by Shana Vernon
“I had to let you through the doors, per our laws, but if we find anything suspicious in the background check, you will be rejected.”
“Understood.”
I hopped over the unconscious man on the front step and entered the compound.
The inside of the building had a gothic feel to it. The halls were dimly lit and the walls were made out of some sort of off-white, textured stone. An earthy scent permeated the air, which reminded me of the woods behind my cottage. My heart clenched at the reminder of Papa.
Hang tight Papa, I’m here to find you.
As we approached a door at the end of the hallway, I could hear muffled voices coming from within, which abruptly halted once we entered the room. I looked around to see five civilian-attired people who I assumed were other initiates, and three Guild members in head-to-toe, black military fatigues.
“Initiates, gather around. We are going to begin with a short explanation of what it means to be a Guild assassin,” the man who brought me in, said. He gestured to the other people dressed similarly to himself.
“These are your Masters while you are here at the Guild.” He pointed to a middle-aged woman with honey-colored hair and said, “This is Master Locke. She will be in charge of handling your new abilities once they come in, as well as dealing with all healing needs. You will refer to her as Master Locke and nothing else.” Her icy-blue gaze gleamed in agreement with his words.
Gesturing toward a tall, muscularly built man, he said, “This is Master Wilde, he will be your Master of Combat. Your masters will be assisted by a few second-year initiates, including my nephew, Cade Abbott.”
So this must be the Killian Abbott Papa had referenced.
“I am Master Abbott, and I will be in charge of your weapons training,” he said, confirming my suspicions.
As I was formulating my plan to spy on him, the door behind us opened.
“Ah, Cade. Perfect timing. I was just explaining your position to the new initiates.” Cade stepped into my line of sight and my heart stopped beating in my chest. A sudden urge to run from the room came over me.
No. Freaking. Way.
I knew this guy. I’d met him a year ago at a party on Revere beach. Papa had gone away on a mission, so I had snuck out to see a bunch of college students.
They were having some kind of Hawaiian themed party, and I got to talking with Cade. We spent half the night speaking in one of those Victorian-style gazebos that lined the shore and made out all night long under the stars.
What if he recognized me?
That shouldn’t have been possible since I had been wearing a disguise at the time, but still. You never knew. I finally understood why Papa had been so strict all these years about changing my appearance and blending in. It definitely was not the first time I had done something like that. Actually, in my teenage years, I had done it almost every time Papa was gone. Even homeschooled assassins’ daughters wanted to meet boys.
I tried to get my heart rate back to a normal tempo and cool the heat that crept up to my face as Cade walked in front of the initiates to stand by his uncle, while Master Abbott continued speaking.
“As you all know, the creatures we call vampires have run rampant through our cities for the last five hundred years with little to no policing. It is left up to us to determine which ones are not following the laws, feeding without consent, or doing other illegal actions. Here, you will learn the best ways to incapacitate and kill them when necessary. Once you are initiated, your first lesson will be understanding vampires’ weaknesses and strengths.
“Let’s get started by going over the Guild laws. Is anyone here familiar with our code?” My gaze jumped to a supermodel-thin girl with impossibly straight, black hair. She was wearing brand named clothes and was waving her manicured fingers in the air. She would look more at home on a runway, than here training to become an assassin.
“Daddy told me that the number one rule is no children allowed. Oh, and also never tell anyone who your target is… Am I right?” I could not prevent my eyes from visibly rolling at her words.
Are times that rough that they couldn’t find anyone besides this spoiled rich girl for an initiate?
“It appears that your daddy left out a few important details,” Master Abbott said dryly, sneering over the word Daddy.
I watched with mild satisfaction as her cheeks reddened.
“Cade, why don’t you tell these new initiates our code?”
My fingers twitched and I clasped them together to mask my nerves. I knew I couldn't avoid his gaze while he spoke to us. I turned to face Cade and found his gray eyes focused directly on me.
Please don’t recognize me, please don’t recognize me, I chanted in my head over and over.
His eyes narrowed in scrutiny for a moment before smoothing out as he looked over the rest of the initiates. “There are six main rules that make up our code. Number one, only kill your intended target. Collateral damage is not acceptable. Number two, do not discuss your target with anyone aside from your masters. Number three, if you are captured, you should die before identifying your employers.” He took a break to let that one sink in for us. He ran a hand through his chin-length, black hair and continued.
“Number four, always finish any contract you accept. Number five, even though we understand how competitive initiates can get, killing a fellow assassin is grounds for excommunication and your life is forfeit. Last but not least, number six. You may not, under any circumstances, have children. The Guild will never accept that kind of liability should you be captured. Both the women and men will go through sterilization at the end of training to ensure no accidents occur.”
Excuse me?
Papa had never mentioned that.
After a glance at the phone in his hand, he swiveled around and walked right out the door, letting it bang closed behind him.
My jaw dropped open of its own accord. I seriously hoped that he was joking. Obviously it wasn’t common practice twenty-two years ago, otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing here today. Good thing I wasn’t here as a real initiate and would be leaving with Papa as soon as possible. I couldn't imagine why anyone would be okay with that.
