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  “You look clean,” she commented with a lackluster smile.

  “Um, thanks?” I replied, brushing out my tangled mane. The snow white tendrils were cascading down my back tugging painfully at my scalp. I glanced at the clock and decided to let it air dry. The last time it was cut, Rebecca asked the hair dresser to style it in a way where if I did nothing, my natural waves would frame my face. Thank God for her foresight. When it came to beauty, being lazy suited me.

  “Throw some mascara on and let’s go!” Rebecca commanded while she gathered our things. I glanced at my reflection and cringed. The skin under my eyes looked bruised and swollen, which was exaggerated by the light golden color of my skin and the cobalt blue of my eyes.

  Unique eye and hair color were common within the Caelian community. Skin colors were uncommon, but not unheard of. They paired all of us off as toddlers so we wouldn’t feel out of place. Rebecca and I were two of the six children with a unique skin color residing at Saint Vincent’s, which is why Rebecca and I were roommates. These differences are what the non-Talented call Caelum’s mark and they always present themselves at birth, which is why many babies are given up.

  I studied myself. It had been a while since I cared about my image. I always thought I looked sort of pretty. My body was a study in contrasts. The hard angles of my jaw and nose were complemented by the softness of my cheeks and lips, and the largeness of my forehead was accented by full eyebrows and almond eyes. I was average height, about 5’7”, with long limbs and a statuesque hourglass figure.

  I furrowed my forehead in scrutiny. I had let myself go a bit, but still didn’t feel the need for makeup.

  “Maybe not today,” I replied to Rebecca while reaching for my cell phone. I began checking it for any messages. I had a few from Liam’s older brother, Michael, checking in on me, and one from his twin sister, Lacy. Lacy was the lucky twin. She wasn’t Talented and was allowed to stay with her family, along with Michael. Over the years, their mom would make veiled comments about another child, but they had no proof of the existence of another sibling until Michael turned 18 and hired a private investigator. Liam was discovered rather quickly; the abandonment laws of Caelians weren’t ironclad. No one who gave up a Caelian child has ever wanted them back.

  Once they discovered him, both siblings were excited about their long lost family member. They often visited with Liam and later with the both of us. The four of us had become close in the years we had known each other. Liam’s story was something all of us at Saint Vincent’s dreamed about and on rare occasions came true. Liam was lucky to have known family.

  My fingers flew across the screen as I replied to both siblings and rushed down to the cafeteria.

  “You really should try,” Rebecca stated.

  “Huh?”

  “Your hygiene and overall lack of caring,” she stated, not bothering to get upset about my lack of attention.

  “My hygiene is fine and I do care about things. Just not about clothes, hair, or makeup.” I shrugged. “I didn’t worry about it before… before Liam, so why worry now? He loved me just fine the way I am.”

  “I know that, but don’t you think it would make you feel better if you tried?” she pleaded.

  “No,” I sighed.

  “You’re probably right. I just hate feeling helpless. I miss you.” She reached out an arm and wrapped it around my waist, pulling me toward her in an awkward half hug, our hips bumping together as we continued to walk to the cafeteria.

  Chapter 3

  “Hey Sadie! Becca!” called Madison, one of my other friends at Saint Vincent’s. She stood up, waving her arms excitedly. Her tangerine orange, tousled pixie cut looked adorable on her round face and highlighted the splash of chartreuse of freckles across her nose. She owned her techno-colored genes by dressing to suit her natural features. Today she was donning bulky boots with silver spikes running up the sides and fishnets, both on her legs and arms. Her voluptuous frame was accented beautifully with a large spiked belt wrapped around her waist.

  She was comfortable with who she was, and seeing that was what drew me to her when we were first introduced as toddlers. She never had the abandonment complex that most of us carried on our shoulders. I wanted to be like her.

  “Hey, Madison,” I replied, sitting down with my runny eggs and dry toast. “How have you been?”

  “Awesome! I actually got out of this dump for the whole weekend,” she gushed.

