Ethereal

Chapter 14

Soon the sky became dark, and I felt a chill in the air, the kind that always came with the absence of light. Only... it didn't bother me. Once, I might have shivered. But now, it was like I was unaffected. And another thing... I could still see. Yes, it was dark out, but I could see as clear as I could any other time of day, the only difference was the colours. 

Dropping out of the tree, I landed neatly on my feet and shuddered at how easy it was, how a fall from that height should have hurt but suddenly I could do it with ease. I wasn't sure how I knew I could fall from that height - I just did.

I walked further into the trees until I came across the stream I had walked by with Noah not so long ago. The stream led to the lake - to the portal. And so I followed it, I walked slowly, it wasn't a long walk, and given the fact I was probably walking to my death, I figured I would savour it.

Was this how the night always looked to the angels? Had they never experienced darkness? There was something rather peaceful about it, I had always thought. 

I wondered how it had taken me so long to notice these differences in myself, had I been so preoccupied with the angels that I simply hadn't had time to notice? Or was it because whenever Noah and I kissed my changes seemed to accelerate. It was true... it was only after that first kiss that I'd been able to stop the van, and after the second all of this... strength, along with improved senses. 

It made me a little sad that I didn't have long to appreciate these new... abilities. But that was okay, I could give them up if it meant saving my friends. 

Walking along the edge of the stream, too soon it seemed to grow deeper and wider as it neared the lake. The point where at a child I'd have to stop paddling and walk on the grass besides it. It's a walk that I'd never do again, I was sad it had finished so soon. It seemed so much longer when I was young. That was back when my mother was more sane, I couldn't believe that there was an actual reason for what had happened to her.

My father... who was presumably alive, then. They called him Acacius... I wasn't sure how they'd known who he was. Maybe he confessed, but how did they know he had had a child? Did he know?

As I neared the lake, I walked around to the boardwalk, shrugging off my jacket and dropping it as I stood at the end. I knew it would be more difficult to swim with clothes on, but there was no way I was going to show up there naked. Besides, swimming should be easier now, right? 

Taking a deep breath, I climbed down and slowly lowered myself into the murky water. It was a little clearer now than it had been the last time I was here, but I guess I had better sight now, so maybe that was why.

I found the water to be cool but not freezing, and for a moment I held onto the boardwalk, looking out into the lake. It hit me that I didn't know where the portal itself was, would I have to swim down to the bottom? I decided the most likely place would be the middle, and as there was an island of rocks there I would head there first to catch my breath before searching for the portal itself. 

Taking another deep breath, I let go of the boardwalk, and gently pushed it away from me to give myself a boost in the direction of the rocks.

At least... I thought it was gentle. Except, as soon as I did so, I heard the shattering crack of old wood collapsing. 

I gasped as I turned to look at the boardwalk, that was now crumbling away and halfway dipped into the water. Okay... okay it was just old, right? 

So instead, I kicked at the water to propel myself forwards, sending me flying forwards. I reached my hands in front of me in shock, choking slightly on the water that entered my lungs as I had gasped in shock. Suddenly, I could feel something hard beneath my fingers, which I had slammed into with force. Unsurprisingly... my wrists weren't broken. I was fine. The rock could be better... I could now feel a sizeable dent in its surface. Looking back behind me, I noticed that a lot of water had been kicked up, having showered the trees in its wake.