Ordained (18 page)

It had been several hours since Abby left at dusk. Midnight had come and gone.

It was usually difficult for Noel to sense Abby’s whereabouts. Fear he could sense everywhere, particularly from members of the Order and the occasional child that wandered through the manor.

But with Abby, fear was never an issue. For Abby, he always had to rely on instincts. He had studied her habits for decades, observed her moods and the actions that followed. Given the current situation, he felt she would seek solitude - and answers.

After searching the conservatory and their bedroom suite, he found her in the front pew of the temple. The room was small and lit with ornamental torches. At the front of the room was a marble statue of Athena. Unlike the others within the manor, it depicted her not as a great warrior in battle armor, but as a beautiful goddess, draped in gathered cloth and crown.

Abby was crouched over, tracing the lines on her hands. Noel leaned in behind her from the second pew.

“She can’t answer you,” he said quietly.

“Answer what?” she asked quietly back.

“The question you’ve been asking yourself ever since you learned who you are. Why me?”

Abby dropped her hand and leaned back, keeping her head facing forward. “Doesn’t really matter, does it? What could she possibly tell me that would make me feel any better?”

“Just as well. Zeus has forbidden any interference from the gods this time,” explained Noel. “Where did you go earlier?”

“Back to Twindel’s.”

Noel stiffened up. “Abby, going beyond the manor gates leaves you open for an ambush.”

Abby’s words turned emotionless. “Doubt it. I’m destined to fight this demon whether I want to or not. Nothing will keep us from meeting one another come spring.”

Damn it.
Noel left the second pew and sat down next to her in the first.

“The grinloch won’t be the last demon to come. Morphus will try as many demons as he can to eliminate you before confrontation.”

Abby didn’t respond, only sighed deeply.

“You look really exhausted,” he added, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Mentally I am.”

“Good.”

Abby looked at him curiously. She hadn’t bothered to think beyond his statement to understand the meaning of it.

“That’s the best time for you to practice conjuring the elements. The weaker you are, the harder it’ll be to access your powers. You need to learn to overcome that.”

With nothing more than a ‘hmm,’ Abby left the temple somberly. His prior concerns of bringing Abby here were amplified. The stress of their impending future was breaking her down - dealing with the Order, discovering the harshness of her childhood, learning her life has never been her own, learning an associate of the Order is not only aware of her secret but may end up seeing other secrets she doesn’t wish to share, being attacked by a demon most likely sent by another demon to kill her, etc. It just kept piling on. Fearing this would lead her down the path in favor of evil once again, he prayed to Athena to keep it from happening, particularly before meeting Morphus.

These things had taken their toll. She seemed tired, defeated and even secretive towards him, whom she had always been open with. He still had this sensation she wasn’t being completely honest with him over the details of the ancient journal. He really needed to find a way to decode it, for she was not offering the information willingly.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Emily was tired, absolutely exhausted, like always after enduring one of Abby’s workouts. She physically wanted to quit but was unwilling to show any sign of weakness. She continued to battle with her four foot pole, thrusting and swinging as hard as she could.

“Stop,” Abby said to her, withdrawing her weapon.

“I know, I know. I’m getting sloppy,” Emily breathlessly berated.

“It’s not the force of your swing, it’s the accuracy. It won’t matter if you swing with all your might if you’re hitting the pole instead of sweeping my legs.”

“Okay.”

“If your opponent is greater than you, let him do all the work. You just block until he gets weak from attacking you.”

“Okay,” Emily repeated.

“You’d be surprised how often this tactic works. Now, ready to go again?”

“Yes,” Emily answered, regaining her stance.

She successfully held her own for quite awhile but was unable to get the upper hand against Abby. Not surprising though, seeing as how Abby was far stronger and more skilled in battle. Abby eventually outmaneuvered her and knocked her to the floor.

“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly, hovering over Emily.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she responded, her voice a few octaves higher.

“Take a breather. I’ll grab some fresh water.”

Abby disappeared into the gym. Turns out she hadn’t destroyed the small refrigerator containing the water and protein shakes.

Emily slowly picked herself up off the floor. Her back and arms were strained from all the swinging. A few quick stretches helped relieve some of the pain.

“Wow. That was really sad.”

Emily rolled her eyes as she turned to face Daniel. She wanted to whack the smirk off his face with the pole lying next to her.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she snapped.

“Getting a good laugh.”

“Think you can do better?”

“You know it,” he scoffed.

“God, you’re such a jerk.”

Daniel spun to leave but found himself face to face with Abby, who was not amused. Daniel’s smile faded just as Emily’s grew, having known full well Abby had moved in quietly behind him.

Daniel was at least a foot taller. Yet with one swift movement, Abby choked his neck and pushed his knees to the floor. “Interested in putting your body where your mouth is?”

