The Moonstone (Enchantment Book 1) (33 page)

"What's going on?"

"You’re hard to figure out, Lou."

"I'm the one who's hard to figure out?! I can honestly say I've never met anyone as hard to figure out as you. One morning you’re distant and then the next you’re worried I’m getting too close to Zach. Are you jealous, Black? Aren't I allowed to have friends? Obviously, you aren't one of them."

"You're right, Lou, I'm not your friend, far from it."

He closes the door and leaves the room. That man is exasperating!

I hear knocking at the front door and rush over to open it, knowing exactly who it would be at this hour.

"Hi, Zach! I'm really looking forward to our lesson! Black's lessons are nothing like your combat classes."

I assume I've flattered him, as he seems pleased by my comment.

"Maybe he can give me a demonstration, since you seem to prefer his methods to mine," once again Black appears at the wrong moment. It’s so easy to make him mad.

We all go down to the ballroom and once we enter, Black signals for us to proceed.

Zach seems not to be intimidated by Black's coolness, but rather, it seems to fuel him.

"Ok, Lou, let's review. Let's work on developing your senses, like we did the other day. Close your eyes, I blow on you, but this time, you’ll send a little energy burst in my direction. I brought a cushion with me; it should absorb the energy if you keep the bursts small enough.

I see that Black is clenching his fists. I close my eyes, following instructions and because I trust Zach.

He blows the first time on the nape of my neck and I turn immediately to send a burst of energy.

"Perfect! Excellent reflexes! Close your eyes."

We start our little game again and continue for a few minutes until I feel his breath nearby on my lips.

"Enough!" yells Black from the other side of the room, as he crosses the space in very few strides.

"This is not training! I want you to leave my premises, you're wasting our time!" Uh, oh. Black is mad now.

But this training actually helped me defeat the chupacabra. I do however think Zach came back to our starting exercise to provoke Black. I’m not sure what I should do...

"Oh, and Mr. Prince of the Manor thinks he can do better, does he? Didn't you hear? She doesn't appreciate your training techniques," shoots back Zach.

"Well as long as she is living with me and I’m financing her projects, I expect to see results. Your methods are possibly valid for naive young women, but Lou isn't one of them. Now, I'll ask you to leave my house."

He certainly has a strange way of trying to compliment me. Black's chauffeur enters the room and escorts Zach out of the manor.

"I'm so sorry Zach, I'll see you at the stables later."

"Come without your goon tonight," he says over his shoulder as he walks out of the room.

I turn to Black with my arms crossed and scowl furiously at him.

"Really? That's how you treat my friends? I thought we had an agreement."

"Well, the agreement doesn't hold for friends whose goal it is to provoke me."

"Provoke you? We were training!"

"Training? Really? Is that what you call it?" He walks up to me at the same distance that Zach had been only moments before.

"Close your eyes, I want to do the same thing to you since this is the type of training that you seem to prefer. You can tell me if it’s appropriate."

Oh no, what kind of mess did I just step into? I close my eyes since he ordered me to. He gets close to my ear and I can feel him even without his blowing. Then, he slowly exhales a warm breath that smells like peppermint. I open my eyes and send a small surge in his direction. He smiles and softly says:

"Good, close your eyes again, Lou."

I do as I'm told and I can feel him get right up in front of me. At the same moment a knot forms deep in my throat and the pressure makes it hard to breathe. His energy field is so close to mine and it makes me very uncomfortable. It seems to be an eternity without him moving at all and the wait is unbearable. I don't know if I should keep my eyes shut or not. I then feel a gentle breeze on my lips. This time, the sensation has nothing to do with Zach, but strangely I feel a tingling sensation that starts low in my pelvis and goes all the way to my head. I open my eyes and raise my hand to send a ball of energy to separate me from these dangerous lips. As I ready to send it, he quickly grabs my wrist and stops me in my tracks. He stares at me; his lips still close to mine and he continues to blow.

"So, is this suggestive, or innocent?"

I can't give him the answer he wants without betraying how I feel.

"Innocent, it's just a training exercise."

"Really? Given you racing pulse and your shortness of breath I would have said that it was anything but innocent."

I back away from him and quickly exit the room. I don't know if he’s torturing me for the fun of it, or if he's actually jealous, but whatever the reason, neither reason is valid. I feel I need a day far away from him, a day with my friends. I turn around and go back into the room, where he stands right where I left him.

"I want to go to the Academy to have lunch with my friends!"

"Fine, go, I'll stay far away from you. There’s a café across the street; I'll go there. Come back for afternoon lessons."

***

I leave for the school when I know they will be in a break session. Thanks to my watch I know Black is following me closely, but I don't feel like looking back and giving him the satisfaction of seeing me look for him.

I enter the Academy and a strange feeling of liberty takes me over. I go to the busy cafeteria and feel as if I'm experiencing déjà vu when I see everyone turn to stare at me. I’m the stranger here, the black sheep of the Academy and no matter what I do, it just seems to get worse. I look over at our usual sofa and am happy to see my friends sitting there together. Even better, I notice Pyros and Éloï sitting with them. Flicka spots me, waves me over as usual and I run to join them.

"Lou!? To what do we owe this honor? Your master let you out of the dungeon, did he?" says Pyros sarcastically.

"He's not my master and his manor is not a dungeon at all," I answer quickly, in the same tone that he used on me.

"Just ignore my brother, Lou. The more you get to know him, the more he bites," shoots back Éloï, always trying to temper her brother's character.

"I wanted to eat with you guys. Have you seen Zach? I wanted to speak to him."

