Eli Fletcher: Mark of the King: Book 1
Homecoming

Chapter Sixteen

Homecoming

As soon as I walk through the doors of the orphanage, I’m all but tackled by a blur of dark hair that covers my face for a second. When it falls away, I see the halls again. Also, Fiona has latched herself to me; it’s the greatest feeling in the world.

“I missed you,” she whispers so only I can hear.

“I missed you too,” I whisper back.

“It’s only been two days, you guys,” Miss O teases us.

She lets go of me as the others enter the hallway. Miss O is smiling, dried tears stain her face (why she’s been crying, I’m still not sure). Billy looks scared about what kind of punishment he might be facing; whatever it is, I’m going to argue against it. But Aiden is difficult to read. He looks like he’s trying to hide disappointment by screwing on a fake smile; Megan would be proud.

I look back at Miss O. “I can never leave here again….ever,” I say with resolve.

She starts to say something but changes her mind in mid-thought. “Eli, I’m sorry about the family we set you up with. Next time we will do a much more thorough background-”

“No! I can’t leave here ever again. I can’t leave these kids unprotected,” I insist adamantly.

Right at that moment, the younger kids leave the pre-school room where I read them stories. The kids at the front of the line freeze at the sight of me, and then all at once they rush towards me in a stampede. They crash into me, creating a gigantic group hug. I look at Miss O over the heads of the kids with wide eyes as if this proves my point. She nods then ushers the kids to lunch.

“Eli, wait for me in my office. Fiona, Billy and Aiden, why don’t you join him?”

I look at the others then walk off for Miss O’s office. When enter a few minutes later with a plate of sandwiches. I’m grateful for non-poisonous food so I eat mine eagerly. Miss O sits behind her desk, studying me until I stop eating.

“So, Eli, what do you think we should do?” she asks, folding her hands in front of her as she reclines in her desk chair.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I just know I can’t leave this place again, especially now that more kids are missing.”

Miss O shoots a glance at Billy, who looks down into his lap. I’m confused; what did Billy do wrong? I catch Fiona’s eye but she just shakes her head. Aiden tries to blend in with the shadow in the corner he’s standing in.

“What did Billy do?” I ask in his defense.

“For starters, he left when he shouldn’t have.”

Billy’s head droops even more. If he lets it fall any further, his head will be between his knees.

“But he found me and stopped me from killing Aiden!”

Miss O glares at me. “Yes, and then told you about more missing children, making you feel guilty about not being here to protect them.”

“I don’t feel guilty!” my voice rises angrily.

I can’t believe what I’m hearing! Miss O is punishing Billy for rescuing me from being a tool for murder and scolding me for wanting to protect the children from Tentatio! Is Miss O really who she says she is?

“Then what, Eli?” she asks, leaning forward, challenging me.

“Responsible!” I say firmly, lowering my voice. I lean forward the same way she had.

Silence falls upon the room; silence so thick it’s almost suffocating. However, the look on Miss O’s face softens at what I’d said, but she remains silent. It’s Billy who speaks up instead.

He raises his hand timidly. “I have an idea.”

I look over at him, I can get used to him not being a bully. I’m quickly coming to like this humble side of Billy.

“What’s that, Billy?” Miss O asks.

He lowers his hand back down to his lap, folding it with the other. Something on Miss O’s desk seems to grab his attention as he speaks, unable to look her in the eye.

“What if you trained some of us?”

“Train? What do you mean?” Miss O asks, folding her arms in front of her on her desk, looking at us each in turn.

“Train us to fight,” he says his voice growing a little stronger.

Her mouth hangs open slightly until she closes her eyes and shakes her lowered head. “Absolutely not,” she protests.

“Why not?” I demand heatedly.

She looks at me speechless.

“Well, if I’m supposed to go and hunt these demons down then there needs to be someone here to protect the kids.”

Miss O lets out a heavy sigh, rubbing her face. She looks tired. I hope we’re starting to wear her down.

“The problem, Eli, is that Billy doesn’t have the abilities you do.”

“Then that’s an even better reason to train him! If he can learn to fight, then he can do something. Without any kind of training, he’s useless against a demon. No offense, Billy,” I say looking over at him.

Billy shrugs.

