Blood Oath (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book Two)

by T. L. Clarke

  Orion gave us a half smile. "Good job, Neophytes."

  Petra looked at me pointedly, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Yeah, good job, Neophytes." She walked to the front of the class quickly. "Okay, class is over. See you tomorrow."

  Calleis looked at me with irritation. "Good job, first leveler. But I wouldn’t get too cocky about it. It’s just first leveler’s luck. Next time, you won’t be that lucky." She stormed away in a huff.

  Jessica ran up to me bubbling with excitement. "Oh my goodness, Gabi, you were so awesome. Where did you learn that stuff?"

  Dazed, I quickly wiped my sweaty forehead. "Seriously, I don’t know; I was just in the zone, I guess. The crazy Warrior zone." I wagged my eyebrows.

  Rosalinda, Zora, and Brooklyn ran over.

  "Seriously, that was excellent, Gabi," Rosalinda said grudging tone.

  Brooklyn gave me a toothy smile. "Oh. My. Goodness. You’ve been holding out on us. You’re a natural at this Warrior stuff, Gabi. It was like watching a Warrior dance-off, but without the hot music and guys."

  Orion gave them an annoyed glare. "First levelers, get off my field. Now," he barked.

  I looked down at my watch quickly. "Jeez, I’m late. I’ve got to go. See you later." I sprinted up the hill, across the courtyard, through the gardens and woods. My chest burning from the sheer effort when I reached the hill and Chaos, I was gasping for air.

  Chaos angrily tapped on his watch. "You’re late."

  Shoving my hands on my hips, I looked at him quickly. "I know."

  His lips tightened angrily before he jerked his head toward the hill. "So, what are you waiting for? You owe me ten sprints up the hill. Hit it, first leveler."

  I kicked the grass angrily before facing the hill with great trepidation. Chaos laughed mockingly. In response, I shot him a very dirty look. The hill and Chaos were not going to beat me, not today anyway.

  My body tensed with apprehension before sprinting up the hill, dodging rocks, as my feet gripped the hill like a glove. My lungs filled with crisp air. The more I inhaled, the quicker I actually became. When I reached the top of the hill, I spun around and ran back down effortlessly. I felt like I was in some sort of crazy zone when I finished all my sprints.

  Chaos strode over to me with cold, narrowed eyes. "Next time, get here on time, or it’ll be twenty sprints." He looked at his watch impatiently. "I think you’ve done enough of the hill today. Time for agility work through the woods. Just watch the trees and rocks, and you’ll be okay."

  He took off running without another word, leaving me scrambling to keep up. Mercifully, he slowed his pace, allowing me to run silently at his side.

  "Slow your pace," he barked. "You’re running way too fast. This is not a race. Listen to the rhythm of my feet and follow. Relax, and just listen."

  Gritting my teeth angrily as I swallowed a harsh retort, I relaxed, listening to the rhythm of his feet softly pounding against the ground. Instinctively matching his pace, I let my breathing slow down.

  We ran in complete silence for what seemed like hours. It was just us, the woods, and the chirping of happy birds. Chaos veered off the path, through a rugged section of the woods that required us to dodge tree limbs and huge boulders. As we approached a muddy path filled with big puddles of water, he ran across the water with not even a drop of it touching his sneakers.

  Shocked, I watched him practically skating right across it without breaking a sweat as I stomped through it clumsily. I was a mess, with muddy water splashing all over my sneakers and legs, and to add to the drama, I tripped, falling face-first into the water with a loud splat. I was gargling muddy water—I know, disgusting. I thought all dignity was lost when I felt a sharp tug on the back of my shirt pulling me smoothly from my embarrassing disgrace and planting me unceremoniously onto my feet.

  This was so embarrassing. I quickly wiped the muddy water from my face with the back of my hand. "How in the world did you do that? It was as if you were running on water." Yes, I completely ignored the fact that my face was spotted with stinky, muddy water.

  He sighed before giving me the look that said he thought I was so lame. "Obviously you haven’t been doing your assigned readings, or else you wouldn’t be asking me such a ridiculous question."

