Avenging Amethyst (Immortal Eyes) (13 page)

We both tumbled
to the ground and I managed to pin him to the floor after rolling around a few
times. He struggled but I pushed down harder until he finally gave in. The
training from the past week and a half had really increased my strength. I
wouldn’t have stood a chance of pinning him down back then.

"You need
to listen to me Felix." I looked deep into his eyes, pleading that he
would calm down.

He just glared
at me.

"I swear to
you, I've never known how to fight before this. I've never had any lessons and
I didn't train on my own. When you threw that first punch at me I felt a
burning sensation in my gut and it took over. I had no idea what I was doing or
how to control it. It almost felt like the tingling sensation I get when I
sense a power but more intense. I think this ability to fight is part of my
power."

Felix was still
tense but he was studying my face very carefully.
Tell the truth
, I heard
in my head, along with a slight tingle. He was trying to use his power on me to
get me to admit I was a spy.

"I'm not
lying," I said. My heart was thumping painfully in my chest and I was
becoming more and more aware of how close our bodies were.

He tried one
more time with his power and when I still said I wasn't lying he relaxed a
little bit more.

"I have to
admit," he said hesitantly. "I would much rather it be part of your
power than you be a spy. It makes me feel better that I just got my ass kicked
by a girl."

I burst out
laughing and he laughed a little bit too. Of course he would try to make a joke
in a time like this. He was still a little tense but he was starting to believe
me. I released his arms and sat back. I was straddling him on the floor, and as
awkward as it felt, I didn’t want to move. Partly because I was afraid he
would attack me again and partly because I wanted to attack him, only in a
different way.

"Do you
believe me or do I have to straddle you all night so you don't attack me again?"
The flirty tone to my voice was back and I was desperately hoping he would take
the hint and not reject me again.

"I don't
know. I kind of like having you on top of me," he said, biting his lip and
clenching his hands into fists by his sides. He wanted me just as much as I
wanted him.

There was a
moment of silence where neither of us made a move. I didn’t know whether
to take that as an invitation and I was terrified to make the first move. Felix
gave in first, though and slipped his hand behind my neck, pulling me onto his
chest and into a desperate kiss. My heart skipped a few beats and I melted into
him. I ran my hands through his soft hair and I felt his hands gripping my
hips. I almost felt like crying for joy.

The sound of the
door opening made Felix tense. He threw me off of him and out of our kiss. It
was like being splashed by cold water and it took me a minute to remember where
I was. I was still sitting on the ground but Felix had shot up and was standing
next to me while Rema and Rylie entered the gym. It was almost an exact replay
of the last time we kissed.

My breath was
shallow and an ache in my heart was making it even harder to breath. Was I
stupid for having feelings for Felix?

"Well, what
have you found out Felix?" Rema asked when she was in front of us. I
slowly got up and Rylie glanced at me with suspicion. I had a feeling she knew
what had just happened and the look on her face hinted that she didn’t
approve.

"Look and
see." I had just barely gotten on my feet when Felix quickly turned around
and threw his fist at me again. My body reacted in the same as it had earlier.
The burning in my gut took over and seconds later Felix was on the ground
holding his stomach. I had landed a blow hard enough to knock him to the ground
and knock the wind out of him.

            "Oh
my gosh, Felix, are you okay?" I asked as I kneeled next to him.

He gasped a few
times before he caught his breath to speak. "Fine. Fine. That was a lot
more power than earlier."

"You really
caught me off guard. And I didn't want to end up on the ground again."

Felix and I both
blushed a little bit but I don't think the others noticed.

"What just
happened?" asked Riley after she recovered from her shock.

Rema didn't say anything.
She just looked at me with wide eyes and occasionally glanced at Felix. She was
apparently still in shock.

"I thought
you already knew," I said.

"I knew you
could fight but you didn't even have to work to get Felix on the ground. I
figured you knew some basic stuff and Felix could help develop it. That was
nothing like what I expected."

I shrugged.
"I really didn't think I knew anything about fighting but apparently it's
engrained in my body. Every time Felix starts to attack me I get this burning
sensation in my stomach and then my body just fights back. I really have no
idea what I'm doing. It just happens naturally."

"So you
think this is part of your power?" Rema said, finally snapping out of her
shock.

"Yes. I
don't think there's any other explanation for it."

"I've never
seen anything like this," Rema muttered. "We need to take you to see
Nia. She'll confirm this."

"Whoa, Nia?
Why do I need to see her?" I asked. Nia scared me and I hoped I
wouldn’t have to see her again after our first introduction.

"Nia has
the power to tell if someone is lying," Felix explained. "She'll be
able to confirm if it's part of your power or if you're a spy for someone. She
seemed to trust you before so I'm hoping it's the first option but she could
have misjudged you."

I gave a
pleading look at Felix but his face didn't show any emotion. He agreed with
Rema and we all left the gym and went back up the stairs. Felix and Rylie both
walked stiffly next to me. I knew they both believed that I was telling the
truth but they wouldn’t relax until it was confirmed. Felix would
probably never relax around me again.

Nia did not look
happy to see us knocking at her door. It was the middle of the night, which was
technically the middle of the day for Nesmyr and Lovac, but it looked like she
had been sleeping. I didn't think Nia would have looked happy to see us at any
time though. Her face seemed to be in a permanent sneer.

