Knowledge: The Fifth Division Saga: Book 1 (18 page)

              Laurel Wilmot.

              She rushed in, her long hair windswept across her pale face. She scrambled into an open seat next to Ash in the very back, her normally icy gaze lightening at the sight of him. Caspian’s heart sank, although he wished it wouldn’t. Of course she was fond of Ash, BFF’s with her brother and he had that whole bad boy vibe going for him. According to Mira, girls liked that sort of thing. She had tried to force him into a leather jacket last year saying the girls at school would think it was hot but he slunk out of it after the first ten seconds and hurried back into his tee shirt. But now, as he watched Laurel laugh at something Ash said, he considered rethinking the leather jacket aversion and wondered if you could even buy that sort of thing in Nostos.

              *

            
 
“Roman.”

              I had just sat down at one of the tables next to Caspian when the voice startled me. I jumped a couple feet and looked to my right and met the brilliant blue eyes of a Wielder boy with hair like morning sunlight. A dark mark on his wrist caught my attention; a black tattoo with an eye-like symbol. Below it read:
dominium ex evocates mittebant
. It was the same tattoo that I had seen on Rezza’s wrist back in Lincoln City. I remembered something about Wielders earning Ink but I had no idea what it meant.

I blinked once before regaining my composure. “Sorry, what?”

            
 
“Roman. The name is Roman Castell. And you’re the human, right? Mira?”

            
 
“Well…”

            
 
“I’m only kidding,” he chuckled and I joined him nervously, desperately wishing I did not have to have this conversation with a Wielder. I barely understood the duality of my new life yet, it dictated every move I made.
What do I do? What if he finds out?
What if he already has?
Could he tell that I had some of the same sort of blood running through my veins? He cocked his head to the side with squinted eyes, “You and your brother are the Elementals from the human world, everyone knows who you guys are.”

            
 
“Oh, gotcha.”

            
 
“Nostos must be pretty different from where you came from.”

            
 
“You could say that.”

              He pursed his lips and studied me further, “You don’t really seem like a typical Elemental.”

             
Awh Crap…

            
 
“Well, it’s…uh…because…”

              But he held up his hand, stopping me mid-ramble, “Hey, no judging. What do I know about Elementals anyway?”

              He leaned over me and started having a conversation with Caspian. They were laughing about something but I tuned them out, the teacher had just walked in.

              The woman slunk into the room like a feline, wrapped in a hooded dark robe. When she lowered the hood, she revealed a mysteriously beautiful face. Her skin pale as snow and her eyes a dull red. Long, chocolate hair framed her face, contrasting greatly with the pallor of her skin.

              Her voice made of whispers, like wind rustling the leaves of a tree in the fall, fluttered through the rows of desks, “Hello, class. We will continue our last discussion on Shades. We already spoke of their abnormal strength, speed, and reflexes. What else is enhanced about Shades?”

              It was Erion who answered, “Other than their creepiness, their senses are amped up.”

            
 
“Correct. And why are their eyes red? Anyone?” Nobody answered, but the Shades all glanced at each other and grinned.

Avery, the Seer girl in the back of the class, responded confidently, “It’s due to the diet. Shades must drink blood to survive, not a lot, but they must feed at least once per week. Their bodies are designed to drink the blood of a lesser creature called humans. This is why Shades can Transport between dimensions, it is necessary for survival.”

            
 
“Excellent! Today we will be discussing the bite of a Shade. Who knows what happens when a Shade drinks a human’s blood and then kills them?”

              Roman beside me blurted a response, “That human becomes a Shade.”

              I blinked in disbelief.

            
 
“Right, but only if that human is killed within twenty-four hours of the bite. Shades can be Born, which is when Shades reproduce, or they can be humans who were Turned.”

              The more I learned about Shades, the more I thought they sounded like vampires. I glanced back at the Shades in the class and caught the smirks they all wore. One girl with red eyes saw me staring and smiled, but instead of normal teeth, two extra long canines glistened back at me menacingly.

              I gulped.

*

              That evening, Ash sat, with his head in his hands, in the silvery light of his dark room.

              In his mind’s eye, he could see the stark black hair of the girl on the university steps. He could picture the crimson blood that poured from her multiple scratches and her screams still sounded crisply in his memories. A few days ago, once the class had been dismissed and the entire Elemental faction of the Legion arrived, Ash and Erion had to inform their superiors that the girl lying injured before them was the same girl they had witnessed be taken by the Hartrainian Wielder during their previous Scouting trip.

