Bloodlines: Everything That Glitters (23 page)

By the time Ash had took a step forward, Centure had completely left and returned. She now held in her hand a long wooden rod with a large clear crystal affixed to the top of it. “Take this,” she said, throwing the rod to Ash.

“Repeat after me…”

She spoke words that made no literal sense then Ash repeated them. Once he had spoken the last word, the crystal on top of the rod glowed with the color blue. “Congratulations. Go back now.”

Ash turned around awkwardly then walked back to my side.

“What was it like?” I whispered.

He slowly turned his head to look at me.
Like being electrocuted
, he thought.

I shuddered as fear built in my chest. “Well, you’re still alive, so I guess it can’t be that bad,” I said aloud. 

“Wade, hurry along.”

After Wade had spoken the same three words, the crystal on the end of beamed a deep purple then faded and shown a second color, red.

“You’re a mighty one, just like your mother,” Centure smiled brightly then motioned her hand for me to come forward.

Wade slowly turned around and lost his footing, toppling to the ground. When he regained his standing he was fine.

A million things ran through my mind as I reached out for the wooden rod that Centure extended. My forehead perspired as I tried to think of what it must have been like for those too- surely getting electrocuted was no fun.

“Repeat after me,” she said softly.

“Guess it’s time to find out if it’s really her,” I heard Corey whisper.

“
Nomen egnaro edahs
.”

I let the words jump out of my mouth before Centure had the chance to say them; I made sure to pronounce every syllable.

When the large crystal began to glow, an intense burn built up from my feet up into my chest, and then slowly up my throat as it completely paralyzed me. Suddenly it was as if someone was rubbing lava into my skin like lotion and it coursed through my veins. I stood motionless for what felt like a lifetime until Centure pried the rod out of my hands. I came back into reality quickly and the pain was gone just as instantly as it had begun. I turned on my heels then walked back over to stand between Ash and Wade.

“You’re next, Corey,” Ash said, giving her a nudge on the arm.

“I already have one,” she responded plainly; as if we were already supposed to know that.

I rolled my eyes and caught a glimpse of something flying high above us as a large shadow cast over the field.

“They’re here,” Centure said excitedly.

The ground shook lightly beneath our feet until eventually the earth quaked and I fell to the ground. An enormous onyx-colored bear galloped through the tree clearing and onto the field. It was taller than Centure’s entire cabin and had two heads- I looked up at them in awe as they approached Wade. Both of them wore silver crowns, one had a dark purple jewel in the middle of it while the other had a red ruby.

Next, wind blowing twelve miles per hour swirled all around us and an immense shadow eclipsed the sun briefly. I looked at Centure –who was not affected by the wind at all- and tried to tell her to calm down using my hands. She shrugged and pointed upwards as a large bird with a fiery tail landed first then a snow-white tiger followed, both of them rocking the earth. I examined the creature as it touched down to the ground- its fiery golden tail was spread like a peacock, but it’s neck and face resembled something else, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

The thing bowed its long neck to me, allowing me a chance to look into its eyes; the large almond shape of its eyes was completely white. Like the bear though it was also wearing a crown, only the jewel inside of it was yellow. Since I didn’t happen the pay attention to the crystal’s change while I was being burned alive, I had no idea if this was mine, but I wanted it.

I turned my attention to the winged tiger; it was more suited for Ash. It’s eyes were the same color green as Ash’s, only deeper, and like the rest of them it wore a silver crown as well- its wings were like that of a majestic eagle as it folded them against its side.

“I change my mind, I want that one.” I said softly.

“Too bad, its mine. See the blue diamond, there?” Ash responded proudly.

Not disappointed too much, I walked slowly over to large creature and smiled. “Guess you’re stuck with me.” I took my hand out of my pocket and ran it along its golden feathers.

“Can you speak?” I asked. It only shook its head from side to side then leaned down and lightly touched my forehead with its beak. “Oh okay,” I whispered.
What’s your name
? I thought instead.

“Now that you all have your Beasts, they need a name,” Centure announced.

I looked at my Beast and examined it one more time before deciding on a name that I think worked best and I’d been in love with since I’d heard it. “Wait, how do we know if they’re male or female?”

“Talk to them, I’m sure they will tell you,” Centure replied.

My Beast was the only one of them who couldn’t speak directly and it’d yet to reply to my earlier thought. I looked into its eyes and asked,
Male or female
?

I couldn’t tell if it was looking at me or not when it replied.

Female
.

Its voice was like a beautiful song that I’d heard before. Instead of going with a name as obvious as Ash did –who named his Beast Aspen- I went with the one I’d thought of first, Azlyn.

Beside us Wade’s bear duo suddenly started picking on each other. The ground quaked once more as the two rolled around in the grass fiercely.

“What’s their problem?”

We looked on at the fight for a while before Wade finally found his balls and ordered them to stop. “Sorry guys that was my fault. I have a name though, King and Nash.”

“Very well, now we can begin.” Centure floated across the field and rested softly atop one of the enormous tree stumps. “Aliza, you and Azlyn are first. Mount her.”

“With no saddle? How do you expect me to stay on?”

“Do as I say and mount her,” Centure kindly ordered.

Even with Azlyn kneeled to the earth I was still not big enough to climb onto her back, I used a minute of brainstorming before saying, “That’s impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible. The first step is figuring this out on your own.”

I looked around the field for a minute then had an idea. “Let’s give it our best shot.” I mumbled.

Azlyn kneeled down completely to the soft grass; I took a step away from her then turned and ran a good distance away. Azlyn’s wings glistened beneath the fire, “So I’m just going to do a run and jump.” Not wasting another minute I sprinted forward through the field, using a stump to give me more air I leaped towards Azlyn. When I was nearly close, one of her large wings lifted up and hit me in the chest, sending me flying backwards through the air. When I landed on the ground I quickly picked myself up and brushed the dirt from my pants, “What the hell was that?”

