Melina slowly opened her eyes, tired from trying to control the flow of energy inside her. Her brain felt fuzzy and her body ached as through she had done several intense workouts in the last couple of hours.
But as she looked at the clock hanging on the brick wall across from her, she saw that only five minutes had passed. She sighed, a little upset with herself, but it was her best time yet. Her process had been slow over the past two days and they had only been doing control techniques thus far.
Her first theory lesson was going to be in the afternoon and while she was excited for it, she didn't know if she was going to be able to get through it. Her body was begging for a long hot shower and bed.
Melina raised her arms in the air and stretched them. As she placed them back down, she turned to see Jason was doing pull ups. Noticing that Melina had stop her control exercise, Jason did one last pull up before letting go of the bar and dropping to the matted ground.
"Tired?" Jason asked, as he grabbed a small, white towel and two bottles of water from a nearby table.
The room they were inside was a kitted-out gym with the latest equipment. If Melina haven't known any better, she would have thought her brothers were gym nuts. They were in a way but they only were crazy about physical training because it helped them with their power.
"Yeah, my body is aching everywhere." Melina sighed, slowly getting up from the yoga mat she'd been sitting on. "I just want to sleep."
Jason laughed as he walked towards Melina. "Well, you can only take a hot shower for now. And maybe start doing some physical training."
"Physical training? Like the workout you were doing?" Melina asked, silently wishing for her brother to say no.
"Kind of." Jason replied, handing Melina a cold bottle of water he had grabbed earlier. Twisting the cap off his own, he continued, "But you're probably better off doing swimming or running than what I was doing. You need to build stamina to get better at controlling and using your powers."
"Is it necessary? I mean, could I just keep doing what you taught me?"
"You could but it'll take you much longer to get to the level of control you need to actually use your powers."
"How much longer?"
"Five to ten years maybe? Depends on how fast you can increase your time controlling your power."
Melina pouted, hating the thought of doing physical exercise. It was never really her thing, she'd much rather read or play games, but at the same time, the thought of not being any to use her powers for years was something she didn't like too.
"I guess I could start doing some stamina building." Melina sighed, taking a sip of water. "By the way, why did you teach me this method if stamina building was the faster method."
"Because father thought you wouldn't like the idea of doing stamina building." Jason replied as he took a sip of water.
"But how would-"
"Your gym marks."
Melina cringed. She couldn't believe her father knew about her gym marks. But then again, if he knew so much while she was living with relatives, then knowing about her school marks was nothing really.
It wasn't like she was embarrassed about her school marks, being an A+ student and all, but gym and physical exercise had always been her downfall. And now she was starting to regret not paying closer attention to her gym. Just a little at least.
"Anyway, Melina, I suggest you go shower before lunch. You only have ten minutes left." Jason said, interrupting her thoughts.
Melina looked at the clock again and saw that her brother was right. She thanked her brother before quickly grabbing a towel and her bag with her toiletries she had left on a nearby bench. She then headed for the showers at the back of the gym room.
Locking the door behind her, she removed her clothes and turned on the shower, letting the room misted up. Hopping inside, she let the hot water run over her body, letting it relieve her aching muscles.
***
"As you know all demons living on Earth come from one of the seven clans. Clans are decided by the Demon Prince who sired them and their related power. Now if you look at the book in front of you, you'll see that it has seven animals in a different colored circle."
Melina looked down at the old leather book on the table. It was the same one her father had given her when she had first arrived at the mansion and had learnt about their family secret.
"Now you know that each animal and color represents each clan and ours is the peacock." Her father continued, pointing at the peacock. "And that our power is based on one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Pride."
Melina stared at the peacock which was in the center of the page. To the left was a dog, snake and lion. The right side meanwhile had a goat, pig and toad.