              Their advisers simply listened without judging and seemed to accept the fact that the boys had done close to nothing when the girl was captured. But Ash’s wrenching gut told him better. If he had just flown a tad faster, hesitated a second less, or knocked Erion out before taking off, the girl might have been saved. Or maybe if he could just get a handle on his powers.

              Ash lifted his head and glared back at his black Knowledge. He focused the constant burning sensation that always smoldered inside him. He tried to harness the blaze within him into a single point of energy. When he looked down, his hands were engulfed in flickering orange flames. His eyes glazed over as he stared down at his little parlor trick.

              Even just accomplishing such a simple task as lighting his hands on fire had taken years to master. The first year he had tried to contain his Knowledge, he set more things on fire than he cared to admit. He concentrated again on the flames that licked his hands and mentally pictured the fire being subdued and pushed back into his body.

              The inferno that had just been swarming his hand extinguished, and where most people’s skin would have been blackened and charred, his was left completely unscathed. So much power but he couldn’t safely use any of it.

             
I should have been able to do something. It’s all my fault.

*

              The next day, the Seer teacher returned and told us all about her Kingdom, “Seers are mentalists. We See things beyond what is happening in the present, specifically the future. But Seers also read emotions and sense thoughts. We are able to communicate with one another mentally, handy for private conversations.”

              Throughout the entire lesson, my head ached terribly and my vision was fuzzy, colors and shapes floating in front of my sight became dizzying. My eyesight spun horribly more and more lately. I spent that majority of the class focusing my attention on not throwing up.

              Class concluded, thankfully. I stood up and gathered my things. I looked back to where Ash and Erion sat, they were tripping people as they walked by and I blew a loose hair out of my eyes, trying to mask my frustration towards their immaturity. It took all of my willpower to stop checking on them and to ignore the fact that Ash looked just as devilishly handsome as he always does. Caspian and Roman chatted animatedly. I saw Caspian nod and leave the room. The two of them had really hit it off. I was glad Caspian had found a friend, even if I had thus far failed in that category. I prepared to walk after him when someone stopped me by laying a hand on my arm.

              I glanced back and met the blue eyes of Roman.

            
 
“Oh, hey.”

            
 
“Hi,” he flashed his set of perfect white teeth at me, forcing me to acknowledge how good looking he was, and continued, “I was wondering if you had any dinner plans for tonight?”

            
 
“Oh.” This took me aback. Aside from our first encounter, Roman and I had really only spoken between his conversations with Caspian. Not to mention, we had only just met. “Isn’t it against the rules? You know, for the Kingdoms to, uh, mingle?”

            
 
“Mingle?” He laughed heartily, his good-natured smile beaming back at me, “Yes, of course. I did not mean it like that. I just thought you could use a friend. It must be hard, being thrown here without a clue. I just thought, if I were you, I would want a friendly face around.”

I thought about letting him down, telling him that I was busy and it couldn’t work out tonight. But then I remembered the lonely meal I had eaten last night since Ash refused to bring up dinner after our fight yesterday. I reconsidered. “You know what? No, I don’t have a single plan tonight. I’m free.” I spoke louder than necessary and reveled when Ash looked over at us.

            
 
“Great! See you at seven then?”

            
 
“Yup,” I muttered as he strode away. I checked the back of the classroom again but Ash and Erion had left and I was all alone in the room, “Totally free.”

Chapter 11

              I still had a few hours until I had to meet Roman but I couldn’t be alone for another second.

              The clock announced that I had only been in my room for half an hour. But with my high anxiety and constant fidgeting, it felt much, much longer. I couldn’t even place the source of my stress because every time I mapped it out in my head, it seemed to be coming from about a million different places: my unclear Knowledge, cloudy father figure, the girl on the university steps, and for whatever reason, Ash. I hated that he no longer came to keep me company after school or brought up my dinners. I sort of missed his political talk and even his rude jabs about the puffiness of my hair. I hated the fact that he was angry with me. I tried to write more lyrics in my notebook but the words just would not form in my mind and every note I hummed came out off tune.

              So, being the needy baby I am, I stomped down the spiral staircase and quietly walked down the hall to the correct door. I pounded my knuckles on the wood, ignoring the sharp pain that greeted me and waited impatiently as the footsteps from within drew closer to the door.

              The tenant’s confused face peered out at me, “Mira, you okay?”

            
 
“Can we talk?”

