I don't have wings, but I am flying through the blue sky. I could see the sunrise while I was still in the air through the cabin window, it was extremely beautiful.
I was flying for the second time in my life, to the city of Venice to meet my two new teachers.
Hearing the announcement that we would be landing soon, i took off my glasses, wrapped them in a cleaning tissue and put them in a small case.
I couldn't see very well without them, but there's only so much safety.
I buckled my seatbelt and waited while I looked out of the window. I could see the great sea and, in the distance, the city on the water, one of the wonders of engineering.
The sound of the plane's turbines was clear, but my ears focused on the sound of the air as the plane descended, 74.5 tons of steel descending from the sky and landing on earth, with little roses to contain its speed, it was exhilarating just to think about.
When the plane landed, I felt a thud and then it began to slow down. A minute and a half later, we were in the arrival area, I put my glasses back on and waited for the mess to stop.
"I don't understand why they're in such a hurry, they're all going to leave anyway" - I thought as I waited, grabbing from my backpack a letter of information i received about my teachers, unfortunately it didn't contain a description of their appearance.
"How am I supposed to find someone if I don't even know what they look like?" - That's not even the worst part, the last four students of these two died in promotion exams, of course, Aldwin became a knight in just 5 years, a record, but their other student is holed up in a random village in a forest in Norway!
"I'm screwed" - I thought and got up, grabbed my suitcase from the storage area above and went to the exit, a tunnel that led to another tunnel and then to an exit hall, there were several benches, a hot dog cart and, on the other side, a large window overlooking the sea.
I bought a hot dog and went to one of the benches closest to the window, where I sat down to watch the sea. It was 7:20 in the morning, the meeting time at the airport wasn't until 7:40, so I could give myself a bit of time.
The beautiful view of the sea was only compromised by one thing: the sea was beyond the airport runway, but it was still fun to see planes departing and arriving.
"I wonder how she's doing..." - I took my cell phone out of my pocket and turned it on. After 30 seconds, I opened a messaging app and sent one to someone, along with a photo of the sea in the distance, then I saw the time.
"7:38! Damn, I got too distracted!" - I screamed in despair and got up, grabbing my suitcase and running out of the arrivals area.
It took me 10 minutes to complete the immigration process, I was already late and I hadn't even met my teachers yet, I'm screwed! I desperately ran through the airport until I reached the outdoor parking lot, where we were scheduled to meet at 7:40, but it was already 7:48, what a shame, luckily the concealer shoes were working, so no one looked at me like I was crazy.
I walked around the parking lot looking for someone who looked like, I don't , an exorcist or a baptizer. How the hell was I supposed to find them!
I've seen people getting into cabs, others getting on a tourist bus, and some getting a lift from relatives, but nothing that looks like what I'm looking for.
"An?" - Something strange, it looked like an optical illusion. I focused my eyes in one direction to see better, my vision clearing on the target.
I could then see a tall man with brown hair and a green T-shirt, who was leaning on a car reading a gossip magazine. The car behind him was completely silver, but the wheels were strange, they looked like they were made of stones.
From a distance, I could identify the numbers 2, 4 and 8 in sequence on the wheel. In front of 2 there was a strange symbol that I didn't recognize.
As he was the only stranger there, I approached him, as he was probably one of the teachers.
The man raised his face, stopped reading the magazine and looked at me. I widened my eyes, the shoe didn't work for him, that's who I'm looking for!
Before I could take another step forward, the man moved his left hand and the door of the back seat of the car opened without being touched and he stared at me.
"Get in the car, Saulo, we are late" - he just opened the driver's door and got in the car without waiting for me to reply.
I swallowed dry, took courage and got into the car.
As soon as I closed the back door, my eyes almost popped out of my face, extreme nausea hitting me as the interior of the vehicle transformed.
From the outside, the car was a mere Fiat 147, an old and unimpressive car, but inside it was much bigger.
