Page 35 of The Fallen

?Both of them closed their eyes with their hands clasped together in front of them. The lights flickered then went out completely. Small, purple orbs of lights began to circle the room.

?Natrice stretched her hand out, and then, with her index finger and thumb, she pinched the air in front of her. The lights became smaller and multiplied. Marquise made a thumping motion with his fingers and the orbs flew up above them, then began to fall like raindrops. Thousands of tiny lights showered down on them. One landed in Marie's hand and it felt cold, like a snowflake.

?At the end of their light show, they both snapped their fingers, the orbs disappeared and the lights came back on. Everyone clapped.

?Devon and Lavonna were next to last to stand. Their lineage was that of Armaros, who could resolve enchantments. They could combat charm speak, reverse any spell and do some witchcraft of their own.

?Lavonna was so beautiful with her short auburn hair and her periwinkle-colored eyes. Devon's eyes were almost the same color, just a little darker. His hair was completely silver over his dark brown skin.

?The last to stand was Nacole, who was Helena's daughter. Apparently, Helena has been busy after all these years. Nacole looked just like her, with the same long blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. It was uncanny.

?She had the same gifts as her mother, but she wasn't as well trained. There were still some things she couldn't do but, she was learning. Either way, she had the same psychic abilities.

?They made it around the table, everyone explaining who they were and what they did and Marie felt closer to them already. These were her people.

?Her uncle blessed the food and everyone dug in. They broke into different groups and gossiped like normal teenagers would do. It had finally started to feel like home.

Chapter Twenty Two

A couple of weeks had gone by and Marie was a new person. She could call on the fire with just a flick of her wrist and now knew how to control it.

?Her uncle showed her some fire tricks of his own. He couldn't produce fire, but he made up for it in other ways. All his life, fire fascinated him . He studied it restlessly. He knew every way to make and use it.

?He told her, he and her mom were fortunate because they actually grew up together. They didn't need to see each other in visions because they lived near one another.

?They trained every day and came up with different ways to work the fire. Marie's mom was the originator of the fire tornado, which her uncle taught her.

?She produced the fire in her hand and focused all her energy within the center. While moving her hand around in a circular motion until the fire began to twirl. She pushed the flame out and up and as it grew the fire funneled from her hand. She could make it bigger if needed, but her uncle urged her to keep it condensed.

?He showed her how to make fire illusions. She could actually make a flaming replica of herself or anyone she chose. She didn't know how that would come in handy, but it was cool to do.

?Within that time, Marie learned so much about her mom that she never knew. Her uncle was very candid with the stories he shared. Marie could tell how much he loved her mother. It made her think about her and Brenton's situation. She needed to understand why it was forbidden for them to be together.

?“Uncle, Brenton told me about how angels weren't supposed to be with each other. Why is that?” she asked one night after her training lesson.

?He looked sorrowful before he answered. He told her about the story of the fallen who wanted freewill like mankind, wanted to be able to make their own decisions, marry whomever they pleased. They didn't want to follow orders, but instead rule over someone else.

?The thing that was interesting was, they turned around and laid out the same rules that was imparted to them, to their kids and the women.

?It was said, they feared if two spawns mated and procreated children, those children would be stronger, greater, have more power than they did. They couldn't be overrun by their own descendants. This is when the rules came about.

?They gathered the children who had the ability to see the future and gave them the job of watching. The Watchers' sole duty was to make sure no one was trying to overthrow them or produce a superior race. Every generation, when the gift of remote viewing was passed down, they recruited them and they became part of the group of Watchers. These spawns belonged to and were controlled by the original fallen angels.

?Soon, the stories began. If you mated with another spawn you would be cursed and your child would surely die. In reality, when it happened, they were burying the angels, who disobeyed, alive.

?They didn't actually hide the fact that the curse story was a lie and they were actually killing them off, but it invoked fear, all the same.

?Down through the years, the rules stayed the same, but the stories became more graphic. Parents were telling tales of the most heinous punishments to keep their kids from breaking the law. It was the only way to ensure their safety.

?“We often wondered why the Watchers were still around since the fallen angels were captured and thrown in the pit. Obviously, they saw something in the future that we couldn't. They are planning to rise again and there wouldn't be anyone strong enough to stop them,” he said.

?“Until now,” Marie said flexing her muscles with a grin on her face.

?Her uncle's smile didn't reach his eyes; she knew something else was wrong, but she didn't want to push. Maybe he was in love with her mother and because of some stupid rule, they couldn't be together.

?She thought about what it would be like if things would have gone another way; if her mom and him got together. That would mean Frank wouldn't have been her father. Her life would have been totally different.

?He stood there in front of her as if he were reading her mind. He looked at her intently, with wide eyes. She didn't know what to do, so she kissed him on the cheek and walked away. He stood with his head down for a moment before he walked off in the opposite direction.

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