Exordium (Emberhold Academy #1)

1. Reverie

Chapter 1

Reverie

“ I ’ve checked your oil and put new windshield wipers on your jeep. Did you pack essentials?” Grumpy frowned, not in the best mood, since I was leaving. I smiled with affection.

“I think I’m good. You’ve gone through a checklist with me twice daily since Monday.”

John Rasmus Hawthorne was one of the best fathers a girl could ask for. He was a man of few words but patient and kind, at least with Mom and me. With everyone else, not so much, he could be quite the ass. Pop had taught me to call him Grumpy since I was a baby. He told me it had pissed him off at first, but then it became our thing.

“That’s his love language, and you know this,” Pop winked.

There were many differences between my fathers. Pop was funny and loud and loved playing practical jokes on the family. No one would ever accuse him of being patient. He would start one project but quickly grow bored and start another. It drove Grumpy insane.

They were twins and Pop loved to tell me stories of how they switched places in school to mess with people. Mom got extremely aggravated with the amount of female attention they garnered everywhere we went. Apparently, women found matching book ends with over six feet of muscle attractive. Who knew.

Jessie Randall Hawthorne was mischievous, whereas Grumpy was serious, outgoing to Grumpy’s introverted personality, always ready to stir up trouble. They were the best fathers a girl could ask for. Their one similarity, other than their faces, was that me and my mother always came first. Our safety and happiness were the most important things to both.

“I’m only driving two hours to the portal,” I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Grumpy pulled me in, giving me a bear hug.

“You know the drive doesn’t worry us, Tater Tot. Although Sly’s talent for creating portals would be awesome to have right now.”

Pop sighed, “Sly and Rue would have been so proud of you. We’ve done our best to fill the huge hole their deaths left. I just wish they could see how amazing our little girl is.”

Making a visible effort to shake off the sadness, Pop pulled me away from Grumpy, giving me his own version of a bear hug, “It’s the first time you’ve been on your own, and the Academy can be brutal. It sucks we won’t be there.”

“I know! But y’all have taught me to kick ass, so I’m not worried,” I squeezed Pop and smirked. “Nathan is so protective I’d be surprised if I even got a paper cut.”

“Watch the language, little girl.” Grumpy narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth turned up, for him that was like a full grin. A large racoon we called Rubbish climbed up his leg to sit on his shoulder.

Pop laughed, “We know you can kick ass, but there’re a lot of secrets that must be kept. We can’t help but worry that one of you might slip up, and by one of you, I mean Nathan. If the Council finds out, we’ll have a huge issue. We’ve done our best to prepare you, but you’re still our little girl.” Pop kissed the top of my head.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to take a deep breath until you complete your initiation.” Grumpy sighed, reaching into his pocket and handing Rubbish a carrot.

“You don’t give yourselves enough credit. I can take care of myself. Look at Nathan he sucked when you first started training him, and now he’s badass.” I chuckled, shoulder bumping Pop.

“I wouldn’t call him a badass,” Grumpy grumbled making me laugh. He still wasn’t completely sold on Nathan. “Just remember we’ve kept you apart from other Aurathions for a reason. We love our people, but the Council has become too powerful since the war, and we don’t like the decisions they’ve made lately. Being a Nexus is rare, and finding your faction is difficult enough without their interference.”

“Knowing I’m a Nexus this early in the game gives me an advantage over the other Passives,” I reminded both of my fathers.

“That may be true, but it didn’t come without a cost,” Mom said walking out of the house shooing Copper, our mongoose out of the way. “I think we’ve prepared our baby girl better than most, and with Nathan in the mix, she’s even more protected. You two need to stop stressing.”

Adelaide Ophelia Hawthorne, at just 5'3", was a force to be reckoned with. She was one of the most powerful Nexus that ever lived. The fact that she survived the deaths of two of her Faction was proof of that. Her white hair and light amber eyes also made her stunningly beautiful.

Unfortunately, I only reached 5'2" but was lucky enough to have Mom’s amber eye color, small, upturned nose, and full lips. I didn’t get her beautiful hair but inherited Grumpy and Pop’s raven color. The dimples in my cheeks came from Rue, and my pale, unable to tan skin, came from Sly.

I don’t think my mom had ever fully recovered from losing her men and her beloved Fellat, who was defending them. My fathers tried to keep them alive by telling stories of how they formed their Faction. I never got tired of hearing the way they met and how each of my fathers fell in love with my mom. We had albums filled with pictures of them together, but Mom kept them in a special cabinet in her room. Sometimes, we would pile up on her bed and she would pull them out and tell me about the stories behind each one. As I got older, I noticed how upset she would be after seeing them, so I stopped asking to look at the pictures.

When my parents were students, the Academy was still located in Aurathia. Unfortunately, the original Academy had been destroyed during the war. A replica was created in a pocket dimension so Passives could be tested and find their Faction.