  “How’d you manage that?” Rebecca asked, while chewing her bacon.

  Madison threw Rebecca a disgusted look. “I walked off campus Friday evening. Found a party at some Caelian frat house and spent my weekend in Caleb’s bed.”

  “Who’s…?” I began to ask.

  “Or was his name Chris?” she interrupted. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Not like I’ll be seeing him again.”

  “Sounds…fun?” Rebecca contributed between bites.

  “Sounds dangerous,” I said.

  “Oh come on, Sadie. Live a little,” Madison pleaded, and it felt as if she was hinting at something other than just crashing random parties.

  “I do. Did. But seriously, Madison, what if you ran into a norm? You never know if they’ll be friendly to us,” I pleaded. “You could have been killed!” I heard my voice rise and panic started to crowd in, my breath becoming heavy.

  Madison reached out and touched my hand. “Sadie. Hey! It’s okay. I’m okay!” She was brushing her thumb over the back of my hand, and I focused on it as I began to calm down. “Sadie, next year we will be leaving Saint Vincent’s and going out in to the world. I’m always careful, especially after Liam. Plus, I’ve been practicing my Talent for two years now and we’ve been taking self-defense classes our entire lives. I can handle myself, I promise.”

  “Okay,” I mumbled.

  Madison knew her Talent, and I couldn’t believe it slipped my mind. She was one of few Caelians who had an elemental Talent. Fire. Together, Madison and her Talent were the whole package – perfect for each other, like most Caelian Talents. Some humans are born with a gift, whether it’s music or science, and if they nourish their Talent, it grows. Talents of Caelians worked the same way, and they more often than not coincided with an individual’s personality.

  Madison’s Talent came naturally to her, but there were other Caelians who had to work at their Talent. Like Rebecca, who had just discovered her Talent for manipulation, especially of the opposite sex, or rather, anyone who found her attractive. She was like a siren except that her power wore off once she left your presence for a short amount of time.

  Then there’s me, a Caelian with no Talent. Trust me, I’ve tried to figure it out. Right after Liam and I started dating, we spent every spare moment for two weeks trying to force my Talent to reveal itself. Nothing stuck for me, but Liam discovered his Talent for plants during that time.

  I’m a Caelian only by what you see, not what you get.

  “Hey! Hey Sadie!” Madison was shaking her hands in my face.

  “Yeah?”

  “Bells rang.” She motioned to the almost empty cafeteria. “Let’s get to class.”

  Our small group of seniors gathered our bags and started toward the arts hallway. Since the Talented community was small in comparison to the norms, we didn’t have the luxury of mingling with those outside of our age group.

  Madison hung back with me and we walked a few steps behind the others. Although she had a loud personality with a serious streak, she was sensitive to my quiet nature. I loved her for it, but today it seemed she was struggling with something. Her face contorted with uncertainty.

  “Just say it…” I demanded.

  “Are you getting nervous?” Madison asked.

  “About what?” I knew full well what she meant.

  “About this being our last year and you being Talentless,” she blurted.

  “I’m not too worried. It sucks, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t be able to live a life.” I shrugged. “Maybe I’m a genetic freak
. I look like a Caelian, but have no Talent.”

  “Do you think it’s because of how sick you were?” she suggested.

  “You know, you’re not the first to suggest it, and honestly the illness is the only logical reason why I’m not able to use the Talent I feel inside me. I just don’t know.”

  I stopped talking when we arrived at our first norm class.

  Our first half of the day was typical high school, taught by norm teachers who commuted to the campus. The salary offered by Caelian community is unprecedented. With the exception of Mrs. Laird in the fifth grade, who jumped at the chance to demean us, norm teachers were usually open minded and amicable. Saint Vincent’s policies are non-negotiable and teachers like Mrs. Laird never last long. Teachers who are hired choose to stay until retirement, since the benefits are more than double the Texas public schools.

