Blessed: Academy of the Seraph

by Brandi Elledge

  My knee jerked up and down nervously. No need to worry just yet or plan an exit strategy. He was probably just going to ask a few questions then send us on our way.

  Jake had pulled out his phone and was showing me his new Instagram photo, but I was barely paying attention as names began to be called in alphabetical order. Great. Why did my last name have to start with an A? Apparently, they had a few recruits asking questions, because the names were being called faster than I had anticipated.

  Jake said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we were touched? Like straight-up angel blessed.”

  Not at all. “Sure.”

  “You know, I heard that the demons are kicking asses and taking names.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, maybe that’s why they have to test so frequently.”

  “Nah. They have to test because everyone in the county would be trying to say they are touched.”

  Nope. Not this girl. Totally inaccurate statement.

  “Jake, you do realize that, if you get selected today, you will be fighting not only demons who are employed by the darken, but you will be at war with the other academy that trains their students to become darken.”

  Jake pointed at the commander who was on stage. “Look at that dude. Whatever side he’s on is the side I want to be on. He probably eats demons for breakfast.”

  I rolled my eyes. “So, what do we do? Fill out a form, and if we think we’re one of them, they run us through a more advanced test?”

  He shrugged. “I guess.” He leaned in close and whispered, “So, what do you think the fully blessed can do? I wonder if they can shoot laser beams from their eyes.”

  “Who knows?”

  “Wouldn’t it be my luck to be one of the blessed just to find out that I’m a demi whose blood is super diluted. Who am I kidding? I’ll still take it. That’s bragging rights.”

  “Even if you were touched by one of the darken?”

  “The archangels fell, too. They just didn’t get labeled as the bad guys. The way I see it is, an angel is an angel.” He gave a wave over his body. “Don’t I look like I come from an angel? I could so be a demi.”

  He was trying to make me laugh, but I wasn’t in the mood. “You sure do. Man, I hope they hurry.”

  Jake gave me a weird look before he went back to playing on his phone. “Why hurry? We are getting out of algebra just for this, and if we’re lucky, we will get out of history, too.”

  Finally, I heard my name. Gabriella Arien.

  I gripped the armrest when my name was repeated.

  Jake lightly elbowed me. “Hey, you’re up.”

  “Yeah”—I laughed nervously—“I’m up.”

  When I walked up the stage, someone ushered me to the right. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants again and made a pledge to myself to not do that thing I did when I was super nervous—rambling. Words would just spew out of me like I was possessed. But not today. Nope. Today, I refused to ramble. I was going to be cool. Chill. There was nothing to worry about. I had succeeded in dodging these fools for almost two years, and even though weird things happened around me, no one had made a connection that I was infected yet. I had this.

  With new confidence, I plastered on my best poker face as I was ushered to where a makeshift cubicle had been set up. Mr. Hottie himself gestured for me to step behind the walls. In all my life, I had never seen someone more handsome.

  When his eyes met mine, I saw his body tense and his jaw clench as his eyes roamed all over my body. There was no way he knew what I was just by looking at me. I didn’t even know what I was.

  I began to sweat profusely as he stood there, just staring at me. I nervously straightened my flannel shirt. Were there holes in this one? Did I have syrup on my face?

  He must have known he was staring, because he said, “I’m sorry.” His voice was strained, almost like he was in pain. “I thought …” He cleared his throat. “Please, step over here.” He looked as if he was forcing himself to relax, which made my anxiety rise.

  There were several potted plants on the side of the stage lined up in a row that the theater teacher was using as props for Where the Wild Things Grow. The plants’ leaves gently lifted as if a breeze was coming through, but I knew better. They were reaching for me.

  I made sure to walk a little farther than he had suggested so his back was to the plants. If he thought I was odd, he didn’t comment. He just took out a wand of sorts.

  I immediately started to panic.

  “What’s that?”

  His eyebrows went to his hairline as he studied me. “It’s how we tell if someone has powers. Just hold still, and it’ll be over in a second.” He was curt and to the point, something I would have appreciated if I wasn’t about to pee myself.