"He canceled his lessons for the next three days, it seems he's going out of the city. One of the warriors from Bethany's team will give the combat course until the day of team formation," says Flicka, caressing Merlin.

What? How could he leave without telling me? I imagine it had something to do with my course this morning. I hope he calls me; I don't know how to handle the stable by myself. All this because of Black!

"So Lou, how do you like living at Black's?"

"It's complicated. In fact, if it weren't for his impressive library and the masters of illusion that he puts at my disposal for training sessions, I would be back here in a flash. But I'm really improving there, so I think I'll have to put up with his moods."

"His masters of illusion? I would love to see one of his classes!" Says Pax enthusiastically,

"Well, I think that could be arranged. But Black doesn't really appreciate visitors. In fact I think it was his behavior towards Zach this morning that pushed him to leave, at least, I think so. Let me see what I can do and I'll get back to you. But I would really love it if you could come to class with me."

"Don’t you mean you’d like to have us be a shield between you and him?" shoots back Flicka.

"I can promise you one thing, if we go there, we better stay for a meal. Black has the best chef in the world," she continues, not wanting to drop the subject.

"When do you think we should begin training together?" asks Pax, sitting cross-legged on the end of the sofa and looking as if he were mid-meditation. I would love to know his secret for always being so Zen.

"That's for sure. If Black gives me permission, we can use the ballroom where there’s a lot of space and we'll be far from prying eyes," I offer, pointing towards the crowd of warriors who are watching our every move.

"Bah, I think you can forget about being discreet ever since your little adventures," says Pyros, still rolling his knife in his hands.

"What do you mean by 'my little adventures'?"

Wow, he has some gall!

"I mean that when you go and kill the principal's sister's dog and then fight a Chimera, you might as well forget about it. And let's not forget that you went and shacked up with the most influential person in town. People talk, Lou, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn’t want to hear what they have to say."

Pyros is best when he doesn't speak. I think I prefer his angry silence to what he says when he finally gets going.

"Really? Are they really all gossiping about me?"

"Lou, it's not important, let them talk," comforts Flicka, rubbing my shoulder.

"I want to know, what exactly are people saying?"

"That you're a profiteer, that you're a human mutant who uses her gift of Ether to obtain favors and standing at the Academy," says Pyros, without missing a beat. I wonder if that's what he thinks of me as well.

" A profiteer! People here are crazy! Anyways, I don't care what they say. There’s only one more week and after that, we'll be done with them. It will be just the five of us; so let them talk. What matters to me is what you think. Please, be honest."

"I love you, no matter what you do and I think you'll be an excellent leader!" This, of course, is Flicka, ever the optimist.

"In China we respect success, and in my opinion, you’re the most successful person here. The rest are only jealous," says Pax, always full of advice. I love him.

"What about you two?" I turn to look at the twins, not so diabolical anymore- for their take on the situation.

"We think it's great! What you did to the chupacabra and the Chimera was just incredible! As for Black, it should be helpful for you to work with him. As for the rest, we don't care," says Éloï, shoving a chocolate tart into her mouth.

"And you, Pyros? Do you agree with your sister?"

"What I think doesn't matter. Honestly, I follow my sister and I have no opinion about you or anybody,"

Well, I guess that’s the best I can hope for with him.

"Black has offered to be the patron for our missions."

I can't tell them what the mission is, but I do want to get their attention.

"Really? We already have a backer? What's in it for him?" asks Flicka.

"He says he has his own mission in mind and that he wants us to be an officially formed team before presenting it to us, so he'll probably tell on us Thursday."

I can see by the smiles on their faces that they’re pleased, even Pyros raises an eyebrow and stops fiddling with his knife, so I guess that's how he shows pleasure.

We spend the rest of the meal discussing and elaborating false theories about Black's possible mission. The fact that I know the answer and they don’t makes me want to smile. After spending the last hour with the four of them, I’m thankful to have chosen them, even Pyros. I’m sure I’ll get him on my side in the end. That's how we leave it, because now it's time to start the afternoon lessons. I find it strange not to have a schedule, but I’m very thankful not to have to go and join Bethany.

To avoid any more gossip, I wait until everyone has cleared out of the cafeteria and go meet Black at the neighboring cafe. As soon as I walk out the door I hear a voice coming from the hallway.

"Miss Mills, are you lost? Has Lord Black finally had enough of you?" Bethany of course, I couldn't come to the Academy without bumping into her.

"I came to have lunch in the cafeteria. As far as I know, I'm still a member of the Academy, am I not?"

She walks up to me with her usual elegance and self-control.

"Of course you are. I wanted to talk to you. I don't know what Black sees in you, he's never behaved like this with any other student, with any other person, for that matter. I waited for years to be invited to supper at the manor and when the night finally arrives, he sends me home so he can be alone with you. I don't know what you're up to, Lou, but I'm going to find out."

She grabs me by the arms with her gloved hands and squeezes lightly, a sign she's losing her precious control.

"I don't like when people hide things from me. All I have to do is take off these gloves to get the truth, don't make me do it."

"You don't have the right to use your gift, except under extraordinary circumstances, which I don't think is the case here. If you’re jealous of me, I can't do anything about that. Please ask Black any questions you have for him because I did absolutely nothing to deserve this treatment."

I guess I laid it on a bit thick. It's not my style, but I don't need a power-hungry woman taking her frustrations out on me.

"I’m not jealous, quite the opposite, I pity you. No matter the time and effort that you put into becoming a powerful enchanter, you'll remain a child raised by humans; you might as well have been raised by monkeys. You don't hold a candle to us. Black will soon tire of his little plaything, whatever he sees in you."