WARLOCK?!

Too Close

Chapter 3—Too Close

“Get up!” Echo commanded as he pulled off my blanket.

Rudely awakened, I turned my head and glared at him.

“What time is it?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Five in the morning,” he replied.

“Five in the morning? Why so early?”

“You can sleep when you’re dead. Now get up. Fallon got up at four,” he ordered. “You’re lucky I let you sleep in.”

“Sleep in? It’s five—”

“Stop whining and get up!” He swished his arm, and my body shot up into a sitting position.

“Don’t do that! I appreciate having control of my body, thank you very much,” I said, bitterly.

“Fine, fine. I’ll give you five minutes to change into something comfortable. Now, hurry. Meet me in the training room. You should know where that is.”

The map that he placed in my head spun around and I mentally navigated myself through the house and to that room.

The door flew shut behind Echo. I quickly glanced at Fallon’s bed and realized that she wasn’t in it. I guess she did get an earlier start.

I rummaged through my backpack, and I pulled out a grey t-shirt that had the right sleeve ripped off and a few stray holes. I also slipped on an old pair of blue track shorts that were about a size too small. I quickly slipped on my black low-cut converse that were smothered with dirt and grass stains and ran out the door.

The training room was vast with high golden walls and a dimly lit atmosphere. There were several doors throughout the room, each having strange intricate carvings. There were random objects placed in the corners of the room. Other than that, the center of the room was very empty.

Fallon was on the other side of the room with Brant. She slowly lifted her hand, and a chair levitated.

“Whoa, do I get to do that?”

“Maybe,” Echo said, turning around.

He just stared at me for a moment, looking me up and down.

“What? Is something wrong?” I questioned.

“What in the world are you wearing?”

I shrugged. “Clothes,” I answered.

“You’re a walking disaster.”

“Well, excuse me for thinking that this was magical training, not a beauty pageant,” I replied, sarcastically.

“Your hair is a mess and your clothes are all torn up.”

“In my defense, you only gave me five minutes to get ready. My backpack was pre-packed for me when I was kicked out, and you can’t really fit a wardrobe in an old backpack. As for my hair, I’ll just put it up.”

I reached for the hair tie that was around my wrist and proceeded to tie my hair in a low ponytail. As I reached up to secure the final loop, Echo’s gaze travelled down.

I let go of my hair and yelled, “Hey! Stop staring, you perv.”

“Your shorts are…quite short.”

“That’s why they’re called shorts,” I countered.

“Tomorrow, we’re going to the mall. I’ll pay for your expenses. Get some new clothes.”

“Is that an order?” I asked.

“Yes, yes it is. Of course you can always refuse, but if you do that, then you’ll probably be subject to me staring at you in those shorts before most of our training sessions.”