by Vicki Leigh
Kayla and I walked hand-in-hand through the crowded hallways and filed into the cafeteria on the second floor. Protectors from across the globe had been summoned to the meeting and the room was filling quickly. Kayla gripped my hand tighter.
The usual tables had been removed and replaced by benches. The only other piece of furniture in the entire room was the podium at the far end where Giovanni would stand. I grabbed seats in the middle of the room. Tabbi, Seth and Samantha joined us soon after, and by the time everyone had arrived, we were packed wall-to-wall.
Giovanni stepped up to the podium, dressed in a black suit I’d only seen him wear at funerals. Again, his black hair was slicked back like Dracula, and his olive skin had a sheen to it. He spoke into a microphone, his thick, Italian accent filling the room. “It is with anxiety and sadness that I call you all here today. I trust you will share what I have to say with those who are not here. Our world, my friends, is under attack. Last night, Alektor and Josephine fell at the hands of a very powerful warlock.”
He paused briefly to let the Protectors take in the news. “This warlock is capable of summoning the Nightmares to do his bidding—a feat that only one other warlock in existence has ever achieved. Many died at that man’s hand, and unless this warlock is stopped, many more will die. The Angels have seen, have heard. And they have spoken to us. Humans cannot see the creatures that haunt their dreams and now attack them while they’re awake. We can. As of this moment, we are at war.”
Gasps and whispers filled the room. “War” was not a word we were accustomed to. We were the peacekeepers.
Giovanni continued, “Those of you who are currently overseeing the care of your charge will continue to do so. It’s important that you remain in your position. But for the rest of you, the time for relaxation is over. At dawn tomorrow, you will be given specific instructions as to where you will be sent. There, we expect you to seek out and bring to us any creature with knowledge of this warlock and his plans.
“In addition, we will play host to three Magus—individuals this warlock intends to use for malicious purposes. You are responsible for their safety. If any of you determine the whereabouts of this warlock, report to me immediately. I will have a team on standby to follow through with your intel.
“These are your instructions. If you have any further questions, you will find me in my office. On behalf of the Angels we serve, I thank you for your dedication and wish you the best of luck.”
Catchers and Weavers stood and filed out of the room or evaporated to their locations across the globe. A tap on my shoulder made me jump, and I turned my head to see Bartholomew sitting behind me.
“I need you and Kayla to come with me.” He disappeared without another word.
Giovanni was waiting for us when we appeared in Bartholomew’s study. So much for being in his office. Seeing Kayla, he walked up to her and took her hand.
“Miss Bartlett, I presume. Nice to finally meet you. I trust you are enjoying your stay?”
I raised my eyebrows. He spoke as if this place was a luxury hotel, not a safe haven.
“Yes, thank you.” She replied with grace, but her other hand gripped mine tighter, and I gave it a squeeze.
“Good. Daniel, we need to talk. I want you to lead the task force assigned to destroying this warlock when his location is uncovered.”
The fact that he felt me capable of such a feat was flattering. But I had Kayla to worry about. I couldn’t be responsible for training a strike team. “Surely there’s someone more qualified, sir.”
Giovanni shook his head. “On the contrary. You are one of the best Catchers we have ever had, and your ability to strategize far exceeds those who have been in the field longer. Even Samantha, your understudy, has benefitted from your training. She’s stronger, more agile than many four hundred years older than her. I know you can lead a team to follow the three Magus into the warlock’s den.”
I held up my hand. “Wait a minute. You want to involve Kayla and the other two? No way.”
“Daniel, we need them. This is a warlock we are chasing after. We have swords and guns, but he has magic, charms and spells. If you go up against him, you’re going to need individuals capable of taking him on at his level. To go in without them would be suicide.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. What he said made sense, but I did not want to get Kayla involved. I promised I would keep her safe, not lead her to right to the enemy.
To my surprise, Kayla spoke. “If we help him, do we have a chance?”
