Chapter 11—Training
Two months have passed since Rory showed me his memories from Shanaledge. Almost immediately, Rory had started training me and as my lessons became more advanced, so we began having sessions in a wooded area that was away from any residence. He brought a friend along that Rory explained was a childhood friend, named Eden.
Eden didn’t come from Shanaledge nor Terrah. He kind of came from the universe, like me, but not exactly. According to both of them, there was no word to describe themselves, except as “they came from before.” This gave them the ability to access what they called their ancestral memory that they could call upon at will. But they could not recall everything at all times due to the sheer magnitude of information. If they did, their brain would be overloaded and result in them having a seizure or aneurism. Since I am slightly different and joined the party late in being considered an original, my memories are hard to access or completely lost forever.
He has physical traits similar to Rory, except he is about 6’ 2” with a medium build that leans toward slim. His muscles seem small yet sinuous but there are actually about three times more than average and they are somewhere between eight and ten times denser along with his bones. Rory had started sharing more about his physical traits with me, as his body was different from most people’s, but you could not tell with either Rory or Eden, as they were perfectly proportioned.
Eden has been teaching me from sunrise to sunset in hand-to-hand combat, dueling with swords, and archery. Both of them were a little disappointed in me the first few weeks because I had never had to wield a sword before. It’s the 21st century, give me a break! But where there was a disappointment, there was astonishment, even for myself, at how well I was at archery. I only needed a little critique of my stance and I have almost mastered the weapon! At this point, I found out that Eden is bisexual, but leans a bit more towards men as I felt pressure on my back while he was closely pressed up against me with his groin.
“Hey!” I shouted at him accusingly. As I looked at him, I saw that his gaze was looking at, and he was literally drooling over the sight of Rory’s mostly nude sweaty body as he works out.
“Huh?” Eden replied, confused by my reaction until he realized what I was upset about. “Oh honey, this isn’t for you!”
“I’ve noticed…” I responded, half-smiling and joining his gaze in admiring Rory.
Even though Rory excelled as a combat instructor, which was more than evident from the memories at Shanaledge he shared with me, he thought it would be much more beneficial for everyone to teach me to shield myself from other’s attempts to telepathically gain any sensitive information. Eden couldn’t teach me this skill, so they split their duties. Rory was a great teacher, but his days of training soldiers still come out as he falls back into that routine, which causes him to be a little tougher on me than usual.
The mental disciplines were by far the hardest to learn, which made it a dauntingly endless task. No matter how hard I tried, I was just terrible at it. Believe me when I say this was an exhausting effort. Naturally, I thought it would be much easier since I figured out how to get a grip on blocking other’s thoughts, but I was sorely mistaken.
Eden was sitting next to a tree watching the water flow in the river, while I stood before Rory for my lesson.
“Remember what I said. You must imagine barriers in front of your thoughts and memories. The more blockades you construct, the harder it is for others to penetrate your private thoughts.”
“Got it,” I replied, still not quite believing in myself. This was like juggling invisible objects. After the obstacles are constructed you must still keep them hidden like having to deflect a sword but not being able to allow your opponent to see your shield.
My mind started to wander, and my focus started turning over to other topics like Ruth, or what could happen if Silas found me, or what he would do to me. As my mind started reeling, Rory stepped in.
“Calm down, Sarai. You will get the hang of it soon.”
“But not soon enough, Rory!” I yelled, aggravated. “My birthday is almost here and I’m just as screwed as I was two months ago!” My aggravation turned to anger at myself and then depression. “What if I can’t do it?”
Rory lightened, and he wore the smile that I loved. “You will, Sarai.” He kissed me and held my hand. “You are stronger than you know my love.”
“We have visitors!” Eden interrupted as he jumped to his feet and ran towards us.
The three of us stood by each other waiting for the intruders to show themselves. “One of them is Asher…” Rory said with disdain, and out of the shadows walked two figures: Ruth and Asher.
Eden readied his weapon while Rory stood protectively in front of me.
“What are you doing here, Asher?” Rory questioned.
“Look, I’m not here to hurt anyone nor turn anyone over,” he said, looking at me. “I’m here because I want to help.”
Eden laughed. “Help? Just like you helped Rory all those times by taking his girl away from him? Or how about that time you betrayed him when you needed to protect King Aldwyn? Or are you referring to the time when you got him banished? Or maybe the time you killed him?”
Ruth looked down at her feet disappointingly.
“I know you guys don’t trust me, but after I prove myself, I’m sure you can. I was sent here to keep an eye on Sarai, but then I found Ruth…She is my soulmate. He knows Ruth is Sarai’s best friend and is planning on using her as leverage for Sarai. Silas knows she wouldn’t let her friend die because of her, and I can’t allow him to take her from me,” Asher pleaded to the group. “Please, Sarai…” he began as he started to take a step towards the group.
Eden quickly moved toward Asher, placing the point of the blade at his throat. “Take one more step, and it will be your last…I dare you to give me a reason,” he threatened with a cold tone.
Rory looked him up and down. “What makes you think we will help you?”
“For one, Sarai will never forgive you if anything happened to Ruth.”
Anger came over me as I shouted, “It’s your fault we are in this mess in the first place, asshole!”
Everyone became quiet for a few minutes as they waited for something miraculous to happen. When it didn’t, the guest continued to argue. As they were busy and completely oblivious to their surroundings at this moment, I walked over to Ruth and hugged her. We hadn’t talked in a while and the poor thing looked to be in shock.
“Are you alright?” I asked as I grabbed her hand and walked her toward the river, away from Asher.
“I just…I had no idea…I’m so sorry, Sarai!”
“For what?”
“For everything Asher has done!” Tears began to fill her eyes. “I want to hate him, but I can’t…”
“Ruth, there’s nothing to be said.”
“I should have listened to you from the start.”
“Listen, there’s nothing to worry about. I understand how much you want to hate him, but this connection won’t allow you to.”
After we reconciled, we walked back to the guys who were still arguing.
Eden still had the point of his blade to Asher’s neck. “If you try anything funny to hurt Rory or Sarai, I will not hesitate to bring you down,” he stated with a blank, deadly stare.
“Ok, guys, put your dicks away!” I yelled as I walked up to them holding Ruth’s hand.
All three men looked aggravated and were visibly upset. Eden sheathed his weapon. There was a long silence as they glared at one another.
“How did you know where to find us?” I asked Ruth.
“It’s easy to track you,” Asher responded without taking his gaze off Rory and Eden.
“Actually, Sarai told me where she was…” Ruth chimed in.
Rory turned his head disapprovingly towards me. “Well, now we can’t go back to your house, and we have to find somewhere else to go…”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because if Silas really is looking to capture Ruth to get to you, then both of you are in danger…If Asher doesn’t take Ruth in himself, then Silas will have others come after you both…We just better hope that he hasn’t sent people to spy on us now.”
“But what about my brother’s wedding?” I asked, disappointed.
“Everyone is at risk,” Eden responded.
I stood in silence. This meant that I would miss my brother’s wedding. I also hadn’t been camping before, so I was frightened by what to expect. Everything that hds happened had made me very paranoid. Through everything that hasdhappened, it felt as though I couldn’t even trust Ruth. What was happening with my life?