Chapter Twelve
"Ms. Matthews, your presence is requested in the Principal's Office," Ms. Woodsen spoke softly and delicately, despite her wild appearance, to me before I could reach the entrance to Drama. I smiled graciously and turned around on my heel.
Fighting through the pressing crowd of my classmates, I came out on the other side relieved. Drama was not my forte, to say the least, and I wasn't exactly emotionally prepared to work on dramatic prose this morning. I'd had enough drama in my life to satisfy the most avid attention seekers, I could easily go without a peer group of judgmental adolescents all bent on my literal destruction.
In the lobby of the English and Drama Building, men had already been called to repair the broken glass. The marbled floor was pristinely clean and the window sills wiped and waiting for new panes to be installed. I smiled to myself, content with the gratifying feeling of destroying something and walked through the crew of men working without a single hint of guilt.
I made my way across campus quickly, the November air was frigid and windy. The Nebraska sky had ceased to send soft, refreshing rain and was now in a steady state of spitting ice. I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head, an accessory that had now become my constant companion.
Mrs. Truance nodded her head in disdained approval on my way to the staircase leading up to Amory's office. I grudgingly used my magic, to dry my clogs and coat before entering "Principal Saint's" office without knocking. Amory would not have been pleased if he knew I was withholding my energy for the simple sake that I could. He would have been even more upset if he knew how I dispelled the built-up electricity this morning.
"Eden," he gasped upon my arrival, standing at his desk shuffling papers. I rushed to his arms and he held me tightly to him.
Suddenly I burst into sobbing tears, soaking his expensive tweed suit jacket. I felt foolish and childlike. I might have been able to hold in my magic, but my emotions had overtaken me.
"There, there," he soothed, rubbing my back. His deep, melodic voice reached to my soul and I had never been more relieved to be in my grandfather's calming presence.
"They're never going to stop are they? They are never going to stop and I'm going to have to keep hurting them!" I wailed, my sweeter emotions overtaking my fear and anger.
"Oh, Eden," I heard Amory's voice break and he hugged me tighter.
My sobbing continued for several more minutes. Amory's magic wrapped around me, doing its best to comfort and calm me. I felt as though I was past the point however. Eventually my tears stopped and my shaking subsided. I stepped back, wiping my face with the sleeve of my pressed white uniform shirt.
Amory coughed forcefully, ridding his voice of any emotion before gesturing with his hand for me to sit. I obeyed, sitting with my legs beneath me in one of Amory's comfortable leather chairs opposite his expansive desk. He also took a seat in his own high-backed leather chair.
"I'm sorry about the windows," I mumbled glumly, sniffing and unable to look Amory in his eyes.
"Oh, it's just glass," he smiled gently, but it didn't reach his eyes. Amory had the same black eyes that I had and they were etched deeply with concern. For a moment he looked ancient, as if he had been alive since the beginning of time. "Eden, earlier this morning, I spoke with Lucan," Amory took a moment to pause and let the gravity of what he was about to say settle over me. "He asked many questions about you, none of which were what I expected. He is playing this game carefully; I believe he knows what is at stake if you suddenly disappear."
"Then why is he trying to kill me!" I demanded rather than questioned.
"I am not entirely sure if he is trying to kill you. I am beginning to believe he is only testing you. He is doing his best to find out what exactly you are capable of," Amory folded his hands on his desk and stared at me intently, waiting for my reaction.
"I'm not a research project," I growled.
“Eden, I am afraid that is exactly what you are," he shook his head slowly while looking down at his hands.
"So what were his questions?" I stifled my urge for nasty sarcasm.
"He was asking about your upbringing, your human upbringing," Amory pressed his fingers together and his gesture displayed the gravity of his words. To me a human upbringing was menial and insignificant. If anything, I was proud to have been raised by a human. From what I could tell, Aunt Syl valued human life significantly more than anyone in this over-privileged, snobby, super-human, fantasy world. But as I became more aware of the culture around me, I found that they saw my guardian as a joke, an unbelievable coincidence or even worse, an insult.
"What about it?" I grunted, finding myself only growing more and more irritated.
"There is a tradition with young Immortals when they reach adolescence. When an Immortal child enters a new period of life, such as young adulthood or marriage, or child birth, tradition dictates that they take a symbolic walk. Each new phase of life signifies an extreme change to one's present condition and a taking on, if you will, of new responsibility. Each Immortal life is unique and highly regarded in that there is a ceremony for every major milestone. Normally, when an Immortal is born in to this world there is a baptism of sorts and a three-day festival. We call it the Eternal Baptism, and we bath each infant in holy water, not in the human sense, but in our own version of holy water. In reality your parents bestowed this honor upon you and your brother in the secrecy of their private lives, but when you turned thirteen, the traditional practice was not observed.
