Bait

by Kasi Blake

  #

  It was almost midnight when Bay-Lee was summoned to the boardroom by a smug Keisha. The girl refused to tell her anything, simply shrugging and giving her, her infamous “Sorry” line without a drop of sincerity. They rode up in the elevator together, neither of them saying a word. What would be the point? If Bay-Lee asked the girl a question, she wasn’t going to get an answer.

  They walked into the boardroom without knocking. Members of the board sat around the long table just like the last time she’d been there, only this time was different. Each of them wore a black robe with a hood, reminding her of the Order. Glancing at Keisha, she lifted her shoulders in silent enquiry. What was going on?

  Teachers filed into the room and lined up against the wall. Then Nick entered. He walked by her without acknowledging her presence and lined up with the others. Van rose to his feet and peeled the hood back from his head. He gestured to the board members. They lit the candles in front of them, short and round candles sitting on decorative bases.

  “What’s going on?” Bay-Lee whispered in Keisha’s ear.

  The other girl placed a finger to her lips. “Shh.”

  Van circled the table and took both of Bay-Lee’s hands between his. “I am so proud of you.”

  She blinked. Huh?

  “I’ve been told you were instrumental in stopping the wraith attacks. You put your life at risk to save others. While I am not happy about that part, you succeeded in stopping what could have been the end of us all.” Sweeping an arm wide, he motioned to the others sitting around the table. “This is a trial of sorts and these are the jury members.”

  Scared, she looked to Nick.

  He stared straight ahead, still no emotion.

  Were they in trouble?

  Van went on. “This ceremony is about you and whether or not you should rise in rank from Bait to Hunter.”

  Keisha smiled at her, glowing.

  “I don’t understand,” Bay-Lee said. “Why am I on trial?”

  “Not you, little one.” Van kissed her forehead. “Your work here at school is on trial. One by one your teachers and fellow students will give testimony either for or against you moving up in rank. At the end you will also be allowed to speak. Then the board will vote. Because you are my daughter, I cannot say anything on your behalf nor can I vote. It’s up to you.”

  Bay-Lee clenched her teeth. Once again she was being screwed over because she was pretending to be his child. She glared at him before stepping to the side. When was it going to end? If she didn’t move up in rank because of her deal with Van Helsing, she was going to blast him in front of witnesses. He couldn’t keep doing this to her. She wanted to protect Avery too, but not at the cost of her own future.

  Alec was the first to step forward and give testimony. “We shouldn’t even be here tonight. This is ridiculous. If she wasn’t Van Helsing’s daughter, we wouldn’t be here. So what if she helped solve the mystery? I was working on it myself.” He snapped his fingers. “In fact, she saw my list of dead relatives. She probably got all her information from others.”

  Bay-Lee hated it, standing there while he tore her apart. She wrapped her arms around herself and waited for him to shut-up. If Van couldn’t speak on her behalf because he was biased, Alec shouldn’t be allowed to talk either.

  Alec pointed at Keisha. “She was helping Bay-Lee the whole time and so was Maxx. Maybe they should get a raise in rank instead of her. Ask her what she contributed to the ordeal. I dare you.”

  As soon as Alec stepped back into line, Maxx came forward. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I implore you to take a look at the facts. Yes, I did point Ms. Van Helsing in the right direction. She came to me with insightful questions and I answered them. Who cares? She found the spell on her own and used it to free the wraith. A brilliant plan, I might add. If it was up to me, she’d be a Warrior already.”

  Several gasps shot into the air.

  “What about her training in your class?” Van asked.

  Alec pointed out, “She hasn’t even been here for two months. How much could she have learned in such a short time?”

  After giving Alec a dirty look for interrupting, Maxx said, “She not only absorbed everything I threw at her, she put it into practice. I have no problem giving her gold stars across the board. In all my years of teaching I have never come across such a pure gem. She is going to make Legend one day. Mark my words.”

  Bruce went next. “The girl left me breathless with her first Mock Battle. Van trained her well. If anything, she is miles ahead of the other students. Someone even sent a real monster after her and she held her own.”

  Alec scoffed. “She almost got killed.”

  “She would have bested it if she hadn’t been injured while sparring with your brother.” Bruce circled the table as he explained the incident. “I was witness to her battle with Nick Gallos. It was a real fight, nothing like the students normally do in my class. I am certain he damaged her somewhat, bruises and cuts and sore muscles. She did a great job, took him down a few times as well. If the girl wasn’t in severe pain and weak from that fight, I daresay she would have beaten the monster bloody.”

  A few of the board members nodded and smiled, agreeing with him.

  Others looked doubtful.

  “Would you give her passing grades in your class?” Van asked.

  Bruce smiled. “I would.”

  A few other teachers spoke about her work in their classes. Every single one of them echoed Bruce’s sentiments. They thought Van had done a terrific job with her over the past several summers. The only person who badmouthed her was Alec. In the end it made him look petty.

  Bay-Lee began to relax.

