Dust Thou Art

Chapter Ten

Lately I've had 'Written In the Stars' by Tinie Tempah ft. Eric Turner stuck in my head. And 'Sleepwalker' by Adam Lambert--btw it' s one of my favorite songs.

Also, I've had band camp for two days but then I have it for the next month. It really sucked marching in 96 degree weather...especially because I didn't wear sunscreen. *Sigh*

Anyway...here is chapter ten!

Comment/Vote! Thanks!

-Makayla Rayne

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Chapter Ten

"On your toes! Duck! Ivy you could've just gotten sliced in half with a lightning bolt," said Jamis, my trainer for today. I'd been training for two weeks now. Depending on the day, I'd have it anywhere from four to six hours--with breaks of course.

I sighed. "Well pardon me for trying to tune you out so I don't fall on this God forsaken support beam! Besides, I wouldn't have actually gotten sliced through with a lightning bolt."

Jamis grinned crookedly. "Okay. More realistically you'd be badly injured by a shuriken. Now jump."

I froze. My training through the last few days consisted of me performing manuevers on the support beam in the attic of their house. Which was a good twenty feet off the ground. I had a rope tied around my waist so I wouldn't fall...but I didn't exactly trust it to catch me.

"Ivy, jump. In the chalk circle. Just like yesterday. You can do it," Jamis urged.

"Uh-huh," I said through my teeth. I was trying to tell myself to jump but my body wouldn't respond. Like a defense mechanism. Every part of me was screaming jump and you die.

Jamis sighed in exaggerated patience. "You're going to have to come down sometime Blake."

"Shut up. I'm working myself up to it."

"In a battle you won't be able to work yourself up in the five seconds you have before a shuriken nicks you. I thought you said you did gymnastics when you were younger."

"Well yeah. But that only makes it easier to do things on this stupid beam. Jumping off however...much more difficult."

"Don't hesitate."

My body moved just as I was about to say something. I jumped off the beam. The rope tightened around my waist. I landed in the chalk circle on my heels instead of my toes. "Ow!" I exclaimed, stumbling backwards.

A pair of warm strong arms were wrapped around my torso, keeping me standing. "You're supposed," Jamis muttered into my ear, "to land on your tip toes."

I clamored out of his grip awkwardly. "I know! I know! Duck when you say duck, jump and land on my tip toes when you say jump." Then I laughed for a second. "When you say 'Jump' I say 'How high?'"

"What?" he asked.

"It's a saying," I sang, untying the rope and twirling on the wood floor. "What's next Drill Sarge?"

"You do your homework last night? The reading Gentry gave you?"

I gave him a salute. "Sir yes sir." I walked to my bag and dug around, moving my school clothes out of the way. I brought a change of clothes to train in. Jeans and a T-shirt weren't ideal for kicking butt and taking names. So I usually wore a tank top and cotton shorts and, after the prude comments by Axel, I got used to it. "Here we are." I pulled out the book. History of the Hidden World.

"Did you take notes too?"

"That I did. On every Child slash species, on every chapter. It wasn't too bad."