Adamagika: The Spirit Within - 27. Ch 27: The Challenge

CHAPTER 27: The Challenge

It was a day for new things as I found myself awake, snuggled naked next to a sleeping Jacob. He had his arms wrapped around me. It was a long time before we fell asleep panting and exhausted. Fortunately, we didn’t explode anymore the night before (at least not in a way that permanently damaged the room).

I breathed in the morning air and it was… different. Other than the fact that I could still distinctly smell the results of our lovemaking, something about it seemed different as though something important was coming today.

And then I remembered what day it was. I groaned to myself.

Jacob shook awake with a concurrent groan. “Is it time we get up yet?”

I looked out the window. It would be breaking dawn soon. “Yeah, we need to get up,” I said as I tried to extricate myself from the bed.

Jacob wrapped his arms tighter around me. “Just a little longer.”

“Come on, Jacob,” I said surprised at the reversal of roles. It was usually him waking me up. “I’m gonna be late.”

He looked up at me with a silly smile on his face. “You tired me out too much last night. We must have been at it for hours.”

“You doofus, it didn’t last that long,” I laughed. “Besides, you did look a little unhappy when we got back,” I said as I kissed him lightly on the lips. “I just figured you needed a little cheering up.”

He sighed. “Maybe I should be unhappy more often,” he said with a sly smile.

“Don’t even think about it.” I chuckled as I finally managed to escape Jacob’s arms in the bed. I got up and headed to the dresser.

Jacob lifted the pillow from our heads and placed it where I was earlier. He hugged it as though he was pretending it was me. He smashed his face into it and lay still for a moment before pulling his head back a bit by several inches.

He sniffed tentatively at the pillow. “Oh gross, you got some of you on this.”

I laughed. “Actually, I think that’s yours.”

“Uhh, disgusting,” he whined but buried his head into the pillow anyway.

“Come on, Jacob,” I protested as I yanked the bed sheets off him revealing his naked form and the many stains we had left on the bed. “Have you forgotten what today is? I rejoin the rest of the recruits today.”

He groaned before finally lying on his back and looking at me. He placed his hands seductively between his legs and leered at me. “You sure I can’t convince you to come back to bed for a few more minutes?”

I really did create a monster…

I pretended to think about it. And then shook my head in mock disbelief. “With that little thing?”

He looked down between his legs as though in shock. “Who you calling little?”

I laughed. “You better be in the shower in two minutes.”

“Can we share one?” I heard him shout to me as the doors closed.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), we didn’t share a shower as I could see the sun slowly rising by the time we both got out of the Academy. We rushed over to the Armory and was rather surprised to see Brian waiting for us outside. Normally, he’d wait for us in the training room.

He had a wide, knowing smile on his face.

“What?” I asked innocently though somehow I knew what it was about.

“I heard someone had the ride of his life two nights ago.”

Last night too, I wanted to say but held my tongue. I simply blushed a deep red. Jacob found his shoes remarkably interesting.

“Hey, I’m cool with it,” he said, “but next time, send me an invitation okay?” He then winked at me and turned towards the armory door.

Jacob and I shared a smile before following him in. Brian was always hinting like that. I felt slightly guilty though when I wondered if he was being serious.

We walked the distance towards the usual training room with Brian suggesting crude things we could get up to – emphasis on the word up. Jacob, who seemed to have had a change of heart, was riding with it. I became more and more embarrassed with their suggestions. Once we reached the training room everyone else used, Brian looked at me seriously.

“Okay, this isn’t like our last few training days, Adam. This time, others will be watching you and what you do today will leave an impression with them that could make or break how well you work with this team. You have to remember that these folks are your brothers and sisters in battle but they are also your equals. Earn their respect and they will fight by you with honor. Disgrace yourself and you’ll have a lot to make up for.”

“Way to make me nervous, Brian,” I half-joked.

He smiled understandingly. “That’s sir now,” he smiled and then added, “just be yourself as I’ve seen you the last few days and I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll do well against anyone who challenges you.”

I nodded at him before I realized what he was saying. Challenge? What challenge?

Before I could ask him about it, he opened the doors to the training room.

It was the same sight as I had seen it the first time – a chaotic room full of the Struthius Squad members in animated discussions. The recruits were to the right while the apprentices were to the left. As soon as we entered though, the whole room became quiet. It almost seemed like they were talking about us.

