Risen: Beginning of a Legacy

Chapter Five: Alecto

It was raining. Alecto groaned and rolled over. Through narrowed eyes, he watched the droplets of water that were attacking the window pane. He kicked off the covers, glancing at the sleeping form of his roommate before slipping from the bed and out of the room. The grey morning light filtered into the common room as Alecto pattered to the fridge, rummaging around for milk and eggs.

In the early morning quiet, a sudden soft murmur of words caused his face to snap up. He glanced around the empty room, and, finding nothing out of place, he put his head back into the fridge to retrieve a little cheese for the impending omelette. For a second time he paused; he could have sworn he'd heard his name spoken like a soft caress in the air. Silently he stepped towards the entrance to his dorm. Again, a quiet voice filtered into the silence. A sound dripping with seduction... And malice.
     'Morning.'
The new voice hammering into Alecto's mind made him jump.
He dropped the milk but quick hands shot out, the male expertly catching the carton.
     'You okay man?' the newcomer asked.

Alecto shook himself, the air now filled with only awkward silence. He nodded tightly and returned to the stove. As he cast a final suspicious glance around the main dorm area Alecto settled into his spot by the stove and let his thoughts slide away from the strange experience he'd probably just hallucinated. He shook his head and tried to dislodge the concern and focused on something external.
     'Damn rain... what'd you think Adonis? Placement tests are gonna suck? Or really suck.'
Alecto offered for conversation as he switched on the grill and broke eggs into a bowl.
     'Really suck. I think we should have done them days ago, who wants to play dumb "ice breaker" games for two days, everyone figured out the Masters were using them to analyse us.' replied Adonis. Alecto nodded as a clap of thunder shook the glass window, they both groaned at the weather.
     'Damn rain.' Alecto muttered.
     'Did you get a look at our fitness educator though? Man, he was built to kill people!' Adonis laughed, reaching into the fridge for orange juice.

Quiet footsteps preceded the girl who appeared in the kitchen soon after. Alecto caught her gaze for a moment, and dipped his head towards the eggs as Adonis put a glass of juice in front of her.
     'Hey Morgana. Omelette?'
     'Morning. Damn this weather! Not cool, and I'd love one.' she smiled.

Whilst Alecto cooked three omelettes, the rain seemed, if possible, to worsen. Chaos raged outside. Alecto glanced at the rain-splattered window as he dished out, swapping pained glances with his dorm mates.

The three of them dug into the meal. Alecto grinned as both Adonis and Morgana murmured their approval of his dish. In the comfortable silence, Alecto felt a seductive darkness swell in the air. His breath hitched. The other two seemed not to notice but Alecto felt the shift, as if the air suddenly dropped a few degrees.

Something called softly to him, whispering his name like an invitation. He snapped his head round to peer into the dark corner of the dorm room; absently knocking his plate onto the floor. Adonis and Morgana jumped; their voices muted as Alecto swept the room with curious, cautious eyes.
     'Alecto? Buddy, what you looking at?'
Adonis shook him a little and Alecto caught his breath.
     'My bad, spooked myself...'
The two other demi gods shot him concerned looks as he stooped to collect up the broken plate. The voice had gone the second the plate shattered. Alecto dumped the rubbish into the bin and made for the shower.

Underneath the hot jets, he tried to calm his heartbeat. He felt something dark swirling in the air at Warriod. It felt to him like muggy heat, the kind that wraps around you and makes you sweat. He didn't know what exactly he was sensing but it was powerful, dark... inviting. Turning off the water Alecto slung a towel around his hips and returned to his bedroom. His roommate was up now, and he grinned at Alecto, the Warriod uniform hanging around his hips. Alecto rolled his eyes, his roommate was very tall, his broad shoulders and strong body wrapped in muscle. He came from a family that preened their children to be physically prepared for this journey. Alecto was not from one of those families.