Our home was in a small town north of Houston, TX. We lived in a two-story farmhouse that sat on 30 acres. Complete privacy and the freedom to train and use our abilities were important to my parents.

They didn’t want to settle too close to the Aurathion communities. After the deaths of Sly and Rue, my mom was in no shape to make any decisions so Grumpy and Pops moved us to a more secluded place to avoid the machinations of the Council. They all needed to recover from their loss and raise their child away from the nightmare that dealing with the Council had become. They only had contact during certain holidays and Council gatherings they couldn’t get out of. Nexus were so rare that the Council tried to insist that Mom replace her dead men with new Faction members. There was zero chance of that happening, and as powerful as she was, they couldn’t force the issue. I stepped onto the porch to hug Mom.

“I know what to expect. The other Aurathions can’t always be trusted, and as soon as my Nexus status is revealed, I’ll most likely be inundated with Passives wanting to be Faction.” I recited what she had been telling me on repeat the last few weeks word for word.

She smiled, “Just remember what I told you about the way you’ll feel when you meet a Passive meant to be yours. Never try to force a connection because even if they become part of your Faction, in the end, your Faction will fail.”

I nodded my head, “Yes ma’am. The way I felt when I met Nathan will be easy to recognize. Anything less would be unacceptable.” I winked at her. “You know I won’t put up with any bullshit.”

“Hey! Watch that mouth, little girl!” Mom laughed. “Your fathers really need to clean up their language around you.”

“I don’t think they’re the ones with the problem,” I grinned.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it!” Mom somehow managed to say without smiling.

“Adelaide, I should put you over my knee,” Grumpy frowned. Once again, the corners of his mouth were turned up slightly, so no one took him seriously, least of all Mom.

“I don’t have a fear of that happening. Mom would zap you to the Cimarron Forest.” I joked, laughing at the face Mom was making behind his back.

“Unless she liked it,” Pop winked at me.

I started gagging, “OK! That’s enough! As soon as the disgustingness starts, that’s my cue to get the hell out of Dodge!”

“You know the disgustingness never ends around here!” Pop laughed. No truer words had ever been spoken. My fathers loved Mom and didn’t shy away from showing it. I pretended it grossed me out but secretly I loved the way they felt about each other.

“We’re going to miss you, Tator Tot.” Pop sighed tragically, “Who’s going to help me prank the old man?” He tipped his head Grumpy’s way like I didn’t know who he was talking about.

Grumpy smacked him on the back of the head, dislodging Rubbish who chattered at them in anger then headed to the barn. “I’m only older than you by a few minutes, brother.” I laughed at their antics.

“I’ll miss you too, Pop. It might make you feel better knowing I packed two small daggers and my Smith & Wesson boot knife.”

Pop smiled, “That helps because I know how deadly you are with them.” He frowned, and an intense look came over his face. That expression was so unusual I gave him my full attention. “Reverie, remember everything you’ve learned. The initiation will be viscous, and no holds barred. Use every skill we’ve taught you, and don’t give away your Nexus status until you and Nathan can perform the ritual. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to explain how he became your Faction.” Grumpy nodded his head agreeing with his brother, “Remember always be at the ready, the Academy can take you at any time, day or night. And please don’t let that lunatic you’ve bonded reveal his abilities!”

“I promise he won’t. He may be crazy, but you can’t argue that he’s protective of me.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t hide my parentage, so the Aurathions would be watching me closely.

Mom had worked to teach me that confidence in yourself was the key to success. I took that advice to heart, and even when I felt unsure, I tried never to show it. "Fake it till you make it" was my motto.

I was a good student, and I always tried to embody what I thought a Nexus should be. It wasn’t hard because I had the best role model. I tried to be kind, but some people confused that with being a pushover, and I was far from that. I couldn’t wait to put everything my parents had taught me to the test, and Emberhold Academy was the place to do it.

“I promise I won’t forget a single lesson, and I plan on showing them I’m not to be fu-”

“Reverie! I’ll wash your mouth out with soap!” Grumpy growled.

I died laughing. “Fudged with. Fudged was all I was going to say!”

“Riiight!” Mom winked and laughed. “Keep that attitude, and remember that if you need us, we’ll come running!”

I kissed and hugged each of my sweet parents and climbed into My Precious, a 1995 baby blue Jeep Wrangler. Grumpy had bought it the summer before. He and I restored it to absolute perfection. Other than my parents, and Nathan, it was the love of my life. I’d caught him giving it the evil eye several times—the Psycho!

The intense training sessions, late-night reading, and relentless practices led to this moment. With the wind in my hair and Creedence singing Bad Moon Rising in the background, my mind drifted to the last few months of preparation.

“ Reverie, pick up the pace!" Grumpy yelled as I exited the woods on my second lap around the property. “Conditioning is your friend. It could mean the difference between life and death!”

I groaned but dug deep to increase my speed. I wanted to make my parents proud and wasn’t afraid to put in the work.

