The Naming (part 1 chapter 2)

Liquid Silver

Andrea was leaned up on the low wall of the training yard watching the boys be put to the test; she carefully scrutinized the minutia of the training exercise watching for the tell tale signs of fatigue and rough technique. She was only staying over at the Watchtower for a few days and she wanted to check on the progress of her brothers before she left for Wright City to rendevous with Elizabeth's safe house informant. Andrea watched her brothers pair up and take on the older boys in thier group and she was once again struck by the symetry of their technique. Apart Gavin and Magnus could hold thier own but together; well together they were breathtakingly lethal. It was like watching the Yin and Yang in perfect harmony when one struck high the other struck low; like a dance a beautiful, deadly dance; it took her breath away everytime she witnessed it. Just as the training exercise wound to a close Andrea's cellphone beeped a warning.
"Oh flying ninja panda spunk monkey's I forgot to charge the blasted battery!!"
Remembering that her charger was in the library she left the training yard and headed back inside to charge the phone. As Andrea was leaving Magnus was bending over to tie back his leg wraps when a cold unsettling feeling washed over him. He snapped his head up and narrowed his dark eyes looking for hidden danger but saw only his comrades and his dad Androse. Gavin sensing the sudden alertness of his younder brother stilled and cocked his head to the right side as if listening to someone only he could hear. They searched the training yard on high alert all senses flaring and once thier eyes met they were in perfect agreement. Together they took off for the library knowing, but not knowing how they knew, that something was horribly wrong.
Androse was finishing up with the rest of the young neophytes when he realized that Gavin and Magnus were gone. Grumbling to himself that they would run laps till thier legs fell off for thier disobediance he closed his eyes and honed in on where they were. He was shocked to find them in the library and to feel the intense disquiet that darkened thier life lines. Quickly dismissing the rest of the boys and Page he headed as quickly as he could back to the library. Androse's steps were clipped and authoritative as they echoed down the marble hallways and came to an abrupt halt outside the library door. Standing in the hallway with him with thier heads craned inside the doorway were Gavin and Magnus. Sensing the ominous preseance of thier father both boys heads, one light and one dark, slowly turned to regard him with wide and frightened eyes.
"Boys what seems to be the matter here? Why did you feel the need to leave practice without my permission?"
Gavin being the unoffical spokesman of the two piped in with thier feelings of wrongness at the practice yard and thier sense of urgency to get here as quickly as possible. They didn't realize yet that what they were describing was the life line that exists between all Watchers and thier children. It is especially strong between siblings.
Androse stole a glance into the library but saw nothing amiss other than the fact that Imelda his bookish warrior princess was no longer in the room. Not understanding the urgency Androse, ever the warrior and never the scholar, had a belated idea to locate Imelda through the matrimonial link and make sure everything was ok. Unfortunatly all he got from the bond was a dark penetrating blackness as if a dark wall had come down between himself and his other half. It was rather disconcerting to say the least. The hard press of alarm stole through him as he came to the realization that something was horribly wrong. Not wanting to alert his two sons to the gravity of the situation Androse slowly opened his eyes and announced that the boys were to go find thier sister Andrea and meet him back in thier parents quarters.

"What do you think Magnus? You think dad's really as calm and cool as he plays it? Or is something else going on?"

"You know how dad is, if somethings out of whack he'll never tell us it'll be up to us to read between the lines"

"Yeah that's your forte so i'll leave it to you. You got your cellphone on you? Maybe we could just call the Queen of Hoodie Freaks to meet us in mom and dads quarters instead of walking all the way to the other end of the watchtower to get her."

Magnus reached inside his hidden belt pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He dialed Andrea's phone number and waited for her to pick it up.

"Ahh butt nuggets it went to voice mail. She probably forgot to charge the battery again."

"Why does she own a cellphone at all if she's never going to charge the battery?"

"Like i'm supposed to know the inner workings of our older sisters mind? She's female that makes her impossible to understand they are a totally different species from us."

"Truth"

Resigned to making the treck across the watchtower yards the boys set off to find thier big sister Andrea aka Sissy aka Hoody Freak for her penchant for wearing anything and everything with a hood no matter how ugly.

The naming part 1 (continued)

"I'm tired of this game Magnus let's go to the practice yard and have a real life battle" Gavin said.

