You don't realize how much being hit can actually hurt until you're lying on your back not able to breathe from just one punch. At some point the stars in your vision start to look like your normal sight and you can't tell what direction you're facing. The ringing in your ears becomes so loud that it's deafening, and soon nothing starts to make sense. You can do nothing for a few moments after taking a hit like that, its an impossibility that I haven't mastered yet according to my father who I know stands somewhere nearby.
"Get up Raiden!" I hear from what feels like miles away. "You need to recover faster than this if you're going to make anything of yourself," My vision starts to clear, and I see my father kneeling over me offering me a hand. "And you will make something of yourself." It wasn't reassurance that spilled out of his mouth but a command. I accept my father's hand and am all but lifted to my feet.
He motions to the benches on the walls of the dojo where we keep our water jars during practice and I head over, still trying to shake the ringing from my ears. "You will make something of yourself." The thought echoes through my mind. I am the youngest son of Count Arashi and yet for some reason I'm the one that's expected to make something of himself, not my two older brothers but me. It's always me, I go with father to boring visits of the other houses, I go with father to meet business partners, and I'm the only one drug into this dungeon he calls a dojo, day after day to train and learn to fight, yet both my brothers get to do whatever they want. Smoke, my eldest brother is becoming a musician, and Thermo hasn't even begun to study anything, and here I am, no choice, forced to train and fight. I put my water down and make my way back on the mat where my father stands waiting for me.
"Last round." He says putting his hands up waiting for me to strike. "Feel the energy Raiden, feel how it moves through you and try to force it out though your fists." I raise my hands and strike forward, but it doesn't connect. My father side steps my strike and goes for a low sweeping kick. I nimbly dodge his leg going into a back handspring driving my foot toward his chin. I push the energy out as soon as my foot connects with my father's jaw and immediately smell the familiar scent of electricity. I finish the handspring landing back on my feet, but I'm too slow to do anything else before my father's fist collides with the center of my chest right below my ribcage. I drop immediately from the impact, my vision swirling, and the ringing getting louder.
"Up Raiden!" I hear my father shout, and I roll to my feet just in time to hear him stomp on the ground where I was only a moment ago. I try to back up and put some distance between us, but my father isn't letting me get any space. He goes for a right hook, but I duck under it throwing a hook of my own right into his ribs forcing the explosive energy out of my fist. A flash bright red light and the smell of electricity fills the room again. I go for a kick in the same spot, but my father grabs my foot pulling me toward him and off my other foot. I saw the ground a split second before I hit it and the wind was knocked out of me. I felt my father's forearm pressed against my throat. I couldn't breathe even if I wanted to
"What now Boy? Is this all you've got?" My father's voice was loud, like it was inside my head. "Show me your true strength!" His voice was all consuming. I felt all the frustration of the past rounds, of his taunts, of me having no control, I felt the energy build within me. I felt the charge. I planted my hands on my father's chest above me and released it all. Every bit of anger, every ounce of resentment, every molecule of emotion, I forced it all out of me. The temperature in the room rose to a boil, red light filled every corner of the dojo, and thunder crashed all around me. The sound was deafening to the point I couldn't hear my father yelling over it. My throat hurt, I must have been screaming during the outburst, but I don't remember doing so.
My father was standing ten feet from where I sit, looking satisfied with my performance. He, of course, was unharmed being an air genasi that was lucky enough to be born with a natural affinity for lightning, which he then passed on to me. My mother on the other hand is a fire genasi able to use and produce small amounts of flame whenever she wants. Thermo, Smoke, and our baby sister Cinder all took after our mom but none of them can even come close to controlling the flames like she can.
I sit up and my father tosses a towel at me, but I let it hit the floor not bothering to pick it up. "I couldn't breathe." I say rising to my feet, my throat protests in pain with every word I speak. "You almost killed me!" I stare at my father waiting for some response.
"You are being dramatic." He says calmly, taking a moment to wipe the sweat off himself. "I would not allow you to die in training."
"Allow me!" My throat feels like it's tearing itself apart with the strain of yelling. "What if I did? What if I died during training one day? What then Father?"
"Then you weren't strong enough." He says it so casually while starting to change out of his training shirt. "Now, you have class in thirty and we wouldn't want to be late, enough of these dramatics and get ready." I try to reply but no sound comes out, my throat feels like it has been burned and is now refusing to cooperate with me. I glare at my father and get ready for classes.
