by Kim Cormack
“By doing magic spells?” Melody snickered. Mel waved her hands, wiggled her fingers and sang, “Bibbidy boobidy boo.”
Zach shook his head as he said, “I hope you had the chance to see who you needed to see, because it’s time to start training. We had to run interference for your shenanigans.” Zach still had a hold of her hand as he gave her a knowing smile and began towing her along with them through the bushes. Melody kept wriggling her fingers at Zach. “There’s no such thing,” Zach chuckled as they met up with Grey and Lexy.
Curious, Lexy enquired, “No such thing as what?”
Zach rolled his eyes as he replied, “Witches.”
“Of course, there are Witches.” Grey declared. “Why wouldn’t there be Witches?”
As Melody strolled beside Grey, she probed, “Vampires, Dragons and Zombies?”
Grey chuckled and said, “Don’t even get me started. One form of necrophilia should be outlawed but the other, is a lot of fun...Right Lex?”
Lexy choked very randomly while laughing. Grey hit her on the back. She suspected that dig was aimed at one of Lexy’s prior flings. Maybe someday she’d get a chance to hear the story behind the comment? She’d always thought the premise behind vampirism was sort of hot. Kayn grinned while attempting to think about zombies in a sexy way. She pictured one with missing chunks of flesh hanging off its face and the nasty scent of decomposing flesh. It was not a sexy thought. Dragons...Would be sort of a bestiality thing? She was tossing around her own rather messed-up thoughts when Grey asked her what she was thinking about.
Lexy teased, “Grey… You’ve known Brighton long enough to comprehend the depravity of her messed-up sense of humor. Do you really want her to answer that question?”
Kayn winked at Lexy as she clarified, “No offense but theoretically if we had sex wouldn’t it be necrophilia?”
Out of nowhere, Grey took her hand and placed it on his chest. As she felt the warmth of his skin she also felt the immediate need to yank her hand away as her blood raced in response to the pounding of his heart.
While grinning flirtatiously Grey said, “We’re living breathing beings. Our hearts beat just like any mortal. We just heal a little faster… A lot faster if it happens to be your gift. That is why some of us can’t end up in the hospital without freaking everyone out.”
“I accidentally freaked someone out so badly that they died the last time I ended up in the hospital,” Zach stated.
Grey grinned, rolled his eyes at Zach and said, “Because Lexy healed you. I’m just trying to make a point to our Kayn.”
He’d definitely made it. Kayn had been avoiding eye contact with Grey since he’d placed her hand on his chest. He hadn’t missed her response. These Ankh boys were all the same. He wouldn’t be able to resist teasing her a little now.
As she’d predicted, Grey took her hand as he continued his little speech, “Every reaction to any stimulation is precisely the same as a mortal.” He rubbed his finger slowly, rhythmically in small circles on the soft skin of her wrist while looking down at her with his intense blue pools of seduction. With his sandy blonde wavy hair swept across his brow, sometimes Grey reminded her of an angel. A very naughty angel that threw temper tantrums with a sexy accent.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake Grey, cut it out!” Lexy hissed. “We have things to do... Focus!”
Kayn exhaled slowly. Something was definitely going on. He stepped away from her while still grinning like a cat that just swallowed a canary. The lack of contact, allowed them both to regain their bearings. Everyone was enjoying Kayn’s confusion over her reaction to Grey’s touch far too much to explain that it was the pool of water that was making her feel a little romantically funny.
Melody poked Kayn’s arm and said, “I bet Grey hangs out by this pool every time he comes to the in-between, in the hopes of finding an emotionally distraught and pliable girl.”
Kayn lunged over and punched Grey’s arm. He laughed aloud as she scolded, “You are such a jerk! I forgot where I was standing!” He had a case of the giggles as the group strolled away from the tidal pool of seduction. Kayn glared at Grey who was still most impressed with himself but then she smiled. How can you stay mad at someone who is giggling like a child?
Melody poked Kayn’s arm again and said, “You couldn’t have reminded me of that tiny tidbit of information before you left me there alone with Zach?”
