Blood Warrior

by H. D. Gordon

  I couldn’t be sure, but I thought that I saw a little anger behind his eyes. I turned my head and kept my chin high as we walked. What did he have to be mad about?

  I decided that I would think about it later, because we had just entered the ceremony room. Scar had been right; there had to be a thousand people packed into the large room. I clutched Jackson’s arm, and he gave me a reassuring smile.

  “Don’t be nervous, darling,” he whispered. “You’ve faced much more intimidating things. You’ll be fine.”

  I smiled up at him. “You always know what to say to make me feel better, Jack.” He gave me that adorable, mischievous smile of his. “I know how to do a lot of things that would make you feel better.”

  I raised an eyebrow and laughed. “Watch it, wolfy, I’m pretty sure I could kick your ass.”

  He considered this. “Yeah, pretty sure you could.”

  We were ushered to the front of the room and given seats in the first row of chairs. All of the other seats in the room were filled and people were even standing in the back.

  In front of us was a large stage with stairs on both sides leading up to it. Scar gave my shoulder a light squeeze and then went to take up a position near the wall, where other men with the same all-black ensembles were standing. I guessed warriors worked security for events like this.

  A few minutes later, a short, chubby man entered the stage from somewhere beyond the enormous red curtain that hung along the back of it. His appearance struck me as odd for some reason, but it seemed to be just beyond my mind’s grasp. He approached the podium and cleared his throat into the microphone. The crowd grew silent, and he began speaking.

  “Her majesty, Queen Camillia Anne Monteleone,” he said, in a regal tone.

  Everyone in the audience rose to their feet, a heartbeat later, I followed suit.

  Not surprisingly, the woman from my Council meeting entered the stage and walked gracefully over to the podium. The short man gave a small bow and stepped quickly out of her way.

  “Please, be seated, my people,” she said.

  After everyone was seated, the Queen began her speech. I think she said something about tradition and honor, but I couldn’t be sure, my attention was directed elsewhere. I scanned the room and saw that Kayden was standing by the wall near us. He looked over at me, as if he could feel me watching him. We met eyes for the briefest of moments before he jerked his gaze away, staring straight ahead once again.

  Okay, what was his problem? Was he mad at me for deciding to fight? Maybe he had just been comforting me in the infirmary but was kind of freaked out when I started crying like some two-year-old. Whatever the reason, I was going to find out. After I got out of this stupid ceremony, I would confront him and ask him-

  “Alexa Montgomery, please come forth.”

  Jackson nudged me and I stood up, walking over to the steps leading up the stage on autopilot. I tried to hurry without tripping in my heels; I wasn’t sure, but I doubted the queen would take kindly to being kept waiting. I tried not to look at the audience, though I knew they were all staring at me. Crowds have always made me nervous, so much so that I’d never even be to a concert. Still, I held my head up and refused to let them see my discomfort.

  As I approached the podium, the Queen turned toward me and I bowed. It felt stupid and ridiculous but I didn’t think it wise to show disrespect in front of all these people. It’s always better to be rude behind closed doors.

  She smiled, but I didn’t miss the fact that it didn’t reach her eyes. “Young Warrior,” she said in a low voice. “You look nervous.”

  My eyes darted to the crowd and back. She smiled. “Oh, I see. Well, I would imagine you’ve faced things more terrifying than a crowd.” I nodded, and she turned back to the podium. “For her victory in the arena, I present Alexa Montgomery-“

  I’m not really sure what else she was saying because a strange noise caught my attention. I looked all around me to see where it was coming from. Leaning closer to the podium, it became louder. It was just a low clicking sound, the kind a clock might make. I doubt a human would have been able to hear it, and as I listened, the clicking sound gradually picked up in pace.

  I’ll never be entirely sure what made me do what I did next. Maybe it was just instinct, maybe it was fate. Whatever it was, it was a good thing I acted when I did, because a second later and something really bad could have happened.

