Awakenings (Elemental Series - Book 1) (30 page)

The slight irritation on my forearm suddenly became a humungous annoyance. A shockwave sent up my arm to my neck brought me back to my senses. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and saw Jen chanting at me while she glowed bluish-red.

“Calm down, Jacey. You don’t
want to do this, especially not here,” Jen said though gritted teeth. She was vibrating from the energy pulsating from my hands combined with the force she was creating on her own. The familiar red and blue light snapped me out of break-Chanary’s-neck mode to cool-down-mode.

A few deep breaths and a cleared head allowed me to see Jen was in pain while she was clenching her teeth and chanting. With my new found calm and worry, I focused on Jen and was finally able to start breathing normally. Once I did, she stopped vibrating and her colors diminished.

The twenty or so breaths I’d taken in the last two point five seconds calmed me to the point where everything wasn’t red anymore.

“Are you okay?” Jen asked.

“I’m fine. Are you okay?” I asked. I was still coping with the energy balls in my hands.

Jen stood directly in front of me and placed both of her hands over mine. She was staring down at our hands with an utterly awestruck look on her face.

“Jacey, you’re not supposed to be able to do that.”

“What?” I asked, taking my eyes off the back of Chanary’s head and focusing on my hands. They were glowing a bright yellowish-white light and were actually hot to touch. “What is that?” I took my hands apart and held them palm up in front of me to get a better look.

“That’s an energy spell. Only fourth year Earth Nemelites have the power to conjure up that kind of energy.” Jen grabbed hold of both my hands and pulled them down from my face.

“Why were you shaking?” I asked remembering the vibrating red-blue Jen which had snapped me out of my trance.

“Because of the power you had in your hands. It was like touching a live wire. What were you thinking?”

“I-I don’t know. I was watching Chanary, and when she glared at me, all I could think of was smacking her.” I chuckled so only Jen heard me.

Vincent and Hudson made their way over to us. They did their best to block the views of the other students who had stopped to stare at Jen and I. We had been so engrossed in our own conversation, neither one of us had noticed the small crowd that had gathered around us.

“What happened?” they both asked.

“Nothing, we were just—” Before I could finish, a loud, rustling noise, kinda like the sound of wind whipping though a half open window, came down the hall, followed by a blur of yellow-blue light. The crowd which had gathered around Jen and me broke into smaller groups, hanging out against the walls as the rustling came closer.

Chanary was standing with the same group of friends she’d been with this morning. She was now openly looking at me with a smug smile across her face.

“What’s going on here?” The yellow-blue blur said as it swirled to a stop in front of Jen and me. It was Ms. Hullen—the shapeshifter teacher. As I watched, she transformed from complete hawk to half woman, half hawk right in front of me. It took me a second to clue into where the rustling noise had come from—it had come from her wings, she’d flown here.

I knew if Ms. Hullen had flown here, then she wasn’t here to simply see how my day was going. Before I could take responsibility for the spectacle which had just taken place, Jen piped up.

“It wasn’t her, it was me. I was using a protection chant.”

“Jen, you know you can’t do that here. Especially with Jacey. She’s new and doesn’t completely understand all the rules yet. Where’s Vincent? Isn’t he supposed to be here with you?” she asked.

“I’m here, Ms. Hullen,” Vincent replied, stepping out from behind her.

I hadn’t realized how imposing she was until I saw Vincent. He wasn’t dwarfed by her, but he looked a lot smaller than he really was. She was physically intimidating, however, there was still something about her I found soothing. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at her.

Vincent took his place at my side.

“All right, everyone, enough seen. I believe you all have a place to be and
here
isn’t it,” she said authoritatively. Within seconds, the hall cleared and the only people left were Jen, Vincent, Hudson, and I.

“Now, to deal with the four of you,” Ms. Hullen started. “Vincent, I believe Jacey was given to you as a charge. Am I wrong in this assumption?”

“No, Ms. Hullen, you are not wrong,” Vincent answered.

“Jennifer. Why on Nemele would you use a protection chant in the hall of the school? What would prompt you to do such a thing?”

