The Secret Land of Otrâlmondé [1 | The Other Realms Series]

Chapter Fourteen

It was the day after they had their first lesson in Celestine's home. Stella wished that she had used the magical book earlier—it had helped her greatly with her shield summoning. Just last night it taught her how to warp shields and bend them into different shapes. Though she did not manage to do it to the level that José did, it was still considerable. She managed to turn a flat and rectangular force field into one that was oval and a bit curved. Stella wondered how far she could have progressed if she had worked with the book since the first day.

The clock chimed 8:00 a.m., an hour before their morning lessons were scheduled to start. Stella was in the middle of combing her hair when she heard someone knocking on the door. Who was that? She quickly tied a short ponytail and hurried down the staircase. Celestine had already opened the door. Helene went inside, clad in the same plain clothes that she wore the day before.

"You're here already! It's still quite early," Celestine remarked.

"Better early than late," Helene responded, sitting on an armchair. She reclined in her spot and glanced at Stella. "Good morning, Stella."

"Good morning, Helene," Stella said. She walked towards the shoe rack, placed her slippers on the shelf, and retrieved her shoes. She sat on a nearby stool before putting them on.

Celestine sat on the other armchair and faced Helene. "Where are the boys?"

"I don't know. Aren't they here yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Of course." Helene rolled her eyes. "I tried calling José three times and he did not answer at all. They better not be late."

"But they weren't late yesterday. And besides, it's still quite early."

Celestine and Helene resumed chatting while Stella remained silent. Though she held no ill feelings towards Helene, Stella was still hesitant to talk to her. Perhaps the fact that they were about fifty years apart played a factor in her shyness. Her hazel eyes paid closer attention to Helene's thin arms. A tiny tattoo of some sort was drawn into her right shoulder. She could not tell exactly what the drawing was, but it did not look like other tattoos that she had seen.

Helene glanced at Stella. "You're probably wondering what this is, right?" she asked, pointing at her right shoulder.

Stella nearly jerked her head back. How did she know? "Ehm, what does it mean?"

"It's a magical tattoo that all Gatekeepers have. In my case, since I'm human, it's the thing that gives me my powers. Oh, I forgot, I haven't told you what they are. I have"—she extended her fingers as she listed her abilities—"pyrokinesis, electrokinesis, hydrokinesis, telekinesis, force field summoning, and healing."

"Wait, you have six superpowers?"

"Yup. Some of us even have ten powers, but I think that's too much. Most of us have just three or four," she said. "By the way, how's your training been going?"

"It's good," Stella replied.

"She's doing great," Celestine chimed in. "She finished all the main force fields yesterday."

"Already? That's good. What about her electrokinesis?"

"She's also doing well there. Her aim can use a little work, but other than that she's fine," Celestine said. "What about your student?"

"He's actually quite talented," Helene answered, beaming with pride. "I actually had to add more to my lesson plan after I started teaching him."

So he really is that good, Stella thought. Her mind went backward in time to the day she and Edmond were in the same class. She remembered seeing him shoot each lightning bolt with impeccable aim, and execute each task without breaking a sweat. It was as if he was bred to be perfect. And her? Even with all the effort she put in, she seemed unable to match his level. Why do some people have it easier? To her, it was almost unfair. A heavy feeling weighed down her heart as she pictured his face, but she could not pinpoint what it was. Envy? Admiration? Inferiority?