Chapter 1

A Chapter by Nicole Laszlo

Part 1

Darkness can reside in light--

Chapter 1

"Look at the stars, Cal."

"And of the moon, Sir?" I asked. He looked at me, and offered a smile.

"Call me Artemis, but yes, that too while you're at it." And so I did.

"You're going to be on Earth for a long time. You're going to spend countless nights staring at the sky. " He said.

"You have old eyes." I muttered.

"You will too, eventually."

"Now, Cal, you've heard that silly little myth some humans like to tell? The one about how when a loved one dies, they become a star?" He asked. I nodded. "There's some truth to that, and before you take what I'm offering you, you need to be aware of what your fate may very well entail." He said, looking back to the sky.

"When most people die, as you know, they join us in heaven or fall to hell. So, obviously, they can't become stars. But you ever stop to question, what happened to all the angels who died?" He asked.

"But don't stars die, too?" I asked.

"They do become what you call a black hole." He answered.

"So they die? Completely. Their existence ceases?"

"No, Cal." His brow furrowed, and lips tightened.

"They simply act in reverse. They've spent all their lives, spanning a time which you can't even begin to fathom, giving out light. And when they die, those angels give out light one last time. The difference is, they do so for the whole world to see. But there's only one being capable of doing that for all of time. So they have no choice but to reverse the process, by taking in any light that they can. They suffer a fate worse than death, in my opinion." He said.

"Anyone you know up there?" I asked.

"Caleigh, let me ask a you question."

"Yes?"

"Why do you want to become a guardian angel? You're becoming a servant. You're no longer granted that right when you die, the privilege, of heaven. You live fighting, and you may die fighting. And after that, should you die fulfilling your duties, you end up alone in the darkness for thousands and thousands of years, offering grand light on a miniscule scale to the earth. Unnoticed, and highly unappreciated. Then, when your light finally dies, all you wish for is to have it back. So much so, that it becomes your sole purpose for existing- to absorb light. Yet no matter how much you take, it'll never be enough. The clincher? You're entire existence revolved around bringing light and life to others, and yet when you need it desperately, there will be none for you. You want that?" He asked.

"Well, no." I said. I thought for a moment, and listened to the fire crackling behind us.

"I'll lose all of my memories, right?" I asked.

"All but one of your choosing." He said

"Then it's a fate I'm willing to risk. Two hundred years, you said? If I can live through that, if my soul goes unscathed, then I'll be as I was? My soul will return to its original state?" I asked.

"To this state, yes, if you wish it." He said.

"Then I think I can manage." I said.

"This is your last chance, you can spend eternity in peace." He warned.

"I don't see peace while holding onto memories of the life I just lost, so don't remind me, Artemis."

"Very well then. Now tell me: Which memory do you wish to keep?"

I woke up with no memories of my past. I knew my name, I knew what I'd agreed to, and I knew the ways of the world. But of my life itself, I knew nothing. It was strange, and left me feeling sad, hollow and empty. I looked around the room I was in. There were no windows, the floor and the walls were smoothed over cement. The only light source was a blinking light above my head. I stood up out of my bed, which was made when I turned to look at it. The sheets were gray and white, the bed posts were a dark wood. I was startled by a knock on the door.

"Come in." I said, my voice sounding weak. A tall girl walked in, tall as in my eyes reached her shoulder, and while I'm not exactly tall, I'm not what you'd call short. Her brown eyes had a bit of a spark, and she flashed a smile. The light above me stopped flickering.

"Hi there, I'm Allete." She said.

"Cal." I replied, hesitant.

"Your room is kind of..." She paused, looking around. "Sad." She finished.

"Yeah, it is." I said.

"Weird." She muttered.

"You're weird." I said, as I widened my stance and pulled my shoulders back. Her head snapped, and eyes widened slightly, a smile crossing her face as she saw mine (because I was smiling despite myself).

"No, really! It's strange!" She said, starting to laugh. "I didn't mean it as an attack. It's just- well, this room reflects you."

"What?" I asked.

