by Kailin Gow
Turning the engine off, she looked up at the house that had become a war headquarters. The neighbors surely had no idea what was going on in the massive mansion, though surely some questioned what all the comings and goings were about.
All the construction, all the deliveries, and most of all, all the student slayers who arrived by the busload would surely turn heads, but somehow Lucas, Moore, Sully, and Brax who were in charge of construction and transportation managed to keep everything low profile and as non-invasive as possible.
Lux got out of the car and headed to the front door to find who the new arrival was. The sound of a deep and mature male voice drew her to the library. With a growing smile, Lux followed the sound and peered into the large room lined with shelves of books.
“Well, there she is,” John said as Lux walked in. He rose and came to greet her. “They told me that you’ve been quite busy these days.”
Smiling, Lux gave her father a warm hug then went over to Hector who had also stood. “Yeah,” she said. “Pretty busy. I’m glad you guys finally made it here.”
“Sorry for the delay,” John said as he went back to his chair. “We tried to make it to SF as soon as we got word of what was going on here. Sully told us when he came back to Vegas to recruit the student slayers, but Hector and I had to take care of some things brewing around over there while most of the student and staff left for SF. Then last minute, we had to fly to Italy for reinforcements.”
Ida, Brax and a few other older slayers Lux had never seen before sat in the large airy room, enjoying hot coffee and fresh scones.
“We’ve been having issues in Rome,” John went on. “I think a few slayers became a little too complacent and were taken by surprise when a few cracks in several seals began to appear.”
“Some people over there are now looking at rallying local slayers together,” a strange man said. “We now realize that we’re going to need everyone we can get.”
“Forgive me, Lux,” John said. “These are a few people from my team in Italy. Many stayed behind, but I was able to twist their arm and bring them out here to help us.” He looked to the man that had just spoken. “This is Antonio, that’s Roberto, Rosa, and Benito. The Shadowlighters Gordon and Marcus had to stay behind to lead the slayers in closing some portals that are opening in Italy and all over Europe. But with Antonio, Roberto, Rosa, and Benito from Italy, along with me and Hector, here are hundreds of years of experience in this small bunch alone and I hope we can take advantage of that experience.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Lux said, smiling at each of them.
“There are some techniques that have been developed in Rome,” Rosa said. “Fighting techniques that have proven quite effective. We’re quite optimistic that they can be used here.”
“We’d like to bring in a few dozen student slayers every day and teach them these techniques,” John said.
“I think we also need to take a look at how we seal portals,” Ida said. “There’s been a rash of openings lately. Clearly something is missing in the way they are being sealed.”
“I agree,” Lux said. “When do we start?”
“Tomorrow,” Ida said as she stood. “I’d like to start with your team, Lux. I think we need to cement our sealing tactics. Once a portal has been sealed, we need the guarantee that it will remain sealed for decades… even centuries.”
“I’ll contact them and make sure they are here first thing tomorrow morning.”
“I’ve heard that Romeo and Moore are quite experienced in closing portals,” Ida added. “I want them there.”
Lux nodded. Being succubi, Romeo and Moore would know how the demons would be able to break through them. Lux was happy to have them with her, not only because she loved them, but because they had found a way to be part of her slayers despite being the ones the slayers were fighting.
Moore and Romeo had proven their loyalty to humans, overcoming their demon side, because of their love for her.
The following morning Lux and her team of men met Ida in the shaded portion of the yard where Rosa was waiting for them.
“I know you are all very experienced slayers, and I have no doubt you all have many talents,” Ida said. “I’m hoping that the techniques Rosa wants to show you will just make you a little more efficient.”
Rosa stepped forward. “Some of these techniques may initially seem counter intuitive. For instance, in certain places where minor fissures and cracks have been detected, instead of going back to seal them right away, we’ve chosen to plant a huge army of slayers around the portal, then we blasted the portal wide open.”
Romeo nodded. “That’s an interesting way of going about it.”
“And more effective than you would think,” Rosa said. “As demons leave the portal, they run wild, they’re too hungry to be careful. Most of all, they don’t expect us to be right there waiting.”
“But,” Ida said. “It isn’t a tactic that works in every instance.”
“This tactic,” Rosa went on, “works great with portals that tend to have many minions and minor demons.”
“Portals with larger, more prominent demons are a different matter,” Ida said. “More mature and experienced demons are much more vigilant.”
“And they have more fighting powers.”
Ida walked over to a table set up in front of the high cedar hedge and pulled back the linen cloth that covered it. “We’ve brought you a whole new arsenal of weapons we’d like you to try. They are from everywhere in the world. Some of these may look ancient while others are modern versions of older weapons.”
Lux and the guys walked to the table, fingering, picking up and weighing various weapons.
“This is interesting,” Lucas said as he picked up a laser gun.
“Yes,” Rosa said. “And quite lethal, however, many have had issues with precision. In other words, when you get it right, it’s great. But getting it right is an art in itself.”
“I sure would like to take a closer look at this,” Lucas said.
“You can take it with you at the end of this training.”
