Connor (12 page)

The muffled noise was close enough to where Tony could hear, so we waited at the top of the stairs, but before the door even opened, we flew back slamming into the floor.

Tony landed on top of me, jamming his right elbow into my right side. With Tony's help, I got out the way as someone stormed down the steps.

It was Mrs. Palmer and the scary man. I asked Mrs. Palmer, “What's going on?” Ignoring my question, she checked Tony's bruised shoulder and said, “Thank you, Bynder,” then left.

Bynder was another name on a folder grouped with ours. He stayed behind, eyeing us coldly, as if there was no emotional attachment behind them, as in not family. He stood guard, towering over us.

He would have been okay looking if it were not for that scar across his face. He had wavy hair and chiseled features that gave him a hard, distinctive look.

We waited patiently, not saying a word, waiting on any reason to break out. Opportunity knocked when I heard someone coming to the door. I told Tony to get ready. We made a dash for the exit as Bynder turned to see who it was.

As soon as I made it to the bottom step, a voice resonated in my head, stopping me cold…
I know you want to leave, Connor, but please stay awhile so we can give you the answers you so desperately want
… Shutting my eyes, I grabbed my head. Voice… loud… brain hurts.

I opened my eyes when I felt a hand on my head. A woman I had never seen before spoke to me. “Sorry, Connor, I did not mean to startle you. Initially, my voice can be a bit overwhelming,” she said, smiling down at me like my favorite kindergarten teacher used to do, and I found myself smiling back at her. She extended her arm toward the couch; I followed her lead and sat back down. How did she do that?

“You okay?” Tony asked me as I sat back down next to him.

“She spoke to me in my head, my head,” I said.

“You did too when you told me to get ready.” I looked at him strangely.

Willow, Byron, and Cheyenne must have been right behind her because there they sat cool, calm, and collected on the other couch. Must be nice.

“Now that everyone is seated, we can discuss why you all were brought here. My name is Tanzia, and it is crucial that you let me speak before you ask questions,” said the woman who spoke to me.

Tanzia was a petite woman with long dreadlocks that coiled like silk. Her hazel eyes were striking against her skin tone. She was very pretty, and from the looks of it, the guys thought so too. Their eyes stayed glued to her while she spoke.

With her, now stood five others, two women and three men, some of which I had never seen before. I only recognized Mrs. Palmer and Mr. Johnston, a.k.a. Shak, besides Bynder.

“There are those of you that will recognize us under different names, and there is a reason for that. We know that you are now aware of your abilities, and it is time to come forth and explain how you have come to be. I, with the help of my friends, will explain what we can,” Tanzia said.

“You are a part of a race called the
San
(saun). Your kind predates humans that have come to evolve and has lived quietly on Earth thereafter for centuries, fitting in with these beings without abilities.”

“We six who stand before you are your
Keepers
, each paired to you: Khan to Byron, Bynder to Scott, Shak to Tony, Tochia to Cheyenne, Selene to Connor, and I to Willow. Respectfully, we
Keepers
are responsible for you all.

“I know you know us as your neighbors and not of these names, but we did that in order to make sure your fathers did not falter on their covenant. Our sole purpose is to watch over you, protect you, and when the time came, educate you on our ways, your abilities, and our language called
SanI
(saun-i).”

“Wait, what are you saying, that I'm not human? Because I am very much so. I don't understand this at all,” Willow said, standing up, tears already streaming down her cheeks.

Tanzia didn't respond; she only turned to Bynder and Shak. They both nodded, ran upstairs, and went out the back door.

Outside I overheard a vehicle pull up, some swearing, a scuffle, then more swearing. I recognized the voice expressing the few choice words and was surprised they found him. Shortly after, three people entered the house unlike the original two who left.

Shak was in the lead, with Bynder behind him practically dragging Scott down the stairs. He had on the same clothes he wore in the fight, only now he wore a zip up over his shirt that had grass stains on it.

He pushed Scott in a chair and told him, “Stay. He was right where we suspected.” Bynder had to stand next to him to keep knocking Scott back down in his seat every time he tried to stand up or get in his face. Once, he tried Tony, and Bynder had to knock them both down.

After about three tries, Bynder put some death grip on Scott's left shoulder preventing him from getting up and Scott looked pissed.

Tanzia continued as if there was no interruption. “No, actually you are human, but a different kind, special ones.

Every so many centuries or when the world turns dire, our kind is born again to protect it, keep it safe from harmful beings. I know this is a lot to grasp at once, but you have to admit that you must have sensed being different long before your abilities came to pass.”

