Slayers

by C. J. Hill

  “The motorcycles are for now—if Overdrake attacks the camp, we’ll need a way to escape fast. Motorcycles are the best way to get around the back roads.”

  And on that happy thought, Tori did her rotations.

  She spent an hour shooting impossibly small moving circles in the rifle range, then spent an hour shooting spinning Styrofoam disks at the archery range. Perhaps the continued pulse from the simulator helped her aim. Her score improved each time she went through a round.

  Horseback riding was her favorite. When she’d gone to the stables, Booker had Bane saddled up. “He’s been antsy all morning,” Booker said, leading the horse over to Tori. “Just waiting for you to come get him, I suppose.” Bane tossed his head, nearly slapping Booker’s face with his mane, and whinnied impatiently.

  “Ah, get on with you,” Booker said. “No one wants your dramatics around here.” But the horse calmed down once Tori took the reins.

  She raced Bane through the show-jumping course, complete with four-foot fences, without any problems. It didn’t earn her any respect among the other Slayers, though. With the exception of Rosa, who was preoccupied with being miserable, all the Slayers were angry at her. Dirk smiled and joked with everyone but her. He wouldn’t even look at her. Every time Tori finished an exercise, Lilly pointedly asked her how her hair was holding up. Jesse was the worst, not because of anything he said, but because every time she saw him, his words from the morning came back. You’ll take off the next time things get hard.

  CHAPTER 18

  At lunchtime, Tori wished she could go back to the main camp and eat with the regular campers, but due to Jesse’s punishment, she only had fifteen minutes. Besides, the Slayers were supposed to eat together in the Dragon Hall. As they assembled to walk there, Dirk got a phone call from Bess. As he listened, the smile dropped from his lips and his expression grew hard. Finally, he snapped the phone shut. “Danielle’s memory is gone, too. She’s not coming back.”

  Rosa teared up again and her lips pressed together with silent emotion. Jesse rubbed her shoulder consolingly. Lilly had the opposite reaction. She let out a stream of swear words, picked up a dead branch from the trail, and hit it into a tree trunk so hard it shattered. Bits of wood flew toward the group like confetti.

  Kody sent out a freezing shock, which hit the falling pieces and pushed them back toward the tree.

  No one made note of this. Apparently such displays were commonplace.

  Shang stared grimly off into the distance. “That’s two we’ve lost.”

  “Isn’t there something we can do?” Alyssa crossed her arms determinedly. “If we kidnapped them and brought them back to the camp, maybe they’d get their powers back.”

  Dirk plunged his phone into his pocket and scowled. “If their memories are gone, so are their powers.”

  “We don’t know their powers are gone,” Alyssa said. “We’re just assuming they’re gone because of the stuff Dr. B’s read. Those records could be wrong.”

  Dirk blew out a huff of exasperation. “And what will we do when the FBI comes here searching for the kidnapping victims? A lot of good we’ll be to D.C. if we’re in prison.” He headed down the path to the Dragon Hall and the rest of the Slayers followed.

  Alyssa kicked a rock on the trail. It arced upward, then spun and shattered.

  Kody watched as his handiwork rained pebbles down on the ground. “Danielle could send out shocks—well, so can I. Leo could throw up a shield—well, so can Bess. We ain’t nowhere close to being beat yet.”

  “We’ve trained as two teams,” Dirk said, “Now both are short-handed.”

  “Then we’ll just have to work that much harder,” Kody said.

  Rosa was still crying. She let out stifled gulps as the tears ran down her cheeks. Jesse put his arm around her. “What it means is this battle will be won or lost in the decisions we make back home when we’re by ourselves. None of us is indispensible.”

  Kody said, “We’re only down by one anyhow. Tori’s here. We still don’t know what she can do.”

  Every pair of eyes turned to Tori, appraising her.

  “She can do her hair,” Lilly said.

  Jesse shot Lilly a sharp look. “Stop it. We can’t afford to fight with each other.”

  “Sorry,” Lilly said. She didn’t sound like she meant it.

