by Shana Vernon
I went back over the encounter, contemplating if there was a chance I had left anything at the scene. The only thing that came up was the knife locked in my storage unit. I made a mental note to get rid of it as soon as I had the chance.
CHAPTER NINE
“Let’s begin where we left off yesterday,” Master Locke said after she entered the room. “Axel, please show us what you can do.”
Axel stepped forward and the rest of us gathered around him in a circle. “The only time my shield worked was when I was protecting Lenna against Ekon. I’m not precisely sure how to activate it.”
“Perhaps someone is able to throw an object in your direction,” Master Locke said and pointed to Brielle. “Shoot a small ball of water at Axel so we can see if that helps.”
Brielle scrunched up her face and lifted her arms, guiding the water that poured out of them into the shape of a ball. She focused on Axel and lobbed it toward his face.
Axel concentrated and brought his hands up in a defensive position, his brow furrowed and lips tightened in a straight line across his face. A large, blue, translucent shield burst to life in front of Axel, just in time for the ball of water to come into contact with it. The shield shimmered slightly, but otherwise retained its shape after being hit.
Master Locke scrutinized the shield. “Mr. Lai, did you feel any pressure when the water hit the shield?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t feel pressure from the water, but I felt like I exercised a bit. Can I take it down now? It’s draining my energy to keep it up.”
“Yes, of course. Excellent demonstration from both of you,” Master Locke replied.
Master Locke directed her gaze at my face. “I would like to see your healing abilities in action.” She examined everyone standing around. “Did any of you sustain injuries during your earlier training session?” she asked.
Ryder and Sofia both put their hands in the air.
Please pick Sofia.
Against my inner wishes, Master Locke instructed Ryder to approach me for a healing.
Ryder arrived with a strange expression on his face.
Was that regret for hurting me?
I really had no interest in healing him after how he had treated me, but this wasn't high school and I couldn't be dramatic. Especially not in front of Master Locke.
“I’m pretty sure I need to touch you for this to work; that's how it works for my own injuries,” I told him, and gestured for him to lay down on the floor.
Ryder pulled off his shirt to display a small cut underneath the left side of his ribcage. He didn’t meet my eyes as I bent over him, placing my hands on his abdomen.
I brought forth the warm, rose-colored light of my healing and sent it into his cut, mending it in seconds. I lifted my hands off his body as soon as the healing was finished and Ryder climbed to his feet, slipping his shirt back on.
“Thanks,” he murmured and went back to his earlier position.
A shriek pierced the air and we all spun in unison toward the noise, watching as Sofia’s hands flew to her face and she dropped to the floor.
“What's wrong, Sofia?” I asked, moving to lend her a hand.
She stared up at my hand in terror and her expression slowly changed to confusion, then morphed into intrigue. “Holy motherfucking shit,” she breathed.
“Initiate! Watch your language!” Master Locke scolded.
Sofia didn't seem to hear her as she looked at each of us in turn, ending with Ekon. She moved her gaze up and down his body, her stare stopping at his crotch area, and giggled.
“I can see through all of your clothes,” she said and burst into another fit of giggles, while the rest of the guys shoved their hands over their pants as if that might make a difference.
The rest of us, barring Master Locke, roared with laughter as they tried to conceal themselves from her prying eyes.
“That is a very unique skill to possess, Ms. Alvarez. Do not make the mistake of abusing it,” Master Locke warned.
Sofia nodded, a smile firmly plastered on her face.
Master Locke turned to me. “Now that I have witnessed your healing abilities, I would like you to start working part-time in our infirmary. Most of our healers are not using gifts for healing and those that do have very limited abilities. We could use your skills. Come to the infirmary after your classes and we can discuss it, alright?”
If I agreed to her request, it would take time I would otherwise be able to use to find information on Papa. On the other hand, it would also give me the excuse to be walking around the compound at random hours without arousing suspicion.
“I would love to help out,” I said, and I could have sworn I saw the tiniest hint of a smile wash over her face before it vanished.
“Ekon,” Master Locke said. “Let’s see you shift into your tiger form.”
Ekon’s worry flickered across his face before clearing as his confidence took over. “Hell yeah!”
“Seriously, people! Have a modicum of class.” Master Locke admonished.
Ekon simply smiled and removed his shirt and pants, leaving his underwear on, then glanced around at all of us still watching him. Master Locke and the men turned around instantly, and all of us girls snickered before following suit. A few moments later, we heard a slight chuff.
I whipped around to face Ekon in his tiger form, his coat gleaming beautifully in the light. He was really startling to look at, the different orange colors of his fur almost glowing as he moved around the room. His muscles rippled with every step he took as he approached me slowly.
Sweat immediately beaded my brow as I recalled the last time I faced his tiger form, my knees going weak, but this time he appeared more in control.
He chuffed a friendly greeting to me and bumped my leg with his head.
I ran my fingers through his soft, fluffy fur while he purred his approval before moving to Sofia.
She stumbled backward in fear and fell to the ground, unmoving.
Ekon crouched on the floor and slowly moved his tiger head and plopped it on her lap.
