by Tara Chau
Taking rapid steps backward, I stumble. Looking around desperately, I want to call out, but I somehow know that no one can hear me. I stand up straight, drawing my weapon. This is it. Although my leg shrieks with intense agony and my mind is clouded with thoughts of life and death, I stare at the demon with a calm acceptance. This is my test. Images of my mum, dad, Anne, Gabe, and everyone that I care about, flash before me.
I let out a quiet sob. The only thought going through my head right now is that I wish so badly for Gabe to be here to tell me something good, something I believe, something that can help.
The thing shrieks and whips one of its tentacles towards me. Upon instinct, I dropped to my knees and raised my weapon above me, blade extended. The tentacle swings just above my head; it's severed clean off by my blade. It gives a dramatic screech, black blood rained down on me, burning my scalp and cheeks. It would have been much worse if I hadn't been wearing my coat. It protects me from my shoulders down. But still, it can’t protect every part of my body. I cry out as I rush away from the wound, using my sleeve to try wiping off the burning blood.
It feels like acid scorching my skin, consuming it layer by layer. Even though I want so badly to give up, I know that I can’t. Straightening my back, I lunge for the thing, trying my best to be as fast as a Protector, though I'm irritatingly slower due to my wounded leg. Even though I go faster than expected, the creature sees me coming. It whips another limb at me. I jump over it only to then land on another.
Running up the tentacle proves harder than expected due to the slime. The monster flings me up into the air. I scream as I plummet back towards it. In my head, I run through a whole bunch of different ideas as I dive towards the demon, trying desperately to come across one that will work. Holding my weapon out at it as I approach, I run my blade down its stomach as I fall back onto the ground. Its tough hide slows my descent and, therefore, the power behind my attack, but the blade does its job, piercing its skin, driving deep into its gut. It gives a loud wail and collapses next to me. I cry out as more blood comes down on me, covering me entirely.
I’m muttering thanks to every God and Angel I can that no more injuries have come about. I’m endlessly thankful that the demon’s skin was hard enough to make my knife hard to puncture, making my fall slower and easier for me to brace myself as I fell to the street.
Looking around desperately, I fall to my knee’s crawling away from the foul stench of the demon. Once I’m far enough for the stench to become bearable, I rest in a place where no black liquid decorates the pavement, looking at myself in one of the shop windows.
Under the black demon blood, my skin is deathly white. Falling onto my back, I stare up at the starry sky. I did it. I killed that thing. I wince as the blood runs down my cheek, burning a new streak of skin, but the pain has become a distant thing, something my body is now used to.
I can still feel the searing pain from the cut on my leg as well, it's throbbing severely, but again, my mind is too far away to fully register the full pain. It’s a few moments before I realise that there’s another shift in the air, and I groan. This time I won't be able to fight for long.
The world is turning, spinning, screaming, yelling. No, not the world. Someone is calling my name. It hurts to move one muscle, but I blink a few times, trying to focus on something. My eyes automatically come to see the only face insight. It's contorted in rage and fear. His eyes are ember black. Gabe.
Soon I can see the rest of the team. They rush towards me. As the group reaches me, Gabe comes to his knees next to me, he reaches for me, but I yell.
"Don't touch me!" I say raggedly. Hurt fills his eyes as I scramble to say the rest of my sentence. "I'm covered in demon blood; it hurts so much." Understanding washes over his face, but so does dread.
“Cormac glamoured us, making us watch you attempt to kill that Zyth,” he says regrettably.
“Attempt?” I croak weakly. “Why don’t you talk to the Zyth and ask him how great my attempt was?”
I close my eyes, listening to Gabe bark orders at someone, telling them to call Daniel for emergency pick up. My eyes snap open as I remember.
“The book?” I ask anxiously.
Regret fills his features. He shakes his head, blood still oozing from his cut. I slam my head back into the pavement, flinching when I hit it too hard. I feel tugging on my coat and lookup.
"Gabe!" I say, scared. "What are you doing?" I ask.
