Awakenings (Elemental Series - Book 1) (21 page)

I got up and went to the window to see if I could see any of them. It was pitch black in the backyard and the only light illuminating it was from the thousands of fireflies which lit the night sky. I had a sense of being watched.

“You can’t see them. It’s one of their gifts. They can be invisible until they decide to reveal themselves,” Jen said as she came and stood beside me.

“Is there any way you can see them? You’re one of them, so I would think you could,” I asked.

“There are ways we can see one another, but it usually happens when you’re a part of the particular Sentry Guard, or you’re assigned to a specific target with others. When you’re not with them, you can still feel them, but you can’t see them.” Jen closed her eyes and put her hand up to the glass window. It rested there for only a second and then she turned to me with a reassuring smile on her face.

What she said stuck in my mind. When you’re Sentry, you could
feel
others who are like you when they’re around. Was I a Sentry? And should I tell anyone in the room what I’d just experienced? Before I could say anything, Jen announced, “There are fourteen out there. I was trained by a few of them in the past. We’re safe for tonight,” Jen turned to Hudson. The loving look she gave him reminded me so much of Mom and Dad.

I asked one more question before I headed upstairs.

“How did you and Hudson
really
meet?”

“Jen helped me through my Awakening,” Hudson said, offering nothing else. It would have meant something to me if I actually knew exactly what an Awakening was.

“I haven’t got a clue what that means.”

“It means there’s a lot we have to talk about but
not
tonight,” Hudson said.

“What’s one more night? I mean, it’s not like I have to worry about having lost my mind or anything like that. I know that everything I’ve been dreaming about has been a reality of sorts, hasn’t it?” I said, waiting for someone to yet again validate my thoughts.

“Yes, they have been. I’ll give you one more bit of information before bed…but no more questions after that—promise?” Aunt Grace said.

“Promise…”

“An Awakening happens differently for those who live in Nemele than for those who don’t. The ones who have travelled away, experience it through their dream state. Most do not know they belong to this society and are shocked when they find out. Imagine every fairy tale and fable you’ve ever been told…”

“All right, I am,” I said, with thoughts of Prince Charming, Sleeping Beauty and Count Dracula running through my head.

“Now, picture yourself becoming immersed in a world, where some, if not all, fairy tales, fables, and all become a reality. You initially believe it’s a dream, but slowly and cautiously, you’re guided through your thoughts and dreams by someone or something which reveals everything you’re experiencing is real. They, in essence, are small glimpses into our world. A world the dreamer becomes part of.”

I now had an idea of what an Awakening was. However, I still didn’t get how Jen and Hudson met.

“I don’t think we need to know every detail about them, but Jen and Hudson met slowly and cautiously. Once a being experiences their Awakening, they become involved in the fairy tales and fables of their cultures. They then embed themselves into a role. They can choose to be either friend or foe. Once their choice is made, they start to dream about ‘special powers’ they possess. For example, if they were to dream of fire and having the gift of producing it from their being, it’d be like dreaming they were a dragon so they could breathe fire. It’s one of the elements of our world. It’s also an indicator the person dreaming it has the ability to be a Guard or Sentry in our world. But it isn’t written in stone. It’s merely a possibility. Another possibility is their
Wirposh,
or true love, is bestowed with that gift,” Aunt Grace said.

“Does every Nemelite have a Wirposh?” I asked.

“Every Nemelite has the ability to meet their Wirposh, but not everyone gets the opportunity to. So, when it does happen, there’s no doubting it by either being,” Aunt Grace said.

“Hudson, is Jen your
Wirposh
?” I asked.

“Yes, she is,” he said.

“Is Mom Dad’s Wirposh?” I asked.

“Yes,” Aunt Grace said, then changed the topic of conversation without a single breath between words. “I think we’ve covered enough for tonight, it’s time to get some rest. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow. I’m heading off to bed. I’ll see all of you in the morning.” She hugged both Hudson and I, then retired to her room.

Jen, Hudson, and I left the sunroom and headed off to our respective rooms. Hudson stopped in the kitchen, then headed for the front door.

“I’ll see you whenever you get upstairs,” I said, turning to Jen.

“I’ll be up soon,” she replied, following Hudson.

As I passed Aunt Grace’s room, I heard her sobbing. “Gideon, I wish you were here. I miss you so much.”

