Inquest (6 page)

I’m not the
only girl in the class, thankfully, but I am the last one to walk
out onto the basketball court. As I feared, the entire gathering of
students freezes and falls silent when they notice me. Lance’s
presence seems to beat against my skin, but I refuse to look at
anything other than the wooden planks beneath my feet. The court
needs to be refinished. I try to focus on the individual scratches
and cracks as the coach, Guardian Clement, calls the group to
order. He begins calling roll, and pauses when he gets to the end
of the list. I can imagine my name penciled in at the bottom with a
note about who I am.

“Uh, Libitina
Sparks?” he asks. I raise my hand only enough to make sure he sees
it. He looks at me and frowns. His clipboard lowers slightly as he
considers me and I realize there is a Guardian blade sitting on it.
Apparently he was told he had a new student, but until now he
didn’t know the details.

“Libby, you
weren’t named to the Guardian class, apparently, so I guess you
don’t actually need this.” He gestures to the knife. “Unless you
want it, I guess. You are in the class and we do train with
knives.”

Feral snarls
rise from the gathered group, letting their coach know how they
feel about him giving the one meant to destroy their world a
weapon. Guardian Clement blinks in surprise. Amazingly enough, I’m
with them. I shake my head and step back.

“Uh, yeah,
that’s probably best, I guess,” Guardian Clement says. He stuffs
the blade into one of his pockets and turns back to the gathered
Guardians-in-training. “We’ve got a new student, so bear with me
while I give her the basics.”

Turning back
to me, he says in a tone that makes it clear he’s given this speech
hundreds of time before, “Guardians are protectors of our world by
birthright. In this class you will learn to master the skills of a
Guardian. We have one mission. Stop the Destroyer. The Destroyer’s
purpose is to end our world, destroy our society. The Guardians are
the only ones who can stop her. The Destroyer is the greatest
threat the Guardians will ever face and
we will stop her
.
Any questions?”

That last
sentence was clearly directed at me. Confusion fills my mind. I
can’t believe he was able to spout all of that without flying into
a hateful rage. He’s faced with the one he’s meant to stop, no
matter the cost, and he delivered it like he was bored. All the
stories Lance told me about how intense and freakishly dedicated
Guardian Clement is don’t add up. All I can do is shake my head
quickly and hope he’ll move on. My prayers are answered.

Guardian
Clement waves the clipboard at the class. “Let’s get started then.
Line up behind the cones. We’ll be going over some of the
fundamentals today. Twenty-five times through the cones then fifty
laps around the gym to warm up.”

I literally
feel my jaw drop. The cones run the entire length of the court. I
am supposed to run through those twenty-five times, and then run
fifty laps around the gym? And this is supposed to be our warm up?
This guy has to be insane. I’ll be on the sidelines puking before I
even get halfway through. The coach must have noticed my shock
because he wanders over to me without making it obvious that is
what he’s doing. At least he isn’t too scared of me to even look at
me.

“Don’t worry,
Libby, it’ll be easier than you think. You’ve probably already
noticed that you’re faster and stronger than some of your friends,
people usually do, but until the Inquisitor actually unlocks you’re
talents you’re only getting hints of what you’ll be able to do one
day.”

He motions
toward the cones. I look up, surprised to see that the fifteen
people in front of me have already made it through the first lap
and are waiting on me.

“Give it a
try,” he says, an almost excited gleam in his eyes.

I hesitate
briefly before walking up to the cones and shifting my weight to
the balls of my feet. Everyone in the room is staring at me.
Guardian Clement is urging me on with a gentle wave and a building
smile. For some reason his childlike enthusiasm to see me taste my
talents for the first time makes me relax. Somewhat. Watching Lance
for the last year, I know how incredibly fast Speed makes a person,
and Strength gives the body the endurance and power it needs to
withstand the furious forces moving so quickly puts on a body. I
have watched Lance countless times and wished I could wrap myself
in that cloak of invincibility, run like I am flying. I nearly
burst forward without thinking.

