The Liberator

25 Defense

I wake to the sensation of being watched. When I glance at the foot of the bed and realize it’s not my imagination, I spring to my feet.

Two women stand shoulder to shoulder, outfitted in brown knee-length dresses. They don’t speak; they just stare.

Charlie stirs from the bed, and I rush to shield her with my body.

“What are you doing?” she says from beneath me, her voice muffled.

“Charlie,” I say, “there are two chicks with bad fashion sense standing in our room.

She whips her head around and gazes over my torso at them. “Hello.”

The women turn and leave in unison.

I glance down at Charlie. “Well, if that wasn’t the freakiest crap I’ve ever seen, then my name isn’t Dante Walker.”

She gives a half-hearted smile. “Is that your name? I’d forgotten.”

I’m tempted to tickle the life out of her, but instead decide I’d better address the stalkers in the lounge area. After climbing from the bed, I find my jeans and tug them on, keeping an eye on the open doorway. From outside, I can hear Blue speaking. His voice sounds casual, like we’re all just hanging out at a beach house on vacay.

When I slip outside the bedroom, I find Aspen and Annabelle sitting on the floor, their legs stretched beneath a coffee table. In front of each of them is a plate with the World’s Largest Omelet.

Aspen stuffs another bite into her mouth before she sees me. “Protein,” she says around her food. “Because we’re training today.”

I don’t tell her that I doubt she’s training today, even though they should totally let her, since she’s important and all. I’m more relieved she’s speaking to me at all. Instead, I focus on the two women who stand near a wall, their arms loose at their sides.

Looking at Blue, I ask, “What’s with the robots?”

He shakes his head, his eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. They have cuffs, though.” I glance at the women’s ankles and see he’s right. “I’m not eating that stuff,” he says. “Not until Valery says it’s safe.”

My gaze moves from Blue to a plate in front of him. I shrug as I pick it up and settle down on a yellow chair, fork at the ready. “Pussy.”

Charlie makes an appearance in the doorway. Her hair is disheveled, and her eyes dance around the room. She almost looks guilty.

Blue stops what he’s doing and studies her. His narrowed eyes narrow farther, and his mouth tightens into a thin line. Then he glares at me. His stare blazes like actual fire, and I do the thing where I pretend not to notice him watching.

One of the women carries a plate to Charlie.

“Oh, thanks,” she mumbles. “Have you eaten already?”

The woman glances nervously at the other lady behind her. Then she turns back to Charlie and nods once.

I’m halfway through my omelet when Valery strides into the room. “It’s time to go. Annabelle, Aspen, you two will stay here. The rest of you can follow me.”

“Bunch of bullshit,” Annabelle says.

“Over my dead body,” Aspen clips.

The two girls glance at each other. They seem to realize they’ve been agreeing on a lot lately but aren’t ready to admit it to themselves.

Blue, Charlie, and I follow Valery through the maze. Even after sneaking around the place last night, I have no idea where we are. A man and two young girls, all with blue dishes in their hands, pass by us. They pretend we aren’t even there, so I return the favor and keep walking.

After a few minutes—and mere moments before I scream from claustrophobia—we spill into an enormous room. Well, maybe enormous is an overstatement, but the room does look huge.

Walking toward the farthest wall, I understand why. The entire back area is one solid sheet of glass. Beyond it, the ocean spreads out like a blanket. I can hardly see the cliff’s edge from up here, and the effect makes it seem as if I’m floating on water.

“Line up,” someone orders.

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 rule get established?” I sneer.

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. Charlie stops me. Her blue eyes are wide and attentive, like she can’t wait to get started. I have no idea whether Kraven will actually let her train, but seeing her reminds me of why I’m here.

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 now.” It’s the first time I’ve heard any venom in his voice, and it’s clearly directed at Annabelle alone.

“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, liberator?” She spits the last word, then leaves.

Aspen points a finger at Kraven. “You’re a dick.”

I could be mistaken, but I think Aspen just took up for Annabelle. Maybe this awkward moment was the beginning of the two girls forging a bond. At least that’d be something.

“After that bit of pleasantry, I’m officially done for today,” I announce.

“We are not done,” Kraven says.

“Correction, we’re quite done. When you act like a dick weasel to my friends, I’m gone.” I’m not sure if I’m out of line by calling Annabelle and Aspen my friends, but it feels right. I head toward the door, hoping Charlie and Blue will follow. I also hope I’m headed in the right direction.

When I feel Charlie take my hand, my heart leaps. And when Blue throws his sweaty arm around my shoulder, it’s almost too much.

All I think as I leave the training room is, Yeah, these are my friends. Real friends.

And then, So this is what it feels like.