Grey’s giggles turned to full on laughter as he enquired, “Did you seriously fall under the tidal pool’s spell again?” Grey winked at Melody and ruffled her hair as she attempted to swat him away. Grey teased, “You better be good to her or you’ll have me to answer to kid.”
Zach looked at the mischievous immortal with wide innocent eyes and said, “I know better. We’re friends. I never touched her.”
Kayn placed her arm around Melody and whispered in her ear, “I think Grey’s jealous.”
Mel scowled as she whispered, “He’s just a big kid splashing girls with water. I have a feeling he’s never really serious about anyone.”
As Kayn, Melody and Zach wandered through the ever changing scenery of in-between together, Kayn was secretly relieved that they hadn’t started something. They were all in the same clan and it didn’t consist of only the three of them but Melody and Zach were in the same situation that she was in. She didn’t want to feel like a third wheel.
Being the Lion
Lexy threw a cold bucket of water on the conversation with her words, “So, what do you all think your Testing will consist of?”
Zach answered promptly, “A coliseum old school style, with the grandstands full.”
Grey stepped back into the conversation and enquired, “Tell me Zach… Do you like video games?”
“I will have you know, I was the Halo champion of my family,” Zach replied as he shuffled through the long grass.
Grey’s eyes lit up, so apparently that was a good thing. Kayn grimaced… Again, with the damn video games. She was listening to the conversation and not watching where she was walking and almost bailed in the thigh high grass. Lexy grabbed her and gave her a disapproving look as she released her grasp. Kayn piped into the conversation, “Video games aren’t really my thing but I did alright swinging a light saber when I played Star Wars at Kevin’s house. I’ve play countless hours of Trivial Pursuit Unhinged though…That was my family’s thing. I’ve been told I have amazing deductive reasoning skills.”
“I’m good at board games.” Melody added.
Grey carried on speaking, “As you know, fear stifles your energy and abilities. There is no room for fear. You can die repeatedly during your Testing. It will be just like playing a video game. You will be healed and sent back into the game. No death, no matter how violent, will be permanent. You need to leave your sentiments outside of the Testing. Emotional connections will only leave you vulnerable...Kayn.”
She understood what he was saying. Kayn slowly nodded without looking at him.
Zach stopped walking aimlessly through the grass. He sighed and said, “No matter how violent ...Great. I was right, wasn’t I? It is an old-school coliseum, isn’t it? Are we battling people? Third tiers? Will the three of us be together?”
Lexy stopped walking, turned to face them and proclaimed, “We aren’t permitted to tell you everything. Melody, you’ll be able to heal quickly, this is an advantage physically but a disadvantage mentally. Zach and Kayn, you’ll most likely be Enlightened during the game. You’ll have to attempt to stay on task and I assure you, it won’t be easy. When you are first Enlightened, you’ll find yourself reacting as an addict would, craving whatever fuels your ability. You’ll need to help each other through this.”
With sympathy in his eyes, their blonde-haired immortal instructor addressed Zach directly, “Your pain level may need to be heightened to an absurd point to trigger your Enlightenment because of your tolerance as a mortal.”
Kayn observed the look that passed between Lexy and the one male member of their trio
. Their Dragon’s eyes had forgiveness in them. Zach’s Correction must have been horrific. She’d never asked him about what happened…Apparently, she should have.
Lexy drew her attention away from Zach as she addressed the group, “There will be weapons for you to use. You’ll find them in random places. There’ll be swords, knives, clubs, arrows and salt. So, our first lesson today is on arrows, this is where Trinity will have an advantage over the other clans. Arrows are their clans preferred weapon. Mel should be alright but there isn’t enough time to even you two out with their skill level, but we can teach you how to evade them. The arrows will be drugged as I’m sure you all know. If one hits you, it doesn’t matter if it only nicks your arm. The poison will take hold and you’ll eventually go down.”
