by D. N. Hoxa
***
My nose had bled, and I hadn’t even noticed. The back of my head hurt when I touched it. I hadn’t noticed that, either or the bruise under my left breast and the scratches on my hands. The blood on my face had dried and turned completely black. It made my face look even paler than usual, and my blue eyes looked foreign, like they didn’t belong on my face. My hair was a dirty mess. I needed a hair tie before I ended up cutting it myself. Pity since I’d waited almost two years for it to fall all the way to my waist. The dust all over it turned the dark color light, and if it wasn’t for the eyes and the blood, I’d blend in perfectly with the white wall behind me. Taking off my clothes was harder than I thought because I hurt, even in places where I didn’t have any bruises or cuts. More than once, the bathroom spun in front of my eyes, and I wondered how the hell was I going to make it through training.
The shower helped in bringing back some energy into my body. I wore the same clothes again after dusting them off as well as I could. I’d have to ask for another pair later. For now, they would do just fine.
Terrin was waiting for me in the room just like he promised. I was glad he was there because I still wasn’t sure how to get to where Luke was, but this time, while he walked me there, I made sure to memorize the way.
“Do all of these people stay here?” I asked him after we left the room and took off down the corridor.
“Not all, but most. Like I said, nothing like what happened yesterday ever happened here before, so our station isn’t that busy. It’s why the Senior Order even allowed Ross to create a devamp hunting team here, so far away from the headquarters.”
“So, they all live here,” I said, not exactly sure how to feel about that.
“They’re your neighbors,” he said with a nod. “They and others from the area who have chosen to serve the Senior Order on request. Those that have nowhere else to go stay here. Others just come to train.”
“The Senior Order sounds pretty generous.” I wondered why they denied Ross’s request for me.
Terrin smiled as if he were uncomfortable. “Depends on how you look at it, I guess.”
“But they’re allowing people to stay here free of charge. Where I come from, that’s pretty generous.”
“It isn’t exactly free of charge. Whoever commits to the Senior Order, they do it for life, which means the Senior Order pretty much owns them. They can be called to all parts of the world to do all sorts of things. Not sure if that’s generous.”
That definitely changed things. “Are you committed to them for life?”
“Oh, no. That kind of thing isn’t for me. I work for them as an investigation officer—that’s all,” Terrin said, and I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was damn proud of it, too. Good for him.
When we made it to Luke’s room, I was glad to see that the blonde woman in the white robe wasn’t in there, but now, instead of the seven people lying on the white beds, there were eight. My heart picked up the beating when we got closer and closer to the new guy on the bed right across from Luke’s, and I realized who it was.
It was Nash, the guy with the fire on his arms.
“He’s fine,” Terrin said when he noticed me frozen in place, staring at him. “Just over exhausted. He’ll be back on his feet in no time.”
“Is it…is it because of the ice?” I’d covered a large room with it, and the last time I saw him. Nash was doing the melting.
“Yeah,” Terrin whispered.
Just when I thought I couldn’t feel any worse. “Is he unconscious?”
“Under sedatives until he gets his strength back.”
“What about Miles and his spells?” They sure had seemed to heal the others.
“Spells heal wounds. Over exhaustion isn’t exactly wounds. Besides, these sorts of things are better left to the body to fix. No magic is as good as nature,” Terrin said. “Seriously, don’t worry about him. I need to go now. Do you know the way back?”
I nodded, unable to speak as I looked at Luke on one side, and at Nash on the other, both lying completely still, breathing evenly, almost like they were in the best sleep of their lives.
“I’ll see you later,” Terrin said, and without waiting for my reply, he walked out the door.
Taking in a deep breath, I got my shit together. I hadn’t done what I’d done intentionally. It just happened. And because Nash had been in that room with Luke, he had missed the fight with the devamp servants. In my mind, that was a much better fate. Terrin said he was going to be okay, and I believed him.
The bed Luke lay on was big enough to fit me, or so I convinced myself. Slowly, I lay down next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. A sigh escaped me. How I’d missed his warmth. It reminded me of hope.
Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them shed. Luke was going to be okay, too. It was only a matter of time now. He used to say that tears were a bad omen when we were younger. Not sure if he said it just to make me feel better, or if he really believed it, but the line always seemed to work when I wanted to sneak into the bathroom, because I never liked to cry in front of him. In front of anybody at all, in fact.
“I miss you,” I whispered to him. He could hear me, I was sure of it. He just couldn’t reply. “You wouldn’t believe what happened to me.” I laughed at myself as I thought about the day before. It all seemed so far away now, like a separate world from the one I was in with him. “I met a girl who can spin in the air with a katana for minutes. She’s a pixie. And I met a changeling, too. Remember those old fairytales we used to read about fairies? Turns out they’re true.” Holding on tightly to his hand, I closed my eyes. That way, I could imagine that he was awake. “I also met a mage. Several mages, in fact, with real magic that looks like light wrapped into an invisible ball.”