After a few moments, Sofia’s heaving chest calmed and she placed her hand on his head as he purred, content.
The other initiates came closer, but all except for Brielle hesitated, while she sat on the floor next to Sofia and began stroking his back.
Master Locke cleared her throat. “I believe that is enough excitement for one day. Ekon, go ahead and shift back and you are all dismissed for dinner.”
We all turned our backs to give Ekon some privacy and then shuffled out the door to go to the cafeteria.
Sofa and I stood side by side as we made our way back up to the main level and this time I made sure to avoid touching the walls. Ekon squeezed his way in between us and threw his arms around our shoulders.
“Let’s be honest guys, my gift is just far superior than everyone else's!” Ekon exclaimed.
Sofia met my gaze and rolled her eyes dramatically, then said, “Are you sure about that, Ekon?” Her gaze roamed all over his body with a naughty glint in her eye. “I didn’t know you had a freckle on your….”
“Stop!” Ekon yelled, covering her mouth with his hands. “Alright, alright! Your gift is the best.”
We chuckled and continued into the cafeteria, my eyes instantly landing on a certain black-haired, grey-eyed man eating with Quinn at one of the tables. As his face lifted, I hastily turned around and began shoveling food onto a plate.
Sofia narrowed her eyes and looked from me to Cade’s table and back.
I hurried to an empty table with Ekon in tow and Sofia grabbed my elbow.
“Oh my fucking god! You and Cade are hooking up already, you sly dog!” She playfully slapped my arm. “Why didn’t you tell me, bitch?”
I quickly shushed her. “Nothing really happened, we just had a moment and he totally turned me down.” I said as I took my seat across from Ekon.
“That asshat!” Sofia whispered from her place next to me. “Well, it's obviously his lo
ss.”
I gave her a grateful smile and dug into my steak and potatoes.
“Who turned you down?” Ekon asked, putting a forkful of roast in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before continuing, “It was Cade wasn't it? He's always watching you when he thinks nobody’s looking.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? No, he doesn't.”
“Lenna, he's looking at you right now.” Sofia said. “He is definitely into you.”
I shook my head. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I'm not here to date anyone.”
“Who said anything about dating?” Sofia replied with a wink. “You can just use someone to scratch that itch.”
Ekon threw his arm into the air. “I volunteer!”
I grabbed his arm and yanked it back down, my face turning red. I risked a glance back in Cade’s direction and saw him turning his face back to Quinn.
The rest of dinner passed without too much teasing and we picked up our plates and deposited them in the proper station before heading to the exit.
“Let’s go see if we can nick some booze from the kitchens for tonight,” Ekon said.
Sofia’s face lit up at the suggestion.
“I can’t,” I said as we pushed through the doors. “I need to meet Master Locke in the infirmary to talk about working there part-time.”
Ekon put his arm around Sofia’s waist. “I guess it’s just us then, darling.”
She rolled her eyes and snapped her wrist band. “See you later, Len.”
I smiled at her nickname for me and walked in the direction of the infirmary.
When I arrived, it hit me just how important the infirmary must be to the Guild when I saw at least half of the beds full. There was no way regular hospitals allowed people carrying weapons and gunshot wounds to be treated without involving the police.
Master Locke spotted me and beckoned me over with a wave of her hand.
I headed over to the bed she was standing next to and watched as she attended to the stab wound on the patient.
The patient was a middle-aged woman who was covered in blood, though I saw that the wound was pretty superficial once Master Locke cut off her pant leg to check it out. She had a long scar running down the opposite side of her leg, as well as a bunch of smaller scars on her arms.
Total badass.
“What happened this time, Audrey?” Master Locke said with a sigh and a subtle shake of her head.
Audrey grinned. “The sucker was pretending to be asleep and stabbed me right in the leg when I attacked him.” She turned to me. “Did you know vampires can halt their breathing and their chests don’t even move? The fucker really looked dead.”
She reached out her hand to me. “Audrey Van Derson, and you are?”
I took her hand. “Lenna Bishop.”
Master Locke cut in. “You are giving Lenna the perfect opportunity to learn the trade. She just manifested a very impressive healing ability. She might even be more advanced than Eleanor. I didn't see her leave a scar when she healed a deep gash earlier today.”
I saw a flicker of sadness cross her features.
Who’s Eleanor?
“Not bad,” Audrey said looking impressed.
“Watch what I am doing here, Lenna. Healing is more than just pushing your powers into the body and hoping for the best. If a bone is broken, but the pieces aren't aligned, the bone will heal at the wrong angle. I am going to give you a few anatomy books to study so you can understand exactly how the body needs to heal.”
I didn't bother telling her that my healing abilities didn't require any anatomy knowledge. I could heal any wound as long as I didn't bleed out first.
She took me to a few more beds and demonstrated her healing while giving instructions. To my surprise, most of the patients were really friendly and it made the time go by much more quickly than I’d anticipated.
Sooner than I expected, I entered the initiates’ quarters exhausted and ready for sleep.
Before I could make it to my bed to take off my pajamas, Sofia stomped right up to me and grabbed my arm, hissing, “We need to talk now.”
