by Jess Bowen
One of the giggling girls noticed Dorian looking in their direction. “He can’t keep his eyes off you, Kali.”
“Well, of course not. I’m the prettiest one here.”
Cynthia snorted, unable to stop herself. It didn’t go unnoticed by the girls.
Kali’s eyes flashed. “Who are you?” she demanded.
“Cynthia, and you?” Cynthia replied roughly, turning to face her.
“Kali.” Then, as an afterthought, she motioned to the girls on either side of her. “And this is Kara and Beth.”
“That’s nice,” Cynthia said before turning back around. Phoebe felt a savage pleasure at seeing Kali’s face turn red at being ignored.
Evan whispered quietly in her ear. “The Cove. I told you they make life difficult.”
Phoebe nodded as her jaw stayed clenched. She understood now, but there was something more about this girl, Kali. She had to restrain herself from throttling her. She could understand being irritated with her, she could even understand wanting to slap her, but wanting to cause her more pain than that? What’s wrong with me? Phoebe searched the emotions around her, hoping she was channeling someone else’s rage, but was disappointed to find that it was only hers.
Dorian had finally caught his breath and drank a goblet of water that a gnome had brought to him. Standing back upright, he turned to address the crowd again. One of the other elves, Brine, stepped out to the middle of the floor.
“In this next demonstration, I will be freely using my powers in addition to the hand-to-hand combat. If you have powers to use in addition to combat, it can greatly improve your fighting style and give you an advantage.”
Dorian turned to face his opponent, this time moving in first to begin the fight. Once again they moved so quickly it was hard to follow as the two engaged in combat. Then Dorian turned and disappeared into thin air. Brine paused as he tried to sense where Dorian had gone. Phoebe concentrated; Dorian was stalking around to stand behind Brine. Dorian reappeared behind him and caught him off guard, but only for a moment. Within a matter of seconds, Brine once again was a force to be reckoned with.
Dorian lifted his hands up and Brine froze. Dorian drew out his sword, raised his hand again, and put the sword to Brine’s throat. Brine unfroze, and though this fight had been a lot shorter than the first, it was clear the Dorian had won. Brine was in no position to grab his sword before he would be killed in a proper fight. The crowd seemed to let out a collective breath that none of them realized they had been holding.
Phoebe was again impressed by the skill both fighters had shown. Dorian turned to the crowd, not needing to catch his breath this time since the fight was over in less than two minutes.
12. Recount
Dorian again addressed the trainees gathered on the bleachers in the training room. “For those of you who don’t know my talents, I can cloak myself in invisibility and freeze time. I can also speed up time, which causes explosions, but I didn’t use it here for obvious reasons.”
Everyone laughed, knowing full well that if he had used that talent they would now be mopping up pieces of Brine from all over the room…which, on second thought, probably shouldn’t have been all that funny.
“Now you have seen how we teach you to use your talents to their fullest ability as well as what can be accomplished by training with the elves. Before you leave this room today, you will see what proper training and study can accomplish for your Elemental powers.”
Sapphire had long since curled up and fallen asleep in Phoebe’s lap. She hadn’t even noticed that Bree had also clamored over and was now sleeping beside Sapphire. Phoebe looked over at Evan, and he smiled at her.
“What can I say? He likes you. Looks like you’re going to have to get used to us hanging around,” he said, grinning as Phoebe rolled her eyes and smiled in return.
For the next hour and a half, the students listened to Dorian and other instructors explain what they could expect in training. It seemed like the basics: the rules and guidelines for using their powers inside the Haven and against each other, how they divided teams up for training and practice, etc.
On and on it went, with pieces of parchment being handed to each student. Most folded the papers up small enough to stick in their pockets and would probably never look at them again. Phoebe pocketed hers as well but with every intention of reading every line meticulously later. Still, even with all the information she wanted to know, after a while it was difficult to keep her attention from wandering, and time slipped by unnoticed as she took in her surroundings and the people in them.
