Adamagika: The Spirit Within - 23. Ch 23: Combat Magic 101

CHAPTER 23: Combat Magic 101

“Yeah, that’s it. Harder Adam. Come on! Show me what you’re made of.” That was Brian speaking somewhere to my right.

I was facing one of the walls erected in the middle of our training room. I was trying to “blow it apart with my mind” as Brian called it. So far, it’s been stubbornly resisting to blow.

“Ok, maybe this isn’t one of your strengths,” Brian suggested.

We’ve been training for five days. During that time, he has shown me the different combat techniques that I witnessed on my first day of training as an Aerophalanx recruit. I counted the first day I joined the Aerophalanx as my first official day of training even if we didn’t really do much. On the second day we met, Brian showed me how to manipulate wind and fire magic. He also taught me how to be mobile while casting spells.

“Mobility is critical in any fight,” he explained that day. “Your opponent can’t kill what he can’t hit. Magic drains the body, as does moving rapidly. The key is to balance both such that you are able to cast without having to sacrifice speed. If you stay at it too long, you will tire yourself out. You’ll become more sluggish and you spells will likely be weaker.”

So once I got the hang of creating “wind spheres” as he called them. We played a game he called “dodgeball” in which the objective was to knock the other person down with a correctly aimed wind sphere. The first few attempts, I couldn’t cast while moving. It was very difficult to move, cast, and dodge all the same time but eventually after being knocked to the ground for about the ninth time, I managed to hurl a wind sphere while moving. Unfortunately it missed and Brian didn’t hesitate to knock me down for the tenth count. He was smiling though and congratulating me for my first mobile spell.

The last few times we practiced wind spheres, he even allowed Jacob to train with us. Jacob was watching pretty much the whole time. I had no doubt that he was practicing while watching because he caught on a lot quicker than I did. He was hurling wind spheres at me while moving in hardly any time at all. He said it was just natural talent. Natural talent, my foot!

After that training day, Jacob and I had more time to discuss what had happened between us. I was too tired the previous day to speak much about it and fell asleep as soon as I got back to our rooms. I woke up just in time for the next day’s training, only after having cold water dumped on me again. I swore to myself that I’d get back at Jacob one day for those rude awakenings.

“Have you ever heard of anything like it?” Jacob asked me in our room after our training with wind spheres and fireballs that day. I had a much easier time manipulating fire than wind. Brian even said that it might be my strength but he won’t know until we’ve practiced more complicated fire spells. I was just thankful that we didn’t have to play dodgeball with fireballs.

“Two mages sharing each other’s power? No. I know mages can imbue items with their own magic and store it there while they replenish the magic in their bodies. That’s actually what those maces are for. They fill it with magic a day before so that their bodies are well rested the following day. It’s like having an extra energy pool to drain. But, a mage draining magic from another person? I haven’t read or heard of anything like it.”

“Do you think we should ask Magister Aenhol?” he asked.

Normally, I would have said yes but I had this strange feeling inside me telling me that I shouldn’t. I didn’t hear a voice or anything like I used to. In fact, I realized that it had been months since I last heard that disembodied voice speak to me. Somehow, I knew though that if she were to speak to me then, she would tell me not to.

“I don’t think so,” I said after a brief pause. “I think we need to figure this out on our own first.”

Jacob nodded and I got the impression that he was thinking the same thing. “I just want you to know that if you ever need to drain magic from me, you can drain as much as you need.”

I looked over at him. He turned his face so that our eyes met. I was just realizing then that I had an uncanny ability to tell what a person was feeling or maybe even thinking by looking into their eyes. It was easier with some people than with others. I wanted to see what Jacob felt about this whole magic draining thing. I didn’t want him to think I was using him or anything like that.

I couldn’t resist smiling when I saw what was in his eyes. I could see that he was happy as though sharing this thing with me was a great gift for him. It made me realize that it was one more special thing that we shared.