  The second half held Talent classes. Because we were seniors, our last four hours were split between Talent Principles and Living in the Normal World. Talent Principles focused on those who know their Talent. They were to study and practice mastering their Talent, while those like me spent their time trying to find their Talent. I was the only senior on campus with no Talent, which made those last two hours of the day lonesome.

  Unlike most of the students, I enjoyed the first half of the day. There I was on even playing ground. Just like in the real world, there was no tolerance for blatant Talent use. We all had to study and learn like the norms. It was a blissful escape from my reality.

  “Miss Sadie! Would you like to join us?” Mr. Baker, our literature teacher demanded.

  “Yes,” I stated, and walked to my desk without delay. How long did I space out that time?

  “Do you need to visit the nurse?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” I grumbled. Really, you have a mystery illness no one can explain or cure for the first few years of your life, and people never stop questioning your health.

  “All right. Ladies and gentlemen, let us take out our books and continue reading from Chaucer…”

  I tuned Mr. Baker out. One of the perks of not having a Talent is that I have plenty of time to get ahead in my norm classes.

  The day dragged on as it usually did, but that day I was withdrawn more than usual. Madison’s comment about my Talent—or lack thereof—and its effect on my future was weighing me down. It wasn’t that I necessarily wanted a Talent to have power, but more to fit in with my peers.

  Out in the world, my looks alone would isolate me from the norms. In the case of Liam’s brother and sister, my being a Caelian didn’t matter, but to the majority of society we were pariahs. Sure, Caelians had laws that gave us protection, but those laws did not control fear. It is that fear that drives the norms to violence.

  On the other hand, as a Caelian, I could join a Caelian family after graduation like most of my classmates, and have the opportunity to further my education and get a decent job. Families share money, Talents, and protection to survive in this world. However, as I am now, I wouldn’t be able to contribute to the family. I would be an outsider among my own people.

  I didn’t have to choose a family. There are a select few Caelians who choose to not join a family, but their lives are a constant struggle. It is hard to find jobs outside of the family corporations, but unlike many Caelians, I could live independently if I chose to. Even though the details of my abandonment were sealed, I did know that my mother had been a Caelian and had set up a trust fund for me. That trust fund had been paying for my stay at Saint Vincent’s, while other students had to rely on the families’ donations at the bi-annual fund raisers. Being alone in this world wasn’t a good option for a Talentless Caelian.

  No matter the choice I made, it would suck for me.

  Before long, it was time for Talent Principles, and although it was technically a Talent class, I enjoyed it.

  Mrs. LaMotte taught Talent Principles for both juniors and seniors, as well as acting as a tutor to those of us without a Talent. Her class was both redundant and necessary. We were taught the history and known science of our Talent source. Her job was to make sure all students knew about our origins, our place in the world, and most of all how to use Talent in a responsible manner.

  Mrs. LaMotte was a petite woman with a severe personality. Her no nonsense attitude was reflected in the way she was always impeccably dressed, her glossy plum locks wrapped in a taut bun at the nape of her neck, and her close-set apricot colored eyes noticed everything.

  Her pale eyes always seemed to narrow when she scrutinized me each day. It was as if she was trying to see if I had changed since the previous day. It used to bother me, but I’d grown used to it.

  Today was no exception. Her penetrating gaze zoomed in on me as soon as I entered.

  “Sadie. How are you today?” Mrs. LaMotte asked.

  “I’m fine. Ready to learn,” I mumbled.

  She stared at me a few minutes longer and turned to the class.

  “Class, today we will recall past lessons to review for the exam next week. What can you tell me of the origin of Talent, Ms. Rebecca?” She turned her gaze to Rebecca.

  “Talent, as we know it, is fairly new to the world. Its origin is traced to Caelum’s meteorite, which crashed during a small skirmish at the beginning of the great World War, in the year 1916. The soldiers that survived the crash described a dust that enveloped them and suffocated them to the point of losing consciousness. When they awoke, it seemed as if nothing had changed, but each felt a vibration from within. That vibration is the cosmic energy stored within our DNA – the source of our power,” Rebecca recited.

