After we got home, Nigel explained what happened to my parents while I unpacked. They were a little concerned by the fact that we got out of an unfamiliar vehicle and that we had arrived home earlier than planned. Once Nigel explained what happened during the trip, they were just relieved that we were okay.
My godfathers told me that there wouldn't be any training today, but I still decided to go outside and do target practice with my throwing knives. Standing a couple feet away from the target, I summoned my knives. These were specially crafted for me using a Blood Forging technique. It allows the blacksmith to use a few drops of a customer's blood to create weapons that bond to them. That way the user can summon and dismiss the weapon at will.
Taking the proper stance, I kept my arm straight as I threw the first knife. It hit dead center with the second one following in the same manner. I spent the next twenty minutes doing this until I went inside to make lunch. Making a quick ham and cheese sandwich, I went upstairs to make sure I had everything ready for school.
I had my notebooks, pens, pencils, highlighters, and another new sketchbook with five folders. With everything put into my black and red backpack, I decided to go to our music room. I sent a text to the family group chat letting them know where I would be if they needed me for anything. The music room was completely soundproof, with guitars, basses, drums, and a microphone.
My brothers and I don't advertise it, but we were all musically talented. Josh and Damian played the guitar, Adam rocked the bass, Dominic is on the drums, and I sing. I also knew how to play the piano, but that was in a different room. Pulling up my favorite instrumental rock playlist, I put on the headphones and started singing the first song. It was Afterlife by Avenged Sevenfold, and was one of my favorite songs to sing. Getting lost in the following songs, I didn't know anyone was in the room until I reopened my eyes. Pausing the music and taking off the headphones, I gave the others my attention. My parents had brought Mr. Deus and his family inside the room, and Michael seemed speechless.
"So not only are you a shifter, but you can sing as well? What else can you do?" Not as speechless as I thought.
"I know how to play the piano, fight with blades, hand-to-hand combat, and I can also draw." Subconsciously, I responded while grabbing a bottle of water from the mini fridge that was kept in here. "So, Mr. Deus, what brings you here? I don't think that I did anything bad, right?" Looking at my parents, they assured me that I wasn't in trouble.
"Actually, I'm here because of the military. They didn't get a chance to give this to you before you left The Uncharted." While saying this, he handed me a plain white envelope. Opening it, there was a card inside that read 'Thank you for the help, we're looking forward to your next visit.' Stuck inside was a business card for the National Picantian Art Institute and a folded check made out for $1,500.
"What's all of this? I thought that the drawings and information were the conditions for entering The Uncharted? So why are they paying me?" I was confused as to what was happening, so I asked this while looking at Mr. Deus. He was the best bet at an explanation since the military sent him to deliver this.
"The business card is because the Staff Sergeant knows someone at the Institute. Apparently after they made copies of the drawings, the Staff Sergeant showed them to his friend there. She's the Institute Director and she took such a liking to your work that she's extending an invitation for you to take classes there with a full scholarship. Her name's Holly Daniels and she'll let you attend part-time while you finish your regular education. As for the check, you can consider it as a sign of good faith and payment rightfully deserved. Yes the information and pictures were part of the agreement to go in, but they weren't expecting the quality that you gave. They wanted to make sure that you knew that they don't intend to take advantage of you in any way in the future."
As Mr. Deus explained the meaning behind the card and check, I couldn't help but be surprised. Ms. Daniels was also willing to send someone to my school to do my class there, if I decided to take the offer. I won't lie, it was a really tempting offer.
"Can I take the offer?" I turned to my parents, as I asked this question. A full scholarship to the best Art Institute in the entire kingdom. It was an offer that rarely happened.
"I don't see why not, as long as you maintain good grades in your other classes." My dad responded while my mom nodded with a smile. Smiling like an idiot, I ran up to them and gave them a big hug. Laughing, they rubbed my short spiky hair before taking the business card to make the call. Since it was only 1:30 in the afternoon, Ms. Daniels should still be in her office. Turning to Mr. Deus, I gave him my sincerest appreciation while I led him and his family to their car.
Walking into the living room where my parents were on the phone, I decided to sit with them in case I needed to answer questions. Luckily I did this, since I had to list all of the drawings that I gave to the military to confirm my identity. With the questions out of the way, Ms. Daniels told us the name of the teacher that would be going to my school for my private lessons.
Their name was Mrs. Lovelace and I would be the youngest student that she had ever taught. Ms. Daniels did ask that I go to the Institute tomorrow to get my Student I.D and to meet her and my new personal art teacher, which my parents agreed to let me do. Luckily in Picantia, I could drive a motorcycle at 14 as long as I passed all the mandatory tests first, so I could drive myself. It would take two and a half hours to get there, since it was close to the castle, so I planned to leave around 7:30 in the morning.
After the phone call, we had leftovers for dinner. Mom didn't like wasting food, so once a week we had a leftovers night, that way there wasn't much left to throw away. With dinner done, I went upstairs to get some sleep before I had to leave in the morning. I knew I wouldn't have a peaceful sleep, but I still wasn't expecting the nightmare that came.
Crack, crack, crack. The resounding echo of a whip rang through the stagnant air. I was in a cell of some kind that smelled of blood, urine, and death. My tormentors were human, and I didn't smell magic on them, so I knew that they weren't Witches or Wizards. Not knowing who they worked for or where I was added a different kind of torture of its own. When they were done with the silver whip, they used a silver knife to slice my arms and legs. Silver wouldn't kill a shifter, but it burned and caused the injuries to heal a lot slower than normal. As my breathing became labored and my vision darkened, I remembered Mr. Deus barged into the cell with his team. The last thought that I had before darkness claimed me was that I was finally free.
Waking up with a gasp, I wiped the cold sweat off of my forehead. I remembered that day really well. It was when I was 10 years old and I almost died that day. When I woke up in hospital after, I found out that I had been in a coma for three weeks. Because of all of the Dragon's Bane, Wolfsbane, and injuries caused by silver, my body had ended up shutting down.
Shaking off the remnants of the dream, I got up and dressed for the meeting I had this morning. When I was satisfied with how I looked, I grabbed my wallet, leather jacket, gloves, and Bluetooth helmet before walking out the door. My motorcycle was a black 2024 Breakout 117 Harley-Davidson with a Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine, a Heavy Breather intake, chrome appeal, 21-inch front tire and 18-inch rear tire, Two-into-Two exhaust, and a Soft-tail Chassis. It was my 14th birthday present and I loved it. Cranking the engine to life, I pulled out of the driveway and started the drive to the National Picantian Art Institute, following the directions on my GPS.