The Man In The Midnight Blue Suit

Chapter Nineteen

The two days before the competition were like any other. I jogged in the mornings and practised with Jonathan in the afternoons. The difference was knowing, for once, what was ahead of us. This knowledge hung over us in anticipation, enticing us into imagining what this competition could hold - and fearing it. I was determined for it to work in my favour, yet I couldn't help being uneasy. My world was about to take another massive turn.

Waking up that morning felt like I was a little kid on Christmas day. Only there were no comforts, no cheerily wrapped presents. The anticipation I felt was as cold as ice. Jonathan and I meet in the gym and waited there for Lucian. I light my bright white flame in the palm of my hand and smother it, over and over, in an attempt to calm myself. It was no use.

Lucian arrived wearing, surprise surprise, a crisp midnight blue suit. He looked me up down, examining the simple silvery dress I had found in my room that morning. Jonathan was dressed similarly in silver, each of us seeming to complement Lucian's midnight blue.

"Our competition is very strict," Lucian announces, his voice bereft of its usual flair. "You will not have any contact with me for its duration. Foul play will result in failure. There will be a series of tasks, or tests, whatever you wish to call them, designed to break your limits. But do not assume the only testing happens in those tasks. I have trained you well, Casey, and I only expect the best. It is up to you now."

I glance around the room: It hits me that I will never come back here. I hope not, at the very least. If I do, I will have failed. That is one way Lucian and I are alike: Neither of us will accept failure. Although I have learnt everything that I now pride myself on in this room, I will not miss it. Nothing about this mansion will be worth missing.

Lucian casts a final glance at us. One final evaluation. He strides forward, leaving the gym and us in his wake. We follow him out the tall oak doors, through the white hallways, down the glass staircase. Our footsteps echo eerily through the mansion, the only sounds to be heard. It knows we will not be coming back. Not Jonathan and I. Lucian leads us through the ground floor, past the dining room with its long table. We stop at a wall, white like the corridors. At Lucian's gaze, it moves. The tiny pit of dread in my guts grows a bit more. Just when I thought I knew the mansion almost as well as I had known my childhood home. As always, something is hidden. The panel moves away, revealing a staircase leading down to a lower level. We enter, and the wall moves back into place behind us. A burst of midnight blue fire in a wall sconce lights the way. Down the steps, we walk. This time our footsteps are more enclosed, almost muffled between the walls. The steps seem endless, taking us further and further below the mansion. We turn a corner. The stairs end, opening up to a space only slightly larger. It is dark, lit only by Lucian's midnight blue fire. A damp smell of disuse lingers in the air. We stand on a platform, only a few meters wide. In front of us, a circular tunnel stretches on into blackness. At the foot of the platform, a smooth white sphere sits, fitting perfectly into the circular shape of the tunnel. It looks like something out of the future. Its front slips aside to create a sort of doorway. Lucian enters, waiting with his back turned for us to do the same. I realise that this is how we will get to the competition. You would think that being Elites, we would have the ability to teleport ourselves. That, apparently, only happens in movies.

Jonathan reaches for my hand. He gives it a comforting squeeze, smiles at me. He lets go and together we step into the sphere.

Inside, it is much larger than I thought. There is enough space for all of us to stand – even Jonathan with his lanky height. The walls curl in on us. Lucian stands at the centre of the floor – made of marble, much like the one in the gym. He motions for us to join him. We stand in a circle, all within arm's reach.

Lucian shuts his eyes, concentration making his body rigid. The sphere shifts. We can only feel it, a vague sensation of smooth, uninterrupted movement. We gain speed. I imagine us hurtling through the darkness, shattering into tiny pieces as we reach the end.