The cycle continues like this for years, my father and I spend every morning and evening in the Dojo. Every day I go to classes to learn about the kingdom, languages, math, and all the other essentials when it comes to education. Fighting in tournaments that my father signs me up for, but careful not to use the energy in them. I make and lose friends at school, go on trips with my father meeting people from all over our kingdom. Besides training at tournaments as long as I was doing well in school my parents didn't pay much, if any, attention to me.
Cinder required a lot of attention because she had a lot of medical problems that eventually made it so she can no longer walk. Smoke has become rather talented in his musical pursuits learning how to weave small amounts of magic into his performances. Thermo to be quite honest I have no idea what he has been doing, but he must have something because I don't think father would let him stay here if he wasn't doing anything at all. I always see him sneaking around the house like he's doing something he isn't supposed to but that's happened so much that its normal now.
Today is different than the other days, today is graduation day. Father and I wake up extra early to train. The school hosts graduation in the evening and there wouldn't be time left after we would leave to train then. Today was easy in training, some light sparing but mostly meditation. I have always had the hardest time with meditation, it isn't like me to sit still and breath, Father says the fact that I don't like sitting still shows combat potential, and if I manage to make it through meditation it shows self-discipline, or something like that. I'm too impatient this morning however and receive more scoldings than I would like, or than is normal.
I almost sprint my way back to my room when father lets me go. I find that my mother has left me clothes laid out on my bed for me to wear. I had been taught that dressing nicely was important, but I had never worn something of this caliber. The pants and shirt were a nice navy-blue color, nice in their own right. The suit jacket, however, was a pearlescent white with a pattern of dragons that snaked all around it. The dragons were very different than any legend I had heard of. These ones had hair like the mane of a horse the length of their bodies, which stretched long like a snakes. They had no wings or legs but somehow I could unmistakably recognize these as dragons. I put on the clothes taking extra time to make sure I looked the best I could for the day and headed out of my room.
"Took you long enough." Thermo said as I stepped into the hall. "What the hells were you even doing in there?"
I glanced at my brother. He looks like our mother, soft red skin, long flowing hair that looks like fire, and the biggest smile in the world. I was the only one of the children to retain the blue coloration and make it from our father's side of the family." I was caring how I look, someone in this family has to." I reply smugly.
"Glad I can leave that responsibility to you then, ay Ray Ray." My brother said smiling as he punched my arm. We continued the banter back and forth before entering the dining hall and taking our seats at the table. Sitting across from me, as always, was my oldest brother Smoke and sitting next to me, my little sister Cinder. Thermo took his seat next to Smoke, and we waited for our mother and father.
"How's yuh mornin goin Raiden?" Cinder asks in a sing-songy voice.
"My morning has been fine Tart. How has yours been?" Tart was my nickname for Cinder. When Cinder was a baby Thermo always used to say she looked like a little strawberry with legs. She has always been so sweet and cute, so we ended up calling her strawberry tart which eventually just got shortened to Tart.
"It was good." She said, "Smoke and I played Adventures in The Astral all morning."
I assumed this was another one of the games she made up to play when she was bored. I looked over at Smoke, he gave me a shrug and a little smile. Smoke has always been the quiet stoic one of us, but when it came to Cinder he would do anything. Nothing made Smoke happier than when she was around.
"Are you ready for your big day Ray?" my mother asks as she enters the dining room carrying plates full of food. Smoke is faster than Thermo or I and stands to help her first.
"Im a little nervous," I chuckle "Don't really know what's coming after you know." It's true, I don't know what will happen after graduation, I don't know how life will change.
"Im sure you'll figure it out," my mother says planting a kiss on the top of my head. "And you look dashing by the way."
"Thanks mom." I say taking my plate from her. "I'm sure your right."
My father entered just as mom and Smoke finished setting the table out. "And how is the family this fine morning?"
"Fine." Smoke said flatly. In recent months he and my father haven't been getting along. My father raised his eyebrows in half surprise and half expectation that Smoke corrected his tone. "Just fantastic." Smoke made his tone overly cheerful on purpose and then dropped his face into almost a sneer. I hadn't see such blatant disrespect from Smoke before, it was like all happiness drained from him the moment our father stepped foot in the room. Thermo darts a panicked look between me and Smoke before speaking up.