"Mine started off white. Completely. There was also a carpet on the floor. I'm just wondering why our rooms started differently. That was all I meant." She said.

"Oh." I thought on that for a moment. "I still think you're weird."

"I think you have an issue with pride." She said pointedly. The light turned red. We both looked up at it, as my cheeks mimicked the color.

"I guess you're right." I said, quietly. She laughed again, as she looked around my room some more.

"I didn't have a window either, but the grey walls... Are you feeling okay?" She asked, looking at me again. I was surprised to see concern in her eyes.

"You care?" I asked. She blinked, and her brows furrowed. Her mouth opened to speak, but another voice interrupted.

"Glad to see you two have already met." Artemis peered in through the door. Allete was quick to face him. "I imagine you're more than ready for training to start." He said to her, smiling. She nodded. I looked at him, confused at the type of introduction.

"Not to say that you're not, Cal, but Allete has been waiting for another volunteer for quite a while." He said, in answer to my obviously confused face. I nodded slowly.

"How long? I asked.

"Five years." She answered, turning to me again.

"Five years?" I repeated, surprised. "You have five years on me?" I asked, feeling suddenly alarmed. The light started flickering.

"Whoa, hey now, girl. It's cool. We're going to be training for a hundred years. You'll catch up." She said, placing a hand on my shoulder. The light stopped at her touch, and the room lit slowly as a window manifested. We both looked over at it, before she looked back at me with a huge grin.

"Well there you go." She said, encouragingly. I just looked at her, feeling confused.

"You're scared." Artemis said. "That's normal, Cal."

"If it's normal, why isn't she?" I asked. "Sorry, not trying to take a stab."

"None taken." She said.

"Like she told you, she's been here for a little longer. This isn't new to her." He said.

"By the sounds of things, her room was far less depressing." I stated.

"That's true. Yet you need to keep in mind that while your memories are gone, your soul has still aged." He answered.

"Oh." I said, looking at the two of them. I felt better, but still ill at ease with the idea of people having the ability to literally see my every emotion.

"Can we leave this room?" I asked.

"Of course!" He said, abruptly turning and leaving. Allete glanced at me over her shoulder.

"It all makes more sense as the days go by." She said. It didn't give me peace.

"As you both know, training lasts a hundred years. Now, as you are also aware, you have no memory of your previous lives. This is to protect you, believe it or not. Earth is fallen, and so are humans. Don't forget that you two. This is painfully important, because you ought to know, most of your time on Earth will be spent as humans." He said, and took a pause as we walked. The floors were a white and gray marble, the ceilings high enough to create a grand feeling of insignificance. Artemis seemed to fit, I couldn't read Allete, though. Corridors into infinity, and ceilings above heavens gates. Does this become normal, too?

"You two will be here often, and if you follow me into this room, you'll be placed into human bodies." He said, as he stopped at one of the corridors.

"Room?" I asked. "That's clearly not a room."

"Human bodies?" Allete asked, sounding as confused as I was. "How?"

"Don't bother with the how's or why's, just do as I say." He said, his face never losing its kind demeanor. Confusion gave way to a strange trust, as I stepped into the corridor. Each step began to echo, and I began to slow. On the seventh step everything liquefied before turning into a white room with a glass ceiling that exposed a blue sky. I looked to Allete, assuming she'd know what had just happened. Upon meeting my eyes she just shook her head.

"This is new to you?" I asked. She nodded.

"But you've been here for five years?" I said.

"I was very limited in that." Before I got the chance to ask how, I had the pleasure of feeling my ribs crack within my body. I gave out a sickening sound as I fell to the ground, immediately gasping. I looked up through squinted eyes, stunned. Artemis was holding a metallic rod of some sort.

"That's what pain feels like. You should get used to it." He said. There wasn't a smile on his face this time. "This is where you two will be learning how to fight on mortal terms, in mortal bodies." I tried to stand, but the pain nearly kept me down.

"Ah, trying to stand, are we? Brave of you. I'd venture to say that I broke some ribs with that blow." He said.

"Stay down, Cal." Allete cautioned.

