Chapter 18 - Part 1

A dark corridor extended beyond Haiden's reach. The more he walked the longer it got. It didn't matter how fast Haiden ran, he never seemed to get closer to it, and behind him, slithering creatures approached. He ran and ran, but it was all in vain.

"Tasgal! Where are you? Screech!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. No one answered. He was alone, in the empty corridor. He tried to conjure up a light, but his powers had left him long ago. He knew it was useless, but still, he tried. He cursed his inability to do anything regardless of how much he trained, how much he learned and studied. The more he tried to run away, the closer the door behind him appeared and the louder the slithering became.

Feeling powerless he stopped and cried once more for Tasgal. He knew no one would answer but still tried, hoping that the man he cared for so deeply would come and save him from what was to come.

In front of him, the darkness stretched to infinity, or so it seemed. He abandoned all hope of escaping and surrendered to the approaching door. It was now right behind him. Haiden took a deep breath, and pushed through the metal door. It opened with a heavy creek of rusty metal.

Piles of bodies laid mounds, some had its members removed, some were headless. All naked, and bruised. Deformed and strange. He didn't dare call them humans.

Haiden walked past the gore to a table where Mara laid naked. She whimpered in fear, her hand scaly and black.

"Mara?" He called out, scared to approach her.

"Help me!" her frail voice shattered his heart. "Haiden, please help me!" she begged.

He pushed through his fear and willed his feet to move. She was bigger than he remembered. Her amber eyes locked onto him immediately.

"Haiden!" she called again.

"I'm here, Mara. I'm here." Haiden tried the free her hands that were shackled with heavy chains. "What did he do to you?!"

"Please help me, Haiden. Please!" She cried.

"I'm trying!" Haiden tried to Wield the chains, but nothing came out. Nothing worked. In the back of the room a growl startled them both.

"He's here. Don't let him hurt me, Haiden. Don't let him hurt me." Tears clouded her eyes. They were just like his. Fiery amber gemstones that caught every twinkle of light.

"Who?" Haiden asked, fumbling with the chains. He was too weak to break them, too powerless to do anything.

"The monster, Haiden! He's coming closer." she began wailing as loud thumps began to run towards them. There was something familiar about those loud footsteps. He had heard them before. Long time ago, but not so long he had forgotten.

"No, it can't be." He whispered to himself. "Not here!" The thumbs hastened and with the sound of squelching mud the creature approached. Human like, with elongated members. It's vertical mouth, bloodied red, growled at them, the sides of his long torso covered in slits that seemed top open and contract as if it smelled them. It let out a piercing screech that made his ears bleed.

"Run, Haiden. Leave me." Mara gave up, only to whimper in defeat.

"No. I can't!" Haiden struggled with the chains. Nothing was budging. The creature rushed towards them, creased with blood lust and rose his a long arm that ended in sharp human like fingers. With unimaginable force it tore up through Haiden. His voice cracked, strained from screaming.

He now laid on the floor, among other bodies, looking at Mara as he bled from multiple gashes in his belly.

"Ake!" She screamed as she looked dead in Haiden's eyes while being mauled alive. "Wake up!" she repeated. Haiden closed his eyes and the moment he opened them Screech hovered above his face, screaming at him to wake up already.

Light pooled in the room with violent intensity. It was just a dream he told himself while dry heaving. Just a dream.

Finally. Screech tired of Haiden scream. The hovering glob of energy twisted his short, thin arms across where his chest would be, looking annoyed with Haiden.

Thank you Screech. This was the third time he had the same dream about Mara. Another instance where he felt utterly useless.

Not mention it. The creature said in his mind.

Haiden got up from his bed and opened the window to catch a breath of fresh air and inhaled deeply. Today was not a day he looked forward to. He slowly got dressed ignoring the creature that tried to talk to him, trying to stretch the time as much as possible before meeting with Camila and Maree to head towards the morning classes before lunch. Now, with Bras back from his leave of absence he did not dare roam the grounds without Camila during the day, and during the night, visiting Tasgal, he cloaked himself with a spell of his own making.

Ever since the night he broke into the Headmistress' office, Screech had insisted on Haiden practicing the spell he had used in the forest of Avlon to conceal himself. Screech had told him he had never seen such spell before. He would disappear even from Screech's senses. Within the week of practicing it daily, Haiden discovered that he was able to see, or rather sense his surroundings. He remembered back when Master Rwoy had told him he was an empath. When he had closed his eyes, Master Rwoy's spells became apparent in a shade of blue behind his lids. He knew their shape, intensity, and intention. Behind his cloaking spell Haiden extended his own senses and saw the world in a similar way. Vague shapes of soft blues,fogged in blackness, that became more clear as he neared the objects. It was an extremely taxing spell to use. It depleted Haiden's reserves of energy with increasing potency as he maintained it. It wasn't a spell meant to be used in combat, or else it would leave him exhausted, exposed, and vulnerable if his energy ran out. But it was a blessing in disguise. It allowed him to visit Tasgal at night and release his pent up feelings that head to suppress during the day. But even that, he had to keep to minimum. Some nights he had reserved to late night training or reading in his room, and some nights he reserved them for Tasgal. It was dangerous sneaking out during the night. Because of him, Master Ulighart was not alone in his patrol, and he couldn't afford getting caught.

Master Omnelia, as always, waited patiently for all students to join the class before beginning. The class went as usual Master Omnelia began with a lengthy lecture on safety and how important knowledge of the environment and the physical world is in Wielding. A deeper understanding of the world by just a fraction would help a Wielder become triumphant in battle. Then she started talking about the strength of atmospheric pressure and how they could apply a vacuum to counter powerful spells that their shield could not withstand. She emphasised on how prevention of being hit and countering a spell was the best defense a Wielder had. The vast majority of Wielders were not empaths, which in their turn come in numerous varieties, and they cannot gouge the intensity or power of a spell, except by visual cue, which wasn't always reliable. And so, interfering with the enemy's spell before being hit was the best strategy there is.

