The Watcher (Night Realm Series Book 1)

by K. R. Bowman

  I rolled my eyes, “I’m fine, I need to be training anyways, and you know it, so let’s go.” I moved to pass him, except he grabbed my arm, stopping me. I glared.

  “Hold on. I want to make sure you’re okay, so we’re going to start out slow. Alright?” He was stern as he waited for my response.

  I let out a slow breath, “Okay, fine, I’ll take it slow.” Why does he annoy me so much?

  He nodded and let go of my arm. I continued my stroll toward the group of fighters.

  He’s always telling me what to do or not to do.

  Irene stopped her interjection to Raleigh and Jordan, who were sparring, and started in my direction, with a wooden sword in each hand. Her dark red wavy hair bounced as she walked. The ends touched the base of her back. She smiled and held out a sword for me to take.

  I took the wooden sword wrapping my hand around the hilt, “Thanks.”

  “Glad you could make it,” she moved about ten feet away, so she was at an angle from me and took a fighting stance.

  I smiled, “Me too.” I glanced back at Callum, who stood about twenty feet away with arms crossed watching us.

  I squared my shoulders and centered my body over my feet, tightening my thighs so I could prepare myself for the blows.

  “We’re going slow. If you move too fast then, I’ll stop, and we’ll start over again.”

  She moved toward me, arching her sword upwards and bringing it down, aiming at my head, but it was in slow-motion, so I was able to block her movements. The slow-motion fighting continued for a couple of hours, like a dance. I would move forward, and she would move back then she would advance. I thought it would be easy, but my arms felt ready to fall off by the time we took a break. Ashlen, Harris, and Raleigh were fighting at full speed. The wood made loud smacks as it hit their armor. Every now and then, Ashlen would make grunting noises, or Raleigh would yell. Harris was in full concentration when he was fighting, barely making any noise.

  Callum sat at the edge of the fighting ring the entire time. His legs crossed with his hands folded in his lap.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s take a ten-minute break,” Jess yelled, his Russian accent thick from exertion.

  I made my way over to sit by Ashlen, Raleigh, and Harris.

  “Hey! You look better!”

  “Thanks, Harris.” I laughed, “So I looked terrible before, hmm?”

  “What? Oh, no, you know that’s not what I meant. I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Thanks, me too,” I patted his arm.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t wake you; I knew you would be upset that we left you,” Ashlen said quietly.

  “It’s okay, Callum said that he told you to let me sleep.”

  We ended up lying back on the grass and letting the minutes tick by until we had to get up again. The Protectors and Hunters were either lounging next to us or talking to each other in twos or threes. Jess jumped up and started stretching, I guessed that was our sign to get up and stretch too. The four of us looked at each other, groaning as we stood. We spread out on the field and touched our toes or swung our arms. We went to our own little corners of the field with our trainers and started to fight.

  This time Callum stood in front of me. He held his wooden sword loosely in his right hand, but I could see the muscles in his arms, contracting and loosening. He rolled his head around his neck then straightened with a smirk planted on his face.

  “Okay, I’m going a little faster this time.”

  Oh, great.

  I set my shoulders, narrowed my eyes at him, and tightened my grip on the hilt of the sword.

  When he lunged at me, he was definitely faster. I almost missed the block. Our swords hit with a loud slap that jarred my arms. He moved gracefully through the air as he leapt up and started coming back down to earth again. His sword swung downward, slicing through the air aiming for my middle. Somehow, I twisted around and pushed his sword away from me. He landed lightly on his feet, but he was already raising his sword for another attack.

  I was going to have to go on the offense if I wanted to beat him, so that’s exactly what I did.

  He raised his arms to bring his sword up, but I didn’t give him the time. I immediately lunged at him. He had to react fast to block my aim, which he did at the last second. But his eyes grew wider when he looked at me, filling with surprise and amusement etched onto his face.

