Divulgence (Song of Sophangence Book 2)

by E. I. McAllistair

  Kissing him goodbye, Anaar leaves the room, headed to Professor Millard’s lab, as he apparently had been working on some amazing breakthrough that could change the landscape of technology. As soon as he had gone, Phavian sprang from bed, getting ready for his own day of planning. Phavian had three days to make the impossible happen.

  Trying to plan a surprise birthday party for someone as connected as Anaar proved to be much more difficult than he thought. He wanted to start planning earlier, but he was not sure it would stay under wraps for so long. Even without trying, Anaar had a way of loosening the lips of those around him, which made keeping secrets difficult. Normally that would be no issue since Anaar was the master of keeping secrets, his and others, but this was one that hinged upon him not knowing.

  The first thing that he had to secure was a venue. Phavian wanted a place that was both grand enough for Anaar, but also intimate. Such was the nature of Anaar. Though he had such a mighty presence, he only opened up to a small number of those whom he felt were worthy. Phavian had to capture that essence.

  He had been deeply considering this for some time, but nothing came to mind. There was actually one place that came to mind, but it scared him considerably to make a play for it. Without a doubt it fulfilled all the criteria, and would overall be the most amazing option anyway, but the price seemed insurmountable.

  Thinking there was nothing that could be done if he wanted things to be perfect, he showered and prepared himself to do something he never thought possible. Taking the train to the Administration Complex, he walked the rest of the way to the Administration Building so that he could better prepare himself. When he arrived at his destination, he found the person he was looking for was not in, so he had wasted a trip. For the briefest of moments, he felt relief, but he also knew there was only one other option, and it was far more daunting than an office visit.

  On the train ride over to his next destination he found himself battling cold sweats. He had been shot, stabbed, brutally beaten within an inch of his life, and a host of other terrible and frightening things. For whatever reason he would take all of those together rather than what he was about to do. Stepping up to the gate, squaring his back, attempting to look as calm and confident as possible, he rings the visitor bell of the grand palace before him, every second he waited feeling like years. A crisp female voice answered his call.

  “May I help you?”

  “Um, hi. I am here to see Headmistress Sastre.”

  “I do not remember her having any appointments scheduled. Are you expected?”

  “Well, no but I really need to talk to her.”

  “I apologize for the inconvenience, but she is not available to see you at this time.”

  “Wait! Can you please tell her Phavian Ingraham is here to see her about Anaar Vorpahl and that it is urgent?”

  There is a brief pause, then the voice resumes. “Please hold for just a moment.” After what seemed like an eternity to Phavian, the voice sounds again. “She will see you now. Please proceed to the front entrance, and someone will be there to greet you.”

  Releasing a breath held far too long, Phavian watches as the gates open to allow him entry. Walking down the extremely long driveway, on his way up to the mansion, Phavian takes in the opulence of the Headmistress’ residence. He heard she had the old building demolished to make a palace more suiting her tastes, but the spectacle was something else. Even though there was a dedicated subway stop, no students ever actually went to the Headmistress’ home. Phavian wondered if there were even faculty and staff that ever visited. Once the front door was in sight, he found there was already someone waiting at the door to greet him.

  Walking through the manse, Phavian found himself in disbelief that not only did Anaar spend an entire week there, but he frequented the place due to his training sessions with the Headmistress. He had begun to simply attribute it to his being a Water Affinity, but he remembered that his stay with the Headmistress was before she, or anyone else, save Master Shin, knew about his real attunement. The more of the ornate structures, artifacts of antiquity, and priceless art he saw, he became increasingly more hesitant in his decision to make such a bold move.

  Now seated in a parlor of some sort, he waited patiently at the behest of the woman who had been guiding him for the Headmistress to arrive. When she did arrive, it was almost as if there was a fanfare of trumpets announcing her presence and she practically glided in wearing a sleek pale blue formfitting dress. Cocking her eyebrow seemingly surprised that Phavian was indeed sitting there, she took her seat on the opposite side of him, giving a piercing stare that completely unnerved him.

  “Boy, what has that unruly child of mine done now to cause you to visit me personally so early in the morning? One would think he would actually take a break during his time off, but I suppose that would be far too much to ask.”

  “Oh… No! He hasn’t done anything wrong. I think. Do you know of something I don’t? I mean who knows with him.”

  Narrowing her eyes, “Why are you stammering boy? This is unlike the ever radiant leader, brimming with confidence that I am used to seeing.”

  “That is on missions though! This is personal! And I’m in your house…”

  “These meager surroundings cause your spirit to wither?”

  “More like what I have come to ask in these meager surroundings.” Noticing her face, he quickly clarifies. “Not that I am calling your house meager, I was just repeating the words…”

  Snapping her fingers impatiently, “Well come now. I do not have all day to entertain your mumbling. What have you come for if not something our sweet child has broken?”

  “Well it is his birthday in two days-”

  Checking her Vizer absently, “Oh my! Is it that time already? Hobb! Why have you not alerted me as to this event?”

