Then I saw Violette’s feet, covered in bright purple combat boots. They reminded me of Jax. He must have owned a hundred pairs of boots, all with outlandishly bold patterns and bright colors. He wore them whenever he would get dressed up for public appearances.
“Do you have anything a little more... athletic?” Violette said.
Well I definitely did not have a pair of purple combat boots, if that’s what she was asking. I had been around the city at least a few times and I was sure I had seen plenty of girls wearing sandals and heels.
I bit the inside of my cheek. “Um, I have tennis shoes.”
After examining several pairs in my closet, Violette finally settled on one, although she didn’t seem especially excited about them. She even tried loaning me something out of her own closet, but her feet were several sizes larger than mine.
“It’ll be fine,” she said. “No one will even notice. It’s going to be dark anyway.”
When the dilemma of my lackluster shoe collection was finally settled, we headed out the door.
We rode the train through downtown Banya. That was a first for me. Whenever I went into the city in the past, Rayne drove us in his truck. Before my parents left the city, my mom and I had done a little exploring as well, but only within walking distance of the Court of Ambassadors where my father had been in hiding at the time.
I had only been on a train once before with my mom. Well, at least a real train. I wasn’t counting the one at Disneyland I had been on countless times. This felt a hundred times more exciting. I had no idea what the night held in store for me.
Instead of getting off in the heart of the city near Banya City Park, we stayed on for several more stops. It was the farthest I’d ever been from campus before. Which meant it was the farthest I’d been from Earth before, too.
I stared out the window a lot during the ride. And I asked a lot of questions. Violette seemed perfectly happy to take on the role of tour guide. She barely stopped to take a breath in between explanations, and I soaked up every minute of it with glee.
Violette was easy to talk to. She seemed just as eager to show me her world as I was to see it. She was one of the few people in Banya who actually knew where I came from, and it had always been her mission in life to become an Agent and travel to Earth. I could sense that talking to someone from Earth, in Violette’s eyes, was the next best thing.
When our stop finally arrived, Violette grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the seat. “Come on,” she said. “This is it.”
I followed after her across the small platform and looked around. “Are you sure this is the right stop?”
All throughout our ride, the city was jam-packed with tall, brightly lit buildings, and I imagined the party on a rooftop or in a posh penthouse, or even in some kind of cool loft like Jax’s secret apartment, but this looked more like a bunch of dark warehouses.
Violette kept going without hesitation. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve been here before.” She smiled wryly and lifted her eyebrows. “So, are you ready for a little Academy-style fun?”
I grinned nervously. “I hope so.”
It was a warm summer night. We walked a few blocks over, stopping in front of a large brick building, several stories high. It reminded me of an old abandoned warehouse, only it didn’t look old at all. It was the style of the architecture that was old, but the building itself appeared as if it had been built only a few years ago. Then again, that was how half the buildings in Banya appeared. Rayne had explained that most of them really were old, the materials just didn’t break down and age the way structures on Earth did.
It was getting harder and harder to remember what stuff on Earth actually looked like. I was getting used to everything on Ambrosia having that lovely, shimmery glow caused by the Healing Water. I still crossed the border to the training center all the time, which technically was on Earth—and that place did feel pretty dark and dull compared to Banya—but I never got to go outside while I was there. When I finally had the chance to return to Earth, would my old home look just as dark and dull?
As we approached the doors at the front of the brick building, I could see colorful lights flashing through the windows above, causing the sparkles in the street to glisten more pronounced than usual. It was almost magical.
Anticipation tingled up my neck as Violette pushed open the door, leaving the warm summer night behind us.
A wave of cool air hit my face, making me feel alive.
The entrance was dark once we were inside, but as far as I could tell it looked like some kind of lobby. I could already hear music echoing from the unknown spaces beyond.
Violette’s glowing purple eyes glinted back at me. “It’s just through here,” she said.
When Violette reached for the door her Watermark caught my attention. It had never looked so bright before. Even outside at night I had never really noticed it, at least not any more than anyone else’s mark. The bright city lights must have caused them to look muted. But here, in the pitch dark, Violette’s Watermark shined like you wouldn’t believe.
I was suddenly glad I had listened to Orion when he insisted I keep my mark covered. Apparently, I was the only person on all of Ambrosia with a white crystal Watermark, and that would only lead to questions. I followed Orion’s counsel on this one, but only because I didn’t want those questions any more than he did. I wasn’t happy about it though. I thought living in Banya would mean no more hiding, but apparently, some things never change.
I rubbed my fingers across the leather bracelet around my wrist, feeling somewhat relieved. Only a hint of white light showed around the edges. It wouldn’t be enough to raise suspicions.
As we moved through another doorway down the hall, a surge of blaring music pulsed through my ears.
Unlike the lobby, this part of the building led to a massive open space, several stories high, with steel beams all over the place. The ceiling was covered in metal rafters and the floors were hard like concrete. It was still dark but a stream of lights and colors swept back and forth in patterns across the walls.
