Eli Fletcher: Mark of the King: Book 1

Chapter Five

The New Kid Saves The Day

“Now, mind you, Eli, I don’t know everything; I’ve only gotten so far in my own training, so don’t ask for too many details.”

I nod and say, “Okay.”

“Your job as the Sicarius, like I’ve said, is to hunt down and send demons back to the spiritual realm. They’re passing from that realm into the physical through a rift called a hell mount. Many of them have special abilities that you will be able to counter with your weapon once we’ve found all the pieces. But before you can do any of that, you must begin with some training, which will begin in probably the next few days or so as soon as the angel assigned to you arrives.”

“Why aren’t they here yet?” I ask.

Miss O shrugs. “They could be on a different mission at the moment or they could be held up by demons trying to prevent you from growing to your full potential.”

“My full potential?”

Miss O nods. “Every generation there is a High Sicarius who is more powerful than the rest. In fact, they’re so powerful, the members he puts on his team tend to be as powerful as the other Sicariorum.”

“There are others ones out there?” I blurt out and Miss O nods. “Will I ever meet them?”

Miss O nods. “Tentatio is preparing for war and you will lead and army of Sicariorum to defeat him.”

My stomach drops; I don’t know the first thing about leading an army, I’m only twelve years old!

“Our sources predict it to be a few years away, so you have plenty of time to train and prepare.”

I try to change the subject back to my training; I’d rather not think about a war against demons just yet.

“You mentioned a team; do I get to pick my own team?”

Miss O nods. “But, not until the angel training you says you can.”

I nod again. “That makes sense,” I agree. “I don’t want to pick just anyone,” I add and then begin to think about who I would place on my team. Fiona? Maybe; I don’t know, it’s not like I know many others at this group home. Plus, whoever I choose will be in harm’s way a lot, so I’m not sure I want to do that to her. But, then again, if the demons learn about how good of friends we really are, they might go after her anyway and then she’d be left vulnerable and I really don’t want to do that to her either.

“Don’t worry about who may or may not be on your team, Eli; you have plenty of time for that.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I agree with her.

“You know, Eli, you’re taking this much better than I expected,” she tells me. “Is everything okay?”

I look up at her for the first time since our conversation began; real love and concern is etched in her face in a way I’ve never seen from anyone before. I imagine that’s what my mother’s face might look like.

“I’m fine,” I tell her. “It’s just nice to finally have some answers; even if they are as crazy as they sound.”

Miss O nods. “I think I can understand that,” she says, placing her interlocked hands on her desk in front of her. “Why don’t you head up to bed? You guys have a big kickball game in the morning with Mr. Reese.”

“Kickball?”

“Yes, you played last week, right?”

“Well, yeah, of course, but who can think about a game of kickball when there are demons out there who want to kill me?”

Miss O nods at me. “That’s a good question, Eli, but you have nothing to worry about right now. Until you begin your training, there is extra protection around the campus keeping you and everyone safe.”

“Some job they’re doing; that demon earlier got in with no problem.”

“It’s likely God allowed that one demon in to help you realize your powers. Because of that attack, you believe a lot more in those powers than you did before.”

“True,” I agree, although somewhat skeptically.

“Now, you need your sleep, Eli. Please, head back upstairs and get to bed.”

“Yes, Miss O,” I say and then leave her office, staring at the floor as I make my way back to the dorm room.

________________

After finally falling asleep around two in the morning, I’m woken up by the noise of the other boys in the room racing to get dressed and rush to breakfast. I push myself up and swing my legs out over the edge of my bed and watch groggily as the others get dressed quickly. Miss O was right; they love the kickball games.

I join the rest of the kids in the cafeteria, receive my tray full of breakfast and find a seat alone.

“Can I sit with you?” Fiona asks, standing across from me.

“Of course,” I say and she sits down with her breakfast.

“Why were you sitting alone?” she asks, taking up her spoon to start eating her oatmeal.

I shrug. “I was just thinking about what happened last night,” I tell her. “That and I’m pretty sure Mr. Reese is going to make me team captain again.”

“Probably,” she agrees. “Try and pick me this time,” she says with a wink.

I chuckle. “I’m planning on it. Considering you’re my only friend, I need you to help me pick the rest of the team.”

“Hopefully Billy’s not a jerk and picks me first just to make you mad.”

“After what happened last night, I wouldn’t be surprised if he does.”

