The Weaponsmaster

Chapter 20

In her dreams that night, Drea sparred with Shawn and Korena as she worked to be stronger. They obviously had the upper hand, but that didn’t mean she would give up. In the midst of her battle with Shawn, Drea switched to the spiked gloves, seeing that it’d be difficult for Shawn to match her short range weapon with his staff. He changed his weapon to the sword, giving Drea a greater challenge.

As he lowered it to her shoulder, she caught it in her hand, but it didn’t cut her. The gloves were strong enough not to be cut. No wonder they felt so heavy. Drea pulled her hand back like she was going to punch him, but she got close, flames flew from her hand and hit him in the abdomen.

Nice job Andrea, said Zen in her mind. He was conscious of the entire fight.

She smiled; it felt like she was finally getting it. Shawn smiled too and she dropped his weapon. “You’ve done very well Andrea. You’ve learned not only how to use your weapons, but how to use them strategically.”

“Yes,” said Korena. “You’re doing well, especially considering the amount of time you’ve been training. It seems you’ve even started to use Zen’s fire. It’ll help you a lot in the battles to come.”

The word “battles” made her uneasy, but she knew that soon things would get rough when the Lori discovered her new reputation as Weaponsmaster. Korena and Shawn smiled at her as she opened her eyes to her room.

After she changed and went downstairs, she noticed Jackie was avoiding her eyes. It was weird, and as they walked to school, she still said nothing. Unfortunately, Drea compromised a bit of her relationship with Jackie in her new job as a Weaponsmaster. If only things worked out easy every time.

She did like how much better she’d gotten though. She was nowhere near the level of true Weaponsmaster, but she was learning quickly. After all, normal Weaponsmasters trained for many years. She glanced down at Jackie. I wish I could tell her. It’d make things so much easier. She sighed. Not telling her was the only way to keep her safe, even if it tore Drea apart. Jackie didn’t even know what had really happened with Kevin, and that’s what hurt Drea the most.  

They parted at the gates, but Drea saw Jackie run off somewhere else instead of waiting for her friends. She narrowed her eyes; something was going on. As she went into the high school area, Karen wasn’t around either. After her episode with Mr. Devon yesterday, she would’ve expected Karen to say something, but she hadn’t even texted her. She couldn’t blame Karen for keeping secrets, though she’d like to know what they were. She sighed. That must’ve been what Jackie and Karen were feeling about her. There was no winning.

Drea got to homeroom and waited by herself. She hadn’t realized how much she relished in Karen’s company each day. It wasn’t until just before class started that Karen rushed in and sat down. When Drea caught Karen’s eye, she only smiled in Drea’s direction innocently. Something was definitely going on, but Karen would never tell her.

The day passed by pretty slowly. There was a strange absence of Lori that day. Drea fingered her golden shuriken; it stayed cool under her collar. Zen stayed quiet that day too, probably just as bored as she was.

After the day was over, Drea went over to the waterfall to meditate. It had become a routine method she used to calm herself down. She used it to get closer to the other Weaponsmasters within her also, learning who they were and even more about the multitude of weaponry. It no longer overwhelmed her when she did this as she got better and better as connecting with each Weaponsmaster while they shared their knowledge.

When she was finished, she ran to one of the side streets near the school to walk home through the park. The sun was setting nicely; Drea hadn’t realized how long she’d been training. With her luck, she’d be apprehended by Jackie as soon as she got home.