Eventually, movement of a body across the room recaptured her attention, coupled with the observation that everything out on the floor had, without her notice, been moved somewhere else. She turned her attention back to Dorian, who had walked to the far side of the room and was now standing with his eyes closed. He raised his arms as a breeze stirred through the room. Within seconds, the breeze became a fierce wind, and Phoebe had to squint her eyes. Through the narrow slits of her lids, she saw a massive tornado beginning to form. The two companions in her lap awoke and clamored into a pocket on the jacket she was wearing. A full-fledged tornado was wending its way across the room and heading straight for them. It got closer and closer, and when it was less than ten feet away, Evan sheltered Phoebe under his arm as she closed her eyes.
The wind stopped and she looked out from under Evan’s arm. In place of the tornado, there were two shimmering shields. One was blue and one was green. Dorian walked back across the room. He was beaming. Both shields then disappeared once the threat had passed. Phoebe returned to an upright position, and Sapphire and Bree poked their heads out of her pocket.
“Now you have seen not only what I can do, but also what our Masters of Earth and Water can do.”
He had done it on purpose. He had sent the tornado toward them in order to evoke Ethan and Phoebe to use their powers. Ethan looked stunned. As far as Phoebe knew, that was the first time he had used his gift. She was happy for him; she knew he had been doubting his place here. Everyone around them was whispering, and now and then someone would stand up to get a better look at them. Phoebe could feel her cheeks turning red from all the attention. She would very much have liked to hide back under Evan’s arm.
Kali was behind them looking utterly unimpressed. She huffed before saying quietly to the other girls, “Like I couldn’t have done that.” Phoebe’s anger flashed again, so did the lightning.
Dorian turned back to the crowd at large. “Now, I don’t want any of you to worry. I know many of you are not in the First Order and are worried that you are unimportant. I don’t want any of you to feel that way. Every single person here matters, and no matter how you feel about your power, we will teach you to get the most out of it and to be an asset to our army. I believe lunch should be ready soon in the dining hall, if you all want to follow me down there. I will hand out your schedules after you’ve finished eating.”
The tiers around Phoebe groaned as people got to their feet and started to follow Dorian out of the room. Phoebe hurried forward a few steps to walk with him.
“That was amazing. How long did it take you to learn to fight like that?” she asked, falling into step beside him. The others hurried ahead a few paces to hear Dorian’s answer.
“Only a couple years of hard study. Of course, you all will be training at an accelerated rate, so it probably won’t take you as long.”
“Is it just Ethan and Phoebe who will be accelerated, or everyone?” Evan asked.
“Now that Phoebe and Ethan are here, everyone will be accelerated in order to be ready to go to battle when necessary.”
“How long will it take to use our powers properly?” Ethan asked.
“Not long. The biggest obstacle is overcoming the emotional use of your powers. After that, they are easy to master.”
“I’m accomplished at my power already. I’m sure I’ll be the first to complete training.” Everyone turned and was not surprised to
see Kali speaking behind them. Phoebe clenched her fists to keep her hands from wrapping around Kali’s throat. Why was this inconsequential girl making her so angry?
Dorian looked back over his shoulder, and his nose wrinkled slightly. “We shall see, I suppose.”
He looked slightly disgusted to see the self-satisfied smile pass over Kali’s face, but he had been unable to disprove her statement. Phoebe felt microscopically better to see that he didn’t seem to like her either. Then she wondered if that was it—was Kali making her so angry because of what she thought of Dorian? But why would Phoebe care what Kali thought?
They continued on to the dining hall, which was full of circular wooden tables that sat six per table. After looking for a moment at the ornate flower groupings that hung from the walls, Phoebe realized that they were arranged into pictures that changed themselves every few moments as if trying to tell a story. Magnificent chandeliers hung from the ceiling, full of hundreds of lit candles. Between each set of chandeliers were skylights that reached across the entire ceiling.