“Great.”
“For starters,” Rosa said. “I’d like you all to pick up a weapon that you’ve never used before. It’s too easy to get comfortable with a particular weapon, and many slayers end up taken for granted that their favorite weapon will always bring them success. Unfortunately, many demons learn how to outplay some of these weapons. When a slayer appears on the scene with a new weapon, it throws some demons off their game.”
“In addition to this,” Ida added. “Relying on only a handful of weapons is far too limiting. I’m sure we’ve all been in the heat of a battle with our favorite weapon only to have it torn from our grasp. It is imperative that you be able to pick up any other weapon on the field and find success with it.”
“Wow,” Sully said. “Some of these are wild.”
“Indeed,” Rosa said as she picked up what looked like bear claws. “These are bagh nakh. And here we have deer horn knives and a Japanese war fan. All thrilling and interesting instruments. A boar sword, katana and dadao. Here we have various swords…golok, kopis and hook sword. Knives, axes, swords… Name it, we have it. If there is a weapon that you don’t see here but that you would like to explore, let me know. I’ll get it for you.”
“Cool,” Sully said as he looked, wide-eyed at the Japanese fan. “But what good is this?” He picked up the innocent looking fan and opened it. “Oh, wow,” he said with surprise as a series of razor sharp blades emerged.
For the next hour they went through virtually every weapon on the table.
Lux found success with small metal stars. “I love these,” she told Ida.
Smiling, Ida nodded. “Shurikens,” she said. “Or ninja stars. Light-weight, small, easy to carry and, when properly sharpened, quite lethal. Many, however, never master the technique for throwing them with any degree of accuracy. You, on the other hand, seem to be a natural. They just fly out of you hand and land smack i
n the center of the target.”
“And,” Rosa came up to them to add, “They enter deep into that target.”
“You guys have all done well,” Ida said when every one of them had proven proficient with a new weapon. “Now, let’s see what you’re capable of when you have no weapon at all.”
“Just your hands and feet,” Rosa added.
And for the next few hours they fought, wrestled and fought some more.
Dirty, dusty and exhausted, they finally all lay back on the shaded grass looking up to Rosa and Ida for merci.
“All right,” Ida said with a smile. “We’ll call it a day.”
Chapter 7
As Lux was thinking how wonderful it was to finally have Moore back with her, and Romeo true to his word about helping her with the slayers, her two gorgeous men were tasked with training the slayers on techniques to close portals faster and more efficiently.
Romeo asked Lux, “do you know how many students will be here today?”
Lux watched him, so calm and serene as he prepared his lesson. It was like being at the Academy all over again, and her attraction to him was heightened as she took his sexy and commanding body all in. At the Shadowlight Hunters Academy, he was the most popular teacher because of his charisma, charm, and ability to make anyone he talked to feel sexy and special. Now Romeo was going to weave his magic over everyone here.
“We want to keep the classes small,” Lux said. “No more than fifteen at a time. Maybe twenty if we have to.”
“Good.” He picked up a large pile of paper and stacked it on the desk that had been set up in the large library.
“You look right at home,” Lux said. “Are you happy to be back in a teaching position?”
Romeo smiled and sat on the corner of the desk. “I’m happy to be here with you…in any position.”
Lux smiled. “I admit, it’s good to see you here. It’s good to see you so eager to help.” She picked up one of the sheets of paper and read a few of the prayers Romeo had printed. “All in Latin.”
“Want to give it a try?”
Lux looked back at the sheet of paper. “Nicene Credo?”
“You know it?”
Smiling she looked up at him. “Of course, I know it. You were so insistent that I learn it, remember?”
He cocked his brow. “Indeed, I do.”
Lux remembered one particularly hot night with Romeo at his place making love, eating, bathing, and making love again, while Romeo recited the long credo in Latin to her over and over again.
“Credo in unum Deum,” Lux said, smiling at him.
“Patrem omnipotentem,” Romeo shot back.
“Factorem caeli et terrae,” Lux said. “Visibilium omnium et invisibilium.”
“I think you made your point,” Romeo said. “I’m happy to see you haven’t forgotten it.”
“I haven’t forgotten anything you’ve taught me.”
He snorted, his smile amused and so sexy. “Nothing?”
She smiled. It was nice just flirting with him, just that teasing back and forth.
“How long do you think each class will take?” she said before things got too heated and out of hand.
“An hour should be enough,” Romeo said, reverting to his stern professor stance. “Any student who doesn’t grasp these prayers in an hour can come back next week. We’re planning a day to go over all of this for those who don’t get it all the first time around.”
“Looks like you have everything thought out,” Lux said.
“I didn’t become a professor at the Academy just because of my good looks,” he said with a crooked smile. “I do know what I’m doing, you know.”
The first early student walked in and immediately headed to the row of seats at the front of the class.
“I’ll let you get to work.” She kissed him, and he kissed her back.
“Ah Lux,” he said when she pulled back. “I would do anything to be able to kiss and hold you in my arms again after I lost you due to my betrayal. I don’t deserve you, but here you are giving me another chance.” He gazed into her eyes. “You make me want to be a better man, and someday, I will prove to you that I’ve changed.”
