Violet Eden Chapters 04 - Endless

talking.’
    It must have taken every ounce of courage not to break down right there, not to grab Evelyn and hold her tight – whether he believed it was really her or not. Dad loved her like he loved no other person in this world and I knew nothing had changed that over the past seventeen years.
    Evelyn was staring at him, a thoughtful look on her face. ‘You’ve changed,’ she said finally.
    ‘Apparently you haven’t. Talk!’ Dad demanded.
    Go, Dad!
    Evelyn saw the amusement in my eyes and rolled hers in response.
    ‘I’m human, like you,’ she began, ‘born to two human parents, but when my mother was in late pregnancy she had a placenta rupture. The doctors were able to deliver me, but it was a different time then – they didn’t have the resources they do now. My mother did not survive.’
    My heart sank. I had always thought there was nothing worse than knowing my mother had only held me for a few short minutes. But there was, I could see it in her eyes when she told the story. Her mother had never held her at all.
    Dad shifted in his seat. ‘Evelyn never told me that,’ he said cautiously.
    Shesmiled sadly. ‘I was scared to give away too much information. I was always careful – it was the way I was trained.’
    Dad maintained a stoic expression. I think it was the only way he could go on.
    ‘Continue,’ he said.
    Evelyn nodded. ‘When a human life is brought into the world, the moments following his or her first breath are vital. Newborns are bathed in the aura of new life. If a child suffers the loss of like-blood, most commonly a parent, within the first twelve days of their life, he or she is also overwhelmed by the aura of new death. When the two opposing forces are so strong, a doorway can be created.’
    ‘What kind of doorway?’ Dad asked, now cautiously glancing in my direction. He was already connecting the dots.
    ‘When new life combines with new death it creates a kind of tunnel.’ She took a deep breath. I found myself doing the same. ‘A tunnel that … an angel can use to transfer a piece of its essence to the body. At seventeen, the child is given the choice of whether or not to embrace the gifts and responsibilities that come with having that essence.’ She looked at me.
    I’d practically stopped breathing.
    ‘An … angel?’ Dad repeated slowly.
    ‘Yes, James. Angels are very real. They aren’t what you probably think they are – they aren’t always kind and they aren’t always cruel but they are definitely always active and a controlling force over our world. If a person who carries an angel essence chooses to embrace, he or she is given – among other things – increased strength, speed, weapons both internal and external, the ability to sense otherworldly beings, a healing capacity,a partner in arms and … while still susceptible to mortality by harm, a much-extended lifespan, ageing increasingly slower the older we get.’ She looked down. ‘We can live for many hundreds of years.’
    I was impressed Dad was still in the room, and upright. He cleared his throat. ‘How old are you?’
    Evelyn didn’t even blink. ‘I was 187 years old when I died. Now I’m back, I guess you could say I’ve passed my bicentenary.’
    Dad looked at me, wide-eyed. ‘Violet, have you been listening to this? Surely, this isn’t what has been going on with you for the past months? This can’t be real.’
    ‘I wish it wasn’t, Dad.’ I took his hand. It was hot and clammy. ‘But she is who she says and what she says. And just as an angel gave his essence to Evelyn … I’m what they call a Grigori. Part human but also, part angel. I have abilities – but you’ve already seen my wrists.’ I bit my lip nervously, remembering his severe reaction at seeing the swirling silver markings before I’d taken off to Santorini.
    As he looked at them, they started to move with a magic none of us could comprehend, churning like a river of mercury around my wrists. Delicate feathered tips began to emerge in the patterns, matching the design on Evelyn’s wristbands. Dad glanced between us and I noticed Evelyn staring, mesmerised too.
    ‘She said you had to choose to do this. Did you want this, Violet?’
    ‘Not at the beginning. I wanted to finish school, become an artist, be … normal. After everything that happened …’ my voice caught at the memory of the attack.
    Dadnodded, not making me say it aloud. Evelyn watched on silently. There was no way I was about to