  “Apologies. As there were still days before, and there were no specific alerts set-”

  “Excuses from everyone today it seems. Do make sure I am aware of this at least a week in advance for the future.” Turning her attention back to Phavian, “What is your involvement with his birthday?”

  “Well I’m his boyfriend! I should be making sure he is completely happy on his birthday. He doesn’t talk about that type of stuff often, so I wanted to make this as special as possible.”

  “Interesting. You have explained the grander purpose, but the intent of your visit is still not clear.”

  Taking deep breaths in and out, he prepares himself for the moment of truth. “I was wondering if we could host a surprise birthday party here.”

  Standing and crossing the room to him quite quickly and fluidly, all the while staring death at him, she towers over the chair in which he is sitting, at least in spirit. “You thought to leverage the relationship between the child and me, in some attempt to increase the margin of possibility?!”

  Breathing quickly now, pressing himself into the chair to escape the woman’s gaze, even though such was futile, he weakly responds, “Yes?”

  Leaning down caressing his face with her hand, displaying vibrantly painted nails, “Excellent. I applaud your gumption. Do have a bit more spine about you though dear. It would not be proper to have the strongest of our students exhibit such little backbone.”

  Hitting a sore spot, he immediately sits up straighter, his face defiant, “You and I both know I’m not the strongest in the school.”

  Pulling back, slinking toward her chair, “My, my, struck a nerve have I? It seems you have something to say on this matter.”

  “Why did you let Anaar pretend to lose to me? I know you must have seen how ridiculous of a throw that was!”

  Sighing drastically, “This must be a male thing… How is it that you think you lost?”

  “Is that a joke? You saw that! He moves like a cat despite his size and strength, and he has senses out of this world. In what way does he just trip and fall?!”

  Muttering to herself as she rolls her eyes, “Definitely a male thing…” Taking
her seat, crossing her legs, then fixing him with that piercing stare of hers, “You unequivocally won, there is no doubt about it.”

  “Anaar trains with you! I consider myself pretty good, but I couldn’t ever imagine going up against you! Of course he could just obliterate me! And he can’t die either so there is that.”

  “He could obliterate you, but he would not. He cannot. Do you know why?”

  “Because he would expose his powers to everyone?”

  “No, you simpleton! He could very well dispatch you while retaining his cover. He cannot because you control his heart. That is your true power. That child has literally gone to war for you. Even though he is an individual, so long as you hold that sway over him, you command his power. As such, you are indeed the strongest in this school. Utilizing the power of his feelings for you gives you a tool of unfathomable power. That is no different from the staff you wield, or the guns people carry.”

  “Are you saying that Anaar can never be his own person?”

  “He absolutely can be. He never has though. The boy I first met only had one person who could claim to wield his true power, that was his mother. He now has another who controls his strings. That is his fatal weakness. He will forever exist for the purpose of another. Perhaps it is a necessary balance for someone who wields power on his scale. The thought of someone mighty as he, who lives only for himself, is a frightful prospect indeed.”

  “I never thought of it that way…”

  “With age comes wisdom. Some take longer to achieve it than others, but it does eventually come. I have many more years than most. Before you accuse him of indiscretion, be sure to examine your own potential role in the issue.”

  “And it is because he loves me, and only wants the best for me that he is willing to take a backseat.”

  “That is a large portion of it. Though you exhibit a great degree of control over him, he is still a sentient, extremely intelligent being. He knows enough that exposure is not in his best interest, so the more attention he draws, the more people who ask questions. You have an unenviable situation. Though you wield great power by association, it is extremely unstable. The work that it will take to maintain any semblance of stability is one most would not care to take on.”

  “Why is it that everything seems so complicated with him? I just wanted an amazing boyfriend, but he comes with so many issues, as great as he is.”

  “What person does not come with issues boy? That is the burden you bear when tying yourself to another. The conflicts you produce that are invisible to yourself, are as opaque and pronounced as ever to another person.”

  “I guess that makes sense. Well I do want to show him how much he means to me by throwing him a celebration with all his friends.”

  “I do so love a good party! Leave these arrangements to me. I shall make it a night to remember. I will need the guest list no later than tomorrow evening. I even have something special in mind for the occasion.”

  “Please don’t tell me strippers.”

  Narrowing her eyes, “Excuse me boy?”

  Putting his hands up defensively, “Sorry! Sorry! I forgot who I was talking to. Please forget that. It is just that my friend Codi seems to think that is the key to any party…”

  “Yes, I have heard tale of Ms. Aya’s proclivities… I can assure you there will be nothing of the sort.”

  Sensing that he may have ruined further talks, Phavian stands nervously. “Well I suppose I should probably go now…”

  “Indeed. We would not want scantily clad individuals to suddenly appear now would we. When you have the guest list sent to me, I will ensure they receive proper instructions for the festivities.”

  “How am I supposed to get him here?”

  Sighing dramatically, resting her head on her fingertips, “Must I do everything boy? I will instruct him that we shall have a training session, one which I request you join.”

  “What if he refuses?”

  Piercing him with a gaze indicating the utmost affront, “He will not refuse.”

