Revelations (The Revelations Series Book 1)

by Pamela Daniell

  Alex edged closer to her with a grin of amusement on his face. “I told you there was no use in running; that I would find you no matter where you hid,” he taunted as he approached her.

  Jenna bit her lip as she took a step backwards, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way to escape. She had known she couldn’t hide from him; that he would find her. But she wasn’t going down without a fight. And, in the forest, she had the advantage.

  “Don’t come any closer. I’m warning you, stay back!” she demanded.

  “Or what? You don’t think you can beat me, do you?” he laughed taking another step closer.

  Jenna stood her ground, this time surveying the area around her for anything she could use to defend herself. This was a fight she was determined to win. She’d had enough of Alex telling her she wasn’t concentrating and that she needed to work harder. After today, he would never again tell her how weak she was.

  She took a deep breath and visualized the dirt on the ground. Within seconds, the particles of dust began to rise into the air around Alex. They encircled him, creating a barrier between them that enabled her to leap across the stream unhindered. She stopped on the hillside on the other side and turned around.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” Alex asked. With a wave of his hand the dirt fell to the ground and he took a step towards the edge of the stream. He raised his hand; an energy ball forming in it that sizzled in his palm.

  “Are you sure you want to play this game?” he asked. And with a flick of his wrist the energy ball sailed through the air towards Jenna.

  Jenna willed the stream to rise and the energy ball collided with it head on causing it to dissipate before it could hit her. “Did you think it was going to be that easy?” Jenna asked, a little sneer appearing on her face. “I told you I’m done playing your games.” Come on, one more step and I have you, she thought as if willing him to come closer.

  Alex took another step toward the stream and Jenna laughed. “Bad move,” she pointed out, her face splitting into a wide grin. She mentally called to the tree roots to wake from their slumber. They rose up out of the ground and wrapped themselves tightly around Alex’s ankles. Then continued to climb up to his arms encircling his body so he couldn’t use his hands and forced him to the ground.

  Alex fought a losing battle against the vines that had gripped him tight. “Okay, I give up. Now, could you release me?” he mumbled.

  “Not before I hear you say it,” Jenna yelled, not trusting that Alex would give up this easily.

  “You’re really going to make me say it, aren’t you?” he asked shaking his head.

  “Unless you want to stay tied up like that all night. Yes, I want to hear the words come from your mouth.”

  Jenna was enjoying this. This was the first time she had ever used her abilities against Alex and had won. As far as they knew, no other Nephilim had ever been able to control the elements and it had taken her awhile to master them.

  Alex shook his head. “Fine, you win. Now, let me loose.”

  Jenna laughed as she released the roots from her command and they sank back into the ground. Thank you for your help. May you rest once again, she conveyed to the roots in her mind. She no longer needed to speak the words aloud. The elements seemed to know what she was thinking and would respond at a simple thought from her directed toward them. Jenna dashed back across the stream and threw herself into Alex’s arms hugging him tight.

  “I did it,” she exclaimed. “I actually did it!”

  Alex released Jenna and took a step backwards. “Good job,” he told her, a wide grin appearing on his face. “I never saw that coming. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to get you to do for the last three months.”

  Annoyed Jenna shook her head. “You know, Alex, it’s not like I haven’t been trying. All this is new to me. It took me a while once I figured out I could control the elements to be able to do it as fast as I just did.”

  “I only meant that your powers are getting stronger. That’s what we’ve been working towards. That’s a good thing, Jenna. Believe it or not, I was once like you, so I do know how you feel.”

  Jenna smiled. “Mom’s going to be so happy,” she said.

  Alex lowered his head. “I’m sure she will be,” he mumbled.

  Jenna realized what she had said. “I’m sorry, Alex. I’m sure your mom would be proud of who you’ve become. Not many people would have risked their lives to rescue me.”

  “After what happened to me, I couldn’t leave you there. It’s just that sometimes when I see you with your mom, I miss mine.”

  Jenna lowered her head. “I’m sorry she was murdered. I can’t even begin to understand how you must feel.”

  Alex turned toward Jenna. “Being here has helped. Your mom is great. It’s just that…”

  “Just what?” Jenna asked as she kicked a stone on the path.

  “Well, I’ve never been able to understand how God could let my mom be killed and allowed me to be experimented on. I mean, what kind of God lets that happen to an innocent person, Nephilim or not?”

  Jenna thought about it for a minute. She wasn’t sure what to say. “I can’t blame you,” she finally said.

  Alex smiled. “Enough of this talk. Let’s get back to the house and tell your mom what you learned.”

  Jenna bowed her head. “You know, Alex, I don’t know if I’ve ever said thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be lost.”

  Alex smiled and headed back towards the house. “Come on,” he called over his shoulder as he took off running. “I’m starving.”

  Jenna followed Alex back through the forest. She wished she could find a way to show him just how grateful she was. If it hadn’t been for him, she didn’t know what would have happened to her.

