The Angel Reapers

Chapter 7

A touch against her skin, whispers of menace, feeling of helplessness as those dirty fingers crawled onto her skin. The panic as she tried to ward them off, the predatory glint in his eyes, the smell of alcohol in his breath and then the flames. It was always the flames.

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Atalie woke up gasping for breath. That whole incident was still fresh in her mind. The feeling of powerlessness when Weston had tried to touch her still remained. As did the visual of him burning alive. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down but she couldn't. The truth was that nobody could ever recover from an incident such as this one. It was a wound that scarred the soul.

Atalie attempted to fall back asleep but all she could think about was the night when all this had happened. Suddenly she was furious. She couldn't believe that Weston had the audacity to do this to a girl. But then again, he was not the only person to blame. The society, which placed the men on a pedestal, was an equal criminal. It was because of this mentality that boys gained the courage to do something that might so horribly scar a person. Every woman had restrictions in her life but still things like this happened. Why? Because men knew that they could get away with it, that's why! People spoke about equality but if a woman didn't get the basic respect that she deserved then what was the point of equality?

She sighed. It was useless to sit here and talk about making a change in the world when currently she had no means of doing that. She got up and decided to get ready as she wasn't going to be able to sleep anytime soon.

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After getting showered and dressed, Atalie decided to head to the gardens to clear her head. The serenity of the gardens would help get rid of this stupid anger and fear. No sooner had she stepped a foot in the gardens than she heard an amazing sound somewhere in the distance. It sounded like, a guitar? She decided to see what was up and followed the sound to its source, only to find a guy sitting there and playing, his eyes closed in concentration and bliss.

Atalie felt like doing the same. The heavenly sound coming from the guitar made her want to just sit and enjoy the music and she did just that. Atalie was immersed in the music that it took her a moment to realise that it had stopped. Upon opening her eyes she found the musician staring straight at her. The musician– who was Lucian, the guy she met at The Bookstore – smiled at her.

"Hey you're Atalie right, the girl at The Bookstore?" He questioned.

"Yeah, I am. Sorry if I creeped you out with my actions." She apologized

"No worries! Come sit." He gestured to the place in front of him.

"What are you doing up so early? Couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that. What about you? Playing music early in the morning your usual routine?" Atalie forced a laugh as she said this. She didn't want him to pickup on her unease.

"Yep. I don't get time during the day so I take my chances whenever I get them ." A comfortable silence settled onto the duo until Lucian broke it with his next words.

"Hey! How are you doing? Your friends mentioned you're new here. It must be difficult trying to fit in, in a world where every thing is ancient heiroglyphics."

Atalie was surprised. Nobody had asked her this question, not even her roommates. "Yeah, it can get a little tough. Odette and Sophia are trying their best to integrate into this world but it feels like I'm nagging them at times with all my questions, you know?" Atalie answered honestly. Why, she didn't know and wasn't interested in knowing.

"Yeah it can be a little tough to catch up on all these years. You know if you have any questions, queries, doubts etc you can come to me and I'll answer them as best as I can."

"That's nice of you" Atalie said

"Yes. I've been known to be a gentleman." He joked. "But seriously though, my previous offer still stands." He was serious now.

"Why, are you a part of the first year query committee or something?" She joked.

"You're not too far from the reality." He chuckled.

"Shut up! I was just joking." She exclaimed, astonished.

"It may have been a joke but it's true. First years have a lot of questions and complaints about everything. Regardless of the fact that they grew up around magic or not, it can be daunting to experience this yourself and we don't want anyone to feel like they are alone. This way the first years get help from others and they build a great rapport with their seniors." He explained.

Atalie realised how easy it was to talk to Lucian. If she was back in her small town right now, most boys would have tried to make a pass at a lonely confused girl but Lucian was volunteering to help her get her bearings. She didn't know if it was nice or sad. Sad because it was becoming rare to find people who helped others without looking for personal gain or trying to take advantage of a girl. Suddenly she made up her mind.

"Will you teach me about magic?"