Kayn’s mind flashed back to her brother Matt’s final moments. He’d been drugged by one of Trinity’s arrows. It didn’t seem like the worst way to go. The memories of her family now left her feeling hollow. Whenever she walked down the hallway towards her bedroom in her thoughts the pictures on the walls were no longer there. That life was gone. Sometimes, it felt like she’d died right alongside of her family. That version of her did not exist anymore. While she was lost in her thoughts, bows appeared in her immortal trainer’s hands. The scenery flashed with brilliant white light and they were now standing in the forest.
With a comical tone, Grey announced, “We’re counting to twenty... I’d run if I were you.”
“Are you serious?” Kayn questioned. She stepped back as Lexy began to count. Without hesitation, Zach and Melody sprinted into the forest. Kayn heard their bows being readied and realized they were really planning to shoot at them. She took off after the others. The all too familiar rhythmic sound of her feet snapping twigs as she raced through the woods was overshadowed by the ominous pounding of thunder. What twisted new version of hell was this going to be? The sky became dim and a violent downpour erupted from the clouds above. Adrenaline coursed through her veins in response to the sound. Lightening clapped with an explosive crackle in the bushes close by. There was going to be lightening too? What in the hell? Rain vigorously pelted her skin as rocks brutalized the soles of her feet. She skidded over some loose gravel and a moment from her past flashed into her mind. She was going to slip and fall. She ignored her fears and sprinted forward, rapidly closing the distance between herself and the other two.
Lexy’s voice hollered, “Ten!”
Brains before brawn, Kayn reminded herself as she sped past the others and veered off in the opposite direction leaving the other two eating her dust. Competitive by nature, her eyes scanned her surroundings for somewhere clever to hide until the arrow wielding immortals passed her by. She noticed the entrance to a cave ahead but chose to keep running. That was too obvious. All she’d accomplish by hiding in a blatantly obvious place was to become trapped like a caged animal. She wasn’t about to be caged. She was a lion. Kayn ran past it and climbed upwards through the brush concealed by bountiful shrubbery, knowing even if they saw her, they wouldn’t have a clean shot. She clutched the branches and roots of trees as she struggled her way up the side of the mountain, knowing it was best to stay where there was no trail. When she reached even ground, it felt like she’d been running for hours without even a glimpse of anyone else. With her legs scraped, battered and bruised, she carried on running until she burst through the bushes into a thicket. Exhausted, she crouched in the security of the tall grass. Unable to catch her breath, she laid down, deciding to hide in plain sight. She would wait here until she heard them pass and then she’d double back to where she’d started. After only a minute or two of rest, she heard voices approaching. Kayn shut her eyes, pressed her lips together and attempted to steady her breathing. As the voices trailed off into the distance, she thought, what would she do if she couldn’t find someone? Brains before brawn. She’d find a higher vantage point. If one of them climbed a tree, she’d be clearly visible, wearing white in a background of green. She could just run for it. If they suspected she was hiding in the thicket they might just be waiting for her to pop up to see if the coast was clear. An arrow to the forehead did not sound very appealing. What should she do? Should she stand, run and hope for the best, or stay hidden? An uneasy feeling began to prod her to move. Instinct was a truly miraculous thing but she hadn’t yet mastered the art of listening to her intuition without questioning it. Kayn’s intuition was telling her something right now. It was whispering, be careful Kayn… Something’s coming. She quieted her mind and listened to the sound of the rain. The rhythm of the rain had a slightly different sound about twenty feet from her. It was accompanied by the gentle rustling of something moving through the thicket towards her. With the nagging sense that something was stalking her, she took a chance. Kayn poked her head up just enough to see the high grass parting ahead of her. She caught a glimpse of something tan in color. Cougars were about that size. If it was a cougar, it was already too late to run. Brains, use your brains. She sprang to her feet and sprinted directly towards something, she’d avoided on her way in. Once again, she was in a position where there was no time to look behind her to see what pursued her but she could hear something large rustling through the high grass behind her at an increasing speed. Whatever it was, it was actively pursuing her now. The grass was whooshing in one slick sound behind her as Kayn covered