  When Jesse turned to Tori, his eyes were softer than they’d been all day. “Have you tried to see a split screen in your mind lately?”

  “Yes,” she said stiffly. “Nothing happened.”

  Dirk studied her, but didn’t say anything. She could feel his eyes on her as they walked.

  She hoped she had an amazing gift, something that none of the rest of them had—like laser vision that could be used to blow up large, flying reptiles.

  The Slayers filed inside the big building. It was the first time Tori had been in the Dragon Hall. A sunken floor gave the two-story roof even more height. The dome she’d seen earlier made sense now. A mechanical dragon that was the size of a school bus hung from wires that connected to a motor in the dome. Someone had painted a red X on the dragon’s belly, and several large canisters were attached to its mouth. She knew without asking that fire came from those canisters.

  Even though the dragon hung there gray and lifeless, it made Tori feel on edge. She didn’t want to turn her back on it.

  In the front of the room, a picnic table, white board, and TV were set up. “What’s the TV for?” Tori asked Shang. She knew it wasn’t for something fun, like watching the Style Network.

  “We record our dragon fights and then analyze our tactics.”

  Nope, nothing fun.

  Shirley stood at the picnic table arranging condiments by a stack of sandwiches. “Sub sandwiches and carrot sticks,” she called. “The lunch of champions.” The group went over, still talking about Leo and Danielle, and picked up their food. Tori was last through the line. Shirley smiled and gave her arm a squeeze as she went by. “You’ll be fine.”

  The sympathy made Tori feel worse. She’d pushed her emotions away all morning, pretended she didn’t care what anybody thought about her. With that one sentence, her feelings surfaced again, fresh and stinging. Still, Tori smiled back at Shirley, then went to the end of the table, sat down, and forced herself to take a bite. She hadn’t had much breakfast. She needed to eat something before her fifteen minutes were up.

  Shang, probably for lack of room, sat across from her. No one sat next to her. Shirley picked up her tray, told them to practice hard, then left.

  Lilly broke her carrot stick in two and let the pieces fall back onto her plate. “Did either Danielle or Leo think about the fact that they put our lives in danger by their stupid decisions?”

  No one answered.

  “It must be nice to forget your responsibilities that way,” she said. “Poof. No worries.”

  Dirk opened a packet of mustard and spread it on his sandwich. “We’re wasting our time complaining about Leo and Danielle. It won’t bring them back.”

  This didn’t, however, curb the conversation. Everyone had an opinion or a memory, some bit of pain to share. They were so immersed in their loss, no one noticed Tori anymore, let alone spoke to her. She ate and watched the metal dragon hanging from the middle of the ceiling. She tried to concentrate, to feel something, to lift herself off the bench by flight. Nothing happened.

  When her fifteen minutes were almost up, Tori leaned over the table toward Shang. “How long did it take the rest of you to discover your extra talents?”

  He pushed a stray piece of lettuce back between his bread. “The rest of us knew during our first trip to the Easter grounds, but it’s different for you. You’re older. When you’re eleven or twelve there’s a part of you that believes in the supernatural. The instincts to accept magic are still there. At sixteen, you’ve told yourself for a long time that superpowers don’t exist. It makes sense that it will take you longer to find your gift.”

  “Thanks,” she said, b
ecause she knew he was trying to make her feel better. Even if she didn’t. Was it possible that she didn’t inherit any extra abilities? Maybe her night vision and her extra strength were all she would ever have.

  She stood up, dropped her trash in a can by the door, and walked outside. Jesse followed her.

  “Tori,” he called.

  She stopped and waited for him to walk over.

  He took a deep breath before he spoke. “Look, I’m sorry I got so upset this morning. I know we’re asking a lot, and you’re not used to any of this. So you don’t have to clean the stables or do the run. Just don’t leave without permission again, okay?”

  She wasn’t used to any of this? He could have meant the idea of fighting dragons, and yet somehow she was sure he meant work, rules, and discipline.

  “Do you still think I’m going to take off the next time things get hard?” she asked.

