Claire, p.9
Claire, page 9
Quinn smiled and began hacking at her from every angle. Emily withstood every strike. Eventually, Quinn stopped and took a look at her blade. “You have damaged my sword,” she said as if surprised.
Emily shrugged. “Sorry.” She smiled, looking very pleased with herself, and walked over to the bench. “Kat, will you see what you can do with these?” Emily stuck her finger in a couple of the larger holes in her clothes. Her skin may have been untouchable, but not her clothes.
“Who’s next?” Quinn asked.
Kegan handed me his glasses. “Hold these, will ya?” He jumped up and jogged to the center of the floor.
I reached over and touched Emily’s arm. Though cool to the touch and very firm, it still looked like her flesh. “How did you do that?” I whispered.
“Just a bit of tweaking my body’s chemistry. I practiced last night and didn’t do so hot at first.” She held up her hand to show a fresh scar across the length of her palm just under her fingers.
I gave a low whistle. Kat shook her head.
“I tried it myself since I didn’t think I could convince my mom to come at me with a knife.” She grinned. “It took a while, but eventually I got it. It was a different change than the one to keep from burning. That was more on the surface. This was deeper inside.”
“Cool.”
“I know, isn’t it? This is really kind of fun, don’t you think?” Emily said.
“Sure. Loads of fun,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Shhh,” Denise whispered. “She’s ready to start on Kegan.”
I let go of Emily and looked up at Kegan. Quinn lifted the blade and raised her eyebrow at him.
“I’m ready,” he said.
She tightened her hold on the handle of the sword and brought it forward. Not fast, but definitely not slow. As Kegan motioned with his arms, the blade stopped its progression. Quinn tried again. He stopped her before making contact. She gripped the sword with both hands, attacking with much more energy. He continued to stop her and soon advanced on her. She stumbled a couple of times until I saw a shield of light form around her. Kegan gave up the offense and returned to defense but eventually began to slow down in his responses. He wasn’t panting, but he looked tired. How much concentration did it take to move the air?
Quinn sped up, forcing him back. When he stumbled, Denise gasped even louder than I did and nearly jumped up. He regained his footing to keep Quinn at bay. She pressed her advantage, upping the intensity of each stroke as she pummeled him with the blade. Kegan looked around the room wildly as if searching for something to help him. I don’t know what he saw, but he smiled and spun around. His fast circle reminded me of a discus thrower as he hurled what I could only assume was air at Quinn.
It must have hit her right in the center because she fell back hard onto her butt, the sword falling out of her hands and clanking on the wood floor before coming to a stop a few feet away.
Denise stood up and whooped loudly, cheering for Kegan. I was surprised she didn’t do a double-Dutch and punch the air for him. Kegan leaned forward, his hands on his knees, breathing deep. When he returned to the bleachers, the satisfied grin made me chuckle.
“Next,” Quinn grunted as she stood up.
Kat stood up and walked forward. “I’ll try it, though I don’t think I’ll be anywhere as cool as you two.”
She joined Quinn on the floor and mumbled something under her breath too low for even my improved hearing to catch. Quinn stepped forward, going for the stomach first. About three inches in front of Kat, the blade stopped. Quinn pulled it back and tried a different place. Kat stopped her again. She swung the blade around and attacked from all angles. It always stopped three inches away from making contact with Kat’s skin.
Kat had a look of intense concentration, as if it were difficult keeping the shield around her. Quinn seemed to notice it as well and attacked with renewed vigor. The blade got closer. Still Kat prevented it from touching her skin. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she panted with the exertion it took to keep her shield up.
When Quinn chanted something, Kat’s shield wavered. Shimmers in the air surrounded her. Why could I see it now and hadn’t seen anything like it before when Kat formed her shield in the first place?
Shouting something unintelligible, Quinn used one hand to swipe at the air, and then brought her blade slowly to touch against Kat’s neck. Kat stood as still as she could through her panting.
