Chaos (Tessa Avery Book 1)

by Lucy Roy

  I stepped away from the crowd and looked in awe around the arena, feeling a broad smile spread across my face.

  When I first woke up that morning, I felt my power stir. It was odd, feeling its existence, almost companionable. As I gazed down the length of the sandy field, I gave my power a tentative mental poke and felt it swirl slightly in response, as though telling me it was ready to go.

  That made two of us.

  20

  Tessa

  “Okay, recruits!” Chiron bellowed once we were all inside. “I want you all lined up with your specialties so we can get started.”

  Yana gave my shoulder a quick squeeze. “Good luck!”

  Her eyes sparkled, and I could tell she was excited to start working with her Electrokinesis. She looked to Eric, who’d been announced as a Pyrokinetic, another fire user. “Come on, let’s go see what we will be doing.”

  Eric beamed in excitement. “Heck yeah,” he said, and the two of them marched off to find their group.

  “Crap, do you see the water people?” Mary was jumping up and down, trying to find where her group was located. It seemed like almost everyone towered over her small frame.

  I placed my hand on her shoulder and pointed toward a group that was standing about twenty feet away. “Relax, jumping bean, they’re over there.”

  “Awesome, thanks. Catch you later!”

  I stood on my toes to find which direction Charlise had gone, but she’d already been lost in the crowd. I spotted Sina’s bright-red hair on the other side of the arena, so I headed in her direction. Anette had already found her and was hovering by her side.

  Sina waved when she saw me getting closer. “Tessa, hi! Over here!”

  “Hey, guys.” I glanced around. “Where’s everyone else?”

  Sina gestured behind me with her chin. “They are coming now. Come on, let’s line up.”

  Once we were all facing him in orderly rows of ten, Chiron addressed us. “This is how things are going to go. Each morning, you will arrive here and line up just as you are now. The first part of your training will consist of a warm up, of sorts.” He looked around at us, hands on his hips. “Can anyone tell me the purpose of an immortal doing calisthenics?”

  A petite Asian girl named Cho quickly raised her hand.

  “Cho?” Chiron gestured for her to answer.

  “Because we need to hone our physical skills as well as our affinities. Speed and strength can only be beneficial if they are controlled.”

  “Very good. Contrary to what some of you might think, the ability to use those aspects of your power efficiently is not innate. Immortal strength and speed have been given to you, but much like your affinities, they are not truly yours until you can control them.”

  He paused, allowing that to sink in.

  “So,” he continued after a few seconds, “the first thing we’re going to do today is work on your speed. Come, let’s head out back.”

  “What’s out back?” Sina whispered.

  “Not a clue.” I watched as Chiron moved toward a pair of large double doors that opened at the opposite end of the arena.

  Chiron had made “out back” sound like a small thing, maybe a training area without walls where we would have a bit more freedom.

  When we exited the arena, I saw that technically he wasn’t wrong.

  “Holy shit,” Sina whispered.

  “Yeah,” I breathed. “Definitely.”

  Extending from the back of the arena and up the rocky mountainside was a running track clearly designed with immortal speed in mind. Carved to follow the gentle incline of the mountain, it was about four times the length of a normal track and twice as wide, with a flat, stone field spanning the interior.

  There was no padded running area in sight, so I could only imagine how badly it must hurt to take a tumble during a run.

  “Well, this is gonna suck,” Mary said, coming to stand beside Sina and me.

  “I’ll say,” I murmured, still gazing at the massive field in front of us.

  “So do you think we’re gonna find out why the Titans are in town?” Mary whispered, leaning closer. “That’s what your boy said, right? Did he ever come find you last night?”

  “He’s not my boy, and yes, he said that they’d fill us in at some point. And no, he did not.” I was still trying not to be annoyed at the last part.

  “Come on, everyone, over here!” Chiron motioned for us to join him near the edge of the track. “We don’t have all day, and I want to see what you can do!”

