Humayre: The Chronicles of Ronin Wilder
Chapter 13

Ryan lifted Ronin into the air with one arm.

The other two thugs were on top of Kevin. The bigger of the two held Kevin’s arms behind his back. The other thug’s fist was balled and ready for Kevin’s face. The thug about to hit Kevin had a nose bleed. Kevin got a lucky swing in before they grabbed him. The thug was no doubt going to make him pay dearly.

Using all his strength, Ronin tried to pry Ryan’s grip loose, but it was like trying to bend steel. All he could do was dangle in the air helplessly. He looked at Kevin. He was faring no better. Both were about to get the beatings of their lives.

“Where’s the letter?” Ryan whispered into Ronin’s ear.

“What?” asked Ronin. The letter was all but forgotten, all brain activity had shifted to survival.

“The letter you took from the carriage, you little bast…” he caught himself and lowered his voice back to a whisper. “The letter you took. You know what I’m talking about.”

It all came back in a flash. “Mr. Wetstone took it from me,” said Ronin.

Fear consumed Ryan’s face, but as quickly as it came on it vanished. Hate burned in his eyes. His fist balled into an angry mass off furry. The muscles in his jaw tightened. If he clenched any harder, Ronin thought his teeth might shatter.

“Ryan,” said a voice.

The whole room turned to find the voice.

Standing just inside the room was Cyrus. The handle of his sword just visible over his shoulder. It was sheathed to his back. He was wearing his BrightWood trench coat. His short jet black hair was so orderly it almost looked like a helmet.

Ryan dropped Ronin onto his bed and moved away from him like he was the plague. He put his hands behind his back and stared in awe at the imposing figure before him. “Cyrus?” There was as much awe in his voice as question.

The two thugs didn’t say a word. They too released their hostage and just stood dumbfounded.

“Hey, fellas,” said Cyrus. He looked at Ryan and his thugs. “You guys in here to see the new recruits as well?”

They were silent.

“Pretty amazing, huh?” asked Cyrus. “Both have the highest Mayre readings in the history of the school. Looks like these two are on the fast track to becoming Keiri’s.”

Not a sound. Ryan and his thugs just stood staring as though they were looking at a ghost or some supernatural being.

“Okay fellas,” said Cyrus. He clapped his hands twice. “Off ya go. I’ve got business with the new recruits and I’m afraid what I have to tell them is beyond your clearance.”

Ryan and his friends left the room with their tails between their legs.

“You guys okay?” asked Cyrus.

“Yeah,” said Kevin. “You really saved our necks. Thanks.”

“Yeah,” said Ronin. “Thanks.”

Shaking his head, and giving Ronin a particularly stern look, Kevin asked, “Who in Hades were those guys?” He scooted off the bed and brushed himself off. “And you owe me a new pair of boxer shorts.”

“Som…,” said Ronin, but Cyrus interrupted him before he could finish.

“The guy who had Ronin dangling in the air was Ryan Grey.” Cyrus glanced around the room. “Pompous little turd. His dad is Dr. Grey, Dr. Storm’s right hand man. So with that said. You can imagine the sense of entitlement the little weasel has. Well, you don’t have to imagine it, he wears it like a badge of honor.”

“Yeah. I have to say I’m not a big fan of the guy,” said Kevin.

Cyrus sternly stared at Ronin. “So. What did you do to make him so mad?”

The letter. But Ronin wasn’t going to tell Cyrus about it. Mr. Wetstone’s reaction to whatever was on that letter was serious. No reason to poke a sleeping giant. For all Ronin knew Cyrus could start asking questions, getting him involved in something that could get him in trouble. BrightWood was a dream come true, he wasn’t about to risk getting himself kicked out.

“I don’t know,” said Ronin. Lying was a skill he never excelled in. Most times people could see right through him. The curse of a guilty heart perhaps.

“I see,” said Cyrus, with a raised eyebrow. “Well. For whatever reason you have made a dangerous enemy. I would watch your back if I were you.” His focus shifted to Kevin. “It’s a rare thing to have a friend who will put his neck on the line for you.” He nodded to Kevin.

Pride swelled Kevin’s posture. He stood up tall and puffed out his chest. A restrained smile came over his face. He nodded back to Cyrus.

“So,” said Cyrus, addressing both Kevin and Ronin. “The reason I came here. You two beat my score and I wanted to see what kind of Freshys pulled that off. I’m glad I came. You did not disappoint. BrightWood needs Humayre like you. Our presence in the world could very well mean the difference between peace and war. The Vein outnumber us. But we have one advantage. We unite under a single cause, whereas they divide. I won’t scare you with details. I will tell you this though. We need you.”

