by Justin Sloan
“I didn’t mean—”
“Sure you did. Now get up and get in here.”
Katherine frowned, but a nod from Gabe caused her to say screw it. Might as well at least have some fun.
She walked into the circle. Destiny held out her fist for her to touch with her own, so she did. Then they started circling each other, each sizing the other up. A fake out dodge to the left almost caught Katherine off guard, but she was too adept at fighting, too used to trickery. So when Destiny came back to the right and attempted a leaping punch, Katherine had already stepped to the outside of it and landed a kick to Destiny’s exposed ribs—not too hard, but enough to say I told you so.
Destiny grunted and spun, bringing a backhand down that was followed by an elbow. Both missed as Katherine dodged, but the follow-up knee gave her a good charley horse in the thigh. It was almost enough to cause her to take a knife hand to her throat, but she turned and swept her leg to trip Destiny.
But Destiny had expected it, and leaped over the sweep. She came down with her heel, causing Katherine to have to roll aside and come back up with a push kick that sent Destiny flying halfway across the sand to land on her butt.
“Ladies,” Ricky said.
“Sorry,” Katherine said. “It’s been a long time since I practiced holding back.”
“No, no,” Destiny said, her lips moving back in a snarl. “Please, let’s see what you’ve got.”
She took a step forward to attack, but Gabe raised a hand and said, “That’ll do.”
Destiny froze in place, and Katherine could tell by the look in her eyes that she was debating whether to attack anyway. But after a moment, Destiny relaxed and stood straight, feet spread and hands behind her back.
The rest stood as well, those who had been sitting, and when Gabe motioned to them, they all gathered round.
“Seems we could use a break to ease our tensions,” Gabe said with a nod at Destiny, who blushed. “So, while our new friends are here, I thought I’d make sure we’re all on the same page. Katherine, Triston, I honestly don’t know what you’ve been through, or not the full picture, anyway.”
Several people muttered to each other, casting glances their way.
“Our fair share,” Triston said.
“Have you ever faced a demon?” Daniel asked. “Fallen angels, werewolves, vampires? What does our fair share mean?”
“The last two, yes,” Katherine said. “But demons? Fallen angels? Come on.”
Ricky laughed. “You’re telling me you believe in vampires and werewolves, but other creatures of lore seem impossible?”
Worded that way, she wasn’t sure how to answer. She scrunched her nose and thought about it, then said, “I suppose I’m open to the idea of other possibilities.”
Triston glanced over, unsure, but then turned back to Ricky. “What do you mean, demon?”
Gabe cleared his throat, and the others turned back to him. “If I may… What matters is that they are beings of immense power, and we stand against them. But, and this might be news to some of you, there are some people who believe this isn’t all about good versus evil, or not in the traditional sense, anyway. Some who would say,” he looked at Katherine, his deep eyes seeing into her soul, “that it’s possible to find werewolves and others traditionally thought to be evil, who are really no different than you or me.”
Davies scoffed. “I’ll remember to tell that to Barb next time I see her, that’ll make her feel great. Hell, maybe the werewolf who killed Winters and made her a widow can come over for a cup of tea and explain the whole situation.”
“Barbara suffered greatly, as we all did,” Gabe responded. “That doesn’t mean the werewolf who caused this pain represents all werewolves, just as the so-called Christian who attacks someone of a different race or religion represents Christians. This is true of most aspects of life.”
“Next you’ll be telling me to hug the next demon I see,” Davies said. “Give me a rest with this.”
“Davies!” Ricky hissed, glaring.
Davies glared back, but then turned and walked off.
“Please excuse him,” Gabe said. “It’s often hard to separate the personal from the professional.”
“Yes, I know,” Triston replied.
“The question I think we must all ask ourselves is, what drives these people or creatures or what have you,” Gabe continued. “A vampire, as we know it, is simply someone who pulled on the dark arts and it consumed them. Can a vampire then be anything but evil? Can someone escape the evil, and change their mind after the process has begun? Are they beyond redemption?”