A multitude of people danced to the beat at the center of the room, just as I expected, but when I looked closer I saw dark forms moving through the rafters and perched on the walls.
Just then, a whoosh of air buzzed over my head.
A boy called out, “Woo! Yeah!” as my eyes shot up to the rafters. He flew across the ceiling just above us.
From what I could see, it looked like a zip-line, only he wasn’t wearing a harness. His entire body dangled as he gripped a small bar with his hands. Just before the end of the line, he dropped to the ground. His speed was so fast I thought his legs would break for sure, but instead he rolled forward like a pro and jumped to his feet.
I stood there, stunned, as the boy pumped his fist in the air with amusement. Hollers were shouted out above the music from a platform high in the rafters where the boy had started his descent. And then, a second person flew down through the air.
“What is this place?” I asked Violette. I spoke loudly, trying to hear myself over the music.
“An old prep school training gym,” she called back.
I examined one of the walls closer, finally realizing that the dark forms were kids climbing up the sides.
“Are we allowed to be here?” I asked.
Violette laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s totally legit.” She grabbed my arm playfully. “Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.”
We started around the edge of the room, working our way in a circle.
The wall I had noticed before turned out to be an actual climbing wall with designated footholds, but a lot of the kids were climbing up the regular walls too. It was too dark to tell what they were holding onto as they climbed, but there had to be some kind of bars sticking out or air vents or cracks in the bricks or something because they were moving around all over the place like spiders.
As they reached the top, I noticed several of them repelling down with ro
pes in a fairly controlled manner, but most of them dove onto the ropes wildly and swung their bodies across the room just for the thrill of it.
“Do all of these people go to the Academy?” I asked.
“Most of them,” Violette said.
Many of them were younger-looking than I expected, like they could still be in middle school back on Earth. A lot of them looked like they could be high-school age too, but I started to understand why Rayne was always calling them ‘kids’. I had to be one of the oldest people at the party.
No matter where I looked there was somebody swinging around or climbing on something—bars and ladders and ropes; pretty much whatever they could grab hold of. I could even see little black shadows up in the rafters, running around the ceiling like it was a jungle gym.
Violette leaned into me so I could hear over the music. “They built a brand new gym over by TAPS where I used to go to school,” she explained. “It’s all state-of-the-art equipment, so this place isn’t used as much anymore. Now they mostly rent it out to the public for parties and stuff.”
Then, Violette’s focus seemed suddenly distracted. “A lot of the Academy kids come from money,” she continued. “They can afford to do stuff like this all the time.” I thought I heard a hint of annoyance in her tone. She was still speaking to me, but her gaze looked off to the side.
I followed her stare and found a group of girls that looked about Violette’s age, congregating a few yards away from us, all wearing fancy, outlandish clothing. By the look of their outfits, fake fur in bright colors seemed to be a popular thing.
The girls whispered to themselves pretentiously, throwing glances in our direction, and then passed right in front of us, snickering as they went.
I frowned, feeling both surprised and confused.
“What was that about?” I asked.
Violette just rolled her eyes. “I should probably warn you... A lot of the kids at the Academy think pretty highly of themselves. The only reason any of them even talk to me is because Rayne Stevens is my brother.”
“Really?” I said. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Violette was one of the most beautiful girls I had ever met. She was smart and friendly, strong and athletic too. If we were back at my school in Newport Beach, she would probably be the most popular girl in the school.
Violette shook her head and chuckled. “Have I told you how much I absolutely love that you’re not from this planet...?”
Violette had joked about this a hundred times before, but we were usually alone or with Rayne. This time, my eyes bulged. “Quiet...” I urged. “What if somebody hears you? You know that—”
She cut me off. “I know, I know—nobody can know who you are. Don’t worry; they’re way too self-absorbed here to notice anything we’re saying.”
Despite Violette’s reassurances, my eyes darted from side to side, making sure nobody had heard us. But just like Violette had said, not a single person seemed to be interested.
As I surveyed the crowd I noticed at least half of the kids were dressed in something kind of stealthy and black, much like Violette. But the other half of the kids looked a lot like those girls that had just snickered and mocked us.
Not that they wore anything that seemed completely absurd and preposterous, even compared to Earth’s standards, but they all had at least something on them that seemed to say... Look at me, I must be something spectacular!
“A lot of the kids here dress very... colorful,” I finally said.
“It’s all just for show,” Violette said, shrugging it off. “You can thank your friend Jax for that one.”
“Jax?” I replied.
“Yep,” she said. “He was the one that started all these trends in wild clothing to begin with, even when he was just a kid. I don’t really get into it though. I mean, most of us have to wear uniforms all day at the Academy anyway.”
I thought about Jax. He really was some kind of icon in this city. His face was plastered on every billboard and magazine in Banya. It had to be exhausting.
To me, even this party was starting to feel exhausting and I barely had arrived. There was just so much energy and commotion.