Kevin and Ronin looked at each other. Uncertainty was all over both of their faces. After all, they were only sixteen. The world was supposed to be filled with limitless possibilities not certain strife.

“Now that I have scared the cockiness out of you,” said Cyrus. He laughed, which forced Ronin and Kevin to nervously laugh. “I have to get going. But before I leave, I’ll offer you guys some advice that I wish someone would have given me when I was a Freshy. “He walked around the room, seemingly to search for something. “I don’t see your bokken? Did Gus not show you the weapons room?”

“Bokken?” asked Ronin. It sounded familiar, like he should know it, but his mind was drawing a blank.

“A wooden sword,” said Kevin.

That’s right. Ronin knew he’d heard of it before. They were wooden swords that Samurai used to train with.

“No, Gus didn’t show us anything actually,” said Ronin. He was still mad the guy ran out of the room like a coward when Ryan and company paid them a visit.

Cyrus shook his head. “Well, I’ll remedy that right now.” He walked to the hall leading out of the room. About four feet in he stopped and faced the stone wall. Placing both hands on the wall he pushed. A click sounded out. The wall opened up. It was a secret door. “Come here,” he said. He disappeared into the wall.

Ronin and Kevin followed. The stone wall opened into a room. The room was about twenty feet by twenty feet. To the right, flush against the wall, was a four person storage locker. Each cubby had a stool in front of it. Laying against the wall, below the shelves, was a bokken. All the locker cubbys were set up the same. The bottom shelf of each locker had an engraved wooden name plate. Ronin’s was closest to the entrance. To the left of the lockers were three wooden training dummies. They had two arms, two legs and were holding their own bokken.

“This is your training room. I suggest you use it every day,” said Cyrus. “The most important thing in your life is the sword. You need to master it if you hope to survive in your new world.”

At first Ronin thought Cyrus was over exaggerating, trying to scare them again, but the look on the Keiri’s face was dead serious.

“If you decide to spar each other, you need to wear your helmets,” said Cyrus with a stern look. “You will find them in your locker cabinet on the third shelf.” He walked up to the training dummy. He swiveled it all around and adjusted its arms and legs in different positions. “They are fully poseable. I suggest you take advantage of this feature. It will allow you to practice styles you would not be able to on a live opponent.”

Swinging his bokken all over the place, looking like a true amateur, Kevin said, “This is what I’m talking about.”

“Try not to kill yourself,” said Cyrus. “Those swords may be wood, but with a trained arm can kill a man just as easily as a steel sword.”

Kevin held the sword still, the implications seemed to tone down his excitement.

Swords. Ronin was fascinated by them. The public library had been a great source of information on historical weaponry. He loved to read about Samurai and various other cultures who used the sword as a means of self-defense. But he just couldn’t get it out of his mind that the whole thing seemed silly, after all, this was the modern world, such archaic inventions surely had no place in this day and age.

“Why swords?” asked Ronin, looking at Cyrus. “I mean. We saw that training session you guys had. Why not just use those gun-like things?” He looked for Cyrus’s holster but he wasn’t wearing it.

“Because those gun-like things don’t work off school property or on Vein,” said Cyrus. “They are dangerous to humans and act as a sort of stun gun against Humayre. But Vein. Nope. No effect at all.” He grasped the handle of his Mayreblade. The act looked more instinctual than intentional. He let go of his sword, folded his arms and added, “Those gun like things are called BTMF’s or Bio Tech Mayre Firearms. We only use those for guard duty and training exercises. And in case you are curious, which I’m sure you are, they fire concentrated bursts of Mayre energy.”

“Okay,” said Ronin, his voice riddled with confusion. “So why swords then?”

“Because nothing else will work,” said Cyrus. “And that’s why your skill with a sword is the most important thing in your life. It is your life now.”

“Knock, knock,” said a female’s voice. “Can I come in?”

“Come on in, babe,” said Cyrus. “Just showing these Freshys a few things.”

In walked the hot blonde Ronin saw at the white building. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. The torch light in the training room flickered and danced off the blonde’s green eyes making them appear to come alive. For reasons unknown to Ronin his heart began to beat fast. He felt nervous. The first thought into his mind was he hoped she wouldn’t talk to him. He was afraid he’d say something stupid.

“Freshys this is Grace,” said Cyrus. “Grace, this is Freshys” He chuckled.

“Really?” asked Grace. “You are still doing that? I guess you can take the boy out of BrightWood but you can’t take the BrightWood out of the boy.” She walked up to Ronin and held her hand out.