I remembered all too well what it was like to have something like it right in front of my face. Shivers washed down my back. Saying those things out loud to Luke suddenly made them so much more real. If I’d hoped I could trick myself into thinking it was all a dream, that wasn’t going to work any longer.
“I froze an entire room, too. No idea how that happened. I also had a gun in my hands and I actually shot it. So not what I thought it would be.” I laughed at myself again. “You should have seen my face. I probably looked hilarious.” Though it hadn’t been hilarious living that moment. “So many weird things are happening. I don’t even know how to explain half of it to you, but you’ll see it all for yourself once you wake up. Because you will wake up, I promise.” I was not one to take promises lightly, especially this one. “The guy that did this to you is very strong. I’m going to have to train hard by myself.” I swallowed loudly. “I have no idea how I’m going to do that, but I’ll figure it out.” I had to because there was no other option. I just hoped Luke couldn’t feel the fear in my voice. “There’s a training room with moving walls and stuff. I’ll train to actually fight others, and I’m sure you’d laugh at me if you could, but I will. It would have been easier if someone could help, but the team I was supposed to belong to doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.” I’d seen it in their eyes. Words weren’t needed. “I don’t blame them, you know.” I really didn’t. Maybe I’d have done the same thing if I were in their place. “You wouldn’t, either, if you saw what they saw.” The room covered in ice, the yellow ball the devamp servants threw at me that somehow ended up throwing itself back at them, Miles and his healing spell…it was too much, and I understood it perfectly, even if I didn’t like it.
“I’ll train with you.”
My body jumped on instinct and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the floor, heart beating fast. When I looked up, I saw Nash, sitting on his bed, swinging his feet forward and back, watching me and smiling.
Holy cow, what the hell was wrong with me?
Breathing heavily, I got up as fast as I could without falling again. Mortified, I looked at Luke as if I expected him to say something before it got too awkward to breathe. But Lu
ke was in a coma. He wasn’t going to say anything anytime soon.
Clearing my throat, I turned to Nash. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t find words anywhere for a second, because I was finally looking right at him, and I could see his every feature perfectly.
His eyes weren’t orange, but they weren’t brown either. They reminded me of autumn leaves, brown, golden and orange at the same time. His upper lip was more swollen than the bottom one, and it suited him perfectly. His high cheekbones and the small crook on his nose added sharpness to his face, and his hair, cut very close to his head, made him look like he’d fallen right out of the sky. I thought working as bartender at a club, I’d seen it all, but I’d definitely not seen anything like him before.
“You were supposed to be sedated,” I mumbled when I found my voice and reminded myself to breath. This was so not like me. I never lost it in front of a guy. A whole lot of firsts happening in such a short time were going to catch up with me eventually, I feared.
“Looks like the stuff they gave me wore off because the sound of your voice woke me,” he said, his voice light as a feather.
“If I’d known you could hear me, I wouldn’t have spoken.” Fucking hell, he’d heard me. He’d heard me talk to Luke!
“I’m glad you did, otherwise who knows when I’d have woken up,” Nash said, analyzing my face as if he was searching for something.
“Do you want me to call someone?” I said because having his eyes on me was proving to be more difficult to handle than I thought.
“No, I’m fine,” he said. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard what you said. I’ll help you train, if you want.”
Flinching, I took a step back and sat down on Luke’s bed. “Guess you weren’t there so you wouldn’t know,” I said with a sigh. “Some devamp servants attacked us yesterday. They were looking for me. Not exactly sure what happened, but I’m not safe to be around anyone, so thanks, but I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Are they dead?” Nash said, the smile leaving his lips for a second.
“Yep.” Just don’t ask me how, I thought, because I wasn’t sure I knew how to explain it.
“Sounds pretty safe to me,” Nash said, then jumped to his feet. I thought he’d be dizzy after having been unconscious for so long, but he didn’t waver. “I’m Nash Daniels.” And he offered me his hand.
“Nova Vaughn,” I said and reluctantly shook it. He had a firm grim and a very warm skin. It made me feel cold. “This is Luke, my cousin.”
“I’m sorry about him,” Nash said.
“Don’t be. He’s going to wake up soon.” I might not have known much, but I knew that for certain.
Nash smiled. “Good,” he said. “When are you going to start on your training?”
“As soon as they fix the halls.”
He looked surprised. “The halls?”
Smiling sadly, I nodded. “I think you should go out there and find out what happened before you ask me to train with you again.”
“Is everybody okay?”
“I think so.” Nobody was dead, at least.
With a nod, Nash stepped back toward the door. “I’ll see you later, Nova Vaughn.”
A wave was all I offered.
When he left the room, I lay down next to Luke again, but this time, I didn’t talk. I just listened to him breathing and prepared myself for what was waiting for me outside those doors.
Chapter Fifteen
When I got back to the training halls, I could hardly believe my eyes.
The only part that didn’t look exactly like it had before, was the wall below the bridge that divided the two halls. Nine people were in there, dressed in grey pants and shirts, with some sort of devices in their hands, going around the walls and waving the white plastic things as if they were scanning them. Waves of light came into view every few seconds, just like before.