I kissed him and as soon as our lips touched I felt the familiar tingling sensation. It seemed to get stronger as the days passed. I figured it meant that I was falling more and more in love with Jacob. We spent the next fifteen minutes in bed kissing before falling asleep with smiles on our faces.

On the third consecutive day we trained, Brian showed me how to cast “ethereal manifestations.” These were the spells being used by the burly mage and his opponent.

“The advantage of using ethereal manifestations or avatars over direct spells is that they are sustained magical forces. If you hurl a fireball and it misses, that’s it, end of attack. Manifestations on the other hand last longer.” He waved his hand and a large white elk materialized beside him. “The initial casting can drain a lot of magic and energy but sustaining it takes relatively little magic unless it is damaged or destroyed. It is less tiring for instance to manifest an avatar and have it chase your opponent than hurling dozens of fireballs at him.”

“What gives an avatar its shape?” I asked as the image of the bear and serpent came to mind.

“That’s entirely up to the mage casting it. Larger objects require more magic of course. Something you must also remember is that the manifestations are also governed by the rules and limitations of the real world. So, if you manifest an avatar that is shaped like a solid block, you’d either have to roll or lift it with more magic in order for it to move. That is why it is probably best to manifest animal avatars at least offensively because the very blueprint of animals makes them generally mobile. No one really knows why they behave that way. But the way these avatars behave, you’d almost think magic was alive and had a mind of its own.”

I gave him a feeble smile as I remembered the Seer and what she said about the source of all magic.

He patted his elk. “Once an avatar is made, it becomes a solid wall of energy fueled both by the magic stored in it and by magic pouring out of a mage. If an avatar is damaged, it will leak energy and dissipate unless the damage if fixed.”

Brian pulled out a six inch rod and it extended into a beautiful golden mace. The large crystal at the tip hummed with energy. He murmured an incantation causing the tip of the mace to glow. He then slammed the mace against the elk’s torso with almost no effort at all. The tip of the mace sparked and the white skin of the avatar singed away as though it was melting off.

The elk didn’t react to the hit like a live elk would have. Instead, it merely stood there as though nothing happened. However, I could now see white streams leaking where the mace had made contact. I watched as the elk started shrinking in size as more white energy filtered out of what would have been a fatal wound on a real elk. Brian waved his hands and the elk stopped leaking white energy.

“Think you can handle that?” he asked.

As it turned out, I could. It took over an hour of trying but eventually, I managed to get an avatar down. Brian was deeply impressed I could tell, but Jacob wasn’t as happy about it. I managed to create the avatar of a jaguar that I used to chase Jacob around the room. He cursed at me indignantly as the avatar dissipated but not before taking a raunchy bite at his behind.

I also made an eagle avatar and Brian made it fight against his own elk avatar (which cheated because elks shouldn’t be able to fly!). Brian said something about a reindeer. What the heck was a reindeer?

I also created a solid wall of white energy which pleased Brian because he was just about to mention how avatars could be used defensively as well as offensively.

“Very good,” Brian said. “Solid wall avatars can also be used like mage shields. Just remember that they tend to drain more energy at the start and they can be damaged slowly to leak more energy unlike mage shields that distribute energy evenly. You can’t pierce a hole in a mage shield without destroying the rest of it. With an avatar, you can. Each mage shield generated by a mage is tied to every other shield he makes at the time. So if you destroy one, you destroy them all. Avatars once created, are separate spells and can only be extinguished all at once if the mage ceases to channel them or if the mage is knocked unconscious.”

I was starting to feel confident about my magic. I haven’t had to drain magic from Jacob yet, although we agreed that I would if I needed to. In fact, we were planning on doing just that when I finally had to demonstrate my magic in front of the others. But as long as it wasn’t necessary, I wouldn’t resort to draining him.

By the fourth day, Brian was discussing arcane magic.

