Daniel inhaled and looked out across the crowed. Behind Mark was Jasper and Carlie, he looked out further and could just about make Taner’s head popping up out of the crowd as if he’d been standing on his tiptoes. Daniel shook at the faintest echo of laughter, but then he gulped at the fear inside his throat.
Mark glared into Daniel’s eyes and then cracked his knuckles. Daniel took a slow deep breath and closed his eyes. He opened them and flicked both of his wrists at once; a thread of gold shot free from his hands. There was a crackle and grey smoke appeared at the bottom of Mark’s pants with the smallest of flames. The class gasped, and then huffed in disappoint as Mark put the flames out.
“Really? That’s weak,” Mark grinned, rubbing his palms together.
Daniel didn’t see it coming, until his teeth started to clatter and the group began laughing at him. He was grounded by a small bump of ice going over his feet. It was Daniel’s go again, and all he wanted to do was break free from the ice around his feet.
“C’mon!” Mark groaned, his voice muffled in Daniel’s ears.
Daniel stroked his goose pimpled arms as he tried to keep from shivering. He closed his eyes, trying to string together something warm, something that would burn Mark. The more he thought about it the warmer he got. The hair on his body had matted and thickened in record time, with the ice crumbling at the long talons on his feet. Without realising it, he had taken the form of one of the carriage men, and he squawked in Mark’s face.
Mark fell to his knees, cupping his ears, while everyone else took several steps back and curled their heads into their abdomens, trying to cope with the ringing in their ears. Jasper stood still, his eyes glazed over staring at Mark.
“Stop!” Rik shouted. The room was quiet again and everyone started to stand ever-so slowly.
Daniel wriggled back into his human form, inhaling the process away. Mark was the last to stand, his legs quaking at the balls of his feet.
“Cheating,” Rik said, and glanced from Mark to Daniel and then to Jasper.
Mark started to snigger, “knew there was a rule against that.”
“No, not that. You, you cheated. Jasper fed some of his energy into you, that’s why the noise couldn’t pass his ears. Not until you took too much, trying to retaliate I suppose,” Rik explained, leaving everyone dumbfounded, especially Jasper who’d been none the wiser of what had happened.
Daniel couldn’t help smile, although it wasn’t one of the ideals he’d planned out for the lesson. It was better. Jasper and Mark were being laughed at while Daniel was praised for turning into a bird and then breaking from a double energy bound ice bond. It was a good first impression, if you discounted the weak fire summoning.
Chapter Thirteen
Daniel opened his bedroom door to the mess he’d left it in. The duvet was still on the floor and the sheet on the bed had come up. He stood at his door for a while, trying to figure out how, if he could, clean it, and it was freezing. And if he could, he wanted to make his bed. He flicked his wrists in imitation for what he’d seen Reuben do.
He managed to pull at the sheet slightly, before frustrating himself and walking over to it. He slumped on his bed and stared at the ceiling, but nothing could match the stars he’d seen last night.
“Mia,” her name trickled from his tongue as he closed his eyes, creating her face from behind his eyelids.
His bedroom door swung open and he shot up. Carlie walked in wearing a fluffy white robe. She slammed the door shut with her foot, and bit her lip, which is all she seemed to know how to do.
“You,” she mouthed.
“Carlie?” he said, his voice breaking.
“Don’t act so surprised.” She grinned, “this can be a secret.” She winked at him, her eyes wide as she stared into his, teasing her bottom lip with her teeth.
“No,” he said, pushing himself up against the wall.
She laughed. “You want me, Dan. Everyone wants me.” She whipped the rope from around her waist and her robe fell to her shoulders.
Daniel closed his eyes. “Jeesh. Put some clothes on.” Please, I don’t want no more trouble from Jasper!
She glared at him and smiled, then shook her head, messing up her hair to fall around her face. She climbed on his bed and Daniel opened his eyes again. She had opened her robe to show her matching lacy pink underwear which her breasts were pushed up in. Daniel gulped; she was getting closer, on her hands and knees, her skin turning whiter as she closed in.
