Brighde redefined, p.4
Brighde Redefined, page 4
“But back on point,” Cay shook his head. “Bridget, I’m worried Neit beat you on such an easy course.”
Easy? He was kidding, right?
“I tripped! It’s not like I didn’t try!” I argued. Cay leveled me with a look.
“Please. I saw you out there. I hit you with the foam bullets more times than I can count! You need to improve,” he said sternly. “You’ll be off to Adelboden soon, and after that, it’s all up to you!”
I stuck out my tongue at him. As much as I didn’t want to be wrong, Cay was right.
“I know,” I said. “What else can I say? I’ll try harder.”
He just shook his head. “Let’s go.”
Pining for Logan’s comfort and Cay’s support, I fell asleep quickly after that and wasn’t disturbed all night.
The next morning, breakfast was quiet. My head was swimming with information from last night—the anticipation of what was to come, the sudden rush of newfound independence. My parents would be leaving soon, and I could barely form a word to say to them. I blinked, and then it was time for them to go. Mom and Dad were saying their goodbyes and heading down the mountain to travel for a bit before going back to America.
“If you need anything, just call us,” Mom said as she hugged me tight. “We’ll come right back.”
“I promise,” I said, squeezing her back. When she pulled away, her eyes shone bright, and her nose was red.
“Bye, kid.” Dad grabbed me close.
“Bye, Dad,” I murmured into his shirt.
“You can handle anything. Just keep your head about you, and you’ll be fine,” he whispered in my ear.
I nodded and pulled back, then looked hard at my parents. Their only daughter was about to venture off to save the world and, in turn, demolish any chance of a happy ending for herself. With red eyes to match her nose, Mom looked worn around the edges. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, and lines were popping up around her mouth. Dad didn’t look any better. His shoulders were sagging lower than normal, and his curly, light-brown hair was speckled with gray. I choked back a sob, nearly drowning in remorse, nostalgia, and regret. This wasn’t easy for them either.
The cab pulled up behind them and honked. I flinched at the harsh, foreign sound against the quiet chirps of the birds and the bugs all around us.
“I guess this is it,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. Mom sniffled and kissed me on the head.
“Stay safe,” she said. My own eyes welled up, but I didn’t let them spill. Dad hugged us both for one last goodbye. I held on longer than usual. I didn’t know when I’d see them next.
I watched as the cab drove off, my parents leaving me on my own for the first time. My chest clenched with sadness.
“It’s always hard seeing them go the first time,” a light voice said behind me. I spun around, startled at the company.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to surprise you,” a young woman said to me. Standing next to her was Norah.
“Bridget, this is Eden, your teacher,” Norah explained. I studied Eden. Unlike Norah, who was short, had white hair, and was a little hunched over, Eden was tall and had a delicate figure. Her long brown hair was tied into a neat bun on top of her head, and her glasses sat firmly on her face. She was wearing jeans with a blue top and sneakers, and she was clutching a large book to her chest.
“Hello,” I replied, wiping my eyes.
“I’m sure you’re overwhelmed with being on your own, but I can assure you that I’ll do my best to prepare you for what’s to come,” Eden said gently.
What was to come? For once, I wished someone would just tell me about my certain death instead of hinting at it.
“Why don’t you two come inside and get yourselves acquainted?” Norah suggested. “Later this afternoon, I’ll introduce you to the other students.”
I followed politely behind Eden and Norah, partially nervous about the unknown and partially ready to take it on.
Navigating the Academy didn’t feel like it would be a challenge for me as I trailed the two women.
“How about we sit here,” Eden offered, pointing to two cozy armchairs. She had led me into what I assumed was a study. There were a few small tables scattered about the room with a love seat and coffee table in front of a fireplace. Instead of wallpaper, bookcases lined the walls. I made a mental note to check out what was on the shelves later, though I was sure they would be something akin to encyclopedias and history books.
“So, I’m sure you’re a little nervous about this,” Eden said.
“That obvious?” I asked, giving her a sympathetic smile.
She blushed. “I read a little about you before you got here.”
“Well, you’re right,” I admitted. “I mean, you read… whatever, a file or something, so you know Cay forced my ex-boyfriend to tell me everything. Now I’m halfway around the world, trying to catch up on knowledge that my counterpart has known about since he was in diapers. Nervous barely begins to cover it.”
She smiled lightly at my outburst. “I understand; it’s a lot to take on. Since this is your first day, we can start light, though I know Norah would want you to jump in with both feet.”
I gulped thinking about how deep that pool would be.
Eden placed the book she was carrying on the table in front of us. “After today, this will be the book that you study. You’ll live and breathe this book. You can take notes in the margins, fold over pages, and highlight whatever you want. This book will be your most important possession.”
She held it up, so I could read the cover. The Book of Brighde. “Protect this book with your life.”
I looked at the book with fervent curiosity. The only thing I’d ever been told to protect with my life was the Amulet piece sitting comfortably on my chest. Plus, the only person who made it seem like my life would end if I didn’t save the Amulet was Cay. Hearing all this from Eden was a different story.
