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

Chapter 30

Wordlessly, Amacus and I follow James down to Matilda's office. She's sitting at her desk, looking at a file when we enter. "Sit," she says.

We stand, shoulder to shoulder in front of her desk.

Matilda sighs and closes the file. "It has come to my attention that you've been training in secret for the past few weeks."

"It wasn't in secret; are you just hearing about it now?" James retorts.

"Yes, actually. This is something that you have to clear with the Head Trainer, James. I can't let younger Keepers-" her eyes dart to Amacus and I- "get hurt."

"You hit me," I say disgustedly. James quickly shushes me and turns his attention back to Matilda. "Really? I would've thought that orders from the Chief Keeper himself would trump any permission from you. Besides, you knew what was going on."

It's one thing when James antagonizes Matilda purely for entertainment. It's another when he's pissed. I really want to leave now, and I can tell by the look on Amacus's face that he feels the same way.

"Did he tell you that?" Matilda asks. "Or did you hear that from Henri?"

"Henri, but Callie had a flashback that heard him specifically telling Henri that. And when Alex was here, he specifically watched all our practices. He had no complaint whatsoever."

"Yes, but was it direct? Did he specifically say, train my daughter?"

James's face flushes, but he keeps his cool. "I'm fairly certain the two older groups are allowed to use the equipment."

"With permission," Matilda says. She smiles.

"With permission-when was that a rule? Do we need permission to play games on the Rec Floor? To pee?"

"No, but to use dangerous equipment, you need my clearance, James," Matilda says.

"You hit me!" I say again.

Both adults ignore me. "That is bullshit," James growls, leaning over the desk. "I already had permission. From the Chief himself. And once again, Matilda, once I get his permission, I don't need yours. You may have a whole lot of power in here, but Alex has got a hell of a lot more than you."

Now Matilda's flushed, too. She stands up. "This isn't about power! This is about keeping the Keepers safe!"

"Bull. Shit. This wasn't a rule before. You, Matilda, you tell the other Trainers what to do. Not the Keepers, not the Guardians. I'm the one who has to the keep my Keeper safe," James says angrily. "You just give information, and that's it." 

Matilda opens her mouth to reply, but James barrels on. "We live under a war, Matilda. Whose side are you on?"

Though I understand that James is upset, that's a harsh blow. He thinks Matilda is preventing me from learning how to defend myself, sabotaging it like she sabotages my lessons.

Matilda is actually rendered speechless. She stares at James with a dropped jaw. "How-how dare you! I'm on the Azeran's side, of course I'm on the Azeran's side!" Her voice reaches an octave that could pierce steel. "How dare you accuse me of betrayal!"

"Go," James mutters to Amacus and I. He doesn't need to tell us twice; we practically trip over each other trying to get the hell out. I shut the door hard on my way out, but it only muffles their shouts slightly.

"Let's get away from that," Amacus mutters to me. I nod and allow him to pull me down the hall. The yelling still echoes around us, but I can't make out what they're saying. Good. I don't want to know.

We run into Chris just as she's coming up the stairs. "Hey, guys-what's going on?" she asks when the yelling gets louder. "Who is that?"

"James and Matilda," I say. "I wouldn't go over there-"

I break off because just then, James storms out of her office and slams the door. "Yeah, I was gonna go talk to Matilda about something, but I think that can wait," Chris says. She grimaces.

"That little bitch," James growls the second he comes up to me. "Changing the rules on us-I don't think we can continue practicing, I'm sorry guys."

He makes a noise of disgust and storms down the stairs, the metal clanging with each footstep. Chris and I look at each other, then Chris calls, "I can go talk to her, if you want. She likes me; I'm sure she'll listen to me."

"That's great," James replies. "Thanks, Christina." He steps off the last step and disappears down the hall. Before he's out of sight, though, I swear I hear him mutter, "That bitch."

"I think we should leave him alone for tonight," I say. 

"That sounds like a good idea. Oh boy," Chris sighs. "He's not gonna shut up for days. You know how he is."

"When he's mad, he gets his mind stuck. The more mad, the longer he's stuck. Remember the whole 'why don't the older Keepers leave?' I'm so glad that ended quickly. Come on, Amacus. We'll go to the surface some other night," I grab his arm and pull him down the stairs.

"I have never heard James lose it before," Amacus comments.

"It takes a lot to set him off," I agree. "But yeah, once he gets mad, it takes a lot for him to calm down. It's best not to talk to him until tomorrow morning, when he's calmer. You're lucky, you don't have to sleep in the room next to him. I'll be up all night with his grumbling and pacing."

Amacus chuckles. "Do you think he will be calmer in the mornings because he's sleep deprived?"

"Oh, hell no. When he's sleep-deprived, he'll almost literally rip off anyone's face who tries to interact with him."

"I hope he falls asleep soon, then."

"Nah, I'm just exaggerating. He won't rip off anyone's face, just mine or Matilda's."

"I thought he did that already. And I know what exaggerating looks like, Callie."

"Sorry, I just thought you liked to take everything seriously. My bad."

"I can tell the difference between seriousness and joking, believe it or not. Despite what Alexa may have told you, I have a sense of humor."

I shake my head. "Alexa didn't tell me anything. That was just my own assumption."

"Oh, my bad." We stop in front of my dorm. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. And, hopefully, James in a better mood." He surprises me by giving me a quick hug. He's really warm. "Goodnight," he says, pulling away. He has his head turned away so I can't see his entire face, but his cheek is red. He turns on his heel and walks away.

"Goodnight," I mouth, not quite able to bring myself to actually say something. I think my face might just be as red as his.