Kaliel

Chapter 5

I pulled into the driveway, surprised to see the lights on in the house. Aunt Tauriel probably hadn’t slept at all when she knew I could die at any moment. Racing to get inside, I slammed the car door shut and frantically opened the front door. She was sitting at the kitchen table, her head in her hands, praying quietly under her breath. When she heard the door open, she glanced up at me and a wide smile stretched across her face. My aunt jumped up to meet me halfway and engulfed me in a hug. I buried my nose into her shoulder, glad to be back in her warm embrace that smelt of lilies and vanilla.

“I am so glad you’re back,” she whispered, rubbing my back.

“Me too,” I answered, trying to keep from crying.

Finally she pulled back, tears in her eyes as she held my shoulders and gave me a once over. “I know this a terrible time, but I really need you to take the trash out. I sat in that chair all night and it smells absolutely disgusting.”

I laughed and nodded pulling away. “Alright.”

I did the chore quickly, feeling like my life was slowly returning to normal. When I came back inside, Aunt Tauriel was in the same exact spot like she couldn’t believe I was back. She looked up to meet my eyes and gave me a weak, happy smile.

“You should go on back, Gabriel is here to see you,” she said quietly.

I nodded and moved away, dropping my stuff on the floor before going to the backyard. The only thing I kept on me was my mother’s sword, which I had cleaned with my extra t-shirt after killing Tamrin.

There he was, his golden hair glinting in the light of the rising sun. He sat, his legs hanging over the edge of the cliff as he watched the ocean greet the sun.

“Kaliel,” he acknowledged.

“Uncle,” I said, causing him to wince.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that,” he said with a slight laugh, something I never would’ve expected from him.

“Well if you plan on seeing me a lot, you should.” I said as I sat down beside him, dangling my legs over the steep drop. It would have scared me before, sitting this close to the edge. Before this, I never would have even put a foot over but now it felt relaxing for me to look down from such a height.

“We would like to thank you, Kaliel,” Gabriel said.

I responded with a nod.

At my lack of a response, he continued on. “You did something not even Michael would do, and you saved this world. For that we are extremely grateful. We would like to offer you something, if you would let us.”

“What is it?” I asked, looking over at him.

“The Academy is a school for nephilim, if you will. It is where they train and learn about this world, preparing to one day be warriors and to protect these people who remain ignorant to the true world around them. The new semester starts in a few months after summer holiday, and if you’re willing, we would like you to start attending then. It’s a very prestigious honor to be invited to the Academy, because only the powerful are allowed to go. It is where Jake, Adam, and Mia train, and I’m sure they would like to see you again soon. If you wish, that spot is yours.”

I let that sink in for a moment as I stared at the water below us. It was this moment that I realized I could never live a normal life in Haggard again. No matter what I did, this life would keep coming back to remind me that I would never belong here. It left me with one option in mind, and surprisingly, I wasn’t that much against it.

“I think I’d like that a lot, thank you,” I said quietly, not looking at him.

I could feel Gabriel’s smile. “Then it is yours. You will be a powerful weapon someday.”

Not knowing what to say, I simply nodded. We watched for a while as the sun began to pass the horizon over the ocean. The sky became shades of pinks and reds, oranges and purples before finally settling to a sweet cloudless blue. And I smiled at the simple beauty of it.

And that is it. This was a short story I wrote for my mythology class and needs to be edited as parts were changed without my knowledge (I had help editing and it didn't go so well) so I should be done with final edits soon.

I am thinking about making this a full fledged book and possibly series with a lot more action and a lot less rushed writing. I'm not usually a short story writer so this probably isn't the best. Check out my book Seemingly Famous that I am currently writing and updating every Friday/Saturday. I will be starting a werewolf story (with a twist!) very soon so follow me to get updates on when that will start. I just need to finish outlining it.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this quick little 20 page story. If you want to read this in a full version leave a comment below or inbox me with ideas and I will get right on that :)

Ciao,

Bree