Lux smiled. “Seeing you so serious about helping the slayers and everyone around me like this…it’s a definite start.”
“It’s all for you, Lux,” Romeo said. “But it’s also because I can’t stand seeing you get hurt…and knowing how these demons are, Lux, they will try.”
“Then teach these slayers to be the best they can be out there, Romeo,” Lux said. “Helping them learn to do their best is helping them protect me and all the people out there like me. I’ll see you later, Romeo,” Lux said as she headed out.
She meandered through the halls, looking at all the changes that had been made in so short a time. Then, through the window of one of the makeshift offices, she saw Moore at the far end of the yard pacing back and forth waving a long wooden stick around.
He looked part conductor, part magician waving a wand about.
“What is he up to?” she asked herself.
“Training the troops,” Brax said.
Startled, she turned to him and smiled.
“Training them? Are you sure? It looks more like he’s…”
“Conducting a symphony,” Brax said with a playful grin.
She nodded.
“I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear that.”
Lux walked up to the window and looked down. Dozens of young men and women were following every order Moore gave. When he waved his stick to one end of the grounds, the entire troop ran to the stone wall and back. When he raised his stick above his head, they jumped, and jumped high. When he put his stick to the ground, the men and women threw themselves to the ground to do a dozen push-ups, then quickly rose to do a dozen jumping jacks when Moore’s stick rose to hip level and dropped back to the ground for another dozen push-ups.
“I thought he was specifically training them to slay,” Lux said, confused by the bootcamp-like physical activity.
“You can’t very well slay a demon if you can’t catch up to it, if you’re out of breath after swinging your sword a time or two. And, if heaven forbid, you find yourself in hand to hand combat, you’d better be in good physical condition.”
“Right,” Lux said.
“Don’t worry,” Brax said, putting a hand to her shoulder. “Tomorrow he’s going to put them on the attack. He wants to concentrate on the demons’ weak spots.”
She smiled. The training of the slayers were going very well, and her men had stepped up to be the amazing leaders she always believed they could be. She was especially proud of Moore, who had always been the pawn and shadow of his twin older sister Shayne. But now, he was excelling and stronger than ever.
Chapter 8
Lux rubbed the fatigue from her eyes and sank back into the soft leather chair set behind the huge desk that had been brought in for her. In front of her was a list of all the new slayers, modestly trained slayers and very experienced slayers.
The names on the list became a blur. For over two hours she’d been matching new slayers with more experienced ones, building teams that would be as efficient as possible. But with another hundred names remaining to be teamed up, she couldn’t concentrate any more.
“Need a break?”
She looked up to see Ida standing in the doorway.
“No,” Lux said, despite the obvious fact that she did, indeed, need a break. “I want to get this done today. Moore and Romeo want to train them team by team. They want to teach each team how to work together.”
“Smart,” Ida said. “I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been out at a battle only to find slayers who were completely unable to work together. There was no communication, no cooperation… and ultimately no success.”
“Well, it was Moore’s idea. He said that if we pair them up together, but they have no notion of each other’s strength and weaknesses, they’ll be useless. This way, members o
f the team will compensate for the weaknesses of others.”
“He’s a smart man.”
Lux smiled.
“John and I are heading over to your parents’ house for dinner,” Ida said.
Lux set her list of names aside. “My parents?”
“Um, I know that probably sounds strange, doesn’t it?”
“Kind of.” Lux stood up and came around the desk to lean back against it.
“We were hoping you’d join us,” Ida said.
Lux shrugged. “I don’t know. Don’t you think it’d be a little awkward? A little uncomfortable? I mean, I know that I would feel pretty weird.”
“If anyone should feel uncomfortable, Lux, it’s me,” Ida said. “But, I love your parents, and I’m grateful for everything they’ve done. I think it could be great for all of us to get together.”
“Right,” Lux said flatly.
“Your mother is making her very cheesy lasagna,” Ida said. “And if that’s not enticing enough, she’s even adding spicy Italian sausage.”
Lux smiled. Her mom did have a way with lasagna. “Okay,” she relented. “But I want to be back early to finish up with these lists.”
“I’ll have you back before nine.”
Lux followed Ida out to the drive and got into her sturdy Land Rover.
“Isn’t John coming?” Lux said as she buckled her seatbelt.
“He’s already there.”
They drove off and soon Ida was pulling the Land Rover in front of the house Lux and her parents had moved to in San Francisco so Lux could attend Shadowlight Academy where she met Brax, Moore, and Asher.
“It’s so strange,” Lux whispered.
“What’s strange?”
“Being back here.” Lux looked up to the window where her bedroom was. “It’s been a while since I’ve been back. This place really felt like home. Before this house, we moved from place to place because I couldn’t stay in one long enough as a slayer.” Lux turned to Ida. “I’ve been slaying since I was a child.”
Ida reached out to put her hand over Lux’s. “There’s so much that I missed. I was in a coma the entire time,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