Willow sat back down, shaking her head, tears still falling. “I don't know what she is so upset about.” Scott pointed toward Willow. “I have always known I was different. I'm freaking stoked about it. Normal is overrated and boring. So can I go now, Pops? I don't need anyone to tell me who I am.” His question was directed at Bynder, who didn't share his humor, but who could tell? His facial expressions never change. Bynder walked away from Scott and stood by the others.

“Good to hear it, Scott, but, yes, you need to listen, and you will stay put,” said another man I didn't recognize from behind Tanzia. He was shorter than the other two men, muscular, had dyed blond dreads that fell to the middle of back. The color of his hair made his brown eyes stand out. Scott said nothing else after the man gave him a look and just sat back down in the chair.

“Sorry, Tanzia, please continue,” said the man.

“That is okay, Khan, thank you. You were all born sixteen years ago. The San have learned throughout time to reproduce at the same time, not only for protection purposes but survival reasons,” Tanzia said.

“Wait,” I said, “but I won't turn sixteen until next month, and protect ourselves from what?”

Tanzia hesitated for a split second before answering, “In time, we will explain all that we know.”

Was that it? What a brush-off. I didn't push it, but I wasn't satisfied with that answer.

“Protect ourselves from beings that can harm us. They are out there, and they are hungry for the abilities we carry, especially our
credo
(cra-dou): masks, or you may call it invisible. We are the only beings born with it, and your presence is known to others.

“Unfortunately, we had a leak amongst our people, making it easy for outsiders to infiltrate. We fear it is none other than one who goes by the name Ronin.

“Ronin is young but smart, cunning, and psychotically, vindictively dangerous. He is strong and has become powerful under the leadership of one named Monlow,” Tanzia said.

“Monlow is an Ether (eh-ther) God—named from where the planet he comes (Ether)—one who is worshiped by his people. He is a powerful force that thrives off revenge and loves to toy with his victims. He taught Ronin how to take others' powers, and for years, Ronin has managed a group of misfits of this 'time' under Monlow's rule. Don't underestimate them. They are ruthless and greedy. Just like humans hunger for money, they hunger for power,” Tanzia continued.

“Why doesn't this Monlow character manage these misfits himself, and what did you mean by 'time'?” Tony asked.

“He cannot travel to this 'time' without us sensing him. The more power one has, the easier it is to track. 'Time' means a place other than here,” Tanzia said.

“So how do you travel there?” Cheyenne asked.

“It's not just one place. It's different places and to get there, well, some call it a hole, a doorway, or a portal. Other 'times' are not safe for us. We are too wanted for various reasons,” Tanzia said.

“Okay, wait, so you say he is vindictive—so why is he coming after us? We don't know him,” I asked.

“It's too long of a story to get into right now, and there isn't enough time to answer all questions,” Tanzia said.

I just shook my head, again with the brush-off.

“Marge, our elder, ordered us to gather you tonight by any means necessary after you discovered the secret room,” Tanzia said.

Tony leaned in and whispered to me, “You were right about her. You said the way she came down those stairs, something was up with her.” Then he asked aloud, “What exactly is an elder?”

“An elder sits on a council which governs our kind. They are our law. Marge is the local elder we report to, and she was not too happy with the way things transpired tonight,” Tanzia answered.

“Whenever
yougow
(you-gow)—younglings, such as yourselves—come to carry their abilities, certain others can sense it, and the more you use them, the more it exposes you to harm, like the one you met tonight in the house, Connor. That being was not so nice. You isolated yourself, but thankfully, Shak and Bynder were there to help. They took care of things while the rest of us met with Marge.”

“But that is our fault. We wanted—” Bynder cleared his throat. “Well, some of us wanted you to enjoy life a little longer, but there have been sightings of the
nunan
(nu-naun), the unnorm, nonhumans, lurking. Usually, our kind has time to train the younglings, but unfortunately, not in this case. Sadly, you are defenseless.”

She walked over and touched both Shak and Bynder. “It is their mission to help you hone your abilities, show you how to protect yourselves through instinct. You have no idea what you are capable of and how to enhance your
renads
(ray-nauds)—abilities.”

Then she touched Khan. “He will educate you on the law, rules, and the underground community of our kind, our government, and that of other worlds.”

Next, she touched the shoulders of this tiny little frame of a woman, who could have easily been Cheyenne's older sister, named Tochia, and Mrs. Palmer. “She, along with myself and Selene, will counsel you, teach you about your kind, and how to be in harmony with each other as to become one, also to enhance your
renads
, to sense danger, and to know what to do. It is all about instinct and mental strength.”

“Wait, that day outside of school, I didn't think anyone could see me, but you did. I should have suspected you then, but I assumed I messed up,” I said to Selene.

