Chrysalis: The Emergence of Emery (The Gifted Series Book 1) (4 page)

Waking up to Elijah sitting in the room is a surprise. We argued last night. The meeting we were summoned to was a lot of information that made no sense to me. They discussed developments regarding people I’d never heard of. Aside from meeting Tess and Miles, I was completely lost. Nobody made a point of explaining anything to me, maybe they assumed Elijah had already filled in the blanks. So I sat in the corner of the large living room staring at a video on my phone for most of the night until they noticed.

“What are you doing?” Elijah said to me and everyone stopped talking to look my way.

I glanced up at him. “I was just watching a video,” I answered slowly, feeling like it was the wrong thing to say.

“A video about what?” Miles had jumped into our conversation, and I briefly saw Elijah look at Miles, a frown passing across his face.

“Err, it’s anime.” When nobody spoke I carried on. “It’s something I like to watch. I watch it quite a lot.” I started babbling and suddenly felt really uncomfortable.

“She’s supposed to be here to help, and yet, she’s ignoring everything and watching cartoons!” Katarina complained crossing her arms. Miles sat next to her nodding.

“They’re not cartoons,” I disputed. “And anyway, if any of you were willing to explain what the hell was going on here, maybe I’d
b
m
e more interested.” Standing up I walked out, going to the only place where I had my own space.

“You need to get her under control.” I heard Miles say—I assume to Elijah—as I left. The words were quickly followed by a snarl, after which nobody spoke. Once I went upstairs I heard nothing for about an hour, then Elijah appeared following a knock at the door.

“I wanted to see if you were okay?” he asked me.

“Really? You want to know now? How about standing up for me back there? Or even better, actually telling me something substantial, rather than giving me snippets which always leave me even more confused than before!” I shouted, turning away and going to sit on the bed.

“I’m sorry, I truly am. I want to tell you everything, but to be honest, there’s a lot to tell. It’s going to take time.” He stopped talking and I looked back at him feeling bad that I shouted. Then he continued on and my regret quickly dispersed, “Of course, it would help if you actually listened at the meetings, and didn’t just sit playing your silly cartoons.” He hammered his hand down on the dressing table.

“Just leave me alone,” I whispered, feeling rejected and once again lonely. I got what he was trying to say. I understood that I probably should have listened. But nothing made sense and nobody was forthcoming with explanations. So I ended up doing what I always did. I sat in the corner trying to go unnoticed. Now he was shouting at me and I’d had enough. I laid down curling onto my side, staying still until I heard him leave. Only once I heard the door click behind him did I allow myself to close my eyes and forget about my day. Pretending that I was someone else, someone strong, as I drifted into sleep.

It's morning now, the sun is almost blinding and he’s here again, just like yesterday, sitting in the corner of my room, looking disheveled and worn.

 
“What are you doing in here?” I question, sleepiness making my throat tight.

“I wanted to watch over you, make sure you were okay,” he responds, his eyes fixed on me.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I mean I’m safe in this house, right? That’s why I’m here.” I watch as his jaw ticks.

“You
are
safe here, but I like to make sure, and I thought…” he glances away and swallows before turning back to me, “…maybe you were here to get to know me. After all these years it’s nice to be able to talk to you. My sister.” Elijah rubs the back of his neck. Looking a little uncomfortable with his admission

“I know. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… well, it’s… of course I want to spend time getting to know you. I just wish it wasn’t under these circumstances. I have magical powers I know nothing about, I’m being chased by God knows who. Katarina seems to hate me as much as the jerks from school always have. And Kade doesn’t seem too impressed either. So excuse me for wondering what the hell is going on!” I jump out of bed stomping like a child to the bathroom, not giving Elijah time to answer. Turning on the shower I decide that I need to refresh, wake up properly and then face the world. Sighing, I sit on the floor resting against the bathroom door and closing my eyes.

“I feel you in there, I know you’re not in the shower. I can also sense you need me to leave you alone for now. When you’re finished come downstairs, I’ll make you breakfast.”

I release a breath when I hear him leave, then I haul myself up stepping under the shower and trying to let all my fears and confusion wash away.

“I’m sorry about Miles and Katarina last night,” I hear the voice as I walk into the kitchen and spin around seeing Tess behind me. “Katarina is just having a hard time with it all. Mile’s though… he can be a dick anyway. And ever since Elijah and Sicily… well, let’s just say he’s gotten worse.” I feel myself frown. Tess is pretty, short dark blonde hair and almond shaped brown eyes that match her brother’s, she’s every bit as good looking as the rest of them. She smiles at me and I notice she has exactly the same smile as Tristan—not surprising since they’re twins.

“What do you mean? Elijah and Sicily are dating, right?” I ask her the questions, but realize I’m still frowning, so I quickly soften my face, hoping she doesn’t think I’m crazy.

Tess nods sitting down at the kitchen table. “Mmm hmm yep, but she used to be with Miles.”

