The Silent Soldiers

by Travis Stinnett

wish one of us could turn into a bunny, or a bird, so we could listen to what she is saying,” I said. While we were talking and looking out at Adriana in the garden, Matt swam over next to us.

  “Dude, I promise you definitely do not want to be a bunny with all these wolves running around. You would for sure end up being a bite size snack,” Matt said laughing.

  “You know she teaches the Shape Shifter class right?” Ava asked.

  “No, I didn’t know that,” I replied.

  “Yeah, and she was second in command until your dad returned, Matt,” Ava said.

  “She came to announce his arrival last night to Grandpa while we were talking. She seemed pretty angry that Uncle Charles was here,” I told them.

  “I figure she is not too happy about being demoted like this, but she has known all along that she was just a fill in,” Ava said.

  “I don’t trust her,” I said.

  “Me either. She gives me the creeps,” Matt added. We dropped the subject of Adriana and went back to our swim. Matt wanted to race me across the pool, so I agreed. Ava counted to three and told us to go and the race was on. Of course Matt was already finished by the time I got half way across the pool.

  “No fair,” I said as I reached the other side next to him.

  “How do you figure?” he asked with a big smile.

  “You just wait until I get to use my powers. I’ll be across this pool before you even get kicked off the starting line, Mr. wolf strength,” I said and laughed.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” he said knowing I was right. We swam for a while. A few other people came and went. Ava suggested we go back up to our rooms and call up some lunch. Matt and I agreed with her. We all went to our separate rooms to change into dry clothes for the meeting with Grandpa. They both came to my room after they were finished and we had lunch together. By the time we all finished eating; it was time to head to the great room.

  We took a seat at the large table in the great room and waited. A few minutes later a girl about our age came into the room. I saw Matt’s jaw drop when she came in the door. This girl had really short blonde hair. She wore a short black skirt with a green frilly blouse and black high heeled boots. She definitely looked amazing. I reached over and pushed Matt’s mouth closed as she walked over to the table to join us. Matt gave me a sharp look when he saw that I noticed his reaction.

  “Hi, I’m Jenna,” she said as she extended a hand to Matt. Matt shook her hand very enthusiastically, but just stared at her, unable to speak.

  “This is Matt, and Luke,” Ava introduced us, “and I’m Ava,” she said.

  “It’s very nice to meet you,” she directed toward the three of us.

  “I haven’t seen you around here before,” said Ava.

  “I just moved here from Michigan, to live with my dad,” she explained.

  “My dad is Dante, Dante Sanderson.”

  “Oh, that’s right, he told me about you. I didn’t know you were moving here. He didn’t tell me that,” Ava said.

  “Well, it was sort of a last minute decision. I lived in Michigan with my mom. She was recently killed in a pack war back home. I had no other choice but to come live with my dad. He is my only other living relative,” she explained as if it was common to lose a parent this way. I could tell Jenna was on the verge of crying as she told us about her mom. She hung her head looking very sad.

  “Well, you are lucky to have a dad as great as Dante,” Ava replied trying to change the subject.

  “So are you guys waiting on the class meeting?” Asked Jenna.

  “Yes, Grandpa should be here any minute,” I said.

  “So, you must be the Luke I have heard so much about,” said Jenna.

  “That would be me,” I said sort of embarrassed. We all turned as the doors suddenly opened and in walked Adriana. She never even acknowledged we were in the room. She walked over to the end of the table and laid a stack of papers down that she had been carrying. She turned and walked toward the opposite end of the room. She turned at the last minute and said,

  “Oh, Mr. Carrington says y’all should join him in the dinning hall when you’re done here,” she said as she turned around and walked out.

  “Man, what is her freaking problem?” Jenna asked.

  “Exactly what I want to find out,” I said.

  “I think you’re right, Luke, something is definitely up with her,” said Ava, She is acting totally strange since, well, since you arrived as a matter of fact, Luke,” she added.

  “Oh, great, I wonder what I could have done to piss her off. We haven’t even started class yet, and the teacher is already mad at me about something.”

