by Joshua Hoyt
Chapter 7:
Sunlight snuck through a crack in the dark curtain and hit Tom in the eyes. Tom put his hand up in front of his face to block the light and blinked his eyes to acclimate to the brightness. Where am I? He ran his hand along a fine silk sheet, feeling as smooth and soft as a newborn rabbit, which covered him. The canopy above him was made of a dark brown mahogany draped with dark green drapes that ran down on all sides. The bed could accommodate at least five more boys Tom’s size and still have room to be comfortable. Hushed voices came from outside the canopy. “He needs to be taken somewhere safe,” Archelaus said firmly. “I can only trust you two to take him.”
Tom peered at the curtains trying to see through them. Who are they talking about?
“I want Cody to go with him. Cody can continue his own studies with you and then can help Tom learn his as well,” Archelaus said.
“I can’t leave my apprentice, and I don’t want her to be trained in seclusion,” Kristiana said.
“You must be there to help with his training. He has the gift. There’ll be no more discussion on the matter.” Tom shifted in the bed and the hushed voices stopped. Loud tapping noises faded away as someone hurried out the room. The curtains were drawn open and Tom sat back as Archelaus held the curtain open.
Archelaus moved to the edge of the bed. “Hi, Tom. I hope that you have rested well. I regret to tell you that you must be leaving soon. This is for your safety as well as the others who call the school home. I’m sorry that I have not been able to meet with you. I had hoped to spend much time with you to prepare you more.”
Tom sat up in the bed. “Where will I be going? Will John and Kristiana be going with me?”
Archelaus shifted and leaned closer. “Yes, they will attend with you.” He patted Tom on the shoulder. “You are very special, Tom. I will need to protect you.” He continued in a sweet voice while his eyes glittered with excitement. “You, Tom, will become a great leader and will be able to change the world that we now live in. You will need to learn your lessons well, and you must trust me in every matter.”
Tom’s eyes widened as he listened to Archelaus. Now I’ll show Jacob and Peanut. The headmaster will never know what hit him.
Archelaus leaned back and looking at the back of his hand said, “I’ll help you reach your full potential and help you gain your every dream. Never worry about those around you. They’re only here to meet your needs.” He smiled sweetly and then made a move to leave but stopped just as he started to stand. He looked deep into Tom’s eyes and said in a matter of fact tone, “Tom, a warning though, you need me. Remember that, only I can help you reach your full potential in this new world.” He stood and patted Tom on the head before he glided out of the room.
John entered shortly after Archelaus left. “Hey there Tom, you took quite a beating last night. How’s your stomach feeling?”
Tom felt his stomach. The pain was gone, “Much better but I’m still a little weak.”
“I would imagine you would be. You were hit with a magical glove that sucks the strength out of whomever it hits.” He patted Tom on the shoulder. “Weak or not we'd better get going before we lose the cover of night.”
“Night, what do you mean, have I been asleep all day?” Tom asked.
“Well, off and on, like I said when the man hit you it caused you to become very weak. You’re lucky to be alive actually. If it hadn’t been for Cody, you would be dead right now,” John said.
“John,” Tom hesitated. “Archelaus seems to think that I’m special. He said that I’d need him to reach my potential. Why do I need him?”
John looked quickly toward the door and then back to Tom. “Archelaus is a powerful man and has a lot of sway in the way things go.” He rubbed his chin for a moment. “You’re special and that makes you useful to him.” John turned. “Tom it’s time to go. Your clothes are on the chair. Hurry and get dressed and then meet me at the front door.”
“Uh, John where am I?” Tom asked.
“You’re in the main house. A guard outside your room will give you directions. Hurry, it’s time to go.” Tom listened to John walk down the hall as he got out of bed and started to dress. The clothes were dark. A plain hooded cloak hung on the back of the chair. I wonder why there isn't an insignia like my other clothes have. Tom shrugged, then strapped a belt with a scabbard on one side and a holster on the other and then tied the cloak on around his neck. Underneath lay a finely crafted short sword along with a pistol. In the belt several bullets were wedged in between leather loops. He looked over the weapons with fascination and remembering John’s urgency, hurriedly put them into their new homes.
Tom walked out the door and saw two guards. One of the guards gestured for him to follow then started down the hallway in front of him. The other guard fell in line behind. The guard led Tom to the front door of the mansion where they waited a few minutes until Kristiana and John came down the stairs. He saw the girl from the other day following closely behind Kristiana. She wore a long black robe with a hooded cloak tied around her neck. Tom stared at the girl. The girl stared back at him and he felt a connection spark between them. Quickly he looked away.
As he reached the bottom of the stairs, John said, “Are you ready? Cody should be waiting for us in the car.” John didn’t seem to notice Tom gawking at the girl.