Flashes of Katherine’s dream hit her—images of Matthew running, and of the woman in red with her magic stones.
“All we have seen of fallen angels and demons implies they are the definition of evil. Evil incarnate, if you will.” Gabe took a moment to look at each of them gathered there. “Some of you,” he nodded toward Daniel and Jason, “have first-hand experience in this regard. Others,” his eyes moved back to Katherine, “likely hear me mention such concepts and fail to understand the reality of our world. They think that, because they’ve only been exposed to limited evil so far, that’s the extent of it. Lucky for you, that’s where we come in.”
He was clearly addressing Katherine at this point, but she was lost in thought, staring at the ground. Yes, it was hard to grasp what he was saying, based on her limited experience in such matters. But he had a good point that, if one could accept the existence of vampires created out of a use of black magic, taking it one step further wasn’t much of a leap of faith.
Except that, she wanted to believe she was more of an anomaly, not simply another freak of existence. One who had learned to harness her power. Mauro talked about her like she was someone destined for greatness, but based on what?
Gabe continued to teach them about his understanding of their world and the spiritual world, and how they worked together. After some time, he clapped his hands together and motioned for them to get back to it, before heading for the dining hall.
The remaining group, minus Davies, went through some more sparring sessions, this time much more civil. Ricky had them pair up in sessions of two minutes, then switch opponents over and over until everyone was exhausted and had a chance to face each person there.
It was tiring, and Katherine was glad when Ricky pulled them all together and told them it would be their final run before dinner.
“We have to earn it,” he said, and then took off, the rest close behind.
Triston caught up to Katherine and shook his head, already out of breath. “If every day was like this, I’d have jumped from a bridge a long time ago.”
“That’s not funny,” she said, focused on her breathing between strides. “Don’t joke about it.”
He nodded and ran at her side, for a bit in silence.
The sky took on a purple hue and soon the sun was setting. Though Katherine was exhausted, she didn’t feel like a whole day had gone by. Triston had a similarly puzzled look on his face, but then looked thoughtful in addition to pained from the run.
Soon they found their pace, and the rest of the run didn’t seem so bad. The cool breeze and scent of fresh pine brought back memories of hikes with her dad, and for the first time in a long time, Katherine let herself remember him. Somehow, in a place like this, the memory didn’t bring the intense pain that normally accompanied such thoughts and made her turn away from them.
There was one time when they had gone to explore twin falls, and she remembered running off the path with him, playing a game where the first to collect the most pinecones won. He’d said they were homes of the elves, so whoever had the most could call upon them to fly. When she had tucked up the bottom of her shirt and filled it with pinecones, he’d declared her the winner and threw her up in the air, laughing as he flew her around.
Later, when eating their picnic of turkey jerky, crackers with cream cheese, and pepper jelly, a snack that had seemed weird to her at the
time but even weirder now that she thought back on it, she had asked him about fairies and other magical creatures. She would never forget the look in his eyes—true belief and honesty—as he told her that he wasn’t sure about fairies, but knew for a fact magic existed, in one form or another.
She had looked out over the waterfall in complete amazement, though even then wondering if her dad was a little crazy, believing in stuff like magic.
Now she realized that this was what he meant that day. He had been one of these people and had truly believed in at least some of what Gabe had been telling her and the others.
It put an entirely new spin on that day at the waterfall.
When dinner finally came, Katherine was ready to pass out for the night. She found a spot at a table next to Triston, and they were both complaining about how sore they were, though Triston did so with a smile, when Mauro came over and joined them.
“I trust you had a good first day?” he asked.
Katherine wasn’t sure how to respond to that, and her mind was too occupied with questions. It had been an educational day, an enlightening day, that was for sure. But ‘good’? As she sat there, looking around at the others and thinking back over the day’s training and lessons, it felt all too familiar.