Miss O looks like she’s about to argue when, suddenly, a bright light appears in a corner of the room behind Miss O’s desk. When the light subsides, Coquo, Torey and Luce are standing there. One of whom is supposed to be training me to fight, but never showed up in Manitou Springs.

“The Sicarius is allowed to choose two others to join him in his quest to close the hell mount,” Coquo says authoritatively.

Miss O looks appalled, but I bet she can’t argue with an angel. Angels are direct messengers from God, right? I smile at this turn of events. I’m going to be allowed to choose a team. Maybe this is why Aiden is here. If I have Aiden and Billy then we should be pretty strong. I look at Fiona next; I don’t want her left unprotected. If she can have the same abilities I have, then she’ll at least be able to defend herself. Maybe that’s why my gut says not to pick Aiden.

“Fiona,” I say and she beams back at me. She already has the ability to read peoples’ minds also, so she’s pretty much been on the team since before I knew there could be one.

I look from Billy to Aiden over and over. It’s a difficult decision. Billy has changed so much, but a demon tried to tempt him into joining the wrong side. However, he refused and followed Torrey to find me. But Aiden is older, so already stronger. But will that matter if we’re given special abilities to fight these demons? My answer comes in the form of a warning from Coquo.

“Aiden has been chosen to be Tentatio’s vessel. That’s why the girl and her parents had attempted to get you to kill him. If you’d slain him with that dagger, then Tentatio would be allowed to enter Aiden’s body. And now that the evil prayer was prayed over him, any blade could accomplish this,” he explains pointedly.

I look at Aiden and he’s scared; whether from the news Coquo just gave us or from having been found out, I can’t tell. If Aiden falls into Tentatio’s clutches already possessing powers given to him by God, then he may be too strong for me to face later.

I sigh and after a few more seconds I make my decision. “Billy.”

Billy smiles back at me gratefully. I just hope I didn’t make an enemy out of Aiden for choosing Billy over him.

“Fiona, Billy,” Coquo says.

I watch as Fiona and Billy both face the three angels in the corner.

“These river stones give you the ability to control the water around you,” Coquo explains as they pick up the stones that appear on the desk in front of them. “They also give you the power to heal others and yourselves. They are identical to Eli’s. They are the center piece that holds your swords together once all the pieces are found.”

“But, where are the other blades?” I ask.

“Check your pocket, Eli,” Luce says with a warm smile.

I reach inside my right pocket and pull out three paperclips.

“The red one belongs to you, Eli,” Torrey speaks up, but I already know this.

I set that one aside and it grows into the full length of the sword, glowing red. The other two I separate and they grow into their full lengths as well; one glows blue, the other green. I look at Billy and see his river stone has a green glow around it, so I hand him the sword that matches; I do the same with Fiona and the blue blade. Each of them places their stone against the hole in their blades. Just like with mine, the metal of the blades widens then molds around the stones. Watching their faces, I witness their exhilarated expressions as the surge of power courses through them. I know it’s the same power I have and I smile, remembering the feeling.

“Can I go get cleaned up?” Aiden asks, looking at Miss O.

“Yes, you may. We’ll get you some clean clothes as well,” says Miss O.

“Thanks,” Aiden says and walks out of the room. I notice Mr. Reese standing outside as Aiden opens the door.

“David, can you show Aiden to the showers?” Miss O requests; he nods and then escorts Aiden down the hall.

“Keep an eye on him,” Coquo orders Torrey, who nods and then vanishes.

“Why are you keeping an eye on him?” I ask, a little angrily.

“Because his heart and mind are conflicted because of the news I shared with you,” Coquo states simply.

“But the same was pretty much said about Billy,” I argue.

“Billy went through a transformation in his search for you,” Luce explains. “His heart and mind were opened to what is really important.”

I turn my head towards Billy who looks away from me shyly. I can’t argue with that. After all, he is different now.

“Eli, Billy, why don’t you two get some rest? We can talk more about this later. Also, you need your rest because you begin your training tomorrow; all three of you.”

Not another word is said on the matter, so we’re dismissed and Billy and I rest the remainder of the day. After everything we’ve gone through, me especially, we’re going to need our rest; especially with our first day of training tomorrow.

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