Leather seats were spread across the side of the vehicle, between the rear and the driver's seat, a small window separated the driver from the rest, a minibar was inside the two seats, and in the middle of the place was a box with my name written on it.
"What was that?..." - I settled into my seat, still dizzy, until the man's voice answered my question.
"I put this car together using Yesod, Binah and Hod, so it has a much larger interior than the outside, as well as altering the perception of those outside, very useful" - the man said with a proud tone, clearly pleased with his creation as he started the car's engine with the key.
"Oh, excuse my manners, my name is Seth, I'm an Exorcist and one of your two new teachers, nice to meet you" - the man began to drive out of the parking lot calmly as he spoke.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Seth, I'm Saul, an adept, I'll be in your care"
I got up and picked up the box.
"Before you open this, tell me, what is your specialty? Mine is in Kabalah" - I raised my face and looked at the glass, ashamed to answer.
"I... don't know how to do anything very well, unless you need me to break something..."
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I bowed my head in silence.
"That explains your low marks in the exam, you passed by half a point, didn't you?" - I lowered my head even more.
"Don't worry, we'll find something you know how to do" - he took a strange turn with the car and we left the street, I raised my face in fear.
"Sir, where are we going?" - I approached the front and looked through the driver's window, we were heading for the water.
With the greatest calm in the world, the man replied - "You noticed the symbols on the stone tires, didn't you?"
I didn't answer, I didn't even know they were, I sat down on a bench and fastened my seatbelt.
"That symbol was the Sefira Hesed, a symbol that governs the waters of the surface" - he stepped harder on the pedal and shifted into gear, accelerating towards the water.
"What are you getting at?" - I grabbed my suitcase and opened it, taking a piece of wood from one of the compartments. I felt the air go out of me, we jumped into the water, then a thud... where's the thud and the sound of water?
I looked out of the window and the car was moving quickly over the water, as if it were a solid concrete road.
"Using Hesed and the numbers 2, 4 and 8 in sequence, the tires of this car use water as a booster and road, managing to ride on it while the water itself provides movement, thus avoiding wasting gasoline and directly polluting the water" - he explained everything, and my mouth dropped open listening.
"How come I didn't hear about this before?" - I scratched my forehead, confused.
"Patent pending, take the objects in the box" - he replied as he drove, he seemed very used to driving on the waters of that sea.
Inside the box was a sheet of paper, a badge and a necklace with the word
Ö´Ö¼×Ö¸××Ö¹×× written on it. I read the text on the sheet of paper, a prayer. "What's that for?" I asked, confused.
"The necklace will let us know if you're safe and where you are, the paper is a prayer to apply to your glasses, the badge is a surprise" - I could see a little smile on his face.
I reread the passage a few times, it was Luke 22:19. "A prayer for memory?" - I thought aloud.
"Exactly, your problem was learning, so my sister has prepared something to solve it" - As he finished speaking, he took a sharp turn and almost fell off the bench.
"I see..." - I took my glasses off my face and held them in both hands, then started repeating the passage out loud while focusing on the glasses.
"This is my body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me" - once, nothing.
"This is my body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me" - a second time, nothing again.
"Kid" - I looked forward again when I heard myself being called.
"Close your eyes and think of them as your eyes" - he slowed down, probably to give me more time. The first lesson should be to be able to do this before we arrive at the apparent location.
"I can't fail the first lesson, I'm already a failure, my sister would laugh me for that" - I thought as I closed my eyes.
I squeezed the temples of my glasses with my fingertips, remembering my lessons, and took a deep breath.
In order to summon the power of a prayer, you must allow air to flow openly through your lungs. This is the minimum requirement to become a Priest.
With the air in my lungs, I began to repeat the Bible passage, the air coming out according to my words.
"This is my body, which is given for you" - I could feel a small source of light hitting my eyelids.
"Do this in memory of me" - the glare increased, I squeezed my eyelids shut tighter, but then I heard a scream.
"Put your glasses on!" - it was Seth's voice. As he commanded, I put the glasses on my face and then felt a great headache coming on.
