I held my breath and moved as quickly as possible. I couldn’t give the pain time to register. My jeans tore with a rip so loud Bobson probably heard it downstairs.
“What was that?” Melanie yelled.
5
I jumped up and forced my body over the railing, not knowing if Melanie saw me. All I focused on was sliding down the bars on the railing so I was dangling below it, hopefully out of sight.
Melanie’s feet pounded on the floor, and in less than a second, I heard keys and the door unlocking. Note to self, the girl could run. She was in the room with the door shutting behind her faster than I could exhale.
My feet kicked at the air below me. It was a long drop to the bottom. I tried to pull myself up, but I couldn’t. There was nothing to grab onto, and the bars on the railing were too slippery to climb. Stupid sweaty palms. I hung there for a moment, trying to conserve my strength. I couldn’t go up, and I certainly wasn’t dropping to the floor. I’d break an ankle at the very least. I eyed the length of hallway above me. I was going to have to climb across the railing to the stairs.
Coach Taylor was probably laughing right now. You need to improve your upper body strength, Miss Andrews. Tennis players need muscle. Ugh! I moved hand over hand to my left. I tried to keep my lower body as still as possible. The more I moved around, the more I struggled to hold on. Every few seconds, I glanced up expecting to see Melanie glaring down at me. No way was I going to make it before she came out of that room. As soon as she found out the noise she’d heard hadn’t come from inside there, she’d be sniffing around out here.
I inched my way over. My hands were getting sweatier and sweatier. Yuck! Before reaching for the next bar, I wiped one hand on my jeans. Bad move. I was dangling by one slick hand. I grasped at the bars with my dry hand and just got it before the other hand slid free. I let out a little squeal.
The door above me opened. “Who’s there?” Melanie called.
“Just me,” a voice answered.
I looked down to see a guy my age standing at the foot of the stairs. He raised an eyebrow at me.
I put my finger to my lips, silently begging him not to draw attention to me.
“Bobson sent me to get some bandages,” he said. “We had a little mishap with one of the axes. Nothing to worry about, though.”
“Hurry up and get what you need then,” Melanie said. Her footsteps sounded above me, and I waited in silence until I heard her bedroom door shut.
“Thank you,” I said, keeping my voice as low as possible so Melanie didn’t hear.
“No problem. I know how she can be, and something tells me she wouldn’t be happy to see you hanging there.” He laughed.
“Could you…help me?”
He walked three quarters of the way up the stairs—about waist level with me—and leaned across the railing. “Reach for my hand. I’ll pull you the rest of the way.” I hesitated. I didn’t know this guy. I wasn’t sure I could trust him not to let me fall. “Come on. I’m stronger than I look.”
Actually, he did look strong. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was whether or not I could trust him.
“Hey, I bailed you out with the almighty Melanie, didn’t I?” he said, practically reading my mind.
My hand was cramping, and I couldn’t hold on like this much longer. “Okay.” I inched over a little more and extended my left arm. He leaned over farther and grabbed my hand.
“All right. Now when I tell you, I want you to swing your legs toward me. I’m going to pull you to me at the same time. Got it?”
I took a deep breath and nodded.
“Now!”
He waited for me to swing my legs, and then he yanked my free arm—practically out of its socket. As he pulled me to him, his other arm reached for my armpit. I body slammed the railing and was about to topple over it when he caught me. Now I understood why he’d grabbed for my armpit. He was supporting my weight so I didn’t fall forward and send us both tumbling down the stairs. I climbed over the railing.
“Who would’ve thought solid ground could feel so good under your feet?” I was breathing hard, and the fact that he smelled amazing and was inches from my face wasn’t helping.
He reached for me. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
A door banged, like someone had flung it open. “What was that?” Melanie yelled.
“Go!” he whispered, and he turned and walked the rest of the way upstairs to meet Melanie.
I scrambled down the steps and hid in the sitting room—for the second time today.
“Sorry, Melanie. I had some trouble finding the bandages. They weren’t where Bobson said they’d be. I was wondering if you kept any stored someplace else.”
I smiled. The guy was good.
“The bathroom off the kitchen should have some,” Melanie said with nothing but annoyance in her voice.
“Thank you.”
I heard the door slam shut and wondered if Melanie had slammed it in the guy’s face. She was a pleasant one. He raced back down the stairs.
“I’m in here.” I stepped into the doorway.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Nothing like getting punched in the gut by a banister.”
“Beats falling and breaking a leg.” He smiled at me. He had a nice smile. A warm smile. It reminded me of Avery’s.
“What’s your name?”
“Gabe. You’re Ella, right?” He shook his head. “Of course you’re Ella. You’re the only girl in an army of guys. We all know who you are.”
I wasn’t sure how to react to that. The only girl? I wasn’t used to being the center of attention. “So can I help you find those bandages? It’s the least I can do.”
“Nah. I already got them.” He pulled a handful of gauze and medical tape out of his back pocket.
I liked this guy already. “So then, what were you doing when you saw me hanging on for dear life?”
“Oh, you know. Looking for chicks. Slim selection here, though. Sometimes you have to settle for whoever’s hanging around.” He winked at me.
