Page 27 of When Death Called Life Home (When Deities Awaken #1)

Chapter 27

Absence Madness

ALORA

T he next couple days went by with a similar pattern. Alora awoke with Ascian, still naked from the evening before. The first night, after Ascian successfully completed the ‘torturous’ challenge – as he’d put it – he ensured no less than an inch of their skin remained untouched. They both then got dressed and headed to the library and kitchen, respectively. Ascian always brought Alora something to eat, hiding it from Zillah who eyed him every morning as though she could smell the food.

They spent an hour or two looking for any more books on the deities, and found few. After, Alora would join Riven in the empty room and practice using her energy in exchange for answers to any questions she had. She focused on Elysia the most. The forest she felt so at home in, and the war between the Vitarce and the Reapers. The answers he gave her on the latter were much the same to what she’d already heard. Vitarce wished for eternal life while the Reapers believed balance was necessary.

When Alora asked where Riven stood on the fight, he hadn’t hesitated in saying the natural world needed balance. The natural world . Earth, but not Elysia. Riven didn’t clarify or confirm. When Alora pushed, he ended their practice for the day.

So Alora trudged downstairs, to the training grounds outside where Ascian mentioned he’d be before they parted ways. Even with being lunchtime, the fields were still full of novices — as Riven had called them — training under a few scholars. It wasn’t hard to spot Ascian. He trained with Tallulah on the far side where the area was essentially deserted.

Alora made her way around the groups of novices, keeping her eyes forward, but she didn’t miss the glances her way. The trailing of eyes over her body that caused unease in her gut. She hated it. Even more so, she hated that if any of them tried to attack her, she’d need to rely on her guardian — wherever he’d disappeared off to — or Ascian to protect her.

“Traitor.” The whispered word slipped into her mind. Alora paused and glanced around, trying to find its point of origin. How could she be a traitor when she couldn’t even remember the side she was supposed to be on? Had they not been the ones to send her to Earth in the first place? Conspiring against her and Ascian as though they were the enemies to fight.

Alora turned, gaze flickering over each person she could make out, whether they looked her way or not. Her body tensed, turning again and sweeping over the groups of Vitarce and Reapers alike. A couple scholars looked her way, an inkling of concern creeping onto their faces.

Alora stepped back and hit a hard chest. She immediately shot forward and spun towards the person, her hands lifting. Ascian stood before her with his hands raised in surrender, a frown on his face.

“Alora, are you okay?” He spoke softly, as if soothing a frightened cat.

“Where are our guardians?” Alora didn’t recognise her own voice. A quiver shook it, her breaths heavy. “I haven’t seen Bas since we first arrived here.”

Ascian lowered his hands slowly and slipped them into Alora’s, leading her away from the group and towards the area he and Tallulah were training. “They’re resting,” he answered. “With the hostility we received the first morning, Riven thought it best if they remained where they couldn't start a fight.”

Alora took in slow breaths, focusing on the steady circles Ascian drew on her back. “I can’t defend myself without him, Ascian.”

Ascian paused at her words, his brows pulling down. He looked perplexed, as though the thought had never crossed his mind that by her own and against a group of threats, she truly couldn’t defend herself. She’d thought she could, at the clearing with the ambush she’d managed with her energy, but she’d felt the exhaustion start to set in.

“Riven says your training with him is going well,” Ascian tried, lifting a hand to Alora’s jaw and brushing his thumb over her cheek. “That you’re strengthening your energy steadily.”

“What if I need to fight them with my hands?” Alora asked, raising an eyebrow. “I can throw a punch and know I’ll hit them if they aren’t suspecting it, but the people coming after us…”

Ascian sighed. “They know how to fight to kill.”

Alora nodded.

“You want to learn how to fight with your own body?”

“Yes.” She answered instantly. It was barely a thought before it left her lips.

Ascian nodded slowly, looking away from her to study the training groups around them as he curled his fingers in her palm and then down between her own and led her to where she assumed he’d been training.

“I’ll teach you, along with Tallulah.” Tallulah tilted her head as they drew closer. “You’ll train your energy with Riven in the morning, and then with either me or Tallulah in the afternoon.”

Alora ran her hand over their joined ones. “Ascian?” When he hummed, she asked, “How long are we staying here?”

“You wish to leave?” Ascian asked, stopping and turning to face her.

Alora shook her head. “Not particularly. I know you want to stop the war, but we don’t know how long it’s going to take to awaken the deities, and I feel like your Elders aren’t the kind to wait for you to go to them before they deal a punishment.”

“They’re not,” Ascian admitted. “They’ll come for us once they have a solid plan in place.”

The sky darkened and Ascian peered up at it through his thick lashes. His mouth opened, the objections to her training already visible before they even left him.

