The Seven (Fist of Light Series) (20 page)

“If that was an old man, then I’m a talking Chihuahua. Maybe I’m just a likeable person. I can’t help it if people just love to open up to me,” I dusted my knuckles on my shirt, thoroughly impressed, developing some of my own Smug.

“
Now that you’ve finished your preening, I believe it is time to tackle our most immediate concern
.” Jeeves flashed into sight ambling along next to us, casual as can be.

After tucking my hands into my shorts, I whistled a tune as I’d never heard what Jeeves had uttered. This time, Jas merely glanced incuriously at our intruder before going back to navigating us out of this warren. Everything was eerily similar, giving us the impression that we hadn’t gone anywhere at all, though I knew we’d been travelling steadily for a good couple of minutes.

“Got something else to do first,” Jas quickly announced. His strides lengthened purposefully, speeding us toward our destination.

We turned a corner to the right and came to a short hallway, which ended at a single door of immense proportions. I couldn’t possibly entertain any notion that someone would need a door of such stature, but walked through without making any verbal note of it. It was momentarily apparent that we hadn’t walked into another section of hallways devoted to living space, but into the biggest garage I had ever laid eyes upon. It was difficult to accurately gauge the size, because the hanging fluorescent lights seemed to stretch on into infinity. There were alabaster podiums that halted the encroaching blank obscurity of the room every twenty feet, which partially obscured some of the pure white tile that traversed the length of the garage.

My eyes went wide, because there was something about this garage that most others I’d seen didn’t possess. It was jam-packed with
cars
. Granted, a garage usually has cars in it, I admit that. But this one had every dream-mobile you could imagine. I went through those I recognized in my head: Bentley, Maserati, Viper, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Cobra, a ‘68 SS, and a ’67 GT500, ’72 Corvette, and the most modern, fastest counterparts to the last three cars. I did a double take when admiring the GT500, and I walked purposefully toward it.

“Yes!” I pumped my arm in the air in a gesture of triumph that translated across every language.

The Mustang before me wasn’t just any old awesome car, because it was
my
car. Somehow, someway, Noah had managed to find and freight the vehicle up to the mansion.

“You found it, then,” Jas’ voice came up from behind me, standing next to the hood of the car. He was sporting a huge grin.

“Your dad brought this all the way up here, for me?”

“Yeah, he wanted to make sure you still had a car, if you needed to skedaddle. He said he didn’t want to hold you here against your will, and that you’re welcome to leave at any time.”

“Really?” I coughed awkwardly into my palm.

This sure made me feel like an asshole for thinking that Noah had manipulated me. There was no one but myself to blame for not only attacking someone, but for losing control of my anger, which caused the death of another. I bemoaned my fate: to be someone who wasn’t ordinary, but
extraordinary
. It’s what I’d always wanted, so might as well buck up and take it while it was still up for grabs and I was still breathing.

I sighed and turned away from the car and let my eyes roam over the vast expanse without taking in any specifics of it. The lighting was kind of screwy in this room. It made the encompassing area appear blurry, you see. Sometimes people these days just aren’t competent in their work. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes momentarily, there seemed to be some eyelashes stuck in them. After a few moments they came out, with some coaxing.

When I brought my hands down from my face and turned toward Jas, he was already holding my wallet out. I took the wallet from his hand and did a quick check to make sure everything was there. It was intact, including the black credit card previously given to me, and a bunch more bills than before. My quarter had also found its way there, and I quickly stuffed it into my front pocket where it belonged. The keys to the car came directly after, and I dropped them into the pocket that wasn’t occupied by the wallet. My eyes started fogging up again, and I rubbed angrily at them, but then let them lie. I doubt that I could hide anything from Jas, anyways, what with the bond we shared.

“Thank you,” came the simple reply. “You don’t know—”

“Yes, I do. And you deserve it. Now, let’s get this estrogen-fest over on the double, or we’ll spontaneously—“

“—turn into a bunch of sniveling girls,” Jeeves interjected.

We both glared daggers at him, but one look confirmed he was merely trying to augment the atmosphere with a dose of his unique wit.

“Let’s go, then.”

I nodded my head, and the three of us, one a ghostly illusion, headed for the door that led back into the twisting corridors of the mansion. From what Jeeves had alluded to, our bond would only grow, given time, into something immutable and unbreakable.

“So, Jas, how much longer ‘til we get out of this labyrinth?”

Jeeves walked in silence as Jas replied. “Just a minute longer. I’m taking us to the training arena.”

My eyes boggled outwards. “You have a training arena? What do you do? Have boxing tournaments?”

Jas listed the specs off in boring detail, a dreadful facsimile of my earlier recitation involving the magnificent cars arrayed in the garage. “Swordfights, boxing, archery, shooting range, mock battles, track, rock-climbing, tennis, football, soccer, volleyball, hockey. The list goes on and on, man. We’ve got everything any sane active person could wish for. Mostly, it’s to keep all the Clans at each other’s throats in a survivable, friendly match, rather than a more realistic version of the same thing.” He grimaced.

“Why would they be ready to tear each other down in the first place?” I asked as we left the mansion through two double doors and continued outside.

Jas looked at me incredulously. “You’ve gotta be kiddin’. If you take a bunch of animals and put ‘em in one place, what do you get?”

“Animal porn?” I snorted.

Jas seemed unimpressed with my response. “You get countless predators fighting for food, survival, leadership, and mating rights.”

“So I was right!”

“Yeah, except there’s a lot of blood and slaughter between your animal porn. These aren’t just unthinking beasts, they’re people who can shift into animal visages, and they possess the innumerable flaws of man, too. Plus, stress levels rise alarmingly when old enemies come to the fore. So, there are parties and games to ensure that there’s minimal damage inflicted by the time debacles such as these come to a close.”

