Dark Roots Ch. 13

My Teacher

Washington State

1:30 AM

The Red Woods

Electrical glory surrounded Eric, who stood staring back at Albert frozen in place. Electricity wriggled around his body and whipped around ravenously like overgrown tendrils, scorching the trees and boulders around them.

"A T-Thunderbird? You're an actual Thunderbird," Albert's eyes shook both in amazement and from fear.

"I know something else Al, I know your mother is a member of the fallen. What I didn't know was the type of relationship you had with her." Eric replied.

"So you suggested I come here for spring break so you just could show off?"

Eric furrowed his brows, "I didn't come here to show off to you, my brother. I knew from the first day I laid eyes on you, what you were because I have the sight like you have the sight. If you're thinking you're the only special one walking around, trust me you're not. Plenty of supernatural and semi-divine beings walk the halls of Pigeon University. Your mother has a history with my people. I wasn't around when she first dropped by, but my ancient ancestors provided her a home, food, comfort, and sparring partners."

Albert thinks he knows where Eric is going with this. "So, what you're saying is you want to be my sparring partner?"

"Not quite. I want to be your teacher, Al. You are an Elioud, one with all the powers and abilities of his mother. I can also see that you possess a second power; one that's your very own. It's hidden very well from you and it's not the white fire covering your arm."

A thought suddenly crossed his head. "What did you mean when you said your ancestors provided my mother with comfort? Do you mean like a place to sleep? She's an angel, a fallen one, and isn't bothered by extreme temperatures nor is she susceptible to sleep or fatigue."

Eric not only saw the white fire burning more intensely around Albert's arm, but now it extended to his shoulders and cloaked his other arm in roiling wheels of flames.

"As I said, I wasn't alive back then. That is something you would have to ask your mother."

"Liar! Did your ancestors have sex with her!" Albert snarled, his normal dark brown eyes changed to burning white embers that whipped around each time he moved his eyes.

The woods and boulders including the ground began to steam and hiss from Albert's anger that turned the area into a steaming cauldron. If this kept up, the entire reservation could go up in flames.

"As I said, that is something you have to talk to your mother about when you're with her. The word for comfort in my language can mean anything from friendship to companionship."

Albert believed him, and his power regressed back to his right arm. Eric undid his fully powered appearance so he could talk to his friend.

"Your power is tied to your emotions, buddy, to how you feel about your mother. That's dangerous, do you know why?"

"I think I already know the answer, but I'd rather hear it from you," Albert told him.

"Look at the white flames on your arm. I mean really look at them. That's more than just for show, more than just a light show. That fire is the physical manifestation of ALL your mother's power mixed in with a large piece of your father's soul that's also mingled with your own. Maybe this explains why you have her power and separate but exclusive power."

"Is that normal?" Albert wanted to know.

"You and I are not normal, but in a good way. Let me explain. When a human has sex with an angel willingly or unwillingly, the angel's power either fuses with the soul of their conceived child or doesn't. If it does, it gives the child access to some or all their angelic parent's powers. In the scenario where the child's soul does not take to the powers of their divine parent, it lives on like a normal human. As normal as can be expected of course. But your mother seemed to take a piece of your father's soul and mixed it with her own power. She didn't have to do this, but she did out of love for your father and for the new life they made together." A tear rolled down Eric's cheek.

Through Eric's eyes, he saw a smoky version of Lisa and Albert's father embracing each other. The invisible smoke exuded from his burning arm.

"Eric, are you okay? You're crying."

Eric blinked, snapping himself out of his trance. He wiped the tear away from his face and refocused on the task at hand. "You have a wonderful mother, Al. Do you know why I say that? Because she unknowingly gifted you with more power out of love for the two most important men in her life." Eric said smiling warmly at him.

Albert felt himself getting emotional. The fire in his arm dimmed.

"Albert, the higher the angel is or was in the celestial hierarchy, the brighter and hotter their power burns. To us, it may look like white fire, but not all of it is white. There's also something else you must know. You were born into a world where supernatural creatures, no matter how innocent and harmless, are no longer tolerated by Heaven. The Nephilim and Eliouds are not the only ones being hunted and destroyed. Everything from the small earth Gnome to giant Thunderbirds like myself is being targeted by the host of Heaven."