“I’m still training.” Alora cut him off, pulling her hands from his and heading straight towards a grinning Tallulah. Alora didn’t miss the string of curse words behind her as Ascian tried again to fire off excuses about training in a potential storm. “It’s a little rain, Commander. I won’t melt.”

“And what if it turns into a lightning storm?” Ascian grunted.

Alora turned to face him but continued walking backwards. “Then it’s a good thing I can manipulate solar energy.”

He said nothing more to that. She wouldn’t be discouraged when they had no idea how much longer they’d have to prepare themselves. Trying to awaken the deities could be a fool's errand, and they couldn’t rely on that alone. Three days had passed with nothing, not even a hint of them awakening. Alora still wasn’t entirely sure of the assumption. She likely wouldn’t be until evidence proved otherwise. She’d never been an evidence girl before.

Ascian must have witnessed a change on her face, because he sighed and nodded. “I’ve got your back.”

Alora stopped and smiled gratefully at him. Those words, that promise, meant more to her than he probably realised. She spun back to face Tallulah. “Where do we start?”

Tallulah circled Alora with her owl on her shoulder, studying Alora’s body slowly. Every now and again Alora would feel a tap against a muscle, tensing automatically as though she’d be smacked with a ruler. It was only ever a light tap that a soft hum followed. Once Tallulah returned to start in front of Alora, she cocked her head to the right.

“Good muscle tone, little external fat coverage that I can see. Once you’ve learnt the basic movements, practise them as much as you can, and when you’re fluid in those we’ll continue with more intermediate movements.”

“Running around in a garden and turning your nose up at sweets will do that to you,” Alora murmured. She knew she didn’t need to reply. They were statements, a precursor observation to ensure she didn’t injure herself, or something.

Tallulah gave an amused smile. “It’s also genetics. Now, stand with her feet shoulder width apart.” Tallulah tapped Alora’s ankles with her own feet until they were where she wanted them, then she pushed Alora’s back and sent her toppling forward. Alora caught herself before her face hit the ground, sensing the tension in Ascian from his position a couple metres away.

Tallulah hummed thoughtfully. She helped Alora up and pressed a hand to Alora’s abdomen. “Tense it.”

Alora complied, tensing as much as she could. A scowl twisted Tallulah’s face.

“You’re wearing your corset.”

Another statement, not a question, but Alora still answered, “Yes.”

“Stop. At least until you’ve strengthened your damn abdominal and back muscles.”

Alora swallowed and nodded. If it meant she’d be capable of protecting herself, she’d do it. Even if it meant saying goodbye to the last piece of Earth she’d brought with her.

“Alright, feet apart again, but this time tense those muscles.” Tallulah tapped Alora’s abdomen again, then moved behind her and tapped her heels. “And press down into your feet. ”

Once again, Alora complied and when Tallulah shoved her, this time harder than the first, Alora only swayed before balancing herself.

“Perfect,” Tallulah praised. “Strengthen those muscles and you should also rid yourself of the sway.”

The first drop of rain hit Alora’s cheek and raced towards her chin before falling to the ground. She closed her eyes, letting the next few drops soak in as she turned her face upwards.

“What would be your weapon of choice?” Tallulah asked, drawing Alora away from her bliss.

She dropped her chin down and found Tallulah pointing towards an armoury at the edge of the training field. Alora walked through the spits of rain, its speed and heaviness increasing until the roof over the armoury shielded her. She pushed her hair off her face, slicked back against her head.

A range of weapons hung or lay before her. One of every shape and size, all constructed from the same metal. At least from what Alora could tell. She assessed each of them, but her gaze pulled towards a specific pair. Twin knives, daggers, with hollow handles shaped like fists and bumps lining the outside edge. On the very bottom of the handle, another bump slightly larger than the rest could be seen. Alora plucked them off the wall.

“Knuckle blades,” Tallulah hummed appreciatively from the edge of the armoury. “Perfect for close comfort with a range of offensive choices.”

“I never saw these on Earth,” Alora replied, curling her fingers through the handles and testing the comfort.

Tallulah shook her head. “No. They’re still being refined on Earth from the knowledge we can get. They are used in wars, but human soldiers are generally less likely to sign up if they think they’re going to have to stab someone. It’s a touch more personal than shooting at a distance.”

Alora lifted her gaze to find Tallulah studying her and the hold she had on the weapons. “What?”

Tallulah gave a soft laugh. “Nothing, it’s just?—.”

“We’d always find you staring at them before you were shoved through the portal,” Ascian finished for Tallulah. Alora turned to find him leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed. The rain had soaked through to his skin, his hair dripping from it, too. Alora needed to go back into the cold of it before she ended her training and dragged Ascian back to their room.