I nodded, rightly chastened. Obviously, this was a touchy subject and not one to be broached lightly. Staring off into the middle distance, taking my time, I trailed in Jas’ wake. Everything described was present, but it was difficult to see past the enormous obstacle course arrayed before me. Sweet. This place was like Disney Land for athletes. A lot of money had been siphoned from someone’s bank account in order to bring this project to fruition. Jas’ family wasn’t just super rich, they were
über
-rich.

We came to a relatively small clearing, and although the grass and shrubberies were cut down low, it seemed to be vacant. Enormous pine and redwood trees enfolded us in their embrace, blocking further view of the complex, besides from the entrance in which we came. The sun was overhead, and it penetrated into the glade, as if angry with our encroachment into its domain. Jeeves moved forward and took a seat upon the warm grass, as did I. Jas waved and made to leave. Though clearly interested, he appeared to distance himself from prying thoughts and comments.

“You don’t have to leave, we were just getting to the good part.” I waggled my eyebrows suggestively.

Jeeves looked upon me indulgently, as if watching over a child who would be up to unspeakable mischief if unwavering attention was not provided. “You won’t be able to see this, boy. We will be within, not without. Though you are welcome to help him crawl back into bed, for that is where I plan to send him once we are through.”

I scoffed. “Me? Get tired? You’re on, gramps. Let’s do this.”

Jas chuckled evilly at my predicament. Obviously he didn’t think the odds were in my favor. I didn’t think there was much of a chance for things to progress in my favor, either, but figured it best to keep that to myself.

My friend continued his leave-taking, hiding a smile behind one hand. “I’ll be back later, with food. I’m sure you’ll have need of it.”

Turning my attention back to the matter at hand, it immediately came to my attention that Jeeves was no longer present. “You will learn about this power inside of yourself, before you do anything without.”

I was still curiously glancing around when a tugging sensation pulled me back into my mind. Opening my metaphysical eyes prompted the realization that this was the very same glade I had previously occupied, those infinitely distant days ago. It appeared that training would commence in the same place where it began.

“
Gather your power
,” Jeeves commanded roughly.

I responded immediately and found that it required only a minor effort. The energy fizzled and sparked, and the quasi-world around me became focused, alive. Sights and sounds magnified, the wind on my cheek was a caressing hand, embracing me. The swaying trees animated, and my sixth-sense was on high alert.

“Good.” It seemed we were sticking with quick requests and demands. Jeeves had morphed into the uncompromising drill sergeant, and I was a maggot recruit. “
Face me
.”

I turned toward the sound of his voice and the stress his weight put upon the earth. A purple aura surrounded him, and although its color appeared feminine to most, it caused me to back away slightly at the power it exuded.

“So far, you have been relying solely upon your instincts to keep you alive. You haven’t consciously called upon your power, rather it has manifested on its own.” Jeeves paused, expecting me to provide an explanation.

“They’ve gotten me this far, right? I thought you were supposed to follow your instincts.”

Jeeves expelled a noisy breath, and even though we were ten feet apart, the disturbance of his exhalation could be felt upon the air. “You understand only part of the whole. If you allow yourself to be dominated by your instincts, you are nothing more than an animal in the guise of a human. Master these potentially debilitating emotions, and you shall control your destiny.”

I bit. “All right, how?”

Jeeves entered full instructor mode. “Do not permit your emotions free reign. Suppress them and make them serve you. Allow them to become only a backdrop, a clarifying lens to see through, not occluding your vision. Condense and discard them, to release the hold they maintain on endorsing brash action. You will be capable of acting freely and without encumbrance, as fear shall not paralyze nor rage drown your thoughts.”

“Sounds valuable.”

Jeeves nodded his head in assent. “Your first use of the elements was through Air. You will be most powerful with this, and one other element, which has yet to reveal itself.”

I scratched my head. “Wait, so what about the lightning?”

Jeeves became exasperated. This clearly was not a subject he wished to discuss. “You are not prepared to possess that knowledge. Suffice it to say that your ability with lightning is unique to you.”

I sidetracked us further. “Whoa. Maybe you should start calling me Lightning Man, or Flash. How about Johnny Lightning Bolt?”

Jeeves face-palmed. “We are not here to discuss childish labels, boy. Names have power. Do not utter them in vain.”

I reluctantly returned to the topic at hand. “So, what’s next on our schedule?”

“Relax your mind. The power you can summon at any one time is but a fraction of the whole stored within the nexus of power you possess. Be wary, however. If the entirety of this energy is consumed, your death will be imminent.”

Sarcasm dripped from my words. “Gee, thanks for the heads up.”

But I did as told, falling to the ground and relaxing my nervous posture, took up a stance for kicks, then brought all my apprehension to the forefront of my being. Instead of allowing it to influence my actions to a detriment, I squashed it down, diminishing it and forcing it to recede deep inside, as a paltry remnant of its previous existence. It had taken me around twenty seconds to reach a state of balance within. My body became a place of calm as I opened the eyes that had closed of their own accord.

“Well done,” Jeeves said. “Now,
feel
the Air around you. Then call it to yourself.”

“You make it sound so easy,” I grumbled underneath my breath.

Reaching out with intensified senses enabled me to flow along the currents of Air in the clearing. Short stalks and dainty bushes were bending under the pressure exerted upon them and an eagle circled high overhead on an air current. Leaves rustled amongst the trees, and the wind whistled in my ears. Through my awareness of Air, I attempted to bring it to me. And failed miserably. No matter how hard I strained, my efforts went unnoticed by the force of nature. Sweat stood out on my brow from the effort.