by W.J. May
“Thanks. I love it!”
“Consider it a birthday present.” Molly laughed.
Rae’s smile faltered. Did Molly know? Then she realized her roomie didn’t have a clue, and instead of being nervous, she felt guilty. Sheesh, if it’s not one thing it’s another. “Th-Thanks, again.”
“Don’t mention it. Now, can we head down and get some breakfast? I’m starving.”
Rae leaned over and hugged Molly. “I’m glad you’re my roomie.”
The two made their way to the Refectory. Filling their trays, Rae bumped into Maria in line, her hand banging into Maria’s as her tray slid along the aisle.
“Oops, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“It’s fine. I think you shocked me,” Maria rubbed her hand.
They sat down at their usual table. Haley sat babbling to the twins something about her family planning on going skiing in Switzerland over the Christmas holidays. She glanced at Rae, her mouth open but no words coming out. She narrowed her eyes. “My goodness, who’re you trying to impress?”
Rae could feel her cheeks heat up.
“No one.” Molly plopped down beside Haley. “It’s for her birthday this weekend. She’s wearing my Burberry coat.”
Haley rolled her eyes. “About time you get that sacred tatù the entire school has so anxiously been waiting for. Finally, it’ll be over so we can all move on.”
Rae wondered if hot tea would do permanent damage to Haley’s face if she threw her cup at the bitch. The girl knew how to take the wind out of someone’s sails, didn’t she?
“Ignore Haley,” came Maria’s quiet voice. “She’s just green with envy. She’s jealous of your looks, your personality and the way every guy in this school stares at you. You have a history to talk about. She can’t compete.”
Rae nodded at Maria, the voice invasion no longer as daunting as at the beginning of the school year. Thanks Maria, I know you can’t hear me, but I appreciate it.
Maria’s smile faltered and her eyes went huge. A glass of juice slipped from her hand. Girls sitting beside her quickly jumped up to avoid the spill. Everyone reached for napkins to absorb the orange liquid.
Maria stared at the table, extremely focused on cleaning. Without looking at Rae, she inner spoke again. “How the heck did you just do that? I have NEVER had anyone reply to my thoughts before. Your birthday’s Sunday, but you can talk to me now? Are you having some pre-power?”
Rae froze with a spoonful of oatmeal halfway to her mouth. Had she thought-spoken to Maria? She could feel the inner buzz inside of her again. Staring directly at Maria, she tried again. Panic set her heart racing, but curiosity won over.
You can hear me?
Maria nodded, still staring down.
This is crazy. Rae shifted in her chair, trying to appear like she was just eating, not going out of her mind with anticipation. I can’t believe it. Sorry I scared the crap out of you. I had no idea I could do this. She paused, debating if she should tell Maria and decided to go with her gut. Can you keep a secret? My actual birth date’s today, but everyone here thinks it’s the fifteenth. I just wanted to see what my ink was before the school started treating me like a lab rat, so I didn’t tell anyone about the mistake.
Maria smiled at her bowl of cereal. No one at the table even noticed the two of them. “It’s all right, you don’t need to apologize. You just surprised me by answering back. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably keep it a secret as well. What’s your tatù? Is it the same as mine?”
Rae found it easy to converse this way. She noticed Maria picked up her pace as well – like they were just thoughts, not words in a conversation. My ink’s different. I’m going to check the chart later. She paused, unsure if she should share the ink’s image. She liked Maria and needed to tell someone. It looks like a fairy, with wings and everything! There’s also a neat Celtic design along the bottom. She shrugged. I guess my gift’s some kind of telepathy. I thought it meant I could fly. I was really hoping, but I tried getting airborne this morning. Unfortunately, gravity wouldn’t let me go.
Maria covered her mouth to hide a laugh. “I’m glad you didn’t try jumping out your window to see if you could fly. Remember, your gift’s pretty raw at the moment. It’ll take some time to strengthen and sort itself out. You have to learn to work with it and train it. Or have it train you as some of the professors say. I’m excited for you and, to be honest, I’m a little excited for me. This’ll help improve my skill, as well.”
