Rage fills me as I know I released the dagger with as much force as I could manage, which means I’m clearly not strong enough to get the dagger to actually sink into the target. All around me, I hear the loud thuds of my classmate’s daggers hitting the targets and resist the urge to grind my teeth together as all their daggers burry themselves into the target.
“This sucks,” I mutter to myself, picking up the next dagger and getting into position as the involuntary thought that I wish I had a dagger with me at the time of my Dad’s death hits me.
“It doesn’t suck. Try relaxing your fingers,” Tessa says, stepping up beside me. “You had plenty of force in your throw, but because of the spin, the dagger was unable to sink into the target. Now, don’t get me wrong, a spin on a dagger is a beautiful thing, when it is done right,” she says, getting off track. “You most likely hit the hilt to the target rather than the blade. You’re much better off flying it straight. Here,” she says adjusting my fingers on the hilt. “That should help.”
I give it another go. I pull my arm back and let the blade fly. I release it the way Tessa had shown me and the dagger flies straight, lining up with the target. Thud. It connects, sinking into the outer circle. Well, by sinking, I mean the first two centimetres of the blade is in, the rest, not so much. Looks like I have a bit of strength work in my near future.
“Tell me, does it still suck?” Tessa says, pride in her voice.
“No, I guess it’s not that bad.” I smile. I spend the rest of the session working on my aim, trying to get the dagger closer to the center, though apparently that takes a lot of skill. When my right arm is finally giving in, I practice with my left, taking turns in perfecting each side.
When class finishes, I collect my daggers, hand them to Tessa and head for the door while avoiding the calls from Daniel and Trey to wait up. I leave the room and head out past the oval, walking along the boundary line and past the elementary campus until I find my favorite spot in the lawn where I can finally be alone.
I dump my bag at my feet and sit down in the cool grass, picking at the patch of clovers that has grown amongst the grass. I lay back feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin as I finally allow the memories of my father to come rushing back and assault me.
Chapter 9
It’s the middle of the night when I wake with a start as visions of the worst day of my life rip through my sleeping mind. I grab my phone and check the time. 11:47pm. There’s no way I’ll be able to get back to sleep after that.
I grab my coat and slide on my bunny slippers while throwing my hair up into a messy bun. Taking my phone in my hand and sliding my laptop under my arm, I tiptoe out of the room and head out into the quad. The cold summer’s night air caresses me and helps to wake me out of the foggy dream that’s on replay in my mind.
I sit down at a table in the quad and open up my laptop before hacking into the Academy’s Wi-Fi and logging into The Guards server. I search for any type of news I can find on the attack I had heard the girls talking about in the bathroom, but come up blank which strikes me as strange. Usually, The Guard plaster warnings and updates all over the internet to let us know when a member of the supernatural is in the area.
Finally giving up on my search, I promise myself that I’ll ask Tessa if she had heard anything about it. I open up my emails and find an unread message waiting from Mom.
To: Bianca Moore
From: Gabrielle Moore
Subject: Re: Checking In
Hi my beautiful Girls,
Great news! I managed to clear some time at work for 2 weekends away. I think that’s the 13th & 14th.
Bianca, would you be able to organize the guest housing for that weekend?
I’m so excited to see you both.
Love you and miss you,
Mom
A smile spreads over my face, this is exactly what I need to clear my mind.
I spend what feels like hours downloading new songs onto my laptop and uploading them to my iPod. I watch the time tick by on the screen. 12.18am, 12.53am, 1.27am. 1.56am. I finally decide it’s about time to head back to bed and give the whole sleep thing another go. I log off The Guards server and close up my laptop while I pray there’ll be no more awful dreams tonight.
I get up from the table and pick up my laptop when the sound of light footsteps has me frozen in place. My fingers tighten under my laptop, ready to use it as a weapon if needed while trying not to make a sound. I momentarily think I could make a break for it, but I’ll be seen for sure. The footsteps grow louder and within the next second, they round the corner.
