by W. J. May
Rae glanced back and forth between Jennifer and Carter. “You knew how dangerous he was, and you guys didn’t try to pull her out? You could have hid Mom and me. Put us in witness protection or something.”
Jennifer snorted. “You think hiding would have saved your mom? Come on, kid. Simon would’ve found the right kind of tatù to track you two down. Then he’d have killed both of you.”
“Enough!” Carter stood, snarling. The sudden outpouring of anger shocked Rae. Carter was almost always under control, but apparently while she had been carefully scrutinizing Jennifer’s every facial tick, Carter had been seething. He put his hand on Rae’s shoulder. It was a protective gesture. “Don’t blame her. She’s the victim.”
“Victim?” Jennifer threw her head back and laughed. “Look at the girl! She has no bloody idea.”
What the heck is she talking about? Rae shoved her chair back and stood. She met Jennifer’s gaze without blinking and then realized what leather-lady had insinuated. She spoke low and articulate, “I know who I am, and I know exactly what potential I have. If you can’t handle the fact that I’ll be stronger and better than you, then I suggest Headmaster Carter find me a new Botcher.”
Jennifer slid off the table and stood inches away from Rae. With her boots she was about two inches taller. She bent slightly so they were eye level. “I can handle it – if you can, Dagonet.” She enunciated each syllable, using the pronunciation to remind Rae that she was the student here, and Jennifer the teacher.
“Put your claws away, ladies.” Carter put his hands on both their shoulders and separated them.
Rae instantly jumped back, just out of his reach. She remembered Kraigan’s warning about Carter’s tatù. She didn’t want him running through her memories without her knowing. Focusing on Jennifer could make her vulnerable, and Carter could sneak in. How did she know that wasn’t their intention from the get go? Careful…I need them, I can’t be so obvious about my lack of trust or I’ll be out before I even get started.
She needed to be alert and aware of everything around her. She swallowed and pretended to relax. Let it go, be loose. She shrugged. “I’ll give it a try.”
Carter smiled. “Good.” He turned to Jennifer. “And you?”
Jennifer threw her hands in the air dramatically. “That’s why I’m here.”
No one’s forcing you. Rae bit back the comment.
“I’ve got to get back to school. There’s a board meeting regarding the alumni dinner that I’m already late for.” He double-checked his watch. “Can I trust you two to get along without me acting as ref?”
They both nodded.
Carter sighed and buttoned his suit before leaving.
Jennifer pulled her ponytail tight and headed for the door. “Shall we get started then?”
“Sure.” Rae followed her Botcher back down the hall to the gymnasium. The noise level inside had risen since Julian had brought her earlier. Jennifer swung the door open and seemed oblivious to the sudden silence when she stepped in. Every male in the gym stared at the black leather dressed goddess.
Rae grinned. Maybe everyone would stare at Jennifer instead of her. It would be nice not to be the center of attention for once.
“Are you coming?” Jennifer called. She stood near a barrel full of long wooden sticks.
They reminded Rae of the time Devon and Julian had trained with sabers at the beginning of the school year. Hard to believe that had been only six and a half months ago. Rae jogged over to Jennifer.
The noise and action in the gymnasium slowly started up again. Rae could still feel eyes on them, but she chose to ignore it. If Jennifer could do it, she would do it as well.
“How much fight training have you done?” Jennifer unzipped her top and pulled it off. She wore a black tank top underneath. Her lean muscular arms grabbed two sticks, holding one in each hand.
“Some from school. Devon and Julian trained me a bit as well.” The big fight with Kraigan had taught her more than school and stolen training sessions combined. She knew she had weaknesses, but she’d also learned her strengths.
“Good. I want to see what you know.” Jennifer tossed Rae a stick. “Do you plan on fighting in the frumpy shirt?”
