by Skyla Madi
“Still boring…”
“What kind of goddess do you want to be?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when we graduate from here, you get put into a certain path. Most get a fire or water job, but I want something to do with plants and nature. We all have a certain part in the seasonal change. Well, most of us; some of us get drafted.”
“Drafted?”
“Didn't you learn anything?”
I shrugged.
“Sometimes the higher power forces gods and goddesses into fighting vampires and other underworldly creatures and some people choose to fight the dead.”
My mind flashed to Hunter.
“No way…” I gasped in disbelief.
“Yep, now come on, we’re late,” she urged, grabbing my forearm.
When we made it to class, we weren't late at all. Students were still trickling into the room and sitting down.
“We aren't late,” I pointed out.
“I know, but I didn't want to risk it.” She chuckled.
We sat at the end of a long desk in the back row.
“So how do you know what you’re going to be when you leave here?”
Mila sighed. She was hoping that I would drop the conversation.
“I don't know, life experiences, preference, skills. At the end of our schooling, we are judged by various tests in different elements. At the end of those tests, we are allotted into categories— seasonal goddesses, war goddesses, educational goddesses, and goddesses of light — which is working for the higher power. If you’re intellectual and good at teaching, you’ll most likely be an educational goddess; if you’re a warrior by nature, you’ll most likely fight monsters and so on.”
I thought long and hard about what Mila said. I didn't want a boring job like sprouting flowers in spring and making the leaves fall in autumn, but on the other hand, I didn't want to spend my life slaying vampires. I needed to think long and hard about what I wanted to do and just hope that I got put where I wanted to be.
“What will happen to Eli if I’m forced to fight monsters?”
“Your guardian angel will be assigned to someone else or is forced to fight with you for your protection. It can go either way.”
I didn't want to do any of the careers Mila mentioned.
“I could be like Mum and run away from it all,” I suggested.
“No, that's dangerous. Your powers become weak and you'll be lucky enough to even use your magic. It would be like putting a chicken in a wolf’s' den and telling him not to eat it.”
“You’re comparing goddesses and vampires to chickens and wolves?”
“No, I'm comparing powerless goddesses and vampires.”
I thought about Mum and how she conjured the ball from the fire, it wasn’t enough to hurt Hank.
“The last thing you want to do is what your mum did. Harsh, I know, but look what happened. Just do your best and hope you’re given a job that keeps you safe. Then marry a nice god and have a family.”
I wonder how Mila would react if I told her I didn't want a god? That I wanted a guardian angel who was a million times stronger and a million times sexier than any god. What if I told her it was Eli that I wanted? No I couldn't; Raina would no doubt be pressuring her for anymore 'dirt' on me, even more so now, since I punched her in the face.
My thoughts were interrupted as Rylan walked through the door; he spotted me and then avoided eye contact. Unlucky for him there were only a few seats left and he had to walk past my table to get there.
“Hey,” I greeted as he walked by.
He didn't reply.
“What did you do to him?” whispered Mila.
“Nothing.” I didn't do anything, did I? “I said I wouldn't go to the dance with him.”
“What? Why did you say no?” She looked at me as if I was crazy.
“Because, I didn't even know there was a dance, and also because I don't like him and I didn't want to lead him on.”
“You could have gone as friends.”
“Then you go with him,” I declared.
“No, I’m going with Gabriel.”
“No, you— wait what? When were you going to tell me?”
“When you had a date, then I wouldn't feel bad. I don't want you to go alone,” she confessed.
“I don't care about going alone. I don't feel that way about any of the boys at this school.” Except Eli, the one guy I couldn't date.
“Oh Ruby, just do it,” she begged.
“I thought being with guardian angels was forbidden?” I whispered to avoid being over heard.
“It is, sexually,” she whispered ever so quietly whilst glancing around cautiously. “You can date them, but intimacy is out of the question.”
“Won't the higher power zap you with lightning or whatever it is he does?”
Mila laughed. “First of all, he doesn't ‘zap’ people, he’s just the ruler and protector of our kind— like a king, and second of all, the higher power only finds out if someone reports it. If you are in love or having sex with a guardian angel and no one knows, then how can the higher power find out? He can't watch everyone, he’s too busy, but if someone reports it, necessary steps are taken to prevent further intimate interactions.”
“Okay, settle down,” called a statuesque woman that entered to the room and stood at the front of the class room.
“That's Miss Willow,” whispered Mila.
She was a mature woman, but stunning nonetheless.
I can't exactly recall what happened in Agrobiology, mostly because my mind was fixated on the whole goddess career thing and on seeing Eli in the auditorium later. The rest of the day was the same; my brain was too full to absorb any more information — there was no way I would be chosen to be an educational goddess.
When I entered the auditorium, my nervousness disappeared; there were at least seven other students sweeping and packing away mats. Good, the less one on one time, the better.
“Ruby, I was starting to think you weren't going to show up.”
“And miss out on cleaning a sweat-filled auditorium? I wouldn't dream of it.” My nervousness spiked again when the students put the brooms away and started collecting their bags.
