Blood Oath (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book Two)

by T. L. Clarke

I was so close to exploding and scratching his eyes out. We just stood huffing and puffing like angry bulls raring to fight, impatiently waiting for the whistle to blow.

  Petra and Orion walked over to the front of the class. Then he blew the whistle loudly.

  Without pause Justice and I bowed to each other. Then he circled me menacingly, sizing me up. I looked at him warily as we circled each other, looking for an opening. Justice gave me a bored look and actually yawned.

  How dare he think that I was an easy win? I lunged forward with my staff, aiming at his chest. He swiftly stepped back, sneering as he swung his staff quickly. He smiled deviously when it grazed my arm, drawing blood. But, I didn’t flinch; instead I swung my staff with all my might, catching him on the side of his chest.

  He jumped back with a look of utter surprise. His face tightened with anger as he circled around my back, swiftly pulling me into his chest as barely pressed his staff under my chin. I knew that he was holding back, playing with my head.

  "See, this would be a kill move on the battlefield, first leveler," he whispered viciously in my ear. "Give up, Akasha. You’ll just end up getting yourself killed by the Banished."

  Shocked, I dropped my staff. He quickly caught my arms, wrapping them across my chest tightly. I was now totally trapped against his body. And the more I squirmed, the tighter his grip became.

  "See, now you’re just making silly mistakes. Nothing smart to say now?" he spat nastily in my ear.

  I was crazy mad now. He was baiting me, and I was having none of it. I raised my leg and kicked him viciously in his calf, taking great satisfaction when he loosened his grip and stepped back. I quickly scrambled across the grass, snatched my staff, and got into Warrior stance.

  "I’m not an easy win, middle leveler," I responded with a heavy breath.

  I swung my leg, kicking him really hard in his thigh. He howled with pain as he backed away. I shocked him by stepping forward, my left leg snaking around him, catching him behind the knees, bringing him down. I gasped when he snatched me, flipping me over, sending me sprawling, then rolling underneath him onto the grass.

  I was flattened out as he balanced himself on his elbows, keeping his weight off me. I found it hard to breathe as I looked up into his smoky gray eyes. Sweat glistened on his forehead.

  "Neither am I, first leveler." He smiled lazily.

  I was frozen, not knowing what to do. I couldn’t speak or look away from him. Then, everything changed when something shifted in his eyes. "Next time. Remember that."

  I pushed at him roughly. "Get off of me. Let me up."

  He rolled over quickly, allowing me to scramble to my feet as I grabbed my staff. In a crazy blur, he was on his feet, circling me with a lazy grin. I took the opening, swinging around to deliver a roundhouse kick to his chest. He expertly used his staff, swiping me off my feet, causing me to flip hard onto the grass. The air was completely knocked from my body. I actually thought I saw stars.

  Abruptly, the whistle blew, signaling the end of the match.

  Justice stood over me with a cold smile on his face. He reluctantly offered me a hand. "Wow, that was kind of hot." He gave me a sexy smirk. "The first leveler is tougher than she looks. I’m kind of impressed."

  I slapped his hand away. "No thank you." I angrily scrambled to my feet.

  Justice laughed huskily, sauntering over to line up with his fellow middle levelers.

  Orion smiled approvingly at the first levelers. "This was a better training session than I even envisioned. Excellent job, first levelers." He looked over at me pointedly. "You really held your own today."

  Petra smiled for the first time all class. "I agree. Tomorrow, we’ll work on perfecting your moves. I saw some of you struggling with the basics and some of you fighting with way too much emotion." She looked over at me, then looked at the class. "On the battlefield, there is no emotion, just raw intent to take your enemy down using any means possible. The enemy does not feel. They hunt and kill." Her eyes narrowed coldly. "When you encounter them, and believe me, someday you will, do not hesitate. Any hesitation will endanger your life or the lives of your fellow Warriors."

  Orion looked at them curtly. "Class is dismissed. See you tomorrow."

  My arm was stinging, but I wiped the trickle of blood dismissively.

  Justice started to walk toward, me but perky blonde Super CVV quickly blocked his path, giving him a very flirty smile as she touched his arm possessively.