I looked around at the other initiates and could see the news was not having the desired effect. It didn’t look like any of them were totally on board. The rich girl from earlier even looked a bit queasy.
Master Locke cleared her throat and said, “We will now move forward with the initiation. Once it has been completed, you will all stay in this room to sleep as it is the most secure room in the building. We will come back to assess you in the morning.”
We all approached to get a better look.
“For those of you who are not familiar, this is called the Donum Vitae. The gift of life. This flower is only grown in certain, secret locations around the world and is used for one purpose. To provide special abilities to the Guild members, so that we may be equal to or better matched than our targets. The Donum Vitae does not work immediately, which means that your abilities will manifest some time throughout the evening or morning hours, though it takes different amounts of time per person. This has nothing to do with strength or weakness, so do not worry if it takes a little while longer for some of you.
“Because new abilities are extremely volatile, you will remain in this room until we can be sure you have them under basic control. It does not happen often, but incidents have occurred in the past, so it is best to be on the safe side.” She motioned toward a door on the side of the room and continued, “Through that door are the restrooms and showers. Since they are communal, make sure to be respectful; the Guild does not appreciate sexual harassment. Now, before we get started, please provide Master Wilde with your clothing sizes so we can bring your initiation outfits.”
Master Wilde moved through the crowd, accepting the sizes for everyone, while my attention stayed on Master Locke as she prepared the ritual.
She picked up an azure flower that had bright yellow thorns
around the base and down the stem. She then used a mortar and pestle to grind the entire flower, including the stem and thorns, into a thick paste. After that, she scooped exact amounts into individual tiny dishes and left them all on the table.
“Everyone come and take one of the dishes, scoop out the entire amount, and place it underneath your tongue. Leave it there for at least two minutes before swallowing it. Before any of you ask, no, it does not taste good, but you will manifest abilities, so I believe you will all feel that it is worth the momentary discomfort.”
We all ambled forward to collect a dish of green paste and after glancing around to make sure the others put it in their mouths, I emptied the dish underneath my tongue.
A chill swooped down my spine. Please don’t out my existing abilities to everyone.
It had an oddly sour taste to it with earthy undertones. Definitely not terrible, but I wouldn’t be choosing it as an appetizer that was for sure.
The door banged open again to reveal Master Wilde’s return with our initiate uniforms and he handed them out.
I unfolded mine to reveal a black, one-piece that had long sleeves and legs, made out of a thick, stretchy material. These would not make going to the bathroom an easy affair for any of us, not even the guys.
Two more people walked in carrying boots, socks, undergarments, and toiletries, and placed them on the long table that held our empty ritual dishes. Without so much as a word, they turned and walked back out of the room.
“Everyone, come forward and take the rest of your new belongings and head off to bed. Do not bother trying to stay awake to wait for your manifestation. It does not happen after five minutes and you will have an early start tomorrow,” Master Wilde said, before joining Master Locke and following the other men out the door.
Once the door closed behind them, I could hear the soft click of the lock echoing throughout the room.
CHAPTER THREE
I took my pile of clothes and toiletries and approached the cots that lined the walls. I was about to drop my belongings on the cot nearest the door when a hand snaked out and pressed down on the mattress.
“Don’t even think about it, random girl. This bed is mine, so you can just run along now.” The girl with black hair too straight to be natural gestured with her fingers toward the other beds. I could see that she was one of those girls who thought intimidation would let her get away with anything.
I stared directly into her eyes, smirked, and placed my things down on the bed. “What, are you going to go call Daddy and tell him a mean girl took your bed?”
Her face turned beet red at the snickers that emanated throughout the room at my words.
“I would watch myself if I were you, you don’t know who you’re messing with.” She huffed and turned around, “I can’t use that bed anymore anyway, don’t want to catch poor from you.”
I shook my head and watched her walk to the cot farthest away and stake her claim to it, albeit a lot more quietly this time. I went through the pile on my bed, taking out the necessary clothing for that evening and folded the extras. I found a cabinet beneath the cot that had a key hanging out of the lock and stuffed whatever I didn’t need for that night inside and locked the door.
At least we got something for privacy.
“Hey love, don’t worry about Hailey. She’s a right bitch.”
I glanced up into the amber eyes of a hulking figure standing in front of me. His skin was a beautiful mahogany, and his body was covered in rippling muscles. He was a bit too massive for my taste, but gorgeous nonetheless.
I smiled back at him before replying, “It would take a little more than a few comments from some spoiled girl to worry me.”
He chuckled and stuck out his hand for me to shake. “My name is Ekon Toure, you didn’t arrive in time for our introductions earlier.”
“I’m Lenna,” I replied.
“So, are you a recruit or did you request to join?”
“I kind of just forced my way in now.”
“Yeah, I’m not surprised they wouldn’t turn you away even though they already have five recruits. I definitely wouldn’t,” he said with a wink.
