Page 6 of Ascension

“Olivia. The truth is, you aren’t human.”

My eyes sharpen into a glare.

“Well, not entirely. You’re half god,” he states as though it’s supposed to have some significant meaning.

After I get away from this guy, I need to find Nelle, just to tell her how horrible her radar is. Protecting me from creeps my ass, she should have her best friend title revokedimmediately. I shake the idle threat from my head, taking comfort in the fact that at least she’s still safe at the club.

“I see now. Is there someone I can maybe call for you? Someone who may be looking for you?” I sigh, speaking slowly and calmly, not wanting to set him off. He is obviously having some sort of hallucination. His brow wrinkles, staring at me silently, his mouth falls open, trying to form words, but nothing comes out.

“It’s okay, try to think. Is there someone that I can contact to help you?” Not wanting to flat-out tell him he’s hallucinating, I think of what to tell him that doesn’t scream ‘you’re crazy.’ “Did you take a bad pill at the club?” I ask, my eyebrows crease in concern as I shake my head. I take my phone out, finally able to think clearly.

“It won’t work,” he says dazedly, obviously from all the drugs he took. My eyes dart to the top of my screen. No bars. I frown, looking down in confusion. “You must be mistaken. This is a satellite phone. It works anywhere in the world,” I scoff, waving off his words as I tap my father’s contact. I scowl down at the phone as it beeps. “No signal” flashes across the screen as it exits the call. I try calling 911, 999, any emergency number I can think of. I receive the same message with each attempt.

My face falls, and I slowly look back up at him, finally allowing myself to feel the twinge of fear that has been twisting at my gut since he began speaking. Meeting my eyes, he gives me an empathetic frown.

“We aren’t on Earth anymore.” He wrings his hands, the gesture looking strange compared to the once confident, almost cocky, man that sat across from me only a few moments before. I lean back, letting the information sink in. There are too many strange things happening to chalk everything up to coincidence anymore.

“We’re on the ethereal plane. The godly realm that exists parallel to the mortal one.”

I allow myself a moment to absorb his words. Pausing to replay them in my head. Not sure that I can fully accept this monumental shift in my reality. “Okay. Let’s say I believe you. What makes you think I’m one of your part-god people?” I say slowly, my free hand motioning quotation marks around the last words. Trying to take in all the information.

“A demigod,” he explains, a small smile touching his lips before he schools his features once more. “I’m a god. I’ve been tasked to search out demigods coming into their power.”

“You must be mistaken. I’m just a normal girl. Just Liv. I don’t feel any different,” I say numbly, the words falling from my lips. The information settles like a weight on my chest.

“At birth, all demigods’ powers are locked until their twentieth birthday,” he trails off, looking at me pointedly, and I twist uncomfortably in the chair. “Your powers will unlock today. You need to be at the academy to learn how to control those powers. If not, you could end up hurting someone.”

A wave of cold rushes over me, fear for what I might do if this is true. The powers I may not be able to control. I might hurt someone like Nelle and not be able to do anything to stop it.

“How am I supposed to believe this?” My ears ring as I stare at him, feeling dizzy as the thoughts overwhelm me. I jerk in surprise as he stands, and my hands come up in response.

“I need to sense how close your block is to lifting. I may be able to finish breaking it, giving you the proof you need.”

I shake my head vehemently, retreating back as though I could move through the chair and away from him by sheer strength of will.

He smiles genuinely, reaching a hand out to help me to my feet. I take his hand begrudgingly, allowing my heels to topple to the floor. Finally realizing how ineffective they indeed would be against him. His smile brings a scowl to my lips, there’s no way I want him to mistakenly think I trust him or anything like that.

His hands clasp mine gently, and he closes his eyes, brows furrowing in concentration. A current of heat sweeps through me, moving through my body before focusing on my chest. The heat increases, my back bowing from the pressure, forcing me to double over towards Adrian. He clasps my hands harder, supporting my weight as I lean into him. My head tips up at the building pressure. My lips part in a scream as the pressure breaks. I lower my head at the faint relief, righting myself. I keep my hands firmly grasped in his, relying on them to keep myself upright.

Suddenly, my skin is illuminated by a pale white light. It sweeps over me, spreading from my chest. I grip Adrian’s hands tighter, the light growing in intensity. Heat sweeps back over my skin, and a blast of light erupts through my hands, echoing through the room.

“Adrian!” The word bursts from my lips before I can even register the reaction. The blast knocks him across the room, his back crashing against the wall. He slides down, crumpling to the ground in a heap. I walk towards him, the light growing in intensity around me as I watch his unmoving form, but halt my steps abruptly, assessing the building power. Making my way towards him won’t help at all if my powers blast him back again. My hands clench at my sides, and I firmly shut my eyes, drawing in a deep breath.

Trying to calm myself, I inhale and exhale, holding my breaths, willing my heartbeat to stabilize. A cool metallic piece is placed on my wrist and a clasp locks into place. The blistering heat recedes from my skin, sucked back into my chest once more. My eyes snap open, just in time to witness the now faint glow blink out of existence.

Adrian pulls me towards him, gripping me tightly against his chest, and I relax into him. Blinking, realization washes over me, and I internally scold myself for the fear and anger wavering in that moment, tightly wrapped in his warm embrace. I push out of his hold, pulling on my mask of indifference. I briefly see the pained look that crosses his face before he too shields his emotions.

“What did you do to me?” The words leave my lips in a snarl, my eyes narrow on him in a mix of fear and suspicion. My heart beats wildly in my chest, I swear it might just leap out at any moment. There’s no way what he said could be true. I feel like I would know if I had some strange glowing light buried inside me. That’s definitely something a person would notice. His eyes widen in shock at my words, and he stumbles back a step

“I didn’t do anything,” he bites back a bit too quickly, before taking a deep calming breath. His eyes close briefly, focusing back on me a moment later. “I was able to lift the spell containing your powers, enough for you to feel them—see them for yourself. The rest must be done at the school once you’re ready.”

“Bullshit,” I declare, crossing my arms over my chest, looking down my nose at him in a disapproving glare. I bet this is some sort of elaborate prank. Some kind of green screen set-up. The power of technology. Yes, that’s much more plausible than powers and gods, I tell myself, keeping the panic I feel bubbling up inside me at bay.

“Am I being punked?” I blurt, my voice raising an octave as panic grips me, finally spilling over. My mind refuses to believe his words. My voice sounds so shrill I barely recognize it. He takes a step forward, but I mirror his movement, stepping back just as quickly, keeping that distance between us.

“I don’t know what that means, but I’m assuming it’s something bad?” he probes, his shoulders lifting into a shrug at my words.

He purses his lips, eyes moving about the room in thought for a moment before his face brightens, a calculating smile stretching across his lips.

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