Circumstellar (9 page)

M
y stomach knotted with anticipation and a hint of nervousness as I ascended the final steps to the summit of the hill that housed the temple. Normally when my friends were busy during the weekend, I spent my days struggling to waste time. Recently, I’d found the task to be even more daunting because I refused to acknowledge Aunt Kaline. It was a nice change to have something to look forward to. I reached the top and found that, unlike last time, Meissa wasn’t anywhere in sight. I decided to wait and see if she would come greet me. I should have known better. It only took a few short minutes and my patience was worn to a thread. A person of action: that was me.

I made my way over to the building that I had come to know as
Meissa’s house. I was about to make my presence known by inviting myself in when the sound of a deep voice caught my attention. Managing to creep closer to the closed door, I leaned forwards and began to listen. If you didn’t want people eavesdropping, you shouldn’t speak up so much.

“You are making a mistake,
Meissa. That girl is nothing but trouble!”

“That is for me to decide,” replied a voice I immediately recognized as
Meissa’s.

“Her very presence is a danger to us all! Didn’t you hear what Ka
– ”

“Yes, I heard what she said. My ears haven’t begun to fail me, yet!”
Meissa snapped. “She is mistaken. The time is upon us, and in case you haven’t noticed, we don’t have the numbers to pick and choose!”

“You can’t let regrets from the past cloud your judgment! That girl is different!”

“I assure you, Rigel, my judgment is as clear as ever,” Meissa’s frigid voice informed him. “You would do well not to question it.”

“There must be someone else.”

“There is no one. Now get out. I’ve made my decision. I’m not going to bicker about this any further.”

I had time to just scramble away before the door violently thrust open. A man with the same graying hair as
Meissa strode past me. He didn’t even so much as glance at me with his now furious ebony eyes. I watched after him for a few moments as he stormed his way into another of the small buildings.

“Ignore him. He’s been in a
pissy mood since the keystone was stolen.” I turned to see Meissa in the doorway. “He’s supposed to be searching for any clues to the locations of the other stones, while I find talented individuals.”

“Sounds to me like he wants to be in charge of human resources, too,” I noted with a hint of bitterness. If the guy had a problem with me, he needed to come tell me to my face.

“Then he should have made a better effort to beat me out of the womb,” Meissa bit out. “Come,” she commanded while stepping down from the porch and following one of the paths.

I caught up to her and asked, “Where are we going?”

“I told you I would prove you are the Therion descendant, didn’t I?”

I followed after her wondering how exactly she was going to do that. Did she have some type of blood test kit stored away somewhere or something? That seemed a little too technological from what I’d seen so far. Maybe she had five objects
laying around, and I would have to pick which one belonged to the The – I mean Lupus warrior. That would be kind of cool, but I wasn’t sure it fit with Meissa’s M.O. Knowing her, it was probably another weird-ass stone trick.

Meissa
stopped, and I had to balance on my toes to keep from crashing into her. I looked up and noticed we arrived at the large dirt field that was set off to the side of the temple grounds. It was actually much larger than I thought it was from a distance, and standing right in the middle of it –

“What is
she
doing here?”

Ignoring
Kaira’s not so warm welcome, I smiled and waved to my two favorite saviors. The gesture was a wasted effort, however, as Kaira looked totally offended by my presence and Markus just looked confused. I didn’t let it phase me, though, and Meissa and I walked up to the pair.

“She’s here because I asked her to be,”
Meissa replied in a tone that left no question as to who was in charge here. “Like I also asked the two of you. I want all three of you to go to the end of the field.”

“Why?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Boy, was I off with my predictions.

“Because,”
Meissa answered, her eyes glinting, “you are going to race. Once to the end of the field and back.”

“Wait, what? What the hell is racing going to do?” I asked, flabbergasted. I glanced at
Kaira’s long, toned legs and Markus’s fit physique. What was the point of this? There was no way I would even stand a chance against these two. “Why should I do this?”

“Because I told you to,”
Meissa hissed back.

“What’s the matter? Don’t think you can keep up?”
Kaira sneered. “I have no problem with it. You should just leave if you’re too scared.” She turned and started walking to the edge of the field. Markus didn’t say anything and just shook his head and followed. I growled and was about to yell something nasty her way when Meissa looked at me.

“Just do it, Ingrid, and don’t worry,” she assured me in what had to be the most
unassuring way possible. “If you have any trouble, just think of your legs as your mouth and there’s no way you can lose.”

I sent a half-hearted glare her way before walking to the edge of the field. I still felt pretty doubtful about the whole thing. I wondered if this was some effort to embarrass me into never questioning her again. When I made it to the end, Markus and
Kaira adopted positions similar to that of a runner on a track team. I had never partaken in such events myself, but I’d seen enough T.V. to get a general idea of how it went. Crouching next to Kaira, I set my legs into position.

“Don’t think because Master
Meissa invited you here I’m going to take it easy on you,” Kaira whispered, scorn dripping on every word. “I’ll never lose to someone like you, Ankida.”

I didn’t bother responding and set my jaw. Instead, I concentrated on the field, channeling my anger into determination. I had planned to do my best and hope it was enough, but now that was loser talk. I wasn’t going to be beaten by someone like her. I was going to leave her in the dust!

Meissa walked over and surveyed us before announcing, “On my mark.” She raised her arm, and I braced my legs. “Go!”