I let her lead me to the side of the room wondering what on earth was going on.
“Do you want to tell me why you have a bloody knife hidden in your storage unit?”
CHAPTER TEN
My jaw dropped and my stomach suddenly felt full of heavy rocks.
“W…what do you mean?” I asked, my voice shaky.
Sofia narrowed her eyes at me. “Don't even bother lying to me Lenna, I saw it with my vision,” she snapped back. “I’m pretty sure I saw some blood on the knife too.”
I lifted my hands in submission and then yanked her further away from everyone else.
“You better have a good explanation because when you were gone they were telling us about a Guild member who was murdered the other day. Did you kill him?”
“Yes, but it wasn't on purpose.” I retorted, watching as she pulled at her wrist band.
She raised her eyebrows. “He was killed with a knife to the chest, Lenna.”
“Okay, it was on purpose, but it was in self-defense because he was trying to come on to me.”
Technically not a lie.
“What?” she exclaimed, her hands coming to her mouth. “He tried to touch you?”
“Don't worry, I didn't give him the chance.” I said, pulling her arms back down. “Sofia, you can't tell anyone about this. You know the rules, they’ll assassinate me if they find out I killed one of them.”
She nodded. “Yeah, of course, men have no respect. You did the right thing by killing that fucker.” She had a wicked gleam in her eye. Sofia had a pretty loose interpretation of an ethical code that worked to my advantage in that moment.
I let go of her arms. “Thanks for understanding. Hang on, what happened with your night?” I asked with a wink, suddenly remembering where I’d left her and Ekon earlier.
She squealed like a teenager. “I don't kiss and tell,” she said, waggling her eyebrows before continuing. “Just kidding, I totally kiss and tell! We snuck up to the roof with a bottle of disgusting alcohol Ekon got from the kitchen and made use of the couch up there, if you catch my drift.”
I had a distinct feeling that was a sexual innuendo. “Was he any good?”
“Oh, he was more than good. I think his manifestation brought out his primal instincts,” she replied with a smirk.
“Are you guys together now?” I asked.
“Nah, I’m too much of a player for that, but it was fun for a night,” she said as she snapped her band a few more times.
I snickered and beckoned her back into the main room. “Come on, I want to wash up and get into bed. I'm exhausted from all the work in the healing room. You would think trained assassins would be better at avoiding injuries, but nope.”
Sofia shook her head and followed me back to our beds. “Amateurs.”
I picked up the pajamas and my bag of toiletries and plodded into the bathroom to wash up for bed, my eyes heavy.
The room was dark and silent as the night dragged on. No matter how hard I tried to find sleep, it escaped me.
One sheep, two sheep, three sheep.
Nothing helped. After attempting to count all of the dots on the ceiling, I gave up, slipped into my boots and stood. I tiptoed through the room and slowly turned the doorknob, watching the sleeping bodies behind me with bated breath.
After opening the creaky door as quietly as I could, I squeezed through the small entryway I had made. My footsteps echoed as I wandered aimlessly through the empty passageways, not in search of anything in particular.
I peeked into the windows of each door I passed, finding nothing more exciting than old books and fighting equipment. As I navigated my way down to the floor below, I heard the soft notes of a piano thrumming from one of the rooms at the end of the hall.
I approached the entrance and peeked through the small opening in the doorway and saw Cade. He was sitting at the edge of a bench in front of a massi
ve piano, his fingers gliding over the keys with practiced movements. I watched him in awe and even though my knowledge was limited, I could tell it was a complicated piece.
His dark hair splayed across his forehead as he rocked to the motions of his fingers. He was wearing long-sleeved pajamas and I realized that I had never seen him without his shirt on.
He must be self-conscious about his scars.
His eyes were closed and he had a pained expression on his face, which made me suddenly feel as if I was intruding on an intensely personal moment.
I began to turn around to go back to my room when I heard his voice behind me.
“Lenna?”
I spun back around.
Caught in the act.
“Sorry, I just heard the piano and wanted to see who it was. I can go now.”
He waved his hand at me. “No worries, did you have trouble sleeping?”
“Yeah, I couldn't turn my brain off.” I entered the room red-faced and headed over to his side, sliding my fingers over the smooth, maple wood of the rim and stood next to him awkwardly.
He patted the bench next to him. “Have a seat.”
I took the proffered seat and glanced down at the keys. “That was really beautiful, what was it?” I asked.
“Rhapsody in Blue, by Gershwin.”
“I see,” I said as if that meant anything to me.
“You don’t know who Gershwin is, do you?” He asked.
“Nope,” I replied, popping the P. “It sounded nice either way.”
Cade gifted me with a rare smile and returned his gaze to the keys. “I’ve been playing since I was a kid. We were the typical instrument and sport type family. Now I play as more of an escape,” he ended with a whisper.
I saw the sadness in his eyes and my heart ached for him. I had no family aside from Papa, and he meant the world to me, so I could understand the pain of missing family. Though I at least had an inkling that Papa was still alive; Cade knew his family was long dead.
