The Blessed

CHAPTER ELEVEN

He walked over to the centre of the room. I followed, planting myself in front of the large man.

He opened the lid of the box.

Inside was a row of five chains with pendants resting in identically shaped depressions. The third chain was slightly higher in the row than the other four. This gave the whole thing an odd sense of balance.

The Director removed one chain from the box and handed it to me. On its pendent were two interlinking circles.

I put it on.

“Now what I'm about to teach you is called weapon summoning.”

I remembered Wallace and Jennifer summoning their weapons. I also remembered Franny summoning her staff.

“Just like driving, it might be tricky to grasp at first. But, once you get to master it, it will become as natural as breathing.”

The Director set the box down on his desk.

“Relax your hands.”

I let my arms hang.

“Okay, now close your eyes. Take in a couple of deep breaths and relax. Clear your mind and remove every thought or recognition of your surroundings. Ball your hands up into fists. Hear my voice, but don't listen to it...”

I became aware of my body's temperature. I thought about Beth, my mother, Thomas, and everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Being an expert at repression, I wrestled those thoughts away.

Something was different. My body temperature was average, not hot, not cold. It was uniform throughout except for one small spot. I could feel the coolness of the pendent on my chest. I focused on it, trying to absorb it. However, within a split second, the pendent rose in temperature.

Soon, it was hot.

I winced. A crackling sound, like burning wood, came from somewhere in the distance. the Director's voice was background noise. Just as abruptly as it became hot, the pendent cooled down.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Open your eyes.”

When I did, it was as if I had left the office for a while. I felt the coolness around my wrists. Around them were thick golden bangles. The director walked over to the chest of drawers. He removed the glass bottle and cups and handed me the empty tray.

He tried to bend the tray. The veins in his temples looked like they could burst at any moment. His teeth gritted together. It was quite a sight to see a man of his size fail to demonstrate his strength.

And kinda funny too, but I didn't laugh.

He finally abandoned the futile attempt. His breathing was heavy even though he tried to play it down. He handed me the tray.

I looked at him.

“Bend it.”

How did he expect me to bend it when I had all the strength of a thirteen-year-old boy?

However, surprisingly, the tray felt lighter than it looked. It felt like a sheet of paper. If I wasn't looking at it within my grasp, I wouldn't have believed that I was holding a thick metal tray. I held it before me and bent it. It folded in half like a closing book.

“Geri's bangles give you the ability to exert strength that is equal to twenty times their body weight. Think about how an ant can carry something way heavier than its body.”

The Director took off the chain from around my neck and returned it to the box.

“I'm going to have to get a new tray, LOL.”

I was taken aback.

“What? You think just because I'm old I'm not hip?”

Besides the fact that no one said LOL in person, I can't remember the last time I heard someone use the word hip either.

“Clearly my assumptions were unfounded.” I said.

Next, the Director handed me the pendent with the two interlinking hexagons, Drako's chains. I followed the same method as before, but instead of chains similar to what Wallace and Jennifer summoned, two trails of interlinked paperclips coiled around my arms onto the carpet.

“See, the thing with the other four weapon classes is that they require a stronger mental image in order to summon successfully.” said the Director.

“This is because, unlike Geri's bangles, they're external weapons detached from the user.”

I removed the chain and returned it to the director. The paperclips dispersed into thin black-orange mist.

“Why don't we stop here for today.” said the Director.

“Clearly, you can wield more than one weapon. From now on, I want you to meet me for private lessons on the rooftop garden every day after supper. For now, choose a weapon that feels most comfortable for your training class and stick to it. I would recommend bangles, but you can choose whatever you want. Next time we meet, we'll see how best you can summon the other four.”