"My mother was talking to Indigo and me about the same thing you're telling me before we got here."

"Because supernatural creatures and races of myths and legend were all creations of The Nephilim and the fallen watchers. My tribe affiliates with more than just your mother; this is a sanctuary and refuge for all non-human races. Sooner or later, we're all going to have to start fighting back and taking a stand and proclaiming that our existence is not a threat to anyone."

A fire stoked inside Albert's chest, and he wanted to do everything he could to be a part of this movement. "You said you were my teacher, right Eric? Well, I'm ready to learn how to use my powers."

"Then the first lesson will be learning to tap into your power without relying on your emotions to trigger it or needing to beg it to come to you."

Albert looked spooked. How on Earth did Eric know he did either of those things to call on his power. Eric smirked and spoke.

"If you're wondering how I know that you beg your power to surface, it's because I had the same problem too. It's not going to be easy, but when I finish with you, you will be able to tap into your mother's power as easily as breathing. As for your other hidden power, I may need more time to help you with that. With the power you have now, I want you to try and pin me down to the ground. Think you can do that?"

"Why?"

"This will help me gauge how much power you currently have, how much you're using correctly, and how much you're not."

"I've never been in a fight before, Eric; I'm not even sure how to start" There was a tinge of fear in Albert's voice.

"I know how to start, so watch closely, Albert!" Eric brought his opened hands together.

Electrical bands snapped and wriggled wildly. A dark blue aura with waves of electricity cloaked his entire body once more

"Lightning Artistry: Lightning Spikes!" Eric shouted. Large spears made of electricity popped into shape in his hands. "I suggest you run and hide Albert!"

Albert did neither and focused on his own power. Erick smirked arrogantly and launched his spears at him.

Although only his arm burned with power, it was enough for Albert to see the spears coming towards him in slow motion. With his hand, he slapped two of them away, but the others came in faster and harder. He ran to the side, avoiding the other spears. Explosions rocked the area; dirt, rocks, and pieces of trees rained down on them.

"What was that?" Albert asked, referring to the attack just now.

"It's called Artistry; it's a refined utilization of my elemental power to execute my abilities more productively while maximizing power output. Most beings with elemental powers that have never learned to refine their power go around blasting enemies with all their power, expending an excessive amount of energy needlessly. When one learns to refine their power exactly how they want, they create a list of elemental Artistry they can use at their disposal. Enough talk, try to pin me down, Albert!"

Albert, in a panic, rushed to find cover. How on Earth was he supposed to pin Eric down?

Even if he knew how to utilize his power correctly, that didn't mean he would master on a 1, 2, 3 count. Eric fired electrical spears that landed close to Albert.

Trees fell and boulders were blasted to smithereens. Albert ran and evaded brightly glowing electric spears that missed him by a hair length.

He tried jumping out into view, pointed his burning hands in Eric's direction, and pretended to shoot fireballs of energy at Eric, but to no avail. Eric's spears found their marks directly on Albert's palm that canceled each other when both points met. That didn't matter as Eric kept firing, and the longer he did, the more Albert felt his power leave him. He gained nothing by simply blocking Eric's attacks. His arm was beginning to tremble from pain and the shockwaves filling the woods from their friendly bout.

"Something has to work, something has too—" Albert heard an internal voice from within himself.

"Imagine the fire burning you and then cloaking you. Let it burn you, but don't let it consume you. This method is how you will be able to tame your power for now."

Going on by what his internal voice said, Albert closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and imagined his body burning with his divine power. The flames extended to his shoulders, his other arm, and exploded over the rest of his body. Eric observed while continuing to put the pressure on him. Albert mirrored a literal ball of living white flames. Albert finally allowed the flames to cover him, then imagined it sinking into his flesh until only his eyes remained glowing.

"I think...I have it. I think I got this under control for now." Albert told himself.

With new energy and confidence, Albert blasted towards Eric, dashing towards him like a missile. The electrical spears did nothing to Albert now as they turned into millions of dissipating sparkles upon impacting with him. Shocked, Eric smiled and took off like a bat out of hell. Or, in his case, like a thunderbird out of Heaven.