  “This is our schedules for the summer,” said Jenna. She had walked over and picked up the papers Adriana left on the table. She handed one to each of us.

  “Let’s go see what Grandpa wants,” I said. We all looked over the schedules and noticed we had Vampires 101 starting at noon the next day.

  “Wow, school doesn’t start until noon?” I asked shocked.

  “Yeah, they can’t start early because all the shifters are out running most of the night, especially during certain parts of the month,” Ava explained. Oh, man, I so loved the idea of this school so much better than the one back home. We don’t have to get up early, and on top of that, the classes seemed like they might be interesting.

  We made our way out of the great room and down the hall toward the dinning room. I noticed as we got about half way down the hall that the dinning hall doors were closed. Ava opened the doors and everyone followed her in. I was the last one through the doors. When I stepped through the doors I noticed the dinning hall was fairly crowded with people. Everyone yelled “SURPRISE” all at the same time. I was speechless. I had never had a surprise party before. My birthday parties always consisted of Matt, Uncle Charles, and a few of Matt’s friends from school. I was in complete shock as I looked around and saw all the decorations and the huge birthday cake with everyone smiling at me. I didn’t think I much liked being the center of attention.

  That’s when it happened. I felt the familiar fainting feeling coming on and my sight went black. I woke up with people staring down at me. I was lying on the floor on my back again. I noticed one of the faces looking at me was Grandpa and all I could say to him was,

  “He’s coming!”

  10

  “Everyone please back up and give him some room,” I heard Grandpa say as he moved around to help me off the floor. Grandpa sat me down in the closest chair so I could some what gain my composure before he asked me what I saw. I didn’t know exactly how to tell him about my vision.

  “It was the same vision as before, but this time as he jumped over the wall he yelled, “I’m coming for you,” I said.

  “You’re safe here at the mansion, Luke, I hope you can believe that,” said Grandpa.

  “But, what if someone is working on the inside like we talked about before? What if someone is feeding him information that could allow him to break through the barriers to get me?” The crowd in the dinning hall began exchanging worried looks, and everyone began whispering to each other. I saw that many of them began to get angry expressions as the news of a possible traitor amongst them began to make its way around the room.

  “I’m scared, Grandpa,” I whispered so only he could hear me. I didn’t want everyone in the room to think I was weak, but I truly was terrified at the thought of Nhados taking me away.

  “I know your afraid of him, son, but don’t let him use your fear against you. You have to stay strong and believe in your powers. You have to believe that everyone around you will fight to the death, if that’s what it takes, to protect you,” Grandpa told me.

  It’s really hard to believe in my powers since the ones I know about are blocked by a spell, and some of them haven’t yet surfaced. I noticed that I had begun to sweat quite a bit, and felt very dizzy. I told Grandpa that I wasn’t feeling well and asked if I may be exc
used to go to my room and lay down. He asked Uncle Charles and Matt to help me to my room as he began to calm the crowd in the dinning hall. As Matt and his dad each took one of my arms and helped me toward the hall I heard Grandpa tell everyone else in the room,

  “It’s nearly his time.” I couldn’t imagine what he meant by that. I was really too dizzy and sick at my stomach to pay close attention to it. The noise from the dinning hall was drowned away as we headed up the stairs to my room.

  Uncle Charles helped me into my bed. I asked him,

  “Would you please stay here with me?”

  “Of course, Luke, I’m not going anywhere.

  “What did grandpa mean when he said it’s nearly his time?” I asked once I was able to clear my head a little from the dizziness.

  “Well, Luke, he means that you are going to change soon,” he replied.

  “How does he know that?” I asked.

  “Your closest relatives can feel the change coming. You are also displaying all the warning signs that it will happen soon,” he explained. Matt had made his way around the bed and sat down. I could see a very excited expression on his face as he took in what his dad was saying to me.

  “That’s great news. You will get to run with us tonight,” Matt said.

  “You are probably right, Matt,” Uncle Charles said, “You should try and get a little rest. It’s still a couple hours before the moon will rise,” he continued. I watched as he motioned for Matt to follow and they both went to sit around the fire place to give me