“I guess fate always brings you back to where you’re meant to be and what you’re meant to have.”

A smile, soft and promising, blossomed on Ascian's face. “Indeed it does.”

Tallulah faked a gagging noise. “Okay you two. Alora on the field so we can get the basics drilled into you.”

Alora complied, following the scholar back to the field. However, she didn’t miss Ascian’s whisper as she moved past him, “I know what else you’d like drilled into you.”

Heat spread to Alora’s cheeks, spreading to the rest of her body quickly and keeping her warm in the cold of the rain. She threw Ascian an incredulous look over her shoulder. He only grinned. Remaining focused now would be like ignoring a juicy piece of bacon when she was starving. Almost impossible. Almost .

“Ready?” Tallulah asked. Alora swallowed and nodded. “Settle into your stance.”

Alora complied, only needing to shift her feet slightly. Perhaps her muscles remembered more than she did with less reminders required.

“When you’re fighting, you always want to keep around sixty percent of your weight on your back foot. Generally, your dominant one. The other forty percent on your front foot.” Tallulah watched Alora as she shifted her weight, feeling the different ratios until one provided her with the most security. She nodded again.

“Swing at me.”

Alora’s head snapped up. “I’m sorry?”

“You’ll only truly learn by doing, Alora. I can correct any issues as I spot them.”

Alora hesitated only a second more before sighing and cutting her knuckle blade across the air between them. Her hands raised automatically, hovering in the air at mouth level. Tallulah dodged the swipe, the owl on her shoulder immediately shifting with her to keep balanced. Its feathers were drenched, and soaked the fabric of Tallulah's top where it sat.

Alora’s own hair slowly slid back over her forehead and in front of her eyes, obscuring her vision until she could push it back. Tallulah took advantage of the distraction, spinning and sending her heel towards Alora’s side. Alora dropped the rest of her weight into her back foot and jumped out of the way.

“Perfect dodge!” The surprise and praise in Tallulah’s voice lifted a heaviness from Alora’s chest. Tallulah tilted her head back into the rain, the owl copying. “I’ll give you two moves to practise until tomorrow, and then we head inside and dry off.”

Alora answered with a sharp nod.

“The first one is what I just did against you; a spinning kick,” Tallulah started. She returned her attention to Alora. “With close combat, you need to be quick and precise in your movements. You need to be confident. If you start a move, finish it. Ascian.”

Tallulah motioned for Ascian to join them. He jogged over, shoving a hand through his hair as it was instantly flattened over his forehead again.

“Hands out, arms loose.” Once more, he complied, replacing Tallulah and standing before Alora. “Alora, aim for his hands.”

Alora glanced at them and then at Ascian’s face. He sent her a firm, encouraging nod. She returned it and adjusted her position, going over the move in her head again and tensing the muscles in her body she thought she’d need to use.

“Do it, amorsa,” Ascian purred huskily.

Alora almost melted. Instead, she fought against it, used her need to be close to push her through the manoeuvre without second guessing it. Ascian wouldn’t let her fall this time. He’d have her body pressed to his before he let the ground gain that privilege.

Her foot collided with something hard, but the object swung away easily, and when Alora planted her foot back down and focused in on Ascian, she found him shaking his hand. Tallulah raised an eyebrow at him.

“I told you to relax your arms.”

Ascian shook his head, motioning to Alora. “Root energy.”

Tallulah’s brows shot up. “You haven’t used that with Riven, yet.”

“Honestly? I don’t know when I’m using my energy half the time, unless I’m actively trying to,” she replied.

The ground squished beneath Tallulah’s feet as she approached Alora and Ascian. Even with the pelting rain, the sound of it still reached Alora’s ears. She could feel it between her own toes, wiggling them within her shoes at that phantom sensation.

“In that case, your second thing to practise is meditation. You do need to learn to fight without energy, but being able to utilise both will give you the biggest advantage in a fight. Having that capacity to choose which is the best way to proceed in a fight will be your best weapon. Instincts are amazing, but they can only rely on past experiences.”

Alora wanted to object. She wanted to demand Tallulah give her a second physical fighting move to practise, even if it meant her body cursed her the next day. A chill, however, crept into her bones. She felt it reach for her joints, and if she wanted to continue training tomorrow, she needed to dry off and warm herself up.

“Come on,” Ascian murmured, holding a hand out for her. Alora sighed as she passed the knuckle blades to Tallulah and slipped her own hand into Ascian’s. He pulled her against his heated frame, the warmth instantly making the coldness nearing her joints retreat, staving them off until they could get inside.

“Thank you,” Alora called over her shoulder.