by Karen Lynch
He took the glass from me and laid it on a table. “Olivia also had a fever from her bite, but Mark and Jordan were okay. They have all been released. Once you are feeling better, you may leave, too.”
“I feel better now.” I tried to sit up, but he pushed me back down.
“Give it a few more minutes. While we wait, I want to talk to you about your training.”
I groaned. “Are you trying to torture me after the night I just had?”
He did not laugh as I expected him to, and his expression grew serious. “You could have been hurt a lot worse than you were or even killed last night. You have to learn to fight and to harness your Mori’s power so you will be better prepared the next time you face danger.”
“I think I did all right.”
“Yes, but we don’t know exactly what you did or if you can summon it at will. We live in a dangerous world, and I need to know you can defend yourself before you go out into it. So I am making changes to your training routine.”
I fidgeted with the blanket. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing bad, I assure you. We are just going to try you with another trainer and see if a different technique works better for you.” He patted my hand. “Don’t look so worried. I have a feeling this will be just what you need.”
Why didn’t I feel as confident as him? “When do I start with the new trainer?”
“Tomorrow. Today, just rest and get your strength back.”
It was noon before the healers finally let me leave the medical ward. I was ravenous, which the healers said was normal after such a fever, so I headed straight for the dining hall after I showered and changed. Lunch was over by the time I got there, so I begged a plate from the kitchen staff and ate alone in the dining hall.
“Hey, Sara, what are you doing in here by yourself? Aren’t you going to the arena?”
I looked up at Michael who stood in the doorway. “What’s going on at the arena?”
“Some of the warriors are dueling.” His eyes flashed with excitement.
“Dueling?”
“For fun. They do it every now and then, and it’s so awesome to watch. Come on, I heard Tristan is joining in this time.”
I carried my plate to a bus tray and followed Michael. I hadn’t seen Tristan fight yet, and I was eager to watch him in action. A man who garnered the kind of respect he did had to be more than a good leader. I bet he was an amazing fighter, too.
“Everyone’s talking about what happened to you guys last night.”
I gave him a sidelong glance. “I bet you’re glad you decided not to come with us, huh?”
He nodded quickly. “Yeah. You could have been killed. Why would lamprey demons do something like that?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
The arena was half full when we entered, and I saw the other trainees sitting and standing together near the door. Looking past them, I caught sight of Niall and Seamus standing with Tristan in the middle of the floor. I felt a surge of pride when I saw Tristan holding a long slender sword and looking every bit the fierce warrior.
We weaved through the crowd to the other trainees. “What did we miss?” I asked them.
“Tristan is wiping the ground with the others,” Terrence replied without talking his eyes off the older warriors. “And here comes his next victim.”
I watched as a Korean man approached Tristan, carrying a similar sword. Something about him seemed familiar, and it wasn’t until he reached Tristan and the twins that I recognized him as one of the warriors I’d met in Portland. His name was Erik, if I remembered correctly, and he was in the unit that had helped clean out the mansion where Remy’s cousins had been held. He had also accompanied me here along with Nikolas and Chris, but I hadn’t seen him since I arrived.
The twins moved back to give the dueling warriors room, and Tristan and Erik saluted one another. Tristan’s eyes gleamed like I had never seen before, and I realized he was looking forward to the fight as much as the spectators.
They came together in a clang of metal, and I caught myself holding my breath more than once as they parried and thrust, dancing around each other with deadly grace. Eric was a skilled swordsman, and once or twice I thought he was going to get the better of Tristan until I realized that Tristan was just toying with him. Tristan might not hunt as much as he used to, but he was as good a warrior as anyone else there, which he proved when he suddenly disarmed his opponent.
I clapped and cheered with everyone else. Tristan’s eyes met mine in the crowd, and I gave him two thumbs up. “Wow, he’s so good!”
Josh’s face glowed with excitement. “You haven’t seen anything yet. The main attraction is just about to start.”
