Their Wings

Chapter 19: Blade

I lounged back on my bed, laughing as I watched Luke spill a glass of water all over himself. He looked up at me and glowered casually. I smiled at the spark in his golden eyes and after a moment he smiled back his entire face lighting up. After meeting with the Council we had walked back to my room silence, slyly sneaking glances at each other from the corner of our eyes. We had arrived in my chamber to see a huge spread of food on a table that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

The table was laden with huge bowls of fruit, gleaming silver platters of cold cuts, bread and cheese. There were also three steaming lidded casseroles shining in the dim room. Seated at one side of the table was Michelle, a full plate in front of her, one hand holding a fork and the other the latest People magazine. I turned to Luke with my eyebrows half raised. He shrugged and shot me a half-smile, before walking to the table and sitting down next to Michelle. Sniffing the air I was suddenly reminded how ravenous I was. I quickly walked to the table and sat down, eyeing the dishes. I bit my lip, trying to decide what to eat first. I heard a small chuckle and looked up to see Luke smirking at me.

I cocked my head at him and he chuckled again, “Ella, you look like a kid on Christmas Eve, eyeing the presents under the tree. Just eat already.”

I scowled at him in mock indignation. “Well I’ll have you know Mr Lockhart that I haven’t eaten for a whole week so please excuse my anticipation.”

Luke laughed and I smiled, looking back down to my plate. Michelle closed the magazine and turned to fully face the table. “So, what did the Council say?”

Luke looked at me and I motioned to the toast I was currently buttering. “Eating.” I said, taking a bite.

He smiled, shaking his head, before turning to face Michelle. “Well, in short, they asked about her health. Then they asked about her sanity. Then they asked who was going to train her.”

As I listened to Luke’s voice I realised how his accent changed when he talked to Angelus. His words lilted slightly, with more emphasis on the vowels. He seemed to do it unconsciously, not noticing how his voice had changed.

“So, who is going to train her?” Michelle asked.

“Well I volunteered us, and my mom.” Luke answered.

“Is that alright?” I asked her.

She smiled reassuringly at me. “Of course it is.”

I smiled back. “So what exactly are you training me in?” I asked.

“We are training you to be heria.” answered Luke.

“And what exactly is heria?” I asked.

Luke sighed, scrubbing a hand through his short hair. “Every culture or tribe in the world has a leader of some sort. And that leader is chosen by specific abilities that person might possess, right?”

He looked at me and I nodded. “So the heria were the leaders of the Angelus?”

“Not necessarily. The heria were a group of Angelus, all related by blood. They were more powerful than other Angelus, and therefore, they were taken to be leaders of a sort. In the beginning of Ahina, the Council was only heria.”

“But how could they blindly trust the heria with their lives like that?” I asked.

“Heria were known for their intelligence, honesty, loyalty and power. No heria would ever turn dark; they are too powerful for that.”

“What made them so powerful?”

“As I’m sure you’ve seen; an Angelus’ aura can be any colour under the sun. Except for one; silver. Silver auras are the rarest of any colour, and the most powerful. A silver aura indicates great amounts of power and magic. All heria have had silver auras. That is how they were mainly recognized, among other things.” Luke answered.