Actually, I was pretty sure they were talking about me.

“Formations!” Brian yelled over the silence and immediately the two groups formed their familiar rows.

Brian stood in the middle of the two groups with Jacob and me watching from the sides. I was still trying to figure out what he meant by challenge. I was under the impression that I was supposed to just display my magic. I figured that meant showing what spells I could do. Certainly, he didn’t mean…

“Sir,” stated a boy from the apprentice group.

“What is it Apprentice Paul?” Brian asked.

“The Apprentice Master has requested me to inform you that the weapon of Recruit Adam is now ready. His apprentice should come pick it up from him this morning as soon as possible.”

Brian turned to Jacob. “Well you heard him, Apprentice Jacob. Go pick it up and come back here as soon as you can. He should be at the Smithery in the Trade District. I believe you should know where that is.”

Jacob looked at me uncertainly and it certainly had nothing to do with directions. He knew where the Smithery was as I had shown it to him before. The look he gave me said something else. I knew what he was thinking. We decided the night before that I would draw magic from him if I needed to for this training. But if he was going off to the weaponsmith, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to draw magic from such a great distance.

“Sir,” Jacob said, “is it possible for me to pick it up after Recruit Adam’s… uhh… demonstration?”

Brian looked at him oddly and I had the impression that he was wondering what Jacob meant by demonstration. Oh god…

“What? Is your boyfriend afraid of being left here alone?” asked a burly man I recognized as the one who conjured the avatar of a bear. Snickering broke through the two groups.

“Restrain yourselves, recruit,” Brian warned before he looked straight at me. I was relieved to see that Brian was somewhat annoyed by the comment, though I wondered if it was because it was insulting to me or because Jacob was referred to as my boyfriend. Why I felt that way in that moment, I had no idea.

I understood the look he gave me though and knew what it meant. It was a defining moment for me. My decision on that tiny little detail will influence how the others see me and I had only one obvious choice.

“That is alright, Jacob,” I said as I turned to him. “You can go pick up the weapon. Come back when you can.”

He looked at me with worried eyes before nodding. I knew he wanted to reach out and hold my hand because I wanted to do the very same thing. But we both knew better. Within a few moments, he was out of the room again and I was alone in facing the others.

“Now,” Brian said as he addressed the recruits, “I know some of you have doubts on Adam being here. You think he does not have what it takes, that he’s not ready. He may be young but that does not make him any less capable than the rest of us. He would not have been made an Aerophalanx recruit if he did not deserve to be one. That is how the Aerophalanx Guard works. Despite knowing this, some of you still have your doubts. You have not made it a secret that you are unhappy with the situation. It disappoints me that we have to go through this but if it must be done, then it must be done.”

A thick lump lodged itself up my throat and I had the distinct desire to run away. The way Brian was explaining it made it seem so final, and I knew, just knew, that the “challenge” wasn’t about throwing or dodging wind spheres. I took comfort in the little fact that nearly everyone who stood before Brian seemed to squirm uncomfortably as though they were ashamed.

“Today we shall put those uncertainties to rest,” Brian continued. “Today we shall know if Adam should be here or not. I’m not saying he will excel at everything. Some of us are stronger in certain areas of combat magic while being simply ungifted in others. He will not perfect every aspect of combat but I’m hoping that after today, you will treat him as your equal. In fact, if you have any concerns or worries then you raise them today or forever hold your peace.”

He raised one hand towards me. “You know our agreement. A duel of magic. Anyone who wants to test Adam merely has to step up and volunteer.”

WHAT?! A duel of magic? Brian didn’t mention anything about dueling anyone. I thought all those days spent practicing was for me to show them what I can do. And all that training didn’t count as combat training, except maybe the dodging the wind spheres thing. But that was more like playing than fighting.

I started sweating, and not in the hot and heavy way. I could feel my muscles tensing and the desire to run away increase by tenfold. What the heck was I doing there? I looked towards the door Jacob had taken and calculated the amount of time I needed to get there. I didn’t care what they would think. Nobody said anything about fighting someone. I was distracted from my thoughts by a familiar voice.

“I challenge the boy,” the burly man said with a voice filled with disdain. “Unless, he wants to run away now. Looks to me like he can’t wait another minute to run after his boyfriend.”

Again there was snickering across the group. Somehow it felt more nervous though, almost restrained. Or maybe I was the one nervous and I was now projecting it around me.