It was then that both Jen and I realized no one other than she and I had seen the little balls of energy I’d conjured into my hands. Ms. Hullen was here because she sensed the protection chant and Jen’s aura while she chanted it, not because she’d sensed anything from me.

“I was just, well, I was just trying to show…” Before I let Jen stumble into a white lie which may have caused us more harm than good, I spoke up. There was no way I was gonna let Jen take any of the blame when she was trying to keep me from blowing off Chanary’s head—
literally
.

“It was me. I don’t really know what happened. She’s covering for me.” I looked directly at Ms. Hullen and held up both hands towards her, palms up.

It took a split second, but I was able to conjure up the same yellowish-white light I’d done before. All I had to do was think the same feelings I’d experienced earlier and poof. There they were, in the palms of my hands.

Ms. Hullen’s eyes shot open. She bent down to take a closer look at my hands and then took her clawed right hand and touched the very edge of my palm. The intensity of the energy ball sparked as her clawed hand came into contact with it. A slight shock rocked her and she pulled away.

“That’s amazing,” Ms. Hullen murmured. She caught herself staring at her clawed hand and immediately cleared her throat and straightened to her full height. She turned to face Jen, Hudson, and Vincent. I slowly moved my hands down to my sides and instantly the light dissipated.

“I think we should all head off to Herecerti’s office to discuss what’s happened here,” Ms. Hullen stated. She shepherded all of us out in front of her and then aimed us all in the direction of the stairwell.

While we walked, Vincent grabbed onto my hand. With his touch came the electrical pulse that attacked my stomach, heart, and ears all at once. I caught his reaction before he could hide it from me. He flinched slightly when he grabbed my hand and felt what I think was the same attack I had. He didn’t let go and neither did I.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” I whispered back.

“I should have been there with you. This wouldn’t have happened.”

“No, this was
all
me. There was no way you could’ve controlled it. It was definitely
all
me,” I answered, hoping he’d never find out exactly what had caused my energy outburst.

Once outside the office, the door opened before any of us could reach up and Celeste greeted us.

“He’s expecting you,” she said from behind her enormous desk.

The inner door opened instantly.

“It seems we’re going to have to keep closer tabs on you, Jacey,” Herecerti said. He got up and directed us to take the seats we’d left two hours earlier. Major déjà-vu, except this time Ms. Hullen was present and she stood in the back of the room.

Before any of us uttered a word, Herecerti spoke. “I’ve asked your Aunt and the Elders to meet us in Council chambers. I believe it’s time Jacey was introduced to
ALL
of
her
history. I don’t believe merely having her attend classes here and trying to introduce her slowly to her history and her kinships through those classes will or even can be accomplished in the time frame we need it to be. We all knew this day would come and we’ve prepared some for it, but it seems the Fates are letting us know time is an indulgence we simply do not have.”

As he finished, he swept his hand past the far right panel on his wall. Instantly, the beautiful forest which had been there earlier began to close in on itself. The greens, blues, and browns swirled into a pool. It reminded me of elementary school art class palettes where the paints all become mixed. The swirl continued until it manifested into a familiar looking castle. It took only a second for my brain to register it. The castle filling the pane was the same one in the background of the picture I’d seen in Celeste’s office, which had Mom, Dad, Aunt Grace, and the man I’d never met before in it.

The pane flowed like liquid for an instant and then it became solid, majestic, and fairy tale-ish. The castle stood in the middle of a field against the backdrop of a coral pink sky right there in Herecerti’s office.

Vincent came over to stand in front of me. “This is too soon. Have all the Council members agreed to this?” he asked, sounding nervous.

“All have, and all have agreed the three of you will accompany Jacey to Nemele.” Herecerti finished.

Jen and Hudson looked at one another and then at Vincent.

“But it’s too soon,” was all they had time say.

While the picture came into focus, a familiar burning sensation started in the palm of my right hand. I looked at it and my Seeker mark was blazing red.

“What’s happening?” I asked, feeling uneasy.

