by Shana Vernon
She smiled, gave me a thumbs up, and mouthed, “Is it done?”
I bobbed my head and gestured to the bathroom, grabbing my toothbrush and turning around.
As Sofia and I passed by Ryder’s cot, I stopped and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you. For everything.”
A slight blush crept over his cheeks and he shrugged. “No biggie,” he said, shrugging it off.
I couldn't say any more with other people listening in, so I left it at that and followed Sofia to the restroom. I mouthed to her to wait a moment while I checked for listening devices before walking toward the showers and turning the water on full blast.
“Did anyone see you?” Sofia asked me impatiently.
“Nope, and I doubt they’ll be able to find it.”
”Let’s hope not,” she said before her expression lit up and she snapped her wrist band. “That was kind of fun though. A real thrill.”
I laughed. “Let’s go to sleep, adrenaline junkie. I'm exhausted.”
“You know what’s crazy? I didn’t even see you take the knife,” Sofia said while we walked to our beds.
I faltered, almost losing my balance. “I guess I got lucky. I snuck in when everyone was looking away.”
My stomach felt queasy. It had been a lot simpler to lie to Sofia when I didn’t know or care about her. A part of me wished I could just tell her what was going on, but I knew it wasn’t a good idea. Ryder shouldn’t have even discovered my secret, and the consequences of it getting out were a lot more dire than a bellyache.
I tried to push the feeling aside as I climbed into bed and pulled my blanket up around my shoulders.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
I woke up to Cade’s entirely too upbeat voice ringing in my ears.
“Since when are you so happy in the morning?” Quinn asked Cade, amused.
I found both men standing over me expectantly. “What are you guys doing here?” I grumbled, wiping the sleep from my eyes and sitting up.
Sofia yawned and lifted her head, looking around. “What time is it?”
Cade sat down next to me, making himself comfortable, before answering, “We’re here to bring you to breakfast before your private session with Master Locke.”
Quinn responded to Sofia’s question. “It’s six forty-five in the morning.”
“Six forty-fucking-five in the morning? Go away!” Sofia shrieked, pulling the blanket over her face and giving us her back.
I looked from Cade to my bed and back toward his striking gaze.
“Just getting comfortable while we wait for you to get ready,” he said with a lopsided grin.
Is that a dimple? Please don't be a dimple.
He saw my inquisitive gaze and his smile widened.
Yup, it’s a dimple.
How hadn’t I noticed that until now? I guess I hadn’t seen Cade smile very much before.
I sighed and went to get ready for the day.
When I came back out, those who had woken from the commotion had already gone back to sleep and my two escorts were waiting by the door. I joined them and we walked to the cafeteria, the boys moving on either side of me.
“I don’t know what you did to him, love, but he’s all happy and stuff,” Quinn said and then leaned in to fake whisper, “it’s weird.”
Cade leaned around me and playfully socked Quinn in the shoulder. “Fuck off, man.”
We entered the room and Cade went straight to the egg station.
I made to follow him, but Quinn held me back.
“Look. I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but don’t forget what my gift is. I can sense what you are feeling for each other. I know how excited you were when you saw him today, even if you hid it well.” He scratched his head. “What I’m trying to, not so eloquently, say is that pushing aside or hiding feelings is not a good idea. It isn’t healthy, and ultimately, doesn't give you what you truly want.”
I was too stunned to reply, so I merely dipped my head in acknowledgment and went to get food.
Was I being emotionally unhealthy by denying my feelings for Cade?
I couldn’t imagine that any relationship where one person lied about their identity to the other was considered healthy, either. I felt so stuck at that moment. I would never abandon my goal of finding Papa, but want it or not, the walls I had put between myself and the people in the Guild were beginning to crumble.
“You may enter,” Master Locke’s voice wafted from inside the room Cade and Quinn had dropped me off by.
I pulled open the door to a different office from the one I had previously snooped in. This space was larger and a little odd. The walls looked soft, like they were made of cushions, and as I walked, I noted that the floors were spongy beneath my feet.
What in the world?
Master Locke correctly surmised my confusion and answered my unasked question, “We created this room as a safe space for people who have more volatile gifts. It helps us to develop your abilities in a secure environment so there is less of a chance we will end up like Master Abbott, following your last training session.”
She sat down on the squishy floor and motioned for me to join her.
There was a strong likelihood this woman was my mother. I could feel my heart palpitate and my fingers tingle, the little white wisps of light beginning to whirl around me.
She looked at me, surprised. “Are you anxious about something, Ms. Bishop?”
“I guess I’m just wondering if your methods are similar to Master Abbott’s,” I said, lowering myself to sit opposite her. Even if it wasn’t the true cause for my nerves, I was hoping her tactics were tamer. I needed to keep my energy levels up as much as I could in case Maximus found the bunker. It was possible that I could be leaving the Guild to find Papa any day. With that, my hope soared at the prospect and the tendrils of light dissipated.