"How can it be 'real life' when the swords made of blunt wood?" asked Magnus.

"Your way too literal little brother and it's more real life than this Risk game. Puhhlleaassee if I have to sit in this library one more second I'll turn moldy and die of boredome".

"I'm not bored I happen to like boardgames and you're just mad because your losing and that new girl Page is in the practice yard".

Page's parents had sent her to board at the Watchtower in St. Louis Missouri for Praetor Guard training and her being the only non-related female in the barracks made for some very interesting times. One of those interesting developments was the renewed enthusiasm of the boys during weapons practice and hand to hand combat. It seemed they were all determined to outdo each other in front her and at the same time were all too afraid of hurting her. Resulting in quite a few loud jeers and some very bruised and battered male egos when they were whipped by her speed and agility. The fact that Gavin wanted to go the practice yard probably had more to do with his boundless energy and his boredom with the library than with Page but Magnus being the little brother that he was couldn't resist the jibe. Gavin sprung up from the overstuffed leather armchair and brandished his imaginary sword at Magnus and demanded satisfaction. Imelda and Androse smothered thier laughter and glanced at each other in perfect understanding. That was thier Gavin Otto always over the top dramatic. Magnus heaved a deep theatrical sigh and then launched at his brother in a sneak attack. The boys rolled across the marble floors rough housing until Imelda, seeing a lamp teetering at the edge of an end table, called a firm halt to thier shenanigans. Androse decided the boys could use some time sweating in the practice ring and all of Imelda's boys trooped out of the library in good humor leaving her to her own research in the library.

Imelda opened the old tome up again and began flipping pages slowly looking for the ancient Welsh text that mentioned the first appearance of the Watchers in Europe. Engrossed as she was in her study she failed to hear the library door open or to feel the prick of the poisoned dart in her arm until it was too late. As she sunk beneath the waves of the psychotropic drug she caught a fleeting glimpse of her attacker and had time to gasp once before the blackness reached up and sucked her under.

writing is a lot like giving birth

I must have started and abandoned a half a million good storylines through out my life all because when the going got tough I dropped the ball. I'm not willing to do that with this new book. It's the first time i've started writing something that just STUCK with me. Maybe it's because i'm drawing the inspiration from my own children or maybe it's because i've always loved weaving fiction in with non-fiction or who knows maybe FINALLY this is the book the Good Lord intended me to write and finish..all i know is like always it's hard!!! I always have that feeling that i'm missing some vital piece here and i've spend a ton of time online looking up the meanings of names and historical definitions not to mention hebrew text..it all adds up to the same thing...headaches and sleepless nights. I NEED to finish this book I NEED to have at least one manuscript that is complete and I REALLY need it to NOT suck!!! LOL..I wonder if other writers ever read what they wrote and think..this is so lame no one is ever going to want to read this..or is it just me..LOL. I really hope my kids love this book regardless of what anyone else thinks i'm really writing this FOR THEM. something to leave behind that they will be able to read and know and see all the admiration and love and hope and dreams that I have for them. Writing is hard it's lots of sleepless nights, tons of sticky notes on a story board along with writers block and eye strain and headaches..but man if you get it just right it's sooo worth it!

The Naming (part 1 continued)

The circle has existed for over a millenia. It was first brought together by Noah and his sons after the Great Flood. It was during those forty days and forty nights aboard the Ark that Noah and his family became the first members of The Circle and the members of The Circle became known as the Watchers. There was a time when all of mankind was trained to be a Watcher; when names were given to children to protect them against the slings and arrows of the Prince of Lies and his fallen comrades but as time moved forward the exact nature and beginning of The Circle faded from memory until all that was left were a handful of families that kept the Watcher Code and who trained thier children to take up the mantle when they passed. Imelda and Androse were one of those families and thier children Andrea Nicole, Gavin Otto, and Magnus Jayce were in the process of being trained to become Watchers. Not all children of these families are trained to become Watchers a child must pass a test each year of thier life beginning at age four. These test are designed to determine which area a members child may be best suited for. Imelda and Androse were both full Praetor Gaurds and it would not be long before thier eldest daughter Andrea passed her last test and came into the fullness of her name. In the meantime Imelda kept busy assisting the Circle with research and Androse helped with training the younger children two of which were his two sons Gavin and Magnus.