small doorway opened to the Hall of Orbs. The long, narrow room had shelves lining the entire length of the walls. The shelves were divided into square cubbyholes, and each of these held an orb. I stepped into the room and felt a rush of energy surround my body, as powerful as a gust of warm air. My eyes were immediately drawn to an orb on my left, a few feet over my head. Before I could even register a conscious thought about what I was doing, my left arm reached up and I held my hand out toward the orb. It flew off the shelf and landed with perfect precision in the palm of my hand.
"Kaia!" Ajax looked astonished. "So fast? How did you do that?"
"I don ' t know. I felt a rush of energy when I entered the room." The orb felt wonderful in my hands, as if it was made just for me.
"That ' s really advanced, Kaia. Have you trained with another orb before?"
"No, never," I shook my head. "I thought you could only possess one."
"Yes, that ' s true, but you can use someone else ' s. You can try to manipulate its power to your own liking." He stared down at me for several moments, a newfound respect in his eyes. "I ' ve only seen two other people call an orb with the same kind of speed." He still looked amazed. It made me feel proud.
"Who?" I asked, thinking of Tiergan.
"Me and Cadmus."
"Hmmm," I wondered. "What does it mean?"
"It means you have excellent control over your mind, which is probably one of the reasons you ' re such a great Athlete."
I didn ' t know how to react to his compliment so I asked, "Could my brother do it?"
Ajax shook his head at me, and there was almost a smile on his lips. "Always comparing yourself to your brother, Kai. No, he wasn ' t as fast, but he was faster than most."
When we were children, Ajax often called me Kai, making it my childhood nickname. His intention in using the name while denying we ' d ever been friends was unclear, and I didn ' t like it. Whether he meant to recall our childhood or had simply used it as a convenient shortening of my name I couldn ' t be sure, and I shook the useless thoughts from my head.
"What now, Ajax?" I asked, ready to move on. What did it matter? Once we finished in the Weapons Room, we would renew our anger and resentment anyway, nickname or no nickname.
We exited the Hall of Orbs and returned to the main room. Ajax worked with me on controlling my orb. I spent some time perfecting its basic abilities, asking for heat, then light, until I mastered those skills. I practiced throwing it ahead of me and calling it back. Ajax moved about the room, as I sharpened my command of distance and accuracy while he provided a target to focus on. Wherever he moved, I threw my orb to him, training it to stop before it reached him. It would hover in the air around him, and if he reached out his hand to touch it, I would call it back before his hand could ever grasp it. We practiced this over and over, and as I got better, I would play little games with him, letting the orb hit him, then hide behind him, and then jump out of his hand. I could even make it circle his body, keeping him in place before I called it back.
"How does the orb make you feel?" Ajax finally asked. It felt like we had been practicing for hours. I thought about his question before answering, struggling for the words to express the way I felt. It was impossible.
"Mostly I feel strength. Like I can do anything." It was the closest I could come to describing what was going on inside of me with the orb in my hand.
He nodded. "That ' s excellent. Strength is exactly what you need to complete your training."
"What do you feel with yours?" I wanted to know.
"I feel strength too," he answered, but then changed the subject. "Okay, Kaia, you did very well but we have to move on now. We ' re going to do a footpath."
My stomach clenched. Footpaths were difficult exercises. The Weapons Room would change into some kind of outdoor terrain and present a footpath to follow. These paths had to be followed
"Kaia!" Ajax looked astonished. "So fast? How did you do that?"
"I don ' t know. I felt a rush of energy when I entered the room." The orb felt wonderful in my hands, as if it was made just for me.
"That ' s really advanced, Kaia. Have you trained with another orb before?"
"No, never," I shook my head. "I thought you could only possess one."
"Yes, that ' s true, but you can use someone else ' s. You can try to manipulate its power to your own liking." He stared down at me for several moments, a newfound respect in his eyes. "I ' ve only seen two other people call an orb with the same kind of speed." He still looked amazed. It made me feel proud.
"Who?" I asked, thinking of Tiergan.
"Me and Cadmus."
"Hmmm," I wondered. "What does it mean?"
"It means you have excellent control over your mind, which is probably one of the reasons you ' re such a great Athlete."
I didn ' t know how to react to his compliment so I asked, "Could my brother do it?"
Ajax shook his head at me, and there was almost a smile on his lips. "Always comparing yourself to your brother, Kai. No, he wasn ' t as fast, but he was faster than most."
When we were children, Ajax often called me Kai, making it my childhood nickname. His intention in using the name while denying we ' d ever been friends was unclear, and I didn ' t like it. Whether he meant to recall our childhood or had simply used it as a convenient shortening of my name I couldn ' t be sure, and I shook the useless thoughts from my head.
"What now, Ajax?" I asked, ready to move on. What did it matter? Once we finished in the Weapons Room, we would renew our anger and resentment anyway, nickname or no nickname.
We exited the Hall of Orbs and returned to the main room. Ajax worked with me on controlling my orb. I spent some time perfecting its basic abilities, asking for heat, then light, until I mastered those skills. I practiced throwing it ahead of me and calling it back. Ajax moved about the room, as I sharpened my command of distance and accuracy while he provided a target to focus on. Wherever he moved, I threw my orb to him, training it to stop before it reached him. It would hover in the air around him, and if he reached out his hand to touch it, I would call it back before his hand could ever grasp it. We practiced this over and over, and as I got better, I would play little games with him, letting the orb hit him, then hide behind him, and then jump out of his hand. I could even make it circle his body, keeping him in place before I called it back.
"How does the orb make you feel?" Ajax finally asked. It felt like we had been practicing for hours. I thought about his question before answering, struggling for the words to express the way I felt. It was impossible.
"Mostly I feel strength. Like I can do anything." It was the closest I could come to describing what was going on inside of me with the orb in my hand.
He nodded. "That ' s excellent. Strength is exactly what you need to complete your training."
"What do you feel with yours?" I wanted to know.
"I feel strength too," he answered, but then changed the subject. "Okay, Kaia, you did very well but we have to move on now. We ' re going to do a footpath."
My stomach clenched. Footpaths were difficult exercises. The Weapons Room would change into some kind of outdoor terrain and present a footpath to follow. These paths had to be followed
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