She shocked me by laughing. “No, I am not quite as uncivilized as Master Abbott. I actually requested that he make an effort to coax your abilities, but he chose a much more brutal technique than I suggested. I prefer to apply more gentle methods to extract gifts since I feel they are more nuanced than he believes.”
“I’m glad you feel that way.”
“Let’s jump right in then, shall we?” Master Locke folded her legs beneath her and pulled out a notebook and a pen. “I want you to think about a moment when you were happiest.”
I sifted through my memories and brought forth a birthday I had spent with Papa. I had just turned eleven and he agreed to abandon my training to spend a full day at Edaville Theme Park. It was the only time I could remember doing anything like that with him and it had made me feel so special at the time. The happiness from the memory ushered in my grief at his disappearance, pulling at my heartstrings.
The white tendrils returned at that moment.
“Were you only thinking about a happy memory?” Master Locke asked.
“It started off as a happy memory, but it reminded me of something I lost.” I murmured.
“I see. Loss. That is a trigger for you, not happiness.” She jotted down a few details in her notebook. “Let’s try to elicit another emotion. This time, try thinking about a time when you were the angriest you have ever been.”
I dove back into my mind in search of that memory. I thought about the countless times during my teenage years when I would yell at Papa, fighting with him about being stuck at home all the time. Those recollections didn’t come close to bringing me to the same level of anger as when I had to look Master Abbott in the face, knowing he had Papa locked away somewhere.
The more I thought about it, the more furious I became with each passing second.
I heard a gasp and glanced at Master Locke to see her focused on my arms.
The small wisps of white luminescence that emanated from my palms were now large swirls of light covering my entire arms. They started at my shoulders, and went all the way down to my fingertips.
“I have never seen anything like this
in all of my years with the Guild,” she breathed, and brought her palm to rest just above the moving lights.
“I want you to use your anger right now, Ms. Bishop. Use it to focus the light, shape it into something.”
“Like what?” I asked, moving my hands around to watch the dancing white tendrils make their way up and down my sleeves. I tried to focus my attention on shaping the glowing radiance, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to do that. I’d had to exercise my mental muscles for my gifts since I was born, but I’d never had anything that I could project from my body. This was different from my healing or invisibility and nothing at all like shifting.
You can do this, Lenna!
I put my body into a meditation pose, crossing my legs and bringing my hands in front of me in prayer form. I attempted to quiet my mind, while still holding on to all the anger I could. Anger at my father for disappearing, anger at Master Abbott for taking him from me, and lastly, anger at the possibility of my mother abandoning me.
I pulled the anger from the deepest recesses of my mind and concentrated on what I wanted to shape. When I was finished adding the last detail to my mental masterpiece, I opened my eyes and gawked at what lay in my hands.
A perfect replica of the katana I had just thought up in my mind. Except the katana that lay in my palms was not made of steel or iron, it was made of pure light.
I peered up into the wide, azure eyes of Master Locke, noticing in that moment just how similarly our faces were shaped.
“Is this what you meant?” I asked, a little smug.
She smiled at me, making her look years younger instantly. “That depends. Does it have any density, or is it simply a facade?”
She jumped to her feet and pulled a dagger from her belt. “Well, come on!”
I got to my feet hesitantly, and lifted the Katana in the proper form, forgetting to keep up the pretense.
A strange look crossed over her features before they smoothed and she leapt forward, her dagger swiping toward my katana.
They connected with a clang and she halted. “Excellent!”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Anything new happen?” Cade whispered into my ear as he sat crouched on the cold, hard ground next to me.
We were hidden in shrubbery on a hill across the street from a section of office buildings.
I focused on the man through my binoculars. “He’s still in a meeting with five other people. It doesn't look like it will end any time soon,” I said as I readjusted my legs, shifting my weight from one to the other, trying to ease the discomfort from my prolonged position.
Master Wilde had informed us earlier that day that we would be starting to accompany Guild members on reconnaissance for their active missions.
Cade had wanted me to use the binoculars to offer me the experience before I would be going on my own missions. He hadn’t brought himself an extra pair, which meant he peppered me with questions while we waited.
We were staked outside, watching Min-Jae Pak continue on with his meeting, despite the late hour. It was pitch black outside and I was thankful that Cade’s contract was inside the artificially-lit building, otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to see anything through the darkness.
I couldn't help my mind from wondering if the man whose murder I was assisting to plan was actually guilty.
I turned my body toward Cade and lifted my mouth to his ear, attempting to ignore the chill breeze blowing through my hair. Goosebumps blanketed my skin as I murmured to him, “Are we sure this guy is really involved in a human trafficking ring?”
I could feel Cade tense beside me. “I showed you the file; his guilt was evident.” He paused, settling down on his haunches. “What makes you think he might be innocent?”
That was the tricky part. Cade was totally supportive of the Guild and his uncle, even if he was upset about Master Abbott almost killing me. How could I explain myself without arousing suspicion from him?
I closed my eyes and tried to clear the lump in my throat as quietly as possible. “I’m just curious about how the Guild obtains their evidence on our contracts.”
