“If that’s the Japanese faction, then isn’t your friend, Akira, supposed to be with them?” asked Eclipse.
Akira did not look happy with her comment. Thrace placed his hand on Akira’s shoulder to relax him.
“Just because you’re a certain nationality doesn’t mean you have to join that particular group. I understand you spent time in Japan before this, so you’re accustomed to Japanese ways of being in and out of a group. More so than any other, it can be a stigma not to be in the group, but Akira has some issues with Ren which can only be settled in the Cube,” said Thrace.
“I know of Japanese ways,” said Eclipse. “I meant no offense to you, Akira, and I hope you can solve whatever issues you have with him.”
Akira bowed to her. “It will be settled with blood.”
“So where are you three from?” asked Inessa.
“Whisper and I are from England,” said Kry.
“And you?” asked Inessa, turning to Eclipse.
“From the islands.” Eclipse’s tone was flat.
Thrace laughed.
“I see…” said Inessa, taken aback by her tone.
Kry wanted to change the subject to something he had been thinking about. “You spoke of the Cube. We saw the Chamber, but we weren’t able to go inside to see the Cube. What is it?”
Thrace stretched his hands out and leaned back in his chair. “My new friend, the Cube is what this is all about.”
Kry was not sure he would consider him a friend yet. “What do you mean?”
Thrace whistled. “This place is all about survival in the Cube and to be the best of the best—the champion of the Cube.”
Kry could only guess what the Cube was when he saw the giant stadium of the Chamber. “It’s where we fight, isn’t it?”
Thrace pulled his goggles over his eyes and grinned. “Yes. You’ll be pushed to the limit in there, and that’s why you need a group to survive. Just look around, there are some big groups here with many students in each. If you three go in it alone, I can tell you it’ll end badly.”
“You underestimate what we can do,” said Eclipse.
“Perhaps, but maybe you underestimate the other students here,” replied Thrace.
“How can we trust you?” said Kry. “Why do you want to join us?”
Eclipse watched Thrace with distrustful eyes.
“I’ve told you about Akira and his blood feud. Well, Inessa has her own problems. You might have guessed from her accent, but she’s Russian,” said Thrace. “She’s as fierce as they come, but she was thrown out from their faction because she and I grew close.”
“You two are together?” asked Kry.
“That’s right. We are. And the Russian’s didn’t like that, especially because I was the faction leader of the American group,” said Thrace.
“So, you want to be the head of a new faction with us included?” said Eclipse, accusingly.
Thrace laughed. “That’s not the case at all. My issue is with Hendrix, not the Americans. He was my right-hand man, but he betrayed me and took the leadership for himself. Neither Ilya nor Hendrix could come to terms that Inessa and I liked each other and that we wanted to share our time together regardless of our nationalities. In this university, lines are made, and if you cross them, you get crossed yourself.”
Inessa stroked his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “At least we’re together.”
Thrace slammed his fist on the table which caused Eclipse to reach for her blade. “All three of us were wronged! I’m coming to you because I see strength, especially you, Kry. I can feel your energy, and my gut tells me to trust you. I’ve always trusted my gut, and this is no different. I understand you have doubts about us, but we can help you understand this place better.”
Everywhere students were watching them. It was a room filled with politics, racial division, and past grievances. Kry took it all in and remembered what Rush had told them. They had to move forward, no matter what. They had to work together and become stronger. Thrace did not seem to be as bad as the rest. The same could be said for Inessa and Akira, and his gut was telling him to trust them. Perhaps a bigger group would make them harder targets.
“I know what it feels like to be wronged,” said Kry, remembering how Bellum tricked him and the thousands of people that worked for them. Now, most of them were husks of their former selves. “We’ve just joined, but we could use your help.”
Thrace’s eyes lit up.
“Are you sure, Kry? We’ve only just met them. How can you trust them?” said Eclipse.
Kry stared at Thrace. “I trust my gut.”