“So, what actually happened?”

I take a deep breath and then tell her the full story; I even tell her about my conversation with Miss O about my powers, about the Hell Mount and even about having a team to fight demons with.

“Who are you going to pick?” she asks.

I stare at her dumbfounded for a moment. “None of that freaks you out?”

She stares back for a moment as well. “Should it?”

My eyebrows rise up as I look at her in shock. “It freaks me out,” I say and then look around before whispering, “and I’m the one with powers.”

“Until you choose your team, and then you’ll have more with powers.”

She has a point, but none of this is normal and I tell her so.

“True, but, Eli, weird things have been happening since you got here. I’ve been hearing people’s thoughts, seeing their dreams, you were attacked by a demon and then you accidentally beat up Billy last night. Everything Miss O told you sounds like an answer.”

Once again I stare at her, unsure of how to respond.

“How old are you again?” I ask her.

She blushes and grins, jabbing at her oatmeal awkwardly. “Eleven,” she answers.

“Well, you sure don’t talk like it.”

“Neither do you,” she replies. “I guess we’ve both had to grow up quickly,” she adds.

“Yeah,” I agree, wondering about the truth of her past before the orphanage.

“Who’s ready for kickball?” Mr. Reese calls out from the double doors of the cafeteria.

The entire room erupts in a loud cheer in response.

“Alright, nine year olds and up, finish your breakfast quickly and join me out at the kickball field in ten minutes!” he says and then leaves the room.

“I guess we better hurry and eat,” Fiona says.

Less than ten minutes later, we older kids rush out of the cafeteria while Miss O and the college student volunteers help gather the younger ones to come watch the game. Once we’re all lined up on the edge of the grass field, Mr. Reese calls out me and Billy to be team captains again. Billy still looks shaken up from last night’s incident, so when Mr. Reese has us shake hands, I tell him he can pick first, risking him choosing Fiona.

“Marco,” he says, pointing at his largest friend.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Fiona,” I say, nodding at her.

Billy picks Allaryce next. Typical, he would pick his friends first. Although, Marco is pretty good and Allaryce is sort of like his girlfriend or something, so I don’t blame him. I survey the rest of my options but Miss O interrupts us by walking a boy about my age out to us.

“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Reese, but we have a new addition I wanted to introduce to everybody.”

Everybody faces her as she introduces the new kid.

“Everybody, this is Michael. Michael, I’m sure a good game of Kickball will get you acquainted with everybody in no time.”

“He can come to my team if he wants to play,” Billy says in his friendliest tone.

I look at Billy and know he’s faking. He doesn’t care about making friends; he wants the new kid on his team because he’s tall and athletic-looking. I’m not gonna lie, I want him on my team for the same reasons, but I’m not going to pretend to be his friend just to get him on my team.

“You already had your pick, Billy. It’s Eli’s turn,” Mr. Reese says.

Billy glares at me and I grin back.

“Wanna play?” I ask Michael, returning my attention to him.

He nods and then looks up at Miss O. It doesn’t take much for him to look up at her; he’s almost her height.

“Okay, Michael. I will take your things to your bunk. Have fun,” Miss O says sweetly and then walks back into the building with his backpack.

Michael stands behind Fiona and me, and as Billy considers his next pick, I turn and introduce myself. “Hi, my name is Eli.”

“Michael,” he says timidly.

Oh no, is this kid not as tough as he looks?

“This is Fiona. Hold on…” I say and look at who was left. “Who should I pick next?” I ask Fiona.

She narrows her eyes and rubs her chin thoughtfully as she studies the rest of the kids; it’s probably one of the cutest things I’ve seen her do. I look over at Billy’s newest pick. He’s chosen Steven, a big and round kid; not the same one who sleeps beneath my bunk. He’s slow, but when he kicks the ball, it flies ridiculously far.

“Trevor. He’s fast,” Fiona interrupts my thoughts.

“As long as he can kick the ball,” I say dryly, but she has a good point. He’s fast and he rarely misses a catch. I can put him in the outfield to catch Steven’s kicks. “Trevor.”

I hear a giggle come from Allaryce as Trevor runs over to my team as fast as he can to prove just how fast he is. When he joins us he looks pleased with himself; I can’t help but smile and chuckle at his enthusiasm. Soon the teams are picked from the remaining eight and Mr. Reese does a coin toss to determine who will be up first. Billy wins so Mr. Reese sends my team out to field and Billy’s to the dugout as they have “first ups”.

