The Sun Child (The Sun Child Saga Book 1)

by Mihalitsianos, Monique

  All of them start talking at the same time in loud, almost frantic voices, except Piper.

  “Enough!” Shane yells, and the three of them shut up at the same time.

  “Brandon,” Shane snaps. “You need training, and you need it now, before you cause someone some serious damage. That’s non-negotiable.” Brandon frowns.

  “And Alesha…” He shifts his gaze toward her. “I never said going away on a mission for a little while would be easy. I just said it needed to be done. ”

  She whimpers a little. “My dad is not going to be happy when I come back home.”

  You’re not coming back home, I think to myself. But Shane doesn’t answer her.

  “Kyle,” Shane addresses him next, “We never really know who is going to end up with our powers and who isn’t. It’s sort of a random thing. That’s really all I can tell you right now.”

  Kyle nods. It looks like he’s fighting back tears, but he doesn’t say a word.

  Shane is a leader, all right. In less than thirty seconds, he got the situation under control. Still, I wonder what’ll happen when they find out this whole thing is, you know…kind of a life deal.

  I guess I won’t be around when they do.

  “Are we supposed to remain quiet about this whole thing?” Alesha says. “Because I don’t see how that’s in our best interest.”

  Shane’s eyes flash. “Then that’s a problem.” His voice is low and dangerous. “We can’t risk any loose-lipped, childish teenage girls running around and telling everybody about us.” He walks over to her slowly. Alesha’s face turns pale. “We go to extreme lengths to maintain our secrecy.” He stares at her right in the eyes, and she quickly looks away. I think I see her shaking a little.

  “So…now that we know the secret…we either train with you, or you kill us.” Brandon says, crossing his arms.

  Shane smiles. “Quick learner, just the way I like it.”

  “What?” Brandon says through gritted teeth. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m dead serious, boy.”

  “I’ll fucking kill you first.” Brandon snarls.

  It happened so fast, I barely saw it. One second, Brandon was aiming a punch at Shane’s face. The other, he was pinned to the wall, his legs dangling above the floor, Shane’s arm pressed against his neck. Alesha shrieks and then covers her mouth with her hands. A shiver runs down my back. It’s the first time I’ve seen Shane go into full Immortal mode since I met him. I almost forgot how deadly his kind is.

  Almost.

  “I told you,” Shane says calmly, “Brandon, you need training. Your rage is almost unmaneagable.”

  “Let me go,” Brandon rasps, his face going red first and then slightly blue.

  “Don’t even think of running away,” Shane says, his voice going down an octave. “We’ll find you, like we’ve found the others who’ve tried.”

  “Please,” Brandon mouths, unable to speak.

  “You’ll be dead before you can say ‘I surrender.’ Do you understand?”

  Brandon’s eyes go bloodshot. I want to help him. I want to help him so bad I almost can’t bear it, but I know better than to interrupt.

  Brandon nods once, and Shane lets him go and turns away. Brandon falls to the ground, his legs giving way from under him, and he gasps loudly and starts rubbing his neck, taking in large gulps of breath.

  “Let this be a lesson to all of you,” Shane says. “Not a good idea to mess with your Leader. Got it?”

  The three other kids nod quickly, acquiescing.

  “All right, then. Since there seem to be no more questions, we start training here, at this place, tonight. Courtesy of Daniel Maze,” He adds airily, winking at me. I scowl. “Piper, Kyle and Alesha, you’re with Daniel.” Shane says, “And Brandon baby, you’ll have the pleasure of fighting me.”

  Brandon looks up at him, still rubbing his throat, and in an instant is back up on his feet and charging Shane’s chest like a bull.

  -*-

  All of them are clumsy. Strong, yes, but clumsy. Brandon is a fighter. For all the fuss he put up a while ago, he now seems to be enjoying himself.

  Kyle and Alesha, however, are terrible. It doesn’t help that they’re both scared shitless of Shane and me. Kyle tries really hard, but his strength comes and goes sporadically, and he has absolutely no control over it. I’d be fighting with him when he would all of a sudden lose his strength completely, rendering him unable to defend himself. And Alesha is just terrible because she’s so afraid of getting hurt.