"We are doing good father. Mother cooked a delicious breakfast and its Raidens graduation." Thermo said in a desperate attempt to take my father's attention off of Smoke. Without acknowledgement of what Smoke even said he turned his attention to Thermo who now looks terrified that he just said something at all.
"Indeed we do, im glad to hear your doing good Thermo." My fathers tone is calm and icy. He turns his attention to Cinder. "And how are you doing this morning my little Strawberry?"
Cinder told our father all about "Adventures in The Astral." He listened but by the look in his eye I could tell that he did not care. I could tell he was more upset with Smoke for playing with her, and speaking out of turn then he was interested in her story, and by the looks on my brothers faces they knew too.
"Well, I'm glad to hear your having fun Strawberry." My father said as Cinder finished her story "I would love to talk more later, but for now you must get to your classes. Wouldn't want to be late, now would we children?" He asked and we all murmured in agreeance and got up to leave but before any of us had a chance to exit the hall our father spoke again. "Except you Smoke, I would like to speak with you privately for a moment." He smiled softly. But I knew that smile, we all knew that smile.
"Yes father." Smoke said after a long deep breath. The rest of us hurried out the door my mother grabbing Cinder. I turned around one last time only to meet Smoke's eyes as he pushed the door shut. The fear that radiated from his look was indescribable. Our eyes remained locked until Smoke closed his only escape.
We continued down the hall into the courtyard of our manor, making our way silently but quickly passed the flowerbeds and fountains until we reached the carriages that would take us to the school. The Four of us rode silently the entire way to the schoolhouse.
"We gotta do something." Thermo says after we have entered the building, away from our mother and holding Cinder who is now asleep. "I don't know if I can take another one or keep watching Smoke… or gods forbid he does something to Cinder." We stop outside Cinders class room pausing in the hall way.
"What can we do Thermo? I have fought the man practically every morning and every night for thirteen years, and I still cant even land a hit on him that seems to hurt. Its like punching bricks. I cant to any real damage enough to stop him, and if we tried he may just kill us as punishment." I say as I cant get rid of the slow setting feeling hopelessness in my chest.
"I don't know man, but we gotta try something, show him that he can't keep doing this. And I don't know why mom doesn't do anything either, kinda starting to piss me off honestly." Thermo pushed the door open to greet Cinders teacher and we say our goodbyes to the little strawberry tart. "Promise me next time Raiden, we do something, we at least try."
"Fine." I agree hesitantly, I don't like the thought of actually trying to stop my father by myself, or with my brothers who don't know how to fight. No matter how much I don't like the idea Thermo is right it needs to stop. "I promise next time, we try and stop it." Thermo gives me a hug, and then starts walking back out the door before turning around.
"Oh and congratulations on graduation Ray Ray! I'll see you on that stage tonight!" He's practically yelling by the time he reaches the door. He pushes the door open with his back giving me a wave, and the largest smile he can muster before it closes behind him. I walk through the schoolhouse remembering all the memories I have made here sense I was a boy. Reminiscing on the times when my friends and I would run through the hallways, racing toward the door to be the first one outside after school was over. I remember the fights I used to, and still sometimes do, get into with Onyx Adina.
Onyx is the school bully, she's also the only other person in our town who knows how to fight besides, apparently the person that trained her, and my father. In school neither of us ever won or lost a fight, the teachers were always to quick to stop us before we could actually get to the point of someone gaining an upper hand. However, Onyx also entered just about every single tournament I entered. It was there that we got to settle our other matches. All but one of our fight ended in a draw, that was then moved to sudden death. The fight that wasn't sudden death ended with me electrocuting her and ending the match in a single point, I told my father that it was an accident, but I knew the truth.
Onyx always had a bad habit of picking on Pebbs "Pebble" Pebbington. Pebbs was, and still is, my best friend. If I'm not at home or on any trip with my father I can always be found with Pebbs. The thing about Pebbs is that he truly is a rock. I mean that in the sense that Pebbs can take any beating, verbal or physical, and remain absolutely unharmed, he's steady mentally and physically and no one can take him down, but he is verry quite and kind of weird. Pebbs likes rocks, plants, and animals way to much to be normal. He once had a collection of beetles in his pocket that he brought to class for show and tell when we were little, that should give you a good idea who Pebbs is, and why he was the perfect target of someone like Onyx.
