Tainted : Book 1

CHAPTER 16 : The World We Made

"Are you ready?" Adrian asked and I nodded. He turned on the ignition and his bike roared to life inciting excitement in my chest. I held on tight to him as he eased out of the school parking lot. 

     Unlike last time the thought of getting onto Adrian's bike hadn't spooked me, rather the very opposite. I was very much ecstatic about it. I found I rather enjoyed riding on his bike. 

     Speeding down the road, the wind whipped against our faces and I savored the exhilarating sensation. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as the bike moved so fast it was as if we were flying. 

      And for a second we were flying, the bike was absorbed by smoke and sent swirling through space and time. It soared through the universe before it landed on a paved driveway in front of a gigantic mansion. Adrian brought the bike to a halt. 

      The stone building was five stories and lengthy. I couldn't see the end of the mansion from where we stood, but it looked infinitely stretched. I swung my leg off the bike.

      "Woah," Adrian caught me when my knees wobbled. The bike ride combined with teleportation had my legs feeling like jelly.

      "I don't think I'll ever get used to that," I said trying to steady myself. Adrian got off the bike completely unfazed.

       "Don't worry, it gets easier." 

       I slid the helmet off my head, placing it on the seat of the bike. Adrian led me inside the mansion. I instantly recognized the interior of the building. It was the same building I had woken up in a couple of days ago. 

      "Where are we?" I asked Adrian as we came up to a stair case.

      "Alon, it's sort of a pocket dimension between realms," I looked around in awe, the ceiling was incredibly high, the floors were marble, the walls stone. "Right now we're in the headquarters of the council." He led me up the stairs. As we walked up, our footsteps resounded through the room. My fingers brushed the stone railing of the stairs as I looked up. 

       "This place is beautiful," I said still gaping at the building. We made it to the top of the stairs, coming into a corridor. There were huge wooden door on either side. 

        "Come on," Adrian said tugging on the sleeve of my hoodie. He led me down the corridor to the the largest pair of doors. 

         "Wait," I said before he could pull the doors open, "what if something goes wrong?" 

          He gave me a reassuring smile, "nothing will." He took my hand in his, squeezing it softly, "and if something does, you can always call me." He pecked my cheek affectionately, which succeeded in calming my nerves. 

          "Thanks," I said before taking in a deep breath. 

          He pulled the doors open. We walked into the room, the first thing I noticed were the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the wall we faced. Light poured into the room in abundance. The floor was wooden and the ceiling was made of curved stone. 

         "Good afternoon," a voice jerked our attention. We turned to find someone standing across from us. A petite blonde haired woman, she couldn't be more than 5'4, was the source of the greeting. She was young, mid twenties I assumed. Was she my trainer? She wasn't exactly what I had expected. I was still undecided on if that was good or bad.