  She watched him as he ran ahead of her. She loved spending time with him. There was something about him that made her smile and feel as though everything would turn out okay. They stepped out of the forest and into their backyard as Jenna’s mom opened the back door to call them in for lunch.

  “Perfect timing, lunch is ready,” she called as they came out of the forest. “How did it go?” Erin asked as they came through the back door into the kitchen.

  “Great! I finally beat him.” Jenna smiled as she sat at the table. This was the first time she had been able to win against Alex. They had been training almost every day for the last three months; and each time she had lost, he had told her she wasn’t working hard enough. But what he didn’t know was that she’d been practicing commanding the elements when he wasn’t around.

  “Jenna, that’s wonderful,” Erin exclaimed. “You’re going to have to tell me all about it over lunch.” Erin set their sandwiches down in front of them and took a seat beside Jenna. “It’s good to know you can defend yourself now. Maybe you can start regular high school soon like you want.”

  “Can I?” Jenna exclaimed. She was so excited she could barely sit still. Her mom had been afraid to send her to school where they didn’t know anyone until she knew she could defend herself. So, she was being home schooled. If they were going to be living in this town, she wanted to make some friends. She knew her life would never be the same but she refused to let it get in the way of trying to be normal.

  “I’ll look into it next week.” Her mom reached over and patted her hand. “Now, tell me how you beat Alex.”

  Jenna sat straight up in her chair, unable to contain her excitement any longer. “Well, as usual he gave me a head start. So, I ran into the forest where I knew I’d be my strongest. I headed for the stream, but it wasn’t long before he found me. I tried to use the dirt to distract him but that didn’t work. He used his abilities to clear a path through them. He tried using an energy ball but I used water to destroy it and then I summoned the tree roots to bind him and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t free himself. That pretty much sums it up.”

  Jenna’s mom paused for a second when Jenna mentioned the energy ball, then started chewing again.
“That’s great. I know it’s been hard, but I just want what’s best for you, honey. I think that since you have proven you can protect yourself you deserve a break. I’m officially giving you the rest of the week off.”

  “Wait! That’s not a good idea,” Alex snapped. “Now is the time she needs to be working harder than ever. She can’t just stop training.”

  Erin glared at Alex. “She can and will. She has done nothing but work hard these last few months.” Then her face softened. “I appreciate you helping her, but she needs a break. She’s still a young girl and needs to live life while learning how to manage her Nephilim side. It’s important she doesn’t forget what it’s like to be human.

  Alex shook his head in protest. “I want you to know I’m against it. There are still people out there hunting us,” Alex said anger simmering in his eyes.

  Jenna swallowed hard, lifted her chin and met Alex’s gaze. “There will always be people hunting us,” she pointed out. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me without any arguments. Now, I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. I’m taking a few days off from training.” After everything Alex had done for her, Jenna hated being mean to him. But, she really needed some time away from her Nephilim training to feel human again.

  Alex shot up from the table. “If that’s what you want. But don’t blame me if your powers regress.” Without waiting for a response he stormed out of the kitchen and into his room.

  Jenna watched as Alex rushed out of the kitchen. She didn’t understand why he was making such a big deal out of her taking a few days off. It would do them both good to relax. I’ll talk to him later, she thought as he slammed his door shut. After he calms down.

  “So, what do you want to do tomorrow?’ she asked turning toward her mom who was deep in thought.

  “What?” her mom responded after a moment.”

  “What do you want to do tomorrow?” Jenna repeated.

  “I’m sorry. I was thinking about something your father once told me. But, that’s not important right now. I have tomorrow off from the diner. I think we should go into town and look around. There are a few stores I’ve been meaning to check out but haven’t had the time. Why don’t you go through your clothes and see what you need. We’ll get it tomorrow.

  “Sounds good,” Jenna said standing up. “I already know I need a few shirts. I’ll see what else.”

  “Thanks,” her mom said. “And, Jenna, good job today. I’m proud of you.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Jenna replied. As she left the kitchen, she thought about going to talk to Alex, but changed her mind as she passed his door. She was sure he was still mad about being overruled by her and her mother.

  Still excited about her victory over him, she quickly made her way up the stairs and into her room.

  “She whirled around her room as she sorted through the clothes trying to decide what she should get rid of. She didn’t have much. Everything had been lost in the car fire so when they got to town they had picked up just the necessities. Most of those clothes were already worn out or stained thanks to the training.

  After finishing she plopped down on her bed and grabbed the mystery book her mom had bought for her last week on her way home from work. She loved to read mysteries. They were her favorites. She’d had a whole shelf filled with her favorite ones at her old house. She couldn’t bring herself to give any of them away, figuring that someday she would read them again.

  Maybe it’s time to start a new collection, she thought as she settled back on her pillow and opened the book. She soon found herself deeply immersed and unable to put it down.

  JENNA woke the next morning smiling with her victory over Alex still fresh in her mind. She never thought she would be able to master the elements; her first try had been a disaster. She shuddered as she thought about how she had tried to get the water to form a whirlpool in the kitchen sink, but instead it had burst through the pipes with so much force it had snapped the faucet off sending water spraying all over the place. Alex managed to shut off the valve under the sink quickly, but not before the floor was flooded.