“You would be dead if I were truly trying to kill you,” Quinn said sharply. “You must maintain your shield at all times or it will be no use to you. Not many demons are able to use a counter spell to negate the one you cast, but some can. Don’t let them. You have to hold it longer against everything that comes at you, and maintain it while casting offensive spells.”
Quinn looked at us.
I didn’t know how I’d manage to survive this practice, but I knew I would have to do this on my own. No one else needed help. I’m not going to ask for any either.
I looked over at Denise. Instead of looking smug, she looked worried. Great, I can’t even count on her to make me mad enough to access my core.
Quinn sent Kat to the bleachers and cocked her head to the side as she looked at Denise and I. Raising my hand in a fist as if to indicate we should decide by rock, paper, scissors, Denise shrugged and held hers in a fist as well. We rocked it off and came up the same for the first three times. I growled and clenched my teeth. Was she reading my mind somehow? On our fourth time, she got rock to my scissors.
“Best out of three?” she asked.
“No, I’ll go.” I said, hoping my irritation would help me find my core. I stood up and walked forward. As I approached Quinn, the realization of what I was about to do hit me. I swallowed hard and looked directly at her blade. Maybe it would throw me into some kind of angry fit and then I could access my core. It looked even worse up close. The sharp edge had some dings in it from her hacking away at Emily earlier, but it still looked wicked enough to cut me up with no problem.
Quinn smirked. “You don’t have anything like they did to protect yourself. You are going to have to come up with something more primal to get out of this.”
Primal? Before I had time to think it over, Quinn flicked the sword at me and ripped through the shoulder of my shirt. She didn’t break the skin at all, but the blade made an inch-long gash in the material. She then flicked the sword toward my leg. I flinched to the side, but not quickly enough to avoid the tear she made in my pants.
“You’re ruining my clothes, Quinn.” Irritation was a good step toward the anger I needed.
She swung the sword to the side, and I ducked just in time to avoid a hit. I jumped up and ran to the left. Quinn followed, advancing on me with the sword.
“So you aren’t even going to play fair and give me a sword?” I panted.
“No. Why would a demon want to play fair?” she said as she swung at me, almost catching me again. “You knew what to expect today and yet you came empty handed. You must learn to prepare better or fight with what you’ve got.”
She lunged toward me. I jumped over her using her shoulders to propel me further than I would have ever managed on my own power. My core pulsed, but embracing it was still difficult. I dropped to the ground and rolled away as Quinn attacked. She anticipated my motion and brought her sword down near where I had been. If I’d been any slower, she would have hit my upper thigh.
I scrambled up. Dodging to the side, I ran away from her. She moved quicker than expected and intercepted me before I made it across the gym. I slid to a stop and kicked at her arm holding the blade, hitting her in the elbow. She nearly dropped the sword so I punched her in the face and then grabbed my hand in pain. Hitting Denise in the field yesterday was nothing compared to this. Quinn didn’t seem effected at all.
I still hadn’t been able to embrace my core. The pain in my fist took all my focus away from protecting myself. Quinn took the sword in her other hand, letting the other arm hang limply. Yay, a point for me. Damaged elbow. She swiped at me as I grinned. Warmth covered my arm. I looked down and saw blood dripping onto the floor at my feet. The opening of the wound was eerie to look at. A three-inch gash left a flap of skin open. Layers of fat and muscle were visible, but luckily no bone.
I stared at it in confusion. Why don’t I feel pain? Maybe my core could help me avoid pain. What would happen when the core disappeared? I looked up at Quinn. She frowned and opened her mouth. Before she could speak, something hit me from the side and knocked me to the floor.
A flash of blonde hair was all I saw before a body crushed my chest. I thrashed underneath the weight and recognized Denise as she leaned toward my arm. In shock, I realized what she was doing just moments before her mouth covered my wound.
I screamed in rage at the idea this vampire was going to taste my blood. My core enveloped me as my pulse skyrocketed, sending fire through my veins. I grabbed her long hair and yanked with all my strength. Denise screamed in pain and fought against me, but not to get away. She pulled against my hand and kept leaning toward my arm. Her mouth was red and she wanted more. I didn’t think she had bitten me but she was in a blood frenzy. Her eyes didn’t look normal, but glazed over with addiction.
