Lifelight: Calypso Returns

14.

For the third time in as many nights, Hera was scared awake by a nightmare she could not remember. It left behind dread and profound grief that lasted only a second. In the moments after she looked inward for the goddess but felt nothing.

Balthur ran the barracks and he had invited her to train with the new recruits to the guard. Hera figured that she had nothing else to do and Abu could use a break from her interrogations.

She nearly gave up that first morning on account of her inability to get out of bed in the predawn hours. She had sweats and her game face on when she walked into the large gym. There were about twenty people in the room, Balthur was not there yet. Hera sat on a bench next to a boy who did not look older than sixteen. Everyone else was stretching and warming but he was sitting with his legs crossed looking half asleep.

"Hi, I'm Hera." She said.

"Call me Lam. Haven't seen you around before." He said.

"First day."

Thur walked in then and they stopped talking and fell in a line. He did not acknowledge her and started barking orders at everyone. The drills were brutal, Hera was bruised and beaten by their first water break.

"How did you qualify with that speed?" Lam asked.

He was fast and strong. He climbed the rock wall, shadow boxed, and did suicides better than anyone. He was not warming up because he did not need to.

"I did not, this was a pity invite because I was bored and annoying the staff of the mansion." Hera said.

He looked at her for a beat and then shrugged, "If you want to survive this, you need to be better. They will eat you alive the first chance they get."

They were the other recruits. The competition among them was fierce. There had already been a few kicks and punches, some really did look like they would eat her. Hera wanted to be good, Kairu wouldn't always be there to fight off demons.

"Think you could train with me in your spare time?" Hera asked.

Lam gave her a quick nod and they dove back into it. Thur was relentless.He did not yell or rant like most P.E teachers, he walked among them like a panther coiled for attack. Orders came in short bursts and hit the mark every time.

Hera stumbled into someone as they left the gym. She was barely conscious by then. Lam pushed her back into him as the guy she hit turned and sneered at her.

"Sorry." She said.

"You should look where you're going Kathir."He said.

She did not register that she had been insulted but something inside her did. While the goddess seethed, relief washed over Hera at feeling her presence again. A mocking laugh from the crowd brought her back to the present.

"Found yourself a little pet Lam?" A tall girl with a striking resemblance to Iso said.

The exchange felt like high school. If it was not for the tension she felt in Lam behind her and the outrage of the goddess she would not have cared. Bullies were shallow little cowards and best ignored.

They moved away as Thur walked up to them. His silver hair shone with sweat and the proof of some kind of fatigue made her like him more.He smiled down at her and Liam.

"You are in worse shape than I thought Hera." Thur said.

"In my defense I had not stretched." Hera said.

"She could have done worse." Lam said.

"Impossible."Thur said.

Lam found her in the library later that day. He looked even younger and smaller next to the massive shelves. They sat for a while and he helped her find books about the great war. He invited her to a show at the capital.

They left after dinner and got a ride with Mika who had an early patrol shift in the capital. Sol Saira was everything Hera had imagined a big city would be. It lacked the hard, dark edges of Laevros. They had a drink at a quiet bar and walked around the market stalls and mall-like stores just checking things out. Hera had no money so she could not buy anything.

It was dark when Lam led them down a narrow street. The alleys stunk and women hummed in the balconies as they finished making supper. The street opened into a wide bridge, the river wound its way into the heart of the city. Right on the river was a barge, and on it was a band doing sound checks.

"This is so cool." Hera said.

"I thought you might like it." Lam said, "I grew up in the city,they've played here since I was a kid."

"How old are you Lam?" Hera said.

He did not answer because the band started playing. The whole set up was familiar, strings, drums, a lead singer but the sounds were a little different. Saira was in the details. It was good music though, a mix of soul and rock and roll.

The music reminded her of Aunt Khatya. She loved Bruce Springsteen, played his albums on a constant loop. She would have loved this. And she would have loved to come back home.

The entire set lasted only about two hours. They took a bus out of the city that would drop them off close to the cottage and they would walk the mile or so up the mountain. The bus was packed but for the back seat where they were, the same thing had happened at the concert where people kept a meter long radius from them. Hera assumed it washer, she did not look like anyone or smell like anyone so she was best avoided.

"So why did you become a recruit?" She asked.

"I wanted to travel but I did not want to be a merchant." Lam said.

"I met a merchant, not a nice guy." She said.

"You have been across the oceans?" He said.

"I have, only once, very recently. How come you're so fast?" She said

"My people are fast." He said.

"Do your people also maintain youthful looks and live long lives?" She asked.

"As a matter of fact they do."

"There is no easy way to ask this.... Lam, are you a Cullen?"

"What's a Cullen?"

"You don't know about Twilight? Lucky bastard."

"I don't understand."

"I'm just messing with you."

"I'll see you at the gym in 5." Lam said.

"What? Can't we start tomorrow?" She said.

"No.5 minutes Hera." Lam said.

They trained in the darkness the only light from a lantern outside the window. Lam moved like a ghost. He taught her how to throw a punch,how to duck faster that he could throw, the mechanics of how to climb a rope, but mostly he just mopped the floor with her. Another great thing about Saira, equality had come full circle, girls could take a beating just as well as boys.

"You have to find the strength from deep inside you." He said.

Hera saw the mangled tent that she had destroyed the night she released Leviathan.

"I don't think so." She chuckled.

"Why not?"

"Let's just say I have a lot of repressed rage just waiting for a reason."She said.

Training was hard but it kept her mind off things. She was in the best shape of her life even though she was still the slowest of the recruits.They took great pride in training to be part of the guard, some of them took a little too much pride in it which was why every class was turning into a flashback of PE class back home.

She kept ending up as a partner to a banshee called Dina. She growled when she attacked, it was hilarious at first then it got scary really fast. Training was a lesson in growing a thick skin. Hera was aware that she was avoiding her situation. The voice had retreated and she just pretended that she was on holiday.

She could not do it forever. She felt the weight of fate on her. It was in the looks Mika, Kairu, and Yuli gave her, the sad smiles from Iso and Hawa. More than anything she felt a responsibility to protect Calypso.