A few days before the tournament Onyx had taken Pebbs pet lizard and dangled him off the roof of the schoolhouse while a few of her friends held Pebbs back. After a series of events that I didn't catch because Pebbs was frantic when he was telling me what happened, Onyx dropped the lizard off the roof, and it died. I told Pebbs that I would take care of it and the next time I saw Onyx there weren't even words spoken before fists went flying, of course the teachers broke us up before any serious damage could be inflicted, so I waited.
I waited till the final match of our next tournament. The fight was over as soon as it begun, I wasn't worried about winning or playing fair, and immediately went for a face strike, which was an illegal move and she didn't expect, then focused the energy to expel from my fist. A flash of red, a scream, a thump, and no cheering later the match was over. I was, of course, disqualified from the tournament and my father was extremely upset with me. The next couple of training sessions were very one sided to say the least and I ended up with a few broken bones. After that Onyx never touched another one of Pebbs pets but didn't stop talking bad about him to his face or behind his back which is why sometimes we still get into fights from time to time.
I make my way outside to the games field where the school as built a stage on the grass facing the bleachers. The Graduating class doesn't have any real classes today, the day is usually spent setting up for the ceremony in the evening or playing games as a class. Luckly my class has quite a few air genasi and all the heavy lifting isn't a problem as they can make things float with little effort. By midafternoon the field looks more like a massive courtyard with a banquet table, the stage, and a pavilion for mingling after the ceremony. The class does a few practice runs of the graduation ceremony including the valedictorian, whom of course is Onyx, doing her speech.
"I honestly expected you to skip today." Pebbs says quietly as we sit on the roof eating our after-school lunches.
"Why? I have never even missed a day, as long as I'm not on a trip with my father." I say confused looking at Pebbs.
"I just would have thought your father would see it as a waste of a day and only have you show up tonight at the ceremony." Pebbs shrugs, as he leans in to take a bite. I shrugged, not having an answer to give him and continued eating. Eventually the evening came and everyone gathered in their places, certificates were given, speeches were made, congratulations took place, and everyone mingled. I was leaning on a pole by the banquet table talking with Pebbs and Thermo when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to face the person I least expected to tap on my shoulder, Onyx.
"Oh great, what the fuck dose this bitch want." Thermo said immediately standing in a more defensive posture glairing a Onyx and putting extra emphasis on bitch.
"If I wanted to talk to you, I would have tapped on your shoulder Hot Head." Onyx snapped back almost instantly. Onyx turned her attention back to me and we locked eyes. "Ceasefire tonight. You do nothing. I do nothing. Agreed?" I looked deep into the pure black orbs she had for eyes searching for any hint of dishonesty or trickery.
"Fine." I said, placing my hand in front of me after finding no such threat in her eyes. She took my hand, and the deal was made for the night it was graduation and we both wanted to enjoy it without the other interfering. She then promptly left saying not another word to any of us.
"A deal with the devil." Thermo said shaking his head in disappointment. I shoved him and we got back the banter. On the way home, our father was in a rather joyful mood, he rather enjoyed the party and was telling Cinder that he was going to show her his collection of gems when we got home. He always claimed that they were his most prized possession. The ride was spent with our parents telling us stories about their youth, tuns out both our mother and father were quite troublemakers when they were young.
When we got home the sun had long since set over the horizon. The house was quiet when we entered, unlike most other noble families we didn't have any servants. My father preferred to keep his home life private is what he told everyone whenever the topic came up. Smoke, carrying Cinder, followed my father into the room where he kept his extensive collection of gemstones.
"Think he had a little too much drink?" Thermo asked caution in his tone. "Or do you think he is just in a good mood?"
"He is more open to talking then I have ever seen him." My father was never one for talking, usually he sat silently until he was addressed directly or disagreed with something someone else said. "It's possible. We should keep an ear out." I was starting to see how bringing the most clumsy, crippled, and susceptible member of the family into the room where everything needs to be perfect, with my tipsy, if not drunk, father was a recipe for disaster.
"Smokes still black and blue from this morning too." Thermo said. "I made him show me when we got back from dropping you two off. I'm sure it has only worsened as the day went on to."
"So is he in?" I ask still not sure if this is a good idea.
"Yeah. He's in." Thermo nodded his head. "What ever it takes."