  "Hey, Justice. What’s up?"

  There was something about the way she ran her icky tongue across her perfectly bleached white teeth as she practically pushed her chest in his face. Justice gave her a stupid-looking smirk in response that irked the heck out of me.

  He smirked at her. "Hey, Calleis."

  Not that I was comparing myself to her. Okay, maybe I was just a little bit. I wasn’t delusional; by comparison, I was woefully deficient in the chest area. And given the fact that I was cursedly thin, with a five-foot, six-inch frame, when stacked up against her super tall, model-like frame, I cringed with self-consciousness. I ran my hands over my uncontrollable, long, thick, curly brown hair, rolling my almond-shaped hazel eyes, when I heard her loud, girly laughter.

  She batted her eyes prettily. "I just wanted to make sure that you were coming to the Horae party tonight…It’s going to be super awesome."

  He stuck his hands into his pockets, looking bored. "You know that I don’t do parties. Thanks, but no thanks." He walked around her and toward me.

  Calleis’s eyes flashed angrily.

  Justice walked over quickly, looking at my arm oddly. "Is it okay?"

  I gave him a "please leave me alone" stare. "It’s fine, just a little blood. No biggie."

  "Well, it looks like a lot of blood. You should get the repair kit over there and take care of it." He pointed over to the crowd of students getting their cuts and scratches tended to.

  "Don’t need it," I replied stubbornly.

  "Whatever, first leveler, have it your way." He turned and strode away to meet the Terrible Ts.

  I looked at his back angrily. I had a sudden urge to take my staff and throw it straight for his head like a missile. But my anger was momentarily forgotten when I felt a hard tap on my shoulder. It was Calleis staring coldly at me.

  She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. "Gabrielle, right?"

  "Yep, that’s me." Please, like she didn’t know.

  "We haven’t been introduced. I’m Calleis. That was real good fighting you did today. I mean, for a first leveler, that is," she added condescendingly. "Anyway, the Horae Society is having its annual party to celebrate the founders, and I’d like to invite you to come."

  I instantly didn’t like her. I knew that she was straight-up phony. "I’ll see, thanks for inviting."

  She smiled stiffly. "Okay, well, anyway, got to go. See you." She twitched off with her blonde hair bouncing like she had just stepped out of a shampoo commercial.

  I shook my head with amazement. I’ll have to watch out for her. She has daggers in her eyes for me.

  Jessica ran up to me, flushed with excitement. "Oh my goodness, that was frightening and exciting at the same time. And did you see Troy? Seriously, he’s a good fighter."

  I gave her a wicked smile. "I’m sure he put out all his kick-butt Warrior moves just to impress you."

  She blushed. "Well I’m glad that he did. He’s an absolute cutie." She gasped in horror when she finally noticed my arm. "Gabi, your arm is bleeding really badly. You better get that looked at."

  I looked down. It was really bleeding now. We rushed over to Petra, who was working feverously to take care of the scratches and cuts from practice. She looked over at me, grabbed my arm, and cleaned the wound quickly. She bandaged it and gave me a half smile. "It’s just a little scratch. It’s nothing major."

  I smiled at her tentatively. I could tell that Petra was really nice underneath all that hardness she portrayed.

  She nodded curtly at them
. "See you tomorrow." She quickly stood up and marched up the hill without a second glance.

  Brooklyn sauntered over with staff in hand. "She’s a little different, don’t you think?"

  I laughed, flopping onto the grass. "I think she’s just battle hardened, that’s all. I’m sure on her off-hours she’s a real party girl."

  Zora and Rosalinda were chatting intently as they walked up to them.

  "Hey, I saw you talking to Calleis. What’s the deal?" Brooklyn asked as she dropped her staff and stretched.

  "Some Horae party tonight, but I’m not interested. I’m way too tired."

  Brooklyn giggled. "She asked me too. That’s the first time she’s ever spoken to me."

  Rosalinda pulled her hair out of her ponytail tiredly. "I think that we should go. You know, get out, meet other Neophytes."

  I looked up tiredly. "Maybe, I’ll see how I feel after my mentor session with Chaos."