her face with her arms and ran head on into the blackberry bush she’d previously avoided. She forced her way through as the sharp prickles sliced open her flesh. Wild animals would avoid the prickles. The prickle bush wouldn’t hide her from Grey and Lexy. She didn’t even pause in the center before she burst the rest of the way through to the other side. Her skin was torn and she was bleeding profusely. Cats were intelligent hunters. The cougar would be able to track her by the scent of her blood. She’d have to give it options. Ironically, it was now in her best interest to find her hunters. Kayn bolted down a hill without the option of using branches and roots to slow her descent. There was no time for that. She tripped and tumbled down the muddy embankment, smashing into jagged boulders and roots until her body abruptly came to a stop. That sucked. Her ears were ringing but she was now muddy enough to be camouflaged. Kayn smiled as she realized that the mud had naturally bandaged her wounds. She felt dizzy as she struggled to her feet. There was a burning sensation in her ankle. As she looked down, she knew her ankle was broken. It was a superficial break. It wasn’t a game changer, but it was going to be irritating as hell. She appeared to have lost the cougar that was trailing her. Perhaps, meat was less appetizing while covered in mud. Kayn noticed that she’d found her way back to the cave. She was so tired. It would have been searched already. That would have been the first place they looked. The rain was washing off the mud and she needed it to stop the bleeding. She limped for the opening, stopping outside long enough to slather more mud on her arms and legs. Kayn stumbled into the darkness. She’d wait for it to quit raining and then she would leave. Hopefully the mud would also disguise her scent. Why was she so sleepy? It was a struggle to keep her eyes open.
What she didn’t know was that she’d slit her wrist with the prickle bush. Between the sensation of the mud and the confusion of the situation, she hadn’t noticed. It occurred to her that there might be something wrong with her as her eyelids grew heavier. She didn’t care. She was too sleepy. She needed sleep. Her eyelids grew heavier until she allowed them to close.
Kayn awoke in the darkness with a gasp. It took her a minute to remember where she was. She was in a cave in the in-between. Lexy and Grey were hunting her for sport. Well… And there was also a cougar hunting her for dinner. She’d better not forget about him. She felt her way around the cave, unsure of the direction she’d come in. Vision wasn’t an option, so she moved towards the current of fresh air. As Kayn found the exit, it only added to her confusion. It was dark outside… It was nighttime. How long had she been asleep? She felt her skin and noticed the mud was gone. She was clean. Her skin was injury free. She reached down and sque
ezed her ankle. Her ankle was fine. There was only one way to heal this fast during training. She must have died. How had she died? She didn’t remember dying? Maybe that hungry cougar had found her while she was sleeping? Under cover of nightfall, she peeked outside. The coast appeared to be clear. She pondered the merits of waiting until daylight to leave but heard voices and they were coming closer. She’d be trapped in the cave if she stayed. She bolted to the left and up the first small embankment towards the one she had tumbled down. The rain had ceased but the terrain was still nothing but mud and guck. Kayn wedged her feet sideways to avoid having a repeat production of mud mania. Kayn knew she was leaving blatantly obvious tracks but hoped they’d go unnoticed until first light. Instinct was leading her back to the thicket. Hopefully, it wasn’t also leading her back to the cougar. She closed her eyes as she burst through the bushes into the open space thinking, Please, let there be no cougar. Please no cougar.
Grey’s voice called out, “There she is!”
They were right on the other side of the shrubs. She started to run. Kayn was halfway across the field when she was taken down by a gopher hole. Son of A…She’d twisted her ankle again. Obviously, this was going to be a thing. Kayn steadied her breathing and remained still, hoping they’d pass her by. A few minutes passed and the sound of their voices drifted away into the distance. She grinned as she stealthily peeked over the grass. They were gone. She could head back in the other direction, go back to the cave and repeat the same scenario. Well, minus the falling down the side of the mountain part. There was no possible way to win these training exercises but you were given props for being the hardest to kill. She’d killed herself once already, but that didn’t count. They hadn’t been the ones to do it. Kayn stood up and winced at the pain from her ankle as she slowly hobbled her way to the edge of the thicket. She saw a blur of sandy beige streaking towards her and all she had the time to say was, “Crap!”