Over the next few weeks I finally started training with Kaii working on my magic skills, the first part that we worked on were my abilities as a psychic. Which must have been why Alec could hear me screaming in my own head. A humana apparently had aspects of power from each different type of magician except the bloodstone and moonstone clans. This was an interesting new fact for me; so far I hadn’t had much luck in the magic department yet I was determined to keep trying.
“Okay, you have to concentrate feel the magical energy inside you and then try and push it away from your body.”302Please respect copyright.PENANAJDWCHIuM3b
“I’m trying.”
And honestly I was, I could almost feel the magical energy inside, my body was humming with it. As for pushing it away from me, that was proving to be much more difficult.
“Think of it as a force field, push it away, I can nearly see it.”
I could almost feel it the energy I felt on my skin was spreading to the air around me, straining from the effort beads of sweat formed on my forehead. In spite of my efforts, the force field of energy just dissipated and I exhaled in exhaustion. Clearly I had reached my limit.
“Well it was a good try. Let’s see, do it again but this time I want you to push to your limit and then say provectus.”
I did as I was told pushing right up to my limit and then I whispered the word.
“Provectus.”
A huge burst of energy exploded from my body, I felt it rush out of me. It knocked Kaii about a foot into the air and he landed with a grunt three yards away from me, the books that had been piled up on his desk had flown across the room. Weak from the exertion I had to lean on the table for support.
“What was that?”
Kaii picked himself up and straightened his clothes; he made his way towards me. His glasses were cracked and he took them off, looking at it in disgust, he pulled out another pair from his desk.
“That was an incantation. They act as a catalyst that increases your power. Looks like it worked well.”
“Evidently.”
“So we’ll use them again. You can keep practicing that move in your own time. Now let’s get you to lift this table with your mind.”
He said it like he’d suggested we go take a walk in the meadow, I looked at him disbelieving, and then I looked at the table. It was huge, probably four feet wide and ten feet long and it probably weighed at least a ton. If he’d asked me to lift his desk in the middle of the room with my mind I’d understand, that was much smaller.
“I’m not so sure about that.” I said quietly.
“You can do it, don’t doubt your powers. At least try.”302Please respect copyright.PENANAkPAH3zCoMV
Sighing, I straightened up and moved a couple yards away from the table. I focused on it trying to block everything else out, the more I concentrated on the table the more I felt the weight of it in my mind and body; it was like I was trying to physically lift it. My eyebrows scrunched up and sweat rolled own my face, I managed to the lift the huge table about an inch off the ground before I gave up and it slammed onto the floor creating a very loud bang. I winced and looked at Kaii with a slight grimace of my face.
“Sorry.”
He smiled. “It’s okay, we’ll work on it a little bit at a time. Phaeora will also help you.”
In the space of two hours I practiced releasing my bursts of energy with the incantation, I lifted the colossal table about thirty times and also managed to work on my telepathy with Kaii. That wasn’t going so well.
“That’s enough for today. Go get some rest and join everyone in the main hall for dinner tonight.”
I was about to leave when Kaii stopped me by placing a hand on my arm, I looked back at him.
“Before you leave, don’t mention what you saw in the book a while ago. You know, about Gemini.”302Please respect copyright.PENANA99GYhzbvQC
I nodded and left Kaii in his study. Since he was only telling me this now I didn’t bother mentioning that I had already asked Alec about it. Besides, I doubted saying anything to Alec was bad, he didn’t tell me anything and gave me the same warning. Either way I put the thought to the back of my mind. When I got to my room I flopped onto my bed and promptly fell asleep, drained.302Please respect copyright.PENANADuxm4lZpfv
***
A sudden torrent of col crashed into me, startling me from my slumber. Dazed, I tried to figure out where I was.
“Get up.”
The deep timbre and harsh tone snapped me back to reality at incredible speed. Wrapping my arms about myself I glared at the form called Alec who stood at the foot of my bed holding my blanket. Quickly as I could, I lunged at my blanket and wrapped myself up in it like a cocoon.