When Cade didn’t immediately answer, I opened my eyes to find him looking at me intently. “Why are you worried about how the Guild gets their evidence?”
Warning bells went off in my head and I realized I had to redirect, fast!
“I’m not.” I shoved my nerves down before my power started to make its appearance. He would most certainly get suspicious if that happened. “If I’m going to be killing someone, I want to be absolutely positive they actually committed the crime. I have no qualms killing that guy if he really is trafficking people, but if it’s all a mistake, I can’t take back murder, you know?”
Cade visibly relaxed, his shoulders losing their tension. “I worried about that in the beginning too, but once you start reading the reports, you’ll understand, Lenna. We don’t get contracts on common criminals, we get contracts on the shittiest people out there.” He looked down at his fingers, which were now intertwined. “Killing these animals is the one thing that helps me sleep after reading the reports. Knowing they aren’t out there continuing to wreak havoc on society.”
Without thinking, I reached out and placed a hand on his arm. “Do you ever regret entering the Guild?”
He put a hand over mine and met my gaze with a warm smile. “Never. I truly believe I was born for this. Aside from the fact that my uncle practically raised me to be an assassin, I always felt a strong responsibility to protect people.” His lips pulled up even further as he let out a chuckle, “You can never tell Quinn I told you this, but when we were younger, he was a really sensitive kid and got picked on a lot. I appointed myself as his personal bodyguard, because even as a kid, I wanted to help people.”
My heart warmed at his admission. “That’s really admirable, Cade.”
He shrugged. “Isn’t that the same reason you joined? It’s not like you came from one of our preparatory schools.”
Right, that should be why Lenna Bishop would join the Guild.
I nodded. “I just want to make the world a better place.” With my free hand, I checked on Min-Jae through the binoculars before continuing, “I also can’t see myself sitting in an office for the rest of my life.” Which was true. I had no plans past finding Papa. Before arriving at the Guild, I hadn’t been employed, but I knew for a fact that I wasn’t built for desk work.
Papa and I had been discussing me taking on a permanent alias, so I could actually enter regular society. He had been adamantly against it at first, and I had argued with him about it so fiercely just a few months ago. I clutched my chest as pain laced through my heart at the thought of him being tortured in some bunker close enough for Master Abbott to visit daily.
It had been a few weeks since I had sent the note to Maximus, and I had yet to hear back from him. I was beginning to lose confidence.
I shivered, the goosebumps still prominent on my skin. At that moment, I wished I had decided to bring a hoodie with me, but I thought I wouldn’t need it when we had departed earlier that day.
Cade took notice, and after pulling his hand from mine, yanked off his jacket and slipped it around my shoulders. “Here, you look cold.”
“Don’t you need it?” I asked, already basking in the warmth he left on the fabric.
He shook his head and flicked his wrist, summoning a tiny ball of fire. “It’s still a habit to dress warmly in the cooler seasons, but my internal body temperature is a lot hotter than average. I would have to be sitting naked in the middle of a snowstorm to really feel the cold.”
I tried very hard not to imagine that scenario in my mind.
I saw movement through the binoculars and snapped to attention. ”Something’s happening. The meeting must be over, they’re all leaving the room.”
Cade sat up, keeping himself concealed. “Is Pak leaving the building?”
I followed Pak as he exited the building a few moments later, and walked toward a man in a black suit
who was holding open the door to a dark SUV.
Cade nudged my side and handed me a helmet, gesturing toward the electric motorcycle we had arrived on. He beckoned me forward, already placing his helmet over his head and moving to sit astride the vehicle.
I clambered, not so daintily, on behind him and put my hands around his waist.
He grasped my arms and pulled them tighter around his abdomen. “Don’t want you falling off, now do we?”
I sighed. This is going to be a long ride.
He silently revved the engine, thank you electric motor, and followed Pak’s driver down the winding streets of Boston, keeping to the shadows.
With every bump in the road, my chest rubbed against his back, the continuous friction making heat sear up and down my body. It was becoming harder and harder to concentrate with every passing moment. How was simple friction having such an effect on me?
Boy, do I need to get laid.
I closed my eyes and leaned my cheek against the hard muscles on his back, waiting for the ride to be over so I could regain proper control over my lady bits.
Before long, Cade began slowing down, and I opened my eyes to see that we had arrived at the docks.
This can’t be good. Nothing good ever happens at the docks in the middle of the night.
We pulled in and veered off to the side, the cover of darkness blanketing us. It was virtually empty aside from the thousands of differently colored shipping containers lined up around the area. We followed Pak by foot as he got out of the SUV and headed over to a brown shipping container without an insignia, waving to one of his guards to open the doors.
I leaned forward to get a better look, and as the container swung open, Cade and I both let out a gasp. Huddled inside were about fifteen children no older than the age of ten. Pak and his men turned as they were approached by another black-clad group, who were packing serious heat.
Cade let out a string of quiet curses as my hand flew to my mouth.
Feeling the pounding of my heart, I yanked the gun the Guild had finally issued me out of my holster and ran forward, popping off the safety as I moved.