“You didn’t think the island was defenceless did you?” Anastasia said smugly, picking up a pebble from the ground and throwing it out into the open sky. A crackle resounded through the air and the pebble came flying back, only to land on the floor by Anastasia’s feet. It had turned a burning red and had charred the grass where it had landed, encasing it in a black ring. Wren did not want to be that monster.

“A force field?”

“You guessed it. Any monster that comes within ten feet of the island get singed to hell.”

“Ten feet? Isn’t that cutting it a bit fine?”

“It does the job doesn’t it? Is that Dusk Vulture pecking your brains out right now? No. And besides, the forcefield isn’t all powerful, it takes a lot of energy to keep it running.” Anastasia told him.

“Well that wasn’t graphic at all.”

She turned to him, raised one eyebrow and gave him a curt look.

“You have a big mouth don’t you.”

“It’s a bit of a problem.” He replied.

“I can see that.”

Wren knelt down the ground and picked up the pebble that had landed by the instructors feet, it had cooled off a lot in the evening air but was still warm to the touch. He rose from the ground and tossed it lightly in his hand, catching it again and again. The breeze was soft, caressing his face as he looked out into the sky. Far above him, the moon shone down illuminating the other sky islands dotted about the academy island. They were small, they could hardly qualify as islands, merely small lumps of rocks covered in grass that looked almost blue in the moonlight. They swayed and moved with the wind, riding its currents softly.

“This is a strange place.” Wren said softly.

Anastasia looked down at him, he was shorter than her by a couple inches, and the moon shined across his face, highlighting his features. He looked boyish, vulnerable, almost innocent.

“You’ll get used to it.” She replied, equally as soft.

The innocence disappeared, replaced by the familiar mask of wit and humour, his trademark cheeky grin plastered back onto his face.

“You bet I will.” He said cheerfully.

~

The journey back to the main campus was a quiet one. Anastasia had left him on the clifftop, telling him that she needed to go prepare for tomorrow’s classes and recommending that he head back to the dorms. He was expecting to feel jumpy walking through the forest areas at night but he didn’t. Surprisingly the quiet was comforting, and the way the moonlight reflected on the leaves of the trees made for a pleasant view as he walked.

When he returned to the courtyard of the main campus, it was empty. It seemed that not a lot of activity went on after dark and nearly everyone was in bed. The campus was lit up with streetlamps which cast the courtyard in a soft blue hue. The buildings surrounding the courtyard reminded Wren a lot of the awakening centre, they were both designed as if they’d been pulled directly out of the classical period, with strong rigid structures made of white marble that connected to towering pillars and large hanging arches.

In the centre of the courtyard was the noticeboard, only this time it was not surrounded by recruits, desperate to know who they would be rooming with for the next couple years. He approached the noticeboard and found his name. Only to curse.

He didn’t know if the universe hated him or what, but the name he found beneath his made him cringe.

ROOM 7B

Carlos Fuentes

Wren Spectre

Liam Cacas

He didn’t recognise the first name, but he definitely recognised the second. As if it wasn’t awkward enough knowing that he’d have to see the boy every day on campus, he now had to share a room with him.

“Oh well, let’s get this over with.” He muttered to himself.

With any luck, both Liam and this new Carlos boy would both be asleep. They had to get up extra early tomorrow as it would be the first day of classes.

~

Creeping into the room labelled 7B, Wren tried to make as little noise as possible. As he had hoped, his two roommates were asleep, the singular window in the middle of the room let through a sliver of moonlight and showed the sleeping faces of Liam and Carlos.

The room was bare, as was expected. None of the recruits were allowed to bring any personal belongings with them when they were tested and so they left behind everything on Earth. The only things in the room were what the academy had provided them with. Each recruit had two sets of robes, one for hot weather, one for cold, a desk with a small cheap looking lamp, with a matching chair, a bed with minimal bedding and a singular pillow.

“Wow, they really splurged on us.” Wren muttered under his breath, careful not to wake the sleeping pair.

He settled onto the empty bed, and laid back, resting his head on the thin pillow. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Similarly to his eating, his sleeping habits followed suit. It would take a few days for him to settle in a new place and then and only then would he be able to be comfortable enough to sleep. Preparing himself for a sleepless night he shifted his body, finding the optimal comfortable position.

“Right. Time to see what this is about.” He whispered to himself.

With a thought, he brought up the screen he’d been seeing all day.