by D. N. Hoxa
“Don’t…” Vlad took a step forward, and his large hand readied itself to wrap around my throat. I didn’t move a single muscle. Bob, my favorite dagger, was already in my hands, and the door to my room was behind me. If he so much as made a wrong move against me, all I had to do was pull him inside my room. Vlad might’ve thought to cover all the windows in the hallways of the castle during the day, but the curtains to the small window in my room were drawn and sunlight streamed through it at that time of the morning.
To his luck, Vladimir put his hand down and took a step back. The smile that had appeared on my face, a smile of pure evil, didn’t leave me until he turned his back to me.
“How come you don’t know?” I called after him. He stopped in front of the stairway and turned to look at me with an arched brow in question. “Who the snitch is. How come the Council doesn’t know?”
Vladimir pressed his lips. “Because whoever they are, they are very, very good.”
When he showed me his fangs, I knew exactly what that meant. Vladimir thought it was me, and that was the only reason he wanted to come with me to New York.
What the hell was wrong with those people? I give my life for them, fight for them, protect them, and all they can do to repay me is doubt me? I cursed under my breath all the way to the bathrooms, and I couldn’t even enjoy my shower properly. When I went back to my room, Kai was waiting for me.
6
——————————
It was nice to have a normal conversation with Kai for a change. She was a simple girl. Vlad was the Captain of the Royal Guards all over, but Kai was in charge of the ones appointed permanently to Lyndor. She was taller than me, her white hair a perfect contrast to my pitch black, and her eyes a clear green that didn’t even change when she took on her animal form. I’d seen it once in training. She turned into this huge leopard with claws as big as two of my fingers combined. It scared the shit out of you. I liked her. She never did anything for anyone without personal gain, but it wasn’t like I asked for too many favors from people. So it worked.
We walked up the stairs and to the lounge to grab some breakfast while I looked over the files McGraw had given me in the manila envelope. The blueprint of the building where the meeting was to be held, the address, the time, and a couple of pictures of the victims where they were found.
Shivers washed over me when I saw the blue bodies of the water nymphs. Their throats had been slit, and the blood coming out of them had turned their chests purple. Same with the shifters. Both had their throats slit, and the ash next to the first nymph’s feet was probably what was left of the vampire. McGraw had given me nothing more, not even an estimated guess of what was to be expected in there, how many sups would I need to fight—though he’d told me that already—and what the goal of the mission was. All of these were normally included in every file I received. But not this one. I almost tore the whole envelope up in anger. It just sucked—so fucking much—to not be trusted by your own people.
When we got to the lounge, Professor Simmons—who had taught me history and scared the hell out of me in the first year with her thin arched brows—was there, and so was Arturo. Arturo was a Nephil, the offspring of an Angel and a human. They lived really long lives, and so he looked exactly the same as when I last saw him. He was one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen, and when I was officially no longer a student, he’d started to flirt with me, I liked it—a lot. He was hot as hell, yes, but he was also a pretty good guy.
The air smelled differently in there, especially after McGraw came to join us for breakfast. Nobody really spoke like they used to. Simmons never said a single word except to greet me, and even Arturo—the flirty, playful Arturo—didn’t say more than a few things here and there. I’d never seen them behave in that way before. This business with the Red Rebels must have been even more serious than I realized.
“Ready to leave, Star?” McGraw asked when he finished his croissant.
“I’m going to need to borrow more weapons. I’ll head down to the basement before I leave.”
The basement had a smaller arsenal but a much better one. The weapons in there were larger, sharper, generally better suited for combat.
“No, you will get what you need from the cottage,” McGraw said.
I raised my brow. “That stuff is for training. I need real weapons. I won’t be too long. I just need—”
“You are not to go to the basement, Star. Take what you need from the stadium.”
While I watched him with my mouth open, he stood up, nodded once and turned for the door. I turned to Kai and found the same question written in her green eyes: what the fuck is going on?
* * *
I was by the door, ready to feel the sweet, sweet relief at leaving Lyndor behind when Kai caught up with me.
“They’ve rescheduled,” she said, her lips pressed.
“What?”
“The RR. Apparently, they were onto us, and they rescheduled. You need to stay.”
Hell. No.
“I’m going to New York, and I’m staying there until the RR decides to meet again. You can send me the details through a text message.” The best solution.
“Afraid not. He wants you here, especially tonight.”
Kai looked away from me. That didn’t stop me from cursing out loud a thousand times and hitting the wall to my side until my knuckles were bloody. I really didn’t like the castle.
“I can’t stay here for another night. I just can’t. I’ll lose my mind.” I was already paranoid as fuck.
“You’re going to have to, but don’t worry,” Kai said. She put her arm around mine and she pulled me back inside. “We’re going to keep you busy.”
“Busy how?”
And she told me the secret McGraw hadn’t wanted to tell me the day before. “When we heard word that the RR was recruiting, we contacted some of the best students to attend a meeting here tonight.”
My mouth fell open. “We’re recruiting, too?”
