Divulgence (Song of Sophangence Book 2)

by E. I. McAllistair

  “My relationship with the Headmistress is born of a ball of complications. I seem to get into a lot of trouble. She has helped me out more times than I’d like to count. As for being a special enforcer, I can’t say I am aware of that role, but I do worry about the impact a bunch of spoiled, superpowered American citizens might have on international perception. Based on these missions I have been sent to recently, we aren’t exactly in the popular circle right now.”

  “When are we ever?”

  “Fair point. That is why I’m so careful. I get into enough trouble on my own. I don’t need any help, and I don’t want to bring people into my messes.”

  “Maybe if everything wasn’t a damn secret with you there wouldn’t be so trouble for you to worry about. It’s never a straight answer with you. That doesn’t inspire trust you know.”

  Sighing as he places his hand up to block Jesus coming in for a sloppy drunken kiss, “I know, but I have my reasons. Everyone does. Things would definitely be worse otherwise.”

  Shaking her head, “I don’t know why I expected anything more from you. I get it, but it is about as much trouble as asking why you pretend you couldn’t wipe the floor with anyone in the school.”

  “Wiping the floor, and murder would be the same thing for me. I don’t understand why everyone feels like turning someone into their constituent parts would be right, or socially acceptable, even at our school.”

  “I’m not even talking about you being a walking detonator. I’ve seen you do things with ease most people in the world could only dream of. You are somehow a better shot than I am, and you don’t even use guns. That’s not normal.”

  Finding the conversation was taking a turn in a direction he would rather not travel, he thought of being quiet, but that would only further implicate him, giving evidence to her claims. Instead he turned the conversation back toward her, and her plans after graduation. “Well, what are your plans when you leave school?”

  “I was going to go straight into the military like my parents, but after seeing what my mom went through, I’d rather go into something where I can be a specialist from the start, rather than them treat me like some interspatial wagon.”

  “That makes sense for you. You are far too talented to just play typical Transporter role. It’s a gross waste of potential.”

  “Flattery isn’t going to make me suddenly forget about you dodging my comments, but I appreciate it.”

  “Well, I did dodge you, but I also truly mean what I said. Stefani is pretty broken up about you leaving. I would have never thought you two would get this close when we met that first day. With how often alumni are on campus, unless you are actively on a mission, you could still spend quite a bit of time with her.”

  Grinning as she took a sip of her drink, a portal opening to send away an errant chicken leg that came flying in her direction, “I never thought you’d become one of Phave’s conquests. I suppose you are different at least since you were able to tame him. As for Stef, I don’t think she needs me anymore. At this point I’m going to be more of a hinderance than a help.”

  “Do you really think she wouldn’t benefit from you being around anymore? She adores you. She looks up to you. She is terrified of you, but I don’t think that these are necessarily mutually exclusive.”

  “I can’t help her anymore…”

  “Just you being there to support her is helpful. I think you are really just afraid of how strong she is becoming. She might very soon surpass you if she continues at this pace.”

  Anaar’s words clearly struck a resonance, as Ripp’s normally stoic scowl slightly gave way to a visage of knowing fear. It was true that the scared girl she once knew, who knew nothing about her powers, or her potential was all but gone. Ripp had always prided herself on being such a force to be reckoned with, despite her traditionally utilitarian abilities. Stefani could in many ways be considered the same. Though her abilities were unique, most people would not see them as having the raw offensive output someone of Codi’s or Anaar’s caliber might offer.

  Thinking about what was to come of the girl with practically limitless potential, Ripp found herself unable to stay seated at the table with everyone, instead taking her leave to take advantage of some quiet time to herself. With the noise gone, she could finally deeply ponder the words of Anaar, checking to see if any of her fear bred feelings of resentment or jealousy as well. In her heart she felt she did not have ill will toward Stefani and her achievements, but logically one would need to be completely daft not to see the similarities in their situations, and the subsequent issues that came with them. Since she was leaving, she could not help but think she should be passing the torch along to Stefani, encouraging her with all she had, but there was still something in her that just did not sit well about the way she was leaving the school.

  That night everyone stayed up very late, the resort staff being quite accommodating as it was not unusual for their residents’ internal clocks to be essentially backward from their own. There were a number of games and activities for them to partake in, some simply lounging in the shallow waters of the beach, while others learned of traditional games native to that region to engage in. Ripp had made her way back to the group, while Codi and Pryshka had disappeared somewhere, Phavian being the first to offer up his explanation of their whereabouts knowing Codi so well. After consuming so much alcohol, and general activity, it was close to 4am before the last person made their way to bed.

  The morning was met with everyone awakening partially dehydrated, and shocked at Pryshka’s walk of not so much shame from Codi’s room. Instead of everyone coming together to eat breakfast in one big group like they had done their dinner the night before, the resort staff offered up a number of items that would be readily available, with the option of ordering something fresh. Sometime the night prior in the drunken haze that most people experienced, it had been decided they would go snorkeling for their first activity of the day. As such, everyone donned their swimwear and set out for their snorkeling destination.

