Page 44 of In Between Darkness
“Come on, just a little higher,” Nala whispers to herself. The jug floats a little higher. She tilts her hand over to the left, and the jug tilts on its axis, pouring its contents into her glass. Nalais ecstatic and raises her hand in triumph, her smile reaches her ears, but it is quickly interrupted by the crash of the jug and her glass onto the table. Looks like she broke her concentration for a moment too long.
“For fuck’s sake,” Nala whines, bowing her head in disappointment.
“You almost had it, Nala. A bit more practice and you’ll be able to pour ten of those without breaking a sweat,” I encourage, dabbing at the spillage with a napkin.
“You really think so?” she hangs on my reply.
“I know so.” I grab her hand and give it a consoling squeeze; she rests her head on my shoulder and sighs.
“Thanks, Asha.”
We sit like this for a moment until the bell chimes. Nala perks up instantly.
“Time for taming!” There is joy in her voice as her frown is replaced by a huge smile.
Yep. Definitely crazy.
Chapter Sixteen
Nala, Charlie and I are crammed into a cable cart with the rest of the students in our taming class. There aren’t many of us. I mentally count all the people in the cart and land on eleven, including myself. Trina and Elijah from combat are here, and the rest are students I have seen around but don’t know personally. Trina gives me a nod as I make eye contact. I shoot her a quick smile and then look back at Nala and Charlie, who are looking out of the window and giggling at something. My stomach turns as the cable cart gains on the taming quadrant. I feel a warm hand grip mine, distracting me from my thoughts. My eyes focus on Nala, who tightens her grip and gives it a squeeze. She must know I am nervous.
“It’ll be okay,” she reassures. I give her a smile to ease her worries. It’s now or never. The cable cart steadies, and the class hurries off. Our teacher is standing by the first set of doors, welcoming us in. He has short brown hair and tanned skin. He looks young for a teacher. He is wearing a black tank top and black cargo trousers. His arms are folded as he stands guard before the door to the taming quadrant. He is covered from head to toe in tattoos. Nala looks over at me.
“Wow, is that our teacher?”
I give her a nudge. “Your boyfriend is over there,” I say, gesturing to Charlie.
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a handsome man when I see one.” She laughs, making me giggle as well. He is rather gorgeous.
“Hello everyone, my name is Mr Knight. Congratulations, you are all the bravest in your year!” He unfolds his arms. “Here you will learn how to be the best of the best… but it won’t come without its challenges. Look around at your classmates.”
I turn to look at Nala and Elijah on either side of me.
“They may mean something to you out there,” he gestures to Sun Sovereign in the distance, “but up here, they are nothing but your competition. The end-of-year assault course will test you all.” He looks at us all, one by one. “Providing you make it that far.”
The class falls silent. Wow. He’s brutal.
He Influences the doors to open and marches into the written room expecting us to follow. We each take a seat on the crescent-shaped benches and align our views towards Mr Knight. He is not overly muscular, but his presence is strong, like he could lead an army just with his voice. In the corner of the room, Veronica is staring intensely at me. I break eye contact. I feel her eyes burning holes through me. I remember her talking to Miss Worthington about me, which makes me shuffle in my seat.
“What is the first rule of taming?” Mr Knight bellows as he glances around the room, his arms folded again. “Anyone?”
Nala’s hand shoots up beside me. She is definitely going to be the star pupil here. He gives her a nod, and she stands up, holding her books to her chest with one arm.
“Masking, Sir,” she states and then sits back down.
“Very good. Does anyone know how it’s done?” he questions.
No one raises their hands this time. Nala knows, but maybe she wants to give someone else a chance.
“That’s okay; that’s why you are here… To learn.” He lifts an eyebrow and raises the corners of his mouth in a smirk.“Masking is the ability to block one’s emotions. In this case, blocking out fear. An Elion associates fear with danger, so we must be fearless. The incident that occurred last week, Tobias… Gods rest his soul, occurred because he lost control of his mask.”
He pauses for a moment as if to let that sink in. “Some of you may think that masking is easy, but it is the maintaining that is most difficult. Remaining neutral even in the most terrifying situations. This could be the difference between life and death.”
He paces at the front of the class. “The truth is, there is no correct way to mask, it is, in fact, unique to each individual.” His hand strokes his chin in a downward motion. “You just have to find what works for you.”
His head pivots around the room, pausing on each of us briefly. His pearly white teeth show as he smiles.
“Right.” Conviction carries his voice, making us all jump a little. “Everybody, stand up.”
