by Lucy Auburn
None of this makes any sense. Four Affinities, the headmaster says, but the only thing I managed to do while in the arena was use my force field. Sure, I saw ghosts, and so did everyone else, but surely that was some kind of fluke. Or Mason using his own Affinity. It wasn't me. I didn't do anything. The whole thing just happened.
As Headmaster Shu leads me out of the arena and tells me to follow her towards her office, I open my mouth to tell her this, but Eve is jogging up to me and grabbing my arm before I can do or say anything.
"Shut up." Her eyes are wild, her expression verging on panic. "Whatever she says she wants for you, however many powers she thinks you have—just listen, nod, and say yes ma'am."
"But you saw what happened." I lower my voice, and we fall back a bit, reaching the staircase I came in through. The headmaster takes the stairs without checking to make sure that I'm following her, seemingly confident I'll do whatever she says. "There was no way that was me. I have to think about my force field to use it... the ghosts just showed up. And what's this whole Brutus thing? She does know that my last name is Arizona, right?"
"Marcus Junius Brutus, Roman senator. A traitor and assassin who killed Julius Caesar. He had powers from all four physical Classes—few people know that. Mostly he was an advisor, using his Mental Affinity of intuition, but when the time came for the deed to be done, he revealed himself as a master of four classes, the first of his kind. The headmaster must think you're related to him."
"That's ridiculous. My mom's family is from Virginia. My dad's family... I mean, there's no way some vagrant who named himself is somehow related to a great Roman senator."
Eve casts me a look askance, as if studying my face for signs of nobility. "Brutus didn't actually kill himself, despite records claiming as much. It was a great trick he played using his powers so that he could have a second life. According to records we have in the Shadow Fold archive, he sired many children with his Conduits… it's entirely possible that one of them is somehow related to your father."
"Still." I swallow heavily as the light at the top of the staircase appears, and Headmaster Shu takes the last few steps, turning to watch us with a coyly arched brow. "That amount of power... surely I would've noticed it by now. Or felt it myself in the arena. But the only thing I felt was... anger."
That's not the only thing I felt, though. There was also an overwhelming kind of electrical current running between me and the three men I fought each time I touched them. When it was Mason, I saw that vision of us having sex, which for all I know is some kind of wish of his that I tapped into by reading his mind. With Levi, I felt a sudden surge of power, and pushed the poison out of my blood—though I thought at the time I was just gaining some kind of second wind from being close to death.
And the ghosts appeared when I was grasping Grayson's wrist in my hand so tight I felt his bones creak. They walked away the instant I let go of him, as if summoned by the string of fate that seemed to run between us in that moment.
I can't think of anyone I'd hate to be connected to more than Grayson fucking Hughes, asshole extraordinaire convinced I killed my own family. Perish the goddamned thought.
Eve narrows her eyes in my direction. "What is it? You felt something, didn't you? You know, only people with four Affinities have Conduits. If touching them increased your power at all—”
"Later," I mutter back to her. "We're almost to the top."
The two of us fall into silence as we step out at the top of the staircase to stand in front of Headmaster Shu. She studies me intently, her eyes roaming across my face, something like triumph in the curl of her mouth.
"I had the feeling something like this would happen, but I didn't know it would be this spectacular. A true Brutus blood among us... your father would be proud."
I can't stop myself from asking, "What was he like? My dad, I mean. I... didn't know him as well as I thought, apparently." Maybe I didn't know him at all. That's the way of children, after all. I just thought my mother would've told me the truth instead of waiting for her dying breath. "The things people told me about him didn't cover the fact that he went here."
"And they wouldn't have—this place is a secret for a reason. I can tell you more about him now that you've been initiated, though. He was strong. Spirited. One goddamned skilled assassin and a true legacy of his bloodline—though he only had one Affinity." Reaching out, she presses a sharp-nailed finger to my chin, lifting my face towards her gaze. "I'd always hoped to have a student with all four Classes appear during my term. Little did I know it would be a girl with a state for a surname and no idea who she is. Come with me, Ellen—I want to talk about your place here."
