“Careful Pebble, your sexist pig is showing,” I say, and shove another spoonful of cereal in my mouth.
I don’t really care what any of them think, and I don’t have the energy to be offended or make more of this stupid bet than it is. The doorbell rings and my eyes narrow at Enoch as he moves from the table to answer it. I suspect that will be the elders, here to fuck with my life some more. I grumble internally and debate for half a second if I should get dressed. I look down at my sweat pants and tank top and decide I don’t give a shit. I finish up the last of my breakfast as a large group of casters shuffle in through the doorway.
The rest of the guys at the table all stand up and move over to the group of new arrivals. Boisterous greetings, involving back slapping and over-the-top-familiarity follow me to the sink where I wash and dry my breakfast dishes. A pang hits me; I miss the sisters. Not just their cooking, but their warmth and playfulness. I double down on my sister coaxing-slash-kidnapping plan.
I turn around to face the group responsible for my current cluster fuck of a situation.
“It’s a pleasure seeing you again, Vinna. How are you settling in?” Elder Cleary asks me, too chipper for my liking.
Just like yesterday, I stare at him but say nothing. He smiles at me and brushes off my hostility.
“I hope Enoch has filled you in on what the plan is for today. We’re here to observe and help in any way needed to get you brought up to speed as quickly as possible.”
Elder Cleary turns to the others in his group and starts introducing the mostly unfamiliar faces.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get to introductions yesterday, but this is Elder Kowka.”
The Polynesian elder I magicjacked yesterday gives me a nod that makes the salt and pepper curls of his medium length hair wobble and sway. He’s not incredibly tall but his thighs are the size of tree trunks, and his arms are only marginally smaller. Even though he’s not defined in a bodybuilder kind of way, he’s clearly solid muscle under his russet colored skin.
“And this is Elder Albrecht.”
Elder Cleary gestures to a man who is obviously related to Becket, the fourth member of Enoch’s coven. It’s like looking into the future and getting a glimpse of what middle-aged Becket will look like. Elder Albrecht has the same clean-cut ash brown hair and brown eyes. His face is more creased and decorated with time, but the same straight eyebrows and high cheekbones are prevalent. His arm is around Becket’s shoulders, and they seem to have an easier relationship that the other father-son duo of Enoch and Elder Cleary.
A well muscled and scarred man steps forward when Elder Cleary nods at him. His hair is thick and stylishly cut, but the white-as-snow color hints at his age. His skin is darkly tanned and leather-like, with pale scars that streak through his eyebrow, cheek, and lips on the left side of his face. It’s not just one solid scar but multiple fine lines that make up the appearance of one. I instantly want to sit and listen to his battle stories, knowing they’re probably epic.
“Hello, Vinna, I’m Gideon Ender. The leader of the Paladin.”
We shake hands, both of our grips firm, and I notice more small lines of scarring on both of his arms. He’s about four inches taller than my five-eight, and he’s fit and trim. Keeping with my temporary vow of silence, I say nothing to his greeting, and he gives me what looks like an approving nod before stepping back amongst the group.
The last man of the group to be introduced is a dead ringer for Marilyn Manson. White powdered face, black-lined hazel eyes, dark lips, and thin ebony hair stare back at me as if he’s ready to go on stage. I miss what his actual name is, I’m so caught up in the likeness, but he gives me a friendly nod in greeting, and it’s all I can do not to start whisperingthe beautiful people, the beautiful peopleto him.I do catch that he’s apparently a very well renowned teacher at the Academy, which is the local caster school, but this doesn’t surprise me, Marilyn Manson was always hella smart.
“Well it’s a lovely day out, so should we move this into the backyard and get started? The conscripts have a state of the art training facility out there,” Elder Cleary explains, already moving to the large sliding glass doors before anyone can answer.
Everyone files out and follows Elder Cleary past the deck, through the professionally cut grass and down into a small stone arena.
“What does it say about you and your coven that you have a gladiator pit in your backyard?” I ask Enoch, as we walk side by side behind the group of visitors.
“It says the guys in300have nothing on us,” he teases, and rubs his abs. “Gladiator pits are all the rage now, get with the times.”
I chuckle and give him a look that saysyeah okayand watch as everyone makes themselves comfortable on the stacked stone seating on one side of the arena. The enclosed ground is some kind of sand mixture. I trudge to the middle, figuring that’s where they’ll want me, being that I’m today’s entertainment. Marilyn Manson casually walks up next to me and faces the elders, dutifully awaiting their instructions. Standing here facing off against this powerful group of casters feels a bit like standing in front of a firing squad. I have no idea what’s about to go down and no clue if it will be one of those days where my magic wants to cooperate or be a pain in the ass.
“Alright Vinna, we’re going to go over what we know about your magic based on the report that Reader Tearson submitted. That will give us a starting point. Then Caster Sawyer will take you through several exercises to test your understanding and ability to use of your magic,” Elder Nypan tells me, his dark eyes and toothy smile friendly.
I nod my understanding, but instantly feel nervous about the report Reader Tearson submitted. Could he have lied to me about keeping the knowledge of my being a Sentinel secret? He seemed so trustworthy and earnest, but what the hell do I know anymore?
“It states here that you carry multiple branches of magic. More specifically that you rank very strong in Offensive, Defensive, and Elemental magic, and strong in Healing magic. It was also noted that you presented some Spell magic, but it was ranked as weak. Is that correct?”
I nod my head and open my mouth to voice my confirmation.
“I thought she was lying when she told us that,” Kallan mutters, before I can answer Elder Nypan.
The others all trade shocked looks and grumbles before quieting down and staring at me wide-eyed.
“No Conscript Fyfe, it is true.”
“How is that possible? No one has more than two branches of magic, and if they do, it’s incredibly rare to rank very strong in both,” Pebble throws out.
“Paladin Rock, watch yourself. You are here in a professional capacity, not a personal one,” Paladin Ender barks out.
