by Kim Cormack
As Frost came out of the bathroom, he announced, “Time to go and get to know the town’s residents. We’ll drive in together, then split up. We’ll cover more ground faster that way. I’d like to come back out here and relax for a bit. It’s a beautiful lake. It’s just a shame that the whole damn town is full of cannibals.”
Zach looked at Frost and said, “What did you just say?”
Lexy elbowed Frost and he answered, “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.” He quickly strolled out of the door.
Truth be told Kayn felt a little bit guilty about not telling Zach about what the bacon was really made of but she knew there was no time for drama of any form.
As they drove back into the small town filled with cannibalistic demons only some of them were feeling anxious, others were excited. Well, mainly the two Dragons in the backseat. They couldn’t wipe the smiles off of their faces. Kayn smiled at Frost’s reflection in the rear-view mirror and he grinned. He appeared to be enjoying her enthusiastic response to the job ahead. They pulled over about a block from the diner where they’d eaten their sketchy breakfast and all got out of the vehicle. The three girls started walking in one direction and the boys in the other.
Lily took a card out of her pocket and announced, “Let’s go buy some new clothes.”
Both Kayn and Lexy grimaced at the idea. Lily appeared to be seriously stoked. Kayn sighed and decided she could use some new shorts, tank tops, hoodies and yoga pants. They entered a small trendy looking boutique. She wasn’t going to find anything comfortable in there. Lily was a girl with a mission. She moved around the store with the skill of someone that worked there. She grabbed some jeans for them to try on. Kayn took the jeans from her and wandered to the back of the store in search of the change rooms. She found them easily while Lily told the ladies that worked there all about the cabin they were staying in for only one night at the gorgeous picturesque little lake. Kayn slid the first pair of jeans on and they fit perfectly. Not only that but there was a bit of stretch in the material and they were easy to move around in. She turned in the mirror for a rear view. Her butt looked amazing. Some shirts were tossed over the top of her dressing room and Lily told her to try them on. Kayn put on a delicate lace top that was much sexier than what she was used to wearing. She had to admit that her friend Lily was a rock star at picking out clothes for other people. They left the store with a bag of clothes and it wasn’t nearly as painful as she thought it’d be. She even had a dress. They stopped into the local florist and chatted with the people in the store about where they were staying. They asked directions to the pharmacy and headed out to get some toothpaste, toothbrushes and make up. Every person they met appeared to be a demon with a smoky black and gray cloud trailing behind them. The trio was starting to get hungry again. It was almost three o’clock in the afternoon. Time flies when you’re trying to visit every business in a small town making your whereabouts known, so demons will attempt to murder you in your sleep. Lily texted the boys and told them, they were ordering take out. She asked them what they wanted and told them they were ready to go. They would need to rest up and relax a bit before the fight. It was almost three pm. About fifteen minutes later their take-out order was done and the guys showed up with no bags saying theirs were already in the vehicle and that Zach was waiting in the truck. They passed off some of their bags to Frost and Grey to lighten their load. With food in hand, they followed them out to the vehicle that was loaded up with stuff. Zach had stayed behind with the stuff they’d purchased. He was beaming as he waved at her through the window. What had they bought? Why was he so happy? He knew what was coming. When she climbed into the truck she knew why. He was drunk. Those idiots.
Lily sighed, “Really you guys?”
Grey chuckled, “He’s a little bit drunk. Not sick drunk, just happy drunk. Nobody is coming for us until after nightfall. It won’t be dark outside for hours.”
Lily slid into the front seat beside him and he stared at her until she said, “What do you want Zach?”
He preened, “You’re so beautiful. I really want to touch your hair.”
She glanced into the back and hissed, “Greydon, I’m going to smack you for this when we get out of this truck.”
Grey grinned and sparred, “Alright, sounds good gorgeous. I’m willing to take one for the team…again.” He glanced at Frost.
He hadn’t been openly flirtatious with Lily since the banquet before the older members of Ankh had gone to the Summit. Kayn knew what he meant by again.
Lily rolled her eyes, turned to look at Zach and called his bluff, “Fine, go ahead.”
Zach reached over to touch her glistening silky black hair. As he ran his hand down the length of it, the strands trickled over her shoulders like a midnight waterfall. Zach started to laugh, “It’s a joke. I’m not drunk. Do you think I’m a moron or something?” He turned around, winked at Grey and teased, “You owe me one if that spanking’s amazing.”
Lily smoked Zach’s arm and he giggled, “Hit me harder. I can take it.”
“You think you’re pretty funny, don’t you?” She sparred.
With game far beyond his years, Zach teased, “I’ll be anything you want me to be beautiful.”
Lily shook her head but she was still smiling as they pulled up to the cabin and got out of the truck. They carried everything inside and four of them sat down at the table to eat. Grey and Lexy sat down on the bed together. Lily was quite observant. She could usually guess what everyone would want to eat. This had nothing to do with abilities or gifts. It was just something she liked to do. This had been more difficult. She had to order everything without meat. Kayn took a bite of her vegetarian Caesar wrap and searched through the bag for the hot sauce she’d asked for on the side and pouted when she realized that the restaurant had forgotten it. Frost smiled at her as he stood up and grabbed a small bottle of hot sauce out of a plastic bag.
