Page 61 of Black Onyx
“I’ll get straight to the point. The realm has started the Warrior games. Every member here will be expected to compete, and classes will be geared towards the need to get you all prepared in time.”
The hall becomes a cacophony of noise, a mixture of excited chatter and outright terror.
Chapter Twenty
The Headmaster just stands there observing us all. I overhear a group of students next to me talking about leaving and being sent home. They all know the severity of the games and that not all of them will survive. I, however, am excited, probably inappropriately so.
“Quiet!” the Headmaster bellows, and everyone shuts up, looking far more nervous than they were when we first arrived. “I know that some of you have probably already had the idea to leave the academy to avoid taking part. Unfortunately, this will not be possible; even if you do go home, the realm will pull you into the games when it sees fit. You are better off training and preparing as much as possible before that happens.
“Some of you will have longer to prepare than others as in the past, the realm has called teams staggered, and we have no reason to think otherwise this time. You will all be going out on your missions still, as real-world experience will be essential in helping you in the games. We promise to prepare you as best as we can. Fortunately, you have a good foundation already. Those of you who don’t have a team will find your members when you get pulled in, you will be at a disadvantage since you have no knowledge of each other, but you must prevail. Despite the deceptive name, this is not a game. If you do not perform well enough, you will die. If you do not complete the task in time in a level, you will be taken to the temple where the gods will decide your fate. There is no point in running or trying to hide the realm will see that fate follows its course.”
“If the realm has decided to call the games again doesn’t that mean that something big is coming, like a war?” someone calls out, sending murmurs around the hall as the implications of that statement sink in.
The Headmaster spears the speaker with a look before answering, “That is how it’s happened in the past.”
He appears to be starting to feel flustered, so it’s no surprise when my professor, from the first day, the one who told us about the games, steps forward and whistles shrilly, quieting the panicking students.
“This is a serious situation, and if you do not treat it as such, you will die. All the money in the world will not get you out of this. From this point forward, those of you with teams will be in every class together, and you will be moving into the shared housing regardless of whether you are a full team or not. We need to promote camaraderie between you.” He pauses, “I will be going more in-depth in my classes. Your new schedules will be in your rooms when you get back. For the rest of the afternoon, you can do as you please. This will be your only break for the foreseeable future, so use it wisely. We will be doing full weeks of classes from now on, so you will have a class all eight days. For those of you who are interested, I will be in my classroom answering questions about the games only in an hour.”
“You are dismissed.” The Headteacher adds, and I swear my history teacher rolls his eyes.
The teachers all leave quickly, trying to avoid the students who understandably have questions they want answers to. The students that are not trying to get to the teachers, however, are rushing to get out of the doors. I do not doubt that those who can afford a communication stone are using them to contact their parents to see if they can get them out of it. I am pleasantly surprised to see a fair few students looking excitedly nervous.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Reaper says drily.
“I don’t feel like I’ve got nearly enough information about the Warrior games.” Loki frowns.
“Well, let's go and get showered and changed and then get to Professor Fitz's classroom. He’s probably the only teacher here who has enough information, and also, he’s the only teacher so far who has actually offered to help the students.” Killian suggests.
“You would’ve thought the combat professors would’ve offered the same thing.” Storm adds.
We all wait until the main push of the crowd has dispersed before we make our exit, only to run into the Headmaster waiting just outside the door, hidden in an alcove to avoid the notice of the other students who have rapidly disappeared.
“Glad to see you all back, okay,” he announces, stepping into our path and not looking happy to see us at all. His smile is sinister as he adds, “did you make it in time?”
Storm stares at him piercingly and surprises me when he doesn’t hold back on his words as much as I was expecting him to, “I get the feeling you already know that we didn’t, Sir,” he says sarcastically and before the bristling Headmaster can reply adds, “no we didn’t, everyone was dead.”
He then goes on to explain stiffly what we witnessed and what we saw, and now that I know he’s got a photographic memory, it makes a lot more sense how easily he can recall all of the details. It also makes me realise that he is going to remember in vivid detail everything that he saw today, and whereas I can say that it will stay with me for the rest of my life, eventually, the sharpness of the memory will start to fade, Storm doesn’t get that privilege.
It doesn’t take Storm long to finish, and as we all start to walk off, now pushed for time to get to Professor Fitz's classroom, the Headmaster calls out after us.
“No other issues?” he asks, hidden meaning in his tone, which is made evident when he sets his narrowed gaze on Reaper.
“No.” Storm replies bluntly.
“Fucking prick,” Loki mutters as soon as we’re out of his earshot and nearly back to the room.
“We’ll deal with him. For now, everyone needs to go and get showered so we can get to this class. I will not allow him to distract us enough to make us unprepared for the games. I will not lose one of you. We will survive this, and more than that, we will fucking come out on top.” Storm’s speech is surprisingly inspiring, and I’m starting to think that he’s carrying a hell of a lot of emotions under that stoic shield he always has up. I think it's not that he doesn’t feel them, just that he doesn’t show them.
Mayhem claps Storm on the shoulder as he walks past, and Killian stops in front of him.
“You won’t lose any of us, brother. We can handle whatever they throw at us.”
I leave them to it feeling like I’m intruding slightly on their moment. When I first brought Killian back here, there was more than just slight tension between them, but now, they seem to be getting back on the right track, and I’m so fucking glad.
My shower and change are quick, and we’re all on our way to Professor Fitz's classroom with ten minutes to spare.
“When we get back, I want everyone to pack a bag. With a medical kit, and non-perishable food, we should be able to hunt, but we may not be able to. Any spare spell bottles you’ve got lying around that you think might be useful, clothing, waterproof sheeting, and water. Anything else you guys think will be needed too? We have no idea if we’ll be able to grab things or not when we get called, so I want them with us at all times.” Storm orders.
