In a voice laced with humor Zeke says, “Sure, Boss.”
A swift flick of his head and Malik levels me with a hard stare. “Let’s move on with training.” His eyes dare me to argue so instead I stay silent, an innocent widening of the eyes my only response. “As I said, today is all about determining the level and depth of your affinity. Draw the flames forward and keep them materialized until you can’t do so any longer.” I shakily nod my head, predicting that something will go wrong or I’ll somehow mess something up. “Start with a simple flame in your palm.”
I inhale a deep breath and steady my thoughts. I glance at both Malik and Zeke, only to find them both staring at me intently, expression unreadable. Zeke had even moved off the wall to stand beside Malik. Looking at the two of them standing shoulder to shoulder is unnerving but I refuse to show it.
I push away the thoughts and will my mind to empty of everything except the desire to materialize flames. I close my eyes hesitantly, afraid either talnarin will take that opportunity to strike. I feel for the energy inside my soul only to find it empty and hollow. Now that this feeling rushes through me, it’s all I can think about. How did I not notice the emptiness before now? It leaves such a gaping feeling inside my core that it’s impossible to focus on anything but making it go away. How did I miss this? Why is it missing? I fight through the panic and will my heart to calm. I breathe deeply once more and search further down.
There.
A faint stirring tickles my mind and I nearly jump for joy. I grasp the wisps of energy and pull tight. In a rush, the energy surges to the forefront of my soul and leaches out along my body. If I open my eyes, I’m certain my skin would glow softly. In my mind’s eye, I watch the energy reach for my palms. I snap open my eyes and watch as a small flame bursts out. A twitch to the corner of my mouth is the only outward indication of my excitement. I glance up and find Malik and Zeke exchange a strange look. In unison, they both turn their stares on me.
My flames die away as I startle and ask a hesitant, “What?”
Malik is the one to speak. He takes a step closer, a shadow of suspicion on his face. “Are you able to feel the energy in your core?”
My brows furrow and I shrug. “Yeah. Why?” The last word is coated in my own suspicion.
“When you reached for the energy, what did you feel?” Again, he takes another step forward.
I watch him closely as I say, “Well, at first I felt hollow until I dug deeper. Then-”
“Hollow how?” Malik interjects abruptly.
I pursue my lips as I think. “It felt empty inside. It’s hard to describe. It felt like I was missing something.” I look from Malik to Zeke who both wear guarded expressions as they eye me. “Why, is something wrong?” I shift on my feet nervously.
“So, you felt hollow and searched harder for the energy.” Malik moves a step closer. “How did you find it? When you felt it, was it weak or was it strong?”
I look rapidly between the two, confused. “It was weak until I pulled on it. Then the energy came rushing forward.”
Again, Malik and Zeke exchange that strange look, words passing between them silently. Malik turns towards me once more, expression blank. “And how about now? Is it still rushing through you or has it slowed or stopped completely?”
I pause.
“I can’t feel it.” A look at Malik confirms that something is wrong. His expression is both contemplative and cautious. I blurt, “What’s wrong with my energy? Why does it keep disappearing?” My voice is starting to get panicky and high.
Deep breaths Alanna. I inhale slowly.
Malik closes the last few paces between us and reaches out his hand. I startle back a step but he doesn’t let me go far. His hand clasps my neck gently and he gives a soft tug. Malik’s eyes search mine as he asks, “Do you feel any pain here when you call for your energy?”
“No. Should I?” I scratch my arm nervously and glance away.
Malik’s voice is soft, like his touch. His expression is one of open curiosity and amazement. “You should be crippled with pain and yet you’re not.” A smirk, the opposite of his usual mocking one, edges its way on his face. “It seems you have found a way to surpass the collar you still wear.”
Chapter 6
My hand flies to my neck and sure enough, it connects with cold metal. My mouth drops and my eyes widen in shock. Wasn’t this collar supposed to repress energy use? So why can I still use it? I stamper out, “Maybe… maybe it’s broken.”
And how can I even forget I’m wearing it in the first place?