I’m sorry but I couldn’t control it
, she replied.

I stopped when I was a nice running distance away. “Okay, let’s use that. Only don’t throw me off, extend out then back.” I broke out into another full sprint and leaped from the same stump; once again I was soaring through the air. Azlyn’s wing extended out to me and I placed a foot on it before it went backwards and before I knew it I was straddling her. A little out of breath, I waited patiently for Centure’s next instructions. Wade, Ash and Corey were now sitting quietly on the grass with their beasts by their side –all except for Corey actually, who had yet to call hers here- I looked down at them before noticing Zerra and Zenaya step outside.

“You two straddle your beasts,” Centure said finally.

I watched Wade and Ash go through several trial and error sequences before they actually got on, which made me happier since I had nailed it in two attempts. Ash wobbled as Aspen walked over and stood beside Azlyn, Wade joined a minute later riding King-Nash. 

“Azlyn and Aspen, up in the air,” Centure said sharply.

With no hesitation, Azlyn lifted from the ground. I rocked slightly as we gained height. Wade and King-Nash became as tiny speckles as we climbed higher; the view was excited as I looked out over the trees and out into the road. “I’m going to do something really stupid right now.” I said aloud as I grabbed two handfuls of Azlyn’s feathers. “Dive!” I called out excitedly.

She did as I said and spiraled towards the ground; the feeling was pulsating, the rush of the wind fueled a drive and passion I hadn’t known existed. My hair whipped fiercely in the wind nearly about to put my eye. “Spin!” I clenched on tighter as we spiraled downward through the air. A hysterical laugh escaped my mouth as I enjoyed myself. “Pull up before your beak hits the ground,” I voiced through the wind.

Are you sure we should cut it so close
?

“Trust me.”

The top of the log cabin came into view as we gained speed. “Here we go,” I whispered.

“Pull up!” Ash yelled from behind me as he and Aspen flew alongside us. I ignored him as we came into full view of the speculators.

A smile beamed across my face as Azlyn jerked up from a full dive. It almost looked like we had pulled it off until one of her long talons hooked into the earth. She tumbled to the ground and I went flying off, landing on a pile of twigs. One of the sharp points dug into my flesh and I cried out in pain.

“Really stupid,
” I cursed myself as I pulled the twig out of my side then slowly started to stand before realizing that I had also broken my leg.

Wade ran over and kneeled at my side. “I can snap it back into place, but that would mean I’d have to touch you.”

I looked down at my twisted leg and nodded; I’d rather suffer the embarrassment. The wound on my side was already healed by the time Wade popped my leg into its proper place.

“What’d you see?” I asked curiously. Ash landed Aspen safely and ran over to me before Wade replied, “Nothing that will change the way I think of you,” he smiled.

“Is that a good thing?” he helped me up but didn’t reply. I walked over to Azlyn and smoothed some of her feathers down. “I’m sorry, girl.”

“Let’s not do that again,” Centure said impatiently.

I nodded before having to remount Azlyn; since I already knew what to do I realized that I didn’t have to run that far. In no time Azlyn was flying through the air again, her wings flapping effortlessly. “So what’s next?” Centure floated up to me and pointed at several long wooden poles sticking out from the ground. Something moved behind them and I saw the large figure of a gorilla, standing a few feet taller than King-Nash.

“You’ll be working on Stealth. B
e on your toes,” Centure announced as the large animal picked up one of the logs and hurled it towards Azlyn and I.

Just as quickly as she’d thrown it, a natural reflex clicked in and I grabbed a hold to Azlyn’s feathers. “Dodge right, turn and crisp it,” I responded focused.

The words were out of my mouth like I’d done this sort of thing before. Azlyn moved swiftly as I’d commanded and shifted out of the line of aim then reeled back before a powerful blaze came soaring from her mouth. The log turned into ash mid-air, not even coming close to the cabin. “How does stealth come into play here?”

Ash and Wade clapped as they rode their beasts over to me. “How’d you know to do that?” Wade inquired with wonderment.

“I have no idea,” I replied. I looked down to the ground at Corey as she lay in the grass rolling around with Triton. “Why isn’t she joining us?” I asked quietly. The other two shrugged then turned to Centure.

“So you knew Azlyn could do that?”

Centure folded her arms across her chest and settled down on the ground. “It flows through your veins, all of you. Now, Wade and Ash, Zerra and Zenaya will assist you. Aliza and Norma go again until Aliza doesn‘t want to be seen.”

I dodged and burned logs for the next thirty minutes before giving up. “Can I do something else? Stealth is obviously not coming to us,” I yelled to Centure as she and the twins assisted the others.

“It is break time anyway. I will prepare lunch for you.” She drifted away into the house before Azlyn touched down and I jumped off, tumbling to the ground.

Triton greeted me by barking and licking my shoes. I picked him up and kissed his little face. “Did you have fun keeping Corey company?” I snuggled him a little more then sat him back down on the grass before walking into the cabin. The cool air of the cabin was a relief as it dried the sweat from out foreheads. “So Centure there’s something I wanted to ask you about,” I said as I flopped down in the armchair I’d been sitting in earlier. “We don’t sleep anymore, like maybe thirty minutes if we’re lucky. Is that normal?”

“So it has begun,” she said from the small kitchen across the room without looking up from whatever she was doing. “You see there is more than one way to live forever.”

I looked around the room, “I’m confused, what exactly are you talking about?”

She turned and looked at me, leaning closer. “None of you will sleep, not for a very long time. It’s a part of the process.”