“You’re sure you want to go through with this?” she asks, placing a hardy helping of eggs in front of me.
“I’m sure.”
She sits across from me with her own food. “Well, you do have one advantage at least,” she muses. “You already know all about the supernatural, thanks to your parents. You won’t have to go through as many classes as the other hunters.”
“Classes?”
“Of course. We don’t just test someone’s physical abilities and then send them out there without knowing what to expect.”
“Well, we didn’t really get into the nuts and bolts of the EEA,” I say, taking another sip of my coffee. It’s bitter and dark. Fiona didn’t even offer any sugar.
She says, “You’ll learn soon enough.”
After breakfast, we go out to the parking lot. I automatically walk to her 1969 Camaro, but she places her hands on my shoulders and redirects me to an unassuming black Honda.
“We do our best not to bring any attention to the base if we can help it,” she tells me.
We blend into the Philadelphia traffic, just another car with people on their way to work. That’s where the similarity ends though. While most of the city is living a normal life, unaware of the supernatural, or at least the reality of it, we’re on our way to a base where the EEA hunters of Philadelphia come together in order to fight off the evil most of the world doesn’t even understand.
We pass by apartments, restaurants, businesses, all the usual Philadelphia sights before we taper off from the hustle and bustle. Fiona drives us onto a private road for a while, until we get to a gate she has to unlock with a card of hers.
“It doesn’t look like it, but this area is the safest in the whole city,” she tells me.
“It’s a bunch of rundown warehouses,” I say.
“Some of them. We use a few for hunter business. Others are decoys and basic storage.”
Fiona continues navigating through the warehouse maze until we reach a garage attached to the largest warehouse of them all. The garage door opens only after Fiona offers her fingerprint. Fiona finds a place to park near a bunch of other cars and armored vans, and the garage door closes behind us.
I follow Fiona out of the black Honda and up to a metal door. She reaches out for the handle, but it opens on its own with a huge bang instead as it comes in swinging. I nearly jump out of my skin when an eager, big, and muscular guy, who looks like he could easily snap me in two, greets Fiona and me with a huge toothy grin.
My heart is pounding. I really need to learn how to control my fear if I’m going to avenge my parents’ death and… kill Arsen.
“Hey! Who’s this?” the man asks. “She don’t look any older than the new kid.”
Fiona comments, “Looks like I’m breaking all kinds of rules lately. This is Tasia. Tasia, this is Donovan.”
Recognition seems to find its way inside of the bear-like man’s eyes as he studies me more carefully now.
“Tell Divya to continue taking care of things for me, okay?” Fiona continues as she shoves past him and drags me with her into the building. “I’ll be taking care of Tasia personally.”
“Sure,” Donovan says.
I manage to tear my eyes away from him as Fiona keeps dragging me forward. We’re in a huge lobby now. Screens line the walls with images and information about available marks. I notice herbs, incense, crucifixes, god and goddess statues, and in more variety than anything my parents ever had. The items are all spaced and placed discreetly throughout the base, making the place a no evil zone. We pass by groups of people in uniformed black armor, too. This EEA is way more official than I thought it’d be. After seeing those first warehouses I was expecting something… a lot less nice.
“No monster would ever be able to break into here,” I say.
“That’s the idea,” Fiona replies. “Hurry up.”
I tear my eyes away from everything going on and follow her down into a wide hall where she opens another door. This one leads to a gym full of anything anyone could ever want in a gym. It’s more like a child’s dream playground. There are freaking rock walls for climbing, and they’re huge! My legs would turn to jelly before I even made it halfway up one of those things. They’re way too high.
I look over at the weights and see a young man lifting them. My attention is drawn immediately to the muscles in his arms; they’re clearly visible because of the tank top he’s wearing. He looks so strong. I let my eyes wander up to the back of his head. He has frosted golden hair and… wait.
“Rynne?” I whisper.
