“You ok?” I ask, not wanting to meet her eyes.
“Yes, much better. Thank you,” she says quietly. “Why did you do that for me?” she asks, referring to my actions during yesterday’s meeting.
“How could I not?” I whisper.
She gazes down at her lap and I notice a small nod. I take that as my cue to leave and scoot right back over to my earlier spot. I glance towards the door Rylan had just exited and watch as he pushes his way back through with a large cardboard box.
He stays over by the side and dumps the box at his feet then begins to scan the room. I follow his eyes as they land on each of my classmates and indicates for them to join him, last but not least his eyes meet mine. I get up and make my way over to our small group.
Rylan crouches down and opens the box and begins throwing a parcel to each of us, I catch mine automatically and realize this must be my uniform. “Keep these nearby today,” he warns as a seriousness falls over the group. “I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling it will be soon,” he adds, fixing his eyes on me. “Don’t stray anywhere today, stay close to the hall so you know when it’s time to move. I’m responsible for each you, so you will report to me before and after. We all travel together and we fight together. I don’t want any of you out of my sight for even a second during the battle. Understood?”
We all nod in agreeance, but I know that last line was solely for my benefit. He dismisses the boys and asks for me to stay behind.
He reaches into one of his many pockets and pulls out a shiny dagger. “Here,” he says, holding it by the blade and handing me the silver hilt.
I take it from him cautiously. “What’s this for?” I ask confused.
“That’s yours to keep. The Guard will most likely supply you with guns and standard daggers, but you’ll be better with this one,” he says.
“Thanks,” I say, glancing down at the silver dagger, I run my fingers over the beautiful craftsmanship of the hilt. I flip it over in my hand to take in the engravings marked on the other side when I notice Rylan’s initials engraved into the artwork.
My eyes shoot up to his and I know he’s seen what I’ve noticed. “This is yours,” I say. “I can’t take it.”
He reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder. “I want you to have it,” he says with meaning, his eyes begging me to give in and accept.
I take a deep breath and give him a tight smile. “Ok,” I whisper.
“Thank you,” he says. “Listen, during this battle, you need to stay right by my side.”
“I know,” I say. “I can’t promise I won’t get distracted watching you in action though,” I add quietly.
He shakes his head, but I see the tiniest smile forming on his lips. “God, Bianca,” he groans. “Don’t joke about this.”
“I can’t help it,” I say honestly as I turn. I give him one last cheeky smile and head over to my seat with my new things.
I watch as more people trickle in, the men and few women on the front lines all in their uniforms looking as lethal as ever. Watching them makes me want to go and throw mine on, but I’m sure I can wait until the end of the meeting.
Ten minutes later, the room is packed and the meeting begins. We’re faced with the same annoying dimwit from yesterday who advises that so far there’s been no decision made. He talks for another few minutes when a quiet feminine gasp comes from a few seats across.
My head snaps in Kaylee’s direction as I watch her eyes widen. Rylan’s whole body tenses in understanding and immediately flicks his eyes back to me, making sure I know what’s going on. I give him a nod and watch as he stands from his seat and takes Kaylee to the podium, interrupting the current speaker.
The whole room is immediately filled with tension as all the bodies stiffen around me. The room quickly registers Rylan’s appearance for what it is and wait for him to address the room.
“What’s happening?” he asks Kaylee, who looks out to the crowd nervously. Clearly not a good public speaker, like her brother.
“They have just called a meeting. Their decision will be made shortly,” she says addressing the room, but focusing her attention on Rylan.
“Ok,” he says glancing up at the crowd. “The decision will be made soon. I suggest if you have not already, go and prepare yourselves for battle, collect your preferred weapons and return here in fifteen minutes,” he says.
The room is a flurry of activity, I hop up from my seat and dash out the side exit, taking my uniform and dagger with me.
I get dressed as quickly as possible and slide my dagger into its position on my belt.
