Divine Blue [Book One]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Taylor sat in her chair in the corner of her bedroom, her legs tucked beneath her as she read one of her favorite books. Her gas fireplace was blazing, blanketing her in warmth against the chilly air that lingered outside. Taylor stopped reading and looked up from her book. She couldn't concentrate. Sandra's suggestion hours before was resonating with her. She had learned so much lately. She thought maybe she should go out to the house and pay the bookcase a visit. Taylor slammed her book closed and hopped up from her chair. She walked over to her closet and grabbed some jeans and a hoodie to change into.

Once she had changed, she opened her window. Who needs a car anyway? She slipped out the window and flew into the night. The air hit her like a ton of bricks. The hoodie was not sufficing. Mountain climbing gear next time? With goggles. She made a mental note.

Taylor had mostly mastered the art of flight, but landing wasn't her strong suit. She saw the Victorian building just below the trees. She was approaching it quickly and reminded herself to keep calm as she closed in on the old house. The front lawn was getting closer, and Taylor struggled to pull her feet out from behind her and slow her momentum at the same time. She was going for a stealthy landing, but Taylor came to grips with the fact that this wasn't going to happen. As the vast green lawn gave way to individual blades of grass, Taylor attempted to break her speed carefully, but her feet still were not beneath her. She could see the soil between the tufts of grass and closed her eyes. She placed her hands out in front of her.

She stopped completely mid-flight and held her breath as she peeked through one of her eyes. She was a foot away from having collided with the ground. She breathed out and let go of her control. She fell abruptly to the ground and rolled over on her back and tried to catch her breath.

"I'm going to have to work on that," she said to herself. Taylor got to her feet and stood up in front of the house. It was dark, the shades drawn as they always were. Taylor climbed the front steps onto the porch and opened the door. It squeaked open, and she stepped in.

The fire was crackling in the hearth on the other side of the room, but there was otherwise a stillness. She closed the door behind her and stepped further into the room. Sarai and Samuel were nowhere in this front room. She wondered if they went about through the rest of the house when she wasn't there with them. She silently cursed them for never giving her a proper tour of the property.

She turned her gaze to the right side of the room where the bookcase still stood. There were many books that lined its shelves. Taylor stepped over, closer to the books, and stood in front of them, inspecting each of the titles on their spines. The Fates; Angelic Destiny; Humanity Through the Ages. One title finally caught Taylor's attention in the mix of books that were named like the world's worst science fiction and romance novels, The Emergence of Mortal Angels. It was the same book, she thought, that Sarai had shown her at her first lesson.

Taylor gently pulled the large book from its cozy spot on the shelf and turned around to the small table behind her and laid it down. The book looked very elegant with its black fabric cover and gold letters. It was some sort of painted calligraphy. Taylor opened the front cover of the book. It was obviously the only one of its kind. It wasn't a normal printing, as it had no publication information and no indication of who its author was. There was only a title page and a small table of contents right before the full body of work began.

1. Breeding with Mortals

2. Offspring - Mortal & Angel

3. Qualities of Mortal Angel Children

4. Latent Gifts

5. Full Expression of Powers

6. Cultivating the Mortal Angel