For a moment, all the information I've ever absorbed in my life flooded into my mind at once: the day I was born, the time in the cradle, my first words, my sister's birth, me playing with friends in the village, memories flooded into my mind until they locked onto one scene.
My little sister was lying on the ground in front of a grotesque creature, a mixture of bones, soot and tree hooves, its eyes were green like poison, my sister's blood was dripping from its left hand.
Before I could say , a voice echoed through the place, a light appeared illuminating the dark, dense forest and a prayer was being chanted.
"Your word is the lamp that illuminates my footsteps and the light that clears my path" - the creature, the Lich, raised his hand and fired a blast of putrid energy, a death spell, but a slash of light tore that energy apart.
A tall, white-haired man wearing a cassock appeared. In his hands was a large halberd glowing like a torch. The man charged at the creature and then the scene was cut.
I found myself sitting in the car seat again, confused and with a lot of pain in my head, then I felt a crash from the car, we drove over a wave.
"Is everything all right? The memory prayer must have been too much for the first time" - Seth's voice was concerned, unfortunately he couldn't just stop the car in the water and help me.
"This... it's okay, just a few bad memories" - I sat down on the bench and picked up the sheet with the prayer, surprised at how powerful it was.
"Don't feel bad about it, it happens to everyone" - we were finally approaching land, at the moment we were circling a large straight island, I could see from a distance a sign that read Lido.
"The first time you apply this prayer, your memories come back all at once, even the ones you're trying to hide, the benefit is in improving your ability to remember" - we circle the island and make a right turn, then head straight on.
"Where are we going anyway?" - I looked out of the window and could see several houses, then we passed in front of a beach next to a casino.
"We're going to Fort Malamocco in Lido County" - I saw Seth stick his left hand out of the window, grab something and put it on the roof of the car. The sound of a police siren then echoed.
"There have been two murders, we've been tasked with investigating the body, we'll find my sister Cassiel at the scene" - he moved his left hand to his mouth, coughing as he covered it.
"Murder? Lucky me, my first day and I already have to deal with dead people!" - I thought as I settled back into the passenger seat. Realizing it was supposed to be a disguise, I clipped the badge onto my brown T-shirt.
After a few more minutes, we arrived at the edge of the Malamocco fort, a small two- lane harbor was expanding into the water, the car headed towards the dry land between the two harbors, climbing onto the land, the larger harbor was surrounded by police, there were four vehicles on site, and again my vision was obscured as I looked at something.
Seth parked the car next to the vehicles and got up from the driver's seat, getting out of the car.
He moved towards the obscured spot, I had to focus my eyes for a few seconds before I could see, then I saw a tall man with gray hair and skin wearing a cassock, I blinked twice.
The second thing I saw was a woman with red hair and a burnt face sitting on the grass. She was reading a ridiculous news magazine, and I managed to read on the cover something about UFOs in San Michele cemetery.
Next to her was a packet containing four pots of pudding. The redhead raised her face and looked at Seth and me, squinted her eyes and got up from the grass, picked up the package and walked over to us.
"You're late, there's time to start investigating, the civilians are almost finished" - the red-haired woman then stared at me.
"Is this the boy?" - I took a step back, afraid.
"Yes, sister, be kind to him, he managed to complete the first task" - Seth turned to me, a gentle smile on his face.
"With a pathetic result, apparently" - the redhead forced the magazine into Seth's arms and grabbed the glasses from my face. She whispered a few things, a faint golden light surrounded the glasses and she put them back on my face. I didn't have any memories flowing this time.
"Now eat this" - she handed me a pot of pudding, left one with Seth, went over to the gray man and handed him one too, then started eating hers.
"Should I ask?" - I stared at Seth, confused.
"The gray man is the gargoyle that protects the Basilica of St. George the Greater, his name is Assan" - Seth explained.
"I was going to ask about the pudding," I said awkwardly.
"A, my sister likes to start a job by eating some pudding" - he opened the pot and started eating with the plastic spoon, i just ate in silence.