He turns around and sees me. He looks right at me with his soft blue eyes, and I know without a doubt that it’s him. I forget all about Fiona and run for him. With all the emotions and lack of emotions I’ve been feeling lately, I didn’t think it’d be possible for me to be this happy to see him. Maybe it’s a selfish happiness. He’s here. He’s part of this crazy world too, and that’s almost reassuring somehow. He’s here, and I could reach out and touch him. That’s definitely reassuring.
I stop just in front of him, at a loss for words. I want to hug him. I want to hug him so bad. But I’ve never just… hugged him before.
“It’s good to see you, Tasia,” he tells me. He greets me with his perfect smile. It’s gentle with the most subtle upturn at the corners of his mouth. “I’m sorry for being so elusive. It seems we have a lot to talk about.”
“You’re really here,” I say.
He looks past me and salutes. “Commander.”
I look behind me and see Fiona. She looks upset. I wish I could shrink to the size of a flea and disappear.
“Do you want to do this or not, Tasia?” she asks.
“I do,” I tell her. I have to do this. It’s the only way I’ll be able to protect everyone. It’s the only way I’ll ever be able to find Arsen. It’s the only way I might be able to kill him. He deserves it. He deserves it. He deserves it.
“I need to test your physical ability. You can catch up with Rynne after,” Fiona says. “He won’t be going anywhere today, so you’ll have plenty of time.”
“Are you testing her the same way you tested me?” Rynne asks.
“Yes. There are no exceptions. All recruits are tested the same way.”
He stares blankly at Fiona for just a moment too long.
“Tasia,” Fiona barks my name and then walks off in the direction of a… boxing ring.
I give Rynne a fleeting glance as I follow behind her.
“I’ll be testing you personally,” she announces as she climbs into the ring and begins wrapping her hands in some fabric.
“Testing me how exactly?” I ask, biting my lip. It takes everything I have not to start fidgeting with my hands, fingers, and nails.
“In combat.”
She tosses me some rolled up fabric, like what she wrapped around her hands. I look up at her. “Am I supposed to wrap these a certain way?”
Fiona’s face doesn’t change, so I can’t tell if she’s irritated by my question or if she expected it.
“Rynne, if you would,” she says.
I feel my heart jump into my chest when Rynne climbs into the ring with us. I thought he was going to continue weight training, but he followed us instead. I don’t know if I should feel happy or worried. I’ve never been in a fight. Never.
I’m kind of freaking out right now just thinking about it. One minute I think I can be brave and the next minute anxiety is threatening to pull me into a fit. I don’t like people being mad at me. I don’t like conflict. But Arsen’s changed everything. His face brings up a different set of emotions, of anger, of confusion, that feeling of being completely and utterly lost in him, to him.
I start sucking in shallow breaths. I’m on the verge of having a panic attack. I grasp at my black diamond heart desperately.
“Relax, Tasia,” Rynne whispers as he takes one of my hands and begins wrapping the fabric around it.
The feeling of his hand on mine is instantly calmin
g, instantly right. My chest feels warm and my hands seem to buzz with energy while he’s touching me. It’s like his touch is magic. It makes my anxiety recede and bathes me in light and peace, feelings I almost forgot.
He finishes wrapping the fabric around my hands too soon. I long for his touch again when he gives me a reassuring smile and steps out of the ring. At least I’m not going to have an outburst of anxiety now. He stopped it somehow.
Fiona grabs my attention by throwing her fists into the air in front of her: practice punches. “Take me down,” she says. “Do whatever you can to make it happen. There are no rules. You’re objective is to knock me down. That’s it.”
Knock her down? My first thought is to push her, because anyone would fall if their balance was offset, right? But something tells me it isn’t going to be that easy. It doesn’t help that I really don’t want to knock her down. The urge for physical violence has never been something I’ve struggled with. It isn’t in my nature.
“C’mon,” Fiona urges.
Here goes nothing.