Her eyes go to Eve, as if she's an afterthought. "Join us, Lionsdale. Someone will need to help guide her. Especially now that we need to discover her other two Affinities."
I want to tell the headmaster that she's probably wrong about me, but I keep Eve's warning in my mind and shut my mouth. Whatever greatness she thinks I'm capable of, I'm sure to disappoint her—after all, I'm nothing but a girl who grew up lower middle class, aspired to be an actress, and did nothing but a few school productions and community theater shows before becoming little but a kept woman. There's no way I'm whatever fated thing she thinks I am; if strange things happened when I touched the Fuckfaces in the arena, it probably has more to do with them than me.
Eventually I'll disappoint her completely. Until then, though, I might as well take advantage of my new special status to get as much information about my father as possible, and try to figure out if there's a Shadow Fold assassin who can turn into fog and make people drowsy. Whoever killed my mother, I intend to make them pay—and any lessons I can get in the art of killing people will only help me with my ultimate goal.
We reach the headmaster's office, and she throws the door wide open, walking around to the other side of her desk without ceremony. As Eve and I take the chairs opposite her, she sits down, leans back, and throws her feet up on the desk, her pair of buttery-looking black leather boots nudging paperwork to the floor.
When I imagine a skilled assassin who leads a graduate program of killers getting their Masters degrees, she's the furthest picture from my mind. Maybe that's the point, though. No one thinks they'll be snuck up on by the woman with the potty mouth and messy desk. By the time they realize she's far more deadly than she pretends to be, they'll be just another red mark in her ledger.
"We need to explore your four Affinities right away. I've seen proof of the Physical and Spiritual, but I'm sure they're not the only ones. Eve."
"Yes, Headmaster?"
"Train with her every day—you're recalled from any outstanding missions in service to the Shadow Fold. Ellen will be your only mission from now on."
Eve licks her lips, glancing over at me nervously, then leaning forward towards the headmaster. "My latest Mark, though..."
She trails off at the end of the sentence, and at first the headmaster frowns, but then her face dawns with comprehension. "Ah, fuck. I forgot—that's someone we want taken out right away, and only your Affinity will let you slip in and out of the United Nations without being noticed." I have to swallow the sound I want to make at that sentence. "Alright, Eve, you'll train with Ellen after you're done with that particular Mark. Until then, though, she desperately needs some training... so we'll set her up with the free agents."
I swallow, tentatively asking, "Do you mean Grayson and the others?"
"Exactly. Those four, I suspect, are your Conduits, four members of the opposite sex representing each of the four Classes, whose Affinities make yours stronger. They’re unique to those of your bloodline. Brutus had four such women in his second life—they were the mothers of his children, and one of them is likely one of your ancestors. They may not be members of the Shadow Fold, but the free agents can help with your training. And of course you'll need a class schedule. Let's see..."
I watch in mute horror as the headmaster pushes piles of paper to the side and tosses t
hings out of desk drawers and onto the ground, searching for something. Maybe my earlier thought was wrong—she doesn't seem to be messy as part of some sort of subterfuge to keep people guessing. This is the real her, warts and unkempt filing cabinet included.
"That fucking assistant just had to quit..." she mutters, pulling a flask out of her desk, tilting it back and forth thoughtfully, then taking a swig of the no doubt liquor inside. "Ah-ha! Here it is. I knew I'd put the free agent files somewhere—always have to consider cleaning and releasing the failures if they take too long to graduate. We'll just take this class, and this... mmm, yes, you'll do well on this schedule."
With a flourish, the headmaster holds a piece of paper out to me, and I hesitantly take it. One corner of the lined notebook paper is wrinkled and stained light brown where something spilled on it; the distinct scent of bourbon wafts towards my nose. Handwritten in messy ink, with the words ARIZONA SCHED printed across the top, is what appears to be my new graduate program studies.
10:30 Physical Class Prof. Pete
1:00 Spiritual Class Prof. Killington
2:15 Mental Class Prof. Vervaine
4:00 ish (4:20?) Emotional Class Prof. Warren
"Is that last class at four or four twenty?"