  Quickly, we all took a seat on the low stone wall that surrounded the track, the mentors forming a line behind us.

  I heard a muffled snicker from behind me, so I stole a look over my shoulder at the mentors who formed a row behind us. I saw that several of them, including Charlise and Nathaniel, seemed on the verge of laughter.

  “Well, that can’t be good,” Mary muttered, following my gaze. “Since when does he laugh?”

  “Since always, I’m guessing. Now be quiet.”

  She grinned mischievously. “Why? Do you think he can hear us?”

  ‘I can definitely hear you.’

  I rolled my eyes and smiled. “He can definitely hear us.”

  “Focus, people!” Chiron bellowed, snapping us back to attention. “You’re going to be divided into five groups, then you’ll be running a few laps.”

  Based on his tone, I had a feeling “running a few laps” as an immortal had different connotations than doing the same as a human.

  He moved to the end of the bench and started counting us off like he was picking us for squads in gym class.

  Thankfully, I ended up in group number five, so I’d be able to watch quite a few runs before I had my turn on the field.

  Yana had been assigned to the same group, so she came over and sat down next to me. “So who do you think will be the first to fall?”

  I bit my lip and tried not to smile as I scanned the crowd. “Honestly? I don’t know, but I’m kind of hoping it’s Damien.”

  She snorted. “Da. What’s that saying you Americans have? He seems like he needs to be ‘taken down a peg’?”

  I snickered. “Or two. You should’ve seen him last night when Charlise had him try to astral project. He was so cocky. Then once he actually did it, he dropped like a lead balloon because Charlise ‘forgot’ to tell him to sit down first.”

  “Ah, I would have loved to have seen that,” Yana said wistfully. “Oh, they are starting.”

  I turned my attention back to the running field, hopeful I could learn something by watching the groups that ran before us.

  Chiron directed the first group to the starting line and spaced them about ten feet apart.

  “How would you recommend we begin?” Valentina, an Earth user, asked from her spot on the end.

  Chiron grinned appreciatively. “Well, since you asked, I would recommend starting slowly, then gradually increasing. I want you to get comfortable with this drill because it will go a long way in honing your reaction time and accuracy.”

  He stepped off to the side and put one hand on his hip and let the bugle dangle from the other hand. “The only other advice I will offer is this. When you fall, tuck in your arms.”

  With that, he let out a deafening blast from his bugle and they set off.

  Their speed was incredible. Right off the mark, they were flying; their legs moving so fast they were nearly a blur.

  It looked thrilling. I wanted to fly out of my seat and join them.

  “Oh, one down!”

  A male mentor behind us laughed as Igor went tumbling onto the track, having lost his footing when trying to take the first curve. Dishi, who’d been just behind him, stumbled as he tried to avoid tripping over him and was knocked into Anette. Within about thirty seconds, five other recruits had gone down.

  Valentina and Damien both managed to make it about three quarters of the way through their laps without any problems. Unfortunately, just as she was making her final return t
o the start, Valentina lost her footing and fell, the momentum from her speed causing her to roll off the track and crash into the surrounding stone wall.

  Damien turned his head back in her direction when he heard her cry and reduced his speed just enough for us to see the victorious smile on his face.

  Which lasted all of one second before he crashed into the wall at the opposite end, toppling over headfirst.

  Silence, save for a few scattered laughs from the mentors, hung over us.

  “And that,” Chiron called, “…is why you never take your eyes off the road, Damien!”

  Damien rose from where he’d deposited himself on the ground, embarrassment coloring his face as he stalked back toward the starting line. Valentina lay on her side in the grass, groaning. Igor was slowly trying to pull himself up at the far end of the track but seemed to be having trouble with his arm. The others were trudging down the track toward the start, wincing with each step.

  All of them looked banged up in some way or another, but the only one who looked seriously injured was Igor. As he got closer, I could see that he was cradling his right arm, which was rotated at an absurd angle, as though it had gotten bent beneath his body when he fell.

