Kraven appears through a doorway, dressed all in white again. I wonder if the dude owns stock in Clorox. I head toward the back of the room, stepping over spongy mats as I move. Blue and Charlie stand on either side of me, and the three of us wait to see what Mr. Clean has to say.
He glides across the room, and with the ocean behind him, he looks a lot like Jesus—walking on water and crap. I resist telling him this.
And Valery says I don’t know how to behave.
Kraven’s chest inflates. “At the Hive, there are six sectors of training you must complete. Failure to pass even one sector means losing your status as a liberator.”
My head whips toward Valery. Her eyebrows knit together like this is news to her.
I raise my hand like a respectful pupil. “Uh, excuse me. You’re telling me if we flunk out of Hive school, we’ll have our cuff removed?”
Kraven continues, dismissing my question. “In the first sector, we’ll cover self-defense. You’ll have three days to master basic skills, and at the end of those three days, you’ll be administered a test.”
My raised arm drops to my side. “Hey, Miami,” I say. “Did you not hear me? I asked for a little clarification.”
His eyes meet mine. “I didn’t ask if you had questions, and from here on out I will not answer them. But to clarify this one topic, Dante Walker, yes. If you fail a training sector, your status as a liberator will be revoked. There are too many angels in heaven who’d love to wear that dargon of yours. So if you don’t respect the rules, you will be replaced.”
“And when did this new
Kraven shoots me a look, one that says he’s seriously done taking questions. Well, that’s fine. He can ignore me all he wants, because I can play that game all day long. I move to leave the room, but before I make it two steps something stops me.
I have to rescue her soul from hell.
And this training could help me do that.
Maybe Kraven does know a thing or two about fighting. I guess I could give the rat bastard a chance. It might be fun, now that I think of it, to put him in his place. Mr. Kraven is big enough, but not many guys are built the way I am. And what’s more, I know how to throw around every inch of muscle I’ve got.
I raise my hands in defeat. “All right, let’s hear what you’ve got.”
For the next four hours, Kraven repeats several moves. Blue and I try our best to pick up on them as Charlie stays near the back, mirroring our motions. Kraven never tells her she should learn the defense tactics, but it’s obvious he knows she’s watching. I’m thankful, to be honest. It wouldn’t hurt for her to know a few things just in case. She may never be able to attack a collector, but maybe she can learn to hold him off until help comes.
“Stop using brute strength,” Kraven orders me for the millionth time. “Use what I taught you. Don’t deviate.”
He comes at me from behind and wraps his forearm around my throat. Just like he showed us, I kick my heel back into his knee and then throw my elbow into his stomach. He releases his hold.
“That would have been good if you’d focused more on your heel and elbow, and less on pulling away from me,” he scolds.
Blue picks up the moves well, but when it comes time to execute them, he panics. Maybe Kraven is right. We’re better at attacking than freeing ourselves. In retrospect, I’m not sure how Blue or I would have fared against numerous sirens if caught alone.
Kraven wipes sweat from his brow. I’m surprised he sweats at all. “What you need,” he says, “is motivation.”
The blond liberator nods toward someone behind me, and an arm circles my neck. My head cracks backward. The arm is slender, so I know he’s pulled Valery into this stunt.
“Traitor,” I manage, even though she’s cutting off my air supply.
Kraven narrows his eyes at me, and his pupils dilate until there’s only darkness. Then he rushes toward Charlie and wraps his hands around her throat.
With speed I didn’t know I possessed, I throw my head back into Val’s forehead. Then I stomp on her Jimmy Choos. She releases me with a yelp, and I fly toward Charlie. Kraven may act like he’s here to help us, but anyone who touches Charlie like that is an enemy.
I’m an arm’s length away when Charlie kicks Kraven hard between the legs. Then she swings her arms up and out, breaking his hold on her neck. He drops like a boulder.
I stagger to a stop and stare.
She breathes hard for a moment, and then meets my gaze. “I did it.”
I grin like an idiot. “Damn straight.” The smile slides from my face when I notice Kraven’s on his feet again. He moves toward the middle of the room as if nothing happened, as if he didn’t just wrap his gnarly hands around my angel’s throat.
“He wasn’t squeezing,” a soft voice says.
I spin around and find Charlie gazing up at me. She places a hand on my chest, nods her head to assure me she’s fine, and then steps away, her eyes back on Kraven.
The liberator claps his hands. “Again.”
…
Blue and I practice moves on each other through lunch and into the afternoon. When we bitch about empty stomachs, Kraven ignores us. Eventually I give up on the thought of food. If he can go without, then so can I.
Late in the afternoon, Blue successfully blocks one of my blows. He hoots and dances around the room. I’ll admit learning this crap feels good. Empowering. I steal a glance at Kraven to see if he noticed Blue’s achievement.
But his eyes are locked on a closed door.
“Miami, did you see Blue go?” I ask. Yeah, I asked another question, but my boy deserves a little credit.
When I realize Kraven still hasn’t moved, my pulse quickens.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
Kraven holds his hand up to me and keeps his gaze on the door. Then he steals toward it, slinking like a fox. When he gets closer, he steadies himself, pulling in a deep breath.
The door flies open beneath his hand.
Aspen and Annabelle tumble into the room.
The two girls get to their feet, fighting the urge to laugh. Seeing them, I feel laughter bubble up inside me too. Blue and Charlie also wear smiles. Even Red can’t hide her grin.
Kraven, however, is not amused.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he says. I can tell he wants to yell, but that’s not his style. He’s more the totally-creep-you-out-by-remaining-calm guy.
Aspen straightens her spine. “Just seeing if you know your stuff, old man.”
“Rest assured, I know my stuff,” he replies. “And I’m hardly an old man. We’re nearly the same age, girl.”
“Jerk,” Annabelle chimes in.
Kraven turns to address Annabelle.
When his gaze doesn’t waver, she takes a small step back. “What are you looking at?” she asks in a small voice.
Kraven studies her for a long time, just the way he did last night. “Nothing,” he says at last. Then he turns on his heel and heads back toward Blue and me. “The two of you will return to your rooms at once.”
When he whirls back around, his eyes land on Annabelle. “I said
“You shouldn’t talk to them that way,” Charlie says, stepping forward.
Kraven continues to glare at Annabelle.
“No, it’s fine,” Annabelle says with a note of hurt. “I’m not special enough to be here. Isn’t that right,