Rae nodded as Molly leaned over, tapping Rae’s temple.
“You listening in there? I just asked if on Sunday, after you get back from the Infirmary, of course, you want to sneak out? You know, celebrate your birthday properly?”
“Ummm…” Rae didn’t know what to say. She glanced around the table.
“Come on, be devious,” Molly said with a mischievous smile. “You’re the last of the gals to get inked. We’ll head out to the sporting fields. I’m sure we can get some of the guys to come as well.”
“That’d be a riot,” Haley said. “Except we’ll get caught on the fields. Too obvious from the buildings.”
Rae saw the disappointment on Molly’s face and just couldn’t let it stand. “There’s a clearing behind the forest. I walk there all the time.”
Molly jumped around, all excited. “Wouldn’t it be a riot?”
Haley tapped her long, manicured fingernails against the tabletop. “I’m sure Riley, or one of the older guys, could get us some festive drinks.”
Molly’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You mean, alcohol?”
Rae nodded absentmindedly. She’d been listening but also trying to talk to Maria since Molly’d poked her. Had she lost the telepathy? Or, since her gift was still new had it somehow powered down? She could still feel the electrical buzz running through her body but couldn’t figure it out.
“Rae! Yes or no to the party?” Molly poked her in the ribs, creating a shock. It actually made Rae and Molly jump apart. “Sorry! That was a strong one.”
“I’m okay.” Rae laughed, rubbing her side. “The party sounds like fun. However, aren’t we a little young to be drinking?”
Haley snorted and tried mimicking an American accent. “Well, in big ol’ America, yous peoples huv to wait ‘til yer super old, like twenty-five to drink.”
“It’s twenty-one.” No way would Rae let Haley ruin her birthday.
“Whatever. We’ll get the guys to bring the booze and those of us looking for a good time can enjoy ourselves,” Haley said.
Molly clapped her hands. “I’ll spread the word. Let’s plan on meeting at ten, once Madame Elpis shuts her door for the night.”
It wasn’t long before the entire girls’ table whispered excitedly about the prospect of the party and being sneaky. Something none of them had dared to try since arriving. They continued whispering plans as they put their trays away and started to head off to morning classes.
Maria touched her arm and began walking beside her. “Let’s make sure we’re close by each other in the Oratory today. Then we can work on your gift without anybody else knowing.”
Relief flowed through Rae when she heard Maria’s voice back in her head. She only had a few hours to do this and she didn’t want to waste any of them.
They stepped out into the crisp morning air, heading to the Scriptorium for English.
Julian caught up to them. “Hello, lovely ladies.” His eyes traveled over Rae. “Hot bod in the dress. You had our entire table in shambles. Looks like several guy’s made bets on who’s going to take you out to lunch tomorrow. Lucky you!” He laughed, giving her a warm hug.
“Thanks. I appreciate you sharing that with me.” Rae pursed her lips and let out a groan. “Now I can spend the rest of the day avoiding any males except you.”
“Who said I wasn’t in on it?” The look on his face said he was teasing her.
Haley called out to Maria. Julian and Rae continued walking while Maria waited for Haley.
“You drew that just this morning?” Rae stopped walking.
“No, I drew it last night, just before midnight. I’m sorry I don’t know what it means, but I wanted to show you. Can you make anything out of it?” Julian pushed a lock of hair away that had fallen across his face.
Rae shrugged, hoping her eyes didn’t give anything away as she thought about the tatù on her lower back.
“Maybe it has something to do with your birthday.” Julian folded the paper and handed it to her. “Take it.” He chuckled. “I don’t plan on hanging it up in my room. I can just imagine what the guys on my floor would say and who’d try to buy it from me.”
“Do your drawings make you money?”