  He walked up to Chiron, who was looking at him sternly.

  “Igor?” he asked quietly.

  Igor lifted his face to our trainer. “Yes, Chiron?”

  “Did you not hear my advice when you began?”

  “I did, but—”

  “What was my advice, Igor?”

  “To tuck my arms—”

  “When you fell. Not if, when.” Then he raised his voice, addressing all of us. “Because you will fall. Repeatedly. You will be absolutely miserable by the end of your many days here. But after this year is done, you will all be the better for it.”

  He turned his gaze back to Igor. “As for you, let’s fix that arm.”

  He snapped his fingers in the air.

  “Nathaniel! Get over here and show him how to deal with this.”

  Igor’s eyes grew wide, but when he saw the Coercer striding toward him, he straightened his back and tried to look confident.

  Nathaniel gave Igor a dubious look, then arched a brow at Chiron.

  “Are you sure? He’s only just started.”

  The centaur shrugged. “Better sooner than later, wouldn’t you say?”

  Nathaniel heaved a sigh. “Alright.” He turned to face the rest of the recruits. “Pay attention, everyone. You’ll have to do this sooner than you think.”

  He turned back to Igor and looked him square in the eye. “Igor, this will hurt, but I’m going to walk you through how to fix this.”

  Igor swallowed, then nodded quickly. “I…appreciate that.”

  “Yes, well, you may not in just a moment.” He crooked a finger, indicating for Igor to hold out his arm. “First, wrap your hand around your arm with your fingers going in the direction of the twist, like this.”

  “Oh, gods, I might be sick,” Mary whispered, slapping a hand over her mouth.

  Sina pressed her forehead into my shoulder. “Tell me when it is over, please?”

  “Uh huh,” I muttered, unable to look away.

  “Now, I want you to very quickly twist in the opposite direction. The bone isn’t broken, just out of place, so this will reset it.”

  Igor blanched. “Do I—Can’t I—” He hesitated, staring down at his arm, then looked back at Nathaniel, his brown eyes wide with fright.

  “It’s like ripping off a bandage,” Nathaniel explained. “It would heal on its own in a few hours, but it’ll be more painful, and you need to be able to train today. So, you’re going to fix it now so you can get back to work.”

  Taking a deep breath, Igor tightened his grip on his arm. He squeezed his eyes shut and gave a vicious twist.

  I tried to cover my ears to close out the sound, but the loud crunch was impossible to miss.

  Igor’s chest was heaving, but he had a relieved smile on his face.

  “Better now?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Much. Very much.” Igor shook out his arm, which had been pulled perfectly back into shape. “Thank you.”

  Nathaniel gave him a quick smile before stuffing his hands in his pockets and strolling back to stand with the mentors.

  I was still having trouble reconciling the guy that had come to meet me that day before school with this confident and assertive immortal standing in front of me now. Maybe it was unfair, but the impression I got of Nathaniel when we first met was that of a worker bee—he did what he was told, when he was told, and didn’t ask questions.

  Now, having seen him rubbing elbows with Zeus and watching as he helped teach recruits how to heal themselves, I began to wonder what else I’d yet to learn about him.

  21

  Tessa

  “Having fun yet?”

  I groaned and looked up from where I’d just fallen for the fifth time, closing one eye against the blazing sun. I scowled when I saw Nathaniel grinning down at me.

  He reached out a hand and pulled me up to my feet.

  I dusted off my black pants, which had become coated with powdery gray dust from the stone track. I was surprised that they weren’t shredded to bits at this point.

  “Yep. Best day ever.” I smoothed back my hair and checked that my braid was still in place.

  He smiled, amused. “Well, at least you remembered to tuck your arms. Any injuries yet?”

  I shook out my arms and made my way back to the start line. “Some scraped knuckles, but they healed right away.”