"No, you're wrong on that. You're supposed to be helping her, Allete." Artemis said. I looked up on time to see him raising his rod, I let out a shout as it collided with my shoulder blades forcing me into the ground face first.

"What? Stop!" She yelled.

"Stop me." He said, as another blow was dealt to my lower back. I cried out, tears were quickly filling my eyes, but I could see her charge. As she left my vision, I heard her hit the ground.

"Jesus Christ." I muttered.

"What?" He asked, as he delivered a blow to the back of my head.

"Did you just say our Lords name in vain?" I heard him say through ringing ears, as he hit me again.

"You're going to kill her!" Allete yelled, before she landed promptly on me.

"You're clumsy, my dear." He said, laughing.

"Clumsy? You threw me." She said, standing, attempting to help me up. My legs couldn't find themselves, though, and my head felt too heavy for my body. My breaths were coming in as pained gasps.

"I re-directed you, and stepped to the side. Much different from throwing. But I can do that too, if you'd like." He said. She was shaking her head, clearly in shock.

"Seriously, you're going to kill this girl."

"That's the plan." He said as he took steps toward us. I felt Allete tense up.

"You're going to kill us?" She asked, her voice quieting.

"Yup." He said.

And he did. Brutally.

I woke up in my room, gasping and sweating. The walls were now black, the light flickering again. I took a breath, and they stopped. I remembered where I was, and the window reappeared. I sat there for a while, as I waited for the walls to turn grey. There was a knocking on my door.

"Come in." My voice cracked. Allete walked in, pale faced. I looked at her and couldn't help but hear her screaming from moments before. She gave me a pained look.

"I'm sorry, but I keep hearing you scream." I said.

"I'm sorry, but I keep on seeing blood oozing out of your broken body." She said. I choked a little bit.

"So, we just died." I said.

"Yeah." She said.

"That was awful."

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Your room seems awfully dark, Cal." We both gave a start at the sound of his voice.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" I asked, jumping up and immediately walking towards him. The walls turned crimson. "And can we please leave my room?" I snapped. Allete started to laugh.

"What?" I asked.

"This is going to be fun." She said.

"It looks like Allete's in a more understanding state that you are." Artemis said.

"No one asked you." I said.

"Wow, you're bold!" Allete said, a smile embracing her face. "I mean, he just beat you to death. He literally just beat you. To death. And the first thing you do is square up with him."

"No one asked you, either." I said, though my tone was softening. "What exactly was the point of that, Artemis?" I asked.

"Well, you have fifty years to prepare yourselves for the human side of combat, as well as counseling, discipleship, survival, urban warfare tactics, and the likes of such things. It's my job to teach you these things before you can move on to the spiritual side." He said.

"So you killed us with no warning." I said.

"You were warned." He said.

"She was warned." I said, pointing to Allete. "By the sound of my broken bones."

"Good point." He said

"That's it?" I asked. "Why didn't you tell us we were going into that room to die?"

"Are you kidding me? That's the best part!" He said, laughing. I looked over at Allete, who was shaking her head again with a disbelieving smile.

"Well, with that out of the way, we're now going to do it again. Follow me." He turned around and left my room. I looked over at Allete, who was pale once more, her brown eyes wide.

"Come on now, no time to lose!" He called out. Allete slowly walked towards the door. I sighed and stepped out into the marble halls.

"No weapon?" I asked, looking at him wearily.

"No, I had a weapon last time and absolutely decimated the two of you. I figure let's see what you can do in hand to hand combat." He said. Since Allete and I had no memories, we weren't very good fighters. We flung fists and feet through the air, and he dodged effortlessly. Finally he grabbed my arm, and snapped it. I dropped like a sack of bricks, screaming. His foot then slammed into my jaw, laying me out completely. Allete tackled him, which impressed me for a moment, until he deftly turned the tables and started to choke her out. I stood and ran at him, with no specific plan, and with his free hand he gripped my throat. I never even saw him move.

"You two have a lot to learn, it seems." He said, as my world blurred before turning to black.