"If, or more like when, this happens you take Tart and get her as far away as you can, you have always been faster than Smoke. I will distract father and then Smoke can do whatever he thinks is best, maybe he'll be able to use a spell or something." I say. We need a plan, if we charge our father recklessly with no strategy the three of us stand no chance against him and our hopeful display of defiance will fail. And worse if we fail it will prove to my father that he can keep doing whatever he wants.
"Thermo!" It was almost as if on que as we heard Smoke yell from the other room immediately followed by a high-pitched scream. Both of us sprinted toward the door with no hesitation. Thermo got there just before I did and burst into the room slamming the door open causing the display case on the opposite side to shatter. I took quick a look around the room and saw my father standing over Smoke and Cinder who were both crumpled on the ground. Cinder way crying, clutching her stomach, and she looked like she was having a hard time breathing.
"She dropped it!" Smoke coughed out pointing across the room to where a big sapphire lay on the floor cracked in half. I dove for the broken sapphire and Thermo put himself between our father and our siblings, but our father's attention was now on me. I picked up one of the pieces and lobed the stone at my father. The sapphire sailed through the air directly toward my father's face. He quickly and calmly put his had up and caught the sapphire. There was no sense of panic or fear on his face. I looked at my father and a fire lit inside me, something that had been smoldering deep inside me for years began to blaze.
"Raiden, I will give you this one chance to reconsider your actions. If you make the right choice we can move past this lapse in judgment and your punishment will not be as severe." My Father said letting out a growl so low it was inhuman. Without a second thought I chucked the second stone at my father. It too was, unfortunately, caught. "Disappointing Raiden." Was the only thing my father said as he approached where stood crouched on the floor.
My fists burned as my father drew closer and a new feeling flooded my body. It wasn't anger, it wasn't rage, it was something different something I hadn't felt before. Something deep within me told me that this was it, I wasn't going to let my father push me or my siblings around anymore, I was done being a pawn in his game, I was done having my siblings used as leverage against me. I was defiant, and I wasn't going to let this continue.
I struck my father first pushing this new heat out of my body forcing the energy within to take shape. A bright, hot, flash of blue light filled the chamber as my fist collided with my father's stomach and the smell of burnt flesh filled my lungs and I heard my father grunt. I swung my other fist upward connecting an upper cut, this time I watched as the energy engulf my hand in a blue flame and not my usual red lighting. I rose fully to my feet before I realized what was wrong, my father didn't even attempt to block my strikes. His fist firmly planted itself into my chest and I went flying into a display case shattering the glass. I couldn't breath and stars began to swim in my vision as I lay on the case not moving. Before I could recover my father was above me, I swung my left hand at his face. Blocked. No, that wasn't right, it was caught.
My father wrenched my arm with force I had never felt before, there was a sucking popping noise, then a splintering crack as he abruptly changed the direction of where he was pulling my arm. His other hand slammed into my stomach breaking me through the display case and landing me on the floor. My back hit something hard and I rolled sideways pushing my self to my knees, my ears ringing, I looked up to see my father with a blade around his throat. Thermo stood behind my father holding the sword.
"It ends now, or I draw the blade." Thermo said gritting his teeth. My father laughed it was deep guttural laugh, not like any I had heard my father produce before.
"Draw your silly sword than boy." My father raised his fist as the blade slid across his throat. I felt my father's fist connect with my eye and everything went dark. When I came to my senses Smoke was being held aloft my father holding his neck with one hand and Thermo was lying motionless on the floor at his feet. I didn't see Cinder anywhere in the room which was a good sign. Smoke locked eyes with me and slowly shook his head. I could still feel the fire in me, with the strength that I had left and rose to my feet. I gathered all of the energy that was in me, fire burning through my palm, and blasted it toward my father. Blue flames filled the room, my father dropped Smoke and turned to me. Smoke gasped and crawled over to Thermo reciting some magic words.
Besides the small flames that now burned on my father's clothes he looks completely unharmed. Thermo's sword did nothing, my flames did nothing, and whatever Smoke had done had no effect on him. I was exhausted and felt hopeless. My father approached me shaking his head slowly.
"You had so much promise Raiden." He sighed heavily. "You could have been the best fighter the world has seen in generations, yet you refuse to listen, your impatient, and worst of all your stubborn, and that stubbornness is why you lost here." He spoke so calmly like we posed no threat to him at all as he got so close to my face that I could feel his breath. "You should have listened to your brother Raiden." He grabbed my throat and kicked my knee, I felt it snap but I couldn't scream, I couldn't do anything anymore. It took all I had to just be able to breath, and breathing was quickly becoming impossible. I heard my mother's scream come from the doorway then some shouting in a language I recognized but couldn't understand, Ignan. My father started yelling at whoever was at the door and I was dropped to the floor.
