I couldn’t explain this. It defied all reason in my eyes. I didn’t know what or how this boy came to me, but there was a reason for the gods to put us here, together.
The comment from his friend pulled Calum out of the trance, then pointed a stiff grim look at that friend. He reached to grab my arm, stared at it, and said, “Come on.”
Derrick whistled, “Uh oh, they can’t even wait for the sock!”
“Huh, what did he mean?” I asked, confused by the sock issue.
I heard a crack and a pop before my instincts kicked in. Calum and Derrick were throwing punches down on the ground in front of me.
The crowd had drawn instantly. I caught a fist flying towards Calum’s stomach and heard him wince, but no worry because he returned it with a solid knuckle crack to Derrick's skull. Ouch!
Just then, the crowd began to spread for what I guessed to be coach, but changed course and moved in tighter. This group really loved their fighting. I finally had had enough and jumped into the middle like the great Val fighter that I am, NOT! I’m so not a contact fighter. BUT, enough was enough. I pulled both their shirts up to standing and made them face with me between them. Not reaching either of the two Hunter boy’s full height, I looked up feeling almost motherly and barked with my hands on my hips, “You both stop, NOW.”
They both wiped their brow of sweat and blood and said nothing. A heartbeat later my arm was suddenly buzzing and I was being led away. I thought he was taking me to the swords area, but instead he walked me straight outside and around the building. Not touching now.
Chapter Five I am no bird; and no net ensnares me…
“Where are we going? Don’t we have fifteen minutes left of class?”
He didn’t speak. He went all the way to the spot where I’d seen him yesterday when he gave me a very scary look and disappeared.
“Well?”
I’m confused royally. “Well, what?”
“Why are you shocking me every time you touch me?” he said wide eyed.
“Me? I thought it was you.”
We were both stunned! Facially, that is.
I should be bolting for the door and yet convinced myself I was standing here because I needed answers to saving others and not myself at the moment. It was only part of why I stood there. It was the other part I didn’t want to think about just now. The part that the cold heart knife girl in me was fighting. I wanted to be here, wanted by another, and ignore that girl.
“You’ve never had that happen before?”
I shook my head. “You either?”
We were both deciding internally whether the other one was being honest or not.
“You’re thinking I’m lying and I’m thinking you’re lying, am I right?”
He shook his head.
“Let’s get proof.” I grabbed his arm, forgetting.
Zap! He jumped back.
Fine. I’m mad now too and his vibes are telling me he is the same.
“Come on!” I stomped back into the gym holding his sleeve, stopped and stood until I saw Derrick and Maze standing and conversing. Closely, I might add. What secrets were they sharing?
I walked back over to where we were just standing three minutes ago and wrapped my fingers around Derrick’s arm. Then I threw my hand around Maze’s arm. And dragged them to the center of the floor where Calum stood waiting. They were utterly confused, but followed anyway. When they were both there, I looked to Calum and waited.
He wasn’t satisfied.
He looked at Derrick as did I.
“So Derrick. Does my touching your arm tingle your fancy or give you any physical pain at the present moment?” I forcefully poked just my fingertip to his bare skin forearm and kept it there.
Derrick, so puzzled by the bizarre behavior, questioned with a cracked voice, “No, should it?” Then he added rather smartly when I let go, “You could try several other places if were just experimenting. You know, for the sake of science you can geek out on me.” His sun bright yellow eyes said much more than his words. I had to throw a hard-fisted hand into Calum’s chest to hold him back from Derrick. Men!
I ignored him then and faced Maze to touch the top of her palm and repeat the same. “Maze, am I causing any physical pain to your hand right now?”
“No!”
To both of them I held the smallest part of an inch with two fingers in the air, “Not even a little tingle of pain?” This was just to be sure he’s confident.
Both looked to each other for answers and nodded a no at me.
“Thank you.” I started to fold my arms in my “rightness” but Calum placed his palm over my hand, clasped his fingers in mine, and pulled me out of the gym again with my jolt of electricity or whatever it was running through me in a spectacular mass of spark filled torture. I turned to see if anyone was looking. Luckily, only a thoroughly confused Maze and Derrick and a few others. After all, we were hurriedly walking out of the class we were supposed to be in for a second time.
My hand was blazing like fire. His had to be too, but he didn’t let go. When we were back to “our spot” he released my hand and rotated to face me.
We both stood there panting and watching each other’s chest rise and fall for a long time though not caused by any form of exercise. Class had to be almost over, but neither one of us cared.
“Satisfied?” my ragged breath made the word choppy.
“Yes!” Calum affirmed.
“So what does it mean?”
“I have no idea!” he said long-and-drawn-out thumbing his hair out of his eyes.
There was a heavy pause.
“Do you think it’s me? I didn’t prove the same test?” Calum offered.
“No, otherwise the rest would have complained all this time too. It’s just you.”
“And you,” he came back.
“What does it mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do we ask someone?” I wondered aloud.
“NO!” he said too quickly. I felt his fear and reasoned he didn’t want me to leave.
His fear rising and falling fast told me my mission just expanded.
