Kindred Souls

Chapter 1 - Marked

- Rain -

"Are you ready?" My friend Emily whispers next to me. I can barely hear her voice over the voices echoing in the room. There are around twenty individuals in the dark room, all lined up by our birthday.

"Yeah, I guess so." My reply can barely be heard, but her attention has already shifted to the attention of the hooded figure entering the room. Immediately, a heavy silence spreads throughout the room as the lights turn off. I feel pressure and find myself tugging the velvet hood of my robe closer to cover my face.

"Welcome, my young Kindred. We shall begin the marking ceremony. Follow through the door one by one once you are beckoned," our clan leader begins immediately. Her usual warm voice is devoid of emotion. The long cloak she wears further shrouds her presence as she disappears under the flickering of the candlelight held in her hands. As soon as she came, she left the wooden door in the center of the room. The atmosphere lightens but everyone remains quiet, perhaps in fear or trepidation.

"That's it? How underwhelming." My fearless Emily, of course, is the first to break the silence. Her confidence comes from being the clan leader's prodigal daughter.

A person lets out a short laugh before coughing loudly to stifle the sound. Her comment is enough to break the tense atmosphere as a few more whispers start-up in hushed tones. I can feel the excitement in the air growing.

We have been told the importance of the marking ceremony over and over again for the past eighteen years. As soon as we reached the end of our birth month, everyone within the month would gather in the clan hall to be summoned privately by the leader.

Three generations ago we would have the ceremony on our actual birthday, but our clan has since grown in size. We have members across the nations, as technology has made it easier for us to stay connected from greater distances. Emily guesses we have tens of thousands of us. As for our Kindred people, we are not sure. The number is never released, for safety reasons.

As the line moves one by one into the door, I feel an intense rush of anxiety rush through me as Emily waves at me before disappearing in the door. The guard next to the door halts me.

For the past few months, I have been plagued by nightmares. My lack of sleep and the looming ceremony have put me on edge. I think they are connected, but I also don't want to admit it.

The guard beckons me further.

I gulp and let in a deep breath before moving through the deep curtains. I am led down a narrow hallway with dim lights on the floor.

It reminds me of a movie theater. The odd thought brings a small smile and I loosen up ever so slightly.

The hallway leads to a square room. At the center, I see the leader standing behind a circular table. On the table, there is a long wax candle with a bright blue flame, covering the room with a blue glow. Next to it stands an onyx obelisk, our famous Kindred marking stone.

After entering this room, the rest of the marking ceremony is kept under secrecy. We assume it also adds a layer of mystery.

"Your hand will be engulfed in the Kindred flame." The leader guides my hand.

Before I can refuse, she has already put my hand is already in the flame. I flinch, expecting pain as my hand touches the fire. The flame engulfs my hand, but I only feel a cold tingle.

"Your body will be one with the Kindred stone." The leader presses the center of my plan firmly against the pyramidion or the tip of the obelisk. I wince as a sudden sharp pain course from my palm to my shoulder like a bolt of electricity. A light jolts from the obelisk and my entire body glows with the blinding brightness. A strong breeze almost knocks me off of my feet. As quickly as the pain and light come, it subsides as we bask in a low blue glow once more.

That was wicked.

I think I hear an imperceptible gasp from the leader. I glance towards her, but she remains stoic and motionless, so I assume my ears are playing with me.

"Congratulations. You are a marked awakened." She steps aside to show a door to the side, which seems to appear out of nowhere. I push through another set of thick curtains and walk down another movie hallway.

I find myself at the exit of our town's old cathedral and follow the cobblestone path in front of me. The bright light of the full moon pierces the dark sky. I hear laughter and young voices among a glow of light further down the path. 

As I was in the middle of the group, I saw around ten figures already crowded at the front of the gate. I toss my heavy robe onto a growing heap in a basket. Reuse and reduce.

"Rain!" Emily turns her head and beams brightly at me.

"How was it? Did your mark form? What do you think? Oh gosh, that robe was so stuffy and musty. How are you feeling?" As usual, her vibrant personality shines through with her speedy chatter. She pauses just long enough to watch and wait for my answer.

"Oh. I haven't had a chance to look at my mark. You know the mark can take up to twenty-four hours to form, as the formation depends on the size and design." I finally glance at my clenched fist and begin to unfurl. There is a small blue circle in the center of my palm, almost unnoticeable at first glance. This is one telltale sign that one has been marked. Otherwise, nothing else has changed.

Only the marked and their fated partner can see each other's mark. Once they have found each other, then the marks can be revealed and hidden by choice. Every Kindred has a unique design, and the fated partners will have marks that complement one another.

"Hello? Are you alright?" Emily's emerald eyes are shrouded in worry as she observes me. She has known me for so long she can instantly sense if something is wrong.

"I am okay. I am just tired." I play it off. "Was it painful for you?"

"Hmm? You mean when you touched the stone? It was cold when the flame transferred into the stone, but no pain." She  pauses, "Did you actually get cut by it?"

"Maybe, I am not too sure," I  shrug the feeling of concern off.

"Wasn't it so cheesy? I had to stop myself from laughing at my mom." She straightens her posture and lowers her voice. Mimicking her mother's accent, she says, "Your body will be one with the Kindred stone."

I laugh at the accuracy of her imitation. "I hear it used to be a lot more traditional. My mom says they had to sit through a longer procedure."

"Thank our ancestors for updating traditions," she grins in relief.

"It was pretty cool though. The whole room glowed and my body was on fire," I comment on the magical nature of the ritual.

"What do you mean? The flame transferred to the stone and the stone glowed with our hand." Emily gives me a weird look again.

"Yeah, that is what I mean." I nod in agreement, but my stomach squeezes in anxiety. Something was off, but I played it off once more.

"Well, this has got me all hungry. Want to go grab some Joe's?" Our go-to late-night shop with the best garlic bread and milkshakes.

"You know I am always down." By now, everyone has started to disperse and head back to their cars.

As Emily and I drive out of the old parking lot, I glance at the rear window. A hooded figure stands watching us at the gate. I turn around to look at the back window and the figure is gone.  

I need a full night of rest after this.