I’m not taking any chances. I raise my laptop and swing with all my might. In the same second, the man appears around the corner and with lightening fast reflexes, shoots his hand up and practically plucks my laptop out of my hands.
“Woah,” the man says as he comes to a standstill before me. The familiar tone of his voice instantly gives away his identity and I scold myself for making the stupid decision to slip on my bunny slippers.
“Holy crap, Rylan. You scared me. What the hell are you doing out here?” I shriek as I take a few slow breaths to try and calm my racing heart before cringing when I realize I have absolutely no right to ask him that.
He silently hands my laptop back to me with an amused smirk, clearly passing over the whole ‘nearly hitting him with my laptop’ situation and I take my chance to roam my eyes up and down his body, and like always, I’m completely struck by his appearance. A white top stretches over his tight pecs and abs as the cold wind gushes against him. The softest looking track pants hangs dangerously low on his hips and I’m overwhelmed with the need to touch him.
He buries his hands in his pockets and I notice a small shiver take over his body. I mentally scold myself, attempting to remember that he’s my teacher.
I wait for the onslaught of lectures about curfews to hit me as I wonder what he could possibly be doing out here at this time of night when I remember Miss. Layton’s flirting the other day. He looks down, taking in my appearance and smirking at the sight of my bunny slippers. “I could ask you the same thing?” he asks. “It’s freezing out here.”
“Oh, um... I had some last minute homework to catch up on,” I lie, instantly regretting it as he would be able to see right through it.
“Ok,” he says, giving me a doubtful look. “What are you really doing out here?”
I take a deep breath, trying to work out how much of the truth I’m ready to give. “I had a rough day and couldn’t sleep, so I’m trying the whole ‘fresh air’ angle.”
“How long have you been out here?” he asks, with a concerned look which in any other circumstances I would have loved.
“Oh, not long,” I say quietly, knowing he can tell I’m lying.
“Right,” he says slowly as if to buy some time like he’s struggling to get something out. “Ah, about this afternoon, before training,” he says and I realize he’s talking about those traitorous tears I didn’t intend on him seeing. “You know, if you need to talk to someone, you could come to us right? Me or Tessa.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, unable to look him in the eye.
“Bianca,” he says with a slight warning in his voice. “I know you’re hiding something and take it from me. Nothing good ever comes from keeping things bottled inside.”
“I know,” I whisper, as I continue to stare at the ground.
“You better get back to your dorm. You’re going to get sick out here and you wouldn’t want to get caught being out past curfew,” he adds with a smile that melts my heart.
“Sure thing,” I say returning his glorious smile and turning in the direction of my room.
I head back to my room with exhaustion taking over and a smile plastered on my face, knowing that there’s now a completely different reason that’s going to keep me from falling asleep, but when I do there’s no way I’ll be having any more bad dreams.
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I’m
exhausted from my sleepless night. I take a long hot shower, knowing I’m pushing it for time, but can’t find it in me to care. I take my time brushing my hair and putting on as much mascara as possible. I come out of the bathroom and realize Jacinta has already gone. I scoop up my bag and head down to the cafeteria for some breakfast.
I walk into the cafeteria and find Jacinta sitting at our favorite table with a bacon and egg roll sitting in the empty space next to her just waiting to be eaten. I grab a coffee, hoping the caffeine is enough to keep me awake the whole day. I plonk myself down next to Jacinta, murmur a thanks and immediately get stuck into my roll.
“I was worried you’d never wake up,” Jacinta says, taking a sip of what’s most likely a caramel latte.
“Tell me about it,” I grumble, with a full mouth of bacon and eggs.
“Was I dreaming or did I see you sneak into bed at 2 am?” she asks with a sparkle in her eye.
“It’s not what you think,” I say immediately on the defence. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Was it those dreams again?” she asks, knowing me better than I know myself.