“Whoa. You look badass,” Jacinta says coming in through the door. “Hold on, why are you dressed?” she asks.
“The Fey have called their meeting, which means the decision will be made soon so we’re preparing for if we need to leave,” I explain.
Jacinta is silent as she throws her arms around me. “Be careful,” she whispers, being strong for the both of us.
“I will, I’ll be back before you know it,” I say wrapping my hair up into a tight bun. I grab my phone and head for the door. “Keep your phone on you,” I say as an idea pops into my mind.
“Ok,” she says with a tight smile. “I’ll check in with Millie for you.”
I rush back into the room and wrap my arms around her one last time before I head for the door and make my way back down to the Great Hall. I push my way through and walk myself right up to the front of the room, squeezing my way through the throng of men all dressed in their black tactical uniforms.
I stand right up front to see Rylan upon the stage next to Kaylee who’s been ushered into a seat, concentrating hard. Rylan’s eyes find mine and begin to heat as he takes me in. Hmm… apparently, he likes what he sees. He sends me a wink before focusing his attention back on Kaylee.
Ten minutes later it looks like everyone has arrived back and we all begin to take our seats. Brett Norrington stands on the stage with Rylan and Kaylee and I briefly wonder how Rylan feels about the proximity. “May I have your attention please,” Brett announces as the room instantly falls into silence. “Thank you for such a speedy preparation. Now, as you know, the fey are in the middle of their meeting and as of yet, there has been no decision,” he adds as he scans the room, doing his best to meet the eyes of every one of his soldiers, but seriously, there must be at least a four hundred of us.
He continues on with his speech but I zone out as I focus on Kaylee. She sits in her chair, slightly hunched over with her eyes squeezed shut in deep concentration. Rylan stands next to her with his hand placed on her shoulder, offering her as much support as he possibly can and my thoughts from earlier come rushing back to the forefront of my mind. What’s going to happen to Kaylee once we leave? There is no way The Guard is going to let her stroll out of here.
I take this quiet moment to put my plan in place. I pull my trusty phone out of my pocket, doing my best to keep it hidden from view.
Bianca – You and the boys up for a crazy plan?
Jacinta – Any plan you come up with is going to be tame after last weekend. What’s up?
Bianca – you guys have another life to save…
Jacinta – I’m listening.
Bianca – It’s Kaylee, I know you guys are kind of hating on her at the moment, but I can’t guarantee that The Guard will just let her walk. The moment we leave, you need to break her out of here. Make sure she’s safe.
I quickly glance up from my phone to make sure I haven’t missed anything. Nope. Brett is still blabbering on, trying to rev up the men to be in the right frame of mind. My eyes swivel in to find Rylan and Kaylee. Yep. Still the same. She’s still deep in thought and Rylan is… oh, wait.
Rylan is watching me, typing madly on my phone, rather than paying attention. His eyes narrow at me with a silent scolding that I recognize all too well. I hold my ground and keep my eyes trained on his. ‘Trust me,’ I mouth to him. He’s thoughtful for a moment before he nods and quickly changes h
is scolding look to one of pure curiosity.
I glance down at my phone as it vibrates in my hand.
Jacinta – Ok, I’ll get the boys now, we’ll work something out. I’m sure they’ll love a little challenge!
Bianca – Oh god! Make sure they keep it tame. I can’t have you idiots getting yourselves in trouble.
Jacinta – I can’t make any promises when Daniel is involved.
Bianca – Thanks, Hun, I have to go, Rylan is giving me ‘the look’.
Jacinta – God, that look is sexy. Be safe. We love you.
Bianca – Love you, too.
I tuck my phone back into my pocket, knowing my friends will pull through. They always do.
I glance up just as Kaylee’s back stiffens and a look of pure fear comes over her pretty face. Every eye in the room immediately zones in on her. Rylan’s hand tightens on her shoulder, probably tight enough to leave a bruise, but he doesn’t notice. Her eyes snap open and she looks up at Rylan.
