Black Five by J. Lynn Bailey

Author:J. Lynn Bailey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poorhouse Publishing

Fireballs and

Labyrinths

“You had better be careful. I hear the creatures come out about this time of night.”

Church is standing directly behind me. His words cause me to blush. His tone picks away at a feeling deep inside me that makes my thinking go a little haywire.

I reply, “I’ll keep an eye out.”

He towers over me, leaning on a tree. “You are with me for the next hour. Weapons training. Follow me, if you will.”

Church has a way with his eyes. Sometimes he looks at me as though he holds the weight of my world on his unbeating heart, while other times he looks at me with remorse. Sometimes he looks at me with complete admiration and sometimes as though seeing me is painful. Tonight, he’s looking at me with admiration. His eyes are wide and he wears a smile.

Church is beautiful. He is beautiful physically and in his humbleness and empathy. When I am with him I feel his dedication to me.

It takes me back to that night in my bedroom when I saw the glow of his beautiful translucent skin. His skin doesn’t have that radiance tonight but it is still so beautiful.

I sense mental scars in his being. Maybe he’s killed someone, maybe many? Behind the radiant skin there exist fresh wounds. He’s broken, like me, yet in different ways; ways I don’t understand yet.

He’s searching my eyes now, trying to read my thoughts. “I cannot tell what you are feeling right now, Penelope.” He maintains his distance.

“I can’t either.”

There’s a long silence between us.

“Follow me.”

It’s dark in the old hay barn. A single candle lights the old picnic table that sits in the middle of the open floor. Church is careful not to touch me as he motions me through the door and shuts it behind us.

“Please, Penelope, join me, will you?” he guides me to the picnic table.

A soft hum emits from one of the items lying on the table. It looks like some sort of magnifying glass with a red-orange fireball orbiting around it. It looks old, as if the rust has eaten the handle alive. A thick piece of glass sits in the middle. I assume it’s a Nighmerian weapon. I carefully sit down at the table as Church sits across from me.

“These are some of the weapons used in Nighmerianotte. Some are far more dangerous than others. They are designed to incapacitate but are capable of killing. It is imperative you know we train with a no-kill approach. Nighmerians believe killing another is a last resort. Always. Do you understand this?”

“So the mortal world has it all wrong?” I remember my father’s words.

“No, not in the least. We are trained impeccably well. So well, in fact, ninety percent of the time, we do not have to kill. Part of our training is learning to control our kill or be killed instinct.”

The humming of the fireball grabs my attention. “This is called a nuck.” Church catches the fireball orbiting around the magnifying glass. The humming stops.

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