Rae caught the stick and examined it. “I’ll take it off after I warm up.” The stick had a sharp end like a pencil and a rubber end on the other, kind of like an eraser. She held it in both hands, trying to determine the weight and best way to hold it. “What’s your tatù by—”
Jennifer rushed at her before Rae could finish. She threw the stick up perpendicular to Jennifer’s to block the blow, at the same time Devon’s fennec fox tatù kicked in. The wood vibrated against her hands and she felt the jostle up her arms.
Devon’s tatù let Rae move with more blinding fast agility. Thank goodness her tatù seemed to know which one she would need before she did. It sucked that she’d lost almost all of them since Kraigan had stolen them. She only had a limited selection now.
“You need to always be ready.” Jennifer took one step back to switch the position of her baton-stick but she sprang back almost immediately.
Instinct, and the natural need to survive, helped Rae fight back. She mimicked Julian’s tatù, trying to foresee Jennifer’s moves before she made them. The only problem was the moment she switched, she couldn’t move fast enough to keep up. She swung her stick like a baton, fast and accurate. Rae switched back to Devon’s tatù. She swore under her breath as she fought to keep up. She needed a plethora of abilities and the ability to use them all at the same time!
Jennifer continued to combat Rae, trying to knock the stick out of her hand. She didn’t appear to be trying very hard.
On the balls of her feet, Rae countered each move as best she could. She managed to block Jennifer but couldn’t make any ground. Jennifer had her moving backwards until she ended up in the corner of the room, only blue mats on each side and Jennifer’s pointy end of her stick aimed at her neck.
“Again.” Jennifer walked back to where they had started.
Rae followed, pulling her shirt off and tossing it against the wall. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. She wore a red tank top underneath, making herself an obvious target.
“You come at me this time.” Jennifer crouched down and waited.
Rae set the rubber side of her stick on the gymnasium floor and straightened. “What is your tatù?”
Jennifer charged at her again.
Rae barely managed to block the attack. “What the –?” Annoyed, she refocused and watched Jennifer’s hands, searching for a pattern. Right, right, swing, left, upper cut, lower body swing. Right, Right, swing, left, upper cut, leg slap. Rae countered and when Jennifer went to swing for the third time. Rae dropped low and jerked the stick so the rubber end connected to the back of Jennifer’s knee. It buckled and she went down.
Rae did a one handed cartwheel, turning her stick so the sharp end pointed out. When Jennifer somersaulted, Rae was ready. As Jennifer straightened to attack, Rae stood facing her with the point near her right shoulder. “Gotchya.” She didn’t dare smile or show a hint of smugness. She had the feeling Jennifer wouldn’t appreciate it, and the next bout would be ten times harder. Gingerly she lowered her stick.
“Good.” Jennifer tossed the stick like a javelin and it landed perfectly back into the bucket holding the others. “What did you do to beat me?”
Her question reminded her of Devon’s style of training. Rae realized now Devon always held back though when he fought her. Either that, or this woman could fight like a demon. About to answer, Rae paused and asked instead, “Do you want me to tell you or are you testing me to see if I share my abilities.”
Jennifer grinned. “Nice answer. I’m the only person you will ever share your abilities or strategies with again. Never trust anyone else. Ever.”
Okay. Little hard core.
“That’s why I’m still alive, and most of the people I’ve fought, aren’t.”
Rae’
s mouth fell open.
Jennifer turned around and lifted her shirt to her lower back.
If even possible, Rae’s jaw fell farther.
A pair of yellow eyes, so life-like, stared at her. The cat’s snout curled into a snarl that made Rae even scared to touch it, for fear it might bite her. The tatù was terrifying and beautiful. “Wow,” she whispered.
“It’s a leopard.” Jennifer dropped her shirt and spun around. “Cats in general are the stealthiest and most agile. Cheetah’s, like your old friend Riley, go for pure speed instead of stealth. Jaguars are stockier and therefore unable to execute maneuvers as quickly. Lions and tigers have their size to contend with, but the leopard has it all.” She reached her hand out and ran it up and down in the air, like it was running through fields. She slowed its pace and two of her fingers moved slowly. She suddenly made a fist. “Leopards are able to sneak up within yards of their prey. Then they pursue it with incredible strength, speed and agility. Half the time the prey doesn’t even know what’s chasing it.”
