The Dark Goddess

Chapter 11

“Baby what are you saying?” Ami’s father asked her yet again totally surprised at her explanation and reasons for absconding, because that was what she had made clear to them -she had run away from home.

Ami took a deep breath before answering again, she needed else her voice would shake and they would see the falseness in her reasons.

“I’m tired, of being here all the time, of going to that school full of racists and bias minded people, of being here at home and not getting any attention from my parents who would rather be working at all times than show their child a little bit of attention, heck I started menstruating a while ago and after I told you guys that was the last of it, nothing more was said or done on the matter” she took another breath at this point because the actual anger was starting to creep into her words.

“It has just been Sandy anchoring me here, I had wanted to run away for so long, but now I don’t need to run anymore, I’ve found a school I can go that suits me perfectly, its boarding and they even have a summer program as well so I don’t necessarily have to come home, that’s where I went to yesterday to apply for and once I’m picked I’m going either you support me or not” she stated with tears streaming down her eyes.

It wasn’t just her parents that was receiving the brunt of it, Sandy was as well, she couldn’t ask Sandy to pack and move with her but that is just because she is purely human and she wouldn’t be able to stay in Haven, Ami had cried when Miles and Darren explained to her listing all the reasons why and most of those reasons were bad for Sandy.

Sandy herself also had tears in her eyes as she listened to her best friend’s explanations, but she knew deep down that there was more to what Ami was saying.

She knew Ami had been contented living the way she did, mainly because of her presence in her life, they were best friends and they had sworn to always have each other’s backs and be there for one another, something must have changed somewhere, coupled with the fact that she had noticed Ami being a bit distant and easily distracted by something she was thinking of especially after the councilor’s case.

Sandy wanted to probe Ami, get her to tell her everything, open up and spill all that is going on with her, but no, not here not yet, she would wait till they were alone.

Ami’s mother sobbed hard at the words coming from her daughter’s mouth, it broke her heart and she found full blame truly with the way they had been treating their daughter albeit a foster daughter but all the same, they were responsible for her and now she wanted to avoid them as much as she could by going to a boarding school that even had a summer program and is hours of train ride away as well.

“You must really hate us” Ami’s mother said “for how we have been to you, we promised you a home but instead brought you here only to be neglected, I’m sorry, please forgive us” her mother said sobbing the more.

“I don’t hate you Mom, Dad, I really don’t, I understand your type of job doesn’t allow for you to have much time for anything or anyone else, so you have to understand when I want to go somewhere else where I’d be understood and cared for and attended to without bias” Ami said in response to her mother.

“honestly speaking you guys have given me my best life so far, with you is a huge upgrade from the orphanage, but there is more, and I wanna pursue that, so please allow me to” she finished.

“Alright honey, we are going to support you” her Dad started “we will support you and your decision, just know that you can change you mind to come and continue staying with us and attend a day school, you will still come for holidays and breaks when you wish and we’ll try our best to be the parents you deserve so you can come back to us fully” he stated with breaking voice as he fought back tears of his own.

“Ok ok… thank you” Ami said and hugged her parents to her one more time.

“Are you hungry? Have you had anything?” her mother asked.

“No, I will in a bit though, but now I gotta speak with Sandy” Ami answered.

At that Sandy stood up and made to start leaving, “um Mr and Mrs McAfee I’ll be leaving now, mom, dad and I have somewhere to go today, I’ll come back when we’re back, Ami walk me out so we’d talk” she said as she was leaving and Ami followed as well as little scurry Aegis.

“Ok dearie, greetings to your parents okay?” Ami’s mom answered.

A little walk down the road then Sandy said to her friend “Ami I know you might to be able to tell me everything in the house with your parents, but we are out now so even if its not everything tell me more than what you have said so far, I believe I deserve that as your best friend” a tear drop made its way down her cheek as she spoke.

