by Mary Fan
But she was more than a creature of destruction. She cared about people, and he hoped that someday, when he knew her better, she’d decide to trust him. And then, maybe he could learn more about the person behind those fierce black eyes.
She slowed as she reached the spiral staircase to the tower. “We get a lotta creatures around here, even when Storm’s not throwing them at us. Sometimes, I think the Sentinels put a monster magnet in Citadel back when it was their outpost.” Her voice had returned to its usual lilt. “The first thing they taught us at the Academy was how to deal with spirits. It’s kinda dumb because there’s not much we can do about them other than repel them with silver or, in the case of specters, hunt down their human remains. The strongest can only be banished with a really, really powerful spell. Lucky for you, none of them can touch you anyway, so I’ll skip straight to the solid monsters.”
Flynn nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
She opened the door to the tower and approached one of the weapons racks. “Most Defenders like guns because it keeps them from having to get close to their targets. Problem is, there are a lotta supernatural suckers that can’t be taken down with bullets. There’s only one surefire way to get rid of a monster: chop off its head with a silver blade. That’s why double swords are my weapons of choice.” She took a pair of practice swords off the rack. “Of course, every weapon has its downside. Big monsters aren’t easy to behead with little blades. But my swords are a special set—enchanted to be extra sharp and extra strong. And to light up, of course, so monsters will come at me instead of whoever I’m trying to defend.”
“Where did you get them?”
Aurelia regarded one of the practice blades. “One of my old training partners gave them to me.”
He got the feeling that there was more to the story but could tell from her tone that she didn’t want to talk about it. “Cool.”
“Now, I’m going to teach you how to use several different types of weapons so you can have options. Maybe someday, if you get good, I’ll let you try out my blades.” Aurelia swung the two swords around, flicking her wrists with ease.
Flynn saw the practice sword he’d used to disarm Storm. He picked it up and gave it an experimental swing. A movement caught his eye, and he whirled to find Aurelia running at him. In the time it had taken him to pick up a blunted blade, she’d apparently stowed her double swords and crossed the room without him noticing.
“I’m a bloodwolf!” She leaped at him, holding her hands up like claws.
Flynn held up his sword in an attempt to shield himself. It didn’t work. She collided with him, sending him to the ground. The blow knocked the wind out of his lungs, and he landed painfully on his back.
Aurelia, who had landed on top of him, cried, “You’re dead!”
“Hey! I wasn’t—”
“You think a monster’s gonna care if you’re ready when it’s thirsting for your blood?” She pushed off him.
He tried not to wince as he stood. “But you didn’t—”
“You should’ve been paying attention to your surroundings.” She backed away from him. “Let’s try that again. Bloodwolves aren’t so bad. They’ve got super strength and super speed, but unlike fangbeasts, you stick ’em anywhere, and they’ll feel it. Also, they go down if you stab anything silver into their hearts. So no need to decapitate.” She reached the other side of the room. “Try to stop me from killing you this time.” Holding out her hands, she ran at him again.
Flynn braced himself. She leaped, and he jumped out of the way. When she landed in front of him, he swung his practice sword at her. He tapped her side, but she ignored the blow and grabbed him by the shoulders then shoved him against the wall.
She clacked her teeth, biting the air. “Dead again!”
“I got you that time!”
“You call that a hit?” Aurelia raised one eyebrow. “You’ve gotta swing your whole body into it, dummy. All your little whack would’ve done to a bloodwolf was piss it off!”
Does she really expect me to hit her? The thought of actually striking anyone—especially a girl—felt wrong. “I didn’t want to injure you.”
“Pfft.” She rolled her eyes. “If you can give me a legit bruise, I’ll take it as a sign that I’m a good teacher.” She released him and backed away. “Okay, one more time, and this time, fight me like you mean it. I wanna see what you’re made of.”
When Aurelia leaped at him this time, Flynn stepped out of the way and waited for her to land. He raised the practice sword over his shoulder and twisted his body hard as he brought it down. She dodged the blow and abruptly jumped at him again.
Startled, he jammed the sword forward. In that instant, he didn’t see Aurelia, a girl and fellow rebel. She was an attacker, and when he struck, the rounded end of his weapon hit her hard in the stomach. The impact sent her stumbling backward. She doubled over then fell onto her knees, bowing her head and shaking.
He dropped his sword, horrified. “I’m sorry!”
Then he realized she wasn’t sobbing—she was laughing. She looked up with a grin. “Nice! Guess I’m dead this time!”
“Are you okay?”
“Yup!” She stood, rubbing her stomach. “Man, that freaking hurt! I’m gonna have a gigantic bruise there tomorrow!” She put on a mock somber expression. “I’m proud of you, my young grasshopper.”
“I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Yeah, you did, and that’s good. If you’d hesitated, you’d be dead again.” She walked across the room. “Okay, I’ve seen how you defend.” She turned to him, crossed her arms, and popped her hip out. “Now, let’s see how you attack.”
Flynn wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Did she really want him to run at her with a sword? He still felt bad about having jabbed her in the stomach, and he couldn’t just… hit her. It would be wrong.
