Kira's Story, Chapter 14

Delta Thread, Chapter 7

Seth stood up, rubbing his sore back. Despite all the cushioning in the room Raven had led him to for days now, he still hurt every time she threw him against the wall.
“Again!” Raven shouted, standing in a ready position.
“Why? What’s the point?” Seth asked, letting his frustration out with a sigh. “You keep saying that this will help me unlock my abilities, and then you pound me against the wall much easier than you should be able to.”
“I work out.” she replied, flicking her bangs out of her face. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and her green eyes shone with eagerness. “Now, again!”
“I think you’re the one with the ability, not me.” Seth said, leaning back against the wall. Raven stood up and crossed her arms.
“You’re quitting already? You lasted till noon yesterday.” she said, sounding disappointed.
“You didn’t beat me to a pulp so quickly yesterday.” he retorted, resting his head against the wall. Oddly, it felt much more comfortable when he was gently resting against it than flying through the air and crashing into it.
“You’re pathetic.” Raven said. “You’re letting a ten-year-old little girl get the better of you, and you’re an experienced fighter.”
“You’ve had more experience than me. Don’t try to convince me otherwise. I became such a good fighter because I learned to recognize when a better fighter was masking their abilities.”
“Oh, poo, like I’d try to hide something from you.” Raven said.
“I’m serious.” Seth said, pulling his head off the wall to look at her. She still stood with her arms crossed, and Seth considered that the effort to look at her might not have been worth it. “You can do things I’ve never seen before, and can fight better than anyone I’ve seen or fought. Don’t tell me you’re not hiding something.”
“Fine, you want to stall and take a break, go ahead.” she said, turning and waving a hand dismissingly. “Get better on your own.”
“Ugh.” Seth muttered, letting his head fall back against the wall. He was sore all over, and her incessant training, which amounted to little more than him trying to avoid being thrown, again, into the wall, wasn’t doing much to enlighten him on how to unlock this special ability she claimed he had as the Body Key. He closed his eyes, and in seconds felt small, powerful hands gripping his arms. He opened his eyes as he felt himself flying through the air, a sensation that was becoming far too common for his tastes, then the familiar thud and rush of pain as he collided with the wall. He landed hard on his head, and let his lower body be dragged to the floor by gravity before righting himself.
“There’s no way you’ll ever be a good fighter if you just lay down and quit.” Raven glared at him, her arms again crossed as she scolded him. Even angry she looked like a perfect little angel, completely innocent and incapable of inflicting the pain he was experiencing as he sat groggily on the floor. Her arms betrayed none of the strength he knew she possessed, and her skinny legs didn’t hint at the amazing speed she was capable of. She could outrun him easily and hold a conversation with him, speaking mainly to herself since he couldn’t get the air to speak and run simultaneously, and at the end of the run be as fresh as when they’d begun, and him leaning on his knees, gasping for breath. She was remarkable as both a fighter and a person, full of mysteries and deeply kept secrets. Seth thought briefly of Enna, who was sitting comfortably in the apartment’s living room, either playing with Aiden, or talking with Lori, Raven’s sister. She would be waiting to massage his bruises and tell him that he would live to be bruised another day, and smile lovingly as he moaned before she even touched him. The thoughts vanished as Raven slowly walked towards him, arms still crossed. She leaned over at the waist to put her eyes at his slumped over level, and simply stared into his eyes, drilling him silently with an angry scowl.
“You look cute doing that.” Seth said, knowing she hated being called that, and knowing he’d pay for the comment later. But this time she simply stood there, bent over, staring into his eyes.
“I am not cute, nor am I adorable.” she finally said, not breaking off her stare. “Do your bruises feel cute? Are they adorable? Or are they lonely?”
“They have plenty of company.” Seth said quickly, and Raven smiled.
“Good. I hope they’ll wake up your senses to realize that this isn’t a game we’re playing here.” she stated. “I’m trying to get you ready for your return to Eldia, and all you can do is lie on the tarp, bemoaning how I keep jostling you.”
“You’re doing more than that.” Seth protested.
Raven waived her hand dismissively. “It’s good for you.” She glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Good, you’re here.”
“Who?” Seth asked, turning his head to see. Standing in the doorway of the gym was Lori, two wooden staves fashioned into crude swords in her hands. Lori smiled at Seth, then walked over and gave her younger sister a hug.
“So why are you here?” Seth asked as they let go of each other. Raven smiled, a smile that Seth found both beautiful and innocent, yet alarming. He dreaded to hear what her explanation was.
“Weapons training.” Lori said, brushing back a strand of loose, white gold hair.
“But I’m already trained in weapons.” Seth protested weakly, and Raven laughed as she began walking out of the gym.
“He’s about as well trained as a newborn pup.” Raven called over her shoulder to her sister. She spun around in the doorway, hanging off the frame, as she said, “Go easy on him. He’s not used to being sent through real training.”
Lori smiled, and though she was as attractive as her younger sister, her sense of maturity seemed to cast a more menacing air to her smile. She looked at Seth and extended one of the practice sword’s hilts to him. He grabbed the handle as Raven shut the gym doors with a loud thud. The echo was muffled, and it seemed an ill omen to Seth of what lay ahead.
“Get up.” Lori said, her voice firm but not commanding. Seth stood up, then almost collapsed as his aching leg muscles screamed out in protest from being raised from their repast. Lori frowned, not unkindly, and said, “You’ll need to be in better shape than that for your return tomorrow.”
“I’m going back tomorrow?” Seth asked excitedly, then ducked as Lori sent a wide blow over his head with her sword. He recovered, and she leaned on her sword as if it were a walking stick.
“Yes, but only if you can best me in one of our sessions today.” Lori said, her bright blue eyes shining with laughter. Seth groaned loudly, and took a hesitant step away from the wall and his new trainer. “Cheer up. You only have to beat me once, and I’m willing to go as long as you can keep getting back up.”
“Just once.” Seth said, trying to force a grin past his tired expression. “You make it sound so easy.”
“It should be.” Lori said, bringing her sword up. “Now, at the ready. Oh, and I should mention,” she added, almost as an afterthought as Seth willed his weary arms to drag the stick in front of him above his waistline, “I’ve beaten several armies of thousands by myself. But then again, that was in my Taur form.”
“I don’t even want to know what you’re like in elven form.” Seth said.
Lori struck at him indignantly, charging him unexpectedly. She struck fiercely, and it was all Seth could do to hold onto his sword. She backed him against one of the wall and held their swords crossed in front of them as she leaned her face close to his.
“This isn’t my elven form.” she said, her face showing her annoyance. She shoved away from him and pushed back on of her two braids that held the bulk of her hair, revealing her rounded ears.
“Mortal?” Seth asked hesitantly. Lori smiled.
“So you have some brains after all.” she said. “Yes, I am in my Mortal form, otherwise known as a human.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” Seth asked, pulling himself off the wall. Lori attacked again, and Seth felt her sword spin him off his feet. He landed with a heavy thud and lay staring at the ceiling when Lori bent over him.
“Yes, since humans are supposed to be slower and weaker than elves.” she said, frowning. “Apparently we were incorrect in that assumption.”
“Making assumptions is bad.” Seth said, trying to catch his breath.
“Oh really? How?” Lori asked him. He simply replied by spinning his sword tip to tap her neck with enough force to overcome her last minute defense. He lay there smiling as she stood over him, fuming.
“You never tagged me out.” Seth said, grinning. “Therefore, I win that round. So when do I get to go home?”

