Page 2 of Broken Destiny

“Very, actually. She seems to have a well-developed sixth sense.”

“Really?” the woman doesn’t sound impressed. She points at the line of humans. “Okay, child, which one of these kids isn’t human?”

I fidget with my crutch, wishing I could sit down and ease the ache that’s building in my legs. I usually don’t have to stand in one place for so long at a time. It’s a trick question. She’s already singled Benny out; he’s grinning ferally from beside the beautiful woman. All he needs is a leash. The oldest man appears entirely uninterested, but I can still feel his attention. He’s an expert at masking his feelings.

“Besides your new pet?” I ask in a surly tone, gesturing to Benny with my brace. The kid snarls, his lip lifting.

“Yes, yes, of course,” she replies with the right amount of annoyance. When she waves her hand, a different ring winks. A glance toward the older man tells me he wears one too. The symbols are all different. Do supernaturals have a jewelry fetish? Are they branded or marked for a reason?

My eyes drift down the line. I’ve only seen a couple glimpses, but I’m either wrong or right. Although my wiser self cautions me, I’ll answer truthfully. I have grown bored here. An academy might have a larger library, one with books that I don’t have to sneak in with my dirty laundry.

I flick my fingers at the girl next to me, an unassuming thirteen-year-old with eyes that are usually glazed like she’s high. I suspect it's because she doesn’t belong in this world. Her body is frail and delicate, breakable.

“This one.” Rene jumps when I point at her. “Some kind of fairy, maybe? She’s dying here. She needs to go somewhere else.”

The woman takes a step closer and sniffs the girl next to me. Her eyebrows rise, a deep burgundy that doesn’t appear natural or dyed but matches the perfect hair on her head. “Huh, she’s right. This one needs to be reconnected to the ether. If she’d made it past sixteen, it might have been too late.” She seems to speak almost to herself, and I’m surprised she’s giving away supernatural secrets. Judging by the looks on the other kids’ faces, I’m not sure they can hear.

“What’s your name, child?” the woman asks the frail being next to me.

“Rene,” she responds with a delicate, high voice.

“Rene, we’ll help you feel better. Okay?” The sickly girl looks at me and then back at the woman, who actually speaks with compassion. The girl nods. I’ve only spoken to her once or twice. The wrongness about her is different than Benny’s…unthreatening. But her pain speaks to me, recognizing a kindred spirit. She’s hard to be around, so close to death; I can almost smell it on her.

“Any others?” Ansel asks, his eyes soft and almost approving.

I shrug, my hands still around my crutches as I shift my feet to give my muscles a break. “There’s a ghost, too. Other than that, no, unless you think Eldred is a troll. He certainly stinks bad enough to be one.”

Ansel throws his head back and laughs, and I’m intensely irritated that it makes him more handsome. How is that fair? If I’m not human, couldn’t I at least have gotten the beauty that seems to be the gift of every other supernatural? The kid I motion to sticks out his tongue at me. “Nope, just a dirty human,” Ansel says with a sniff once his laughter fades. He flicks a look at the older man.

The elegant creature sighs as if he’s irritated with the entire proceedings, but he mumbles a few words under his breath, and the ghost that loves tormenting me drifts through the ceiling and sneers in my direction.

“Just had to sell me out, huh?” Kodi growls at me. I shrug. I know he isn’t happy here and he likes me. He’ll be bored if I leave. No one else can see him.

“That’s for all the times you woke me up when I was in the middle of a very pleasant dream.” The kids could hear me, but their eyes drift back and forth. They can’t see who I’m speaking to. It’s earned me a reputation - that my mind is as ruined as my legs.

Kodi isn’t unattractive if I overlook the pasty whiteness of non-corporeal plasma. His hair is just a shade darker than his skin, more gray than white, but his eyes are eerily silver. He’d died when he was about my age, and his muscles are still impressive. I guess ghosts don’t waste away. He’s been my only friend here, and I’m selfish. If I have to go, I want him with me.

The older man flings a hand into the air and a strange item settles around Kodi’s neck. The ghost floats slowly to the floor, and he almost seems halfway solid as his feet land on the planks instead of sinking through. He looks at the wood underneath him and then at the old man. “Can you make me into a real boy?” Sarcasm colors his tone.

The old man shakes his head. “Unfortunately not, but I’ve bound you to come with us.”

The ghost whines. “But I like haunting these humans. They’re all so riddled with pain and despair. It only takes a second to turn them into sniveling messes.”

I almost laugh at Kodi’s teasing. He rarely turns any of the other orphans into a sniveling mess. He’s actually kind of sweet to the kids that can’t see him, but he’s scared the shit out of Benny on multiple occasions. Benny snarls at him, spit flying from his lips. The woman frowns at the kid and places a hand on his head as if he’s a dog that needs taming.

“Quiet now,” she says in a hushed whisper and Benny, miraculously, quiets. His eyes glaze over, and I almost stumble backward. They better not try to do that to me. The woman sighs loudly. “It’s on your head, Ansel. You better have a place for her. I can’t have a cripple ruining the academy’s impeccable reputation.”

Ansel’s jaw clenches almost imperceptibly. He’s irritated by that, though I don’t know why. My gaze drifts to the ring again. He almost acts like he cares, and I might trust him if it weren’t for that symbol. It was the last thing I saw before my leg bones were broken into so many pieces they couldn’t be healed properly.

“Faustus, clear their minds,” the nameless, beautiful woman says with another elegant wave. The remaining people in the foyer, including the Reverend Mother, adopt a glazed look, not unlike Benny’s. They stay that way until we’re ushered out of the building, my braces clanking loudly across the wooden floor. No wonder no one remembers the last supernatural visit. Whenever I’d tried to talk about it, they eyed me like I was crazy. Wouldn’t have been the first time, though.

Kodi follows behind us, grumbling to himself, but I can sense the excitement he's trying to hide. I think he’s been stuck here, and the old man broke his connection with a snap of his fingers. Benny is still subdued, and I hope he stays that way. The fairy girl, or whatever she is, trips along beside us, but every step is shadowed with pain. The three supernaturals flank us, again adopting blank faces as they lead our strange group out the front door.

The twelve steps to the orphanage are my nemesis. I look down at the steep stairs and grit my teeth. That frustration quickly turns into alarm when I feel myself being swung up into muscular arms.

“What the fuck!” I screech. I swing my metal crutch, but the irritating supernatural avoids its arc before it collides with his perfectly manicured head. Kodi hoots at my discomfort and points at me while he bends over with loud guffaws, ignoring the old guy’s disapproving expression. Ansel is way too close, far closer than I’ve allowed anyone in years.

“Ansel, whatever are you doing?” The woman asks with apparent shock, as if nothing would have surprised her more than this man voluntarily touching me. I think I agree with her.

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