One million brownie points for Frost! She smiled and said, “Thanks Frost.”
He winked at her and replied, “We’ll be stuck here until we’ve rid the whole town of these suckers and the Aries group has shown up to clean it all up. So, I thought it would make sense to get a few groceries.” He passed her the bottle and their fingers touched. She bit her lip and met his eyes. He was insanely gorgeous. It wasn’t allowed to happen between them …yet. Yet, being the operative word. It was going to happen between them. It was only a matter of time and time was something she had an overabundance of. She took a bite of the wrap and scowled, wishing it had chicken on it. She knew they were relatively safe because her stomach had ceased its constant complaints. Lexy was standing by the table staring at her, when she glanced up from her meatless wrap.
“It sucks, doesn’t it?” Lexy remarked.
Kayn grinned, for many things sucked at this moment. “Which thing?” She placed her hand over her mouth while she responded to the question because she was still chewing her thoroughly unsatisfying wrap.
“Wanting something you’re not allowed to have,” her fellow Dragon replied without missing a beat.
Kayn grinned for that still could be one of half a dozen things. “Yes, it definitely does,” she answered. She knew Lexy was talking about Grey. That was no secret. Not anymore. Frost wasn’t her Handler though, Zach was. Eventually she’d be in control of her ability and then being with Frost would no longer be an issue. Lexy smiled at her as she took another less than satisfying bite.
Frost was talking to Zach and she tuned in to the conversation right when he said, “This new girl, Molly. What’s she like? She definitely doesn’t look sixteen.”
Zach replied, “She does look way younger, doesn’t she? I really like her a lot. She’s a sweet girl and much tougher than she looks.”
She looked at Frost and added, “She’s funny and a bit goofy. I can’t even picture her in the Testing though. I can’t wait until we take her to the in-between for the first time.”
Lexy grinned at her and teased, “I couldn
’t picture you in the Testing and I have a feeling you’re going to miss out on that. She’s there with the rest of our clan right now. Listen, do yourself a favor and don’t get too attached. They almost never come back out of the Testing.”
She already was, a little bit. She’d been the one to mark her Ankh. It felt like she was responsible for her. Kayn nodded as she ate the last bite of her less than satiating wrap.
Grey wandered up behind Lexy and whispered, “Don’t be so negative.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, from behind and playfully kissed her neck. She squirmed out of his arms and swatted him away.
Kayn could see it in Lexy’s eyes, she was already trying to shut her emotions down. Her Handler was not being helpful. Zach had been staring at her for a while. He seemed worried. She knew what each of his expressions meant. He stood up and asked her to come for a walk. She pushed out her chair and followed him out the front door of the cabin and into the crisp autumn air. They walked away from the cabin and onto the rocky little beach area where they sat down on a log. He picked up a rock and tossed it into the water, without even making an attempt to skip it along the surface. He always tried to skip it along the surface. She knew he wanted to say something.
He looked down at his shoes as he spoke, “I haven’t been your Handler for very long. Bringing you back after what you’re about to do, feels like it’s way above my skill range. I don’t even know how the Handler Dragon thing works. It’s just been happening.” He picked up another smooth stone and rolled it between his fingers. He gripped it in the palm of his hand as he verbalized his fears, “What if I fail you? What if this job is too dark and I can’t bring you back?”
Kayn held out her hand and Zach dropped the small rock into it without her having to ask. She closed her hand around it and said, “Stand up.”
He grinned and rose to stand beside her. “You really want to skip rocks…now?”
She sparred, “Why not?” Kayn wound up and skipped the stone once across the shimmering surface of the lake. A fish jumped and she exclaimed, “Did you see that fish it was huge!”
He bent down, chose another rock and explained, “It needs to be a flat one like this.” He showed her the stone in his hand, it was smooth and flat on either side. Kayn opened her hand and he dropped it into her palm. She wound up and Zach added, “A little more to your side.”
This time when she pitched the stone it skipped three times. She raised her arms above her head, cheered and did a little dance. “Bet you can’t beat that one.”
Zach grinned and baited, “Oh yah?” He found another stone, reeled his arm back and skipped it four times across the surface of the water. He started to obnoxiously cheer and dance around.
Her heart twitched as her memory flashed her a picture of Kevin as a child doing the same thing. She closed her eyes and willed the sentimental thoughts away. They’d been having a moment and the joy of it had been dampened by a memory of her mortal past. Tears formed in her eyes and she blinked them away. Dragons don’t cry. Dragons never cry. Especially Dragons that are expected to fight 207 demons at dusk.
Zach stopped obnoxiously cheering as he noticed the solemn expression on her face and probed, “Are you alright?”
She tried to smile as she responded, “I’m fine. You just reminded me of somebody that I used to know.” And that was who he was to her now. Somebody that she used to know. It was another life. A life that could not be compared to this one. Why was she feeling like this right now? This was an inconvenient time to rediscover her useless emotional connection to someone that was now and would always be, her enemy.