  “Good. And what was the effect on those soldiers, Joshua?” Everyone turned to Joshua. He was one of the unlucky few who had a rare Talent with a severe cost. His Talent was attached to his five senses, causing extreme overstimulation.

  Joshua winced. “Neither the soldiers or anyone in the surrounding villages noticed an immediate change except one French soldier, Sergeant Demonte, who instantly had a connection to his Talent and was able to feel the emotions of the soldiers around him. He was unable to control himself, feeding off the confusion and fear of those nearby and in turn, amplified the emotions of those in the vicinity. He lost his mind in an instant and paid the price for using his power unchecked.”

  “Who can tell me about the cost of Talent?” Mrs. LaMotte asked, her gaze zeroing in on me. I turned my eyes away from her intense gaze. Why in the hell is she being so weird today?

  “Ms. Emma.”

  “Everyone’s Talent has a price; it only depends on your Talent. Most consequences are directly related to the Talent user, like mine. When I manipulate sounds, my consequence varies from bleeding ears to voice loss, but some of the rarer Talents affect those around you.”

  Emma turned to look at me and I could see where she was going. I laid my head down, hoping I was wrong.

  Emma continued. “If we remember Liam’s Talent for plants, it seemed harmless, but in order to grow or heal plants, he had to remove the life force from another energy source and transfer it to plants. A dangerous Talent, and one he used on rare occasions.”

  “Correct Emma, but let’s be a little more sensitive to those around you,” Mrs. LaMotte rebuked.

  “Pair up and began answering the questions on the handouts from yesterday. Ms. Sadie, please step outside with me.”

  I jumped out of my chair, eager to leave the class and their mixture of hatred and sympathetic stares. Everyone loved Liam and there were those who blamed me for his death, even though I wasn’t the one in jail for pulling the trigger.

  Stepping outside in the hallway, I leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

  “Ms. Sadie, please go visit the nurse until it’s time to study Talents.”

  “But I’m not…”

  “I know you’re not sick, but you’re obviously having a hard time and maybe a mental break would do you some good.” She waved her hand to dismiss me and turned to go back inside. “I will see you late
r.”

  Chapter 4

  Annoyed, I rushed to the nurse’s office, startling Nurse Benet in the process.

  “Sadie! Are you ill?” She nervously looked me up and down.

  “No. Mrs. LaMotte thought I looked like I needed a mental break,” I replied, hopping up on one of the empty beds.

  “Oh. Oh good,” Mrs. Benet breathed in relief.

  Poor Mrs. Benet. She was such a compassionate person, and even without being born with the Talent of healing, she would have probably been a nurse anyway, just without the nasty cost of her Talent.

  She didn’t use her Talent without hindrance. However, when she felt the complaint was significant, she could heal almost any malady with the consequence of physically feeling the pain of the injury that she healed.

  I turned to look at Mrs. Benet. If her personality alone didn’t portray her Talent, it would be her coloring. She looked peaceful, with lavender eyes and periwinkle hair. Just looking at her relaxed my mind enough to release all the anxiety and negativity I was harboring against Emma.

  “Sadie,” Mrs. Benet called to me. “Please come here so I can give you a checkup.”

  “But I’m not sick,” I whined. Growing up with a mystery illness had left a bad taste for all things medical, but I knew Mrs. Benet wouldn’t relent. Begrudgingly, I dragged myself toward the scales.

  “You know the routine. This will be quick and then I can give you a pass back to your room if you like,” Mrs. Benet explained while making notes in my file.

  The exam was quick and uneventful and before I knew it, I was walking back to my room.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket; it was Lacy. Looking around to make sure no one was around, I answered.

  “Hey, Lacy.”

  “Hey, Sadie, how are you this lovely day?” Lacy asked.

  “Oh you know… Eating. Breathing. Living,” I replied with a lackadaisical sigh.

  “Sounds exciting! So I take it you aren’t busy this weekend?” she asked.