Waving my team towards me, I gather them into a huddle. I quickly survey each player and the talent levels I feel they have based on the last game we played two weeks ago.

“Fiona, take first. I know you can catch what I throw to you. Trevor, take left field. You catch really well too, so we’ll need your help out there to catch the big kicks. Michael, you any good at kickball?”

He shrugs.

His response doesn’t boost my confidence much, so I decide to put him at second base simply because he’s tall and can knock down a line drive before it hits the outfield.

“Tabby, take center field. I don’t think I saw a ball go past you out there,” I instruct and she runs quickly to her position, like the others do as I give them out.

I take third base since I can throw the ball harder than the rest of the team. They’ll need me to get the ball to first base as fast as possible. I crouch, ready for anything. After the last game, kickball has become my favorite game to play. I tried baseball once in California, but it just wasn’t as fun as kickball. Besides, everybody took baseball way too seriously out there.

Billy steps up to home plate and waits for the first pitch; or, first roll rather. I glance over at Fiona at first base and she winks at me. Blushing slightly, I watch Mr. Reese roll the ball for Billy. Billy takes three quick steps forward then kicks the ball out to right field.

“Come on, Donna,” I say to myself. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I see Tabby running over to back her up. Billy rounds first base and heads for second; the ball falls down towards Donna quickly. Billy rounds second base, making his way for me at third, but the ball bounces off of Donna’s face and back into the air again. Tabby surges forward and catches it in a slide before it hits the ground.

“OUT!” Mr. Reese shouts.

Billy trips at the sound of Mr. Reese’s voice, rolling a couple feet in front of me. When he recovers and stands up, he sees that Tabby’s caught the ball. He stomps back to the dugout like a spoiled brat.

I smirk at Billy subtly as he passes by and then look back at the outfield to see Donna is crying. Mr. Reese takes the ball from Tabby as he checks out Donna’s injury.

“At least I got one,” I hear Billy say as his stomping becomes a strut.

“Watch it, Billy,” I warn him out of the corner of my mouth, glaring at him as he walks by.

Billy laughs as he joins his team in the dugout. Marco is at the plate waiting for Mr. Reese’s next pitch. Donna seems to be alright; she’s stopped crying at least, but even from here I can see the distinct red mark from the ball. I’ve found a new determination to beat Billy today.

Mr. Reese takes his place at the pitcher’s mound and holds up the bright red ball, then rolls it quickly to Marco. Marco lumbers forward and plants his foot squarely into the gut of the ball, just below its middle. It soars out to left field. My hopes rise; Trevor will catch it easily. The ball flies through the air like a bright red comet and I pivot to watch as Trevor runs towards the homerun line, faster and faster his legs carry him until…

“No!” I scream. “Get up, Trevor!”

Trevor rolls over as it seems he’s landed in the perfect spot. The ball hits him square in the chest and he wraps his arms around it, refusing to let it escape. I punch my fist into the air and yell, “Yeah! Good job, Trevor!”

My heart is still racing, even when Mr. Reese shouts, “Two outs!”

Allaryce steps up to the plate next. She should be our third out; no problem. My confidence is high. Mr. Reese rolls the ball; Allaryce steps forward and kicks but skims the top.

“Strike one!” Mr. Reese calls out.

Brittany picks up the ball and tosses it awkwardly back to Mr. Reese. I’m glad I put her there. Anywhere else would have been a disaster.

Mr. Reese rolls the ball again and this time, Allaryce kicks it straight at me. It flies for my face much quicker than I expect. I lift my hands to catch it, but the velocity of the ball makes it ricochet off my palms and shoot into the air, over my head. Trevor is there to catch it, but it bounces on the ground once first. Allaryce is safely on first base. I want to kick myself for missing such an easy out.

So much for having superpowers, I scold myself.

Red with embarrassment, I crouch down again, refusing to look over at first base. Not just because Allaryce is still there, but because I don’t want to see the look of disappointment on Fiona’s face. I do my best to ignore the roars of laughter in the dugout to my right and resist the temptation to raise a certain finger at them. I should have caught that ball; I mean I have special powers, right?

Steven steps up to the plate. I turn to make sure my outfielders are acting accordingly, wisely taking a few steps back. Steven’s size alone will give him a decent kick. Mr. Reese rolls the ball and Steven slams his meaty foot into its gut. But he catches too much of the bottom of the ball, which sends it high into the air. Fortunately, it also flies off to the right; foul ball. Donna retrieves the ball.