“So, what exactly is this?” I asked.
Eden grinned. “This book is the history of the Amulet. Much has been lost over the years, but thankfully, this book survived. It’s one of the only things that did.”
I flipped the pages, skimming the words. The first chapter mostly discussed Danu, Brighde and Beira’s mother, and the Tuatha Dé Danann, her worshippers. Skipping ahead, I saw Andrew’s name a few times, but there was nothing that gave a clear answer on how to find the other half of Amulet. I’d ask Cay later.
Except Cay and Logan weren’t here. They were out traipsing across the countryside, doing my job, looking for the hardest artifact to find.
Internally, I pouted, but I kept my posture relaxed and my face neutral. I’d be with them soon enough.
“Do you have any questions so far?” Eden’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“Not exactly. I don’t know what to ask,” I admitted.
“How about we get to know each other a little better? I know I read about you, but I have a feeling I was a surprise.”
“Truthfully, a lot of this is a surprise.”
“Well, I’m planning on fixing that. When you leave here at the end of summer, you’ll be fully prepared, like everyone else is.”
“By everyone, do you mean Trip?” I hadn’t said his name in such a long time. It felt foreign on my tongue.
Eden smiled. “Not just Trip. Even though you two are this generation’s Cuardaitheoirs, everyone before you had the same training as you will receive.”
I paused. “So, how exactly do you play into all of this? I mean, will you train me on just the history, or are you going to test my powers?”
“My primary job will be making sure you understand your family history, which will aid you in your search. I will also supervise some of your warrior training and your power training, but as I am not gifted the same way you are, I won’t be able to keep up with you, but I’ll do my best.”
“Who’s my trainer?”
Eden smiled again. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Will I have any other trainings? Like math or science?”
Eden shook her head. “Technically, we are considered a boarding school, so the younger students are taking classes like that. I know you recently graduated from American high school, so these classes wouldn’t suit you anymore.”
A large grandfather clock in the corner started chiming as I mulled over who would be training me and rejoiced in the fact that I didn’t have to take yet another math course.
“Lunch?” Eden asked. I didn’t even realize that I’d spent my morning hanging with Eden. I hoped all our sessions were this quick. I walked into the kitchen behind Eden, looking for some food.
“Students eat in the dining hall with each other,” Norah said, surprising me. I didn’t hear her come into the room. I glanced at Eden, looking for some direction.
“It’s down the hall to the left,” Norah answered. “Across from the bathroom. That’s marked as water closet or WC.”
Scurrying out the room, I made my way down to the dining hall. The door wasn’t marked, so I guessed from the sounds of forks and knives knocking against plates that I’d found it.
I opened the door and slid in, doing my best not to draw attention. The door slammed behind me, creating an echo that caused what felt like a million pairs of eyes to look at me. Fog spread around my feet, drifting upwards. Great. Besides the fog, I felt the blush crawling up my neck to my cheeks as a bundle of nerves coiled itself in my stomach.
“Food is over here,” a student said, coming up behind me. I flushed, grateful someone had come to my rescue.
“Thanks,” I replied, doing my best to dispel the fog. Following the savior student, I avoided eye contact with everyone. The flames on my cheeks subsided a little, but I couldn’t uncoil the nerves.
“I’m Matilda, but you can call me Mat,” she said. She had a gentle British accent, soft and pleasing to listen to. I immediately felt calmer.
“Nice to meet you,” I answered back. I trotted after Mat, heading toward the buffet. My stomach growled at the sight of all the food. Lemon chicken, potatoes with cheese, salad, bread, and butter. Food that reminded me of home. The nerves relaxed completely.
“You can sit with us,” Mat offered, grabbing a roll for her plate. Weighing my options, I quickly glanced around the room. Seeing only five tables with a handful of kids at each made me realize I’d been expecting a full room like back at OCHS. Either way, I could always use an ally in the lunchroom as well as on the battlefield.
“Sure,” I said shyly.
“We normally sit together,” Mat explained as we set our plates down. “This is Oliver, Franny, and Ginger.”
“Hello,” I said to each of them as I pulled out a chair to sit.
“This is…” Mat trailed off.
“I’m Bridget.” I pulled my fork from the silverware napkin roll. “Thanks for inviting me to sit with you.”
“It’s no problem. We’ve all been new at some point here,” Franny said cheerfully, her French accent very prominent. When she smiled, her face lit up, and her light green eyes shone.
“What brings you here?” Ginger asked with a British accent like Mat’s. Hers wasn’t soft but was more nasally and sharp. She kept stabbing her fork into the same piece of lettuce, trying to pick it up.
I looked at the people at my table. I didn’t know any of them, and I didn’t know if I should say anything. What if one of them was meant to kill me? I couldn’t be sure they weren’t Beira’s henchmen.
“Probably what brought you here. To study the history and my powers,” I said casually.
“Well, not everyone is here for that,” Mat said, tucking a strand of dark-brown hair behind her ear. “Some of us are here to train as Protectors for the Seekers.”
I internally breathed a sigh of relief. No one knew who I was.