“Arcane magic is pretty much magic at its purest form. Do you remember the pair fighting with the red and blue beams? Well, they were using arcane magic, at least a weakened form of it. It is one of the most destructive forms of combat magic but also the most unstable and most draining. I asked them to show it to you and if they had used arcane bolts, they wouldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds in the fight. The reason we teach it is that it is the most effective means of destroying a mage shield. The unstable elements of arcane magic can easily disrupt the magic in mage shields causing it to dissipate. In terms of destructiveness, it is rivaled only by combined elemental magics which are much more difficult to learn and something I’ll be teaching you much later.”

He turned towards the end of the room where several training dummies were set up. They looked remarkably like flat Madame Roostes with a large red bull’s-eye on their chests. “It shouldn’t be used carelessly because it isn’t as easy to manipulate as other forms of magic. Also, it can quickly drain you. Those two mages you saw fighting with it a few days ago managed to maintain those beams that long only because they’re some of the strongest recruits we have. They were also using a fraction of what arcane magic can do. They have such good control over their magic that they are quite ready to move to other squads if they desired.”

Brian raised his hand towards one of the dummies we practiced with that day. A red streak of energy that looked like lightning burst quickly from his hands and within the blink of the eye blew Madame Rooste into wood shavings.

I felt all giddy inside.

Brian took a deep breath before continuing. “Arcane magic as a beam can already be dangerous as it is though. Do not use arcane bolts in combat unless you have spare energy from your mace or are willing to drain your body momentarily. Even a single burst of an arcane bolt can weaken your body severely enough that you would be unable to move effectively for a minute.”

He showed me how to do it after that. It took me over an hour before I finally managed to pull magic straight from within me into an arcane beam. Even before it left my body, I could already feel myself getting tired. When it finally did spark from the tips of my finger, it didn’t hurl itself towards the dummy but rather danced crazily around the room destroying floor spaces wherever it touched.

“Don’t try to think of it as lightning,” Brian said whose robes were slightly singed. I think some of his hair was smoking also. “I noticed that it was arcing like lightning. Just imagine a point at your target and let the magic flow from you to your target as pure energy. If you imagine it as lightning it will behave as chaotically as lightning and I think Jacob and I would rather have our limbs intact by the end of the day.”

Admittedly it wasn’t my most productive training day yet. I just barely managed to blow up a dummy just before we finished training. Brian was enthusiastic though that with a little more training, I could get the hang of it. I felt exhausted by the end of it though and even had to start draining magic from Jacob during the last hour. I decided to myself that I didn’t like arcane magic much no matter how powerful it could be.

I figured though that the next training day could not possibly be worse than arcane magic.

I was wrong.

That day was our fifth consecutive training day. Brian decided to teach me telekinetic magic. It also went by the name “mind magic” primarily because it involved the sheer power of the mind and will in order to perform its many spells. He had several walls standing at the end of the room. How these things just ended up in the middle of the room, I had no idea. Did they have personnel that did the moving and all? Was there like a storage room full of walls and flat Roostes? Anyway, he wanted me to “push” the wall with such a force of magic that it would get blown apart. So far though, it’s been mocking me with its stillness.

“Why can’t I just make an avatar of an elephant and run it down?” I finally asked after two hours of staring at the wall accomplishing nothing other than adding a few extra creases to my forehead from all the concentrating I’ve been doing. “It’s just as effective and probably takes a lot less effort.”

“You could do that. But you see, the advantage of using telekinetic magic is that it can only be successfully fought with telekinetic magic or by moving away from it before it grabs a hold. Unlike other kinds of magic it doesn’t move from the mage to wherever the target it. Rather it surrounds the target and attacks directly. Other forms of mind magic can serve as potent stealth techniques that can make a mage invisible to everyone but the mind’s eye.”

“Huh?” I asked having understood nothing of what he said.

Brian laughed. “Ok. Perhaps a little demonstration is in order. Create the strongest shield you can around you.”

I did as he said without having to draw magic from Jacob. The familiar blue shield formed all around me.

“Now watch,” he said. I looked at his eyes and there was a mischievous glean in them and I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever was about to happen. He raised his hand and twisted his wrist downwards.

