The Search for Artemis - By P. D. Griffith Page 0,40
the massive dome in a network of rigid lines until the entire thing shatters. Thousands of pieces of broken glass fall into the fire and disappear.
The fire is unbelievably intense, and now unrestricted, it begins to grow into a raging inferno, hell-bent on destroying anything in its path. Landon reaches in to try and find his mother, but only finds searing pain as the fire touches his skin. He tries again and again, reaching in only to be doused in painful flames. The heat pushes him back until he’s up against the stone wall, with no escape and no hope of rescuing his tortured mother.
Landon’s body is consumed by the flames; its scorching tendrils burn his body and devour him. As the last ounce of his body is consumed, his vision is overcome by a blazing white light and he hears one final, piercing scream. . . .
. . . Then he wakes up, drenched in sweat and out of breath.
He found the Library as a sanctuary. The book-lined walls reminded him of the forts he and his mother would make when he was a kid, piling up her collections like bricks until they constructed sturdy walls strong enough to keep out the invading forces of evil. The books were safe, and he’d read them until his eyelids wouldn’t allow him to concentrate any longer.
Some nights, however, he’d take a break from the detailed stories and spend his time attempting to hone his skills, working to stack books and file them on the shelves with his powers. Since his first day of training, Landon’s abilities hadn’t progressed to what was expected of a new recruit. Unlike most, who experienced issues turning off their gifts after their apocratusis, Landon appeared to have more difficulty in accessing his. Fortunately for him, it made the blocking side of Thought Reception easy, but unfortunately, his work in all other aspects of his training was riddled with embarrassing accidents or the nonexistent use of his abilities. It started with the marbles on the first day of Telekinetics training but had progressed to getting knocked unconscious by a flying disc he “summoned” and one unfortunate incident in the Library where he forced every bookshelf on the entire fifth floor to fall over. The admiration and high praise he received when he first arrived at the Gymnasium quickly turned to laughter and avoidance as stories of his training mishaps spread through the student body.
His lack of progress also resulted in numerous meetings with different faculty members, and as time passed into autumn, these meetings seemed to become more agonizing and frequent. Each one attempted to help him through his problems with none truly being able to do so. But even if it was ever so slight, he had improved.
• • • • •
Back in mid-September, the blistering heat of August transitioned to day after day of showers and thunderstorms. He had just finished lunch and was passing through the Atrium on the way to his tutoring session in the Administrative Tower. As another storm rolled in over the mountains, dark clouds covered the sky, and the sound of large raindrops colliding with the massive dome overhead reverberated through the open rotunda.
Landon stared up at the massive tree growing out of the Atrium’s floor, wondering how it managed to grow so large in its confined space when its brothers grew freely outside the facility in the open valley. When he looked down, Peregrine stood in front of him.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you were there.”
“No need to apologize. I came to you, Landon Wicker,” Peregrine replied. As Landon looked at her, he felt that there was something strange about her, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
“How’d you know it was me?” Landon asked, perplexed. How was she able to find me in her condition? Where’s her walking cane, guide dog or person to bring her around? Landon had yet to officially meet Peregrine; they neither shared a single training session nor lived on the same floor of the Student Tower. He occasionally noticed her in the cafeteria. She typically ate alone.
“It’s not very hard,” she returned. “Anyways, I think I can help you.”
“Help me? With what?” Landon couldn’t help but stare at her vibrant violet eyes as they pointed blankly at his left shoulder. They shone like amethysts, even in the muted, gloomy light of the storm.
“I’m blind, not deaf. Everyone’s been talking about you and your . . . problems,” she said. “I think I