By the time we were finished with that for the day Allete and I had died over thirty times, and at the hands of multiple different weapons. Clubs, crowbars, Poles, broad swords, knives, fists bearing bronze knuckles, nun chucks (I don't know why Artemis can even use those), a katana, poisoned blades, and on more than one occasion, by a man unarmed.

"That's enough for one day." Artemis was standing outside of our rooms, which we both exited at roughly the same time. I glanced over at her, surprised to see her not covered in blood. She started laughing as she caught sight of me.

"What?" I asked, feeling suddenly defensive.

"Just that last time. I mean, were you even trying to live?" She asked.

"It was a katana. I'd rather not survive a blow from that." I answered, looking at the ground.

"Well, since the physical part of your training is over for the day, when you go into your rooms you'll both find bibles. You'll be reading them until I tell you to do otherwise." He said, upon leaving.

"How long is that?" I asked no one specifically.

"Four hours." Allete answered.

"What?" I asked, my voice rising.

"It's not what it sounds like. It's different from a human experience. Trust me." Out of the two people I knew, I knew both of them for a day. And while I liked Allete, I didn't quite trust her. I just sighed and returned to my room.

"I'd rather get stabbed again." I muttered. I heard her laugh as my door closed. But she was right. Every word I read resonated. I could hear it, the original voices of the bible. Before long my room changed to the places I was reading. I was reliving the bible. I was finishing Genesis when a knock broke my study.

"Come with me." Artemis said, already walking away. I obeyed, in a dazed sort of state.

"Hey, Cal, can I ask you a question?" Allete asked, jogging to catch up.

"What's up?" I asked.

"How on earth did you make it to heaven?" She asked.

"What? Why would you ask that? You don't know my life." I said, giving her a quick glance up and down.

"You're training to be a guardian angel, yet you'd rather get stabbed over reading the bible?" She said.

"I changed my mind." I said, bringing my eyes back forward.

"Uh-huh." She answered, smug. We found ourselves back at the corridor that led to the white room, and I felt instantly betrayed.

"No, no. You said we were done with that for the day, I am not-" I started.

"No, you're not." He cut me off, turning to face me.

"The experience of a bible is very different for humans, and while you don't remember it specifically, you're keenly aware of this already, am I correct?" He asked. We both nodded.

"Well now you're going to work on reading the bible as humans. There will be two bibles when you enter the room. You're free to converse and exchange thoughts. Try to keep focused, though. You'll have time to relax later. Don't waste your time in God's word. Okay?" Again, we both nodded.

It was peaceful, sitting and reading. It was easier to absorb after the earlier experience. Time dragged at some points, and at others it flew. But knowing with every ounce of your being that these stories were true, it was like reading a history book without all the dates.

"Follow me, you two." Artemis said, appearing out of air. The blue sky had turned to a more purple color.

"Night is when you guys will converse with others in training, as well as those who are on hiatus." He said.

"Hiatus?" I asked.

"Yeah, there's a ten year period in between lives." He answered.

"That's quite a while." I said.

"It is, so you'd best make it count. You also ought to be ready for death when it comes. Why do you think I killed you guys so many times?" He asked, with a gentle laugh in his voice.

"I'd dare say you enjoyed it!" I said. Allete snorted. I got the feeling she agreed.

"Well, a little." He said, looking over his shoulder with a smile. "But don't worry, that's the last time you'll be dying on such a grand scale. From here on out, you'll only die when you fail the tests." He said.

"Tests?" Allete asked.

"Yes. You're going to be tested in multiple fighting styles, with and without weapons. You win, you live. You lose, you die. Occasionally we'll pair you up against other guardians in training, too. Those are always fights to the death. Other times it will be team fights. Two vs. Two. Those are fun to watch." He said, smiling.

"You're sick." I answered. We walked down the hall for quite some time, before we came up to towering double doors.

"You can go in here, and meet other trainees, or you can head back to your rooms until morning comes. Up to you." He said, before opening the doors. There were hundreds of people, and the noise of chatter rang through the halls as soon as they opened. I looked over at Allete.

