Everlasting (Night Watchmen, #1) (14 page)

“I thought this was my chance to prove myself,” I shout at him.” I didn’t ask for a rescuer.” I didn’t want him to step in, to have this to hold against me. Anger replaces my blood, replaces my rational thinking. I’m back on my feet and stalking toward him, intent on handling the matter myself.

He hears me coming and throws three words over his shoulder; words that stop me dead in my tracks. “You’re not ready.”

In three words, he’s stripped away every bit of confidence I had in myself.

Through the cutthroat movement of Jaxen’s hand, the sharp gleam of a flux catches my eyes, forcing me back to the present. The Vampire steps out of the shadows as if he’s a part of them, his black eyes dead set on me. He looks otherworldly with long, black hair that glistens blue under the scarce light. His face is ghostly pale and looks as if he’s carved from the purest marble. The covetous smile he wears reveals thin, pointed teeth.

I’ve been tossed into an icy bucket of consciousness.

“Delicious,” he croons, his voice deep and thick like honey. He moves toward me as if carried on the tail of fog. It’s like all he can see is me. All he can smell is the fear in my heart.

“Stay behind me,” Jaxen commands me. The flux in his hand morphs into a wooden stake, just as my dad described it would.

With streaks of lightning on his heels, Jaxen rushes the Vampire. He presses his forearm against the Vampire’s throat, pinning him up against a large tree. His other hand raises into the air, ready to drive the stake through the Vampire’s heart, but the Vampire expects it and latches onto Jaxen’s wrist. Their uncanny strengths struggle against each other, each hand wavering within the air, determined to overrun the other.

One second Jaxen’s hand is coming down, his strength overpowering the Vampire’s, and then the next, Jaxen is spun back around with the Vampire slamming him into the tree. A loud, cracking sound blends with Jaxen’s sharp grunt and reverberates out into the chilled air. Jaxen slides down the tree, leaving behind a large crater that has almost split the tree in half.

My heart batters against my chest, bruising my ribcage. They fight just inches away from me. They struggle just steps away from me. One of them will die, right in front of me.

I have to help him. I have to try.

The Vampire kneels down over the top of Jaxen, one hand around his throat and the other held out into the air with pointed fingernails meant for slashing. I sense the strike seconds before it happens and aim my dagger straight for the Vampire’s heart. It sticks, but it’s not wood. I rush and grab the Vampire’s icy cold wrist, pulling with all my might. The arm breaks free from his body and I stagger backwards from the force of the pull with it in my hands.

I didn’t know I could do that. I didn’t know I was that strong.

The Vampire whips his head around, his soulless eyes slicing through me. “You dare,” he hisses, baring his fangs with murderous intent. Dark blood pours from the hole where his arm used to be and out the wound in his back.

I throw his arm to the ground, prepared for anything, but Jaxen doesn’t waste a second. His arm draws back into the air, stake in hand, and then plunges it into the Vampire’s heart. The Vampire ignites into eerie purple flames before disappearing into a pile of ash.

Even though I should, I can’t look away. Intrigue gets the best of my fear. I’ve always imagined what it would be like to see it in person, what it would feel like to watch one of those responsible for humanity’s demise to die. It scares me that a side of me, a feral side, actually likes it…and craves for more of the same. I really am a Primeval.

“I told you to stay back,” Jaxen says as he picks himself
up off the ground.

“And I told you I was going to do this on my own, that I was going to prove myself worthy. You took that away from me,” I shoot back, hands on my hips. I’m enraged by his words, his thoughtlessness. I reach into the ash and pick my dagger back up.

“You would have died.” His eyes are slits boring down on me, shrinking me into something I’m not. I almost feel the need to stand on my tiptoes, just to show him I’m not small and helpless.

“You don’t know that.” I won’t believe I couldn’t have hand
led it. I won’t believe I would have died.

“You’re exasperating, you know that?” he says, wiping his hands on his pants. The flux forms back into a dagger, and then he tucks it back into its sheath. “He was an older Vampire, Faye. Too old to be in this forest meant for training novices. I just saved your life, and I can’t even get a thank you. I get an argument.”