“What could be better than that?” I asked a second before I felt a soft telltale flutter against my mind. You have got to be kidding me. I fumed as the last person I expected to see walked through a doorway at the far end of the room. All eyes were on the commanding figure who strode toward Tristan, muscles rippling beneath his T-shirt and a sword grasped in his right hand. His mouth was curved into a brotherly smile for Tristan.
Around me, the trainees and younger warriors were riveted on Nikolas and Tristan, and their excitement was almost palpable. All I could feel was anger. I couldn’t forget how I felt when I found out he’d left after dumping me on someone else like I was their problem now. I shouldn’t care what he did, but for some reason it bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
No longer entertained, I turned to push back through the crowd, but Olivia grabbed my arm. “Where are you going? You don’t get to see Nikolas fight every day.”
“I’ve seen him fight plenty.”
Terrence turned to give me an appreciative look. “That’s right. You’ve seen him in action. Man that must be something.”
“It is,” I replied grudgingly.
The ring of steel on steel stopped me when I would have taken another step, and I stood there for half a minute, refusing to look until I heard small intakes of breath around me. Unable to help myself, I turned back toward the room.
It was immediately clear which of them was the superior swordsman – not that I was surprised after seeing Nikolas fight more than once. Tristan was a fine fighter, but where he moved with the smooth grace of a fencer, Nikolas’s movements were like a lethal dance, so beautifully controlled that you could not take your eyes off him. His long blade glinted in the sun shining through the tall windows as he rained blows on Tristan, keeping his opponent on the defensive and circling him like a lion preparing for a kill. If I didn’t know this was a friendly duel, I would have been afraid for my grandfather’s life at that moment.
Nikolas saw an opening and moved in, bringing the tip of his sword to Tristan’s chest and just like that it was over. Tristan smiled and bowed, then slapped Nikolas on the back as everyone clapped. The two men stepped aside to let the next pair duel, but it was anticlimactic after the thrill of watching them. I couldn’t help but notice that my companions were more interested in watching what Nikolas was doing than the current fight.
“Someday, I’m going to be that good,” said a worshipful voice beside me.
I turned to face Jordan, who stared at Nikolas like he was a rock star. “Good and when you are, you can kick his ass. In fact, let me know so I can be there to watch.” She looked at me like I was nuts, and I shrugged. “Spend a month with him and you’ll sing a different tune.”
Jordan started to respond but stopped when her eyes went to something behind me. I turned to see Tristan and Nikolas walking through the crowd toward us. My jaw clenched. I had plenty of choice words for Nikolas, but this was not the place to share them. His expression as he approached was neutral, but when our eyes met I saw the familiar arrogant gleam and it fed the angry embers smoldering inside me. Did he really expect me to greet him as if all was well between us?
Tristan stopped to talk to someone, and as soon as he and Nikolas turned their heads away from us, I was out of there. I duc
ked through the crowded room in an effort to put as much distance as possible between me and Nikolas. If I confronted him now, I might start yelling at him and end up looking like an idiot in front of everyone.
At the door, I looked back and saw Nikolas wearing a surprised scowl as he searched the room. Not very nice when people just take off like that, is it? I thought with intense satisfaction and left before he saw me.
If I knew one thing about Nikolas, it was that once he set his mind on something it was almost impossible to shake him. I had seen the look in his eyes, and he was not going to let me give him the slip that easily. He also had an uncanny ability to find me, which was great when I was in danger, but not so much when I wanted to avoid him.
I set off for the main building, hoping that the people in the arena held Nikolas up long enough for me to make my escape. I felt like a sulking child, running away from him, but between last night and the shock of seeing him again, my emotions were all over the map, and I just couldn’t deal with him right now.