“That hollow feeling you experience when reaching for your energy, that’s what the collar does. It blocks all sense of the energy inside a talnarin.” My fingers slowly trace the metal strap around my neck. “Not many can surpass the collar.” Malik’s eyes narrow as he scrutinizes me and steps back.
I look to Zeke and find open curiosity plastered on his face, like I’m a puzzle to be solved. “I wonder why a hybrid like yourself is one to do it, too.” There’s no hostility or anger in his voice, merely curiosity.
The two talnarins exchange looks, words passing between them as I look on, my irritation rising. They’re talking about me, so why shouldn’t I be included in that conversation?
Malik moves closer until he’s a few paces away and looks down at me. In a deep reverberating voice, he says, “I want to see how far you can go with it suppressing your energy. It’ll stay on until I judge it a good time for removal.” I open my mouth to protest but he cuts me off. “Call the flames again.”
I grit my teeth at the command and say, “But how am I surpassing the collar?”
“Those with… stronger affinities have the capacity to surpass the collars.” Malik rubs his hand against the back of his neck. “It’s uncommon, but it’s been known to happen to a few talnarins. It just means you’re a bit stronger than average. Satisfied?”
No. I don’t believe I’m stronger than the average talnarin. I’m not even full talnarin. How is this possible? I pursue my lips, a sudden thought coming to me. “Can you surpass a collar?”
Both Malik and Zeke tense minutely. If I hadn’t been watching closely, I would have missed it. Malik’s hand drops to his side and his face clears of all emotions. Voice ruff and abrupt, he says, “Yes. No more questions. Call the flames.”
I huff out a small breath. Fine. Clearly, I broached a subject not meant to be discussed. I shouldn’t be surprised. No one seems to want to keep me in the loop.
Without another word, I close my eyes and search the void that was once the core of my energy. Despite the hollowness I feel, I’m slowly adjusting to the gaping nothingness inside. It’s almost as if I am reverting back to who I was before the experiments. Without the constant heat and pressure at the center of my being, I almost feel human again. But, despite my reservations about the energy in the beginning, that energy has become a part of me. It’s a part of me I don’t want to lose.
I will my mind’s eye to delve deeper into my soul, and soon after, I feel the wisp of energy swirling inside me. I pull it out. Like before, a rush of energy flows through my body and I command it to materialize. I open my eyes and find a small silver flame floating just above the skin of my palm. Out of curiosity, I will the fire to coat my hand like a glove. The warmth I feel from the embers is soothing and the slight tickle of feel from the energy touching my skin leaves me a little giddy.
Finally, I drag my gaze up and connect with Malik. There’s a light in his eyes, one I had not seen before now. For some odd reason, I get the sensation that he’s proud. Maybe not of me, but of what I can do.
Voice uncharacteristically soft, he says, “Keep it materialized as long as you can or until I say to stop.” He glances down at my hand. “Make yourself more comfortable, we could be here for some time.”
I remain standing for a while longer, not wanting to sit with the two talnarins towering over me. Eventually, Malik moves to lean against the wall, mirroring Zeke’s earlier position. Zeke
himself takes a seat in the sand, back against the wall. All the while, both talnarins don’t bother hiding the fact that they kept their eyes on me the entire time. With a huff, I plop down in the sand, little grains jumping to life at the action. I rest my hands over my knees, making sure to keep the fire away from my clothes.
I mumble a ‘now we wait’ under my breath and settle in more comfortably.
*******
Eventually the sun sinks below the horizon, the sky turning orange and red. At some point during training, I collapsed into the sand and remained curled up until now. My body aches in places I didn’t know could ache, and my limbs feel like they are bogged down with thick mud. My head pounds in tandem with my heart beat, a slow and steady drum, my eyelids and body sagging.
I crack my eyes open from my position on the floor, I see Malik standing a few paces away, towering over me. The flame in my left palm flickers in and out, mirroring my breaths. I mentally plead with Malik to stop, my eyes closing again.
It seems mind reading is Malik’s affinity despite his eye color depicting otherwise. “That’s enough for today. How do you feel?”
