17.

“Hello, Eden,” Principal Saint said in his usual distinguished voice, then cleared his throat. “I am glad that you are feeling better.”

He assumed I was feeling better without even asking. I was not feeling better, I was feeling worse. The cloaked figures passed through my mind again and I bit my lip to hold back the tears. A wave of nausea crept over me and I glanced around in search of a trash can.

“First things first, those men are not dead,” Principal Saint continued. He paused as if waiting for his words to sink in. “They may have appeared that way to you, but Talbott was able to revive them. They were simply unconscious. You children were very lucky to have survived such a brutal attack.” He cleared his throat again. Principal Saint was a very tall man, and since he had not moved from my door way he appeared overly large and intimidating in his double breasted, brown, tweed suit.

“They were dead, I know they were dead,” I protested. “I killed them,” I looked down and covered my face with my hands. I couldn’t hold back the choking sobs.

“Eden it’s alright, what Dr. Saint says is true,” My aunt put her hand against my cheek and spoke in a soothing manner. I looked up at her unbelieving. “There are a lot of things that have happened to you that need to be explained,” she continued, “Amory would like to talk with you, and maybe shed some light on all that has been happening recently,” she gave me an encouraging smile and stood to leave. I grabbed her hand unwilling to be left alone with him.

“I saw those men lying on the ground. They were dead. I know they were dead,” I struggled to speak through my tears, my voice was deep and course, but I refused to believe them. I committed a horrible act, and I knew that I must pay for my actions. They were not going to sugar coat it for me. Surely the police would be here any minute anyways.

“Eden, the police are not coming,” Principal Saint seemed to read my mind and answer my very thoughts. His voice was more constrained and I could see that he was frustrated with me. “The police will never be involved. We have our own way of dealing with issues such as these. Now trust me, those men were not dead. They probably appeared that way to you, maybe even felt that way; but as I said before, Talbott was able to revive them and they are currently being held for questioning.”

“Why didn’t you call the police? Those men are dangerous. They tried to hurt us, they tried to kill us!” I was fully ready to face the consequences for homicide; but I was also more than ready to plead self-defense. As awful as I felt for taking another man’s life, I did realize that it was necessary. The fact that these men were not even in police custody made my actions meaningless.

“Trust me, those men are in custody. However, it is a different type of legal system than you may be used to. I’m afraid they will face a judge and jury very soon. A trial has been set for them and they will face their accusers soon enough,” a look of sadness passed across Principal Saint’s face and I was not sure if it was meant for me or for the men who would stand trial.

“So I will get to testify against them?” I asked, unsure if I was even ready to face them again.

“No, absolutely not. That is out of the question,” Principal Saint reacted quickly. I was instantly confused, but before I could ask any more questions, he continued, “What I mean to say is that Kiran Kendrick and Talbott Angelo will act as both witness and prosecution. Their testimonies will be more than enough to seal your attackers fate. Trust me,” Principal Saint wore the same look of sadness he had a few moments ago and I was positive this time it was meant for the attackers.

“But why can’t I speak on my own behalf?” I felt obstinate; those men tried to kill my friends.

“Haven’t you been through enough? Besides the trial will take place in Romania.”

“Romania?” I blurted out, much louder than I had intended. “What does Romania have to do with what happened here… in Nebraska? Isn’t there something about jurisdiction or international law or something?” I was now completely confused. Surely a Romanian court system could care less about what happened to a bunch of teenagers in the middle of America.

“They will not be tried by a Romanian court system,” Principal Saint once again answered the questions in my head and I was sure now that he was reading my thoughts. “We have our own judicial system and they will answer to us. Like I said, their fate I’m sure will be much worse than any human justice system is prepared to give them, trust me,” Principal Saint looked down at his shoes and shook his head slightly as if ashamed.

“Ok, I have no idea what you are talking about,” I looked at Aunt Syl, hoping she would shed some light on this bewildering conversation. “You are really starting to freak me out.”

“It’s alright Eden. You need to start trusting me,” he approached the bed and pulled my desk chair closer so that he could sit near me. My aunt stood up and crossed the room to look out my window. My throat began to close in nervous anticipation. “Sylvia would you make us some tea? This might be harder than I had imagined." Aunt Syl left the room silently and obeyed.

