The Centerpoint Trilogy (20 page)

             
We were called a long time ago, little princess. We had to wait, however, until the time came that there was enough power for us.

             
That was almost exactly what her mother said. She nodded.

              “Is there enough power now?” she found herself asking. Her mother had said that they would come when there was enough power. Did this mean that she would finally figure out what she was meant for? She would finally figure out why she had to be so different, what made her special. Her mother had always said she was special, but she’d lived fifteen years never feeling like anything but a freak. Was it time now?

             
Yes.

             
For a moment, Grace was truly scared. Yes, she knew that she was powerful. She had control over the elements, over the mind, and she had a control over pain that scared her half to death. She had almost killed her foster sister once, when she was very young, simply because the girl made her angry. She would never forget that day. She was six, and her “sister” four. The girl had been on the floor beneath her, writhing in agony and Grace had realized, even that young, that she was the reason that the girl was in so much pain. It was just a petty argument between children and she’d had so much power in her hands.

              Of course, after her attack, everyone claimed that her sister had an undiagnosed nerve disorder, but Gracie knew what Gracie knew. She had made that little girl writhe in pain like that. She had done that. She had hurt someone over a stupid child’s anger, and that was because she was powerful. If that was the power that these creatures wanted, well, there was no way that power could be used for good.

              Could that be what the Alturi wanted from her?

             
Do not worry child. You are powerful and you are good. There are three of you and you are the most powerful.

             
Gracie asked herself what that could possibly mean, when the thing continued speaking inside of her head.

             
You are so important to us, Gracie. You are the most amazing creature that this dull earth has to offer.

             
The words sounded foreign to her ears. All her life, Grace had never truly believed n herself. She believed that she was special, because of the memories and visions in her head, but she also believed that the gifts she possessed made her undesirable. She had always been unhappy, and always believed that her unhappiness was her own fault. Now, here was this amazing, powerful creature, telling her otherwise. It was telling her that she was strong and capable and for a split second, at least, she believed it. “What do I have to do?” she asked, knowing that, like everyone else, this creature had an angle. Everyone wanted something.

             
Smart girl. We need to take over your body, just for a short time. It is the only way that we can thrive and do what was intended of us.

             
She shuddered. It wanted her body. It wanted to take her over. What was she? Was she just a vessel for some kind of plan? She shook her head at that. She did not want it to have her body. It couldn’t. No. She wasn’t going to let it. Panic began to rise in her chest, making her feel sick. She moved back, but once again felt that invisible pull. She could hardly make it an inch backwards.

             
We can make things better for you. When our mission is over, we can revive your mother. I know that you want her back.  We can restore her to you.

             
Her heart skipped a beat at that. All her life, Gracie had dreamed of her mother. All she wanted was for the woman whom she inexplicably remembered to come back to her. Were these creatures actually powerful enough to give her back her mother? Could they reunite them with one another? Could she really meet the woman that she had never really known, yet had always loved with all of her heart?

              “Yes then,” Gracie declared. “If you can promise to me that you’ll return my mother, then I say yes. I’ll give you my body.”

             
We will deliver.

             
The creature, or creatures, flared up into a gigantic ball of light. The light left the humanoid figure that she saw and flung into her body. She fell backwards, crashing into the wall behind her. The pain was unbearable. It was like the flesh was being ripped from her body by a burning fire. Gracie screamed. She screamed at the top of her lungs. She screamed as her body was burnt to a crisp and then reconstructed. Every single part of her was burning, on fire. She screamed and screamed and hoped to God that she died.

              “Please!” ripped free from her lungs. The word shuddered as it spun through the air. It was the desperate plea of a little girl being torn up from the inside. It was the last word that little Gracie would say as a free human being. “Please! Please!”

              Then she fell unconscious. She dropped into a blissful blackness. When she opened her eyes again, she would no longer be Gracie.

Chapter Five

              “We need to be let in,” Gen said boldly. “You gotta tell us what’s going on.”

              Rhi nodded in agreement, supporting her best friend. “We’re both adults and we need to be let in,” she agreed. “This involves us in the worst kind of way.”

              Alicia and Anna shared a long look. The two women were sisters in the same way that Rhi and Genesis were sisters. It was Anna who spoke first. “You girls are right,” she said, with a sigh that showed just how reluctant she was to truly admit that.  “Well, Elliot has told us that your dreams of light have very closely followed an ‘end of the world’ type myth of the Celestial Centerpoint.”

              “What do you mean?” Rhi asked.

              “Your father’s not one hundred percent,” Alicia responded. “He believes that when he was younger he learned about an alien race that would allegedly come to the Celestial Centerpoint at the end of the world. That’s why he and Gen’s father are off doing research.”

              “How can they do research about a bunch of cult crazies?” asked Gen.

              “A lot of the city’s records mention the Celestial Centerpoint, although subtly,” Alicia explained.  “They used to have a lot of influence in the years before Kahn North was arrested. It was just never known. They’re checking that out, as well as a storybook that was written by North’s grandfather. They’re at the local library.”

              “How long have they been there?” Gen asked.

              “A while,” her mother responded, looking over at Alicia.  “I’ve tried to get hold of your father, but I haven’t yet.”

              “We should go,” Gen murmured.

              “Yeah,” Rhi agreed.

