WHAT AM I-Stella Chapters 10-11

Chapter 10

After eating a hasty breakfast of cold bacon and eggs from the small motel kitchen, I trudged outside and into the pale early morning light. Conner loaded our things into the truck bed of the Ford while Olivia and William took their places in the driver and passenger seats. I slid into the back seat of the truck, carefully looking anywhere but at Olivia.

We sat in stony silence for the duration of the car trip; the only noise the rumble of the engine and the sound of the road passing steadily below us, the only indication of the distance we travelled.

The sun was hanging high above us in the sky when we passed a road sign that read 'Now entering Altec, please enjoy your stay.' I swiveled in my seat to stare it as it disappeared into the distance, unease gnawing at the back of my mind.

"Where are we going?" Olivia and William both started slightly at the sound of my voice; no one had said a word since we'd left the motel that morning, but Conner kept his gaze forward, apparently unperturbed by my question.

"Melbourne."

I gaped at him wordlessly. This was the first time I'd so much as left Okaloosa, and the largest city I'd ever visited was Panama City , on a school excursion when I was twelve. I'd heard about big cities like Melbourne and Sydney from people at school, but the thought of so many people in one place seemed beyond belief. I searched for something else to say but came up blank, and instead turned back to the window to watch the endless countryside roll by, contemplating my first trip to a big city.

About two and a half hours later, we began passing the first signs of the city ahead of. Small border towns with one main street and a few houses turned into housing developments and outer suburbs, with huge Mansions filling up entire blocks of land. I could feel excitement growing inside my chest.

As we drove closer to the heart of the city, huge buildings loomed ahead of us, even the smaller of which were many times larger than the largest building I'd ever seen in my life. I stared, awestruck, at the crowds of people milling across the streets as we passed through, all seemingly unaware of the thousands of others that surrounded them. I blinked in shock at a horse and carriage that passed us in the street, a sign offering rides around the city attached to its side.

Everyone else in the car seemed entirely unsurprised by the wonders surrounding us, and I wondered briefly if I could ever get bored of such sights. I stared up at a sky scraper that towered hundreds of meters overhead and thought that it was unlikely.

As we drove out and into the inner suburbs on the other side of the city, things seemed to become a little more like home. The houses were still too tall and thin to have come out of Niceville, but at least their heights didn't reach beyond three stories. I was still watching the passing scenery when the car pulled into a driveway on the opposite side of the road.

I stared up at the building that was now in front of us with wide eyes, hoping that whatever was housed inside it was a little more tastefully decorated than its facade. Red brick walls rose three stories into the sky, with huge open windows on the first and second floors, but only small, highly placed ones on the ground floor. The entire thing was rectangular and ugly; its large double doors looked like they'd be well suited to a docking bay.

"It looks like a warehouse," I murmured apprehensively, and Olivia snorted from where she sat and shot me a look that told me I'd said something stupid.

"It is," Conner replied, opening his door and motioning for me to do the same. He stepped out of the car and stretched his arms behind his back before he continued, "Well, it used to be." I slid from my seat and outside into the cool Melbourne air, relishing the freedom to move my arms and legs, and stared at our surroundings with different eyes, trying to gauge the feel of this new and slightly unwelcoming place. Tall oaks rose out of the ground along the side of the road, looming above me and casting the entire street into deep shadow in the afternoon sunlight. The homes surrounding the red brick building were varied in size and shape, with some terraces and a few more factory-looking buildings that seemed to have been split into several dwellings, mixed in with the single and two story detached houses.

An expensive looking car drove slowly by, and I could see the outline of a woman through the tinted windows as she stared at us. Something about the way she sped up after she'd passed us made me uncomfortable. I turned back to look for Conner, and saw him moving towards the house, followed by Olivia and William. I pulled my bags from the bed of the truck, making my way after them.

I caught up with them standing in front of what looked like the entrance and moved to stand beside Conner. I reached for his hand as he rapped sharply on the huge wooden door with the other, holding my breath as I waited anxiously to see what would happen next. Silence from inside the building answered his knock, and I'd started to wonder if no one was home, when abruptly the door swung open seemingly of its own accord. I stared inside hesitantly, and Conner squeezed my hand reassuringly before pulling me through the doorway.

Chapter 11

I stood inside the entrance hallway, trying to keep my mouth from falling open as I took in the room around me. Shining hardwood floors stretched in front of us to two magnificent white staircases that spiraled in opposite directions. Huge vases full of exotic looking flowers were spread around the room, filling it with a delicious scent. It all looked like something out of a fairytale.

