by Lanie Jordan
I looked around me, judging the different expressions I saw on the Prospects’ faces. Greene took a moment to do the same thing.
“I know most of you must be sharing the same thought, thinking the treatments will only make your lives better. Nothing about the treatments is that easy. Nothing is that black and white.” Another pause. “Have any of you ever dreamed of, say, winning the lottery?”
More than a few people nodded.
“And have you ever actually researched those winners? Having your dreams come true can often bring your nightmares to life as well. Many lottery winners lose their fortune in a matter of years, due to bad decision making, over-spending, or simply not planning for the future. Some have had family members try to harm them for their money. Others said their friends and families grew to resent them and their fortune. The majority have people—strangers—showing up on their doorsteps, begging for money for various causes or reasons.”
“What’s your point?” Eric said.
“My point, Mr. Reynolds, is to be careful what you wish for. Sometimes, even the best things in life have a high price tag. My point is to remind you to look for the downsides to every upside, because they’re always there. The treatments are not the exception. It’s up to each of you to know if you can live with the decisions you make. That’s not something I, the scientists, or the other hunters can decide for you. None of us can know how it will affect you or your lives, especially once you leave the CGE.” Director Greene picked up his tablet. “I’m confident I’ve given you all more than enough information to consider. We’ll discuss this subject again at a later date. For now, I wish you all luck and hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
I was out of my seat before Greene fully turned around to leave. Linc grabbed my arm. “What’s going on?”
“I need to talk to Greene.”
His eyebrows shot up and the mocking in his steel-blue eyes was clear. “Willingly?”
“Yes, willingly.” I rolled my eyes. “I want to know if he found anything about…you know. Me.” More specifically, my crazy DNA that had demons either loving me or hating me more than usual. “He hasn’t said a word about it all summer except to tell me they were working on it.”
“Okay. I’ll stick around and wait for you.”
I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then ran down the bleachers. Greene moved fast when he wanted to. He was nearly to the South Tower before I caught up with him. “Director Greene,” I half-shouted.
He stopped, slowly turned around. “Yes, Miss Hall?”
“Have the scientists found anything yet? Can I still—”
“Miss Hall.” He held up a hand. “This isn’t basic research they’re doing. They are, pardon the cliché, in unchartered territory here. For the most part, your DNA is as confusing to them as I’m sure it is to you. As I’ve said before, you are the first known child of genetically enhanced parents. I know you’re anxious to have all your questions answered, but please remember we’re just as anxious ourselves. Your DNA is special, and as much as I’m sure we’d all enjoy speedy answers, we want accurate one, not simply guesses or theories.”
“So I might be wasting my time.” It wasn’t posed as a question, because it wasn’t one.
I had joined the CGE to train to hunt the demon that had killed my family. But after being bitten by the vampire, we discovered it’d played havoc on my already crazy DNA and that certain demons reacted to me weirdly. One tried killing me (which, if you asked me, wasn’t that different from most demons I came into contact with). Another time...well, that’d been a strange, strange occurrence since the demon had liked me. And I had kinda sorta liked it in return. (But only kinda, and only because it’d been a baby.)
“Miss Hall. Jade,” he added softly. “If you believe you’re wasting your time, then there isn’t a lot I can tell you to change your mind. Only you can decide that for yourself. Last Phase, I assured you we wouldn’t make any rash decisions about your ability to go on hunts and I haven’t changed my mind.”
I let out a sigh and relaxed my arms to my sides. “Sorry. I’m just…anxious. I don’t want to be stuck here, not being able to hunt because a demon may or may not react badly to me. They react badly to everyone.”
Fighting a laugh, Greene shook his head. “I know you’re anxious. I’ve known since the end of last Phase. You’ve tracked me down to ask me about this every day since. I assure you, again, that I have not forgotten about you. We want the same thing, Miss Hall. We want this matter resolved, possibly even more than you.”
So I might’ve gone a little overboard with the pestering over summer break. But could he blame me? The CGE was my best chance at finding the demon that killed my family. The training, the resources—I needed those things. But if they wouldn’t let me hunt because they were afraid of what could happen, would they let me use their resources to find the demon still? Or would they, if they found it, have another hunter take care of it? I wasn’t sure, and honestly, I wasn’t sure if it’d be enough. I needed to be the one to find and kill the demon. I didn’t want it to be someone else. “I guess I’ve been a little crazy.”
“Perhaps a little,” he said, one side of his mouth lifting. He stared at me for a minute, his gaze steady. He gave a little sigh. “If it will ease your mind, I may have some news for you soon regarding your situation. News,” he added quickly, seeing as I was about to pounce on his words, “not a definitive answer.”
“News? What kind?”
“I had a conversation with one of our scientists from another facility recently, and she may have an idea how to test your DNA in a more...practical manner.”
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Practical manner?”
“The scientists need to do more than simply test your DNA, because no matter what their tests determine, it would only be based on theory and speculation. I believe the scientist in question—Dr. Cherry—wants to see you in action, so to speak, to get a better handle of the affects your DNA seems to have on different species. It’s my understanding that she would like to put you in a room with a demon, or many different demons, to see for herself what is happening.”