She shrugs, downing whatever remains in her flask. "Fuck if I know. Some water got on this file and it's not clear. But Kincaide will know. You'll be taking Affinity classes with each of your four conduits—no reason for you to study the history of dictatorships or code breaking until you've figured out your Affinities. We'll figure out your concentration by the end of next year, hopefully."
Clearing her throat, Eve asks, "And her Mark? How will it be determined who she should take down with her powers if she has four?"
"Ah, right." Headmaster Shu points at me with the flask, a shrewd expression on her face. "You're very powerful, Ellen."
"Uh, thanks?"
"Because of that, you need to prove yourself worthy of those powers. Since you have four Affinities, you'll need to be assigned four Marks—targets to kill—between now and oh, say, two and a half years from now, in order to graduate. Each Mark will test one Affinity. But you'll never finish them in time, or prove yourself worthy of advanced training, if you don't take one out now. So let's start with your most powerful Affinity thus far, Physical, and have you take down a Mark that's fitting..."
As she roots through her desk once more, then huffs and paces to the equally messy bookshelf, I find myself desperately looking over at Eve. Surely Headmaster Shu can't mean it—there's no way I can kill four people in two and a half years, especially when the four guys she's roped me in with haven't managed to take down their own respective Marks in time to graduate. It's way too big of a task, and a bloody one at that—and I'm the girl who packed her boyfriend's body into two suitcases.
Eve just gives me a worried look, though, and I realize that there's no way to fight the headmaster on this. She's found her desired Brutus whatever, whether I am that or not, and if she wants me to prove myself, that's exactly what I have to do. The alternative is being kicked out of the university, and from the way she casually talks about cleaning people who fail to measure up to expectations, I highly doubt that means the same thing as it would at USC.
If I don't pull off graduating in time, I won't be long for this world. Like the headmaster said, I'm powerful, and she wants me to prove myself worthy of that power—or she'll make sure I'm not let loose on the world with it.
"Ah, here it is! What a fucking mess, I swear to hell." She pulls out a thick file and hands it over to me casually. "Here. One of these inside will be the perfect target for you. Eve will help you pick one tonight, go on surveillance, and get your Mark. Oh—make sure to take the free agents. There's no point otherwise."
Bristling at her order, I clear my throat and dare to ask, "What happens if I don't manage to take down the Marks in my allotted time? What if... what if I'm no good at it, or... something?"
Something here being that I might not want to kill these people. It's one thing for Eve to move through the shadows in disguise, taking out dictators who do terrible things; not all the targets in this packet could possibly be worthy of death. Some of them must have families who love them, or redeeming qualities.
They're not all Jack.
And even Jack had a mother who at this very moment is cursing my name on the local news.
"If you don't kill your Marks, Ellen, you don't get to stay." Headmaster Shu's voice has gone hard, and Eve's fingers dig into my arm as she holds onto me as if trying to keep me here. "Your Affinities have been awoken, and as the keepers of this type of power, those of us in the Shadow Fold can't allow a rogue Brutus to live. Either you'll train yourself in the killing arts and learn to inhibit your natural desire to kill, or we'll spare the world from the carnage that will result if you're left to your own devices."
Licking my lips, I protest, "But I don't have the desire to kill." Not yet, at least. Not if I control it. Not if I push it down and stay out of trouble.
"Don't you?" An arch of her brow, and Eve's fingers dig in deeper in warning. "You've killed already, provoked or not. And don't tell me that there wasn't a part of you in that arena that wanted to end the lives of the fighters you faced. Those doors appeared to you for a reason, Ellen. If your hunger for death hasn't yet grown to consume you, it soon will, and we'll either point you at the right targets or disarm you completely, like any weapon. Is that clear?"
"Yes."
"Good. Get on it, then."
