Between Sun and Shadow – Part 1

Heres my latest book, part 1.

Fletcher Hawthorne wiped his sweaty palms on his acid-washed jeans. He was hot in his light khaki jacket, despite the autumn chill in the air. The training grounds outside Arcanum Academy smelled like trampled grass and the ripe blackberries lining the clearing. Fifteen students were scattered across the area, nerves buzzing. Fletcher wanted to pace, but there was no room with teens crowding either side of him. So he settled on fidgeting with the zipper of his jacket, watching as the other teens around him slowly got put into groups of three. So far, he wasn't too fond of the first member of his trio. Fletcher didn't know the boy's first name, but Master Krongoff had called him by "Mister Virek". Virek couldn't have been older than eighteen, since all of the teens in the Annual Mock-Apprenticing program were between sixteen and eighteen years of age, but his demeanor sure was older than eighteen.

Virek stood a solid six or seven inches taller than Fletcher's five-foot-five frame and was much more muscular, and he seemed to be more interested in staring at people until they squirmed uncomfortably than engaging with his partner. His ink-black hair was swept across his forehead, curling slightly at the ends where it brushed the nape of his neck. He had sharp, ice-blue eyes, and all of his facial features were equally sharp and angled. On top of that, he smelled like cloves and cinnamon, which Fletcher did not like either of.

"Miss Ashbourne!"

A Black girl on the far end of the line of teens stepped up to Krongoff. He shuffled through his papers, just as nervous as the teens themselves. More than a few fell to the ground, and restrained giggles rippled through the crowd. Virek didn't bat an eye, of course. Finally, Krongoff located the paper he was looking for.

"Ah, here we go. Ashbourne... there it is. Group C!" The Black girl–Miss Ashbourne–turned towards Virek and Fletcher. Her eyes briefly met Fletcher's–and he tried to keep his jaw from dropping open. Fletcher had seen unique eyes before–silver, gold, red. But not like this.

One of Ashbourne's irises was a amethyst purple, and it looked crystal-cut. 

The other was an almost-black, barely distinguishable from her pupil.

She broke eye contact, taking her spot on Fletcher's right. Fletcher noticed Virek casting her a sidelong glance, before staring blankly at Krongoff.

"Mr. Johnson!"

A muscular but short boy with dirty blonde hair similar to Fletcher's strode up to Krongoff, with a clear swagger in his step. Fletcher already knew Johnson would be going in group E; they were the only one of the five groups missing a person. Krongoff pointed at the group on the far right end. "Group E. I-I'll be right back, I'm just going to..." Master Krongoff walked off without finishing, joining a group of adults under a pavilion, out of earshot from the teens. Johnson strode in front of the line of teens, walking so close that he stirred the air around Fletcher when he passed. Fletcher noted he smelled of black licorice.

Ashbourne turned towards Fletcher, sizing him up. She was about a inch taller–Fletcher wasn't too thrilled about being the shortest in his group–and probably was a lot stronger than she looked. She extended her hand to him. "I'm Maylitha. Maya for short. And you?" Fletcher blinked, weakly gripping her hand before dropping it. "I'm Fletcher. Nice... nice to meet you."

To Fletcher's relief, Maya's gaze moved from him to Virek standing on Fletcher's left. She looked him up and down just as she had done to Fletcher. Fletcher leaned slightly closer to Maya. "He's not much of a talker." No one but Maya should have been able to hear him. But Virek turned slightly towards them. "I can hear you."

Fletcher froze. Maya didn't. She turned slowly to look at Virek again, and tilted her head. "Thought you looked like a Nycteri."

Virek fully turned his head, looking Maya up and down with a glare. "Looked like a Nycteri?"

Maya nodded. "Mhmm. You all have a certain look."

She paused, looking towards the pavilion.

"And act like you own the world."

Virek's glare hardened, before he scowled and turned away. Maya looked completely unbothered.

Fletcher sighed a little. This was going to be a long five weeks.

PART 2: https://www.chess.com/blog/AvaR1008/between-sun-and-shadow-part-ii