“It sure was, you clever girl,” I say with a sad smile. “Now, before I forget, Mom can visit on the 13th and 14th so wants to book guest housing. Do you want to see if your parents can come too?” I ask hopeful, realizing how much I miss Jacinta’s parents.
“Oh sure. I’ll send them a text today and we can go to the student office during lunch,” she says ecstatically, immediately pulling out her phone and beginning to hash out a text to her parents.
The bell rings, indicating the start of the school day. I skull what’s left of my coffee and head for the door, knowing it’s going to be a very, very long day.
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It’s finally time for Combat training and we are back in our usual training room. I walk into the room to find eight of my classmates crowded around Tessa. It also takes me no time at all to notice Rylan is not here. I dump my things and walk over to the huddle of boys and squeeze in to see what’s going on.
Tessa is holding a dagger and is explaining that today we’ll be learning to fight with daggers before taking the dagger and slamming it down hard into her thigh. The group around me erupts into gasps and shock. I, among a few other classmates, lunge forward to grab at the dagger, but we’re all stopped in our tracks as Tessa pulls the dagger away from her leg. The blade is clean and sparkling and where there should be blood soaking her clothes is nothing but the clean jeans she put on this morning.
The whole class stares at her in confusion. “This,” Tessa starts. “Is a training dagger. When pressure is applied to the blade, it will sink back into the hilt. The most damage it could do is leave a bruise,” she explains, raising a finger and pressing it against the tip of the dagger, demonstrating how the blade sinks into the hilt.
“Now today, we’ll be pairing up. You will each receive a training dagger and you’ll practice landing blows on one another. You will also notice that Alex is not here. As it was his 18th birthday last Wednesday, he is out completing his navigation test with Rylan, which leaves us with an odd number. So, Bianca, you will be pairing with me,” Tessa instructs, turning away to grab a bundle of training daggers.
I attempt to focus on the present, but the words navigation test swirl around my brain. I had completely forgotten that the week following your 18th birthday you are sent out on a navigation test with the instructor of equal gender. Which is basically a nice way of saying, you’re thrown out into the wilderness for 48 hours and have to find your way back while completing tasks. So, I’m pretty stoked that I have another two months to prepare myself for it.
The idea of the navigation test has always frightened me, but I guess with an instructor with you, it really wouldn’t be that bad and looks like I’d be going with Tessa, and to tell the truth, there really isn’t anyone else I’d prefer to go with. As details of the test come flooding back to my mind, I realize that with Rylan attending with Alex that means he won’t be showing his pretty face around here for the next few days, which doesn’t help my already shitty day to get any better.
I focus my attention back to Tessa’s training session and collect a dagger from the pile. I choose a sparring mat and test out the limits of this training dagger while waiting for Tessa. “Hey,” she says, making her way over. “I’ve been waiting for my chance to finally see what you’ve go,” she says with a wicked grin that I recognize as a mock challenge.
“Well, well, it looks like today is your lucky day,” I laugh as we get into position. It doesn’t take long for us to jump into our fight and it’s clear that she is a much better fighter than I and has already been able to land a few blows on me with her training dagger. If this were real, I’d be lying on the ground in a pool of blood, waiting for death to claim me.
“Try to predict my moves,” she instructs as she takes an intentional step forward, shifting her weight back onto her left heel in a way that one would do to prepare for a punch or a kick. I go with a kick and prepare myself to block it, just in time to see her leg fly up and attempt to make contact with my thigh. My hands fly down at meet her blow protecting my thigh, my block sends her off balance and I take the opportunity to push forward and land my first blow to her chest.
“Very good,” she encourages, stepping back and catching her breath. “You learn a lot from your opposition in the first bit of your fight. Learning to predict how someone will move is a great skill to have and could possibly save your life one day.”
“Thanks,” I say, feeling pretty proud of myself. “Can we go again?” I ask with a grin.
“By all means,” she says, gesturing for me to take my place on the sparring mat. “Now, I won’t give you any cues this time,” she adds, stepping up in front of me. “Think you can handle it?”