I took ten steps before I realized the only place I could hide in the main building was my room, and I had no desire to spend the afternoon cooped up inside. Changing direction, I headed to the menagerie instead, and I let out a long breath when the heavy door closed behind me. Hugo and Woolf ran to the front of their cage and began to whine. “Hey, you two,” I greeted them as I unlocked the door to their cage with the key Sahir had given me. “Looks like you get me for the whole afternoon.”
Chapter 7
HUNGER FINALLY FORCED me to come out of hiding. After I cleaned up, I headed for the dining hall, hoping I wouldn’t run into Nikolas there. It was his first day back after a mission, so he and Tristan were probably locked away in Tristan’s office.
My anxiety lessened when I entered the dining hall and saw that Tristan was not at his usual table. I let out the breath I hadn’t known I was holding and went to get a tray.
I’d always had a healthy appetite – to the envy of the other girls at my high school – and now I knew I could thank my Mohiri genes for my high metabolism. Those girls would positively hate me now if they could see the stack of pizza on my plate.
I was on my second slice of pizza when Jordan pulled out a chair across from me and laid down her tray of burgers and fries.
“What do you want?”
She tucked loose strands of blond hair behind her ears and fixed me with an appraising stare. “I think I may have misjudged you, kitten. You could have left the theater last night, but you stayed even though you had no weapons and a good chance of becoming demon chow. That took guts.”
“I don’t run away.” Liar. You’ve been running from Nikolas all day. “And my name is Sara, not kitten.”
“Noted.” She picked up one of her burgers and took a huge bite that would have scandalized every teenage girl I knew back home. She took a few minutes to polish off the burger before she spoke again. “You don’t scare easily, do you? Too bad you can’t fight, because you’ve definitely got a pair.”
“Gee thanks, I guess.”
“No, seriously. Olivia’s a decent fighter but she still jumps at her own shadow, and the guys wouldn’t know what to do if they saw a real monster. But I saw you last night. You jumped right in even after you were hurt, and you taunted those lampreys to draw them off us. That was kinda badass.”
“Or stupid.” I picked up my third slice of pizza. “Anyway you were pretty cool yourself. That was some impressive sword work. I probably would have chopped off my own head.”
Jordan grinned widely, and her whole face lit up. I’d been right in my assessment of her a few days ago. She was beautiful when she wasn’t glaring at everyone. “That was the most fun I’ve had . . . like ever!”
“Too bad you weren’t in Maine with me two months ago. You would have had the time of your life.”
Her hand paused in lifting a fry to her mouth. “You really did all those things you told the others about, didn’t you?” I nodded. “Damn. You really got to see Nikolas in action?”
I waved my slice of pizza. “What is the fascination everyone has with him anyway? So he’s good with a sword. Big deal.”
Jordan looked at me like I was slow-witted. “Nikolas is better than good, Sara. He’s the best. He does whatever he wants, and they let him because he so damn good. Plus, no one could stop him anyway. No one says no to Nikolas.”
“So everyone keeps telling me. I hate to burst your bubble, but he’s just a man who walks on the ground like everyone else.” I dropped my uneaten pizza back on my plate and pushed it away. “It’s no wonder he’s so arrogant with the way everyone here worships him.”
“Ha! I dare you to say that to him.”
I gave her a small smile. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
She plucked a slice of pepperoni from my pizza and ate it. “Yeah, well I’ll believe that when I see it. I think – ”
I sensed him a second before I saw Jordan blush and look down at her plate in a rare show of timidity. There was barely time to notice that the dining hall had grown oddly quiet before the chair next to me moved and Nikolas laid his tray on the table. “You don’t mind if I join you, do you?” he asked then sat before either of us replied.
I turned to glare at him, and I was startled to find his gray eyes inches from mine. “You. . . ” I stammered and leaned away from him, causing his mouth to curve into a familiar smirk. “Let me guess, no one else will eat with you.”
He gave me a lazy smile that made my stomach do things it definitely should not be doing. “I seem to remember you being a lot nicer the last time we had dinner together.”