  When they arrived, it seemed Stefani was unaware of what exactly snorkeling entailed, as she adamantly refused to dive underwater when she had spent so much time on her hair and makeup. As everyone pressured her to simply give in, she sought desperately for a solution that would get her out of it.

  “Ryn! Can’t you just make a barrier around my head, like a helmet?!”

  “Sorry Stef, you know my shields are strong, but I’m a proximal shield user. You’d need a remote shield user to pull that off.”

  Phavian, sympathetic to the girl’s plight leans over to whisper in Anaar’s ear. “Can’t you do something?”

  “Like what? Make water not wet?!”

  “You can do that?”

  “Doubtful, but that isn’t the point. Why do you even care?”

  “That girl is too pretty to get all that hard work ruined. We can’t all have silky straight hair like yours. The struggle is real for us Black folk.”

  “To be fair, Stefani is the one who picked the destination. We could have gone hiking in the mountains or something.”

  “Now who is missing the point? Why don’t you make a barrier for her?”

  “And how exactly am I going to explain that oh wise one?”

  “Oh, shit, that’s right. Most people don’t know about your powers.”

  Shaking his head, “Sometimes I wonder why I keep you around…”

  Biting his shoulder playfully, “Stop acting like you don’t love me. Hey, you can breathe underwater right?”

  “In a matter of speaking yes… Why? What bullshit are you thinking up for me?”

  “I was just thinking you can get way better pictures than I can, even if I can hold my breath for a long time. My dad loves the ocean, so I was hoping to get some good shots for him.”

  “Fine… Anything in particular?”

  “Just anything that looks cool. Go deep. I want him to have some really unique stuff.”

  “You know light only tra
vels so far down right? You will also need to distract people while I go on this little photography session for you. Someone is bound to realize that I have been underwater for far too long and get worried.”

  “Can’t you like, teleport in water?”

  “I won’t have on any clothes! Plus it isn’t teleportation, it’s just easier for me to move my molecules around when I’m in my aqueous form and submerged in water.”

  “So… That’s a no?”

  Staring at him for a moment in disbelief, Anaar simply walks off the boat into the water without saying a word. Propelling himself downward further and further at an impressive speed, he noted that it had become quite dark, and he needed to modify his body to feel comfortable under the pressure. Swimming around, he took a number of pictures, of reefs, aquatic life, and other scenes, but he began to wonder if they would be too dark.

  “I believe I can be of assistance with that. I can modulate your senses to better process the light, thus making for better pictures. Afterward I can also modify them to reduce the gloom in the photo.”

  Huh… I suppose. I don’t know why I am going through all of this anyway.

  “It was a request from Mr. Ingraham. It is only natural for you to be more complicit than normal.”

  I don’t know why it was so important we got pictures this far out. There are literally sharks swimming beneath our bungalow. Sometimes he can be so…

  It was then that Anaar realized his mention of sharks could not have been more timely. Rushing toward him, no doubt ready to take a bite out of him, was a particularly large shark that looked more than capable of swallowing half of him in one go. He had not realized just how far he had gone until he looked toward the surface to find it was practically no longer in sight. Though he had no desire to harm the creature especially since he was the intruder, he also did not want to know what it felt like to become a meal for a shark.

  Kicking off, he attempted to escape the shark, but it was clear that this was its terrain. As they neared the surface and the shark closed in on him further and further, he began noticing the others that were snorkeling, unaware of the danger he was bringing. Asking silently for the shark’s forgiveness, he severed its head cleanly off, the clear water becoming stained with its blood. It was Zenia who was the first to notice the billowing cloud of blood in the water, which caused her to surface quickly to alert others.

  “Everyone! We were looking for Anaar! I think I found him! He must have been attacked! There is blood everywhere in the water! We need to help him!”

  Not more than a second after she had finished calling for help, much to the distressed looks of everyone around, Anaar surfaced, something being held just barely out of the water by his hand. Pulling off his snorkel gear, he looks around at everyone and smiles.

  “You think the resort knows how to prepare shark?”

  When everyone saw what he was holding in his hand was a fin of some sort, they all sighed with a collective relief, though no one there actually thought a wild animal of all things would do Anaar in. Freezing the end of the shark that was still bleeding from where Anaar had mysteriously left it headless, Phavian lowered the temperature of the rest of the shark so that they would not need to rush back to the resort in order to drop it off. The person manning the boat was at first not happy with the attempt to bring it aboard, but after Codi promised to grease his palm a little, he seemed much more amenable to the idea.

  With the water now murky with blood, no one really wanted to continue snorkeling. After chastising Anaar for killing an ‘innocent’ sea creature, Maggie suggested they return to the resort so they could relax for a while. Back at the resort, a number of people simply laid out in the sun, while others got massages, and a few simply took naps as their internal clock still told them that it should be the middle of the night at that point. Once everyone was back up and moving about, Ripp who had been quiet for the most part was found to be having some sort of an argument with Phavian.

  “I want a rematch!”

  “What are you talking about?! This is supposed to be a vacation! Why are you even worrying about something like that?”

  “I don’t like how things went down. I can’t graduate without going at it again.”

  “Then don’t fucking graduate for all I care. Why should I need to prove something that has already been proven?”

  “Because you are too scared I might kick your ass this time!”

