Crystal Skies

Chapter Two

CHAPTER 2

Violet walked in with her purple eyes glowering. Glowing flags rose with different colors – red, blue, brown, white and yellow. 

            Kyah and I stood on the last line on the white flag, patiently waiting for the next instruction. I fly and Kyah could throw air balls. We were air elements, even if we weren’t the special kind. 

 Violet told us to pick one representative for each element coalition. 

Nick Campbell stood as the representative for the brown coalition I assume was earth. He had a strong charisma, blue eyes, blonde hair, built body – you see him and you just stare in awe. 

The water coalition picked Athea Morgan, the school muse. She’s undeniably pretty and super sexy. The tips of her hair were blue, but the rest was blonde. 

            I expected the fire coalition to pick Chase. He was indeed the strongest and the most feared individual in the academy, fire burning from his hands or not. Yet there was no Chase in the group no matter how hard I tried to look for him.

Violet shouted the instructions and introductions about the activity. The crowd was silent as we all listened to Violet’s voice echoing the arena. Physical combat, she said. This activity was about our body built. Stage one of training, I suppose. Athea and Nick fist bumped and prepared themselves for a demonstration against Ryan from the yellow coalition and Veronica from the flames.

            “Who do you think will win?” Kyah asked, her face focused on the individuals in front.

            “Uh...” I bit my lower lip. I only knew these people by name. So I got on with the people I first saw. “Nick and Athea.”

            “They’re not in teams, Cassie,” Kyah chuckled. She stood on her tippy toes to have a better view of what was happening. “You seem to forget there are five representatives and five groups.”

            I looked in front and better observed this time. Yes, we were in five groups. Athea represented the water coalition, Nick represented the earth, Ryan represented the special talents coalition or the yellow team, Veronica took her stand for the fire coalition... There was Ed, the pale skinned ginger head, standing nervously in the edge of the wide stage. They blew the horn and when they started to fight, I gasped. Not because they were fighting brutally or their attacks surprised me but because an arm snaked my waist, pulling me.

            I haven’t felt this kind of touch before.

            “Cassandra,” a low voice whispered in my ear. It almost felt intimate. 

            “Why?” I turned to meet Chase’s tantalizing chocolate eyes. He dropped his hand from my waist and for a second, I wanted to scold myself for wishing he didn’t. The small gap between us made me want to squeeze myself back to him. I don’t know why, I just do. He looked at me and observed. He looked like he was pondering something, flipping an idea from one side to another in his head. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his eyes moved from my right eye to the left. I cleared my throat and tried to think about something else. Flowers, gardens, the fight. It was hard to not get distracted with the tiny space between us and the crowd’s cheer pushing us towards each other.

            He blinked twice, his eyelashes swaying perfectly as it was dragged along. He made me forget the crowd. He made me forget about the demo. He made me forget about everything else. I bit my lip and gripped tight on my shoulders. People were beginning to stare.           

            “You’re coming with me,” he repeated sternly before he walked forward.

            I nodded and slapped both of my palms on my lap. “Yeah,” I muttered.

At exactly five minutes, Chase stopped in his tracks and I did too. We were in a field suited for training under the same thick clouds and serene blue sky. At first I thought it was a garden but there weren’t any grass. My shoes stomped on the gravel and kicked a few stones here and there as I examined the field. Maybe it was a garden back then before everyone abandoned it and turned the area as a training ground.

            “Your trainings will be held here. You won’t need Violet’s activities,” Chase said, standing ten feet away from me. He looked dead serious and I tried not to look away. “I will train you myself.”

            I tasted bile, like it was stuck on my throat. “Why would you do that? And why me?”

            He ignored and spoke, “Rule number one, don’t ask why – just do it.” Stepping three steps backward, he continued. “Rule number two, you make your own strategy. You think on your own without further instructions how. If I teach you, you’re lucky. You make your own skill. You make your own way. I expect you to learn best with yourself.” I blinked twice trying to process his words. “Rule number three, everyday new lesson. Every day we fight. I’m not here for small talk but plain business. Rule number four ...” There was a long pause before he continued, “Do everything to survive.”

            My brow rose. Was this training or a death-surviving tutor session? He asked, “Any questions?’

            “Why me?” I asked bravely and repeated the question. A fireball came lunging towards me. It nearly burned my hair, thank God I avoided.

            “Rule number one,” he reminded.

            “But you asked!”

            “And you were dumb enough to oblige,” he said back sternly, his scowl still resting in his face. He threw a fire ball towards me, nearly burning my hair, called me dumb and now he was composed. “Just because people tell you things doesn’t mean they mean it. Everything can be a mask to cover one’s intention. I already told you and you didn’t listen. You almost paid the price. You must focus on your senses and give your intuitions a chance to be heard. Don’t ever permit yourself to be fooled, Cassandra, before everything becomes too late for you to mourn.” 

            The speed of his throws made everything worse. I was already flying up in the sky but all his throws aimed higher and higher. I dodged every single one of them until I got tired and fell to the ground. 

            “Stand up,” he demanded. I was still trying to catch my breath, my chest rising up and down. 

            He reached his hand but I didn’t take it. I said firmly, “I won’t try to be in this program of yours. Not until you tell me why.”

            His mouth twitched and his eyes changed their expression. With one last look, he turned around and walked away. I trailed him with my eyes, anticipating him to turn around and answer my question. He stopped on the same spot he was standing a while ago. He nodded at me, telling me to get up and start again.