Frustrated, I grabbed the handle of my suitcase, jiggling the release mechanism, trying to tug it up. “Stupid thing!” I wanted to kick it. Every time I used it, the handle jammed.
Someone came to my rescue, extending the handles with ease, taking my suitcase and wheeling it behind him. Tor. His cape swishing behind him.
This small action made me feel even more sheepish. If I couldn’t lift a stupid luggage handle, then how was I going to fare against criminal supernatural creatures?
“Thanks,” I mumbled, hurrying to catch up with him, flashing him a strained, but thankful smile.
Chivalry wasn’t dead. Thank god, too, because Tor was a hunk, and not many men that looked like him had manners anymore. Well, not for me at least. I might be slim and somewhat cute, but I didn’t look like the Bardashians. I had large grey eyes and a small nose and mouth like the cartoon characters. Brown hair laced with orange streaks.
“So,” he said with all the casualness in the world. “What’s your talent?”
A gentleman that liked to play games. Well two could play at that. “I’ll tell you if you tell me.”
He smiled, the skin taught on his European cheeks. “If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
I needed to be wary of this one. The outgoing, cocky secretive types usually broke a lot of hearts. Best to stay away from him. I could admire and drool all I wanted when I was out on missions. Just so long as my lust didn’t end up getting me killed.
“The same could be said for me.”
“Touché.” Tor conceded defeat. But only because he realized he wasn’t getting anything from me.
Knoxe glanced over his shoulder, then stopped, breaking up the party. “What do you think you’re doing, Tor?”
“Momma taught me to be a gentleman.” He feigned about as much innocence as a dog that had stolen my ham from the bench.
Hey, I wasn’t complaining. It wasn’t everyday that a hot guy offered to help me. Certainly not a hot guy that looked like a superhero. Back at the Shadows I wasn’t exactly asked on a lot of dates. Besides, there wasn’t a big selection of my type of men anyway. But here…whole other story!
“Are you going to hold her hand on missions too?” Knoxe shot back.
Ahole. I curled my fist eager to throat punch him for his sarcasm. Instead I snatched back my luggage from Tor to show the leader I was no helpless maiden.
Knoxe raised a challenging eyebrow. “Protect her from monsters?”
God. Is that what he thought of me?
“I can hold my own in battle,” I assured him with enough fire in my voice to set the whole building alight.
I’d faced enough gantii and serpents to have confidence in my abilities. I didn’t need any man to save me. Save for in my fantasies with some nice role play in the bedroom. Me acting as Princess Leira and my man pretending to be Sans Solo saving me from kidnap.
“Thanks, Tor,” I said over my shoulder. “Catch you later.”
“You got it, Supergirl.” The sound of his boots echoed down the hall.
Inside the classroom, Knoxe thumped a black folder on my desk, looking bored and uninvested.
Friendly guy. As fun as a bikini wax when I was on my period.
Well guess what buddy? I wanted to be stuck in a room with him as much as I yearned for Skull-ray blast to the torso.
“What’s this?” I asked, flicking through the folder.
A welcome pack by the look of it. Notes on classes, timetables, facilities and a map.
“Enrollment forms,” he said, withdrawing to activate the overhead projector. “Waivers, health and death insurance.”
I gulped. “Death insurance?”
He sat on the edge of a bench and folded his arms, hanging his head as if he had some place else he’d rather be. “This isn’t the Shadows where you chase a few stray gantii. We’re chasing traitors, thieves and criminals crossing our borders.”
“Got it. Basically all the scoundrels in the universe on our doorstep.” My gut knotted at the idea.
To distract myself I buried myself in paperwork, reading all the forms, back and front. Signing my life away at all the dotted lines. Agreeing to conform with school policies.
