SIXTEEN
“WEAPONS?” SHAY REPEATED,
watching Connor’s jaunty gait as he strode across the training
room.
“Oh, just go after
him.” Adne groaned. “Boys and their toys. You’d think he’d grow
up.”
“What are you
talking about?” I asked, falling in step beside her. “Doesn’t he
already have his swords?”
“Only two,” Adne
said.
“Two isn’t enough?”
Shay muttered under his breath as we followed Connor.
At the opposite end
of the room was a narrow door. Connor unlocked it and we followed
him inside. Darkness swallowed us fully since the room had no
windows. I frowned, shaking my head, which had filled with a
strange humming.
“Ow!” Connor
shouted. “God dammit. I think Silas left his training manuals on
the floor again. Now where is the stupid light . . .
?”
“Here,” Adne called,
and in the next moment dingy light from the bare bulb washed
through the room.
I gasped and Shay
whistled. All four walls of the room, floor to ceiling, were
covered with weapons: wickedly curving swords, ranging in length
from a foot to the height of a full-sized man; daggers with hooked
and jagged blades; single- and double-headed axes; maces and clubs;
quarterstaffs and pole arms. All the weapons gleamed, even in the
poor light.
The room pulsed with
Old Magic; it poured off the enchanted weapons filling the room,
making the air around us vibrate with power. My amazement gave way
to a sickening twist low in my belly. Gazing at the weapons
reminded me that Searchers spent their lives perfecting ways to
kill Guardians. And this was how they did it. As if on cue, my
shoulder throbbed. The muscles seemed to remember the damage done
by these weapons.
“Look at this,”
Connor said, kicking several sprawling texts out of his way. “If
Silas loves his books so much, why does he leave them lying
around?”
“Silas trains here?”
I was still staring at the weapons, but the thought of the Scribe
using any of them was bizarre. “I thought Scribes didn’t do
combat.”
“They don’t, but all
Searchers learn how to fight. Every one of us does a rotation at an
outpost,” Connor muttered. “Even Scribes. Including the useless
ones.”
“He’s not useless,
just forgetful.” Adne crossed the room to climb a ladder that gave
access to the topmost weapons hanging on the wall. “What do you
want?”
“Get the French
gladius,” Connor said. “And bring down a couple kataras
too.”
“You’re so
predictable,” Adne said, pulling weapons from their hooks. One
appeared to be a standard short sword, but the pair of stunted
blades she grabbed next were unfamiliar to me.
“I know what I
like.” Connor grinned, catching the sword she dropped into his
hands.
“How many blades do
you carry?” Shay asked as Connor took the next two broad-bladed
punch daggers from Adne.
“Depends,” Connor
replied. “I think six is ideal. Maybe seven.”
“Ethan and Connor
think their manhood is equal to the amount of steel they have
tucked beneath their clothing.” Adne snickered. “I think they’re
trying to make up for something.”
“Hey, now!” Connor
said.
“They once had a
competition to see who could carry the most at once,” Adne
said.
“Who won?” I
asked.
“I did,” Connor
said. “Twenty-two.”
“Really?” Shay’s
eyebrows shot up. He began eyeing the various shapes and sizes of
weapons on the wall.
“Great.” Adne rolled
her eyes. “Looks like you’ve got a new challenger.”
Connor shook his
head. “I wouldn’t recommend it, Shay. Once you get past fifteen,
things start to poke in nasty ways anytime you move.”
“I’ll keep that in
mind.” Shay grinned.
“Besides.” Ethan was
leaning on the door frame. “Connor cheated. Poniards are not real
blades.”
“One through the eye
or jammed under the throat kills just fine,” Connor
said.
“Still, that’s a
girly knife and you know it.”
“I know you aren’t
dissing girls,” Adne said, glaring at him. “Because that could
prove hazardous to your health.”
“Of course not,”
Ethan said. “Just dissing Connor.”
“You’re just pissed
’cause you lost.” Connor held the sword blade up to the light.
“This needs sharpening.”
“You should take
better care of your weapons,” Ethan said, ignoring the gesture
Connor made and speaking to Adne. “So is this tonight’s green
room?”
“Seems like that’s
what it’s turning into,” Adne said. “You need more bolts? And
target practice to take the edge off while we wait?”
“You know it.” He
grinned.
While Adne gathered
more blades and Ethan rummaged through storage crates, Shay sidled
up next to me and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“I’m sorry about
what I said back there.”
I ground my teeth,
fighting anger but not wanting to snap at him.
“I just don’t want
to lose you.”
