Divine - On Hold

Chapter Two

Connor dreamed he was in Old Ms. Hardings eyes, falling. It was an endless wormhole, and Connor rode the waves of nausea, unable to stop the darkness. 

Suddenly a light appeared up ahead. Connor struggled to see it, but it was moving away, diminishing. Now, all that mattered was getting to that light. Connor fought the black, pushing with his mind towards the light. It was working. He was getting closer. It became easier, less of a struggle. And as he drifted closer, Connor could see the light clearer.

It was a ghostly smile. 

A smile with fangs.

Connor fought against the dark, which was now pulling him closer to the light. He had to get away from that mouth, and the pain it brought.

Connor’s efforts were useless, as the glistening white smile loomed closer and closer, faster and faster, until it was right in front of him. 

Connor cringed, waiting for the inevitable sting on his neck, but it never came. Instead, the wormhole released him from the darkness, and spewed him out into the real world. 

The smile was now on a face, on a girl’s pale face.

The memories came rushing back.

Connor snapped out of his dream state with a yell, and threw the surprised girl off of him. He jumped to his feet, but found he couldn’t run. His knees gave out from underneath him, and he was crumpled on the ground again. 

The girl stood up, dusting herself off. 

Connor was amazed at how tiny she was. How could she have pinned him down in the first place?

“What’s your name, mortal?”

Connor flinched. The girl was standing right in front of him. 

“Connor.” He said in a shaky voice. 

She pursed her lips, and stared into his eyes. He felt himself go suddenly numb, and then the girl stepped backwards, looking as if she had been slapped. The numbness retreated, leaving a ringing in his head.

“What did you do?” He asked.

She frowned. “I tried to look into your head. But I can’t. Something’s shielding your memories, mortal.”

Connor felt a strange surge of confidence. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

“What?”

“Mortal.”

She smiled. “Because that’s what I thought you were. A mortal.”

“You thought I was?”

She scoffed. “Yes, well you’re obviously not. What are you?”

Connor looked surprised. “What?”

She rolled her eyes. “A little slow, aren’t we? I said, what are you?”

“What do you mean ‘what am I’? I’m a human.”

She laughed. “Fine. Don’t tell me.”

“I’m telling the truth! I’m human!”

She frowned, and looked at him, really looked at him. “You don’t know, do you?”

Connor was getting frustrated. “Know what?”

The girl was suddenly at his side, her mouth lowered to his arm. Connor didn’t have a chance to pull away before she sank her teeth into his arm, only she didn’t. Her fangs only scratched his skin before she was bodily thrown by an invisible force, landing in a crouch meters away. She straightened, and walked for once at a normal pace towards him.

“How did you do that?” She purred.

“I didn’t do anything. I can’t even stand up, how could I have done that?” Connor said angrily.

The girl looked like she was about to answer when a light flicked on in Connor’s house.

“Time to go.” The girl hissed, and there were suddenly ivory-skinned fingers wrapped around Connor’s arm.

“I can’t stand!” He repeated, yet he was now on his feet, and then he was running. He tried to stop, tried to turn back, but his legs wouldn’t obey him. 

“Stop! Let go of me!” He shouted, but the girl’s grip only tightened, as they ran into the night.

Connor didn’t know he could run this fast, even though it wasn’t really him running. The girl was somehow controlling his body, probably through a rune on his body. Divine runes would control your body, but not your mind. Connor had heard stories of the Divine, the pale, beautiful creatures that roamed the night. The stories said that they lived for eternity, and were near-impossible to destroy. The Divine were the only Folk allowed through the Gate, as they didn’t kill humans, only sucked out their life force. The Council allowed the Divine inside the Gate on one condition, they were only to feed on human energy after dark. Any humans unlucky enough to be out at night became prey to the Divine. 

While having the Divine feed on you wasn’t fatal, it certainly wasn’t a pleasurable experience, as they actually drained you of years, shortening your life considerably. 

Connor had never actually seen a Divine, not until tonight. They were a dying breed, as less and less humans went out at night. The Council had released statistics earlier this year, estimating only about 200 remained within the Gate.

Connor thought that the Council put too much faith in the Gate. The Gate was a shimmering barrier, crackling with blue energy. Connor had seen it once, while he was out with his mother. The Gate kept the Folk out, but that also meant that it kept everyone else in. No one had left the Gate and come back alive. 

Connor snapped back to the present. He had to focus. He had to figure out how to get back to his mother. Back to his home.

“We’re here.” The girl hissed, and stopped suddenly. She let go of his arm, and Connor’s body was his own again. He dropped to the ground. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t find the strength. 

“Come on!” The girl snapped, in front of him one second, standing at the mouth of a cave in the next. Connor hadn’t even noticed the cave. He thought over his chances of making it back to his house. 

She grinned, knowing what he was thinking. “I’ll just chase you down and bring you back here.”

He sighed, and followed the girl into the cave.