Hunted

protect. So let’s knock them on their butts. Play games with their minds. Use your power of persuasion to turn them against each other. And when they are down, let’s place swords as a barrier between us and them.

Chuckles and nods followed.

Like Onora said, four face one group and four the other.

And you? Onora asked.

I grinned. I’m not going to let you guys have all the fun. Just remember, we are to disarm them, not seriously injure them.

She nodded, then turned to face the other side.

“Ready,” I called out.

“Forty-five seconds,” he snapped, looking up. “If this was a real battle, we would all be dead.”

How did he do that? He didn’t even own a freaking watch. “Next time we’ll have a plan before we come to the pit,” I said.

He humphed. “Start in three, two, one…go.”

The SGs charged, but we were ready.

We were still laughing when we left the pit and headed back to the Psi classroom.

“Did you see Master Haziel’s face when we had half the guys fighting each other while the others pinned to the wall with the swords?” Cat-eyes asked.

“That’s the most fun we’ve had since arriving here,” Onora added.

“Do you think he’ll make the others go through something similar?” the annoying blond asked.

“I hope so, but we can’t tell them,” his curly-haired buddy said. “I want to watch Haakon get taken down.”

I frowned, following their conversation. “You want to see your friends fail?”

“Like an escapee from Tartarus.” They laughed and bumped fists. “Haakon is one of the Earth Guardians in our team. He believes their ability is superior to ours,” Curly-hair added.

All Guardian abilities had their pros and cons. I’d seen Remy rip apart a wall of steel like it was nothing, then reduce it to something so light you could blow on it and watch it float away. But he had to physically connect with an object. The strong winds Kim created could move anything, yet they were useless in a confined place. Energy turned everything into dust, yet it was so lethal Sykes rarely used it during sparring. The same could be said of water abilities. Water Guardians sucked moisture out of anything, mummifying live things in a matter of seconds. Stopping time wasn’t something Time Guardians did often, because it drained them and they then had to speed up time to make things right. However impressive, they were nothing compared to psi abilities. The mind was the most powerful of all organs, yet it was also the easiest to manipulate.

We entered the classroom, but it was empty. Where was Mrs. D? For a moment, we stood around awkwardly.

“Thanks for coming up with a plan back there,” the redhead said out loud, though he stood right in front of me. “If you hadn’t, we would have been crushed.”

I shrugged. “There’s no need to thank me. We’re a team.”

“I know we didn’t really introduce ourselves.” His face grew red as he offered me his hand. “I’m Kent.”

I grinned. “Like Clark Kent?”

“Who?” he asked.

“Son of Krypton…red-blue blur,” I tried to clarify, but he still looked puzzled.

His blond sector mate draped an arm around his shoulder. “Kent here is more into books than comics or TV, so you have to very specific with him. She means Superman.” He extended his arm in the air for emphasis. As if possible, Kent grew redder until his cheeks matched his red, unruly hair. He appeared much younger than his teammates.

“I’m Nioclas, but everyone calls me Nio,” the blond said, drawing my attention back to him. He turned and beckoned his curly-haired friend forward. “He’s Sim, short for Simiel. The three of us are from Brussels, Northeast Sector.”

“Yuki,” Onora’s partner, the one I was convinced was a Nosferatu, said and moved closer.

“Eva,” the cat-eyed Cardinal from Buenos Aires said then introduced the rest of her team. “Fiona and Oscar.”

Once again, I found myself staring at Eva’s eyes. “Nice to officially meet you guys.”

“So what are we going to do now that we’ve made nice?” Nio asked, rubbing his hands. “The teacher is gone and Master Haziel is nursing bruised egos in the pit. Is there a cool hangout joint around this valley? And why did you guys choose this place as your base? Why not New York or L.A., somewhere with entertainment and nice restaurants?”

“We don’t like our Cardinals distracted, Cardinal Nioclas,” Mrs. D said from the doorway. “Besides, those so-called entertainments are only a teleport away. I’ve some news I need to share before we go back to practice.”

No one complained about going back to practice, though I felt their disappointment. We moved closer.

“Master Haziel was so impressed by your performance he’s decided to make it part of our daily routine, which means coming up with new ways to beat the SGs. You know what they say about using the same move…”

“You opponent expects it and comes up with a countermove,” I said, repeating Master Haziel’s words.

“That’s right,” Mrs. D said. “Also, from today, you will spend more time together, which means you will sit together during lunch and dinner.” She paused, giving us time to protest.

Once again, no one spoke, though I read mixed feelings from them—relief, disappointment, excitement. I usually looked forward to having dinner with my friends, but since we met afterwards at Sykes and Remy’s, I didn’t mind.

“You understand what I just said?” Mrs. D asked. “No more eating with your sector teammates.”

“Yes, ma’am,” we said in unison.

Mrs. D frowned. “What have you done with my disagreeable Psi Team?”

We laughed.

She chuckled. “Okay, back to work. You might have won the first joust, but we have more work to do.”

We trained for another hour, the rest of the team slowly warming up to Mrs. D as they realized her occasional sharpness wasn’t an attempt to belittle them. She had high expectations, just like Master Haziel.

“She’s not that bad,” Onora said as we left the Academy.

“What are your trainers like?” I asked.

“Intimidated by us most of the time,” she answered. The others nodded.

“Who can blame them? We’re superior,” Nio said.

“Shut up, Nio,” Sim told him. “We are stronger Psis, that’s all. With that comes responsibility. Why do you think Lil warned us during the match? We could easily have hurt the SGs.”

Nio flipped him off.

We teleported once we reached HQ hallways. Even with the students and the Civilians gone, we still didn’t teleport from the Academy. At home, I got in the shower. I was getting dressed when I heard movements coming from the kitchen. A quick scan and I grinned. Grampa was home. I’d missed him. I didn’t see much of him anymore, since it seemed like all his time was taken with teaching or searching for the Summoners.

Removing the towel I’d wrapped around my head, I left my room and followed the sounds to the kitchen. He stood in front of the stove, stirring something. His hair seemed to have turned gray overnight.

“Whatcha cookin’, Grampa?” I asked, walking to his side.

“Cream of potato soup.” He dropped an arm around my shoulders and dropped a kiss on my temple. “How’s training?”

“Gruesome. We took out half the SGs during a mock attack.”

He chuckled but appeared distracted.

“Where’s Aunt Janelle?” I asked.

“She’ll be here shortly. Would you like to share our soup?”