I wanted to go in and comfort her, but knew this was a private moment. I wasn’t supposed to have overheard what she’d been saying. I continued on to my room.

I went directly to the window overlooking the front yard. I sat on the box seat and peered out into the darkness. I was trying to see if I could make out anyone hanging around. While trying to detect the Sentry, I felt Mom beside me. She’d taken on the appearance I had become accustomed to when we were in our time warp. There were no swirling colors or gusts of wind to indicate she was here—She appeared transparent, ghost-like. I was surprised how calm I sounded when I spoke…mainly because I was anything but
calm
.

“Hey, so we’re way more than magic, eh?” There was only a slight hint of sarcasm in the question, something I knew she would pick up on.

“There’s no hiding it anymore,” she answered with her own twist of sarcasm.

“None of us were trying to hide it from you, Jacey. Like your father said, we believed we were protecting you from some of the more dangerous aspects of our heritage. We decided the time was right to move back here and deal with all of the past, present, and future. I had no idea this was going to happen, much less happen as quickly as it did. With the way events have turned out, your dad and I will have to help in the forms we’re in now. Your father and I did what we thought was best for our family. I knew if your father and I were ever taken away from you, Grace would come into your lives and our heritage would be revealed to you,” Mom said, going over and sitting on the bed.

“Would you guys have ever told me, Mom?” I asked.

“We were in the process of returning to Nemele when we died,” she said without any hesitation.

“But don’t you think I had the right to know before? Why would you and Dad hide this from me?” I stared out the window, trying to look at anything other than my Mom at that moment. I was beyond upset with her, I was disappointed. For the first time in my entire life I realized maybe Mom and Dad didn’t have all of the answers. At least in my opinion, not all of the
right
answers.

“There are things you have no idea about right now. You’ll find out about them in the near future and when they do come to light, I think only then will you truly understand the decisions your father and I made were for
our
family.” I turned and looked at her sitting on the bed, she was wearing her don’t mess with me look, I knew not to push it.

“Who’s Gideon?” I asked.

“Where did you hear that name?”

“I heard Aunt Grace crying in her room and talking to Gideon. I was gonna go in and comfort her, but I figured I’d only be intruding, so I didn’t,” I said.

Mom didn’t respond quickly. I looked over to the bed. In her eyes was a look of loss and pain. When she noticed me looking, she hid her pain quickly.

“He’s someone your Aunt should tell you about. I can only tell you he was a great man, someone our family owes their lives to.”

Mom moved from the bed and stood before me. She placed her hand over mine. Her touch felt like the flutter of a hundred butterflies.

“Aunt Grace said all the Elders are coming together tomorrow to decide how to deal with me.”

“They’re not only making decisions in respect to you, but with the intrusion of the Seekers on our lands. I heard that Vincent will be guiding both you and Hudson tomorrow at school. I believe he’s well aware of everything that’s transpired and won’t let anything happen to you or Hudson. I trust him,” Mom added.

At the mention of the Elders, the Seekers and Vincent, my pulse increased and I got all sweaty. I’ve always been in control of my emotions, no matter what situation I was involved in. But this one left me completely scared to death. What were the Elders going to decide? How would I handle another face to face with a Seeker? Vincent…still not sure why for this one.

While thinking about everything, Mom had said Vincent in conjunction with Nemelites and he knew
everything.
He must also be a Nemelite. I pushed that revelation to the back of my mind. I knew if I wanted to stay sane at this particular moment I needed to take everything in stride.

There was one impulse I didn’t want to deny any longer no matter the danger. It was to be held by my mother. I knew in her embrace all would feel right with the world again. I turned to her and the need I had for her to be solid at that very moment was so great, I willed it. As I did, I began to glow, literally.

My whole body was enveloped by bright iridescent pinks, blues, and whites. My entire room lit up in the brilliance of an aura which turned out to be me.

I looked up at Mom. Her eyes were full of wonder and awe. We reached for one another. Once we touched, she became solid. Without hesitation, I hugged her. I did so like my life depended on it. I didn’t want to let her go. I could feel the same need from her. It wasn’t until Jen ran into my room that I let go of Mom—slightly. Jen was glowing in blues with hues of purples and Hudson was right behind her.

“Jacey, stop! This is going to attract the Yietimpi and we aren’t prepared for them,” Jen said, running past me and Mom to the window.