Even though I wondered why he said it too quickly, I realized a second later he was right. I couldn’t let anyone poke or prod me and find out I’m Valkyrie. What was I thinking? Uh, oh! That’s got to be it. He’s a Hunter. And I’m…not! I stood up taller again from doing my fearful thinking episode. But then, Derrick would have done it too.
“What secrets are you keeping?” Calum theorized rather quickly for knowing me so little.
“I’m not ready to release them yet.” I looked scared, I’m sure. To this Jekyll side he throws out there so readily, my defenses were weakening. Let him digest what he will.
“Okay!” He said offended, but he really didn’t understand.
“And you?”
“Most of mine aren’t releasable,” a smile played on the edge of his lips.
“Seems we’re at an impasse,” I implied.
“Yes, it seems.”
We both continued to stare.
“Well, we can figure this out later. Let’s get back to class,” he whispered loud enough for me to hear.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked without thinking of keeping my walls up first.
He nodded oddly pale with mixed emotions. “Are you?”
“I think so.” I was only being truthful. “But you should really make good with Derrick. It’s only words. He is nothing I can’t handle so don’t go all knight on me. Clear?”
He nodded but I don’t think that meant a yes.
And when we walked back in, the kids were packing up, and everyone left. Him with Derrick. Me with Maze. And neither of us looking at each other the entire way to lunch.
We didn’t talk at lunch either. I decided to sneak a call into home before chemistry. The idea of more class with him was giving me a killer headache.
I hid in the library, and dialed the number.
“Hello.”
> “Yes.”
“Kassie. This is Stace.” My one and only friend back home besides my brother. And he doesn’t count in that department.
“Oh my. Is it really you? Where are you?” she crooned.
“Look, I haven’t time to talk. I’m on a secret thing for dad and I’ve run into something I don’t quite have the knowledge of. Will you find out more for me?”
“Of course. I wish you could tell me where you are. I miss you like the devil.”
Devil. I think I met one.
“No worries. I won’t be gone too long. Look, I need you to find out more about what happens when a Valkyrie touches skin to skin contact with a Hunter. Or some divine something about real live electricity flowing from one person to another without any science to it. Can you keep this secret, Kassie?”
“Yes, of course. That is a definite hint who your with. Any good gossip, fire away!” She was always quoting phrases from my music favorites. Aside from our fascination with movies, Kassie and I had never had much contact with the outside world in lieu of having friends and spending time with them. Much less, we’d never had conversations like I’d had in the past two days as casual as these. For the closeness we did have, we had to talk in secret because our families kept us apart. We sneaked around at least once a week to see each other never knowing why they wanted us apart.
At last second I added, “And specify whether it matters to be a girl versus a boy.”
“O…kay. Something I should know?”
“Oh, no. Just some observations.”
“Mmm! I’ll call you tomorrow at this same time. That okay?”
“Yes. Thanks. Miss you.”
“Miss you too.”
I hung up and headed to my next class, chemistry.
I arrived there first. No one was there yet, so I started reading chapter two while I waited thinking it might be nice to catch up earlier than expected. I looked at Quinn’s desk, the corners of the rooms walls, windows, air vents. It appeared to have no listening devices or video, obvious treachery or evil intentions. I wanted to investigate his desk, but thought I’d better wait.
Glad of my choosing, in walked Calum. Alone together, he sat beside me.
“I’m sorry,” Calum disclosed.
I didn’t look up. I didn’t know how to act around him. “No point,” I volunteered. Nice was so hard.
“I don’t know why I freaked back there.”
“I do, mostly.”
“There’s a reason and we will find out why,” Calum’s smile was tight with worry. “I made good with Derrick, but he’s been forewarned.”
He has no idea just like me but smiled anyway. Besides, I would probably know tomorrow, find out it is some weird side effect of working with Hunters, and continue on my mission. I need to put my emotions to the side if I intend to become the Valkyrie that everyone wants me to be and complete the task. Enough sidetracking.
Calum asked me about chapter two and I told him I hadn’t a chance to read it yet. And that I had only been there a minute or two. He gave me a confused look, but said nothing. He didn’t know about my phone call and in my haste, gave a peculiar answer to his question.
He explained the experiment we would do after school that goes with chapter one and would be finished in less than five minutes. I was pleased with that. With time to spare, we were heavily into chapter two when other students started arriving making me realize that either Calum had followed me to be so early or he gets there early sometimes. I doubted the latter.
In walked Derrick and the other cohort. The other one sat down and touched my hand, then looked at his finger. Calum’s eyes went wide with anger.
“Nothing. I heard she causes pain at the mere contact. Definitely not pain I’m getting, though I knew this.” The friend wagged his eyebrows up and down in opposite directions. That struck a memory that seemed way out of place. Someone I used to know coult ath that with his brows.
Derrick was shrugging heavily now and saying, “What man?” to Calum’s fiercely growing anger now merging with rage. A cold smile traced his lips.
My emotions went into a whirlwind of retracting anger that was a little overwhelming. It was if it grew in intensity.
And worse than the physical pain, I didn't like secrets shared.