“What do you want?” I said, only it came out slightly muffled as I buried my head under the covers.
“Dinner, main hall.”302Please respect copyright.PENANAfTXYWTTOe0
Reluctantly, I got out of bed, walked past Alec throwing him a death glare and made my way to the washroom. Ran my hands through my hair in an attempt to work out some of the knots. Using the sink I splashed a handful of water on my face and freshened it up a little bit. When I came out Alec was still waiting for me.
“Who appointed you dinner police?” I asked, still annoyed with my rude awakening.
“Just doing my job.” He said plainly, glower never wavering.
Once we were standing outside the main hall doors I paused feeling nervous all of a sudden, this would be the first time seeing anyone apart from Alec and the mentors in the Academy. Would they know who I was? Judging by the attack on me I was skeptical about how people felt towards humanas, after all the ones that existed had pretty much destroyed the world. I didn’t know what I’d do if the other people at the Academy shunned me. And all I had left was Alec for company. That thought sent shivers down my spine.
“Just go in. They don’t bite. As long as you don’t scream you might have a chance of making friends.”
“Oh thanks, you managed to insult me and reassure all at once.” I replied sarcastically.
“Don’t mention it.”
He then proceeded to literally push me through the doors; I stumbled in clumsily and nearly fell on my face. Making a quick recovery I spun around to face Alec, I didn’t know what I would do but it involved violence. Unfortunately for me he had already disappeared off somewhere. Glowering at no one in particular didn’t help so instead I faced the room filled with people. That was when I noticed the beauty of the room before me; ignoring the questioning stares I received upon my drastic entrance I admired the décor.
It was spectacular, the biggest room I’d seen since arriving at the Academy. Grandiose images were painting on the ceiling showing what must have been epic battle of this realms history. Hanging from the ceilings were colossal chandeliers that cast the entire room in a shining golden light. Large round jade stone tables dotted the room with beautiful rosewood chairs set up around them.
At the back, there was an open kitchen area with cooks serving people. Several students, which is what I had decided to call them, were sitting around the tables laughing and speaking loudly, apart from a couple of stares as I entered I went completely unnoticed. Relief relaxed my body.
Since Alec had abandoned me I headed to where most of the students were getting their food the back of the hall where the kitchen was. I caught a glimpse into the kitchen and saw a large black cauldron hanging over the fire, several wooden bowls of food on a long maple table in the middle, which was where the cooks were grabbing food from, and serving the students with. After getting my food I turned and faced the masses of tables and realised I didn’t know anyone so didn’t know who I would sit with. So I ended up just standing there blocking the flow of the line.
“Um, excuse me.” A soft voice spoke behind. I spun around and faced a petite young looking girl with russet brown hair, khaki like skin and hazel eyes. She had a kind smile on her face even as she was politely asking me to get out of her way. I did as she asked.
“Sorry.” I said. The girl only smiled and began walking away when she stopped suddenly and faced me again.
“I’m sorry but I can’t help but notice you look extremely like the Goddess Queen. Are you Anya?”
“Uh, yeah that’ll be me.”
“I thought so, did you just get here?” She asked. Not wanting to take the time to explain why I didn’t know anyone despite having been here for a little while I just nodded. “So you don’t know anyone. Then it’s decided, you can sit with me.”
Without giving me a chance to say no she turned on her heels and walked away, I followed her. We came to one of the round tables in the middle of the hall and sat down; it was only her and I sitting at the table. I looked around nervously and saw that others had now noticed my presence and were casting surreptitious glances at me. I reasoned it was due to my similarity to Amara, it made sense because I had seen it myself and was in awe. Determined to ignore the stares I felt on me I turned my attention to the gentle girl sitting beside me.
“So what’s your name?” I asked her.
“Maiya Sephora, earth magician, eighteen years old.”
I laughed. “Uh okay, I’m –”
“I know who you are remember.”
“Right.” I said.