There was a bright flash of white light, and I was no longer in the house, I couldn't hear my father or my mother, it was cold, and I could feel dirt beneath me, there was a slight wind making the air around cool. I was outside, I didn't know where. I looked around trying to get the bearings of my situation. I couldn't see much only using one eye, the other being swollen shut. I couldn't walk my knee was broken inward from where my father kicked it, and I only had one usable arm.
I crawled my way to the side of a building and leaned against it. Sitting lessened the pain, everything hurt my chest, my stomach, my head, every bone in my body ached. My father had won, my brothers and I were as good as dead if he ever found us again, if I didn't die here slumped in an ally only gods know where. I don't know how long I sat in that ally, minutes, hours, I wasn't sure. I only focused on slow shallow breaths, it made everything hurt less, if only I didn't have to breath like other air genasi, but instead I was cursed with my father's lighting abilities.
"You don't look so good Sparky." A voice said from the darkness. I looked around my surroundings searching for the person the voice belonged to, it was so familiar. "What happened to you? I saw you only half an hour ago." The voice was so soft, comforting almost, but something sat at the back of my brain telling me not to trust the voice. My gaze focused on a woman crouched in front of me, how did I miss her before? My eyes must not be working great. The woman was gorgeous she had grey skin and elven ears, long, wavy, white hair that was done in a lose braid and laid in front of her shoulder. She was wearing a sleek, blue almost black dress with a slit down the side. She was wearing an expensive necklace and had twin cuff bracelets on her wrists. It all seemed so familiar, but I couldn't place her until I looked in the shiny black orbs she had for eyes.
"Come to gloat Onyx, I'm not really up for it at the moment." I croak. The gods could have sent anyone or anything to help me, and they sent Onyx Adina. She scoffs.
"I don't like beating things when they are already down Sparky." She retorts. "Unlike someone I know."
"What are you here for then?" Its hard to speak, and my vision is starting to blur. Onyx smacks my face a few times. "What's your problem?"
"I have to make sure you don't pass out jackass. With injuries like these if you go to sleep now, you might not wake up." She moves over to my good arm and throws it over her shoulder. "I'm going to need you to stand, I can't carry you as far as we need to go." She gestures to my good leg, and I nod. She counts to three and with a little struggle we get me to my feet. Slowly I followed her lead out of the ally and down a side street.
"Why?" It's the only word I'm able to muster as we make our way onward.
"Stop talking." She snaps. "You need to save what little energy you got left." We pause in the middle of the road to catch our breath "And if you must know, its because we called a ceasefire tonight, and as far as I'm aware, its still tonight." We travel for what feels like eternity before making another turn into the slums of the city. "Who did this, and how much shit are you in?" I can't tell if she actually wants to know or if she's trying to distract me, but I don't care at this point.
"Talk, don't talk, what do you want from me?" I joke coughing from the effort. Humor has always helped me feel better in tough times, though now it's making me cough.
"Cut your shit or I'll drop you." She says, "Keep your answers brief and simple."
"My father, and a lot." I can feel myself slipping, and my vison begins to fill with stars again, it's always the stars.
"The rest of your family?" Another question, she'd definitely trying to distract me.
"Don't know." I admit. I feel a pang of guilt in my chest as I realize I was to focused on myself to see what happened to them.
"Almost there." She says as we approach a small two-story house on the side of the street. I can feel her starting to struggle with my wight. "How did you get to the ally?"
"No idea." I'm on the verge of collapse when she opens the door to the house.
"Onyx!" A little girl squeals from upstairs. I hear the thumping of someone running down the stairs. "Your home! Oh, and you brought a bo…" she starts to tease Onyx then her gaze lands on me and my state.
"Lilly go get mom and dad." Onyx says to Lilly. Lilly stands at the bottom of the stairs frozen. "Now!" Onyx yells then leads me over to a table in the kitchen, she kicks some chairs out of the way and leans against the table waiting for her parents. I see a man descend the stairs he has grey skin like Onyx and a black, greying beard. He looks like he spent his life doing hard labor given all the wrinkles on his face. He's quickly followed by a woman with long white hair and elven features.