She released him and passed the water bottles over to Emily. Daniel stood up, rubbing his reddened neck.

“Fighting you isn’t fair. You’re freakishly strong,” he cried.

“Is that what you’re going to whimper to the first demon that crosses your path?” Abby mocked. After a moment’s hesitation, she added, “Fine. We’ll make it a little more even for your ego.”

Abby threw her four foot pole at Daniel. “Come on,” she taunted, motioning him forward with her fingers.

“What? You’re not gonna use one?” Daniel sneered.

Abby chuckled. “I won’t need one.”

With the very first swing of the pole, Abby stopped it, twirled it out of his hands and smacked his body to the floor, stunning him. She casually left to retrieve her water bottle.

Emily bent over Daniel and imitated him from before, “Wow. That was really sad.”

He was clearly annoyed but too stunned to verbally rebut.

“Did that hurt?” asked Emily cheerfully. “That looked like it hurt.” There was a pull from the back of her pants. She took the hint and backed off.

“Do you know why you immediately fell to the ground and Emily didn’t?” Abby asked.

Daniel groaned. “She’s been training under you for two years. She knows your moves.”

“No, it’s because she anticipates my next move. Her number one objective is defense and then issues an offense when an opportunity presents itself. You haven’t gotta clue how to defend yourself and it’s gonna get you killed.”

Abby dropped the pole on the floor next to him and headed for the exit. Emily grinned ear-to-ear as she followed her out, leaving Daniel to struggle and roll over on his own.

She caught up to Abby in the hallway, trying her best to contain the giggles within. “So now what?” she asked rather jubilant and giddy.

“You should catch up on your rest.”

“Me? You need it more than I do. You’re exhausted.”

“I promised Noel I’d work on something. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright,” Emily replied. She watched Abby until she turned the corner. Then she returned to her room for a shower. Darby and Mira were there, talking quietly on Darby’s bed. They stopped when Emily entered the room.

“Hey,” Emily said, gathering fresh clothes from the chest.

“How’d the workout go with Abby?” asked Darby.

“Pretty good. How’d it go watching it from the balcony?” Emily asked, watching both for their facial reactions.

Darby and Mira looked at one another. Mira responded first. “We were just curious. Since you rarely come to our group sessions anymore we wondered what you were getting from her.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said sarcastically. “A competent trainer that’s actually had field time? Someone who studies demons because she understands they exist in the real world? And let’s not forget that in the past two years, I’ve learned far better combative moves from her than I ever learned from the Order.”

“We did notice Daniel went down rather easily,” Mira said, trying hard not to snicker.

Emily’s lips curled happily as well. “That was enjoyable, wasn’t it?”

“In all seriousness though,” Darby said, “she nailed you with some pretty hard blows. I mean, look at your legs. They’re still red where she smacked you. Those are gonna be some nasty bruises.”

Emily looked down. Sure enough, her legs were all sorts of colors. Funny she didn’t notice the pain until now. Her adrenaline must have been running high. She wasn’t concerned, though she was mad at herself for not remembering to have Abby heal the wounds before separating. Daniel’s interruption had distracted her.

“It’s fine. No pain, no gain, right?”

“Emily, isn’t this similar to what you said Abby endured? Bruises and cuts from her training?”

Emily stared at Darby in disbelief. “Not even close to being the same thing. Abby was beaten relentlessly. Constant broken bones, open wounds and concussions. My getting a few injuries learning a new skill is normal. I mean seriously, how many cuts did you get when you first learned to twirl the tridents in your hands? It’s the same thing.”

Darby and Mira sat quietly on the bed, avoiding Emily’s gaze.

“Don’t forget,” Emily continued, “Abby may be from a different generation, but she’s still one of us. She grew up here too.”

Emily carried her clothes into the bathroom, shut the door and started the shower. As she stripped, she noticed more bruises hidden underneath her clothing. She didn’t fret, even over the bigger ones that her friends had noticed. She would still have them healed. The only things she would have to endure over the next week were long sleeved shirts and pants.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Abby spent the next week spending a little more time resting in solitude. Emily came around a few times to say hello but left her alone for the most part. She had a feeling Noel asked her to minimize the company. He too backed off a little and let her be, not once asking her about the journal.

God, am I that obvious?
Sure the stress had been building. Sure the burn inside her had been lingering since she felt it her first day back. But she wasn’t going to snap instantaneously. She didn’t need to be avoided by the ones that could keep her sane.

Feeling more refreshed, she made her way to the conservatory. It was still daylight out but the clouds weren’t going to clear any time soon. Even if they did it wouldn’t be a problem for her. She looked through the glass towards the cliffs. The weather was warming slightly. Snow was no longer falling on a daily basis but the temperature was still cold enough to keep the upper crust on the lake frozen.