Mr. Reese holds the ball high again, swings his arm back and then rolls the ball toward Steven. This time Steven makes a better connection, but it’s still too far underneath the ball. The ball shoots straight up into the air and then begins to drop down right over the pitching mound. Mr. Reese refuses to catch any fly balls, so he jogs out of the way to let us handle it. Since there are two outs, Allaryce is rounding the bases like her life depends on it and Steven waddles as fast as he can for first base. Fiona, Michael and I all run for the center of the infield, trying to see the ball in the sun. Then suddenly Michael yells out.

“Got it! Got it! Got it!” and then he has it, cradling perfectly in his long arms. The ball stands out brightly against his dark skin and black shirt. Our team shouts with joy as the first half of the inning comes to an end. My only hope is that our outs don’t come as easily as theirs did.

I put my team in kicking order, deciding to boost Trevor’s confidence by putting him first. He takes a seat on the edge of the bench closest to the exit so he can get to home plate when we’re ready to start. I place Fiona after him followed by Michael. I want myself fourth as clean up kicker. I know at least one of them will get on base and I’m likely to bring not only them in with my kick, but myself as well.

“Kicker up!” Mr. Reese hollers.

Trevor looks at me and I give him a slight nod; I don’t sit on the bench with the others. Instead, I stand against the chain link fence that separates us from the field.

Trevor rushes up to the plate eagerly, waiting for Mr. Reese to roll the ball for him. As the red sphere rolls with small bounces towards Trevor, I’m shocked as Trevor connects with the ball. It flies right over the head of the shortstop and bounces on the grass towards left field.

I watch the ball instead of Trevor, not worrying as I have confidence in his speed. Then I hear bodies collide and a collective “ooh” from the aides and kids in the stands behind the backstop. I whip my head around to see Trevor lying on the ground at first base and Billy staggering to his feet.

“Cheater!” I yell at Billy.

Mr. Reese looks over to see Trevor still on the ground, but Billy stepping back onto first base. Trevor is holding his nose, which, I’m sure, is bleeding. The ball enters Billy’s arms and he steps on first. Mr. Reese hadn’t seen if Trevor hit the base or not. He jogs over to see if Trevor is okay. His nose, thankfully, isn’t bleeding, but Trevor is definitely in pain. Due to the accident, Mr. Reese gives him the base.

“But he never stepped on the base!”

“He would have if you hadn’t been sitting on it!” Fiona screams back.

Mr. Reese turns his attention to Fiona, shocked that she’d spoken up, which she doesn’t do often, especially against Billy. That alone convinces Mr. Reese that she’s telling the truth. He rounds on Billy; Mr. Reese doesn’t tolerate cheating.

“Take a lap around the field, Billy. We’ll wait.”

“But-”

“GO!” Mr. Reese roars with one fist on his hip and the other hand pointing towards right field.

Billy hangs his head and all of us watch him jog a lap around the field. My team starts to point and laugh, so I shoot a look at them. Some of them see my warning glare and shut up. The ones who notice me start nudging the others not paying attention. When they meet my eyes, they stifle their laughter, quieting the dugout quickly. Despite my warnings to the rest of the team, I do my best to suppress a grin.

When Billy comes by the dugout, I look at him over my shoulder and catch his angry glare. We remain silent as he jogs by, but that seems to make him even angrier. I know this will mean he’ll play harder, which ultimately means we have to step up our game as well, but I don’t care.

“Okay, Fiona, you’re up,” I tell her.

She gets up and skips up to the plate to take her kick. I love how cheery she always seems to be, though I kind of wish she would take kickball more seriously.

Standing with her hands behind her back, Fiona sways slightly as she waits for Mr. Reese to roll the ball to her. When he does, she suddenly drops her arms from behind her back; crouches with a leg out behind her; and then takes a few quick steps forward before kicking as hard as she can.

Her kick lands much like Trevor’s had, but the ball soars over Billy’s head, lands on the grass in right field in fair play, then rolls out of bounds. Trevor is already on his way to third by the time Fiona hits first base and stops. We now have runners on first and third and it’s Michael’s turn to kick.