"By the gods." I hear the man say in almost a whisper. I hear the woman gasp behind him and they both rush into the kitchen. "Who could do such a thing to someone?" I start to answer but Onyx smacked my shoulder, luckily it was the better one so it didn't hurt as bad as it could have.
"Quiet." It was a command to me. "His father." She turned back to her dad.
"Lets get him on the table." He says to her. They all spring into action Onyx moving behind me to get my shoulder, her dad at my legs, her mom and sister get bowls and run off to fill them with water. "This isn't going to feel good son." I brace myself for the pain as I'm lifted onto the table and do my best not to scream, but my attempts are feeble. "We are going to have to put him out for this, I cant even begin to tell what's broken and what isn't." Onyx's mom and sister get back with the bowl and buckets and begin mixing herbs on the counter.
"Isn't this the boy that electrocuted you?" Her mom says quietly, I could tell she was trying not to let me hear, but alas I did. Onyx nods taking the bowl from her mother and coming over.
"Drink." She says helping me sit up and placing the bowl in my hand. I drink the concoction, my head swims instantly whatever was put in that works like a charm and I can feel my self slipping again.
"Onyx." I'm able to say before I fade into sleep.
"Humm?" she says.
"Nice dress." I can feel myself leaning back not being able to sit up anymore as the drug takes place in my system, at least nothing hurts anymore I think as I fall farther and farther.
"I know," She smiled, it was more a of a smirk as she leaned close to my face and whispered in my ear. "And you got blood all over it." Shit, when I wake up I'm dead.
I don't know how long I'm out for when I come to. I sit up and look around, the room I'm in is small, not much space besides a small walkway between the bed and a wardrobe. Next to the door there's a chair and Onyx is sitting in it reading a book. I flex my arm and it feels weak, but functions perfectly fine. I feel my face, it's tender but my eye seems to be okay. I relax my arms and stretch my legs. I look over at Onyx who's still reading her book, at this point I'm sure she knows I'm awake but is ignoring me. I watch her for a few minutes wondering if she is going to say anything so when she doesn't I start.
"So I guess the ceasefire is over then?" I swing my legs off of the bed looking over the previously broken one testing putting some weight on it.
"Yeah, it is, no more ceasefire. So unless you wanna get you ass beat again I wouldn't try anything." She says not looking away from her book. I sit on the edge of the bed swinging my leg testing my knee. I then lean backwards arms extended testing the weight, shifting slightly to see how much my arm can take. A few more minutes of silence later I broke it again.
"Why?" Something I could never get my head around is why she would actually do it.
"Your gonna have to be a little more specific than that Sparky." She folded the corner of her page and closed the book setting it in her lap.
"Why did you drop Pebbs lizard off the roof?" I looked over to see Onyx staring at the floor.
"Because I didn't mean to." She said after a few seconds, looking up at me. "It was an accident. The wind caught the lizard and yanked it from my hand, also I didn't think I was really his lizard." I staired at her confused, how could she not think it was Pebbs lizard. "One of my friends at the time said she learned how to summon small creatures, constructs of magic that weren't real. She said she could make it look however she wanted to, and that what I thought the lizard was. I would never have toyed with an actual pet like that." We just sat there for a while looking between each other and the floor either of us knowing what to say to the other.
"Well," Onyx cleared her throat. "Put a shirt on, they are in the wardrobe, some of my dad's old ones. I'm going to get my mom, she's the only reason your still alive Sparky." I'm sure I turned beat red only now realizing that have been sitting here half naked in front of Onyx for fifteen or so minutes. She left and I got dressed, it was nothing like I was used to, luckily I had pants on while she was in here or I don't think I would ever get over the embarrassment of that.
Onyx's mother came in after I had finished getting dressed and told me that I had been out for four days. She also told me that all my ribs were broken, and they had punctured one of my lungs in several spots, multiple bones in my arm and leg were broken, I almost lost my eye, my trachea was collapsed, my tailbone was broken, I had a fractured skull, cuts all over my body from glass, and a severe concussion. She said I was lucky to have made it to them without passing out much less dying. I thanked her profusely but when I asked how she fixed me, all she said was it was secret elven magic. Onyx came back into the room bringing me my clothes from the graduation, they were as spotless as when I found them on my bed that morning which was incredible given how messed up I was.
"You have my sister to thank for your clothes." Onyx said setting them on the bed next to me while I was eating some bread her mother gave me. I turned to see Onyx's sister Lilly standing in the doorway.