“I think we can trust them, too,” said Whisper. “Let’s aim to be the strongest group of them all!”
Thrace offered his hand again. “Friends?”
Kry looked at Eclipse and Whisper. He then turned back to Thrace. “Friends.”
At that moment, a group of angry students walked by their table and straight to the student who sat alone. Abel did not look up and ignored their presence. Leading the group was a dominant figure who overshadowed the others following him. His eyes were dark just like his hair and walked with an unusual arrogance. Kry recognized him as the one who had messed with the other group’s barrier yesterday.
Inessa looked worried, and Akira looked ready to fight.
“Damn that guy! He’s going to start something,” said Thrace.
“Who is he?” asked Kry.
“Sonus Surbeck,” replied Thrace with bitterness in his mouth. “He’s from Switzerland.”
“Dangerous man,” said Akira.
Kry noticed that there were no women in Sonus’s group. All were men, and it was not clear what faction they represented.
“Their faction is small, but they’re tough as nails. They only recruit men, and each member is deadly. Sonus calls his faction the New Order,” said Thrace.
“Stupid Order, more like,” said Inessa.
The New Order students were big men with faces of cruelty.
“They’re some of the most powerful Users here. Despite their small number, the other groups prefer to avoid them. They’re cunning and ruthless. You have to be careful around them,” said Thrace.
Sonus gave the impression that he was someone who always got what he wanted. Kry had first seen his desire to win when those students almost died.
“I had a brief interaction with Sonus yesterday,” said Kry.
“I saw that. You saved those students. Impressive,” said Thrace.
“President Katar didn’t seem to think so,” said Eclipse.
“He’s a peculiar one,” said Thrace. “But I’m sure he appreciated what you did.”
The New Order students surrounded Abel’s table.
“We should go help him,” said Kry.
Akira raised his hand in objection.
“Akira’s right. We don’t want to cause a huge fight. Let’s just see how it plays out,” said Thrace.
Sonus and his men poked fun at Abel who continued to eat as if they were not there.
“Rumors say Sonus wants Abel to join them, but Abel has resisted so far,” said Inessa.
“Do you think he’ll join?” asked Eclipse.
Sonus swiped Abel’s plate off the table, the remaining food going everywhere and some even on Abel’s jacket.
“Here we go,” said Thrace.
Abel wiped his face and stood up. Abel and Sonus stood toe to toe as now all the cafeteria were watching what was happening. It almost seemed as if Abel was going to strike, but he just moved past Sonus and his men.
“You won’t last forever!” shouted Sonus as Abel made his way to the exit. “You’re going to have to join one group eventually. Otherwise, you’ll be easy pickings in the Cube!”
Abel ignored him and walked ahead. Just before he left, he glanced at Kry, maintaining eye contact for a brief second, and then he was gone.
“Sonus is becoming worse,” said Thrace. “It’s like this every day. Sonus and his hounds are like poiso
n. They would make suitable replacements for the Blades.”
Eclipse never liked hearing about the Blades as it always reminded her of what her mother used to be.
“What?” said Thrace, confused by her reaction.
“Nothing,” said Eclipse, calming herself.
Suddenly, a small unknown object hit Eclipse in the face.
Kry moved to her side. “Are you alright?”
Eclipse said nothing, but her face was one of rising anger. She looked around the cafeteria and knew who was to blame. Everyone turned to where Eclipse was looking.
“Svana Valk. She’s Estonian,” said Thrace. “The Iron Maidens. The female equivalent of Sonus’s faction.”
“Misfits with no honor,” said Akira.
Svana winked at Eclipse and then gave high fives to members of her group. Eclipse took Kuro and walked to Svana’s table.
“We should go with her,” said Whisper, panicking.
Kry needed no discussion and went after her. The rest of them followed behind as Eclipse strode with a fierce purpose. Svana saw them coming and stood up from the table awaiting the confrontation.
“Well look who it is, the new student,” said Svana. She turned to Thrace. “Brought yourselves some factionless dogs, too, I see.”