Michael looms up to the plate. He’d been waiting by the entrance of the dugout as Fiona took her turn at the plate. I call a “time-out” before Michael reaches home plate and Mr. Reese nods, tucking the ball under his arm. I wave for Fiona to join me on the third baseline. I tug on Michael’s sleeve, telling him to come with me.

“What’s up?” Fiona asks as we huddle near the base.

I eye Marco as he tries to eavesdrop on our conversation, so I speak in a whisper. “Michael, I want you to fake a big kick. They’re already backing up because they assume you have a huge kick, and I’m sure you do.”

“I know what you’re looking for. You want to fake them out. If they’re far back, and the ball doesn’t go far, then they’ll take longer to get to the ball.”

“Exactly. Trevor, I want you to stay on base, don’t run for home. Fiona, you have to run, but stay on second no matter what.”

“Okay,” she whispers cheerily which elicits an involuntary grin from me.

“Let’s go,” I say with a clap and we separate.

As Michael steps up to the plate, I see the other team taking many steps back, just as I’d predicted. This is going to be perfect. Mr. Reese rolls the ball and Michael makes as if he’s going to kick the ball as hard as he can, but at the last possible moment, he slows his leg and taps the ball towards third base. It stays in fair play until it reaches Marco’s hands, but by the time he runs forward, both Fiona and Michael are on first and second. Marco slams his hand into the red ball with a growl and then tosses it to Mr. Reese.

It’s my turn to kick. We still have no outs.

As I leave the dugout, the others sitting on the bench give me words of encouragement, but I barely hear them. All I think about is kicking that ball as hard and as far as I possibly can.

Mr. Reese rolls the ball for me, a little slow since he remembers how powerfully I kicked last time. But I’m prepared for that; all I have to do is make up the difference with my own momentum. I can feel a gentle breeze hit my face; the smell of the dirt and grass invade my senses. The conditions are perfect.

Everything happens in slow motion. I watch the ball until it’s in the perfect spot, then I surge forward the few steps to the ball. I swing my leg as hard as I can, my foot sinking into the rubber as it meets the red orb. The ball flexes and then shoots forward, flying high into the air, far over the heads of everybody. As I run for first base, I glance up to see the ball becoming a red dot in the sky, as if a balloon had been released.

The outfielders try in vain to catch it, but there’s no hope. I’m already touching home plate when they reach it beyond the homerun line. We’re already up 4-0; the rest of our team, who’d been on the bench, slaps each of us on the back and hug us as they rejoice in our early lead.

Tabby is next up to kick, but she pops out easily to Allaryce. Brian gets on base, and so does Donna, but with a double play after Brittany’s kick, we’re heading back out to the field. With a four point lead, we feel invincible.

During the fifth inning, I head up to the plate to take my kick when the wind becomes oddly still and all sound is muted like that day Mr. Fynch died.

“Eli Fletcher,” says a gravely, hissing voice; I feel a chill as if the thunderous clouds above dropped the temperature twenty degrees.

I spin on my heel, pivoting as I search for the source of the voice but there’s no one to be seen aside from Mr. Reese and us kids. The voice laughs evilly, echoing behind me. I spin on my heel again, but still, no one is there. When I turn back towards the pitcher’s mound, a tall man with slicked back black hair, wearing a pinstriped, three-piece-suit is standing halfway between me and Mr. Reese.

“Who are you?” I ask. “And how do you know my name?”

“I know a lot about you, Eli,” he says in a much smoother voice this time.

I swallow hard. I have a stalker.

He chuckles softly. “No, not a stalker, Eli. Let’s just say I’m interested in your work.”

“My work?” I ask, distracted from the fact that he’d just heard my thoughts.

“Well, your future work.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about but then my conversation with Miss O comes back to me; especially the part about the demons wanting to kill me because they aren’t sure if I’ll join them or not.

“Have you ever wondered what happened to your parents, Eli?” he asks, changing the subject.

This catches me off guard. How does he know about my parents?

“I can take you to them, if you’d like me to,” he offers.

I’m too shocked to speak; Is this guy for real? Can he really take me to my parents?

“That’s right, Eli. Just come with me, and you can see Mommy and Daddy,” the slick guy says. He flashes a smile of pearly white teeth.

I want to go with him; to meet my parents I haven’t seen since birth. What harm could there be in that? Why shouldn’t I go with this guy?

He could be lying to you, my conscience says.

How would I know he’s lying?

You’ve never met this guy before.

