by Jade Frances
Once outside the three guardians branched off to separate areas of the field. Rose had already followed hers, so I guess I should go over to Pearce, leaving Sandra to head to Egan. Dread filled me, and maybe a little fear. I had only ever trained with my friends, and that was relatively easy with my gifts. I had the feeling it wouldn’t be that way with him. His stony glare turned to me, and for a moment I wondered if he hated being assigned to me. I didn’t have time to worry about that, however. The loudest clap I had ever heard came from where Rose and Barack were stationed. What the--? I thought as I spun around to look at them. The sky was turning dark, rain poured down around us, and then the lightning came. Barack specialized with lightning.
“Bloody great training in an electrical storm…” I didn’t have time to finish mumbling to myself. I was hit square in the back, it knocked the wind round out of me and forced me to the floor. I was pinned on my stomach. Pearce’s massive arms were holding me down.
I tried wiggling my arms free, but that wasn’t getting me anywhere. So I started kicking my legs out too. Writhing about underneath him was proving useless. Suddenly I felt his mouth far too close to my ear for my comfort. I froze and stopped my futile attempts at escaping his hold.
“Lesson number one. Never turn your back on your opponent, little siren,” he whispered. I noticed a hint of an accent to his voice but couldn’t place it. As soon as he released his grip on me, I whipped round onto my back, glaring up at him. Holding out his hand to help me up, I pushed it away.
“Give a girl some warning next time!” I snapped at him. I was sure I could see a small smile forming on his face, but that only ignited my anger more. I bloody hate combat training. I would not let him get another lucky shot in though, I could hold my own. He was a man of little words, which reminded me of Adam when I had first bumped into him. Shaking off, I took up a wide stance and got into a defensive position. Giving him a daring look, I gestured for him to come at me.
That he did. So fast, I barely saw him coming towards me. Before I could react, his leg had swept behind mine, pulling them from underneath me. Landing back on the floor with a thud, I snarled with frustration. Now that wasn’t a lucky shot. Looking at Pearce’s face, I saw a smug look in his eye. Arrogant son of a... he held his hand back out to me, and again I ignored it. As I stood up, this time I thought I would go on the attack. Catch him by surprise.
Mustering all the strength I could, I threw myself at him. To do what, I’m not sure. It didn’t matter, anyway. It felt like I had hit a brick wall. I flew back but caught myself before falling this time. Shock coursed through me. He hadn’t even moved an inch.
“Good,” he said bluntly.
“Good! I didn’t even move you,” I shouted back, my frustration getting the better of me.
“But you are not on your back. Again,” he barked back. I groaned as I readied myself to go again. This would be a long session with this beast.
A long training session it was, I thought as I forced my aching body to head back inside the house. It didn’t help that I was completely soaked through to the bone and covered in head to toe of mud. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, a big one.
“Whoa, he really did a number on you,” Rose said sympathetically as she looked me up and down. A quick glance at her and Sandra told me their guardians had gone a lot easier on them. They hadn’t had it half as rough as I had by the looks of it.
“Sure feels that way. I’m going for a soak in the bath,” I replied sulkily. I was frustrated and hoping the water would ease some aches and pains that were plaguing my entire body. Leaving the girls, I made a beeline for the stairs.
A hand reached out to stop me as I reached the first step. I didn’t even look back; I knew it was Pearce. I had a good sense of his energy now. After a moment’s silence, he spoke.
“You did well,” was all he said. Though it sounded like it pained him to give me even that small piece of credit. What is his problem?
“Yeah against a beast,” I bit back. Yanking my arm from his hand, I didn’t wait for him to respond. I thumped up the stairs and slammed my door behind me. I don’t care if he thinks I’m being childish. I’m tired, in pain and itching to feel the warmth of the water. Running a bath, I slipped in slowly. Embracing the heat and calming effect that was washing over me. This would be a long few weeks. If we even had that long, I thought.
