Free The Legend by Melissa Delport Page A

“David, I’ve been meaning to tell you – I want you in Kwan’s training programme.”
    â€œWhy?” He looks startled. David has been Gifted with strength, but his physical fitness is severely lacking.
    â€œBecause you’re out of shape,” I state bluntly, poking him in the soft spread of flesh around his middle. He flushes unbecomingly, but I do not apologise. There is no place on our team for David if he is not at his full physical potential.
    I pop in to fetch Alex on my way to the track field. Unsurprisingly, Brooke is with him and she trails along.
    â€œCan I train too?” Alex asks as he bounds along beside me. I agree, not really paying him much attention. Aidan’s face at the door when I had collected Alex was darker than thunder, and he barely greeted me, seemingly preoccupied with something. I wonder idly if Reed mentioned what happened between us.
    Michael is a few minutes late, so Alex, Brooke and I jog slowly around the track, warming up. Alex has learned to control his speed and is able to switch it on and off, unless he gets overexcited. When his speed had manifested, he hadn’t been able to resist using it at school and initially some of the other children had reacted – teasing and taunting him out of jealousy and spite. Alex had tried to curb his Gifts and, surprisingly, it was Reed’s significant presence in our lives that had helped him settle. Reed had spent a lot of time with Alex and provided a male figure that he could look up to, both of them having the Power of Three. Alex also paces himself so that Brooke can keep up. The two are inseparable, a poignant reminder of Aidan and me at that age.
    By the time Michael arrives, Alex has reached the limit of his self-control and he immediately challenges Michael to a proper race. I laugh them away, focusing on my own running and forcing my body to test its own limits. With every circuit, I increase my pace slightly, keeping my eyes planted on the track before me. I keep doing this, over and over, delighted with the progress I am making but knowing that I have yet to reach my peak. Faster and faster, the ground streaking beneath my feet.
    It is only when I hear Michael’s pounding footsteps beside me that I look up. Michael’s usual grin is nowhere to be seen. Instead, he has a look of fierce determination on his face, his cheeks are red, his eyes narrowed. He pumps his arms even harder at his sides and, like a lightning bolt, it hits me that Michael is struggling to keep up. Now I glance past him towards the stands which are nothing but a blur as I rocket past them. Laughing, I increase my pace again, and Michael falls behind, his frustrated yell echoing behind me. I am as fast as I ever was! My speed is back, finally.
    After a few laps, I head for the stands to watch Alex and the others. My euphoria is a welcome change as I take a seat, a ridiculously smug grin on my face. Alex still has far too much energy to burn and Michael is sitting cross legged in the centre of the track, issuing instructions. Brooke is following Alex’s lead, a few lanes across. I am so engrossed in the return of my speed that at first I miss it. It is only when Michael leaps to his feet that I realise something has happened. I follow the direction of his gaze to see Alex sprinting around the far track, so fast that he is almost impossible to discern. He is moving incredibly quickly but I still can’t understand the gobsmacked expression on Michael’s face. Until Alex takes my hand and squeezes it.
    I glance down in bewilderment.
    â€œShe’s doing good, isn’t she, Mom?” he chirps, and suddenly the reason for Michael’s shock becomes crystal clear. It’s not Alex sprinting around the track. It’s Brooke.
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    chapter 9
    B rooke is about a year younger than Alex. Not knowing her real birth date, I had simply chosen a random date in the same month as Alex’s birthday for