by Shana Vernon
I shrugged. Like I had sex but didn’t finish. Energized, but still unsatisfied.
She burst out a laugh and put down the phone, bringing our conversation back to reality. “Hopefully, it’ll get better as you go through the list.”
I nodded. “I will finish it either way, he deserves that much.”
“Definitely,”
It had only now occurred to me that we hadn’t been given a schedule for the first time in months. Perhaps Master Abbott had already explained how it would work now that we graduated our first season of initiation. I had been late after all.
Sofia brought me out of my musings with a shake of my shoulder. “Come on, we need to head out.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, getting to my feet with a yawn.
“There is a new instructor here to replace Master Wilde, and we need to go meet him.”
We dressed quickly and made our way to the training room on the lower level where the rest of the initiates were already congregated.
My eyes immediately flew to Hailey, her long, normally perfect, black hair looked unkempt and dull. Her eyes seemed to have lost that fierce glint that made you pause while fighting opposite her.
It made me wonder what I looked like to outsiders and If I was hiding my pain as terribly as she. I hadn’t looked in a mirror since it’d happened, but I’d buried my emotions as deep as I could get them to focus on my task. Not that I had done all that good of a job thus far.
She didn’t meet my eye when I attempted to give her a supportive smile, but Brielle noticed and waved, her hazelnut hair tied back in two French braids.
Ekon was seated with Ryder and Axel to his right, and he patted the empty chair on his other side. Sofia dropped into the seat beside him a planted a slobbery kiss on his cheek, which he promptly wiped off.
“Ugh, Sof. Gross.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, while I waved to the others.
Before we had a chance to say another word, the doors swung open to reveal Master Abbott with his beady, soulless eyes examining us as he led three other people into the room.
The next person who entered looked like he had a terrible steroid addiction, with bulging muscles that were way too large to fit his body and littered with crisscrossing scars. His neck had almost disappeared under the sheer size of his shoulders, with legs that looked like he could crush a man to death between them. The caramel skin of his shaven head shined in the light.
If I had to guess his age, I would have assumed he was in his forties, but it was nearly impossible to judge from his figure. One thing was absolutely certain - he was not a man to mess with.
All of that muscle couldn’t have been an asset for an assassin. We needed to be strong, undoubtedly, but we also needed to be quick and light on our feet. Nothing about the man appeared light or swift.
I switched my focus from the newcomer to the next person arriving, and a smile pulled at my lips. He was a young man with onyx colored hair, a strong jaw, silvery eyes, and the tips of burn scars peeking out from the top of his shirt.
Cade.
A warmth spread through my body and his gaze met mine, his lips lifting to match my grin.
He winked.
Quinn pushed him forward with a nod in my direction, and they slipped into chairs at the head of the room, next to the Masters.
“As I am sure you are all aware, Master Wilde is no longer with us, which required a replacement for his position.” Master Abbott gestured to the newcomer. “This is Master Wilson, and he is here for your next level of training.”
Master Wilson smiled warmly at us, throwing off the scary image in my mind. “I was sorry to hear about Master Wilde’s passing, but I am excited for the opportunity to pass on knowledge to the new generation of Guild members. We will want to retire someday, so you have some big shoes to fill.” He shook one of his feet. “Literally,” he said, emitting deep, rumbling laughter from his throat.
He was nothing like the other Masters, who’d made it their mission to be absolutely professional with us at all times. The rest of the initiates seemed equally confused judging by their dumbfounded expressions. Even Master Abbott had a wide-eyed look on his face.
Don’t punch him. Don’t punch him. I chanted to myself as I gazed at Master Abbott. It seemed to be my mantra ever since meeting him.
I wondered if they figured out Tony had gone missing yet and how long it would take Master Abbott to discover the sunflower.
“Tomorrow, I am going to start the day off with testing your fighting levels. You will each pair with me one-on-one, so I can determine how to personalize each of your training regimens,” Master Wilson continued, standing as he spoke. “We will begin tomorrow because today you will be receiving your first individual contracts. You will have twenty-four hours to accept or decline the mission, keeping in mind not to disclose the details to anyone. You will then begin planning it out. The Masters will all be here to help in any way you require, so use us as a resource.”
He looked at us expectantly. “Well, come on now, be excited! You’re getting your first big missions.”
A few chuckles echoed throughout the room and Master Wilson frowned. “You lot are way too uptight.” He picked up a stack of manila folders and began calling out names, handing the appropriate folder to initiate.
“Lenna Bishop,” he called, and I approached him, my body itching to see what it would be like to fight him. Not in an ‘I think he’s evil’ way, but in a ‘he would be a fantastic sparring partner’ way.
He glanced at Cade before returning his gaze to my face and handing me a file with my name on the top. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Bishop. I look forward to our session tomorrow,” he said warmly.
I thanked him and made my way to the exit after being dismissed.
Just as I was about to reach Sofia and Ekon, Quinn pulled me aside.
“They’ve activated me for an elite mission.”
Chapter 8
“Do you think it’s a hybrid?” I whispered.
Quinn nodded. “If we are assuming that any missions sent through the burner are the hybrids, then yeah. Can you get your guy to check them out to be sure?”