I shot forward in a flash and out of the corner of my eye saw
Kaira and Markus do the same. My feet pounded into the ground, moving with as much speed as I could make them. My competitors started to pull ahead, Kaira in the lead. Their long strides gave them the advantage; my shorter legs required me to take twice as many steps to catch up. I stared after Markus, the impossibility of the situation starting to set in. They had to save me from being attacked, and now they were going to outrun me.
You’re no warrior descendant, you’re just
a
–

“
. . . and
it’s all your fault.”

My aunt’s words rang in my ears. Is that all I was to everyone? Just some mistake that everyone hated and blamed? I glanced at
Kaira’s back.
No
! They were all wrong; I was more than that. I thought about what Principal Ursa said about believing in me and about Lesia.
Ty
.  My heart pounded as a new surge of resolve lit through me. I was more than this.

My legs doubled their effort, and soon I was equal with Markus.
Kaira made it to the end of the field, and in a motion more graceful than anyone should be allowed to possess, turned and started making her way back to the start. She was coming past me. It was only for a fleeting moment, but as her hazel eyes met mine, time stood still. Victory and superiority shone back at me, and it was all the motivation I needed.

Nearing the end, I surged forward. My body knew exactly what to do as I threw myself sideways. Using my arm as a support, I whipped my body around and shot off, my feet kicking up a large cloud of dirt. My whole body was in overdrive, and
Kaira’s back was getting closer. The finish neared. She was barely in front of me. We were neck and neck. I was crossing the edge of the field. There was a tree right in front of me.

Crying out, I heaved myself to the side, rolling out of the way. I spun around a few times before settling on my back. I lay there, panting and coughing. That was one hell of a wipeout. My legs burned from the intense ordeal I just put them through, and I was content not to move.

“Well, it appears we have a winner,” I heard Meissa’s voice carry over, peppered with amusement.

“No,”
Kaira panted out. “Impossible . . . she can’t . . .”

“But she is,”
Meissa stated. “Markus, Kaira, we’re done for the day. You two can take the afternoon and rest.”

“Yes, Master
Meissa.” It was the first time I’d heard Markus speak since arriving. I heard the sound of crunching dirt get quieter until it disappeared. A shadow passed over me, and I opened my eyes, squinting at the figure.

“Was the physical exertion too much for you? Do I need to call an ambulance?”

Ignoring the dig at my lack of fitness, I smiled. “I really did it. I won!”

“As if there would be any doubt,” she scoffed. “It is exactly as I predicted.”

“But how did you know I would win? It was pretty close at the end.”

“Didn’t I already tell you, silly girl. I’m never wrong.”

Sitting up, I rolled my eyes. I tried to look exasperated, but not even Meissa’s arrogant sense of self important could dampen the feeling of exhilaration that ran through me. I really did it. Against overwhelming odds, I beat two fitness gods in a footrace, but more importantly, I overcame some of the negativity that had been building in me. Maybe I really was worth something after all. The feeling was so intense that even though I knew I probably looked like a huge dumbass, I couldn’t seem to wipe the huge grin off my face.

“So, where to next, Granny?”
I asked, rising to my feet. I looked at Meissa, and taking in the expression on her face, braced myself for a slap. A totally incensed looked marred her features, and against my better judgment, my smile grew even wider. It crossed my mind that I should probably be fearing for my life, but I was still too pleased with myself to care. That was all. It absolutely didn’t have anything at all to do with the small sense of satisfaction at seeing her get ruffled for a change. I tried to tell myself I hadn’t been waiting for this moment since I first met this woman, but who was I kidding? I stayed quiet, waiting in anticipation to see if she would stomp a crater into the hill. Only then would my vision be complete.

“Watch your mouth!” she snapped. “I haven’t taught you to fight yet! Now, come!” she barked, whirling around on her heal. “I have much to show you. And wipe that stupid grin off your face!”

That would take some serious effort at this point. I made sure to stay behind her as she sped her way down the stone paths. My cheeks ached almost as much as my legs, and I had to half-jog after her. We came to our destination, and I forced a serious look on my face when she turned to look at me. I shifted my eyes around and realized we were at the large main building of the campus. I was about to ask why we were here when she turned back and opened the door. Following her inside, I wondered what would await me.

The first room was huge and very empty. The dark wooden floor had been polished to a beautiful finish, but I could still make out some scuff marks and scrapes here and there. A few work out mats lay piled up in one of the corners. I looked up, and with some surprise, noted that the room was lit with electric lights.

“This is our main training room,” Meissa explained, walking along the edge of the room to a door on the side. “It is also where we practice sparring, but you shouldn’t concern yourself with that. It will be some time before you are ready to participate, though I’m sure you will have no shortage of opponents when the time comes.” I didn’t need to see her face to know she was smirking. I’d be sure to put her on the list.

We entered the door and walked down a short hallway. The hall was dim and ended in a small room. There must have been at least a hundred candles in the room. I noticed that unlike the training room, this one had no signs of electric workings at all. In the center of the room, a wooden platform stood. It was about the four feet tall, and when I moved closer, I realized it had the same Orion figures carved into it as the table in
Meissa’s room. On top of the platform was a round stand covered in a fine, green silk cloth. There was nothing on the stand, and I wondered why such an elaborate display would be prepared for nothing. It actually looked quite lonely.

“This is where the Orion Stone was housed,”
Meissa said. “Though as you can see, that is no longer the case.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise and looked at the empty stand again. So this is where the all important keystone was stored away.
And stolen from.
Gutsy cat burglar
, I thought, glancing around the room. I realized there were no windows to speak of. I looked at the roof and noted it appeared quite solid; the same could be said for the floor. In fact, it looked like the only entrance was from the hall we just passed through.