“Look at her go!” Nathan yelled proudly.

“Less looking and more running, baby man!” Grumpy growled out. “You still have a lot of work to put in before you’re good enough for my little girl’s Faction.”

“You know I’m a machine Daddy Grump!” Nathen blew Grumpy a kiss.

“Do not call me Daddy! Twenty more laps for you, asshead!” Grumpy growled. He nodded his head in Nathan’s direction, after making eye contact with the solid black jaguar, Samson, lazing on the ground beside him.

“After you get warmed up, I get your candy ass. It’s Krav Maga time baby!” Pop yelled in a gleeful voice.

“If I call you Daddy, will it get me out of it?” Nathan joked, trying to catch his breath.

“Not even if you called me Daddy and meant it!” Pop laughed, “Get your ass in gear.”

“If you kill me, my Nexi will be pissed!” Nathan yelled, laughing as he started running again.

“Don’t call her Nexi!” Grumpy shouted. “You’ll slip up, and everyone will know what she is to you!”

Nathan started running backwards and shot finger guns in Grumpy’s direction giving him a cocky smile. The smile dropped from his face, and he shouted in alarm when he saw Samson coming up behind him.

Grumpy sighed, closed his eyes, and rubbed the bridge of his nose, muttering to himself, “Don’t kill him. Don’t kill the boy.” but started laughing his ass off when he opened his eyes and saw Samson holding a piece of Nathan’s shorts in his mouth. Nathan was running in terror into the woods with the ass of his shorts torn out and his crack shining in the sun.

Hearing their banter made me happy. At times, I didn’t think they would ever get to this point. The laughter Nathan had brought into our lives was worth all the pain we had both endured. I thought mom even smiled more when he was around.

Since bonding with him, I felt more powerful physically. That really shouldn’t happen until my Faction was complete. I wasn’t surprised. Nothing about mine and Nathan’s relationship was ordinary.

Aurathions were stronger and faster than humans and lived much longer. The exception to this was if we remained Passive, never finding our Nexus. My parents were powerful, so I’d always been just a little stronger and faster than Aurathions of the same age, even before bonding Nathan.

I was excited to be Nexus. Following in Mom’s footsteps was a dream of mine. She was my hero and rightfully so. The Nexus brought out the latent abilities in their Faction when they bonded. The abilities could range from controlling the weather to invisibility and a variety of things in between. The powers Mom brought out in her Faction were nothing short of amazing!

Grumpy could control and communicate with any animal on land or sea. As long as I can remember, there had been animals everywhere. Thank God we lived relatively secluded because most of the animals were not native to Texas! Pop, being his twin, had the flip side of his power. Pop could shift into any animal he’d seen in person, on television, and in print. To say he could tell a hell of a bedtime story was putting it mildly. How many kids get to pet the actual characters in their book as the story is read? Reverie for the win!

Even though I was raised with the expectation of being Nexus, it wasn’t a known fact until I bonded with Nathan. After becoming Faction, Nathan gained the ability to teleport, and I had increased strength and speed. When I gained more Faction, we would both gain more abilities. As Nexus I shouldn’t have access until my Faction was complete.

I had learned everything my parents could teach me, and their knowledge was vast. I had trained in various fighting styles. Krav Maga was the one I enjoyed the most. It combined aikido, boxing, judo, karate, and wrestling. Also, the Aurathion culture had several fighting methods passed down through the generations that I was proficient in. I wish I could say it would improve my odds, but the truth is, most children raised in the Aurathion culture were more than familiar with those fighting styles.

I didn’t envy Nathan having to play catch up and train with Pop. His joking nature didn’t translate to the training mat. Holding back wasn’t something he did. My Psycho was going to be bitching about the bruises he was likely to collect on his “perfect ass.” I was asked to refer to it as such on his request, but the boy wasn’t lying, his ass was nice to look at.

Nathan took it all because even though he liked to rile up my fathers, being able to protect me was his priority. Nathan’s power was unstable, and he worked tirelessly to perfect it. I was so thankful he would be waiting at Emberhold. Hopefully, we could meet under the guise of friendship, until we could perform the ritual and begin building our Faction in earnest. We had a rocky start, but I couldn’t imagine my life without him. I doubt he cared how I felt. He was a stage five clinger from kindergarten to our senior year in high school. No way would he allow me to contemplate life without him. I should have known our bonding would be extraordinarily different.

My thoughts stopped when I pulled up to the trail leading to the portal. It was concealed from all pure-blooded humans. Aurathion illusionists had cast a mirage of a large hillside surrounded by a thick forest. I continued to drive until I saw the massive stone pillars with bright swirls of color rotating lazily in a circle.

This was it.

It was time to see if I had what it took to become the Nexus of an Aurathion Faction.

I had a huge grin on my face as I drove through the portal. I couldn’t wait to see Nathan. I had missed his crazy ass. Together we were going to form the strongest Faction Emberhold had ever seen.