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1
SILAS
I fellto my knees in the dust, breathing hard and spitting on the ground in front of me. The last tendrils of power seeped out of me, leaving me weak and shaky. I looked up at Kiango through the hazy film that covered my eyes, growling irritably as he smirked at me with his arms crossed over his chest.
"You're not ready," he said flatly.
I pushed myself up, straightening as best I could, despite the obvious wobble in my balance.
"I am, too," I snarled, wiping at my face and letting my scales recede back beneath my skin.
"You're not, and until you are, you won't be chasing down any storms. It is my job to see you through to the end of this thing, and if I let you get yourself killed, it benefits no one."
We'd had this conversation day in and day out for weeks. I felt stronger. I was so close to being able to channel Re'Utu's rage. And yet, Kiango insisted that I was too weak. Nothing would ever be good enough for him. When I asked him how much more training I needed, he deflected. I was beginning to think he liked having power over me, holding me back. In some remote part of my mind, I even blamed my grandfather for placing me in Kiango's care instead of with one of the other Guardians.
Kiango picked up the little glass orb from the ground where it had fallen and dropped it back into the velvet bag tied to his belt. Finally, he dusted his hands off and gave me one last pitying look.
"We're done for today. Go get cleaned up, and while you're at it, spend a little time on your prayers. I heard you stumble over the words earlier." He gave me another twisted smile, another little stab at my ego.
I bit my tongue, hard, to hold back the angry retort that threatened to burst out of me. It was no use. He would keep finding flaw in everything I did, and I had no choice but to bow to his whims. My fate was in his hands, and I would not face the storms until he gave me his blessing.
I grabbed for the towel that I'd left at the edge of the training ring and mopped the sweat from my brow. The courtyard was quiet today. At the other end, I could see the outline of the gardens and hear the birds chirping, but there was little other activity. I looked up at the sky, drinking in the sunlight and drawing a deep sigh, reminding myself that I was here for a reason. This was my destiny, and I would not be deterred.
I wasn't going to let Kiango beat me. If he was done with me for the day, so be it, but I had the ring to myself, and I was going to show him that I could face the storms whenever he saw fit to give me the chance. Visions of wiping that smirk right off his face danced before my eyes.
I dropped the towel back on the ground and went out to the center of the ring, alone this time. Steadying my breathing, I lifted my arms up over my head and began the chant, careful not to stumble over a single syllable. I felt layer after layer of my scales sliding out, stretching themselves over my flesh, protecting me, and then the dark film flowed over my eyes, making the whole world look muddled and gray.
Without the orb, it was hard to reach Re'Utu's power. It was hard to find the stray tendrils of His anger and call them to me. But so much the better. The orb was meant to channel those things directly, making it easier on the trainee to single them out amid the noise of the universe. I wanted the challenge. My mind snagged upon a wisp of energy that tasted like Re'Utu and I clutched at it, drawing it in, closing my eyes as I envisioned a line as thin as a spider's web connecting me to Him. But the more I pulled on it, the thicker it grew, the more power it carried, and I fed on it.
Smiling to myself, I silently celebrated my success, wishing Kiango was here to see it. But in that instant, that moment of distraction, I came out of my trance all at once, blinded by the light of day as the protective film over my eyes snapped back and my scales retreated. The loss was so great and so sudden, like my breath being sucked straight out of my lungs, that I collapsed to the ground, flat on my stomach in the dirt and tasting the grit on my tongue. I tried to wet my lips and blink away the confusion.
I opened my eyes and discovered a pair of well-worn shoes little more than a yard away. Rolling sideways a bit, my eyes traced their way up from the dusty shoes to the ragged robe, and then to a concerned face belonging to a woman.
"What are you looking at?" I growled, wishing she would go away. I didn't need anyone gawking at me.
To my surprise, she came forward, picked up the towel from where I'd left it and handed it to me. Then she held out a hand and waited for me to reluctantly take it before she pulled me into a sitting position.
"You shouldn't be out here all alone. You could get hurt," she remarked, taking a step back to look me over.
"What do you know?" I snapped, tossing the towel aside in frustration. "If you don't mind, I have some training to do, and unless you're secretly hiding a Guardian under that old rag you're wearing, I don't need your advice on how to go about it."
She crossed her arms over her chest defensively and snorted her disapproval. "Suit yourself. But if you keep flailing around like that, don't be surprised if you attract unwanted attention from someone worse than me. I was trying to do you a kindness."
I rolled my eyes and shooed her away. "I'm sure your friends would love to hear about how you caught the flunky Guardian in such a state," I remarked.
She shook her head and looked up at the windows of the palace, sadness coming over her face for an instant. "Hardly. In any case, you should be careful. We can't afford to lose you, too."
I didn't have time to ask her what she meant by that before she turned and started away.