  Grabbing the Queen by the shoulders, I yanked her back from the podium.

  Everyone gasped, but I shoved her as hard as I could toward the rear of the stage. I just had enough time to tell her “run!” because then, the podium exploded.

  Chapter 28

  The blast sent me flying into the air. I landed on my shoulder and hit my head on the floor. For a second, I thought I was going to black out. I pulled myself to a sitting position and shook my head, wincing as pain shot through me.

  Everything in the room was eerily silent for about half a second, then, chaos erupted. People started screaming and rushing for the exits. It was like watching a stampede, everyone was pushing and shoving and trampling over anyone who got in their way.

  Kicking off my heels, I stood up slowly. I began searching the crowd for Nelly, but it was impossible to make out anyone in this frenzied mess. A million things ran through my mind in that moment. First, things first though, I had to find my sister and get her to safety.

  Stumbling down the steps to the main floor, I caught sight of Nelly and rushed toward her. Before I could reach her, someone tackled me to the ground. Something whooshed past my head, ruffling my hair like a breath’s worth of wind, just before I fell to my back. I looked up and saw that it was Kayden who had taken me down. Turning my head to the right, I saw a silver dagger stuck in the front of the stage.

  I pushed Kayden off of me and stood up, heading once again toward Nelly.

  Kayden caught my arm and began dragging me in the opposite direction.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I shouted.

  “Saving your life,” he growled.

  “Let me go, I have to get to Nelly!”

  “You have to get out of here before whoever threw that dagger takes another shot,” he shot back.

  I hesitated as his words sunk in. Someone had tried to kill me. That much was obvious…Still. “I have to protect her.”

  He blew out a frustrated breath. “You can’t protect her if you’re dead!” When I still didn’t move, he looked me in the eyes and a desperate tone took hold of his voice. “Please, Alexa, trust me.”

  Hearing him call me by my name made my heart flutter. He usually just called me

  “Warrior”. I hadn’t even known he knew my name. I had to stop thinking so much about him. It was starting to happen at really inconvenient times.

  I didn’t know what to do. I shot a look at the place where I’d last seen Nelly. She wasn’t there. My eyes scanned the crowd. I couldn’t find her. Finally, I nodded. Kayden grabbed my arm and led me around to the rear of the stage and down a long hallway that led to an exit door. He threw it open and we stepped out into the cool night air.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Somewhere safe.”

  We headed into the trees that encased the rear of the Council building. Then, we exited the forest and were in a part of the city I had never seen before. It was still beautiful, but much less opulent than area I had become acquainted with. We reached another line of trees and again, went straight into them. Finally, we arrived at a small cabin set back in the woods.

  He opened the door and led me into a living room area. It had a small fireplace, a sofa and a big patterned rug, but no T.V. There was also a large bookshelf that took up an entire wall and was filled with books. I sat down on the couch and spots danced in front of my eyes. I guess I was more banged up than I had thought.

  Kayden disappeared into another room and returned a few seconds later with a first aid kit.

  “Do you live here?” I asked.

&n
bsp; He nodded and began taking bandages and disinfectant out of the kit. When he reached up to push the hair out of my face, I caught his hand. “I’m fine.” He gave me a stern look and I sighed and tucked my hair behind my ear.

  Something wet and sticky touched my fingers. I looked down at my hand to see that it was covered in blood. “Oh.”

  He shook his head and poured alcohol on some gauze. Reaching up, he touched it gently to my forehead.

  “AHHH!”

  His eyes widened in alarm and I laughed. “Just kidding.”

  He blew out a heavy breath and shook his head again, but I saw a small smile turn up his lips. That goofy-happy feeling swelled in my chest. I liked making him smile. I liked it a lot.

  He returned to cleaning my forehead, and I clenched my teeth. It actually did sting a little. The pain was but a token of payment for the view, though. His golden eyes examined my wound with such intensity that my breathing grew shallower and shallower as he continued his work. He was so perfect. The most glorious man I had ever seen. His dirty-blond hair hung in his face a little bit, the same color as the short whiskers covering his strong jaw.