Kristiana, on the other hand, gave Tom a stern look. “You’ll mind who you stare at, do you understand?”
“Yes ma’am,” Tom said as he tried to become as small as possible. Kristiana, John and the young woman passed Tom as they exited the door which a guard held open. Tom turned and followed the three out the door toward the car that idled in the drive. After the four clambered into the vehicle the guard shut the door with a click.
John pushed a button by his seat and said, “Let’s go.” Tom sat next to Cody while John, Kristiana and the girl sat on the other side.
Tom looked over at Cody. “Hi Co....” His jaw dropped as he looked at Cody’s face. Cody’s face had almost completely healed since he had last seen him. His nose still looked a little swollen and some black still lingered under one eye but other than that he looked good. “Cody what happened to your face, I mean, why’s it so, so, I mean you healed so fast,” Tom said.
“Well you see, Tom, I’m just super human,” Cody said laughing. Tom scrunched up his face and Cody laughed harder. Kristiana sighed and glared at Cody. Cody stopped laughing and said “Actually, there are people that are able to use their faith to heal others. I was lucky enough that Archelaus had one close at hand.”
“So they just pray or something and you’re healed?” Tom asked.
“Something like that, but I think that it takes years of devotion and training to get to the point where they are able to do something like they did for me,” Cody said.
Cody paused briefly and then continued. “I’ve heard that some of their faith are actually able to bring people back to life. If they’ve been gone for only a short time.”
The girl shook her head and pulled a book out from under her cloak and started to read. Tom still fascinated with the idea of a person who could bring someone back to life didn’t even notice. “Wow, that’s amazing, why haven’t I ever heard of these people before?” Tom asked.
“There aren’t many around anymore. Nobody really knows why. Some people believe it’s because the council has been slowly killing them off one by one. So they have gone into hiding. Archelaus has always been a protector of their faith though,” Cody said.
“That’s so hard to believe. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I wouldn’t believe you,” Tom said. There’re a lot of times I could have used some extra help from a higher power. On the other hand maybe I had and just didn’t realize it. Look at me now. Tom continued to think about this strange new idea of healers as the car sped down the road to a destination unknown.
After a while Tom’s gaze turned from the window to the young woman across from him. He felt drawn to her. Where hav
e I seen her before? Maybe we were friends when we were younger? Tom’s eyes narrowed. Did she cast a spell on me? His arms relaxed and the tension left as he grinned. It’s probably just the simple fact that she’s so beautiful. Whenever she looked up from her book Tom looked down quickly, his face flushing each time. During his secretive studying of her he noticed her deep green eyes and long black hair done up in a French twist. Her long black lashes fluttered each time she blinked. She wore strange rings that glowed slightly as she studied her book.
She closed her book abruptly and looked up at Tom. “Do you have a question?”
Tom turned an even brighter shade of red. “A, hmm, no,” he stammered.
Tom looked away and Cody laughed. “Tom, the proper thing to do when you don’t know someone is to ask them their name and how they’re doing.”
“I was just looking out the window,” Tom said.
“That’s odd, Tom. I thought for sure you were staring at the young lady,” Cody continued with the teasing. In a serious tone Cody turned to the young woman. “Excuse me, madam. My friend here seems to like you quite a bit and would like to get to know you better, might I give him your name?”
She glared at Cody. “I don’t have time for you or your friend. You can tell your friend that I’m not interested and that if he does ever have a question he can call me Aithnea.” Aithnea glanced at Tom and then reopened her book, and continued to read.
“Tom, her name is Aithnea and if you have any questions you can address her as such. Aithnea does not have time for you, or me for that matter, so don’t bother her again with your stares. Tom, do you understand?” Cody asked. He burst out laughing so hard he almost fell on the floor.
Aithnea started to chant as she moved her hands at the same time. Kristiana quickly caught her hand and said, “Aithnea, no.” Aithnea startled at the sudden loss of concentration, let out a sigh and went back to reading her book.
“Cody, that’s enough,” John said.
Cody gained control and looked at Aithnea, serious now. “I’m sorry. You deserve more respect.” He smiled at Tom, and asked, “Do you want to play a card game.”
“Sure,” Tom replied, glad that they were no longer talking about Aithnea or him. Tom took another quick glance at Aithnea and as he did she smiled. Tom feeling a little more courageous said, “Hi Aithnea, my name’s Tom.”
“I know who you are. It’s nice to meet you,” Aithnea replied. She smiled one last time and went back to her book.
Cody hit Tom in the shoulder. “Stop flirting and let’s play.” Tom and Cody played cards until Tom could no longer stay awake. At which point they put the cards away and both of them laid back to sleep. Taking a chance, he glanced one more time at Aithnea and saw that she looked at him as well. He smiled.