As ‘ordered,’ my flames finally flicker out of existence. I manage to grumble out, “Can’t you tell?”
I hear the crunch of sand close to my head and I imagine Malik crouching over me. I don’t open my eyes even when he speaks. “I can but I need you to tell me exactly how you felt today. Don’t gloss over anything, I need the full details.”
The breath I expel manages to hurt my aching chest. I wince in discomfort. “Can we talk tomorrow?” As an afterthought I say, “Please?”
“No.”
Well alrighty then. I groan loudly. “After lunch, the exhaustion hit.”
“What else?” He’s so damn persistent.
“It just steadily got worse over time. Then my body started to ache. That got worse over time too.” I crack open my eyes and look up at Malik, who is in fact crouched over me. I pointedly raise my eyebrows a fraction. “Now it hurts like Hellvian.”
Malik’s lips turn up in one corner into a smirk. “I’m impressed you lasted as long as you did. I reckon you could last even longer without pain with the right endurance training.” His tone loses the lightness as he says, “And your energy? What did it feel like as you kept pulling from your core?”
My eyes drift shut once more as I recall what happened and what I felt. Once I got over the initial absence of energy, it remained flowing throughout my body like a waterfall the entire time. Even when I continually pulled from it to maintain the flame, the flow never dwindled. That’s not normal, is it? What the twins had told me was that there is a limit to the energy available for one talnarin to possess and manipulated. No talnarin has an infinite amount of energy at their disposal. Then again, I don’t know how much energy is usually allotted to talnarins. Somehow, I manage to relay all this in a soft murmur to Malik.
“Did the energy get stronger the longer you pulled?” His voice sounds guarded.
“Yes...” I draw out the end of the word, uncertain.
A long pause has me slowly opening my eyes to watch Malik. He looks down at me with a thoughtful expression on his face. Before I can ask him what the look is for, he says, “Interesting.”
Over the top of his shoulder, Zeke comes into sight. When I make eye contact with him, he smiles broadly and winks before stopping next to Malik. They exchange a brief look before Malik continues. “Regarding your question, it’s not common for talnarins your age to have the energy level you have. It usually takes years beyond what, your eighteen, nineteen years-”
I narrow my eyes into slits, unsure about why I’m offended. “Twenty-two years.”
Malik and Zeke simply smirk at me. “Fine, more than your twenty-two years to reach the level you’re at.”
“Are you two a pair?” Deathly silence fills the arena instantly. Realization about what I asked hits and my face burns with shame. “I didn’t mean… that’s not what… I didn’t…” I clamp my lips closed in shock. I can’t believe I just asked that. What in the Hellvian is wrong with me? Oh my Gods. I stare at them wide eyed as they stare at each other.
Suddenly the two talnarins lean into each, laughter bursting free. Malik still crouches there, head facing towards the sand, arms draped over his legs. Zeke fell to his knees and leans his arm on Malik’s shoulder, body hunched over, shaking with laughter.
After what feels like a lifetime, their laughter tappers off and they manage to straighten themselves. Somehow during their fit of laughter, I found the strength to shift myself into a sitting position. Now all three of us sit in the sand like best friends. It’s uncomfortable and pleasant all at once. I remind myself not to forget that I’m a prisoner here, one in invisible chains.
“Red, I’m curious,” Red? Are we at the nickname stage already? I thought I’d be another ten years before we got there. I mentally roll my eyes. Zeke continues, oblivious to where my thoughts are. “What makes you think we’re a pair? Is it the irresistible chemistry between us?” He asks with a devilish smirk on his face.
My brows furrow. “I didn’t mean it like that. Honestly. I just meant that you two are – you know what? Never mind.”
“Meant what, Red?” Zeke is teasing me now.
“Don’t worry about it. And what in the Hellvian is chemistry?”