“Ria, you of all people should know what we’re talking about. You have to stop, NOW,” Aunt Grace said as she ran into the room. The urgency in their pleas rang out and in effect snapped both Mom and I out of the need for our mother-daughter time and sent Mom into instant swirling protection mode.

I looked down at my hands and the rest of me and noticed my glow was gone. Hudson and Aunt Grace came to a screeching halt in front of the window. Jen was still standing there looking like she was talking to herself.

“She had no idea. She doesn’t know how to handle her powers yet—I know—I’ll tell her.” She stopped talking and turned from the window. With her hand still touching the window, she said, “We’re all safe, at least for now. The guard were able to control the output so it stayed within the threshold of the house. It took all fourteen of them to do it and collectively they’ve never seen anything like it. They said if it happens again, they won’t be able to control it,” she sat on the window seat and continued.

“We need to keep any and all traces of our ‘gifts’ to a minimum here. Your energy is so strong. With everyone’s attention tuned into covering your energy signal, it leaves areas of weakness where a Yietimpi could perforate our guard. The last time they were able to do that was with Christina. She was the only one able to get into our inner sanctum undetected. You need to control all of your thoughts and impulses like your life and ours depends on it, Jacey—because they really do.”

“Tomorrow can’t come fast enough,” Aunt Grace said under her breath, moving from her protective stance and taking a seat on my bed.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I only wanted to hug Mom. I thought it and then she became solid.” I sat down on the bed and put my head into my hands.

“I can only imagine how much you
now
regret taking me in,” I said.

As the last syllable came out, Aunt Grace was in front of me. She got down onto her knees and pulled my hands away from my face. As she did, tears fell onto my lap. She placed her hand under my chin and lifted my head until my eyes were staring into hers.

“I have
never
and I will
never
regret taking you into my life. I’m blessed to have you and Hudson here with me. I only said I couldn’t wait until tomorrow because I’ve been failing you and your parents. I’m the one who’s supposed to help you through all of this and so far, I’ve failed all of you. I love you, Jacey Adison. I love you like you’re my own daughter. I always have and I always will.” The entire room was dead silent.

“You haven’t failed us. You’ve let me into the life I never knew I had to begin with. Mom and Dad even knew you were our home, our safe place.” I reached out to her.

“Tomorrow will be the beginning. The beginning of our new lives together as a Nemelite family. I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Aunt Grace said, kissing the top of my head and leaving my room.

“I should get some sleep,” Hudson said, heading to the doorway. As he passed me, he stopped.

“We’re in the right place. Mom and Dad knew we would either end up here or come here of our own free will. Aunt Grace, Jen, and I wouldn’t, couldn’t be here without you, Jacey. You aren’t just my sister, you know. You’re home for me, you’re my safe place.” He hugged me quick.

“See you in the morning,” he said, squeezing Jen’s hand.

“In the morning,” she replied, going up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. He left without saying another word.

“Your Aunt meant everything she said, you know,” Mom whispered into my ear. I had all but forgotten Mom was in the room.

“She loves you like her own. I know this for a fact. I also know she’ll be the best one to help you into our world. She’ll teach and lead you in ways of the Nemelite.” I turned to her as she was again transparent.

“I wish it could have been you and Dad. The truth about everything is about to come out. I’m not complaining. I not only want it, I need it. I want to be a part of what you and Dad have been, what Jen and Hudson are, and what Aunt Grace lives by. I want to know who I really am.” I reached out to her.

Just short of touching her, I stopped and pulled my hand back to my chest. I held it there, afraid I might cause more trouble by willing something to happen again. Instead, I got up and went over to the mirror atop the dresser. I looked into it and reached my hand forward to touch its glass. A sudden sense of déjà-vu hit me. I stood there appraising the person I saw before me in the mirror.

The girl I once thought I knew—the plain wallflower who would rather have had her nose stuck in a book somewhere on her own than be the center of attention, that same girl was looking back at me now, but with something different in her gaze.

It only took me a minute to figure out what the difference was—
knowledge
… I was still the same, brown-eyed, brown-haired, sweatshirt-loving girl I was this morning, a week ago, a month ago, even a year ago. Now, when I looked into the mirror I saw what had been hiding in the shadows for the last 16 years, the truth.