  I looked at him guiltily. Okay, maybe I had skipped a few—okay, a lot of—vital reading assignments. Mental note to self, get to reading, and fast.

  He shook his head with dismay. "Gabi, you better start taking this stuff seriously. There are no shortcuts—trust me, shortcuts will only get you killed." He quickly spun on his heels, then took off running. I took off after him, barely able to keep up.

  "I’m only going to explain this once. So listen up." He looked at me with annoyance. "If you add enough speed when running, you can build up enough momentum to propel over almost anything."

  "Anything?" I huffed, trying to catch my breath. Goddess, I felt like I was going to hurl big-time. "Anything, like ‘over a car’ anything?"

  He looked over at me matter-of-factly. "If you can control your momentum, but that takes a lot of practice and power." He smirked dismissively, "And you, little Circle, you don’t have the skill for that."

  I snorted indelicately. He was crazy.

  He gave me a bored look. "If you would pick up your book and read it, then you would know that it’s a fact and a skill used by the Eternals for centuries. It’s called Airlusion." He said the last word like he was talking to a child. "It’s using force and speed together. The faster you move, and the more you engage your muscles, the more bounce you’ll have to propel your body upward," he said smoothly, not missing a beat as he skirted through the forest, bouncing over boulders like his body was attached to wires that pulled him effortlessly through the air.

  "Wickedly cool!" I said with excitement. I could just picture myself Airlusioning myself over my bed.

  His mouth curved slightly before he caught himself and gave me a very stern look. "Airlusion is not some magic trick that you use on Halloween, Gabi. It’s a weapon used to catch your prey quickly. Prey, meaning Daemons and the Banished."

  I bounced on my toes with excitement, punching in the air. "So what are you waiting for? Teach me how to do it. I’m ready, super ready."

  He ignored me as he picked up his speed, forcing me to push my lungs to their absolute capacity; my legs were begging me to stop the torture. He smirked when he heard my huffing and puffing from the sheer effort.

  "You’re not even close to ready for Airlusion. You can’t even make it through this light jog."

  I looked at him like he had lost his ever-loving mind. Light jog? Was he serious? I was dying here.

  "Jeez, Gabrielle, you’re breathing like you’re about to pass out. Slow down your breathing," he barked. "Inhale slowly. Let the air fill your lungs. And stop trying so hard."

  My body sputtered like an old car, revolting against the effort.

  His eyes darkened with concern. "Take it easy. Just tune out the burning in your lungs and muscles. You’re mind is in control of your body, not the other way around."

  I tried to quiet my mind, pushing through the burning and pain, concentrating on moving through the forest. And it was actually working. My breathing slowed down, and my body effortlessly glided beside him.

  "Okay, now listen to what the forest is telling you. Your ability to focus on your surroundings is very important." His voice was very melodic and calming. It pushed me to engage all of my senses. I inhaled the cool, crisp mountain air, hearing the rustling of leaves as birds moved from branch to branch. It was as if my feet grew wings. I became lightning fast.

  Chaos quickened his pace, and I effortlessly kept step with him.

  "Now, what do you hear?" he barked quickly.

  I heard the very distinct sounds of the wings of birds flapping in the distance, the popping sounds of water hitting rocks, and animals nervously scurrying across the forest ground. How was this possible?

  I looked at him with wonder. "Everythin
g!"

  Chaos laughed, all throaty. "This is only a taste. When your skills develop, you’ll be able to hear things that you couldn’t even imagine existed."

  I didn’t want to explore the last sentence, which sounded very ominous. Not right now. So we just ran and ran in comfortable silence, until we reached a thrashing river. Chaos screeched to a stop, and I slowed my pace, or at least tried. It was as if my body didn’t want to stop, like it was begging to continue going and going.

  Chaos nodded approvingly. "It’s the adrenalin. Calm your mind, pull back a little, and gradually your body will get the message."

  I listened to his instructions, and my body reluctantly obeyed.

  "Let’s grab a drink and head back." He kneeled by the river and drank quickly.