“Can you go, please,” he said and squeezed his eyes shut.
“It’ll take more than that,” she whispered into his ear.
Daniel forced himself up against his wall and opened his eyes. They were inches apart and looking into each other’s eyes. There was a shared mix of shallow breathes as Daniel’s hands relieved his straining body and he eased up against the wall.
“See,” she whispered, and then kissed him on the lips.
He pulled back but she pressed harder. He tried to pull away again, but he couldn’t, his head was against the wall. She gripped his hands and pushed them against her breasts. He moved his hands and pushed her off him by her shoulders.
“No, no,” he said, wiping his mouth. But there was something that wanted to continue, the thought that kissing her could hurt Jasper.
“You’re nicer than Jasper. He’s so demanding,” she said, in a sulky tone.
“So why are you with him?” he asked, trying to find a comfortable place to look.
“Don’t you like me?”
Daniel sighed, he didn’t even know her and it was harmless up until now. He’d read it in the books his father had brought home, if you told a girl you didn’t like her, she’d think it was about her looks and then break down in a fit of hysterical tears. If you told her you liked her, then she’d expect more kissing, hand holding, and sex.
Carlie flicked her hair back and grinned. “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” she said and kissed him on his lips again.
She kept on kissing him, and Daniel didn’t pull back; he kissed her and then one after the other they kept on kissing each other. The contrast of her pale skin and his tan skin became blurred as they started to glow.
Daniel stopped and took a deep breathe, panting and keeping himself from becoming too relaxed.
“Oh, it’s okay. I was thinking of leaving anyway, early morning an’ all.” She flicked her legs over him and climbed off his bed; she grabbed the white robe, covered herself and tied the rope around her robe to keep it intact.
Daniel began to spurt out random words. At first he didn’t realise, his blinks become longer and what he saw was blurred. The last thing he noticed was Carlie blowing a kiss at him as she left, and then his eyelids collapsed together.
Black swirls crawled up his skin. It woke him to take deep gasps, and then choke on his own awareness. He panicked at the black around him, and again he waved his hands in front of his face. His skin was sallow in the unknown source of light. He glanced around, everywhere, but there was nothing. Just black.
“Again?” A familiar voice asked.
Nostalgia took Daniel by the throat as he dipped and spun around on his foot in search of the voice’s holder.
“That’s something you can’t do so easily, is it?” it asked again, and still Daniel couldn’t find him.
“What isn’t?” he asked.
“Watching your own back, Daniel, although someone has been. Me.”
“What? It’s my dream! Show yourself!” there was a dryness in Daniel’s voice, he’d read a book that he wasn’t supposed to have once; people who were mentally weak are susceptible to being controlled or killed from inside the mind. No. I am strong!
Daniel turned around once more, his teeth biting down hard against each other. He clenched his jaw harder as the man stood there. He was lightly tanned with a prominent jawline, and wearing the same clothes that he had been before.
“You’re right, you are strong, and people can and do intrude on other people’s brains,
sometimes taking bits out, or pushing stuff around, like a lobotomy,” he said, standing several feet away with his hands tucked into his pockets.
“A lobotomy?” Daniel stuttered, glaring at the man.
“It’s when you get this steel pick,” he said and a sharp-edged stick of steel materialised between his fingers, “and then you open the eye and right beneath the eyeball you put it in, and knock it, with a hammer.” His face twisted into a smile as he thrust the pick into the air.
Daniel took a step back and watched as the man’s theatrics wore away and the steel in his hands disintegrated. He looked at Daniel and smiled.
“Don’t look so worried. It’s not like I want to kill you.” he grinned as a dim light touched his cheeks and cast half of his face into darkness.
“What do you want then?” Daniel asked.
“Nothing. I’m part of your dream, willed to do as you want. After all, it was you who summoned me,” he said, taking a step towards Daniel which ended in one fluid motion as the man now stood only inches from him. “Have you killed him yet?” he whispered into his ear.
