by Skyler Andra
I’d only been here a few weeks, and he wanted me to switch sides. And I considered it. To get away from Knoxe. But I had to wonder what made Devon so desperate he was trying to poach me—untested, unqualified me—from Knoxe’s team. But he’d spoken my magic words—get you out of here sooner.
“I’ll think about it.”
He sniffed my hair. Sniffed. My. Hair. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours.”
Yeah. I already knew the answer. N-fucking-o. But next time, I’d be ready if he tried cornering me. I wouldn’t be alone. The weasel could deal with one of my crew and see how he liked facing up to someone his own size.
Devon slowly retracted his arms and sidestepped.
Freedom. I hightailed it.
By now, I’d completely forgotten about how to get to training, and I was shaking so hard, I couldn’t hold the map still when I pulled it out. That creep had rattled me. I clamped my hand to my forehead, taking random halls, passing the gym and the library before I bumped into Raze.
“Razethankgod!” My words spilled out on fast forward. I want to hug him, squeeze him, hold him until I calmed down. That was what I did with my sister when I had a freak out. The human contact grounded me. And right now, I felt an episode coming on.
But he didn’t stop and continued in the opposite direction. “Hey,” was all he said.
I followed him with my gaze, spotting Devon pass him.
Crap. I jogged to catch Raze, hoping the simple act of walking with him would lead me to the training room and keep the pyscho off my back.
Raze glared at me as I pulled into line with him, taking two steps at a time to keep up with his rapid pace. “What are you doing?”
“I’m lost.” I pretended to smile. “Can you show me to training?”
“I’ve got something to do first. Meet you there.” The jerk was trying to shake me.
No way, pal. Lost once was one thing, but this place was a maze and if I couldn’t figure my way around, I was going to need help. Today, Raze drew that lucky card.
“I’ll come with you.”
“No.”
Just as I was about to confess everything, hoping he might have a heart, and offer to accompany me to training, he stopped at a closed door. He didn’t even glance over his shoulder as he removed a small, black leather pouch from his pocket and two small tools from inside. As he squatted to pick the lock, he dropped the pouch on the floor between his legs.
Silver Blazes. I glanced down either end of the corridor. Clear… for now… but for how long? I didn’t need more trouble. I’d found quite enough on my own. As I backed away, Raze unlocked the door and entered as Devon came around the corner. Oh shit. I chased Raze and shut the door behind us.
He’d brought me to a storage area. Packed shelves. Standing cupboards. Locked compartments. He strode down the next aisle, and I ran after him. This time, I stuck to him like a I was a half-chewed gummy bear and he was a stuffed animal.
“I told you I’d meet you there.” Wow. I’d never heard him talk so much.
“Smooth talker.” He shot me a glare and I shrugged. Not my fault. “And I told you I’m lost.” I let out a deep breath. Anxiety streaked through me, and I didn’t have much fight left in me.
“I’m not your babysitter. I got my own shit to deal with.”
Asshole.
I stopped in the middle of the aisle, the smell of herbs, metal, and wood mixed with chemicals. Fuck. A weapon’s compartment. Locked for a reason; to keep out criminals like…us. Oh God. I looked at my bracelet again. T-minus how long until they shot me with a taser blast? I sure as hell didn’t want this to be the place they found me.
My chest tightened. Breath caught in there. Crap. Not now.
I slowed, Raze slipped away, and eventually I came to a halt. Jesus, Astra. This is your life now. Suck it up.
Stalkers, killers, offenders. A surge of panic hit me. Nothing I could do but clench my fists and try to ride out the wave.
Raze shuffled around a few aisles away.
As soon as I could draw a full breath, I hurried to join him. He had his hands deep into the contents on a shelf. Either pulling something out or putting something back.
He sighed. “Just leave me alone.”
“Listen, I’m just trying…” I would’ve finished but an ahem—deep, gravelly, familiar in a way that made my skin crawl—interrupted.
“Tsk-tsk, little man. Stealing from da Guild. If Vartros found out, dat’d be a few hundred credits to ya time.”
