The Morgan Sisters Complete Series Boxed Set

ISBN 9789899734869-12

'We Stand Against Evil. Simply put, it signifies that we promise to defend the innocents of this world, whoever they may be. Praxos is all about fighting evil, in whatever form it may present itself.'

'But how are we going to fight evil? We're just teenagers,' said Lana from the other side of the group.

'You might be teenagers, Lana, but you are all exceptional teenagers. One of your parents was very special, indeed. One of your parents was an angel.'

Pausing for a moment as gasps flooded through the small group while they all looked around at each other in shock, Eleanor continued, 'You are what we fondly call the Watchers.'

'The Watchers,' everyone whispered.

'Yes, that's right. It's a kind of nickname we use for all those who have an angel as a parent. All those like you.'

'Do you know our parents? Do you know where they are?' asked Emma.

Turning to look at her, Eleanor smiled sadly. 'Your parents no longer walk among us. The angels were here for a brief time and then they had to re-join the upper societies. Your other parent, I'm very sad to say, also no longer walks among us simply because they perished. But I did have the opportunity to meet some of them, yes. But that I will tell you about, individually, another time.'

With tears welling up in her eyes, Emma didn't know where to look. She didn't want to wipe her eyes either, for fear that the others would see she wanted to cry, so she looked down towards the ground as Eleanor continued speaking.

A soft, firm hand reached out to her, gently squeezing her shoulder. She glanced up as Diarmuid smiled sadly.

She didn't do anything. She just let the warm glow flow all over her body. He had such a soothing effect on her, and she soon almost forgot about her birth parents.

'On your 16th birthday (your actual 16th birthday, not the day your adopted parents celebrated) each of you became one of us. Something huge happened to every one of you and resulted in what looks like a tattoo growing into your skin. You each have a few words etched beneath it. These words are words you will live by. It has been known for the words to change over time, so if this happens to you, fear not.'

'But why do we have them? How did we get them?' asked Lana.

'Every Watcher grows them. It is simply a part of who you are, something you must accept. I have one, Wilbur has one, every one of you has one. In fact, why don't we share each other's so we can all understand. Seeing one another's artwork will help you all to accept them. Emma, let's start with you.'

Eleanor reached out and gently pulled her to the front of the group, Emma turned around and lifted her top, revealing the now-familiar winged eye with the words, Lux in Tenebris Lucet. Gathering around, the group had a good look before Eleanor continued, 'Actually, this is probably a good time to introduce yourselves, tell everyone your name and your words. Go ahead, Emma.'

Blushing brightly, Emma put her top back down and turned around. Attempting a smile, she said, 'Hi. I'm Emma Jane Morgan. Lux in Tenebris Lucet. It means light shines in the darkness.'

Eleanor pointed to Lana next, who stepped forward with a wide grin on her lips.

'Hi, all! I'm Lana Beth Morgan, Emma's sister, and my tattoo,' she said, lifting her top slightly to show everyone, 'says Provehito In Altum. It means launch forward into the deep. It's also 30 Seconds to Mars' pretty cool motto,' she said, holding up her hand like she was at a rock concert. The others laughed. Lana had broken the ice.

'Hi, girls and boys. My name is Liam Hawkes, and my tattoo says Citius Altius Fortius, faster higher stronger. Check it out,' said the cool shaggy brown-haired guy to which Lana had been chatting.

Next up was a girl who wore glasses and her mousy brown hair was fixed in a high ponytail.

'Hello,' she said shyly with a wave, 'I'm Moira Lynn. My motto is In Somnias Veritas, in dreams there is truth,' she said before stepping down, having flashed her lower back just briefly.

'Diarmuid O'Connor. Crescente Luce, light ever-increasing,' he said with a smile as he turned and lifted his shirt to reveal a nicely toned torso before revealing his tattoo. Emma's knees slightly buckled as he beamed at her when he returned.

His motto is like mine. It's connected to the light, she thought, squealing inside like a child.

'Hi, everyone. My name is Ava Burton, and my words are Audi Vide Tace, meaning hear, see, be silent,' said the most exquisite looking petite girl with very fine features, slightly dark skin and piercing blue eyes. After she'd revealed the words inked on her back, she dropped her top and flicked her shoulder-length mocha coloured hair back over her shoulder with a friendly smile.

'Opera et Veritate are my words... Oh, I forgot my name. It's Penny Vega,' she said, laughing before continuing. My words mean in action and truth. Nice to meet you all.'

'Hello everybody. I'm very pleased to meet you. My name is Nisha Singh and on my back are the words Mortui Vivos Docent, which means the dead teach the living. A little morbid, I know,' she said, shyly smiling as she stepped back into the group.

'I'm Rupert Henson, and I'm a chocoholic... oh, is this not the chocolate addicts group? Oh sorry, must dash,' he said as he jumped back into the group and pretended to run away before Eleanor, laughing, pulled him back by the collar.

'Woah there miss Hayden-Jones,' he joked. 'Right then, seriously now. My name is Rupert the bear. Okay, maybe not. It's Henson, Rupert Henson, but you can call me 008,' he said in a terrible Scottish accent as the group laughed out loud at his silliness.

