Veiled Read Free Page B

training for
frivolous things like these. But Henry simply didn’t care; he loved
every gadget in the universe and wanted to know how it
worked.
    “ This bad habit of
stealing technology from other worlds will catch up to you some
time,” I said sagely, but no one listened to me. They were all too
excited about the device to pay me any attention.
    I could see Dane, Valerie,
and Nancy flying toward us in the distance. They looked serious,
like something bad had happened, so I flew ahead to catch up to
them.
    “ What’s wrong?” I asked
before they could say anything. They looked at me strangely for a
moment, and then Dane smiled a little. I hated that…I knew what he
was thinking too, “Oh…how cute, her gift is
developing. She can sense our moods.”
    I pursed up my lips and was
just about to complain when Nancy said, “Well, this is it! It’s
time for us to get serious.”
    “ About what?” Russell
asked.
    “ If you had stayed after
the council you would know!” she scolded and fixed her gaze on
Russell.
    “ What?” Russell asked
looking around him for answers. “What did I do now?”
    Ignoring him completely,
Valerie explained that after the council disbanded, a group of
rebels took some undecided spirits prisoner.
    “ What? How?” Alex
inquired.
    “ The rumor is that before
the council they selected a few uninhabited planets, and they were
planning to use those as either prisons or training grounds for the
rebellion.” Dane responded with his usual calm. “Some rebels didn’t
even show up to the council, they stayed behind to be ready when
the prisoners came.”
    “ But how are they keeping
the spirits imprisoned?” Alex asked; his eyebrows were knitted
together.
    “ We heard that they have a
means of torture that keeps spirits rooted.” She shook her head.
“But we are not entirely sure of all the details yet. That’s why
there have been rallies organized where we will be instructed
further,” Nancy said.
    “ And that’s where we were
headed when we found out half our clan was missing!” Valerie said,
irritated.
    “ We were worried,” Dane
added. “We thought…”
    “ That we had been taken?”
Celeste finished.
    We stood in perfect silence
for a long time, realizing for the first time how real this whole
mess was. Then a wild thought crossed my mind. What could happen to
us if we were tortured? Surely a spirit couldn’t die, or get
hurt?
    “ A spirit can’t die—can
it?” I asked.
    The clan looked at me, but
they stood silent. “Well…can it?” I insisted.
    Dane looked around at us,
and when no one answered he continued, “Yes, a spirit can die.” He
said in his most solemn voice.
    All eyes were on him now.
“How do you know that? Valerie asked.
    “ I’ve been studying this
particular topic for some time. There have been instances when
spirits have, in a way…died. They still exist—you can never cease
to exist, and perhaps that’s the worst punishment—but it’s called
Perdition. When spirits or mortals purposely and knowingly go
against the Eternals, and deny what they know to be right and
true…then they have to live out the rest of eternity in a state of
perdition. You might remember that Michael made mention of a group
of spirits who tried the Second One’s plan before and failed.
Well…they are the ones that are in perdition now.”
    “ But what does that mean?
What is that condition?” Alex asked.
    “ It means they will
forever remain completely cut off from the Eternals and in essence
they die. It is hard to explain what it’s like to be completely cut
off…I’m still trying to understand it myself, but it basically
condemns one to never evolving beyond a spirit like substance—and I
hear that is brutal after you have had a body.
    “ It also means that all
the light, truth, and enjoyments are gone, along with all natural
love and peace that we get pleasure from now. Imagine never
laughing because you are happy, never feeling peace of mind,