When the Sky Comes Down

Chapter 10

[Alexia’s P.O.V.]

It took me forever to actually go to class. After getting my schedule from the information desk- not to confuse with the reception, I went up to my room with Harlen. He strangely refused to come in. After getting everything I need, he brings me to my first class. Something that is called “The Basic Understanding of Species.” Harlen walked me to my class, but now he doesn’t want to let me go. He just keeps on talking and talking.

‘Harlen.’ We both look up as this young, gorgeous man stands in the doorway. ‘Stop assaulting one of my first years and get to class already.’

Harlen growls. ‘Yes sir.’ He looks at me one more time, before taking off.

I look a bit baffled at the guy in the doorway. He just smiles at me and extents his hand. ‘Welcome to The Basic Understanding of Species, I am your teacher, Mr. Williams.’ I take his hand and shake it.

‘Lexi- Alexia, Wildheart, sir.’

He smiles widely. ‘The famous Lexi Wildheart.’ Famous? ‘Keith has told me all about you. Asked me to help him decipher what it is you actually are. Have the two of you found out what you are already?’

‘No sir,’ I whisper, feeling like I should run away.

‘No worries, we will find out in time,’ he says. ‘For now, try to pick up as much as you can.’

‘That shouldn’t be a problem,’ I whisper.

‘Come on in.’ He steps aside, allowing me to enter. The class is already filled. I see Bellian right at the front. She waves and taps at the table. She kept a spot free for me. I can’t help but smile. I quickly walk up to her and join her table. ‘Hi, thank you for keeping a seat.’

‘No problem,’ she whispers back. ‘Nobody wanted to sit at the front anyway, so it wasn’t too hard.’ She lets out a little chuckle.

‘Welcome everybody, I believe we are complete now.’ He claps his hands. ‘We have all briefly met when you walked in, now we are going to meet each other more intimately over the next course of classes.’ He walks over to his desk and leans up against it. ‘How, you might wonder. Well, we will be discussing the basics of each and every species in the Under. Meaning your own species is bound to be among them.’ His eyes linger with me for a moment. ‘By discussing each species, you will gain a better understanding, not only off the other person, but also of yourself. You might discover why you have certain traits. You might figure out what triggers you or what helps you to calm down. In short, we will find out what makes you tick.’ He smiles. ‘You will have my class for the coming five years, each year we will go in deeper and deeper on the different types of species.’ He takes out his book. ‘We start at the beginning. Chapter one, demons.’

I open my book. The image illustrating the first chapter is amazingly drawn. It is a man, wearing nothing but pants. One side of his body is black, has sharp, long fingers with red, glowing smoke spiralling up from the palm. He is slim, but not in a lanky kind of way. He still looks strong and intimidating. His one eye is glowing red, his other is normal, with eye white, a blue iris and a pupil. His blonde hairs peak out. From under his pants appear a normal foot on one side and a black one on the other. The black foot is monsterousioulsy large and with the toes just as long and sharp as the fingers. He is surprisingly sexy. Maybe it’s the smouldering look in his eyes.

‘Before we start, who can tell me anything about demons?’ I know I can’t, I have never even met one. I see a few hands slowly rise.

‘Good, good. Amanda, please, enlighten us.’

‘Wow,’ Bellian says, as we are packing up our things. ‘Wow.’

‘Yeah, you can say that.’ I am completely baffled by all the information we have gotten.

‘Did you know they were that dangerous?’ she asks me.

‘No, definitely not.’ I feel a lump in my throat. I can’t deny that some of the things Mr. Williams told us sounded familiar. Like the fact that they are dangerous and rip others apart. But then there were also parts that did definitely not sound familiar. Like the fact that they actually enjoy bathing in the blood of their enemies, or that they are born with a certain form of pride, and with the lack of shame. Dangerous qualities, according to Mr. Williams. According to him, they were the first species created by Lucifer. Many of them live in the palace or the closest circles around it. Mr. William says there is a rumour that they were created to retaliate against the Upper, but that such claims should not be taken serious, as no retaliation actually take place, no war was fought. We got some homework, reading a few pages, nothing too major.

Bellian and I leave the classroom and she takes a map out of the pocket of her blazer. I don’t mind wearing uniforms, at least now everybody is equal. Besides, the uniforms aren’t too bad. Black blazers with red and orange linings and the school logo on chest: a flame with black gates. The girls get the option to wear either skirts or pants. I decided to wear skirts while it is still warm and switch to pants as soon as the cold set in. Then there is a white blouse. Girls get to wear a dark red, waistcoat, which is so narrow around the waist it might as well have been a corset. Guys have to wear either a dark red bowtie or tie. Guys have flat, black shoes and girls have them with a little heel. Only the socks have been left for interpretation. That and accessories.