“You’re damn right you do. You made me do this. You made me jog through here as some stupid initiation thing, but the minute danger lurks, you’re putting on your shining armor and trying to undo what you threw me into. You’re trying to rescue someone who doesn’t want to be rescued!” I’m yelling by the last sentence, heat pooling behind my eyes.

His eyes widen a little with recognition. He steps back. His shoulders tense, and then his face scrunches with fury. “So be it.” He turns and disappears into the trees, leaving me standing there in a heaping pile of confusion and anger.

I roll my eyes. There’s no use trying to figure him out, no use thinking he’s approachable. He flips on the drop of a dime from charming to irritating, and I don’t have time for that. I turn back onto the trail, holding my dagger close, and jog the rest of the way through the forest. It isn’t until I see Gavin at the edge of the trees that I can breathe again.

“Good work,” he says when I come to a halt in front of him. I bend over and cup my hands on my thighs, trying to catch my breath. “You have any idea where Jaxen is?”

“Moping in a corner? Plucking the wings off innocent flies? Who knows?” I say, swallowing air like it’s water.

“Whoa, now, what’s gotten into you?” Gavin says, laughing. He pats me on the back. “You did good. You made it through. You should be smiling right now.”

I stand up straight. “Why don’t you ask your pig-headed brother why I’m not smiling?” I shove past his shoulder, heading for my room.

“Wrong way,” Gavin shouts behind me, still laughing. “Head to the locker room in the gymnasium. Cassie and Jezi are waiting for you. Training’s only just begun.”

Great,
I think as I make my way down the hill toward the gym. If Jaxen’s Witch is anything like him, then this day is only going to get worse.

Much worse.

I
reach for the door
of the gymnasium and pull it open with more force than necessary. A rubbery, metallic smell mixed with sweat assaults my nose. I guess introduction for the novices consisted of throwing them into weight training.
Or into a forest filled with danger.
I press forward without hesitation, making sure to keep my face a devoid of all emotion. They will not break me.

Especially not
him.

The hallway is lined with glass cases filled with golden trophies and photos of previous teams who passed their many different trials throughout the school year. Metal clinks and manly grunts burst from the doorways in no particular order. It’s chaotic, but there’s uniformity to it. It’s almost encouraging, enthralling, maybe
even a little compelling. I feel a side of myself awakening to the prospect of pushing my body, of pushing myself to my limit, and then surpassing it. To feel alive and awake. To feel in control and free.

My gaze roams through every door, searching for the new sights and sounds and stealing as much information as I can. There’s a room labeled Fight Training. The grunts and groans streaming through the cracks in the door don’t scare me like I thought they would. Instead, I find myself peeking in through the crack, watching as a girl lands an
upper cut on her male partner, sending him backwards. She jumps up, looking around for cheers from her fellow third year novices, only to be taken down by the legs.

I pass a few different doorways, each offering a different way to break down and rebuild your body. There’s an inside pool, a sauna, a cardio room, a weight lifting room, a basketball court, a we
apons room…the rooms seem never-ending and only continue on up the stairs.

Two girls wait outside the girl’s locker room with four eyes scrupulously inspecting me. I assume they’re exactly who I’m looking for. One of them i
s about my height with wide hips and long strawberry blonde hair that falls in ringlets down her back. Clear blue eyes set under light-colored lashes pierce through me in just one look. Her mouth is rigid and pressed with determination.

The other has long, straight brown hair cascading down the slender length of her back. Her mouth is plump and pink against olive-toned skin. Hazel eyes watch me as if I were a rabid animal about to bite her. It’s just a wild guess, but I think she’s Jaxen Witch.

“Cassie and Jezi?” I ask as I stop in front of them.

“That’d be us,” the red head says. “I’m Cassandra, but everyone calls me Cassie.” She looks over her shoulder at the other Witch.

“I’m Jezibelle. My friends call me Jezi. You can call me Jezibelle.” I don’t like the way her lip pulls up into a sneer.

Cassie sighs as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a key. “This is for locker 10,” she says, holding it out to me. “It’ll have the standard uniform in it for you so you can shower and change.”