Eric and Albert zipped around the woods, leaving a blur of blue and white light.

Eric felt Albert increase in speed and closed the distance between them.

He pressed forward, tapping into more of his power, and developed ethereal blue feathers on his legs that boosted his pace considerably. But Albert's eyes blazed, doubling his speed. He was moving so fast now that he wasn't just chasing Eric anymore; he was 'blinking' towards him. Each time he appeared, he appeared closer to Eric until Albert grabbed hold of his wrist, pulled back, and slammed him down on the ground. The impact caused shockwaves to rumble.

Birds flew out of their canopies, and small animals hurried away from the epicenter of the fighting.

Eric panted and heaved. He stared back at Albert, whose eyes burned like two lumps of burning magnesium. Albert hadn't broken a sweat the entire time. Given how fast they were moving, he was barely panting as hard as Eric was.

"Well done, Albert, you did it. You pinned down one of the supernatural world's fastest creatures."

Albert continued to stare back at Eric, unmoved by his praise. He looked like he was lost inside his head or perhaps unable to break free from the grip of his power. Eric pulled out a peculiar feather from his pocket and threw it at Albert like a dart. The end of the feather stabbed him in his arm and incinerated after a few seconds. Albert's burning eyes faded, and his subtle glowing skin returned to normal. He released his grip on Eric and stumbled back, and fell to the ground.

"Oh God, my head," Albert groaned in discomfort.

Lisa and Indigo came rushing over to them. They were in the area and attracted by the commotion. Indigo wasn't sure what was going on, but Lisa knew all too well what was. The sound of fighting between two powerful beings was as familiar to her as the sounds of sex.

"Oh my God, Albert!" Indigo cried. She rushed over to Albert lying down on his back.

The practice bout with Eric dirtied and peppered Albert's clothes with holes and took all the energy right out of him. Indigo placed his head down on her laps and cradled his head in her arms. Albert looked up and gazed into her eyes smiling.

"Hey babe, how's it going. Don't worry about me. Eric and I were just training."

"Albert? Albert! You did this to him!" she barked towards Eric.

"Indigo, it's okay. This fight is part of the reason why I agreed to come here," Lisa chimed. She walked over to them and sat down beside Indigo. She caressed the side of her son's face, eliciting a satisfied sigh from him.

"You mean this is to help Albert train using his Elioud powers?"

"Precisely," Lisa said, "based on what happened between him and me including with other beings, he needs to properly learn how to utilize and control his power and abilities. And Eric here agreed to help."

Indigo looked at Eric and watched the young man's body cloak in blue electrical energy that snapped and crackled.

"You have a mighty son, Mrs. DeSanto," Eric said.

"Please call me Lisa, no need for formalities when talking with me. And yes, I do know I have a mighty strong son; how strong exactly is your job to find out."

"But Lisa, if you want Albert to master his Elioud powers, why not just train him yourself?" Indigo asked her.

"I do not know about training anyone; for me, using my powers comes as naturally as breathing. I wouldn't be able to train someone who has no clue how to use powers. It was hard enough raising a child by myself, but I prefer to let others who are like him help him reach his maximum potential because I can't relate to him as much as I want to."

Indigo looked down at her man and understood what Lisa was saying; it made sense for a half-breed to help another. Still, she felt like he would benefit if he learned directly from who he got his powers.

"She's right, Indigo, but do you know another reason why she can't train her son?" Eric asked.

Indigo shook her head. "Because if he loses control, she will need to exert her will over him and force him into submission until his power stabilizes or he regains control on his own. It's violating for both the trainer and trainee. If he lost control or was unable to snap out of the state of power he was in, I am perfectly capable of performing a ritual to either help him navigate out of his power or force him back to his senses. Isn't that right, Lisa?"

Indigo turned to Lisa and saw her nod with a knowing look in her eyes.

Eric powered down and returned to normal. "Listen, there's a private bathhouse that always has hot clean water inside of it. I recommend taking Albert there to help him relax and let his spirit settle since it has healing properties not found in normal water. This water is one of my reservation's secrets." He marked down the location on a small map of the park and handed it to Indigo.