  I kept on pushing at him, moving faster and faster. I wasn’t supposed to be traveling that fast, but I kept moving. I shifted my weight from leg to leg, dancing on the balls of my feet. My arms were strong and moved quickly with the sword, acting as an extension. This time when the world around me started to slow so that I could see every movement, I pushed harder. Every detail of Callum stood out right down to the hairs on his arms. It was like my eyes had optimized into a microscope. His movements became slow motion.

  One moment I was positioned in front of him parrying his small blows, and the next, I was behind him. I pushed him straight to the ground by hitting him squarely in the back with my shoulder. As he fell to the ground, I moved my knee so that I would hit the middle of his back, pinning him. My sword fell to the ground beside us. My hands hit the dirt on either side of his head.

  Silence fell.

  15

  My heavy breathing punctuated the stillness. I peered around the field to see that everyone had come to a standstill. Harris actually had his mouth hanging open. Raleigh’s eyes were the size of saucers, and Ashlen’s face was filled with astonishment and pride.

  “Ugh, get off me,” Callum twisted to the side so he could breathe more easily.

  “Oops, sorry,” I rolled off him and kneeled beside him. “You okay?”

  Callum coughed a couple of times and wiped the dirt off his face. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He grimaced in pain, but when he opened his eyes to look at me, they brimmed with happiness. That same little boy happiness that had filled his face the first time I had fought him.

  “So, Sloane, can you explain how you were able to do that?” Jess had come to stand beside me. His arms again crossed over his chest.

  The corners of my mouth lifted, “Well, no, I don’t think I can.”

  “Ohmygosh, Sloane, that. Was. So. Cool!” Ashlen bounded up to me and threw her arms around me, tugging me off the ground. Her words ran together. She talked so fast, “That was so unbelievable. You were going super-fast all your movements were a blur! And then that moment you were in front of him and then BAM! You were behind him, knocking him to the ground. That was amazing.” Her eyes were wide, and she was breathing hard from the excitement.

  Raleigh shook her head in disbelief, “That was amazing.”

  Harris guffawed.

  Callum, at this point, was trying to sit up, but he wasn’t succeeding, “Can I get some help here?”

  We had forgotten about him. We immediately made a fuss over him, helping him get up.

  “Callum, I’m so sorry. You sure you’re okay?” I was still kneeling on the ground with my hands resting on my thighs.

  He nodded, “Yeah, that was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.” He pushed his hair out of his face. “We’ll have to have more one-on-one sessions,” he grinned.

  I smiled and looked down at the ground, feeling kind of bashful. I’m so weird. I jumped to my feet and brushed the dirt from my knees. I held out a hand to help Callum. He grabbed my hand and pulled up, swaying when he stood. I put my hands on his arms to help him steady his balance.

  “I’m alright, I didn’t think you had hit me that hard, but I guess I was wrong. Hey, don’t worry about it, though. I need that kind of practice all the time.” His hand was at the base of his back like he was trying to rub the pain out of it.

  “Hey, honey, if he can’t take the pain, I sure can,” Rory replied with a satisfied tone and devilish smile.

  Callum turned slowly to face him and straightened, demonstrating the full magnitude of his height and muscular build. He lowered his hands and erased the pain from
his face. He might as well have killed Rory with his eyes. I hoped my face hadn’t turned red.

  “I never said I couldn’t take the pain.” Ohh, things were getting interesting.

  Rory smiled broadly at him, but then winked at me, “You just let me know, I’m here anytime you want me.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Callum’s hands tighten into fists, and his teeth clench, making the line of his jaw sharp. I subconsciously took a step-in front of Callum.

  Rory is full of it, whatever it is. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Jess and the others but kept a cautious eye on Callum.

  Jess and Irene were scrutinizing me. The others were watching us as if we were entertainment.

  Jess took a step toward me, his eyes boring into mine. I self-consciously thought that my eyes had probably changed white. He twirled his sword at his side, “Let’s see if you can do it again.” He smiled, rolling his shoulders, and taking a fighter’s stance.

  Everyone that was gathered around us cleared a circle. Callum got up and limped to the edge of the circle and sat down. The circle was about a twenty-foot radius giving us plenty of room.

