Midgard

My face had turned away from the screen, my eyes finding Jamie’s. He was pale, lips quivering, frowning so tight his thick eyebrows were almost touching. Shame and devastation was all I could see. Another sick feeling. This time it was worse. He processed his thoughts, too fast for me to hear, and his face was horrified, disgusted. It was the girl. He knew her. I knew her. We all did. No, no, no. I paid closer attention to the sounds emanating from his head. I’d never had to concentrate so hard on him, usually he was clear and open. All I could hear was word salad. Holly, Mathew, Yarden, John… They’d all started to calm and think rationally, but us? We couldn’t. It felt like my insides were being dragged out of my body. Finally, he spoke; the words tripped over themselves.

“That... was my sister...” his face fell. Everyone knew, now. There was no hiding. He leant backwards, moving away from the back of the armchair. He walked to the counters, over by Holly, and leant over the cold cabinets instead. “I... She... My sister is a murderer... She... I… We… Something…” Clearly upset. No one pried for more information. They got the idea. He couldn’t string a sentence together, he was in shock. He sighed, exasperated and tired. Holly gripped his arm and shoulders, holding him upright. Yarden and Mathew moved the chairs, accommodating him, seating him carefully. They thought he was the First Born, and his sister the Second.

He looked fragile and weak; I touched his shoulder, covered by clothing, in a reassuring manner. John passed him a cup of lemonade, urging him to drink it. He complied. Without even looking at me, I heard someone screaming inside my head, I flinched at first; I wasn’t expecting it. The screaming continued for several seconds. I knew who the voice belonged to, but why all the screeching? Words spun around my head, none of which were mine. Thoughts of family and friends, words and phrases not meant for me, images of the scene we all just witnessed over and over. Then the sentence I was meant to hear.

Gather the House of Anundr! I looked at where the voice came from, a little startled by volume of her mind. I frowned at her; I didn’t like it when she projected her whole mind into my own. Holly could never grasp projecting just one thought – it had to be all of them at once or none at all. I stood to leave the room while the others tended to Jamie. A brisk walk carried me down the hallway quickly, accidentally bumping into students and faculty alike. It didn’t matter – not now. I passed dorm rooms filled with groups of youngsters packing their bags ready to leave. I could have wept for them. I recognised a few faces that passed me by, grabbing onto their arms to stop them.

“Have you seen Göll? Please, have you seen him?” No answers, just shaking heads and shrugging shoulders. We were panicked and scared; the whole building was a mess of feelings and tensions – anger, betrayal, sadness, and fear. I squeezed past as many people as I could, rushing to find the loudest person I knew. I didn’t know his mind; I couldn’t listen out for him, I had to find him manually. He would be here, in our House quarters, somewhere. “Göll! Göll, please, where are you?” In the midst of the hustle, a hand touched me from behind. I turned quickly, and there he was. Göll. I smiled in relief. To see his face I had to lean by head nearly against my back – he was tall and fair with a lot of brawn. He grinned as I waved my arms in the air. Large, strong hands picked me up and put me over his shoulder. He took us out the way of the crowds, setting me down on my feet once more.

I nodded thankfully, and began my question. “If I may, I’d like to borrow your voice?” He laughed, bellowed – sounding like the horn on a steam train; his way of saying yes. “Please, gather our House.” He laughed again, my ears rung with the sound. The walls vibrated and shuddered. We both noticed the room wasn’t faring too well. He pointed to the nearest window, I knew what he meant. He left abruptly, being his loud but quiet self. I wobbled away, my head still ringing, in the opposite direction as fast as I could; I had forgotten how loud he was. Minutes passed, and the walls began to tremor in anticipation of his voice.

“HOUSE OF ANUNDR; GATHER.” There was no doubt in my mind the whole school heard his announcement. I could go back to my friends proudly; I was told to gather the house, and gather they would.

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“Okay, okay...” Jamie was stood at the front of the room, with all members of the House sitting in front of him, watching him, waiting for him to begin the meeting. “House Rules apply from now on. All information shared is strictly confidential to this House and this House only.” A chorus of ‘Agreed’ chimed around the room, and so it began. He let out a nervous, long breath. His throat trembled, his whole body trembled. But he was here now, he had to continue. I’d gone to the effort of getting Göll to summon everyone; there was no backing out now. I saw Göll at the back, and waved my hand at him. He waved back, accidentally hitting someone in the process. I ignored the two men talking it out, and looked back over to Jamie. His face still looked a pale. He had every right to be scared. He had no idea how anyone would react. He sat himself on a chair just behind him, trying anything to calm or suspend telling the group of his sisters outburst. “The girl we have all seen or heard of on the television…”

A few clapped, but when they heard how few felt this way the sound soon stopped. Groans and moans could be heard, whispering behind Jamie’s authoritative voice. “She is my sister.” He shut his eyes, ready for the onslaught. Silence at first, but soon after the gasps came. Whispering, chattering, laughter. Laughter? Once Jamie reopened his eyes he continued. “That was the confidential part. As we might have guessed, she has to be stopped before she gets carried away and hurts someone we actually care about. The only question is; how are we going to stop her? As you all may have noticed she is a teleporter. She can also phase, which, believe me, is a real problem.” He got a few laughs, managed to lighten the mood, ease their minds some.

He was less nervous, feeling more free and liberal with the discussion. He spoke easily, words flowing through his body like waves. “I don’t know how to stop her... But I want the word spread that she will not be alone. She could not have done this herself. If you know anyone who would be willing to help me find her, please, tell them to come to me.” He nodded once, and looked around to see if anyone else had anything to say.

A small girl, no older than nine, at the back stood and raised her hand. She was meek, and waited patiently until Jamie noticed her. He pointed, and gestured for her to stand and speak. She cleared her throat as she stood, and stroked her hands down her dress to make it look neat.

“She’s your sister, are you sure you want to do this?” she sat back down, she’d said what she had to. Jamie thought for a second, you could almost see scenarios flying behind his eyes. A second or two passed. He smiled a small smile. Charming, delightful, irresistible. “She’s family; she’ll understand.”