days after
the kissing incident, during one of our yoga stretches, was one of those
occasions. We were sitting on the ground, stretching our legs. I had purposely
sat closer to him than I knew he was comfortable with. Our legs kept bumping
and when I made up my mind to just drag him into a kiss, the doors to the gym
slammed open, startling both of us out of our thoughts.
"Have you
started training her to do defensive and offensive moves yet?" Riley
frantically asked Felix when she entered the gym and walked over to us.
Felix stood up
and offered his hand to help me up, an action he rarely did anymore. "No.
We were going to start them next week. She's doing really great at the--"
Riley cut him
off. "You have to start training her now."
"What do
you mean? What's going on?" I said when I was off the ground. Now that I
was level with her, I could see her eyes were rimmed with splotches of blood.
If Riley hadn’t explained that her eyes literally bled when she had
visions, I would have panicked.
"You can
fight. I've seen it. We're going to need to get you trained as quickly as
possible. Something big is about to happen and we'll need all the Lovac we can
get."
"What did
you see, Riley?" Felix asked as he gently put his arms on her shoulders to
try to calm her down.
"I... I
can't say exactly. All I know is there are some clever Zhulik planning
something big and we're going to need Avery's help." She was shaking now
and her breaths were coming out in shallow gasps.
"I think we
need to go see Rema. I don't mind starting training with Avery but Rema needs
to hear what you have to say."
Riley nodded and
nearly collapsed in Felix's arms. Whatever she had seen had taken a toll on her
strength. Felix picked her up and carried her all the way to the Lovac council
member’s floor. I felt guilty at the slight pang of jealousy in my chest
that Felix was so willing to hold Riley close, despite knowing they thought of
each other more like siblings than anything else. I pushed the thoughts aside
as we entered the little sitting area where Rema usually was.
Rema wasn't
sitting in her usual spot but had just exited one of the rooms on the right.
She was surprised to see us but worry crossed her face when she saw a limp
Riley in Felix's arms.
"What
happened?" she asked.
"Riley came
running into the gym to tell me I needed to start training Avery immediately.
She was also saying that something big was about to happen with the Zhulik and
we would need Avery's help."
"Lay her
down on the couch. When did she pass out?"
"Right
after I said we needed to come see you."
"Did she
mention anything else important?"
"No. That
was it."
"Wait,"
I said. "She said something about her knowing I could fight. That she had
seen it. What does that mean?"
"My guess
is that she saw you fighting in whatever big event is about to happen but only
if you start training now," Felix said.
"No,"
Riley muttered. Her voice was very quiet and she hadn't moved from the spot
Felix had put her in. "She can fight now. The Zhulik attack will happen in
less than two weeks if we don't stop it."
Rema and Felix
both gave me questioningly looks. "I thought you said you haven't had any
training before this?" Felix asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I
haven't," I said. I had never even thrown a punch at someone until the
night darkness made me attack Felix. "I have no idea what she's talking
about. Honestly. You saw me. I can barely run or lift weights. How can I know
how to fight?"
They gave each
other a quick glance and then Rema said, "Go back down to the gym and
start training immediately. I'll take care of Riley and see what other
information she has. I will come find you in an hour or so to see what
happens."
"Come
on." Felix gently grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the exit. I wanted
to argue more but I didn't think anything I said would help my case. Felix
didn't let go of my hand the entire way back to the gym and he wouldn’t
look at me.
"You
the kissing incident, during one of our yoga stretches, was one of those
occasions. We were sitting on the ground, stretching our legs. I had purposely
sat closer to him than I knew he was comfortable with. Our legs kept bumping
and when I made up my mind to just drag him into a kiss, the doors to the gym
slammed open, startling both of us out of our thoughts.
"Have you
started training her to do defensive and offensive moves yet?" Riley
frantically asked Felix when she entered the gym and walked over to us.
Felix stood up
and offered his hand to help me up, an action he rarely did anymore. "No.
We were going to start them next week. She's doing really great at the--"
Riley cut him
off. "You have to start training her now."
"What do
you mean? What's going on?" I said when I was off the ground. Now that I
was level with her, I could see her eyes were rimmed with splotches of blood.
If Riley hadn’t explained that her eyes literally bled when she had
visions, I would have panicked.
"You can
fight. I've seen it. We're going to need to get you trained as quickly as
possible. Something big is about to happen and we'll need all the Lovac we can
get."
"What did
you see, Riley?" Felix asked as he gently put his arms on her shoulders to
try to calm her down.
"I... I
can't say exactly. All I know is there are some clever Zhulik planning
something big and we're going to need Avery's help." She was shaking now
and her breaths were coming out in shallow gasps.
"I think we
need to go see Rema. I don't mind starting training with Avery but Rema needs
to hear what you have to say."
Riley nodded and
nearly collapsed in Felix's arms. Whatever she had seen had taken a toll on her
strength. Felix picked her up and carried her all the way to the Lovac council
member’s floor. I felt guilty at the slight pang of jealousy in my chest
that Felix was so willing to hold Riley close, despite knowing they thought of
each other more like siblings than anything else. I pushed the thoughts aside
as we entered the little sitting area where Rema usually was.
Rema wasn't
sitting in her usual spot but had just exited one of the rooms on the right.
She was surprised to see us but worry crossed her face when she saw a limp
Riley in Felix's arms.
"What
happened?" she asked.
"Riley came
running into the gym to tell me I needed to start training Avery immediately.
She was also saying that something big was about to happen with the Zhulik and
we would need Avery's help."
"Lay her
down on the couch. When did she pass out?"
"Right
after I said we needed to come see you."
"Did she
mention anything else important?"
"No. That
was it."
"Wait,"
I said. "She said something about her knowing I could fight. That she had
seen it. What does that mean?"
"My guess
is that she saw you fighting in whatever big event is about to happen but only
if you start training now," Felix said.
"No,"
Riley muttered. Her voice was very quiet and she hadn't moved from the spot
Felix had put her in. "She can fight now. The Zhulik attack will happen in
less than two weeks if we don't stop it."
Rema and Felix
both gave me questioningly looks. "I thought you said you haven't had any
training before this?" Felix asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I
haven't," I said. I had never even thrown a punch at someone until the
night darkness made me attack Felix. "I have no idea what she's talking
about. Honestly. You saw me. I can barely run or lift weights. How can I know
how to fight?"
They gave each
other a quick glance and then Rema said, "Go back down to the gym and
start training immediately. I'll take care of Riley and see what other
information she has. I will come find you in an hour or so to see what
happens."
"Come
on." Felix gently grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the exit. I wanted
to argue more but I didn't think anything I said would help my case. Felix
didn't let go of my hand the entire way back to the gym and he wouldn’t
look at me.
"You
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