  “Is it safe to use if I have metal in my body?” Maybe there was a way to get out of this. Where was the damn form I was supposed to fill out? This had to be a violation of some sort.

  “Of course it’s safe.” He looked exasperated. “Do you have metal in your body?”

  “No.” My eyes immediately searched out the closest exit. “I was just wondering.” I then closed my eyes and pushed the warm hum that I always felt throughout my body into a tight ball and mentally tried to hide it.

  My eyes opened as the wand went over me slowly then lit up green.

  The commander narrowed his eyes that turned greedy as he scanned over me just as the wand had done.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Good news, huh? I passed.” Nervously, I then said, “You know, green means go. Everybody knows that. Am I right, or am I right?” Oh, gawd! I was beginning to ramble more and more.

  He talked into an earpiece that I hadn’t seen before. He was all official-looking, and I was probably screwed.

  “Have you possessed any powers or shown any signs of anything abnormal?” he asked.

  “Nope, nothing, nada.” Why couldn’t I have just stopped with nope? My lips parted before I could stop them. “Zilch.”

  “Are you sure?” He narrowed his eyes. “This makes no sense. Try to think. The abnormalities could even be something small that has happened, like having good intuition about people.”

  Oh, that was putting it mildly. I always knew when someone had ill intent. Also, I had that thing with animals, like I could perfectly communicate with them. Then there was the thing with plants and trees, and a couple of other little crazy things that happened to me or around me.

  I bit my lip and frowned. “Yeah, there’s nothing out of the ordinary happening with me. So unfortunate, too. It’d be cool to have superpowers, but that’s a negative for me. I’ve never shown signs of being infected.”

  If possible, he stood taller, like a looming shadow over me. His green eyes bore into mine as if he was trying to read my mind. What if he could read my mind? What if that was his superpower?

  Sweat dripped down my spine as I mentally pictured lots of unicorns eating tacos. If he was reading my mind, he was about to be confused as hell.

  “Nothing, you say?”

  I tapped a finger on my chin. I had theater for a whole month. I needed to tap into those limited acting skills like I was performing on Broadway. “I mean, I’ve got good intuition about people, but only because I’m a behavioral expert. Kidding. So kidding.” I rocked back on my heels. Don’t try to be cute or funny and don’t ramble. Just don’t. “Seriously, I don’t know what else to tell you. I’ve never shown any powers.”

  With his green eyes, he raked my body. “I’m sure. Sit down, please.”

  Oh shit. “Sure. No prob.”

  I sat in one of the two chairs as he turned his chair around, straddling it. He rested his chin on the back of the chair and just looked at me like he was studying me for an exam. With his hypnotic green eyes, he scanned my face like he was going to paint it later, or like he was reading me.

  Little tacos danced in a perfect formation while unicorns pranced around, leaving glitter trails with their hooves. The plants behind him looked like a tropical storm ha
d hit. I needed to calm the hell down. If he turned around, I was screwed.

  I took a couple of deep breaths. I was going to be fine. For affect, I added a fake yawn. Here’s me being relaxed.

  “Are we about done here?”

  “Testing days are exciting for most.” He made a gesture to the surrounding makeshift cubicles. “All the ones being tested now, I can feel their excitement. They hope and pray that they are one of the blessed, even if they are a low percentile demi.”

  “Yeah, I bet.” Not me. I had enough of those nightmares that might not add up too much but was enough to deter me away from anything heaven sent. Thanks, but no thanks.

  He talked into his earpiece again, and then he sat there, just staring at me, until a small red-headed girl came over and handed him a file.

  My leg bounced up and down as he read the file. I caught a glimpse of a photo of me.

  “Your birthday is on New Year’s?”

  “Yeah, so?” Oops, that might have been a little defensive. I tried to counterbalance it with a smile that showed a little too much teeth.

  “It says here that you avoided the last several tests. Any reason why?”

