by S. H. Kolee
I still wasn’t sure about the full strength of the palladium and iridium disk. I hadn’t encountered any situations where I had needed it since the vardogers I had faced in the past few months had been of the ordinary variety. But I was sure that I would need it in the future and I always kept it close. Even though my father was gone, there were still rumblings of vardogers joining forces and I knew it would only be a matter of time until they found a new leader. I would be ready for them.
Amazingly, I had confirmed that I no longer needed iridium to destroy vardogers but I still wore an iridium charm to show my solidarity with other seers. My grandmother had promised to introduce me to other seers in the future and I was looking forward to it.
Even though I had decided to embrace my calling, that didn’t mean there wasn’t room in my life for anything else. I would live the life that Ryan had found so hard to attain—a balance between the supernatural world and the world everyone else lived in.
I took a longer shower than I had planned on since I had gotten lost in my thoughts and I rushed to get ready for class. Simon took a quick shower after me and I still couldn’t get over how handsome he was when he was dressed with his wet dark hair slicked back.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yup.” I grabbed my bag and was careful to be quiet in the hallway. Sarah didn’t have class until the afternoon and I knew she would still be sound asleep.
There was a nip in the air when we stepped outside, even though it was the beginning of April, and I shivered slightly.
“Cold?” Simon asked. He slipped an arm around my waist before I could answer and pulled me close.
“I can’t believe graduation is right around the corner,” I said as I snuggled into his side. “Actually, with everything that happened, I can’t believe I’m still graduating.”
“That just shows how brilliant you are,” Simon said. “A superhero and a super-student.”
I groaned and rolled my eyes. “No more of the superhero stuff. I get enough of that from Sarah nowadays. She thinks I’m Wonder Woman reincarnated or something.”
Simon grinned. “Just think—in a couple of months we’ll be on our own.”
Simon and I planned to move to New York City after graduation. He could pursue his music and I had a few job prospects lined up there. It was close enough to my mother and grandmother so I could visit them often since it was still hard for me to be apart from my mother. Besides, with the millions of people that lived in New York, I was sure I would encounter plenty of vardogers to pursue. And that was my real purpose in life.
I stopped in my tracks when I caught sight of a girl walking ahead of us. Flashbacks of my vision crowded my mind and I felt a rush of adrenaline run through me.
“It’s her,” I said softly as I nodded towards the girl. “The one from my vision.”
Simon gave me a small smile. “Here we go again.” There was no rancor or hesitation in his tone. He had been by my side countless times as I tracked vardogers and their victims, and he had been pivotal in helping me become stronger. Not only did I feel safer with him around, but it gave me strength to know I wasn’t alone.
We moved in sync as we trailed the girl from my vision. The trepidation was still there, but there was anticipation as well. This was my calling and I would spend my life fulfilling it. The fact that the person I loved was by my side made the decision to dedicate my life to destroying vardogers even easier. I could face anything with Simon beside me.
He took my hand in his and squeezed it. “Ready?”
“Ready,” I answered, squeezing his hand in return. And I was. Ready for a life with Simon and ready for a life hunting shadows.
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