Children of the Archangels

CHAPTER 6: MEET ALPHA

"They say the school is impenetrable," Sirius pointed to the rocky snowcapped mountains that surrounded them on all sides like a chipped bowl. They walked along a pathway lined with pine trees coated with snow and benches where students were sitting, chatting, playing card games, watching school-related videos on their smart devices, or eating lunch.

Luke expected Sirius to agree with the statement he had made, but he didn't offer any validity to it.

A couple of students got up and greeted Luke. All of them were men.

"Where are all the girls?" Luke asked.

"On the other side of the school. The school is separated. Girls on one side, boys on the other and security and faculty in between."

"Why?"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "Distractions, competition, shenanigans, I have no clue. You get used to it."

"So, you never see girls here?"

"Sometimes, but we barely interact with them. I'm told we mainly see them during the trials or colloquiums, but that's not for a while. Now, I'll take your word on your heritage," Sirius pointed in the direction of a building that glowed orange and was made in the shape of an unfurled scroll rising up two stories. "House Uriel. You're going to be my new roommate."

Luke was both relieved and excited to have Sirius as a roommate. After dealing with the sarcastic brainiac Kevin, it would be a good change of pace to have a much more down-to-Earth guy like Sirius as a roommate.

Sirius led Luke up to his new room. The room, made to be shared with two people, was one of many in an empty hallway. The building was eerily silent compared to the rest of the campus.

"Are you the only person who lives here?" Luke asked.

"No, there's another student who sleeps in the room attached to ours."

"So all these other rooms are..."

"Empty," Sirius finished his sentence. "The school prefers we fill out the suites rather than spread out across the rooms. Technically, Alpha was supposed to room with me, but he kinda leaked over to the room next door."

Sirius might as well have been describing the anatomy of a worm to Luke while he was sleeping. That's how much he was comprehending what he was saying. But once Luke stepped into the room everything became clear to him.

It was like the dorms back at his old school at the Catholic University of America, only much bigger. His room could comfortably hold six. He had his own closet, bed, desk, drawers, lamp, and even his own sink on his side of the room.

Everything had a theme of fire and paper, which ironically doesn't go well together since one would consume the other. The beds looked like unwrapped scrolls, just as much as the building itself. The lights in the room were oil lamps with dimmable flames. There was a massive bookshelf in the room stacked with books, scrolls, and maps.

In sum, Luke felt like he had just stepped into a very old library. He wasn't sure if he was excited about the room, or worried at how many ways he could set him and his roommates on fire. What if his hand burst into flames in his sleep and lit his bed on fire? Would he survive? It never hurt when he summoned a flame, but was he immune to fire?

Luke didn't want to test these things out in a room where others could potentially die.

Suddenly the door opened in the middle of the room. Standing at the door to a toilet and a shower was a short kid who looked like he was a teen. He had golden-green eyes that made Luke believe he was staring out into space at a nebula near the beginning of the universe. His hair was dirty blond, and his skin was bronze.

"Rawr means hello in dinosaur. RAWR!"

Luke thought the Nef gene was stronger in this one.

But he couldn't help playing along. "Rawr, to you too."

The kid laughed. He had the laughter of a toddler who just accomplished his first applause. "I'm Alpheus, but everyone calls me Alpha. What's your name?"

"Luke Sanchez."

"You have a last name too? Lucky."

Luke was shocked. "Don't you have a last name?"

"Probably, but mamma never told me."

Alpha talked half his age, so Luke asked, "How old are you Alpha?"

"15," he smiled and stuck out his tongue. Luke snorted, and not because of the funny face Alpha had made.

"Alpha has the mind of a seven-year-old," Sirius whispered into Luke's ear. "But he's a nice kid, and he's like me—unclaimed."

Luke didn't mind. Alpha was the perfect person to ask about the school. What's more straightforward and honest than the mind of a child?

"Do you like the school?" Luke asked.

Alpha nodded. "I love it. I got a 10 in combat training. A 10! No one gets a ten."

"Wow!" Luke feigned surprised. "So, no one can beat you?"

"Only Sirius," Alpha said. "But that's because he cheats."

"I don't cheat," Sirius laughed. "You just need to train more and then someday you'll beat me too."

"Not as long as you have Absorber," Alpha screeched.

"Absorber?" Luke asked.

As if on cue, Sirius curled his fist into a ball. "Cover your eyes." He released it and sprouting forth was a star that elongated into a sword of light. The golden sword filled the room with a brilliant light that did not burn, but simply illuminated and eliminated every inch of darkness and shadow in the room.

"See!" Alpha whined. "Cheater. I can't see."

Just as the light had appeared, it disappeared.

"Skill isn't cheating," Sirius said. "Now, let's get our new Uriel house member settled in."