The Gifted Ones: A Reader by Maria Elizabeth Romana Page B

an eyebrow, “Defensive arts…”
    Angel shrugged. “He means ass-kicking. They call us Defenders.”
    Ellie nodded, taking it all in, then asked tentatively, “So, why are you so sure I have this gene? I’m not good at anything.”
    “Sweetheart, you’re plenty good at a lot of things,” Grace said. “And you definitely have the gene. Your mom and I, we had you tested when you were little. But as far as your Gift…well, we just don’t know yet. The Gift will manifest at different ages for different people, usually sometime in adolescence or the teen years, but sometimes earlier, sometimes later. It depends on the environment and the life experiences—”
    Granny eyed Ellie knowingly. “Your mother was an early bloomer. She whizzed through all the high school science courses and half the collegiate curriculum by the time she was your age.”
    Grace threw her an angry look. Could the old woman not see Ellie’s insecurities? The kid already felt like a failure compared to her genius scientist parents. Her Gift would show itself when the time was right. Why not just let her be a happy-go-lucky teenager in the meantime? That was just one reason she knew, no matter what this place and these people had to offer, that she had to get Ellie out of here and re-establish a normal life for her niece.
    “Look, chica, I never knew I had any special abilities, either—until I needed ’em one day. I was fifteen, this skinny little string bean, and some creep tried to hurt my baby brother. All of a sudden, I turn into Wonder Woman.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that. I got angry, scared, knew I had to save him, and I started kicking and scratching and throwing punches, and, next thing you know, this big ol’ ugly dude is laying on the sidewalk, groaning and bleeding, and a crowd of people are staring at us. A few days later, this stranger walks up to me,” she pointed at Joe, “and offers me a new life. That was over ten years ago, and I’m still here.”
    “Wait, I don’t understand…” Ellie looked at Joe. “You found her? On the streets? How?”
    “It’s part of what we do here, El. We keep tabs on Gifted Ones all over the world.” He inclined his head toward Granny. “Granny has made it her life’s work to track the history and genealogy of Gifted folks. There are thousands of us around the world…that we know of. Undoubtedly, many more that we don’t.”
    “And she’ll be happy to tell you a-a-all about it, if you give her enough time,” added Grace, with a roll of her eyes.
    Granny made a sour face in response, but then turned toward Ellie. “You have to understand, Ellie, we don’t just do this out of curiosity. Our work is important, for a lot of reasons. Gifts can be misused, especially scientific ones or persuasive ones. Most of the Gifted strive to make the world a better place, to save lives, feed the hungry, help the environment, or just build a better mousetrap, but there are some who use their gifts for less benevolent purposes. Being gifted doesn’t make us immune to greed and lust and human frailty.” She pushed herself up from the chair and walked to the window. She stared out into the dark night for a moment, seemingly lost in another time and place, then turned back toward the group. She set her jaw. “We see it as our job to intervene, or at least try to intervene, when those things happen.”
    “But the best part is what goes on here,” said Angel, throwing her arms wide open. “This place is amazing. Gifteds from all over come here to study, to work together, to do research, and to teach. Like Willow, and Dr. Jameson, and Maya Petanu—she speaks twenty-four languages. Can you believe it? I only know two, and I’m not so good with those. And then there’s Dr. Draco, and Maury Swan, and—”
    “Wait a minute. How many people live here? The place doesn’t look that big.”
    Joe grinned. “You haven’t actually seen it all, Ellie. It’s, um, larger than it