Awakenings (Elemental Series - Book 1) (33 page)

“What was that?” I yelled at the Seeker as I grabbed her arm.

“She wasn’t going to hurt you. She of all people would be one who would want to save you, to help you,” I said, slightly shaking her. There was no reaction, she stood stoic and refused to remove her hands from her eyes.

“I can’t control that, it’s automatic. Any person who isn’t a Seeker or who has not been chosen to be marked can’t come into contact with us. It’s a means of protection.” She removed one hand from her eyes and grabbed my arm again.

“We can’t stay here. They can see us here. They’ll figure out where we are and they’ll come. They’re already looking for me because I didn’t report in today. I’ve risked everything to be here for Faith and I need to give everyone her message. I need to tell everyone what has happened. I need to not fail. Please take us back.” For a split second she appeared as the girl I’d seen out in the field. Without hesitation, I pulled us all from the Charta realm and back to the chamber.

As everything came back to life, I noticed a few people in the gallery and two of the eleven Elders at the table stare at me in the same way Aunt Grace did when we were in her attic—awestruck and completely taken off guard.

“I ask us to consider allowing him to stay here and be with Jacey during the revealing time,” Herecerti concluded.

“From the Order of Elders, the judgement shall come and its decision shall be final,” one of the two Elders who’d been staring at me announced. He bore a resemblance to Zeus, the father of gods and men, the guy who ruled Olympus, the god of sky and thunder.

“You are correct, Zeus. We shall put it to council,” another being at the council table said—he was a Griffin.

Holy crap, there really is a Zeus.
Should I be so surprised? You’d think not really, considering all of the things I’d witnessed so far, but holy crap, there’s a real Zeus. My mind was racing. I knew I should be at least a little freaked out at this point, but in actuality, I wasn’t. What I was feeling was more like vindication. Justified because I now knew every thought, every belief I’d had from the time I could pick up a book and read it, existed. They were all there in front of me—who could deny living proof?

“Jacey, all nineteen Nations of Nemele are represented here. Eleven are present here at the table surrounding you and the remaining eight are in visionaries surrounding the council chambers,” Herecerti said.

“I realize this may all seem quite surreal and it has happened extremely fast, but based upon the fact a Seeker was able to penetrate our guard and be here with you, the time of change has come before any of us expected.” Herecerti stopped talking for an instant and looked at the Griffin.

“Ronan, I ask that we have the inquisition of the Seeker after we tell Jacey all the details as to why we are here and how we came to this point.” Herecerti waited for Ronan to answer.

“The denomination of Shenuy already knows our history, so I see no reason why we can’t reveal it to Jacey in the presence of this Seeker,” Ronan announced.

Vincent’s father stood and addressed the council. “I ask to be the one to reveal our history to Jacey. Considering it is Gideon’s seat I now speak from, I do believe our history coming from me would be appropriate.”

“Who’s Gideon?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“Gideon is the man who risked his life to save you and his daughter. Gideon is Grace’s husband, Faith’s father, and your uncle, Jacey,” Bronson answered as he turned to look directly at me.

I was stunned silent. What kind of response was I supposed to give to that?

“Bronson, you and your family have suffered greatly. It is the decision of the council you should be the one to entrust Jacey with the history of your family,” Ronan answered.

“Thank you, Council. It is now time to reveal not only to you, but to the council, so all can now know the truth of what kind of sacrifice our family has made in the name of peace and Nemele.”

“No more,
in time or be patient
, you’re going to tell me everything...everything my parents never told me?” I asked, noticing neither of my parents were in the chamber with me—the exclusion spell was quite effective.

“Now will be the time you are told everything. Nothing will be held back and all will be made known. All you thought you knew, you will now realize never was, and all you need to know will make you realize this reality has been here for you always. It has been ever present in your thoughts in your memories and in your words,” Bronson said, sending a shiver up my spine.

I took three deep breaths and waited to hear how my entire reality was about to change.

Chapter Twenty

F
inality
A
nswers
I
ntrospective
T
rust
H
ope

All has evolved…
All have been waiting.
All now see the anomaly.
What will be leads way to three.

I
couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t even think. What was I supposed to do right now? Was I supposed to answer Bronson and be able to understand everything he was insinuating? Was I supposed to stand here and not say anything? Thankfully, I didn’t have to make a decision. Herecerti made it for me.

“I believe Bronson is the one to reveal all, but shouldn’t Vincent be standing with his Wirposh? I do believe our customs dictate one will not be alone in a reveal stage if a Wirposh is available to stand with them?”

“You are correct, Herecerti. Vincent, you are invited to stand with Jacey at this time,” Ronan stated.

Without hesitation, Vincent was by my side and holding my remaining hand.

“Jacey, fourteen years ago, your parents chose to leave this place and turn their back on their heritage. They made their decision against the advice of this council and their family. Up until six months ago, they had not been heard from. They told this council they had chosen to return to Nemele and bring you and Hudson here to live. As the preparations were being made to bring your entire family here, your parents were killed by members of the Yietimpi. The exact ones responsible are still unknown at this time.” Bronson paused and looked to the blind Seeker clutching my arm. He cleared his throat.

“Your parents knew their time was limited in the realm of Earth where they chose to reside. They also knew we were all here waiting with open arms to welcome them back. I realize some of this you already know, but what I plan on telling you and all here are the facts which caused your family to leave in the first place.