“Kayla—”
Bartholomew cut me off. “Yes. He is much older and much stronger than you individually. But when combined, you three could be as strong as him. Trishna is ready to come work with you three, to ensure you’re prepared.”
“Then I’m in.”
“Kayla, no. I’m not letting you risk your life for this,” I said.
She turned to me with narrowed eyes. “My life is already in danger, Daniel. And besides, it’s my life, not yours. If this is what it takes to get my life back, then I’m doing it. And you can’t stop me.”
Wanting to argue, I ground my teeth, but her jaw was set and her gaze unfaltering. There would be no talking her out of this decision. There was no choice. I turned to Giovanni. “Then count me in, too. We’ll start training tomorrow.”
As soon as we got back to my room, I closed the door and turned to Kayla. “You shouldn’t be doing this.”
“This isn’t just about me anymore! Two of your kind died protecting another girl”—she took a deep breath—“witch like me. How many more are going to die because of us? I won’t stand back and let you walk into that warlock’s hideout knowing I might never see you again. I won’t let you die for me.” Her fists clenched at her sides, and her eyes filled with tears, her lips tight.
With a sigh, I pulled her into my arms. Her unfaltering courage was both unnerving and impressive. “All right. But tomorrow, I want you to join us at training. And I want to be there with you when you work with Trishna. If you’re going to fight alongside me, I want to know you can protect yourself. We’ll do this together, okay?”
She looked up at me. “Does that mean I get to fight you?” Her face split into a mischievous grin.
“Probably. But don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you.”
She shoved me away from her with a smile.
ur training room was in the basement of the mansion. It was the entire width and length of the building and could fit upwards of five hundred people at one time. The walls and floors were covered with wrestling mats, and different stations were set up for different purposes—weight training, cardio training, hand-to-hand combat, etcetera. There were even shooting ranges for guns and bows. For the longest time, we’d only trained to fight off the dark spirits of the world. Now we were going to be taking on creatures completely different—living creatures. The training center took on an anxious feel when I entered the room.
It had been so long since I was here, I almost didn’t recognize the place. Our old machines had been replaced with newer ones, and the weaponry at the back had been freshly stocked. All around, Protectors trained. Catchers instructed Weavers how to protect themselves, and they prepared to take down creatures we’d only read about in lore. We knew how to fight the Magus, but we’d never had a reason to—until now.
Seth carried long, wooden poles across the room. With my right arm clean of gauze, I jogged to him. “Training’s not for another thirty minutes. You don’t have to help me set up, mate.”
Seth handed me half the stack. “I know, but if I’m not down here helping, I’m up there thinking. And I don’t want to be thinkin’ right now, man.”
Couldn’t blame him. I didn’t want to think about our reason for training either. Together, we carried the poles to an open area in the center of the room and paired them. After a few more trips of carrying sheathed daggers, as well as ankle and wrist weights, we were set.
Soon after, Samantha and Tabbi led Kayla into the r
oom. Kayla had styled her hair into a ponytail, and she wore workout clothes that hugged her curves. I took a moment to stare at her body—her tank top stretched slightly over her breasts, and her gym shorts stopped halfway down her thighs.
“Quit staring,” Seth said. “You look like a drooling ape.”
I coughed, the heat rising in my cheeks, and elbowed him in the arm. He laughed.
Eight Catchers followed them through the door, and Seth waved them over to us. Four of them had been in Giovanni’s office earlier—Lian, Lucca, Vasin and Hakan were overseeing the protection of the other two witches. Lian was a Chinese girl, about seventeen, and was the best martial artist we had in our entire ranks. Her sixteen-year-old understudy, Lucca, was Italian and had been raised in a farming village. I remembered him from Samantha’s training. He was incredibly strong.
Vasin, an Indian born in the 1700s, was Hakan’s mentor and the oldest of the group at twenty-one. Hakan, a fifteen-year-old Native American, also had trained with Samantha. Besides the fact they had Protected one of the other witches, they were a fierce pair. I was glad to see Giovanni had pieced together a strong team.
