Into the Flames

Chapter 19

Jenna was shaken awake, startled from her sleep. “What the hell?” she asked, eyes squinting from the sunlight coming in from the windows.

            “Up and at ‘em,” said Dylan, shaking her. “You’re training today.”

            “What’re you doing here?” asked Jenna, pushing herself up. “This is a girl’s bedroom.”

            “You didn’t say that last night when I was in here.”

            Red tinted her pale cheeks. “That’s different,” she snapped. “Get out so I can change.”

            He stood there, a foolish grin on his face. “Get out, goddammit,” said Jenna, getting out of bed and poking him with her elbows. He laughed as she slammed the door shut. She heard the sound of his footsteps receding as he walked down the stairs to breakfast.

            “Your training officially starts today,” said Dylan as soon as Jenna took a seat at the table. “No breaks, consistent, everyday training.”

            “What’s she going to do?” asked Adam, bored.

            “I figured we might as well just use the subway, and then go out into the field. I guess we could use the almanacs in the library to go over some basics,” said Dylan.

            “Am I going to fight you?” asked Jenna.

            “Just so I could beat you again? No.”

            Jenna grunted at his response, still slightly upset about that. “I’ll beat you one day,” she said under her breath.

            Jenna walked into Gianna’s room, dripping with sweat. She landed face first on her bed. Gianna looked up from her book, crinkling her nose. “You smell,” she said simply, grabbing a towel off the end of her bed and throwing it over her head.

            “That was exhausting,” muttered Jenna, wiping her sweat off.

            “I’m sure it could have been worse,” said Gianna lightly, flipping to the next page.

            “I’m sure it couldn’t have,” said Jenna.

            “Hey, look at this,” said Gianna, handing Jenna her bookmark.

            “What is this?” asked Jenna, looking at the piece of paper. The silver ink on the paper looked luminescent, as if it glowed against the royal blue paper. A strange symbol was on the top, almost like a circular barcode but more intricate.

            “It came in the mail today. It’s a party invitation – it’s in two weeks.”

            “A party for who?” asked Jenna, still staring at the paper.

            “Some wizard’s Christmas party. And wizards don’t do parties; they’re more of a formal ball type. That’s his or her symbol on the top; each wizard has a unique one.”

            “And why are you showing me this?”

            “So we can go, obviously,” said Gianna.

            “You like parties too much, you know that?”

            “The loud noises outside of my head make me forget what’s going on inside,” she said quietly, not even looking up from her book.