Page 9

Nine

“ L et’s go,” Professor Grimot said as soon as Kamine entered the classroom for their next session.

“So demanding,” she whispered under her breath. His hands clenched at her words, but she wouldn’t apologize.

He led her out of the room, and charged through the halls, even with a slight limp Kamine hadn’t noticed before. Perhaps he hurt himself. Kamine was nearly running just to keep up with him, but she refused to lose him through this maze of a school. Even though it had been a few weeks in, she still struggled to navigate the place. She could have sworn the halls moved at night to trick everyone. Janina thought that was the most ridiculous thing ever. She said mountains don’t move that way. Maybe not all mountains, but this one…Kamine wouldn’t be surprised to learn if the walls of this place were crafted by the hands of Goddess Buraza, herself.

“I thought we were having another lesson,” Kamine hissed as she almost twisted her ankle on the uneven ground.

“Don’t ask questions, just follow,” he responded.

He always had to boss her around, didn’t he? Kamine kept quiet, more for her sake than his. She had no idea where they were headed, but she could feel the slight decline of their path.

Since Kamine was taking private lessons, she no longer had to attend actual class. At least not for now, Professor Grimot told her. Headmaster Dritoria had apparently been informed of these lessons, and she had agreed that Kamine should not overexert herself.

Janina and Zoya filled her in on how things were progressing with everyone in class. They were continuing one-on-one practice. Apparently, Professor Grimot had them throw one rock between the two of them, and they had to work together to keep it afloat. The professor would then ring a bell, and they competed to see who could shoot the rock at the other person first. It tested their diligence and speed. It sounded like Kamine’s nightmare, but her friends both enjoyed the exercises, and thought they were helping.

Kamine spent her extra time reading one of the few books she brought from home. She would need to find a library soon, because she was nearing the end of her stash. A problem for another day.

They ventured down some stairs, and Kamine could feel the air growing thicker. She swore she heard a trickle of water somewhere too. For the first time in weeks, she felt that connection with the earth that she had been missing, her body closer to the ground, perhaps even within the depths of it, with the soil and dirt a short distance away.

Instead of losing focus, she memorized the path as best as she could, so she could find her way back. Knowing the professor, he would leave her to fend for herself after whatever hell he was about to put her through.

Professor Grimot abruptly stopped and turned towards her. Kamine startled and almost fell backwards, but he steadied her. He held onto her shoulders for a moment longer than necessary, and when he pulled away, he looked at his palms, as if she had burned him.

He cleared his throat.

“When we get in there,” he started, his tone serious, “don’t think too much. Allow yourself to be present in the moment.”

Kamine narrowed her eyes. That was the closest thing to good advice he had ever given her. She didn’t know what it meant exactly, but her heart skipped a beat at the anxiety of facing the unknown. Her palms began to sweat, too. She hated being surprised.

“And,” he added, right before they entered, “don’t use your hands.”

Grimot had no idea if forcing Kamine to come to this would be good for her, but sometimes, an unexpected shove was exactly what someone needed. Not something deadly, like her attempt with the baths, but something challenging. He just hoped she wouldn’t get herself killed. He promised himself to keep a close eye on her, and use his own powers if it called for it. He didn’t need Headmaster Dritoria up his ass for getting one of her students hurt again.

Kamine stopped as soon as she entered. Her eyes were wide, unsure, but they hardened when she saw that the rest of the cohort was here, too. Along with some new faces: past Undertaking participants.

It was tradition, one he explained to the current cohort during class. Kamine wasn’t there to hear it, and he questioned if he wanted to let her know. She hadn’t improved. At all. But…there was some kind of spark in her that made him tell her to come. He had a feeling she would have hated being left out.

“What is this?” she whispered.

“A game.”

She gulped, and he could see the flutter of her pulse in her neck. She was nervous. He would be too if he was in her position. This game was brutal, and it required skill she didn’t have.

Janina and Zoya waved at Kamine, but the rest of the cohort seemed to slow their warm-ups. They must be wondering why the fuck someone like her would be allowed to do this.

She faced him. “So what’s the goal?”

At least she was still eager to learn, though her body was tense. That wouldn’t work in this game. One had to be limber and quick.

She fidgeted with something on her wrist under the sleeve of her training clothes, and a gleam of gold peaked out for a moment. His hands itched to soothe her, to drag his fingers across her skin until she relaxed into his touch. He stiffened at his own thoughts, though, brushing them away.

“There are two teams, one on each side of the line.” He pointed to it, and her eyes trailed the long white line across the room. “Other than that, it’s simple. Each team throws rocks at each other and you dodge them, either using your own powers or with quick reflexes. If you get hit, you’re out. Whichever team is left standing, wins.”

“That sounds deadly.”

“That’s why we’ll all be wearing metal armor. It’s a way for you to get comfortable moving in it.”

Kamine shook her head. “I’m not ready for something like this. Look at them. They have a hunger for death in their eyes.”

He came up to her and guided her jaw up with his finger, giving into his desire to touch her skin and meet her gaze. “Exactly why it’s perfect. You won’t have time to think. Let your body do what it is meant to do.”