“You're right, Connor, you caught me off guard. Like Tanzia said, it is called
credo
, from the old language of
SanI
translated in English. It means 'to mask oneself, fade, or disappear' and
credod
(cra-doud) which means 'to reveal.' Eventually, you will not have to say it—you will all be in accord. You will just know what to do.
Credo
is just one
renad
you should have in common besides your individual one,” Selene said.

“Also, aside from the unbreakable bond you hold with each other and us, at times you will answer questions that the other didn't ask. You will feel for each other even when you are mad at the other, but most importantly, you will protect each other even when you don't know why,” Selene said.

“I carry three
renads
,” I said, not knowing if I pronounced it right. “What does that mean?”

“It depends on certain bloodlines that come from the
Thinan
(th-i-naun), meaning to be 'well-off,' or 'royalty', as you know it to be. It was expected from you and possibly two…” Tanzia lightly tapped Selene on the shoulder. “Well, that is what it means,” Selene finished saying.

Okay, what just happened?

“Where are our biological parents, and why did they have to give us up?” Cheyenne asked, changing the subject.

Tanzia said, “All we know is they disappeared shortly after taking you to the orphanage. It was decided among the elders then that the best defense was to have you adopted by humans, without abilities, to hide you as securely as possible. Unfortunately, since our kind is dying out, we have to try ways of keeping our bloodlines safe.”

“I don't believe you. You know more than what you're telling us. It's obvious you're hiding something. Where is Vincent?” I asked.

“I can only tell you what I know to be true,” Tanzia answered calmly, but I caught the play on words. She may not know something for sure, but she definitely is aware of a lot.

“Wow, really. Well, can you tell me this—you mentioned earlier about our fathers. Why hadn't our parents told us any of this? I mean I understand maybe one or two, but none of our parents told us anything,” Cheyenne asked.

“Yeah, what she said. My dad could've told me about his deal long time ago. I would've bounced, no problem,” Scott said, cutting in.

“Only your fathers were involved, thanks to Byron's grandfather, Mr. Conway,” Tanzia answered, facing only Cheyenne and Scott.

“So this 'the
San
' council was the organization that made my grandfather rich, wasn't it?” Byron asked.

“Yes, the elders went to him because he had many connections. He was known to never pass up a deal, especially one that's guaranteed.

The elders handpicked your families along with Mr. Conway's aid, so he and only he was given full disclosure. Each father was chosen due to his unfortunate circumstances at that time and knowingly swore to secrecy by any means necessary, meaning their lives. They knew nothing of your real history, and your mothers figured it was a normal adoption,” Tanzia explained.

“Circumstances at that time, you mean like, I don't know, say they were blackmailed or something along those lines?” Tony asked.

“No, due to their unfortunate circumstances at that time. Your families needed help due to illnesses, death, things out of their control. They needed help, and, in return, helped you by keeping you safe. The money just meant you would be well cared for,” Khan said.

“That explains what he meant by allowing evil in— the secret society involving my adoption,” Byron said, sounding upset.

“After some time, Byron, your grandfather had known regret with the deal. We think that contributed to his unstable mental state today,” Tanzia said.

“We're not the evil ones, your grandfather is,” Willow said to Byron but stared straight ahead.

“That is enough for tonight. We know you will have a lot more questions, but it is getting late, and I know your parents will be missing you soon,” Tanzia said, as if she just finished reading us a bedtime story but this was no tale.

So that's it. We go back and pretend we live in, what is now, fairytale land and all is right with the world when we lie to our family and friends. I must not have been the only one who felt that way because none of us moved. We sat there dumbfounded.

“How do you expect us to go back to being normal after this?” Tony asked first, then we attacked them with questions.

“Enough,” Khan said. His voice radiated so loudly, we backed up. He took a deep breath. “This is not how we normally approach you, but we had no other choice. I know that was a lot, but due to the present circumstances, we did the best that we could with the options that lay before us.

“We are around even when you are not aware. We have doctors to falsify records, cops to discard reports, lawyers to get charges dropped, and so many others to help us watch over and protect you,” Khan continued, slowly pacing with his hands behind his back.

“You, Scott, all those times you were arrested for fighting and injuring the other person so badly just to prove just how strong you were. Byron and Tony, how many broken bones have you collected at a sports activity that healed at an accelerated rate? Cheyenne and Willow, how many car and motorcycle stunts have you walked away from with the many vehicles your parents continuously buy you? Lastly, Connor, how many times have you scaled a tree, outswam almost anybody, and run so fast, it was questionable by your friends? Not to mention all the other acts you have all done that I could not begin to cover—it would take years.

“Who do you think covered things up? And believe me, there have been a lot. You six are the most rambunctious individuals probably in our history. We have been around, and you have seen us, have you not?” Taking another deep breath, he relaxed a bit and his voice softened. “It will not be easy, but it has been done in the past by others, and you will do it too. We are still here.”