The others introduced themselves as Lizzie, nineteen and from Germany, and her understudy, Brian, from America; Irene, eighteen, from England; and, to my chagrin, Ivan, also seventeen, like me. Though, given he was the remaining Protector from Adelynn’s team, I wasn’t surprised Giovanni had assigned him to the group.
“You’re all on the strike team Giovanni assembled, correct?”
“What do you think, debil,” Ivan replied.
Great. This was going to be fun. “Then, I’m sure you’re all aware of Giovanni’s plan for us. Once the location of the warlock is determined, we will accompany the three Magus to take him out. Therefore, it is extremely important that we’re all able to trust that we’ll have each other’s backs.” I made a point to stare down Ivan. He glared at me.
I continued, “That’s what these training exercises are for. Not only will we be practicing and perfecting our fighting skills, but we’ll learn how to work as a unit so there’s no weak spot. I’ll also use what I see to name my second-in-command. This person would take my place if I were to fall.”
Kayla watched my every movement, hanging on every word. At the mention of my possible death, her face fell into a deep frown. I looked away from her before I lost my momentum.
“There are wooden poles on the floor. Grab one and pair up with someone, preferably someone whose fighting skills you do not already know. I want to see quick response time, endurance. I want to see your ability to pay attention to the tiniest detail, so avoid hitting each other’s hands. Take a moment to stretch, and then we’ll begin.”
I walked over to Kayla and Tabbi. “Tabbi, you’re not on the strike team, are you?”
She shook her head. “No, but I want to be able to protect myself.”
“Then, stay here with Kayla. Take it easy today, yeah? Watch the fights. Try to absorb some of what they do. Tomorrow when they’re training in their teams, I’ll work with you two. Sound good?”
They nodded, and I took Kayla’s hand in mine, giving her fingers a squeeze. I leaned in to whisper in her ear, “You look great in workout gear, by the way.”
She shoved me playfully and blushed. I smirked and turned to my team. “All right guys. Take a stance. And, go!”
The room filled with loud clicks from my Catchers’ fights, and I watched from a distance, waiting a few minutes for them to tire a bit. Seth hit Vasin’s hand with his pole. “Watch the hands, guys. You need to see everything and strike only where appropriate.”
Circling the group, I first observed Ivan and Lucca’s battle. Ivan had helped me train Lucca and Samantha’s group before we’d all been assigned our understudies. Ivan had taken him down pretty easily at the time, but now they were both strong, fast and agile. Lucca held his own. In fact, he was a little faster than Ivan given his smaller size, and he managed to land the first blow. Ivan winced when Lucca’s pole smacked him in the side of the thigh.
“Well done, Lucca,” I said with a smile. Ivan needed to be knocked down a peg.
I left the two of them to center in on another pair—Lian and Irene. Neither of them I knew very well, but Lian moved with grace and speed. Irene was a powerhouse and swung at Lian’s legs with a strength that, had she hit Lian, would’ve left a large welt in seconds. But Lian was quick and jumped before the pole could hit her. She smacked the back of Irene’s shoulder.
Nodding in approval, I moved on. Hakan battled against Lizzie. The two of them taunted each other like players in an American football game. I laughed when Lizzie stabbed her pole into Hakan’s stomach like a sword and stepped back with a cheer.
Finally, I focused on Samantha and Brian, a blue-eyed, blond-haired boy who sounded like he was from Chicago. He couldn’t have been older than Tabbi. He’d had the least training of anyone in the group, and it showed. Samantha was kicking his ass. Every time he swung or lunged at her, Samantha spun out of the way and landed a blow somewhere on his body. He was the first to hit the floor. He tried to jab Samantha like Lizzie did to Hakan, but Samantha stepped out of the way and swung at the back of Brian’s knees. He crashed to the ground.
I returned to where Kayla and Tabbi stood, watching and keeping track of points. For another twenty minutes, my team fought, then I called time. Every chest rose and fell in deep breaths of exhaustion.
“Well done,” I said. “Take a break for lunch. We meet at two o’ clock for round two.”