I nodded but didn’t
look at him. Even if it was out of love, I resented his words. I
hadn’t deserved them. Neither had Ren. My chest was tight, thinking
of Shay and the Bane alpha. I wondered if they’d ever be able to
fight together.
Shay was looking at
me out of the corner of his eye. He shook his head and
sighed.
“Are you okay?” I
asked, swallowing the last of my anger.
“Yeah,” he mumbled.
“Just thinking.”
He looked at me and
sighed again. “So he’s going to come back.”
“Who is?” I asked,
watching steel glint as Connor brandished weapons.
“Ren,” Shay said,
and with that name hanging in the air between us, he had my full
attention. “I mean, if this works. He’ll be here. With
us.”
I looked
away.
Ren.
Ren would be here. I
couldn’t ignore the rush of heat through my veins at the thought
that he would be safe. And that he would be close to
me.
“What does that
mean?” Shay pressed.
“I don’t know,” I
said truthfully, moving forward to inspect the deadly wall
ornaments.
He grabbed my hand.
“Calla, hang on.”
When I turned to
face Shay, his eyes were bright as spring leaves sparkling with
dew.
“I don’t want to
talk about this, Shay,” I murmured. “I have more important things
to think about. Like not dying.”
“You don’t have to
talk,” he said. “Just listen.”
Both of his hands
came up, cupping my face. “I don’t care that Ren will be here.
Okay, that’s a lie. Just the thought of him being around you makes
me crazy. I can’t think straight and all I feel is the wolf inside
me. That’s why I said . . .”
A growl rose in his
throat and I could see the wolf flash in his eyes, predatory and
defensive. “It doesn’t matter. I swear I want to help the pack. And
I don’t want anything bad to happen to Ren either . . . well, most
of the time. All I care about is you and me. Things have been
different between us since we’ve been alone. At least, I’d like to
believe they have been.”
I didn’t want to
look at him. My heart seemed to be throwing itself against my rib
cage, like it was trying to escape this conversation.
“You aren’t in
Vail,” he continued. “The rules have changed. I’m going to fight to
be the one at your side.”
Had they? I didn’t know whose rules applied anymore
or where my place in any of this was.
“Shay—” I tried to
pull back, but his hand slipped around my waist and he held me in
place.
“Tell me that isn’t
what you want and I’ll walk away,” he said, leaning in so his lips
brushed my cheek.
My throat closed. I
wanted to tell him that I loved him. I did. In a way I hadn’t
believed was possible before he’d been in my life. He deserved to
know that. He should have some reassurance that his feelings were
fully returned. But I didn’t trust myself anymore. Not after
Ansel’s story. I’d brought torture and death to the people I loved.
My mother had been killed. My pack was still in danger, my brother
mutilated and hating himself. All of that was my fault. How could I
answer? When I made choices for myself, they destroyed everyone I
loved. What did I really have to offer Shay when all I brought with
me was carnage?
“What are you two
whispering about?” Adne called from her perch. “Here,
catch!”
She pitched a sword
at Shay. I flinched, but he stepped forward, easily catching its
hilt.
“What is this for?”
he asked. “I’m not even going.”
“How else are we
going to pass the time before Monroe sends us out?”
“I know I’m not
sleeping,” Connor said. “Don’t feel like a tussle, Shay? Just
’cause you’re getting left behind doesn’t mean you can’t take a few
swings for fun.”
“I guess.” I caught
sight of sharp fangs when Shay snarled at Connor.
“Want one, Calla?”
Adne gestured to the wall of arms.
“No, thanks,” I
said, eyeing the myriad of gleaming axes, swords, and dozens of
other weapons I couldn’t name. “I’ll go with natural
assets.”
“Those you’ve got—in
abundance.” Connor wiggled his eyebrows at me.
When I smiled,
showing sharp teeth, he stopped grinning.
Ethan laughed,
smiling at me for the first time. “Good girl.”
Next to me, Shay
swung and dipped the sword, trying it out.
“What do you think?”
Adne asked, descending from the ladder and walking toward
him.
“I’m not sure,” he
said wistfully. “I wish I knew what the Elemental Cross was like.
It would be nice to practice with something similar.”
“There’s nothing
similar,” Connor said, hurling daggers at a practice dummy. Every
blade landed squarely in the target’s chest. My stomach flipped
over. Where will those blades lodge when we
attack Eden? In the hearts of wolves I used to know? That I once
fought beside?
“I guess.” Shay eyed
the wall. “But none of these will be as good. I just wonder if
practicing with them will be all that useful.”