Ami turned to face her then used her hand to wipe the tear away, “Esay, I’m going to tell you everything, I am just waiting for those guys to catch up, their contributions would make it easier and more believable” she said and pointed towards the direction Miles and Darren were coming from.

The two demigods hadn’t been seen all morning as Ami was making her case with her parents and Sandy, but they had been close by keeping watch around the house on the lookout for any threat godly or otherwise.

“Who are they?” Sandy asked more than a bit curious and on guard.

“I’ll explain all, just come with me” Ami replied then she took her friend off their way on a little detour till they found a quiet and deserted area to talk.

The four of them found a place to sit then the conversation ensued.

Ami started “this is Miles and this is Darren” she said gesturing at each of them “and they are demigods” she finished looking at her friend and watching her expression.

“Demigods? you mean like Hercules or Perseus?” Sandy asked.

A look of relief passed through Ami at hearing her friend link up the terminology, she was always better at history and mythology in their classes than Ami ever was.

“Yes exactly like that, descendants from gods, a mix of gods and human, just like we had learnt in Greek history and mythology that year it was added to our syllabus, they are all real, the gods, the myths, not just Greek but all religions, aspects and era” she said to Sandy.

Sandy couldn’t look confused because she could see that her friend truly believed what she was saying and here are two people backing her story even if all they have done was just nod in agreement.

But then they could have brainwashed Ami into thinking that all those myths could possibly be real as a way of taking her away somewhere, that was probably what all these was about.

“Esay look at me, there is nothing else to what I’m telling you right now, it is real and I am one of them, a descendants of the gods” Ami put in and this time it was a shocking plus disbelieving look that was on Sandy’s face.

“Ami I’ve known you all your life, well most of your life, you are as ordinary as I am and that is very good so please don’t let anyone tell you otherwise in an attempt to take you off away to somewhere” Sandy said holding both shoulders of her friend.

“Esay you are not listening to me!” Ami snapped and immediately her eyes glowed bright violet and a harsh gust of wind blew at them all.

Sandy skittered backwards in absolute shock and surprise before standing back on her feet, she was looking at her friend of more than ten years and she couldn’t recognize her.

Her eyes glowed a cool purple hue, her hair flowed and floated in the air and the clothes on her body repelled from her body hanging a few centimeters away from her skin, even Miles and Darren had taken a few steps backwards.

Ami calmed herself and powered down, “I’m sorry, I just need you to believe me because this is already hard enough as it is” she said with breaking voice.

Sandy came back to sit in front of her and tentatively placed her hands back on Ami’s shoulder, “ok I’m sorry as well, I should have let you talk, I’m listening now though” she said reassuringly to her friend.

“It started a while ago -I can’t remember precisely – but I know it was on the day I started having my monthlies that it manifested fully, ever since I’ve had episodes after episodes, then during the issue of the councilor I had better use and control of it, using it to save us both from him” Ami said and she knew from seeing the wide eyed expression from Sandy that her friend could now connect the dots.

“Whoa” was Sandy’s only response.

“Yeah, and then when we went to get pets and I got Aegis another freakish occurrence happened and I had a vision from a woman claiming to be my mother and telling me she sent Aegis as a form of protection for me” all four of them glanced at Aegis curled and napping contentedly beside Ami’s foot he hadn’t been bothered at all by Ami’s power outburst even.

“Then the most recent encounter two days ago was with a god who claimed to be my father and he was intent on killing me, he nearly succeeded too if it hadn’t been for Darr here who arrived in the nick of time to save me -although he had been spying on me for a while before then- then while we were trying to escape the woman in my vision also a goddess came to ward off the father god and they were about to start fighting when we made our escape” Ami explained as detailed but speedily as she could so her friend could know how dire the matter really was.

“Darren took me to this place called Haven, it’s a place for people like us, descendants of gods, to be safe from even the gods themselves, it is hidden from humans and can even spell certain death for any human that ventures into the place except such human is gifted, this is where I have to go now so that I can be safe, but not just me, you and my parents as well and everyone around me, they are better suited at handling matters like this” Ami cleared the more.

