The Last of the Sages (Sage Trilogy, Book 1) by Julius St. Clair Page B
Authors: Julius St. Clair
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idiot. Love, Kyran.
James grunted in annoyance and plopped down on the wooden bed. He was done looking for reading material. What he really needed was a good night’s sleep if he was going to survive whatever test Arimus had for him in the morning. He yawned again and decided he would dream about becoming a Sage…
But he didn’t get the chance.
Just as he hit the edge of dreaming, he heard a bloodcurdling scream that broke through his consciousness. Waking up at full alert, he strained his ears and gawked in horror as he heard faint laughing and giggling following the wake up call. Confined to his room and surrounded by the unknown, it was no time to be a hero but…if someone was in trouble, he should d o somethin g .
Already sweating through his clothes, he stood up and neglected his shoes, racing out the door to discover the source. He wasn’t sure of which way to go when he reached the lobby, as it was dead silent, but he figured he had a 50/50 chance of choosing correctly so he guessed. Deciding to pick the west side of the stairs, he took the steps two-by-two, desperately trying to maintain his balance. Sweating and heaving, he turned into a large assembly hall of some kind. Over the entrance read the word: Gymnasium. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it gave him the impression it was of great importance. The entire room was brightly lit by hundreds of lanterns that hung from the ceiling like stars, and banners graced each of the walls like a king’s wardrobe, showing off a display of bright colors he had only seen in a rainbow. But that wasn’t what really caught his attention.
It was the people.
Young adults like himself, both boys and girls, running around the hall, giggling and tripping over one another as they avoided one particular girl running back and forth, trying to catch them. At first, he thought it was a game of tag until he saw the girl that appeared to be “it” reached toward one boy and started swinging her arms toward his face with focused precision. It was obvious she had been trained in some type of martial arts with how she tried to hit him, but what made it even stranger was that she was blindfolded while she was doing it. Surprisingly, the boy laughed and blocked her incoming blows with ease, running away after one particularly heavy swing knocked the girl off balance. She caught herself on the way down and immediately lunged toward the next girl she happened to hear pass by but she missed her too. It was pure chaos, but they were all enjoying it. James had to know what was going on.
“What is going on in here?” he yelled to no one specifically as he looked down at his bare feet, suddenly feeling the cold tiled floor beneath him. James raised his head just in time to catch a fist to his left cheek. He cried out sharply as he tumbled over his pant bottoms and skidded to the floor below, hitting the back of his head with all the grace of a rock. The laughing stopped immediately.
“I’m not getting in trouble,” one boy yelled out as he sprinted past James and out the door.
The crowd agreed with the assessment and everyone began scurrying out of the room. James tried to say something, but his head hurt too much. In seconds, no one remained but him and the girl who had struck him. James moaned and squinted at her. She was standing still above him, trying to hold back feelings of contempt for interrupting their fun, but then she smiled, sighing in acceptance that the night was over. Her smile became even warmer as she reached out her hand.
“I honestly didn’t think I hit you that hard,” she said as she helped to pull him up.
“Well, it wasn’t so much the force as it was the surprise,” he commented, rubbing his cheek.
“So you’re saying that I have no oomph? No strength?” she asked, pulling off a wig of jet black hair from her head, revealing a full head of curly, brown hair.
“Um, I wouldn’t say all that…” James muttered as she began wiping her face
James grunted in annoyance and plopped down on the wooden bed. He was done looking for reading material. What he really needed was a good night’s sleep if he was going to survive whatever test Arimus had for him in the morning. He yawned again and decided he would dream about becoming a Sage…
But he didn’t get the chance.
Just as he hit the edge of dreaming, he heard a bloodcurdling scream that broke through his consciousness. Waking up at full alert, he strained his ears and gawked in horror as he heard faint laughing and giggling following the wake up call. Confined to his room and surrounded by the unknown, it was no time to be a hero but…if someone was in trouble, he should d o somethin g .
Already sweating through his clothes, he stood up and neglected his shoes, racing out the door to discover the source. He wasn’t sure of which way to go when he reached the lobby, as it was dead silent, but he figured he had a 50/50 chance of choosing correctly so he guessed. Deciding to pick the west side of the stairs, he took the steps two-by-two, desperately trying to maintain his balance. Sweating and heaving, he turned into a large assembly hall of some kind. Over the entrance read the word: Gymnasium. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it gave him the impression it was of great importance. The entire room was brightly lit by hundreds of lanterns that hung from the ceiling like stars, and banners graced each of the walls like a king’s wardrobe, showing off a display of bright colors he had only seen in a rainbow. But that wasn’t what really caught his attention.
It was the people.
Young adults like himself, both boys and girls, running around the hall, giggling and tripping over one another as they avoided one particular girl running back and forth, trying to catch them. At first, he thought it was a game of tag until he saw the girl that appeared to be “it” reached toward one boy and started swinging her arms toward his face with focused precision. It was obvious she had been trained in some type of martial arts with how she tried to hit him, but what made it even stranger was that she was blindfolded while she was doing it. Surprisingly, the boy laughed and blocked her incoming blows with ease, running away after one particularly heavy swing knocked the girl off balance. She caught herself on the way down and immediately lunged toward the next girl she happened to hear pass by but she missed her too. It was pure chaos, but they were all enjoying it. James had to know what was going on.
“What is going on in here?” he yelled to no one specifically as he looked down at his bare feet, suddenly feeling the cold tiled floor beneath him. James raised his head just in time to catch a fist to his left cheek. He cried out sharply as he tumbled over his pant bottoms and skidded to the floor below, hitting the back of his head with all the grace of a rock. The laughing stopped immediately.
“I’m not getting in trouble,” one boy yelled out as he sprinted past James and out the door.
The crowd agreed with the assessment and everyone began scurrying out of the room. James tried to say something, but his head hurt too much. In seconds, no one remained but him and the girl who had struck him. James moaned and squinted at her. She was standing still above him, trying to hold back feelings of contempt for interrupting their fun, but then she smiled, sighing in acceptance that the night was over. Her smile became even warmer as she reached out her hand.
“I honestly didn’t think I hit you that hard,” she said as she helped to pull him up.
“Well, it wasn’t so much the force as it was the surprise,” he commented, rubbing his cheek.
“So you’re saying that I have no oomph? No strength?” she asked, pulling off a wig of jet black hair from her head, revealing a full head of curly, brown hair.
“Um, I wouldn’t say all that…” James muttered as she began wiping her face
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