“It is entirely my fault, since I am the one who kept you in hiding and kept our way of life hidden from you. Unfortunately, now that you are known to the King, he expects you to fulfill your rite of passage. He has agreed to forgo the newborn christening, since I assured him, I baptized you upon your realization of self, but he has been stubborn about the Eternal Walk, the ceremony conducted when you reach adolescence."
"Why is that?" I asked, trying to get my head around thousands of years of tradition I had yet to catch up on.
"Because the Eternal Walk is significant to understanding what kind of Immortal you are. Before the separation of races, every Immortal would participate in the ceremony and learn what powers they exhibited most strongly and what kind they took on. It made sense thousands of years ago when a Witch could be born from a Medium and Titan and so forth. Today, the ceremony is done for the sake of the King. You see, Lucan, just like his father, and his father's father, monitor every single Walk, so that they can prove to themselves that every member of our community is adhering to the laws. Since the Monarchy, every Immortal has taken the Eternal Walk to prove their allegiance to the King. Well, until you and your brother."
"I don't understand," I said bluntly. "So I take a walk, Lucan is there, and then I can officially be a teenager? Is this like the Immortal version of a Bar Mitzvah?" I was lost.
Amory chuckled, but shook his head, "You, my dear, will endure an agonizing and strenuous test of both character and skill to determine the type of Immortal you are. Lucan will watch the demonstration with a board of advisors, and when you have reached your limit and are wrapped in the Holy Flame, he will discover your true and hidden identity, I'm afraid. Not only will your secrets be revealed for all, but after the fact, you will be weak and displaced and Lucan will be able to do whatever he wishes with you," Amory's face was suddenly grave and took on his ancient expression again. He rubbed his temples with his fingers as if fighting a migraine. I had the urge to walk over to him, but couldn't make myself move. I was too stunned.
"Is that all?" I finally found my voice. "So what exactly is it?" I courageously asked, not entirely sure I wanted to know the answer. I imagined all kinds of terrible scenarios of torture, but nothing I could come up with would leave me as unprotected as Amory suggested.
"The ceremony is not unlike the Induction Ceremony all new members of the Resistance experience. Since I know you witnessed Lilly's induction through the eyes of your brother, I expect you to have somewhat of an idea," he gave me a characteristic look that let me know nothing I did escaped the watchful eyes of the last remaining Oracle. "The Eternal Walk is sacred and private, and will tell you more about yourself than you knew possible.”
“You will take a plane to India alone. You must go alone. Self-reflection is part of the journey. Lucan has generously offered Kiran's private jet, if you can call that generosity," Amory took a moment to pause and looked out the window towards the courtyard of Kingsley. I tried to digest India quickly before he continued, but failed, "Once you arrive in Bangalore, you will be taken to the Kendrick Palace, deep in the jungle. If you make it that far, preparations will begin to be made for your walk."
"What do you mean, if I make it that far?" I swallowed loudly.
"I mean, as long as this isn't all some sort of trick to simply get you on that plane. If you land in India, if you make it to the palace, if the plan really is to have you follow through with the Eternal Walk and not some ploy just to lure you on to that plane only to end up in a Romanian prison, or arrive in India only to be kidnapped and held for ransom until Lucan has all of his answers. I have never operated with so many "ifs" in all my life," he finished gruffly.
"Is that what you think will happen?" I clutched my throat, holding my hand tightly against it as if I was in danger of having it chopped off.
"I don't know what to think," Amory looked me in the eyes and his expression held such sorrow that I felt as if his soul was breaking. "But I do know that I will fight for you until I have breathed my last breath," His voice was quiet and unassuming, but the gravity of his words, the words of a man that had survived thousands of years, reached to my innermost doubts and I trusted him, I could not help but trust him.
"Ok, enough of this doomsday-talk. We will assume you make it to India, once on the plane you are forbidden from speaking. This is very, very important. For an Immortal rite of passage, silence is the ultimate form of respect; especially in India, where your stewards have all taken a vow of silence until your task is complete. So, on the ground in India you will leave the city, and ride deep into the jungle, high in the mountains. The trip will take three more days. Once you have reached the palace, you will be allowed to sleep for twelve hours. The stewards will wake you and immediately begin to bathe you. You will have one final breakfast and then fast from that point on. After your breakfast, you will travel again deeper into the jungle, to the Cave of Forever Winds. Your stewards will leave you there and your Eternal Walk will begin," he paused to gauge my reaction.
"Holy crap," I blurted out. "So, if I don't die before I reach the whatever-caves, I will have to do what? Alone?"
"Eden, I have no doubts that you will survive whatever fate lies beyond this continent, but it will be difficult. It is always difficult," he grinned at me.
"I suppose no one has ever died from not talking," I conceded. Amory laughed out loud.
"Not yet anyway," he winked playfully.
"So, what happens inside the cave?" I was afraid of the answer, but needed to be as informed as possible.