“What’re we doing here?” she asked. “Instead of out there hunting the other,” she lowered her voice, “werewolves?”
“Trust me on this,” Mauro replied as he took a bite of cornbread. “With their network, we’ll not have a problem finding the werewolves, and then the next step will be up to us.”
“I’ve lost track of the cycle of the moon,” Triston said, glancing at the window, darkness outside. “But… we don’t know yet what will happen to me when the time comes.”
“If we need to, I’ve arranged a room here with Merriam,” Mauro said. “You won’t have to worry if you’re locked up in there.”
Triston shuddered, but Katherine put a hand on his leg. “We’ll be there for you.”
He nodded, then glanced down at his plate and spooned his beans.
“And the others?” Katherine asked. “You’ll round up all the werewolves in the world and put them in that room?”
Mauro shook his head. “The people here aren’t just out looking for the werewolves.”
“A cure?” she said, dropping the rib she was about to bite into. “You actually think…?”
“If there’s a serum that can make werewolves be able to change any night of the month, instead of just on the full moon, it stands to reason that there would be some way to at least control the change on full moons, aside from the serum that makes them more powerful.”
“And we know silver helped me,” she said.
“Though done wrong, silver injections would likely kill the werewolf. You were smart enough to not pierce yourself with too much, not inject it. And, there was the part where you wanted to control it.”
“That’s right,” Triston chimed in. “Even with the silver, you nearly lost it when Hunter—I mean Matthew—attacked. Emotions still canceled out science.”
“But that does give me something to think about,” Mauro said, standing again. He hadn’t even eaten half of his food.
“Wait,” Katherine said, glancing around to ensure no one was listening. “This… what makes any of this different?”
He furrowed his brow, but his eyes showed compassion. “From Aldrick, you mean?” With a deep sigh, he put a hand on her shoulder and said, “We’re not here to force you into anything. We’re not trying to raise an army that will change the world. We’re just trying to stop bad people from doing bad things. Or in some cases, it might not even be people, per se. Where my heart is, that too makes it different. If that’s not enough for you, I suppose that’s a question you’ll have to look deep down inside yourself to answer.”
He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and then headed over to the table where Merriam, Gabe, and two others were in deep conversation.
She watched him walk off, aware of Triston’s eyes on her, but wanting a moment to think in silence. Mauro was right, she was sure, but part of her held back on her trust, knowing what she had been through in the past and wondering if she would ever be able to trust again.
The clattering of chairs nearby pulled her from her thoughts and she turned to see Daniel, Troy, Jason, and Destiny sitting at the table with her and Triston.
“Hey, you don’t mind, do you?” Troy asked.
Katherine smiled, unsure how she felt, but Triston said, “No, not at all.”
“You two were great today,” Destiny said. “I mean it.”
“Yeah, even impressed me,” Daniel said. “And, sorry to say it, but that takes a lot sometimes. Lately, anyway.”
“We did notice the stick up your butt, actually,” Triston said.
Everyone else froze, and then Daniel burst out laughing, so they smiled and joined in.
“I’m just worried about Allie is all,” Daniel finally said. “Sorry that came out as not so cool to you two.”
“She’s a big girl,” Destiny said, pointing her fork at him. “She doesn’t need you worrying about her.”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I worry any less.”
“So you two are a…?” Katherine asked, curious now.
“What, a couple?” Daniel laughed. He looked a bit confused, then chuckled. “No, no… No.”
Troy laughed and said, “Best not to get into the history of that response.”
Daniel blushed slightly, and then motioned to Triston and Katherine. “But you two, straight up in love, huh?”
Katherine spat out the bite of cornbread she had just taken, then covered her mouth and looked at them, embarrassed.
Triston looked at her with a smile but wide-eyed surprise. “Wow, what a response. Yeah, um, kid—”
“Don’t call me that.” Daniel winced as Jason kicked him under the table. “I mean, please.”