“How do you know what’s been happening to me? How do you know what I’m thinking? What do you mean by our justice system?” my questions tumbled out quickly and all at once. Principal Saint obviously knew much more about what has been happening to me than I did.

“What has been happening to you is completely normal,” when I rolled my eyes he continued, “Well it’s completely expected anyways. It’s completely expected for someone in your position,” he clarified. “You see Eden, you are special, very special.”
“If by special you mean crazy and this is some sort of weird intervention then just let me know where you are sending me and get on with it!” I couldn’t hold back my tears this time; they came in waves of choking sobs. All of my fears and anxiety finally manifested themselves in a very real manner. The strange things that had been happening to me and the inexplicable things I was responsible for were not normal, but more than that, they were scary.

“You are not a crazy,” Principal Saint replied a little disdainfully, but even more impatiently. “You did the only thing that anyone would expect you to do and that was to protect yourself and your friends. From what I’ve heard it was a very dangerous situation; you are lucky to be alive,” he said this with finality, as though this should be enough. “And I will say it again, you are not crazy. You drained those men of their magic; it was not a pretty task, but a necessary one,” he paused to let his words sink in. “I’m sure the magnitude of force you used on those men felt like murder, it probably felt worse to them, but Talbott was able to revive them. They are in custody now and soon we will find out what their exact purpose was. Then we will know why they attacked you children…. although I am sure I already have a reason in mind.”

“Drained them of their magic? What are you talking about?” I asked, highly irritated. I thought I was the crazy one? My emotions were at a level I had never experienced before and I felt as if I were on the verge of a breakdown; maybe I’d been on the verge for a while and this was finally the breaking point I’d been waiting for.

“Yes Eden, magic. I am sure you are aware that you are different from other humans, that you possess a set of skills that appear…. super-human. We have all been a witness to your erratic and unexplainable behavior; and after last night you can no longer deny it to yourself. I had hoped that somehow through your experiences you would become aware of what your powers are capable of and see that others around you possess the same set of skills. However, I see now how stubborn and self-absorbed you can be and can wait no longer. If something were to happen like this again, you need to be aware of what you are capable of,” he was a stern man, and I didn’t know whether to feel offended, shocked, or like a fool. This had to be some type of joke.

“This is not a joke,” he said louder, and with more conviction. “Open your eyes, Eden,” he shook his head and I knew he was frustrated with me.

“Amory, please, she’s just a child,” my aunt entered the room again carrying a tray of hot tea. She handed me a steaming cup and I took it from her gratefully. “This is new to her, she’s never been around anything your people can do until now; of course she’s going to deny it, to her it doesn’t make sense,” she walked over to hand Principal Saint his cup of tea, but turned back to address me soothingly, “It didn’t make sense to me either the first time I saw what your people could do,” Aunt Syl sat back down with me on the bed and put an arm across my shoulders. I knew that I should feel comforted by her gesture, but my mind was still reeling.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, my head spinning.

“Eden, I am not your real aunt,” Aunt Syl began. And Principal Saint gave a small chuckle. “You were given to me at a very young age after your parents had disappeared, I never knew them; I have always told you that, and that has always been true. But you see, we’re different, you are extremely special and I am only human,” she smiled at me and something stirred deep inside my soul, something that told me I should listen closer.

“You keep saying that I’m special, that I’m different, that I’m not crazy, but what does that mean?” I demanded; it was my turn to become impatient.

“Like I said earlier, you possess a set of skills that make you more than human, that make you different,” Principal Saint rejoined the conversation.

“If you’re talking about how I am able to burn down school buildings, or create tidal waves, or make things explode, then yes, I suppose I do possess a certain set of skills; but the last thing I wanted was for any of that to happen,” I folded my arms across my chest and shook my head. I was relieved in a sense that someone would finally be able to tell me what had been happening to me; but even more, I was angry that they felt the need to wait this long.

