Chapter Twenty One
Marie entered the dining hall, which was on the farthest end of the house, and spotted Brenton. He sat at a table which was in the shape of a large donut, with the center cut out and inside the circle, was a buffet of food on smaller rectangular stands. Fifteen angels occupied the chairs. They were of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities. It was like a gathering of the United Nations.
At the head of the table was her uncle and there was an empty seat between him and Brenton. She made her way to the seat and sat down.
Her uncle stood when all the angels were present. He grabbed a glass and a knife and clinked the glass to get everyone's attention. The crowd went silent. He cleared his throat and began.
“First, let us give thanks to God for blessing us to be here,” he said and looked around.
Everyone bowed their head and said a silent prayer. Marie did the same. Once they were finished, a chorus of “Amen's” rang throughout the hall. Her uncle continued.
“Next, I would like everyone to welcome my niece, Marie Mitchell. She was shielded at birth, but now she is here and is ready to be trained. I want everyone to help her with this transition. She has questions, you have answers. She is a part of the family and we will treat her as such. Now, we will go around the table and introduce ourselves, say what our powers are and whatever else you think is relevant,” he finished and sat down. “Marie, you go first.”
Marie was nervous, but she stood, not wanting anyone to take her for a weakling. She had never had to speak in front of large crowds. At school, she kept to herself, only talking to Destiny and Kenny on occasions. She knew she would have to get used to it.
“Um, I'm Marie. I, uh, came from Nebraska. I'm sixteen years old,” she rubbed her arm and peered at her uncle for support. “Oh, and I have the ability to produce and control fire.”
She sat down and Brenton grabbed and squeezed her hand. She instantly felt better. She could hear murmurs and people whispering while looking at her. Another clink against the glass from her uncle and it was quiet.
“You heard right. She can produce fire. There are still some around,” her uncle defended her. “Brenton, go ahead.”
“Brenton Kane here, from New York. I'm sixteen and I have fire hands,” he said, wiggling his fingers. Everyone laughed.
The next guy stood and she recognized him as the resident architect, DeShon. He was eighteen years old, and from Louisiana. Aside from being talented with building things, he was a charmer like Jewel. He preferred to use his hands instead of his words, but he could still do some damage with his mouth. He had yet to find his twin, but he knew exactly what she looked like.
Jewel was next to him, smiling broadly. She was the cutest kid Marie had ever seen. She was so bubbly. She said what Marie had suspected initially, that she was thirteen, from Arizona. Apparently she ran away from home. Her adoptive parents used and abused her. She left, and no one had come looking for her.
Jewel's twin was Terel, who was on the other side of the table looking mischievous. He was the same age, of course, but he was Hispanic. His tanned skin, dark eyes and hair made him look older. He was taller than Jewel, with an earring in one ear and a body built like a professional boxer.
After that, Marie learned about Sky, who was Wayne's twin. Sky, with her curly, black hair, topaz-colored eyes and a figure like a model, was the female version of Wayne. They were both twenty years old; Sky was from Georgia, Wayne from farther west, in California. They were like yin and yang. Wayne was the hard side of the earth and she was the softer side. He pounded while she produced and created, but they complemented each other so well.
Down the line were Marchell and her twin, Nathaniel. Marie remembered her from earlier – she was the one who had attempted to freeze her to death. They were descendants of Sariel, who controlled the course of the moon and water.
Marie couldn't help but notice how pretty she was. They all were; Marchell, with her smooth cocoa skin, Nathaniel with his golden skin, the same as Terel. She looked around the table and was staring at a room full of male and female models.
“My name is Rochelle. I'm nineteen and Micheal is my twin. He is up north with our mentor. I needed a vacay from the weather, that's why I'm here,” she smiled. “I come from Ezeqeel, the one who has knowledge of the clouds, wind and lightning. I can control the air, and disappear and reappear when I want. I'm from Canada. My mom, who is full-blood Cherokee, and my father, who is Caucasian, moved there right before I was born.”
They were close to the end of the table and Marie was relieved. There were so many names to remember, plus she was starving.
Marquise and the girl next to him stood up. She introduced herself as Natrice. They were descendants of Kokabel, who taught constellations. They did a little presentation for them at the table.
Both of them closed their eyes with their hands clasped together in front of them. The lights flickered then went out completely. Small, purple orbs of lights began to circle the room.
Natrice stretched her hand out, and then, with her index finger and thumb, she pinched the air in front of her. The lights became smaller and multiplied. Marquise made a thumping motion with his fingers and the orbs flew up above them, then began to fall like raindrops. Thousands of tiny lights showered down on them. One landed in Marie's hand and it felt cold, like a snowflake.
At the end of their light show, they both snapped their fingers, the orbs disappeared and the lights came back on. Everyone clapped.
Devon and Lavonna were next to last to stand. Their lineage was that of Armaros, who could resolve enchantments. They could combat charm speak, reverse any spell and do some witchcraft of their own.
Lavonna was so beautiful with her short auburn hair and her periwinkle-colored eyes. Devon's eyes were almost the same color, just a little darker. His hair was completely silver over his dark brown skin.
The last to stand was Nacole, who was Helena's daughter. Apparently, Helena has been busy after all these years. Nacole looked just like her, with the same long blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. It was uncanny.
She had the same gifts as her mother, but she wasn't as well trained. There were still some things she couldn't do but, she was learning. Either way, she had the same psychic abilities.
They made it around the table, everyone explaining who they were and what they did and Marie felt closer to them already. These were her people.
Her uncle blessed the food and everyone dug in. They broke into different groups and gossiped like normal teenagers would do. It had finally started to feel like home.