Chapter 6
Master Quinn's Temple

I was on the ground trying to gather my strength and get up. I was beaten
pretty badly, with a deep slash in my side and my shoulder seemingly broken.
The figure in the shadows laughed menacingly. "Look at the great Zeke
Asakura now!" he said. He came closer, his sword ready to finish me off.
He slowly lifted the sword and brought it down fiercely.
"Ahh," I screamed as I sat up quickly. My heart was pounding, and I was
sweating. I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked
around. I was in some sort of a temple, with the sweet fragrance of incense
filling the room. The sweet fragrance helped me to relax a little. Diana,
Avalanche, and another man ran into the room. Diana had a sword at the
ready. "What happened, Zeke? Was someone in here?" Diana said looking
around the room. "Uh.no. It was.just a bad dream." "Oh," she said in
relief. She returned her sword to its sheath around her waist. She knelt
down next to me. "How are you feeling today?" "Better. I guess." I still
had that weird feeling. "That's good," the older man said. "I was afraid
you wouldn't be getting up at all." "Who are you?" I asked. "Oh. Where
are my manners? I am Master Quinn, but you can just call me Quinn. I've
heard a lot about you, Zeke Asakura. You're a very interesting young man."
I just stared confusingly at him. "Uh.thank you," I said uncertainly.
"Master Quinn has taken care of me ever since I left home. He's my
guardian," Diana explained. "And trainer," Quinn added. "Yes that too,"
Diana said smiling.
"How long was I asleep?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "Only about
three days. When I found you, you seemed quite tired," Avalanche answered.
"We think it was from that day in school. A lot of energy was pulled out of
you that day. Anyway, what were you doing in the woods by yourself at that
time? Someone could have hurt you. Don't-" "I ran away," I said sharply.
She seemed to be out of breath for a second. "You.what?" she asked softly.
"I ran away," I said again strongly. Her faced expressed a mixture of
happiness and grief. Slowly she began to speak, a slight blush on her face.
"That's great because now you can live with us and practice your powers,
but." "But what," I snapped. "But won't your mom be upset." "Who cares?" I
said sharply. She stared at me after my remark. Her eyes seemed to well up
with tears. "How could you say something like that?" I was silent. I
couldn't continue to look at her. Just looking at her tear sparkled eyes
made me hurt inside. Her expression changed to anger. "How could you be so
thoughtless!" she said angrily. She turned around and started walking
toward the door. "Wait," I said quickly. She stopped to look at me. "I'm
sorry. It's just.I can't believe they would hide something like that from
me." Diana looked at me with sympathy and held me in hug. "I'm sorry too.
I should have remembered how much they hurt you."
"Well, well, well. What's going on in here?" Diana let me go and I turned
to see the boy who I saw in the woods. "Morning, Zeke," he said with a
smirk. "It's about time you woke up." I frowned. There was definitely
something weird yet familiar about this guy. "Oh, Zeke, this is Hadrian,"
Diana said giving him a smile. He bowed politely. Then he turned to Quinn.
"Master, I've made that soup you wanted for Zeke." "Thank you, Hadrian,"
Quinn said. "You're quite welcome." Somehow I felt like this whole polite
stuff was just a scam. Avalanche nudged me gently with her nose. "I don't
trust him either," she said to me through my mind. "Master Quinn?" "Yes,
Hadrian." I'm sorry for the abrupt leave, but I really should get going. I
can at least put the sheets in the laundry." "I'm sorry you have to leave
so soon, but yes, you may take the sheets." Hadrian began walking towards
the sheets that were laid next to me. As he walked by me, his hand brushed
my arm. As soon as it made contact, my whole body shivered, and Diana felt
me. "Are you okay, Zeke?" she asked. "Yeah. I'm just.a bit chilly that's
all." She gave a disbelieving look at me. The sick feeling in my stomach
was even worse now, and the dizzying feeling came back. This time, however,
I was able to stay standing. "Okay. That should be all of them. I should
get going. Good-bye, all." He gave Diana a quick peck on the cheek before
leaving, which left Diana blushing. On the other hand, I was furious, but I
kept my anger at a manageable level. He grinned evilly at me for a moment,
but the grin soon disappeared as he walked out the door. As soon as he left
the room, the sick feeling left me. I stared confusingly at the door.
There was definitely something strange about Hadrian, and I planned to find
out what.