So? I’ve never met my parents before, how will I know it’s them if I ever see them?

You’ll just know.

I take a step towards Mr. Pinstriped-Suit-Man, his hand outstretched for mine. I don’t remember taking any other steps, but I’m suddenly within arm’s reach of him. But before I can grab his hand, a blur of dark color flies past me and slams into him. There’s a brief scuffle, then a bright flash of light. I block the light with my hands but when it dims, Michael is the one walking towards me, coming from where the scuffle took place; time still frozen.

There’s something different about Michael, though. He’s glowing. His dark skin is bronze, rather than milk-chocolate. His arms are riddled with bulging muscles. But as he walks up to me, his skin darkens to its original tone and his arms shrink back down to look like a twelve year old kid again.

“This stays between you, me, Fiona and Miss O,” Michael says.

I look over at Fiona on third base and she’s unfrozen as well. She looks scared and I don’t blame her; I should be more scared than I am. I turn towards the kids watching us to see Miss O’s eyes meet my own.

“Who was that?” I ask, forcing my eyes away from them.

“He is called, Tentatio. He will tempt you to follow him with false promises.”

“He promised to take me to my parents.”

“Exactly, he was lying. He had no intentions of taking you to your parents. He has every intention of seducing you to his side or killing you if you refuse.”

“He wants to kill me?”

Michael nods. “That’s why I’m here,” he says. “I’m the angel who has been sent to train you.”

I glance at Fiona again; she keeps looking around nervously.

“She’s scared because over the recent weeks, she’s grown accustomed to hearing people’s thoughts from time to time and now she can’t; it’s too quiet to her now,” Michael explains, gaining my attention once again.

“Are you keeping time frozen?” I ask him.

Michael shakes his head. “Time hasn’t stopped; we are merely existing outside of it temporarily.”

“How is that possible?”

Michael smiles at me. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. For now, just accept it as a miracle.”

I stare at him dumbfounded.

Michael continues, saying, “I am here to teach you how to harness your powers and how to control them. We don’t want you to overuse them because it could kill you, and you’re not ready for that kind of sacrifice just yet.”

I can feel my legs shaking. This is too much to take in at once. I just found out my real name, was told that this weird mark on the back of my hand actually means something, and now I’m learning that it could kill me. My legs give out, but Michael catches me. I feel strength surge through me. He really is what he says.

“We must resume with the game now,” Michael said. “Think you can keep playing?”

My legs feel strong, too strong. I nod.

“Hold back your strength this time. If you kick the ball with your full strength, it’ll end up on the other side of town,” Michael warns me with a grin. “That or you’ll destroy the ball.”

Then as if someone pushes the pause button on a DVD remote, the world unfreezes and Mr. Reese is rolling the ball past me. I hear disappointed groans from my teammates on the bench in the dugout as Steven throws the ball back to Mr. Reese.

“Are you okay, Eli?” Mr. Reese asks but kickball seems so unimportant now..

I stare at him as if he’s just appeared before my eyes. Shaking my head as if to try and erase what I’d just witnessed, I nod and then wait for the next pitch of the ball. I play the rest of the game in a sort of automatic state. We win 12-8 in the end but I don’t care. If I’m going to sacrifice my life one day, why should a game of kickball matter to me?

“Eli!” Miss O calls after me after the game. I stop and turn towards her, Travis nearly runs into me in the process. I grasp his shoulders and help him around me before heading towards Miss O.

“Eli, wait up,” Fiona says, pushing through the group of kids heading back to the main building; I wait for her, and she grabs my arm as we walk up to Miss O.

“You okay?” I ask her.

She shakes her head no.

“Yeah, me neither.”

Once Michael and Mr. Reese join us at the bleachers, Miss O finally speaks to us.

“First of all, Eli, Fiona, how are you feeling?” she asks; Mr. Reese stands behind her, leaning against the backstop, while Michael sits a row behind me and Fiona.

“Not great; I didn’t even want to finish the game,” I tell her.

“Yeah, I wanted to go inside and hide,” Fiona admits.

“That’s very understandable considering what happened. Eli, under no circumstances should you ever trust Tentatio; his name literally means The Tempter. He is trying to get you to leave mine and Michael’s protection so he can either turn you or kill you.”

“Turn me? Why would I do that? Don’t they want to kill me?”

“If you joined them, it would be better for them than killing you,” Mr. Reese replies. “Because then, they’d have a super-powered human in their ranks; they would worship you as much as they do Tentatio.”

