Page 18 of Dance of the Phoenix
After a few tense minutes, he parked the car in a suburban area at the open garage of a modern-design town house. When I was about to leave the car, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to look at him. This time, he did meet my gaze, and his was aglow. “We need to talk.”
I gave him a fake smile. “About what?”
“You know what,” he said, his eyes narrow.
My smile faltered, and I averted my gaze. “Can we just forget it?”
“I’ve been trying to do just that for the last couple of days,” he said conversationally, “and yet here we are.”
“Please,” I blurted before I could think twice about it, and to my horror, tears welled in my eyes. I shook his hold off and turned my head away so he wouldn’t see. “Please, let it go for now.”
He didn’t say anything for a few long moments before he gave out a rough sigh and opened the driver’s door. Shakily, I got out of the car, too, swallowing the tears, and followed him inside the town house.
The living room and kitchen area was almost completely empty. Everything was colored white, from the sofas to the islands, the ceilings, and even the stairs leading to the second floor, and it gave the place a washed-out, dreamy feel.
Ragnor led me to the backyard, which was filled with neatly trimmed grass that disappeared into a wooded area, before he stopped, took off his coat and threw it on the nearby chair, and turned to me. “Let’s start with your training.”
His face was impassive, his eyes midnight blue again, and I knew he was trying to respect my pathetic plea. So I acted as if nothing was the matter and gave him a smile I hoped wasn’t as fake as the previous one. “I thought I’d be trained by someone else, so as not to have a conflict of interest.”
Despite the heavy air between us, I saw his lips twitch. “I doubt my wanting you to live is a conflict of interest, so we’re good.”
I gave an inward sigh of relief.Thank you, Ragnor, for letting me have this one secret.
“Also,” he added, giving me a much more relaxed grin, “who’s better than a Sacred to teach another Sacred?”
My temporary relief was gone immediately. “But I’m participating as a Common,” I said, frowning.
He arched his brow. “Are you telling me you haven’t planned on using your powers at all?”
“Well, yes,” I said, shrugging. “We agreed to keep my Sacred status a secret.”
Ragnor gave me a stunned look. “It doesn’t mean you can’t use it if your life is in danger—which it will be.”
He was right.
“Now, explain to me how your power works again,” he said, watching me closely.
I sighed. “I can stop and resume time by will,” I said, scowling, “though it hurts like a motherfucker when I do that, so I can only stop time for a few seconds, perhaps more if I train.”
Ragnor nodded. “Let’s try to work on that first: prolonging the use of your magic without the side effect.”
“I do have a question, though,” I said, cocking my head. “Did you get headaches after you found out you’re Sacred?”
He gave me a somewhat cryptic look before he said, “Not exactly. Each Sacred has different side effects. You have headaches, while others could have pain in their joints or lose their sense of hunger, perhaps even feel completely parched right after using their powers. It varies with every Sacred.
“Having said that, Sacreds learn how to use magic with minimal side effects given enough time and practice,” he continued, giving me a pointed look. “Two things we don’t have a lot of at the moment. But let’s do our best, shall we?”
I nodded, determined to do just that, and braced myself for action.
“When you’re ready, stop time and count the seconds,” Ragnor instructed. “Since I won’t be able to help you, considering you’ll stopmytime as well, try to stretch yourself to the limit, which will give us a sense of your current maximum.”
“Yes, sir!” I said, mock saluting.
His lips twitched again. “Let me know when you’re done.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath before I focused on my will and thought,Stop.