“Well, I suppose that’s part of it. But a better example would be what happened last night,” Principal Saint’s tone had softened. “You see all of the things that happened before, when your school flooded, or burned down, or you made a trash can explode in the theater, oh yes, we know about that, those were all manifestations of your magic. Eden, you have refused to use your powers, you continue to ignore their very existence. Because of that, the magic builds up inside of you and forces you to use it in less than ideal situations. Last night when you finally used your magic, instead of letting it explode meaninglessly, you saw what it could finally do; what you could finally do.”

“You’re saying all of the terrible things I have caused could have been avoided if I had been using my magic all along?” I cringed as I used the word “magic;” as if it were a real thing. “All of this could have been avoided if we would have just had this conversation a long time ago?” I was livid. I thought about the three schools I closed down before Kingsley and winced, knowing it could all have been prevented.

“You’re right dear,” Aunt Syl rubbed my back gently, in an attempt to soothe my boiling anger. “We had no idea those things would happen though. And we certainly never expected them to keep happening. You see, you are the first of your kind to ever be raised apart. We knew the magic would manifest eventually, we planned to deal with it when the time came. When it did appear however, it was so much stronger then we could ever have anticipated. We weren’t quite sure what to do, and we definitely weren’t sure if it was safe to integrate you into your kind. Finally we made the decision to send you to Kingsley, but it was a last resort, and even then you were in such strong denial. Magic was happening all around you, people were constantly reading your thoughts and you still refused to see the truth about who you are. We were not sure how to approach the subject.”

“Why would you talk to me at all, when you could just send a group of dangerous men to try to kill me? I understood that message loud and clear!” I said sarcastically. I knew that I should be asking other questions, more important questions, more realistic questions, but I couldn’t get over the fact that all of this time I could have avoided destroying everything I touched.

“Please don’t be angry Eden; we had no idea that would happen,” Aunt Syl looked as if she was going to cry and I instantly regretted my outburst.

“She’s right child,” Principal Saint glanced at the doorway and then back at me. “I don’t believe those men ever meant you harm. And I would never have let you go on that trip had I known that you would be involved. We assume that they were after Kiran and Kiran alone; you, unfortunately for your attackers, were there to teach them a lesson.” He half grunted a laugh and gave me a wink. “Eden, in my wildest dreams, I never imagined your magic would manifest so powerfully. At this point I am unsure what you are even capable of; but I do know that you are very, very powerful. It is time that you learned how to use your magic, not just for your sake, but for Kingsley’s sake as well,” his grin had turned a bit mischievous.

“So what am I then, some sort of witch?” I asked, still not losing my sarcastic edge, but softening my tone a little.

“Yes, I think that you are a witch,” I almost laughed, but realized that Principal Saint was completely serious. “Moreover though, you are an Immortal,” he said the word with a deep reverence, and I knew instantly, that this word…. “Immortal” meant something greater than I may have been able to comprehend.

“Immortal?” I asked in a whispered breath.

“Yes, an Immortal. We are your people, you’re kind. You are not human as you have been raised, you are an Immortal,” every time he said the word an electric pulse surged through my veins and I was struck with the same reverence that Principal Saint spoke with.

“So I am a witch that lives forever?” a small part of me began to believe him.

“Well, the real sense of the word Immortal was taken from us a long time ago, but yes, you possess the attributes in which describe a witch. The way you are able to control or create events and circumstances with your thoughts, the powers that you possess, all point to witch-like attributes. Or as our people call your kind: the Lamia. It is just another term for witch though,” he gave me a genial smile. I found myself slightly out of breath, my head spinning. I could hardly understand his words, but the harder part to understand was that I actually did believe him.

“The term Immortal today, really describes a set of four distinct super-human races,” Principal Saint continued. “Immortal is a way of life set apart from ordinary human life. We have our own justice system, our own monarchy, our own schools and our own belief system. You are a part of us, as much as we are a part of you. As a witch you occupy a specific purpose for our people and it is important that you investigate who you are and what you are capable of. It is also important that you no longer identify yourself as a human, but learn our laws, and standards. I believe if you do, you will finally come to terms with who you are. You will finally find your destiny,” something stirred inside of me and the electricity or magic or whatever began to rush through my veins. For the first time in my entire life I realized that I had just been told the truth.