“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I tried honesty. Maybe Avalon would give me some explanation.
“The King,” he said, frustrated. When I gave him an even more confused look he continued, “Lucan is the one who has taken away our freedom!” he exclaimed heatedly.
“We’re not free?” I asked in a very small voice.
“No we’re not free, and we’re dying as well. As long as we live under his bondage, we will continue to die. But he could care less. All he cares about is that his blood remains pure, and the blood of his line. The Monarchy must never become tarnished,” I could almost feel Avalon’s disgust as an oppressive force weighing down on me.
“Ok, you need to explain…. now,” I tried to be forceful, hoping that he remembered I was new to this whole thing.
“Sorry,” he grunted, not sounding sorry at all. “Derrick is the King that outlawed intermarriage, well for everyone but his precious line. This happened a long time ago. Derrick was the first King, the first Immortal to rule our people. The people cried out for a King and they were given one. Too bad the first thing he did was execute the Oracles.”
“The who?” I interrupted; trying to stay focused and keep my head from spinning out of control.
“The Oracles, they were something like prophets or advisors to our people before the King. There were four of them and they represented one of each of us, and together they were all powerful. They were also the first to die. So anyway,” he shot me a serious look that let me know not to interrupt again, “After Derrick executed the Oracles, he banished the Shape-Shifters. He claimed they were deceitful and manipulative because they were able to take any form. He turned the other Immortals against them and those who didn’t escape were hunted and thrown into prison until their magic was weak enough that they could be killed. And since the Titans had pledged their allegiance to protect the King before one had ever been elected they were forced into service and remain there today as nothing more than glorified prisoners.” He took a moment to spit on the ground once again. “The only free people are the Witches and Mediums, but I would hardly call what we have freedom. We live under tyrannical rule and a King who is just as heartless and sick as his forefather. And who knows what the next King will be like; he seems even more clueless than those who came before him. Our people are going to die and they do nothing about it.”
“But what could they do about it?” I thought about Kiran and found it hard to believe he would actually want us all to die. He may have been immature, but he was not a ruthless killer.
“They could break the ban on intermarriage for one. They could allow the full magic to flow between us and they could release us from their dictatorship,” the whole Monarchy thing might have been new to me, but I knew enough about world history that if what Avalon just told me was true, then I also knew that what he was saying could probably get him killed.
“What marriage ban?” I asked, feeling more confused than ever.
“The one that got us into this whole mess to begin with. We are not allowed to marry outside of our own kind.”
“You mean, like humans?”
“No, well, yes, but mainly a Witch has to marry a Witch and a Titan has to marry a Titan. They keep us compartmentalized that way, and they restrict the flow of magic. See before King Derrick, an Immortal could marry whomever they chose and no matter who they married their child was always unique. Like a Witch could marry a Titan and then have a Medium for a child. It was all allowed and the magic flowed freely. But since Derrick, our magic is deteriorating and the royal family could care less,” Avalon laughed bitterly.
“But isn’t their magic deteriorating as well? Won’t they eventually have to intermarry?” I asked, feeling like I was beginning to understand the whole thing and realizing the people I was a part of had just as many problems as humans.… if not more.
“They are the royal family. They can marry whomever they choose,” Avalon said slowly as if I were having trouble understanding his words. I didn’t really blame him. “Not that they would marry just whomever, they only choose the best of the best. And for them that means either a Witch or a Psychic. They rotate between generations. Up next is a most promising Psychic, I’m sure.”
“What? So Kiran has to marry a Psychic?” I had a hard time getting the actual word out.
“Yes, that’s the law. Just to ensure the royal blood stays strong. His father of course married a Witch, and now it’s his turn to carry out the imperial edict.”
“Huh….” was all I could say. I knew Avalon had just enlightened me on an overwhelming amount of new information; but the hardest part I found myself unwilling to accept was that by law it was illegal for me to marry Kiran. Not that I would even think that far ahead, or have those kind of feelings for him; but the fact that it was against the law, that I was not even an option, was making me a little resentful.
I thought about Lilly then and realized what she was up against. A wave of fear flooded my entire body and I realized that I had to do something to help her. I shuddered at the thought of the court inevitably finding her guilty. My mind began to reel with the crushing feeling of hopelessness that settled on me. I had to talk to Kiran about it, he had to do something.
“So anyway,” Avalon changed the subject, still sounding riled up from his tangent. “Move that tree.”
“Excuse me?” his command brought me out of my inner freak out.
“Move that tree,” he said it slower, but firmer.
“You’re not very nice you know,” I gave him a playful pout.