“That’s right,” Kai said, flinching. She didn’t seem too fond of the idea. “Those that prove themselves worthy during a test I’ve set up tomorrow will stay here and train for Royals, and McGraw just told me that he wants you to choose a student, too. One to train and to take with you in your missions.”
“How dare you?” I hissed at my friend. “You’re insinuating that there is someone out there better than me.”
I wasn’t lying. My ego was bruised.
Kai laughed. “You’ll be fine. Think about how much you’ll have to do, training a newbie.”
“But I don’t know how to train. I know how to kill, that’s that. I’m no professor.” Thank God.
“You’re going to have to be. McGraw’s not going to take no for an answer. Go ahead and get some rest.” She pushed me up the stairs like I was a kid. “Make sure you’re down here before dinner starts.”
What a fucking joke. What I wanted to do was go find McGraw and slap the hell out of his bald head for keeping things from me and then telling me like there was no harm done. Damn it, he knew how much I hated that. But the other part of me was glad that I had the day to myself. I’d slept like shit, and I needed more shuteye before I could function properly.
Yes, it sucked to be stuck in the castle, but Kai was right. I was already distracting myself with ideas on how I was going to train another supernatural to practically be me.
And who the hell said that couldn’t be fun?
After I woke up from another restless sleep—no dreams, thankfully—I took a quick shower and wore my all black uniform. I let my hair fall loose down to my waist in waves. You couldn’t tell where my hair ended and my jacket began. Adding a little eyeliner and mascara, I did look black as a Raven—the nickname the good ole folks gave me. With one last check in the mirror, I opened the door to leave my room.
Arturo was waiting for me right by the threshold. He gave me one of those swoon-worthy smiles of his.
“Ciao, bella.” He greeted
me with a kiss on the cheek, just too close to my lips, lingering just a bit longer than necessary. Not that I was complaining. I liked the attention he gave me.
“Hey, Coach.”
“Bella, you grow more beautiful every day.”
The seriousness from the day before was gone. He took a black string of hair out of my face and caressed my cheek with the tips of his fingers, making a little ball of flame burn in my stomach. Always the gentleman. With a smile, I headed for the stairs.
We walked in silence, the only sound coming from my high metal heels connecting with the stone floor.
“How have you been doing?” Arturo asked. His sexy Italian accent still made me want to drool.
“Good. I’m good. You?”
“Same old.” He shrugged. “I spent a couple of months with my daughter recently.”
“She still thinks you’re her father’s friend?” Arturo only nodded.
He had a daughter. A mortal daughter. Nephilim were half angels, but their offspring were always human. She was almost fifty. He liked to pay her a visit every now and then, and he’d tell her he had been a friend of a family, that her father had helped him when he was young and stuff like that. She believed it, so I guess it was okay. He once told me that he had a child every hundred years. Only one, no more, because he said that children were sacred, and he wanted to dedicate all of him to them, one at a time. I believed him because I saw how his eyes shone when he spoke of his daughter.
“So what are your plans for tonight?” he asked next.
I knew exactly what he meant by that. “Planning, actually. I’ll be busy the whole night.” I missed Arturo, yes, but I was feeling on edge, more so than usual. I didn’t see how I could benefit from sex so I passed.
”Maybe next time?” he said and walked ahead to the others. I’m sure McGraw knew about us, and I appreciated his discretion. Still, Arturo liked to be careful.
“Maybe,” I whispered to myself.
We were dining in the great hall at a table that had room for at least a hundred people. Twenty-five former students sat around it, each one more nervous than the other, playing with the food on their plates.
I was a little surprised that they were the only ones to have answered the Council’s call, but when it came to giving your life in a fight, not many people jumped at the opportunity. I watched them, studied them one by one while I ate. Not one looked like someone who could be a heartless, soulless assassin. But, hey, the way I looked when I first stepped into Lyndor, I could have easily been mistaken for a servant.
My eyes moved around the table until a girl no older than eighteen caught my eye. My gut turned, and I wanted to throw up every piece of meat I ate seconds ago. She had that hair, that brilliant honey blond hair. She had it even tied up the same way she always did.
Ella.
My sister. The guilt that had already eaten a hole inside me rose again, though this girl was clearly not my Ella. The similarities ended with her hair. Still, I couldn’t stop my mind from going to dark places. I’d promised myself that I’d go back for her and for my dad as soon as I could hold my own in a fight. I never did.
After what I learned in Lyndor about the variety of magical creatures, their techniques, abilities, all the torturing and most importantly their politics, I made my decision to leave the only family I had alone. There was no telling what someone might’ve done to them if they were after me and found I had connections. And I’d made more than a few enemies in my time. I’d seen the guilt and desperation eat away at the souls of way too many strong men and women to even consider exposing my dad and Ella to that kind of a threat. So, instead of going back, I stayed dead for them. I let them go.
I still dreamt about her almost every night. Sometimes, like she was a distant light I could never reach no matter how fast I ran. Other times like she slipped through my fingers, face covered in blood as she cried “you promised!” to me in an accusing voice.
