Fired
“Enough!” Trainer Palvin said sharply, and the flames quickly died under a localized rush of air. The boy was talented, but needed control. Control was life, control was power. Without it, the young fools lining the walls would be dead in a week. “Ken, what were you thinking about when you spoke?”
“Fire!” Ken's eyes were bright despite his glaring mistake and potential injury. “Just like you told me, Trainer!”
“No,” Palvin replied softly. “Not just like I told you. What part of your body were you thinking about?”
“My fist!” The thin young man threw one hand into the air. “At least, at first...” he trailed off.
“Exactly.” A stern look served to calm the trainee down. “You lost your concentration, and look where it got you – nearly injured by your own power. First lesson, Ken, and one you should know well – focus is more important than force.”
“But I -” Ken started up again, and Palvin's face darkened. The boy would never have been so brash six months ago, when he first stood in the hall and watched senior classmen demonstrate what they had learned. Shorter than most of his peers and with as weak a spirit as had ever been sensed by the Masters, Juno had been brought only because of his lineage; barring the grandson of the generation's greatest hero from entry would have been a difficult task, even if all the Masters had opposed it. Fortunately, Ken had a significant amount of aptitude hidden beneath an unremarkable shell, and a breakthrough after his semester vacation had led to speedy development.
It had also led to arrogance.
“But nothing.” Palvin made sure his voice was hard as iron. “You know how to use your power properly, but are too lazy to do so. What you think about informs what comes to pass – why under the sun did you think about your foot?”
“It was itchy,” Ken said sheepishly, shoulders slumping. “These socks you give us are made of some kind of awful fabric and I -” The boy cut off as Palvin took a step forward.
“I see.” Reaching out, he pulled the Adept badge from Ken's shoulder and threw it to the floor. “So it is our fault that you cannot follow directions – our error that has led you to endanger us all.”
It was a challenge, pure and simple – one that any trainee should have known well enough to back away from. Ken's eyes narrowed, however, and his chest puffed out. “You know who I am, Trainer, and you know my family. I am the grandson of your savior, the continuation of his line. His blood and power course through me, and you would do well to show the proper respect.” Palvin sighed. He had hoped Ken would not force the issue, but the child seemed determined to make foolish mistakes, even when warned.
“Ken Juno,” he turned his back to the young upstart and addressed the hall. “You are no longer worthy of the title Trainee, or a place here with us. I have stripped you of your badge and your honor, and you are to leave before day's end. Those of you here,” he pointed to the twenty students watching, their eyes wide and hands shaking, “are witness to this event and this expulsion. Juno is no longer welcome.”
The starting sounds of fire warned him a moment before Ken attacked, giving him just enough time to roll forward and spring to his feet.
“Trainees!” He bellowed. “To your dorms!” They ran, tripping over one another in their haste to leave the hall. Staged fights were common for training purposes, but a real battle was frightening, unknown.
“You dare?” Palvin said as he straightened, staring down the young man who thought himself an equal to his teachers. “You would risk everything in a fit of temper? You are powerful, Juno – you know that much. Use your power for good, as your grandfather did.”
“My grandfather was a fool,” Ken spoke with a twist to his mouth, and his tone carried a bitterness Palvin had not heard in years. It was petulant and self-serving, foul and yet somehow needy. Somehow familiar.
“Baelvas!” He spoke the name aloud in shock, and Ken laughed. Palvin corrected the thought – he was not entirely Ken any longer.
“Yes, Palvin,” the young man's mouth said, “it's me. Did you really think Keva Juno could kill me? Did you really believe that I would never return? The moment of that noble fool's greatest victory was also his undoing, though he had no idea.” Ken smiled – a sick, oily curve of the mouth. “It took only a little bit of power, only a tiny portion of my will to infuse Keva, to give him a gift that would surprise him at just the right moment.”
“Keva!” Palvin felt a knot of fear grow in his stomach. “What have you done to him?”
“Not I,” Baelvas said, “but your young trainee. I have been a part of his life since he was a child, and we have come to an understanding. He was provided a portion of my power, and took the life of my enemy. A fair bargain, wouldn't you say?”
Palvin's world spun; how could such a thing have happened? How had they not known? Another attack came before he was ready, Ken charging in with both fists blazing. For a moment, Palvin considered death, considered simply letting Baelvas have his way.
Anger surged. Ken might still be saved; Keva had not deserved such a death. Air howled around him, a shield of power that smothered all flame.
It wasn't over.
- D
No comments:
Post a Comment