Zach grabbed both of her hands and whispered, “Are you afraid you can’t do it? You can tell me the truth. I know it seems impossible. It would be for me but I don’t believe for one second that it’s impossible for you.”
“No,” Kayn replied. “I know I can do it. The only thing I’m afraid of, is losing myself.”
Zach nodded his silent understanding. “I know I wasn’t sure I could do this. Hell, even fifteen minutes ago, I wasn’t certain. I can promise you this much. I won’t stop trying to bring you back. I’ll never stop trying.”
They embraced in front of the lake whose surface was now so still it mirrored the images from the mountains to the sky above. She whispered in his ear, “I know you won’t.” Kayn allowed him to hold her for a little longer than she was comfortable with. They were both unsure of what they were capable of. She knew she was capable of the act of being a Dragon. She feared losing the thin thread of humanity that she’d managed to regain after the Testing and virgin sacrifice that followed. He was afraid he would fail her. Their concerns were warranted. This was not the Testing anymore. This insanity was about to happen in the real world.
Their touching Dragon Handler bonding moment was cut short by Lexy’s booming voice, “This is not the time for that mushy crap. It’s almost time to shut your emotions down. Come over here and take some of my energy. We should feed your Conduit ability and top up the healing ability within you. We have a plan and we are running out of daylight.”
They released each other from the embrace and turned to face the Ankh that stood behind them. How long had they been there? She suspected by the concerned expression on Frost’s face they’d been standing there for a while.
Lexy held her hands out to Kayn. She took them. This was one thing she’d never have to be asked twice to do. Her hands gradually warmed until Lexy’s healing energy travelled up her arms. Every hair on her body strained to stand as the euphoria that her ability produced within her took hold. Lexy yanked her hands away and broke the connection.
Grey strolled up and explained, “We have a plan but first we need to see how many you can hold at once. Take some of mine. I’m not sure what will happen. My fire-starting ability has been stifled by the third tiers but it’s still there.”
Kayn took Grey’s hand and this was different. Her hands were burning and it felt like her arms were on fire, she shrieked as her knees buckled from the agony but her tolerance was so high that she managed to keep her grip on him. She didn’t break the connection until her chest felt like it was burning on the inside. Grey yanked his hands away and she remained there for a minute on her knees while she tried to regain her bearings. She shivered as a shot of adrenaline surged through her. Kayn rose to stand noting that she felt strength she’d never experienced before. It felt like she was there but not really. Her emotions were already shutting themselves down in preparation for the insanity ahead. She could hear everything. Each falling pine cone and even the ominous tune of the wind as it whistled through the trees. The sound of the fish as they jumped and the nervous beats of her fellow Ankhs hearts. It was a lot to take in but it didn’t overwhelm her as it once had. Lily tossed a knife in her direction. She sensed it sailing through the air and lifted her hand, catching it in midair by the handle.
Lexy grinned as she instructed, “Now cut your hand.”
Kayn took the knife and dragged it across the center of her palm without flinching. The blood didn’t even have a chance to pool along the slice before it closed. It had healed instantly. This was new.
Grey prodded, “Try to use mine.”
Kayn waved her hand forward a few times and nothing happened. “I’m not sure if I can, “she replied.
He explained how, “Look at something on the ground and envision it on fire inside of your mind. Want the flames to appear and then do the same thing that you just did with your hand.”
She stared at the log they’d been sitting on earlier and imagined the wood aflame. Kayn took her hand and pointed at it, without breaking her train of thought, it exploded with crackling flames. Adrenaline surged through her again. She wanted more. She spun around to see if Frost was willing and he was already giving Lexy some of his energy. Lexy in turn gave Greydon some of hers and everyone appeared to be back to normal, except for her. Zach attempted to walk towards her and he doubled over, grabbing his stomach.
Frost winced, obviou
sly feeling the same thing. He grabbed his arm and whispered, “No, leave her like this. She’s ready to go. They’re coming.”
Why was he whispering? She could hear everything. There was no pain in her stomach now just a pleasurable twinge of something unusual. She was ready.
Demon Fight Club
The sun had begun its ill-omened decent behind the mountain’s summit. The darkening sky above cast an ominous shadow throughout the forest, as it crept slowly towards the Ankh. This darkness had the appearance of a living breathing being as it methodically extended its menacing grasp until night captured the woods.
Lexy was staring at the mountain’s peak. She grinned as she began her speech, “First things first. She grabbed an object out of her pocket and dropped it on the ground. “I’m sure you remember what this is. Just in case you’ve forgotten. This object is for blocking spiritual energy. It will also keep the demons locked within the confines of this town, so we’ll have a controlled circumstance in which to send those abominations back where they belong.”
Kayn found herself mesmerized by what Lexy had dropped on the forest floor. The last time she’d seen one of those spiritual energy blocking contraptions was the night the clans had fought at the house she’d grown up in. That was the night she’d lost her only remaining family members, her older brother Matt and her family friend slash caregiver, Jenkins. That was also the night Kevin was taken by Triad. Kevin… his name had to mean nothing now. If she kept saying these things to herself perhaps one day, it would be the truth.
Grey chuckled, “The first rule of demon fight club is …you must always clean up the evidence after demon fight club.”