Chapter 10: Braedon

"I've not had anything but a strong friendship with her," I said.

Dash shrugged. "Maybe she wants more. Maybe that's why there's all these feelings going around." He nodded at me and curled his lip. "Maybe she wants to be more than friends with you, like she does the rest of us."

"Those are called hormones," I said. "We're teenage guys. We're all horny."

Oliver shook his head. "I don't think so. I think it's something more. Something we don't understand yet." He pointed at Dash. "He's twenty by the way. I'm nineteen and a half."

Everyone suddenly pushed back from the table, a naked Kyler appearing, sitting ass-naked on the tabletop. "Me too," Kyler said, and then the table collapsed, leaving him sprawled across the broken wood. "That really sucked. I could really use a cheeseburger."

Dash elbowed Oliver and nodded at Kyler's crotch. "There's one area we don't have to worry about him being competition," he said. The two doubled over and laughed.

"Fuck you, Dash. I'm a grower."

"Yeah, so are the farmers on the edge of town," Dash replied.

Everyone laughed, seeming to forget our conversation about Cassandra. Then Kyler spoke up.

"We're all drawn to her, Braeden," he said. Still naked, he looked at the others. "None of us have any intentions of hurting her. Like you, we're here to make sure nobody does. We think we were brought here to watch over her. You know, like bodyguards."

"Tell him," Dash said to Kyler. Dash stared at me hard, as if trying to intimidate me. It wasn't working. I could see through his tough-guy fa鏰de.

Kyler looked at me and then down at the smashed table.

"What?" I said. "What's going on?"

Kyler looked up. "After we arrived, we each began having the same dream. Over and over again. Some old man appeared to each of us. Fancy robe and staff and some jewel-covered book. He told us a woman had arrived on campus. That she would be the one to confront an archmage named Edius. Said we needed to keep her safe. It has to be Cassandra. That's why you have nothing to worry about."

"Bullshit. Why haven't I had these dreams? None of you are as close to Cassandra as I am." I skipped the part about the dreams involving them and Cassandra.

"I can't stand it any longer," Oliver said. He swirled his finger toward Kyler. "Causa polyester."

"The hell is this?" Kyler said, studying the polyester suit Oliver put him in.

"Mutare vestimenta sua," Kyler said, and brought his hands down across his body. "That's more like it." The polyester suit changed to earth-toned brown shirt and brown pants. The outfit matched his personality. He studied the broken table again and waved his hand over the wreckage. The table shuddered and suddenly became a table again.

"But you feel a greater pull to her than you had before your arrival," Oliver said to me.

It was true. As soon as we crossed the bridge to the main entrance, everything changed. She was no longer the nineteen-year-old Cassandra I'd been trying to coach and protect for twelve years. She became a desirable woman to all men. I had intimate feelings about her before but had brushed them off, choosing to be her friend instead of her lover. But now, I wanted both. Now, I knew things were different and therefore I needed to keep my senses at an all-time high to make sure no harm came to her.

"I think I know where to find the old man who appeared to us," Oliver said. "I've been studying the campus, the design of the buildings, and listening to the servants when they think we aren't around. If we find him maybe we'll be able to find this Edius person." Oliver's brains made him an intricate part of our group. He filled in where the rest of us lacked.

"And when we find him?" Kyler asked. He seemed nervous about the idea of finding the man. He came across more as a lover than a fighter.

Oliver shrugged. "I'm making this up as I go along."

I held up my hands for him to stop. "None of this makes any sense. Why Cassandra?"

"Told you he wouldn't listen," Dash said. "Should've gone without him." He shook his head and kicked a piece of the table Kyler missed. It was his way or the highway.

"It's the only way to get answers," Kyler said. "We all want to know what's going on." He paused and stared at me. "We need to do it for Cassandra, so that we understand what's being asked of her."

"Okay," I finally said. "I'm in. But remember what I said about her. No more judging her for the mistakes she's made." I pointed at Dash. "And instead of following her around like lost puppies, we understand this pull toward her." I pointed at Oliver and Kyler. "We all get to know her better and understand what it is she wants. And nobody forces themselves on her." I left the last comment for Dash. I probably sounded like a parent, but I had too much at stake with her for one of them to ruin it.

"Agreed," Dash said. The others nodded. "However."

We all looked at Dash.

"Now what?" Oliver asked. He and Kyler were apparently used to Dash pushing the envelope.

"I propose a friendly wager," he said. "Winner gets everyone's elements for an entire day."

"What determines the winner?" I asked, dreading the answer, knowing Dash would always be a spear in my side.

"Simple," Dash replied. "The first guy to get Cassandra to admit she likes him, wins."

"What if she likes more than one of us?" Kyler asked. "It's possible."

"The probability is great," Oliver interjected.

"Then you get bonus points," Dash said. "And then it comes down to whoever scores first."

I chuckled and sighed. The winner was obvious. We'd been together for so long, there would be no other choice. I'd seen the way she looked at me and the way she hadn't looked at them. "I'm in."

We shook on the deal and Dash left, a smirk on his face. His body language suggested he thought he'd already won.

"That wasn't a good idea," Kyler said. "I've known Dash long enough to know he thinks he has to win at everything. He'll do whatever's necessary.

"I'm not worried," I said. "I know things about Cassandra he doesn't."