            
 
“Sure?” Caspian let the door swing open far enough so I could enter. I stepped inside and looked around. I hadn’t visited Caspian in his room that often, preferring instead to stay upstairs for the majority of my time. The walls had been painted a pretty green-blue color since the last time I had seen them, but otherwise it was essentially the more masculine version of my own room, complete with a bathroom, sofa, wardrobe, you name it.

              I planted myself on his sofa, sinking into the plush cushions. He slowly walked over and joined me; I could practically feel the hesitant tension rolling off him in waves. I sighed and leaned back. He did the same.

            
 
“Is Iris in her room?”

            
 
“Yeah, you should see it. The palace staff had it decked out in pink everything. It looks like it’s made of cotton candy.”

              I laughed half-heartedly.

              Finally, I said, “What’s going on, Cas?”

            
 
“Uh…”

            
 
“I mean, our dad is some sort of evil psycho, Xavier or whatever, a girl has just been mauled by an enemy magical country, and nobody can seem to figure out what the heck is wrong with me!”

              He didn’t answer for a while, choosing to pause and stare at the empty fireplace, but when he did he spoke calmly and surely, “I know everything seems really screwed up right now, but it’ll get better.”

            
 
“How do you know?” I controlled my rapid breathing and looked up at him.

            
 
“Because it always does.”

*

              I stood in front of the mirror that hung on my wardrobe when the knock came at my door. I wasn’t expecting any company, but when I had visited Caspian earlier I had alerted him of my plans with his new friend. Maybe he just wanted to check on me before I left?

            
 
“Come in!” I called, twirling again to view all angles of my chosen outfit.

              The door flung open to reveal Ash, eyes blazing.

              He stormed towards me with such intensity, I could physically feel the heat rolling off of him, “Mirabelle, I…”

              But I was not about to play his games, “What? Come to apologize?”

              He paused, blinked, and shook his head ever so slightly, “Look, I know this morning I said some things…”

            
 
“Yes?”

            
 
“We both did. You aren’t blameless you know.”

            
 
“Is this your way of saying sorry? Because it sucks.”

              He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “How about I bring up some dinner and we can discuss some things, like you wanted to?”

              I stopped staring at my outfit and actually looked at him, angrier than I had ever been with him before, “No, Ash. Your timing is awful.”

              The fire left his eyes, dimming to their usual aloofness, “What do you mean?”

            
 
“I mean that I have a date.” Lie.

            
 
“Like, with a guy?”

              I rolled my eyes, “Duh. Now, I’m trying to get ready and I have to leave soon. So…”

              But he ignored my dismissal and instead plopped down onto my bed, a distant look in his eyes that I didn’t like. He opened his hand and a small ball of fire ignited, hovering just over his palm. The ball floated in the air, swooping and spinning at Ash’s command as he spoke, “So, who‘s the poor chap?”

            
 
“You could try being nice, you know, at least once a week.”

            
 
“Nah, there’s no fun in kindness. Who is he?”

            
 
“His name is Roman, he’s a Wielder.”

              The ball paused mid-dive and Ash looked up, “Roman? As in, Roman Castell?”

            
 
“Yeah, know him?”

              At the mention of ‘Castell’ the ball burst into a wild blaze for a moment before Ash, realizing his toy was spiraling out of control, vanquished it altogether. He clenched his teeth as he answered, “Sort of. You’re going on a date with a Wielder? That’s highly illegal given that you are known to the public as Elemental.”

              I shifted uncomfortably, scared that he might call my bluff, “Well, I have to go.”

            
 
“Mirabelle, I…”

            
 
“At first I wanted to give you a chance. I was so sure there was a good person in you somewhere. But I was wrong.”

              He stared straight ahead, not caring to respond. I left him there, motionless, on the edge of my bed. I stomped out of the room and closed the door behind me, fighting not to look back. But at the last minute, right as the door was an inch from being completely shut, I snuck a peek at him, taking in his dark features which starkly contrasted against his tan skin and the unrecognizable look of vague sadness on his face. A part of me considered flinging the door open and apologizing right then and there. I strongly pondered the consequences of ditching Roman. But as soon as I thought it, I rebuked the idea. Turning to face the hall, I heard the door
click
behind me and I walked away.

              *

              The air on Center Hill blew mild and pleasant.