What a flirt.
“Well, it was nice to meet you. I’m going to go get cleaned up.” I grabbed my toiletries and made my way to the bathrooms. I turned on the showerhead and noticed to my dismay that the only water temperature was icy cold.
They must not want people to waste too much water taking long showers. I cleaned myself as quickly as possible and scrambled into the pajamas supplied by the Guild, my body shivering from the cold.
As I walked back into the main sleeping area, a loud, shrill cry pierced the silence.
I dropped my dirty clothes and toiletries and pulled my hands up in a defensive position, my eyes roaming around the room in search of danger. I zeroed in on the girl who had taken the cot next to Hailey, and saw that she was lying on the floor, spasming, water spurting from her mouth as she gurgled.
Hailey dropped down next to her, panicked and tried smacking her on the back.
“Stop!” I screamed as I ran forward. “She isn’t really choking! She is manifesting her abilities. It must have to do with water.” I approached the girl and dropped to the floor as water continued to spurt from her mouth.
“What’s her name?” I asked Hailey.
“Brielle.” Her usual snarky tone forgotten in the heat of the moment.
“Hey, Brielle? You need to calm down and bring your focus to the new ability.” I placed my palm on her chest. “You need to feel the power and bring it back inside you. Gain control over it and lock it down.”
Her wild eyes connected to mine and then closed in concentration. After a few seconds, the gurgling stopped and she gasped for breath.
“Somebody bring some towels, she’s soaked,” I yelled, hoping someone would listen.
A moment later, a hand appeared in front of me holding a small stack of towels and I smiled up at an olive-skinned beauty in thanks.
“How did you know what to do?” a voice behind Brielle said, and I glanced up to meet a pair of slanted, obsidian eyes. I hurriedly tried to think of a reasonable explanation.
“Uh, I’m a closeted comic book nerd. What can I say?” I said with a slight chuckle.
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything more.
I moved out of the way as Hailey wrapped Brielle in a towel and helped her stand. I picked my toiletries off the floor, walked back over to my bed and plopped down, still thinking of excuses to give for what I’d done.
That was a really close call.
After everyone calmed down and finished getting ready for bed, someone turned off the lights and we all attempted to catch some sleep.
After what only seemed like a moment, the room erupted in utter chaos.
My eyes snapped open to see half the initiates jumping on their beds screaming toward the corner of the room. I looked around and saw a full-sized tiger moving along the wall, shaking its head back and forth as if trying to get rid of a fly on its head.
“Fuck guys, I think that’s Ekon!” the olive-skinned girl who handed me the towels exclaimed. “He’s the only one not on his bed.”
Now that is a great manifestation.
His tiger was stunning, the red and orange stripes looked like flames running up and down his powerful body.
I jumped off my bed and walked toward him.
“What are you doing? Do you have a death wish?” someone screeched behind me.
At my approach, the tiger’s head whipped in my direction. His lips pulled back to showcase gleaming, razor-sharp fangs. A warning growl wafted from his open mouth when I tried to get closer.
I ignored it and continued my advance, my palms up in a submissive stance.
“Ekon, It’s me, Lenna. You need to change back now; you won’t fit in your bed like that.” I tried to use humor to lighten the situation.
Ekon didn’t seem to understand me and crouched low, preparing to attack.
I wouldn’t have time to move as a human, I would need to shift into my hawk form, but that would risk outing me to everyone the first day.
Without another second of hesitation, Ekon-Tiger bounded toward me in an attack.
I gasped and raised my hands in front of me, squeezing my eyes shut, when a loud boom reverberated throughout the room.
I opened my eyes to find that the tiger had flown back into the wall and obsidian-eyes stood in front of me with his hands outstretched toward Ekon, who was now back in his human body. Completely naked. I yanked obsidian-eyes around, my heart pounding through my chest.
“What did you do?”
“I…I’m not sure. I think it must be some sort of forcefield or shield. The minute he got close, a bright blue light erupted out of my hands and connected to him, throwing him into the wall.”
“That’s amazing. Thanks for the save.”
“No problem.” He shifted on his feet and glanced back at his bed.
“What’s your name?” I probed.
“Axel Lai.”
“I’m Lenna. So, do you feel anything after using that shield thing? Do you feel tired, or more energized?
“Um… I feel pretty much the same. Kind of tired, but it is the middle of the night.”
“That’s incredible! It doesn’t deplete your energy. That’s a really useful skill.”
“Yes, that would certainly be useful against many adversaries.” He looked lost in thought. “I’ll need to experiment to deduce how effective it will be on humans and vampires.”
He shot another glance at his bed. “I’m going to try to get more sleep before I begin my research.”
“Alright. Good night, Axel.”
“Good night, Lenna.” He sidled over to his cot and went back to sleep.
“So, your name is Lenna?”
I heard a voice behind me and turned to see the towel girl.
“I’m Sofia. You have a serious death wish, girl. It’s a good thing Axel decided to be a gentleman and save your ass.”