“So, who’s who around here?” I asked, nodding to the tables around us.
Oliver spoke up and brushed a curly mop of dark hair back off his face. “The table by the food is a mix of the Dagda’s descendants, including Cernunnos and Aengus. The table to the right are kids who are strictly from Babd but are still training, and the table to our left is the Protectors. They think because they’re training to guard the Cuardaitheoirs that they’re the gods’ gifts.”
Ignoring the other tables, I peered at the Protectors, studying the few at the table. Two guys and three girls were each eating and laughing, like lunch was the funniest thing in the world. Not one of them looked threatening. One of the girls had bright pink hair, like cotton candy. I suddenly wished I was home eating junk food from the boardwalk.
“That’s Natalia,” Mat said, following my gaze to the pink-haired person. “She’s the nicest out of all of them. She only sits there because of her sister.”
I looked at the girl sitting across from Natalia, who was drinking water. Her hair wasn’t so bright. Just a dark red that probably wasn’t found in nature.
Natalia’s sister caught me staring and shot me a nasty look. I flushed immediately and averted my gaze. I looked up again and caught all the Protectors looking at me.
“Rose,” Oliver said, narrowing his dark-brown eyes. “Aptly named, as she has a thorny personality.”
“I can already tell we’re just going to be best friends,” I said, silently praying she wasn’t going to be my Protector.
“I swear, she’s from Balor,” Ginger chimed in, copying Oliver’s look.
“She isn’t that bad,” Franny said. Four pairs of eyes blinked at her. “She’s nice to me,” Franny added, sniffing delicately.
“Rumor has it, she used to date one of the Seekers,” Mat added. My stomach dropped, and I nearly blew my cover by blurting out his name. Instead, I looked down at my lunch and nodded my head, as if this information was of no consequence to me.
“What are all of you?” I asked, returning to my lunch. My chicken was divine, and I was debating about going back for seconds.
“Mat is a descendant of the war goddess, Babd, Franny is a Protector, and I’m still training in my powers of Dil.” Ginger said.
“Dil?” I asked.
“The cattle goddess,” Ginger replied. “And Oliver is—”
“Also still training,” he said, cutting Ginger off with raised eyebrows. She frowned at him but didn’t say anything.
“What’s this table called?” I asked, respecting Oliver’s privacy.
Franny shrugged. “No particular label since we’re all training for something different. We all started here when we were younger, so we kept eating lunch together.”
Before I could ask her to elaborate, my chair shook. I whipped around to see Rose’s foot pull away from the chair’s leg. She had a smile on her face and had her eyes on me.
“Do you need help with something?” I asked politely, silently wishing I could send a gust of wind to blow her away.
“I tripped over your chair, which was obviously too far away from the table,” she said with the same fake voice I’d used.
“Look down once in a while, and you won’t have that problem,” I replied.
She stared down her nose at me and smiled before walking away. The rest of her table followed without another glance. Natalia passed and sent an apologetic smile.
Great. Four years of high school hierarchy, and I was right in the middle again.
My afternoon lessons resumed with Eden, but this time, we were outside.
“I thought we could use the fresh air,” she said as we sat under the shade of a tall tree. I took a deep breath. The air tasted sweet, and my whole body, down to my toes, felt happy. Like my blood was singing.
“Now,” Eden cut in, “I need to know where you are with your powers.”
“What would you like me to do?” I was certain I could handle this, due to Cay’s state-of-the art training sessions.
“First things first, we’ll test you in the elements. Please plant a seed and urge it to grow.” She opened the little notebook she was carrying and steadied her pencil over it.
I frowned.
“You haven’t done this before?” Eden inquired.
I shook my head.
“Have you created fire?”
I shook my head again.
“Have you pulled water from the air?”
I shrugged.
“Have you lost your voice?”
I laughed. “No, I haven’t lost anything. I wasn’t trained on the basics.”
“What was your training then?”
“I’m going to need a minute.”
I pushed my curly hair from my face, wrapped it into a messy bun on top of my head, and closed my eyes. Thinking of the day we had discovered how my powers were controlled was what I had called a breakthrough.
Cay jogged over to Logan and me. “That was cool! Try it again,” he said.
“I’ll try, but Cay, I haven’t done that before,” I told him.
“How did you do it now?” he asked like I had a simple answer for him.
“I don’t know. I tried calling up the wind again, but nothing happened. I panicked and ran out of the way. That’s when it happened.”
He smiled. “There you go! A new emotion equates to new powers.”
“I don’t know. I’ve felt panic in the past, and that hasn’t happened before.”
“Your birthday is coming up soon,” Logan pointed out. “Maybe that has something to do with it?”
Remembering what Cay had taught me, I allowed sunshine to fill the cavities of my body until I couldn’t hold it anymore, and I burst. The sun burned brighter than before, and the grass around us dried out. About a hundred feet away from us, a fire erupted and formed a perfect circle in the grass.
“Can you put that out?” Eden asked. I glanced at her. She didn’t seem mad, but I couldn’t get a reading on her.
