Vallen: The Marking (Vallen series #1)

Chapter 4

They didn't say anything more than goodbye. Only moments later I was alone in a small car with Mrs Borm. The car smelled like cigarettes and worn down leather, which matched the interior. The chair I sat on had more patches than actual leather left. Mrs Borm seemed to know how to drive but occasionally would forget to switch gears, causing the engine to roar loudly as we entered the highway.

"My real parents," I said. "Do you know who they were?"

Mrs Borm sighed but kept her eyes fixed on the road, I had clearly mentioned another thing she was hoping to avoid. "About twenty years ago the red revolution started. Us Vallens used to be ruled by a monarchy, but the people were dissatisfied. The king was cruel, and if the rumours were true his son would be even worse. So the people rebelled against him. After years of pointless bloodshed the king and his family were murdered, but so were countless of loyal and revolutionary soldiers. " She explained. Not once even seeing remotely upset. It was like she was quoting it from a textbook. "A lot of the soldiers had families, kids. Not a whole lot of Vallens are open to the idea of adopting kids, family pride and all, so we had to place some with humans." She made a grand gesture with her arm. "And so the Vallen placement department was founded."

"There is no way of knowing who they were?" I asked again, my hope slowly fading away as she talked.

"No," She confirmed. "The first two years after the war had ended the system was flooded with children, some they didn't know the parentage anyway, others simply got lost from their corresponding paperwork." She looked over at my disappointed face. "I'm sorry, Eira."

I looked down at my tattoo, to get a proper good look now that most of the confusion had died down. It still looked like a geometrical butterfly, with crisscrossed wings.

"It's called the web of Wyrd." She said, looking over at my tattoo. "It's an old Norse symbol, and a great honour to have tattooed on you."

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"It stands for the past, the present and the future. As a reminder that your past actions will change your present, and therefore your future." She explained to me. "I haven't seen it tattooed on someone yet. The heroes must think you have important choices to make."

"The heroes?" I asked. I started to feel a slight panic rise up in my stomach. I was going to attend a school full of Vallens that grown-up fully aware that they will become a Vallen. They all know the culture and their parents must have already told them about the history.

 I didn't know anything about them! I zoned out most of the time my mom started talking about them. She didn't really get a good look into their culture anyway, but I still felt guilty for not listening. Maybe she was trying to prepare me?

"The heroes of old they are called." She explained yet again. "Some Vallens originated from Scandinavia," She looked over at my tattoo. "Which is why some of the Norse runes have remained with us. Anyway, we don't count the years the same way humans do, but the number of years since the last hero." She noted how I was still very much confused and quickly explained more.

"You'll hear more about this in school. It comes down to there being five heroes of old. They either saved the Vallen race or prevented humans from finding out about us, yeah that one didn't really work out in the end, something heroic at least. They go to a special place after they die and choose what gift and what tattoo the newly marked gets. Oh and some people believe they influence other things too but that's just superstition if you ask me."

"So you don't believe in a god?" I asked her. She smiled back at me.

"Some Vallens believe in both a god and the heroes. Others in just the heroes." She said. "It's really your own preference."

The car ride was long. At least five hours, if not more. After a while, I started noticing a change in the landscape. We saw fewer cars and almost no people. Finally, Mrs Borm exited the highway onto a dirt road with a surrounding forest, that stretched on for miles. Occasionally we'd come to a fork in the road, but she knew the way without looking at a map. She looked far more comfortable here than she did on the crowded highway.

I knew we were approaching the school fast. My heart started thumping loudly in my chest and I could practically feel the blood pumping through my veins. This wasn't like changing schools as I had done previously. Before I at least knew I spoke the same language as the students, I knew I would be wearing appropriate clothes. 

Now I had no idea if the other students would make fun of me. What if no one wanted to be friends with me? It wasn't the first time it had happened at a new school but before I could go home and play with Madelena and her barbie empire and everything would be fine. I was all on my own now. I wouldn't have minded it that much if I hadn't had known that I could die here. No one wants to die alone.