Brianna Acero and the Second One's Return

22. I meet the shadow king

"Carsten Fenn."

One after another, trainees step up and show Daniel what they can do. As we get closer to the end of the list, the Gifts start getting more powerful, more peculiar, as if Alexa wrote us down in order of strength instead of by name. Which is why I don't understand why my name hasn't been called yet. One thing is for sure: any one of us could be used as potential weapons. The girl that just stepped back into the semi-circle, a petite brunette that looked like she wouldn't hurt a fly, could suck all the oxygen out of a room. She merely told Daniel about her Gift and he was smart enough to tell her that she didn't need to demonstrate it.

He crosses off her name on the TekPad and calls his next candidate.

"Liam Woodruff."

For a second, no one steps up to our mentor, and we all start turning our heads to try and catch a glimpse of who will be the next trainee to show his Gift. Eventually a lanky boy with ash-gray hair and deathly pale skin walks up to Daniel, shoulders hunched as if to hide himself from our wondering eyes.

Daniel watches as the boy comes to a stop in front of him, a slight wrinkle appearing between his brows.

"Well then," he starts. "What is it that you can do?"

The question makes Liam shrink in on himself further, as he whispers something that none of us can hear. Daniel takes a step closer.

"What was that?"

Liam's shadow starts to grow under him, spreading across the floor like oil. I watch transfixed as it slithers under us, covering the room in a slick layer of darkness.

"Periculum," murmurs Liam, staring at Daniel with worried eyes.

Daniels' own expression changes in an instant, going from questioning to alarmed in a matter of seconds. He takes a step back as Liam starts to shake.

It looks like he doesn't know how to control his Gift, because the darkness keeps growing. Ice starts to seep into my bones, or is it that all the warmth in my body is seeping out? My breath becomes visible, as little puffs of warm air cut through the sudden cold. I turn to Cassie, her face having gone void of color, as she wraps her shaking arms around herself.

"Dark energy," she whispers, and suddenly I realize what Liam is doing.

The idea of dark energy had been proposed hundreds of years ago, but it was still one of the many unexplained mysteries of the universe. All we know about it is that it's unpredictable and very powerful. Though it has energy in its name, it's not exactly that, because it can be destroyed. That's why it was renamed "periculum ignotum" which means "unknown danger" in Latin, an old tongue that is still used in science today, but everyone still calls it dark energy. It is what keeps our universe growing, constantly expanding. But for those who tried to control it, those unlucky enough to possess it as their Gift, well they were usually consumed. The darkness would grow inside of them until they couldn't contain it, and it spilled out of them. Taking their life with it.

It wasn't meant to be kept in a human vessel, which is why Periculums were so rare.

Liam is shaking so badly he is practically vibrating, tremors wracking his tall frame. I've never seen anything like it. All that black, just pooling out of him in waves, and he's powerless to stop it. I can tell he's trying to control it, fists clenched at his sides, but eventually it becomes too much, and he crashes to his knees.

This spurs Daniel into action, and our mentor kneels beside the trembling boy.

"Breathe," he commands, placing a hand on Liam's shoulder "call it back."

He tries to do as he's told, but it only seems to work for a second before the black oil starts to creep up the training room walls, covering the lights and casting the room in shadows. I hear a few whimpers in the crowd, and I hold back a startled noise of my own. My heart speeds up in fear, and I feel Cassie press up against me, holding onto my sleeve. Daniel swears, griping Liam's shoulder tighter as he shakes him, trying to get him to focus.

"Come on, Liam, listen to me. Feel for the energy, it's connected to you, it's an extension of your being, you can control it."

For another stressful minute nothing happens, and then, as suddenly as the darkness began to spread, it starts creeping back towards Liam. Air rushes back into my lungs as the energy returns to its host, seemingly melting into his skin, and a shuddering gasp escapes his lips as he falls forwards on his hands and knees.

Daniel sighs, letting go of Liam's shoulder and helping him get to his feet. The boy leans on him as he catches his breath.

"Thanks," he wheezes, "haven't lost control like that in a long time, guess it was just nerves."

Daniel nods and pats his back, eventually letting go once he is sure Liam can stand on his own two shaky legs.

"You, I will need to work with." He says, a sad kind of smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Liam nods and stumbles back towards his friends. A girl with long blond hair pulls him back, supporting him when his knees go out from under him. She whispers something in his ear, and a humorless laugh bubbles up from his throat.

Everyone is still shaken up from Liam's "demonstration", shifting nervously from one foot to the other.

"Well then," Daniel claps, trying to get rid of the tension in the air. "On that cheerful note, would the next trainee please step up, Miss..." His mouth pulls downwards, a disbelieving expression crossing over his face. He rereads the list again, and I watch as recognition sparks in his eyes.

"Brianna Acero?"

I swallow, feeling Cassie nudge me with her elbow, and I step away from my group. I stand completely still as Daniel studies me, trying not to wring my hands together at the attention.

"You look just like your father," he says eventually.

Oh, so he does know me.

The comment catches me off guard, and for a moment I'm left standing there, speechless. I wait for him to say something else, but he just keeps watching me, so it doesn't look like he's going to speak anytime soon.

"My Gift," I start, but he raises a hand to silence me. I shut my mouth, teeth crashing together, surprised by his reaction. I feel the first twinge of unease settle in my stomach.

"I am guessing it is similar to your father's?"

The look he gives me tells me everything I need to know. This man knows what my actual Gift is. I nod, and wait.

"Well then. Special measures must be put in place for you my dear, stay after class and we will discuss them further. I am sure one of your friends can inform your next mentor why you won't be attending their lesson."

Special measures? I nod and head back to my spot next to Cassie, who doesn't say anything as I settle next to her. I recieve weird looks from the other trainees, who don't understand why someone with an ordinary physical Gift needs special training. I'm glad he doesn't share my Gift with the rest of the group, but doesn't he want to hear my cover story? Or at least know that I have one? Either way, I trust he knows what he's doing, so I don't complain and watch as another girl gets called after me. I guess I'll just have to wait until after class to find out what Daniel knows.

And to find out what he has planned for me.