Ethereal

Chapter 16

It was different guards to before, though they held the same stern expressions that the previous pair had had. They unlocked the door to my cell, and we walked single file back to the courtroom, one in front of me, and one behind. The walk back did not seem nearly as far. 

I thought it interesting that we walked at a regular human pace, though the three of us could easily have gone faster. Even though I found it to be strange, I was glad, it gave me a little more time to compose myself. 

When we arrived back at the court room, the entire court was there once again, and the same judge behind the large desk. Her eyes were glued to me in the way that they had been previously, although they were less penetrating this time, more curious. 

"Sit." She commanded. I looked to the centre of the room, where a chair stood. The material it was made from reminded me of the stuff they'd used to make the bars of my cell. Rope was also woven through the chair, though not the regular fraying brown stuff I was used to. This rope was silvery, the kind that they had been using to restrain Acacius earlier, and appeared more like a thick cable than a rope, it was clearly very strong and unbreakable.

I held in my nerves as I sat down and allowed the two guards to bind my arms and legs with the rope. It stung as it rubbed against my skin, though I tried not to let it show as I looked up at the judge before me.

"Well, lets get into it." She began, her small eyes peering over at me. "How long have you had these... enhanced abilities?" 

"Um... not long." To tell the truth I wasn't sure exactly how long I'd been able to do such extraordinary things, I hadn't been testing such abilities until I knew I had them. "Ever since I met the angels, I guess, a few weeks? Though I seemed to get stronger the more I was around them. I'd never been able to stop a van until yesterday." 

"How was your life different to before you met the angels? How was your interaction with humans?" She continued, every head in the room was turned to face me. I tried to ignore the pressure I was under, and relax. 

"None of the humans stuck around me much. Not even my mother. It wasn't that they didn't like me exactly... it was like they just avoided me without realising it. It didn't matter how much I tried to fit in, they never accepted me." I frowned, maybe there was more to that than I had ever realised. Had my half-angel (or nephilim, I guess it was technically called) genes been the reason for this, even for all those years before I came across any angels? 

"And after you met the angels? Did that change?" 

"Yeah... it did. People stopped avoiding me, they started wanting to talk to me. Looking at me differently, almost like I had changed." I remembered that day Charlie was staring at me, asking if I'd started wearing makeup. Had being around the angels even improved my appearance? Thinking about it now, I had skipped washing my hair quite a few days now because it hadn't appeared greasy. I hadn't thought much if it at the time, but did it feel lighter than it used to? Which was weird, because it even looked a little thicker... "I even got better at sports after being around them, and my school grades improved."

"How soon did you notice these changes?" 

"I don't know... I didn't notice them until the day I stopped the van. Until I already knew something had changed." I sighed. 

"And the chosen three, Jasmine, Noah and Travis. How was your relationship with them?" The judge asked. 

I bit my lip, that was a difficult question. How could I describe my strange relationship with Noah, without getting him into trouble?

"They're the only friends I've ever had." I frowned again. "Jasmine and Travis... and Noah..." 

"Lies!" The courtroom seemed to hiss, I flinched back, which made the ropes cut into my wrists.