“Definitely, what’s the name?”
“Kalina and Aurek Nagy,” he murmured before his eyes lifted to gaze above my shoulder.
I breathed in the spicy aroma of clove before a hand snaked around my waist and I mouthed to Quinn. Tonight.
“So, what did you think of Thomas?” Cade asked.
I furrowed my brow. “Who?”
“Master Wilson,” Quinn clarified. “I won’t lie, he’s an unusual choice for a Master,.”
“He is,” Cade agreed. “But he wasn’t sent here simply to teach. He’s also investigating Shane Wilde’s involvement with Turgenov.”
I stumbled, my knees almost collapsing. “What?” I accidentally let slip out.
Cade knew about Papa? It seemed like they were keeping it a secret.
I shared a glance with Quinn, who looked as shocked as I felt.
Cade lowered his voice. “Len, you might not know him by name, but there was a Guild assassin named Alexei Turgenov. He was the prisoner you killed. He was a traitor and was apprehended for making his own contracts on people that weren’t sanctioned.”
My breath caught in my throat. They had been telling people that not only was Papa a traitor, but he’d been doing the very thing they were guilty of. My stomach turned as my anger grew steadily higher. Part of that anger directed to Cade and how easily he swallowed his uncle’s nonsense about Papa.
A calming touch to my mind from Quinn was all I needed before I reigned in my rage, only a single tendril of light escaping from my fingertip, which I quickly thrust behind me before Cade noticed.
“I can’t believe we never noticed it with all the training we’ve done with him. He always seemed like such a standup guy,” Quinn said, commanding Cade’s focus as he discreetly sent more calming energy through my body.
I was grateful because my skin was still flushed, and I couldn’t be sure what I would say if I opened my mouth at that moment.
“It’s the ones you least expect. Or at least that’s what Uncle tells me,” Cade said.
I had no doubt his uncle spewed a lot of garbage in his ear. Lies and falsehoods, hoping to convince Cade that vampires were evil. Disappointment flared inside me. Was he unable to form his own opinions?
Sofia waved to me and I took that as an excuse to extricate myself from his grip and rush over to her. “Since we’re allowed out whenever we want, I think we should go hit up a club tonight,” she said, looking down at her jumpsuit and cringed. “I miss pretty clothes.”
“We’re going to need to save that for another time, we have a mission tonight.”
Her eyes brightened. “Oh! Exciting. Who are we killing?”
I shook my head. “This isn’t for my list.” I explained what Quinn had told me, the anger returning in small waves. “Are you good with computers?” I asked her, not bothering to hide the tendrils of light as they spiralled above us.
“Nah, the one I used in community college was a piece of crap that just had Google and Word processor. Why?”
“I wanted to do some digging on the couple Quinn is supposed to assassinate. I wanted to be sure they are innocent before we save them.”
“That makes sense. So what are you going to do?” She asked.
“The only person I can think to ask is Axel, but I don’t want to involve any more people. Our group is big enough as it is. I’ll just send Joe with a message for Max.”
I had been hoping that we wouldn’t need to rely on Max, knowing that we weren’t in the best place. Even though he hadn't brought it back up, I could tell he was still upset I wasn’t giving up on my revenge.
I couldn’t believe that just a few months ago, I’d entered the Guild alone, searching for Papa, and now I was surrounded by people that knew about me, but Papa was gone. I wasn’t sure how I felt, my grief surging to the surface of my mind no matter how hard I tried to shove it down and bury it.
Growing up I’d always wanted to be free, to be able to have friends who I could trust to know my real name. To not need to hide. I finally understood what it was like to have people at my back, but I would have given it all up for another moment with Papa. If only that were possible.
“I can’t believe you can talk to birds,” Sofia said, excited disbelief in her words.
I shook my head. “Sofia, you cannot call my hawks birds. That’s insulting and far too simplistic. They are majestic beasts who are fierce predators that can claw out the eyes of their enemies with one downward swoop.”
She chuckled and put her hands up submissively. “My bad, I’ll make sure to apologize to Joe when I meet him.”
I inclined my head. “Good.”
After discussing how that evening would play out, we’d decided to all leave at different times, appearing as if we were going on reconnaissance missions for our new contracts.
Max had sent Joe back a few hours prior, saying there was only one record of the woman, and she was definitely a regular vampire. He couldn’t find any proof of her committing crime. If anything, there had been a lack of information on her for the past nine years. He’d mentioned that he’d meet us there just in case, ready to help protect any potential hybrids.
Ryder slipped out first, after spending the past hour sitting with Brielle and Hailey, who had not been handling her father’s death well at all.
Her dark eyes were gaunt and lifeless, her cheeks sunken as if she hadn’t eaten in days, her usual smooth caramel skin was far too pale. Pity rose in my chest and tightened like a fist, squeezing at my heartstrings.
I caused that.
Only because her father killed yours. Another voice in my mind argued and internally, I shook my head. I wouldn’t wish the way I felt on Hailey. She might not always be the nicest girl, but she wasn’t wicked. I turned away, not able to think about her any longer, and steeled my mind for what was to come.