‘I wonder why the teacher isn’t here yet,’ Bellian says, as we enter the next classroom. There aren’t that many students yet either.

‘Maybe they all got lost,’ I mumble.

‘The teacher?’ Bellian chuckles.

‘No.’ I can’t help but chuckle too. ‘The others.’ Bellian and I take a seat at the front. ‘We need the Old Worlds book for this, right?’ I ask, as I am digging through my books.

‘Yes, you do.’ I look up at the familiar voice. It’s Ilion. ‘I was wondering where you were. Would you mind if I join your table?’ Unlike the other class, this one has room for three rather than two people.

‘Of course not,’ I say. I glance over at Bellian, who just looks at Ilion. I softly tick her side with my elbow. She almost jumps up, but then just looks at me, before looking back at Ilion.

‘Yes, of course,’ she quickly says. Ilion walks around the table and sits down next to Bellian, as the only other seat at our table is next to her.

‘Hi,’ Ilion says to her, putting his bag down. ‘I’m Ilion, a- well, an acquaintance?’ He glances over at me. ‘Maybe soon to be friends?’ He is asking me to be friends?

‘Yeah,’ I tell him, with a little smile. ‘I would like that.’ I didn’t mean to say that last part out loud, but I did nonetheless.

‘Me too,’ Ilion says, smiling widely. He then turns to Bellian again. ‘And you are?’

‘Bellian,’ she answers. ‘Lexi’s f-friend?’ She turns to me quickly and I nod. She smiles wide and then turns to Ilion. ‘Lexi’s friend,’ she says, more confident now. ‘And roommate,’ she quickly adds.

‘Pleasure,’ Ilion says, clearly excited. ‘What did you think of The Basic Understanding of Species?’ he asks, taking out his book. ‘Pretty gruesome, right?’

‘Definitely,’ Bellian exclaims. ‘Have you ever met a demon?’

‘Yeah, but they always look so normal.’

‘Of course they look normal,’ I but in. They both look at me. ‘Aren’t we all shaped after them?’ I ask.

‘Technically we have been shaped after Lucifer and the other angels. Demons first, then the rest of us.’ Ilion has a point. We are actually all results of Lucifer’s test subjects.

‘Welcome students, my name is Chris Fray, but please restrain from calling my Chris.’ I look up. A man with stags comes walking in. I can’t help but look at them, even though I am fairly sure it is rude to do so. They are huge. I seem to be the only one who is staring.

‘Lexi,’ Bellian whispers to me. ‘Stop.’

‘I am sorry,’ I whisper back. ‘They are just so- so-‘

‘Have you never seen a mage with stags before?’ She pokes me between the rips, making it finally so that I can avert my eyes.

‘I have not. To be honest, I have only met two mages in my whole life. One of which is my brother and he never showed us his mark.’ I try not to look at the teacher anymore. ‘Do many mages have stags?’ Bellian just nods. ‘I didn’t know there were more people with the same marks.’

‘There is always something slightly different about them.’ I never actually thought about asking Bellian. Perhaps I should ask her more about mages.

‘Who has already taken a look at their books?’ He looks around. ‘Nobody, alright. Not to worry, the title isn’t quite as appealing as some of the other books, I know.’ He sits in his big, black chair and looks at us. ‘Who knows what Old Worlds is about?’ a few hands go up. ‘Yes, miss?’

‘Miss Green, sir.’ He gestures her to stand, so she does. ‘Eh- It is about the different languages spoken throughout the centuries?’

‘Is that a question or a statement?’ the teacher asks.

‘Eh- A statement?’

He chuckles. ‘Very good, miss Green. You may sit down.’ She quickly sits down again. ‘The Old world is more than simply language, it is behaviour, rules, norms and morals.’ He sits back. ‘It is about the way of living. You might think you know everything, but you might be surprised. Now, we will start with a little test, so I can see at what level you all are. Language wise, in this case. Books away and pens, please.’ Everybody starts putting their books away and taking their pens out. Mr. Fray simply moves his hands up and the tests start flying around, landing perfectly on the tables, in front of each student. ‘No cheating allowed. Make sure your name is at the top of the paper.’ He looks at his watch. ‘You will have 45 minutes, your time starts now.’

I look down at my paper. Start by noting your name, I can do that. I write down my name at the top corner.

When I look at the first sentence, I get confused. I start looking at the others, but it doesn’t make sense. Is he testing us? All the sentences are in plain and clear English. I had expected there to be some strange signs or symbols, but it is plain English. I look up at our teacher, who is reading a book. I glance over at Bellian, to see if she is thinking the same, but she is staring at her paper in full concentration. I look at the person at my other side, a table over. He too looks intensely at his paper. Maybe I am simply missing something.