  Brooklyn got a real dreamy look in her eyes. "Chaos! I wish I was so lucky. My mentor is not as hot." She laughed. "What am I talking about? He’s not hot at all, and he’s tough. I better scoot; he’s probably outside waiting with a mean look on his face. See you later, girls." She picked up her staff and sprinted up and over the hill.

  Rosalinda looked at me disapprovingly. "Get up. Your mentor will be here soon, and you don’t want to be seen as lazy." She glanced down at her watch, her eyes popping open. "I’ve got to go and meet my mentor. He’s waiting on the other side of the castle, and it’s going to take me a while to get there. Adios!"

  Zora looked at her with exhaustion. "I’m going that way too. My mentor said something about fresh air and running. Great joy."

  "Where are you meeting your mentor?" Jessica looked at me worriedly.

  I looked around painfully. "I guess here. Go, I don’t want you to be late."

  Rosalinda and Zora were already walking away with tiredness. Jessica gave me a worried look before running after them.

  I flopped onto my back, closing my eyes tiredly. Grateful for the rest, I sighed, letting my body go limp.

  "Am I disturbing you, first leveler?"

  I jerked up, slamming my hand on my staff. "Ouch."

  Chaos towered over me, looking down with a smirk. "Is everything all right down there?"

  Embarrassed, I jumped up, looking up at him nervously. "Yep, I mean yes." I hadn’t realized how tall he was until right now. Today, like usual, he was wearing all black, loose black track pants, fitted black T-shirt, and black sneakers.

  He examined me like a specimen under a microscope. "Rough training session?"

  With agitation, I slammed my hands on my hips. "Nothing that I can’t handle."

  He looked at me with a sardonic grin. "That’s good because we’re training outside today." He looked at my staff with a dismissive gesture. "You can bring it if you want, but you won’t be using it today." He strode away, leaving me gawking at his leanly muscled back.

  I grasped the staff with annoyance. For the second time today, I had the sudden urge to throw it like a spear, hitting Chaos in the back of his head. I thought better of it and sprinted up the hill, catching him in midstride.

  He looked at me with annoyance. "Well, it took you long enough. We need to work on your cardio. You’re too slow." He strode across the courtyard, and everyone stopped and stared. He ignored them, quickly making his way through the pathway leading past the garden.

  I was practically jogging to keep up with him, while he was acting like he was taking a leisurely stroll through the park. When we reached a formidable hill, he abruptly stopped, causing me to bump into him clumsily.

  I looked at him with embarrassment. "Sorry, I lost my footing."

  He sighed, then looked at me with a "this is going to be painful" stare.

  "Here are the rules. Every day we meet here promptly after Warrior training. That means rain or shine. You get here late; you owe me sprints up that hill." He pointed to the massive, steep green hill. "You miss a training session, and you owe me sprints up that hill." He pointed to the hill again. "Get the point?" His gray eyes narrowed. "We work, and we work hard, because I have no time for soft, misguided Neophytes that think that this is playtime," he said sharply.

  I looked at him like he was crazy.

  He ran his hands through his jet-black hair roughly. "Okay, are you going to speak?"

  "Are you asking me or telling? Because I’m kind of confused about how you want me to respond. Should I bow or curtsey?"

  He shook his head. "I don’t have time for little girl games. My time is very important to me."

  I threw my hands in the air with anger. He was so lame. "Excuse me? I don’t know why you’re talking to me like I’m a two-year-old, because I’m not. I’m fifteen and a half. No, wait, I’m sixteen." I blew out with frustration. "If you don’t want to train me, just say so, and I’m sure they’ll find someone else who will. If you do, then let’s get to it, because you’re boring me."

  He looked over at me with laughter lighting his eyes, which was shocking to say the least. "So which is it, fifteen and a half or sixteen? You sound just a little bit confused."

  He gave me that "I think that you’re so lame" look. I was huffing like a bull raring to fight. "Sixteen, today’s my birthday, not that it’s any of your business."

  He was absolutely the most conceited guy I’d ever met. And all I wanted to do now was kick butt and show him that I deserved to be here just like him.