Then I dove into the maps, orientating myself, finding a similar layout to the Shadows. Classes overlooking the grounds at the front. Training rooms in the middle. Dorms at the rear, along with the gymnasium, swimming pool, bathrooms, cafeteria, games room, movie theatre, library and study hall. Same rules as the Guild of Shadows. Breakfast from 7-8AM, classes at 8:30AM, lunch at midday, classes finished at 2PM, homework and assignments after that, dinner at 6-7PM, and recreational time onwards. Lights out at 10PM.
Guess I’d be making the most of it. I didn’t know what else to do here in the middle of nowhere. At least Bathurst had bars and cafes we could go to on the weekends to let our hair down. The Guardians were a long way from town. In the middle of nowhere literally.
Maybe I’d take up weight training, learn a language, practice sewing or something to consume my time. Then after a few years, apply for a transfer to a different facility. Somewhere closer to home and my friends.
“Finished?” Knoxe’s impatient voice called me back from my thoughts.
I didn’t honor him with a response, pushing all the paperwork across the desk. He scrunched it up and tucked it under his arm. Then he pressed a key on the remote control, it beeped, and the projector screen activated.
A dark screen with the blazing emblem of the Guardians.
“Welcome to the Guild of Guardians, where the supernatural world and magic collide,” the narrator said, with an enthused seriousness that reminded me of David Attenborough explaining about an animal on one of his documentaries. “The second line of defense against supernatural threats. Sister organization to the Guild of Shadows.”
Second line? I guess the Shadows were technically the first organization, started by Archangel Michael to fight the supernatural world.
Back at the Shadows I'd received the welcome speech from Blaze. Why did Knoxe make me watch some stupid video and not tell me the rules?
“Your attendance to class is necessary,” continued the narrator. “An eighty percent attendance rate is expected to graduate.”
Not a problem for me. Model student here.
“The only reasons we’ll accept for a non-attendance is illness, death in the family or a mission.” I didn’t doubt the rules because the Shadows were equally as strict. “We’re stringent and rigid, but only the best graduate from the Guardians. We’re not risking the Earth’s safety on students that would rather party hard.”
Straight down the line. I liked that. But complying with school rules didn’t I worry me. Something told me I’d have a lot more trouble from my team.
4
Astra
“Time to show us what you’ve got,” Knoxe said with all the warmth of an iceberg as he grabbed a couple of sharp stakes from the wall and twirled them in each palm.
“Before we get to that,” I said, holding up my palms, resting my clothing over the top of my suitcase. “I just wanted to say thanks for picking me to join your team.”
“We didn’t.” His words were cold, flat, and matter of fact. “Venellan invited you based on your supposed skillset.”
I flinched. Not the welcome or lack of welcome I’d expected. So cold and cruel, making sure I knew my place.
My gaze flittered across the rest of the team. Pascal twitched, hanging his head. Raze maintained his suspicious glare, sprinkling more leaves on his little fire bowl, blowing on them to stimulate smoke. Tor swallowed hard, shifting his gaze to the ground and scuffing his foot on the ground. Did they all feel this way?
Knoxe stepped closer, hovering, trying to beat home his point. “The one you’re replacing, though nobody could ever take his place, was Jason. We called him Jaz. One of the key members of the Guild of Guardians. He could control veil energy, open portals, send the gantii through it, among other amazing feats.”
>
Sounded awesome. But any Shadow recruit could do that the same thing with spells. I kept that little fact to myself. No point in rubbing it in when something strange was going on. Where was Jaz? Why was no longer in the team?
“Staggering back from losing his powers and his skills is hard enough,” continued Knoxe, his icy and uninviting tone steady. “But he was also my best mate. We were as close as brothers. All of us.”
Great. Bromance. I couldn’t compete with that. But I could hold my own. I might not have been a seasoned warrior yet, but I was committed, dedicated, and I studied and trained hard. I’d show them I was worthy. They didn’t have to like me. All I asked for was a little common decency, a hello every morning, a how’s it going and a pat on the back for a job well done. Respect went a long way with me. I’d have their backs if they had mine.
