by Shana Vernon
She asked him a few more questions and jotted down more notes before it was my turn. “Tell me about your manifestation.”
“It wasn't all that exciting. I just lit up.”
“Lit up?” She inquired.
“I guess it was more of a glow. It got brighter when I was angry, but it didn't do anything more than glow.”
“Where did you glow? On your hands, or over your whole body?”
“My hands were the brightest, but my whole body glowed.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That could be a few things, we will need to run some tests to be sure.” She finished writing, closed her notepad, and stood up. “None of you seem volatile at the moment, so I will recommend you to begin training right away. You should all have finished getting showered and dressed by now. Each day you will begin at eight o’clock and it would behoove you to be on time.” She threw a pointed look in my direction and then walked out, closing the door behind her.
Sofia and I grabbed our jumpsuits, ran into the bathroom and were out less than ten minutes later, showered and dressed. The next hour passed rather calmly, but we all kept glancing at the door expecting someone to come through and were continuously met with disappointment.
CHAPTER FIVE
I took the time to comb through a bookshelf I hadn't noticed the day before, taking out three books. The first one on basic combat, the second one on vampire history, and the third—and most interesting one—about the history of the Guild. I only wanted the last two, but I figured it would be best to start off seeming like the ordinary homeschooled kid I was portraying.
I opened the vampire book first, as it was the one I was least familiar with, and found an interesting passage about halfway through.
The Rosa Mortum is considered to be the deadliest plant in existence, and the only plant known to kill vampires. The other methods of vanquishing a vampire are beheading with an iron blade or an iron stake to the heart.
They do not possess any other weaknesses – while they prefer to be nocturnal, daylight does not bother them and they cannot be killed by any other form of metal. There have been those who have tried to melt down iron and put it in their food without successful results. Other attempts, such as pumping their veins with iron, were met with failure.
Savage.
There was a picture of a bright green rose with white speckles that I had never seen before and I was about to close the book when a silky voice came from behind my shoulders.
“Find anything interesting in there?”
I gasped, dropping the book, and it tumbled off the bed. That was the second time that day someone had caught me off guard. I was starting to lose my touch.
Lean muscular arms reached down and picked up the book and handed it back to me.
“Sorry about that, I didn't mean to startle you.”
I followed his arms up to see his face. He had glittering, emerald eyes that were crinkled in a genuine smile, and a shoulder-length mess of wavy, auburn hair with a matching beard. My eyes raked over his tight, black shirt which left very little to the imagination, displaying his corded muscles everywhere I could see. My eyes jumped back to his to see his raised brow and a slight smirk. He’d definitely noticed me checking him out.
Oops.
I finally found my voice enough to cough out, “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m Quinn. What's your name?” He stuck his hand out.
I took his offered hand and shook it, “I’m Lenna.” I then remembered what Ekon had told me earlier and continued, “You went to school with Ekon, right?”
He nodded. “So, have you manifested any abilities yet?”
“My body started glowing and became brighter when I got angry, any idea what that could be?” I asked.
He furrowed his brow. “Glowing? Did anyone touch you while that was happening?”
“I don’t think so, but once I calmed down, the glowing went away,” I replied.
“I don’t have a clue what that could be. It could be something defensive, so it would only activate if you were in real danger,” Quinn said.
I slumped back on my bed, dejected. I had hoped he might have a good guess.
“How was it growing up in England?” I inquired.
“I’m originally from Ireland, so it wasn’t that much of a change to be honest. Being here has been more of an adjustment, but not necessarily a bad one,” he said as he sat down on the bed next to me.
Our conversation was interrupted by a familiar voice booming through the room.
“Greer! Bring the initiate and let’s go to the training area for testing.” Cade had the rest of the initiates surrounding him and was looking in our direction pointedly. My stomach did an excited little flip just from being in his presence again.
Down, girl.
“Got it, boss man,” Quinn said, grinning. “Have you met Lenna?”
Cade stuck out his hand, his lips curling in a kind smile, “Nice to meet you.”
His hand was warm as I took it. “You too,” I said, internally praying for him not to look too closely at my face.
Cade directed us all out the door and through a large cafeteria-style room where many of the Guild members were eating. We passed through the room to an enclosed patio in the back of the building. There were wooden bo staffs lined up along padded mats on the floor. He walked to the head of the mats which faced each other and instructed us all to claim a mat and bo.
“This is Quinn Greer.” He gestured to his left where Quinn stood, arms crossed. “We are going to be analyzing your skills and matching you with suitable partners. You’re going to start with bo staffs and then switch to hand to hand combat.” He scratched the back of his neck, causing his muscles to bulge and some very inappropriate thoughts to rush through my mind. I shook my head, trying to banish the dirty thoughts.
“Is that a problem, Ms. Bishop?” I snapped to attention to see Cade looking at me, and I could only assume he’d noticed my head shaking.
I really need to get myself under control.
Being around so many people and making conversation was more difficult than I had anticipated.