  He sighed, then gave me an "I’m so bored" look. "Since today’s your birthday, I’ll take it easy on you. We’ll do some sprints to get your cardio up, and then we’ll take it from there. We always stretch before working out. Let’s get to it." He leaned down and started stretching.

  I just stood there, looking at him angrily with my hands crossed over my chest.

  Chaos looked over at me with irritation. "Are you going to stretch or just stand there pouting?"

  I resisted the urge to stick out my tongue at him. Barely. I reached down and mimicked his motions.

  He stood up and looked at me impatiently. "Ready now?"

  Before I could respond, he took off running up the hill. I took off after him, huffing and puffing tiredly. The problem with the hill was that it was steep, rocky, and very slippery, a fact that I found out with my first wobbly step. I slipped and landed on my knees with a thump. I scrambled to my feet and continued slipping and running up the hill. Chaos, on the other hand, just sprinted up the hill effortlessly. It was as if he had wings on his sneakers. When I reached the top, he was standing there looking at me with a very familiar bored expression on his face as I leaned over, trying desperately to catch my breath.

  "I think Celeste could run faster than you." He looked at me with a mocking glint. "You know what? I know that she can because she’s beaten me up this very hill several times."

  I looked at him nastily. Whatever.

  "Okay, break time is over." He turned and sprinted down the hill as if he had wings on his sneakers.

  I spun around and jogged carefully down the hill. The problem was that the path down the hill was even worse than it was going up. I slipped halfway down, scraping my palms. I quickly got up and jogged, then tripped on some rocks, then got back up. It was a total disaster. When I finally reached the bottom of the hill, Chaos was leaning against a tree calmly drinking a bottle of water. He didn’t even look like he had broken a sweat. He reached down and grabbed another bottle of water and tossed it at me, barely missing my head before I quickly caught it.

  "Happy birthday!" he said in a less than enthusiastic voice. "And don’t ever say I never got you anything. Enjoy." He spun around and quickly walked away.

  I was truly shocked as I just stood there watching him.

  He stopped, looking over his shoulder, his gray eyes alert. "And make sure you get here on time tomorrow. We need to work on your reflexes. That catch was pathetic." He strode away, disappearing through the forest.

  I looked down at the water bottle, con
templating how far I could throw it—like "hitting the back of his head" throw it. Oh, whatever. I flopped down on the ground, drinking the water greedily. For what seemed like forever, I sat there plotting ways I could get back at him, until I exhausted myself. I could say without a doubt that I hated his arrogant butt with every bone in my body.

  It started to get cold, and I wanted away from the hill, so I crawled to my feet and stood on very shaky legs. My muscles were begging me to just stop as I used my staff as a crutch to hobble all the way back to the castle.

  My pants were caked with mud, but I didn’t care as I shuffled painfully through the forest, then through the garden. I was relieved, to say the least, when I finally spotted the castle. All I wanted right now was a hot shower and to lie in my bed and forget that this whole horrible day had ever happened. I stormed into the dorms, practically crawling up the stairs to my room. When I finally got there, I opened the door and slammed it shut, causing them to look at me with mouths gaping open.

  Rosalinda snickered. And I gave her a very nasty "don’t even play with me" look as I held up my hand.

  "I wouldn’t if I were you, Princess Rosalinda. I’m not in the mood right now," I snarled.

  Jessica spun around in front of me. "Do you like my outfit?" She looked super confident in a fitted gray tank top, draped black vest, and chic black skinny jeans that hugged her curves, with sassy leopard-print wedges.

  I grunted at her tiredly, my limbs dragging awkwardly. "Super cute. Troy will be all over you, Jess."

  Jessica twirled a blonde strand of hair around her finger nervously. "What happened? You look like you were crawling through the mud commando-style. Absolutely awful."

  "Thanks for the compliment." I kicked off my muddy boots and plopped onto the floor tiredly.

  Rosalinda scooted out of the way. "Ewww, I don’t want any mud on me." She tossed her long black hair over her shoulders, preening in a jewel-tone blue top with ruffles at the shoulders, her skinny jeans hugging her thin frame as she tapped her suede-peep-toe-platform encased feet.

  I rolled my eyes dramatically. "All I want right now is a hot shower and to crawl into bed."