“Alright, Recruit Bruce wishes to challenge you, do you accept?”

I looked over at Bruce whose name I thought was rather appropriate. What the hell was Brian thinking? I’m pitting five days of training against who knows how many years that this guy has had.

I stood there wondering why I was still standing there. I’m not the confident type. I should have been running away. Jacob was the fighter. If anything, he should have been the one there, not me. He was the one who was into the whole Aerophalanx thing. Sure, I wanted to fly but not quite fly and fight.

“You don’t have to join us today, you know,” Bruce said almost in a whisper. Despite the softness though, the voice was filled with severity. “You could train for a year like everyone else. You’re not ready. You know it. We know it. It’s the right thing to do. Come back again after you’ve trained.”

It made perfect sense. I had no combat training. I had no combat experience. All I had was the decision of a Mage Lord who after seeing blue flames in her hands decided I was worthy to be trained as an Aerophalanx. I should have been halfway down the hall going after Jacob. Yet, I wasn’t. In fact, I didn’t want to. I’m not sure if it was the tone of Bruce’s voice, or maybe the disbelieving looks on the rest of the squad, or maybe even Brian’s eyes that spoke of nothing but confidence… but I didn’t leave. Somehow, I had confidence to do something I had never done before, and running away was suddenly the last thing on my mind.

“I’m ready to fight you,” I heard someone say. It took me a few seconds to realize that the words had escaped my mouth.

The guy named Bruce looked uncertainly at Brian, almost as if he had expected me to run away and now didn’t know what to do. The hesitation in his eyes was only there for a moment though. He quickly removed the mace that was sheathed at his side and handed the rod to a younger guy who I assumed was his apprentice. I suppose that since I did not have my own weapon, it would be a match of pure magic exerted by our bodies.

The others started moving towards the edges. Bruce moved opposite me about ten meters away as we both got into position. I devious smile was playing on his lips as though he was just given the permission to be naughty. In all likelihood he was, which meant I was given the same permission to unleash my own bag of tricks. If I had any, I mean.

We were in the very middle of the training room such that we were equal distances from the apprentices and the recruits. Brian was standing by the other recruits who were watching eagerly.

“Come on boy, show me what you’re made of,” he yelled gruffly. He was standing straight, legs apart. It certainly didn’t seem like a combat stance. It almost seemed like he was commanding me to attack him. Something about that didn’t sit well with me.

Let him make the first move, I heard Ho-o say. She has been silent since the day before when I told her not to listen to my conversation with Jacob. Somehow hearing her voice gave me comfort. I felt less alone.

I stood there, watching and waiting for him to make the first move. Bruce’s eyes narrowed and a smug look came over his face as though he was silently saying I thought so.

He must have gotten impatient because he eventually waved his hand to his side and the same bear avatar manifested itself. With another wave the bear charged forward.

I was expecting that. I dunno how but I was. Almost instinctively, I decided that I would fight an avatar with an avatar. I tried to imagine an armored rhino that would pummel his bear to bits. With a wave of my hand, the avatar materialized beside me. I heard several gasps from the crowd and the bear stopped mid-charge. Unless I was mistaken, it tilted its head to the side as though it was suddenly curious. Bruce’s eyes were wide and I was almost certain he was gawking at me.

I looked to see what had caught their attention and my eyes widened when I saw my avatar. It wasn’t just any rhino made from white energy. In fact, the rhino looked more grey than the expected white. The rhino’s hide was a shimmering grey plating as though real metal armor was phasing in and out of existence.

“What the hell is that?” Bruce yelled.

I shrugged and waved my hand forward. The rhino charged ferociously. The bear reacted and charged as well but was quickly thrown to the side and it dissipated into a cloud of white avatar dust. It didn’t even bleed energy out as avatars should when damaged. It simply dissipated into the air and I could almost feel the energy flowing back towards Bruce.

The rhino charged Bruce and he leapt into the air and flying backwards with a skill that was clearly aided by magic. I thought to myself that I needed something that flew. At least I thought that I thought about it. Somehow it felt like I just realized that I thought about it after the fact.

Anyway, I waved my hands forward and the rhino burst into three fierce eagles that flew into the air straight at him. I didn’t even imagine eagles. It was as if my magic was acting on its own, almost as if someone else was fighting there instead of me, as though the decision was only partly my doing.