“I’m sorry, you’re right. I just don’t like those damn Kendricks,” he smiled playfully back. “Please, move that tree.”
I focused my energy on a medium sized tree that sat about twenty feet away from us. I let the electricity surge through my blood and build, using my mind to direct the tree. I lifted it out of the ground slowly; the roots and branches hung limply down on the ground below where it was now suspended in midair, completely unearthed.
“What now?” I faked a yawn, as if holding the tree in midair was the easiest thing in the world.
“Now put it back,” he smiled smugly as the tree wavered a little bit while my mind grasped the task.
Blowing things up and ripping things apart was easy. I had never had to put something back together before. I focused my energy back into the ground. I lowered the tree slowly with my mind until it was positioned just above the earth. I let my mind snake through the roots of the tree, my energy focused completely. I let them dig back into the soil, searching for their homes once again. Slowly and methodically I returned each root and branch to its original position and let the tree rest peacefully, balanced once again deep within the earth.
“Good,” Avalon admired quietly. “You’re better than I thought you’d be.”
“Well, thank you,” I gave a sarcastic bow, but was actually very thankful for the words of encouragement.
We spent the rest of the afternoon like that. Avalon giving me task after task, each one getting more difficult. I completed all that he assigned me and continued to impress him. I would think that after hours of using my magic I would have felt fatigued or depleted; but instead I felt more empowered. The more I used the magic, the more magic I had to use. I was filled with a never ending supply of omnipotence.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Pssst…..” Avalon tried to get my attention during French, but I did my best to ignore him. “Hey, Eden.” He whispered harshly.
“What?” I whispered as softly as possible, realizing I could never be quiet enough to escape Ms. Devereux’s stern glare.
“What are you doing tonight?” Although Avalon sat directly behind me during the hour of horror known as French, Ms. Devereux had positioned me at the front of the class; always under the watchful eye of the firm French teacher. I had done my best to catch up, but the woman could not understand a world in which French was not spoken fluently in every home. Since I didn’t grow up with parents who spoke multiple languages and summered in the South of France, I thought I had ample excuse to be a bit behind; she saw it differently.
“Nothing. Leave me alone,” I whispered even quieter back.
“Good,” Avalon replied a little louder than I felt comfortable with.
I turned my attention back to my book work and concentrated as hard as I could on my conjugations. I was sure Avalon had some great plan for the evening. Over the past week and a half I learned to just go along with the adventure; which usually meant an isolated area, usually forestry, working on my magic. Avalon was always very concerned that I was practicing what powers I had.
I never complained and always had fun. I enjoyed learning all of the super-human feats I was capable of. But even more I enjoyed spending time with Avalon. He was always amusing and always adventurous. He was like the exact opposite to how careful and easily-scared I was. We complemented each other well.
“Do you own anything sexy?” Avalon whispered hoarsely to me, striking up another in-class conversation.
“What?” I blurted out, too loudly. My cheeks flamed red and I dropped my pencil on the ground.
“Mr. St. Andrews, Ms. Matthews please continue this inappropriate conversation after class. Merci beaucoup,” Ms. Devereux seethed through her strong French accent. I blushed even redder and averted my eyes back to my homework.
As I stared down at the foreign language I could barely understand a small ball of paper landed right in front of me. I expected it to be an apology from Avalon, although I could hear him snickering behind me. I unrolled the wrinkled piece of paper, curious more than anything.
Maybe you should save the dirty talk for private....
I glanced over at Kiran to confirm the sender. He was staring at me with a smaller version of his signature smirk, but something was different about his eyes. I rolled my own eyes at him and gave him my own playful version of a smirk, but he just looked back down at his homework. Instead of feeling irritated like I would have expected, I felt a little bit sad, missing the days when he would have made more sport out of embarrassing me. I realized this sounded twisted, but I was suddenly nervous I had lost his attention.
“I’m sorry, Avalon, did you want to ask me something?” I asked Avalon sarcastically, as he sat down at our regular table. “Because I would appreciate it if you asked me your inappropriate questions here, alone; not in the middle of French class where the teacher already hates me and the entire class is listening in,” I pretended to be really upset, but Avalon realized a while ago I was incapable of getting angry with him. He did enjoy trying to make me mad though.
“Oh, calm down,” he shook his head and gave me a wide smile, accentuating his dimpled cheeks. His mischievous baby face contradicted strongly with the rest of his toned physique. “If you would use your magic and let me communicate telepathically with you, I wouldn’t have to say things loud enough for the entire world to hear.”
“Oh, I see. It’s my fault. You know that I’m not supposed to um, let my guard down,” I said softly, still not sure why Principal Saint had been so insistent upon my mental defenses.