  Before I knew what I was doing, I reached up and brushed his soft hair gently to the side.

  His eyes met mine, and my heartbeat rivaled a hummingbird’s wings. For a moment, I thought I could see desire lurking behind his gaze, but a second later he looked away and grabbed a clean piece of gauze. Covering it in more alcohol, he returned to his work.

  “Are you mad at me?” I blurted out.

  His eyes met mine again and a look of surprise came over his face. “Why would I be mad at you?”

  I looked down at my hands. “I don’t know. It’s just… why have you been avoiding me then?”

  A guilty look came over his face and my earlier anger at him returned. “See? You have been avoiding me. Why? Was it because of that day in the clearing? Because, honestly, I think I had every right to react the way I did.” Even though I still felt stupid about it.

  He dropped his hand from my forehead and sat back on the coffee table right in front on me. I wondered at how it held his weight.

  When he just sat there, I threw up my arms. “Alright, whatever.” Standing up, I said, “Thank you for saving my life, I appreciate it. But I’ll take it from here.” When I went to move toward the door, he caught my arm. The touch almost made my knees go lax. “I’m sorry, Alexa. Don’t… don’t leave.” I eyed him wearily, but if I was being honest, I didn’t really want to leave either. I really liked being around him. I really liked him. I worried that I was starting to get addicted to the way he made me feel. I sat back down on the couch.

  When I opened my mouth to speak, he held up a hand. “I’m sorry about how I treated you that day. You were right. I had no right to tell you that you shouldn’t fight. It was none of my business.”

  “Then why did you?”

  He hesitated, and I blew out a frustrated breath.

  “I just wanted to give you a chance to realize what you were walking into. You’re so young. You have your whole life ahead of you. I just thought you should be given a chance to choose something other than… this,” he said, gesturing to my forehead.

  I looked down at my hands. “I guess I just don’t get why you would care,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

  He reached up, calloused but gentle fingers taking hold of my chin. My lips partly slightly as my breaths grew short again. “I don’t think you understand just how special you are,” he whispered.

  I held his gaze for a moment, then, I looked down at my right arm. “I don’t think this makes me very special. Actually, it kind of just makes me mad.” He ran his fingers over my wrist then trailed them up my arm. His strong hands led chill bumps as they ascended. My chest rose and fell, and I was sure I’d lost my poker face.

  “No, that’s not what makes you special,” he said, in a hushed, deep voice. “You’re brave and strong. You care for others more than you care for yourself. You risk your life for what you think is right, and you would willingly die for those you love. That’s what makes you special.”

  I flicked my gaze back up to his, and what I saw there made my breath catch in my throat. I could tell that he was struggling with something, and if I hadn’t known better, I would say it was desire. His eyes spoke legions, and for a moment, I thought that he might kiss me.

  He didn’t.

  Instead, he stood up rather abruptly. I slumped back against the couch and rubbed my hands over my face. This was all I needed; falling for a guy who obviously did not want me in that way.

  I exhaled slowly. “I need a cigarette.”

  He looked over from where he was now standing by the fireplace. “You smoke?” I nodded. “Don’t suppose you have any.”

  He grew thoughtful for a second, and being the smoker that I am, my eyes lit up with hope.

  He laughed at my expression, “No, I don’t. But… I guess we could go get some, even though I don’t think you should be smoking. Those things will kill you.” I rolled my eyes. Never heard that one before. “Doubt it. I’m pretty sure that something else is going to kill me long before the cigarettes get their chance.” He laughed at my morbid statement and the sound of it warmed me. I loved his laugh. I loved making him laugh. I was definitely losing my mind.

  When he looked back over at me, I put on what I hoped was a charming smile.

