by Kailin Gow
But a loud cough pulled them apart. Bleary-eyed, Lux turned to see Lucas standing in the hall looking at them. His eyes said it all. He was angry, and he was hurt.
Chapter 4
“Now, that’s interesting,” Lucas said in a dry flat tone. “While I’m in there holding Brian’s good hand while his finger is being sewn back on, you kids are out here having a good ole time.”
Sully turned to Lucas with a defiant tilt of his chin while Lux pulled away from his embrace.
“So, how are your patients doing?” Lucas said.
“You make it sound like I was slacking off, Lucas, but you know that’s not true. I could have sat back and let Mom come, but I sent her back to the Academy. I carried Gerry in and waited until Lonnie and Dawn were seen by a doctor before…”
“Before rushing off to a quiet corner?” Lucas finished for him. He took a deep and long breath before turning his gaze to Lux. His eyes softened somewhat, as did his tone. “It’s been a long day. You must be starving. While it may not be the lavish buffet my mother has planned for the students back at the Academy, the food at the cafeteria here is pretty good. Want to grab a bite to eat?”
“Sounds good,” Lux said suddenly realizing just how hungry she was.
They headed down the stairs and found the cafeteria. It was quiet with only a few interns and orderlies seated at a far corner and the devastated family members of a patient at another.
As they got a tray and walked the length of the service counter, they could hear the mother sniffling and sobbing.
“It’s heartbreaking just hearing that,” Lux said as she looked at the many choices before her. Though starving and eager to eat, she closed her eyes a brief moment and muttered a prayer for the poor woman’s loved one.
“It’s not an easy place to spend the day,” Lucas said as squeezed her hand.
“No,” she said softly. “It’s not.”
Lucas turned his attention to the food laid out on the other side of the protective glass. He pointed to the platter of seafood and the employee filled a plate for him.
Lux opted for a bowl of beef stew with a huge piece of crusty bread and followed Lucas to the cashier, while Sully lagged behind debating between lasagna and pizza.
“Just take both,” Lucas lamented.
“Good idea,” Sully said. He got his lunch and hurried to the cash register.
“I’ll take care of all three,” Lucas said to the cashier. He pulled out a wad of cash and paid for the three lunches.
“Thank you for lunch,” Lux said as they made their way to a table.
“It’s the least I can do,” Lucas said.
It’s the least I can do, Sully mimicked with a grimace as he sat across from Lux.
Lux chuckled and glanced at Lucas who was not amused. She grabbed her spoon and dug in, then broke off a piece of bread and dunked it into the thick rich gravy. Bite after bite, she sighed her satisfaction with the perfectly seasoned stew.
“Looks good,” Lucas said with a grin.
Lux realized she’d almost cleaned out her bowl while they had barely touched their plates. Licking her lips to clean off any stray gravy, she scraped her bowl with her spoon and took the last bite.
“And eating with a spoon, no less,” Sully said.
“Don’t want to miss any of that gravy,” Lux explained. She stood up. “In fact, I think I might just go and get me another bowl of stew.”
Lucas smiled. “Go ahead. I’ll go pay for it afterwards.”
Lux went back to the counter and quickly returned with another steaming bowl of savory stew and a generous piece of pecan pie.
“I guess that’s what happens after a day of slaying,” Sully said.
“We were out there pretty early this morning,” Lucas said. He looked at his watch. “And it’s now almost six o’clock.”
“No wonder I’m hungry,” Sully said eyeing the piece of pie on Lux’s tray. “I barely had time to eat breakfast before running off this morning.”
“Not to mention all the energy we used all day,” Lux added.
“You’ve also had the additional stress of all those emotions,” Lucas said putting his hand over hers.
Lux finished her stew and leaned back into her chair, letting go of the stress of the day. “It was a stressful day, but for all the energy I spent today, I somehow feel invigorated and alert.” She looked up at them. “Romeo was really a drain on me. No wonder I wasn’t getting any better as a slayer. He did everything he could to keep me from improving. Now that I look back on the time I spent with him, I realize that I was more and more confused, not to mention fatigued.”
Lucas squeezed her hand then let go to clench his fists in anger. “I could kill him for what he did to you.”
Lux had never seen him so angry.
“At least he’s locked in the portal for now.”
“Yeah,” Sully said as he let out a heavy breath. “But I’m with Lucas. I’ll kill him if I ever see him again. He had no right seducing you the way he did. He had no right using you the way he did.”
“And right under our noses,” Lucas spat. “Damn it. I can’t believe how he had us all fooled.”
“Look,” Lux said as she picked up her desert fork and poked at her pecan pie. “It’s over now. We all know what he is and we can deal with it now.”
Sully pouted as he pushed his plate away. “Well, at least it explains why you were always so distracted at home. You even stopped hanging out with us.”
“And you were incredibly obsessed with Latin and nothing else,” Lucas added. “I mean it’s great that you learned Latin, but there has to be something else too.”
“I know,” Lux said. “He made me forget why I ended up at the Academy to begin with. He used every trick he had to distract me.”
