Veiled (18 page)

“
Your Gift is not boring,
Cel,” Dorian said as he stroked the bird’s top notch. The bird
fluffed up its feathers with sheer delight. “Your Gift is
essential. Where would we be without your certainty? You know
things that I will never see in my visions.”

Valerie and Luz nodded in
agreement.

“
Dorian is right,” Dane
agreed. “Henry here has the Gift of Knowledge.” Henry lifted his
head at the mention of his name and looked around, startled. “He
has the natural ability to learn of things that are tangible, that
have substance. You, on the other hand, have a gift that gives you
the knowledge of things that are harder to understand, because they
have no substance, but are real nonetheless.”

Celeste beamed at Dane’s
nice comments. Henry, on the other hand, looked a bit dissatisfied.
“Well, I haven’t even gone to my gifts class,” he announced, and we
all looked at him with alarm.

“
And why not?” Nancy
asked, indignant.

“
Because, I work on my
gift all by myself. I study whatever I want to study and that is
growing my gift. Is it not?” He looked around for confirmation, but
got none.

“
You can learn a lot more
by going to your gifts class, Henry,” Dane started, but was stopped
by Henry’s dismissive hand.

“
I went once and it was a
total waste of time. They had us learning all kinds of stuff that I
would never use. I know what I’m doing. I don’t need to follow the
same path that the rest follow…wait and see,” he said with pride as
he leaned back in his chair.

“
Well, Dorian’s Gift
teacher said that Dorian was so advanced that he was recommending
him for a ‘Special Mission,’” Luz said, changing the
subject.

“
What’s a Special
Mission?” Celeste asked.

“
We are not sure, but it
sounds interesting. We’ll be going to a Special Missions class next
and we intend to find out.”

“
Can I come?” Celeste and
I said at the same time.

“
Sure!” Dorian said. “You
should all come; it’s one of the mandatory classes to take if you
want to be an Angel.”

“
Well…I guess I won’t be
going then, I have no interest in becoming an Angel,” Henry
declared.

“
Oh, why not?” Estelle
asked, disappointed.

“
Because it’ll take too
much time out of my already busy schedule and I can’t afford to be
flying off to different realms. I may not go to my gifts class, but
I do take lots of other classes,” Henry said stubbornly.

We all stared at him for a
moment, then continued with our own previous pastimes in
silence.

* * * * *

Chapter 15

Since Dorian had to attend
a Special Mission’s class, the rest of us decided to attend as
well. We were all curious to find out what special mission really
was. Even Henry came at the last minute—mostly out of curiosity.
Russell was sure it had to do with some sort of undercover work for
the First One. Max had heard that only the bravest spirits would
volunteer for a special mission, and this only made Russell more
determined to attend.

All the buildings that had
to do with the Special Missions department were located at the base
of a tall mountain range. It was hard to tell if it was one large
building or many, and they all looked like they were carved out of
the mountain side. The buildings were connected by zigzagging
streets that led all the way up to the main entrance. This entrance
was a large oval shaped wooden door with a single loop for a
knob.

We were led to a spacious
room with seats carved out of stone. There were large windows in
front of us, covered with thick green colored drapes, and the only
source of light came from a massive stained glass window on the
ceiling. The light that filtered through to us shone in muted
rainbow colors.

A tall spirit entered the
room. He had an elongated face and long lanky limbs. He stood
behind an extra large podium, and opened a scroll containing
several papers rolled up in it. He fumbled with the papers in front
of him with his long fingers and the motion looked complicated, as
if moving those fingers in a coordinated manner was an intricate
task. Then he looked up at us with a huge toothy smile and in a
deep bass voice greeted us.

“
I welcome you to Special
Missions class. It is my greatest hope to do this most important
subject justice.” He scanned the room and seemed to pause and look
at us individually.

“
Some of you have been
asked to attend, and some of you have come out of your own accord.
However, even if you’ve been invited to come, you do not have to
volunteer.

“
My name is Orffius, and I
have been assigned to introduce you to this very important
subject,” he said as his eyes bulged out. “Special Missions are not
easy. In fact, they are hard—very, very hard. Only the strongest of
spirits should take one on and those spirits won’t know what form
the mission will take until they are on Earth. By then the Veil
will have erased all memory of your existence here and the fact
that you volunteered. So you see, you’ll be a mortal with a special
mission to fulfill—only you won’t know it. All you’ll know it that
you have an extra burden to deal with.” Several hands shot up in
the air, Russell’s being one of them.

“
I will answer all
questions in a little while, but for now I will ask you to listen
to everything I have to say.” Orffius scanned the room and once all
hands were down, he proceeded.

“
Those of you who end up
volunteering will be guaranteed Angelic help. For instance, some of
you will be able to see them or feel their presence, even if that
is not your current gift. Some may not have this advantage, yet
angels will be there nonetheless, ready to give you aid.

“
The Eternals are very
particular in this matter. They are committed to protecting those
on special missions, at all costs.” He shifted some of the papers
that were in front of him and when he came across the one he was
looking for he put it on top of the pile and continued.

The whole room’s attention
was riveted on him. Russell looked confident and eager, still at
the edge of his seat, while Dorian didn’t seem to be paying any
attention at all. He was slouching on the bench and playing some
sort of game with Luz’s fingers. They repressed a laugh now and
again, and kept their playing.

“
A Special Mission,”
Orffius continued, “means that you will have to live your life with
the extra burden of a physical or mental malady.” Russell looked
crestfallen and his aura immediately changed colors.

