Prophecy of the Nexus

Chapter 15

My little scuffle with Virgil soon made me a legend in our little friendship group. The boys were over the moon to hear that Virgil was put in his place and Jesse wish she had seen my blessings. I don't know why but I now felt truly part of the group. I didn't know if that was because I had stood up to Virgil or truly shown I was not one of his gang, but somehow I had proven myself. Travis and Ewan spouted endless theories to me, not just about the Divine, but also the Order itself, often checking the coast was clear before divulging intimate secrets. Jesse sat on a beach one day with me and chatting about home life and opened up about her little brother. And more importantly, was Lex and Marcus. They had spend my first few months hovering around me, almost half tense, ready for a fight. Now they seemed to relax. They lounged around, joking more casually and often listened to my thoughts on matters. Now they knew they didn't need to protect me, they seemed to be genuine friends now rather than my protectors. The biggest indicator though was Virgil and his gang. They were avoiding me and kept their whispers low around me. It was clear they were unsure what to do now I had shown I could stand up for myself. Virgil was still his arrogant self and I doubted angel's could change that. But he didn't take as many potshots at me. And I had already thought of a way to put him in his place again.

When I finally came off wash duty (I swore I never wanted to see another dirty plate again), the guys would take me out to the Angelway course. They walked me through it and showed me the bits I hadn't completed yet. The swimming section at the end was something I wasn't looking forward to. As the weather was getting warm due to it being June, the guys would often sit on the earth and watch as Marcus ran through the exercises with me. Since I'd been here a couple of months, my strength had grown, and I was not completely worn out after the first climb. The group cheered me on as I jumped down after finishing the last dry part of the course.

"Bet you can't wait for the next Angelway," Jesse said as I joined them. We started making their way back to the huts. I thought about the Angelway event. I was excited about it cause out of four I had taken part in, I had not completed a single one. It usually ended with me walking through the trees, caked in mud. But now, I was excited to try to actually finish a run-through of the Angelway. It felt like a rite of passage, and I wanted to finally get my name on the leaderboard even though I would be dead last.

I flexed my finger as we walked. Sir Petra had told me to keep my fingers flexible and practice making shapes with them. Even she had been surprised by how much progress I had made. She kept muttering about Prophet privilege. The conduit of power was instinct to me now and learning to hold a blessing was second nature. However, apart from the spear, she hadn't taught me any more cool abilities. She would often say, "Remember, the simplest of blessing can be just as powerful." We had instead been learning connection blessings like the Truth-lock and even once trying out an enlightenment blessing. I couldn't wait to show dad when I got home.

We were halfway to the hut when someone shouted at us. "Marcus, Sara!" We all turned to see Sir Atticus making his way towards us. We all stood to attention and saluted as he approached. He checked his watch. "Guys, you're off duty. At ease, for angel's sake," he said, chuckling at us all. We relaxed. It was clear we were a little too well trained. Sir Atticus turned to Marcus and I. "Can I borrow you two for a second?" We glanced at each other and nodded. We waved goodbye to the others and followed Sir Atticus to his office. I was wondering what this was about. I had done nothing wrong and why would this involve Marcus. My stomach twisted as it played with the idea of going on another mission.