Julian squeezed her shoulders in a friendly, comforting way. “You’re the sweetest, most naive girl in the entire world. How can you not see every junior and senior boy is in lust with you? The way you looked at the dance only drove them deeper. Now today, again…”
Rae started laughing. Julian was pulling her leg, trying to get her to blush. She playfully punched him in the arm. “Nice try, Juls. I’m not gonna fall for that. You can dream on if you think you’re going to embarrass me. I’ll keep your drawing, though. It’s the prettiest picture I’ve ever seen, even if it is of me.”
Julian shook his head and chuckled. “I’ve got to get to class, but I’ll see you around this weekend.” He winked before darting off to the Oratory.
She watched him go, and as she continued walking, she noticed the humming sensation again. Then the strangest thing happened. She could see where she was going but at the same time, she saw a vision of Julian. He was lying down and suddenly got up to his art easel and began to sketch. She watched him draw the same picture he’d just given her. Weird. It was like she watched him have his vision – like she’d been in the room, staring down at him. As quickly as the vision had come, it disappeared.
What the heck was that?
The rest of the morning continued with little moments where Rae could feel a bit of her gift growing, but then fizzled out. It took more work than usual to concentrate in her classes. There were times when she felt she was on the verge of grasping her ability, and then it would flutter away and leave her feeling empty. She was relieved when lunch was over and it was time to go to class in the Oratory.
Maria met her inside the hall and grabbed her hand. She immediately began talking to her by thought. How’s it going?
I keep having all these weird sensations. I tried to talk to you again this morning but couldn’t.
Maria nodded in sympathy. It’s normal. It took me over a week before I could even communicate. My father has the same ink so I knew what I was going to be able to do. I’d try and the wrong thoughts would go out or I’d scream in frustration and he’d get my scream. It’s a pretty complicated process. Don’t worry. Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know.”
Rae sighed in frustration. She only had one more day before she’d be in the Infirmary, under the watchful eye of Dean Carter and whoever else. She wanted to get this sorted out before – before they had a chance to judge her or say she was just like her father and lock her away forever.
Headmaster Lanford entered the hall, handing out a copy of the inking chart. “Students, please gather ‘round. I’d like to discuss everyone’s sixteenth birthday.” He stared directly at Rae as he spoke, and she thought she saw him wink. “Let’s discuss the process. Who wants to go first?”
While he spoke, Rae folded her sheet of paper, knowing she wasn’t going to be able to answer anything without admitting the truth. She folded the paper one more time and ran her fingers over it to make the crease tight. As she did so, she felt the paper slice deep into her skin, between her thumb and index finger.
“Ow!” She dropped the sheet of paper and turned to look at her palm. Charlie stood beside her. He grabbed her hand to see what had happened. He touched the inch-long cut lightly with his finger.
“Just a flesh wound.” He grinned. “I’d heal you if I could, but my ability only works on me.”
Rae noticed blood running down her finger. “I’ll grab some tissues from the bathroom.”
Walking toward the bathroom, the familiar inner buzz ran through her body. She kept her left hand over her right, pinching the cut so it wouldn’t bleed all over. The pinching also seemed to relieve the sting of the cut. Pushing the door open with her hip, she slipped into the bathroom and turned the faucet on to run her hand under the cool water.
She stared down at her palm in surprise. No cut. At all.
She brought her hand closer to her face, unable to even find a small lift of skin. It was like the wound had disappeared. It was like…Rae gasped and stared at her stupefied reflection in the mirror.
The cut had healed by itself.
Charlie had touched her hand, and then she’d held the cut and healed it. Her head started to spin with images and thoughts throughout the day. She’d talked to Maria this morning because…And Julian. The vision. The powerful shock from Molly had been because Molly had touched her first. She hadn’t even realized, even considered. Chemistry was easy because Nicholas had touched her hand to correct the way she held a wire.
Rae leaned against the cool limestone wall and slid slowly to the floor. She covered her face with her hands, not sure if she should cry or scream.