But then I
remember what my moment of joy would do to the room of eager
killers surrounding me. My muscles tense all over my body. I can
feel my limbs gathering their strength, begging to be put to use. I
step forward, and break into a light jog. Or what everyone else
would consider a light jog. My face purses in serious concentration
even though making my body move and go where I want it to at this
speed takes only a fraction of my brain power. I’m running slightly
faster than any non-Speed-enhanced person might, but nothing close
to the blur of motion I should be demonstrating.

Turning around
the last cone, I start back, opening my mouth to gasp in a breath
as if I have to strain to maintain my paltry speed. With so little
of my mind on what my body is doing I find myself wondering if
anyone is buying my act. I look up on reflex and find Lance staring
at me very intently. The doubt in his eyes frightens me, causing me
to lose my concentration. I step on a cone instead of dodging it
and the rubbery shape collapses, sending my ankle to the right
while the rest of me keeps going to the left.

The thwack of
my hip hitting the wood floor resounds through the silence. Several
people wince. Lance only stares. Guardian Clement looks confused.
He walks over to me and pauses. His brows screw up for several long
seconds before he shakes his head and offers me his hand. I take
it, amazed that he is willing to help me up. The pain in my ankle
is already fading due to my Strength, but I remind myself to play
it up and only touch it gingerly to the floor when I stand.
Guardian Clement frowns again, as does Lance.

“Are you
okay?” Clement asks.

“Yeah, I think
so.” I wiggle my ankle experimentally. “I don’t think it’s
sprained. I’ll be fine in a minute or two. Sorry about that. I’m
not the most athletic person in the world. Just a-” I cut myself
off before saying, “Just ask Lance,” and quickly backtrack. “Just
so you know. I’m not clumsy as much as accident prone. Hopefully I
won’t hurt myself too badly in here.”

“Uh, yeah.
It’s just that Speed and Strength usually take care of…deficiencies
in athletic ability. Maybe you just need some time, though. Some
kids have pretty traumatic Inquests. I’m sure you’ll shake it off
in the next few days.”

I smile
warily. “Yeah, maybe.”

“You okay to
keep going?”

“Sure. I’m
fine now.” Faking being incompetent is one thing., Making everybody
hate me for shirking what they obviously take deadly serious is
another.

Guardian
Clement nods and motions me back into line. The rest of the cone
running exercise flies by without any other incidents, and we move
on to running laps. Lance watches me every second, passing me ten
times for every one lap I run. My slow pace should have put me in
everyone’s way, but their intense desire to avoid me, added to
their ridiculous agility, makes it an easy thing for everyone to
give me a wide berth. Still, I fell pretty sure it’s the equivalent
of knocking into the loser kid in gym class to see how many times
you can bump him before he goes sprawling.

I’m sure I’m
going to have to endure another fifty minutes of this until the gym
doors swing open. In true Guardian style, they slam against the
walls in a blatant and childish display of their Strength. Everyone
looks startled by their appearance, but I am more than a little
shocked. I knew Inquisitor Moore was wrong about Howe being able to
keep the other Guardians in line, I just hadn’t expected them to
rebel so soon.

I step back
slowly, my eyes on the locker rooms. The pack of five Guardians
marches toward Clement. Halfway to him one of them notices my
slinking and breaks away from the pack. His eyes gleam hungrily as
he taps his Speed and catches me by the arm. The others pay him no
attention as he accosts me.

“Where are you
trying to run off to, Cassia?”

“Get your
hands off me. You can’t touch me. Howe forbids you…”

He jerks me
closer to him. “Howe doesn’t have as much power as he thinks he
does. Lazaro won’t let him ruin everything we’ve built.”

I expect him
to pull his knife. Instead he shoves me away from him. As he turns
back toward his brothers he says, “Don’t get too comfortable under
Howe’s blanket of protection.”