"You ever been here before?" I yelled. She nodded.

"You like it very much?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Just follow my lead." She said. So I did. As we stepped in the doors closed behind us. The space was huge. Despite the large amount of people, there was still plenty of room to walk and move. Plenty of seats as well. The light seemed to emanate from the walls and the floor. It was a calm, white light. The ceiling was glass, like the white room. The sky was quickly darkening, and the stars were starting to show.

"I wonder how many up there are dead angels." I muttered.

"What was that?" Allete asked. I looked at her, surprised she'd heard.

"Allete! I heard you started training today." A man's voice called out. We both turned to face it. He stood at roughly the same height as her, with black clean cut hair and green eyes. One bore a strange looking scar. It was black surrounded by normal looking scar tissue, traveling from his forehead and halfway down his cheek. I heard a deep, hearty laugh from somewhere nearby, which distracted my unintentional stare. He walked up with a strong air of confidence.

"And this must be your training partner." He said, looking at me. I gave a small smile and nodded, trying with difficulty to keep my eyes off of the strange looking scar.

"James." He said, offering his hand.

"Cal." I responded with a firm grip.

"Nice to meet you, Cal. I hope things go well for you in training, and while I'd like to tell you it flies, I can't. I just finished mine ten years ago." He said.

"Oh!" I said. "So, you were on earth for...?"

"Two years." He said, with a sigh.

"Oh." I said, again.

"Yeah." He said, smiling in a regretful sort of way.

"How was it?" I asked. He got a distant look on his face, when Allete spoke.

"So, you didn't tell me we were going to die a hundred freaking times, James." She said, lightly punching him in the shoulder. His eyes lit up again as a huge grin found his face.

"What?" He asked. "Your teacher killed you that many times?" He said, sounding humorously shocked.

"More like thirty or so. " I said.

"That's a ton! We were only killed on the first day like- 5 times. That's brutal! You guys got a tough one. Who is he?" He asked. It hadn't occurred to me for even a second that there were other guardians being trained by different teachers. I just assumed it was all Artemis.

"His name's Artemis." Allete answered. "Ever hear of him?" James's eyes went wide.

"Hear of him? Almost everyone's heard of him! He's insane! I'm jealous, actually. I'd have killed to have him as my mentor." He said, incredulously.

"What?" We both said at the same time.

"Well, it explains why it took so long for you to find a partner. You remember how a lot of people came after you and started training before?" He asked, looking at Allete. She nodded, her brows starting to furrow.

"He's picky with who he trains, and he's known for finding people who work well together. None of his disciples have been known to have any big disputes. He's got a good eye for personalities, or something. No one really knows how he picks 'em." He said, looking over at me with new found curiosity.

"I'm not surprised with you, Allete. I mean all you generally do is read and study." He said.

"That's all I could do." She answered.

"No, you could've just hung out here all the time, like most people who are in waiting do. I mean seriously, how much do you have memorized?" He asked.

"Just Genesis and Exodus." She said, looking to the ground.

"Just? Verse by verse?" He asked. She nodded, and he started to laugh. "Just. Huh. Yeah, I see why he picked you." He said.

"Wait, wait. Just, hold on." I said, causing them both to face me.

"You mean to tell me that we're deliberately picked?" I asked.

"Yeah. You're quickly leading me to wonder why he picked you. Keep up, will ya?" He said.

"James!" Allete snapped.

"Oh, come on, Allete. You know I just want the best for you. I'd hate for you to go through all this training to leave earth as early as I did." He said.

"That was not anyone's fault, you guys got assigned to something that no one saw coming-" She started.

"We should've been ready." He said, his face darkening. I was starting to piece his story together.

"Where's your partner, then?" I asked, pointedly. Allete got a sad look, as his eyes fell on me. He took a step up, so he could look down at me.

"Dead?" I asked, my tone flat.

"Cal." Allete warned.

"I'm sorry. I'm not a big fan of being insulted." I said through closed teeth, not breaking eye contact with James.

"You seem to have an issue with pride, if that's the case." He said.

