The Last of the Sages (Sage Trilogy, Book 1) (10 page)

“You would stay up all night thinking about me?”

“You think too highly of yourself,” Catherine giggled. “The only reason I’d be up is because I’d be thinking of a better way to console you after you survive your next beating, since, obviously, your tactics don’t work.”

“That’s so cold.” James laughed in spite of himself.

“Since you’re taking my teasing soooo well, I’ll let you in on a little secret.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“You may not know this, but Kyran isn’t known for his skill in combat. He’s an assassin. He may not be able to take many down one-on-one, but he is second to none in stealth and speed.”

“So how does that help me? Should I ask Kyran for help?”

“Oh, no, you wouldn’t get very far asking him for favors. He’s all threats and stringency. Not to mention his overly grim outlook on everything.”

“Tell me about it,” James muttered, thinking about the prophecy Kyran had set forth in front of the cafeteria.

“I bring this up because in the Sage test, you have to face someone one-on-one, and if you end up facing Kyran, you will at least now know that straight combat is not his strength. See, he didn’t pass the tests but he did come very close. Very close. He figured out that there was no way he could catch his opponent off guard in such a wide open space, and that it was impossible to be stealthy, so he simply gave it his all.”

“Gave it his all?” James spat out in disgust. It sounded like a cheesy slogan.

“In battle, the idea is to go directly for the kill, but if two opponents are on guard and quite evenly matched, then a seemingly endless battle of endurance will ensue, neither giving sway to the other and each slowly tiring until one somehow gains the upper hand. This is usually when one of them figures out that he has nothing to lose and so he simply gives his all against the opponent. A last ditch effort so to speak. It could be in the form of letting himself take a blow in order to get closer to deliver a more severe strike to his adversary, or even mustering all the strength and speed he can for one last thrust. The element of surprise becomes his ally.”

“And this is what Kyran did?”

“Yes. The proctor was aware that he had three days to pass. The last thing he expected was for Kyran to give everything he had in one string of attacks. When it was over, the proctor had no choice but to render Kyran unconscious in fear of his own life. The whole day passed with Kyran unconscious and he simply tried the same thing the next day, getting closer and closer to victory. Kyran threw all caution to the side. He wa
s
literall
y
trying to kill his opponent. Without that dedication, he might not have even gotten that far.”

“But he didn’t make it.”

“That doesn’t mean you won’t. In any case, what you’ve done so far hasn’t worked. Time to try out some fresh tactics.”

“What do you have to gain out of all this?”

“Why can’t I just help a friend in need?”

“I don’t know…I mean my father always told me people don’t act out of kindness. There’s always some selfish motive.”

“If that’s true, then I guess we as a people aren’t worth saving.”

“Don’t get so gloomy on me, Catherine. We’re only part of the infantry -”

“- correction
.
I’
m
part of the infantry. You haven’t passed the third test yet.”

“It’s not like some regular soldier is going to save the world or anything,” James stated, ignoring her previous comment.

“You make it sound like the infantry is nothing but a bunch of kids playing army.”

“It might as well be. What’s so great about an army that can be taken out by one Sage? That’s ridiculous. If you don’t become a Sage, I see no point in going on.”

Catherine shook her head in amazement.

“Wow. You really are full of yourself. You care for nothing and no one around you, huh? It’s all about what you’re going through.”

“What? I didn’t say anything about me.”

“You talk as if you’re going to become a Sage, effortlessly, when you’re not even close to passing this second test. Tell you what, until you have an iota, an inkling, a foggy idea of what you’re talking about, and what you’re coming up against, just concentrate on getting through that. Until then, I’ll catch you later.”

“Katie, I didn’t offend you did I?”

“I have no clue where you got that from,” she snapped sarcastically as she continued walking.
“AND DON’T CALL ME KATIE!”

James stood there in confusion, going over his last words to her. Eventually, he sighed and let it go.

“Well, I knew a long time ago that I’d never understand women.”

Sighing heavily, James hurried over to his bed, determined to fall asleep as fast as he could. He knew he would be sore in the morning, but at least his mind would be sharp with enough rest. Catherine did have a point. Dominic was far superior to him at the moment, and there was no way he was going to close the gap in a couple of days. The strategy Kyran had used in Catherine’s story was sounding better and better. All he had to do now was figure out a way to give his all. He needed a plan that would take Dominic off guard. His ego was definitely an issue. Maybe that could be used to James’s advantage…

James smiled at how quickly he had come to a solution and turned his head on the pillow. He made up his mind to apologize to Catherine about the infantry comments. After all, it was probably her dream that had gotten crushed too. Not becoming a Sage had to be devastating.

Then again, he could be assuming. Maybe she was a Sage-in-training, and no one had told him yet. Dominic had surprised him with the fact that he was taking the Sage classes. Maybe Catherine was in there too. She did know a lot about the heads of the Academy. What was she hiding? Was she that close to all of them or was there something more? She was obviously much younger than both Arimus and Kyran so it wasn’t like they grew up together. It was possible she’d been spying on them but that was ridiculous too. If Kyran was any good at his job, he would’ve detected her presence right away. Arimus didn’t seem to be the oblivious type either. Bottom line, there was a lot she wasn’t telling him.

James sighed and turned to the other side of the pillow. He cursed his overactive imagination and slapped the palm of his hand on his forehead, trying to make his thoughts shut up for once. Whatever Catherine was hiding, it would have to wait. There was no way he was going to track her down in the middle of the night demanding answers and she was probably not in the mood to give them. James laughed as he thought of Catherine being a Sage. It was impossible. She wasn’t short but she seemed so small. Her green eyes reminded him of the tree he used to play in as a kid. Very lush and verdant. Lacking in any kind of danger or reason to be cautious. The freckles that inhabited her cheeks just added more to her juvenile appearance. How could someone who looked like that strike fear into the hearts of an entire army?