  I shook my arms out and took my stance as well, facing him squarely. We began to circle each other. He went to the right, and I followed, then he lunged straight for my core. I met his sword with mine and twisted it away. He immediately aimed closer for my legs, but I leapt to the side, swinging my sword at the same time, slicing through the air, trying to aim for his neck. He ducked and spun elbowing me in the side. I landed on one foot, almost tilting off balance, but I let my knee hit the ground. When my knee landed on the dirt, I swung upward, bringing my sword to run straight up the middle of Jess. He had to take a step back to avoid getting sliced and diced.

  Blinding white light erupted from his palm, forming a circular shield. My heart raced. My wooden sword meekly bounced off the shield. His feet left the ground as he hovered a few inches from the ground. Shit. I scrambled to keep up. He seemed to be everywhere at once, barely touching the ground. His white shield deflected my blows easily. Tendrils of light fell, disappearing into the dirt. I had to do something. My adrenaline kicked into overdrive, and the blood in my veins thundered.

  He was going to beat me.

  No.

  Every muscle in my body tensed, blood cells surged through my veins, and oxygen sang into my lungs. I swung my sword around, and everything slowed to a near standstill.

  Jess’s face scrunched in concentration, his arms swinging around to aim a blow. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead and dotted his shirt. His left foot stayed flat, moving slightly forward as he arced the sword. His right leg came up on the ball of his foot, the heel moving up, pushing his body forward. The sword swung closer; it was going to hit my thigh and slice up to my chest. I instantly braced myself for the hit, blocking the blow by mere seconds, while at the same time, I suddenly appeared on his left side. I hit his ribs full force with my shoulder, making him bend inward and causing him to lose balance and fall.

  “Holy shhhhiii…” Harris exclaimed. He glanced at us, “sorry, ladies.”

  “Dang,” Ashlen replied with a huge smile plastered on her lovely face.

  I looked at everyone and down at Jess. Jess propped up on his elbows and tilted his head up at me. He smiled and shook his head. I think that was the first smile I had seen from him.

  “Alright, let’s figure this out,” Jess hopped up, and everyone gathered around us. “We are going to change the training. You,” he pointed to me, “will fight against each person, making them better too.” He studied me for a moment and then turned to the other three.

  “We are still going to meet each morning with our regular training sessions, but right now, we’re going to shake things up. We’ve got a couple more hours before dinner. I want you and you,” he pointed to Harris and Raleigh, “to both attack Sloane, then we will see what else we can throw at you.”

  I stayed standing in the middle of the field. Raleigh and Harris both spread out on either side of me.

  This was going to be an exciting matchup. Why do I feel like everyone is ganging up on me? How I miss the days of being able to go swimming or watch television. Oh, to be able to just sit on a sofa, letting my mind drift off in bliss. The only downtime I got was when I’m unconscious, which seemed to be happening a lot lately.

  Raleigh moved out on my right, Harris circling around on my left. Raleigh let out a battle cry and charged for me, as she ran toward me Harris came in silently at the opposite side. I met Raleigh first. Our wooden swords were hitting and sliding along the blades as they met. I shoved with my arms pushing Raleigh back. I spun around to meet Harris’s onslaught.

  I barely had time to deflect his advance. His sword came in high, aiming a mark to my neck, which would have left an awful bruise. Our swords met, his sword came down, and my sword swung upward. I could feel Raleigh coming in from my left. I twisted around so I could meet her advances, barely having the time to miss Harris.

  Time slowed again.

  The pounding in my head escalated. Raleigh’s and Harris’s movements seemed long and slow, then Jordan and Stephen were suddenly on top of us. The world shifted into fast action again. They didn’t only go after me, but after Raleigh and Harris too. Harris had one second to switch his offensive tactic to defense. Stephen went straight for Harris while he was occupied with me. Stephen’s sword clipped Harris’s shoulder, making him stumble and fall to the ground. He rolled into Raleigh, forcing her to leap over him to counter-attack Jordan’s strike.