“Stop insulting our
weapons, Chosen One,” Connor said, whirling two swords rapidly
before him. I took a couple steps back from the deadly flurry of
blade strokes that Connor produced so casually. “They aren’t so
bad.”
“I’m sure they
aren’t.” Shay laughed. “I only meant . . .” He spread his hands
helplessly. “Never mind.”
“I know what you
meant.” Connor grinned. “And practice won’t hurt you, even if it’s
not with your holy of holies Elemental Cross. If one-on-one is
boring you, maybe you’re ready to try your hand against two of us
at once?”
Shay looked at him
and then at Adne. “I guess.”
“Don’t taunt him,
Connor.” Adne shook her head. “Ignore him, Shay. You don’t have to
try fighting both of us. That’s crazy.”
“I’m sorry,” Connor
said. “Do your enemies usually stand in line waiting their
turn?”
“Connor.” Adne put
her hands on her hips.
“No,” Shay said,
frowning. “He’s right. Let’s try it.”
“Are you sure?” Adne
asked, though a smile crept over her mouth.
“Yeah,” Shay said,
suddenly grinning. “Toss me another sword.”
“Let him try out the
tsurugi,” Connor said. “Its hilt kind
of looks like the Haldis.”
“Got it.” Adne went
back to the wall, reaching for a slender, slightly curving
sword.
“And what will my
lady be using?” Connor asked. The casual way he twirled the swords
in front of him demonstrated the fatal control he held over the
weapons.
“Let’s see how he
takes to qi jie bian,” Adne said. “That’s something
different.”
“The chain whip?”
Connor asked. “Not a bad idea.”
“He’s pretty good
with whips.” I shivered, flashing back to the night of the union.
The dark forest and Flynn’s wicked smile. The way she screamed when
I tore her hand off, how Shay had snatched the shadow whip from her
severed limb’s grasp, in the next moment turning her own weapon
against her.
“Is there anything
you’re not good at?” Adne’s smile was blinding. I laced my fingers
behind my back so I wouldn’t choke her.
“Golf,” Shay said
with a grim smile. “I have no patience for it.”
The air hissed as he
swept it with his blades.
Adne rolled her head
back and forth, stretching her neck as she moved toward him. In
each hand she held a wood-handled whip made of seven metal links.
The end of each whip was tipped by a sharpened dart. They were
frightening, appearing almost alive as they twisted through the
air, guided by Adne’s graceful strokes.
“Those are whips?”
Shay asked, gazing at the snaking metal Adne swirled easily before
her body. The weapons didn’t look like any whip I’d laid eyes
on.
“They are indeed,”
she said, flicking her wrist. The silver links shot out, and before
I could blink, the dart was impaled in the throat of a nearby
practice dummy.
“Whoa,” Shay said,
taking a step back.
“Not bad,” Adne
said, jerking the whip free.
“And what are
those?” I asked, watching as Connor strapped the short blades to
his belt.
“Get close with
those big teeth of yours and I’ll show you.”
Ethan snorted,
raising his crossbow. “I’ll never understand why you like
kataras.”
He fired four
successive bolts into a dummy with startling speed.
Shay walked to the
target. “How do you shoot that fast? I always thought crossbows
were slow. Powerful, but slow.”
“You’re thinking of
European crossbows,” Ethan said, coming to Shay’s side and jerking
the bolts out of the dummy. “This bow is based on the Chinese
design. Built for speed, not force. It has a magazine that loads a
new bolt after each shot.”
I clasped my fingers
over my chest, remembering too well how quickly Ethan’s bolts had
lodged in my chest. He glanced at me, nodding. “If you can’t hit
Guardians fast and often, you’re dead.”
Connor was eyeing
Ethan’s bow disdainfully. “I’d get bored as hell using that
thing.”
“Brute force isn’t
the only way to fight,” Ethan replied.
“You’re just afraid
of getting your hands dirty.” Connor pulled one of the kataras from
his belt. His fingers wrapped around the handle, which ran
horizontal to the short, wide blade.
“Bloody,” Adne said,
gazing at the weapon. “The word you’re looking for is
‘bloody.’”
Connor cast a
sidelong glance at her, drawing the other katara. In the blink of
an eye his body blurred. He leapt through the air, twisting around
the dummy, landing on the balls of his feet in a crouch behind the
target.
Shay whistled,
staring at the lacework of deep gashes Connor had left on the
practice target in the few seconds he’d been near it.
I coughed.
“Ninja.”
Shay looked my way,
sparing me a thin smile.
“Show-off.” Ethan
laughed. “Couldn’t you tell it was already dead?” He held up the
bolts he’d just pulled free of the dummy.