“
Some special missions
will affect your bodies, some others your mind and in some
instances, both. All of you, whether you volunteer for a special
mission or not, will at some point have to endure illness and pain
in mortality. However, a special mission will be in addition to
those maladies which will happen naturally.” A kind smile crossed
his face as he looked at us. “Now, let me show you a long list of
possibilities.” Orffius was now holding some device in his hands.
He pushed a button and one of the thick drapes behind him parted,
showing a long list of black floating words. Orffius touched one of
the words with a long outstretched finger and pulled the word
forward. The word expanded. It said “Blindness”, and then he
proceeded to explain what that particular malady was, and then
continued on down the list.

“
Now…” He looked down at
the scrolls in front of him and then resumed. “This next list is
the list of mental illnesses that exist.” He made a sweeping motion
with his hand and all the words disappeared, and a new list came
up.

It was Dane now who moved
to the edge of his seat and looked intently at the words, nodding
now and then when he recognized one of them.

Once more Orffius patiently
explained the many illnesses that a mind could have. Nancy seemed
very interested too, but Russell had lost all interest. Dorian was
now done playing with Luz’s hands and had slouched even further
down his seat. Luz seemed to be very much at ease as well, though
her aura showed a new color of determination.

Alex was shifting in his
seat and Valerie was sitting bolt upright, looking fixedly forward
and deep in thought.

I personally felt scared,
all those problems…I didn’t, by any stretch of the imagination,
want any of those problems. One thing I knew for sure, and that is
that I would not be strong enough to endure those problems. Just
knowing that I might be subject to a mild illness made me feel
uneasy.

“
Why would we do that to
ourselves, you might ask?” Orffious continued. “Special Missions
have several different purposes. One is to protect some of you from
the influence of he whom you call the Second One and his followers,
who still hope to enslave human kind and force them to their will.
If you take on a Special Mission, and your mind is blocked by an
illness, you will be considered an innocent and will be shielded
from the Second One’s power.”

“
Also, there are some
among you who would find life too easy without a special mission,
and wouldn’t find life a challenge at all. For that reason, some of
you have been asked to take on a special mission in order to make
life equally fair for everyone.” The room filled with quiet
murmurs, and Orffious lifted one of his big hands to quiet
them.

“
In fact,” he continued,
“your special mission will help others in ways that are too
numerous to list.
Once in mortality it
would seem like your family members and friends would be the ones
to help you, but in reality you will be able to help them just as
much or more, because of your special circumstances.”

The teacher explained how
many mortals with special circumstances had been able to help those
around them, and sometimes whole communities. Then we watched,
through a window, several examples of this from our own planet.
After that, Orffius dismissed class for a time and told us to come
back in one of “Earth’s days” for the second part of the
class.

Lucky for us, Henry had
procured some devices that he called watches, that kept Earth’s
time and these came in very handy when teachers said that we had to
be back in class in a certain amount of hours. Now, all we had to
do was set the built-in alarm to twenty four hours later and relax.
This way we never missed a class that kept Earth’s time. It was
always eye opening for me to see how quickly time passed for the
living.

“
Well, what do you guys
think about special missions?” Nancy asked
matter-of-factly.

“
Not for me!” Russell
declared. “I want to be a warrior. I’ll need all my health—physical
and mental—for that.”

“
It’s not for me either,”
I piped in without remorse. “I know I’m not one of those spirits
who would find life too easy. I’m already stressing out about it
and it hasn’t even started yet! I admire anyone who would do it,
though.”

“
I do too.” Dane nodded.
“They do deserve our complete admiration and honor. I feel that my
calling as a healer would be to work with those who suffer from
these illnesses. Now, more than ever, I realize that that will be
my own mission in life,” Dane said emphatically.

Valerie looked up at him
with a pained look on her face. Dane saw it and shot her a
quizzical look in return. That conversation, I sensed, would be a
private one. I was curious though to know what Valerie was feeling,
but the moment I tried to read her thoughts, an angry Valerie met
my eyes in full, as if she could tell I was probing her. Without
uttering a single word she told me to
“Butt
out!”
I bit my lip and stifled a laugh,
she is good! Obviously she got more premonitions than she let on.
She knew what I was going to do before I did it.

“
I’m with, Tess. I’m not
strong enough either. Besides, I would also like to be a warrior,”
Alex commented. This didn’t surprise me, and Nancy and I exchanged
exasperated looks. Warriors have a good track record of getting
hurt in battle or being killed, and neither one of us was happy
about that.

“
Not for me!” Henry
declared, and Estelle shook her head too.

Max and Celeste also
declined, and Amor and Paz said that they wouldn’t volunteer
either, but would gladly care for someone who did. Only Valerie,
Luz and Dorian had remained silent, and all eyes were on them now.
Dorian was looking down at the green spiritual grass that was below
his bare feet. Then he looked up at us and laughed a full hardy
laugh.

“
Well, what can I say? I
don’t think I’m strong enough, but I know I’ll do it,” he said
between laughs as if it was funny, then he bit his lower lip and
avoided our stares.

Luz was not looking at him
or us. She had a faraway look and Valerie and Dane were suddenly
nowhere to be found.

“
What?” Dorian asked, his
laugh dying down a little.

“
Well, you have our full
support, Dorian,” Russell said with authority, and the rest of us
agreed.

Without meaning to,
Dorian’s feelings came to me as if carried by a breeze. He was
scared, resigned, and determined. He had a vision and he saw
himself affected by a mental illness. He knew that he would have to
endure it for the sake of…me. This thought caught me completely off
guard. I stood petrified to the spot and frowned.