Bruce hurled three fireballs to intercept the avatars but one of the avatars flew ahead and seemed to catch all three before finally exploding. That one eagle dissipated into grey energy as the two remaining ones flew through fire and air speeding towards a wavering Bruce who was running out of space to fly to. He flew to the opposite side of the room towards me to avoid his pursuers.

He threw an angry red fireball at me which I dodged easily enough with all my training with Brian. I hurled a grey wind sphere at him which he managed to avoid by moving backwards. This however made the eagle avatars finally reach him. I remembered the avatar the other mage had used before and the eagles merged into a single grey snake. The snake wrapped itself around Bruce until he was bound tightly. He struggled against the bonds but I willed them to become tighter the more he resisted. After about a minute of struggling and more tightening, he started laughing.

“I underestimated you, boy. I hope our enemies make the same mistake. I know I sure won’t again.”

I took that as his gesture of defeat and I willed the avatars away. He floated down by his own magic until he was three feet away from me.

“I don’t know what the hell you did, boy,” he said as he started walking towards me, “but whatever it was, that was some strong magic. I’d rather be fighting on your side than against it.”

He offered his hand once we were only a few feet apart. I looked at it only briefly before I shook it. I could almost hear a collective sigh escaping from the people around us.

“Alright,” Bruce yelled as he raised my hand along with his, “who else wants to fight?”

Who else wanted to fight? One match wasn’t enough…?

Across the group of recruits, there were many uncertain faces. I was certain that whatever I did had surprised them. It even surprised me, and I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to fight anyone else. I wasn’t able to do anything like that during our training days. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to repeat anything like that again. Was this what Ho-o had said about releasing her true power?

“I’ll do it,” said one of the younger looking recruits. He could easily have been a fresh graduate from the Academy. He took each step down from his seat with a cocky grin. “He’ll probably kick my butt but hey, you can’t say I didn’t try.”

Brian turned to me with a smile. “Recruit Patrick would like to challenge you, do you accept?”

I nodded unsure where this one was going. I didn’t see Patrick fighting the other day so I was unsure what his preferred fighting style was.

We stood across each other the same way that Bruce and I did earlier. Patrick had a smile on his face. It was a bit unsettling to fight an opponent with a cocky, confident smile on his face. Patrick’s grin grew wider before he waved his hand over his face. Almost immediately he shimmered out of existence.

“Not fair, you sneaky runt!” Bruce yelled with a laugh. His voice was so playful that it almost seemed out of place coming from him.

“So Adam,” I heard Patrick’s voice from somewhere to my right. “How can you fight,” he said from my left. “Someone you can’t see,” he said from behind me.

I felt a strong spell hit me from behind I was flipped over and thrown several feet forward. Before I could get oriented again, something latched onto my ankles and hurled me halfway across the room. If the ground hadn’t gone soft, I had no doubt I would have at least broken a few bones.

“Come on, Adam,” Patrick said from somewhere nearby. “After that impressive display earlier... You should be able to find a way... To impress us with more of your magic…”

It seemed like he as everywhere around me as though several people with the same voice was talking at the same time. I’ve never read about invisibility in any of the books I’ve gone through and I didn’t know how to counter it. Combat magic was never at the top of my “to read list.” Besides, those topics were in the restricted section – something I realized I never got around to going to again after Jacob arrived.

Whatever I was going to hit him with, I had to hit everything with it also. I tried to hurl wind in different directions, hoping to get a lucky hit. But with each spell, I heard his laughter echoing from a different direction. His voice kept changing locations at impossible speeds for me to know where he was. Even if he was flying, he couldn’t possibly fly that fast without some residual traces of magic. I learned from the Academy that strong magic always left traces that could be detected, a trail of light or maybe persistent wind. These unusual elements appearing out of nowhere were never natural occurrences in nature. Something was always at work when they happened.

I looked over at Brian. His eyes were darting back and forth between me and where Patrick was standing earlier. Back and forth they went as though he was trying to tell me something.

As I tried to understand what his eyes were saying, something latched onto my other ankle and hurled me forward closer to where I was standing earlier. I distinctly hear Patrick chuckle nearby as I hit the floor face down.

He’s not moving, Ho-o said.

Not moving? What was that supposed to mean?

Patrick continued to taunt me, almost playfully. It sounded like he was talking to a child trying to explain how one plus one equals two. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the sound, the taunts, everything around me. I tried to focus with the distinct purpose of finding him.