  After a while, we switch partners, and it’s my turn to fight Piper. “Ready?” I ask her, and she nods, focused. I throw a punch to her stomach, and she blocks me, swinging a fist to my ear. I duck and kick her feet out from beneath her, and she goes down, but quickly gets back up again. We continue to fight, me throwing controlled shots and moving much slower than usual, while she gives it all she has.

  Her nose is bloodied by the end of our combat, but she just wipes it off with the sleeve of her shirt and gets ready to fight her next opponent: Alesha.

  “What’s the matter, princess?” Piper mocks Alesha before punching her square in the jaw. “You too precious to get your hands dirty?”

  Okay, someone’s getting a little carried away. “Piper, don’t.” I say, standing between the two.

  “What a bitch!” Alesha screeches, hands massaging her jaw. Piper glares at her.

  “The adrenaline is getting to you,” I tell her tersely. She breathes heavily and wipes the sweat off her brow. “Take a break, and simmer off.”

  “Whatever.” Piper says, sitting down on the mattress and crossing her legs.

  I stare at her for a moment before turning to face Alesha. “The only problem with you is that you’re too afraid,” She looks at me, tears still in her eyes.

  “Listen, you’re going to get hurt,” I say gently. “We all are. I’ve been hurt pretty badly before, but you can’t be afraid of pain anymore. Pain is going to be your constant companion from now on.” Color drains from her face, and she starts to cry again. Shit, I’m not making this better. “Come on, fight me. I’ll go easy on you at first, okay?” She wipes her nose and then nods.

  She’s very slow, which means her defenses are weak. Alesha is stronger than Kyle and definitely more consistent, but all her hesitation gets in the middle of her fighting.

  “Ouch! That really hurts!” She yells after I easily dodge a punch directed at my face and then hit her square in the stomach. She buckles over and clutches her stomach, her face contorting in agony. I sigh, frustrated. I wish there was a way to help her get over her fear of pain.

  “Are you all right? I’m so sorry,” I say, grabbing her shoulders and helping her up.

  “Get over it and start fighting,” Shane yells at her from the other side of the apartment, where he’s fighting Brandon and Kyle at the same time. “That was nothing. He doesn’t even have superhuman strength, and you’re already crying? You better get a grip on yourself soon, before you receive any of your partner’s punches.”

  “Hey, man, ease up,” I say. “I did hit her pretty hard, I guess.”

  Shane sighs in exasperation. “All right, let me get this out of the way once and for all.” He stops fighting and addresses everyone in the room. Kyle becomes distracted, so Brandon quickly kicks his legs out from under him, and he falls down to the floor hard. Brandon looks down at him, a smug expression on his face.

  “Everyone here is an Immortal except Daniel. And in the Immortal tribe, there are no distinctions between genders.” He pauses, letting the words sink in. “All of you have the potential to be as strong as you train yourself to be. Piper could be stronger than me in a couple years, and Alesha could be a better fighter than Brandon if she works hard enough,” He says. I wince as I remember the female Immortals that have kicked my ass in the past. He has a point.

  “I’m going easy on you compared to how they train everyone at Headquarters, but what I will not tolerate is anyone’s prejud
ices against girls being the weaker sex.” He laughs out loud before continuing. “I’ll tell you firsthand that some of the best, strongest Immortals out there are women, and they could beat the crap out of me any day.”

  Piper snickers, and even Alesha smiles a little.

  “This is a world of warriors, kids. The quicker you get used to it, the better.”

  I wait until Alesha is ready to fight again. I try not to be so obvious, but I do go a little easier on her. This might be a world of warriors, but I’m not prepared to kick a girl when she’s down.

  -*-

  The session ends around four hours later, and the new tribe members are sent home sore and bruised, with precise instructions to return here tomorrow at six. Alesha leaves the house sobbing quietly, looking like her life is over, and she doesn’t even know the half of it. Brandon and Kyle, however, are in somewhat better spirits. The thrill of combat has gotten to them.

  “Hey, Kyle,” I say.

  He turns around. “Yeah?”

  I look at Alesha. “She’s not in a very good place right now. She might run off or tell the police about us or something.”

  “You’re right,” Shane says, overhearing our conversation.