Maiya smiled and her eyes crinkled when she did, she obviously smiled a lot. After a couple of minutes, a young guy and another young girl joined us. Maiya introduced them to me as Erik and Sylvia, fire and water magicians. I was pleasantly surprised by their kindness. Erik and Sylvia were arguing back and forth between each other, Maiya claimed it was because they were magicians of the opposite elements. Setting their debate to rest for now, Erik focused his attention on me.
“So Anya, what’s like being the all-powerful humana?” Erik asked.
Sylvia hit him on the head and he winced.
“Be quiet.” She chastised. To me she said “You don’t have to answer that.”
I smiled feeling at ease with this group of people. “It’s okay,” I looked at Erik. “I don’t really feel all that powerful, earlier today I found it hard to do simple telekinesis.”
Erik laughed heartily. “I suppose telekinesis is quite difficult, though it’s in another league amongst us.”
“Maybe when you get really good you can show us something?” Maiya asked.
“Of course.” I replied, more than willing.
Maiya jumped up and down slightly in her seat, clapping her hands excitedly, I smiled at her, touched by her sincerity. At least I had found some friends that didn’t seem to either want to kill me or were scared of me. After dinner, Maiya and the others invited me to a festival that was happening in town, I agreed seeing as I hadn’t really had much fun since I came to Eithreal. Once we were there, I was even more amazed than I had been since I first saw the town. Which I didn’t think was possible.
The townspeople were even more colourful, festive and vibrant. The market stalls that only held goods and items for trade earlier today were now filled with food and sparklers, masks and costumes, fireworks and firecrackers. Children who were playing earlier in the day now ran around in costumes scaring people who laughed good-naturedly. Nothing like had ever happened in Mortalis, the festivities did wonders for my mood.
“Maiya?”
Maiya glanced at me. “You can call me Mai, most people do.”
“Okay, what exactly are we celebrating?”
“Nothing in particular, it’s a festival for fun I guess.”
People in Eithreal clearly knew how to have fun, I had the best time because of that. Erik was funny, Sylvia was outgoing, Maiya had the quiet but still interesting presence in the group and she could make me laugh as well with her cute little mannerisms and innocence. Sometime later in the night I saw Alec with a group of guys in front of a stall, I would’ve have continued walking by but the expression on Alec’s face had me slowing down to a stop a few metres before them. He was smiling, and his face transformed. His naturally stunning eyes became something else entirely, they looked like they could light up the night sky with an eerie purple glow. And his smile stretched from ear to ear which made his whole face light up with joy, I’d never seen anything like it, he looked completely happy and relaxed. This was the first time I’d even seen an expression other than a glare on his face, I wished he would smile more often.
He must have felt me staring because his eyes caught mine and the expression disappeared so I quickly looked away and caught up to Mai and the others. It was then I realised with annoyance that he hadn’t even told me that there was a festival tonight. If it was up to him I would’ve been sitting in my room all night by myself, I focused on my annoyance at Alec rather than the impression of him smiling that was burned into my brain. Mai, Erik, Sylvia and I spent another couple of hours at the festival before dropping Erik off at his house. I was slightly surprised he didn’t live in the Academy; I had thought all students who went there also lived there. Sylvia and Mai lead me back to the Academy. When we reached the main door to the castle, Mai hesitated.
“Do you mind if me and Sylvia stay with you in your room for a while, just to you know, talk?”
I smiled genuinely moved. “Sure” I said. I led them back to my room and we all sat on the bed.
“Your room is pretty nice.” Sylvia said.
“Thanks. I kind of half share it with Alec. His room is on the other side of the washroom.”
“Alec Ivanov?” Mai said with an expression of awe and envy in her eyes.
“Yeah.”302Please respect copyright.PENANAbRozhn5OOd
“Wow, you’re lucky to be so close to him. He’s like a work of art that can’t be touched.” Sylvia commented.
I sneered and rolled my eyes. “He’s something.”
“You have Erik, you shouldn’t be looking other guys Sylvia.” Mai teased.
“How long have you two been together?” I asked.