Grimot didn’t allow her to object anymore. He whistled and the whole room had their eyes on him now, but his remained on Kamine’s violet eyes, brimming with anticipation. “Get your gear on, and we’ll begin.”

Kamine fell in line beside her friends, who both appeared skeptical of the situation, like they couldn’t actually believe that Kamine was about to be subjected to this. She just shrugged, attempting to be as nonchalant about this as possible.

Unfortunately, that false easiness wavered as soon as the teams were announced. It was the current cohort against the past Undertaking participants. One of those participants was a former winner, too.

Kamine was so nervous that she prayed to whatever Weather Gods were listening that she made it out alive, and mostly unscathed.

Janina tightened the metal plates on her arms. “Just stay behind us.”

Zoya nodded. “We’ll protect you.”

A sweet sentiment, but Kamine knew that if she stayed back for too long, she might end up as the last one standing on their team. Then she would be truly fucked.

“Thanks, but I think my strategy will be to dodge as many rocks as possible, and then purposefully get hit.”

Kamine told herself that she at least had to look like she was trying for as long as possible. Otherwise, she had a feeling that Professor Grimot would give her hell during their next lesson. Kamine was quick, at least. She had that going for herself. She also had the advantage that the other team didn’t know her weakness yet, so she just had to pretend that she knew what she was doing.

Kamine clasped the helmet on her head. Wearing armor was foreign to her. It was heavy and made it harder to move. But Kamine would be grateful for it during the Undertaking as large boulders pelted the ground around her.

Her cohort and the competing team got into position. Kamine chose somewhere towards the right, and closer to the back than the front. She needed some time to gauge how the opposing team would play. Maybe her team would be lucky, and they’d take it easy. Kamine doubted it, especially as she finally took a long look at them. These former participants were eager to wreck shit up.

Professor Grimot blew a whistle, and the game began. All the rocks sitting on the line rose up and moved. It was hard to tell who was moving which rock with their powers, so she just focused on anything coming at her.

A rock blasted by, almost hitting Roz, but the pink-haired woman gritted her teeth as she stopped the rock’s trajectory with her powers, tossing it back to the other side. She moved with such grace and such little fear. She belonged in this type of setting, where she could let free all the rage that boiled inside her.

Kamine got so distracted by watching her that she almost got hit. She dove down to her knees at the last moment, and felt her whole body protest at the sudden movement. Sweat began to coat her brow as the intensity of the game ramped up around her.

It took her a moment with the restrictive armor, but once she got back up, the scene before her had her heart racing up her throat. Half of her team was out on the sidelines already, while the other team still stood strong.

She snuck a quick glance at Professor Grimot, but his attention was on the rest of the game, calling people out once they were hit.

A rock swooshed by her, realizing a team member on the opposing side had found their next target. His yellow eyes were determined to get her. Kamine shook her hands, a habit she had developed when she tried using her powers.

“Don’t use your hands!” She heard Professor Grimot yell, but she couldn’t spare him a glance.

Another rock blasted at her, and she slid to the right, while another one was already on its way. She fell to her stomach to avoid it, her palms flat on the floor beneath her.

It brought her back, back to the time she hid under her bed in this exact position. On her stomach, scared and alone, until her mother showed up, and had reached out a hand to her. Kamine didn’t understand why the world was falling then, but she had understood her mother’s offer of safety.

Kamine’s blink bridged her back to the present. The room was yelling. She didn’t know if it was at her, or just the overall energy in the room. Either way, she stayed down, thinking about her comfort place, the forest that welcomed her. She thought of her bare feet digging into the dirt, allowing it to coat her skin in a protective layer.

A harsh pound dropped on the back of her left calf, and she yelped at the shooting pain. A spasm traveled across her whole leg, up to her thigh, and then to her bare hands on the ground. Her fingers pressed down just like they would press against mud to leave an indentation of her hand.

Then, the world beneath her hand sprung down, her body melting into the floor before it moved back up, like a gentle wave of water.

“Kamine! Out!” She barely heard it through all the noise, but she couldn’t get up. Out of embarrassment or shock, Kamine’s body refused to get up. It was like the ground didn’t want to let her go.

She gritted her teeth as she strained with her weak arms to lift her upper body, but her arms were shaking with the effort. Kamine could bet all eyes were on her, and once she got into a sitting position, she was not surprised that the whole room was staring.

“I need a moment,” she breathed out.

She expected Professor Grimot to drag her to her feet, but instead he walked over, crouched down to her level, pulled the helmet off her head, and hissed, “What the fuck?”

She closed her eyes, and drooped her head down. Her unruly hair draped over her face. Good , she didn’t need everyone to see how red her face burned.

“I just need to rest a moment,” she repeated in a whisper, barely able to get the words out between the deep intakes of breath. She would get up soon, she just needed a break. The world around her had changed and she just needed to orient herself again.

“You’re drained,” he said, in a sense of disbelief. She didn’t understand why. She had just gotten hit so hard that she expected her leg to be broken.

“I think I’ll need help getting up.”

Professor Grimot stripped off her arm and chest plates, and it was such a relief to be able to move her body freely, without the constriction of metal.

“You’ll need more than that.”

That was the last thing she heard before her eyes fell shut and her body went limp into Grimot's arms.