The Sons of Satrina: A Sons of Satrina Novel by Kristan Belle Page A

the questions that personally tensing his bones and muscles were about to be answered.
    The main hall was old school.  This was one of the only traditionally decorated places in the academy.  There really were old brass sconces holding candles on the walls, not that they were lit now.  The bulbs on the large chandeliers hanging from the ceilings were standard electric but lit the place with a soft, almost romantic glow that wasn’t too harsh for their eyes.  Everywhere, there were oil paintings of graduated warriors, pictures honouring warriors who had died in the field, and in the centre hung a huge portrait of Bartholomew.
    It wasn’t set out like an ordinary school, with benches or chairs for the students to sit on.  They were simply expected to be mature adults stand in an orderly manner. Which they did now, although there was a lot of fidgeting while they waited.  No one knew what was going on, not even the faculty.  It was a mystery, without a good vibe, which didn’t bode very well.
    It seemed like everyone in the entire pl ace was crowded into the hall. Everyone, including staff, trainees, workers.  There was a buzz of nervous chatter running through the crowd as they waited to find out what the emergency call was all about.  Clearly, it wasn’t a fire, seeing as they were still all inside the building.  That much they had worked out for themselves.
    A hush came over the crowd as Kelton stepped through the main doors at the back of the cavernous room.  Everyone parted like the red sea to let him pass.  Even those who had known and fought alongside Kelton for decades had never seen such a fierce expression on his face or such obvious aggression in his walk.
    Standing on the edge of the stage at the front of the hall, every single pair of eyes bore deeply into him.  And shuffling from one foot to the other as he waited impatiently, Jackson felt like he was going to throw up any minute now.  The bad feeling had enveloped him totally as he watched Kelton stand in sombre silence
    “I have some very grave news for you all.”  Kelton’s voice boomed ominously, “Earlier today, I was informed of the tragic death of our beloved leader, Bartholomew.”
    Silence.
    Deathly, stunned silence.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Seven.
     
    “Great changes are coming.  For our entire race. We must all be ready.”
    It was like Kelton had run out of steam all of a sudden as he fell silent again.  With a little shake of his head, he jumped down off the stage and strode back out of the hall.  He was like a man on a mission, leaving them all reeling in his wake.  Each and every one of them wondered what was going to happen next.  This was huge.
    Kelton just couldn’t bear to talk about it anymore. He just couldn’t do it.  He couldn’t seem to get things straight in his own head. How was he supposed to talk coherently to all of those people?  He’d done his basic duty and informed them. That was all he could do right now.  He wasn’t a big talker at the best of times.  He was a goddamn fighter.  Right now, that was all he could focus on.  The fight ahead.
    Kayleigh stepped up to the stage when she saw that none of the other staff members were going to make a move and cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.  After all, she was the only other person that had prior warning of this announcement and clearly, the rest of the staff were still reeling.
    So much had happened in so little time and everything was still so up in the air with no real direction. She wasn’t really sure what she should do, but she couldn’t just stand there.  She didn’t know how much she could help but she couldn’t let Kelton shoulder all of that responsibility himself.  She had to step up to the plate.  This wasn’t her job, but really, everything that concerned him was her job.  He meant everything to her and she would do whatever she could for him to lighten his