Everybody settled down to the many tables. Thankfully, Kali choose a table far away from Phoebe’s, and her loyal admirers went with her. Phoebe felt calmer as the unpleasant girl walked away.
After only a few minutes, gnomes started appearing with large trays of food. Each tray was supported by four little gnomes who could hardly be seen beneath them so that it looked like the trays were floating of their own accord to each table. The trays contained six plates of food and six glasses of water. Phoebe was pleasantly surprised to see that they were eating actual food and therefore didn’t have to concentrate so much as they ate and were free to speak to one another.
“That was brilliant!” Jared said, digging into his baked potato. “I have never seen anyone move like that!”
“My brother is pretty good, but nothing compared to what we just saw,” Cynthia said.
“I can’t wait to get in there and try it out,” Evan said excitedly, knocking over his cup.
He managed to grab it before it hit the floor, and as he set it back on the table, it refilled on its own.
“What do you say, Jared? I expect you fancy learning a bit of combat now, eh?” Evan asked, looking over at his twin.
Jared considered for a moment as he chewed his food slowly. “I don’t know yet. I suppose it would be useful, though.”
“Oh, go on, then. Let’s just all do it together. Besides, if we’re going to be friends with the likes of you two,” Cynthia said as she indicated Ethan and Phoebe, “I expect we’re going to need it.”
“What do you mean the likes of us?” Ethan asked, pretending to look offended.
Lucy piped up. “Well, we are friends, aren’t we? If you think we’re going to sit home and knit while you two go off to save the world, you have another thing coming.”
“I agree,” Jared added solemnly. “So, what do you say? All for one and one for all?”
Phoebe tried to protest—like they needed to put themselves in any more danger—but she couldn’t concentrate. Dorian was walking around the hall, talking to people here and there while someone stalked in his shadow. She completely lost her appetite. Kali looked like an overeager fan girl as she followed him around, trying to engage him in conversation every time he broke away from a table. Phoebe tried to get a hold of herself. She told herself that she had no claim to him, and that she was probably just feeling possessive because she had done all the work to get him to open up. But that wasn’t it, and she knew it. She couldn’t admit the other possibility.
The possibility that she might have more than platonic feelings for him.
Thunder cracked outside, and Kali jumped away from Dorian. She had been close enough to touch him. Phoebe laughed quietly to herself. Dorian looked up, and his silver eyes searched hers, looking for a reason that she would be so angry.
“Hello, Earth to Phoebe!” Cynthia was calling her attention back to the table.
Phoebe turned back to her friends as Dorian escaped from Kali around another table.
“Sorry, I was thinking.”
“I know! I didn’t even know there was anyone who could compete with the elves. They are, like, the elite, and Dorian was just as good. Amazing!” Evan continued, clearly excited about starting combat training.
Phoebe nodded in agreement, and sounding like a broken record, commented, “It was amazing.”
Lucy whispered quietly to Phoebe as everyone went into a blow-by-blow recount of what they had just watched. Again.
“Just ignore her; I don’t think Dorian is interested.”
Phoebe’s cheeks burned. Lucy was more observant than she had thought. “I don’t care. She just annoyed me, that’s all,” she lied poorly, glad the others’ attention was elsewhere.
Lucy raised her eyebrows as she saw right through Phoebe’s lie. “Trust me, Phoebe, he’s not interested. There’s only one person he sees.”
Lucy turned back to her lunch, and Phoebe felt like finding a hole to hide in. Perhaps observant was too light of a term for Lucy. If Phoebe didn’t know any better, she would think Lucy had a talent like hers. She made sure Lucy was occupied with her food again before looking back at Dorian. A few strands of his hair hung in his eyes as he leaned over the table, handing something out. Schedules. Kali was back in his shadow, but she looked put out about something. Phoebe turned back to the table.
