Cirque Periculum

Chapter 5

Connor woke up the next morning with a start. Sunlight filtered through the tent, giving a golden glow to everything from his new shoes to Adams empty bed. Where is Adam anyways?

At that moment Connor noticed the voices outside of the tent questioning where he was. I'm late to lessons! Connor jumped out of his bed, threw his clothes on and ran outside the tent with his shoes in his hand. He saw Adam and Mr. Summertin walking towards the area with the picnic tables a few yards away and followed behind them, trying to slip his shoes on his feet as he went.

By the time he reached the picnic tables Adam and Mr. Summertin had already sat down across from each other. Connor slipped in next to Adam, making sure to bump into his side a little harder than necessary.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Connor asked, glaring down at him.

"I dunno. I guess I just thought you'd be coming soon anyways," he replied, not making eye contact.

Mr. Summertin set a book on the table and looked up at both of them. "Adam, it seems like you're going to have to take a little extra responsibility to wake Connor up in the mornings. Breakfast is over in the cook's cabin if you want it."

Connor nodded with vigor, forgetting his anger. Both of the boys went to the cabin and grabbed hot rolls and orange juice. All of it was gone before they got back to the table. In the time they took Mr. Summertin had laid out an array of books, some of them handwritten, and others that didn't look like writing at all, but rather a mess of scribbles and scratches. The titles Connor could read included Everyone Has a Gift, The Blessings and Curses of Alchemy, Potions: Not that Far Fetched When You're an Aurist, Runes for Dummies, and Flying Chariots and Everything you Need to Know to Build One.

Adam turned the alchemy book towards him, but Mr. Summertin snatched it and put it back in his bag.

"This is how you will start every morning while you're in training, at this exact table with me," Mr. Summertin said. "You've entered an entirely new world with new rules that you know nothing about. We will be covering everything: the history, the economy, locations, and various gifts from flying to tunneling and everything in between. Today we will be covering my gift, and that is rune drawing."

The next two hours Connor fought to stay awake as Mr. Summertin explained the basics. The most interesting thing that happened was when he let Adam draw a bird and brought it to life. The bird's legs were different sizes, so it kept stumbling around until Mr. Summertin erased the rune. Connor's thoughts turned to flying. There was something about it that scared him, although he couldn't figure out what it was. He loved being up high, that's why he loved the water tower so much in Greenview. It seemed kind of fun to him actually, but something triggered a knot in his stomach.

Finally after what felt like forever, Meridian and Mr. Barge showed up to take Connor and Adam to their next training session. Connor raced over to Meridian, trying to ignore the knot that had just grown twice as big.

"Are you ready?" Meridian asked cheerfully, turning and walking towards a large hill.

"Not even close," Connor muttered under his breath as he followed behind.

It only took five minutes to get to the top of the hill. When they got there, Meridian silently glided over to a patch of grass and sat down, closing her eyes.

"Sit down across from me," she said, barely moving.

Connor complied, sitting on the warm sand and soaking in the warmth of the sun. He gazed at her, waiting for her to give him his next instruction. Instead, Meridian closed her eyes and tilted her head back so her face was in the sun.