I take the key and turn away from them, then push through the door and find the locker right near the front. In it is a pair of black conforming pants, a black tank top, a black sports bra, black running shoes, and a black sweater. It’s utterly ridiculous. Black, black, black. I take my clothes off since no one’s around, and reach for the towel just as the door swings open. I drop low, freezing in place.

“Did you see those boys outside?” a female voice says, her voice pitched high enough to carry over the lockers.

“Yeah, I think that’s the Gramm brothers,” a different female says. The keys click into their lockers and I hear a heavy bag clunk onto the ground.

I roll my eyes at the mention of Jaxen and Gavin. Of course girls would notice them. How could they not? Good looks only you get you so far with the people that count, though. I hurriedly reach for my clothes and tiptoe toward the showers. Being naked, even if only partially, is not something I enjoy being in front of others, and listening to two girls gossip over two men who I’m stuck with isn’t very appealing.

“I don’t know about you, but the quiet one is freaking hot,” the first girl says.

She has to be talking about Jaxen. A foreign, uncomfortable burn flares in my stomach.
Stop listening
!

“Dark and mysterious,” the other girl agrees, sounding like she’s talking about a tall glass of water on a hot day.

My jaw clenches a little. I’m almost to the end of the lockers when I hear feet shuffle, and then the second girl says in something close to a whisper, “I heard he’s never had a girlfriend. Not even his Witch.”

I can’t help it. I look up and toward the sound of her voice as if she’d spoken the words directly to me.

“Nah-uh!” the first girl says in hushed shock. “No way. He’s too fine not to have a girl. And besides, the affinity bond makes it nearly impossible to resist your partner.”

I naturally lean in. She clearly knows more about him than I do, and it bothers me enough to make my fists clench.

“You seem to be resisting yours just fine,” the other girl says, implications clear in her voice.

“Oh, please. I’m just making him work for it. You’ve seen him. He’s a serious panty dropper and I won’t resist him for much longer, but if the Gramm brother, the mysterious one, ever came into the picture, a girl might just have to make an exception.”

I bite the inside of my lip and look at the shower just feet away from me. I shouldn’t be eavesdropping. I don’t need to hear her plans on trying to jump his bones, and even more so, I shouldn’t be upset if she did. He’s self-righteous and demeaning, and there’s nothing between us. So why don’t I believe a single word of that? Why do I feel like I’m lying to myself?

I shake my head, pushing the thought away, and head for the shower. I don’t make it two steps before the other girl says something that stops me up.

“Good luck with that,” she says with a snort. “He never even looks at any of the other girls, let alone his Witch. Besides that, I also heard there’s a curse on the Gramm family bloodline.”

A sudden, icy feeling freezes my heart in place, spreading through my veins.
A curse?

“A curse?” the first girl asks, repeating my thought. I can’t move, not even if I wanted to.

“Yeah,” the other girl continues, knowing she’s caught the attention she was looking for now. “A curse that prevents them from having a healthy affinity bond. At least, that’s just what I heard. It could just be a rumor. Look at the other brother and his Witch.” Her voice trails off to the shower area, leaving me standing on the other side of the locker with my mouth wide open.

A curse. Could it be true? Is that why he’s so closed off? No. It can’t be. Even though they’re brothers, Gavin seems to be the complete opposite of Jaxen. He’s nice and, more importantly, he’s friendly.

I tuck the thoughts to the back of my mind with all the rest of my questions. There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s not like I’m going to ask Jaxen. How do you even start a conversation off like that?

I head into the shower and set my clothes down on the chair inside the stall. With a flip of the switch, scalding hot water pours over my aching muscles, and I close my eyes, allowing it to cleanse every rotten emotion in me. When the water runs cold, I
shut it off. Voices carry from somewhere inside the locker room, familiar voices. I finish up and walk out, wrapped in a towel. I stop in place. Jezi and Cassie are waiting in front of my locker, straddling the bench and facing each other. They stop mid-sentence when I walk out and look up at me.

“Hey,” Cassie says, eyeing me over. “We were getting worried.”

I swallow down the embarrassment of being in a towel and turn back around to the wet stall with my clothes in my hand. I don’t stop to answer. I want to be clothed when I talk to them. I change as quickly as I can and walk back out. They aren’t in front of my locker anymore. I make sure it’s locked, and then leave the room, finding them outside talking to Jaxen and Gavin.