I heard a swooshing sound as I suddenly felt my pants being yanked downwards revealing the purple boxers I was wearing. I promptly covered my boxers with my hands and the shield around me flickered out. Jacob was laughing hysterically somewhere behind me before I heard a second swooshing sound and his shirt was pulled upwards up to his shoulders forcing his hands up and exposing his bare chest.

Brian was laughing as I pulled my pants up and Jacob was scurrying around yelling indignantly as his shirt was held over his head. Once Brian finally released his spell, we all broke into laughter, even Jacob who was red all over his face.

“That is why you need to learn telekinetic magic if not to use offensively then at least to use defensively. The most powerful shields won’t protect you against someone using telekinesis. There are also certain aspects of mind magic that you will need in order to truly become an Aerophalanx.”

“Have you ever had to fight someone using telekinesis?” I asked.

“Well, I’ve never been in actual combat. We haven’t really been in any wars or conflicts in decades,” Brian commented, “but it’s been used against me in training and I know I’d rather be able to defend myself against it just in case. As an Aerophalanx, we need to be ready for any situation against any enemy. Any weaknesses in our defense could prove lethal in a fight.”

I nodded. “Okay, how do I go about this? What if I never develop this mind magic thing?”

Brian looked at me curiously. “Then, I’m afraid we’ll have to remove you from training.”

I looked over at Brian shocked at the bluntness of his words. He laughed out loud before he continued speaking. “Don’t worry, Adam. It’s only been five days. As I said, most mages have to undergo a whole year of combat training before they become an Aerophalanx recruit. We’re cramming all that knowledge for you in just a few days. I’m certain that with more time and training, you will get a better handle on things.”

Brian turned towards one of the walls and raised his hand forward as though in an attempt to grab it. He recoiled his hand and the entire lower section of the wall exploded showering us with dust and little bits of rock that used to be part of the wall.

“Hey, that’s like what Magister Aenhol did,” I said as I remembered what happened on that day in the Anthium forest.

“Like what?” Brian asked curiously. I explained to him how Magister Aenhol took me to that isolated village and how he had destroyed columns of metal and rock by simply reaching out to it.

He nodded and agreed with me. “Certainly sounds like it. That’s one of the advantages of this branch of magic. It allows you to control the physical world around you. If he used elemental magic for instance, he wouldn’t have been able to propel those shards to your attackers. Not with as much control anyway. Why don’t you try again? This time, why don’t you try to keep the explosion I showed you in mind or maybe even what Magister Aenhol did? Imagine the wall being surrounded by waves of magic as it suddenly rips into the surface and tears it apart.”

Once again, I looked towards the walls and concentrated. This time, I tried to imagine the invisible fields of energy that he said and tried to image the wall as it would look after I was done with it. I tugged my hands backwards the same way Brian did and I heard an unmistakable cracking sound.

“Good,” Brian said with a smile. “Not quite an explosion but you’re getting there.”

It took me more tries and on that final attempt, the wall shattered and crumbled to the floor.

“Excellent,” Brian said. “Seems to me that you’re an experiential learner. You need to see or experience a certain spell in order for it to become a reality of you. That’s a good thing by the way because it could help you learn things faster. It could even prepare you more easily in resisting certain spells used against you once you understand the magic behind it.”

A mischievous thought occurred to me at that point and before I could stop myself, I raised my hand towards Brian and flicked it down. Immediately, I heard the swooshing sound surround Brian and his pants were huddled around his ankles. His white briefs were in plain view. He was bulging in them.

He looked surprised then shocked as Jacob and I laughed out loud. He scrambled to get his pants and immediately tied them around his waist. Instead of laughing though, he had a solemn, serious look on his face. He then glared daggers at me… or maybe behind me. I looked towards the empty stands where his eyes seemed to be lingering. I thought that I heard a chuckle from the empty seats but I figured it was our laughter echoing. Although how a laugh echoed into a chuckle, I had no way of explaining. As I looked back at Brian, I immediately stopped laughing as I saw the grim expression on his face that was now focused on me. I was worried that I’d gone too far.