Using my good arm to pull on her hair again, I brought my knees up to try to push her away with my legs. I failed, howling when she brought her lips against my gash. I could feel her sucking the blood and was freaked that she would end up biting me. Or would she suck me dry first?
I wasn’t nearly as strong as her efforts to stay latched to my arm. Was my weakness from her sucking my blood and energy, or was her strength from finally tasting blood? I let go of her hair and brought my hand to her face, reluctant to get anywhere near her teeth. I’d heard vampire venom was deadly to werewolves, but didn’t know if that was true or not. I didn’t want to test it now. I grabbed at her face, getting my fingers under her chin enough to grip her jaw. I pushed with as much force as I could, but was ineffective. My anger flared. I reached back and punched her in the jaw as hard as I could.
That did it. She screamed, an eerie call that sent shivers down my spine and brought a growl in response. She left my arm and lunged for my face with her hands outstretched. I brought my good arm up to block her and used my knees to throw her off course. When she came at me again, I kicked her with my legs, sending her sprawling. She lunged at me faster than I could have imagined and would have caught me if I hadn’t been just as quick.
I rolled to the side and came up into a crouch. Denise lunged again. I brought my good arm up to swipe at her head as she neared me. One good hit knocked her flat on her back. With my good hand, I grabbed her around the neck, placing my knee across her ribcage. The span of my hand wasn’t big enough to cut off her air by itself so I leaned forward, putting pressure on her throat.
She struggled, clawing at my hand. I wasn’t going to let her up. She looked in my face, but her gaze shifted. She stared at my arm as it dripped blood. She hissed and bucked, trying to get out from under me.
Quinn cautiously stepped forward and pinched Denise’s nose closed. Denise squirmed as her eyes darkened with hatred.
Quinn spoke slowly as if to a child. “You are overcome. Stop now or I will let Claire have her vengeance. Come back to yourself now.”
Denise closed her eyes and tried to hold still. It seemed like her mind struggled against her instincts. I knew she wanted my blood, but she was trying to get herself under control. I hated to admit it, but I was impressed that she was able to do it.
Once she stopped bucking, I loosened my hold on her neck. I didn’t remove my hand nor take my weight off her. I didn’t want to give her too much freedom to go for me again. I glanced at Quinn. She nodded. I slowly took my hand off Denise’s neck. When she didn’t react violently, I again looked at Quinn and then moved my knee off Denise. Quinn kept her hand over Denise’s nose.
Denise held still and breathed slowly through her red-rimmed mouth. I stepped back, breathing hard. I looked up to see Kat and Emily clinging to each other’s hands as they watched us. I attempted a smile, but my heart wasn’t in it. Kegan stared at Denise, irritating me that he seemed more concerned for her than for me. I closed my eyes and shook my head. I’m not going to let her ruin another friendship with a guy. Denise struggled occasionally with Quinn, but she didn’t try to get up.
I looked down at my arm and then gripped it with my hand, trying to stop the flow of blood. Luckily there were no spurts, but it bled freely. It almost tingled, but the pain seemed to be blocked by my core. I hadn’t lost it yet.
Kat approached carefully as if afraid to upset me. “Do you want me to try to help you?”
“Yeah,” I said, wincing. “Do you think you can close skin up?” I opened my hand to show her the flap of skin.
She nodded hesitantly. “I think so.” She reached forward slowly and touched the skin. She pushed it back up until it closed. She looked ready to pass out.
“Are you afraid of the sight of blood?”
“No, blood doesn’t bother me.”
“Then what’s wrong with you?” I snapped. Kat blinked in surprise before glancing down at my arm, and then over at Denise. “Oh,” I said, the anger lessening slightly.
Emily approached slowly and watched my face for a reaction of any kind. When she got closer, she gasped. I thought it would have been the sight of my arm, but her eyes never left my face.