Again, Ho-o’s voice came to me, he’s not moving.

Maybe he wasn’t moving everywhere around me. Maybe he hadn’t moved at all. I suddenly remembered Brian had told me that mind magic could do something like this. That was the day we were trying to blow up walls with my mind.

Mind magic…

I remembered something else that day. I remembered chuckling from the stands and how Brian had seemed to glare towards the empty seats for a moment. What if not seeing Patrick was all in my mind? Then, I just knew what to do as though my body suddenly understood what was happening. I raised my hand and slammed it into the ground. For a moment, nothing happened but then the ground where Patrick was standing earlier exploded upward and I saw him appear again and being hurled into the air with a shocked look on his face, amidst dust and rubble. He landed unceremonious on his ass and bounced a few times.

“Ow!” he yelled as he rubbed his behind. Everyone else was laughing.

I got to my feet and stood over him. He looked up at me sheepishly.

“You knew?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah,” he said somehow understanding the meaning of my question. “I kinda found out that you had difficulty defending yourself against telekinetic attacks. So, I just planted the idea in your head that I had vanished.”

“You mean spied on him, more like it,” Brian yelled with a smirk.

“Hey, we were all curious what you three were up to,” Patrick said as I helped him up to. “I just helped quench everyone’s curiosity by going over and watching from the stands.”

“I’m going to have your ass for that, Rick,” Brian said seriously though his eyes were twinkling.

Patrick turned his back towards the group. “You can have my ass any time you want, boss.” He then slapped his ass rather loudly. The group broke into laughter.

“Hey,” Patrick said as he took my hand in his and started shaking it, “call me Rick.”

I nodded and smiled. “Okay, Rick.”

“Is it true that that Jacob boy is an animal in bed?” he asked still shaking my hand.

“What?” I asked as I undoubtedly blushed several different shades.

“I heard he literally blew you away,” he followed with a leering smile. The others broke out laughing again.

“Now’s not the time for that, recruit,” Brian chuckled though there was a clear attempt to sound serious. “You can get to know our new recruit and his apprentice better later.”

“Looking forward to it,” he said with a wink before finally letting go of my hand. I wondered if he was somehow related to Brian.

“Anyone else?” Brian asked the group.

As it turned out, they all wanted to try but the rest seemed to do it more good-naturedly than as a challenge. It seemed like they were doing it simply because they had to, as if it was some ritual of acceptance. I began to wonder if it actually was one. I wondered if this whole thing was just that – an initiation.

Two managed to pin me down and trap me through different binding spells. I had to concede defeat when I couldn’t break free no matter what I tried. Ho-o didn’t help me in those fights and I got the impression that she was only picking the fights she was going to help me in.

Apparently, losing only meant that – losing. It didn’t mean I was kicked out or looked down upon. In fact, the ones who did manage to defeat me told me they would teach me those spells as though I was already accepted as one of them. Something about that felt good. We were all laughing by our last few attempts as I was actually having fun and all the fights had degenerated into harmless non-combat challenges.

One summoned floating bubbles around me and he said I would need to pop them all to defeat him. Each time, I would burst one though, that would burst into maybe ten more which would grow in size. Soon half the floor was covered in bubbles. One of the girls who came up against me simply drew her name in the air in sparkling lights and said I’d have to do the same to defeat her.

I must admit I had no idea how to do that and consequently conceded defeat.

“Hya!” yelled the guy I was up against whose name was Noel. “I’m not going to let you out of this so easily,” he yelled seriously and my muscles tensed at the fierce look he had on his face. It seemed to me that Noel was not going to let this fight be a playful one despite the fact that he was the very last one to challenge me. I prepared myself for whatever he was about to do. After a few seconds of nothing happening, I thought he was just going to stand there and glare at me but then I started hearing a thumping sound coming from an adjacent room. It almost sounded like a metal ball was bouncing.

As I looked towards the source of the sound, one of the doors leading to the side of the training room burst open and what can only be described as a large metal pot came bouncing into the room on its side. The red liquid contained in it was spilling everywhere as it bounced on the ground, spinning in the air.

“That’s my sauce, you jerk!” a girl named Clarisse shouted. I only remembered her name because she was the one who spelled it in the air.