Over the years, I’d come up against plenty of bullies because I was different, because they didn’t understand why my brain didn’t work the same way as theirs. They’d pick on me when I didn’t understand them, when I’d have a meltdown over replacement teachers, a late school bus, interruptions from fire drills or the canteen running out of a certain food. Things that excited or didn’t bother normal kids sent my mind into a whirlwind of anxiety and confusion. Circumstances beyond my control or understanding as a child and teen.
When my mom took me to see Doctor Vickers, she’d made the Asperger’s diagnosis, and we finally had an explanation as to what was wrong with me. The doctor gave my mom methods to control it and minimize any disruptions to my muddled circuitry in my brain. While my mom implemented a strict routine to prevent meltdowns, there was a limit to what she could control. She couldn’t stop the taunts, the whispers, and the pranks at school. Pokes and prods aim at me to set me off and get a reaction out of me.
Look at that freak show.
My chest tightened and I held back a whimper.
I’d tortured myself all my childhood for being different, only wanting to be the same as them. But I was never going to be the same. Whenever I cried at night, my mom always used to hold me, brush my hair out of my fair, wipe the tears from my eyes, tell me I was special. It had taken me eighteen years to come to terms with that, and four years to be comfortable with it.
When Venellan came to my house, telling me he’d been looking for me, that I was special, I’d been excited but freaked out. At the Guild of Shadows finally I’d finally found a place where I belonged, where other students with strange powers and abilities were welcomed. Where they didn’t care if you had a mental disorder or if you were different. Because each trainee was a gift from God to fight the supernatural menaces threatening the world. Few others had powers like me, and those that did, differed slightly.
My mom had been right all along. I was special. And the bullies would NEVER take that away from me. Neither would Knoxe.
I stepped closer to the leader, even though he towered over me with and was far wider and stronger. He didn’t know me. Didn’t know what I was capable of. I couldn’t replace Jaz. Nor did I want to. I was me. But clearly, he held it against me for some reason.
“I’m sorry you lost, Jaz.” I kept my voice firm and strong. “But you’ll find my gift useful.”
The leader might have succeeded in making me feel unwelcome, but I’d prove him wrong.
“It won’t replace Jaz,” I reassured. Because that’s what he wanted to hear. Right? “But it’ll get your out of a tight spot. That’s worthy of your team, isn’t it?”
Knoxe glared at me.
Behind him, Raze distributed the smoke over Knoxe’s back in a flurry of waves and hard, puffing breaths, and I felt like I was in a bloody eighties rock video clip.
Finally, I understood his motivations. So much hostility and bad juju that needed clearing. Knoxe had a problem, and it needed airing, pronto. I just hoped the smoke did the trick.
I charged up my magic and released a dose, disintegrating Knoxe’s belt and all the stakes on it. I glanced down, smiling at my own effort. The idiot didn’t even seem to notice, maintaining his glare.
“You don’t know the first thing about how special Jaz was to us,” Knoxe snarled, earning a bigger does of smoke. “Or how he was taken from us in an instant.”
The leader clapped right in front of my nose, and I flinched. Damn him. Trying to intimidate me.
“Raze, cut it out,” he barked and Raze growled, withdrawing to the back of the room, pacing it, brushing away the smoke clouding the room.
Knoxe held out his hands, and his fingers curled into claws, twisting as if wringing water from a wet shirt. “You don’t understand what we’re up against. Varlax. A rogue vampire faction hungry for fresh energy and they’re looking at Australia like it’s a banquet. When we went after the leader, Styx, it took everything we had, and we got most of ‘em. But he was too slippery and too powerful. We thought he had him cornered, but he broke loose again, and as a parting gift to us, he broke Jaz’s neck.”
I touched my throat, suddenly aware of its vulnerability and fragility. I struggled to swallow against a lump.
He leaned closer, and I smelled mint on his breath, and his warm and spicy aftershave, neither of which made it easy to concentrate on his words. Even more difficult when he was this fierce and intense. “So that’s what you’re up against.”
“I get it,” I snapped. “I’m not fucking welcome here.”