The room is eerily silent as we wait for her to speak. She takes a deep breath and stands, taking the few short steps to the podium where she can speak into the microphone. Brett quickly moves out of the way as she advances. She stands tall and confident, though I see the terror in her eyes. “The decision has been made,” she says, scanning the room.
“The Fey have decided to go ahead with their attack. They are rounding up the vampire army, which they believe to stand at 250 and will make their move immediately. The Fairy Warriors and Knights will attend and any other fey who would like to be involved may go, which as our Queen was murdered, there are quite a few who are willing to join. I believe in total, including the Vampires, you should expect a show of at least 400,” she says, taking a deep breath.
Relief at hearing those numbers comes through me as we won’t be outnumbered. “They plan to meet at Centenary Park in three hours, then they will make their way here, to The Academy where they plan to slaughter every living soul.”
Rylan comes forward and stands before the front line. “Right,” he starts. “This is how this is going to happen. Centenary Park is not far from here and is huge, backing onto a forest. I believe with their numbers they will be on foot. We will lay in wait for them and ambush them in the park before they have an opportunity to get anywhere near the school grounds. Ambushing them is going to be difficult with the vampire’s sense of smell. The older ones in particular, with our numbers, they will smell us from miles away, so we need to make it fast,” he orders, earning a few grunts of approval from the men around the room. “Are there any questions?”
We spend another twenty minutes with back and forward questions, every one of them even more important than the last. The men around me begin to fidget as the anticipation grows. Everyone wanting to get out there and get the job done.
Rylan finishes up his Q&A session and everyone gets up and heads for the door. “Combat students you’re with me,” he orders, using his badass instructor tone. I struggle to make my way over to him with the flow of the crowd all wanting to push me out the door. I make it to him just as Luke, Alex, and Tom do.
“Alright,” Rylan says taking us all in. I see the questions clearly in his mind. Are they ready? Did I teach them enough? Have I done the right thing? “Follow me,” he grunts, taking us right into the room where he got our uniforms. I walk in to find row upon row of combat heaven. He goes about the room, grabbing bits and pieces from here and there as if he knows the room like the back of his hand.
He stands before us and hands us each a gun and we immediately take them, checking the chambers and making sure the safety is on. “Now, the safety guidelines we practiced during training. Forget them all. During a battle, the only thing you need to remember is ‘Do. Not. Hesitate’. You do whatever it is you need to do to take down the creature before you, then move onto the next. Remember your lives are just as important as the next, so if someone needs help and you have the opportunity to save a life, do it. Now, you have only a few minutes, look around and load yourselves up with your preferred weapons,” he turns his back and heads back over to the shelving.
Rylan grabs a box from up high and places it on the table. I head over to find it full of daggers. I grab a few and jam them into the loops on my belt then make my way around, finding any other weapons that I would find useful. Though my gun and dagger would be my best bets, but for good luck, I load up a second gun and find I have absolutely nowhere left to stash it, so down the bra it goes.
“Did you just put a gun down your bra?” Rylan asks as the boys finish loading up.
“Well I’d usually put it in my purse, but it didn’t match my outfit,” I say as way of explanation.
He rolls his eyes and orders us out of the room. We all follow behind in silence. I look up to the stage and realize Kaylee is gone. If Rylan noticed her absence, he doesn’t give anything away. I focus my eyes back to the path before me, deep in thought as we exit the Great Hall and make our way out across campus and down to the parking lot.
This is it. The nervous anticipation of the looming battle comes over me. I didn’t even get a chance to say bye to the boys or Millie. God please, don’t let this be the last time I set foot in this school. I have too much unfinished business.
Rylan produces his keys and does the sexy, over the shoulder unlocking thing as we approach his beast of an SUV. Luke makes his way up to the front passenger seat, but I grunt and beat him there. “Yeah…. no, I don’t think so,” I say opening the door and climbing right in. He scowls and eventually makes his way to the back. Sucker.