I rush forward, just thinking about making her lose her balance. I hold out my hands and close my eyes when I’m about to collide into her. I let out a surprised squeak when I hit the boxing ring’s ropes and fall back onto my butt. Ow.
Where did she go? I look over my shoulder and see her slightly shaking her head. She’s disappointed, really disappointed.
“Is that how you’re going to avenge your parents?” she taunts.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I say. I feel stupid.
“Don’t make excuses, or you can walk yourself out of here right now.”
What do I do? I don’t know what I’m doing. I can feel the panic creeping into my chest again, oozing like liquid into my lungs, trying to suffocate me. I look over and see Rynne staring intently at me. His blue eyes are shining, the only hint of what he’s feeling. He’s telling me I can do this.
I can do this.
Fiona still hasn’t made a move for me. I guess she isn’t going to, because the moment she does, she’ll take me out. We’re on such a different level I’m sure you can’t even compare us. She knows that. She probably thinks I’m not even hunter material. She took me here as a favor, and now I have to prove I deserve to be here, that I can be an invaluable asset.
Do it, Tasia. Prove to everyone and to yourself that you can do this. How else are you going to protect the people you care about? How else are you going to free your mind from that demon?
I just have to knock Fiona down. That’s all I have to do to.
I begin pacing back and forth as I watch her. She gazes back at me, but she keeps her arms folded, and she doesn’t look worried. There aren’t many options for me to choose from here. The only advantage I have on my side is that she has no expectations of me.
Maybe I’ll be able to knock her down if I just stop thinking and charge at her with all my might. If I clear my mind and think only about knocking her down, I could do it. I have to do it. I sigh, but I don’t take my eyes off of her. I tell myself over and over that I have to knock her down. If I can’t even knock her down, I can’t ever hope to take down a demon. The demon. He’s evil. Pure evil. Even Fiona is wary of him.
The raging flames come back to life, the flames that feel like they’re consuming my entire body when I think about how that monster killed my parents. He killed my parents! They were so good and kind and he took them from me.
I wipe at my eyes before tears can fall down my face. Fiona’s watching me closer now. She lets her folded arms fall to her sides. I think she knows I’m ready to do this for real.
The last thing I do to trick my mind is to visualize Fiona as the demon. Arsen. What would I do if Arsen was standing in front of me right now? I wouldn’t be infatuated with him. I’d keep my thoughts and feelings shielded. I’d be ready for him. I’d kill him for all the horrible things he’s done. Demons deserve no mercy. Darkness can only be fought and rejected.
I’m ready.
I dash forward with my hands close to my sides. I gain on the demon in front of me. He’s just standing still and waiting for me because he doesn’t think I can do anything to him. I let my legs splay out in front of me as I slip onto the ground. I go right for his feet. If I can get him off balance—
He jumps out of the way and hits the ropes of the boxing ring, but not before I manage to grab one of his feet, bringing him down with me.
Laughter snaps me out of my self-induced trance. The ankle I have my hands wrapped around isn’t Arsen’s. It’s Fiona’s. She’s the one laughing. I let go of her ankle. She stands up once her laughing has subsided, and then she holds her hand out to me. I take it and she helps me up.
“You had me worried for a moment,” she tells me. “You aren’t a trained fighter; that much is obvious, but you do have determination. You’re determined to do whatever it takes to take that demon down, aren’t you Tasia?”
I nod.
“That’s all I needed to know. The rest can be learned.”
I follow her out of the boxing ring, and Rynne hands me a bottle of water. I drink it greedily.
“I bet I looked awful in there,” I comment.
“No,” he tells me, “you were terrifying.”
I search his face. Is he joking? I’ve always had a hard time knowing when people are joking or not, and Rynne is harder to read than most people. There’s something in his eyes though, a sort of melancholy. I don’t think he’s joking.
I glance back at Fiona. She sighs. “You and Rynne can catch up for a few minutes, but then we need to get back to testing.”