Brian slowly started walking towards me with that somber look and with each step he took I got more nervous. Through all this training, I had forgotten that Brian was my Squad Leader and perhaps it wasn’t okay for recruits to do such things to someone in his position of authority. Jacob stopped laughing also as soon he saw what was happening.

Brian was now standing a foot in front me of and he was looking at me seriously. I was starting to feel little tingles of fear.

“Brian, I’m sorry,” I said softly.

He raised his closed fist towards my face and I closed my eyes bracing myself for the punch. I felt it graze my cheeks. But it wasn’t the forceful hit I was expecting. Instead, it seemed rather playful.

“You cheeky brat,” I heard him say. I opened my eyes and the serious look was gone to be replaced by an amused mischievous face. “I always knew you wanted to see me naked. Next time you should bring down the underwear too if you really want a show.”

I looked openmouthed at him astonished by what he just said. He gave me one of his patented winks before he turned towards the wall again. “Come on, we have other aspects of mind magic to deal with.”

We spent the rest of the day discussing other spells that were commonly used in mind magic. At one point, I asked Brian if it was possible to read another person’s thoughts and he said that it wasn’t using mind magic anyway.

“I’ve heard of mages developing special talents for mind reading,” he said. “But they aren’t exactly branches of magic and they aren’t really something we can learn. It seems to be something inherent in the mage using it. Either it’s there or it isn’t.”

He waved his hand and a large cinder block flew towards me, I managed to make it explode in midair.

“Besides, people who can read minds are often dangerous. Usually, you can’t trust them.”

“What?” I asked surprised by his statement. I was so surprised that I didn’t notice the large block Brian had hurled towards me. It slammed heavily against my chest and I felt immense pain spread all over my torso. I distinctly heard a cracking sound as I came crashing to the ground.”

“Adam!” I heard Jacob yell somewhere in the distance.

My world was swirling around me. It felt like I had the wind knocked out of me and I had no doubt that it was exactly what happened. An odd feeling of warmth was spreading through my chest. I placed my hand over it and I felt a sharp pain. I pulled my hand way from it and it looked completely soaked in blood. I was also starting to distinctly taste something metallic in my mouth. And on top of all this, there was just immense pain and my vision seemed to be fading in and out.

“The rib protruded through the skin,” I heard a voice somewhere over me.

“Go three doors down and look for Healer Cotier,” I heard another voice say.

“Hold on, Adam,” I heard from a faraway place.

“He’s losing consciousness.”

“I’m going to kill you!”

“Adam?”

“Adam, don’t go,” I heard finally as the world turned black.

* * * * * * * * * *

Adam…

What?

It’s time for you and Jacob to become one said a familiar voice somewhere around me. Everything was completely dark around me as though the world didn’t exist. It took me just a moment to realize that I didn’t even have a body or even eyes to open. It was like I was just floating in never-ending darkness.

It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the one who’s been speaking to me? I asked the voice.

Yes, Adam. It is I. And it is time for us to finally meet.

How? When?

By becoming one with Jacob. I have become whole by bringing you together but my power cannot come into your world until the channels of magic between you two have been cleared of all barriers.

What barriers? I asked.

I think you already know that, Adam. What are you afraid of?

Without thinking about it too much, I knew what she was talking about. Somehow things were just more apparent there wherever I was. It was as though clarity came without a second thought. What if it’s not real?

The voice paused as though it was contemplating her answer. Do you really believe that, Adam? Do you really think that the feelings you have for Jacob are the result of magic?

I thought about it and again the answer seemed plain and simple in this dark world. No, not really.

Good. It is time you stop holding yourself back. You must prepare yourself, Adam. Your enemies approach from the north and your city shall fall if you aren’t ready. In fact, you already have an enemy close to you.

What enemies? Who’s here? What are you talking about? I asked and asked again into the darkness but she had already left.