'Get on with it, Rupert,' said Eleanor with a smile.

'In Omnia Paratus...which means hot sexy guy,' he said as he pouted momentarily before glancing across at Eleanor and straightening himself up. 'No, really, it means prepared for all things,' he said with a wink as he turned around and pretended to do a striptease.

Somebody wolf-whistled loudly, and the group all cracked up as Rupert finally dropped his shirt, took a bow and stepped back as the Watchers gave him a round of applause.

'I'm afraid I can't match that,' said a tall, pretty girl with curly blonde hair, 'Hi fellow Watchers, I'm Cassie Stanton, and my motto is Esto Quodes, be what you are. I'm looking forward to working with you all,' she said, grinning as she showed off her tattoo.

'Hello! It's wonderful to meet you. I'm Imran Chaudri, and on my back, I have the words Tempus Edax Rerum, time devourer of all things. Thank you,' said the young Asian man with a baseball cap on backwards.

The last person to step forward had a body like a rugby player with muscular arms, sturdy legs and a stocky torso. As he turned to face them, he ran a large hand through his short brown hair and smiled a little nervously. 'It's a pleasure to meet you all,' he said as he blushed slightly, 'My name is Elliott Drake, and my motto is Lux Veritas Virtus, light truth courage,' he said with a nod of his head, a quick flash of his back and that was it. That was all the Watchers.

CHAPTER 18

Eleanor showed the group around some of the other rooms and tunnels that led off of the main hall, including a large dining area complete with several tables and chairs positioned around the room giving it an almost restaurant-like appearance. There was a small cosy room filled with over-sized beanbags for them to chill out in, a few well-hidden bedrooms and bathrooms, and a large living room complete with a massive library to one side of it. There was a strange fusion of contemporary style with old fashioned Victorian and Edwardian aged furniture and décor. But it was comforting, and the group of Watchers soon felt at home. But they still had so many questions that needed answering.

But before they had the chance, something remarkable happened.

A beautiful oak grandfather clock that stood in one corner of the living room began to chime loudly. On its first chime, Eleanor looked startled and rushed over to a big golden yellow chaise-longue beside an ornate coffee table in dark hardwood.

As the others looked at each other, wondering what was going on, Eleanor said quickly, 'After the fifth chime, I will cry out in pain. Do not worry. It happens to me every day. Just bear with me for a moment while I change,' she said with a smile.

With no clue as to what was going on, the group stayed where they were; some sat on chairs around the room, others stood facing each other, chatting. But true to form, as the clock chimed its fifth chime, Eleanor let out a deep throaty cry that seemed to echo from the deepest depths of her body.

Emma was about to rush to her side, but Wilbur stepped forward and shook his head with a smile. 'No need,' he whispered before he stepped back into the dark corner from where he'd appeared.

Her cries of pain went on for what seemed like ages. In truth, though, it was merely a few seconds. As they watched her writhe on the chaise-longue alone, shocked gasps could be heard throughout the room as Eleanor physically changed right in front of their eyes.

Emma's hand was being gripped tightly by Lana.

After a few more moments, Eleanor turned to face them and stood up with a huge grin plastered across her face. A face that was no longer that of an elderly lady, but of a beautiful, youthful person more akin to that of a 20-year-old. Eleanor was young again.

'There, that's better,' she exclaimed to the group of shocked faces. 'Oh, don't worry, I'm fine. In fact, I'm better than fine. I always feel so much better at this time of day. It's good to be young again.'

'What? Why? But, how?' asked Lana, unable to put together a full sentence.

Eleanor laughed as Wilbur stepped forward with a handful of clothes.

As she took them gratefully, Eleanor stepped behind a large dressing screen that stood in the corner of the room, speaking as she changed out of her old clothes.

'I am a little different from all of you. I was once a fully-fledged angel, but I made a decision that they didn't like upstairs, and so they banished me to this strange life, half young, half old yet never really ageing, if you know what I mean,' she said as she finally stepped out from the screen wearing skinny jeans, black knee-high boots and a tight, bright pink T-shirt.

'That's better,' she smiled as Wilbur took away the other clothes.

'So how old are you, exactly?' asked Cassie.

'Quite old,' she smiled.

'Aww come on, Miss Hayden-Jones. Do tell us,' asked Elliott shyly.

'Let's just say I've been around a long, long, long, long time.'

'What, like hundreds and hundreds of years?' asked Nisha.

'That, and more,' she answered, 'But that's enough about my age,' she laughed as she took the brush being handed to her by Wilbur and brushed through her long thick mane of wavy blonde hair.

'Why did they banish you, Eleanor? What did you do?' asked Emma.

Turning to face the young girl, the look on Eleanor's face changed slightly, and the happiness disappeared from her eyes. 'I fell in love, choosing him over my work as an angel. I told them I didn't want to return there, that I was staying with him and they weren't happy, so this is what they did to me.'

'What happened to the man you fell in love with?' Lana asked curiously.

Again, her eyes seemed to glaze over as she continued, 'His name was Tarquin. We stayed together, and I watched as he aged and eventually died. It broke my heart.'

'I'm so sorry, Eleanor,' whispered Emma, 'That must have been horrendous.'