I look back at my paper. “Translate the sentences to English” it states at the top. How can I translate English sentences to English? Does he want us to use different words? I look up at our teacher again, then decide to just write down the sentences. Maybe he is testing us. He will probably see in time that he has given me the wrong test. He will probably laugh. Maybe it is all just a test, to see how everybody responds, how everybody writes. I decide to write as careful and neat as possible. Even so, I am finished after fifteen minutes.

I look at the clock, while fiddling with my pen. My mind wanders off.

‘Time is up, please put down you pen.’ I put down my pen. When I look at my paper, I feel a white-hot sting of panic. I have been drawing unconsciously. I draw for comfort and I enjoy doing so, but I hadn’t even really realised. I drew a landscape, which even flows around a few of the sentences. Before I can do anything about it, strike out the drawing or come up with some sort of solution, the paper flies away, to our teacher’s desk. I want to say something, I want to make a remark, but I feel nothing but panic.

‘Seeing how I cannot teach much more right now, you are free to enjoy the spare fifteen minutes however you please. You can stick around, or you can leave and enjoy an early lunch break.’ Everyone starts packing their things and leave the room.

‘Lexi?’ Bellian says. She is already standing.

‘I- I- Uh.’ I look at our teacher. ‘I need to talk with Mr.- Mr.-‘ I gesture to him.

‘Is everything okay?’ Ilion asks.

‘Yeah,’ I lie. ‘I should be right done. Can- Can I meet you both in the canteen?’

‘Sure, we will safe you a seat.’ They leave together, leaving me alone with the teacher. I grab my back and walk up to his desk.

‘S-sir?’ He looks up. He is already grading some of the papers.

‘Yes, miss?’ He looks up at me.

‘Wildheart,’ I whisper. ‘Lexi- Alexia Wildheart.’

‘Keith’s sister?’ I nod. ‘Hmm, nice to finally meet you. How can I help?’

‘I- Uh.’ I pull my fingers. ‘I noticed something was wrong with my test, sir.’

‘Your test.’ He frowns. He starts searching through the papers and then picks mine out. He lets out a chuckle. ‘Well, if your problem was with the drawings, miss Wildheart, I can only say that I have no idea how they got there.’

My cheeks burn. ‘I- I am sorry, sir. That- That is my doing, I draw. It- It calms me down.’ I look at my hands and pull harder.

‘Well, I have to say, you draw phenomenally. So, tell me what is wrong with your test.’ He must really be trying to pull something.

‘It- It is the sentences, sir.’ He looks up me, making me look down once again. ‘I- I was just-‘

When I feel his eyes are off me, I look up again. He is looking at my paper, frowning. He then turns it around.

‘Sir?’

‘Hmm?’

‘Why are all sentences already in English, if you wanted us to trans-‘ I stop talking when he suddenly looks up at me.

‘What do you mean, miss Wildheart?’

My mouth is so dry. ‘The- The sentences. W-why are they-‘

‘They are not, miss Wildheart.’ He gets up and takes the book he was reading before from his desk. He hands it over to me. ‘Could you read this to me.’

‘T-To-‘

‘To me, yes. Outloud, miss Wildheart.’

I slowly take the book from him. “How Zacharia won over the Muses.” I have to admit, it sounds intriguing. I open it onto the first page. ‘Zacharia -not to confuse with Zacharya, priest and servant of Godric- lived in the early years of the Middle’s creation. Zacharia was the first creation of Lucifer, the first demon to walk the Middle. Zacharia, in all his glory, ruled the Middle for up to fifty years, before-‘ Mr. Fray raises his hand to make me stop. He is staring at me with a newfound interest.

‘You are saying this looks like English to you?’

‘It is English, sir.’ Now I am certain. He is simply pulling a prank on a first year student.

‘It is not.’ Definitely pulling a prank. ‘This specific book has been written in old Holin.’ I offer him the book back and he takes it. ‘I have heard of cases like you. Very rare, but it does happen.’

‘Sir?’

‘Tralatio geneticea,’ he says. ‘I only know of five other cases. It is said to be a sign of greatness.’ He looks me in the eye as if he is searching for something. ‘Would you mind doing some testing? I have never taught one myself and I have to admit I find it utterly fascinating.’ He puts down the book.

‘I- I- Uh-‘

‘Think about it,’ he quickly says. ‘In the meantime…’ He starts scribbling something down on the corner of my test. He then tears off the piece he wrote on and gives it to me. ‘…go to the library, read this book. There is not much known about your kind…’ My kind? ‘…but what is known, you can find it in there.’

‘O-okay.’ I look at the piece of paper and then put it in my front pocket. ‘I- I will be joining my friends now.’ I walk away, feeling more strange than ever before.