James chuckled into his pillow and went back to the task at hand: shutting his mind down…

The next morning didn’t start off right…

James was ready to eat the breakfast of champions only to find out that he had overslept. And once again the cold cafeteria doors met him with an unrelenting, merciless stare. James jiggled the handle, starving for even a pear, the fruit he had tried once and swore he would never eat again. But the guardians to sustenance held their ground, and James, though frustrated, muttered about how his plan to beat Dominic was still going to work, with or without food in his belly to give him strength. He was just about to head over to the hall early when the cafeteria doors opened slightly and a tiny black eye sneered at him through the crack. James caught a whiff of a wonderful array of syrup, sausage, and possibly, hopefully, strawberry waffles.

“Is there any way I can get inside and get something to eat?” James pleaded to the eye. He had already made up his mind that he wasn’t too proud to beg for what he wanted.

“Breakfast ends at 10:00 sharp
.
Sharp
,
” the man stressed as he glanced away from James’s hungry stare.

“Oh c’mon, what’s the big deal?” James practically cried as he heard the soft laughter of students eating happily in the background. He felt like the one kid who hadn’t received a single Valentine’s Day card in the first grade.

“They came promptly. You came at your leisure. Leisure begs discipline. You will learn,” the man said, irritated. Something about the voice gave James a flicker of recognition.

“Kyran, is that you?”

The eye squinted and disappeared. James caught a flash of a sausage link being happily thrown to a recruit who, to James, appeared to be frolicking over to catch it, but all this was in the split second before the door slammed in his face. James didn’t bother knocking. Kyran wasn’t going to budge.

James moped over to the hall where the second day of the Sage test would begin. Arimus and Dominic were already waiting, exchanging a few small words to pass the time. It was apparent they didn’t want to talk to one another, but they preferred it over the awkwardness that would ensue if they didn’t. James put on his best fake smile and acted like he had twice the energy he had showed yesterday.

“Your breath reeks,” Dominic stated, arms crossed, as James forced out a hello. James frowned and lost his composure. Suddenly, visions of his fellow recruits frolicking through breakfast valley swam through his head, only enraging him further. His stomach grumbled at him in reply.

“You overslept again, didn’t you, James?” Arimus mused as James sorrowfully looked to his mentor.

“I couldn’t sleep well. I was thinking too much.”

“Hopefully on a way to improve,” Dominic said flatly as he handed James a sword. “I really want to continue my own training today so let’s get this over with. Since you didn’t have breakfast, you should be out a lot quicker than yesterday.”

James fought back a smile. Dominic thought even less of him than before. Excellent.

“Are you sure you are up to this, James?” Arimus asked, concerned. “We could hold off until lunch.”

“Oh c’mon, Arimus,” Dominic said. “Don’t give him special treatment. He was the one who slept in. Don’t punish me for it.”

Arimus stood erect and silent, knowing that Dominic was right.

“Like yesterday - no eidolon, so let’s get this going,” Dominic stated in a bored tone. This time he didn’t even bother taking a defensive stance.

James wasn’t fooled. He knew that although Dominic looked like he was barely aware of his own existence, he was on guard. James grudgingly acknowledged a glimpse of his own ego in Dominic’s. And as a result, he knew that Dominic would never let himself be beaten by someone as inexperienced and weak as he was. He was putting on a good show, but on the inside, he was waiting for the unexpected.

And this was precisely what James wanted him to do.

James knew how the fight would play out before it even began, based on the type of person Dominic was. Arrogant and confident, yet apprehensive of uncalculated risks and especially defeat. He was the type of person who would never let a loss go, so he was always on edge, always thinking of what could happen. James preferred going into the second day of the test with Dominic at the peak of his cautiousness rather than with him becoming more careful with each of James’s attacks. Now, James could simply bring Dominic’s expectations down and strike when the moment was right. It was all he had, and it would work. He had gone over every scenario he could imagine last night and for the first time ever, James not only cursed his overactive imagination, but after realizing that sleep was nowhere in the vicinity, he blessed it.

He hoped Arimus would be pleased.

“Watch yourself,” James yelled as he lunged at Dominic, who expectedly dodged the attack. James fought back another smile as he fell on his back from a well-placed body slam. He barely felt the pain, already expecting it and rolling with the throw to negate some of the force. Still, he put on a good show, cringing in pain as he held his left shoulder blade. He growled in false anger and lunged again with the same desired result. James lunged again and again, hoping Dominic wouldn’t notice that he put little energy into his attacks. Occasionally, James swung aimlessly at Dominic’s head or torso, to mix up the pace, and from the shaking of Arimus’s head, and the yawns coming from Dominic’s mouth, he could tell that his deception was going quite well.

“Are you done yet?” Dominic rolled his eyes as he held James at bay, his massive arms squeezing James’s biceps and keeping him from making a move. Dominic let go and sent a fist plowing through James’s diaphragm. James fell hard and fought the surge of pain that attempted to paralyze his body. Arimus ran his fingers through his beard.

“A few more minutes, and we’re done for today,” Arimus stated flatly as Dominic nodded with newfound energy.

“Good. In that case, I’ll make sure he won’t want to come back tomorrow. Get up, James. I have something to show you.”

“Fine,” James spat as he felt the adrenaline course through his veins. It was now or never. All the strength he had been saving for the last five hours wasn’t going to go to waste. If only he had that extra edge he would’ve gotten from those waffles…