I spent lunch in the dining hall for the first time in years. Tabbi, Kayla and I joined Seth and Samantha. Seth devoured his turkey sandwich like a bear after hibernation.
“You both did well today,” I said as I sat down.
Seth mumbled a response, while Samantha turned to Tabbi. “Why are you training? You’re a Weaver. You shouldn’t have to fight.”
“I want to learn how to protect myself. And I think Giovanni wants me to oversee the care of the witches. You know, in case they need anything.”
“Speaking of, what is Kayla’s purpose in this, exactly? I mean, she can’t fight. Have you ever thrown a punch?” Samantha asked.
Whoa. What the hell got up her nose?
Kayla’s cheeks reddened. “I’m sure Daniel will show me how.”
“Right.” Samantha waved a carrot back and forth between Kayla and me as she spoke. “And is that before or after he beds you and pretends like nothing ever happened?”
“Sam, that’s enough,” I said. Samantha had her bitch tendencies, but I’d never known her to lash out at people. Especially about something that happened twenty years ago.
“No, really. I want to know. Can she do anything other than stand there and look all mopey? I saw the way she watched us. She couldn’t hurt a damn fly. She’s going to walk into that warlock’s den and get herself killed.”
Kayla set down her fork, stood and left the room without a word.
I glared at Samantha, and the corners of her mouth turned up in an arrogant smile.
“Tabbi, can you go make sure Kayla’s okay?” I asked. “I’ll be right behind you.” When Tabbi disappeared, I narrowed my gaze at Samantha and lowered my voice. “What the hell is your problem?”
“Nothing.” Samantha bit into her carrot and swiped a loose strand of blonde hair out of her face. “Just making sure your little girlfriend knows what she’s getting herself into.”
I ground my teeth and kept my voice low for Samantha’s sake. “What happened between us was twenty years ago. I have already apologized for the mistake I made, being with you. You really need to grow up and move on. Clear off, or I will make sure you never have another opportunity to even breathe the same air as her. Is that clear?”
Seth stared at me, slack jawed. Samantha’s face reddened, and her eyes glistened. In one swift motion, she grabbed her glass of water and threw the liquid in my face. She stormed out of the cafeteria before I could respond.
“Man, I do not want
to be you right now,” Seth said.
I rolled my eyes, wiped my face with my hand and evaporated to Kayla’s room.
Kayla sat on her bed with her knees up to her chin. Her eyes were red. Tabbi was nowhere in sight. I joined Kayla on the bed and touched her cheek. She leaned away from me, and her rejection forced a pang in my chest.
“I’m sorry. Sam had no right—”
“Did you sleep with her?”
My heart raced. “What?”
“Did you sleep with her?”
I swallowed. “Yes.”
Kayla pushed me. “Samantha, really? God, Daniel. You have your ex-girlfriend looking out for your new one? Are you insane?”
My palms sweat. “First, she was never my girlfriend.”
“Oh, great. So you just screwed her and threw her to the curb. That’s so much better.”
“That’s not how—” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’d lost my mentor, my closest friend, and she was there. I was loaded. It just… happened.”
Kayla’s lips pursed in a tight line. When she spoke, her eyes remained hard. “I’m sorry about your mentor. I know what it’s like to lose someone you care about. But you could’ve at least told me. And now every time I look at her, I’m going to picture you two—”
I grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry for what Samantha said, what happened between us. But that was twenty years ago, and I let her know right away it’d been a mistake. She’s just jealous because for the first time, I’ve found someone I truly care about.”
Kayla stared at me like she was afraid of who I might say that person was. If my heart hadn’t been racing in my chest, I might’ve laughed. “You, Kayla. She doesn’t even hold a candle compared to you.”
Her face softened. Then she leaned into me and wrapped her arms around my stomach. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did about throwing Samantha to the curb. I was just jealous and she’s so pretty, like model-pretty, with her blonde hair and blue eyes and big boobs, and I thought maybe—”
