Chapter Fifteen
THENEXTDAY
The surrounding sound dies down. The continual whooshing noise helps me to focus while I meditate. Colors dance behind my eyes as I come back to my senses. Shaking my head, I feel my muscles strain in my lower back.
Fuck! I’m wimpy, although it’s hard to say how long I’ve been sitting here. I take a few moments to write down my observations in the notebook given to me this morning. It's not a lot new.
Glancing behind me, I realize I’m being completely ignored by all the large Orclans training below. There are two distinct groups. Malk, Luc’s father, is running through some moves with the one group that also has Luc, Nako… and Cal.
My jaw tightens as I watch Cal move effortlessly through the practice formation. Twirling large sticks like a majorette, they all step and jab, step and jab. Despite their size, there’s a fluidness to their moves that’s mesmerizing.
It doesn’t make me feel any better about what they’re doing, though. My mind automatically takes me to the past. To my father.
I’ll never forget the time I overheard him tell one of his friends that my gifts were a shame. We were at a small fight club that only met once a month. He’d stashed me in the back room behind the boxes of alcohol that the bar out front used.
I guess his “friend” that he met there didn’t want to come retrieve me with him. I’d only met the guy once or twice, but I distinctly remember the raging black in his aura. He definitely was sick in his midsection, and I told him.
All he did at the time was get a funny look on his face and leave. This was before I knew better than to communicate any strange things I saw in people’s energy.
Being a child, only eight or nine at the time, I thought nothing of saying, “Do you have a stomachache?”
I mean… the black was dark! Almost scary looking too, with the way it swirled like a black hole. I was concerned he was not feeling well.
He didn’t look well, but now in hindsight, I realize he was just a raging alcoholic. That was along with any other drugs he might have been on. Now I know he had a major gambling addiction too, and that was why he was there. Just to bet.
When my father questioned him, he tried to bow out of riding back with us, but the conversation was just outside the storage room door. “Don’t worry about my daughter. She likes to be dramatic and make up things she sees. But it’s all a show. A way to get attention, eh?”
A way to get attention? I couldn’t believe my ears. How could he think that?
How many times did I know exactly what was bothering him before he ever said a word? My father was super easy for me to read, I think because I grew up with him. I could tell when he was angry, sad, dismayed, or even hungry.
In fact, I think I learned the most from my father and watching his aura because he rarely showed his feelings physically. There was no way to tell when he was about to spring and beat the shit out of someone on the street—at least not to the passersby. Often they acted like it was such a shock.
But it wasn’t a surprise for me. No sirree.
As I look down, watching the other group being trained by an Orclan I have yet to be introduced to, I can definitely tell he’s upset. Oh sure, there is the telltale sign of how he monitors Luc’s father from the corner of his eyes. All his trainees are doing the same, although that could have something to do with Nako being out there with them.
From the reactions of all the males, especially when she showed up first thing this morning with me, women's training is not normal! First, they tried to totally not let her join, but despite the language barrier, she stood her ground. Luckily, Luc was there and able to translate her plea.
I can’t say I agree with Nako, but if she wants to get some exercise by working out with the guys, she should be allowed to. At this point, I can’t imagine anyone would have the gall to break in and try to take down the Orclans. They’re huge and, according to Cal, deadly.
Shivering, I let myself stare at his ass. I don’t understand the mating bond between us completely, but our energy is still totally intertwined. I could swear I feel what he feels. Exertion. Disgust. And right now, curiosity.
It isn’t hard to see why. There are three Orcleen women coming in pulling a large cart. Parking it off to the side, they gather up the different water containers hanging on pegs off to the side, refilling them. Besides what must be water, they appear to have a spread of food with them.
I can tell the trainees are having a hard time concentrating now that break time is eminent, so it doesn’t take long before Luc’s father and the other trainer give a hand signal and everyone practically sprints to where the Orcleen women are busy going back and forth refilling their water containers.
I would say the strangest thing about the Orcleen women is their lack of energy. Except for the Cleonda woman at the Roportorium, they don’t have much going on for me to see. There’s a faint haze around them, but it’s tight to their body with little feedback. So strange.
First thing this morning, after I walked in with Cal and Nako, I’d noticed the way Cal stared at them. And if I’m being honest, it wasn’t them. It was her. The tallest.
With no hair and a big bulky masculine type body, it’s hard for me to understand the appeal, but based on the fiery way that Cal’s energy picks up, there’s something he’s reacting to. Staring at her, he’s frozen in place, watching her refill a water container and hand it back to one trainee.
She doesn’t look up, or show any sign of realizing she’s holding his attention. But I am having a hard time controlling the spark of jealousy now, making my skin tighten.
Why is he staring at her like that?
He’s moving closer, and as he does, his energy reaches out toward her, tentatively running the length of her body. My body flushes, and I pull out the neckline of this ridiculous dress I’m wearing. What the hell?