  I knelt, drinking thirstily. I was so close to sticking my head in the water and just gobbling it down.

  Chaos looked over at me questioningly. "Are you okay?"

  I looked over at him midsip. "Huh? Yeah, I’m okay."

  He quickly got up and started stretching. "By the way, that was a good job against Calleis today," he said gruffly.

  I looked at him, surprised. "You were there today? I didn’t see you."

  He ran his fingers through his hair quickly. Now his black hair was tousled like he had just rolled out of bed. Yes, it was super cute.

  "I watched briefly."

  I gave him a slight smile. I could tell by the way he avoided my eyes that he had watched more than just a little.

  "It felt kind of strange today sparring against her. At first, I honestly didn’t know how to move. It was real awkward, but somehow I got it together." I smirked, "Did you see how pissed she was that I beat her? I could practically see the flames shooting out of her pretty blonde head."

  He looked at me deeply. "For a Neophyte, your Warrior skills are way better than some who have trained for months, maybe years. That’s going to piss off a lot of your peers. It happens."

  I kicked a rock with the tip of my sneaker. "I don’t know. It’s, like, sometimes I feel like everything is coming together. Then other times, I feel totally clueless." Don’t ask me how I moved from feeling like he was my total enemy to this real awkward stage of kind of wanting to be friends with him.

  His eyes narrowed like he was on a verge of saying something. Then he stopped and pulled back behind his "bored look" mask. Yep, he slammed the door shut on the "let’s be friends" path.

  "Let’s get heading back. It’s late."

  He strode off back through the woods without looking back at me. I caught up to him quickly. As we walked back silently, it was one of those real awkward silences. I didn’t know how to open that door of trying to be friends without seeming desperate.

  I cleared my throat noisily. "Um, I just want you to know that I wasn’t spying on you and Thallo. I was just sitting there when you two walked up." I didn’t add the part about even though I thought Thallo was real cool, I didn’t think that they should be dating. The combo of him and her as a couple just seemed so completely weird.

  He looked at me from the side of his eye, his pace never faltering.

  "And that Justice thing. Completely not true. I don’t know why he even said that." I cleared my throat noisily. "You know, that stuff about him and I being out there together. Because we weren’t, at least, not like that."

  Chaos just continued walking silently. I started to feel real stupid. Come on, you could at least throw me a lifeline here. I mean, I’m spilling my guts, trying, and you couldn’t care less.

  "I know," he responded gruffly.

  My steps faltered. "You know what?"

  "I know that Justice was lying. He does that a lot, just to get under my skin." He sighed loudly.

  Now I was silent; I didn’t want to make him angry by asking questions about their obviously strained relationship or about the whole Tainted thing. So, I was real surprised when he continued talking.

  "We haven’t gotten along for a while now. Well, ever since Helios took us under his wing. And it seems that the more I try, the angrier he gets. The kid is a walking time bomb."

  I wanted to laugh at the word "kid," given the fact that Chaos was a kid himself.

  "But the scary thing is that he reminds me so much of myself. I’m just kind of worried that he’ll end up taking the wrong path because he’s just so angry at everything and everyone. He’s struggling with things that he can’t, we can’t, control. And the struggle is tearing him apart."

  For the first time I could hear the honest "he really loved his brother" thing. "I think that he’s just a little…confused. But I think that we all are right now. We don’t exactly know what we want, and even if we did, we wouldn’t know how to get it." This part was really about me and little bit about him.

  Chaos smiled slightly. "Welcome to my world." Suddenly he frowned. "The Eternals don’t leave any room to enjoy just being a kid. Training as a Neophyte is hard. You’re forced to leave everything behind. And before you know it, there’s nothing of you left." He looked at me seriously. "There’s a lot that you don’t understand yet. The weight on your shoulders sometimes can be unbearable. That’s why I worry about Justice so much."

  I looked at him sadly, now truly understanding that he was not just talking about Justice, but about him and the sacrifices he had had to make. We continued walking through the gardens, reaching the courtyard silently. He stopped and looked at me with varied emotions clouding his gray eyes. Then it was gone, just like that, his eyes turning frosty.