By the time I turned around, Sofia had disappeared silently like a ghost. I went to collect my belongings, strapping weapon after weapon to my body before marching out the door and making my way to our agreed upon meeting place, making sure to check my surroundings for anything suspicious as I walked.
They were already huddled under the collection of trees we’d chosen and hadn’t noticed me as I neared. Quinn must have said something funny because Ryder and Sofia burst into laughter, Ryder slapping his knee as Sofia clutched her stomach.
Looking at them relaxed, joking around, and carefree gave me a fierce determination to protect them. No matter the cost. Somewhere along the line, they became my people. I was constantly in awe of Quinn’s stability, Ryder’s strength, and Sofia’s loyalty.
I wouldn’t give up on my vengeance for Papa, but I would make sure it didn’t cause them irreparable harm along the way. I shivered in the cold air; glad I’d remembered to wear the proper attire this time.
“Hi,” I said as I approached them, Sofia wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye and smiling at me.
“We are not going to call ourselves knife to meet you,” Sofia said through her chuckles.
“Well, we can’t go with badass bitches brigade either! We aren’t bitches!” Ryder exclaimed, gesturing between himself and Quinn.
I laughed. “Are you still trying to make BBB work?”
Sofia’s eyes glinted. “Yes! BBB! That’s perfect!”
Quinn sighed, but his grin remained planted on his face.
“You can pretend the middle ‘B’ stands for bastard. Badass bastard brigade,” I offered.
“Done! The Badass bitches and bastards brigade! Sofia said triumphantly.
Ryder shook his head, but then relented and shrugged. “Alright. BBBB it is.”
“Let’s go actually be badass and save some hybrids,” I said, leading the way to my car.
Quinn pumped his fist in the air. “The badass bitches and bastards brigade to the rescue!”
They continued their banter as we filed into the car, and I headed towards the home address of Kalina and Aurek Nagy that the Guild had on file.
I exited the city center and passed through fields and valleys, driving down the winding roads where the traffic lights were left behind. It was total darkness and I shifted to my hawk eyes, the shadows clearing somewhat.
Again, there was a light dusting of snow littering the ground, the tire marks from my car slowly being covered by new flurries falling down from above. I smiled at how difficult it would be to tail me without any tracks.
As I approached the single brick home with an old pickup truck in the driveway, Sofia swore violently and leaped out of the car while it was still running.
I hurriedly slammed on the breaks and switched the gear into the park, the boys already leaping out of the car and sprinting after Sofia. I followed seconds behind and heard Sofia shout from up ahead. “There are others here already. They have them cornered inside.”
She must have been using her gift. Sofia could see through almost anything, though she tried not to use it during her daily activities, as seeing people’s skeletons made her uncomfortable to say the least.
I pushed my legs harder, urging my muscles to get me there faster and I could see the others moving more quickly as well. Sofia reached the door first and kicked it down before barreling through, a stream of curses spewing from her mouth.
The rest of us arrived together, smashing through the door frame, and stopping at the scene displayed in front of us. No less than fifteen Guild members were already in the house, surrounding a middle-aged woman who was holding a terrified child in her arms, Sofia standing in front of them. Her body angled toward the assassins, a menacing look on her face as both of her deadly sai rose in the air, ready for a fight.
I turned to the skies and whistled, loudly, hoping Joe would be in range. There were too many of them for us to all fight at once, and I wasn’t egotistic enoug
h to pretend we wouldn’t need help. These weren’t government agents with simple guns and knives. These were trained assassins with supernatural abilities.
I felt Joe arriving, and as soon as his presence touched my mind, I urged him to bring Max faster. Having a vampire on our side could turn the tide. I returned to the moment and slipped my fingers around two of my daggers, withdrawing them from their sheaths. The assassins adjusted their positions to keep us all in their line of sight but weren’t immediately aggressive.
“Greer, is it training day? Why’d you bring the recruits?”
Chapter 9
I looked to Quinn, who had a calm expression on his face. Though, he was the master of emotions, so he could be suppressing anything.
He smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, I got bitch duty tonight. Abbott’s orders.” He gestured toward us. “I’m supposed to teach them a thing or two.”
The others nodded as if this wasn’t entirely unexpected and relaxed their postures. Did they consider us that little of a threat, or were they blindly trustful of Quinn? Either way, it didn't really matter why they relaxed so easily. They were about to regret that choice whatever the reason.
“Do you want to give one of the newbies the first stab at the contracts?” A wispy thin member with porcelain skin said, her black hair tied in a French braid down to her waist.
The child in his mother’s arms whimpered slightly and Sofia gripped the hilts of her blades tighter. I didn’t understand how these people could stand there, weapons at the ready, prepared to kill a child. I would never accept a contract on a child, no matter how much money was offered. It was abhorrent.
I took a few steps until I was level with Sofia and met her gaze, motioning to the assassins with my eyes, hoping she understood what I wanted.
She grinned mischievously. “Yo asshats, how much do you need to suck at fighting for the Guild to send so many of you for two unarmed civilians?”
A man with white blonde hair stepped forward and frigid breeze whipped through the room, causing Sofia to stumble back a step. “What did you just say?”
