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Go just a little farther. Just a tiny bit. The increased power you’ll get is worth the risk. You want to pass the destiny test, don’t you? The voice reverberates through me, but I do my best to ignore it. I can’t listen to it! I close myself off to it and try to shut it out of my mind. And sure enough, it grows quieter – the temptation fades to a soft murmur.
And there’s no weakness in me anymore, no doubt. Am I on the way to turning into one of those supernatural beings? I’m standing in the center of the training hall, and I’m aware that the teachers are watching me and won’t permit me to transform.
Or at least I was aware of that a moment ago. Now the thought fades into the background and loses its significance. It grows quieter until it vanishes altogether. And at that moment, I reach a decision. I’m going to do it. No sooner have I finished having that thought than my fingers begin to burn. A small fireball forms in my palm, and Yoru changes too. He gets bigger, and so do the flames around him. They radiate intense heat, ready to engulf anything in their path. He’s huge, impressive, and intimidating.
But my joy at this budding transformation doesn’t last long. I look at my hands and watch as the fire spreads out more and more, and then I hear the shouts. They’re not loud – they sound muffled when they actually get through to me. But I hear them.
“Miss Franklin! Stop that at once! Don’t you dare go any farther. I’m warning you!”
It’s Mr. Laydon. I turn and see the furious expression on his face. He’s more outraged than I’ve ever seen him before. His lips are drawn into a thin line, and his eyes are smoldering with anger. Ms. Rupert, our other teacher, is looking at me in dismay. She looks paralyzed with shock.
Mr. Laydon strides toward me without a moment’s hesitation. He grabs me roughly by the arm, making me gasp and lose concentration. I immediately lose my connection to Yoru. He returns to his ordinary form and the flames around my hands vanish.
Stunned, I stare at my teacher, who hisses at me so furiously that little flecks of spit fly through the air. “Never do that again! Do you understand me? It’s far too dangerous. That fighting technique is reserved for hunters. It takes years of training to maintain the concentration of odeon so that neither you nor your spirit are harmed. Without guidance, it’s too easy to lose yourself and cross the line. Are you determined to become one of the fallen?”
I stare at him. He’s still grasping my arm and looking at me with a furious expression.
“Why can’t you just follow our rules? They apply to you too. They clearly stipulate that students are not allowed to learn this style of combat. And believe me, there’s a good reason for that.”
“I’m sorry,” I mutter. I can’t disguise my dismay at Mr. Laydon’s outburst. I’ve never seen him like this. Obviously, I’ve heard the occasional harsh word from him, but he’s never put his hands on me before.
He glares at me, and his eyes wander up and down my face. “I wish could believe you. But I know you better than that. Always doing whatever you want and ignoring instructions.”
This cuts me to the quick more than anything else he could say. It feels like a slap in the face. I tear my arm free and hiss at him, “Oh, yeah?! Then maybe the Council should think about how it treats me and what it’s demanding of me. How am I supposed to past the test if I’m not allowed to use the full extent of my powers?!”
“I heard about your upcoming test. But instead of focusing on the actual purpose of it, here you are again making up excuses to hide where you actually stand with your gift.”
My eyebrows shoot up, and I stare at him in disbelief. I never figured Mr. Laydon saw me that way. Does he really believe I don’t want to use my gift because I know I can’t control it? That I’m trying to hide it? All I’m trying to do is not fail. I don’t want to flunk this, and I’m trying to prepare myself in every way that I can. Surely he can’t hold that against me?
He looks at me again with a sour expression and says, “Don’t ever do that again!” Then he turns, and devotes his attention to another student, leaving me standing here.
Obviously, the whole class heard our altercation. I doubt they understood all of it, but the teacher’s anger was unmistakable. I try to appear nonchalant, avoid their glances, and continue with my training. But my heart is still pounding, and Mr. Laydon’s words echo in my head.
Kate comes to me and studies the side of my face. “You okay?”
I nod slowly. “Yeah, let’s just keep training.” I turn to Yoru, ruffle his fur, and I’m about to launch another attack.
“You know it’s not true what he said,” Kate whispers to me. “You have every right to grasp at every last straw that might help you improve your skills.”
“Yeah, but unfortunately, that technique is off-limits for students.”
“Pretty stupid if you ask me,” she says with a little smirk. “You of all people should be allowed to learn it. I don’t get why they won’t provide you with a teacher or a hunter so you can practice it.”
“The Tempes have their rules and their secrets. And they’re not going to break them or expose them just because of me.”
“And then you get accused of getting mixed up in things that don’t concern you. With so many secrets and lies – it’s inevitable that someone will eventually show up who asks the right questions and brings down their house of cards.”
I shake my head in amusement and look at Kate. “I don’t want to bring anything down. I just want to be given a fair chance.”
I look around at the teachers, who are standing together talking. I wonder if it’s about me, but I don’t really care. I won’t let anyone hold me back. Not even those two.
So I stay back after class. I’m drenched in sweat and shaking. The two teachers shot me suspicious warning glances as they finally left the gym. They can’t stop me staying here alone, but it was pretty clear that they didn’t like it. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they come back randomly to check up on me. But that’s no reason to cut short my training.
At first, I command Yoru to launch a few small attacks, focusing precisely on the flow of odeon between us and trying to maintain it evenly for as long as possible. As I do this, I imagine that I’m in the destiny test. I think about the hunters who will test me. What if they transform? How can I counter their attacks?
I send Yoru more odeon, knowing I have to try it again. I slowly increase the flow between us. I feel part of me flow into Yoru, and he’s probably feeling the same thing. Suddenly, I feel that warmth, that sense of safety and confidence. Together we can do anything. Again, I feel my strength gradually increasing. I feel it as a tingling in my fingertips.
There’s a change in Yoru too, which I doubt anyone else would notice. His attacks are a little faster, more powerful, but above all there’s this enormous will power, this absolutely certainty that we’re unstoppable. We’re a team, a unit that nothing can separate. My heart flutters in my chest, and my skin glows in anticipation of what’s to come. I feel a burning sensation in my fingers, an excited tingle. Sure enough, little flames shoot out of my fingertips, spreading across my palms and then up my arms.
