The Pariah

Chapter 15

Chapter Song: Skillet - Awake and Alive

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The next morning, I left early. Not only did I not want to confront Myrina and all her questions, but also, I just needed to get out of there. I asked Priam the night before if she could teach me some things about fighting in this world. She agreed to do it. But only if we would do this from morning until night, like she'd requested. Which was fine with me. I preferred it that way anyway. 

The gym was emptied, since it was so early and nobody came in just yet. Priam was already there, but... she wasn't looking like a normal person. In fact, she was sitting on the ceiling. She was hanging upside down, criss-cross-applesauce on the ceiling, with her hands sitting in her lap. She was watching the doorway. So as soon as I walked in, I saw her and I froze in place. 

"Well..." I say, keeping my cool. "Should I come back later, or...?"

She shakes her head at me. Then she stands up like someone would if they were sitting on the ground. Her hair is standing above her head and her shirt is abandoned on the floor. She's clad in short shorts and a sports bra. Goddess, Evander would love to see this. 

Wait, did I just say goddess? Oh, crap, these Windbreak people are getting into my head. 

"Actually, you came at the perfect time." She bends down so her hands are touching the ceiling and she releases her legs down until she's dropping through the air, onto the floor. She lands without barely a thud. She straightens up her bra and I look away, face turning red. I'm nothing if not a gentlewoman. "You wanted to know how people in this world fight, let's begin."

"Um, I don't think I can walk on the ceiling." I looked up. 

"Doesn't matter. We'll start small." She grins devilishly, then without warning, she flings her hand at me. "Catch!" She yells, but I don't see anything coming at me. 

"What-" I fall backwards when a huge gust of wind knocks me down. I groan and sit up on my hands. "What the hell!"

She shrugs like it's no biggie. "Gotta be faster than that."

"And, ya know, actually see it!" I stand back up on my own two feet. "What was that?" 

She puts her arms behind her back and lifts her chin. She looks proud. Oh, man, is she about to gloat? "That, my friend, is how we use Magic. Only the Magic users that have visible Magic to the untrained eye get caught, though. There are a few of us who are good at disguising it." She snaps her fingers, then makes a motion toward me, and I fell back on my ass again. I growl lowly at her. She giggles. "Today, I'm gonna teach you how to see it and sense it."

I run a hand over my ass. "Yeah, okay. Sure, let's do it then." 

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So when I asked Priam to coach me, that may have been a mistake. 

Priam is a peppy, happy, always ready to lend a hand, kinda gal. She's pleasant most of the time, always smiles and hugs with her. Unicorns and rainbows. But... there's something I don't know about her. When she's training someone, she does not fuck around. 

The rope I am currently swinging on is leading me up to the ceiling, where she tied a key to the ceiling, hence the reason she was up there when I got here. She wants me to climb all the way up there, as she tries to knock me off the rope, using the same Magic she's using to cut the chain that she used to keep the key up there and bring the key down. If I do this, I'll have learned how to do basic Magic sensory and usage. If I don't... well, I don't a lot.

Like right now!

I hit the ground with another thud. The mats below keep me from breaking my neck. But they don't seem like they'd be that helpful. Priam says it's because Angels can take more hits than an average person. So I guess falling from the ceiling to a barely-cushioned matt was pretty okay for an Angel. It just knocks the wind out of me for a few seconds.