“You two aren’t the
ones who are supposed to be showing off,” Adne said.
“What’s this?” Ethan
asked.
“Shay needs
practice.” Adne swirled the whip so that it coiled and uncoiled
like a metallic serpent.
Shay scratched the
back of his neck, looking a bit uneasy. “Maybe we
shouldn’t.”
“Aw, come on,”
Connor said. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. And I’m dying to blow off
steam before we do this crazy business in a few
hours.”
“It’s a thought.”
Shay rolled his shoulders back. “I’m kinda edgy too.”
Ethan laughed.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be the referee and make sure these two don’t
play dirty.”
“You’re no fun at
all,” Connor said, swapping the kataras for his usual
swords.
“Are we ready?” Adne
asked.
“Always.” Connor
grinned.
Shay nodded, eyeing
the two Searchers who’d slowly begun to circle him. I could see the
veins in his throat pop up, beginning to throb as they neared him.
Adne’s whips reached him first, flying low, striking at his ankles.
Shay dodged the blow as easily as if he were skipping rope. But as
he landed again, Connor came at him, his sword blades no longer
moving in a casual dance but whirling with such speed I could
barely see where one blade ended and the other began.
I started to move
forward, my instincts screaming to throw myself between the
gleaming steel and Shay. My body tried to follow the call for
blood. I felt like I was suffocating, pushing down the weight of
the wolf that was desperate to claw its way out of the human prison
that held it back. But I couldn’t interfere. Shay needed this. It
was time for the Scion to fight on his own. I just hadn’t
anticipated how hard it would be for me to let him go. Backing
against a wall to put more distance between myself and the fight, I
jumped forward when the spikes of a hanging mace pressed against
the skin of my back.
Shay’s eyes locked
on Connor. Their swords met, the clang of blade on blade bouncing
off the walls and ceiling. As the two young men focused on each
other, Adne stalked Shay from behind. The whips flew toward his
unprotected back. I gasped as Shay suddenly forced Connor’s blades
down while launching his own body into the air, flipping over Adne
and landing just behind her. Connor shouted, crashing to the floor
as he barely escaped catching the sharp points of Adne’s whips on
his chest. Shay grabbed Adne around the waist, drawing her back and
resting the blade of one sword against her throat.
“Yield?”
Her face was frozen
in a mask of shock. She swallowed, nodding carefully so as not to
press her neck against the sword.
“Holy shit.” Connor
was laughing as he rolled back onto his feet. “I get it now. The
Scion is chosen because he has eyes in the back of his head. If you
just shave that mop off, we’ll see them, right?”
Adne was breathing
hard as Shay lowered his sword, smiling when she craned her neck to
gaze at him.
“How did you do
that?” she asked.
The same question
was ringing in my own mind. I’d never seen anything like what Shay
had just done. I was stunned. My hand pressed into my chest as I
tried to catch my breath, fingertips vibrating with my racing
heartbeat.
He shrugged. “I’m
not sure. I just knew you were coming. I could feel you behind
me.”
Ethan remained
silent, but he and Connor exchanged a glance.
“Okay,” Connor said,
raising his swords. “First round to you. Two out of
three?”
“Adne?” Shay
asked.
“You won’t pull that
move on me twice,” she said, playfully shoving him back to free
herself.
“Let’s see.” Shay
grinned.
I couldn’t take any
more. Watching the ferocity of the fight, listening to the easy
banter between them, all of it made me feel like an outsider.
Neither needed nor wanted. Their strength, fluidity, and laughter
were all barbs digging into me. It was as though none of what had
been revealed in the kitchen mattered. My mother was dead, my pack
forsaken, and they’d already moved on. I would grieve
alone.
As sadness dragged
my mood into a tar pit of self-pity, I thought of Ansel. How much
worse must all of this be for him? Guilt grabbed hold of me,
reminding me that I wasn’t the only one who’d lost a loved one.
Naomi, our mother, had been ripped away from us, but that wasn’t
all Ansel had lost. His wolf had been taken from him and
destroyed. I could grieve, but I was
still whole. Still a Guardian. There would be no return for
him.
No one noticed when
I turned away, sidling toward the door, as Connor hurled himself at
Shay, startling him into dropping one sword.
“Hey!”
“You think you get a
warning after that last match?” Connor barked. “Adne, take him
down!”
“With pleasure.” She
laughed, entering the fray.
Shay ducked, rolling
along the floor to avoid Adne’s swift kick. “Not
happening!”
The ringing of steel
on steel trailed after me as I slipped from the room.