  “Avoided? Oh, I wouldn’t use that word. That implies that I didn’t want to be here. No, I just happened to be switching schools or was deathly sick on those dates.” Never been sick a day in my life. “I mean, why would anyone want to avoid testing?”

  He threw the folder onto the table. “You said earlier that you’ve never shown signs of being infected.”

  Shit. I laid a hand on my chest. “No, sir, I think you misheard. I said I’ve never shown signs of being blessed. The acoustics in this place aren’t the best. There’s not a lot of extra money for the school, but I love this place.” All six weeks that I’ve been here. “Go, Titans!”

  “You see, I don’t think there is anything wrong with my hearing, and I know there is nothing wrong with the wand.”

  At his words, the salvia dried in my mouth.

  He yelled for someone named Johnny to take over his post as he grabbed my elbow and tugged me out of my chair. At his touch, my body began to hum as a pleasant feeling began to crawl over me. I couldn’t help looking up at him, seeing his jaw tighten. He didn’t seem to be feeling what I was by his mere touch.

  Somehow, my legs stayed under me as he walked me out of an exit door and toward a woman who had a small table set up outside of the school.

  “You’re taking me to the alley? What are you going to do? Shoot me?”

  He grunted. “Don’t be silly.” He handed me over to the small-statured woman who was in her late forties. In this heat, her gray hair curled around her framed glasses.

  The commander said, “Margaret, we have one of the touched”—he said the word slowly, as if to make a point—“whether she wants to admit it or not.”

  She gave me a friendly nod, even though she looked confused as to why I had to be forced to her table.

  He pushed me down into a seat, his hand branding my shoulder. “And I think she’s a runner, so be careful.”

  Everything was happening too fast.

  “Runner? What would I be running from? You’ve been mistaken with your two-dollar, Wal-Mart, blowing-bubbles wand. I’m not blessed, infected, and definitely not touched. None of the above. I won’t be checking any boxes here today, folks.”

  They both looked at me like I was crazy.

  I took a deep breath. “Look, I think there has been a mistake.”

  The commander’s green eyes held a touch of impatience. He leaned down so close to me that his lips skimmed my ear. “I have searched so long—” He abruptly stood up and faced Margaret. “Get her registered, please.” Without waiting for me to say another word, he turned around and strolled back inside of the school.

  It took several seconds before I could get my breathing under control. The commander was as hot as he was dangerous.

  I took a deep breath as I faced my next obstacle. “Margaret, was it? What a beautifully old-fashioned name. So charming. And what a beautiful sunny day it is. Everything about today is just so great.” I was spiraling out of control, but God help me, I couldn’t shut up. “You know what would be great on such a hot day? Ice cream. There’s a little shop down the way. What do you say I go get us a scoop?”

  She laid a hand on my arm, stopping me from standing. “Child, it’s eight thirty in the morning.”

  “Silly me. Coffee then?”

  She gave me a comforting smile. “Everything is going to be okay.” Her hand warmed over my arm as she closed her eyes. She made a humming sound in the back of her throat, and her body swayed to and fro as her eyelids fluttered, before they flew open in shock. “Yes, dear, they have been mistaken.”

  I smiled. “See?” I tried to stand again, but she didn’t release me.

  “You are way more powerful than the wand was letting on. It shouldn’t have just turned green. Maybe orange or possibly red, but not green. Which makes me wonder exactly what you are.” She frowned as she picked up my file. “Surely not blessed by the darken.” Then she patted my hand. “Don’t worry though, child. The commander gives even the darken blessed a chance at the academy.”

  “Look, lady. No offense, but you’re crazy. You trust a cheap wand that lights up, and then you all”—I closed my eyes and swayed in my seat while moaning—“and then you’re like, yep, you’re infected, and you expect me to be like, sure and thanks? No. I want to talk to your manager. You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to cause a scene or get you fired. Let’s just put this behind us. You go your way, and I’ll go mine.”

  Margaret sighed. “Child, it’s not a bad thing to be touched. Not sure what you’ve heard, but you’ll love the academy.”