              “We actually decided that we would go if they didn’t come back soon,” Gen’s mother said. She looked at Alicia, who nodded.

              “Let us,” Gen said. She did not know why, but she felt that it was absolutely necessary that she and Rhi go find their fathers. It was instinct and it just felt right. She let herself be sure that she was doing the right thing.  She took a long, deep breath and prepared herself for the best and worst that could happen.

              She and Rhiannon made their way to the local library. It was not that far, but Gen could not help feel that the car ride dragged on and on. She was just very, very afraid.  They did not talk much, but she could tell when she glanced to her side that Rhi was just as nervous as she was. Her friend was biting her lower lip lightly, breathing in and out and looking around her. It was a nerve wracking ride.

              Before long they stopped at the library. It was a tall building that towered over all of the other local buildings. There were three stories and the lights came from the top.  They twinkled as the area started to darken.  “Let’s go get our dads,” Gen said with a laugh. She knew they both would feel so much better when their dads were safe with them.

              “We need to be let in,” Gen said boldly. “You gotta tell us what’s going on.”

              Rhi nodded in agreement, supporting her best friend. “We’re both adults and we need to be let in,” she agreed. “This involves us in the worst kind of way.”

              Alicia and Anna shared a long look. The two women were sisters in the same way that Rhi and Genesis were sisters. It was Anna who spoke first. “You girls are right,” she said, with a sigh that showed just how reluctant she was to truly admit that.  “Well, Elliot has told us that your dreams of light have very closely followed an ‘end of the world’ type myth of the Celestial Centerpoint.”

              “What do you mean?” Rhi asked.

              “Your father’s not one hundred percent,” Alicia responded. “He believes that when he was younger he learned about an alien race that would allegedly come to the Celestial Centerpoint at the end of the world. That’s why he and Gen’s father are off doing research.”

              “How can they do research about a bunch of cult crazies?” asked Gen.

              “A lot of the city’s records mention the Celestial Centerpoint, although subtly,” Alicia explained.  “They used to have a lot of influence in the years before Kahn North was arrested. It was just never known. They’re checking that out, as well as a storybook that was written by North’s grandfather. They’re at the local library.”

              “How long have they been there?” Gen asked.

              “A while,” her mother responded, looking over at Alicia.  “I’ve tried to get hold of your father, but I haven’t yet.”

              “We should go,” Gen murmured.

              “Yeah,” Rhi agreed.

              “We actually decided that we would go if they didn’t come back soon,” Gen’s mother said. She looked at Alicia, who nodded.

              “Let us,” Gen said. She did not know why, but she felt that it was absolutely necessary that she and Rhi go find their fathers. It was instinct and it just felt right. She let herself be sure that she was doing the right thing.  She took a long, deep breath and prepared herself for the best and worst that could happen.

              Their mother’s objected at first, of course. “It’s too dangerous,” Anna said softly, but she looked hesitant to say it, knowing what she’d said before about letting the girls be part of this.

              “It’s just the library,” she assured her mother.

              She and Rhiannon made their way to the local library. It was not that far, but Gen could not help feel that the car ride dragged on and on. She was just very, very afraid.  They did not talk much, but she could tell when she glanced to her side that Rhi was just as nervous as she was. Her friend was biting her lower lip lightly, breathing in and out and looking around her. It was a nerve wracking ride.

              Before long they stopped at the library. It was a tall building that towered over all of the other local buildings. There were three stories and the lights came from the top.  They twinkled as the area started to darken.  “Let’s go get our dads,” Gen said with a laugh. She knew they both would feel so much better when their dads were safe with them.

Chapter Six

              As soon as they entered, Rhi and Gen rushed to the front desk. Gen was a couple of steps in front of her, but Rhi followed suit closely. She wanted to stay as close to her best friend as possible. They needed to be together. They got the attention of the woman behind the desk, a librarian, probably. She was an older woman, somewhere in her late sixties. Her hair was red, with just the lightest smattering of grey. She looked up at them with sleepy eyes that told Rhi she had been there for some time. It was getting late, so it had probably been a long shift.  She smiled at them with a little, weary, tired smile. “Hello girls,” she said cordially. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Actually yes,” Rhi said, trying to take some control of the situation. She felt like she could never be in control of this kind of situation. “We were wondering if you saw two men come in here earlier today. One of them is thin, white, with brown hair and glasses and the other is mostly Japanese, shorter and stockier. They’re our fathers and we wanted to see if they were here.”

As she spoke, Rhi also looked around the library. There were two, no, three people on the ground floor. There were a couple of college kids in the corner, hunched over several large books and yes, she saw an older man on one of the computers. That was it? Where were their dads? They were probably on one of the upper floors, that was all. She had no need to worry. The thought made her suddenly jittery, even though she had no reason to worry. Were they okay? Why did she have any reason to believe anything was wrong? The two men had just gone to the library to do some research. Her worry made no sense whatsoever.

“Oh yes,” the woman said with a smile of acknowledgement and a nod. “I did see those two gentlemen. I think that they’re upstairs at our third floor public records area. The stairs going up are right over there.” She gestured to the corner of the room, where a red colored stairway led upwards. Above it was the directory that listed the various things that were held on each floor. Both girls started in the direction of the stairs, together.