“Like I had a choice,” I retorted, thinking of my last night in New Hastings. “You guys wouldn’t let me out of your sight that night.”
“Actually, I was thinking about the night of the storm when the power went out.”
Images of that night – eating sandwiches by candlelight, sitting by the fire talking – flooded my mind, and the room suddenly felt too warm. I looked away from him. “People change,” was all I could think of to say. I could feel Jordan’s eyes on us as she listened to our exchange, and the last thing I wanted to do was spar with Nikolas in front of an audience. I reached for my tray.
“I hear you’re having some difficulty in training.” His statement stilled my hand. “I thought perhaps you might want to talk about it.”
He knew more about me than anyone here, but he was the last person I wanted to have a heart-to-heart with. “No thank you.”
Nikolas was completely unfazed by my rejection of his offer. He smiled at Jordan. “Jordan, right?” She nodded mutely. “I hear you’re pretty lethal with a blade.”
I watched her blush and turn from a bold, outspoken warrior-to-be into a flustered teenage girl who had finally met her idol. “She is,” I said, not sure why I felt the need to come to her rescue. “You should have seen her last night, taking on those lamprey demons. If it wasn’t for her, we probably would have been demon chow. She – ”
I stopped when I sensed the tension flowing off Nikolas and I remembered how he used to get whenever I was in danger. Well, I was no longer his responsibility, so he was going to have to get over it.
Apprehension filled Jordan’s eyes at his stiffness; she had obviously never witnessed one of Nikolas’s dark moods before. I wanted to tell her “I told you so,” but instead I elbowed Nikolas in the ribs a little harder than was necessary. “Quit scowling before you scare off my new friend.”
His eyes remained narrowed on me for a moment. Then his face relaxed and the tension seeped out of him as he picked up his burger. “I certainly wouldn’t want to do that. At least this one doesn’t shed.”
I started to make a retort when I saw one corner of his mouth lift and I knew he was playing with me. It was a side of him he didn’t show much – to me anyway – and I wasn’t sure how to respond. He bit into his burger, looking pleased with himself.
“Just ignore him,” I said to Jordan, even though I knew how
ridiculous it was to expect that of someone who looked at Nikolas with a mix of fear and reverence. “He has to ruin at least one meal for me before he disappears on another one of his missions.”
“You didn’t hear?” he asked and his smug look gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach. “Maybe you would have if you hadn’t disappeared this afternoon.”
“Hear what?”
“I’m not going anywhere for the next month at least.”
“What? Sick of hunting already?”
“No, I just have another job at the moment. I’m your new trainer.”
My first thought was that he was joking to get another rise out of me. But then I saw that he was serious, and I shook my head in denial. “I am not training with you.” Callum suddenly didn’t look so awful anymore. I looked around the room for Tristan, to have him set things straight, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“It was Tristan’s idea,” Nikolas informed me as if he knew who I was looking for. “He thinks it might help you to work with someone you know.”
“Since when do you work with trainees, or follow orders for that matter?” I hoped this was his idea of a joke. “Don’t you have more orphans to rescue?”
“After you, I have a much greater respect for the people who usually handle those jobs,” he drawled. “I agree with Tristan on this. We need to try a different approach with your training.”
“A few days ago, Tristan mentioned a guy in India who he thought might be able to help me.”
“Janak?” Nikolas chuckled, and I wanted to elbow him again. “Janak’s a nice guy, but way too soft for this. One session with you and he’d be on the first plane back to India.”
I folded my arms and glowered at him as he dug into his burger again. If he thought he could just show up out of nowhere, push his way back into my life, and throw insults at me, he obviously did not know me as well as he thought he did. “So, what is your brilliant plan, to harass me until I get so pissed off that I sic my demon on you?”
He took time to finish off his burger before replying, and I knew he did it just to provoke me. What really bugged me was that it was working. I wanted to yell at him and run away from him at the same time, but I refused to let him see how much he was able to get to me.