  “I seriously doubt that, but whatever Ripp. Can’t we just enjoy the vacation?”

  Hearing all the commotion, Dan is the first to respond to the ruckus.

  “Y’all fixin’ to get to hittin’ and shit? What Phave do wrong?”

  Looking at Dan with a shocked face, “Why do I have to be in the wrong?!”

  “Because you do dumb shit all the time. I don’t know why Anaar puts up with you.”

  Wheeling to see Codi with Pryshka in tow, Phavian cannot help but feel attacked by everyone all at once. “That isn’t even fair! And why are you acting like no one has noticed you and Pryshka fucking like rabbits since we got here?!”

  “Don’t try to change the subject. We want to know what you fucked up this time. Why can’t you go be useful like your boyfriend? He caught dinner. If he is the hunter, shouldn’t you be the gatherer or something? Go pick some fruit and stop making a mess of things.”

  “This is complete bullshit! I’m the one being accosted, with Ripp trying to pick a fight, but it is somehow my fault?!”

  Sparks flashing in her eyes, “Did someone say fighting? Count me in! This is going to be awesome! Hillbilly Dan, you getting in on this shit?”

  “Hell yea! Wait… Why y’all always callin’ me a hillbilly? Dat shit ain’t nice…”

  “We do it out of love. Probably.” Cupping her hands to her mouth and screaming at the top of her lungs, “Everybody get your asses over here! We are going to have a fight!”

  One by one people begin appearing to Codi’s summons, wondering exactly what was going on. As more people started to arrive, Ripp’s protests went from simple scowls that she was being ignored, to fully vocalizing her frustrations.

  “This isn’t about the rest of you! This is between me and Phave!”

  Never being the best at reading the atmosphere, Jesus chimes in, “Shouldn’t it be between you and Anaar? If you can’t beat Anaar, how are you going to beat Phave?”

  Crossing the space quickly, grabbing him by the collar, “What the fuck did you say to me?!”

  Not sure what was going on, but not wanting her hard work she put into the vacation to go to waste, Stefani who had just arrived did the first thing she could think of: she began to sing. In mere moments, the eerie calm that washed over everyone quelled the immediate conflict, and gave time for everyone else to arrive. With the entire party now there, she stopped singing and sought to find out what was the issue.

  “Why is everyone being so mean to one another? This is supposed to be a happy time! Sophia what is going on?”

  Still in a slight daze from Stefani’s song, Ripp finally shakes her head to clear it, offering up a response. “I told Phave I wanted a rematch to see who is really the strongest, but now everyone wants to join in. This has nothing to do with you all.”

  “Phavian, do you care if other people are included in your match?”

  “I don’t want to be included in the match myself!”

  “Okay… Who does want to participate in this match?”

  Surprised by the number of people seemingly willing to injure their friends, Stefani shakes her head. “This doesn’t seem like the best idea. I’m sure this will be all for fun, but people could get hurt.”

  Ryn points to Zenia with a happy smile. “Zen’s one of the best Medics around and she is only a Freshman! She can patch us up if something goes wrong.”

  “Don’t go volunteering my services! I’m on vacation!”

  “But you are a Medic. Aren’t you bound by like the Hippocratic Oath to assist or something?”

&
nbsp; Maggie simply pats Ryn on the shoulder consolingly, “That is what doctors take…”

  Nodding in agreement, Pryshka chimes in, “Definitely only a doctor thing.”

  “Well they should make it a thing!”

  “Sure, when I become a bloody doctor, I’ll be happy to take the damn oath, but for now I’m just a college student who wants to enjoy her bloody vacation!”

  Anaar, who had been quiet up to this point finally expresses his own thoughts. “I don’t think we should be doing anything that is going to endanger one another while we are away from medical professionals, no offense Zenia.”

  “None taken. At least someone has a shred of bloody sense!”

  Jumping up and down as she pokes at him, Codi appears to be brimming with energy. “Oh no you don’t pretty boy. You aren’t getting out of this so easy. You are participating too!”

  “I refuse.”

  “Come on! It will be fun!”

  “Fun for whom? What about people who are fairly dependent on tools and weapons? They are at a massive disadvantage. Fun for poor Zenia? She is stuck playing doctor to a bunch of drunken kids that might injure one another, or worse, do something that could damage the resort.”

  Pulling out a pistol and a knife from a portal, Ripp smirks. “Who’s at a disadvantage?”

  “Why do you even have weapons with you?!”

  “Don’t you have a bandolier of knives in your room?”

  Finding himself stuck in a position he didn’t expect, “I swear it is like a necklace now, I just put it on by habit!”

  A construct brings out a couple of holsters of paper, handing them to Dan. “I’m ready too.”

  Maggie bounces in step with Codi, “Don’t count me out! I can still fight!”

  What in the hell have we become?

  “Please, let’s not cause trouble for the resort. Some of us have more destructive abilities than others. I don’t want to be charged for insane amounts of damage.”

  And now here we go again with the idea that I’m going to blow up the world… “I won’t be participating. I’ll be on the sidelines with Zenia. That being said, we need to get far away from the resort proper so that no one causes any issues.”