An unfamiliar, but yet familiar, feeling spread through Rae starting at her elbow. She felt the zing of a new tatù coursing through her before she realized Jennifer had touched her. Everything Jennifer had described, she understood clearly. She shivered, not from the touch but her body’s desire to try the new ability out – like a primal need to figure out and know this new ink inside and out. She glanced around the room, suddenly very eager to try everything. “What are we going to do next?”
Chapter 3
The Journal
The next morning, Rae sat at the desk in her dorm room in Aumbry House, finishing her breakfast. She had woken early from a dream about her mother. Her mother had hid Easter eggs out in the yard. Rae had searched and searched and couldn’t find any. Her mother, an encouraging smile on her face, had sent her back outside and told her to look again and not give up until she had them. The dream had ended and Rae couldn’t fall back asleep so she had gotten up.
She set the empty bowl of cereal off to the side of her desk. There were still three months left of classes before she officially graduated. She may be working for the Privy Council but she still had to pass her regular classes in order to graduate. Guilder had offered to let her move to one of the larger rooms on the other side of the wing but she hadn’t felt the need. She planned on renting a flat somewhere close, but off-campus, during the summer. No need to accept the special consideration and then make that move. It might raise suspicions. The plan was to build her independence slowly, until moving off-campus seemed only logical.
And I’m going to need to buy a car. The salary the Privy Council offered would easily take care of all her expenses, and then some. The only part of the contract she had made them change was the renewal. They wanted three years, but she convinced them to change it to one year. That would hopefully give her enough time to figure things out and find some answers to the questions gnawing at her insides. She didn’t want to be locked into anything longer than necessary. She realized that ultimately, when she had all the answers she sought, she might decide to stay. That didn’t bother her. It didn’t excite her either. It didn’t make her feel anything in particular. Oddly enough, the fact that she wasn’t bothered or excited by the idea of staying with the PC is what bothered her. Was she perhaps taking this “will trust no one” thing too far?
She flexed and relaxed her ankles repeatedly. Her muscles were tight from yesterday. Jennifer had worked her hard. She’d spent too much of her time on her toes and now her legs were paying for it. The healing tatù could fix it, but after her ordeal with Kraigan she’d made the mental decision that pain wasn’t a bad thing. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. If she constantly fixed things that hurt, she feared she’d end up like her father, or Kraigan. Weakness had made her a victim, but she planned to never be one again.
She checked her watch. Six thirty on a Saturday morning. Two and a half hours before she needed to be at training. She’d gone late to bed and hadn’t slept enough. Too much homework, too much thinking and remembering.
“That damn journal,” she mumbled to herself. She’d tossed it in a hidden room in the Oratory the night Kraigan had tried to kill her. Pressing fingers against her temple, she tried to relax. The journal belonged to her, not the Privy Council. So why did she feel so guilty about keeping its location a secret?
Standing up, she threw her shoulders back and exhaled a long breath. Hardly anyone would be around right now and even if she bumped into anyone, she could say she needed to catch up on some work. “It’ll be easy. Just go to the Oratory, use a speed tatù to the secret room. Get in, grab the journal and get out.” She rubbed her hands against her black tights. “Easy peasy.”
After a quick tug to tighten her ponytail, she turned and walked out the door before she lost her nerve. As expected, the hallway and stairs were deserted. Thankfully the door leading outside stayed squeak-free. Rae jogged down the steps and glanced around. A catering truck’s beeping as it reversed into a loading dock seemed the only unusual sound. Her chest tight, she stood on the balls of her toes and slowly turned her head left then right. No one. Go. Now!
Switching to Devon’s tatù, Rae raced down the cement steps and all the way to the Oratory. She continued to look and listen for anyone she might see. After last year, she wasn’t sure who to trust, or if the tatù world actually trusted her. The Privy Council had been desperately trying to locate the journal. They’d be ticked if they found out she had known where it was this whole time, and even angrier if they ever found out she’d been the one who had actually hidden it.