Before another word was spoken, Ms. Hullen gathered me up into her arms and shapeshifted while she ran into the mural. Following her was Herecerti, Jen, Hudson, and Vincent. The last thing I saw in Herecerti’s office were the Sentry Guard from this morning. Heathe was at the head of the procession, guiding us all through what I’d now figured out was a portal to the original St. Nemele.

Chapter Nineteen

Realities
What happens when you realize
Everything you believed was true,
wasn’t…

W
hile I watched everyone come through the mural, the world I’d left now appeared as a mural of its own. It was framed in the middle of an open field. After the last person passed through, it slowly closed in on itself. As it was about to vanish, a brilliant light flashed between the Sentry and the mural. A deep-rooted feeling of anxiety attacked my stomach. I turned my head into the feathered breast of Ms. Hullen and noticed for the first time Jen and Hudson were in their pure forms.

They were flowing red and blue in a circle pattern around Ms. Hullen and I. Vincent was in human form one minute and transparent the next, like the air. The only discernible way to keep track of him was his crystal blue eyes. They turned into brilliant floating blue gemstones when he was translucent. They led the way to an enormous castle ahead. Herecerti hadn’t changed forms at all, instead he’d grown to the size of Ms. Hullen.

Herecerti flanked her right side. He flew, arms outstretched in front of him, while his eyes, a brilliant color of purple, moved from side to side in lightning fast precision. I was amazed I hadn’t puked yet considering how fast we were flying. This form of transportation reminded me of the huge roller coaster ride Mom, Dad, Hudson, and I had visited last year just outside of Hewfawe. I don’t do so well on carnival rides, and let’s just say after riding that roller coaster, Hudson refused to go on anymore with me anytime in the future.

I pulled my head up and over Ms. Hullen’s shoulder and watched as the Sentry began to close ranks and form what looked like a wall behind us.

They were occupied with something—a bright light which had appeared before the mural closed in on itself. Before I was able to ask Ms. Hullen about the light, my parents appeared on either side of me. They were flying in sync with Ms. Hullen and Herecerti.

I was able to do what I’d been dong during their recent visits and stopped time and everyone in it. I looked for my parents and found them hand in hand, waiting for me at the entrance to the castle. I crawled out of Ms. Hullen’s arms and approached them.

“Mom, Dad. What’s going on? Where are we, and why is everyone so—so frantic?” I said in one breath.

“Jacey, you have shown what we have always believed would happen. It didn’t matter that your father and I gave up our immortality by turning our backs on Nemele and all of its powers. You have shown what we thought sixteen years ago was more than right. You are part of the Origin. The one which when it’s half is found, will show the Nemelites they haven’t fought in vain over the last hundred millennia.” Mom said as she and Dad encompassed me in their embrace.

“What are you talking about, the ‘Origin’ and all that other stuff? It’s me, Jacey. Remember, I’m the one you both chose to keep in the dark—the one who has absolutely no idea what you’re both talking about right now. The one you guys didn’t trust enough to tell any of this to,” I said. I know it wasn’t fair to say it to them now of all times, yet in another sense, I was past caring. I was hurt by being ostracized from those parts of my family. Hey, I’m a teenager… what’d they expect?

“Jacey, haven’t you figured anything out yet?” my father asked, flashing his parental ‘no attitude allowed’ face.

Mom put her hand on his chest before he could continue. “Hearte, she has every right to be confused and upset right now. She has no idea what we’ve done or even why we’ve done it.” She turned back to me.

“Jacey, here is where everything will be revealed to you. I only ask you to keep an open mind to all the whys, whats and how comes. Your father and I will be present for everything. We came here now because we wanted to tell you a few things before anyone else does. We couldn’t let you discover everything without giving you the reasons behind the decisions we made so long ago. You already know we’re all Nemelites. Your father and I were the first of our family in over one hundred generations to turn our backs on Nemele. We did so because we believed it was the only way to keep you safe—” Mom stopped mid-sentence. She turned and looked at Dad, who was nodding in agreement.