by Lucy Roy
I saw the corners of his mouth twitch.
“Come on.”
We were about ten feet from Chiron when I realized he was in centaur form, the sight causing me to stop dead in my tracks. Nate noticed and grabbed my arm to keep me moving.
‘Don’t make a thing of it, please.’
There was a half-man, half-horse standing in front of me, and I wasn’t supposed to react?
Yep. Super easy.
Chiron turned as we approached and greeted us with a smile.
“Good morning! How did you fare after your first day of training, Tessa? I hope you got a good night’s sleep; today will be a bit more intense.”
I let out a weak laugh.
“Awesome.”
He grinned. “I’m sure. So, what can I do for you two?”
His grin transformed into a smirk when he turned his gaze to Nate.
“Can we speak privately? We—I’ve got some concerns,” Nate said.
“Of course, let’s step outside.”
Chiron made his way through the main archway, leaving large hoof prints in the sand behind him.
I gave my head a quick shake. Between Nate being an original Ischyra, Eric’s fire and my nightmare, and now seeing Chiron in his true form, I was starting to feel a little off kilter.
Once we were outside, Chiron turned to face us and folded his arms across his chest, his long black-brown tail swishing with the movement.
“So, I’m assuming this is about the water incident from yesterday?”
“I—” My gaze darted between him and Nate. “I didn’t realize you’d noticed.”
“Of course I did. It’s my job to notice.” He turned his deep brown eyes on Nate. “So what are you thinking?”
“She also manipulated fire last night,” Nate explained.
Chiron faced me and blinked in shock. “Is this true?”
“Yes. But it was just a little.” The words rushed out. “It’s not like I was blowing dragon fire or anything. I just put a candle out.”
He scratched his head and put his hand on his hip. Or, the part of him that would’ve been a hip if he’d been in human form. “Okay, then. We’ll run some tests.”
“Tests?” An edge of panic snuck into my voice. “What kind of tests?”
“Nothing invasive,” Nate said, putting a hand on my back. “We just want to see what else you can do, that’s all.”
“What do you mean? Isn’t this just a multiple-affinity situation? Rare but not abnormal?”
“Eh,” Chiron hedged. “It’s possible, but I’m hesitant to say so for certain.” He turned to Nate. “Would you mind getting the recruits started? Once they begin running their laps, have Christopher take over and come join us.”
“Wait, where are we going?” I had sudden visions of being dragged off to the Elders so they could poke and prod until they figured out what was wrong with me.
A wide smile appeared on Chiron’s face. “To determine what your true affinity is, of course.”
27
Nathaniel
I was not pleased that Chiron sent me to start training in his place.
The look on Tessa’s face was a mix of fear and confusion, her thoughts a jumbled mess. I hated to walk away from her before Chiron could find out what was going on.
I stormed over to the group of mentors that stood in front of the rear exit and turned to face the recruits who were milling around.
“What’s up?” Fletch asked, coming to stand beside me.
“Chiron is occupied and asked that I get the recruits started for the day.” I frowned and looked around. “Would you mind grabbing Chris for me, please?”
“Of course.” He jogged off toward where the other wind mentors were congregated.
I let out a loud whistle. “Alright, everyone! Line it up!”
The fifty Ischyra before me hustled to line up with their affinity groups. The arena was silent within seconds.
“Chiron will be out shortly, so I’m going to give you a run through and then you’ll get going on your laps.” I looked around at the tired faces before me. “I hope you all got a good night’s sleep, because today will be just as rough as yesterday.”
I ignored the quiet groans that rippled through the crowd.
“I’m sure you’re still exhausted. Learning to use your powers for the first time is a daunting task. Once you do your warm-up out back, you’ll be joining your partners or groups to expand on what we did yesterday. Your mentors will give you specific details based on your first performance. If need be, groups or partners may be shuffled a bit.”
I huffed out a breath and glanced toward the front of the arena to see if I could tell where Chiron and Tessa were, but there was no sign of them.
“To start, we’ll be running five laps. You’ll be with the same squad you were with yesterday.” I clapped my hands twice. “Let’s go!”
I turned and strode through the rear doors and waited at the stone wall that surrounded the running field. Christopher came to stand beside me.
“Fletch said you wanted to see me?”
I nodded. “Yes, I need you to take over for me here. I’ve got to go find Chiron.”
His brow furrowed slightly. “Sure, no problem. Anything specific you’d like me to cover?”
“Just remind them to tuck their damn arms,” I muttered, then jogged back to the main entrance.
When I stepped out onto the grassy lawn in front of the arena, I found Chiron and Tessa off to the side, deep in conversation. As soon as he noticed me, Chiron waved me over.
“Nathaniel, I was just telling Tessa that I would like to see if she’s able to draw on or control any other powers,”
Tessa put her hands on her hips.
“I really don’t think you’d say I controlled them, necessarily. I just kind of…I don’t know, mentally swatted them?”
Chiron pressed his lips together and shook his head.
“No, you shouldn’t have been able to manipulate them in any way. It’s just not how telekinesis works.”