“Better a dog than a spoilt brat,” said Inessa.
One of the Maidens stepped forward and got into Inessa’s face. “Watch your mouth, or I’ll make sure you’ll never want to look in the mirror again!”
Svana pulled her friend back. “It’s no problem, Siri. We’re only having a little bit of fun. Just a tiny joke,” she said, winking at Eclipse again.
Eclipse pulled Kuro from out of her scabbard and gripped the blade. Her face was unreadable.
“Svana, right?” Kry stepped forward. “Let me give you some advice.”
Svana blew a kiss to him. “What, honey?”
Thrace just shook his head.
“You really don’t want to make her angry,” said Kry, indicating Eclipse who stood stone-eyed staring at Svana.
Svana shrugged her shoulders. “Just having a little fun, that’s all, and making new friends,” she said. “Isn’t that right, ladies?”
The Iron Maidens who sat at her table laughed with her.
“Careful,” said Thrace.
“What are you going to do about it?” Svana blew another kiss at Kry. “I like you, though.”
“Back off,” said Kry.
Other Iron Maidens stood up and pushed him back.
“Ladies, now that’s not how we treat our new friends here,” said Svana, smiling. She pulled her sword from her scabbard. It was glinting in the light. “Nice weapon you have there. I bet I can break it in two.”
Eclipse flicked her wrist, and strands of hair floated softly to the ground. The Iron Maidens beside Svana touched their hair in disbelief and then hurried to pick up their hair.
Svana’s face turned deadly.
“Welcome to try,” said Eclipse with confidence.
Svana stepped closer, but Thrace moved in the way. “Not here,” he said.
Svana’s face turned red. “Let me guess, you three rejects have joined these new students. Pathetic.”
“Not as pathetic as you and your hopeless faction,” said Thrace.
“We shall see about that.” Svana raised her sword ready to strike. Her eyes widened in shock as her sword would not move.
“I’ve had enough disturbances this morning,” said a dominant voice. A well-built man with tribal tattoos etched on his face grabbed Svana’s sword and threw it across the floor. His fur jacket made him look like a giant bear.
Svana turned to him. There was fear in her eyes where her once confident aura had been. “I’m sorry.” Svana went to her knees.
The other Iron Maidens had the same fear in their eyes. “We’re all sorry,” they said in unison.
Kry looked at the rugged man with a certain respect.
Thrace nudged Kry. “As I said, there’s a hierarchy here, and there’s a top dog.”
“So, this is the champion of the Cube?” asked Kry.
Thrace pointed. “No, she is.”
The burly bear of a man moved aside as a smaller figure stepped forward. Kry was confused. The woman grabbed Svana’s hair and made her look into her eyes. “Get your weapon and go,” she said, releasing her.
Svana bowed, picked up her sword and ran out of the cafeteria with the other Iron Maidens behind her.
The silence in the cafeteria was now deafening. Kry was aware that all the other faction leaders averted their eyes as this woman took charge. She was small, but there was a commanding aura about her. Her skin was tanned, and she also had tribal markings like the man beside her. Both looked of mixed descent, and their accents were unusual.
Whisper watched her in awe. “Her eyes are the same color as mine.”
Kry had noticed it, too. Her eyes were dark green, and his guess was that she had the same ability as Whisper: she could see in the dark.
She moved back to her table with a fine elegance, her slim figure swaying side to side. Two bone knives hung from her waist.
Eclipse studied the woman’s movements. “Unlike that arrogant Svana, I can see just by the way she carries herself that she has mastered many styles of combat.”
“As befit a champion of the Cube,” said Akira.
“She’s beautiful.” Whisper could not take his eyes off her.
“A little bit old for you, but I know what you mean,” said Thrace.
Inessa punched him in the arm.
“Ow! I’m just saying!” Thrace rubbed his arm. “Anyway, I heard that the Shadow Government is interested in her talents.”
Kry did not like the sound of that.