“Lee, by the way. I don’t think we’ve formally met …here at school,” the boy, with his hair all the way in his eyes spoke. He seemed familiar to me for some off reason. It was longer than Calum’s, but shorter than Derricks. One side hung in his eyes which caused him to always tilt his head just a bit. He held out a hand and I took it out of not making a scene. His cold hand took mine and...nothing. No pain. But then again, I’d never caused pain to anyone before so why would I now? Just Calum.
“Stace.” I told him trying to be polite, but was now pondering his drawn out words.
“I know. Who doesn’t know who you are?” A condescending voice answered a question I didn't ask.
Calum sat up straighter, making a knocking sound with his foot on the floor.
Hunter boys definitely have more of an emotional drive than the Valkyrie. I couldn’t detect all emotions, but this fear was becoming familiar to me even if I didn’t understand it. I kind of like it.
“Sure are territorial lately, man,” chided the boy named Lee. Calum shot a look at him. Lee’s hands shot up and then aimed at him. “Okay, okay!”
“Stace?” I looked back to Lee calling my name. This boy sent off some major anger and fear waves. He seemed to be plagued with it.
“Is that short for something else?” Lee insisted.
Nervously I answered him, pushing a slow smile to my face, “No! Just Stace.” I tried to keep my voice from cracking by holding back my swallow but it swooshed out in rapid little wisps. He didn’t respond again or look my way. It’s a totally normal question to ask. I’d pondered a different name coming here, but decided it would be hard to answer to anything else and might raise more suspicions.
Chemistry whizzed by thankfully. The next two classes were over fast and I was heading back to the lab. Getting there ten minutes early I looked around, saw no one, and set out to investigate Quinn’s desk.
It was believed that Quinn might know who the one person was I was looking for here at the Hunter’s den, but I had to find out on my own without blowing cover or asking him. Someone had answers about my brother's whereabouts. My father said Quinn would lead me in the right direction and the safest place for me to look was right here. I doubted his reasoning, but accepted that maybe he trusted me to find out something on my own. It was the first time he'd let me lead. They’d already pulled a lot of weight in getting me in here, I couldn’t mess it up with questions to the other teachers.
I searched the drawers. Nothing. Cabinets. Nothing. Sigh.
I headed to the lab desk and began working on the experiment.
Calum walked in when I was halfway done, checked my work, nodded and “hmm” at the right moments like a teacher would then pointedly said, “A!”
“What?” I asked perplexed by his odd ways of conversing.
“I give you an A,” Calum appraised.
I laughed with that. “Well, thank my tutor. If all my tutors looked like you back home, I’d have never got my work done.” That was an accident. My hand flew to my mouth.
“Ahh! So you’re overwhelmed with my good looks?” he smirked with the smugness of a cartoon character.
I gave him my best dirty look. “Egotistical ever? And you knew you were good looking before I came here. Don’t be an ass.”
“Ahh, maybe. But I didn’t care what anyone else thought before you came here.”
My hands stopped midair. The stunning might have stopped us earlier, but right now, the air was buzzing with something else.
“Sorry.” Calum backed away. "I didn't mean to scare you. I’ve never acted this way before.”
“Ever?” I told myself to shut up already.
“No!”
“No other Hunter
girl has ever cast a spell on you? I find that hard to believe,” I scoffed but laughed to calm myself.
“Is that what you are doing to me?” His devil smile played around the side of his mouth.
I was speech impaired with his comeback. He sounded like a movie character I knew, but couldn't place it. I might think he rehearsed it, but he looked as dumbfounded as me.
“Um…joking,” Calum explained quickly trying to hide the open look his face portrayed.
We both laughed to ease the tension.
“You know, I’ve never laughed like this with anyone before,” I piped in between chuckles.
“Are you saying I’m funny looking?” He put one hand to his chest indicating as if hurt, but his face was anything but.
Under my breath and turning to get the tube he needed for our experiment, “Hardly. More like weak in the knees drop dead gorgeous.”
“That good, huh?” Calum chided.
“You heard that?” I was in shock. Crap!
He pointed to his ears, “Hunter!” He said it like a duh. I was blushing and reminding myself to think like a Hunter. I needed the reality check here because the truth was, Calum was a Hunter, and I’m not.
Changing the subject after the mix of something puke green and yellow and now good as done with the experiment, “Why were you so rude when we met, yet nice and even a gentleman today?”
Calum turned away. “My dad told me to keep an eye on you, right? He said you were…bred to be a heartless wench and wouldn’t hesitate to have a killer’s instinct. To make sure you knew your schedule, and…and…make sure no one hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” I knew the real reason, did his father know more than I realized. “Heartless?” I paused. Not a pretty picture they painted. He didn't answer so I asked, “Well, how’s that panning out for you so far?” I had to know what he and others might think of me.
“He was right about one thing,” his mout stayed open like might say something profoundly earth shattering. Ultimately, I did what he wanted and keyed up straighter on the high back lab chair. “You do have a killer’s instinct. I wouldn’t step into a ring with you throwing knives unless we were side by side.”
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