"What do
you want?" she grumbled.

"Nia, I
need you to help us out," Rema said. "Can you tell us if Avery is
lying about some things?"

Nia glared at
me, sighed and then looked back at Rema. "I suppose. Have a seat in the
lounge. I'll be out in a minute."

She closed her
door before we could say anything and we all took a seat in the lounge area. No
one said anything and the tension was making me uncomfortable. I didn't want to
be scrutinized by Nia but if it would make the tension go away then I would
welcome it.

Nia came out a
little while later, looking much more refreshed. She sat down in front of me
and told Rema to ask away.

"Avery, are
you a spy?"

"No,"
I immediately said.

"Truth,"
was all Nia said.

"Have you
always known how to fight?" This came from Felix.

"No."

"Truth,
kind of," Nia said. When she didn't elaborate we all gave her a
questioning stare. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Her mind believes she
didn't know how to fight. Her body says otherwise. It's complicated. Basically,
she believes that she didn't know how to fight so it's still the truth."

She gave Felix a
look that asked if that was good enough for him and he shrugged and sat back in
his chair.

Riley was the
next to ask. "Did you really get a burning sensation when Felix came after
you?"

"Yes."

Nia nodded.
"She's telling the truth still."

"Do you
think it's part of your power?" Riley continued.

"Absolutely."

"Still the
truth," Nia said, looking bored.

After that,
everyone relaxed.

"Is that
all you need?" Nia asked.

"I think
so. I don't have any more questions. Do either of you?" Rema asked Riley
and Felix.

They both shook
their heads but Nia was the one that spoke.

"I have a
question then. Are you ready to fight Zhulik?"

I was caught off
guard by this and had to pause to think about it. Now that I knew more about my
power, I felt like I could fight anything but was I really ready for it? I
wasn't sure. I had only been part of this world less than two weeks and I was
still learning about it. I wanted to be ready to make myself useful but I was
afraid.

"I don't
think so," I finally said.

Nia stared at me
for a moment and then nodded her head slightly. She didn't say anything and
stood up to leave. "If you need anything else please hesitate to
ask," she said and then sauntered back to her room.

"Why does
she have such a horrible attitude?" I muttered.

Rema surprised
me by laughing, which caused Riley and Felix to laugh too.

"Nia is
Nia," Rema said. "That's just the way she is and always has been.
She was raised by strict parents and grew up with an emotionless attitude. Deep
down she's a good person though."

"So, is my
trial over then?" I asked next.

Rema grimaced.
"I'm sorry we had to do that. We've had some Lovac on the verge of
craziness become spies for Zhulik and other dark creatures before. We had to be
sure we could trust you."

"Does that
mean you do trust me then?"

"Yes,"
all three of them said in unison then laughed.

"So what
happens now?" I asked.

"Good
question," Felix said, looking at Rema for the answer.

Before she could
reply, Carson came running into the room. Well, not really running. I think he
was too old to fully run but he was walking with urgency.

"Finally,"
he said as he came up next to us. "I've been looking everywhere for you.
Rema, I finally found some information on Avery's power."

I sat up in my
chair. I was excited to know if there was even more to my power. He hadn't
heard about the latest discovery and I was curious to know if he had researched
the right power.

Rema sat up in
her chair too. "What did you find?"

Apparently we
were all going to keep quiet about the fighting part until hearing him out.

"Well, it's
rare, that's for sure. There is only one other documented case. That is, if I
have the right power. I found a power matching the description you gave me about
being able to sense other powers. If it's the same power, Avery should also
have unmatchable fighting skills. I think we need to take her out to the field
and--"

Felix coughed a
little to interrupt politely. "Sorry, Carson, I don't mean to interrupt but
we've just tested that out. Avery beat me up without even breaking a
sweat."

Carson finally
looked at Felix and could see parts of his body that were already starting to
bruise and swell. He gave an apologetic smile and continued, "It seems I
must have the right power then. Only one other person in our history had this
power. Aleksia Salvador."

That name did
not ring a bell to me but Riley, Felix and Rema all gasped.

"Of
course," Riley said. "I remember studying her a few years back. She
holds the record for most Zhulik killed. Everyone believed she would have made
them extinct if that were possible. She would have killed so much more
if..." she trailed off, glancing at me.

"What
happened to her? Did she never find a Dimidium?" I asked.

Felix shifted
slightly. "She did. She lived to be in her thirties. The Zhulik got smart
though and the few that remained at the time gathered together to take her
down. They knew they couldn't physically take her down so they went after her
Dimidium instead. They kidnapped him and did some pretty horrible things to him
before killing him. When Aleksia found the body the darkness consumed her and
the Zhulik took their chance to kill her. No one believes they killed her right
away, though. There is suspicion she was endlessly tortured until her heart
gave out but there is no proof. Her body was never found so there’s even
some suspicion she was never actually killed."

"That's
horrible," was all I could mutter. It almost made me hope I never found my
Dimidium. I didn't want to put anyone else in danger because of what I could
do.

"This was
hundreds of years ago," Riley said. "Other Lovac had gotten lazy when
Aleksia could easily take down Zhulik. If their guard wouldn't have been down,
they could have protected her Dimidium. If you find one, we will make sure he
is securely guarded when you're not with him."

"I thought
your power was seeing the future, not reading minds," I teased.