Part 35 (1/2)

”They'd like to see why,” he added.

”Oh.” I grinned. ”They want me to join them in the tourney.”

He shook his head. ”You can't partic.i.p.ate in the tourney. You'd give your team an unfair advantage.”

”Unfair? They're going against seniors, twenty-five-year-olds who've had years of training.”

He shrugged. ”The tourney isn't a big deal. This is Kessler's attempt to start a school tradition, but he's going about it the wrong way and it's going to fail.”

Why was he such a killjoy all the time? ”Who am I sparring with?”

”Me. Come on.”

We teleported to the hallway outside the main gym. The buzz of student voices reached me before Master Kenta pushed open the door. Unlike earlier, the bleachers were down and packed with students, teachers, and non-teaching staff. Something about the gathered students and the antic.i.p.ation in the air was vaguely familiar. Bran would know if I'd ever fought in front of an audience. A quick scan told me he wasn't around. I waved to Katia and Lottius.

Master Kenta raised a hand and the room became silent. ”This is going to be a short, friendly fight.”

Somehow, I doubt it, Bran said, and I searched the audience for him. I found him at the top of the bleachers. He winked.

”Lilith is a gifted fighter and has learned a lot since I started working with her.”

Now, that's a joke, Bran piped in. I tried hard not to laugh.

”We will start with hand-to-hand combat before using staffs, then swords,” Master Kenta continued.

Of course, he starts with what he's good at, Bran added. What a douche. Heads up, suns.h.i.+ne. You can control solids now. Use it to your advantage.

But I didn't need to prove anything or let Bran's dislike for Master Kenta mess with my head. The fight was intense, but he backed off when he could have taken me down a couple of times. When we switched to staff and swords, I took it easy on him, too. I even warned him before pulling some new moves. The crowd, on the other hand, ate it all up, the silence so thick it was spooky. Even Bran shut up.

When we finished, the applause was deafening. The excited whispers and telepathic communication that followed said they were impressed. Well, not all of them. A few die-hard skeptics still didn't trust me and I could feel a trickle of suspicion, even hatred. I tried not to dwell on haters, but I still noticed. I wiped the sweat of my brow and bowed.

”Just so you know, she was playing nice and let me get away with quite a bit,” Master Kenta said, taking me by surprise. ”I would say without shame that she, my pupil, has surpa.s.sed me. Anyone want to try and take her on?”

”I'd like to try,” a girl said, and waved from the middle of the bleachers.

”Me too,” a guy said from the bottom on the bleachers. Oh, one of the haters.

”Same here,” another guy added.

Master Kenta frowned and I knew he had been joking when he'd asked the question and hadn't expected the students to volunteer. I knew he was going to turn them down.

Please don't turn them down, I telepathed him.

I already told you- I'm not asking, Master Kenta. It took a lot of guts for them to step up. Shooting them down will only undermine their self-confidence. I want to spar with anyone who volunteers. I didn't look at him the entire time we were having the exchange, but he knew what that meant-if he turned them down, I would go against his wishes. I'll keep it fun.

He nodded, but he wasn't happy. Smiling, he acted the part of a master allowing his prized student to educate lesser-trained recruits, and invited the volunteers to the floor.

I started by fighting individuals, then pairs, and finally several at once. I didn't push too hard, but I didn't toy with them, either. A few seemed more determined than others, but they had good sportsmans.h.i.+p and accepted their losses gracefully, except for the ones who didn't trust me. They were actually better trained than Master Kenta had led me to believe.

”Can you train with us?” a student asked, and the ones surrounding us echoed her.

I glanced at Master Kenta. It's your call.

He nodded, although reluctantly. I grinned and bowed. Thank you.

-19-.

Red lights woke me up. I tried to open my eyes, but it was as though I had lead eyelids. I wasn't alone in my room. Someone was standing over my bed, and a familiar scent teased my nose, but I couldn't place it. My eyes grew heavy. The person mumbled something.

”Father?” I asked.

”Sleep.”

Was that Father? The base of my spine itched. ”Happy...you...home.” I drifted to sleep. What seemed like five minutes later, someone shook me awake. I squinted against the light pouring in through the window.

”You're going to be late if you don't get up, my dear,” Lady Nemea said. ”I pinged you several times, but you didn't respond.”

I stretched and glanced at my watch. I had thirty minutes. The Academy was less than a second away. I turned and pulled the covers over my head.

”Oh, no, my darling child.” Lady Nemea pulled the covers down. ”You need to get up, unless you want me to carry you to the shower and bathe you like I used to when you were in a coma.”

”Ew, no,” I mumbled, and covered my face with a pillow, wis.h.i.+ng I didn't have to get up. I was so tired and sleepy. I'd gone to bed early, so the fatigue didn't make sense.

”You are the one who insisted on attending the Academy. It starts in exactly twenty-eight minutes, unless you want to have a different set of rules just for you.”

I lifted the pillow. ”Can I?”

She chuckled. ”I'll get your uniform.”

Did she have to be so d.a.m.n chipper so early in the morning? I sat up just as she disappeared into my closet. ”I don't understand why I'm so tired. I went to sleep early.”

”Your energy fluctuates, that's all.”

Like that boy Locke and the omni sisters in my energy cla.s.s. Not to forget the criminals in the dungeons. ”Is this common among all Specials?”

”Yes, but most learn to control it.” Lady Nemea stepped back into my bedroom with a cleaned and pressed uniform.

A memory flitted in and out of my head as I dressed. Father was supposed to come back last night. A quick scan said he wasn't home. ”I don't detect my father's energy. Did he come home last night?”

”No, dear.”

My stomach hollowed out. ”He promised me he'd be home.”

”He's perfectly safe, Lilith. If there's a problem, they'll inform us. Knowing him, he probably visited family after family, putting their feelings ahead of his own.”

”It takes a fraction of a second to teleport,” I griped.