Well, it's not as if I haven't already stepped into a world full of make believe, I thought dryly. I looked over to Conner and found him watching me with a smile, and realized that the others were staring, too. I was suddenly embarrassed by this overwhelming feeling of wonder at my surroundings, when they all obviously took it as a common place. I stared down at my shoes, trying to keep the look of awe off my face.

Conner led the way into a room off to the left of the entranceway and William leaned in towards me as he passed. "Wait till you see the rest of the house," he murmured, and I turned to see that he was grinning widely. I returned his grin with one of my own, glad to know that I wasn't the only one who thought this house extravagant.

The second room was even grander than the entrance, and this time I couldn't stop my mouth from falling open as I gazed at the walls, covered floor to ceiling with shelves housing thousands of books. Most were bound in cloth or leather, and a faintly musty smell danced around the room, giving it a homely feel. Only one wall was devoid of books, it had instead a huge fireplace, crackling away cheerily. I looked longingly at a large cushioned armchair sitting in front of the fireplace, and was happy to oblige when Conner suggested that I stay there while he and the others took care of some things.

I sank into the armchair gratefully and kicked off my converse, running my toes through the luxuriously thick creamy carpet underneath my feet. I let my eyes roam the bookshelves that surrounded me, fascinated by the countless unfamiliar titles in languages I didn't recognize. Unable to control my overwhelming curiosity, I padded across the room to the nearest bookcase and ran my fingers lightly over the volumes in front of me, waiting for something to jump out at me.

My eyes caught on a thick volume bound in gorgeous blood red velvet, the word Oraculum inscribed into its spine in a heavy gold script. I eased the book from its place in the shelves, and was surprised by its weight. I'd imagined it would be heavy, due to its size, but in my hands it felt barely heavier than the average paperback novel. I carried it back to the armchair, hoping no one would walk in and find me perusing their personal library without permission.

I settled myself back into the chair, crossing my legs beneath me as I lay the book carefully onto my lap. For a minute I was content to just run my fingers idly over its leather cover, but it wasn't long before my curiosity got the best of me. I flicked through the pages until my eye caught on an illustration about half way through the thick volume. The almost familiar object of the illustration was almost entirely human in shape, but there was nothing human about it. The skin of the creature was a bright flaky crimson, and two pointed horns stuck out on either side of its forehead, circled by what looked like dried blood. The thing was unclothed, and from the waist down a covering of fur sprouted from its skin.

None of this was particularly new, I'd seen similar representations of Satan a thousand times before, but what made it different from every other picture of the Devil I'd seen was the position it was drawn in. The Devil in this picture was kneeling; his head bowed almost submissively, two hoofed hands held in front of his chest as if in prayer. I traced the lines of the picture, confused by this clashing of two polar opposites. My eyes moved automatically to the words below it, and I began to read.

Of all the prophets of the 17th and 18th centuries, Samuel Mason is widely accepted to be one of the greatest. Of the thousands of prophesies that Mason foretold, his were more often accurate than those of any other prophet or seer of the Order to date. Many believe that the coupling of two gifted parents is what produced such a powerful Child and it is largely due to this that the breeding debate has risen in recent decades.

Mason foresaw, and thus averted some of the most important and potentially devastating events of the 18th century, and it is chiefly due to his abilities that the gifted Children were able to halt the Uprising of 1748, as well as bring an end to the surface wars during the 1780's.

One of Mason's most influential prophecies was of the so called Chosen One, who, it was said, would bring about an end to the holy wars between good and evil. Mason was well into his seventeenth decade when he told of the mythical man, supposedly born of a union between light and dark, who would save us all from the evil below. It is rumored that this was one of the last, if not the last foretelling that Mason made before his death in 1815. There is little evidence to the coming of any Chosen One, and in the past century, Mason's last prophecy has been widely disregarded, as most find the idea of relying on an unknown savior to put an end to the war against evil unrealistic.

A polite cough pulled my gaze away from the book. Startled, I glanced up to meet the gaze of a genial old man standing across the room in the doorway. He looked to be about seventy, with hair almost entirely white and deep lines at the corners of his eyes that could have been the product of either laughing or frowning. As it was, his expression was stern as he took me in, sitting in what was probably his personal armchair, in his personal library. I stood up hastily, clutching the book to my chest so as not to drop it to the floor.

"Hello." His voice was mild and inoffensive, and I thought dimly that it wouldn't be out of place narrating children's television.