My heart yearned to see her and Dad one more time. But I swore I’d never go near them again, and I’d resisted the temptation so far. They deserved a happy, peaceful life. I’d only bring trouble to them.
That’s what made me numb and soulless when it came to killing without even blinking. I held the RR responsible for my being away from Ella. And I could never get enough of their lives.
It never made me feel better, though, no matter how many I killed. They never brought her any closer. God, I missed her. I missed her yelling at me, playing the adult. I even missed Dad’s stupid football games. I missed Mom. I missed them so much, it hurt me physically. It was an ache in the middle of my chest that sometimes threatened to swallow me whole.
“Star?” Hearing my name being called brought me back from my dark thoughts.
“Huh?” I looked around. McGraw was looking at me with his brows raised, waiting.
“I asked whether or not you’ve made your choice,” he said.
“I’ll watch them fight tomorrow, first.” I wasn’t going to choose blindly. “And thanks for telling me about this, by the way.”
McGraw’s jaw clenched. He hated to be spoken to that way, especially in front of the other teachers, but I was pissed. Pissed that I had to spend more time in Lyndor so I didn’t really care.
“Are…are you the Raven?” the boy sitting across from me asked in a whisper.
Aw, how cute. He must’ve been at the academy before me because I didn’t recognized him, and he didn’t recognize me. Not at all. He looked scared of me, which was exactly what I was going for.
“Yours truly.” I said. They were all watching me now. Most looked the same as the young man—afraid. Some didn’t because they knew me. They’d trained with me in the beginning and thought I was harmless. I pitied the poor bastards. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
The young man spoke again, barely a whisper. He was probably twenty, twenty-one. Good build. Shifter, judging by his vibe. They always gave me a strong feeling of warmness and life, but they were different from Seelie fey or half-fey. They gave off a different kind of heat.
“Come again?”
He just looked at me and shook his head once, turning to his plate.
“You’re a wolf,” I continued for some reason. I was feeling unusually talkative all of a sudden.
The man looked away from me again. Shifters didn’t like to talk about their animals. In fact, they hated it. I didn’t blame them. I would hate it, too, if I lost control when I shifted into an animal.
“Family?”
“Grimaldie.” the boy whispered, never looking up at me.
“I knew your uncle.”
Disbelief flashed through his features. “You killed him,” he said, after a few deep breaths.
“I did.”
I watched his expression from the corner of my eye. He tried to hide it, but I could still see the hurt and anger on his face before he composed himself. He was good at it, I’d give him that.
“Aren’t you angry about that?” I pushed for whatever reason.
“No. He should have known better than to be fooled by the RR.”
His voice didn’t waver. I would have believed him if I hadn’t seen the look on his face a second ago.
“Good for you,” I mumbled before I stood up. I felt McGraw’s eyes on me as he watched me walk away, but I didn’t turn to look at him. I just wanted to be alone and think about the fact that I was about to choose a kid to turn into an assassin.
7
——————————
In the morning, I watched the students’ demonstration of skills with a cup of warm coffee in my hands. Six a.m. was chilly up there, even though we were in the middle of August. I watched each one of them closely, trying to see that spark that’d say he or even she was it.
Nothing.
Or maybe I just didn’t want to see it.
“They are the best we’ve had. You have to choose one,” McGraw said when he walked up next to me.
“I know.”
I did know that. I just didn’t want to accept it.
“Remember your first day,” the old man said before he left me alone again.
After two hours, I chose from the ten people still standing after the demonstration Kai had set up was over. One of them was the Grimaldie. He was the best choice I had, and I was going to take him before Vladimir could. After a nod at McGraw, I walked down to the stadium and nodded at the Grimaldie to follow me.
The man was completely red in the face, sweating, his hands shaking badly. He hadn’t done any exercise after his time in Lyndor, just like the rest of them. He was surprised at seeing me, but he didn’t argue. With his head down, he followed me inside the castle.
“What’s your name?” His face lit up like a Fourth of July sky.
“Nicholas,” he said after a deep breath. “But you can call me Nick.”
“Okay, Nick. You’re going to train with me for the next…whatever time they give us.” I was already regretting it.
The boy’s face broke into a bright smile just for a second before he composed himself.
“Thank you.”
I shook my head. “Don’t thank me. This is not something to be thankful for. I just hope you won’t regret it.”
“Do you?” he asked the next heartbeat.
My raised brow made it clear that he wasn’t going to get an answer out of me. He needed to understand that we were not buddies, and there would be no chatting between us. Only fighting.
“I am going to need your full attention and dedication throughout this training, Nick.”
“I’m ready.”
I highly doubted it.
“Have you ever killed before?” His eyes grew wide as if he didn’t understand my question. “Have you ever taken a life?”
“No.” He looked ashamed.
“Nothing to be ashamed of. You realize that your job will be to take as many Rebel lives as you can? You realize that you might be assigned to kill your own mother if she decides to switch sides?”