  His gaze ran over her, then lingered on her hair. “I’m hoping you won’t.”

  “I’ll do the stables and the run,” she said. “I don’t want special treatment.”

  One of Jesse’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but he didn’t try to talk her out of it. “Okay, after you’re done with that, work on your shooting until dinner. The rest of us are going to fight fire in the Dragon Hall.”

  “I thought you had welder’s masks so I could practice with you.”

  “Until we know your talent, you’ll just get in the way. It’s better for you to spend the time working on your aim.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “See you later.” He turned and strode back into the Dragon Hall.

  She watched him disappear behind the door and felt completely alone. It was stupid. She hadn’t wanted to practice with fire in the first place, but it still made her feel worthless to hear she would only get in the way. Especially from Jesse. He was the guy who had made her feel romantic and swoony when he’d flown her around. The guy she’d come back to camp for. The guy who had decided that rich people were cowards. And the guy who Rosa had been draped over every time Tori turned around.

  That will teach you, she told herself sternly, not to fall for guys just because they’re gorgeous and have superpowers. It never ends well.

  As she walked to the stalls, she tried to channel her frustration into laser vision so she could incinerate things with her eyes. That didn’t work, either.

  Despite Tori’s extra strength, it didn’t take long until she grew tired—tired of horse stalls, tired of running, tired of shooting. Tired of camp. And this was only her second day here.

  At six o’clock, she left the rifle range and walked toward the Dragon Hall for dinner. Most likely, no one would talk to her during this meal, either. Yep, it was going to be such a long month.

  She’d only gone a few steps down the trail when she hit something hard. One moment everything was fine, the next it felt like she’d run into a sliding glass door. “Ow!”she yelped, and staggered backward. Nothing stood in front of her, and yet her hand, foot, and face stung from the impact. She shook out the pain from her hand and looked around, trying to figure out what had happened.

  A tall girl with chin-length curly brown hair appeared from around one of the trees. She was tan, athletic, and also laughing. “Having a problem?”

  Tori put one hand out in front of her and felt a wall of resistance against her fingertips. It was like pushing the wrong ends of magnets together. There was no way through. She let out a sigh. “I really don’t need this right now, okay?”

  The girl sauntered over. “Hi, I’m Bess.”

  “The one who can throw shields up.”

  “Yeah, I used to be able to do it and then blame it on Leo. Man, I’m going to miss him.” She said the words lightly, but a flash of sorrow shot through her eyes. She wasn’t joking.

  Tori put her hand up to see if the shield still blocked her way. It did. “Are you going to move this thing so I can get through?”

  “My dad asked me to show you my talent.”

  Her dad. Tori had forgotten that Dr. B and Shirley were Bess’s parents. Bess had her mother’s curly dark hair and her father’s height and eyes—but in Dr. B the gray-blue eyes seemed gentle, calm. In Bess, they shined mischievously. Beyond that, Tori didn’t see any resemblance between Bess and either of her parents. She was elflike somehow, as though she’d popped into the forest to play a few tricks and then would disappear into another realm.

  Bess stepped closer and flicked the forcefield with a finger. It shivered for a second, distorting the forest like a funhouse mirror, then turned invisible again. “So do you have any desire to throw a shield up in retaliation? I could run if you want. Leo knocked me out cold the first time he put a shield in front of me.”

  “Knocked out as in unconscious? Doesn’t your dad worry about that sort of thing?”

  “Nah, we’re a resilient bunch.”

  Tori smiled. “All right, then. Go ahead and run. I’ll see what I can do.”

  Bess jogged down the path a little ways. Tori focused on her retreating figure, trying to feel something, trying to conjure up some sort of wall in front of her. Nothing happened.

  Bess stopped, turned around, and jogged back. “Well?”

  “I can’t do it.”

  “Ah. Sadly, not everybody can be as cool as me.”

  Tori checked to see if the forcefield was still there. It was. She put her hand on her hip and let out a frustrated groan. Perhaps it came out too loud and lasted too long.

  Bess pursed her lips and considered Tori. “So I take it you’re having a tough time here at camp.”

