The Man In The Midnight Blue Suit

Chapter Seven

The next morning, I wake to find a folded pile of clothes sitting patiently on my bedside table. I've stayed in the same bedroom I had woken up in a week ago. Every morning, I open my eyes to find a pile of fresh clothes waiting for me. They were always the same clothes – grey shirt, black pants. This morning, there were two things different.

The first thing was the clothes. They weren't the same old get-up – today, there was a pair of black tights and loose cream singlet. I liked them better than the lifeless clothes I'd been wearing. Not that I cared so much - there were other things crowding my head.

I noticed the second thing with a pang of sadness. Jonathan. Every morning he had woken me up, saying that breakfast was ready. I always hoped that he would tell me we were doing something different today. Something that would lead to more answers. Yet here I was, something different happening, and Jonathan wasn't here. For all his insanity, his changed personality, I'd grown used to his company once again, after six years with a hole in my life.

I got up and put on the clothes. There was no mirror in the sleek white-walled room, so I had no idea what sort of morning mess I looked like. I trudged into my room's bathroom ensuite to try and tidy myself before going downstairs to the dining room.

Jonathan wasn't there either. I didn't know what was going on with him. I decided then to find out what Jonathan had really been doing the last six years.

Sitting on the table was, as usual, breakfast. Today, a plateful of eggs waited for me. There was only one plate. Nothing for Jonathan. I didn't think he was going to turn up either.

As I finished my breakfast, I heard a sound at the front of the room. Lucian was standing there, leaning against the edge of the wall. He had that stupid, lopsided grin on once again, and was wearing his usual immaculate midnight blue suit. He looked exactly like he did when I first saw him. I froze, halfway through a mouthful of eggs. I eyed him dubiously, trying to decide what he wanted. I had known as soon as I'd seen those clothes waiting for me that he had something planned. I was going to get more answers today. Whether I could trust anything that came out of Lucian's mouth, I was not sure.

"You really do need to work on that staring, my dear. I cannot have my student gaping at me every time I make an appearance."
I swallowed and shut my mouth. He had said it again – 'student'. For what must have been the millionth time, I wondered what was in store for me.
"Come along Casey. There is much to do." Lucian said. He turned and walked out of the dining room, gesturing for me to follow. His accent was starting to get on my nerves. I got up and, for the second time, found myself following him.

He strode through the archway into the foyer, shoes clacking on the white tiles. I realised where we were going. I wasn't surprised. Perhaps, even with the lies I've been told, I had known this was coming.

Lucian slows his pace as he enters the gym. His footsteps echo through the cavernous space. Without stopping, he lifts his left hand as he passes the first deep red wall sconce and clicks his fingers. Midnight blue fire leaps up from the sconce.

I stop still. I knew what it was – both Lucian and Jonathan had told me of it. My mind had still not accepted it. But here it was, staring me in the face. There was no denying it now.

All this intellectual shit was real. And that meant the Elites probably were too.

Lucian turned to face me as he reached the far wall of the room. "Don't tell me you still hadn't accepted it yet Casey." He says. "Really, how else would everything be explained?"
I stood at the front of the room, hearing the thick doors close behind me. Those doors, just like the library ones, were too heavy to close on their own. "Was that-?"
"Me?" Lucian answers. "Yes. It is very simple really. One of the first things I learned."
"What -" I stammer, my mind still reeling. "What are we doing here?"
"In this room, or here as in the meaning of life? You really need to be more specific Casey. But both have the same answer. You are here to learn."

It all came at me. I had known it, had suspected it, but I would not accept it. I had refused to acknowledge that I was here to learn this intellectual thing. To learn how to do this. I denied what I was told, clinging on to the hope of escape. There was no hope of that now.

Lucian and Jonathan both seemed adamant that I had this 'ability'. It was surreal. Part of me was still hanging onto logic, but I knew there was no other explanation. Yet another part of me longed to do this, to stretch my limits, to see if this intellectual power thing could really be achieved.

I stopped my cascading thoughts. They were not helping. I knew that I had to learn what Lucian had to teach me. But that didn't change the fact that I'd been taken here against my will. Everything had tumbled down on me at once. There was one unanswered question that stood out among the rest. It had been itching at the edge of my brain, ever since I had heard of the Elites and these abilities.

"Why me?"

Lucian looked at me with an odd expression. He looked as if he was wondering what to do with me. What to tell me.
"Casey," He started, "You are to be one of my students. I thought you had figured that out by now. I train my students to be the best. You should know that I will not accept anything that is below perfection from them. When I pick my students, I don't just pick those who have the ability. I pick the best of those. You and Jonathan, I watched you both from a young age. I watched Jonathan excel, and I watched you strive to be just like your big brother. It is true that Jonathan took the light in your family. I saw it for myself. But when I picked him to be one of my students, he failed. I realised that I had picked the wrong sibling."
Lucian's words hung in the air, taunting me. I swallowed and forced myself to speak. "Why are you training me?" I asked. "There must be a reason."
"I do love questions. It shows that you are taking it all in. That you are not simply accepting it as truth. That's what I like about you Casey. You do not simply accept anything. Why you are here is not important. The important thing is that you are here."
I want to scream from frustration. Why does everything he says have to be so vague? Who does he think he is, keeping me here, planning to teach me this, not telling me anything? Why did Jonathan fail? What is with all the midnight blue? What is really going on?

Who is Lucian?