"Funny, you're not the first person to say that today." We stood there unflinching for a few more seconds, before Allete decided that it was enough. Other people had taken notice.

"Okay, you two clearly aren't getting along." She said, taking him by the wrist and gently urging him back. "It was nice to see you, and I do hope to meet up again soon, James." She said, giving him a quick hug before coming over and gripping me by the arm, escorting me out. We walked in silence to our rooms. She opened her door, turning to me.

"Care to come in?" She offered. I figured answering with no would be a really bad choice on my end. When I walked in I was shocked, to say the least. Her walls were a dark brown, the floor was hardwood with a white carpet by her bed. The window over looked some beautiful woods, my head tilted at the sight. There was a fire place in a far corner across from the window, surrounded by a couple of book cases, accompanied by a cushioned chair with a few blankets laying folded next to the fire. It was the only thing lighting the room.

"Have a seat." One materialized at her words. My jaw dropped as I looked over at her.

"How?" I asked.

"You really need to work on controlling your emotions, Cal. The good news is, you have a hundred years to do so." I sat as she spoke, and walked over to the fire place.

"They were attacked by multiple demons. It was an organized assault, when his partner died protecting a human. They attacked immediately. There was nothing James could do while in his human form. He slit his own throat in front of the person they'd saved in an attempt to help his partner. He was too late. His only options were to escape or suffer the same fate. He managed to escape with that scar." She said. A pit grew in my stomach.

"Did you know him? His partner?" I asked. She bowed her head once.

"I'm sorry." I muttered.

"You should tell him that when you see him again." She said. I nodded, slowly.

"Why was it black?" I asked, looking at the fire.

"We fight demons with light. They fight with darkness. Supposedly, it's an extremely painful way to die." She said.

"How do we fight with light?" I asked. "I mean, it's just light."

"It's not the same light as humans experience on earth. There's a different field to it. As there is with darkness. For humans, these two things are known only in feeling. It's a little complicated, and I'm sure Artemis could explain it a whole lot better. To be honest, I don't know much on it. But long story short, that's our primary weapon in spiritual combat." She said.

"That's kinda cool." I said, smiling. She nodded, starting to smile as well.

"I'm looking forward to it in fifty years." She said. I let out a pained sigh.

"Fifty freaking years." I said.

"Hey, at least we're spending it doing something." She said. I frowned, remembering she'd been in a type of stasis for the last five years.

"I must be a bit of a disappointment to you." I said.

"Why would you say that?" She asked, the fire dimming.

"Well, he had a point, with me and my pride. One day of this life, and I've already made an enemy because of it. I have literally no control of my emotions, and if we're being honest, I was the first to die almost every time today. If what he says about Artemis is true, I think he's made his first mistake." I said.

"It's your first day." She started.

"Yeah, and I'm keenly aware that I'm a lot less optimistic than I should be. You had a funny point earlier. I had no interest whatsoever in reading today. To be honest, I wouldn't have if I didn't have to. You, on the other hand, you seem to do it just because you want to." I said.

"We're just different, and if we're being honest with each other, as you say, then you should know that I really am looking forward to getting to know you better." She said. I scoffed at her words.

"Really now?" I said.

"Yeah, you crack me up! After dying for the fifth time, you just went at it with no fear. That's why you kept dying first. I was- I was not eager to experience the pain, but you just charged. You're crazy, girl. That and I really was busting up at you attacking Artemis after the first time. You've got a fire to you, Cal. You just need to learn to control it. Training and time, that's all. You'll be fine." She said. I looked at her, dumbfounded for a moment.

"Either you're ridiculously good at reading people, or you're way off the mark." I said, starting to laugh.

"Well, I'm looking forward to finding out which it is. Personally, I think I'm right. I usually am." She said, with a sly sort of smile.

"Sure you are." I said. "So, how'd you get all these books?" I asked, changing the subject. She lit up at the question.

"There's this corridor. It's got endless amounts of them. Care to check it out?" She asked.

"Hell yeah." I said.

"Language! You'll get yourself killed again." She said, giving me a knowing look.

