cheryl, Andrea, and Patrick are all dead because of you.”

The blood in me boiled as she continued to hit me with low blows. I didn’t even know she knew about some of this stuff. The words she spoke were the truth, I was to blame for all this despair. With every word they shouted, my heart raced faster, feeling the pressure build up in my body. The evil wanted to be released, and I could feel what it wanted to do to them. I was trying to hold off the evil, filter it, control it.

“You’re scared that when you fail against the Syreni and everyone dies, that you will have no one left to back you up!” Devin shouted as my hand raised, lifting him straight up into the air.

“Mark, you’re still in there; put Devin down!” Callie yelled. “Control it! ”

The rage took over. I lost control of my body as Devin struggled for air. Logan jumped up trying to pull Devin down as I raised him higher.

“Mark, I don’t want to have to use this but you’re choking Devin,” Callie uttered, firing the stun gun into my chest which only made my powers grow.

I could feel all the nerves in my body, the blood flowing through my veins. Blood ran out of my eyes and down my cheeks.

Suddenly, a butterfly came into view, its beautiful wings reminding me of Veronica. Her amazing smile as she walked along the beach. The waves crashing at her feet. The white of her dress beaming from the setting sun. I felt myself regaining control of my body, moving my hand lower, dropping Devin.

“You did it!” Laila screamed, as I regained full control.

Still feeling the power inside me, the rage was subsiding into nothing. Reaching into the sky, I thought about the silver drops that fell all the time in Rockport. It started to rain all around us as the sun shone brighter.

“Is this you, Mark, are you making it rain?” Logan yelled over to me.

I felt peace for the first time in a long time, like everyone was smiling down on me. I didn’t fail those I loved, and I wouldn’t let them down. The cool drops hit my warm face, cooling me down as the light came over me. I felt transcended in that moment, like a sixth sense had just emerged deep inside me.

“I’m so proud of you!” Callie yelled as she ran over, hugging me, wiping my cheeks with a towel.

This was the first good emotion I had felt in a long time. Her soft skin pressed against mine, the water dripping down my face onto her silky brown hair. She looked up at me as I stared into her bright blue eyes, filled with wonder. I leaned into her in that moment, taking charge for once in my life. My lips pressed into hers as we both tasted the raindrops.

Suddenly, a vision entered my mind, a single image left by my crazy thoughts. It was one of Callie lying next to Aurora in the blood-soaked sand. I pulled away slowly in that moment as she looked at me with confusion. The rain stopped, as I let the power go, retreating back into my body.

“Get a room!” Devin yelled over.

“Yeah, you told me you don’t date trainees,” Logan added.

“I just said that to let you down easy!” she yelled back, laughing as she pulled my hand toward them.

Sitting down on the half-soaked blanket, Laila pulled a few sandwiches out of a basket.

“I know this is like a cliché or whatever but I thought a fun picnic was in order if you succeeded,” she laughed.

Taking a bite of the sandwich, tuna with potato chips, I finally felt accepted.

“Hey guys, I just wanted to say, we could all be killed tomorrow or next week by demons but thank you for being my friends,” Devin uttered.

“Aww, Devin you do have a heart. We’re all in this together, no matter what happens,” Callie responded, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Laila makes the best food in Dracfort,” Logan uttered, grabbing a second one. “Mark, can you grab me a drink?”

Reaching for the drink, I paused, and thought about it moving by itself. I slowly lifted the drink out of the basket with my mind and maneuvered it over to Logan.

“That is amazing!” Callie yelped.

“Okay, I’m sold; you are the chosen one, Mark,” Devin agreed .

“I have an idea, let’s all tell Mark our stories of before we were recruited by the Order,” Callie suggested.

“That is a great idea!” Laila added, as the other two grunted.

“I can start this thing off,” Callie laughed, taking a sip from her drink. “I was born and raised in New York City; yes, I am a city girl. My mom was Nephilim from what my dad told me, she left us when I was pretty young. My dad was an amazing person, a firefighter in the city. He was killed saving people in a fire when I was about eleven. I lived in and out of foster homes for three years after that when a recruiter for the Order found me. They practically saved my life bringing me to Dracfort, to the sanctuary. So, I’ve been here ever since!”