  Heard? I’d heard nothing. But I had seen a helluva lot in my dreams about angels, and I wanted no part of that shit storm.

  She slid a huge, white binder with the logo of black wings my way. “Take this and read up on it. You’ll need to report to the school first thing tomorrow. You won’t be able to enter the school by yourself, so we give out several addresses that you can choose from. Pick one and text the number on the back of the folder to let your guide know your estimated time of arrival. If you don’t have adequate transportation, that’s fine, too. The guide can pick you up from your house. If you don’t show up, they will come for you. Sometimes, you just can’t fight destiny.”

  I tilted my chin up in defiance as I snagged the stupid binder. This was my life. My choice. They had no right to force me to the Academy of Seraph. My destiny was not to get mixed up in that mess, and I would do everything in my power to avoid that arrogant commander and his stupid school.

  Margaret was correct. I didn’t show up for classes the next day, or the next, and then henchmen showed up at my door.

  Both men looked like The Rock impersonators, dressed in all black with matching sunglasses. One of the Rocks announced that their names were Dan and Richard. I filed the information away under “don’t care.” They gave me five minutes to pack my belongings, which was overkill, since I didn’t have much.

  “Boys, I need to use the restroom before we head out.”

  Both of the Rocks just stared at me.

  “Okay, well, I’ll just go take care of business.”

  I went into the small bathroom and turned on the bathroom fan to muffle the noise that I was sure to make by opening the window. Then I pulled myself out the window and looked down. It was a two-story jump, but due to being infected by the holy ones, I knew that whatever I potentially broke would heal quickly. It would still hurt like hell, but we all had to make sacrifices in life. A little pain wasn’t going to deter me, yet it was still scary as shit.

  I threw my duffel bag out the window. Maybe if I was lucky, I’d land on it, and it would break my fall. Then I took a deep breath and jumped, missing the bag by a good foot. The ground met me before I was ready, and the wind was knocked out of me as I lay there, thinking I was dying. Eventually, I rolled onto my knees t
o try to gracefully crawl toward the shrubs. If I could just lie down in the bushes for a second, play a little hide and seek until I caught my breath, I would be as good as new in a couple of minutes. Bet I could outrun the blockheads, too. In fact, as soon as I had air back in my lungs, I would run like the wind. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was all I had.

  I almost made it to the hedge when a size fourteen boot came into my peripheral vision. I ignored Bigfoot and crawled faster, ignoring the pain in my ribs.

  Hands grabbed me under my arms and gently helped me to my feet.

  I blew a leaf from my face as I squinted at one of the Rocks. “Hey, bud, didn’t know you were coming outside.”

  He grunted. “Boss said you were a runner. I prepare.”

  Seriously? “Could you have not yelled don’t jump or something?”

  “Funnier this way.” He pointed to the other Rock. “He videos it.”

  I glared at them both. I wasn’t going. No, they would have to kill me first.

  I took a swing at the one who still had an arm on me, and I swear the dufus rolled his eyes.

  He patted my head. “Sleep, child.”

  And damn it to hell, that was the last thing I remembered until I woke up on a plane where they sat on either side of me, squishing me with their beefy bodies.

  As soon as I made eye contact with one of the beef heads, his eyes widened like he was scared I would jump from the plane.

  I could not believe my luck had run out. I glared at everyone who made eye contact with me. Then I decided I would scream my head off. Surely, someone would come to my defense.

  The slightly more intelligent one tapped my head again, and sleep hit me like a fist.

  The next time I woke up, I was in the back of a car that was going down a gravel, one-lane road. Then the Rocks parked in a grassy parking lot where I saw a sign that read, “National Park.” One of the Rocks exited the car and plucked me out of the back seat. I refused to make this easy for them.

  I stopped walking, so the Rock started dragging me. My heels left trails in the dirt, but when that proved to be too difficult, he threw me over his shoulder, and we began to hike up a mountain. I sighed loudly as I realized we were definitely far from Virginia.