Ronin just stared at her smooth hands. Her fingers were long, but not too long. Her wrists were thin and delicate. The sweet smell of some kind of flower he couldn’t identify filled his nostrils. She was mesmerizing.

“Freshy,” said Cyrus. “You can blink. It’s okay. She won’t bite. The gesture she is offering is called a handshake.” He chuckled. “Go ahead Freshy, grab her hand.”

Ronin slowly lifted his hand.

Shaking his head, Cyrus continued, “Yeah that’s right. Don’t hurt yourself now.”

Ronin fired his hand out. His taped fingers brushed across the top of her wrist. She didn’t pull away when she noticed the duct tape, which surprised Ronin. Gently, she grabbed his hand. Her skin was so soft. She stared at the duct tape, her eyes filled with compassion, but she said nothing. They shook hands. Ronin did not want to let go. They were so close and she smelled so good. Her almost white hair cascaded down her shoulders. It was straight and fine. The prettiest he’d ever seen.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Grace Hansen,” she said. Their handshake was awkwardly long but she didn’t try to pull away.

“Ro… Ronin Wilder,” His heart raced. Realizing how long he’d been holding her hand he released his grasp and stepped back. His face flushed red.

“Nice to meet you Ronin Wilder.” She smiled, it was warm and understanding.

Kevin waved, but seemed more interested in his bokken. “Kevin Robinson. Nice to meet you Grace” He nodded then refocused on his sword.

Grace took her focus from Ronin to acknowledge Kevin. “Nice to meet you too, Kevin.” She giggled. “Try not to kill yourself with that thing.”

“That’s what I told him,” said Cyrus. Grace and Cyrus laughed at the same time.

All Ronin could do was stare. Never had any girl had such an effect on him. It was almost like something was pulling him to her, a connection of some sort.

“Babe,” said Cyrus, now fully focused on Grace. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I think so,” said Grace. “A little nervous though. Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?”

“Positive. You’ve got nothing to worry about. And plus, I’ll be there to kiss you when it’s all over.”

The words stung Ronin. The thought of her kissing anyone made his heart ache. Anger charged through his body. He stared at Cyrus, he wanted to dislike him but he couldn’t, the guy was just too nice, not to mention he saved his neck.

“What’s tomorrow?” asked Kevin. The bokken was back in front of his locker. He looked bored.

Cyrus’s face lit up with excitement. “Grace has The Sword Ceremony tomorrow.” He pulled Grace close and hugged her. He kissed her forehead as she stared lovingly up at him. Ronin had to look away. With Grace in his arms, he continued, “Tomorrow is the day she finally gets her Mayreblade.”

So that’s what they call it. Ronin’s eyes found Cyrus’s Mayreblade sheathed to his back. The handle was the only part exposed. The crimson metal glowed in the torch light.

“Mayreblade?” asked Kevin.

“That’s a talk for another time. You got a year before you have to worry about that anyway,” said Cyrus.

“Sorry to interrupt guys, but we have to go.” She looked up at Cyrus. “We were supposed to meet Marcus ten minutes ago.”

“Shoot,” said Cyrus. “I almost forgot. He’s gonna be mad.”

“How do you know what time it is?” asked Kevin. “Nothing works in this place.”

With a smile, Grace said, “You have a sand clock in your room.” She furrowed her thin eyebrows. “Didn’t your drop down show you?”

“They got Gus, babe,” said Cyrus.

“Oh,” said Grace. “That’s too bad. Sorry guys. Looks like your gonna have to figure stuff out on your own.”

“Great,” said Kevin sarcastically.

“Freshys,” said Cyrus. “It was nice chatting with you guys but me and my girl have somewhere we have to be. I’ll see you guys in Offensive Techniques. That’s one of the classes they have me teaching this year.” He looked to Grace, they smiled at each other, obviously in love. “I’m on leave for the year. So, you guys will be seeing a lot of me.”

Cyrus and Grace said goodbye to the Freshys. They headed out of the training room. As Grace disappeared Ronin’s heart ached. It wasn’t because she was leaving. It was because she was obviously in love.

“One last thing,” said Cyrus, as he stood in the door way. “Lose the duct tape before the Awakening. If they think you have some kind of medical condition they won’t perform the procedure on you.” He disappeared into the hall.

“Procedure?” asked Kevin, looking concerned.

Dread and doubt consumed Ronin. What if they see his blackened nails and they think he has some kind of condition? They might not let him go through The Awakening, whatever that was. If he couldn’t do The Awakening would they send him home? He couldn’t go home. Not after seeing this place. This was where he was supposed to be. That unsure nervousness which had plagued him the last six years of his life crept back into his heart. I better not get too comfortable, they might be sending me home tomorrow.

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