Humanity 01 - Child of The Dusk

Humanity – Interval 1: Child of the Dusk

By: Corrine Shroud

ISBN: 978-1-877546-76-1

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Cover Art Copyright © Jan 2010, Brightling
Spur

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Interval
One of HUMANITY

Child of the
Dusk

Mirage felt uneasy as she
walked the unfamiliar halls. She could feel their eyes on her,
their alien gazes studying her with distaste. It made her skin
tingle, the sensation like spiders crawling along her skin. Less
than ten minutes in Bleavens High, and she already hated it. She
held her head high, trying to ignore the blatant hostility. Her
mother, Tranquility, had told her not to cause problems, to try to
bend that Child of the Dusk pride she’d inherited from her father.
She gave a mental snort of laughter.
That
wasn’t likely.

The defiant had a shorter
lifespan. She knew that better than anyone else did. The lesson had
been branded into Mirage’s mind with the death of her father. The
wound was still raw, and the two months since his murder had done
nothing to soothe the burning hatred she had for the so-called
Humanitarians. She could still hear the crackling fire; still see
the playful flames that caressed her father’s skin as
they
told him to beg.
She could still smell her father’s skin burn as he
refused…

Mirage stumbled at the force of the memory,
pausing in the school hall and putting her hand on the wall to
steady herself. God, it still had the strength to cause her to
stumble. The resonance of the past called to her more often. She
should know better than to dwell on something so atrocious.

The force that hit her from behind was
sudden, startling her. It caught her in the center of her shoulder
blades, snapping her head backward. She couldn’t catch herself and
she toppled, the fall knocking the breath from her. She lay there
for a moment before she looked up at the massive boy who had pushed
her.

The humans had to have
been feeding him nuclear waste
, Mirage
thought distantly as he leaned over her. His broad shoulders cast a
shadow over her body. He was blonde, with the sort of face that
humans seemed to find attractive, and he wore a football jersey.
The air of arrogance and superiority that permeated from him was
enough to make her sick.

“
Watch where you’re going,
freak,” he spat vehemently, contempt seeping into his voice like
venom.

It made Mirage flinch. How
could he hate her so much when he didn’t even
know
her?

“
I was standing still,”
Mirage said, her voice like death as she picked up the purple lace
purse that she’d dropped when she had tried to catch herself from
falling. “If you had your eyes open then you would have seen
me.”

The boy shoved her shoulder hard, pushing
her into the wall. Her arm went numb, pain shooting through her
collarbone. She tried to keep calm; if she defended herself…there
were laws that signed her death warrant. Her Shadowstart powers
seethed beneath her skin, begging to be used. It was a fight for
her not to give in to them. “What did you say, Dark Child? I didn’t
hear you.”

“
Derrick, that’s
enough!”

Mirage closed her mouth, looking at the old
man standing outside a door a few feet from them. “You will treat
your fellow classmates with respect, and you will not call her that
again. You’d better go on before the next bell rings or I’ll report
you for tardiness.”

Derrick hesitated before saying, “Yes, Mr.
Kinely.” He bent down to pick up the backpack he’d dropped and
whispered, “If it wasn’t for that fucking abomination lover, I
would have killed you. They wouldn’t have even suspended me.”

Looking into his disgusted expression, she
knew it was true. Derrick wouldn’t have lost sleep over her death,
and the humans would have praised him as a hero. A hero who had put
the Child of Power in her place. Why did she have a right to try to
attend a human school? It was a cold knowledge to know that her
life meant so little, and it caused a slow shiver to creep down her
spine as Derrick brushed roughly past her.

“
What are you looking at?”
Mr. Kinely demanded at the gathering crowd. They’d watched the
confrontation with slack-jawed looks of appreciation at Derrick’s
actions. “It’s not like you haven’t seen one of her kind before.”
He clapped his hands. “Get to class!” The crowd began to disperse,
but Mirage could hear their merciless comments. They buzzed around
her like vultures over a carcass.

She stood, throwing her backpack over her
shoulder again as Mr. Kinely made his way to her.

“
Where are you supposed to
be?”

Mirage hesitated before looking him in the
eye. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m the new student, and—”

“
Yes, yes,” Mr. Kinely
interrupted impatiently. “Anyone can see that
you’re
new. I will assume you are
trying to go to the office to speak with the principal?”

Mirage nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“
It’s not safe for you to
travel there by yourself,” he commented, his eyes full of pity.
“I’ll take you there.”

“
Thank you,” she said,
relieved. It angered her to see how
much
that relieved her. She hadn’t
been out of her Promised Lands for more than a few months and she
was already cowed. She could only imagine her uncle’s gloating face
before she tore her thoughts away from him. She would
not
think about that
Child of the Dusk and the betrayal that still stung her heart.
There was nothing she could do, and lingering thoughts of his
laughter as she was banished were enough to make her sick. Instead,
she took a moment to study the teacher. His expression was kind,
lined with age. His eyes…the color struck her. They were same cruel
pale blue that haunted her dreams. She remembered them from her
hiding place, glinting with amusement as they watched her silent
father burn.