My lips formed an ‘O’ but no sound came out.
“It would be in a controlled environment and every necessary precaution would be taken to ensure your safety. You would be in no danger, Miss Hall.”
“What about hunts or C&Cs?”
“Should there be any hunts or any other Capture and Contains, we’ll do our best to make sure you’re included. That is, after Dr. Cherry has had a chance to run a few tests beforehand to gauge any potential problems.”
Part of me was thrilled, of course, to have Greene’s word that I’d be included in demony stuff. Another part of me wasn’t so thrilled with the idea of these practical tests, of being in the same room as vicious demons. But he was trying, and that’s what I wanted, wasn’t it? Could I really ask or expect more? “Okay. Thanks.”
“We’ll keep working on the issue, Miss Hall, I promise.” He gave me a soft smile. “Is there anything else I can assist you with?”
“No, that was it. Thanks. I’ll let you get back to…directory stuff.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck with your classes, Miss Hall.” He bowed his head in a small nod. “This Phase is going to be challenging, especially for you,” he added in a dark tone. And with that, Greene strode off, leaving me to stare and frown at his back.
Every Phase had been challenging so far.
How bad could this one be?
CHAPTER 02
“Director Greene is just asking for trouble,” Tasha muttered as we made our way to the first class the following Monday.
Chris, who had been given a stern warning but not suspended over the fireworks thing, glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “How?”
“Combat as the first class of the Phase? Are they trying to get us to kill each other off? They need to ease us into it and start us with something easy, like Demonology. But no, we get Co
mbat first. And then—” She jabbed a finger in the air. “—we have Weapons tomorrow, Demonology on Wednesday, and Tracking on Thursdays. We don’t even get a break at the end of the week. We start off fighting and end the week fighting. Someone needs to redo the schedule, that’s all I’m saying.”
“We get the weekends off,” Linc reminded her.
She made a pfft sound. “Yeah, this month. What about next month when we start the weekend training?”
Linc slowed his pace enough to grin and wink at me behind Tasha’s back.
If Demonology was our first class, she would’ve complained, saying our only easy day was at the beginning of the week. I didn’t tell her that, though. Instead, I just patted her arm. “We’ll be fine.”
Most of the class was already there when we walked in. Mr. Connor stood in the middle of the room with his hands behind his back, his muscles bulging. He’d always been the tallest and most muscular of the teachers, but he seemed larger than life this Phase and everyone looked tiny in comparison.
Once everyone else arrived, he said, “Last Phase is going to seem like a piece of cake compared to this one.”
Tasha’s eyes widened. “See?” she hissed.
“Most of your classes are going to combine all of your learned skills together, so you better pay attention to everything you learn. There’s no room for failure this year.” He paced as he spoke, his hands still behind his back. “You’ve all had two Phases to understand how serious we are, and if you haven’t learned it yet, you’d better get to it. Anyone caught goofing off will be asked to leave. The first time, you’re sent back to your room. The second time, you’re suspended from class for a week. If I have to do it a third time…well, let’s hope there isn’t one. Your adjustment period is over. Now let’s get to work.”
A few people—mostly the ones known for goofing off—looked mortified. Tasha looked scared, too, though she didn’t exactly goof off. She just didn’t handle testing in front of groups of people well. I was about to go offer my support when Chris grabbed her hand. Whatever he said had her relaxing and almost smiling.
Linc shoved his hands in his pockets and looked to Mr. Connor. “What will we be doing this Phase, exactly?”
“Fighting. You’ll spend a lot of your time going over the same things we’ve already gone over. The difference is, you’re going to be learning more offensive skills as opposed to defensive skills. It’s time you learn how to fight, not only defend. You’re training to be demon hunters, which means you’re going to be the hunters, not the prey.” He paused for half a beat and a sly smile crossed his face. “There’s always going to be a time when you have to tuck tail and run, and when it’s called for, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But you can’t hunt demons if you’re always on the run. So, this Phase, you’re going to spend two hours a class with a group of trained hunters. Hunters,” he added, “who’ve had the treatments.”
“So we’re going to get our butts kicked,” someone muttered.
Mr. Connor’s smile went wide. “In essence. The first few weeks you’ll probably get your butts served to you more often than not, but you’ll learn, because that’s what you’re here to do.” There was a knock on the door and Mr. Connor gestured to it. “And there are your cans of whoop ass knocking. Come on in,” he shouted.
Four agents strolled into the classroom. I’d seen a few of them around, but I didn’t know them personally. None were smiling, and they didn’t look particularly friendly or happy to be here. They looked…fierce. And then two agents I did recognize followed them in: Peter Holt and Adam Easton.
Adam, who was the closest in age to us, wore his usual easy smile.
“Did someone call for a can of whoop ass?” Peter asked, grinning ear to ear.
Mr. Connor returned the grin and walked up to Peter to shake his hand. “We did.”
Peter laid a hand over his heart. “I do love those words.”
“Want to show this lot how Combat’s really done?”