  “Good to hear.” He gestured with his head toward the arena. “Come on, we’re heading back inside.”

  I frowned. “But we didn’t all finish.”

  I looked out over the practice area at my group mates, many of whom seemed to be dragging themselves up from their own falls. I was curious what their missteps had been. I’d done exactly what Chiron had said—I’d started off slow, at a human pace, but my body seemed unaccepting of that, so I regularly found myself accelerating too quickly. I’d tripped over grooves in the rock three times and stumbled over my own feet twice. The four groups that ran before mine hadn’t fared much better.

  “Yes, well, we’ve decided that’s enough for today. It’s already been three hours.”

  My eyes widened. “Seriously? We just got here!”

  He laughed, then pointed up at the sky. “Not exactly.”

  Sure enough, the sun was more than halfway to its apex.

  “Oh.” I put my hands on my hips and started heading inside with the other recruits. “I guess time flies when you’re having fun, huh?”

  “You’ll get the hang of it, just give it a few days.”

  “Days?” I gave him an incredulous look. “Days?”

  “It’s all muscle memory, Tessa. Your body will adjust much quicker than when you were human.” He paused for a moment, looking around awkwardly. “Listen, I know I said I would come talk to you—”

  I held up a hand to stop him. “It’s fine. Really.”

  He shook his head. “No, I misled you and that’s unfair. Can I come find you later? I’ll try to answer any questions you have.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Why would you do that?”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his light brown hair. “Like I said. I misled you. It wasn’t my intention, but it happened, regardless.”

  A smile pulled up the corner of his mouth. “Besides, you’re kind of stuck with me for a while, so I’d like to clear the air, if possible.”

  “Stuck with you?” I arched a brow and grinned at him. “So does that mean you’re one of the other Mentalists who’ll be helping Charlise out?”

  He cocked his head to the side. “You say that as if you expected it.”

  “The way you keep popping up, it certainly doesn’t surprise me.” I slid him a sideways look. “But why, though? Isn’t mentoring stuff for the younger Ischyra?”

  “Eh, yes and no. The Mentalist abilities are much more co
mplex than the Elemental ones, so sometimes we bring in more experienced mentors to help with that training.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” I blew out a breath. “I think I’m having dinner with some friends later, but I’ll be around after. I’m not really sure what time that’ll be, though.”

  “That’s alright, I’ll find you.”

  “Cool. So how’d you get out of wearing the uniform?” I gestured toward his faded jeans and white T shirt. All of the other mentors were wearing dark gray track suits. “Isn’t that a requirement or something?”

  “Only for the regular mentors,” he replied. “I’ve got to go check in with the others. We’ll talk soon.” With a small wave farewell, he jogged over to where the rest of the mentors had assembled behind Chiron, in the center of the arena floor.

  The hard, sandy practice area had changed since we’d gone out back. Ten square tables ran along one side, each holding a large wooden box. A square enclosure that looked like an adult-sized sandbox filled with cushions sat near the middle of the arena, and closest to the entrance was a long, shallow pool filled with shimmering water. Twenty glass boxes, slightly larger than phone booths, sat off to the side opposite the row of tables.

  “Hey, what was that?” Mary had just come up behind me. She grinned and nudged my side with her elbow. “What were you guys talking about?”

  I smiled, noting her wide-eyed, curious expression. “Nothing important. How was your run?”

  She rolled her neck, letting loose several loud cracks, then reached up and adjusted her ponytail. “Painful.”

  I laughed. Mary had fallen at least ten times during her group’s turn.

  “You’re too anxious to prove yourself, Mare. Take a step back.”

  “Easy for you to say. You got to practice with your powers already,” she huffed. “And John always ran you ragged during your training.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I murmured. My training sessions with John had always been intense. Whether we were focused on weapons or calisthenics, he always insisted on putting out a one hundred and ten percent effort. It had been grueling, but I certainly appreciated it now.