The Beast Within

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

He lifted a hand up and let lightning flash between his fingertips, holding the enchanting, blue tinged white bolt in his hands like the most dangerous of necklaces.

He had his magic now and could easily kill a shark but it was not to be, the non-Mages had taken that from him and now his mother would never get to make him his own necklace.

He extinguished the lightning in his right hand and clutched the necklace in a tight grip with the other, getting up to leave, he had spent enough time there, he needed to leave.

With that thought in his mind, he turned around and left, not bothering to look back because there was nothing to look back to.

His parents' souls could not linger here, in this rotting hut, he could only imagine them running across the beach beside gently flowing waves, that was where they truly belonged.

With brisk steps he made his way back once more to the new hut, he had a new family of sorts now, it made him want to try and smile and perhaps see the light in life again.

But every now and then, the pain of the loss of his parents slammed into him so hard he could barely breathe and his eyes would water up and he would avert his head so the others would not see.

Because he knew they did not know how to act around his tragedy, he had been there before, he could understand.

Every time he saw them gingerly step around him, he was taken back to Dew's death and how he felt around Adrik.

Sure, the way he felt then had been magnified because he had felt at fault for Dew's death, he still felt that way.

He surprisingly was the first one to get back and was left to himself for a good while, how fast had he been moving?

Thankfully, it didn't take very long before the rest showed up.

"Have you heard anything from the others who chose to join the army?" Ceraun asked on a whim, the thought just coming to him.

Haneul immediately looked thoughtful. "Come to think of it, I barely see them except sometimes while we get water or the orphans among them get food."

"Think they are training?" Adrik asked.

"I can't be sure, it would be apparent that they were unless they equally found a secluded spot like we did."

"That sounds unlikely." Auris muttered, tucking her cloak in.

They had begun their journey to the rocky incline, moving at a normal pace so that they didn't attract attention.

This was the first time that they were all going together, usually it was in twos or sometimes just one person and they all came from different directions.

But Mages didn't care about a lot of things, they were drowning too much in their misery to notice things that would not be of help.

The spies as well were little children with direct orders, so actions that fell on the gray area was a complexity to them and they had been scolded one too many times by the soldiers to easily ignore their actions.

The day was already half gone, the sun high overhead to show that it was just about midday.

There was not a lot of time left but they would take what they could get.

They got to the rocky incline and stared down it, long used to the harsh temperatures and rough terrain.

Ceraun was lost in thought, the last time he had been here was when his life started to fall apart from the seams, ripping into ugly pieces.

"Let's race to the river bank." Ceraun spoke, after a long while of silence.

He was usually the one to suggest it and when he did not after they had gotten to the incline, everyone chose to wait.

It simply did not seem right if someone else said it instead of Ceraun.

His tone was much different, less bright with dark undertones but it was good enough that he could still say it.

"I'll call it," Adrik immediately contributed, the rest perking up as well.

They all took off down the incline, their bodies now honed to the point where they could run fleeting fast and do it with little effort.

Even Auris, who drew her strength from the sun, was not left behind and could still do impressive feats even when the sun went down or on a cloudy day.

But now, as the sun was high in the sky and her cloak was bunched around her waist, she easily kept up with the rest, the wind dancing through her long hair.

The race there was cleansing in a way, the familiar burn in their legs and lungs, the wind rushing against their faces and the smell of damp earth in the distance.

The jarring impact in the hard ground when they leapt from rocks and the small pebbles and jagged rocks that threatened to make them lose their balance and fall.

It was less of a race and more of them warm up exercise for the training to come.

Auris also joined in pushing rocks, it was grovelling work and it had her panting and gasping, her entire face a bright red shade but she was not deterred.

She who, mere weeks ago could not care less about her life and was willing to join the army just to throw it away, the three Mages who were currently cheering her on while she pushed at a medium sized boulder was the entire reason why, they made wanting to live easier.

Ceraun might have pushed himself too far, trained himself to the point of exhaustion and practiced his magic till he burned out.

But the rest could not say anything to counter it, although they wanted to but they were aware that he was just trying to deal with his grief but that was seeming to be at the detriment of his own health.

Soon enough, Adrik called it a day, there was still a little time to spare but Haneul and Auris did not counter his assessment.

Overtime they had slowed down their training to glance at Ceraun with worry, thankfully, Ceraun hadn’t protested this perhaps because he was eager to run again.