Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series) (19 page)

Things are qui
et
in the halls
, but
I hear a voice speaking in the auditorium. I follow the voice and see the students all intent on listening. I don
’
t recognize the man at the front of the class
.
S
earching the room
,
I lock eyes with Alexander
,
and he connects to me.

This is the angel Michael
.
He
’
s
kind of a miserable bastard, but we
’
re learning a lot from him.

What
’
s his deal?

Not sure
,
really
.
I can
’
t connect or read him. It must be some kind of angelic block.

Okay
,
then
,
what are you learning from him?

He
’
s explaining a little about why the angel hunters want the
nephilim,
and explaining to the students how we were able to cloak Ben. I think he may be a good addition to our teaching staff
,
if
we can convince him to stay.
 

Do you think this
‘
Twelve
’
will allow that?

Not sure
.
I guess we just wait and see.

Do you think he can tell us anything about Matt? Ebony is in a really rough place right now
,
and I would love to get her some answers.

We can only ask. Come sit with us and listen to his lecture.

As I take my place next to my siblings
,
I listen to the angel before us.

“
Angels
,
like myself, are called
alkins
.
W
e are the first and only generation in Crossroads. We are not permitted to interact with mortals. We can
’
t spend extended
periods
away from Crossroads. You can think of it like a rechargeable battery
; we
need to return home to energize ourselves. Of course
,
there are
times we would like to stay here, but it
’
s just not allowed
,
and they will change everything to keep it that way. I know it
’
s for her
…
I mean
,
we angels know it
’
s for the protection of those here on earth, but it
’
s not always what is best
;
a
t least it doesn
’
t always feel right.
”

I can sense his pain
.
Michael is hurting more than any angel should. I always thought they were full of peace and joy, but I
’
m learning how wrong I
’
ve been. Michael dismisses the class
,
and we decide
now
is the time to get more answers.

“
Michael
,
wh
y is it you
’
ve been sent to us?
”
Eliza wonders.

“
One of my leaders, Katherine, is one of the Twelve
who
received the power from the original
angels
. She believes that all
nephilim
can be rehabilitated
,
and trained properly. Whereas
…
others may disagree.
”

“
What do you believe?
”
I ask.

“
It doesn
’
t matter what I believe
.
I follow my orders.
”

“
I would sure like to know if you feel
that
being on our side
i
s the right thing.
”

“
If you must know, yes
,
I do. I don
’
t agree with everything the Twelve order
s
, but this I do. I
’
m proof that Katherine is right.
”

“
You were a
nephilim
?
”
Ben questions with excitement and curiosity.

“
Was
,
and still am
.
I
t
’
s not something you outgrow.
”

“
Sorry
—
o
f course not
.
I
’
m just a little confused by this new life of mine.
”
Ben tucks his longer blond locks behind his ears.

“
I understand. I don
’
t remember my life on earth, but I have seen the transition with others and know the difficulties involved.

“
Thank you for coming
.
I hope you will stay,
”
Caspian invites.

“
I will stay as long as I can, but when I do leave
,
know
that
I will return
,
”
h
e reminds us that he needs to return to the Crossroads.

I feel
that
having Michael around will be an asset to our school
;
to the training of these supernatural students. He will help us save the innocents
from
evil
,
and we will help him
wherever
we can.

Danger Lurking

Now that things are returning to normal, we cho
o
se to go full force with training at the school. We have some
great
students
,
and I know I can
’
t wait to see their potential. Some of the students have even been exhibiting amazing powers
.
T
hey will prove to be useful in our fight against evil. Training has been very rigorous for the last month or so, so we have agreed to take the students out on a field trip around town. We have over two dozen students and teaching staff at our facility
,
and they
’
ve not
yet
seen the sights around town. We
’
ll wait till nightfall as our vampire students haven
’
t received a day crystal yet
;
a
nd won
’
t
,
until we know they can be trusted. If anyone asks why we have so many guests
,
we
’
ll say it
’
s for our wedding celebrations
; we
only wanted family
, and
this is all our family.

Tonight
,
we will introduce all our new friends to the pool hall we all love so much. A few other towns
’
people are there, but for the most part
,
it
’
s our group occupying the place. The students seem to be having fun
. A
few of them go to the park for a walk, and Alexander is keeping a link to them
,
just to ensure everyone
’
s safety.

I notice Caspian sitting off in a corner with one of the students, Siobhan. I remember her making googly eyes at him during one of his lectures
;
I
’
m pretty sure she
’
s hot for him
.
I wonder if he
’
s ready for something new after all these years.

“
Hey Sophia, I see you watching Caspian. Are you thinking what I
’
m thinking?
”
Matilda questions with a slight smirk on her face.

“
Well I don
’
t know about that, because we both know you have more information regarding the situation than I do.
”

“
If you only knew
,
sister.
”

“
Why don
’
t you share it with me?
”

“
Well
,
if you haven
’
t figured it out
,
Siobhan and Caspian appear to be
soul mates
. I have to look at her soul a little more
. T
here is something very familiar about it.
”

“
Is that possible? Can we really have more than one
soul mate
?
”

“
Sometimes yes, but not often. I have only seen it once before.
”

“
Really
;
with who?
”

“
With Ebony.
”

“
WHAT?
”

“
Shhh, keep your voice down. I never said anything
,
because Ebony and Matt already found one another
; but
Dakota and her match.
”

“
I knew it
!
I could sense it too.
”

“
Well
,
we can
’
t tell her
, not
yet. She needs to decide on her own what she wants. She lost Matt
,
not that long ago
,
and she needs to heal from that first.
”

“
Okay
,
well
,
what about Siobhan and Caspian? I thought Ashley was his
soul mate
.
”

“
She was
;
b
ut as you know
,
sometimes souls return. As I mentioned
,
I have to search her soul more, but that could be why she
’
s
familiar to me.
”

“
Are you telling me Siobhan is Ashley?
”

“
She has the same soul
, I
think, but I don
’
t want to say a hundred percent yet. If I
’
m right
,
and they are meant to be together, that could be why we found her for our school.
”

“
Does anyone else know?
”

“
No
.
I haven
’
t told anyone
. A
gain
,
I want Caspian to figure it out on his own. I think he would be too emotional
from
the situation.
”

“
So he didn
’
t tell her about us because he wanted to protect her from the life of a vampire, and she ended up one anyways? Do you remember how old she is?
”

“
Yeah
,
she is eternally twenty-three. So if I
’
m right
,
and it is Ashley
’
s soul, by my calculations
,
she is no more than a decade old as a vampire. And that
’
s only if she was re
-
born right after her death
,
”
Matilda confirms with a small smile
,
showing her joy for our brother.

“
Okay, so we keep quiet about both of them
,
for now
,
and let fate play out before us.
”