In one corner there had to be at least ten trampolines in a row where kids spun in the air doing flips and summersaults nonstop. In the other corner there was a long platform up in the rafters where they were literally running and leaping off the edge, without any ropes at all, and landing skillfully in a roll to a platform across the room below them.
These kids could walk on handstands across balance beams, run right up the sides of walls and flip themselves in the air. And on that rare occasion when they actually fell or missed a step, they just took a few breaths and went right back for more. One guy even missed the platform completely and fell to his back on the concrete, but I was the only one to gasp. Thirty seconds later, the guy was climbing back up the wall.
I knew their bodies could heal just as easily as mine could here in Banya, but I also knew that they still felt the pain of getting hurt as much or even more than me, and yet they just kept on going.
Their muscles had to be like rocks to bounce themselves around like that, with such precision and strength. It was incredible, like their bodies were pumping with adrenalin non-stop. And it wasn’t just the boys either, there were just as many girls out there too.
I, on the other hand, felt worn-out and depleted non-stop.
But, wasn’t I supposed to feel energized in Banya, from all the Healing Water in the air, just like everyone else? Why did it seem like I was more tired here than I even was back in California? It felt more like my body was struggling to keep up, like it was constantly trying to heal itself twenty-four hours a day.
How was I ever going to keep up with the other students at the Academy? I had been training with Jax for weeks, but these kids... they had been training their whole lives.
“I have to be honest,” I said to Violette. “I’m not sure I get all this.”
“What do you mean?” she said. “Get what?”
“I mean... it seems to me like almost everyone here must work-out for hours a day, especially once classes start at the Academy. I just don’t understand why this is what they choose to do for fun. Don’t they ever just want to relax?”
“Well, yeah,” Violette said. “But this is different. The Academy is all rigid and rules... Here we can just be free and do whatever we want. That’s why we call it a Rush party. It’s all about getting that rush, you know what I mean?”
I really wished I did know what she meant. Having all that energy sure would be nice.
I pushed out a smile. “Sure. I guess.”
A few minutes later, we made our way over to the far corner of the building. All I could see was a crowd of rowdy kids with their backs to us, forming a large circle.
“What’s happening?” I asked, concerned. It looked like a fight might break out at any minute.
Violette just shrugged. “These are the fighting mats.”
I followed her down and saw that there were two more crowds forming circles on mats just like the first one. Kids were yelling and cheering around the opponents as they watched their classmates throw punches or fight with sticks inside the ring.
“Let’s take a closer look,” Violette said.
My natural instinct was to hesitate. But then I thought of Jax in our training sessions; he said that if I really wanted to succeed at the Academy I had to learn to grow a thick skin. I didn’t want to be the only student always holding back in fear.
Without another thought, I hurried toward the crowd to follow Violette.
I must have hesitated too long. I wasn’t sure where she had gone.
Half the kids in the crowd were all dressed in black, just like Violette. I had no idea how I was supposed to find her.
I pushed my way to the front of the circle, hoping to see her face, maybe catch a glimpse of her purple eyes amid all the golds, blues, and greens.
At this point, I wasn’t surprised
to see two girls fighting at the center of the ring. They looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old. At least, that was how they appeared to me in terms of Earthly perception. I still struggled to figure out how old people really were in terms of years here in Banya.
Both the girls fought with precision and skill. This wasn’t a brawl in any way. The crowd itself was a little unruly, but the method of fighting was calculated and sharp.
It was enthralling. The next thing I knew, I was intently watching the fight, even cheering when the taller girl made her next move.
“Oh come on,” I heard a voice say. “She’s way too obvious.” I glanced over and found a guy leaning in to my side. Somehow, his bright aqua jacket managed to look chic. He raised his brow then flicked his chin toward the center of the ring and said, “My money’s on the little redhead.”
The way he said it was almost a challenge. Or a pick-up line. Was he interested in conversation, or just trying to provoke me?
Before I could think how to respond, he cocked his head to the side. “Hey, you look familiar.”
In an instant, my stomach twisted. “I do?” I replied. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to recognize me.
“Yeah,” he said. He studied me again. “Were you in Agent Maxwell’s defensive maneuvers class last year?”
“Nope,” I said quickly. “I’m just starting my first year in the fall.”
“Wait, you’re just a first year?” he said. At first he sounded genuinely surprised. But then, his entire demeanor changed, as if I went from a semi-okay-looking girl he might want to talk to, to a third class citizen, in less than a second.
“You look pretty old for a first-year,” he accused.
“Yeah,” I said. “I guess.” My eyes shifted and I started to walk away. This would be the perfect time to finally find Violette.
I couldn’t believe it. The guy actually followed me, as if taunting me was some kind of amusing game. “I’m a third-year myself,” he bragged. “Already on track to becoming a Scout.”
He sounded more than proud of himself. I tried to ignore him and search for Violette in the crowd.
Flood Rising (The Water Keepers, Book 4) Page 8