Sparks

Obsidian

  My newfound mental quiet had several unanticipated effects. After a few quick snips I was able to eliminate the thoughts of students who wandered at night and interrupted my sleep. No more excited thoughts about girls in night clothes or wondering if they would get caught sneaking around; just nice, peaceful sleep.

  At meals, I could concentrate on eating, what my food tasted like, and the topic of the conversation. The start of Round Four was when I started to gain some serious weight and inches, and by the end of my sixteenth summer, I barely resembled the thin, dirty boy that left Lagodon. I was taller than nearly every other boy my age; my shirts had become so tight that Avis traded them in for some that would accommodate my broader shoulders.

  Initially, it seemed like Round Four would be the quickest and easiest of all the rounds. I had mastered archery at a young age and was better than the other students by far. I was reminded that my Spark dealt with hunting, at least in part, and archery was the method I had culminated the most. It seemed that having a Spark wasn't the only factor in a student's success; we had to work to learn about ourselves and control our abilities, just as Isuet had done in the Creekmont.

  The first part of Round Four required students make a bow from a limb and hairs from a horse's tail. It wasn't easy to work with the unforgiving wood from the young tree, but my father and I had made at least a half dozen bows and I was well familiar with the technique. What took other students weeks or months, I had finished in a day, though Avis didn't seem particularly happy about it.

  Having Avis as my mentor was the strangest part about my experience at Myxini. Sometimes he acted like he hated me or wanted nothing as badly as he wanted me to fail. Other times he was helpful, even outgoing, and when I reached the end of a round, he seemed almost proud sometimes. But just when I thought I had him figured out, he would go and do something I hadn't expected, which left me more perplexed than ever.

  The second portion of Round Four required students to use their bow and arrows to shoot targets across the field at various distances. Again, I managed to complete the task in less than a day.

  "Don't get cocky." Avis chided when I returned to my room that afternoon. He was like a ghost that lurked in corners when you weren't looking and clearly preferred my quarters as his prime lurking spot.

  "Nice to see you, too."

  "You know what the last part is. Have you ever ridden a horse?"

  Of course he knew that I hadn't, but he just liked to torment me. The thoughts of the other students had already told me that I would be required to hit targets while riding a horse through the trails that cut through the Creekmont to the northeast of campus. I didn't know where to get a horse or any other details that seemed like they would be significant. The only thing I did know was that Avis would be cryptic and offer virtually no help as long as I needed it.

  As usual, Avis walked out the door without a goodbye of any kind and left me to get to the dining hall for some braised veal and onions. Since I had learned to silence the voices, meals were a joy, though I began to wonder if I could do more than turn them on or off. At that point, it was an all or nothing type of deal, so I didn't hear Rhada as she approached.

  "Hey, Lark."

  "Hey, how's being a Handler going?" Somehow Avis had done his word and had her moved into the Handler rate, though she had to start over at Round One. She was the only Handler at Myxini due to it being considered a useless skill, but she helped manage the horses in the stables, and I had heard she was doing quite well there.

  "It's great, really great. It's all thanks to you, you know?"

  "No, I hear you're doing a great job with the horses. You have a real gift."

  "Thanks, Lark." She became quiet and looked quite nervous. She folded her hands in her lap and appeared as if she was having trouble saying something.

  "What is it?" I asked her, in hopes to help her get started.

  "Nothing." And then a moment later, "Do you have a partner for the festival yet?" Oh no.

  "Uh, no. I wasn't really planning on going."

  Rhada just looked up at me with eager eyes and rosy cheeks, and I didn't need to hear her thoughts to know what they were. I stifled a sigh and decided I could do a small favor for an excited girl.

  "But I was just waiting for the right girl to go with." A big, happy grin consumed her face as she leaned in to give me a peck on the cheek. I guess I should have been more excited about my first kiss, but I was more concerned that maybe I had given her the wrong idea. She happily bounced away to a group of girls while I sighed and shook my head. What did I get myself into?