The way she settles back into her chair and flicks her eyes away makes it clear that we're dismissed. I leave through the doors, Eve dragging me behind her, wishing I understood how it's come to this. I know that I have a hunger in me, one that wants to kill again. But it's just leftover trauma from being abused. Or a weird obsession, like the one I had in high school for the TV show MASH. It'll pass soon enough. I hope.
As Eve brings me down the hallway towards her room, I pass by the portrait of my father, and find myself longing to get to speak to him just once. Maybe if I could, I'd know if staying here is the right choice—or merely the only choice that I have.
---
The dining hall at Cain University serves the kind of hearty fare you'd expect assassins in training to need: meatloaf, black bean stew, roasted sweet potatoes, and enough baked chicken to feed an army. There's very little here that's vegetarian, which makes sense in a school where the death of humans is routinely discussed. What surprises me, though, is the beer and wine on tap, even though it's barely noon—apparently alcoholism isn't taboo in a place like this, or at least they embrace the notion that it's always five o'clock somewhere.
Jack drank so much that I stopped out of disgust, worrying that he'd use any inebriation on my part as an excuse to berate me. But I suddenly find myself with a craving for a glass of strong red wine, and there's no good reason why I can't have it now—after all, the French drink wine with lunch, and I'm about to have to kill someone. There are worse things happening to me than fermented grapes.
Eve watches me pile my plate high with food and pour an entire eight ounce glass full of wine. She doesn't say anything, though her brows do a little jig of judgment when I start downing the wine before we're even to the end of the buffet line.
"Sure that's wise on an empty stomach?"
I shoot her a look, piling a double helping of mashed potatoes on my plate. After so much time in prison, it's nice to have access to good food—even though it means giving up my freedom and risking my life. "Eve, after the day I've had, I'm entitled to the whole barrel. Fuck, I might just drink it."
"Fair enough. It's not all bad, though—you finished the initiation. And you made quite a name for yourself. People are already talking."
Glancing over my shoulder, I see that there's a small stream of students heading into the dining hall, and most have eyes for only me. Whether short or tall, strong or thin, quiet or loud, every one of them seems to be talking about me or sta
ring at me. Which begs the question: if I'm the most interesting thing at this school full of assassins-to-be, then what the fuck is everyone else up to?
I take another swig of wine as a familiar face joins the line for food, and make an unpleasant noise. "Can you believe I'll have to spend time with him? I mean, of all the people here..."
I make a rude gesture, which only gives me a little comfort. Eve looks in the direction I'm gesturing and frowns, saying, "Levi Ward. It's too bad they were able to fix his ankle—I was hoping he'd have to limp around this place for a few weeks."
"He already stomps with the grace of a water buffalo. It can't get much worse."
As I grab two slices of cake and a second plate to hold them, juggling the glass of wine between my elbows, Eve shakes her head. "Technically Levi is one of the most graceful people here. It's his weakness to be loud, just like mine is that I have difficulty lying. It's too bad—he'd probably be a member of the Shadow Fold already if he could sneak around, but his poison is useless without the ability to get close enough to his targets to kill them."
"Good. I hope he stays useless." We've reached the end of the line, so I head towards the closest table, balancing my cake on top of my plate full of meat and potatoes, the wine glass in my other hand. "Training with the Fuckfaces is going to be hard enough. I'll be pissed if any of them are better than me. The sooner they fail out, the better."
"I wouldn't wish for that if I were you," Eve says, sliding into the spot opposite me. "If what Headmaster Shu suspects is true, and they're your Conduits, your fate is tied to them. Their failures are yours, and vice versa. So you better learn to get along with them. For better or worse, it could cost you not to."
"What, and just forget that they wanted to kill me?"
"Yes." Eve watches me swig my wine and shove mashed potatoes into my mouth, my movements verging on the edge of rude. "Grayson thought he'd found a Mark—one that mattered to him, if what you suspect you saw in the arena is true. He believed you were a serial killer. It sucks for you that you'll have to prove him wrong, but it's not really a surprise. The Conduit connection that ties you two together would've made him hunt you out, his instincts drawing him to you even though he didn't know why. Be thankful he didn't go rogue and try to kill you without the Mark."