  "Be on time tomorrow, Neophyte." Then he abruptly walked away.

  I stood there looking at him until he disappeared into the castle. Complicated. That’s exactly what he and every Ares Warrior was, just plain old complicated. I still didn’t get him, but at least I now had a new respect for him. He was struggling internally, just like everyone else, and this was an eye-opener that filled me with relief that I wasn’t alone.

  I actually walked back to the dorms with a little bounce in my step, when a sharp pain in my head made me double over. My forehead was slick with sweet. I tried to stand up, and doubled over again, my body trembling uncontrollably. I looked around at the deserted courtyard; something was wrong, very wrong.

  Then the whispers started, first low, then loud. I still could not understand what they were saying, but I sensed that they were agitated. A slow burning sensation spread through my body, causing me to writhe in pain. I closed my eyes. It was just unbearable.

  Then I heard her voice, smooth, melodic. It was Goddess Ananke. She was walking toward me with tufts of white smoke clinging to her lovingly. My convulsions slowed. She held out her hand, pulling me up quickly. Instantly, my pain disappeared.

  "Akasha, there is trouble, and you must act quickly."

  She guided me through drifts of smoke that quivered and separated as we walked through.

  "It’s Grandma Celeste? She’s sick." I looked at her with fear.

  "Celeste is the least of your worries, Akasha. Trouble is brewing, and the Eternals will be severed forever." She stopped, looking at me impatiently when she realized that I was focused on Grandma Celeste. "A very dark spell has been cast, and Celeste cannot be saved."

  "Grandma Celeste means everything to me. She is all that I have." I looked at her angrily. "Don’t give me that garbage about not being able to save her. You are a powerful goddess, and you can save her if you want. So save her." I knew that I was being rude to, of all things, a powerful goddess who could wipe me off the face of the earth with a flick of her pinkie, but I didn’t care right now. I would do anything to save Grandma Celeste.

  She examined me closely as she cupped my face. Her eyes conveyed that she understood my pain, felt it to the core. "I cannot turn the tides, Akasha. We do not interfere with the will of the tides. This is the ultimate goddess law."

  I tried to pull back angrily, but her eyes held me immobile, her touch radiating throughout my body, lulling me into calm.

  "In the wake of war, death is expect
ed and welcomed. For what is the life of one in comparison to the life of many?" Her voice resonated through the air.

  Faceless whispers ricocheted throughout the air. The power of air embraced me like a warm blanket. The whispers that had once scared me now somehow felt comforting, friendly.

  "What are those whispers?" I asked cautiously.

  Her lips spread into a small, knowing smile. "The ever-glowing Makos."

  She released my face, opening her wings like a glorious eagle preparing for flight. Tufts of white smoke dripped from them like icicles, shimmering like twinkling holiday lights, then separated into tiny floating, glowing orbs. They hung in the air, then streamed downward, morphing into four bodies of girls who looked no older than thirteen. They smiled mischievously as their white dresses flowed around their slim bodies. Each had flaming red hair, piercing apple green eyes, and skin that was pale as freshly dropped snow.

  My eyes widened as they smiled, walking toward me slowly.

  "Hello, Akasha reincarnated. We have waited for centuries for this moment." They spoke softly in unison.

  These were the faceless whispers. What were they? Their faces looked young, but their eyes were filled with knowledge that could only be gained from years, maybe centuries, of knowledge.

  "We are your guides, assigned to you from the day you were born," they responded.

  "You mean, like, as in angels?" I asked nervously.

  Ananke looked at me solemnly. "No, not angels, they are spirits that have been around since the dawn of time. They can guide you through your journey, but they do not have any influence over the choices you make. That is very important to understand."

  This whole thing was truly blowing my mind. Guiding spirits? Assigned to me?

  "I think I get it. They can advise me, like point things out, but it’s up to me to do or not do it."

  The Makos shimmered excitedly as they laughed. It was a tinkling, joyous sound. "Yes, Akasha, that is correct. This is very important that you understand the rules, for the waters ahead are very troubling."