"It's alright. I've put on gloves,” he says, smiling softly, showing me his gloved hands. He yanks my coat off, chucking it to the side.
“Shame,” I say, frowning. "I rather liked that coat."
My voice is hoarse with all those minutes of screaming, with the shrieks I allowed to escape, with the yells that I cried.
“I’ll get you another,” he says, lifting my upper half into his lap, holding my shoulders.
Anne walks over to me, a sad smile on her face. She takes the edge of her sleeve and tries wiping some blood off my face. I close my eyes tight, trying to fight back a scream as the black ichor smudges across my face, burning. Once she’s done, I open them again. She smiles at me genuinely this time.
“You did good," she says, patting my injured leg.
This time I can't hold it back. A loud wail rips from my throat, startling everyone. They all look at my leg in horror.
“That hurt,” I state softly, chuckling at how oblivious they are.
“What happened?” Gabe asks worriedly.
“Cormac, he stabbed me with these two awesome swords,” I reply.
“Dear Dyla,” Anne whispers, still staring at my wound.
A few moments pass as they both take in the full extent of my injuries, as they both look into my dull eyes.
Ty approaches us, kneeling beside me. “How are you doing?"
“Great,” I say sarcastically.
“At least her humour wasn’t damaged,” he says, looking on the bright side. Gabe glares daggers at Ty. I laugh softly at the two of them.
A white van comes screeching around the block. Astrid rushes out, takes one look at me then returns to the van. She comes back with a needle, a yellowish liquid sloshing around inside. I briefly wonder how they arrived so quickly.
“We have to put her under,” Astrid says it more like a question, not directed at me, but at Gabe. He nods reluctantly, smiling down at me, brushing a piece of loose hair away from my eyes. Astrid comes to sit down next to me, injecting the needle. I'm about to say something when a hit of exhaustion washes over me, tugging me into a peaceful sleep.
I wake up to a splitting neck cramp, blinking madly. Hearing the voices of three people bickering quietly, I force my sleep groggy eyes to look around. Ty nudges Gabe when he spots me sitting up slowly. They all rush over to me, Anne sitting on the bottom of the bed, and the two boys stand to the right of me.
“God, you guys look terrible,” I say, smiling weakly.
All of them chuckle and look at me, relieved.
“Hey, you should see yourself,” Anne says. Walking over to the drawer, she pulls out a small mirror, holding it in front of me.
I flinch at my reflection. I have deep purple bags under my eyes, and the whites of them are red. But what is most noticeable is the jagged red scar going from my right eyebrow and off my jaw. I flop my head back onto the pillow, groaning loudly.
“Will it fade?” I ask.
“Yes, in a few days, the other ones did,” Ty responds.
“A few days? How long was I out for?”
“Three days,” Gabe responds reluctantly.
“My dad,” I say instinctually.
“The authorities haven’t lifted the warning; he still thinks that your safe at Anne’s,” Gabe assures.
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath out. “Why is it that I slept for three days, but I feel like I could sleep for three hundred more?” I ask tiredly.
“Well, you can’t. You have to get up now, so you ca
n get back into training.” Ty lectures.
Swinging my legs off the bed, I look around. I’m in the same room as the one I was in when Gabe left me to go and fight those rogue vampires.
“My leg,” I say. “What did Astrid do to it?”
“She did surgery to clean the demon blood out of the wound. She also dislodged a small part of Cormac’s sword from your bone,” Gabe says, troubled. “She’s kept you asleep for a few days; it was better for the healing process.”
I nod, putting my feet on the ground, taking an unsure step. Instantly, I trip over my own feet and fall to the floor, too fast for anyone to catch me. They all rush towards me, panic flashing across their expressions, but I hold my hand up, motioning for them to step back.
“I’m not cripple. I can get up myself.” I grumble, slightly annoyed.
Standing unsteadily, I walk over to give Anne a hug.
“I can’t believe you killed a Zyth. That was crazy,” she says, beaming, but her eyes full of worry.