“Did you see that twist thing that he did? She had to, like, flip over backward to get out of it. It was crazy!” Evan was still going on about the scrimmage. He was practically jumping in excitement. Phoebe had to laugh at his enthusiasm.
She couldn’t see herself ever moving like Piper had. It surely required speed and agility that was far beyond what she possessed. This wasn’t going to be easy, not in the slightest. Phoebe wasn’t the only one to think that.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to move like that. It has to require a lot more than just proper training,” Ethan said gloomily.
“Don’t worry. It looks impossible when you start, but my brother said it’s not really that hard to get a hang of,” Cynthia reassured him.
Ethan didn’t look very reassured. Meanwhile, Evan was still off in his own little world while Jared concentrated on his food; Cynthia stared off thoughtfully, and Lucy watched Ethan closely, measuring his expression.
Dorian reached their table with a stack of parchment in his hands. “So, what training will you all be attending? I mean, aside from Phoebe and Ethan. They obviously have to take all of them.”
“Then we’re going to take all of them too!” Evan said enthusiastically.
Everyone murmured in agreement. Dorian looked at them all warily. “Are you sure? It is quite a rigorous schedule.”
“Doesn’t everyone put in the same amount of hours?” Evan asked.
Dorian nodded, and his hair shimmered as the light danced on it. “Mostly, yes, but Phoebe and Ethan are going to have extra training.”
Ethan looked apprehensive, but Evan leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and looked cool and unconcerned. “Bring it on.”
Jared nodded, trying to mimic his brother’s casual look. “Go on, then, let’s see our schedules.”
Dorian handed parchment around to each of them. As they took the blank pages, writing appeared across them. Phoebe looked down at hers and read her schedule. She had training with the elves all day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays she had Elemental powers and talents training. A note at the bottom informed her that she would have extra lessons with Cassius once a week on Thursday evenings.
Evan peered over her shoulder. “Why have you got extra classes with Cassius?”
Phoebe glanced at Dorian, who nodded his head discretely, obviously giving her the go ahead to tell them. Kali looked over Dorian’s shoulder. His face soured, and that made Phoebe feel better.
“Not here,” she said as she glanced around at Kali and her two clones following her around. “Let’s get back to our room.”
They all excused themselves and made their way out the door. Even though Sapphire and Bree had stayed awake for the walk down to the dining hall, they had fallen back to sleep in Phoebe’s pocket. She poked her hand in and stroked Sapphire to wake her up. The foal climbed onto her hand, and she lifted Sapphire to eye level.
“We need to get back to our room,” Phoebe said to the foal.
Sapphire nodded her head and peered around. She looked to her left and flicked her tail. Phoebe took that as the direction she was supposed to go in. They continued following Sapphire’s directions until they made their way back to her room. They all settled down in the sitting room, and everyone turned to look at Phoebe expectantly.
“Okay, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone unless I completely trusted them, and I do trust all of you.” She paused for minute, thinking of how best to say it, but decided just coming out with it was best. “I’m a Truth Seeker.”
The effect of her statement was comical. Cynthia gasped and her mouth hung open. Evan covered himself as if he was naked in front of her. Jared fell off the chair he had been sitting on, and Lucy said “Oh!” with wide eyes. Ethan and Phoebe laughed at the lot of them.
“Does that mean you know what we’re all thinking?” Jared asked as he pulled himself up from the floor.
“If I wanted to I could, but I respect your privacy and am only going to use it when absolutely necessary. Besides, it gives me a headache, and I would really like to avoid that when possible,” Phoebe explained. Evan lowered his hands slightly.
“Is that what the classes with Cassius are for? To learn how to use it?” Evan asked, catching on.
“Yeah, only last night I got really mad so I didn’t actually get anything accomplished,” she said, feeling slightly ashamed of herself again.
“You got mad? About what?” Ethan asked.
She sighed, but finally she relented to recount the events of the night before. Everyone listened closely, and she was relieved that when it was over none of them blamed her for being angry with Cassius