Raze’s features sharpened and his eyes darkened. He went into warrior pose—legs apart and bent, hands fisted, one close to his chest, one out in front.
He relaxed one arm and used it to brush me behind him, then he pulled his arms back in. “Leave now, Devon.”
Devon feigned shock—stretched out his arms, clutching the edge of the shelves on either side. “Hah, he speaks! All dis time I thought ya were mute.”
Raze growled and leaned over him, glaring down at the weasel. “Get out of my way.”
Devon shoved past him, running his finger along my arm in passing, before he picked up a clipboard with a pen on it and flicked through the pages and scanned them. “Ya name’s not on dis list. Ya didn’t sign it out. Dat’s against Guild procedure.”
Raze ground his teeth and fisted his hands.
Crap. This was going to get out of hand and fast if I didn’t do something.
I stepped in to help Raze. “It’s my fault. Didn’t know about the policy. Raze asked me to get an-…a…” Oh for the love of God. Take a hint. I slapped his arm. He didn’t move. “A thing and bring it to training. I’m new. Didn’t know I had to sign anything.”
Silver Blazes. Could’ve driven a freight train through the hole in my story. I sucked as a liar. I was too honest for my own good sometimes.
Devon snorted and tilted his head back and forth. “I want to help ya but…I’m da librarian. I’m obligated to report any breach of Guild procedure.”
Librarian. Him. Laughable. But I clenched a fist. . This low life really wanted vengeance for his brother. He needed to get over it.
He hugged the clipboard and twisted from side to side. “Wonder what da warden will think about his dream team abusing policy?”
Raze rounded on him and had his fingers in Devon’s throat before I even blinked. “You’ll keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.”
Devon’s face reddened and his eyes widened as he tried to shrug off the attack, but Raze was bigger and stronger. “Empty threats from a little bitch.”
Raze’s nostrils flared. His eyes flashed red then faded to brown. He snarled, and I could have sworn his teeth elongated. This wasn’t going to end well.
“I’ll show you bitch.” Raze’s deep timber thundered through me along with the threat.
Devon shoved him back. “You picked da wrong side, man, when ya laid a hand on my bruh. Dave’s still got bruises from that.”
I didn’t care about the fight that sent Devon’s brother to The Hole. Those punks started it and my team finished it. Sore losers, the bunch of them.
Raze sneered, and I couldn’t stop looking at his teeth. His very long, pointy teeth. “You started it, asshole.” His body shuddered. His battle was real and visible. It wouldn’t take much to turn him loose on Devon. The only one who didn’t seem to know it was the psycho who just couldn’t walk away.
“Yes, and I’m gonna finish it.” Devon thumped Raze in the chest with his shoulder as he moved past, snatching a circular item that looked like a compass from the shelf. He cupped it in his hands and studied it. Then he smirked, huffed, and walked off with a smug swagger.
Once he was gone, Raze turned on me. “I told you to leave me alone.”
Heat rose to the surface of every capillary in my body. What? And by what, I meant…What? “You’re blaming me for this? You illegally borrowed Guild property!”
“Next time, find your own way to training.” He stalked off, fists tucked tight to his side.
His words slapped me in the face. They felt like it anyway, and I pressed a hand to my cheek as if he'd really hit me. What the fuck just happened? I tried to help him. Failed. But tried. That had to count for something.
I curled my shoulders forward. Week three sucked balls just like the previous two.
Things with the team couldn’t be worse. Nothing I could do about it either. These guys were never going to accept me. Never like me or give me a chance. Me being here pissed them off because I wasn’t Jaz. I wasn’t their brother. Not that I wanted to be. I just wanted to get the hell out of here. But more than that, I wanted the chance to prove them wrong. Prove I was worth training. I had value to the team.
A stupid thought flashed my mind in response. Maybe I should join Devon's team. Maybe his team would appreciate me.
Chapter 14
Astra
“You’re late.” Knoxe didn’t even look at me as I snuck in behind Raze.
I played out the whole argument in my head. I’d say, “Congratulations you can tell time.”