A flash of mock pity crosses Zeke’s face. It makes me want to smack it off him. “Ah. Chemistry is science. It’s also a term used to describe-”
“Pointless shit.” Malik cuts in, back to his usual seriousness. “Not now, Zeke. Funny business aside, there are more important things to discuss. Like–” he snaps his gaze to me. “What’s expected of you tomorrow.” I inwardly groan. Great. “We’re going to push you face first into a new method of training. Get dinner and some sleep. We start early.”
Yippee.
Chapter 7
The next morning comes far too soon. Malik once again swipes the covers from me at the crack of dawn and demands me ready in five minutes. Bleary-eyed, I follow the same routine as the morning before. Only this time, my body aches so badly, it’s hard to move. My steps feel like they are weighted down by the sky itself. I’m so out of sorts with this tenderness in my limbs that I hadn’t even snapped at Malik to fuck off for waking me in the first place.
The golden-eyed brothers had warned me that they would be pushing me to and past my limits. I thought I was ready.
I thought wrong.
Only a day has passed and yet I’m nearly ready to call it quits and hide in a cave for the rest of my life.
I mentally slap myself for thinking it. I’m not living for myself anymore. I have my family to live for since I’m the one who cut theirs prematurely. Not to mention my revenge for my slaughtered village too.
I can’t rest.
I can’t give up.
I grit my teeth and work through the pain. Forcing my body to move as it’s meant to, I dress and hurry out the door. Once I shuffle through the arena, I spot Malik and Zeke in the same place as yesterday. Before they can say a word about my lateness, I say, “I’m late, I know. How can I work out the aches effectively?”
Mild surprise colors both talnarins faces. They look as though they hadn’t expected me to talk or ask for help. Or both.
Zeke steps forward and stands in front of me. “Stretches.” He says seriously. “You just need to work through the pain. Stretch your body before and after every practice.” Zeke moves his feet shoulder-width apart. “I’ll run through some basic stretches for now. As you progress, we will change your stretching routine to keep your muscles limber.”
After a brief demonstration, Zeke talks me through five stretches. Once I finish my ‘warm up,’ as Zeke calls it, Malik’s deep voice echoes out. “Yesterday showed us you can hold your Firvo affinity for nearly twelve hours. That’s impressive, yes, but not good enough.”
Ouch.
“I want to see how much further I can push you until you break like glass.” A bri
ef flash of panic sparks to attention inside me. That doesn’t sound good. At all. “Zeke.”
Zeke smiles wickedly, holding his palm up. Sweat beads down my back and my hands start to tremble. That smile promises bad things, painful things even. With a start, I watch little bolts of lightning snap in his palm. There is a faint sound of zapping. “You’ll be working with me today, Red.” I gulp audibly. “Don’t worry though, I have excellent control over my Elestal affinity. You won’t feel a thing unless I want you too.” He winks. “Or you ask.”
My brows furrow in confusion and my eyes narrow. What in the Hellvian? Why would I ask? I let his comment slide past me without another thought. “So… what is the plan exactly?” My voice only wavers once.
I watch as Malik moves to the far wall to lean against, his eyes never once leaving me. Zeke on the other hand steps forward, drawing my attention. “I’m going to come at you with my affinity. Either block or avoid. Simple.”
“Yeah. Real simple.” Zeke’s eyes light up with excitement and I realize I’m screwed. This is happening whether I’m ready or not. It looks like it’s do or die time. Knowing me, I’m more likely to die.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
Without warning, a lightning bolt whips the sand at my feet and I jump back, my body protesting the sudden movement. Holy shit. A second bolt, just as fast, lands to my direct left. Once again, I manage to somehow shift out of the way just in time. Sweat beads down my forehead and my palms feel clammy. If that hits me, I’m done for. A wave of nausea passes through me.
After another series of rapid near misses, my breath starts to shorten and my lungs labor. Not to mention the soreness I need to fight through just to avoid getting electrocuted. This can’t keep going. I’ll die. I need to do something. But what? How do I block lightning? How can I use my affinity against his? Lighting causes fires so doesn’t that mean it trumps my affinity? How can flames fight bolts?
Spilt Secrets (A Talnarin Novel Book 2) Page 4