Aurelia let out a wide, exaggerated yawn. “La, la, la, I’m waiting…”
Okay, then. She was the Firedragon, after all. He couldn’t really hurt her even if he wanted to, which he never would. He ran at her, raised his weapon, and brought it down toward her collarbone. Aurelia grabbed a stick from the wall beside her with one hand and held it up to deflect his blow. She grabbed his blade with her free hand, braced it against her stick, and yanked back. He lost his grip, and the weapon fell from his hand. Before he could react, she whacked him in the side.
Ow! He doubled over as the pain from the impact spread through his entire torso.
She raised her eyebrows. “Do I need to say it?”
Flynn straightened. “But bloodwolves don’t have thumbs, so they couldn’t—”
“I was a shifterskin that time!” She tilted her head with a mischievous smirk.
He shot her an irritated look. Shifterskins could take the form of any creature whose pelt they wore, and while they usually took the form of predatory animals—bears, cougars, and such—they sometimes took on human forms. She never plays fair, does she? “You could’ve given me a heads-up.”
Aurelia shrugged. “Most fights aren’t fair, but you can’t let that stop you. The razorbirds and bloodwolves guarding the Palace of Concord won’t stop to give you a heads-up, and there could be nasties we haven’t even heard of lurking there. So you’ve gotta be prepared for the unexpected.”
Razorbirds and bloodwolves? It hit him that he’d actually have to battle those monsters someday—and probably soon. Being Untouchable wouldn’t stop a razorbird’s metal feathers from piercing his skull. As for bloodwolves—the teeth and claws could kill a person even if there were no supernatural abilities involved. He had to be prepared for the unexpected, and he was determined not to let fear stand in his way.
Aurelia returned her stick to its rack. “Alrighty, enough playing around. You seem to like that sword, so lemme show you a few tricks that’ll make you more efficient next time.”
After a week of nonstop training with Aurelia, Flynn found himself lying on his back on the training room floor, unwilling to get up, after having been knocked down for the hundredth time. The initial thrill of learning to fight had worn off, and he was sick of being humiliated day in and day out while wondering if he was actually gaining any skills. Bruises covered his limbs and torso, and his body felt like it was falling to pieces.
Aurelia nudged him with her foot. “Get up! Let’s go again!”
“What’s the point? I’m toast anyway.”
“You are if you keep thinking like that!”
“Do we have to trade actual hits?” He blinked up at her. “The Cadets always wore padding when they trained.”
Aurelia put her hands on her hips. “Well, we’re not at the Academy. Better to get used to the pain now than to be shocked when you’re actually whacked. I swear, most people who get attacked don’t defend themselves because they’re too dazed to do anything.” She crouched beside him and shook his shoulders. “Get up, get up, get up!”
Flynn rolled over and slowly picked himself up. Every muscle felt as though it had been strained or pulled in some way, and from the pain in his wrist, he was pretty sure he’d sprained it. He was now starting to see how being Untouchable could be a real disadvantage. Whereas Aurelia could grab an Enchanter to cast a healing spell whenever she was injured, all he could do was ice his sore spots and hope he didn’t break a bone or something.
He stood and dropped his face into the most miserable expression he could muster, hoping Aurelia would appreciate just how sick he was of always getting beaten up. It wasn’t the pain he minded; he could take a few hits. It was the constant frustration of being made to do something he wasn’t ready for.
Aurelia shook her head at him. “Fine, then, lazybones. We’ll go classroom for the rest of the day.”
“Thank you.” Flynn returned his practice sword to the rack on the wall, a bit annoyed but glad he’d at least get the chance to let his aching wrist return to normal.
Aurelia ran out of the tower and scampered down the stairs. He followed, keeping his hand near the railing in case his sore legs gave out beneath him. Why does she always have to run?
“Think fast!” The voice was Tamerlane’s.
A blue rubber ball flew at Flynn. Recognizing the training exercise, he ducked. As it sailed over his head, another flew at him from the side. He dodged, but his foot slipped on the stairs. As he grabbed the railing to steady himself, a third ball hit him on the head with a hollow thunk.
“And you’re dead.” Tamerlane stood beside Aurelia at the bottom of the stairs, a wand in his hand.
“I hate you,” Flynn grumbled. He had just gotten up when Aurelia rushed at him.
“I’m a shifterskin!”
Flynn dodged as she lunged at him. Too slow—she pinned him against the railing and pushed her arm into his throat.
“Dead again!” She released him.
“I thought you said we were done!”
“I told you to be prepared for the unexpected, didn’t I?” She glanced down at Tamerlane. “Throw ’em again!”
Tamerlane glanced at Flynn and shook his head. “That’s enough for now. Return to me.” He flicked his wand to summon the balls back down toward him then directed them into a cabinet by the staircase and closed the door.
Aurelia marched up to him. “I told you to be merciless!”
“I don’t think this is helping.” Flynn kept his eyes on her in case she tackled him again. Although sink-or-swim made sense in theory, being attacked on a daily basis wasn’t fun anymore, especially since he was pretty sure the only thing he’d learned from all the sparring was how high his pain tolerance could be. “Why can’t you let up a bit?”
