The Man In The Midnight Blue Suit

Chapter Eight

My questions are left screaming inside my mind, hungry for answers. I stand, arms at my side, waiting. Lucian turns his back to me and begins to walk to the centre of the room. The sound of his shoes hitting the floor is the only noise in the empty space.

He speaks without turning to look at me. "Your training starts now. Before I can begin to teach you how to harness your own ability, I must first show you that you have it. Your intellectual power is currently dormant. Without our interference, you would never know you even possessed it. What I plan to do, Casey, is bring that intellectual ability into life."

He turns and smiles at me, his student. It sends a shiver down my spine. He stands in front of me, with the marble square between us, watching my reaction. "Step forward, Casey."

I walk slowly towards Lucian. I know I don't have a choice in this. That doesn't mean I have to trust it. I don't know the extent of Lucian's abilities. This intellectual power could be as dangerous as it is impossible. Yet here I am, and there's no denying the midnight blue fire that flickers on these walls. I can't let him see my fear.

I hold my head up and walk with confidence I wish I had. I lock my eyes on Lucians, daring him to push me over the edge. It is a little act of defiance, this fake confidence – quietly letting him know that I am my own person. I refuse to be controlled.

I keep my eyes trained on Lucians as I move toward the marble at the centre of the room. For the first time, I notice his eyes. They're pale grey. They stare at me, judging my every move. But his eyes don't make me uneasy as his smile does. His smile taunts me, while his eyes only watch me.

Unexplainable cold leeks into my bones as I step onto the marble stone. I don't break my stare. I keep walking until I'm standing in the centre. The sunshine leaking in from the tall window warms my body, casting out the cold. I stand taller still, unwilling to let Lucian see me afraid.

A look of complete control passes over Lucian's face. He holds his arms steady at his sides. His pale grey eyes are focused on me. Suddenly, the comforting warmth of the sun dissipates. In a panic, I look at the windows, only to see darkness, as if it were the dead of night instead of day. A cold chill, more sinister than the first, sets over the room. The midnight blue fire held captive by the wall sconces weakens and cowers against the cold. My fists clench at my sides. I tell myself to be brave.

The marble floor seems to change beneath my feet. Grey ripples twist and writher as they move around me, forming dark patterns and foreign shapes.

I must be brave.

I look up at Lucian. His body is still, his eyes trained on the ground. His fingers twitch, moving like the marble floor. Then his hands freeze. The room grows colder still.

I must be brave.

Sparks burst forth from the marble. All around me, red hot embers jump and twirl, biting at my feet. As if on cue, the fiery dance stops. The embers fall into a perfect circle, with me in their centre. Their colour does not dull. They glow brighter and brighter until I can feel their heat cutting through the cold.

I must be brave.

All at once, the embers turn to flame. But not ordinary flame – this fire, like the fire in the wall sconces, is midnight blue. The fire crackles and grows. It bites at my ankles, my knees, my hips, flames twisting around my body. I feel a bead of sweat trickle down my cheek.

I must be brave.

Midnight blue fire closes in on me. I look at Lucian once more. His eyes bore into me. The intensity of his gaze nearly pushes me back into the fire.

I must be brave.

His body is relaxed, but his eyes remain focused. "Put the fire out, Casey," He says, a shadow of amusement in his even voice. I turn around, looking at the circle of fire caging me in. The chill has completely left me now. I can only feel the heat pressing into me. My breaths are short, strained, gasping. The air is thick with heat.

I must be brave.

The midnight blue fire comes closer still. My head starts to pound. It's like my brain has grown too big for my skull and is pushing its way out, tearing my head apart. I'm only aware of the aching in my head.

I must be brave.

The heat, the pressure of the fire, everything else loses importance. My eyes are scrunched shut.

I must be brave.

I cannot tell if the fire is still around me or if it's consumed me. All I feel is the pain.

I must be bra-

Black.

When I wake, the aching in my head is gone. I'm lying on the ground, sunlight warming my body. The heat of the fire and the cold chill is gone. The room is light once again. The midnight blue fire is strong, threatening to leap out of the sconces that contain it. I sit up slowly and look at the marble floor. All trace of the fire is gone. There's not a burn mark, a tinge of ash. I look around, searching for Lucian. He stands by one of the windows, his arms folded over his chest. He doesn't look at me. He looks out at the gardens, his expression stern. When he speaks, his voice is cold, tinged with sarcasm.
"Well done Casey. You put the fire out and saved yourself. Your ability has awakened. But you don't remember doing it, do you?" Lucian turns to look at me. His eyes stab me with their harsh gaze. "You blacked out. You lost consciousness. You weren't aware of what you were doing. You lost control!" His voice raises, his anger burning his words. "You could have destroyed everything!" He turns away: takes a shaky breath. "Don't make the same mistakes your brother did, Casey."

Lucian storms from the room. I can't stand to be on the marble any longer. Hastily I crawl away, still weak from losing consciousness. I have no idea how I put that fire out. Just thinking about it makes me sweat.

No. I have to be strong. I can't let Lucian make me weak. I can't give in to fear. If I want to know what I'm really here for, who Lucian is, what happened to Jonathan, I have to be brave. Lucian's vague answers will never help me. I can't look to him to understand. Jonathan said I couldn't trust him. And I don't. Lucian is only a mystery to me, a dangerous mystery.

I stand up. I'm not going to learn anything cowering on the floor. I walk from the room with a purpose, knowing exactly what to do.