Lydia Zhang just stepped in front of me. This is not good. Is she going to speak to me? I look down the long hallway, lined with lockers and ugly vinyl floors, then back at her cute freckled face. There's no escaping this.
"Aggi," she pouts. "You never try anything. Ever! You're not a quitter. You're a loser. Nope, that's not right either. To lose at something, you have to try it. They don't make a word for what you are."
I flinch when she throws her hand in the air, but it's the start of a cheer. Her cheerleading outfit is too bright and has too many colors as if an elf designed it. I want to tell her she's missing a gold goanna around her waist, but I'm too intimidated to speak. Hopefully, she'll get bored at my lack of responsiveness and find better prey.
Her wordless cheer ends with her hands in fists like she's going to punch me. "All that training, and you won't even try to defend yourself. What if I hit you?"
She slaps me upside the head. I don't move or block the hit. She's right. I've had a lot of training. I've killed dragons and attacked gryphons. Lydia Zhang is nothing. Why am I scared of her?
She stands on her toes so she can look me dead in the eye when she says, "You're a dili-musebayer."
My eyes pop open. It takes a second for them to focus on the Lanuus birds and even longer for me to comprehend that I'd been dreaming. Lydia is not here. She can't get me.
I roll over and see Carfron's feet hanging over the side of the sofa. Albína's across the room facing me. She tilts her head to the side to better see if my eyes are open.
"I'm awake," I croak as I stretch.
"Did you have a good sleep? You slept a long time."
I nod and start my day. After finishing breakfast, Carfron and I walk down to the Temple and find everyone gathered around the table.
"You're meeting without me." It's an accusation, not a question. The usuals are here, Sarpedon, Jonah, Dathid, and Kyrbast. I'm surprised Faphee's here. It would've been nice if someone would've told me.
"Yes," Jonah says. "There are many meetings that do not require your presence. This one was to get everyone up to speed on the latest developments. Since you know what developments have occurred, I assumed you would rather rest."
"Don't think for me, just ask me. You hurt my feelings when you do stuff like that," I whisper to Jonah. I'm embarrassed at my opening statement, but everyone here, except for Faphee, has seen me do much stupider things.
"How do you want to begin?" Jonah asks.
"I don't think staring into the Orb is necessary. It's not glowing, and it seems to speak fine," I say with a wave to Carfron.
I hold up the imaginary plaque. "You guys can't see this, but it's a tile. Like the one we found in the Salt Mines."
"Is it exactly the same?" Faphee asks.
"Yes. Exactly. Carfron says this one in my hand is the original," I answer. "The theme of this round of Orb torture seems to be quitting. He's asked me many times why I quit, and last night I had a dream about a girl I went to school with. She told me I never try anything and called me silly moose brayer."
"A dili-musebayer?" Jonah's mouth tightens, and his eyes slant inward. That face means trouble.
"Yeah, that's it. Do you know the word? What does it mean?" I ask, not hiding my concern.
He shakes his head and returns his face to normal. "Nothing. You're right; quitting does seem to be the Orb's message. Although, that word is more like someone who doesn't start, more than a quitter."
YOU ARE READING
The Lost Knight (Volume IV) The Lost Prince
FantasyWIP Would love some Beta Readers