I shook my head and smirked. “How old are you?”
“Mentally or physically?”
“How about we start with physically?”
“Sixteen last week. I’m guessing you’re about the same.”
I nodded, feeling my cheeks start to blush. “What do you know about this place?” I changed the subject and started walking back toward the training room.
“Hmm.” He let out a sigh. “Not much. They’ve got awesome weapons and lots of secret rooms with really bad locks on them. Cool observatory. You can really see the sky close up. Did you know there’s this giant magnifying glass thing so they can get a closer look at the sky? It’s like the world’s best telescope or something.”
I stopped walking. “You’ve been inside Melanie’s father’s office? The one with the really high roof?”
He turned to me and shrugged. “No lock I can’t pick. I’m like a Boy Scout gone bad.”
“A Boy Scout?” I laughed. “You don’t look like the type. But you don’t exactly look like the type to pick locks either.”
“So then what type do I look like?” He crossed his arms, waiting for me to answer.
I cocked my head to the side. “I don’t know. I haven’t figured you out yet.”
Without another word he reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. I gasped and stepped back.
He put his hands up in defense. “Relax. If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve let you fall from the second story railing.” That made sense, but it didn’t explain why he had the knife. “Hold still for a second.” He stepped toward me, and I stepped back. “Seriously, you can trust me. This won’t hurt at all.”
I don’t know why, but I listened. Something about him—his eyes, his smile—seemed friendly, even with his unpredictable behavior. He bent down in front of me and grabbed my ripped jeans. He sliced the knife carefully through the fabric, mak
ing my jeans into shorts. He did the same to the other leg too.
“Much better. It’s too hot here for long pants. Plus, you’ve got great legs.” He took some gauze and medical tape and bandaged the cut from the cactus.
“Thanks. I mean, I play tennis. It keeps my leg muscles toned.” I knew I was turning red, so I looked down at my shorts to avoid Gabe’s stare. He’d actually done a pretty good job, considering he’d used a knife to cut them. “Well, now I have you figured out. You’re the fashion designer type.”
He shook his head and sighed. “Oh, that’s so not cool.” I laughed, and he nudged me with his elbow. “Come on. Some guys really are waiting for these bandages.”
We walked the rest of the way to the training room in silence. I caught him staring at me, and my stomach did a little flip-flop. He wasn’t the type of guy I was usually attracted to, but I couldn’t deny there was something there. As much as I liked being around Gabe, I was sort of relieved to be around the others. The army of kids was now armorless, and so was Avery. They were stationed in a line in front of the targets. The bows they were using looked just like the ones we had in gym class. They weren’t difficult to use, but they had chewed up my arm. Still, I’d been able to hit a few bull’s-eyes. Most of the boys were terrible shots. I noticed Bobson had retrieved his pen from the bull’s-eye and was chewing it again.
Gabe smiled at me and headed over to some boys sitting on a bench. I watched him help bandage the boy’s scrapes. After a minute, I felt funny standing there so I took a seat in the corner. Avery met my gaze. He looked back and forth between me and Gabe, and the expression on his face turned almost cold. Did he not like Gabe? Avery always liked everyone. I wrinkled my forehead at him, silently communicating a “What’s the matter?” He shook his head and motioned to the plate of pancakes sitting on the chair next to me. A note scribbled in his handwriting said, “You missed breakfast, but I saved this for you.” I looked up to say thank you, but Avery was already focused on training again. I ate the pancakes while I watched the boys. Before long, I realized my attention was split between Gabe and Avery. What was that about? I barely knew Gabe, and Avery was my best friend. I shook off the strange feeling that was coming over me and took in the training instead.
The whole scene was completely crazy. These kids were no match for Draco and Serpens. I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Scorpius yet, but I was willing to bet he was no itsy-bitsy spider. I couldn’t figure out what Melanie had been thinking when she’d come up with the idea to have kids in her army. The girl was delusional. One of the boys couldn’t have been older than eleven. And the ones who did look older, about seventeen, and who had muscles, were clearly lacking in brains. A goofy blond guy was holding his bow upside down. Gabe was the only one here who made sense. Well, him and Avery. They were both in great shape, and they looked totally hot holding weapons. Oh God! What was I saying? I couldn’t think about Avery like that. He was my best friend. And Gabe? I was still up in the air about him.
I decided to focus on the others for now. None of them looked familiar. I assumed Bobson had taken the kids from all over the country to avoid suspicion and keep it from getting in the news. He was smarter than I’d given him credit for. I was about to initiate another verbal battle with him when Gabe walked over to me carrying a double-sided axe.
“Want me to show you how to use this?”
“Um…” I stared at the blades. They looked sharp enough to hack an arm off. “I think I’ll pass. I’m not an axe kind of girl.”
Gabe shrugged. “I prefer the bow and arrow, but you never know when you’ll need something that works better in short range.”
The thought of being in short range of the constellations made me swallow hard. I took a deep breath and stood up. “Okay. Show me.” I didn’t intend to join the army, but it didn’t hurt to know how to defend myself with an actual weapon instead of a rock.