              I sucked in a large breath of fresh night air and smiled dreamily, finding interest in the way I could smell the blossoming flowers from the Elemental Kingdom while also catching a burnt whiff from the stormy Wielding Kingdom. The longer I stayed in Nostos, the fonder I grew of the strangeness and beauty of the land. Center Hill, despite the fact that the demented Court lurked beneath its grassy soil, had become one of my favorite spots to study the new subjects I took. I never grew tired of twirling around and around, drinking in the marvelous views that Nostos held in store. I found odd loveliness in the separate Kingdoms, each of them with their own unique spell on me. I could endlessly stare at the point, right above the hill, where the four skies of the Kingdoms met and often tried to pinpoint the exact place where they all collided.

            
 
“Hey there.”

              I turned around grinning, distantly brushing the place where my Knowledge merged with my skin, “Hey.”

              Roman’s short blond hair had been slightly ruffled in a try-to-be-messy style and he wore a vibrant blue shirt that not only matched his eyes but made them pop even more than they already did. His handsome face still had a boyish curve and his cheeks burned pink in the soft summer breeze. He held a small wicker basket in his hand.

            
 
“I brought the nourishment.” Without any warning, he plopped down onto the ground and opened the basket top to reveal an array of snacks and beverages that appeared so scrumptious, my mouth watered. “I thought we could picnic?”

            
 
“Sounds good to me.”

              He reached into the basket and pulled out a small loaf of bread and ripped it in half, offering me one part. I accepted gratefully and chomped down on the chewy goodness the moment it was placed in my hand. It registered in my mind, as the bread filled my mouth capacity, what Ash had said one time about my miraculous ability to inhale food. He always acted impressed and sometimes even challenged me to a race during one of our private meals. But I figured he was one of the few people who appreciate speed eating. After that first bite, I purposefully slowed down a little.

            
 
“So,” Roman said as he handed me a small canteen of orange juice, “what is the human world like?”

            
 
“That’s pretty vague. Might take me a while to answer that one.”

            
 
“Alright, that’s fair. Uh…what about school? Is it pretty different than here?”

              I couldn’t help but notice that his style of speaking was much less formal than that of the Elementals even with the identical accent. I found it strange that in a country where everyone is close enough to walk from Kingdom to Kingdom, they still don’t use the same style of speech, “Yeah. Extremely different actually.”

            
 
“Which do you like better?”

              I thought about it, “I guess here. Learning about magic is a bit more interesting than Pre-calculus.”

            
 
“I’m going to pretend that I know what the heck that is and agree with you.”

              I giggled and coughed, taking a sip of juice which I could identify as being made of Sweet Violets.

            
 
“How do you like Nostos so far?”

            
 
“I don’t know. I mean, I miss the human world and my friends there but…”

              He looked at me seriously, “But here feels right? Like home?”

              I nodded.

              He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky. It felt strange to have someone actually ask me how I
felt
about Nostos. So far, everyone had basically been ordering me around or downloading an overwhelming amount of information into my brain. The only person who ever asked how I was doing was Caspian, and he didn’t count seeing as he’s my brother. But for Roman to deliberately wonder and seemingly care about my thoughts could be called a new  and much appreciated gesture.

              After a moment I imitated him and gazed up at the point where the worlds met.

*

              The water swayed and pulsated with the movement of Caspian’s hands as he motioned back and forth, around and around, exercising his control over the element.

              The night air felt good on his bare back as he crouched next to the palace’s stream, hoping to improve his powers. Ever since he had received his Knowledge, Caspian’s love for water had increased to the point of pain whenever he wasn’t near a stream or pond. When he tried to sleep at night, only thoughts of when he could swim again and when he could go practice his Knowledge were achieved. He wore a black bro tank, allowing his blue feathered Knowledge to stretch out behind him.

              When Mira barged into his room earlier in full freak out mode, he’d been worried. He couldn’t even imagine how frustrating it would be to not know your Knowledge. Caspian found that his newly discovered power began to be a central part of not only him, but his happiness as well.

The joy he experienced whenever he manipulated water was unexplainable and purely amazing. The tug that he had once felt when using his Knowledge had lessened now to the point of barely being noticeable.

             
Focus, focus, focus.

              It felt as if a string attached from his hands to the trickling creek and he watched cheerfully as the water surged upward like a geyser. He felt powerful and in control. With a broad grin, he swept his arms and witnessed the tiny tsunami come crashing down.

*

              Red blood dripped from the open wound on Ash’s hand.

              It was his fault, really, but he did not attend to it nor did he care that he was hurt. He merely repositioned the punching bag and began whaling on it again, feeling the gash open wider and wider. Sweat dripped down his forehead, wetting his scalp and coating the back of his neck. The training facility remained completely empty tonight, perfect for letting out some steam.