Aresollo’s warning of I’ll see you soon filled me with fear. Not only for myself, but for the others too. I had to do better, especially if I wanted to survive. Submerging myself underwater, I opened up the bond to see what the girls were up to. They were having a conversation about wards being put up around the perimeter. Sinking even deeper into the water, I blocked them out. I didn’t have the energy for anything else today. I just wanted to relax and forget about the world around me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Two weeks had passed since our first training session. I was still landing on my back more than anything, but I had improved slightly.
“What are we doing today?” I asked Pearce sullenly. We were all gathered in the dining room, having fallen into a daily routine. Breakfast, followed by training, followed by lunch and then more training. The guardians even ate with us now, which made things more comfortable and less formal. It brought us a bit of normalcy, at least. Rose and Sandra had been training with their gifts for a good few days now. I had caught them laughing and joking with Barak and Egan on the odd occasion. Whereas I’m still stuck on combat training, and mine and Pearce’s relationship hadn’t improved at all. Today I hoped that would change, only to move on from combat training though, I don’t care about Pearce. Even as I thought it, something niggled inside me. I was maybe a bit jealous of the others. Pearce was formal and direct. Only in very rare times did he let his guardian facade fall, but even then, it would only be for a split second. That’s about as far as I got with him. Most of the time he just stared at me oddly. Much like the way he was looking at me now.
“Training,” he replied. Rolling my eyes at him, I pushed further.
“Yes, beast of little words. What type of training?” The girls let out small giggles at my retort, which didn’t gain me any brownie points with Pearce. Turning his steely gaze from them to me, he replied.
“Combat.” Great.
Before I could argue, the door opened wide and in walked Taylor. Right behind him was Darryl. The anger that I had felt towards Pearce turned into excitement as soon as I caught sight of Darryl’s cheeky smile.
“You’re back.” I leapt out of my seat to run to him. Catching me in his arms, he swung me round before putting me back on my feet.
“Woa, someone got strong,” he laughed as he spoke. “Miss me much?”
I punched him lightly on the arm but gave him my warmest smile.
“Only kicking your arse in training,” I laughed back. Darryl’s grin faded as he held me back, taking in the fading bruises scattered all over me. Looking away to glare over my head, it seemed he had only just noticed the guardians.
“He will not be happy about this,” he mumbled. Picking up on what he just said, I peered around him to see if Adam was there. Disappointment hit me as I took in the empty hallway.
“Adam’s here Evvy, he just needs more time to adjust,” Darryl whispered to me. I looked up into his green eyes. There was apprehension in them. Something had happened while they were wherever they had been.
Throwing him a questioning look, I felt Rose and Sandra coming up behind me to greet him. I moved out of their way. Backing up, I bumped right into Taylor.
“Sorry Tay, welcome back,” I gave him a cuddle. With a small pat on my back, he let go and left the room. Muttering a quick “thanks,” on his way out.
“What was that about?” Rose asked as she came to join me.
“No clue,” I replied. Brushing off the worry seeping its way into me, I turned to her with a grimace.
“Best get ready to get my arse kicked again.” I flicked my gaze to Pearce, who
I was sure had heard me. One of these days I’ll make him smile, a full beaming one. Ha, I thought. In my dreams.
“Still not ready to train with your gift, huh?” Sandra’s voice drew me away from Pearce’s gaze. Usually a remark like that, especially from Sandra, would have my back up. But I could see the twinkle in her eyes and knew she was just messing with me. Oh, how times were changing, I thought, as I trudged outside with everyone else. It looked like Darryl was going to join us.
***
Landing with a thud on my bum, I snarled.
“You’re not concentrating, little siren.” Pearce’s voice was irritating me more, only fuelling my frustration.
“We have been at this for weeks,” I shouted as I stood up and stretched my arms and legs to ease the aches. “I don’t know how many more hits I can take!” Movement in the corner of my eye drew my attention toward the house. Taylor had joined Darryl, and both of them were just standing there watching us intently. How embarrassing, how many times was I going to get knocked over in front of them.