“You were vulnerable and he used that. You were out on all counts; physically, emotionally and spiritually,” Lucas said. “You came to our Academy to get stronger and he did everything he could to make you weaker. We failed to weed him out and you paid for it. Damn it, we may as well have set you two up we were so negligent in our vetting process.”
“You’re taking way too much responsibility for what he did,” Lux said. “You said it; he fooled everyone.”
“Yeah,” Lucas said. “But you don’t understand. I’m the one who recommended Romeo to my mom.” He closed his eyes and let out a pained breath. “Lux, my mom suspected something was off with him.” He opened his eyes, now filled with tears, and looked at Lux. “She really hesitated a long time before finally hiring him. I just told her that it was probably because he was so good looking and she was distracted by it, or feared female students would be distracted by him. She laughed and said I was being ridiculous, and then she hired him.”
“Look,” Lux said matter-of-factly. “Can we all agree that he had everyone fool. And we all have our different reasons. I guess part of it for me was that I missed Moore and Brax so much. You know, I even wanted to believe they were there with me when I was fighting Romeo… that they were fighting with me just like they used to.”
Tears blinded her for a moment, but with a frustrated sweep of her hand, she wiped the tears away. “I saw them, or at least I thought I’d seen them. They fought Romeo which made me think it was really them, but…” She let out a heavy breath. “It wasn’t.”
“How did you find out it wasn’t?” Lucas said.
She looked pointedly at him. “They asked for my blood. They wanted me to sacrifice a part of me to save them. The Brax and Moore that I know would never, ever do that. They would never ask such a thing of me.”
“Maybe their time down there has changed them,” Lucas offered. “Maybe they’ve become more desperate than you remember.”
Lux shrugged. It was possible, but she doubted it.
“You know,” Sully said. “Maybe they’re not even down there any longer.”
“No,” Lux said. “I know they are. If they’d managed to break free, they would have contacted me by now.
No. They’re down there all right, and the minute I am strong enough, I’m going to go back and get them out of there.” She looked up at them. “You guys will help me, won’t you?”
“My first instinct is to say no,” Sully said. “But only because I want you all to myself. But if finding them is what will make you happy, then I’m ready to do anything you ask.”
“Same goes for me,” Lucas added. “If it’s any consolation, I saw you fighting out there today. You’ve already regained a lot of your strength. You’ve already become a better slayer.”
“Not to mention your wings and that glorious glow,” Sully added. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I think you’ve just hit on the tip of that iceberg of explosive energy,” Lucas went on. “You’ve barely touched the surface of all that power and strength, and we’re going to do all we can to help you break open all the potential that you have.”
Chapter 5
Having put the events of the previous day behind her, Lux went to class the next day with more determination than ever. She’d awakened with that resolve, but as she walked through campus, her determination grew.
Many slayers walked about with scratches and bruises, some with burn marks. It seemed like no one had gotten through the day completely unscathed.
If seasoned slayers could be injured, an untrained slayer didn’t stand much of a chance. She had to become as skilled as she could.
In her first class that morning, she noticed that the other students also seemed to take their lessons more seriously. They all sat quietly listening to every word the professor said. There was an intensity to the class that had never been there before.
And from class to class it was the same thing. The students all wanted to meet their full potential, and so did Lux. But she also had the additional pressure of having to catch up on what she’d missed the last few weeks. Her time sick at home hadn’t helped, not to mention her time with Romeo that had blinded her to what she needed to learn.
Well, not anymore. Never would she let a man, or anyone else for that matter, throw her off course.
After lunch she had her first Latin class without Romeo. Despite her resolve, she suddenly felt a degree of anxiety that had her reluctant to enter the class. Would the control he’d had over her still be in the class? All those memories of her time with him. All those hours spent in each other’s arms in that cozy back office.
While she was flooded with all those thoughts as she approached the familiar classroom, she fought the sense of shame and embarrassment that accompanied them.
She entered the class and looked around at the faces of the students she’d never really known because she was so focused on Romeo. She saw them, really saw them now for the first time, and while she would have expected them to resent her, they looked at her with kind compassion and understanding.
Lux took her seat just as their new professor entered.
“Hello, class,” the middle-aged woman with short dark hair said. She sat on the desk and clasped her hands in her lap as she looked over the class. “As most of you surely know, Professor Romeo will not be returning to the Academy and I’ve been asked to take over his duties here. My name is Rose Angelo. I learned Latin as a child because my mother thought it was important, and I then went on to study Latin in college to delve further into the language that I had come to find fascinating. I’ve been teaching Latin for nearly fifteen years. I hope I’ll be able to pick up where Mr. Romeo left off, or if enough of you prefer, we can start from scratch.”
The class opted to start at the beginning, and by the end of the class they’d already learned more than they ever had with Romeo. Ms. Rose Angelo was not only knowledgeable in Latin, but she had a way of teaching it that left a definite impression on her students.
When the class ended, Lux felt compelled to go see her. “I just wanted to let you know that I think you did a great job today,” she said.