She spun toward him. “Because you suck!”
“She doesn’t want to see you dead for real,” Tamerlane said calmly. “You’re a target, Flynn. The Palace is guarded by all kinds of beasts, and you can bet the Sentinels will make them go after the Untouchable One first. She wants to give you a fighting chance.”
Flynn nodded grudgingly, but couldn’t help wondering if Aurelia actually knew what she was doing. Being good at something didn’t mean you could teach it to someone else.
Aurelia glared at Tamerlane. “I don’t need you to speak for me.”
“It’s true, isn’t it?” He raised his auburn eyebrows. “Unless you just enjoy kicking his butt.”
She grinned. “I’m gonna go with that one.”
“Huddle on the staircase?” Calhoun’s voice wafted up from below. Flynn looked down and saw the old man approaching from the hallway at the bottom of the staircase. He glanced at Flynn. “How’s the training going?”
“Terribly.” Aurelia spoke before Flynn could answer. “The dummy’s a total goner.”
“Better up your game then.” Calhoun walked up the stairs, his gaze suddenly stern. “You’re in charge of protecting him, understand? I need him to make it into the Palace alive.”
Yeah, me too, Flynn thought.
A distant shriek pierced the air—probably a shifterskin, by the sound of it. It must have walked into the Citadel’s perimeter and ended up getting burned by the protective spells. Though he’d heard a number of supernatural cries over the past week, the sound still unnerved him.
“That’s been happening a lot,” he said. “Creatures getting fried, I mean.”
“Supernatural moron.” Aurelia leaned over the railing. “You’d think they’d’ve figured it out by now.”
“You weren’t kidding about the Citadel being a monster magnet.” Flynn rubbed the back of his head. “Wonder what’s going on.”
“Yeah, so do I.”
Tamerlane turned to Calhoun with a somber expression. “Calhoun, I really think we should find out what’s stirring up the Underworld. It’s not a good idea to go on so many missions with all this supernatural activity. Those wraiths nearly got us when we were searching for Storm. Perhaps, we should wait for the Underworld to settle down.”
“That’s how the Triumvirate would want you to think.” Calhoun scowled. “Don’t forget. Fear of the supernatural is how they rose to power in the first place. Now is the time to be bold. We can’t let the Underworld or the Defiants or anything else stand in the way of freedom.” He turned his gaze to Flynn. “Isn’t that right, Nightsider?”
“Um… Yeah,” Flynn said, not sure how else he could answer.
“You were the catalyst, kid. I know it’s a lot to hear, but your little break-in at the Academy set forces into motion that were on the verge of languishing. We were close to gone out here, but your presence has brought us renewed hope—and opportunities.”
“That’s good to hear.” Actually, it was anything but good to hear. Flynn had come to realize that he rather disliked the spotlight that had been thrust upon him. Sure, he mattered as he never had before, but that also meant that more was at stake if he screwed up.
“Learn fast, and study hard.” Calhoun gave Flynn a quick pat on the shoulder then turned to Tamerlane. “We’d better go check on the perimeter.”
Tamerlane nodded and followed Calhoun down the stairs, leaving Flynn alone with Aurelia.
She leaned back against the railing and regarded him for a few moments. He wondered what she was thinking. Was she angry with him for complaining earlier? Hearing that supernatural shriek outside reminded him of how close the danger really was. Maybe he wasn’t pushing himself hard enough.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she spoke first.
“Dang, you look really beat up.” She angled her mouth. “I guess we could spend less
time sparring, at least until you get a little better at the whole combat thing.” Her words came out mumbled, as though she begrudged each one.
“Look, I’m sorry I can’t keep up,” Flynn said. “I’ll try harder, I promise.”
“Trying isn’t good enough.” Aurelia pushed off the railing. “Calhoun put me in charge of keeping you alive, and considering you’re the freaking Untouchable One, that’s a pretty important job. Not to mention, I hate seeing people go down. I’ve seen it plenty of times already, and I’ll never get used to it.” She dropped her gaze. “I’m fast, but I’m not perfect. Throw enough monsters my way, and even I can’t handle them. I keep thinking about all those razorbirds and God-knows-what-else hiding in the Palace of Concord’s walls, and I can’t take them all. So I need you to be able to take care of yourself.”
“I get it.” He tried to catch her eye to let her know he meant it. “But this stuff—you’ve probably been doing it for so long that you don’t remember what it’s like to not know how. That’s good when you’re actually out there fighting, but leaves a newbie like me rather clueless. So break it down for me, okay?”
Aurelia turned her gaze back to him with a slight smile. “Okay, dummy.”
Storm stared at the full moon, which seemed to glare at him like an accusing eye. Calhoun still had the Untouchable One, which meant the Rising could still succeed, and he couldn’t allow that.
He brought his gaze back down to the cemetery. The old, cracked headstones appeared to glow in the brightness of the moon. It would do him no good to doubt himself. He’d done what he needed to do, and the error lay not in his planning, but in his resources. The Defiants were very few in numbers, and the Norms among them were fairly useless. Storm had only allowed them to join because they were better than nothing.