Entrance to the Song (completed)

Chapter 11- Will of Our Words

Trees are only silent to those who will not hear.

I got up out the chair to follow Sol and Benin out of the door. Anything, even Sol, had to be better than being in the same room with that woman.

"Pendra," Mistress Vega said. "I'd like a moment alone with you, please."

It didn't sound like a request. The panel shut behind Sol and Benin with a relieved sigh. I gritted my teeth and turned to face her. "Yes, Mistress Vega?"

"I've been able to speak with Benin since you held yourself up in your room. I don't expect we'll have any more delays such as that again. I must insist that you focus on your training. There's not much time."

I put my hand on my hip. "Not much time before what?"

"Before the destruction of the human race."

"What?" That sounded ominous and dramatic.

"I've spoken with Ajala and her electromagnetic field has been disrupted by the capture of Earth Singers."

"You can speak to Ajala?"

"Hm, that's what you took away from what I said?" Her manicured eyebrow went up. "Yes, I can speak to Ajala and no I'm not an Earth Singer and neither is Sol. You have a lot more important things to learn aside from who we are. We are here to teach and protect you and Benin from Sirius."

I opened my mouth for another question, but she held up her hand before I could speak. "Hold your questions. Everything will be revealed in time."

Did she expect me not to speak?

"For now I expect you to listen and work hard. There will be a time for questions after you've conquered the basics."

"How much time do we have before the end of the human race?"

"One maybe two months." Her eyes were serious and penetrating.

My heart dropped.

"So now you see how important every day is. We'll do our best to provide you with the information you need, but your cooperation and trust are necessary for us to succeed."

Speechless, I nodded.

"Good," she said standing. "I'll show you the training field and library."

She moved with dangerous grace and I followed at a comfortable distance. My mind reeled with questions. How was Benin, and I supposed to prevent the end of the world?

The Beauty Bar was much larger than I imagined. We walked for a while before exiting a door that led outside. We passed under an overhang with several sets of tables and chairs, and through a small garden with exotic plants.

A small building lay to the left of the garden. "That's the mud pool," Mistress Vega said like I was supposed to know what that was. I tried to take in everything when we passed a gate of bushes and entered a large open field, about an acre long, cut into a large rectangle. The rectangle was filled with square holes that housed earth; the other part seemed made of concrete. It was an earth and concrete obstacle course.

My mouth gaped as I examined the large mound of packed earth in one corner of the training field. Another corner held a wall at least twenty feet tall. I gazed down at my skinny arms and dreaded what Mistress Vega had in store. I considered myself more of a scholar than an athlete.

"You'll learn to control and strengthen your abilities," Mistress Vega said from some distance away. I scurried over to where she stood at the edge of the field. "The goal is to reach the top of the wall first." I squinted at the distant wall. "There are three challenges marked by the poles." She pointed at each side of the rectangular training ground marked by poles equal distances apart. "The winner of each challenge will gain twenty points and the first person to the top of the wall gains forty."