“I don’t plan to do that again,” I say, hobbling over to give Gabe a tight hug. He takes me in his arms and holds me tight, resting his chin on my head. I let go, giving him a smile and walk over to give Ty a hug to everyone’s surprise. It’s an awkward hug, but a hug, nonetheless. I let go of him and walk over to sit back down on the bed. Sleeping for three days and then jumping back into walking is hard.
“So, what now?” I ask all of them.
“Now, we have to deal with our most difficult mission yet,” Anne says with a terrified expression.
I groan softly. “What?”
“High school,” she replies in dread.
I laugh at all their dramatically sombre faces when she says the words.
“At least now we’ll be able to do some fun things,” I say, looking on the bright side. I stop Gabe when he’s about to say something. “Training does not count.”
He is about to protest when I yawn.
“Out everyone. The poor girl needs sleep.” Anne says, ushering Ty out the door.
Gabe lingers after the two of them exit, looking back at me. I climb into bed, lying with the covers up to my shoulders.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“Eight,” he replies.
“Morning?”
“Night,” he corrects, still not moving.
I smile at him. Gabe looks uncomfortable standing there. I know that he wants to say something, but he’s stalling. I pat the spot on the bed next to me, and he smiles thankfully and walks over, kicking his shoes off. Gabe sits by my side, back up against the headboard. Looking down at me, he frowns.
“I think that it looks quite badass,” I say, referring to my scar.
Gabe scowls a dark sour one. I frown.
“Or not.” I correct. “Are you staying tonight?”
Gabe’s frown turns into a grin. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“It’s a yes or no answer, Chip,” I say with a warning tone.
He hesitates before nodding. I smile, sitting up against the backboard next to him. Looking Gabe straight in the eyes, I say very seriously,
“We have to watch Avatar!”
* * *
The hall is bustling with noise. It is our first day back at school in two weeks. The authorities had lifted the warning yesterday afternoon, allowing everyone to prep to go back to work or school. Even though the book is still missing, and the Xavia are still on the loose, the Counsel decided that if they hadn’t acted yet, then it would be at least another few weeks before they do.
My scar has faded, and my leg is much better than I can even run. Dashing through the hall at lunch is a challenge, but I must get to the cafeteria to tell the others about what I have just seen. Racing round the bend and into the lunchroom, I skid to a stop just before I hit Jessica in the back. Calming myself down, I take my seat between Anne and Gabe. Gabe looks at me in an amused fashion. I smile before speaking to my whole group.
“Hey, I was coming to lunch when Miss O’Conner put up a sign-up sheet for a new elective. You’ll never guess what it is,” I say excitedly. They all look at me expectantly. “Fencing,” I say, beaming.
All of them immediately start chattering to each other about how fun it will be.
“What period?” Hayden asks.
“Straight after lunch till school ends, on Wednesdays and Fridays,” I respond. A wave of disappointed sighs ripple across the table.
“Sorry, Di, that’s when I have food tech,” Anne says apologetically.
“Yeah, I have water polo,” Hayden chimes in.
“I can make it,” Jess, Gabe and Ty say in unison.
I smile happily, gathering my things to begin running again.
“Where are you off to now?” Gabe asks.
“To sign us all up before all the spots are taken!” I yell as I rush out of the room.
* * *
I walk out of the change rooms with Jess on my heels, dressed in fencing suits. With a large helmet in my right arm, I walk over to meet the boys who are in black suits instead of white. Gabe flashes me a bright smile as I approach.
“You want to partner with me?” he requests.
“Sure, but I don’t think I’ll be too good,” I say, smiling back.
“I’m sure you’ll do great, beautiful,” he says with a wink. God, he hasn’t called me that in ages.
“Listen up!”
A short woman who looks to be in her forties walks into the room. Everyone falls silent instantly. She wears the same suit as all the other girls, has her dark hair up in a tight bun and her face resting in a sour pout. To put it simply, she is not someone you would feel comfortable approaching.