“Her name is Aiyax, and the man is Kayne, her half-brother. Usually, when one becomes the champion, they must forego all ties to any previous faction and become independent, but their sibling relationship is so strong that he stands beside her. Also, numbers don’t matter when you’ve mastered User abilities to their level,” said Thrace.
Students moved aside as Aiyax and Kayne walked through the cafeteria.
Thrace grasped Kry’s arm. “If you want to be strong, then you’ll need to beat them all, even Aiyax. Together, we can go far. I know it!”
Eclipse returned Kuro to her scabbard. She was intrigued by Aiyax. Just by watching her simple movements she could tell how dangerous Aiyax was. Svana was harmless compared to Aiyax.
They returned to their table and were about to leave when Kry could not believe his eyes as he saw a woman he recognized leaving the cafeteria.
“Kry?” said Whisper, worried.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” said Thrace.
Kry had turned pale. He ignored them and ran after the woman. Her olive skin and dark hair were unforgettable. He ran with his heart racing. How could it be possible? He just ran. It was Rhea.
Chapter 5 – Barrier Training
Various memories of his time with Rhea flowed through his mind as he tried to catch up to her. She was in the courtyard heading down the path carrying a big stack of books.
“Rhea!” shouted Kry.
She did not respond to him. Her beautiful hair danced in the wind as she kept moving on.
“Rhea, please wait!” Kry touched her shoulder to get her attention.
She turned around in surprise, dropping her books to the ground.
“You’re not Rhea…” he said, confused.
Her hazel eyes stared back at him, not with fear, but with apprehension.
“I’m so sorry,” said Kry. “I thought you were someone else.” He bent down and helped to pick up her books.
She did not say a word but looked at him with curiosity. Kry knew who she was now. She was the woman who studied in the library all the time. Bronson mentioned how she was always there. She looked just like Rhea. How could he be so stupid?
She had her books in her arms again and looked at him. Not a word was shared between th
em.
The rest of the group had caught up to him.
“Kry, why did you run?” asked Eclipse, before turning to the woman. “I see.” She, too, could see the similarity.
Whisper stared at the woman who looked like Rhea, just as much as Kry had done. It was a shock to them all.
The woman ignored them and then walked up the path to her class.
“Kry—” Eclipsed started to say.
“I know. Let’s not talk about this,” said Kry.
Eclipse said nothing more.
“Her name is Athena. She’s from Uzbekistan,” said Thrace, who had been watching the interaction between them.
Kry needed to get a grip on himself. Rhea was gone, and that was that. The clock chimed.
“Damn, we need to get to our classes,” said Thrace.
Eclipse readied her blade. “I’m looking forward to this. I’ll see you later. Combat training awaits.”
“Really?” said Inessa, excited about the prospect of working with Eclipse. “Akira and I are also in combat training today. Let’s go!”
Eclipse sighed heavily. She thought they would only get in the way, but there was no choice. They were a group now.
As Eclipse followed Inessa and Akira, Thrace stayed behind.
Thrace adjusted his goggles. “Barrier training I bet?”
Whisper nodded. “How did you know?”
Thrace smiled. “It’s always barrier training for newbies. I guess Eclipse is the exception.” He slapped Kry on the back. “Let’s go.”
Kry and Whisper followed Thrace as they made their way to barrier training. It was the second path leading from the courtyard, and it was just as they remembered, the big oval building with the words ‘Barrier Training’ written above the entrance.
“Let’s rock and roll baby!” Thrace punched the air and went inside.
Whisper laughed, punched the air and followed him.
Kry looked at his hands which were shaking. Seeing Athena, who looked like Rhea, had put him on edge. He took a moment to relax, closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He slowed his breathing and reopened his eyes. If people wanted to test him today, they would see his resolve. Kry walked up the stone steps after Thrace and Whisper and entered the building.
Rise of the Young: Warriors are not made; they are forged (The Ascended Book 2) Page 9