  Nodding profusely with a heavy gulp, he awaits someone to escort him out so that he may take his leave. Drenched in sweat with how tense the conversation became, he makes his way away from the residence with surprising speed. Once he had gotten back on the train, he began his work securing everyone he could possibly think of that would make Anaar happy to be in attendance.

  His first efforts were focused on those who were on the periphery of Anaar’s life, or relatively new. He figured they would be the most unlikely to drop what they were doing to attend a surprise birthday party the next day, especially if they thought they might be required to bring a gift. People such as Pryshka, Zenia, Jesus, and Ryn all came to mind, as they were friends, but they did not have the tightest bond, or may have a closer connection with one of his other friends. He even included Ripp in this category once he had thought more about it, simply because of the woman’s prickly attitude.

  When it came time to reach out to their closer friends, such as Maggie, Stefani, Dan, and Codi, he was surprised when Maggie, Stefani and Codi all proceeded to pummel him with not so pleasant words about not involving them in the plans. Codi in particular seemed upset her ‘world renowned’ party planning skills were not put to use. Thankfully, he saved Dan for last which was like a balm for his spirit as the only response he received was a devoted affirmation, and offers of what little assistance he could. He had told everyone they did not need to help him, but their attendance was what really mattered. He contemplated inviting Master Shin, as Anaar and the old man had become quite close, but there was no way he could ever see Master Shin attending an event as frivolous as a birthday party, nevertheless actually asking him.

  With the day drawing near, Phavian was bombarded with messages and calls, yelling at him for not telling them upfront it would be taking place at the Headmistress’ private residence. Many times he found himself needing to disregard their calls as he was currently with Anaar, and did not want to ruin the surprise. Finally, on his birthday, he awoke to an Anaar, busy as usual, prepping for the day’s activities.

  Rolling over, he questioned Anaar why he was up so early. “What are you doing?! It is your birthday, come back to bed!”

  Walking back into his bedroom, he looked at the man lounging comfortably in his bed. “Some of us can’t just bum around all day. We have things to do. Master Shin and Ixnes have already made it clear they will both be kicking my ass today. Not to mention Gramps has been in a frenzy about the results of this study we have been working on. Oh, I forgot to mention, you will be coming with me today. Prepare to be hurt. A lot. At least it seems like she is going to feed us after kicking our asses.”

  “Wait what?! I’m coming with you to train with the Headmistress?! You didn’t want to ask me first?”

  “That’s cute that you thought this was a request. Ixnes doesn’t do requests.”

  “I can’t compete on the level of you monsters! Who decides to assault their adoptive child’s significant other for their birthday?!”

  “You keep rambling on about this birthday thing. It is just another day in a long string of them for me. Frankly I am glad no one is making a big deal of things. No one else has had anything special going on for their birthday. I shouldn’t be any different.”

  “But you have the best birthday ever! It falls during the break! How awesome is that?”

  “It’s only a break for half the campus. The Seniors and Sophomores still have to work as their year winds down. How does that work anyway? I get that the Seniors are leaving, but aren’t there technically going to be two classes of Juniors soon?”

  “Yeah, it is weird, I know. Freshmen only come in every two years, so basically everyone just sorta shifts up once the Seniors leave, even if they aren’t officially done with their school year. You didn’t wonder why it was such a big deal when the Freshmen came in?”

  “I was part of that group, of course I didn’t. How did I have any frame of reference for what was go
ing on? There is also the fact that my first day here was far from normal, so I didn’t see much Freshman fanfare.”

  “Yeah, that is what makes the school so unique. You guys just happened to all be around the same age, but normally it is far more likely to have a mixture like you and Dan, where a person took a year off, just in hopes of getting into Sophangence.”

  “So it worked out for Dan, as he would have been a Freshman anyway?”

  “Yep.”

  “Huh. Well then, I have to make sure he knows that. I think he still feels somewhat like he is lower than us because he is a year older. Apparently, that is normal around here. How does this not get around more?”

  “It does, people just usually don’t ask until around this time.”

  “Well I have wasted enough time as is. Do you want to meet me at Ixnes’ place?”

  Jumping up from the bed with a start, “No!”

  “What is your problem?”

  “Are you crazy? You are the only person who thinks it is the most normal thing to stroll up to the Headmistress’ house! I’m not going alone!”

  “Fine, if you are going to be a baby about it, I will come back here to practice my violin before we go. Sounds like a deal?”

  “I don’t think a lamb feels better about being slaughtered just because they get an escort.”

  Shrugging and walking into the bathroom, Anaar disappears to start his day. Once he leaves, Phavian as per his last few days, springs into action preparing things for later. Ixnes had made it quite clear she expected Anaar to be presentable, which was something Phavian always struggled with anyway, so he had made sure to get Anaar an outfit that was not too formal as to tip him off, but was surely much better than the clothes he often wore.

  It was not until he came in to do his daily work that Phavian realized he had forgotten to invite Harston to the event. If he failed to at least invite the man, Anaar would never forgive him. Delighted at the invitation, Harston let Phavian know that he was already aware and would be in attendance. Though the older man was suspiciously in touch with everything that went on, it worried Phavian that he somehow had already planned to go.