  “Um… please?” He narrowed his eyes and I grinned. “Oh, come on. It’s okay for me to fight men twice my size but it’s not okay for me to have a cigarette?” He muttered something and shook his head. “Okay, but we have to be careful.

  I’m not sure if it’s safe out there yet.”

  I jumped up and threw my arms up in triumph. “Yes!”

  He shook his head again and laughed at my stupidity. “There’s a small store just outside of the forest. I think we can get there without being seen.”

  Chapter 29

  We got my cigarettes and returned to the cabin. The man at the store didn’t even charge me for them. When he saw the marks on my arm, he just gave them to me, saying something about how he was just grateful that I had finally arrived.

  Kayden was sitting on the back porch with me as I smoked.

  “What was that about?” I asked, blowing out a cloud of wonderful smoke.

  He shrugged, eyeing my cigarette with mild distaste. “There are some that believe you have come to serve as their savior.”

  I thought back to Scar’s words to me just before my fight with Daniel. Who knows, you may be the one who will save us all.

  “Why would they think that?”

  He was silent for a moment before saying, “Who knows?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. I was pretty sure he knew something that he wasn’t telling me. His expression had turned guarded though, so I decided that I would definitely be looking into this later.

  I groped for a change in subject. “So, what do we do now? Why would someone try to kill me? I just got here. I doubt I pissed anyone off enough…yet, to warrant a dagger to the head.”

  His expression turned dark and dangerous; unsurprisingly, it made me think he was even more attractive. I was seriously deranged.

  “I’m not sure,” he said, slowly. “But I promise you, I will find out.” I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts of Kayden-filled fantasies. I needed to concentrate; this was no time for daydreaming. Alarm shot through me as I realized that I hadn’t even really thought about Nelly the whole time I’d been here. This worried me. Nelly was always my biggest concern, and I hadn’t even checked to make sure she’d gotten out of the Council building safely.

  “Do you have a phone I can use?” I asked.

  He stood up and went into the house. A few moments later he returned and held out a cell phone. I reached out to take it, but he pulled his hand out of my reach.

  I gave him a confused look. “What?”

  “Who are you going to call?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Ghostbusters
?”

  He didn’t laugh, but I saw a smile behind his eyes. Instead, he just waited for my answer.

  I sighed. “Jackson, why?”

  His face went back into that unreadable expression that I was really beginning to hate. I realized that I had gotten used to him being a little more open with me over the short couple of hours I’d been here. I also didn’t miss the fact that when I’d mentioned Jackson, something else flashed behind his eyes. For a brief moment, I thought it might be jealousy. Then it was gone.

  “I just want to make sure he and Nelly made it out of there okay. But, if you’d rather I just go and check on them myself…”

  He handed me the cell phone.

  I dialed Jack’s cell number, and he answered on the first ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Jack, it’s me.”

  “Oh, thank God! Alexa? Where the hell are you? Nelly and I have been so worried.”

  I glanced over at Kayden to see that he was staring straight ahead. What was his problem?

  “I’m… somewhere safe. Where are you guys? What’s going on?”

  “All the students are on lock down in the dorms until the warriors can sort out this mess. Everybody’s really freaked out. Here. Nelly wants to talk to you.”

  “Alexa?” Nelly’s voice was full of relief. I felt bad for not thinking to call earlier.

  “What’s up, Nell?”

  “Oh, thank god! I’ve been so worried. Where the heck did you go? I looked for you when we made it out of the Council building, but I couldn’t find you. Then, Gavin told us to return to our rooms. He said he’d look for you, but he hasn’t come back yet. Jackson and Daniel stayed with me because I was freaking out. Where are you?” I looked back over at Kayden, who was now staring at me. “I’m… safe. I’ll head back soon. I was checking to make sure you were okay.”

  “Okay,” she said, slowly. I could never fool Nelly; she knew I was keeping something from her. But, she trusted me, and I was thankful when she didn’t push for more details. “Okay,” she repeated. “But hurry up, you’re not the only one who worries about people, you know.”