“No, of course not. Sorry,” I murmured shamefacedly.
Cade divided everyone into pairs leaving Ekon to spar with Quinn, and I moved to face my partner, Brielle. I raked my gaze over her form as she picked up her staff. Through her jumpsuit, I could see that she was wisp-thin, her muscles not defined in any capacity, eluding that she likely didn't have much combat experience. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing for me or not. I had to hide my abilities and I wasn’t sure if having an inexperienced partner would make it easier or more difficult. I could very simply determine each move she would make.
I sighed, bent down to pick up the bo staff, and raised it in the air.
At Cade’s word, Brielle began stalking toward me slowly, weapon elevated.
I kept chanting in my head to remember not to react quickly or correctly each time. A newbie was likely to get a few reactions correctly, so I could deflect some thrusts from Brielle without arousing suspicion.
Brielle advanced and brought the staff down toward my head. That was an easy one for a newbie, so I lifted my bo and deflected it, causing it to reverberate in Brielle’s hand.
Oops.
We went through a few more simple moves which I countered easily, especially since I noticed Cade and Quinn’s attention on Sofia and Hailey, who had looked ready to kill each other.
“That’s good Ms. Alvarez, but put more force at this part,” Cade told Sofia, gesturing as he explained.
She adjusted her swing.
Cade grinned. “Perfect!”
Brielle and I picked up the intensity and I could see she was getting tired and wanted to get a successful hit on me. I hadn’t even bothered trying to actually strike her.
Cade stepped over to our mat and Brielle began moving faster and thrusting with more power, determined to hurt me. He was looking too closely and I felt the need to appear wea
k.
I saw a blow coming for my ribs and knew it wouldn’t break them, so I let it land with a whump. I bent over and clutched my stomach, pretending to be in more pain than I really was and I noticed Brielle’s smug smile out of the corner of my eye.
Cade glanced down at me with narrowed eyes and I heard a voice come from a few mats over.
“So, I guess it’s not just your abilities that are lame, your fighting is lame too.”
I rolled my eyes, ignoring Ryder’s comment, and picked my staff back up off the floor where it fell after I got hit. Then to my surprise, Sofia backed me up again.
“You know what’s funny, Ryder? Not you, so shut the fuck up,” Sofia said while twirling her staff menacingly.
I smiled at her and positioned myself for another round of fighting.
“Everyone stop,” Cade bellowed. “It’s time to switch partners. Hailey, I want you to partner with Ekon. Brielle, replace Hailey by Sofia’s mat. Ryder, come spar with Lenna. Axel, pair with Quinn.”
Is he actually serious right now?
I couldn’t show my skills, which meant that I needed to let Ryder do some serious damage if I wanted it to be convincing. I already knew that Ryder would try to give me a hard time, since for some reason I didn’t understand, he really hated me. I wracked my brain trying to think of a way I could heal myself without being obvious about using my ability while Ryder sidled up to my mat holding his bo staff.
“Ready to cry, blondie?” Ryder spat, circling me.
No matter how many hits I would allow him to land, I would never give him the satisfaction of making me cry. I mirrored his movements as he circled around to my back, looking for an opening.
He ran at me without warning, jabbing toward my head with his staff.
I ducked and brought my weapon up to deflect his next attack at my chest with a loud bang.
Ryder spun his bo around his body and aimed low, trying to knock my feet out from under me.
I leapt over the staff and reacted without thinking, bringing my bo down on his head. Ryder was fast, however, and blocked me, bringing his foot up and smashing me in the chest.
I dropped my bo and stumbled backward.
Ryder didn’t hesitate and came after me, throwing his staff to the side, bringing his fists up in front of him. He took a swing at my head, chest, and stomach in quick concession and I knew I needed to let him get another hit in before people started questioning me. The problem was that Ryder was remarkably powerful. I needed to find a hit that wouldn’t do extreme damage.
After ducking another punch, I brought my leg up in a roundhouse and there was an explosion when I made contact with the side of his face. My body flew backward and slammed into the concrete patio behind the mats, my head colliding with the floor. I could hear my elbow snap and my vision blurred. I struggled to regain focus, but I only saw stars and then blackness overtook me.
“What did you do to her?” I heard someone scream.
“Nothing, I swear. I don’t know what happened, she just kicked me and then flew back,” another voice replied shakily. “It was a nice kick, too.”
“I’m going to bring her to the infirmary. Quinn, you continue with the session today.”
I felt my body being gingerly lifted off the floor and carried. Everywhere hurt and I could feel blood gushing down my face. Being a healer, I could tell that if I didn't use my abilities immediately, there would be no point getting to the infirmary. I wouldn't make it there alive. I groaned and wiped the blood out of my eyes, opening them to see Cade’s own peering down at me.
“Put me down,” I urged him, my voice barely louder than a whisper.
“No, you are severely injured, I need to bring you to the infirmary.”
“I’m not gonna make it, just set me down,” I slurred.
He ignored me and continued his quick pace through the hallways. I had seconds left before I lost consciousness again.