“I love those words, too,” Peter said. He glanced at the class and winked. “You might want to stand back for this.”
Adam ushered everyone toward the back wall as Peter and Mr. Connor began circling each other.
Some of us had seen Peter in action—or at least semi-action—but we’d never seen Mr. Connor in a fight before. He always showed us the moves he wanted to teach us, but it was usually against another student in slow-motion or with the CMs (Combat Mannequins). After his declaration last Phase that he wasn’t just a teacher but a hunter, too, I was sure most of the class wanted to see him in action.
Peter danced around him. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
Without anymore warning, they started fighting. Peter moved in for the first attack with a quick, left handed jab. Mr. Connor ducked to the side seconds before the hit would’ve nailed him in the face. He pivoted around Peter, elbowing him in the lower back as he moved. Peter winced but charged in again, this time punching out twice with his left, and delivered a third, right-handed strike to Mr. Connor’s stomach. The move seemed to motivate Mr. Connor, because he flew at Peter fast. They both kicked or punched in swift moves I could barely keep up with. They blocked each other’s moves or ducked and dodged out of the way half a second before a kick or punch connected.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the other Prospects’ heads moving left and right, trying to keep the fight in their line of sight. But by the time they looked one way, the fight had already moved in the opposite direction.
Peter ended up a few feet away from Mr. Connor, shoving his shaggy brown hair out of his face. He shot him a slow smile even as his eyes narrowed, then he took off running at him like a bull. Mr. Connor put his fists up to defend, but Peter jumped, twisted in the air, and soared right over Mr. Connor’s head. He landed easily behind him and kicked him in the back.
Using the momentum to carry him, Mr. Connor flew forward. He rolled on the floor and jumped back to his feet seconds later, like the whole thing had been his idea from the beginning.
The entire class gasped and cheered them on.
Mr. Connor spun around. He ran beside the wall and when he neared Peter, Mr. Connor jumped and ran in an arc on the wall. He pushed off, extended his leg in a kick, and hit Peter in the side of the head before his feet touched the ground again.
They faced off against each other, glaring. They stayed like that for ten seconds before running at each other full-speed again. As they neared each other, they each extended an arm out of the side and caught each other across the chest, just below the neck. The force of the blows had them both flying back and hitting the ground loud and hard before sliding back another few feet.
Breathing hard and clutching or rubbing their collarbones, Peter and Mr. Connor laughed.
Adam moved in between them and stared down at them, shaking his head. “Show offs.”
A lot of the Prospects had seen Peter before, so while they still seemed impressed by his speed and power, they were, I thought, even more impressed by Mr. Connor. Most of the class stared at him with eyes wide, mouths hanging slightly open.
“That wall running thing was awesome!” Natalie said, her tone awed.
Beside me, Linc winked. “You could do that.”
I didn’t point out that I had already done something similar in the alley during the hunt for his demon last Phase. I wasn’t sure how I’d done it then, and I wasn’t really all that sure I could do it again without breaking something. “I don’t know,” I murmured quietly.
Everyone—save Eric, Brian, and a few scowling others—started whispering about Mr. Connor and Peter’s speed and strength, or replaying this or that move.
One of the guys in the class looked at Peter and Mr. Connor hopefully. “You’re gonna teach us that stuff, right?”
“Maybe next Phase,” Mr. Connor answered. “That’s advanced training, things we’ve practiced and trained years to do.”
In the background, Eric scoffed. “I could do it,”
he muttered.
I knew I wasn’t the only one who’d heard him. Mr. Connor, Peter, and Adam all looked at him with a raised eyebrow you-think-so? look. “Okay,” Peter said, nodding. “I’ll make you guys a deal—if it’s okay with Mr. Connor, that is.”
Mr. Connor shrugged. “Sure.”
“Deal is this. Adam here will show you all a move, something less advanced than the wall running thing, but still more advanced than anything you’ve trained for to date. You’ll split into two teams, with each person getting a chance to try the move once. If any single person from either team manages to do the move, then their entire team will get two hours a week of private training to learn different, advanced moves. Sound fair?”
Eric’s shoulders twitched.
The other Prospects nodded.
“Alright then,” Peter said. “Split up. Choose your teams wisely. Once we start, you can’t switch later if a different team looks more promising.”
Eric glared my way. “I’m on whatever team she’s,” he said, emphasizing the word with a sneer, “not on.” He cast a look over his shoulder. “I’ll stick with my own species, thanks.”
Linc and Tasha moved to my side as a few snickered and went to Eric’s side of the room. I’d spent the summer dealing with his crap, so it didn’t surprise me at all. It didn’t even surprise me that a few had immediately chosen his team. It was expected. Most of the Prospects still didn’t like me and I didn’t think that’d change so soon (though I’d still hoped it would).
But expected or not, it didn’t stop the gut-twisting feeling when, at the words ‘own species’, others picked Eric’s team.
Within a few seconds, half the class went to stand behind Eric. The other half seemed unsure of what they wanted to do. They looked to Eric and then to me, like they didn’t particularly like either of us and were trying to decide who was the lesser evil.