And he’d say, “Too bad you can’t.”
And I’d come back with, “Fuck you, Big Ben.”
And he’d ask me who Big Ben was. It would be a whole thing with me having to explain English History to him and it would take forever because I’d have to talk so slow so he could understand. Not worth it.
Instead, I muttered an “I’m sorry” and hoped he moved on.
No such luck. “Tollens in my team turn up on time. Don’t let it happen again or you can come in an hour early next time to set up. Clear?”
Bunch of charmers they were. Between Raze muttering something while he glared at me and grabbed his smoking bowl, and Knoxe with his threats, it was no wonder these guys had ended up where they were.
I stood beside Tor who gave me a wink. “Morning, Supergirl.”
I smiled at him. At least I had Tor.
Pascal clanged his tuning fork with another tool, making a low, droning sound. I think he intended to use his magic on me, but it didn’t work with the dampeners in the prison.
“Did you read through everything I gave you?” Knoxe’s smug tone said he thought I hadn’t. But at least he’d lost that steely glare.
“Did you want to quiz me?” I recited all the topics back to him to get him off my case. “Go ahead. Ask me about Vampire society, or their culture, structure, where they seek out their food source, how they gain and use their powers, pick a weakness and I’ll name the rest, or maybe you want to talk about their strengths or the rogue factions lead by Styx.” I crossed my arms. “Pick a topic. I can talk all day.”
Let him try to beat me down. Everything he threw at me, I’d practice until I got it right. I’d not give him any reasons to berate me.
“Let’s see what you’ve got.” Instead, he grabbed six sharp stakes from the wall, shoving four into his belt and twirling the other two in each palm.
Clearly the Shadows and the Guardians were very different. At the Shadows, I got grades for my effort, but at the Guardians, I didn’t even know whether or not I did a good or bad job, besides Knoxe’s harsh words.
Cue Raze and his smoking bowl. He brought them to the center of the team’s circle. “We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and waters. We show our respect for elders, past and present.”
Silver Blaze, that deep and gruff voice turned me to putty.
Whoa! Cool down girl.
First thing on my list the instance I got my first free pass was to find myself a semi-rough dive bar, pick up one of those Broken Hills Mines guys and get my groove on so everything in a leather superhero suit didn’t make my panties wet. I needed to get the horny out of my system.
And I would’ve kept daydreaming about the friction of the miner’s calloused hands against my soft skin, but Pascal softly repeating the words brought me back to the moment.
Knoxe gave a firm nod, and Tor followed suit.
Raze sprinkled leaves onto his fire then blew softly to stimulate smoke, which he distributed over Knoxe’s back in a flurry of waves and hard, puffing breaths and the whole place looked like the set of an eighties rock video. I just hoped the smoke did the trick to clear Knoxe’s hostility and bad juju so he wasn’t such an ass today.
When he was finished, Knoxe gave him a nod and handed me the two stakes. “These have been soaked in gin and tonic” AKA gantii kryptonite.
I squeezed the stake. The wood was inscribed with runes which made it effective not only for draining vamps, but also warding off gantii and even injuring them. Although, only specific symbols worked on each species. We’d started to learn that before I left the Shadows. Now that I was here, I’d have to read up on it on my own if it wasn’t part of my class curriculum.
“Do you know how to hold it? How to make the most effective use of it?” Knoxe asked, almost daring with his stormy, dark eyes to say I didn’t so he could pounce.
I braced myself. “No.”
Pascal twitched, hanging his head, Raze maintained his suspicious glare, and Tor watched me with curious eyes.
“What did they teach you at the Shadows?” Knoxe circled me, his usual glare sharper, more frustrated, his arms crossed over his chest. Sizing me up. Testing my knowledge. Thank God I had plenty to show him.
“Basic spells,” I replied. “Herbs, crystals and how to harness my magic.”
I’d only been with the Shadows for a year and a half. We didn’t get to train with weapons until out third year. Things obviously worked differently at the Guardians or these guys had been training a lot longer than me.