  Power rippled through the circle and light erupted from the ground running along Stephen’s legs and arms. He moved faster, and if we got too close, the hair on my arms stood at attention. The electricity pulsing from him was almost too much.

  An oval shield formed in front of Jordan. The light forming his shield had a yellow tint. Jordan’s eyes were solid black as he danced around the circle.

  Water smacked my face. Stephen again threw more water at me as if he was holding a baseball. Balls of water sailed through the air. What the hell was happening?? I jumped, ran, and tried whatever I could to miss the water balls. If one hit me, electricity would zing behind it, causing tiny shocks. I was quickly becoming soaked and tired. With only my wooden sword, I wasn’t much of a match against Realmers with superpowers. I had to tap into that energy inside of me, somehow.

  A buzzing thundered in my ears and traveled through my body. So much was going on around me. I felt a thin thread of energy in my core, and I pulled at it. The movement around me slowed even more than it ever had before. I moved around the four of them in a blur, blocking blows before they even made them, ducking around them so fast they couldn’t see me. I was behind them one second and in front of them in another. Was I turning into the freaking Flash or Quicksilver?

  I ended with a three-hundred-sixty-degree turn. Everyone was laid out on the ground.

  Raleigh was on her back, Harris was on his stomach with one arm tucked under him, Jordan was on his side, his left arm stretched out above his head, but Stephen was the only one moving. Jess, Callum, Irene, Miranda, Molly, Rory, and Ashlen all had varying degrees of surprise on their faces.

  I was beginning to get scared.

  “I believe you are getting better,” Jess replied.

  16

  After our training session, we traveled back up the hill to eat dinner. The dining hall boomed with activity. People passed food back and forth and talked uproariously. I spotted Chuck, the seven survivors, and Patrice at a large round table situated close to the fire. We pushed through the crowd of people to find a seat. I glanced to my right and caught sight of long golden hair disappearing through an archway that led to a patio. I stopped, trying to figure out if I wanted to follow him. He was different, and I wanted to help him, or at least know what happened. My dumb curiosity.

  I grabbed Ashlen’s arm, “Hey, I’m going to be back in a few, so don’t worry.”

  Ashlen studied me for a moment, wrinkles creasin
g her forehead. “Okay, I’ll save you a spot at the table.” She carried on with Harris to find a seat.

  I turned my feet toward the archway that Graham had disappeared through and started down the hallway. The hallway took a right, leading to a large wooden door with brass studs forming designs in the wood. I pushed the door open and out onto the stone patio. My feet clicked on the stones echoing around me. Only the crescent moon gave a little light to the grounds. A darkened form sat at the corner of the building. He was partly shadowed by the masonry.

  I took a deep breath and tredded quietly to him. His body stiffened when he heard me approach. His head tilted slightly toward my direction.

  “Mind if I sit down?” I spoke quietly, afraid my voice would scare him away.

  His response to my question was a shrug. I knelt down on my knees and scooted to the edge of the patio, swinging my legs over the edge, there was a ten-foot drop below. We sat in silence for a few minutes. I was trying to collect my thoughts and hoping he would speak first. I guess I would have to do the speaking.

  “Graham? What’s going on?”

  He glanced at me, “Listen, I don’t know why you’re here, but I came out here to be alone. If I had wanted company, I would have asked for it.” He swung his legs up and pushed himself up. He strode to the door.

  I was in shock. Where had that come from?

  “Wait. I said wait,” I jumped up and stalked toward him. “Why the hostility?”

  He paused at the doorway and turned slightly toward me, “I don’t have to answer your questions.” He turned on his heel and stalked down the hall.

  I went after him.

  I caught up with him in the middle of the hall. I wrapped my fingers tightly around his forearm, stopping him from moving forward. He spun around so fast I barely saw him move. He pushed me up against the wall, his face right in front of mine. His chest moved quickly up and down. This wasn’t a seductive move, this was predatorial and angry.