Soul Dust by J. A., N. S. (best novels to read .txt) đ
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âThat Iâm a lady magnet, sirâ, he answered confidently as ever.
Some people laughed, even the older members.
âSame hereâ, dad said, âbut we donât like to brag, do we⊠What rank would a comedian like you consider himself?â
âIâd quite like your rank, sirâŠâ, he answered.
Dad face palmed. âRank 15, and now get lost, before I change my mindâ, he sighed without looking at Alex at again.
Alex came back and dropped into his seat. âHow was I?â, he asked.
âPushing your luck a bitâ, I answered amusedly, âWhat is your mum going to say about your answers?â
âSheâll be so proudâ, he answered and lounged back.
I looked around. The people seemed quite entertained, apart from one blonde woman who was staring at Alex.
âHey, Alex⊠Isnât that woman with the angry face your mum?â, I grinned.
He followed my glance. âOh⊠shitâ, he said, ducking.
I shook my head and paid attention to what was going on on the stage again. It was Jason Slaterâs turn. No one really liked him, he was a thug with thug friends and above-average stupid. Dad had just asked him about his behaviour.
âIâd say my behaviour was very good, sir.â
I could tell it wasnât. And so did my dad. He took out the paperwork again.
âWell, here it says something different. Do you know our rules about lying, Jason?â
ââLying to higher ranked kindred must be punished. The punishment will be decided by the deceived kindred.ââ, he quoted and went pale.
âI think you owe us an apologyâ, said dad.
We all laughed. This made up for all the insults he had thrown at us over the last few years. On the other hand I really felt sympathy though. Very, very little sympathy.
âRepeat what I say: âIâm incredibly sorry and promise to never do it again. Apart from that the rank 20 is the best.â
Jason stutteringly repeated the apology and went red. At least he got an applause when was done.
âWhich rank would you consider yourself?â, asked dad, smiling again.
âI donât knowâŠâ, he stammered, still dumbfounded.
âYou may go⊠Rank six. This was the last new member. Weâre going to have a ten minute break now and then weâll continue.
Jason hurried off the stage; and as soon as the speech was over, we got up and I noticed Alexâs mum quickly coming over to us.
âAlexander!â, she hissed.
Alex turned around and I could see his big grin disappear.
âHow dare you talk like that to the rank 20âŠâ, she said but then seemed to notice that I was standing next to Alex.
âOh hello, JoshuaâŠâ, she said a bit quieter.
Then she grabbed Alexâs arm and dragged him away. I could see them argue on the other side of the room where no one could hear them. After something he said, I could see her slap him, softly but angrily. As a reaction, Alex just laughed and went away.
âHey, naughty boyâ, I grinned, âDid mummy beat you up?â
He rolled his eyes. âThat was actually the hardest slap sheâs ever given me.â
Behind him, I could also see Rileyâs and Mattâs mums, hugging and kissing their kids, which they obviously found awkward, especially Riley, who was way taller than his mum. With a height of 1.9 he simply was a giant.
âOh, my two favourite mums in the worldâ, said Alex and grinned.
I understood what he meant. Rileyâs and Mattâs mums were rather⊠attractive.
âLook at that black dress Ms Adams is wearingâŠâ, whispered Alex, âI think we should go over to them.â
We both went over to Matt and Riley who didnât seem very pleased about our company.
âHi Ms Adamsâ, said Alex with his good boy voice, âYouâre looking stunning tonight.â
She looked at us and smiled happily. âHello, Joshua, AlexanderâŠâ
âPleaseâ, Alex interrupted her, âYou know you can call me Alex.â
âOkay, Alex. You can call me Emma as wellâ, she replied and winked at him.
Alex and I both grinned at Riley. Even though he normally was laidback, he looked like he was about to pull either his mum or us back now.
âI really like the dress youâre wearingâ, I said innocently.
âGuysâŠâ, Riley muttered.
âThank you, Joshuaâ, she said, and after a short break âI should probably go back to my boyfriend now.â
Alex and I both were speechless for a few seconds.
âHave funâ, Alex said more or less sarcastically.
She just smiled and then turned on her heels and left.
âPlease stop molesting my mumâ, Riley begged, seeming really desperate.
âIâm not molesting herâ, stated Alex, âYour mum is either really naĂŻve or she really wants me.â
Riley seemed to be getting really angry now. âFunny. How would you like it if I did this to your mum?â, he asked.
Alex laughed out loud. âHave fun. Maybe she gets a bit more relaxed then.â
I was about to laugh, but then I realised who the blonde woman standing behind Alex was. His mum was back.
âWhat is that supposed to mean?â, she asked indignantly.
Alex closed his eyes. âIs itâŠ?â, he asked.
âYepâ, I grinned back at him.
âOne more wordâ, she threatened, âAnd weâll send you to that boarding school in Latvia!â
âFineâ, Alex laughed, âThe further away from you, the better.â
âOh hi, Mrs Kingsleyâ, Riley interrupted the conversation, âYou look good.â
Alexâs mum focused on Riley now, so she calmed down a little and a smile actually played around her lips. A few words from Riley, and the day was rescued.