“I would’ve told the truth to my parents but Miles explained to me that doing that is even more dangerous because they would be drawn into our world by so doing and then one way or the other they would be implicated, but I couldn’t lie to you as well and now you would be drawn into our world and possibly implicated, I’m sorry” she said and then she fell her face into her palms and cried.

Sandy shook her gently till she lifted her head up and when she did she saw her friend’s face was streaming with tears too “Now that I know, and I know of the dangers, I won’t be implicated by your world” Sandy said to reassure her friend.

“But know this; I’m not about to be drawn into your world, I am a part of your world already as you are a part of mine, and while I might not be able to follow you to your new school, I will still be a part of you as you are a part of me, don’t ever forget that Amita” Sandy said calling Ami’s full name as she rarely does only when hundred percent serious.

They both wept a bit more and comforted each other before Sandy went home and Ami did the same, Miles and Darren as well had to go back to Haven but they promised they had Ami’s location on high alert already and that people with such abilities over at Haven were keeping watch.

The next few days leading to Ami’s relocation went by in a rush; a letter of acceptance came from Haven under a pretext school name with sixty percent scholarship awarded till graduation and all necessary requirements listed.

The next couple of days was spent gathering the requirements and Ami’s parents went the extra mile to get her the best of the stuffs listed and as well get her things they felt she might need.

In the description of the school’s location, they were to board two trains and a bus (a total of six hour journey) the bus would then drop them where a bus for students only would be boarded by Ami and other students and then take them to the school.

Ami couldn’t understand why the journey had to be like so, the entrance to Haven was at their city so why take the long journey, but then she remembered Miles had said it was done that way so it would look convincing that the school was far away, and about the entrance they were scattered about all over the world.

Both of Ami’s parents undertook the journey with her which really surprised her, maybe they really meant it when they said they would change but its still too early to tell.

They were all weary when they got to the last stop, and looking at the so called students only bus Ami was both awed and disappointed.

The bus was luxurious, long and tall, having three stages, but it was old and rickety and looked like it might crumble at anytime.

Her parents apparently didn’t see what she saw because they only kept wowing at the sight of the bus, Ami remembered Darren saying something like the godly things doesn’t really appear to humans as it really is most times, this must be one of those times.

Other students could be seen boarding the bus and saying bye to their parents, Ami wondered if that was another trick being put in place by Haven or if there was really that much people being recruited, if the latter was true then there must really be a lot of godly descendants. Miles called them something else as well; Legacies.

When it was time to say bye to her parents, Ami found it hard to look straight at them without tearing up “um, bye for now, I’ll stay in touch as much as is allowed” she said to them

“Ok honey, please do cos we’ll miss you a whole lot” her father said.

Her mother tried to talk but kept choking back tears so she just hugged her daughter to her instead and then her dad joined in too.

They said their goodbyes and Ami went into the bus only to be surprised yet again, the inside was nothing like the outside and the only explanation Ami had for what she was seeing was Magic.

It looked bigger and rather than seats there were cubicles big enough to even lay down and sleep in, each had a tag and she moved around till she saw her name on a tag.

Entering her cubicle she found her luggage which she had place at the loading area before entering the bus, she found a sofa as well in which Aegis was snuggled tightly then she as well crashed in at once.

She couldn’t help thinking on how drastic and dramatic things had already gotten for her so quickly, her life was in danger, and she was about to go mix with strangers to save herself and those she loved.

One thing she was confident of was that she would overcome everything that stood before her come what may, no matter the cost to herself, she would prevail.

She was still lost in thought when an announcement was made in the speakers about their departure, she was still lost in thought when the bus started and moved at first with little speed then after a short while it zoomed off in an otherworldly speed.

In a few moments they would arrive to the closest entrance to Haven and her new life would start, her life as Ami the human was over and her life as a descendant of the gods was about to begin.