“Okay, sorry.” Triston smirked and took Katherine’s free hand. “We just… haven’t really gotten to the big L word yet, but yeah, we’re a thing.”
Daniel smirked, nodding as if he were in on some secret.
“We’ve only been together for…” Katherine looked at Triston, trying to figure out how long they had been romantic.
“Not very long,” he said, and she could see in his eyes that he was trying to figure it out too. “Like, a little less than a month, I’d say?”
She shrugged. Based on the last full moon she had experienced, and how soon the next was coming, that sounded about right.
“Oh, damn,” Destiny said. “Yeah, definitely too soon to be using the big L word. Shoot, someone said that to me after three months once, and I was like no way. Peace.”
“You broke up with him?” Triston asked, staring at her in horror.
Katherine nudged him and nodded at Troy, who was blushing.
“My feelings haven’t changed, though,” Troy said.
“Wow, this is awkward,” Jason said, chuckling.
“My bad,” Destiny said, eyes now glued to her plate.
“Can we just change the topic here?” Katherine asked, not liking it much more than she imagined Destiny or Troy were. “Like, how the hell did you all get involved in this?”
Daniel and Jason both shared a humored look, and Daniel said, “We were both kind of dragged in by Allie.”
“Allie Strom?” Katherine asked. “And she’s this Eleventh Worthy or something?”
“Yeah, basically the most awesome warrior chick you’ve ever seen,” Troy said.
“I mean, you don’t have to say ‘chick,’ in that sentence,” Destiny said. “This was part of why—”
“Right, changing the subject, remember?” Katherine cut in.
Jason laughed, and Troy cast Katherine a ‘thank you’ glance.
“Yeah, I’m… I think I’ll call it a night,” Destiny said, frowning. She breathed deeply and stood, taking her plate with her, then hesitated a couple of steps away and looked back. No
one else had moved or said a thing. “Troy…?”
He looked totally caught off guard, but when she gave him a hopeful look and nodded for him to follow, he frowned and said, “I’m a dog now? You say come and I do it?”
“Just go,” Jason said in a hushed voice. “She wants to talk, find out why.”
Destiny looked extremely awkward and vulnerable, but she said, “Yeah, I mean, if you want to talk. I feel like a jerk, and just thought….”
Troy pursed his lips and looked at Jason, who gave him an any day look, so Troy stood and took his plate with him to follow her. He glanced back at Jason and hissed, “Fine, but if you all find my heart in pieces out there, just toss them, right?”
Jason and Daniel laughed, but Katherine and Triston didn’t seem to know how to take this.
A glance back showed Ricky had a seat next to Mauro, and they seemed to be in a serious discussion. She was ready to pass out, and figured that, if it was important, they would tell her in the morning.
“Think I’ll call it a night too,” she said, and wiped her fingers on a wet wipe she found in a holder in the center of the table.
“I’ll walk you out,” Triston said, and the two boys said good night.
They found a place to leave their plates near the kitchen, and then made their way outside. Triston took her hand and gave her a humored look.
“What?”
“We’ve apparently walked into some army soap opera crap,” he said with a laugh, and she couldn’t help but laugh too.
“It’s just those two, I hope,” she said, smiling. “Don’t think I can take much more of it.”
“You doing okay?” His smile vanished and he stared into her eyes as they walked.
She looked down at the path, already knowing what he meant. With everything else going on, talking with a kid named Daniel, the same name as the man who had been like a brother to her and they had just finished burying… yeah, it got to her a little.
“I’ll survive,” she said.
They reached the door to her room, and she leaned in to give him a gentle, quick kiss.
She could tell by the look in his eyes that he wanted more, but she said good night and turned into her room. The door slammed behind her and she tore off her cammies and collapsed on the bed, lost in thoughts about it all, holding back the sorrow as best she could, and wondering how long they would be stuck in this weird place.
