Remember Me

Chapter 1: Born Again

Chapter One:

It’s all Hallows Eve and a man with a balding head and tall frame stands in his study looking at an erthereal figure surrounded by white, almost blinding light. His many diplomas and PhD Doctorate hand over the walls but none of his studies or experience as an academic ever prepared him for something like this. He stands transfixed, unable to believe that he has been graced by such an otherworldly presence.

“Tonight-“ she speaks as her hair whips around her in an unknown breeze. “Tonight-I will be reborn James Declauren. And you-you must assign me a protector. You must make sure I survive until I can remember who I am and what I am supposed to do.”

James inclines his head humbly, realizing the import of her words. “My goddess, you bestow this great responsibility on me. How am I supposed to find you? You could be born anywhere in this world.”

“When it is time for you to know, you will know.” Her voice seems to echo in the empty room. “Abigor has already been reborn and is working on gathering his army. We thought he would fail, we thought he would forego this foolish endeavor and let mortals be.” The goddesses hands clench in anger. “We now realize our mistake. I will not let him harm my people. If it is a war he wants on the ground, so be it. James, I have chosen you to be the one to care for my human form. You must keep me hidden. As a human, I will be weak at least until the body is able to withstand my true power. That will not happen until her 18th birthday and her brain will not be developed enough to retain our memories until her 21st birthday. On that day, she will remember all that we were, are and can be. We must succeed James, or you and all my children will suffer. I will be the most vulnerable to outside attacks and influences as a high school student. Do you understand this?”

Professor James, Principal of the Sinai Institute for the Gifted falls to his knees in front of his deity. An understanding passes through him as he realizes what’s at stake.

“Aradia, Goddess of witches and wizards, I vow that even with my last breath, I will work tirelessly for your cause. We will not let this demon of hell take over our world.”

Seemingly satisfied that her disciple understands what was to be done, the deity disappeared enveloped in a bright light which shone as if the sun itself was inside the room, only to disappear as quickly as it had appeared.

James stood up and called the Council to inform them of this latest development. They had heard rumors of a boy, raised in obscurity who was suddenly dabbling in dark magic. Dark magic was outlawed but the young man was quite adept and skilled. He had garnered quite a following from amongst vampires, werewolves and witches as well as warlocks. People were flocking to his cause in which he promised vampires the ability to roam in the daytime, werewolves the ability to prevent pain on the occasions they shape shifted, and the community of witches were promised unparalleled power that would not drain the stores of magic within their bodies. Such promises went against the natural order of things.

Vampires were meant to sleep in the day and only roam at night so that humans were not fed on or killed excessively. Werewolves were meant to feel the pain of the turn to prevent them from turning too often and using their werewolf powers on petty issues. Lastly, witches and wizards were meant to have a limited supply of magic to keep their powers in check. The Council had been formed on the basis of keeping the natural order of things and to work against this League of Darkness which was amassing power hungry followers left and right.

“Hello Watson?” Dr. James was on the phone with his secretary. “Watson, I need a list of every baby girl born before midnight within our school’s radius of prospective students. Have the list on my desk tomorrow morning.”

Dr. James stared across the wall at his PhD framed and proudly displayed for anyone to see. It seemed to mock him because right now, all the learning in the world could not help him decide the best course of action. There was textbook in the entire world which held the right answer for him and there was too much at stake to be wrong.

He sighed and slumped his shoulders. There was a reason he became an academic and worked his way to becoming principal of an elite school, it was because he wanted to make a difference. Now, fate had given him a responsibility beyond his wildest imaginings.

Almost 16 years later…

Hannah’s POV

My copper hair fell down to my back in waves and I applied the last layer of gloss to my lips. My dark green eyes assessed my outfit for tonight wondering if it was enough to make Rafe’ notice me. Rafe’ was an Alpha werewolf and my brother Griffin’s best friend. Both were a year older and in their Senior year at the Sinai Institute. After this year, they would go on to enter elite training as per the requirements of our Council which was governed by a Triad –1 representative from all three supernatural factions. Both wanted to be climb their way up into the Council because they believed in the noble aim of the Council to maintain peace and balance. I had always thought it was a load of bull. A bunch of politicians vying for power behind a façade of doing good in the world. One thing I could not deny was that the intentions of my brother and his best friend were pure. Maybe they could bring some good into the world, maybe not. Shaking the thoughts out of my head I focused on my agenda for tonight. My main aim currently was to snag my longtime crush Rafe’ who seemed to never see me as anything but a tag-along.

“Hannah!” My roommate and best friend Abigail yelled at me with an exasperated tone from the entrance to our dorm. Her hands were on her hips as her black curls were pulled back in a high ponytail, accentuating her heart shaped face. Her mother was a Chinese witch while her father was a powerful warlock from Nigeria. Her unique heritage had also endowed her with a unique mixture of looks far more exotic than my pale skin and light freckles over the bridge of my nose. Her striking slanted black eyes and olive skin, paired with silky black curls turned heads. She often relayed stories of her father’s tribe in Nigeria where her grandfather was an influential cheiftan of a magical tribe. Her father had moved to Northern America to work for the Council, fallen in love with her mother who was working as a medical witch, and settled on this side of the globe to start a family.

I always thought my parents love story of my mother, the daughter of an Alpha running away to marry a wizard was interesting. She had given up everything for my father, including a high post within the Council. However, our background of never leaving the East coast seemed so drab compared to the culturally background of Abigail’s family. I smiled at Abigail who was still waiting for me to leave the mirror and exit our dorm room. We had been best friends since our first day of 9th grade at the Sinai Institute. We both had similar interests and personalities, even sharing the same birthday! It was an ongoing joke that everyone called us ‘the twins’.  Taking a deep breath and crossing my fingers, I complied with her wishes so we could get to the bonfire taking place on the school grounds. I could feel a rush of excitement course through me. Tonight was going to be fun, I could feel it in my gut.