**DeSanto Campsite**

Indigo sat at a bench near the motorhome, eating and drinking and searching the web on her phone. She waited outside the motorhome while Lisa spoke to Albert inside. In the meantime, she searched up everything she could about the Yakama Indians and who they were.

Albert laid in bed inside the motorhome with his mother sitting next to him. She was smiling and caressing the side of his face, brushing her fingers through his dark brown hair. Seeing him lying down exhausted brought back memories of when he was younger and coming home from soccer practice.

Albert was crazy about becoming a soccer player. Given his matrilineal heritage, he had already heightened human physical abilities and always outran and evaded the fastest kids on the playing field. When he wasn't playing soccer, he was singing and playing instruments for a small Mariachi band. He discovered the love of Mexican music when he listened to a song called 'entre el Amor y yo.' He would always sing it to her when she felt down after a long workday. His singing and his passion always brought her to tears of love.

"Are you feeling better, baby?"

"I'm feeling much better, mom. I wasn't expecting my first training session to be so fast-paced and exhausting. My muscles are aching, and my head feels like two nails are screwing into my temples. Oh mom this feels so awful."

"I'm sorry darling. Would you like me to heal you?"

"Thank you for that, mom, but I want to keep this pain. I finally feel like I'm on the road to developing control over this power."

"Do you? I'm happy for you, baby."

"I learned something else, mom. Eric told me my power ties to my emotions and that whenever something agitates, my power explodes out of me like a raging inferno. I nearly let it consume me when he told me you had a history in the reservation. He said the people here gave you comfort in the ancient past. I was so mad thinking about another man or woman having their way with you."

"It is true that when I first arrived here, I received food and drink and a place to live in. There was this young man that caught my eye. We dated for a few months. He taught me how to fish, grow my food, and learn the sounds of each animal in the region. Then I met a young girl from a neighboring tribe who caught my attention. I broke his heart by sleeping with her behind his back. He discovered my affair from one of his tribesmen who were in a canoe on a river bordering the territory of the neighboring tribe. Then I returned to him and broke the woman's heart in turn."

Albert blushed, hearing her story and appreciated her sharing it with him. "While I was inside my head, at least that's where I think I was. There were two competing voices vying for my attention. The first voice was sweet and encouraging and sounded like a man's voice, and the other was hateful, cunning, and deceitful. The second voice sounded like yours, mom. She told me things that you still haven't told me and would never share with me even if I asked you. It made me so upset that my power exploded out of me in an uncontrollable rage."

"You know who that voice is, don't you, baby?" she asked him.

"No, mom. Who is she?"

"She's my fallen nature, the side of me that is everything I don't want to be. I did more than seal your own power when I got pregnant with you. I also sealed her away from taking root inside your mind. When I fell, my divine nature flipped and became corrupted. It knows everything about me and will do anything it can to cause you to lose control. This outcome is the primary reason why the Nephilim turned out the way they did. They inherited the fallen nature of their fathers, and that is why they turned into monsters. No matter what she tells you or what she says about me, you can ask me anything you want to know and I will answer you."

"I know I shouldn't get mad, but I'm jealous. I don't want anyone having sex with you. I'm sorry mom, please forgive my selfishness—"

Lisa straddled him and kissed him, wiping his tears away from under his eyes.

"Baby, please don't cry. I don't want to be the reason for your tears. God condemned me to lust after the flesh of both men and women, but after the soul-breaking orgasm back at Kinowa's palace, my lust, for the first time in my immortal life has been satiated. You can't imagine the joy and relief I felt when it was my baby boy who satiated my lust. It's not entirely gone, but I feel like I can go a whole week without having sex."

"Do you mean that mom"

"Yes, sweetheart."

"I guess I have to do something about your evil side lurking inside of me before I can fully master this power I inherited from you. I must conquer it in order to be able to use as much or as little of it without any pushback. I think I should train a little more with Charles while I'm here training with Eric also. He already helped me on a few occasions when I wanted to tap into my power."