How the hell had they done that? The room had been a mess. I couldn’t see the other hall very well, but if they could do this so fast, they probably patched up everything else. The glass looked brand new—and without a door. I searched it with my hands, hopeful that I’d find a button or a scanner or anything that would let me through to the other side, because I really wanted to go see exactly what those people were doing.
“Nova,” someone called, and when I turned around, I saw Ross standing by the door to his office. He waved for me to approach him.
Slowly, I dragged my feet over. I really didn’t want to have to talk to anyone right now, because every new conversation I was part of left me with about a hundred more questions than the last.
“We need to talk,” Ross said. “Follow me.”
Without waiting for me to speak, as if he knew I’d tell him that I had no time for talking—I needed to start training right away—he turned around and disappeared inside. With a sigh, I did as he asked.
The room that led to his glass box of an office was empty the two times I’d been there, but now, it was full of people. Some of them sat down at their desks, but most were walking from one to the other, talking on the phone and to each other, even laughing. It sounded like an entirely different world in there. Did everyone work for the Senior Order? After what Terrin told me, I really wanted to know just how many people they had to do with as they pleased.
Unfortunately, I had to push my curiosity aside because this was none of my business. I was here for Luke, and once I got him back on his feet, I was going to disappear and probably never see any of these people again.
Nobody even stopped to look at me while I passed them by to get to Ross’s office, for which I was thankful. But then, I saw Nash and Palmer in there, and a lump formed in my throat. Heat crawled up to my cheeks when I entered and closed the door behind me, but I kept my head high anyway. All of the things that had happened had the same effect on me as if I’d hit my head on concrete repeatedly, but I was coming around. I was remembering myself.
“Please, take a seat,” Ross said, waving at the empty chair next to Nash, who was smiling without stretching his lips, if that was even possible, but the sparkling in his eyes gave me that feeling.
“We’ve been talking about how to go about your, uh…situation,” Ross said. “Nash here has volunteered to help you train for the next couple of weeks, until we can run some more tests on you and figure out how you…basically, how you work.”
“Isn’t it strange that it all began with the procedure?” I said and looked at Palmer. “I know you said you’ve already double checked everything, but logic says you missed something. Something that turned me this way.”
“Are you saying that I’m to blame?” he asked, brows raised and a dumbfounded smile on his face.
Well, wasn’t he?
“We’re going to do that, too,” Ross said before I could answer. “I’ve already explained to Nash how everything went with the procedure, and he knows to keep you under the radar, because the Senior Order cannot know that you are here, or that you are using our facilities to train.”
“I understand that, as a short-term solution. But what about when we go after the devamps?”
Ross flinched. “I think it’s best if you left the team alone for this one,” he said. “Until you’re capable of handling yourself in a fight.”
I had to smile. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I am the only one who handled myself in the fight against those servants.” I didn’t want to be a bitch about it, and I certainly wasn’t proud of what had happened, but all of them had already hit the floor before the servants had thrown their magic at me—and died.
“What you did there, and in the procedure room, is unpredictable, Nova. We can’t let you anywhere near a fight. What if next time, you attack one of ours?” Ross said.
The blood in my veins froze. It sounded an awful lot like he was trying to tell me that I was off the team, but I still managed to speak calmly. “The only reason I’m here is Luke. You promised me that I would join the team and that I would have help in hunting down the devamp who put him
in a coma. That’s all I’m asking for. After that, you won’t ever see me again.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” he whispered.
“Not really. You train me. I fight. Simple.” Not nearly as simple as it sounded, but my priorities were pretty straight.
“You have no idea what you’re up against here, Nova. I suggest the first thing you do is learn how things work in our world, and who is who. You’re not going to be able to just learn how to fight and then kill a devamp, just like that. That’s why you need to tell us, right now, where he is, and we’ll have our best people on it. I promise you, we’ll do our best to bring back the devamp who put your cousin in a coma.”
The thing was that I wasn’t one to trust in anyone’s best.
And the other thing was that I was a liar. A big, fat liar. My confidence flew out the window when I remembered what I’d told them to make them do that fire spirit procedure on me. God, I’d thought everything was going to be a lot easier than this just two days ago.
“I can’t tell you anything if you’re not going to include me,” I mumbled, feeling guilty as hell for having to continue to lie, but also confident that this was the right thing to do. They were looking at this from their perspective, and that was completely fine, but to me, this made the different between life and death. The difference between Luke and no Luke. No matter who they were or what they could do, I just couldn’t sit back and let them do anything without me.
“Nova,” Ross reproached, and with a sigh, he leaned back on his chair.
“Look, just let me train for a week. Test me, see if I’m any good. If by then you still feel like I can’t handle myself in a fight, I’ll back down.” I regretted the words as soon as I said them, because obviously a week wasn’t going to be enough to even teach me how to hold a gun properly, but when Ross slowly nodded, I was a bit relieved.
“I can do one week,” he whispered, then looked at Nash. “Can you?”
“I can try,” Nash said without missing a beat. “Only if we get started right away.”