She slowed her pace to a walk when she came to the path leading to the Oratory. Not winded, she still took deep breaths to slow her racing heart. Quit with the guilty feelings. She didn’t plan to keep it secret forever. Once she photocopied the journal, she could give it to the Privy Council. When she did, she knew she would need to explain away how she had come to be in possession of it. Maybe she could force them to let her see Kraigan and then she could come up with some plan that he told her where it lay hidden. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
At the door, she found the hidden key pad and punched in Devon’s code. Hopefully it hadn’t changed. He used her actual birthday date numbers as his password. Kinda cute. Secret boyfriend’s secret code.
“Crap!” She hissed when the door didn’t unlock and glanced back at the little screen. A single line blinked on and off. Leaning forward, she let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. The last digit hadn’t been entered. She probably hadn’t hit it hard enough. Pressing the number seven again, this time harder, she grinned at the churning sound of the lock moving. Without daring to glance behind her, and using her tatù’s strong sense of hearing, she slipped inside.
She leaned back against the heavy oak door and stared into the darkness of the Oratory’s great room. Devon’s tatù rocks! The fennec fox gave him speed, agility, great hearing and fantastic night vision. She’d use Devon’s tatù over Jennifer’s at the moment. She knew the fennec fox inside out. She may still be low on abilities, but it didn’t matter. At the moment she only needed one.
The intricate wood carvings along the walls blended together in the dimness of the morning light. The oriel windows were high up, but the grey clouds kept the sun from having any chance to show that sunrise had even happened. She pushed against the door, determined to move forward and also move the guilty feelings aside.
Just get it and get out. Cocking her head to the side, she tried to concentrate on the possibility of Carter coming from one of the hidden doors. King Henry VIII built the Oratory and added hidden Tudor rooms. The Privy Council, who knows when, had added hallways that lead to their facilities. A secret passageway here, a hidden room there. No one knew, except for a few people who worked for the Privy Council. Rae hadn’t known about it until–
Stop it! She yelled inside her head. Just get the bloomin’ journal! Devon had been so horribly injured and she had been unbelie
vably scared. It was not a memory she cared to dwell on.
As she came to the far wall, she reached out and ran her fingers lightly along the hand carved cameo and scenic images. She closed her eyes, finding it easier to concentrate on what she needed to find. The changes in texture from smoothness to rough, jagged to rippled along the wood brought back no memory to the small little piece of wood that so intricately fit into the carvings but stuck out just enough to open the door to one of the hidden rooms.
Her breathing hitched when her feet bumped into the wall at the end of the hall. Rae opened her eyes, a carving of a man with a raised axe inches from her face. The rapid beating of her heart distracted any other noise she might hear, like the noises she actually needed to be listing for.
She dropped to the floor and leaned her head into her hands. Moistness covered her palms. She’d been sweating. She had no idea if the sweat came from her forehead or her hands. Probably both.
Flashes of the battle with Kraigan flashed through her head like lightning. Kraigan lifting her up and tossing her against the wall, spinning her like a ragdoll, stealing all her tatùs so she had nothing left to fight him with. He’d broken her arm, cut her face, slapped her, and worse. It had been done with such hatred and malice, from a step-brother she’d never known existed.
Forcing a shaky breath through her lips, she forced herself to get up. She had never thought she would be scared coming back in here. She shook her head. “I’ve been through enough crap in my life, I should know better. I should’ve come later in the day, when the room sat full of students.” She snorted. “Great. Now I’m mumbling to myself out loud.”
Her hand brushed against a strangely familiar piece of wood. She had been walking without even realizing it. With two fingers gently holding the tip, she pushed the wood up. Stale air filled her nostrils, as Rae slipped inside the opened door and pulled out her mini flashlight.
The light bounced off the walls and illuminated the small room with shadows and small bits of round light. She went straight to the bed, and dropped down to look underneath it.