  “Pretty much everyone hates me. So yeah, I guess you could say that.”

  Bess blinked, surprised. “Wow, the Slayers all agree on something? How did you manage that?”

  “Your dad singed half my hair off last night, and I left camp without permission this morning to get extensions put in.”

  Bess waved a hand, and the resistance from the forcefield faded away.

  “I guess I’ll have to break ranks with the rest of the Slayers on this one,” Bess said. “I’m just not feeling the hatred. So much for solidarity.”

  Tori walked toward the Dragon Hall, and Bess fell into step beside her. “Besides, I don’t believe for an instant that Rosa hates you. She likes everybody.”

  “Rosa only got here at lunch, but I’m sure everyone has filled her in on my failings.”

  A hornet buzzed along the trail coming toward them. Bess lifted her hand. The bug smacked into a forcefield and fell to the ground, stunned. Another wave of Bess’s hand erased the forcefield, and the girls continued down the path. “Trust me—Rosa is too busy feeling sorry for herself right now to pay attention to anyone else. She was totally in love with Leo.”

  “Oh.” Tori shouldn’t have been happy about this fact, but she suddenly saw Jesse’s attentions to Rosa in a new light. A better light. Jesse was compassionate. He was a supportive friend. How sweet.

  They’d almost reached the building. Bess slowed down and lowered her voice. “And the next time you want to sneak out of camp, ask me for help. Danielle and I used to do it all the time, and we never got caught.” She gave a small laugh. “Well, Jesse caught us once, but we bought his silence with an Oreo shake. Hollings has an ice cream shop that’s to die for.”

  As quickly as the smile had come to Bess’s face, it fell away again. “I’m going to miss Danielle, too.”

  Bess pulled open the door to the building and they walked inside. Shirley stood at the head of the picnic table with a basketful of garlic bread and a sheet of lasagne in front of her. She scooped out pieces and slid each onto dinner plates. “Now don’t make me come back to get these dishes,” she told them, “or you’ll be eating nothing but gruel for the rest of the week. After you finish, send someone up to the kitchen to drop them off.”

  Lilly called out, “Low score gets the job,” and looked pointedly at Tori.

  Great. Not only would she be beaten at every competition, she’d have to haul
dishes around every day, too. She wondered what other jobs low score had to do.

  Bess slid into the table. “I guess that means Rosa and I will do it. We haven’t scored at all.” Bess looked at Tori and gestured toward the bench beside her. “Come sit by me.”

  Tori did, and for the first time thought she might make it through the month.

  CHAPTER 19

  After dinner, Dirk walked over to the stables to bring his horse, Montpellier, an apple. Dr. B walked up beside him, his brows drawn together in earnest intent. He had obviously sought Dirk out to talk to him about something. “Can I join you for a bit?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  Dr. B inclined his head so he could better study Dirk. They had talked privately a hundred times over the years: easy, casual conversations. This time Dr. B’s gaze made him stiffen. It always took Dirk a few days to get into the rhythm of camp, and each year it was harder to step into his Slayer persona. Did Dr. B realize that about him?

  “Dirk, are you all right?” Dr. B’s voice came out in its usual tranquil cadence. It was like the tick of the clock or the waves brushing against the shore. So quietly dependable.

  Dirk only hesitated for a moment. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “You’ve been tense since Tori arrived.”

  Dirk relaxed a bit. That’s all this was about. Dr. B was about to give the everyone-needs-to-get-along speech. He saw the Slayers as brothers and sisters with himself as their father—a father incapable of thinking badly about any of them. At that moment, Dirk wished Dr. B was his father and that they could all stay at camp forever. Dirk wanted to settle down under a canopy of bright green leaves and never leave. “A new person at camp changes everything,” Dirk said, “makes things more complicated.” Which was not even stretching the truth in the case of Tori’s arrival.

  Dr. B slowed his pace. The wind rippled across the ferns by the side of the path, making the leaves shiver. “You’re worried about the alterations Tori’s arrival might mean to the teams’ structure, aren’t you?”