I met Jewel back in our room and we headed to the Silent Heroes meeting together. I was nervous, curious and excited all at once. Excited to be a part of something bigger than myself. Curious about what we'd be doing and nervous that I would lose control and do something stupid (again).
On the other hand, only half of my brain was actually focused on the meeting. The other half was torn between ruminating on Lucas's sudden change in behavior, and the tense atmosphere that lingered throughout the school.
My life here was rapidly becoming much more complicated than it had ever been back home. It was hard to believe sometimes that I had only been in the village a few days.
"Did you notice all the people down in the lobby, Eve?" Jewel asked as we walked, crossing the threshold from the third floor to the second.
"Yeah," I said. "Do you know what they're doing here? No one would tell me."
"Checking in with Kerry, I expect. They're all members of the legal committee, and she's the one that called for a trial."
"About what?" I asked, although I was pretty sure of the answer already.
"The incident with Deanna," Jewel said grimly. "The media's really milking this one. At least a dozen more articles came out after the one you showed us. It was mentioned on a few news stations last night. They've been trying to keep it under wraps around here, but it must have leaked out somehow because everyone seems to know what's going on."
"Is Deanna in trouble?"
"That's what the committee's here to decide. But, this media circus isn't gonna help matters, that's for sure. And, if I know Kerry, she'll push for the harshest punishment she can get."
"I'm starting to seriously dislike that woman," I said, an animalistic growl coming through in my voice.
"Join the club," Jewel said, as we arrived at a fairly standard-looking classroom. It was incredibly spacious, almost big enough to fit a soccer field. The ceiling had been equipped with a forest of hanging ropes. Wooden boards, slabs of concrete and circular disks were piled up along the back wall.
I was surprised by the sheer number of people who had gathered inside. At least a hundred, and they were still coming. I was even more surprised to see all the different types of shifters all mingling together. Birds and wolves and wildcats clustered in groups of three, four and five, talking and laughing as if the boundaries between species was no more significant than a difference in hair colour.
"Deanna insisted we all get to know each other," Jewel said. "Wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Hey Lance! Melody!"
"Jewel!" a pair of wolf-shifters came bounding over, their handsome faces split into huge grins. The girl had long black hair peppered with silver. The boy's hair was striped with grey, black and russet red.
As soon as they reached us, the wolves began springing in circles around Jewel like a couple of excited kids.
"How's is goin, Jewel?" the girl said.
"Wazzap?" said the boy.
"Where ya been?"
"Whatcha been doin?"
"I haven't seen you in ages!"
Jewel laughed. "What are you talking about, Mel? I just saw you guys yesterday."
"Too long!" the girl said.
"Too long!" the boy agreed, as they continued to jump in circles around her.
I was unable to contain the giggle that bubbled up in my chest. But, as soon as the first hint of sound escaped my throat, the wolves both turned abruptly to face me. Their expressions changed quickly from happy grins to threatening glares. Their bodies went stiff. The girl actually peeled her lips back and bared her teeth.
"Who are you?" she asked me aggressively.
"Err..."
"Hey, ease up, you guys," Jewel said. "She's a friend."
"A friend, huh? I've never seen her around here before."
"That's because she's new, Mel."
The girl named melody looked me up and down, her eyes sharp, assessing every inch of me. I stood very still. I felt like it would be unwise to make any sudden moves.
Finally, the girl offered me her hand. "I'm Melody," she nodded at the boy, "this is Lance."
"Eve," I reached out to accept her hand. I half expected her to bring it up to her nose and sniff, but she just gripped it very quickly and let go.
"Well, that's more like it." Jewel looked pointedly at me. "Don't take it personally, they're always like this with new people. In a few days, you won't be able to get rid of them." She put one are around me and another around Lance. "Let's find a good spot, Deanna should be here any minuet."
"Hey, where's Reza?" I said as we walked. "Isn't he coming?"
"Oh, he's over there with Selene." Jewel gave her head a little jerk.
"Who?"
"His girlfriend."
My insides twisted into a knot. Oh yeah, Reza's girlfriend situation. It had nearly slipped my mind. He never talked about her, and I hadn't seen the fabled girlfriend even once.
Curious, I scanned the crowds and found him almost right away. He was holding hands with a younger-looking girl. She was very pretty. Her face was pale, smooth and unblemished. She had full, red lips, a small nose and big brown eyes. I thought her eyebrows looked a bit silly—they were plucked almost into non-existence—but that was probably just this strange, unexpected feeling of jealousy talking.
Also, she had the type of hair I had always wanted. Pitch black with hints of reddish highlights. Dead straight and beautifully sleek and shiny. So, I sort of had to dislike her on principle.
When he saw me looking over, Reza gave me one of his big, friendly smiles and a wave. His girlfriend pouted and yanked on his arm, drawing his attention back towards her. Then she made eye contact with me over his shoulder. It could have been a trick of the light, but her expression suddenly looked extraordinarily cold.
Weird.
The main door flew open, leaving me almost no more time to think about it. I turned, expecting to find Deanna walking confidently into the room. I almost gasped out loud when, instead of Deanna, I saw the blue-haired, silver-eyed young man I passed by earlier.