Sylvia looked down and blushed. “Erik and I aren’t a couple!”
“Oh. Sorry, it’s just…you two seemed…I don’t know I just assumed you were…sorry.” I stammered.
“They might as well be a couple. They’re completely in love.” Mai said
Sylvia blushed even deeper. “We’re not in love Mai!”
Mai rolled her eyes and muttered a low ‘whatever’, I just smiled at them. The girls and I spent a long time just talking about normal stuff and I found myself getting a warm feeling in my stomach, it felt good talking about everyday things and not learning magic tricks or being strangled by random people. Ever since I came to Eithreal nothing seemed ordinary anymore, even though I know I shouldn’t complain because my life in Mortalis was so dull but I had to admit sometimes I’d rather worry about having missed an assignment in school.
For the first time in a while I thought about my mother, wondering if she would have noticed I was gone by now. Would she be worried? Would she have called the police? Doubt laced my thoughts, I hardly ever saw her when I was there and it wasn’t like she ever checked on me anyway. I could have been dead and she wouldn’t have known unless someone else found me first. As for my father, I had no idea where he was, I missed him but he could be anywhere. And if I thought Mortalis was a big enough place to disappear now that I knew there were more realms it was even more of an impossible task to find him. But of course, he had no idea about the other realms, shaking my head I pushed away all depressing thoughts about my family in shambles and concentrated on the current topic. It seemed we were discussing Eithreal fashion trends and yes, like Alec said, the black cloak was a popular one.
After a little while there was a knock on my door before Alec popped his head in, it looked like he was about to say something then he saw the other two girls in the room, who seemed to have forgotten how to breathe as they gazed at Alec in wonder. I rolled my eyes at them and gave him an irritated look.
“What do you want?”
He entered the room more and I could now see him completely. “Was just checking in, making sure you were alive.”
“You didn’t tell me you were going to the festival.” Okay, I had meant to say he didn’t tell me there was a festival but that seemed to come out instead. Alec just shrugged.
“A last minute decision.”
Yeah, right.
“Are you ladies alright?” he asked Mai and Sylvia, with a crooked grin on his face. I looked at my two friends and it was like they’d forgotten how to speak or blink for that matter, I laughed quietly.
“They’re not in at the moment, but they’re fine.”
“Great.”
And with that, he left my room without a backwards glance. As soon as the door closed the other two finally let the breath that they’d been holding out, I looked at them in amazement.
“Oh goodness, why is he so beautiful?” Mai asked, though who she was asking I wasn’t entirely sure of.
“So you do speak.” I said.
“He’s so sweet, checking up on you.” This from Sylvia.
“And there goes the other one. I thought I’d lost you two.”
We all laughed about it, Mai and Sylvia gushed over Alec for a little while before finally moving on; we talked for a long while before they decided to return to their own rooms. As I closed the door to mine after saying goodbye, I had a smile on my face. I couldn’t remember the last time I had that much fun, in fact, I had never had that much fun. Sighing in content, I gathered my bath items and headed into the washroom. Knocked first, unlike someone I knew, and then entered when I didn’t hear any reply. I had a quick bath and was ready for bed shortly; I lay in bed thinking of the bright colours, variety of food and the vibrant atmosphere of the festival.
Sleep was within my grasp when I suddenly struggled to breathe. Shifting in my bed I assumed I must have accidentally covered my face with my blanket. However the more I moved the harder it was becoming for me to breathe. Truly concerned now, I stirred more vigorously. It made no difference, in effect it was getting worse. By now I was much more alert as I tried to open my eyes yet they didn’t budge. They were being forced close by something other than my own will. Using my hands seemed like the best option, I reached out and tried touching my face only to feel something soft instead, like a pillow.
