The Keepers of Azera ( Book 1 of the Keepers Trilogy)

Chapter 3

My eyes fly open. I'm breathing heavily, like I've just run a mile. It's been a long while since I've had a premonition, and this one seems pretty nasty. I run the details through my head, trying to figure out what's going to happen.

Something's going to happen, something violent. I think someone's going to be killed, someone close to me. I think afterwards I'm going to try to avenge the person who's dead. But I'll be scared for my life, too.

I climb out of bed and knock on the door that separates my room from James's. He doesn't answer, so I push open the door, which is always unlocked at night. He's sprawled on his bed, snoring lightly. I walk over to him quietly and gently shake his shoulder. He snorts and rolls over. So I shake him harder until he grunts and opens his eyes. "Callie, wha-?"

"Premonition," I say shakily. I explain to him what happened. I'm trembling so badly I have to sit down on his bed. When I finish, James sits up and gropes for his glasses. I hand them to him and wait for his response.

"We have to talk to Matilda," he says, standing up.

"James-"

"Whatever you just predicted, it wasn't pretty, and it certainly wasn't good," James says shortly. "We're going to Matilda."

"Can't it wait until morning?" I plead. "And maybe talk to another Trainer?"

James stops with his hand on the door. "I wish I could say yes," he says, "but I know it won't make things better. Matilda is the Head Trainer, we have to talk to her, while it's still fresh in your mind. I know you don't like it-neither do I-but I don't have a choice in the matter."

I open my mouth to argue, then just sigh heavily. I follow James out of the room and to Matilda's office. We don't talk, but every once in a while James looks at me and smiles reassuringly. But it seems forced and I don't feel much better.

It's quite obvious when we get to Matilda's office that we've woken her up. Her hair is a total mess and her eyes are bleary-totally different from her perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect everything stature in the waking hours. "What? What is it?" she mumbles, her eyes sliding out of focus. "Everything alright?"

For the second time, I explain the premonition. All I want to do is go to sleep. I'm shaking so badly I have to lean against James for support. When I finish, all Matilda says is, "Alright, I'll file it in the morning. I'm gonna go back to bed."

She turns and shuts the door without even looking at us. I roll my eyes and walk shakily back to my room. I collapse onto my bed, unsure if the shock of the premonition would prevent me from sleeping or not. It doesn't, and I'm out like a light.

***

After my studies the next day, I go visit the Northerner in my group. Astrid and I are fairly close, and I have a feeling that she knew about the war for a long time. If they didn't block it, at least.

She's sitting at her desk when I knock on her open door. She jumps slightly and turns around, her curled hair falling over her shoulder as she does so. "Calypso! It's so nice to see you!"

"Hey, Astrid," I say as Astrid gets up and hugs me. I'm not sure why she refers to me by my first name, but she's always done it, and I've never really cared. Astrid is a very bubbly, cheerful girl, which is surprising when you find out what her power is. I have a feeling she's known about the war for a long, long time.

"What brings you here, Calypso?" Astrid asks, sitting down on her bed with me.

"I want to talk to you about the war," I say quietly.

Her face darkens. "I... I don't know why, but they... they didn't block it. I didn't... understand... what was going on. I just knew that there was lots of death, but I didn't know why."

"But you knew," I say. "I didn't find out what happened until we got out there."

Astrid nods. "I figured out what happened just before James said it out loud." She fingers her necklace, which has a skull and cross-bones hanging from it. The power of Death. The ability to sense it, even control it. She's able to kill someone (though so far it's only been mice) with a snap of the fingers, then reanimate them for a short period of time. She was the one to find out about Baya's death. But Astrid is so cheerful and jovial you almost always forget how gruesome her power is. 

"Do you think they'll let the older ones leave soon?" I ask, trying to change the subject. The last time Keepers were picked was when I was eleven, but they didn't allow the oldest group-whose training has already finished-to leave, which drives them nuts.

Astrid shrugs. "I don't see why not," she replies. "They'll need them more than ever, with this war and all."

I snort. If there's anything I've learned from Azeran History, it's that Azera doesn't wage war often, but when they do, it's long and drawn out. It's been eight years of fighting, and it's only starting.