The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,64
not. Reporters are going to be all over you.”
“News reporters? I thought as an Elite, things were kept secret about our existence.”
Morrigan agreed. “We are kept secret, but as you can imagine, similar to any sub-culture, we have our own newsfeeds. Since there hasn’t been a Judge challenged for a long time, Connor, this is history in the making.”
“Great. How many times has this happened before?”
“If I remember my history classes correctly, there have been twelve Judges that have been challenged and accepted the Tests.”
Connor thought about this for a minute and decided to be optimistic. “Twelve? That’s not that bad.” He had taken off his blue jacket and tie and was reclining in his chair. “If twelve of my ancestors could do it, I’m sure I can, too.”
“Twelve tried, Connor, only two survived.” Lu said this around a mouth of cheddar cheese and ham.
Connor fell backward in his chair with a thud. Before anyone could move to help him or ask if he was all right, his head popped up from the other side of the table. “Two? There have only been two Elites in the history of our kind that have done this?”
If looks could kill, Lu would have been dead twice over as Laren and Morrigan shot him looks full of scorn.
“What? He deserves to know what he’s up against.”
“Connor,” Morrigan drew his attention. “You are going to be the third.”
Grateful for her support, however lacking in confidence at the moment, Connor righted his chair and stared at his empty plate. He knew he had to ask the question.
“What are the Tests?”
The rest of the table shared awkward looks amongst themselves, hoping they wouldn’t have to be the one to break the dreaded news. Morrigan took the lead. Smoothing her long black hair behind her, she took a deep breath. “There are three tests that will challenge your strength, mind, and spirit. We can look to your predecessors for examples of these Tests. Unfortunately, we don’t know which three you will be faced with.”
Connor took a second to digest what she explained. “What do you mean ‘We don’t know which I’ll be faced with?’”
“The Tests chosen for you will be revealed one at a time upon completion of the previous Test. I’m not sure if the Council plans to do it the exact same way. Historically, the Lead Council member chooses the Tests at random. They are written individually on ancient stones. They are concealed within an iron vessel. One at a time, the Lead Council will place his hand in and choose a stone.”
“How am I supposed to train for a Test if I don’t know what I’m training for?”
“Well, that part’s easy, Connor,” Lu chimed in. “We train for everything.”
CHAPTER 15
WHAT EVERYONE ELSE REFERRED TO as training was torture to Connor. It started that same day after their meal. They quickly decided Lu would teach him how to harness his strength, Laren would instruct him on the speed he now possessed yet didn’t know how to use, and Morrigan would guide him in mentally mastering his inner power.
“Come on, rookie, let’s go.”
Connor looked at Lu as though he was crazy. Sweat trickling down his bare back, he gathered himself for another attempt. They were alone by a small river that ran between two fields of grass. The sun shone down, beating its relentless rays against Connor, bronzing his already dark skin.
Once again he grabbed the chair-sized boulder at his feet, assumed a squatting position, and pulled. Back straight, head up, legs doing all the work, his technique was flawless; what was lacking was strength.
Connor could feel his face turning red as he released every once of power he owned in moving the object—nothing, not a budge, not even the tiniest of shifts. He released his grasp and fell backwards on the grass, panting and shaking his head. “It’s too big.”
Lu raised an eyebrow, and without taking his eyes off of Connor, walked to the boulder, lifted it from the ground and hurled it to the opposite bank.
Lu was bigger than Connor. Bare chest exposed, Connor had a first-hand look at the beast. Hair pulled back in a ponytail, muscles bulging, Lu gave a visual example of raw power.
“You’re bigger than I am, stronger.”
“Do you really think the size of my muscles has anything to do with me picking up that boulder? That thing has to weigh over a ton. I’m able to lift it because I’m able to tap into that inner power. I have