  “What do you want me to do?” Kyle says.

  “I want you to keep an eye on her. If you notice anything strange, get back to us, and we’ll handle it,” Shane tells him.

  Kyle nods before walking away, following Alesha as discreetly as he can.

  Then I suddenly remember Isabella. For some reason I feel the need to discuss her with Shane. .But Piper hasn’t left yet. She’s looking at us from the corner of her eye as she practices knife-throwing. “I have something I want to tell you,” I say to Shane. “It’s about a witch—”

  “Did you say witch?” Piper chirps, walking over to us.

  “Yes,” I say, stiffening. Both Shane and Piper stare at me. “I have a… thing…going one with one of the witches living in the northern woods.”

  “You’re sleeping with a witch?” Shane says, eyes widening.

  “There are witches living in Rickshaw’s woods?” Piper says at the same time, with the same wide-eyed look on her face.

  “Yes, and yes,” I say, running a hand through my hair.

  “Having a witch for a lover is dangerous, Daniel.” Shane says, sounding for all intents and purposes like a worried dad.

  “I know that, Shane. I’m not stupid,” I snap. “And I don’t have to explain myself to you, anyway.” I sigh, struggling to share my idea. “Listen, what would you think of three witches joining us on our mission?”

  “What?” Shane says, looking like he can’t believe what’s coming out of my mouth.

  “Wouldn’t they be a-lot of help?”

  Besides that, I need Isabella. She keeps me sane, even if it’s only by magic. And I know she won’t come without her sisters.

  Shane bites down on a fingernail as he thinks.

  “What are their names?” Piper says, trying to sound casual.

  “Isabella, my… er… lover, and then Virginia and Veronica,” I tell Piper.

  “Oohh.” Piper giggles. “I like their names.”

  “They could be extremely helpful,” Shane finally says. I let out a breath of relief. “I could act independently from the rest of the Immortals because I won’t have to use the witches they have available for me.” He says in a low voice, almost to himself. “It’s not a bad idea. Have you already asked them?”

  “Not yet.”

  Shane nods. “I will help you when the time comes, if I can.” He turns to Piper. “Go home now, you need to rest.”

  “Okay. See you guys tomorrow!” She picks up her backpack, slings it over her shoulder, and skips out of the door.

  “What a strange girl,” Shane murmurs. “Great first day, though, wasn’t it?”

  “I don’t know,” I say.

  “It was good.” He drinks some water.

  “Shane, what are you doing?” I finally ask him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re lying to them.” I say with a sigh. “You’re telling them they get to come back home after the mission, and we both know that’s not true.”

  “This is how we do things, Daniel,” He says, stretching his arms and legs and groaning. “Can you imagine the trouble I could get in if I told them the whole truth? I just asked them to join me in one little mission, and they’re probably already thinking about turning us in to the police.”

  “When are you planning on telling them the truth?”

  “Me? Never,” He says. “We have induction experts at the Headquarters. It’s their job to psychologically prepare them for the truth.”

  “That sounds a whole lot like brainwash.”

  Shane laughs. “That’s because it is. But you know all about brainwash, don’t you? It’s the only way to properly draft, really.”

  I stare at him in silence. I never really thought of it that way, but I suppose it’s true. We’ve all been brainwashed into our different tribes. “You say it like you don’t care.”

  “I don’t.” He says, shrugging. “Utilitarian, remember? This is what works for me now.”

  “See you tomorrow,” I say, cutting the conversation short and opening the door for him. If he thinks this is the best way to handle the situation, then whatever. I don’t have the energy or the motivation to get much involved. “Try to actually get some sleep tonight.”

  He laughs. “Thanks, man.”

  I watch him get into his truck and drive away.

  Full Moon Tragedy

  It is well into the night, and everything is dark and silent. I look out of my window and see there’s a full moon. I suddenly decide to leave the apartment, since I’m not really that tired anyway. I walk aimlessly down the road for a few minutes with the streetlights as my only source of light. I think of Isabella and whether I would love her someday. I admire her, I suppose. I’m passionate about her. I desire her.

