Divine Ascension (Wattys 2024)

Chapter 9 - Lesson One

For the following few hours, Melinda had nothing to do. She went back to her room, hoping Jeffrey wouldn't notice her sickly pallor and the pain hidden behind her smile. There was no way she could talk to him about what just happened. He tried so hard to understand her, but they were simply too far apart to collide. When they spoke a common language, it was all great, but... However, no one cared, the universe especially. Suppressing a heavy sigh, she opened the door, and not one second had passed before he raised his eyebrow and asked her:

"Melinda, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to attend your first lesson with Hemingway?"

"I..." she stammered, completely incapable of finding a way to word the situation properly. "We... You know, we discovered something quite terrible."

"Something terrible?" he said, completely weirded out by what she said. "In Hemingway's house? It's like saying you found water in the ocean. It makes no sense!"

She let out a heavy sigh. "No, it's not what you think. It's something far more insidious. You wouldn't understand."

"What is it?" he pressured, causing her to swallow a lump in her throat.

"I don't know. I don't think he does either. That's why the lesson's been delayed, but it should be over pretty soon."

It unnerved him as much as it did her. She tried not to show it, though, especially because he looked like a phantom, gaunt and pale with a new kind of fear, his eyes dark pits of despair when everything had barely begun. And yet, she could not blame him. Everything was scary here. Even the air itself was like a steel dagger, cold and sharp, cutting the atmosphere with its harsh, unwelcoming winds. 

"Don't worry, my dear," she said, breaking the eerie silence. "It's just a small obstacle, nothing more. Eveyrthing will be alright in the end, trust me."

He laughed awkwardly. "No, I'm not worried. It's a bit discomforting to hear, but it's nothing I haven't expected. Besides, I have nothing to worry about, not while you're around."

Then, just as she was about to continue talking, they heard a knock at the door, startling them from their conversation. They stood right in front of it, still as soldiers, but even after a minute, the person still didn't enter. They waited and waited as time slowed to a crawl, reminding them of its formidable march, which at the moment seemed to be neverending. It truly seemed to be frozen. With no walking and no breathing to be heard, it was almost as if it didn't exist at all, which was something they really couldn't stand.

"Come in," Melinda had to say, her voice making it obvious that she was annoyed by it.

Slowly but surely, the person opened the door, revealing themselves to be Patrick. They were completely taken aback by it, not having expected him at all. Why had he come to them so soon? There was business he had to finish, and surely he couldn't have done so this quickly. Soon enough, he explained everything.

"It's time for your first lesson, Miss Grey," he said, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "I thought it would take me longer to fix the issue, but it turned out to be nothing serious. It was a simple trick done by Lord Achten to oppose my will, which opened up a conversation between us that lasted for a while."

"And what did He say?" Melinda asked, stunned by how flippantly this utter rapscallion had said His name.

"It was nothing of note," Patrick said, shrugging limply. "He said I was dealing with magic beyond my comprehension that could disturb the balance of the universe if used carelessly. I told Him I'm not a child. He then expressed His concern about my experiment, worried because of my 'hubris and ambition and unquenchable thirst for power', as He put it.