“See you tomorrow,” Eli called out to them as they exited.
“It's all clean.”
“Not even close.” Eli chuckled, picked up a cloth and spray bottle, and walked over to me.
“Start wiping down the seats.”
“You aren't serious?”
“As serious as a heart attack.”
I couldn't help but giggle at his joke, it was cute seeing him so happy. The auditorium had at least four hundred seats. It would take me forever to clean them and when I reached about one hundred, Eli came over and stopped me.
“That's enough for today.”
I glanced at the huge clock on the wall; I had been cleaning for an hour and had only done a hundred seats.
“Sorry I’m so slow, I'm just tired.”
“That's okay, do the rest tomorrow.”
I said a quick goodbye; I didn’t want to hang around and become even more of an inconvenience.
Going back to my dorm room was depressing. I couldn’t help but feel like I had accomplished nothing today. My door jarred a little before opening, and when I entered, it felt different. I glanced around my room until my eyes rested on a letter that was perched on my pillow. My heart sank and my stomach lurched into my throat. I had told myself over and over this was all a sick prank, but when I saw the letter, my confidence wavered. Forcing myself to move, I thudded over to the bed and picked up the letter. Slowly I opened it; it was the longest few seconds of my life.
Ruby,
I have Camilla.
I told you I could make you come to me.
See you soon,
H.
The Ungodly
My knees met the hard floor as I dropped and gasped. I felt like vomiting, crying, and screaming all at once. I quickly controlled
my breathing and tried not to panic. I couldn't give Eli the idea that something might be wrong. I no longer thought this was a joke; it was Hank, but how did he manage to get the letters to me? That didn't matter, what mattered was saving Camilla. I needed to leave Sage and I needed to leave as soon as possible.
It was like a switch. I was no longer emotional. I was angry, determined, and numb. Camilla and Aunt Jen were the only family I had left and I was not about to lose them.
I grabbed my lesson timetable out of my bag and looked at tomorrow's set up. Damn! No good! Tomorrow I had mostly spares, which meant Eli would be spending most of tomorrow with me. I needed to leave tonight, it was my only option.
I raised my bag above my head from the bottom. Papers, pens and books fell out. I rushed to my wardrobe and threw in a few clothes. A pair of sweat pants, a pair of loose jeans, a few singlets and two jumpers. I had to wait for dinner to grab some water and food as an emergency supply. I needed to keep my energy up whilst traveling.
I paced the room until dinner time. My nails were destroyed; I had bitten them to calm my nerves. It didn’t work.
Knock, knock. I opened the door and as expected, it was Eli.
“Why are you so nervous? You are making me nauseous,” he cringed.
“Oh, I have a test tomorrow, for Fluviology. Very nerve racking,” I lied.
Eli gave me a 'that's not the truth but I'm not going to argue' face, which I returned with a 'would I ever lie to you’ expression.
We headed towards the dining hall. The whole way I was trying to keep my emotions under wraps. We sat by ourselves, just like last night, and dinner was mini Hawaiian pizzas. Despite my nausea and stress over Camilla and breaking out of the school, I forced myself to eat. Eli only picked at his food.
“Relax, it’s just a test, or so you say,” he said.
“I know, it's just…” I thought of another lie. “It’s my first test here and I just want to make a good impression.”
Eli looked like he was beginning to believe my story.
“How far away from my old town am I?” I asked out of nowhere.
“About a four hour trip. Why?”
I searched my brain frantically for a response. “I thought that maybe I could visit them. You know, down the track.”
Eli nodded but didn't elaborate.
“Do you think you could do me a favor?” I asked.
He eyed me suspiciously.
“Do you think you could get me a few bottles of water and some extra food? When I study, I get really thirsty and peckish, and I just can't focus when—“
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
Well that was easier than I expected.
“Yes. I’ll do that for you.”
The rest of dinner was quiet, and sure enough, it was time to go. Eli ducked into the kitchen before we left and brought out two bottles of water and a few slices of mini pizza wrapped in plastic.
“You’re acting very strange tonight…” Eli said as we walked side by side back to the dorm. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. Like I said, it’s just test nerves.”
It didn’t feel good lying to him, but I didn’t have a choice. Saving Camilla was my problem and my problem only. During the walk back to my room, I soaked in as much of his appearance, smell, and voice as I possibly could. When he left and I closed the door behind him, I couldn't help but shed a tear, this could possibly be the last time I would see Eli. I didn't want to think about that right now. I didn't need another reason to back out of doing this. Family comes first.
I laid on my bed, planning how to get past the door lady. On my way in, I noticed it was Mrs Ploit watching the girl’s dorm tonight. She was quite old, but extremely alert; getting past her would be difficult, and there was no way I could out run the guardian angels.
Finally it was midnight; the time I had chosen to leave. I didn't particularly want to leave at night, but it was the best chance I had to get out without being spotted. It was also the best time to be ripped apart by vampires. I tied my hair into a tight bun and threw a beanie on top. Next, I slipped into a pair of runners and tied them tight. Lastly, I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door. I stood for a few seconds, there were no noises. I quickly but quietly made my way to the foyer. There was Mrs Ploit. She was typing away on her computer.