I lifted my arm and encouraged my ability to come forward and a warm rose-colored light emanated from my palm into my body. I sighed as I felt my body stitching itself back together, my head wound closing and my bones fusing back together. Through my ability, I could feel that my right elbow and left wrist had both shattered during my fall, my skull had fractured and I had long gashes down the backs of my legs.
I felt Cade stop walking and opened my eyes to meet his.
“Did you just heal yourself?” he asked.
“I… I think so,” I stuttered. “I just felt like I could do it and it worked.”
That seemed like a legitimate enough way to fake a new manifestation.
He knelt down on the floor and deposited me on the cold tiles, his hands moving up and down my body, checking my injuries.
Now that I was healed, I was able to concentrate enough to be worried about our close proximity to each other. I couldn’t risk him figuring out we’d already met, though it was hard to think of anything clearly with his hands moving all over my body. I cleared my throat and gently caught one of them and pulled it away. “I’m okay. I can feel it.”
“I still think I should bring you to the infirmary to be examined, just to be sure,” he said, his other arm resting around my waist.
My skin heated from his contact and I could feel my chest rising and falling rapidly from my labored breaths. We were both still sitting on the floor, my legs draped over his. He removed his hand from my own and brought it up to my face, sweeping away my blood-stained hair.
The moment felt a little too intimate, and I was about to push away from him when I heard a voice calling his name.
“Mr. Abbott, is everything okay over there?”
Cade withdrew his arm from around my body and leapt to his feet, his face red. “I was bringing the initiate to you until she manifested a healing ability while I was carrying her.”
He offered me a hand to help me stand and I accepted it, trying not to make eye contact with him. From his flushed expression, I could tell that he was just as uncomfortable with what had transpired between us as I had been.
I directed my attention to the voice and observed Master Locke approaching us.
“Isn’t that something? We could use more healers in the Guild, especially since our members are constantly getting injured. Why don’t I escort you to the infirmary and check to make sure you are fully healed. From the state of your clothing, it appears as though you had quite the accident,” she said, placing a warm hand to my back and gently directing me away from Cade.
I risked a glance back in his direction and saw that he was still in the same position I had left him in, staring after me with an odd expression on his face. Almost confused. I needed to keep my distance from him; even if my memory of his kisses were correct, it wasn’t worth being discovered.
CHAPTER SIX
After a quick examination, Master Locke determined that I was healed completely and sent me back to the sleeping area.
As I ambled back to the initiates’ quarters, my footsteps echoed through the narrow hallways and I realized that I was alone for the first time since arriving. My cheeks lifted in an uncontrollable smile as I moved my head side to side to check if anyone was near. I closed my eyes, barely needing to focus before I felt the familiar chilling sensation wash over my body that meant I was invisible to my surroundings.
I wasn’t sure how long I had before my invisibility depleted too much of my energy. I pushed the thought aside and ran as quietly as possible back to the main hall. My footsteps still made noise, even if I was invisible, so being quiet was a necessity. I ran around the bend and almost smashed into two people leaning against the wall and had to clamp a hand over my mouth to halt the gasp that threatened to escape from my lips.
“The traitor isn’t speaking, and now I have reason to believe he might have planted someone here as a spy. We are doing thorough checks of everyone who came into the Guild in the past year.” Master Abbott said in a hushed tone to a middle-aged man in a navy suit.
I felt the color
drain from my face and struggled to quiet my breathing. Slowly, I took a few steps back to avoid them from unknowingly bumping into me.
I wondered who the man in the suit was. He had a stiff appearance like someone in the government, and as I examined his face certain features stuck out to me. He had the same delicate, upturned nose and high cheekbones as Hailey, and I pondered if he was related to her or possibly even the father she repeatedly spoke of.
The man furrowed his brow in response to Master Abbott’s explanation.
“You need to get on this, Killian. He found out about the benefactor, and we need to know who he confided in. If that information gets out, we are all responsible. You know the benefactor won’t take kindly to the public discovering what we are really doing here. There are too many pro vampire organizations who simply won’t stand for it.”
I saw a flicker of rage pierce his soulless, black eyes before he replied.
“I know how important our work is, but he seems impervious to our usual methods of extracting information.”
I winced, imagining what the usual methods for extracting information were.
“Find other methods then, Killian, and put spies on his usual contacts in the civilian world and his friends here.
“The man is a hermit; he doesn’t have any friends here,” Master Abbott said.
“Possibly, but I highly doubt he kept this information to himself – there has to be someone he trusted. Have you noticed anyone acting differently around you? More suspicious?”
“We have already done all of that, but he is a very secretive man. He was always focused on the mission, not making friends. The only person who is still here consistently from his initiate days is Evelyn Locke and I don’t remember them interacting very much,” Master Abbott said, combing his fingers through his black hair.”
“He is our top assassin, are you sure he can’t be swayed?” the man asked.
“Definitely not, that man has higher morals than any assassin I’ve ever met.”