  But I don’t love her, not the way I love Kismet, and I don’t think I ever could. Maybe I will never be able to love anyone again. Witches are powerful, beautiful beings. I can see how it wouldn’t be hard for any of them to eclipse a man’s hearts completely, but had mine already been irrevocably and totally eclipsed by someone else?

  “Daniel, my love!” Isabella runs toward me in her flowing, dark blue, delicate garments, snapping me awake from my thoughts. I’ve walked into the woods without noticing.

  “Did you magically summon me here?”

  She smiles coyly. “I might have, but that is because I cannot imagine a single night spent without you by my side.” She kisses me, her floral breath filling my mouth, intoxicating me.

  An overpowering urge takes over me, and I pull her close, almost too roughly. Softly, gently this time, I grab her face and bring it close to mine. Her skin, though so white under the moonlight, is lukewarm and tender.

  “Isabella,” I whisper in her ear, closing my eyes. In one soft motion, I press my lips to hers ever so lightly. Her whole body is so, so eager.

  And so is mine.

  I forget everything in an instant and give in willingly to the sweet, intoxicating experience of her flesh.

  -*-

  I don’t fall asleep after Isabella and I make love under the moonlight and the shadows of the trees, but she does. I dress quickly, and then pick her up gently. Veronica…Virginia… I call out with my thoughts, and I don’t have to wait for very long.

  “Daniel, what a surprise,” I hear Veronica say behind me. I turn around with Isabella in my arms and her dress over my shoulder. Veronica and Virginia are both dressed in the same type of garment as Isabella; flowing, delicate, and almost see-through. Veronica’s dress is pale blue, and Virginia’s is a shade of rose. I can’t resist a look or two.

  “What’s wrong?” Veronica says, raising an eyebrow. “It was my impression you two lovers liked to sleep tenderly in each other’s arms until the sun rises and she was forced to retreat back into our lai
r of darkness,” She says, somewhat snidely.

  “I have to go,” I murmur. “Tell her, when she awakes, that I will return soon with news for her, and for both of you as well.”

  Their faces are cool and immutable. I place Isabella into Veronica’s arms and hand her dress over to Virginia.

  “I might have to eat my words, lover boy,” Veronica says, with a lecherous smile in her face. “She’s sound asleep. You must’ve tired her enormously. It is very hard for a witch to sleep during the night.”

  “Well, lover boy’s my second name.” I say drily.

  She half-smiles at me and purrs.

  “Veronica, go now with Isabella,” Virginia says as she stares at me with hands on her hips. “I would like a word with Daniel alone.” Veronica hesitates, but then nods once and retreats into the shadows, leaving us alone.

  “Yes?”

  Virginia sighs. “Daniel, do you love Isabella?” She asks bluntly. I look at her, speechless. She sighs again and looks away, walking a few steps toward a tree trunk and leaning against it.

  “She believes you do,” She continues, looking up at the full moon and the twinkling stars. “Ordinarily, witches have a very keen eye for this sort of thing. But she… well, she’s lost in her love for you, your personality, your memories. She wants to believe you love her back as ardently as she does you and refuses to acknowledge any other possibility.” Her blue eyes pierce me with her crystal-clear clarity. “Her senses have grown numb. She doesn’t see the lust and complacency Veronica and I really see in you.”

  “What?” I say. “Virginia, I’ve known all of you for less than a week. You’re telling me she’s this in love with me? She doesn’t even know me.”

  Virginia nods. “Part of it is arrogance,” She continues, looking up at the night sky again. “She would never believe she isn’t loved by the person she chose to give herself over to.” She speaks as if she were in the presence of the most dreadful tragedy of all.

  “Virginia, I don’t want to hurt her,” I say, feeling a slight constriction in my chest.

  She approaches me slowly until she stands before me, her eyes, as deep and as blue as the ocean, boring into mine. “We are the Daughters of the Moon, Daniel. We are married to the night. Your heart, child, does not rest in our world, nor will it ever.” She puts a hand to my heart. “It is not your fate to lie forever with one of our kind. You are not destined to an eternity of shadows under the light of the moon and stars.” Her mouth is inches away from mine, and her other hand caresses my cheek. Ever so slowly, she pulls away from me and releases me from her gaze, her eyes brimming over with tears.