Understanding dawned on me and I knew someone was attempting to suffocate me. Knowledge of this caused real panic to set in and I began struggling in earnest. The pillow only pressed harder into my face and whoever was behind it growled, the longer the my air supply was being cut off my the less chance I had of surviving this attack
Think Anya, how do I get out of this? Lack of oxygen in my brain was hindering my performance. In a sudden burst of clarity I remembered what I had been learning with Kaii, I hadn’t mastered it but I didn’t really have any other choice. Gathering what little concentration I could muster I focused on the magical energy that was inside me, like Kaii said I imagined it being a force field, now I had to push it away from me. Just like before it was very difficult and I couldn’t use the incantation that he had told me about. All the while, still struggling with the person attempting to take my life, they were immeasurably strong and it was like pushing against a stone wall.
Desperate for air I frantically tried to concentrate; in case it would help I screamed the incantation provectus in my mind and pushed the energy away at the same time. I don’t know whether it was because I was so desperate or if saying the incantation even in my mind helped but it worked, a large bout of energy dispelled and knocked the intruder against my wardrobe.
I sprung up in bed, threw the pillow aside as if it was a hot coal and clamoured to get as much air in my lungs as possible. My heart rate picked up again when the intruder hadn’t been knocked unconscious in fact, he was picking himself up now. I was sure it was a man this time, even though he wore the same sand coloured cloak and scarf the woman who had attacked me in the market had been wearing his frame was much more masculine and he was heavier against me.
As he stood, I saw him take out long black sword, I may have been able to fend him off when it was just a pillow but I didn’t think I could muster up the energy or concentration for another attack of telekinetic energy. And I knew I couldn’t take him with that sword, now was the time to scream. But as soon as I opened my mouth I choked on my own voice and pain flared up in my throat.
Having not have fully recovered from the attack a few weeks ago, with the talking I did straight after the attack, the laughing I did today and the recent suffocation my throat had been abused one too many times lately and it had given up at the worst possible moment. Glancing at the man and then at the washroom door I pondered whether I could make it before he got to me, not having another choice I dashed towards the door.
Before I got there, he grabbed the back of my hair and pulled be backwards, I landed on my back on the ground. Pain shot through me and I tried to scream but all that came out was a pathetic whimper, the force of the landing had me breathless and I couldn’t move for a moment. The man now stood above me, sword poised at my throat ready to deliver the final blow, in a frantic attempt to save myself and because it had worked before I clenched my eyes shut and screamed in my head with all my might. Alec!
For a moment nothing happened, I opened my eyes and saw that the man was stumbling away from me covering his ears, then the washroom door burst open and Alec stood there taking in the scene in front of him. It took him only a second to gather what had happened, before I could blink he was in front of the man and had grabbed him by the throat, he twisted his weapon out of his hand and threw it aside. Then he punched the man in the face several times, the man recovered quickly and shoved Alec away. He hit the other side of the room with force and the man quickly disappeared the same way the woman had before, blending into the wall. I watched the wall closely for a minute almost expecting him to come back for an encore but when nothing happened, I rushed over to where Alec was crumpled in a heap and helped him to his feet. That was when I noticed that he was only in his under garments and I was holding onto his bare arms, I quickly let go and cleared my throat, wincing a millisecond after.
“Are you okay?” I whispered. Not being able to use my voice properly yet.
“I should be asking you that question.”
I nodded.
“That was definitely an earth magician, the woman from the market was one as well.” When I gave him a questioning look, he explained his reasoning. “Earth magicians have vast strength and uncanny abilities to disappear into earth based materials. A useful trick.”
Great, people who were a million times stronger than I was and could literally disappear at a moment’s notice wanted to kill me, now I didn’t feel safe anywhere.
“Try to get back to sleep, there’s nothing we can do for now and they won’t attack again tonight.” I gave him a dubious look. “They know we’ll be expecting it. Just calm down and go back to sleep.”302Please respect copyright.PENANA7qSpciPQjN
I walked back to my bed and got in; there wasn’t much hope for a good night’s sleep at this point in time.
“I’m going to stay in here with you.” It wasn’t a question. I tried to fall asleep again and managed when the fatigue was too much, but the last thing I saw that night was the figure of a man standing over me, a sword at my neck.
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