“I don’t want to kill him.” Daniel glanced up, glaring into his eyes, one eye green, and one eye blue. Daniel pushed himself back to take a couple of steps.
“Let’s not start this headache again. Be careful of who you trust, Daniel. Or they’ll be picking your spine from their teeth once they’ve finished.” He moved closer.
“What?”
He huffed. “They are going to eat you alive.”
“Who’s going to eat me alive?”
They both stared at each other. Daniel drew a deep breath, as one single understanding of something pure and innate pulled itself to a balance. Exhaling, Daniel wavered on the balls of his feet as his muscles and skin started to become heavy on his bones.
“Trust me, okay,” he said, and gripped Daniel’s arm before he toppled over.
Daniel shook himself and pulled away from the man. “Who wants to hurt me?”
“You’re from the Lowerlands,” he said with a wry smile and a shrug. “You were born out of place.”
Daniel took a moment, repeating it to himself, and when he glanced back up, he wasn’t there.
“Hello!” he called out, letting his voice echo. “Hello!” he shouted and the echo felt closer. He took another breath to call again, and found that he was sucking himself in. The black started to vacuum around him, becoming smaller and smaller.
You can wake up. It’s your dream! He panicked inside himself.
The black chewed at his vision and reduced him to a pile on the floor. His body convulsed and twisted, his arms became gnarled and out of place. He tried to suck at the air again, his chest deflated and his face become more defined as he lost the ability to breathe. And then he let go.
Chapter Fourteen
Pain buried itself in Daniel’s dreams. Nothing ever ended easily, or swiftly, and each piece of hurt was perfectly etched behind his skin.
His lips were dry, and the air behind them chaffed at his throat. He was laid with an arm bunched up against his stomach and another clenched softly at his neck.
A spasm broke out in his arms and fought him to wake. A small energetic surge sufficed in his fingertips and started to glow. He rolled over to his back and a stream of air gushed into his throat. The energy snapped from his fingers and rippled the air, smashing the mirror above the sink.
He sprang to life. “Shit,” he gasped, staring down at his tingling fingers. He turned and grabbed his alarm clock, it was09:17, and if he didn’t hurry then he’d miss his first Animal lesson.
He tugged his cold sweat stained clothes from his body, falling over himself to get his pants off. He changed, and before blindly shoving his hands into the sink to wash his face, he noticed the thick pieces of glass reflect him in them; his sickly white skin, and his sleepless eyes. He ran his hands under the cold tap and splashed his face.
He jumped whole flights of stairs, landing and trembling on his legs. He burst out of the front door and fell into Jasper. Jasper pushed him up against the wall and almost growled, “I’m not going to let you put me in a bad mood!” and from behind Jasper, Mark stood with his arms folded and his chest puffed. He let go of Daniel and pushed him. “First Animal class this year. Nobody is going to ruin a great start to the day.”
Daniel brushed himself off and opened his mouth to ask Jasper where the class was, even though he had to think about it for a second, did he hear right, Jasper could shift as well. By the time Daniel thought it was a bad idea to ask, Jasper was already gone. He made his way down a path in search for a sign that would lead him to the class. And then he saw a group of people walking off behind the main building, and he swore that one of them was Jasper.
He shouted after them, and bit his tongue, even though Jasper turned around to see him and snarl. Daniel hurried up to join them.
He’d seen this place before. On his first day when he’d taken that detour to the stables. So this must be the stables then. He followed the lightly worn path and group of people to the large barn behind the building, as they entered he loitered outside for a moment. The sound of their brash voices came from within. He pushed up a slate of wood and peered through to see several people standing around in a group, talking among themselves.
“Spying?” someone chimed in, louder than the rest of the voices. Everyone turned to the gap where Daniel was staring in from.
He gulped and let the slate fall back into place. He froze as he heard the patter of feet from inside the stable. Jasper was the first one out to see Daniel standing there with a flushed face, and then another pushed to the front of the crowd.
“Go back inside,” he said and shooed them away.