Gabe smiled and handed me the axe. It was heavier than I’d thought it would be. I needed two hands to hold it steady.
“Hold your hands farther apart to better balance the weight of both ends.”
“Like this?” I slid my hands along the handle.
“No. Now you’re too close to the blades. One slip and you’ll lose a hand.” He walked behind me, so my back was pressed up against his chest. My breath caught in my throat, and my palms got sweaty. Not a good thing when you’re holding a deadly weapon.
“Okay, see where my hands are?”
“Huh?” I was too preoccupied with where his arms were. Around me. I looked up, trying to focus when I saw Avery’s eyes on us. When he saw I’d caught him staring, he turned slightly to the side. But I could tell he was still watching us, and it made me wonder if there was something about Gabe I didn’t know. Something I should’ve known.
“Did I lose you?”
“What?” I turned my head to the side so I could see Gabe.
He put his arms down and backed away. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“What? No.” I shook my head and nearly dropped the axe. Gabe reached out and grabbed it before it sliced Melanie’s sneaker in half—and my foot along with it.
“Thanks.” I exhaled loudly. “That was too close.”
“You’ve got to be really careful with these things.”
Careful with the axe or careful with Gabe? Maybe both. “Why can’t we use guns anyway? Wouldn’t it be easier to just shoot the constellations?”
“Guns don’t work in Stellaris.” He shrugged. “Something about the atmosphere. I didn’t really understand it, and people here aren’t big on explaining things.”
Tell me about it.
“Maybe we shouldn’t start with the axe.” He stared at the weapon in his hands, and I wondered if it was only to avoid looking at me.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to space out on you. It’s just that I don’t want to fight in this insane army.”
He tilted his head.
“I don’t mean you,” I blurted out. “Or any of the other guys. It’s Melanie and Bobson.” I turned and looked around the room. “And this entire place. We shouldn’t be here.”
“But we are.” He smirked. “So why not cause a little trouble?”
There was that side of him again. The one I couldn’t figure out. The one that scared me and intrigued me at the same time. “Trouble for who?”
“The constellations mostly.” He shrugged. “But hey, if the high and mighty princess gets annoyed with us in the process, then all the better.”
I smiled and motioned to the axe. “Show me again? I promise I’ll pay attention this time.”
“Promising to be a good student? Are you sucking up to the teacher?”
I jabbed my elbow in his ribs.
“Ow. You’ve got fight in you.”
“Hey, I took on Serpens and Draco to get here.”
“I heard. I still can’t believe Bobson didn’t stick around to bring you here himself.” Gabe’s eyes searched the room, landing on Avery.
“Why’d they send Avery anyway?” I asked.
“He insisted.” The way Gabe said the words left me feeling like he had something against him.
“I’m not surprised. He’s my best friend. If he knew I was here, then he knew it was because I came looking for him.”
“I doubt he went because he felt obligated.”
“Why is that so strange? Wouldn’t you help your friend if you thought she was in danger?”
“Sure. But my friends are guys. Girls and guys can’t just be friends.”
“What about us? Aren’t we friends? Sort of.”
Gabe stared at me. “Is that what you want? For us to be friends?”
I didn’t know what I wanted. Gabe was cute, confident, and had an attitude I could relate to. But…I wasn’t sure what the “but” was. I just knew there was one.
I looked up to see Avery staring at me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was jealous I was spending so much time with Gabe.
“See. Gi
rls and guys can’t just be friends.”
I so didn’t want to have this conversation. I faced Gabe and put one hand on the axe. “Whatever, Dr. Freud. Psychoanalyze me some other time. Right now I want you to show me how to use this axe.”
“As you wish.” Gabe handed me the axe and took his former position behind me.
I held the axe with Gabe’s arms wrapped around me. I tried to concentrate, but my head was ringing with the words, Girls and guys can’t just be friends.
6
I sucked at using the axe. The thing was awkward, unmanageable, and impractical. Not to mention the fact that it seemed totally crazy to have a weapon that could just as easily slice and dice you as you attacked your enemy. And it didn’t help that Bobson kept glancing at me and shaking his head. I really wanted to practice using the axe on him. But realistically, I would’ve done more damage to myself. After almost cutting my leg and Gabe’s arm, Gabe decided I needed a break. More like a return ticket home if you asked me.
“Sorry,” I said, sitting back down and taking another bite of pancake. Ick. Cold pancake was like eating cardboard. I forced myself to swallow because I wasn’t about to spit it out in front of Gabe. He laughed and tossed me a bottle of water from a cooler in the corner. I gratefully took a sip, though the Evian label disturbed me. These people were definitely taking whatever they wanted from my world. But I had bigger things to worry about right now than a few cases of water and designer clothing.
“Don’t sweat it. The other guys aren’t much better with the axes.”
Great, so the army was basically as defenseless as I was. Stellaris was in serious trouble. I must have looked upset because Gabe sat down next to me and put his hand on my shoulder.
“Hey, don’t worry. A few of us aren’t that bad.” He bumped his shoulder into mine. “Myself included of course.”
“Of course.” I laughed.
Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances Page 40