Chapter 14 #2
I looked toward the door, and Ambrose was smiling broadly at me.
I raised my arm, waving euphorically, and ended up hitting a resident nurse on the head—she shot me a furious look.
Now I understood the commotion at the bulletin board; it was news too good not to celebrate. I made my way back to the elmedic.
“Oh, by the gods! I passed the test with an excellent grade, Ambrose!” I shouted happily, bouncing toward him.
“Congratulations, my girl! Welcome to the surgical team. Starting next month, you’ll be able to lead some surgeries.”
“Oh, Ambrose, I’m so happy! Now I just need the Sonar evaluation and the physical test at the military academy. Then I’ll be able to practice as an officially qualified elmedic.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it’s right here. We’ve already talked to the hospital director, and we discussed how three elmedics just aren’t enough. Apparently, they’re going to add one more position this year.”
I clapped my hands in joy—I was so happy I could barely contain myself. Throughout the entire morning at the hospital, I kept smiling like an idiot at the glimpse of a new future stretching out before me.
My smile only died when I arrived at the academy.
Δ
That day, I arrived home the same way as every other day that week: dragging myself.
I was tired, sore, and just wanted to take a long bath.
Today was the dreaded day when Zion made me fight Hiro, and it was the worst beating I’d experienced at the academy.
That speech from the first class about not fighting women had been revoked, and he came at me like an enraged bull.
The result was what everyone expected: Hiro tossed me around the mat like a rag doll.
The fight ended with him hoisting me over his head and hurling me to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Seconds later, I heard approving whistles from the class as I plummeted from his hands and slammed onto the floor.
The problem was that, despite the fall, I hadn't been knocked out, so I did what any reasonably smart person would do...
I faked passing out.
I felt Zion pick me up and place my theatrically limp body on the pile of mats beside the training mat, where I normally recovered on my own.
His closeness made my body stiffen and prickle, as if a thousand needles were being jabbed into my ribs.
But before he let me go, he brought his mouth close to my ear.
“Very clever, but if you pull that again, I'll get in the ring myself to make sure you only leave one of two ways: victorious or half-dead. Choose wisely.”
He left me on the mats and walked off shouting at the students as if nothing had happened.
It was the first time since our argument that we'd exchanged more than two words, and it was incredibly uncomfortable.
I was so embarrassed that I played dumb for the rest of class, and when it came time for archery, I shot perfectly so Zion wouldn't have to stand beside me.
Not that he needed to—I was hitting every target.
That night I left quickly, like a dog slinking home after being kicked in the street. I only let myself breathe a sigh of relief when I reached the house.
To my surprise, when I opened the door, I found Kiara sprawled on the living room rug. She wagged her reptilian tail, sweeping the entire rug, and rolled over to expose her pale belly. I dropped my bag on the floor and lay down beside her to give her belly rubs.
“Well, look who's here! You finally came to see me? Not content with stealing my dignity and my romantic future, Zion had to take you away from me too?” I joked, running my hand through her fur while she licked my face.
It must have been salty after training. “I know you missed me, girl. I missed you too.” Something red on her neck caught my attention, and I propped myself up on my elbows for a better look.
It was a red collar with a black pendant, but on closer inspection, I could see the stone was actually a camouflaged tracker.
“I can't believe Zion put a collar on you!” I exclaimed, laughing.
She glared at me and huffed, which only made me laugh harder.
“He knows you hate accessories. What's that about?” The chimera stood up, huffing.
I threw my hands up to shield myself, but she lunged at me and started licking me furiously.
“You look like a little rich lady's dog with that thing! You know, those pampered pooches?” I didn't know whether to laugh or try to escape her assault.
Her rough tongue tickled as she punished me by licking my ear.
I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. When her saliva had finally coated every inch of my face and neck, Kiara climbed off me and lay down beside me again.
“Gross,” I complained, pulling off my shirt and wiping my face with it.
“You're such a mean little creature—and by the way, the collar looks great on you.” She huffed and laid her head on her paws.
“I'm going to take a shower and I'll be right back to give you scratches.
I bought you some new food because I missed you and thought you'd like it.”
She lifted her head, licking her leonine lips in approval.
Δ
Freshly showered, I came downstairs to join my dinner companion. I set my snack on the coffee table along with the juice and went back to get the chimera's bowl for her special food. She sat waiting in anticipation.
“I found this at a gorgon shop—they said it's the best food they've ever gotten in.” I opened the bag and the smell of meat hit me—strong and nauseating.
Kiara stretched her neck, her eyes shining with anticipation.
“I hope next time he comes to get you, you remember this food.
I bet they don't have anything like it over there.”
I held the package and took my time pouring while she stared at me. Kiara tapped her enormous claws on the table impatiently, and not wanting to torture her any longer, I poured the sticky food, filling the bowl to the brim. When I gave the command, Kiara attacked her meal.
I ate my snack calmly, feeling my body still healing from the bruises Hiro had given me. Kiara tapped her paw on the table and nudged the bag with her nose, asking for more.
“No way. I filled your bowl to the top today.”
She huffed and nudged the bag one more time.
“No, Dr. Owen said you can't have more than one bowl.”
I left my snack half-eaten on the plate, grabbed the food bag, and stood up. If I didn't put it away, she'd end up convincing me. But when I returned to the table, my eyes went wide—my snack was gone.
“I. Can't. Believe it!” I shouted, putting on my angriest face. “I can't believe you stole my snack after eating that entire bowl.”
The chimera licked her lips and trotted around the room smugly. She climbed the stairs, staring back at me, and left me alone with my stomach growling.
“Unbelievable. Now I'm getting disrespected by my own pet.”
The chimera had always had a difficult personality, but lately she'd been even more rebellious, and I blamed Zion for it—she'd definitely gotten worse since he came back.
I made another snack and sat on the couch to eat.
As I thought about everything that had happened that day, my eyes landed on the abandoned book on the side table.
I set the empty plate on the coffee table and picked up the book.
It was heavy, with a black leather cover, worn at the edges—clearly old, weathered by time.
On the cover was the white outline of a hand.
I opened it to see what it was about, but to my surprise, the pages were blank.
I flipped through the whole thing, but there was nothing.
I wondered what the point of an old book with blank pages could be.
Curious, I ran my fingers across the pages, feeling for any texture or braille dots, but found nothing—which struck me as very strange.
I closed the cover and saw no title, only the drawing of a hand.
I deliberately placed my palm over the outline, comparing how much larger the image was than my own hand.
Judging by the size difference, I figured a man must have traced his hand there.
I was about to set it back on the table when I felt a burning sensation in my palm.
In the blink of an eye, the book drained all my magic.
I screamed, dropping it on the floor, and stared in shock at the drawing on the cover, now glowing with red light.
As the hand's outline blazed, a symbol formed in the center of the palm: it looked like two wings facing opposite directions, forming a circle.
Within seconds, the light intensified to an unbearable brightness, then vanished—as if nothing had happened.
The winged symbol remained engraved in gold, and I recognized it immediately. It was tattooed on the chest of the comatose patient. Ambrose had claimed he'd never seen the mark, but there it was, gleaming right before my eyes.
I reached for my power in the elemental reserve, but nothing remained.
Nothing at all. Not a trace of the gift, and it left me with a hollow, screaming emptiness.
As a precaution, I went to the kitchen and put on the pink dishwashing gloves.
When I returned to the living room, the book was still in the same place, looking so innocent—as if it hadn't just devoured my power.
I picked it up carefully and carried it to the reading room next door, setting it on the table, the only furniture in the room besides the wooden bookshelf holding all my university books.