“Yes, and in that time, you have evaded my attacks at the very least... four times,” there was a slight smile forming on Pearce’s face again and I swear he wanted to laugh. Maybe there was a normal person underneath the robotic guardian facade. He was annoying me. I readied myself for his next attack.
After falling for a third time, I was well and truly hacked off.
“This is pointless,” I screamed. Rage built up inside, and small twinges of darkness made their way into my mind.
“You are improving,” Pearce said. It didn’t help the turmoil of emotions that were breaking through though, I was angry.
“It’s not enough,” I replied through gritted teeth.
“Take that anger you are feeling right now and use it. Fuel your energy and your strength, little siren.” More darkness appeared; I really wish he would stop calling me that.
Evvy what’s going on over there, I heard Rose through the bond.
I wasn’t in the mood to talk. I pushed her out of my mind and I felt more of the dark mist seeping in. I looked towards Pearce, trying to plan my next defense; he was looking at me strangely, concern was growing on his features.
“Little...” Before he could say siren, I threw a whip of air towards him. Screw being on the defense and screw combat, I thought. My biggest strength was within me.
I knew the air wouldn’t hurt him, it just knocked him over as he had done to me so many times. I watched, revelling in the satisfaction of him being the one on his backside. I glanced at him, a smug smile on my face. It didn’t last long though, the dark mist had grown considerably stronger, and was clouding my mind. I could see Pearce starting to get up and threw another pocket of air to pin him back down. I wasn’t aware I had moved, but I was standing above him, looking down. I thought I saw a glimmer of fear in his eyes, but the dark mist wouldn’t let me acknowledge it. For a brief second, I wondered what the hell I was doing. But again, before I could comprehend anything, the darkness grew stronger. Pushing all logic from my mind. I wasn’t myself; I could feel it taking over me. My eyes were struggling to adjust, it was like I was looking through the mist itself. Heat started burning within me, spreading to my hands where it collected in my palms. Looking down, I noticed that I haven’t been able to conjure this amount of my gift before. I again looked down at Pearce. No no no, I was trying to tell myself, don’t hurt him. My arms were lifting, getting ready to throw my energy into him.
Massive rocks and boulders started flying towards me from all directions. They were forming a circle around me, growing gradually higher the more they accumulated. Pearce was blocking me in! Panic set in as the rock and stone prison grew high above my head. Shouting words that would get me into trouble, I started slamming my fists against it. Just get one rock free and you can get out, I thought. It was useless though; they weren’t budging. The mist was taking my sight now, the surrounding rocks were becoming hazy. All thought of escape was leaving my mind. Leaving only the darkness remaining, swirling around like a mini tornado.
What is going on? Sandra screamed through our bond. I hadn’t felt her enter my mind. Then the pain hit. Shoving her out. It was excruciating. I fell to my knees with my head in my hands, scraping my arms on the jagged edges of the rocks on my way down. I heard blood-curdling screams coming from all around me. The screams, however, belonged to me. They were echoing back off of the rocks. I begged for the pain to stop. It trapped me in the darkness in my mind.
“Let her go!” I heard someone growl on the other side of the rocks.
“I can’t.”
I lost my sight completely; the darkness taking over. The pain intensified to the point where I thought my head would explode. I can’t take anymore. I was rolling around on the floor, but I soon stopped moving. Exhausted, I gave into the darkness. I felt a small tingling in the corner of my mind. A tiny piece of light had entered.
But I didn’t have the strength to reach for it. Instead, a voice carried its way through to me from the darkness, clear and strong.
Soon Evangeline.
My mind hummed. I could sense someone nearby; their heat was radiating towards me. Calmness weaved its way through my body. Relaxing my aching muscles and tired head. Opening my eyes slowly, I winced at the lingering pain that was present. I felt nauseous. Holding a hand up to my head, I half expected to pull it away and see blood. But there wasn’t any, just the throbbing in my mind.
“Here,” a hand shot out in front of me, holding a bottle of water and two pills. Sitting up, I looked straight at Adam. So he was where the feelings of calmness had come from.