Knoxe stopped in front of me in a way that suggested I’d said the wrong thing, and my stomach sank a little. “We’re all about hunting and apprehending gantii. We only care about weapons. You don’t know how much you need one until you have to defend yourself.”
Silver Blazes. They’d thrown me in the middle of a boy’s club. Smash, crash, and bash. Typical.
Knoxe loaded the stakes into the ejection mechanisms of the leather bands situated on top of his forearm. “First thing you want to do when you’re fighting a gantii is to weaken them. They’re bigger, faster, and stronger, which puts us at a disadvantage.” His tone still held an edge of mild hostility, but it was clear he wanted to teach me and get out of there. “That’s why you have to learn how to use these.”
I just had to find the strength to keep showing him that I wasn’t going to back down. Even when the urge to cry my eyes out was stronger than the one to breathe.
As if they trained in perfect timing, the other three got their own devices ready. Pascal had his tuning forks, Raze had a bowl of smoke and Tor had—yes—a hammer.
“That means,” Knoxe added to me, “we need weapons to slow them down, disable them, or knock them out.”
He aimed his wristband at a training mannequin shaped like a troll then pressed a button on the straps winding around his thumb. A stake discharged, striking the troll in the thigh. The oddly shaped body hissed and steam toxic to supernatural creatures curled into the air.
“Is that real troll skin?” I approached the mannequin, running my fingers over the rough, bumpy and thick surface. I’d seen a troll once when it invaded the Guild of Shadows. Damn thing nearly crushed me. I would have been dead if it wasn’t for Luna’s sentry hunk Talon saving me.
“Yep.” Tor crossed the room to lean an elbow on the top of the mannequin.
I stared at him, dumbfounded. “But we’re not supposed to kill them.” Any gantii found crossing had to be returned to their world. Guild rules.
“This skin was traded at a gantii market,” Tor explained with a grin. “Troll poachers.”
“Oh, stop” I said. Troll poachers? That was an urban legend I was way too smart to fall for.
“I’m serious.” Tor plucked the stake from the mannequin and swaggered back with it.
“You two finished need a minute?” Knoxe plucked the stakes out of the mannequin.
Tor grinned at him. “Yeah, why don
’t you guys all take five. I’ll train Astra.”
And suddenly, we weren’t talking stakes and gantii apprehension.
“Shut up, Tor. And if you’re going to do anything help her focus.” Knoxe had that tone again. The I-hate-Astra-for-no-good-reason-snit to his voice.
I charged up my magic. Because, yeah, the dampeners were switched off in the training rooms for practice only. But it couldn’t get past the runed windows or walls. No busting out for us fellows.
Equations flashed in my mind to dissolve them. Keeping a straight face, I released a dose, disintegrating Knoxe’s belt and all the stakes on it. I smiled at my own effort. The idiot didn’t even seem to notice, maintaining his glare.
When he went to demonstrate again, because apparently he thought I needed a second demonstration, Knoxe groped his belt for his missing weapons. “Where the fuck are my stakes?” He spun and glared at Tor.
The Thor wannabe shrugged. “Don’t look at me. Supergirl hid them with her superpowers.”
Knoxe’s fierce gaze landed on me once more.
“New game, asshat. Every time you speak to me rudely, you lose something.” I could be an asshole, too.
He stalked across the room to stand towering over me. “Do that again and you’ll be fighting me next time. I don’t go easy like your boyfriend over there, either.” He shot Tor a glare almost as deep as the one he continuously aimed at me.
This was a guy who really liked his threats. Probably how he kept the others in line. Too bad empty words didn’t phase me. I punched my hands to my hips. I meant fucking business. He didn’t like me, and I didn’t like him. Full stop. “Whatever. You might be the second biggest badass in the room, but unless you want to see your cock go the way of those stakes that used to be on your belt, I’d watch my tone.” I shrugged. “Just saying.”
Tor smiled and shot me a wink.
Pascal rocked back and forth. He didn’t like the confrontation.
Raze looked down into his bowl, but I didn’t miss his smirk.
Oh, yeah. I wasn’t going to take shit from any of them.