“What are you proposing?” I asked.
He folded his arms across his chest and tapped a hoof absently in the grass. After a moment, he pointed toward the forest’s edge about fifty feet away.
“Tessa, there’s a stream just beyond those trees. Let’s see if you can manage some more water manipulation.”
“Okay…” She looked at him dubiously.
‘This is so not going to work, Nate.’
“You don’t know that,” I whispered, putting a hand on her back and nudging her forward. “Come on, let’s go give it a shot.”
She heaved an exasperated sigh. “Fine. But am I still gonna have to run laps after this?”
Chiron chuckled. “It depends on the outcome.”
When we reached the stream, only about ten feet wide and a foot deep at its center, Chiron stopped at the edge and held a hand toward the water.
“Try to draw it toward you,” he directed.
Tessa’s eyes grew wide. “And how exactly do you suggest I do that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know; I’m not a water user.”
“Neither am I! I thought you were supposed to train me?”
A sly grin spread across his face, and before I could warn her, he gave Tessa a forceful push into the water.
She yelped as she slipped and fell onto the rocky bed.
“Shit that’s cold!”
I pinched the bridge of my nose as Chiron started laughing beside me.
“Was that really necessary?” I asked, dropping my arm and trying not to smile.
“She talked back.” He shrugged. “You know I don’t handle talking back well.”
“Well, now she’s pissed off,” I watched her warily as she stormed back to the bank.
Chiron held up a finger right before she got to shore. “Uh uh, you stay there.”
“Seriously?” She dropped her hands to her side, water streaming from her fingers. “Why?”
“F
rom what you’ve told me, you were irritated when Mary attempted to drench you and scared when Eric was toying with fire.”
He gave her an easy smile. “Now you’re angry. It’s a nice, strong emotion.”
She gritted her teeth, then took a deep breath and shook out her arms. “Okay, I’ll try. Hang on.”
She lifted one foot up and pulled off her sodden sneaker and tossed it onto the shore before repeating the process with the other one.
I exchanged a glance with Chiron. Immortal or not, that water would be freezing.
She stood perfectly still and closed her eyes, letting the steady stream of water flow over her feet, soaking her skin up to her calves.
After about a minute with no result, Chiron and I exchanged a glance.
“I don’t think this is working,” I whispered.
She held up a finger, but her eyes remained closed.
“Hang on,” she whispered.
I felt my brow furrow as I watched her.
And then I saw it.
“She changed the current,” I said, dumbstruck. “Chiron—”
“I see it.”
The flow of the stream had reversed completely, flowing back uphill instead of following gravity toward the foot of the mountain.
Suddenly, Tessa let out a heaving breath and fell to her knees.
I splashed into the water and lifted her up before she became completely soaked. When I deposited her back on shore, I crouched down to her height so I could look into her eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded quickly and raised her eyes to mine. “Yep.” She let out a shaky breath. “Never better.”
“Well that was certainly interesting,” Chiron mused. “Okay. Let’s see if you’ve got any ability with earth magic.”
“Earth?” Her breathing had gone back to normal and she was facing him with a confused expression. “Why earth?”
A slow smile spread across my face as I began to see where he was heading.
“Just a thought. Maybe see if you can bring down one of those dead branches?” He pointed to the other side of the stream where a tree stood that had several dead branches toward the top.
“Okay, tree branch.” She closed her eyes. “Got it.”
“Chiron—”
“Hang on,” he whispered. “Let’s just see.”
She focused her gaze on the pile of branches as though memorizing each one. After a few moments, she closed her eyes, resuming the pose she’d held in the water.
Another minute passed, then two, and still nothing happened.
“Alright, you can stop,” Chiron said.
Tessa’s eyes flew open.
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“Not to worry.” He turned to me. “Nathaniel, can you please tell Genevieve to come out here.”
A frown flickered across Tessa’s forehead. “Who’s that?”
Chiron patted her shoulder. “Just another one of the mentors, that’s all.”
“She’ll be a big help, don’t worry,” I said. I reached out with my mind until I found Genevieve’s presence.
‘Genevieve, can you spare a few minutes, please? We’re out front.’
After a moment, she responded.
‘Absolutely. What’s going on?’
‘Chiron and I need your help with one of the recruits.’
‘Ay, of course ye do.’ Humor laced her Scottish brogue as she responded to my request. ‘On my way.’
Genevieve was one of our most gifted Elemental mentors from a few generations back. She had affinities for all five elemental power groupings. She’d been the first in ten generations to come through with more than four affinities.
As she made her way to us, I quickly briefed her on what was going on. By the time I’d finished explaining Tessa’s situation, Genevieve was walking onto the front lawn.
“Gen!” Chiron exclaimed when she emerged. “Thank you for coming out, it’s much appreciated.”
“Bah,” she said, waving him off, smoothing back the strands of her frizzy red hair. “It’s not like I could say no, exactly, now is it?”
I laughed, then held out a hand toward Tessa.
“Gen, this is Tessa. We were hoping you could do a little demonstration for her, show her how your powers work.”