"You also know about how own power allows us to control and manipulate the emotion pride. Manipulation can vary from demon to demon, but yours will be quite powerful because you're from a direct line." Melina's father paused for a second, allowing for the information to sink in. He then continued, "Now, today we're going to look over the clans. It's best we go over clan lines and rules since you'll be starting school in four days time."
"Is there fighting among the clans?" Melina asked curiously.
With how her father had explained the co-existence of the demon clans and how they each controlled a part of the underworld, Melina had assumed they were at peace with each other. However, her father's face and tone of voice seemed to tell her otherwise.
"Yes and no. There is a power struggle going on among the clans however it's more like a cold war. We don't physically fight or have gang fights over territory like you see in the movies. It's more political I guess is the best way to put it." Melina's father explained.
"In other words, there are demons at school you can't associate with because it'll undermine the Rana's clan standing in the underworld." Kai added, looking up from an old book he was reading.
Melina's father glared at Kai from across the round table and said, "I see your sister's lecture is more interesting than that book I've assigned you to read. I suggest you ask Andrew for some more reading material on the topic. We have some books that could use translating."
Melina soon realised that her father's 'request' wasn't one but actually an order. Especially after hearing Kai groan out loud, turning back to his book. James turned his attention back to Melina and pointed at the image of the lion.
"This is the symbol for the Masan Clan, one of our allies. They descend from Aamon, whose sin is wrath." James then pointed to the image of the dog. "As for other ally, that is for the Jameson Clan who are descendants of Leviathan. Their power is envy."
Melina looked at the other for images. "Are the other four clans our enemies then?"
"No. Not all of them are." James pointed at the snake. "The Tasha clan and Beeton clan are both neutral. However, that term is loosely used. The Tasha clan is the snake clan and their demon is Asmodeus, so their power is lust. However don't let their power fool you. They are happy to help whoever gives them the most benefits. They are sly demons, so while we are on good terms with them, be very careful around them. They'll be happy to stab you in the back all while smiling at you."
James then pointed at the goat image. "As for the Beeton clan, well like their power of sloth, they are too lazy to get involved with any of the clan fighting. They are descendants of the demon, Belphegor."
Melina stared at the images, trying to process everything her father had just told her. She soon noticed that the toad and pig were the only clans left.
"Are these two the enemies then?" Melina asked, pointing at each image.
"Yes, the Parker and Charleston clan are our enemy clans. They both are power hunger and are not to be trusted, no matter how kind one acts in front of you. The Tasha clan may be sly, however I'd deal with them any day over those other clans.
"The Parker clan are descendants of Mammon and have the power of greed. Meanwhile, the Charleston clan are descendants of Beelzebub and their power is gluttony. Have you understood everything so far?" Melina's father asked, looking at her. "It's a lot of information to process in a short space of time so if you have any questions feel free to ask me."
Melina thought for a second before asking, "How do I know which clan a demon comes from?"
"Ah… I see I forgot to explain that. You'll learn in time to recognize traits and faces, but for now, you'll be fine at school as all students wear a badge with a symbol of their clan's association."
"Does that mean, I'll be wearing a uniform to school then?"
"Yes. Andrew said yours will be arriving soon since uniforms are custom made to your clan and species." James paused for a second, closing the leather book. "Anyway, I think that's enough for today's lesson. You've learnt a lot and it'll take time to memorize everything. For now go over that rule book I gave you as well as the student guidebook in your room."
"Okay."
James nodded his head and got up. Looking at Kai, he said, "Make sure to ask Andrew about those books and to help your sister with understanding how school works."
James then turned away and left the room, even before Kai could reply. Kai sighed before he turned to Melina.
"Lina, I heard you did well in Latin."
"Yes.."
"Help a guy out." Kai pointed at his book and smiled. "Your lessons are shorter than mine and I could use the help. It'll also prepare you for your lessons."
""Really Kai…"
"Come on, please."
Melina sighed. "Fine but I'm warning you, my Latin is introductory level. I only started taking it two months ago."
"That's fine with me."