  As soon as the teachers were done, Nick took a hesitant step forward. “I’ve only mentored one other person besides Bay-Lee so I don’t have a whole lot of experience, not like some of you. I’ve worked closer with her than anyone here. She’s smart, not just book smart, street smart too. Her instinct is dead-on. Someday we’ll all be working for her, no doubt in my mind.”

  Alec argued, “You’re too close to her. You like her.”

  “And you hate her. What’s your point?”

  Alec glared at his brother but didn’t say another word against her.

  “She fought a border monster,” Nick said. More gasps. Van’s upset gaze bounced between Nick and Bay-Lee. This was news to him. Nick added, “The border monster would have killed me if she hadn’t been there. She saved my life.”

  “Is it true?” Grace asked.

  Bruce laughed. “I knew it. She’s a natural.”

  Scowling, Van asked, “How did this happen, and why didn’t you report it?”

  Nick told them everything. He gave them the story with graphic detail while Bay-Lee stood in silence, heart pounding out of her chest. As she listened, she grew to love him more. Nick explained how she overcame her fear to stop the border monster from killing him. He exaggerated a bit. Bay-Lee hoped no one would hold that against her.

  When he finished, Van asked, “Does anyone else want to say something before Bay-Lee takes her turn?”

  Keisha raised a hand. With a big smile on her beautiful face she addressed the members of the board. “You all know me, and I don’t give compliments unless they’re warranted. I didn’t come to school to make friends. To me it’s all about the hunt. With that said, Bay-Lee is the best hunter this school has...” she blushed, “…next to me, of course.”

  Van gestured for Bay-Lee to give her testimony. She took a deep breath and prayed the right words would come to her. She couldn’t afford to mess this up. It was the most important moment of her life thus far. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me. For years I dreamed about this school, about joining the greatest hunters in the world. I’ve studied hard every summer and will continue to give a hundred percent now that I’m finally here.

  “Give m
e the rank of Hunter because I’ve proven myself.” She glanced at Nick, and he smiled to let her know she was doing fine. “I’m not the best hunter here, not by a long-shot, but I’ve proven I can hold my own. I’ve survived wraiths, a border monster, and the attack during my Mock Battle.”

  Bruce interrupted with, “You also handled yourself pretty well when the werewolf attacked you during Nick’s battle.” He turned to the row of teachers, rubbing his jaw. “I think it would be nice if we knew what happened that night. Alec, would you like to tell us how the spell was broken, allowing the werewolf to see her?”

  Alec bit off each word. “I had nothing to do with it.”

  “Didn’t you?” Bruce smiled, but his eyes remained cold. “You released a real monster during her Mock Battle.”

  With a sigh Alec confessed. “I wanted to test her, see if she would freak out and run at the sight of a real threat.”

  “You did what?” Van’s eyes looked like they might pop out of his head. “I defended you! What gives you the right to put my daughter in danger?”

  “I apologize.” Alec held his hands up in surrender. “She wasn’t in any real danger. There were hunters all around. If no one else jumped in to save her, I would have.”

  “Since you are coming clean, why don’t you tell us why you were meeting with a vampire in the forest?”

  Alec didn’t even blink at the accusation. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Bay-Lee held her breath, worried Van would say she was the one who’d seen him with the vampire. Then he’d have another reason to hate her. A flash of the meeting raced to the front of her mind, and she realized something strange, something she hadn’t noticed before. Alec had been walking without a cane.

  Was he faking his injury?

  “We’ll discuss this later.” In a louder voice Van said, “Time for a vote. Raise your hand if you want Bay-Lee moved up to the rank of Hunter.”

  Every hand went up except for Alec’s.

  “Opposed?” Van glared at Alec as his hand went up.

  Striking the table with a gavel, Van said, “Motion carried. Let the record show Bay-Lee Van Helsing has been moved up to the rank of Hunter.” There was a short burst of applause, and Keisha hugged Bay-Lee around the neck. Van circled the table to congratulate her.

  Nick stayed in the background. He was the one she wanted to hug, but they still had to keep their relationship a secret. The real Van Helsing daughter was out there somewhere, vulnerable. If anything happened to her, Bay-Lee wouldn’t forgive herself. Nick smiled at her from across the room. People surrounded her with good wishes and praise. Nick lifted his arm and flashed the inside of his wrist at her, the tattoo with her alias.

  She smiled, happy for the first time in her life. Then she remembered how badly Keisha had wanted to rise in rank. “What about you?” Bay-Lee asked. “Are they giving you Warrior now?”

  “Not yet.” The girl smiled and it seemed genuine. “It’s easier to get Hunter than it is to get Warrior, but I’m real close. Don’t worry. I’ll get there.”

  Van embraced Bay-Lee and whispered in her ear. “You’re halfway to getting revenge for your mother’s death. Can you feel it? Nothing can stop you now.”

  The smile left her face. She watched Nick interact with his brother, still on the other side of the room. She felt like there was a great chasm between them instead of a long table. What if she couldn’t have her revenge and Nick too? Which would she choose?