Read Online Bastial Energy by B. T. Narro - Free Book Online

can’t?
    A thought came that he should refuse—not only the drink, but the party as well. He didn’t need to get along with his roommates. It might even be easier if they just avoided him. But then he glanced at Reela and noticed the concerned scrunch of her nose as she and the others waited for him. Effie’s head tilted to rest against Reela’s shoulder as they each stared.
    You can’t give up that easily, he told himself, hearing some of Terren’s voice in it. Without another thought, Cleve lifted the mug, said “Bastial,” closed his eyes, and tried his best to imagine he was drinking sweet juice, which he still craved. He emptied his mug into his mouth and slammed it on the table. Hot pain gripped his throat and burned within his chest, but at least he was done.
    They cheered, albeit somewhat sarcastically.

 
     
     
    Chapter 9: The Party
    EFFIE
     
    Effie was eager to get inside when they found the right house. Darkness had come over the Academy, but the noise from the party seemed to illuminate the atmosphere even more so than the mages behind the house who were blasting light into the sky.
    “Cleve.” Effie pointed at the bursts of light ahead. “Don’t be a DDW.”
    “DDW?” he asked. She noticed his pronunciation was slightly slurred.
    “A dumb, drunk warrior. See those lights? Those are from DDMs: dumb drunk mages. But they aren’t nearly as bad as DDWs.”
    Cleve frowned. “How do I know if I’m being a DDW?”
    Effie didn’t trust herself to explain it as well as Steffen, so she tugged him away from Gabby. “Tell Cleve the list for identifying a DDW.”
    Steffen straightened his shirt with one hand and used the other to start a list. “Number one, the use of energy or force as an attempt to show off. Two, if you have a weapon with you at a social gathering. Three, if you pretend something is a sword. Four, if you start chanting about warriors, men, or anything related to the previous items on the list.”
    “Cleve is still standing, a good sign so far that he can handle his liquor,” Reela said, continuing to surprise Effie with her kindness to Cleve. Usually Reela wasn’t so nice, especially not to warriors. Effie assumed the change was because they would be living together. It was for that same reason that Effie felt the urge to hold back a couple clever teases until she got to know Cleve better, something she wasn’t used to doing for anyone. It felt like holding in a sneeze. She found herself whispering to the wind what she wanted to say, just for some sense of relief.
    Effie was first to the door, opening it without a knock. She was met with quick glances by those within eyeshot. The young warrior she’d met earlier, who’d invited them, pushed through a group of three people to greet her.
    “Welcome! Glad you made it. This is my amazing house.”
    “I’m sure it’s far more amazing than mine,” Effie replied sarcastically, as each of the houses was nearly identical.
    “If you count the thirty drunk people within it, then indeed it is.”
    “How do you know thirty drunk people aren’t in my house also?”
    “Because you would have to be crazy to allow thirty people in your house with classes the next day, and you don’t seem the crazy type.”
    No she wasn’t, but she gave a smile that implied she could be. “You remember Reela, Steffen, my sister…”
    “Gabby,” she insisted.
    “My fourteen-year-old sister,” Effie continued, “who will not be touched by anyone. And this is Cleve, a warrior like yourself.”
    “Alarex Baom,” he said, taking Cleve’s hand. “Call me Alex.”
    Effie often tried to find a unique feature about people she met to remember them more easily. For Alex it was his thick black hair, yet short, reddish-brown beard that caught her eye. As well as that, he was nearly as tall as Cleve.
    Someone was shouting in their direction. “Rex, Rex! Come meet this girl. She says she’s a psychic.”
    “Rex?” Effie inquired.
    “Ignore him,”