My eyes widen at her words and I sit next to her at the table. “Really? Oh, I bet that didn’t go down well.” I forget everything and concentrate on the gossip, it’s actually nice to do this with someone. These people are starting to give me things I’ve been missing for years, they all have their own ways, but each one offers me something I never really noticed I was missing until now.

“No, Miles is still pissed, and regularly takes it out on everyone. He saves the best for Elijah, but he can’t really do much to him because… well… you know.” She gets up and moves over to make a coffee gesturing to me, I nod accepting her offer of a coffee.

“I don’t know, what?” I exclaim, totally drawn into the conversation.

“Elijah is one of the strongest, he’s a level eight. Very few people are at that level and only one I know who is higher. Miles is only a level five, there’s no contest,” she mutters while making coffee for the both of us. I’m completely confused by every word she has just uttered.

“What’s a level eight? I mean… what are the levels?” Slowly she turns around to face me, her eyes widen as she holds a cup of coffee in each hand.

“You haven’t been told? I thought Elijah would have…” She stops talking and I feel a wall building inside her, even though I have no idea how I know it.

“Stop…” I say to her holding out my hand, palm up. She nods to me and I look at my hand wondering where that command came from. “Come and sit down, tell me what the levels are, please?” I ask softer this time. She nods once again and moves to sit next to me, it’s like she’s hypnotized. Her mouth opens as though she’s a robot, it’s weird and freaks me out a little bit, but I have no idea what’s going on, or why she’s acting like this. It’s obviously something I’ve done, I just don’t know what exactly that is. Or how to reverse it.

“Every one of us has a level, they start at one and move through to ten. Ten being the highest you can ever be. These are based on your powers… what powers you have, and how strong they are. You can’t earn these powers or win them, they are what you’re born with and when we get to about sixteen, our levels are usually pretty set. Most people have all the abilities they’re ever going to get by then… except you. I’ve never met someone who only came into their powers at age eighteen. That’s unheard of.” She stops talking and sits drinking her coffee.

“So Elijah is a level eight. You said one person is higher?” Her reply is to smile at me and nod, still in a trance like state. “Well who is that?”

“Kade, he’s a level ten. I’ve never met anyone stronger.” Her words surprise me, although I’m not sure why as somewhere in my gut I feel like I knew that already.

“Tess, enough!” I hear the words shot through the air like bullets from Elijah’s mouth.

Tess blinks a couple of times before looking between Elijah and me and frowning. “You entranced me,” Tess shouts angrily. I look up at her not really knowing what to say.

“She didn’t know, Tess, I haven’t told her anything yet,” Elijah explains to her. Tess shakes her head and walks out while Elijah comes to sit next to me, taking Tess’s empty seat.

“So I can entrance people now? Whatever exactly that is?” I mumble looking down at my hands.

“Maybe,” Elijah replies rubbing his chin.

My head whips up, and I look at him. “Maybe?”

“Well, I’m not sure if this is a power you possess or…” he trails off looking out of the window.

“What Elijah! Please, tell me something,” I beg
.

“It might be a power you’re drawing from someone else.”

“Who? How?” I rush out my one-word questions, excited and scared at the answers I might receive.

“You can sometimes borrow abilities from someone else. It doesn’t remove their power, it can cause it to weaken while you’re using it, but other than that there is no long-term damage, not that we’ve seen so far. However, you can only borrow powers from your other half.” He answers, closing his eyes.

“What do you mean by other half? Like someone you’re married to?” I question.

He shakes his head. “No. Not even close. Your other half, well, for us, is the other half of your soul. There is only one person we’re meant for. But when you pair up it can make you vulnerable, because the other person can ultimately steal every ability you possess, meaning you’re open to being attacked and killed. A lot of us pair up, but not with the other half of us, because it means we have to trust them one hundred percent or risk our own lives. If we come across our other
s
halves at any point during our existence, we will recognize them. That is if we’re lucky enough to find them before they’re killed. But we have to make a choice whether to be with them or not.

“A lot choose to live without them, but if you meet them, see them, see their light, then let them go, you know what you’re missing. It’s like half your soul is ripped away from you. It can cause some people to break. Completely. I’ve witnessed it. People taking their own lives or living hollow, lost, alone, existences because they’ve given up on their other half, or that person has been killed. It’s haunting. There are few who have turned their backs on that love and been fine. Not many can endure the loss, and some move over to live in the dark, hurting others, hoping it will give them some kind of sick release.” He sighs and bites his lip.

“So I might have this power, or I might be drawing it from my other half? There are so many questions I want to ask. Firstly, how would I be able to draw it? Doesn’t the other half of my soul have to like, I don’t know, agree to be mine or something before I can take their powers?” I question, happy that he’s finally opening up and explaining some things.

“No, well… actually, yes. It’s different for you, though. I mean we come from a certain family, one I haven’t explained yet. You should get some abilities that make you more unique, but for now we have to wait and see. The other option is that your other half recognizes you, and is already falling in love… or trying not to.”