"For physical projectiles, like icicles," Master Omnelia demonstrated by instantly producing a dousin and firing them at the wall, which she stopped before impact. "or, let's say, rock blast." in the blink of an eye she formed small blades, from the dust in the classroom, sent them shattering the icicles she previously created. "A vacuum won't help you much, rather speed the projectiles as you remove the friction in the air. Although, when applied like this, you have to make sure the vacuum is big enough for your projectile to gather momentum before leaving the vacuum. If your vacuum is not big enough, the added momentum will quickly disperse from the friction beyond. Like so."

Haiden felt the static wash over him had Master Omnelia created a bubble of vacuum in front of her. She had kept a few stone blades for her demonstration and they fired at incredible speeds, and again the projectiles stopped just before hitting the wall.

"While energy blasts like force blasts or lightning bolts are mitigated." Haiden felt the bubble of vacuum move farther away from her and she sent a force blast towards the bubble. The kinetic energy stopped the moment it touched the vacuum and then sent a lightning blast that arched around the bubble. The classed "Ooo-ed" at her display of power. "At the same time, the utility of a vacuum does not end there. Everyone in front, please move away." she waited as Malticia and her cackle along with other fellow students backed away and the second she released her bubble of vacuum the desks the young wielders sat in just seconds ago were pulled at great speeds towards it as it collapsed. Master Omnelia put everything back where it was with a flourish of her hand and continued her lecture.

Haiden fought his fatigue to stay awake but he could not pay much attention. His mind drifted to something comforting and familiar. Tasgal. He relieved their moments together, touching his chiseled body with his lips. The warm touch of his rough hands on his hips. Without even realising the class was over and Maree and Camila pulled him back to reality.

Lunch came and went as fast as he could blink. Tasgal joined them, of course, although not as regularly as he once used to. The added hours from Istrek took away little joy Haiden had during the day.

"I can't wait!" Camila almost squealed her enthusiasm. Haiden forced himself not to roll his eyes and stayed quiet.

"I don't see your obsession with the old guy, Cams." Maree added. The three of them headed towards the building next to the infirmary as soon as they said their goodbyes to Tasgal.

"Me neither." Added Haiden.

"Both of you just lack taste." She said smiling while clenching one of her unsavory books. From what Haiden heard, it seemed that Master Coner bore a striking resemblance with the male character in her new favorite book.

The three young Wielders settled next to their classmates and awaited their teacher which was more than a half hour late before barging into the room.

The man stood with his head tall in front of the class. His smile sickened Haiden and made his blood boil. He could not help but think that this was the man that murdered Mara.

"Welcome, welcome." He began. "Now, I do not know what little understanding you all have of healing, and let me tell you now, in no way shape or form this will be an easy experience for most of you. It takes great finesse and care to heal properly and we'll start today with the very basics, which most of you, will not be able to master at all. Not everyone is destined to be a healer, after all.

The greatest form of Wielding, is Wielding the human body. Understanding the mechanics of the body and how it works will be your primary objective during our lessons. No one in this room will proceed using the knowledge you learn from today onwards until I deem you properly knowledgeable to do so. And even then rest assured that you will fail multiple times until you manage to succeed. After all, the resources reserved for practical training are scarce and expensive." Everyone aside from Haiden voiced their disappointment. Even Camila and Maree were visibly let down. This made Haiden sick to his stomach, but tried not to think too much of it. "I know, I know, boring. But, in due time, young wielders. In due time, you will be able to achieve great feats like this. Miss Trina, please bring in the patient. "A woman wearing the white clothes of an assistant at the infirmary rolled in a man in simple garb. The man had his foot bent backwards and the flesh had severely split open. "Mister Garf here is a servant that works on maintenance." Haiden had never seen the man in his life, just like other servants he probably did his best to stay away from view in an Academy that's filled with monsters that would kill anyone below them without even a thought. "Good labor is hard to find these days. Right Garf?" Master Coner smiled but the man could only let out a single groan, his head slumping every which uselessly trying to keep it leveled. "Now, pay close attention." Master Coner rose his hand above Garf and a beam of warm golden light trickled down to the man's leg.

Haiden could feel the intense static coming of the spell. It felt like tiny bolts of lightning dancing on his skin. Right in front of their eyes, the wound sewed itself shut and the leg strengthened with a sickening crunch. The man did not say a word.The bruising around the wound disappeared and in a few seconds he was completely healed.

"Amazing!" Malticia said and clapped. The rest of the young wielders followed suit aside from Haiden.

"Thank you, thank you." Master Conner bowed his head. "Complete understanding of the human body allows us to achieve incredible feats." Garf got up from the wheelchair and tested his foot by stamping on the ground. He whispered a trembled 'thank you' and took his leave at once, not staying for a second longer. Fear was apparent in his behaviour, but no one except for Haiden noticed. "Now, the first lesson would be anatomy." He began, and with a flourish of his hand sent books flying over landing in each young Wielder's hand. "Today's lesson will cover pages 6 through 25..."

Haiden tuned out Master Coner as he turned to page 6, the form of a naked body flayed open in a detailed drawing, pointed arrows naming each part. It reminded him of Mara. It was as almost the drawing came alive and his vision blurred. Vertigo overtook him and suddenly found himself on the wooden floor, inhaling a heavy layer of dust.

".... squeamish, my, my...." Haiden heard Master Conner through a room full of gasps then everything went black as exhaustion had caught up with him.