Rekindle

Chapter 5 (Ridley)

The next morning, I'm dressed and waiting at the pool for Barrick to arrive with the Bane.

The sun is starting to rise over the glass canopy that serves as a ceiling. Birds fly overhead and land on top of it, fluffing their feathers and settling against it for warmth.

I tear apart a soft pretzel that I ordered on my way here. It's cold and unappetizing now. I look at the clock on the wall. It's 5:45, fifteen minutes until Barrick is late.

While waiting, others stop by to wish me luck and congratulate me. As time passes, I grow more and more excited yet aggravated. I want to experience training an almighty being, but I also feel like I'm not the right person to complete this task. I get impatient easily and tend to be too rough on my trainees.

At 5:56, Barrick walks in alone. He smiles at me and waves. "Mornin'."

"Why are you alone?" I ask.

He lowers his hand. "You could at least greet me back. Gosh, everyone's pissed off this morning."

"Everyone gets pissed when they see you," I reply.

"Last time I checked, you're not everyone, and Alister will be here any second."

"Why isn't he with you? Crow assigned you to accompany him."

Barrick sighs. "You need to stop asking so many questions. It's gonna get you killed one of these days."

As usual, he evades my question. Before I can point it out, someone walks into the room. I'm instantly struck by his beauty. Husky blue eyes. Thin, gentle lips. Ruffled, layered black hair. He walks gracefully and elegantly, but I can see that he does not take pride in himself. His head is slightly tilted down, as if to avoid seeing whatever is ahead of him.

I look at Barrick, who stares sympathetically at him. I can assume this is Alister, the Bane that is said to save our kind. The Pyres, who shouldn't even exist. We are abominations of mankind, but it's clear that Alister is something different.

When Alister reaches us, Barrick ruffles his hair. "How are you this morning, Al?"

He stares at me for a second, then looks at Barrick. "Let's just get this over with."

His voice. My heart tightens when I hear it. It sounds so melancholy and broken.

Barrick notices, too. "We don't have much to do today. You can go back to sulking soon."

Alister crosses his arms over his chest. "I wasn't sulking. Anyway, you control everything I do right now, so it's not like I have a choice whether I'm in my room or not."

Barrick gives him a half smile. "There's not much you're allowed to do, being so important and all. You're supposed to be training and resting and nothing else. Be glad I let you converse with other people."

I interrupt by clearing my throat. "You two will have time to talk later. Right now, we need to get started with your training." It feels weird talking directly to him, but I can't figure out why.

"Right. Alister, get in the pool. We're going to work on your agility," Barrick commands.

Alister looks confused. "Don't you need obstacles to practice agility?"

"Not when it's fire agility."

"Uh huh." Alister grabs the hem of his shirt and pulls it over his head. I'm taken aback by the thick, dark scars that crisscross his chest. Smaller, more subtle scars travel down his torso and across his ribs. I assume those are from the examinations I read about, but the cause of the larger ones is unknown to me. He notices me staring.