At this Pascal glanced up, his gaze flicking between me and Knoxe.
Tor stepped forward, reaching out to grip Knoxe’s shoulder. The leader shook him off.
I put my hands on my hips showing him I meant fucking business. He didn’t like me, and I didn’t like him. Full stop. “But you’ll mourn you’re the loss of your cock if you don’t back the fuck off.”
A smile cracked over Tor’s face as if he were impressed.
Poor Pascal rocked back and forth. He didn’t like the confrontation.
Even Raze’s glare softened with what I interpreted as admiration.
Oh, yeah. I wasn’t going to take shit from any of them.
Tor clapped his hands and stepped forward, his cape swishing behind him. “Okay. I think my balls just doubled in size from all the testosterone in this room. Let’s train huh?”
I snorted. Yeah, I had balls, and I was going to use them. Fuck Knoxe. He wasn’t going to make me feel like a waste of space. He had to get over himself. Get that ego in check. I wasn’t to blame for Jaz’s death, and I sure as shit wasn’t to blame for his replacement. Life went on in the Guild of Guardians. The Earth had to be protected. We were on the job now. Knoxe could mourn his friend in private, not bring it into the group, the way I handled leaving the Shadows behind.
“That would be fantastic.” I pressed my hands together and smiled even though inside I was quaking and crumbling into thousands of pieces.
Fuck, that was intense. Probably one of the worst encounters of my life. Before, it had taken bullies weeks to get on my case. This time, it happened on my first day. I needed to be wary of Knoxe. Stay on his good side and avoid messing up or giving him any excuse to pick on me.
Raze, put aside his smoking bowl to grab two stakes from the shelf along the wall and handed me one. “The wood has been soaked in gin and tonic.”
My knees weakened at his deep and gruff voice. Like Vin Diesel, but ten times as sexy. I imagined him talking dirty in one of the romance audiobooks I listened to, and I shuddered. I’d masturbate to his voice! The idea had me simmering.
Cool it girl. He’d never be interested in you.
The heat building evaporated fast.
I accepted his gesture, putting it down to his way of welcoming me. Let’s get on with this. I nodded back at him and squeezed the stake hard.
Wood inscribed with magic runes. Effective not only for draining vamps, but against warding off gantii and even injuring them. Although, only specific symbols worked on each species. We’d started to learn that before I left the Shadows. Now that I was here, I’d have to read up on i
t on my own if it wasn’t part of my class curriculum.
Knoxe groped his belt for his missing weapons. “Where they fuck are my stakes?” He spun and glared at Tor.
The Thor wannabe shrugged. “Don’t look at me. Supergirl hid them.”
Knoxe’s fierce gaze landed on me once more.
“That’s my gift,” I told him, leaving it at that. He wasn’t giving me an inch, and I wasn’t reciprocating either. He could damned well figure it out on his own.
Knoxe muttered under his breath as he grabbed two more stakes from the rack.
Pascal clanged his tuning fork with another tool, making a long, droning sound. A wave of energy hit me, and the mood in the room shifted. My muscles relaxed, and I forgot the tension from earlier.
Tor winked and flashed me a lightning smile. “Wait until you get to the grenades.”
Knoxe returned, twirling two more stakes in his palms. “Do you know how to wield one of these?” he said, his tone calmer, but still firm.
“No,” I admitted, bracing myself for more harsh and belittling words to follow.
“What did they teach you at the Shadows?” he asked, his usual glare returning. But this time, I sensed it wasn’t aimed at me.
“Basic spells,” I replied. “Herbs, crystals and how to harness my magic.”
I’d only been with the Shadows for a year and a half. We didn’t get to train with weapons until out third year. Things obviously worked differently at the Shadows. Or these guys had been training a lot longer than me.
“We’re all about hunting and apprehending gantii,” Tor said with another wink. “We only care about weapons. To defend ourselves, and bring gantii crashing down.”
God. They’d thrown me in the middle of a boy’s club. Smash, crash, and bash, that was all that interested them.
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