Rynne says, “Good luck, Tasia. Blade’s going to test your endurance, speed, strength, and everything else before she gives you a class and strength rating.”
“A class? Strength rating?” I ask. “And why do you call her Blade?”
“That’s right,” Fiona replies. “We have to measure all your skills in order to give you a class, your position in the EEA. We assign a strength rating to each member so we know your physical capabilities. If you work hard, you can better your class and strength rating. We test all hunters periodically for improvement.”
“Why does he keep calling you Blade?” I ask again.
“It’s just my hunter name.”
“Do all hunters have a hunter name?”
She smirks. “Nah. It’s just something I built for myself a long time ago, before I met your parents and joined the EEA. Meet me on the track when you’re done talking.”
Fiona jogs away, leaving Rynne and me with some privacy, despite the other hunters using the gym.
I stare at my feet. “What are you doing here, Rynne?”
“I’ve been looking for the EEA for a long time,” he says. “I thought I might find a clue in Reverie, and eventually I did.”
I whisper, “What are you talking about?”
I feel his warm hands on my shoulders, and I suddenly get a flashback of Reverie High. I remember Rynne kissing someone. I remember being crushed. But what was that kiss worth if he’s here now? What’s any kiss worth if he’s keeping as many secrets from me as everyone else? I just… I want to trust him. I want to. But what do I really know about him anymore? Is he still the same person I thought I knew? He feels the same. He’s acting the same. If we weren’t in this base, I’d think he hadn’t changed at all.
“My family was killed by Arsen too, Tasia. I was in Reverie looking for clues, but I got more than I bargained for. I’m sorry about your parents. I should have been there to save them, but my mission is the same as yours. He’s the reason you’re here, isn’t he?”
I stare up at him, bewildered. “Are you serious?”
“Very.”
“Then all this time… and that stuff about your parents?”
“Lies.”
“Why did the hotel let you stay there without consent from your parents, or word from them, something? Where did you get the money? What have you been doing?”
“As long as I paid, t
hey didn’t care. I had money saved up from commissioned hunting jobs. Not all hunters are part of the EEA, you know.”
Fiona just suggested something like that, but no. I didn’t know. I don’t know anything about this new world except for all the trivia my parents taught me about “mythical” monsters and spirits, the types of energies, what herbs, gemstones, and crystals combat negative energies… I learned a lot, but it’s painfully obvious I’ve only scratched the surface of this world.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I know how hard it is to lose your family. I just can’t believe I never knew.”
“It’s not often a good idea to let people know you’re involved in the supernatural,” he replies.
“Because most people would probably think you’re crazy.”
“Exactly.” He tightens his grip on my shoulders and pulls me into a hug. “It really is good to see you, Tasia. Hang in there, and remember, you’re not alone.”
I hug him back, savoring the moment and his subtle lemon-like scent for as long as I can.
“You should get back to Blade.”
“I’ll see you later, I guess?” I ask him hopefully.
“Most definitely.”
Guns are loud, even with earmuffs on. I’ve never been shooting in my life, but after all the physical tests, Fiona still wasn’t ready to let me take a break. I’m super tired and hungry, but she said that’s the point. She’s testing my endurance as well. Each time a gun goes off, I want to close my eyes. And guns are going off often. There are a bunch of other hunters in the shooting gallery, so I’m dealing with chaos as well as learning how to shoot. This warehouse is so huge I doubt there’s anything that it doesn’t have.
“Stay focused,” Fiona tells me.
I close my eyes for a moment so I can collect my breath. I make sure that my earmuffs are tight over my ears, and then I start shooting at the target in front of me. I’m barely off-center. I correct myself. I fire off a few more rounds with the semi-automatic pistol. I’m getting close to center now.
Fiona whistles. “You sure you’ve never done this before?”
Hearts Lie (Undying Love, Book 1) Page 15