The memory came back with a vengeance,
doubling her over until she had to clutch her stomach.

“
Are you
alright?”

Mirage shook her head and took a moment to
control her breathing. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “I mean yes.
Everything’s fine.”

He gave her another searching look before
saying, “Then follow me.” He put a hand on her shoulder, steering
her down the hall. “What’s your name?”

“
Mirage Elyn
Shadowstart.”

“
When the Board of
Education contacted us and told us that a paramortal was being
allowed to attend a human school, I hadn’t thought it would be a
Shadowstart. Especially in Paradise, Florida, it being so sunny. I
more expected a Galesinger or a Flametamer, but not you.” He
frowned. “You know the history between your people and our own and
the role your Tribe had with the Territory Wars. I’m afraid you
won’t find people very welcoming of you.”

Mirage was surprised, both at the concern in
his voice and the fact that he used the actual term humans had
thought up to describe what she was; Paramortal. At least he didn’t
insult her by calling her a Dark Child. He used other human terms
for the Tribes and for some reason that comforted her. “This was
the only school close to the Emissary Hospital that we could get to
let me in.”

Mr. Kinely sighed. “I know it’s rough, but
hang in there.” He arched an eyebrow. “You know, I think I know
your father. Gauthier?”

“
You knew my father…”
Mirage’s voice choked.

“
Knew?” The teacher looked
at her, troubled by her tone. He hesitated and gave a low sigh. “I
think I know why you’re out of your Promised Lands.”

“
They
came for him.” Mirage couldn’t keep the anger from her voice.
“The Humanitarians.”
“Mirage…I’m sorry. I knew he hadn’t contacted me in a long time,
but I hadn’t expected them to get a hold of a Tribe Chief, let
alone the Shadowstart Tribe Chief.”

“
How did you
know—?”

Mr. Kinely interrupted her. “He spoke a lot
of you, Mirage, and your mother, Tranquility. It seems he didn’t
exaggerate your domineering personality. He was quite proud of
you.” He paused at the corner of the hall and she stopped with him.
“Don’t let them cow you, Mirage,” he said, staring her in the eye.
“Look them in the eye and be proud of what you are. Don’t show off
your abilities, though. It’ll only give them a reason to hate you.
If you need anything, you can come to me. I won’t treat you any
different than my human students.”

Mirage nodded, smiling wanly. “Thank you,
Mr. Kinely. I really appreciate it.”

“
You’re welcome,” he
returned, patting her shoulder. “I’d better get back to my class,
though. They’ve probably destroyed my room by now.”

Mirage laughed as she watched him hurry
away. The teacher had made her feel better. Her nerves were no
longer a coiled mess that rested in the soles of her feet. More
like at her knees. Still, it was an improvement.

She threw her hair back from her face,
settled her purple backpack firmly over her shoulder and entered a
large room that contained two long desks, where two women sat
opposite each other, typing on computers. She approached the one on
her left.

“
Excuse me?’ she asked
politely. “I need to see the principal, please.”

The woman paused and glanced over at her
before turning her attention back to the lighted computer screen.
“He’s been waiting for you,” she snapped. Her voice was clipped and
indifferent. She motioned backward over her shoulder to a door in
the corner of the room, beside a hallway that stemmed off it. “You
can leave your things here at the desk.”

Mirage thanked her and set her stuff down,
shrugging her backpack onto the floor. She looped her small black
and purple purse over her arm and walked past the desks.

She stepped into the principal’s office
cautiously.

“
Are you finally here?”
barked the expansive man.
Is everyone here
on steroids?
Mirage thought vaguely. The
principal was an older, balding man with a clean shaven face. His
features were broad and slightly slack, reminding her of a hairless
ape.

“
I’m sorry I’m late, sir,”
Mirage said, bowing her head and twisting her arm out in respect.
It was such a normal gesture for her that she thought nothing of
it, but when she straightened she caught the man looking at her
blankly. She sighed and continued, “My mom dropped me off today and
we sort of got lost in the city. It won’t happen again.”

“
I wouldn’t suppose a
Dark…” he cleared his voice, grimacing. “I mean a
Paramortal
would know
her way around a city. Prob’ly too sophisticated.”

Mirage bit her lip and didn’t reply.

“
I don’t want problems,”
he continued as he took a sheet of paper from one of his drawers.
His voice drawled, like stones scraping slowly against each other.
“I run a tight school.”

“
I won’t be,” Mirage
assured him, smiling as well as she could. “I’ve never caused any
problems for humans or for Children of the Dusk.”

He drew his nose up,
another grimace contorting his ugly face. “Children of the Dusk,”
he muttered, half to himself. Mirage decided not to say anything
else as she reached for the schedule he extended to her. He gripped
her wrist tightly. “I mean it,
Dark
Child
,” he said, his voice as tight as the
vice he had on her wrist. “I didn’t want you in my school; the
Altruistics stepped in. The first excuse I get to throw you out, I
will.”