Ms. Angelo looked up from her desk and smiled. “Thank you. That’s very sweet of you to say.”
“I imagine it can sometimes be intimidating taking on someone else’s class, but I think I can safely say, on behalf of the entire class, that we very much enjoyed your lesson.”
“Remind me of your name again,” Ms. Angelo said.
“Lux. I was…”
“Ah yes,” Ms. Angelo cut in. “I remember hearing about a beautiful and skillful slayer. I’m sorry about what happened with Mr. Romeo and I hope you’ll find my class informative.”
“Yes. Definitely. I already feel like I’ve learned so much from you.”
“I’m happy to hear that, but I couldn’t help but notice that your comprehension of Latin is already quite impressive. Had you had lessons before Mr. Romeo?”
“No. Never. The only Latin I knew was carpe diem, and that’s only because my mother loved that saying.”
The professor smiled. “Well, considering that, I would have to say that you’re a natural. Not only do you have an impressive, almost instinctive understanding of Latin, but the few phrases I heard you speak were perfect.”
Lux looked at her with surprise. “Really?” And there she was thinking she’d not learned anything at all from Romeo.
“I may not have mentioned it in my introduction,” Ms. Angelo said, “but I am also an instructor of gifts. I think you might find it beneficial to sit in on one of my classes.”
“Gifts?”
“Indeed,” Ms. Angelo said as she stood and came around her desk to face Lux. “It’s not difficult to see that there is something special about you. And I have a sneaking suspicion that you don’t even realize just how special you really are. I think my class might help you to learn about all the special gifts you have.”
Lux thought about her newfound angelic gifts and wondered how Ms. Angelo could know about them, but she was fascinated by the thought of learning more about them.
“Thank you,” Lux said. “I’ll definitely do that.” She turned and walked out of the class feeling elated. So far, her first day back at school without Romeo was going so much better than she had anticipated.
And as she headed back to the house she shared with Asher and the Goods, she felt lighter and happier than she had in a long time.
It was strange thinking about how she had felt while she had been with Romeo. She thought she was happy with him. Their time together was so intense and passionate, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized just how empty it had all been. Though she’d constantly felt the desperate need to be with him, she never fully felt happiness or any degree of contentment while with him.
She arrived at her home and walked in to find Asher, Sully and Lucas in the living room.
“The guy can’t even hold onto the ball,” Sully was saying. “Every time his fingers touch the ball, you know he’s going to drop it.”
“That’s only because the ball is never thrown where it should be,” Asher said.
“Yeah, but at least my team is seventeen points ahead of yours,” Lucas said to Asher. “And that’s all that matters to me.”
Lux smiled as she listened to them. If someone had told her a month ago that those three guys would be watching a ball game together, and enjoying it, she never would have believed it.
She peered into the living room to find them seated before the huge flat screen television, with bowls of chips, pretzels, popcorn and nachos all laid out on the coffee table.
“Is that what you guys call dinner?” she called out.
They turned to her and smiled.
“Hey,” Asher called out. “How’d your first day back at school go?”
“Great. Better than I expected.”
Sully got up to greet her as did Lucas.
“If you don’t want to fill up on junk food, I can heat up some lasagna for you,” Sully said.
“Sounds good,” Lux said.
“Sit down and relax,” Lucas said. “I’ll take care of it and bring it to you.” He cut in front of Sully and headed to
the refrigerator.
Lux laughed and plopped down in the big comfy recliner.
“It’s good to see you looking so relaxed,” Asher said softly as Sully and Lucas competed to bring her dinner. “In fact, it’s just good to have you around.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” Lux said as she took a few pieces of popcorn and tossed them into her mouth. “I realize now just how much I missed out on by spending so much time with Romeo. I guess I should be thankful for what happened yesterday. If Romeo hadn’t pulled me into the portal, if he hadn’t shown me what he really was, I would probably be with him right now, still blinded by all his pretty words.”
Asher looked at her with a naughty smile. “I doubt that it was his ‘pretty words’ that had you hypnotized.”
Lux laughed. “You know what I mean.”
“Piping hot lasagna, coming through,” Lucas called out as he walked around the sofa and brought the plate to the coffee table in front of Lux.
“And hot and crispy garlic bread,” Sully said, hurrying behind his brother.
“Wow! You guys better watch out,” Lux said, poking her fork into the hot pasta. “I could get used to this kind of treatment pretty fast.”
“Well, then,” Sully said. “Get used to it.”
They settled in to watch the game and nibble on junk food while Lux ate the saucy and cheesy lasagna. It was a great ending to a wonderful day, and she wanted to cherish every moment.
As she ate, she watched them, watched their newfound comradery and was happy to see they’d found a way to bond even with her constant absence. They teased one another, elbowed one another and all laughed together, and the sound of that laughter filled Lux with warmth and joy.
When Lux had finished wiping her plate with her crust of bread, she rose.
“Hey, sit back,” Lucas said. “I’ll take care of that.”
She laughed and headed for the kitchen with her empty plate. “Please, you guys have done enough.”