“But, sir, how are the enemies going to come from the city?” one of the soldiers posted on the Outer Wall asked Wildfire when he had told them to prepare for the invasion. He still stood on the wall, in his bright orange war suit. His bronze colored visor shone in the afternoon sun as it began to slowly drift into the lower portion of the western sky. The great stone Outer Wall was guarded by several regiments of Palace Guard that had been shifted out to the defenses upon learning of the army in the desert, the same one that had vanished in an instant and could be anywhere now.
“They’ll come. Believe me, you’ll know what I mean when they get here.” Wildfire said, tightening the straps that held his heavy machine gun to the back of his neon orange suit. He warned the soldiers again to watch for the coming enemy, and to get reinforcements as soon as possible, then jumped into the Overlay Region to shorten the trip to the Palace.
When he arrived on the palace grounds Shadow stood waiting. “I’m to hold the defenses on the Outer Wall.” Shadow said in greeting as Sunburst appeared. “Caden thinks they’ll split up into several groups to try to distract us from their main goal, which he thinks is to capture or kill Kira. However, he doesn’t want us leaving the city completely defenseless against these creatures. The last thing we need is to sit securely in court and have them running everything else as they see fit.”
“So what do I do?” Wildfire asked as they both slid their weapons off their backs. Shadow spun his rifle’s barrels with his hand and flicked off his chrome colored visor. He looked at Wildfire knowingly.
“You get field duty.” he said, smiling.
“All right!” Sunburst exclaimed, revving his gun.
“Sonny, remember not to hit any of our troops.” Shadow said as Wildfire turned to go outside the city walls. His brother stopped and looked back, removing his visor so Shadow could see his face.
“Relax, Shadow. I’m just going to go hang some party streamers.” he said, smiling enthusiastically, then they both reactivated their visors and prepared for the coming flood of enemies.