* * * * * * * * * *

“I think he’s coming around,” a deep voice said somewhere above me.

“Move!” I heard someone yell as I felt a body above me being pushed away. It was replaced by another much smaller body, one that felt remarkably familiar.

“Adam, can you hear me?” I heard the new person ask in a cracking voice.

I opened my eyes slightly and my sight was assaulted by the bright lights.

“Lower the lights,” I heard the person above me give in a commanding tone.

I tried opening my eyes again and this time the lights weren’t as painful. As I concentrated on the figure looming above me, the familiar outline of his beautiful face became clear. It was marred though by the lines of worry that were etched across his forehead.

“How are you feeling?” he asked softly.

“I’m…” I cleared my throat as my voice felt rough.

“Drink this,” an unfamiliar woman offered. “It’s water.”

I drank from the offered cup and felt the cool water soothing my throat. When it was all gone, the person replaced the cup on a table beside my bed and walked away. I looked around and it seemed like I was in some kind of infirmary.

“I’m alright, Jacob,” I told him.

He gave me a small smile and I could see relief etched on his eyes. “You had me so worried there. I thought I’d… I thought I lost you.”

I raised my hand towards his cheeks and brushed my fingers over it. He closed his eyes and melted into my touch. “You’ll never lose me,” I said. “I’m yours forever.” Wow, did I just say that? Some of that clarity in my dream must have still been lingering within me.

He opened his eyes in surprise and slowly they became moist.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” I replied.

I tried to get up and kiss his lips but a pain shot across my chest. I winced at the sudden stab and that’s when I noticed the other person in the room move towards the bed then hesitate until finally stopping.

“Brian,” I said as I looked towards him. He looked horrible. His face was etched with worry and his windswept hair just made him look like he hadn’t slept in days. “How long have I been out?” I asked as I wondered how long it had been.

“It’s only been a few hours,” said a female voice to my left. It was the same person that offered me the water. She was in blue and white linen robes. She spared half a glance at Jacob who was looming over my prone form before turning her attention back to me. You suffered some broken ribs and protrusions through the skin but fortunately the wound wasn’t caused by magic which allowed the elixirs to heal you quickly. You’re lucky because if it had some magical residue on it from a spell, it might have made things a lot worse.”

“This is Healer Cotier,” Brian said. The woman nodded as she looked me over.

“You’re still feeling some pain on your chest?” she asked. I nodded and she continued. “Well, it will take a few more hours before your mind gets used to it. I rapidly healed your wounds but your mind hasn’t actually caught up with your healed state yet. The pain you feel is actually psychological now as the human brain is still detecting pain across the nerves on your chest. Now that you’re awake though, they will quickly catch up to the current state of your body. By tomorrow, you’ll be perfectly fine without even a slight dull ache.”

She turned to Jacob who was watching her. “Will you be able to bring him back to his room?” she asked.

“Yes, of course,” Jacob said without hesitation.

She gave Brian a quick glance before turning back to Jacob. “Could you go to the room two doors down the hall and ask the orderly there for a floating stretcher. Tell him I sent you.”

Jacob looked uncertainly at me as though asking permission. I nodded. He turned back towards Healer Cotier and said that he would be right back. Before leaving the room, he glared at Brian.

Healer Cotier watched Jacob as he left the room. As soon as he was gone, he turned towards Brian. “I’ll give you two a few minutes,” she said softly before turning around and heading into an office at the back of the room.

I was confused by what was happening and simply watched as Brian slowly made his way towards me. Our eyes met and he looked terribly sad, even defeated.

“Are you really okay, Adam?” he asked softly, his voice clearly concerned.

“Yes, I’m feeling fine, Brian. What happened?”

“I hit you with one of the cinder blocks we were practicing with. You were doing so well I didn’t think one would actually hit you so hard. You were a bloody mess.”

I laughed remembering the blood on my hands and then I felt odd for laughing. Brian got a little smile on his face though.