“Oh, I know I can. The question is, can you?” I laugh, earning myself a pretty decent roll of her eyes.
The next hour passes and it’s clear that I most certainly could not handle it. Tessa’s years of training definitely shows through. Her strength and speed is admirable and makes me realize just how far I’ve got to go.
“Hey, don’t get yourself down,” she says at the end of our session. “I’ve been doing this for a very long time. I think you’ve done an excellent job today and you even managed to knock me on my ass a few times.”
“Yeah, I know, but it just shows me how much further I’ve got to go,” I say, picking up my drink bottle and finishing what’s left.
“Knowing how much further you’ve got to go is never a bad thing. It helps to keep you motivated. These boys around us, their main goal from day to day is to beat their classmates, but I can see you’ve got a much bigger goal in mind and I know that’s going to push you to get where you need to go,” she says, reaching forward and squeezing my shoulder in encouragement.
“Thanks, now my only problem is making that actually happen,” I say doubtful.
“Nobody said it would be easy,” she smiles then turns and begins packing away the room.
I grab my bag and meet Trey and Daniel at the door. “How’d you go with Tessa?” Trey asks, pressing his hand to his head.
“She kicked my ass,” I say as a matter of fact. “But less about me. What happened to you?” I say, gawking at his head.
“Nothing,” he says, looking away and begins to walk out the door with Daniel and I following behind. I give Daniel a questioning look, knowing he’s incapable of keeping secrets.
“Oh, he just got a knee to the head is all,” he says with a smirk.
“Shut up, man,” Trey snaps, almost with an embarrassed plead, which has me completely confused.
“I don’t get it, there’s nothing embarrassing about that?” I ask.
“It was his own knee,” Daniel says as I break into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
“That’s it,” Treys scolds, stopping in his tracks and launching himself at Daniel who immediately pins him to the wall. “Where’s your sense of loyalty?”
Trey growls at Daniel.
“Sorry, mate. The story was too good to pass up,” he responds, letting him off the wall.
Trey groans then turns to me. “Don’t tell Jacinta,” he begs.
“What am I supposed to do? She’s bound to notice an egg the size of China sitting on top of your head, and sure enough she will ask me what I know. I can’t lie to my best friend,” I say, playing with him.
“Oh, come on. Just tell her something manly,” he pleads.
“Hmm… Something manly? Nope. Nothing comes to mind.”
“What do you want?” he asks, clearly knowing me too well.
“Oh, it’s really very simple. You just need to tell Jacinta that you’re madly in love with her,” I say, with a grin.
Trey, takes a deep breath, considering his options. “Fine, I’ll do it,” he says before storming off.
“Blackmail becomes you, Bianca Moore,” Daniel says, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “But you should know, he just played you. He already has a plan in place.”
“WHAT? Are you kidding?” I ask in excitement as we follow behind in the direction that Trey had gone. “Spill it,” I demand, not even upset that I was just outsmarted by none other than Trey Carter.
“No can do, sweet cheeks,” he says with a wink. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
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The rest of the week drags by. I spend Thursday and Friday stuck in a gloomy mood. It has now been nearly three days since I’ve felt that rush of seeing Rylan and on top of that, I’ve had Jacinta sulking around because Trey hasn’t found the balls to ask her out yet which is killing me because I know something’s up and keeping my mouth shut is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I just don’t know what it is or when it will happen and it doesn’t help that I’ve been keeping it a secret from her so I don’t ruin the surprise, but I’ve been dying to let it all out. So, to sum it up, the last few days have been awful.
After a long Friday, Jacinta and I are having an early night, squished up on our little couch in our pajamas, watching reruns of friend’s episodes on my laptop. “I’m pretty excited about next weekend when our parents are here,” Jacinta says, hopping up to grab the blanket off her bed.
Destruct: The Guard Trilogy (Book 1) Page 12