“Seventeen years ago, your Aunt Grace and mother were both pregnant. On the eve of the Gypsy moon equinox, they both bore children within minutes of one another. Each had beautiful baby girls. Faith was first born and you followed within minutes. All who bore witness to your births witnessed two of our kind to be born with their Awakenings—an event which has never happened in any of the documented histories within any of our societies. Only the Nemelites present for your births were aware you and Faith had been born into your Awakenings. Eve and I were present for the births, along with your Uncle Gideon, Grace’s husband, who is also my adopted brother. His family took me in when no one else, Yietimpi or Nemelite, would.

“For the first two years of your lives, both you and Faith were monitored and watched by those members who were aware of your uniqueness. You both bore the mark of the anomaly which our kind had been waiting for since we had come into existence—pure of heart, pure from birth, an Awakening which none other would have. You were each other’s constant companion. We all watched as the two of you would communicate with one another and act as though there were no one else around. You flourished under each other’s continual connection.” Bronson stopped for a minute and rose from his seat. He walked over to Eve’s side. She reached out and touched his shoulder. For an instant there was a flash of rose colored light which encompassed both of them. Bronson smiled and stood behind Eve.

“Both societies had only heard of the possibility of an anomaly through folklore and neither one knew what type of ramifications the other society would endure if a child had been born to the light within its confines. What kind of wonder do you think we as a society experienced when we were not only blessed with one, but two children born of an anomaly? We all knew the undeniable powers you both possessed were something we needed to be heedful of every moment of every day. We knew the Yietimpi would try anything to have you both and control the power you shared with Faith. Through the two years we had you both, we witnessed infinite possibilities when it came to your combined abilities.

“You were both able to communicate with one another practically the instant you were born. Each of you were able to control sound and basic elements from the time you could sit up. When one of you was upset, the only way to console you was to bring the two of you together. You were inseparable. It was an amazing sight.

“The potential each of you had was so vast that some in our society were at a loss as to where and when to start your training. It was during this time your mother was befriended by a female named Christina. Initially, she was not accepted by all here because she’d appeared practically out of the blue after you two were born. She was believed to be a Yietimpi spy, but was able to garner the support of not only your mother, but of your Aunt and the rest of your family. She sat in wait for two years. She was your mother’s confidante and a trusted source to the Elders of this community, she was a Shenuy.

“When you turned two, we noticed you not only shared abilities, but you shared appearances. You took after your mother, having dark hair and olive colored skin while Faith took after her mother and was pale in complexion and light colored hair. You were the mirror image of one another.

“Upon your second birthday, life as we knew it changed. You and Faith were left in Christina’s care as we prepared for the celebration of your births. It was Grace who had the premonition on that fateful evening. She was lit with worry the second we’d left the two of you.

“We all tried to calm her but it was Gideon who didn’t second guess your Aunt’s intuition. The instant she felt Faith and you were in danger, he rushed to your home. Once there, he was assaulted by a group of Seekers. They shaded the day and turned it to night as they hovered above the house. Christina hadn’t gotten out of the house before Gideon showed up. He was able to grab onto you and drop you at our home while the Sentry were alerted to the breach of the Bulwark and Faith’s kidnapping. Gideon didn’t waste a second, he rushed to the nearest Bulwark and followed the trail of Christina and Faith as far as the deadlands, Lytheria. There he was met by the largest gathering of Yietimpi soldiers ever seen within our dimension. Gideon, as the leader of the Sentry, struck back with the largest contingent of Sentry any of us had ever seen. It turned into a bloody war which lasted nearly a year.

“It was during the Age of Reckoning when all Elders of this community and a Sect of the Yietimpi came together and forged a truce. Both sides suffered a number of casualties. Gideon was one of the soldiers who didn’t return. His body was never found.

“We received information the day he disappeared that he was given intelligence on Faith’s whereabouts. She had been moved to a Seeker safe house. Gideon went out on his own. That was the last time any of us heard from him.

“It was during this time your parents decided we could not protect you. They waited for the decision of the Elders but ultimately decided to turn away from their lineage and culture. They believed if they disappeared completely from our world, they would be able to protect you and Hudson from the Yietimpi and any other mystical force which came upon them. They also figured since you weren’t here where Faith knew you to be, she wouldn’t be able to communicate with you or trace you to wherever your family decided to go. They wanted to save Faith also, but based on the possibility of someone or something else using her to locate you; your parents chose to never allow that to happen. They did so the only way they believed they could, they fled Nemele.

“When Hudson experienced his Awakening at the age of thirteen, your parents realized they wouldn’t be able to keep their backs turned on Nemele forever. They decided it was in Hudson’s best interest for him to be trained here. They knew he would need to attend St. Nemele as they had, for him to be properly trained in the use of his powers. Your parents also realized Hudson wouldn’t be able to cover his power signature or calling without bringing attention to their location, and in turn, drawing unwanted attention to you.

“Your parents were able to cover their signatures by not using their powers, in turn making them mortal. We believe this is how your parents were killed. From not using their gifts they became mortals and thus easy targets for the Sect of Yietimpi, which hunted them down.

For reasons unknown to both Yietimpi and Nemelite, your power signature born of your Awakening was something neither society could detect. Some of our kind was able to follow your family, however, only because of the physical contact your mom and aunt had. The reason we did keep track of you was to provide some protection to you and your family.” Bronson paused, deep in thought for a moment.

“We were obviously not there when Ria and Hearte were taken. We had no idea some of the extremist sect of the Yietimpi had even located them. We tried to follow the Sect after we learned about your parents, but stopped at the truce line in Lytheria. We knew the second we crossed it, the truce would be negated and both societies would fall back into a full out war. We came back to council and decided it was time to ensure you and Hudson were brought to Nevaeh to live with Grace so we could keep you safe and monitor what the Yietimpi threat was.” Bronson paused, left Eve, and returned to his place at the table.