"Hey, I didn't know!" I laughed.

She was right about the 'endless amounts of books' part. The corridor wasn't endless, but nearly countless other halls stemmed from it. The lighting came from fiery, floating orbs above the shelves. It smelled old, in a good way.

"How do you find things in here?" I asked, feeling small yet again.

"Walk down one of the halls, but before you do, have your topic in mind. Also, try not to do this while someone else is in the hall way. It's rude." She said. I glanced at her.

"You ever do that?" I asked, grinning.

"It was an accident." She muttered. "Anyways, I'll follow." She said. I figured now was as good a time as any to learn a thing or two about fighting.

"Fighting? You're looking up books on how to fight? That's what Artemis is for." She said, laughing lightly as she spoke.

"And the eight hours a day we have in the bible is enough, too. You can't honestly tell me you don't plan on spending some of this night studying. I wouldn't believe you." I said.

"Why do you sound so sure?" She asked.

"James said something about it earlier. You have two of the longest books in the bible memorized. You did that on your free time. I'm not deaf, Allete. And as much as I think James would like to think so, nor am I stupid." I said, throwing in a bit of spite to my tone towards the end.

"Cal, he's just worried for me." She said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I'll get over it." I said. "So, can we just take these?"

"Yup."

"And they're magically replaced?" I asked, skeptical.

"Cal, you have a room that changes based on your emotions, you've essentially lived some of the bible, you've died thirty-something times today, fire is floating above us, corridors turn into rooms, and light glows from the floors, walls, and ceiling in this place. You honestly mean to tell me you don't believe books can be replicated?" She said.

"That, Allete, is a very good point." I said, pulling a couple of books down. We walked back to our rooms, and I found myself stopping as I opened my door.

"Allete?" I said.

"Yeah?" She said.

"How do you- make book cases?" I asked. The question felt weird coming out of my mouth.

"How about you keep those in my room until you get a better feel for things?" She offered. I nodded, closing my door.

"So are you going to study these with me?" I asked.

"No, I think I'm gonna work on Leviticus tonight. Your prediction was right." She said. "But that doesn't mean we can't study together. You can even use me as your guinea pig from time to time." She smiled. That was how we spent our night. A knock came before the sun rose.

"Come on out!" Artemis called in. He lifted an eyebrow when he saw us both exit. "Getting to know each other, then?" He asked. We glanced at one another, and then back to him. Allete nodded, I shrugged.

"A shrug? I see how it is." She said.

"What? It's the same as a nod." I said.

"Uh-huh." She said, eyes narrowing.

"Well good." Artemis said, his arms crossing. "Glad to know that the two of you are getting along so far. Now follow me." He said, unfolding his arms and turning around. We went back to the white room. I felt my stomach lurch as the scene shifted in an already painfully familiar manner.

"The first fighting style you learn will be tae kwon do. Throughout this next week we'll be going over stances, and basic kicks and punches. You will be spending four hours a day doing this. You will be spending three years on this fighting style before moving onto the next one. In three months, you two will start sparring each other. In six months we'll introduce other guardians-in-training to spar with you. In a year, you'll also start sparing with me. This will rotate to where you fight each other on the first day of the week, me at the end of the week, and other guardians for the five days in between. This will take up one of your four hours each day. You will be exhausted, just a warning." He said, before turning to us and taking a defensive position, ordering us to do the same.

He was right, by the time it was over we were both having a hard time standing.

"Now, I'll be honest with you two. I could show you how to leave this room. But I'd rather just kill you and meet you at your rooms." He said, smiling. Allete groaned, and I just started laughing.

"Bring it." I said. Allete gave a quick laugh as well. "Just make it quick, okay?" I asked. He nodded, as a katana formed in his hand.

"You and that damn katana." I said.

"Language, Cal." He said, as he drove it through my chest.

next chapter

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Reviews

Alex70

Though it's not the kind of story I would usually read, I liked it. Some profound stuff handled playfully. I think it should be split into two chapters and there are plenty of grammar problems, but the story has movement and some surprises.