  When she had tried to summon the wind, a lawn chair had propelled through the living room window; and she had created such a dust storm by trying to control the earth it had taken days to air the house out. There was one element she had yet to learn how to master though, and that was fire. Maybe it was because she was too scared to even attempt it due to her previous failures with the other elements, or maybe because it was the most powerful element of them all.

  Jenna glanced at her clock on the bedside table and couldn’t believe it was ten A.M. already. Remembering her mom was taking her shopping today, she threw her comforter off and hurried out of bed, grabbing some clothes from her dresser and quickly getting dressed.

  She grabbed the brush off her dresser and ran it through her hair, then pulled it up into a ponytail so it wouldn’t be in her face all day. She put on her shoes and hurried out of her room into the bathroom to brush her teeth; then raced down the stairs and into the kitchen to see her mom sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper.

  “Good morning, sleepy head,” she said as Jenna walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

  “Good morning. I was worried you left without me.” Jenna grabbed an apple out of the bowl in the middle of the table and took a bite.

  “I wouldn’t do that. I know how much you’re looking forward to going.” Erin folded the paper and set it on the table. “Do you want some breakfast before we leave?”

  “No, I’m good,” Jenna said taking another bite of her apple.

  “Good, then let’s head out. We can get lunch after we do some shopping.” Erin picked up her purse, fished the keys out and headed for the front door.

  Jenna finally noticed that Alex wasn’t with them. “Wait, where’s Alex?” she asked, looking around for him.

  “He said he didn’t want to go. He took off into the woods a little while ago.” Erin opened the front door and waited for Jenna to follow before closing it behind them.

  Jenna wondered if Alex was still upset about her taking the day off. The last thing she wanted was for him to hold a grudge against her and work her even harder. But, that wasn’t something she was going to worry about.

  Town was about fifteen minutes from their house. It was the perfect distance, close enough that if they needed anything they could get it quickly and far enough away to provide them with the privacy they needed for Jenna to train undetected.

  “Do you think we could drive by the school?” Jenna asked, excited about the thought of becoming a normal teenager again. She missed her friends back home and although she could talk to her mom about anything there were some things a best friend was needed for. She had contemplated calling Carly a few times to tell her she was safe but she knew it would put Carly in danger. She was sure the Densen Institute was watching all her former friends to see if she would contact them. So, she didn’t call. She thought about texting or emailing her, but those could be traced. So she had come to the realization that she would never be able to see or talk to her best friend again, and that alone was breaking her heart.

  “If you’d like to, we can,” her mom replied making a left onto West Avenue. The school was halfway down the road on the right hand side. “There it is,” her mom said pointing to a big brick building. “I’ll go next week and sign you up. I have to forge your old school records so the Densen Institute doesn’t trace us here. Remind me to stop and pick up a printer and paper so I can get to work on it when we get back.”

  Erin turned the Jeep around and pulled back out onto the main road. It only took a few more minutes before they arrived at the outlet center in the middle of town. They pulled into a space in front of Bob’s Electronics and climbed out of the car.

  Jenna followed her inside and browsed the aisles while her mom picked out a printer.

  “Jenna, come here,” her mom called from two aisles over.

  Jenna made her way ove
r to her mom to see her looking at the pre-paid cell phones.

  “Which one would you like?” Erin asked. “I think it’s important we always have a way to contact each other, especially when you start school. I checked into it and these phones can’t be traced, and are cheap enough to throw out once a month and get a new one just to be safe.”

  “You’ve thought of everything haven’t you?” Jenna scanned the cell phones then settled on a simple red flip phone.

  “I’ll get the blue one and get Alex a black one that way we won’t get them mixed up.” Her mom put the phones in the cart along with three calling cards then headed for the checkout.

  After putting the bags in the back of the Jeep, they headed for Lilies Town. “Come on, I think you could use some new clothes to replace your old ones.” Her mom opened the door for her to enter the store that centered on teen apparel and accessories.

  “Mom, are you sure we can afford this? I know you can’t be making that much at the diner,” Jenna whispered as they walked into the store.

  “You don’t need to worry about money, Jenna. The job at the diner is just for show. We have plenty of money hidden away. You didn’t think your father would leave us struggling did you?”

  “Mom,” Jenna stopped and hesitated for a moment before she continued. “Can I ask you a question, about dad?”

  “Sure, honey, you can ask me anything.” Her mom guided her over to a clothing rack filled with shirts.

  Jenna glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear their conversation. “I understand that being a girl Nephilim is rare, but how come he had to leave us because of it. Alex told me his father raised him until he was called back to heaven.”

  “Your dad wanted you to have a normal life. He was afraid that when the angels found out you were a girl they would insist on raising you to ensure you’re loyalty to heaven.”

  Jenna pulled a blue shirt with a pink peace sign on it off the rack and looped it over her arm. “What do you mean loyalty to heaven? Why wouldn’t I choose to be good?”