“Wow, I’m sorry to hear about your parents. You don’t know where your mom is at all?”

“No, Josiah tried to help me track her down but she doesn’t want to be found.”

“I’ve been thinking, how do people know if someone is Nephilim or not?”

“The recruiters are trained to look for certain qualities about a person’s appearance,” Logan cut in. “They give off a sort of glow when the sun hits them just right.”

“Okay, I got it now, I’ve seen that glow before on some of the students. Do Nephilims have any sorts of abilities?”

“It just depends how deep their family’s roots are with the angel bloodline,” Logan responded. “Most Nephilims born in the last hundred years or so are pretty limited in what powers they do have. Most have a good intuition and wisdom, helping them solve problems fairly quickly. Just a good sense of goodness, I would say.”

“I think I understand; so with each new generation the bloodline gets weaker?”

“Exactly,” Callie answered. “The same goes with Cambions too though; there haven’t been any pure demons bred with humans in hundreds of years. Aurora is not strong enough to pass on her pure bloodline. You guys have some abilities like sensing each other and mind tricks but it’s pretty limited.”

“So then if that’s all true, why can I move things with my mind?”

“Because you are the chosen one, Mark!” They all said aloud at the same time, laughing.

It all started making sense now. My mother knew of my powers and wanted to tuck me away in a prison system. She knew that there was some good in me and I would use my powers against her. I was the only Cambion or Nephilim with powers this great.

“Okay, my turn,” Logan said, quieting us down. “I am from LA; that’s Los Angeles for those of you that don’t know. My parents are divorced but angel blood has been in my dad’s side of the family for a very long time. He went through this training when he was a kid and wanted me to do the same. I’ve been here for a few years too, just like the rest.”

“Devin, tell your story!” Callie insisted.

“Let Laila do it, she’s better with words,” he laughed, taking another sandwich out of the basket.

“Fine, jerk, I’ll do it,” Laila laughed. “Well if you haven’t guessed yet, Devin and I are twins. I know we don’t look anything alike but it’s true. We both are from a very small town in Alaska; no, we didn’t travel as far as the others to get here. We’ve known about Cambions and Nephilims for quite some time actually but we’re both pure human. Our town used to get attacked all the time by the creature you call Aurora. The Syreni tried to convince people in my town to join them or they would be sacrificed. One night after my mom tucked us into bed, she went down to sit with my father. I remember hearing the first shot which made me jump out of bed.”

“Yeah she was scared to death, Mark; she ran into my room and nearly pissed herself,” Devin laughed. “I got it from her Laila, so I told her to stay in my room while I went to check it out. Gunshots were fairly normal where we’re from, with hunting animals and warning off the cambions. I made my way downstairs when the shots happened again and again like some kind of movie. The screams are what did it for me, the sound of my mother being mutilated by that creature. Of course, Laila followed me downstairs so she witnessed it too. Aurora killed both of my parents and drank their blood clean out. We watched from the window as it changed from the hideous beast to a young girl we later learned was the demon’s first victim. It looked up at us and smiled but something drew it away from our house after it fed.”

“Aurora, yeahh, I’ve had several visions of her,” I cut in. “My friend Cheryl translated a diary her father had written about sacrificing her in some sort of fire tower. I’m sorry you guys had to witness that. No one should have to watch their parents die that way.”

“Yeahh, well… it’s the reason we both joined the Order,” Laila uttered, “we’re going to stop this thing and when that creature is down, I’m going to rip it limb from limb.”

“That’s a little dark,” Devin laughed.

“Thank you all for sharing your stories with me. I promise we will defeat this thing and you guys will avenge your parents. This demon is 500 years old and almost at full strength to kill every person on this planet. The Syreni will pay for what they’ve done but first we must kill this beast. Josiah said the scale from the demon can pierce its heart but they need me to use my visions to find it.”