Supernaturals: Secrets (Book 1)

{7} Explain

Skylar's POV

I raised my eyebrow as a very angry Mia was led out by Rhyme. Quickly, I glanced back at the Echo, who was lying peacefully on the tile ground with her dark brown hair spread around her face like a halo. I sighed, and glanced back up at Luke, who was peering down at her with a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked nervously. Was there something wrong with her? Would Echo be okay?

"I thought I saw..." he trailed off, eyes narrowing as if expecting to see something that was not there.

"Saw what?" I prodded.

"Her eyes..." he mumbled softly, before suddenly getting up and turning away. I opened my mouth to speak, but didn't when he shot me a last look; one that said, 'don't ask.'

Understanding I was going to be the one to help the new girl, I picked her up bridal style easily, surprised at how light she was. Sighing sadly, I walked out of the room and headed towards my the dorm I shared with Adasia, ignoring the stares I felt at the back of my head. 

I set her down carefully on our couch, wrapping a rose colored soft blanket around her. She shifted on the cushions and mumbled something. I giggled.

"Hey, Echo. You awake?"

I listened closely, but there was no response. I sighed and shook my head. Oh well.

Beginning to feel tired from the drama, I yawned and practically flung myself onto my bed, not even bothering to pull the comforter past my ankles. Exhausted, I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow. 

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I slowly opened my eyes as the alarm next to my bed went off. A glare of light scalded my pupils, and I turned away swiftly. Still half asleep, I tightened my palm into a fist and rubbed my eye sockets childishly. 

After procrastinating for a few minutes, I finally sat up in the comfortable bed, surprised that I was still wearing my clothes from the day before. I mumbled under my breath and lazily dragged myself off the mattress, sighing loudly.  

As my feet touched the cool hardware floor I almost immediately woke up. No longer drowsy, I glanced down at my clock, cursing as I realized I had to leave for class in an hour. 

Sprinting towards my closet, I slammed the door open and picked out an outfit, not even bothering to check if it matched. I was running towards the bathroom to brush my teeth when I heard someone groan. I froze in my tracks.

Then I remembered Echo. I cursed under my breath before heading over to the couch, shifting the backpack I'd put on my shoulder. She was obviously still in the in-between phase; she was moving her arms and legs as if trying to get up but her eyes were still closed and her face was scrunched up tight.

"Echo," I hissed, louder than I wished to be. The girl's eyes popped around, and she gawked at me fearfully before opening her mouth to speak. I cut her off.

"Right. You don't know who I am. My name is Skylar. I'm a student here at Sahar Academy. You passed out yesterday, and Luke trusted me to get you a place to sleep. Tomorrow we'll find you your own dorm, but this is where you stayed last night."

She  frowned. 

"Luke," she repeated slowly. I nodded and raised an eyebrow.

"Yup. So, um, do you have any questions? I know you didn't get to ask very many last night."

Echo nodded, but her eyes were still wide, as if she couldn't comprehend what was going on. 

"Ah, why am I here again? What sort of power do I have? How does it work here?"

I smiled as she babbled out the list. I watched her eyes carefully, and was glad to see that she was seemingly getting comfortable with my presence. Progress, I thought to mys;elf.

"First off. You have some sort of power, obviously. It works basically as a magnet, and either leads you to find us here or basically teleports you here. As for the type, I'm not exactly sure. No one else will know. People only get their powers if they have suffered a great deal and still manage to live on with a great spirit and heart. Even then, rarely people who are good will become supernatural. 

Usually your powers will become visible as soon as these hard things begin, although you're not able to find this school until you're at least thirteen, and your powers are revealed. That's why there are people here who came when they were older than that. It's written in your fate as soon as you're born that you'll have powers, and once you've gone through that pain they'll show. But sometimes this doesn't happen until you're older."

Echo nodded.

"For your last question... um, let's see. There are different rolls here, classes, missions, and lessons. Director, commanders, leaders, officers, and students. I'm just a student. Basically, this means that I learn how to control and use my powers. If I become good enough, I can get a higher role, like officer. They're basically really strong students who help the leaders control the rest of the class, and they can take over if the leader is gone. The leader of my class is Liam Erecson, but we call him Lee.

"Leaders are officers who became old enough and powerful enough to take control over a class. Normally there's around five or six, but there can be more. In a normal school, they're basically the teachers. Commanders are high leaders. There's normally only one or two, rarely three. They help lead the school. Kinda like vice principals. Our commanders are Leila Ronalds and Keith Lowers. Their powers are charmspeak and what we call basically an 'advanced lying' ability.

"Finally, the director. That's Luke. Extremely powerful, runs the school. Like a principal. Ah, don't get on his bad side. And be careful what you think about him, because Ryan Joshua is telepathic and the biggest tattletail you'll ever meet."

Echo raised an eyebrow. "Telepathic? He can... read minds?"

I laughed. Obviously she was very new to the world of magic. "Yes. I can't explain how he does it -- mostly because I've never asked. The only person who knows besides Ryan himself is Luke. But, hey; maybe you'll get on his good side and he'll befriend you. Then, at least you'll be able to talk smack about everyone."

Echo laughed, and as I watched I could tell she was already at home. It had taken a blackout and an entire day, but she was beginning to trust us. 

"So, you really don't know what your power is?" I asked, studying her face quickly. She smiled softly. "Sort of..."