She’d been inked with her father’s gift. She could mimic other people’s tatùs. Her uncle had been right all along – the sins of the father are the sins of the son, or daughter. She was being punished for what her father had done. The school would go crazy with the news of her gift. They’d lock her up or send her back to New York.
Her mother had wanted so much more and now Rae was going to make her turn in her grave.
Rae sat up as she thought of her mother. Her mother’s letter had forewarned her. She knew she’d have a powerful gift. She’d also said Rae had goodness inside of her. She was her mother’s Rae of Hope.
She needed to use her gift for good. No one had ever had a inking like hers before. That was pretty obvious. No one would know what to expect, and she could hide some of her abilities. She had two days. Two mornings, two nights.
Staring up at the ceiling, she spotted a box of bandages on a shelf by the soap dispenser on the wall. Grabbing the box and ripping it open, she stuck one over the spot where her cut had been, then ran back to class. She needed to listen to everyone today and remember all of their abilities.
She sneaked back to her spot beside Charlie. Rob stood telling the other students about when he realized he could shape-shift, and immediately knowing he was an eagle. He said it took him weeks to get the courage to try to fly. When he finally did, it turned out to be the best feeling in the world. Plus, the view was amazing.
Charlie began giving his spiel of DaVinci versus the medical marking of the Vitruvian Man.
Rae listened closely to everyone, captivated by each story. She was amazed to learn she wasn’t alone. It had taken days, even weeks, for each person to figure out how to use their gift – even if their parent had had the same marking. Rae had already accomplished that in a few hours. She nodded as each person spoke, as if now hearing and understanding for the first time.
“That’s it for today,” Lanford said.
Rae looked up, shocked class was over.
“We’ll continue our discussion on Monday.” He smiled at her. “With a new ink-stamp able to share and ask questions.”
Rae began collecting her things and, as she turned to leave, had a sudden thought. She raced over to Rob and touched him on the arm.
“Hey.”
Fluttering her eyelashes, she hoped she appeared coy, not stupid as she felt, “Has Molly or anyone mentioned we’re having an outdoor party on Sunday night?”
He gave her a huge smile. “Yes, she told me about it. I’ll see you there, I assume?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Making sure she didn’t touch or bump into anyone, she dashed out of the Oratory.
Running to the dorm, she quickly changed clothes and grabbed her backpack, throwing in a pair of jogging pants and a sweatshirt. She tore down the marble stairs of Aumbry House, rushing out the back door toward the path that led to the forest. She didn’t stop running until she reached the other side of the forest, where the open area for Sunday’s party would be. No one was around; it was completely vacant, just as she’d hoped it would be.
Dropping her backpack against a tree, she concentrated on her marking as she ran. Instinct took over. She closed her eyes and spread her arms out wide, dipping down before taking a small leap.
Everything changed in an instant. It was like she’d dropped her body…and tumbled into the soft earth, rolling. However, when she straightened, claws and feathered wings were her balance. If a bird could smile, she was grinning ear to ear. She fluttered about, managing to get up to a branch in a surrounding tree. A memory of the drive into school came flashing back. She remembered seeing a bird flying by the bus. It must’ve been Rob. Closing her eyes, she jumped, letting herself fall and arched upwards toward the sky.
Wind whipped by and ruffled her feathers. She opened her eyes, flapping her arms in excitement when she realized she was actually flying. Arching her new body toward the clouds, she glanced down and enjoyed the view high above the treetops.
She tried to let out a whoop. It sounded like a caw. She’d copied Rob’s gift and was now an eagle. How cool was that?
After half an hour of flying, Rae checked out the school from the view she had, constantly keeping an eye on the area where she’d left her backpack. No one ventured onto the path or into the small forest. Deciding it was time to head back, she flew back over the grounds one last time. She saw Julian and Devon get into Julian’s car and drive away. She noticed the twins come out of the post office and Riley head over to Dean Carter’s office. She spread her arms (wings) wide and enjoyed one last view from that height before heading back.