“What now?” I huffed.
Emily just shook her head numbly as if afraid to tell me.
“What!” I shouted, causing Emily and Kat to both flinch. Kegan glanced at me before he looked away, staring at Denise.
“Your eyes, they’ve changed,” Emily whispered.
I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but Emily just shifted her eyes to show me the color of mine. They were no longer my dark brown. They had softened to a brownish gold with slight flecks of green near the pupil. They looked creepy.
“No. That’s not possible.” I shook my head in denial. “Do you think they’ll stay that way? My parents will freak, thinking I’m doing drugs or something. Everyone will think I’m possessed.”
Emily and Kat watched me without a word. Kat looked back at my arm and mumbled some chant. Her hand felt warm as she poured some sort of healing power into me. An intense itching started. Like all the itching of a cut healing was crammed into one tiny moment, and then it was gone. Kat removed her hand and I looked at my arm. Blood was everywhere. Kat tried to wipe most of it away with her hand as she had healed me. A long pink gash, the color of a week-old scar, replaced the fresh gash. Yet it wasn’t healed completely.
I cautiously touched it, wondering if it would hurt. It was only a little numb. I pressed on it, feeling a slight twinge, but it was a vast improvement on what stitches would have been like.
“You’re handy to have around,” I said to Kat.
She sighed in relief and smiled. “Are you really okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, now that you’ve put me back together. Why?”
She looked back at Denise, still held down by Quinn. “I thought one of you would end up killing the other. At first I thought she’d be the one coming out on top.”
“Thanks a lot.” I frowned. Why would they think she’d be the winner?
“She didn’t end up biting me so I think I’ll be okay.”
“But why would she drink the blood of a werewolf?” Emily asked. “I can’t imagine it appeals to her. Aren’t you guys supposed to be deadly to each other?”
“No clue. I can’t imagine why—”
The sound of Denise retching interrupted me. She had rolled over onto her side as she heaved up the contents of her stomach. The splash as it hit the gym floor turned my stomach. I was glad her body blocked the view from us. Kegan stepped back. Quinn leaned away from her, but kept a hold of her shoulder as she vomited.
“Wonder if your blood didn’t sit well with her,” Emily said.
“Either that, or she realized what she did,” Kat said. Emily nodded. I shook my head thinking it was just too nuts.
Quinn turned to look at us and said, “We are done for this morning. Go.”
We went, more vomiting sounds following us.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Classes were torture. My head spun from the shock of this morning. When Kat had asked me how I felt, my core was still wrapped around me. It disappeared as soon as we left the gymnasium. Sickness replaced it. My arm alternated between throbbing and numbness. I kept getting sideways glances from people, but no one spoke to me, even more than normal. Is it my eyes? Kat had repaired the gashes in my clothes before classes started, and luckily there was no blood on them.
A strange echo accompanied the bell that rang to release us from fifth period. I stood up to leave, but light-headedness forced me down. I put my head between my knees, breathing slowly.
“Claire? Are you feeling okay?” Mr. Sandts asked. “You look a little pale.”
“Yeah, just stood up too fast.” I slowly tried standing again and felt better, but still odd.
“You eat lunch today?” he asked.
“No, I had to catch up in English,” I mumbled.
“Well, you’d better get something in your stomach or you’ll pass out if you don’t watch it.”
I just nodded as I left the room. I heard him mutter, “Girls.”
In the hallway, the ebb and flow of the students moving made me dizzy. My stomach churned as I stumbled toward my locker. Less than six feet from it, I crumpled to the ground, surrounded by gasps from those around me.
Faces from every side showed concern, smirks, or judgment. As I stared at them, they spun around me. I tried to sit up but couldn’t get my hands under me to push myself up.
“Claire, are you okay?” someone asked.
I stared blankly, trying to find who spoke. I couldn’t pick out anyone until Paul’s blue eyes peeked out from his blond hair as he leaned over me.
“Claire. What happened?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I mumbled. I’d been slowly feeling worse as each hour passed.