“Maybe I should infiltrate them and turn them against Tentatio,” I joke dryly.

Mr. Reese cracks a smile, but keeps his opinion to himself.

“Not funny, Eli,” Miss O says. “Besides, that’s not why I called you over here. As you know now, Michael is the angel sent to begin training you. I believe you will start in the morning, correct?”

I turn and look at Michael and he nods.

“Are you like, the Michael?” I ask him.

He shakes his head. “My name is Coquo; it means Preparer; I will be preparing you to fight against Tentatio’s demons and Tentatio himself.”

“Tempter, isn’t that the devil? Satan?” I ask, turning back towards Miss O.

“Lucifer has been called that before, and it is a true title for him, but Tentatio is not Lucifer; he is a fallen Archangel like Lucifer, however, he follows Lucifer’s orders when given. There are many others that are a part of the fallen angels Lucifer deceived and convinced to join him with promises of one day ruling not only earth, but Heaven as well.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to be able to stop them?”

“With the powers God’s given you when you asked for them,” Michael answers. “You see, when you touched that orb when you were six, as you already know, you were marked as God’s chosen one. But when you prayed to him last night for help, He answered and gave you the help you need. He also sent me to help you learn how to use the gift He’s given you.”

I nod as if taking everything in but my head is spinning; I’m not ready for this. I’m not ready to lead myself to a slaughter. I’m not ready to lead others into battle against Satan’s soldiers, whether he’s leading them or not; I’m barely figuring out this whole friendship thing with Fiona.

“Are you okay, Eli?” Miss O asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lie to her. “Can I go now? I think Abby’s waiting for me in the preschool room.”

“Of course, but please come to me if you have any questions or if you need to talk; about anything at all,” Miss O says.

“Yeah, thanks…bye,” I stammer and then quickly walk away; behind me I can hear Miss O, Mr. Reese and Michael, or Coquo, whatever his name is, all begin to discuss something in hushed voices.

“Eli?” Fiona says, running up to me.

I look at her as I rush towards the building. “Hey, Fiona.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I just have to fight demons, that’s all,” I say dryly.

“I can hear your thoughts, you know,” she reminds me.

I stare at her for a moment. “Right; what did you hear?”

“I heard all the doubts you’re struggling with. You know, there’s nothing to figure out with me; we’re friends and you’re a really good one,” she tells me. “You’re a natural.”

I chuckle. “Thanks,” I say and she smiles back at me. “If either of us is a good friend, though, it’s you. You barely know me and you’ve stuck by my side pretty much ever since I got here. Nobody’s ever treated me like that before. Thank you.”

She blushes. “You’re welcome,” she says, flashing me that big smile she always gives me.

We pass a clock in the hallway and I see that the kids’s playtime is coming to an end; we’d spent too much time with Miss O that I’ve missed teatime with Abby.

“Crap,” I mumble under my breath and then start jogging.

I burst through the doors to a surprisingly calm room, except for the little girl sitting alone with a group of stuffed animals and dolls, crying her eyes out. I’m late for my tea date with her, and she has an extra seat for Fiona open as well. I quickly cross the room and lower to my knees next to her.

“Abby,” I say, placing my hand on her shoulder.

“You’re late!” she cries.

“I know, Abby, I’m sorry. I was talking to Miss O-”

“But, you’re late!” she cries a little louder this time.

“Abby, I said I was sorry; I never meant to be late for our tea date. Miss O needed to talk to me after the game about something important,” I spill out quickly.

“But, you were late!” she screams this time, tears streaming down my face. “You were late, you were late, you were late,” she cries over and over. I try to hug her but she screams and shoves me away. I stumble back onto my backside and stare at her, my heart broken. Fiona steps around me and kneels down next to Abby. They talk quietly for a minute each nodding their heads in turn.

“I’m sorry for screaming at you and for pushing you, Eli,” she says and then gets up from her chair to hug me.

“It’s okay, Abby, I forgive you. Can you forgive me for being late? I didn’t mean to be.”

She nods slowly. “I forgive you,” she says and then hugs me again.

I hold her close and smile at Fiona who is looking at me like Abby and I are some sort of cute, cuddly animal.

“I will try to not ever be late again, okay?” I tell her.

She nods into my shoulder.

“Good, now, let’s have that tea party,” I say ushering her back to her table.