A hush fell over the crowd. Every bit of noise and movement stopped as abruptly and completely as if someone had flipped a switch.
Completely unfazed by this, the young man walked gracefully to the front of the room. Even surrounded by total silence, his footsteps did not create so much as a whisper of sound. He might as well have been walking on air.
He turned to face the crowd, his slanted eyes bright and alert. "Good evening, everyone."
His voice was much softer than I had imagined, yet there was something strong and compelling about it all the same. I shivered as a strange chill ran down my spine. I had suddenly forgotten all about Reza and his girlfriend.
Not a single person responded to his greeting. They were apparently too entranced to speak.
"I know you were expecting Deanna to be here tonight," the young man was either oblivious to the effects of his presence, or indifferent to them. "But, considering the accusations against her, the committee has decided that it would be... unwise for her to continue running these lessons. I have agreed to take her place until the trial is finished, at which point the matter will be re-examined."
The noise level was picking up now. A few girls sighed, and I distinctly heard one say: "that's totally fine with me."
Then Jewel spoke up, her tone considerably more confrontational. "Wait, aren't you on the committee?"
"I am," the man said calmly.
"Then why did you agree to help? It's your fault she can't teach us in the first place."
A few indignant gasps circulated the room and someone snapped. "shut it!" But, the man simply blinked at her. "The decision was put to a vote, young lady. It was not mine alone."
"Did you vote in favour of it?"
"I did not." The young man did not raise his voice, but his tone left no questions that he considered the matter closed.
"As I was saying, I will be standing in for Deanna until further notice. Does anyone else have a questions regarding these arrangements?"
No one said a word. I doubted any of them would have spoken even if they wanted to.
"Good. Now, for those of you who are new, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. The Silent Heroes Movement, above all, is about helping people, regardless of the consequences. But, considering the laws that are currently in place, it's important that we learn to keep a low profile. That means we do not randomly expose ourselves to every petty criminal that crosses our path. That means we do not show off or flaunt our abilities just for the fun of it. That means we avoid shifting form unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Fortunately for us, it rarely is necessary to shift form. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, our skills in human form are more than enough to deal with any situation. We only need to work hard to develop our natural strengths." He trotted gracefully over to the back wall and picked up a stack of the rounded disks piled between the slabs of concrete and the wooden boards. "Your human forms are capable of more than you might think."
He came back towards us with the disks balance in one hand. His silver eyes scanned the crowd for a moment and came to rest squarely on me.
"Young lady, will you come up here for a moment, please?"
I glanced left and right, checking to see if he might be talking to someone else.
"Yes, you. Up here, please."
I swallowed hard and moved forward slowly, weaving around the other students. I felt extremely self-conscious as I approached. Not only because everyone was watching me. The man's intimidating presence increased about ten-fold at close range.
"What's your name, young lady?"
"Eve," I said quietly. Then I felt compelled, for some reason, to answer more formally. "I mean, Evelyn. My name is Evelyn, sir."
"Pleasure to meet you, Evelyn. But, you may call me Isaac."
"O-okay then," I stammered.
"Would you take these for me, Evelyn?" he asked, holding out the stack of disks.
I nodded, too nervous to speak. I felt like my tongue had been glued to the roof of my mouth.
"Thank you." He placed the disks carefully in my hands. They were heavier that I had expected. I had thought they were made of clay, but they felt more like brick or concrete. "Now, just stand right there for a moment."
He took a few steps backwards, those unsettling eyes still fixed on mine. He stopped about a dozen paces away from me.
"Now, I want you to try and hit me."
My mouth gaped open like a fish. "What?"
Did he just say what I think he said?
"That's right, you heard me," Isaac said. "Throw one of those disks right at my face, as hard as you can."
I looked down at the huge stack in my hands, then back up at him.
"Go on, Evelyn. It's okay."
Reluctantly, I set the disks on the floor next to me and lifted the first one off the top of the pile. Even on it's own, the weight was pretty hefty. With enough force behind it, I could easily crack a person's skull open.
I looked once again at Isaac. He stood with his arms as his sides, feet wide apart, waiting for my assault.
"Remember, as hard as you can."
Well, at least I had witnesses who could attest to the fact that this was all his idea.
With this mildly comforting thought, I swung my arm backwards, clenched the muscles in my shoulders and hurled the disk straight at his head.
Isaac stood quite calmly in place for a moment or two, watching as the disk came hurtling towards him. Then, at the very last second, his arm snapped out like a cobra. A sound like a gunshot crackled through the air. The disk shattered into a thousand tiny pieces that scattered at his feet like pellets of rain.
"Whoa," someone said.
Isaac's lips quirked just the tiniest bit at the corners. He was still looking right at me.
"Well, you're not about to give up after just one try are you?"
I was beginning to suspect this guy might be a little crazy. Either that or he was so powerful it had made him dangerously over-confident.
I picked up another disk and threw, aiming once again for his head. He quickly rotated his body around and stuck out with the opposite hand. More tiny bits of concrete rained down on the polished bamboo floor.