"Uh, hi." I fidgeted nervously with the book in my hands, wishing that Conner was by my side as a buffer between me and this stranger. "I'm Stella, Conner's friend..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say. His expression remained stern and neutral, and my stomach somersaulted as I waited for him to throw me out of his house.

"Stella," he said finally, his lips turning up at the corners in a smile that didn't come close to reaching his eyes. "I've heard so much about you." My eyebrows rose, but he continued as if he hadn't noticed. "My name is Caleb, but Conner and the others call me Cal." I wasn't sure if this was an invitation for me to call him Cal, so I decided then that I'd stick to Caleb. Besides, Cal seemed much too informal for someone who looked so old and wise. I smiled nervously at him, hoping desperately for Conner or William to walk in and lighten the mood. I didn't know whether it would be rude to sit while Caleb stood, so we both remained standing in uninterrupted silence. I stared down at my shoes, my face gradually growing warmer at the almost physical weight of Caleb's surveying gaze.

What seemed like hours later, William wandered absently into the room, his mouth open as if he was about to say something. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Caleb, and by the look on his face he was as surprised at his appearance as I had been.

"Cal, I thought... we thought you were still in London," he stammered, his gaze darting nervously between the two of us.

"Olivia called me."

William nodded curtly, his eyes momentarily meeting mine. We both knew what Olivia was trying to do. "You've met Stella then?"

"That's right."

William stood self consciously in the doorway as he searched for something to say. After several long moments he finally found his voice again. "Er... I'll just get the others in here," he said, turning around to lean out of the doorway. "Olivia! Conner!" There was enough urgency in his voice that they were through the door within moments.

"What?" Conner's eyes were wide as he ran into the room, but the concern on his face evaporated as his gaze fell on me, unscathed, only to be replaced with ill disguised annoyance when he noticed Caleb standing across from me.

"Cal!" Olivia grinned widely at the old man, hardly seeming to notice Conner's scathing glare.

"Hello Alexandra." Caleb's expression remained stern, but his voice had softened noticeably. Then he turned to Conner, his eyebrows drawing together to shadow his eyes. Conner's head bowed slightly under Caleb's gaze, but his expression was defiant.

"Why are you back, Cal?" Conner's voice was weary, and it was obvious that he was expecting an argument.

"Olivia contacted me this morning about the situation in Niceville, and I decided that it was necessary to cut my trip short."

"But the others.."

"The others can wait," Caleb interrupted him, annoyance seeping into his voice. "I will be the one asking the questions here."

Three pairs of eyes turned to me, and I met Caleb's gaze levelly, determined not to seem unsure of myself. Conner moved to stand beside me, his stare never leaving Caleb's face.

"I couldn't leave her there," he whispered, his tone almost pleading.

Caleb's eyes met Conner's, and his next words reminded me of distant thunder, warning of a raging storm to come. "This isn't the way we work, Conner. You know the rules."

"No." Conner's tone was firm, but his expression was stricken, as if the rules were something he hadn't considered until that moment. My insides twisted as I wondered briefly what exactly the rules were, before I shoved the thought to the back of my mind.

"Conner would never put me in danger." I told myself.

Caleb stood considering Conner, his expression unreadable. I stared between the two of them, understanding that Caleb had the power to throw me out of his house, and half wishing that he would. I still hadn't quite given up the hope that Conner might let me return home sooner rather than later. My hopes were dashed when Caleb nodded finally, a hard resignation in his eyes.

"This doesn't bode well, Conner, but I'll allow it for now. Make no mistake: there will be consequences for your actions." The expression on Conner's face said that he'd expected nothing less.

"Come on, Stella," he said, turning on his heel and striding out of the room. I followed obediently; glad to get away from Caleb.

"Where are we going?" I asked when we'd cleared the door, trying to keep my voice light, but failing miserably.

"To your new room," he replied, quickening his pace so I had to practically jog to keep up.

"I've already got a room?"

"The Houses all have empty rooms for any gifted children who wishes to stay."

"But not for friends of the children," I murmured, irritated that Conner hadn't warned me that my welcome would be less than warm. Being around Olivia was bad enough; I couldn't bear the possibility of having to put up with others just like her.

"It's going to be fine, Stella." His tone wasn't as convincing as it could have been, but I kept my mouth shut as I followed him along several winding corridors and past countless ornately carved doorways. I stopped trying to remember the way after the fourth three way intersection of corridors.

"How does this all fit..." I wondered aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"It's bigger on the inside."