“Hi, is this the Animal, shifting class?” Daniel asked, staring up at the man, and back down to his feet.
“Oh, so you’re Daniel,” the teacher grinned, “They get very edgy in this class, people calling them freaks because they can still shift. Well, I’m Enek.” He offered his hand out, and Daniel shook it. “It’s rare that all the teachers are talking about one student.”
“Oh,” Daniel said letting go of Enek’s hand.
“It isn’t bad, honestly. I’ve been waiting to meet you, and I’m sure the rest of the class will be too thrilled to have you. But you are the only first year, so far,” he said, brushing his hand against Daniel’s back to usher him into the stables.
Everyone smirked as Daniel entered. There were a few familiar faces from his class yesterday and from the looks on their faces, they all remembered the public showing of his shift. The group felt huge to Daniel, all eyes on him, all 12 sets of eyes. Daniel flinched as the stable doors slammed shut and a loud clang latched the locks.
“This is Daniel,” Enek said.
“We know,” Jasper said, making his way to the front of the group.
“He’s the first year that beat Mark,” A girl sniggered from behind Jasper.
“I know. I heard, and that’s where we’re kicking the semester off; controlling your animal form to defend as well as to attack. So can you control yourself, Daniel?” Enek asked, tipping his head at Daniel.
“Yes,” Daniel said defensively.
“Looked more like rage to me,” Jasper said, sparking a coo of laughter.
“How would you know? You were in a trance, and got caught cheating!” Daniel grinned as the laughter got louder, sharing the attention.
Enek’s cold expressions silenced everyone, including Jasper who had just opened his mouth to spit some witty retort. “What animal are you affined with?” he asked.
“So far, just bird types,” Daniel replied.
“So far?” Enek laughed.
Daniel looked around at all the grins settling on people’s faces. It was the kind of smile you gave a person who was downright stupid or naïve, Daniel had seen it too many times on Jac before.
“We only have a connection with one animal,” Jasper said what no one else could say from laughter, aching Daniel's face
to redness.
“Jasper!” Enek snapped. “It is rare that a person is gifted with more than one animal, but some cases have been documented, like the greats, the Luminary! The woman of Jupiter, Juperae, very fond of her cats, but could also turn into a mouse.”
“Exactly, she was a Luminary. We were taught that in Mythics last year, she’s mythical, bloodlines with that power cannot live without repercussion, it defies nature,” Jasper said, rolling his eyes at Enek, “it’s better if you don’t think you’re special, even if the rumours say that this golden flare is something to be in awe of.”
“Jasper, a flare is a personal thing, and it’s a shame to show so much jealously. You said that he lacks control, how about you show us some,” Enek barked back.
“What?”
“If you can shift and everything goes off without a hitch, then I’ll presume you’re okay, but if not, then you’ll have to sit the lesson out.”
“This is stupid,” Jasper said, turning to see the encouraging faces of the group behind him. “And what about him? Don’t we get to test his little; I can turn into different animals, speech.” But the truth was, nobody had asked Daniel to prove it, not since Jasper had taken the full force of Enek’s attention.
Jasper formed a wide circle, leaving enough room for Daniel and Enek to join. He shooed people back as he marked a circle with his foot, snarling when he passed Daniel. Daniel wondered just how big Jasper was going to get, and then he stood in the middle of the circle. He turned his body to face Daniel and then bowed his head. Jasper’s shaggy blond hair became thicker and sprouted out down his neck and under his chin, framing his face. He glanced back up at Daniel and glared at him with his beady jaundice yellow eyes. In one sudden movement, he fell to all fours and his back cracked.
The torso and head of a man shimmered above Jasper. It was the man who had been in Daniel’s dreams. Things seemed to slow down for Daniel; the man glanced up at him and winked, then plunged a jagged slate of steel into Jasper’s back. Jasper collapsed on his abdomen and a thin electric plasma started to covet his body, but then everyone started to clap. Daniel blinked and the man had gone, the man was never there, and Jasper was perfectly fine.
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