“Hi,” I whispered, staring at him in amazement. He was here, with me. Out of all the people I expected to see by my side, he wasn’t one of them. Darryl had said he needed time. Before either of us could say anything else, though, Rose and Sandra came barrelling through the door.
“Oh, thank god!”
“You’re ok.”
“What happened?” They threw at me all at once.
“Girls, slow down. It hurts,” I pointed to my head.
“Sorry, are you ok?” Rose asked. Sighing, I patted the bed next to me, gesturing for them to sit down. A quick glance round told me that Adam had already slipped quietly out of the room. Turning to the girls, I settled down to tell them what had happened.
“Well, that dog of yours is very protective. He nearly tore Pearce’s head off trying to get him to let the stone wall down,” Sandra retorted once I had finished telling them what had happened.
“Sandra,” Rosemary warned.
“Sorry, old habits. That wolf of yours,” Sandra corrected herself. It didn’t bother me though; it would take time for any of them to get used to Adam.
“Why did he cage me in?” I asked the girls. Both of them glanced sheepishly at each other, but it was Rose that answered.
“I guess you should ask him.”
“He was so worried about you though, Evvy! You should have seen him when he dropped the wall and saw you lying there. He looked helpless. Maybe he cares.” Sandra explained. “Which you no, now I think of it, he pays a lot of attention to you, all the time. He’s always staring at you. At first I thought he was weird but...” I don’t know whether that was a hint of excitement in her voice or she was just on a high with everything that had happened.
“Adam wouldn’t let anyone near you, Pearce has been up here every ten minutes to see you,” Rose butted in. How strange, I thought. The beast may have melted slightly.
“I’m sure I’m due him a massive apology,” I muttered, staring down at my hands. “I lost control,” I added quietly.
“Hey, I’m the queen of losing control over here, it happens. Don’t be too hard on yourself. No one got hurt,” Rose nudged me playfully with her shoulder, giving me a reassuring smile. I guess she was right.
“Erm, no guys. Only you two. It only happens to you two. I haven’t lost control,” Sandra piped up.
“Not yet,” Rose threw back at her.
We all giggled and laid back, looking at the ceiling.
I felt Rose’s hand reach for mine and Sandra’s reached for the other.
“We will be just fine ladies, we have each other,” Rose said encouragingly. A knock on the door interrupted us.
“Come in,” I yelled. Pearce walked in, standing tall, with the same air of confidence he always had. He stalled slightly as he took in the three of us laying on my bed. Not a sight he was probably expecting.
“Time to go Rose, dinner won’t cook itself,”. Sandra jumped off the bed and moved towards the door. Once she had passed Pearce, she turned and gave me a wink. What the--? Rose kissed my forehead quickly and dashed off after her. That left just me and Pearce, who was glancing around awkwardly.
“Do you want to sit?” I gestured towards the space the girls had left. Looking at the bed, then back to me, it seemed ages before he answered.
“No, I’m fine,” he shuffled his feet, “thanks,”.
“Pearce.”
“Evangeline,” he said.
We both went to speak at the same time.
“You first,” I said. Pearce wasn’t even looking at me as he spoke. I don’t think I had ever, at least in the few weeks I had known him, seen him looking so uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry,” was all he said whilst staring at his feet. “I’m sorry for caging you in like that. I, I didn’t know what else to do.” A sudden urge to comfort him came over me. He didn’t seem like the cuddly type though, so I settled for joining him in the middle of the room and reached out to awkwardly pat his arm. He didn’t recoil, at least. This was the first time since he had come into my room, that he properly looked at me. His piercing grey eyes looked like they were full of pain. Why was it bothering him so much he hadn’t hurt me?
“Hey, it’s ok. I’m the one who should apologize, I lost control. I don’t know what came over me, Pearce, I’m sorry.”
“I felt it Evangeline, I felt the darkness. It was consuming you; I had no idea what to do. I know you are strong, I can feel your energy, but this was a strength I have never seen. Are you ok?”