âThank you, Rileyâ, she said and then turned to Alex, âAt least your friends have manners.â
The lights were dimmed again, so we said goodbye to Alexâs mum and went back to our seats.
âI told you sheâd relax if you started hitting on herâ, Alex said to Riley with a grin.
This time not only my dad but the whole council came onto the stage. Apart from my dad they all looked serious. They were all rank 19, so maybe they thought they werenât allowed to be as happy as my dad.
âWelcome backâ, dad said, âIâd like all new members to come onto the stage together now.â
Everyone got up, and I was obviously the first one to go up as the others seemed a little bit scared of me.
When we were all on the stage, we were told to stand in a line.
âYou will be receiving your marks nowâ, said dad, âand as you know, you get to decide where. But be warned: wherever it is, I will have to touch you there. So no fooling around, Alex.
I could hear Alex laugh and just imagine how angry his mum was right now.
"Anyway, I would like you to come forward now please starting alphabetically with Riley Adams" dad stated. Thank goodness he wasn't using our ridiculous long names again. Most people decided to have their marks on their forearms and necks, including Riley, Matt had his on his shoulder and Alex wanted his on his upper chest.
The marks looked like tribal tattoos, and for each rank another ornament was rewarded. Therefore my dadâs tattoo was the coolest, and Jasonâs was the lamest.
"So son" he began, "where do you want yours?"
"Can I have mine here?" I asked, pointing at the left side of my neck, a little below my ear.
"Haha" he chuckled, "good choice" and pulled his collar down a little to reveal that his was in the same place.
He touched my neck and I suddenly felt a warm feeling around the area I had just pointed to until it began to burn and then quickly cool down again. Now it felt like before, there was no pain at all.
After that, we were allowed to leave the stage again. Alex and Matt seemed to feel even cooler that before, now that they had real âtatsâ.
âI want to see what it actually looks likeâ, Alex said, âCan I see yours, Josh?â
Without waiting for an answer, he pushed my head to the side to reveal my tattoo.
âNice! Itâs probably a bit bigger than mine, but if it looks similar to thisâŠâ
Riley and Matt wanted to see it as well, so I was pushed forth and back.
âIf you want to see it so badly, why didnât you get it somewhere you can actually see it?â, I muttered but let them push me around.
âCan I have your attention please?â
A woman from the council stood at the podium. She was so small that I could barely see her behind it.
âThe council would like to make two announcements before you leave. Firstly, as the first bestowal requires a lot of focusing and is rather private, weâre asking all parents to do this for the first time with their children when they are back home. Secondly, they will also be receiving their gift. Weâd like you to introduce them to it and remind them of the rules again. Thank you.â
The woman went back to the other council members again and my dad rose to speak again.
âThank you all for coming. I hope we will meet again soon for conferences or other celebratory occasions. Have a good journey home.â
Everyone clapped for a long time, then we got up and slowly made our was to the double-winged door again.
âI canât wait to get my abilityâ, said Alex, âI think Iâm getting this calming thingâŠâ
He was right. The ranks six to ten would receive the ability to tell whether someone was lying, Rank eleven to 15 â including Riley, Matt and Alex â would receive the ability to calm people and everyone above rank 15 â apart from the rank 20 â would receive the ability to change peopleâs actions by telling them what they actually wanted. Only the rank 20 had all of the mentioned abilities and some additional ones no one but the rank 20 himself was too sure about.
Matt, Alex and Riley were all taken home by their parents soon after and they were all excited so I didnât blame them wanting to get home⊠apart from Alex anyway.
I found my dad talking to a few of the well-dressed council members near the stage, when he saw me he beckoned me over and introduced me to the older woman and man.
âMy sonâ he began, as any proud father would, âwhat a son⊠just like his dadâ I smiled a little, but wasnât sure why. It wasnât like I appreciated the attention.
âHe did, very well up there, it must make you proud to have such a high achieving sonâ the woman commented.
âSorryâ the man apologised, âWe havenât introduced ourselves â I am Max and this is Julia; we are both part of the councilâ. Well, no kidding.
Dad could tell that I wasnât happy in the situation, so a final comment of âweâd best head off now for the bestowalâ had them nodding and scampering off to the rest of the council.
When we got outside, the valet was already waiting with the car and sort of shaking. My dad strolled up to him, âYou havenât been breathing near my car, have you?â he warned the valet.
The valet just stood there, frozen, and slowly closed his mouth as he handed dad the keys and shook his head.
âGoodâ my dad smiled, âHere.
Then he threw the keys across the car to me. âTry not to scrape itâ, he winked.
I was gobsmacked, I had never known him to be like this, but I guess he was just in a really good mood and tired at the same time, either way, I was very quick to get inside and start it up. Iâll be honest; the ride home wasnât the fastest, nor the shortest, but I managed not to bump into anything and a lovely surprise was awaiting me when I arrived home, in a very large box which had been gift wrapped.
âThere you goâ, dad smiled, âAs I promised⊠Maybe you can get a lady with it, he chortled, amused with his own joke.
I am not too sure whether I had been quicker to get into or out of the car, but I was surely so excited with the recent events that I thought my heart would pop out of my chest and run off while I was still opening the âparcelâ.
I sprinted over to the parcel and
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