A Darkness With No Name // Book 1: The Warriors of Light

5: Life at the Academy

Song for this chapter: "Here Comes the Sun", the Beatles.  I guess it shows that for Ian, a new life is about to start, yeah? Yeah. 'Kay.

Lucas was still crimson from his encounter with Edward when he heard distinct sobbing coming from the nearby bathrooms.  He jumped six inches off the ground when the bell signalling the next lesson rang, cursing his jittery nerves and the fact that after so many years attending the Academy, he still jumped every damn time.  He manoeuvred his way through the sudden wave of students who were slowly shuffling down the corridors to their next lesson.  He crept into the bathroom and found one of the cubicles locked shut.  As the noise outside died down, he knocked gently on the door.

"Go away," came the wonderfully polite reply from inside.

"Yan, it's me."

"I'm a mess, Luc."

"Come out, Yan."

To his relief, he heard the door lock click, and the door swung gently open, and Ian came out, eyes lowered.  Lucas placed two fingers beneath Ian's chin and raised Ian's face.  As his eyes met his, he saw his usually bright hazel eyes dimmed and bloodshot, and his face was wet with tears.  Lucas stepped backwards and led Ian out of the bathroom and into the corridors.  As they walked the maze of corridors, Ian let all his emotions out in the form of words, something he only did around Lucas.  In time, Lucas had come to understand the near-gibberish, half-strangled words blurting out of Ian's mouth in one of these moods.  When he finished, they were both sitting on a bench on the outside of the Academy, and Ian's overly-hyper mood had been reactivated.  Lucas was relieved and horrified on equal measures.

Lucas remembered that Edward had charged him with the duty of explaining the ways of the Academy, and he realised that it was going to be a tough job trying to stem Ian’s hyperactivity.  So he grabbed his hand, which seemed to stun Ian into silence, and began his tale, whilst leading Ian back into the Academy to acquaint him with the antique building.

“So, this building was built many years ago.  No one really knows how many.  It was built by the very first Afferens Lucem, Giorgio Moretti, who is also the founder of our elite group, and was also gifted with one of the rarest gifts bestowed upon us.”

Lucas paused dramatically, and waited for Ian to ask him the obvious question.   But instead, all he got was, “Oh my GOD you have an AQUARIUM?  CAN I SEE THE FISH?”

“Yan, are you even listening to what I’m telling you?”

Ian nodded distractedly, mouth open wide at the prospect of seeing actual goldfish.    Lucas had a sudden desire to find out what it would feel like to kiss him.  He hurriedly shook his head and muttered, “Snap out of it, Luc.”  Of course, Ian chose this moment to stop daydreaming about goldfish, and he turned a slightly worried face at Lucas, as if to enquire about his mental health.  Lucas flushed, and decided to go on with the story.

“Anyway, this Giorgio had your gift.”

At this, Ian finally looked at Lucas with some interest.  “Wow.  Really?”

“Yes.  It’s extremely rare, and also very useful.  Now, you asked me, back home, why you were requited at the age of seventeen when I’d been going since I’d turned twelve.  Your gift is so rare and so random that it cannot actually be controlled.  The furthest you can control it is by thinking of something, or someone, who is really important for you, and you might just get an insight into what they will pass through.”

Ian was impressed.  “So if I focus on you a lot, will I…”  See what I’m dying to know? “…see how many times you actually pee every day?”