Rylan smirks at me, clearly having seen my little display of immaturity. I grin back for the quickest second and avert my eyes when the boys finish getting in. Rylan quickly starts the engine and adds to the line of SUV’s that are all trying to make their way out of the parking lot.
I notice his iPod sitting in the center console and I quickly plug it in, knowing damn well, this is not the time for a little sing along, but hell, I need to do something to calm the boys who all suddenly appear as anxious as ever in the back seat. I hit shuffle and feel my own calmness spread over me as the music fills the car.
“Dude,” Luke grunts from the backseat as he takes in the music. “You’ve got Britney on your iPod.”
Rylan rolls his eyes but I see a faint grin sitting on his lips. “My girlfriend put it there.”
My eyes bug out of my head. Did he seriously just go there? No way.
“What?” all three boys exclaim from the backseat. “Since when do you have a girlfriend?” Luke asks.
Rylan scoffs, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, kid,” he states, leaving his response at that.
The boys know better than to question Rylan any further so wisely zip their lips as a grin plasters itself completely over my lips. Wow. Seems the upcoming battle has Rylan wanting to play with fire.
I quickly glance over at him to find those gold speckled eyes already on mine, sparkling with the knowledge of our secret. I tear my eyes off him, not wanting to give anything away.
I pull my phone out and send Jacinta a quick text.
Bianca – We're on our way. Give it a bit and make your move. I don’t know where they took her.
Jacinta – Damn, I was hoping they might have decided against the attack. You just look after yourself. We will handle Kaylee.
Rylan gives me yet another curious look as he notices my phone in my hand again. “I'll explain later,” I say quietly, the boys unable to hear me over the music. He gives me a small nod and focuses back on the road.
I decide on one last message before I tuck my phone away.
Bianca – Hey Millie-Bear, I’ll be back before dinner. I love you so much. Be strong.
Millie – I love you, too. Pizza is on the menu tonight. I’ll save you a piece.
I let out a shaky breath, knowing this is going to be one of the hardest days of my life.
Chapter 24
Forty-five minutes later, we pull up at an abandoned building with
a large parking lot and everyone begins to pile out. Men and women of the front line are everywhere, searching around and looking for Rylan so he can give his first order. We wait patiently for another ten minutes as more cars pull in adding to our numbers.
“Ok,” he finally says, making me proud as he leads such a large group, and at only 23. “There is an hour and a half before the Fey will arrive. The vampires will slowly trickle in on foot, most likely from the road. We have a short hike through the forest behind us and that will bring us out on the other side, facing the area in which they plan to meet, also giving us roughly an hour to case the joint,” he says. The group around me nods in understanding. “Right, let’s move,” he says, stepping forward.
The whole group moves as one, as silently as ever through the thick forest. I follow side by side with Rylan, knowing he would be nervous about my presence here. I do what I can to come across as brave, but I recognize the look in Rylan’s eye when he glances over at me. He knows I’m a fraud. He knows I’m freaking out and it’s killing him that he can’t comfort me right now, hell, it’s killing me too.
Just as he expected, we come to a clearing with an hour left before the Fey are scheduled to meet with their vampire army. Rylan sends half our soldiers to the other side of the clearing so when it comes time, we can form a barrier much easier. He checks and double checks that there are no Fey or vampires here yet before sending them across.
We all stand in absolute silence while we wait for the show to begin and if this was any other time or place, I would have been whining about my feet aching from standing still so long, but as it is, I don’t even notice it.
Twenty minutes before show time, we catch sight of the first vampire making his way into the clearing, coming from the road just as Rylan had expected. As soon as the vampire makes it to the center of the clearing, more begin to show up and eventually, they’re coming in by the truckload. Kaylee was close with her estimate, but I would say it is more like two hundred vampires.
Decimate: The Guard Trilogy Page 22