It took me a moment to realize that I had no idea what she was talking about and that I was simply staring at the pot that was bouncing towards me uncomprehendingly. It stopped just before it reach me and turned so that I was facing what was left of its contents – a red gelatinous goo of some kind that looked remarkably like blood.

I only had enough time to tilt my head at it before the red liquid exploded from within the pot, hurling me backwards and drenching me completely in it. Laughter echoed across the rom. After wiping my eyes clean, I looked down at the bloody mess I had become. Lying down like that, I imagined that I looked like I was hacked and beaten to death.

“You made too much anyway,” Noel said as the glare finally gave way to a wide smile. “I thought we’d use the extra for something useful – like christening Adam as one of us.” Clarisse shook her head in disgust. I on the other hand felt a warm feeling spread all over my body at his words.

Of course, it could have been the warm red sauce that was steadily seeping into my underwear.

I heard the door open in the corner and I looked over. Jacob was staring at me, his eyes wide and almost… empty.

“Hey Jacob,” I heard Rick yell. “We just hacked your boyfriend to death.”

I offered him a toothless smile which immediately vanished as soon as I saw Jacob’s expression change. His face became a mask of anger and his eyes, empty earlier, suddenly reflected hatred. I could feel his emotions pouring through and I knew that he was seeing red, beyond the bloody mess I had become. I could feel magic coursing through him.

Oh god… he thought I was really hurt.

Jacob turned towards the other recruits who were now jovially laughing, unaware that something bad was about to happen to them. I scrambled to my side and drew magic from within.

“Jacob, no!” I yelled as I tried to get on my feet. I only managed to raise the shield in time to block the huge bolts of lightning that in the blink of an eye engulfed half the room. A storm was brewing overhead as clouds seeped through the stone. Thunder and lightning cackled madly, light streaking in a deadly arc towards anyone in its way. I extended my shield to protect everyone on our side and the apprentices who were seated opposite us. The rest of the room exploded as the lightning cracked through the stone.

I heard the roar of the storm like an angry fire touching everything in the room I had not shielded. I could almost feel the ground melting beneath us as my arms and legs began to ache with the strain coming from so much magic.

Jacob, I’m alright, I tried to say but they didn’t come out of my mouth and yet I knew without a doubt that I heard myself say them.

What? I heard him say in my mind.

I can hear you, I thought in surprise.

What’s happening Adam? What did they do to you?

I’m alright Jacob. Look at me.

Through the dark clouds I saw his face searching where I was and our eyes met. The glow of Jacob’s eyes sent chills through me. Where his pale blues should have been was a fiery opal, blue flames breaking through the pupils. His hair was flying everywhere as though the wind was ripping a tornado where he stood.

Relief flooded his face when he saw me standing there with my arms stretched out. Slowly the angry glow died until all that was left was the familiar pale blue I loved. The storm receded as did my shield and we both dropped to our knees. I was damn exhausted.

I looked over to the rest of the team behind me. Every single one of their faces was in shock and each mouth was hanging open.

“What the hell was that?” Bruce whispered. In the eerie silence, his voice echoed throughout the ravaged room.

I looked around and the entire room was ruined. Everywhere my shield did not protect was blackened and some of the stone was ripped out of the walls or the floor. The apprentices on the other side were cowering next to each other.

I looked over at Jacob who was breathing just as hard as I was.

Did that just happen? He asked and again he did it without opening his mouth.

Yeah, I replied with a nod. If you mean the hearing your thoughts and almost baking everyone in this room bit, yeah, it happened.

I’m sorry, he said as his mouth curled into a frown. I thought they…

Yeah… I know, Jacob. It’s ok. I gave him a smile.

You two really shouldn’t use your magic against each other, I heard Ho-o say. I felt torn fighting myself.

“I know,” Jacob and I both responded out loud. We smiled at the same time realizing she spoke to us at the exact same moment.

“Adam,” I heard Brian say to my left. There was a serious almost disturbed look on his face that made me nervous. “Where in the world did you guys learn to do that?”

I shook my head. “No idea.”

Rick was standing next to him now. “That… was… awesome!” he declared as a wide grin spread across his face. It seemed though that he was the only one to recover so far. “Damn, now I’m seriously curious on how hot sex with Jacob must feel like.”

The others gave a half-hearted laugh. I think they were still in shock from what they just saw.

