Hunted

Were they new trainees? Most of them looked older.

“Come on,” Master Haziel called out impatiently from somewhere in the back. “Grab a stick and step forward.”

Propped on the wall by the door were six wooden staffs. We grabbed them. When we faced the new trainees, they had split and created a path between them.

“Come forward, please,” Master Haziel called out. “No need to be hesitant. You are among your peers.”

You’d think he would have warned us we had visitors, Izzy griped.

Where did they come from? I asked as we walked forward.

Remy chuckled. Xenith, of course.

I made a few eye contacts and received nods and smiles. How do you know?

They are SGs—Security Guardians trained to defend Xenith. I recognize a few hotheads from the Institute, Sykes said. Don’t worry, they love us. They consider us heroes.

My hand tightened on the staff. Master Haziel had a wacky way of doing things, but parading us before these Guardians just didn’t seem like him. Unless…

Guys, get ready, I warned. We were in the middle, nearly surrounded by them.

Ready for what? Sykes asked, smirking and nodding at the SGs he knew.

An ambush, I said.

They rushed us from all sides just as I finished speaking, two against each of us. I raised the staff, ducked and blocked, and counterattacked. The flurry of movements kept me from being hit. Two sticks came at me, their movements so fast they were a blur. I teleported and reappeared, knocking the attackers off-balance from behind. I delayed rematerializing until I saw an opening, over and over again.

The SGs meant business, and as soon as two went down, two more replaced them. They got time to rest, we didn’t. My gaze connected with Sykes’. Hero worshipping, huh? Nice red carpet.

He smirked. I know. Incoming. Nine o’clock.

I turned and parried, then attacked. Switching to autopilot, I went on offense. I anchored the staff on the floor and swung on it, using a split kick to stop my two attackers at the same time. More replaced them. Sweat ran down my face. My lungs hurt with each breath and my arms grew tired and heavy. How long was Master Haziel going to let this go on?

“When outnumbered, go for the unexpected,” Master Haziel often said. But we were out to defeat these guys, not kill them. Still, the unexpected came in many forms.

I locked on some of the psi energies and telepathed one message. A woman was in the air, aiming a kick at my side. In a fraction of a second, she adjusted the arc and caught the man on my other side instead. The man responded. Grinning, I blasted them with my power of persuasion. The ones in the periphery joined the fight, first one by one, then in droves. In seconds, the floor was filled with fighters, all more interested in each other than in us.

I teleported to a booth on the upper level of the arena, settled on a seat and watched the mayhem below.

What are you doing? Kim yelled.

Resting.

She materialized beside me, her breathing labored, and gave me a high-five. “Nice move.”

“Thanks. These guys mean business, don’t they?”

“Yep.” She leaned forward and studied the booths below. “Where did Master Haziel go?”

“Home. He’s probably having potato soup for breakfast,” I said. “Ready to go back?”

She gripped my arm. “Not yet.”

We grinned and watched the fight.

“They’re good,” I said. “I’d like to see their sword skills.”

“They are just as good as us. Master Haziel trained them. But if we used our powers, we could take them out in seconds.” Kim winced when Izzy got hit. “That was some mind control you pulled.”

I was beginning to feel bad. I watched a girl trying her hardest to beat Remy into the floor. She was totally focused on him, which might explain why my mojo hadn’t worked on her. “Do you know some of them?”

“No. My family didn’t allow me to associate with other students before or after I joined the Institute.”

“Friends?”

“No time,” she said airily, as if it didn’t matter, yet she sounded regretful.

“I’m not buying it,” I said.

Kim shrugged. “Mom kept me busy. I had a private tutor, private trainer, movies, and computer games from Earth for entertainment.”

I frowned. “I thought Xenithians despised earth things.”

“We do, but my parents knew I’d be joining the Academy, so what better way to prepare me? Dad brought the gadgets home; Mom selected appropriate DVDs and games whenever she visited him. I grew up watching Veronica Mars, The O.C., Gossip Girl, 90210…even Buffy”

I grew up on Earth and yet never watched any of these programs until I’d met Kylie.

Izzy dropped on a seat on the other side of Kim. “Bitches, you should have telepathed me.”

Kim laughed. “You were having so much fun.”

“Fun?” Izzy elbowed Kim.

Watching them, I now understood why Izzy’s friendship meant so much to Kim. She was her first and only friend.

“You did that?” Izzy asked, jerking her head to indicate the fighting.

“Yeah. Who’s the girl trying to send Remy to Tartarus?”

“His ex,” Izzy said then glanced at Kim. “Remember?—he’d visit her on weekends until a year ago when she broke it off. Let’s tell the guys to join us. Whatever mind control you threw at these people might last for a long time and they need a break.”

“I don’t know,” Kim said, studying Remy, then Sykes. “They seem to be enjoying themselves.”

Izzy ignored Kim and telepathed Remy and Sykes. They looked up at the same time. Distracted, they didn’t see their attackers. Sykes got hit in the chest, propelling him back into someone’s stick, while Remy literally got swept off his feet. They both teleported at the same time, landing on top of us in a tangle of arms and legs.

“Ouch,” Izzy protested.

“That’s what you get for cheating,” Sykes said, moving to a different seat.

Kim pushed Remy off her. “Get off me, you oaf.”

Remy chuckled and plopped on a chair, his chest rising and falling. “How long have you been up here?”

“Just a few minutes,” Izzy said.

Kim grinned. “Five.”

“I’m going back,” Sykes said. “I need to teach Lucien a lesson.” He disappeared.

“Who’s Lucien?” I asked as Sykes reappeared in the mix as though he hadn’t left.

Remy rotated his neck. “His childhood best friend, now his nemesis.”

Izzy and I laughed.

“How juvenile,” Kim said. “I bet it was over a girl.”

“What else?” Remy turned and studied us. “Let’s finish this.”

“Party pooper,” someone murmured, Izzy or Kim.

“We attack from outside, surround them. Lil, start from the entrance. Izzy, you’re opposite her. Kim, take the south end while I plow them from the north.”

We teleported back into the fray. Maybe it was the rest that did it or the fact that we were more mentally prepared, but we had them on the run this time. Still, it was a relief when Master Haziel called out, “Enough.”

The SGs staggered to the nearest chairs while we stayed standing. We even helped up the ones on the floor. Master walked to where I stood.

“What was that?” he asked.

I gave him an innocent smile. “We improvised.”