I threw another one at his midsection. He took it out with a round house kick, moving so fast that my eyes could barely keep track. I aimed one a his legs. He leapt overtop, then spun around and slammed it to the ground with a single punch. I hurled one at his chest. He whirled back towards me. His elbow made contact and shattered the thing into rubble.
I was mesmerized. It didn't matter where I aimed, how fast I threw them, he destroyed every single one. He performed spins and punches and kicks until I felt nauseous just watching him. His arms and legs were a senseless blur of movement. He was so fast that I sometimes didn't even see him making contact with each disk. It was more like they simply exploded in mid-air.
By the time I had run out of disks, Isaac stood in a cloud of grey dust, bits of concrete spread out in a semi-circle around him.
A ringing silence filled the room. The whole class stared at Isaac with expressions that ranged from amazement to fear. Jewel had that crazy, eager look in her eyes again.
Isaac spoke quite calmly into the void of sound. "As I said, the human form is more capable than you might think. Provided you learn how to train it."
He waded through the pile of rubble and picked up another stack of disks. They looked different than the ones currently lying in ruins on the floor. They appeared smaller and lighter.
Carrying them in one large hand, Isaac went back to his position directly across from me.
Oh crap.
"Don't worry, Evelyn. These ones are clay. If one hits you, you'll feel it, but won't do any serious damage."
Great, that's reassuring.
"Now, this exercise is meant to test your agility and your speed. So, let's see what you can do."
He wasn't serious, was he? I had barely been in this meeting for twenty minutes. Shouldn't we be starting off with something a little easier like basic punches and kicks and... meditation or something?
"Wait, but-"
I never got the chance to finish my sentence. The first disk was already hurtling toward my face at warp speed. I released an involuntary shriek and jumped backward, my arms flailing senselessly all over the place. By a pure stroke of luck, the disk bounced off the palm of my left hand and shattered on the ground.
The next one came at me so fast I had no time to do anything except dodge out of the way. It shot right past me and hit the back wall. A third disk came spinning toward my knees. I jumped clear over-top of it.
"Excellent evasive maneuvers, Evelyn." Isaac's face was still perfectly calm, but I could not shake the feeling that he was laughing inside. "You have good reflexes. But, let's see if you can hit one of these things."
I saw another disk coming at me and tried to focus my energy. The wildcat was slowly coming to life, bringing a heightened sense of alertness along with it.
As the disk came closer, I jumped aside and slapped it out of the air with one hand.
"Good!" Isaac said. "Good, Evelyn." (Did he have to call me that?) "Here comes another one. You ready?"
"No."
But the next disk was already whistling through the air towards me. I leapt to the other side and whacked it gracelessly with my arm. Isaac was already preparing the throw one more.
My human brain was running off in about a hundred different directions. But, the mind of the wildcat was calm and clear. The animal did not over-think things. It did not question things or worry about the possibility of getting hurt. It could only react to the situation at hand.
I found myself channeling that energy. I turned my thoughts onto what was happening in the present moment. Nothing else mattered or even existed.
The disks were still coming at me, one after the other. But now I was no longer cringing and slapping aimlessly at them. I struck out with deliberate force, turning them into dust before they hit the ground. My body twisted and turned, meeting every projectile head-on. My vision was sharp. My muscles responded to my commands almost before I had given them.
For the first time, I felt like my own mind had somehow merged together with the mind of the wild-cat, turning us both into an unstoppable machine. It felt incredible. Like I could do no wrong. An immense surge of gratification shot through me every time my hand or my foot shattered one of the disks.
Finally, something I was good at!
When the barrage of flying objects eventually stopped, I was almost disappointed. I stood there panting, surrounded by my own half-circle of rubble, feeling more alive than I had ever felt in my life.
When I looked at Isaac, I realized there were still a few disks left for him to throw. But he seemed quite unaware of their existence. One of them was even hanging limply from his right hand. His blue eye-brows were drawn together in a frown.
"Umm..." I glanced at the other students, all of them staring mutely at me. "Did I do something wrong?"
"This is your first lesson, correct?" Isaac said.
"Uh... yeah," I replied slowly.
"You've never had any training? Never taken martial arts? Self defense? Nothing like that?"
"No," I said. "Why do you-"
He let the remaining disks fall to the ground and approached me, silver eyes intent. He walked around me a few times, examined my arms and my hands (which I only now noticed were scraped raw and bleeding). Then he looked hard into my face.
"You're a late shifter, aren't you?"
"Err... I don't know? Is sixteen late?"
"Fairly. Are you having trouble controlling yourself in animal form?"
"Yes."
"Hmm," he circled around me one more time. I felt a bit like livestock.
"Sorry, but could you just tell me what..."
"You seem unusually powerful, that's all," Isaac answered, almost to himself. "Your strength, your speed, you reflexes, everything."
"Oh," I wasn't sure what else to say. "Really?"
"Yes, really," he smiled faintly at me, then turned to address the rest of the group. "All right, everyone spread out and practice that just how I showed you. Be careful and keep you distance from each other. Let's try and avoid any unnecessary injuries, shall we? Evelyn," he added, once the other students were distracted.
"Yes sir?" I asked nervously
"I'd like you to see me afterwards."