“My name is Miss Ryans. There will be no messing around in my class. You will learn as we fence. If you get hurt, then walk it off. You will choose a partner and stick with that person until next semester. When you hear the whistle blown once, you start. Twice, you stop. Understand?” she barks harshly.
Everyone nods. There are about twenty of us together. We all partner up, find a place on the mat a good distance away from each other and wait for more instructions.
“There is offence and defence,” she explains as she goes around handing out the fencing sabres. “You are to simply touch the tip of your sabre to the person from their shoulders down. Make sure to record your points, as we will put them up on that whiteboard at the end of every lesson. For this first lesson, I will simply be watching your skills.
In the coming lessons, I will teach you moves and countermoves, so you will all do well to remember them,” she stands back off the mat, readies her whistle, and blows. The sound, an ear-splitting cry.
I get into a fighting stance, ready for Gabe to pounce. We both slide on our helmets, raising our sabres. Gabe smiles slyly, standing there as if he isn’t in a fight. I decide to charge, thrusting my sabre towards him.
Gabe easily blocks my attacks, going defence while I go offence. Stumbling back, panting, I get into a defence position. It’s my turn to defend. Gabe attacks, pointing the tip straight for my chest. I dodge and slide under his legs, coming back up quickly and spin out of his reach.
Our skills may not be very… fencing like. I keep an eye on his feet, waiting for a hint of what he is going to do next. Gabe jumps at me, so I block his blow, but he blocks mine. We matched each other’s strikes perfectly. With some effort, I dodged a high swing. The teacher calls for a break, and I relax, dropping the raised sabre. Gabe cut’s a glance at me.
“Di, you can’t beat me,” he comments.
“Oh really?” I reply, eyebrows raised. “Be ready to get schooled, little boy.” Gabe grins, his gaze sweeping over me. I can’t see his face completely, but the mesh allows me to see the way his lips twitch in an upward grin.
The whistle blows again. A loud bang comes from the other side of us, and I look to find that Jessica had backed Ty into a locker. I smile and look back just as Gabe charges. I stop time, rea
lising that he will hit me if I don’t. Gabe is probably going to kill me, but I don’t need his constant bragging about how I got distracted, and he’d gotten the sabre point.
I smile. He is stuck in a running stance. I take a step towards him, pushing him onto the ground. I positioned his arms up, the perfect pose that shows surrender. Already, the pressure increases as my underused powers slowly begin to ebb away, taking some of my energy with it.
Still, I laugh to myself and unfreeze everyone.
A strangled sigh escapes Gabe’s lips as he looks around confused before glaring up at me. I’m in a fighting stance, trying to look like I had knocked him down fair and square, but my quiet giggles give me away.
I burst out laughing as he jumps back up onto his feet. We circled each other, me laughing, him glaring madly.
“I didn’t know that you were one for cheating,” Gabe comments. I can’t see his face too clearly through the mask.
“I didn’t know that you liked taking advantage of people who aren’t ready,” I say. A terrible comeback, but one, nonetheless.
I dodge his next move, diving as I make it onto the mat, rolling forwards. Rising back on my feet, I realise that my stance isn’t right. Gabe drops to the ground, sweeping his outstretched leg into the back of my knees. My legs buckle, and I collapse to the floor, diving for his leg and narrowly missing as I go down. I yelp as I fall splat onto the mat like a frog.
“We’re done here!” the teacher yells over the exerted clanks and moans from the class and their sabres.
“I thought you were going to school me,” Gabe says. Taking off his helmet, he yanks me to my feet. An obnoxious smile plays on his lips, sweat dripping from his damp hair.
“Shut up,” I say playfully, shoving him aside hard and walking over to collect my bag.
We all exit the class, tired and sweaty. Our teachers’ words in our minds. “You’re all hopeless, either too slow, too rash, or too dramatic.”
“Good job,” Gabe says, disturbing my thoughts, trotting up from behind me, a grey matching towel draped over his shoulder.