They’re both in uniform, both choosing tight leather pants that hug their curves and make my chicken legs seem childish-looking next to theirs. Jezi’s hair is perfectly straight and dark, like silken chocolate. I blindly reach for my wet, pale hair and move it back behind my shoulders. It clings to the jacket.
I can’t help but study how Jaxen is around Jezi. He seems just as standoffish to her as he is to everyone else.

Which makes me think of what the girl said about the curse.

He looks over at me, his hand near his mouth as he chews on his fingernails. What’s he nervous about? I strike up a brave face and walk over to them, stopping just outside of their clique. I hate feeling like an outsider.

Jaxen drops his hand from his mouth and shifts his body to open the circle to me. A small, grateful smile curves my lips. He looks away, back over at Jezi who’s studying both of us. Her large eyes dart between us, arms crossed tightly over her chest. When her gaze stops on him, it’s obvious she’s speaking to him telepathically. She’s able to enter his mind.

I know I shouldn’t feel the tightness in my chest or the strong desire to pull her from his mind, but I do. I want that connection. I want to feel the bond with him. I want to know what his mind is like, and every inch of me hates that I do. Every inch of me knows I’m better off not thinking these thoughts.

So why can’t I stop?

“So like I was saying, I think they’re bringing in seasoned Vamps,” Jaxen says.

“Or it could be that you didn’t have your Witch with you, so your strength was low,” Gavin points out. “Maybe we miscalculated the distance.”

Jaxen’s eyes dart to me, and then back to his brother. “Yeah, could be. But still, he was old. I could sense it. I’m going to bring it up to Mack and see what he thinks.”

“You do that,” Jezi says. “Now
, can we get our part of training over with? I have things to do.”

Jaxen turns to me. “She’s going to have to enter your mind for this. That cool?”

I look up at him blankly, trying to make sense out of what he just said. “My mind?”

“Yeah. You scared?” Jezi asks, sticking her hip out and raising her eyes tauntingly.

My whole body stiffens. “No,” I say flatly, guiding my eyes over to Jaxen’s. I tilt my head to the side, pursing my lips. Of course she would be just like him. Of course she would push me around.

“Good, ‘cause we need to get going.” She turns to Jaxen, staring into his eyes. They stay like that for a moment, and then Jaxen’s face grows as tight as stone. He mutters something under his breath and Jezi rolls her eyes.

My face grows hotter with every blink. My fists curl tighter with every breath. I want to leave, find Mack, tell him he got it wrong when assigning them to me, and make him tell me where my parents are, but I don’t move. My legs are glued with forced bravery. My mind is trapped in intrusiveness. My lips are sealed by every lie I’m forced to face.

Jaxen glances over at me, his face holding more emotion than I can decipher, and then walks away, shoving his way out of the gymnasium. Jezi’s gaze follows after him, and then her head whips around. She’s scowling at me like I did something. Her mouth opens slightly, words dangling on her lips, but then Gavin grabs her by the arm, forcing her to face him.

“What now, Jezibelle? What did you do to him?” His tone could slice through steel.

Cassie’s tugging on his arm, telling him to stay out of it, but he pulls from her grip. In one harsh look, she backs off.

He turns back to Jezi, eyes raised in question. She rolls her eyes in response and walks away from him.

His gaze narrows on Jezi’s steps, and then he turns back to Cassie. “Take care of Faye. This is not some silly assignment.” The warning in his tone sounds almost like a growl.

She rolls her eyes and nods, unfazed by him as he walks out after Jaxen. “So,” she says to me.

“So,” I say back, chewing on the inside of my lip.

“We’re going to take you to the Witches Quarters. It’s right outside the gymnasium.” She takes off down the hall, calling for Jezi to wait up. I follow them back out into the rising sun, enjoying the warmth as the light caresses my face.

“Is that a good idea?” I ask, thinking of Mack’s warning. “I’m supposed to appear as a dormant.”

“And dormants are expected to clean while staying on campus.” She fashions a mop and bucket and shoves it at me, nearly knocking it against my chest. “When we get inside, hold your head up.”