“Jacob was frantic when he saw what happened to you. He even swore he’d kill me if you died.” He gave a small nervous laugh. “I think that boy can be dangerous if he wanted to.”

“It’s not your fault, Brian,” I said as I tried to get up. At first I was worried that it would hurt and then I realized that it wasn’t quite as painful as earlier. “I just got distracted with something you said. If anything it was my fault for not paying attention.”

Brian smiled a sad smile. “You must mean a lot to Jacob.”

I looked him in the eyes and I could tell he was trying to find out something. “Yes, I suppose I do. And he means a lot to me.”

Brian’s eyes looked sadder if that was even possible but it hardly lasted before a smile suddenly lit up his face.

“Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow?” he asked.

“Well if you aren’t going to ask us to train or anything, I suppose not. Why?”

“I have a surprise I want to show you. Could you meet me outside the Armory, maybe two hours after the crack of dawn?” His tone suggested that it was important to him for me to accept. “You can bring Jacob if you want,” he added as though he thought that it was the only way I’d go.

“You don’t have to do anything to make it up to me,” I said.

He then did the unexpected. He took my hand in his and squeezed tight. “I want to,” he said softly.

We looked at each other until I heard a sound by the doorway. Brian immediately took his hands away from mine.

“These things aren’t easy to steer,” Jacob said as he entered the room. He was holding what looked like a very, very small stretcher that fit in one hand. For a moment, I thought he would carry me with that tiny little thing. And then I saw a much larger version of the thing he was holding floating near his knees. It kept bumping the sides of the beds as he made his way towards us.

“You have to hold it tightly in your hand,” Brian offered. “It will rise higher and you’ll have more control.” Jacob glared at him. Brian looked miffed for a moment before he turned to me. “I should go. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said to me.

I nodded to him and he left the room. Jacob came over and looked down at me. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“It’s not his fault, you know,” I said.

Jacob looked surprised before an annoyed look took over. “He almost got you killed.”

“We were training, Jacob. It can happen and it was my fault because I wasn’t paying attention. He didn’t do anything extraordinary to catch me off my guard. I simply lost focus. It’s not his fault and you have to forgive him.”

Jacob gave me a look that told me he was annoyed that I was taking Brian’s side. But eventually, his face softened. “I told you. I don’t want anything bad happening to you.”

“I’m training as an Aerophalanx, Jacob. Danger kinda comes with the territory.”

“Yeah,” Jacob conceded, “but look at him. He almost kills you today and he’s expecting you to come back tomorrow for more training. He’s gonna get you killed even before you see battle.”

I laughed. “Yes, we’re meeting him tomorrow but not for training. He says he has something he wants to show us.” I almost said me instead of us but I didn’t think that would go well with Jacob at that moment.

Jacob looked over at me questioningly. “What?”

“I don’t know. He says it’s a surprise.”

“As long as it isn’t anything dangerous,” Jacob said.

“Well I hope not,” I said and then I remembered the words I had heard in the darkness. “Besides I don’t want to get injured again. I have other plans for us soon.” I felt astonished at how quickly I had decided on that issue.

Jacob raised an eyebrow as a small smile played on his lips. “Plans?”

“It’s a surprise,” I said. I laughed at the incredulous look in his face.

“You’re just full of surprises now, aren’t you? What happened while you were out?” he asked curiously as though he suspected something.

“I’ve had a revelation,” I said in a mysterious voice. “There’s something I’ve wanted to do but have been afraid to do. Now, I’m going to do it.”

Jacob now looked worried. “This sounds serious,” he said.

I laughed imagining what he would say once he found out what ideas were crossing through my mind at that moment. “It’s not,” I said as I took his face in my hand. Again he melted into my hand as though it was the most natural thing in the world. The tingling sensations in my hands felt even stronger after my peculiar… visit from the voice. “And I’m hoping you’ll enjoy it.”

He smiled as he felt the caresses of my fingers. “I’m sure whatever it is would be great.”