She nodded, then smiled warmly at Tessa. “Certainly. How are ye, hon?”
Tessa’s eyes darted nervously between us.
“I’m not really sure, exactly. Can any of you tell me what’s going on?”
“Put simply, we want to see if your abilities change when you’re in the presence of an individual who possesses that affinity,” Chiron explained.
“Okay,” she said, frowning as she reached back to tighten the messy bun that had come loose when I pulled her from the water. “Then I’ll just trust that you all know what you’re doing.”
She turned back toward Genevieve. “Show me what you’ve got.”
“Ay, with pleasure.” Genevieve grinned mischievously. A moment later, she disappeared.
“Hey!” Tessa exclaimed. “Where’d she go?”
“I’m still here, hon, don’t ye worry.”
Genevieve’s disembodied voice was about six inches from Tessa’s face. She yelped and stumbled backward, nearly taking me down with her. I grabbed her arms and steadied her.
“Relax,” I whispered. “It’s just her light magic. She’s made herself invisible.”
Tessa’s hands fell to her sides and her eyes widened in amazement.
“No shit?” She leaned forward and squinted, trying to see through the bends of light Genevieve used to make herself invisible.
“No shit,” Gen said, popping back into view, laughing. “It’s quite impressive, yeah?”
Tessa’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “That’s one word for it.”
Chiron pursed his lips to keep from laughing. “Gen’s a bit of a show off, aren’t you?”
“As though ye don’t enjoy showing those blowhards up who challenge ye to a race!” Genevieve laughed.
“They all deserve it,” Chiron said. “They want to challenge a centaur, then they’ll get centaur speed.”
“Okay, so um, that was super cool, but what exactly was the point?” Tessa was back to looking confused.
I exchanged a quick glance with Chiron. “We’d like you to try to manipulate light.”
“Manipulate—” She looked between the three of us as though we’d all lost our minds. “What are you talking about? Will one of you please tell me what’s going on?”
I ran a hand through my hair, trying to work out the best way to explain. “Tessa, in your studies, did your guardians teach you about all of the different affinity groupings?”
She nodded. “Yes, of course. I wasn’t exactly the best student, but they did their best. Why?”
I sighed, then glanced at Chiron, who nodded.
“Did they ever teach you about Mimics?”
Her nose scrunched up. “Mimics? Yeah, I think I remember Analise telling me a story once when I was really little. Aren’t they made up? A superhero’s superhero?”
“Ay, my guardian’s mum used to tell me stories of the early days, and I recall the Mimickry affinity mentioned,” Genevieve added. “But they were just stories. I never heard of anyone who actually claimed that one for their own.”
“I’ve heard mention of this from reliable sources,” Chiron responded. “Basically, they can mimic the power of someone else… borrow it, so to speak. An immortal who possesses the abilities of a Mimic would be nearly unstoppable.”
“Right, I kind of remember.” Tessa gestured toward Gen. “But like she said, they were stories.”
“Not stories, Tessa.” Chiron cast an uneasy look in my direction. “The affinity exists, and we think that might be yours.”
28
Tessa
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “You two are crazy. Even if what you’re saying is true and Mimics are a real thing, I couldn’t do a
nything with earth magic, remember?”
“Consider it this way, Tessa,” Chiron said. “In order to mimic a person’s actions or voice, one would have to see those actions, hear their voice. Once they’ve heard that person’s voice, they can still ‘mimic’ it, even when they’re no longer in their presence.”
“Hmm.” I eyed Nate and Chiron speculatively. I was about one hundred percent certain they were wrong, but on the off chance that wasn’t the case...
“Okay, then, let’s give it a go.” I threw my shoulders back. “Tell me what to do.”
All three exchanged an uncomfortable look.
“Well, that’s the thing, hon. I don’t think any of us are able to tell ye what to do,” Gen said gently.
“You figured out water. You’ll figure out light, too.” Chiron said.
“Hang on—” I held up a hand. “If all a Mimic needs to do is be in the presence of other power users to access their affinities, then why couldn’t I use earth just now? Why can’t I use all the affinities that were being used in the arena yesterday?”
Nate scratched his head. “Considering we’re just going on conjecture here, I would say you were able to use Mary’s water powers because she directed her powers at you. Eric was just across from you at dinner. Hang on.” A smile crept across his face. “Tessa, who else used their powers at dinner last night?”
“What makes you think—”
He shook his head and waved off my interruption. “You’re brand new. I know you were showing off for each other.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Mary drenched me with water, Andrei dried me off with wind—”
“Was there anyone with an Earth affinity?”
I thought back to the conversation where we’d all discussed our affinities.
“No, actually there wasn’t.”
“That’s why she couldn’t use any earth magic.” Nate looked at Chiron, triumphant. “The Earth users were at the opposite end of the arena yesterday. She’d probably need to be focusing on them or vice versa in order to use their powers.”
“Makes sense,” Chiron agreed. “Let’s see if that pans out. Tessa, you said Andrei used wind?”
“Yep.”