“That… that was…” Bruce mumbled before finally clearing his throat. “If anyone here had any doubts before now, I’m sure they don’t have them anymore.” Bruce looked over to Jacob who had stood up by now. “I’m surprised they didn’t make you into a recruit.”

“He’s under consideration,” Brian said as he regarded Jacob almost accusingly. “Temper problem,” he added.

“Hah! What gave anyone that idea,” Bruce said. At this the other finally laughed sincerely. The grave air seemed to lift from the room.

“Come on,” Clarisse said as she looked around almost nervously at the now ruined room. “We prepared food in the other room. Some of us felt bad for the way we treated you last week.” She then threw a punch towards Bruce who yelped back in surprise. It was amusing considering how big and burly he was compared to Clarisse who was a petite blonde.

“You don’t know a Rye by any chance do you?” I asked.

She beamed. “She’s my best friend.”

I smiled. I figured as much.

The group moved onto the adjacent room where there was a long table with food prepared. That surprised me since I didn’t expect it at all. I saw different pastries and even poultry stretched out along the surface. There was of course spaghetti with red sauce, which I decided I would stay as far away from as possible. A few of the others left the room probably to get someone to attend to the damage Jacob and I had done.

Those who did stay were interviewing me furiously about what just happened. It seemed to me that whatever I had done was something extraordinary. As Patrick had put it, “even seven of him couldn’t pull that off.” After awhile though, Brian came by with a warning glare at the others and the questions about what had happened stopped. Clearly, Brian didn’t want the thing that had happened discussed. I was hoping to look at his eyes to know what he was thinking, but he walked away almost immediately not giving me a chance.

I was partly glad for the change in topic until it shifted to questions regarding my life in the village. I didn’t have happy memories in my previous home so I was worried I’d seem like I was giving myself self-pity by answering their questions. Oddly though, they seemed interested in it and I realized that they probably have never met a mage from the village before. I was glad when the conversation shifted again to more trivial things like food I liked.

They also asked Jacob many questions but for the most part, he was being surrounded by the other apprentices who seem to have developed a sudden fascination with him. They were all looking at him in awe as he spoke and each one of their eyes suggested that they were looking at Jacob in a new light, almost like he was their hero, even if moments ago they were deathly afraid of him.

I smiled at the sudden difference in the people around me. Just a week ago, that very group seemed so hostile towards me and now they were being entirely friendly.

I felt for the first time like I belonged and a warm feeling again spread through me.

I’d find out a minute later though that it was Rick pouring some kind of gravy into my pants.

“They go well with meat,” he’d say. I’d laugh and privately swear to get back at him at some point.

* * * * * * * * * *

Jacob and I had returned from the training happier than we had been for awhile. The day had gone so much better than I had imagined (except of course the part about Jacob almost killing everyone but other than it, it was perfect). I knew that things were once again starting to look up for us. We might have lost school but it felt like we gained new friends – real friends – in the Aerophalanx Guard. We both fell asleep with happy smiles on our faces, too tired to do anything else other than hug each other.

It was in the middle of the night when I heard a commotion outside the door. I woke Jacob up and called his attention to it. The lights brightened slowly as we got up to put on clothes and check what was happening outside.

As we got out, we saw several students moving back and forth between rooms. Some of them were carrying bags. Different kinds of luggage designed for travelling to distant places floated behind them in their wake. They were moving rapidly down as their baggage dodged the flow of traffic. Other students were looking curiously out of their own rooms. Across us, there was a boy leaning back against the wall calmly watching everyone move past him. I recognized him as the boy who winked at me in the showers.

“What’s going on? I asked him. I was momentarily surprised by my action. Somehow just walking up to someone I didn’t know and asking them a question like that didn’t seem like me.

He looked over at me curiously and then his eyes registered recognition. “You’re that Adam guy,” he smirked.

“Uhh, yeah,” I said unsure if I should be flattered. “Do you know what’s happening?”

He looked over at the students bustling about as they steadily disappeared down the stairs and into the night. He seemed almost disinterested. “Magister Aenhol just came back with the other mages from their mission. They uncovered plans regarding an impending attack on Arantiva. Somehow the news got out.” He said all this nonchalantly as though it didn’t bother him in the slightest bit.

“Wait. What does that mean?” I asked.

He looked over at me as though he was wondering if I was being serious. Apparently deciding that I was, he answered me calmly, almost without emotion. “It means we’re going to war.”