I needed to get past her somehow. I searched the area for any kind of distraction. I noticed a vase of flowers on her desk, luckily for me it was filled with water. I focused hard on the water, nothing happened. I even tried moving my hand, but again, nothing happened. I tried one last time; the water pushed up one side of the vase, causing it to tip off her desk and onto the floor with a loud smash. She leapt out of her chair, allowing me to sneak around behind her and out into the girls’ courtyard. I did feel a little guilty; Mrs Ploit would be in a lot of trouble tomorrow when they noticed I was gone, but if I ever survive this, I’ll explain how it happened and hopefully get her off the hook.
I sprinted outside and headed for the car park. Surely there had to be a gate that led to a road. There, in the distance, I saw a huge cast iron gate, and to the sides were two booths, each filled with two guardian angels. I didn't see this coming. A huge spotlight was shining over the car park, so I hid behind the bushes to the side. Just when I was about to give up and circle the school to try and find another way out, a back SUV rolled up to the gate. The driver, a very tall and masculine female, stepped out of the car and walked around to the back. She opened the boot, pulled out a basket and walked over to the booths, leaving the boot door open.
This was my chance, I had to get into the back of the SUV and pray that it was leaving. I ran as low and as fast as I could and dived into the back of the car. Luck was on my side tonight, because in the boot was a blanket. I didn't hesitate, I just threw it over me. My heart was beating off the charts and my skin was beaded with sweat. In my head I prayed the woman would drive out of the gates and not U-turn back into the school.
The boot door slammed shut, so far so good. Next, the driver’s door was opened then shut and the car roared to life.
“Please, please, please. Drive out the gates,” I whispered ever so quietly.
The car started rolling. I breathed deeply, in and out, as the rocks crumbled under the tires. Slowly, we picked up speed. We couldn't be going through the school driving this fast, so I assumed we were on a road that ran alongside the school. We turned again and shortly after, rolled to a stop. This can't be right. We drove for barely ten minutes. The driver once again got out of the car, this time locking it behind her. I popped my head up to look out the window. We were in front of a house, a house that I recognised, because I had walked through the backyard. It was Mr Aleksandrov's house.
“Shit.” I had to think of something and fast, before she decided to move the car through the gate of Mila's house. I climbed over the backseat and unlocked the passenger’s side door. I stumbled as my feet hit the gravel. I flung my backpack over my shoulder and sprinted in the direction we had come.
Shortly after, I reached a long straight road. I didn't know which way Bridgewater was, but I needed to get off this road before anyone realized I was gone.
I walked for hours and I was still on the same road. Either I was going the wrong way or Eli meant four hours by car. There were no cars and no hint that the road was going to end any time soon, so my only option was to keep walking.
The sky grew lighter and I sat down on the side of the road, taking a well-deserved break. I finished a whole bottle of water as headlights beamed in my direction. My first thought was to dive into the bush and wait for it to go by, my second thought was to try and hail it down. What were the odds that it was a guardian angel? They couldn’t possibly know I was missing yet. I still had few hours before breakfast. Either way, it was a chance I needed to take — I would never make it to Camilla and Aunt Jen's house otherwise. I stuck my arm out. Thankfully, the car pulled over. Suddenly I began to feel this wasn't
such a good idea; I was an eighteen year old girl, alone, in the middle of the woods. Every inch of my body was telling me to run, but I didn't. I opened the door; luck was definitely on my side tonight because a pretty woman's smiling face was on the other side and in the backseat, two small children slept. Immediately I felt a lot safer.
“I'm Sue, where are you heading?” she asked.
Her voice was very American, quite possibly from Texas.
“Ruby. Bridgewater?”
“Perfect, luck must be on your side tonight. Hop in.”
“If luck is on my side, then it’s definitely a first.”
She eyed me sideways. “What's a girl like you doing out in the middle of nowhere so late? Where are your parents?”
Would scare her if I told her my mother was murdered by my stepdad — a vicious, blood-sucking vampire, who was now trying to kill me? That he’d kidnapped my cousin in order to get me to abandon the protection of my guardian angel and lure me from my safe magical school?
“I go to a boarding school here. Just on my way back to visit my parents. Unfortunately, I forgot where the bus stop was,” I lied.
“You poor thing, I would never leave my children alone in the woods.”
“Yeah, well, such is life. Do you mind if I nap?” I asked.
“Go ahead, sweetheart. It’ll be a while before we get there.”
I closed my eyes. My body must have been over tired, because I fell asleep. I needed energy for what was about to come.
I didn't dream. I didn't even feel like I slept. A warm hand touched my arm, I jumped. It was Sue. Her face was filled with sympathy and her kids looked at me like I was crazy. The sun made me squint at our surroundings. Bridgewater.
“We’re here, honey, what’s your address?”
I gave her the address and she rolled up to our house. I thanked her and apologized I didn't have any money to give her.
“That's okay, I'm just glad I got a young girl home safe. You can never be too sure these days.”