"Thank you. Lilly was it?" I say looking past Onyx at her sister.
"You know her name?" Onyx looked shocked at the possibility or was it disgusted; I couldn't tell.
"Yeah, you yelled it as soon as we got inside." I say coolly trying not to get irritated. Does she think I'm stupid or something.
"Wow, how much do you remember?" Onyx looked almost scared asking the question.
"Up until you told me I got blood on your dress." I snaped, standing up, I was definitely irritated now.
"Relax Sparky, we just saved your life. The least you could do, is not be a total dick. Besides, we didn't know if you were even going to remember graduation, given all the head trauma you received." Onyx put her hand on my chest and pushed me back down on the bed.
"Wow you were right sis he is explosive." Lilly said still standing in the doorway. I laid back on the bed sighing. Onyx was right she did save my life, so why do I hate her still, everything she dose is irritating.
"Great now you sister thinks I'm an ass." I say staring at the ceiling. Onyx's face appears in my vision looking down on me.
"That's because Raiden," She pauses in the middle of her sentence "you're an ass. Now stop this self-loathing 'everyone thinks I suck' act. It doesn't suit you." She smacked my forehead with her fingers "Get up." She extended her hand, and I took it. "I have something that might make you feel better." She pulled me from the bed and led me downstairs and into a basement. The basement was set up just like the dojo at home but with a few additions including a rotating wooden pole dummy with sticks on it.
"Where did you get all this?" I asked looking around at all the new things.
"It was here when my parents bought the place, we couldn't find out who owned it before, but they left all this behind." She shrugged grabbing a knife off a weapons stand and casually chucking in across the room to land bullseye in the middle of a target.
"Your self taught?" I asked picking up a quarter staff and giving it a swing. Well balanced.
"Something like that." She said throwing another knife. "Show me the lightning thing."
"I can't, its genetic." I say picking up a Kannabo.
"I didn't ask you to show me how to do it, I just asked you to show me it." She leaned against the wall crossing her arms looking at me expectingly. I put the Kannabo down and moved to the mat.
"Fine but you get once." I say taking my stance. Onyx shrugs. I take a deep breath before striking forward forcing the energy out of my fists. Red lightning arced out of my hand and the basement filled with the smell of ozone. Onyx clapped three times slowly, and sarcastically. "I want to try something else real fast. Is that okay?" Again Onyx shrugged. I breathed slowly digging for the fire that was buried inside me, grasping it and dragging it to the surface. I struck out feeling the fire burn through me. Blue flames engulfed my fists and burst forward the flames licking the air in front of my strike. Onyx clapped again but this time less sarcastically.
"I'm impressed." She said "That was actually pretty cool. Can you do that to all your strikes."
"What do you mean actually? I have done plenty of cool things before." I say.
"Not like that you haven't." she said shrugging. Why dose she shrug so much, it's infuriating. I scoff. "What's your plan now Sparky? We saved your life, your dad might kill you if you go back, we cant keep you for more than a few days for free. So what's next?"
"I have to look for my brothers, and my sister." I say letting out a sigh.
"Wow, honestly not the first thing I expected from you." Onyx said heading back up the stairs. What did she expect from me? "I can help by telling you that they aren't in town. We sent Lilly to look for them while we were busy fixing you, she knows every street, side street, and ally way in the entire town. She didn't find them, so unless someone else found them they aren't here."
"I honestly don't know if that good or bad news." I say as we reach the first floor.
"For at least your sister, it's bad. You nobles have no idea what people will do to a cripple little girl who appears out of nowhere." Onyx says bending down to pick up a backpack that's freshly packed. She rifles through it checking items, then throws it at me. "If the goal of the flash was to get you out of the way, I would start with Bloodstone, its just about as out of they way as you can get." She opens the door and leads me through it.
"So that's it, save my life then throw me out on the streets to fend for myself?" I ask stepping out on the street.
"Yep that's about it. Ceasefires over Sparky, the world sucks, better get used to it." She starts to close the door before I grab it. She rolls her eyes. "What?"
"Thank you Onyx, truly, I owe you my life." I let go of the door and took a step back.
"Get the fuck off my property Raiden." She says before slamming the door closed.
I rifle through the pack and find that she left me with a map, I stick to the allies until I'm out of the city and begin the long walk to Bloodstone.