Power by Theresa Jones Page A

from Arabella. They dance, paint, draw, sculpt, sing, and so on. About 99 percent of the time, descendants of Arabella are female, so aside from Sam always having something to do with them, Rick decided that being around women would be a familiar experience for her.”
    It didn’t matter how fluidly he spoke or how articulate he was, he always seemed to confuse me. “Arabella?”
    “Ahh, be patient, Allison. We are going to learn the history right… about… now.” And with that he stopped, twirled me around to face him, and sat, motioning for me to sit as well. We sat on the floor with our legs crossed, facing each other.
    “Why do we have to sit here?” I asked, realizing just how huge the Hall was; it seemed to go on for over a mile in every direction. And yet, there was not one other person anywhere around. We were just sitting, the two of us, in the middle of a large, empty room.
    He leaned back on his hands for just a moment to catch himself as he chuckled. Though his laugh was thick and velvety, I didn’t like the sound of it when it was directed at me. Maybe my comment this morning wasn’t going to go completely unpunished. The lack of amusement on my face was obviously apparent as he composed himself and explained, “I realize that we cannot see anyone else in this room, however when you were walking next to me, did you not notice that we were weaving? We did not come to this spot in a straight line…”
    I hadn’t realized it before, but as he said it, I did remember walking from side to side. He continued, “When people study in the Hall, the power surrounding them hides them from the others, gives them privacy. We cannot hear or see them, just as they will not be able to hear or see us. We can, however, feel each other’s power. So I had to find a spot that was not already occupied.” Now that I knew, I could feel others around me and I wondered at not feeling it before. It was an odd sensation, knowing that there were tons of people in the room, but I couldn’t see any of them. It also kinda creeped me out.
    He leaned back, as if to prepare himself, and began. “Now Allison, this will be your first lesson. You will learn about your power, where it came from, why it came in the first place, and what you will be expected to do with it. You will also learn who has power, the differences in power, and the different power strengths and abilities. You will learn about Damien, the group he leads, and what their agenda is. As we go along, feel free to stop me at any time and ask questions. There is no point in me moving on if you have questions left unanswered.” I nodded in agreement and he continued.
    “Well, ok. We will start at the beginning. Try to remember that this is the story that has been passed down from generation to generation, so there is some debate about it. In Greek mythology, Zeus was the principal God, the leader, so to speak. He had a companion named Cratos, the son of Pallas & Styx and the brother of Nike, the Greek goddess of justice. Cratos – which is translated as strength or power – was submissive to Zeus, but to Zeus alone. It has been said that Zeus sent Cratos to rid the universe of evil and that the other lesser gods helped to maintain that peace. The Titans wanted control of Oympus and thus a battle between the gods and Titans ensued.” He paused, to be sure that I was following, which I was so far.
    “Since the rise of the modern religions, however, the story has been altered to make it more relatable. Think of Zeus as the God of the Christians, Cratos, Michael the Archangel, the lesser gods are angels, and the Titans as demons.” He paused again, making sure that I could make the connection. I was born and raised Catholic, so I knew the reference he was making. “It is said that Lucifer, the angel of light, became jealous of God, and began a revolt against Him. At that time, God sent Michael to cast Lucifer out of heaven and into Hell.”
    This I already knew.