Ready to run
for real this time, I take the first step toward hiding in the
girls’ locker room when one of the Guardians’ voices boom out over
the gym.

“Adam
Mendoza!”

Speed flings
someone through the gathered teens. The figure bolts for the exit,
but two of the Guardians tackle him to the ground.

“No!” he
screams. “I don’t want to be a Guardian!”

“You never had
a choice,” one Guardian snipes before hauling the kid up off the
ground. Struggling, begging for help, Adam’s cries echo through the
gym. Nobody moves to help him, including me. Guardian rule is
absolute. That phrase echoes in my head repeatedly, feeling truer
now than it ever has before.

Adam
disappears through the gym doors, and class resumes as if nothing
happened. It sickens me, but I can’t do anything but follow their
lead. The rest of the class crawls by torturously. Clement’s
whistle signaling the end of class is the sweetest sound I have
ever heard. I make a beeline for the locker room, careful not to go
too fast, and disappear into the steam of a dozen showers all
firing at once. Taking my time would have been wonderful but the
final bell for the class will ring in only ten minutes. I lather my
body as quickly as possible and rinse in record time. I’m twisting
my wet hair into a knot five minutes later as I walk out of the
locker room.

I start
scuttling across the gym for the doors, but the sight of a frowning
Lance stalking over to Guardian Clement makes me slow down. I’m too
far away to hear what he’s saying, but when Lance spots me, the
look in his eyes freezes me in place. Frustrated. Determined.
Relentless. For a moment I think I see a hint of regret, but I’m
sure I just imagined it. Guardian Clement turns when he notices
Lance’s attention has wandered, one eyebrow rising in a question.
Lance’s lips move, most of it a jumble but for the last word. That
one I recognize clearly. Destroyer.

Understanding
hits both Guardian Clement and me at the same time. He didn’t know.
The Class space next to my name must have been left blank. He had
known I wasn’t a Guardian, but the office neglected to tell him
exactly who I was, probably to avoid sending the Guardian coach
into a psychotic frenzy. I sag in disappointment as I realize the
man’s kindness toward me today will never be repeated. Not judging
by the way he’s baring his teeth at me now. Lance actually has to
grab his arm before he moves toward me. At least he stops him. It’s
probably only because he wants to have the honor himself.

Suddenly, I
think I understand why President Howe insisted I come back to
school. Being alone would be preferable to watching everyone I know
turn against me. He wants me to live every minute of the next two
years being hated and despised more than any other person on this
planet. I can feel tears running down my cheeks as I duck away from
them both and scramble out the doors into the hall filled with
people who are still blissfully unaware that their deaths are
riding around on my shoulders.

Chapter 5

Embrace

Not that it
was surprising that my mom drained my lunch account, but a little
warning would have been nice. I have my own money. I didn’t even
think about it last night, though, and all I could get to eat today
was an apple. The lunch lady here is a real gem. The thunk of my
meager lunch hitting the only empty desk draws the attention of the
people seated around me in my Perception class. I pointedly ignore
their hateful glares.

Until I dig
through my bag to find a pencil and realize I must have lost my
only one when Angus and Marvin knocked me into a row of lockers and
accidentally
kicked my bag halfway down the hall. They, and
the other members of Lance’s pack, have worked hard to make sure
everyone knows about last night. They’ve been as bad as the stupid
school Guardian following me around all day.

I expected the
nasty reaction people would have to me when they found out, but I’m
still sick of it, regardless. If those idiot football players touch
me again, I’m going to have a hard time not letting my Strength
show. Right on their jaws. Irritation sweeps through me deeply, and
I turn away from my bag in search of a pencil. As soon as I look up
every set of eyes is suddenly keenly interested in what the teacher
is saying. All but one.

Seeing
anything past his much too long, unbrushed brown hair is tricky.
One raised eyebrow and the fact that he is still looking at me says
one of two things. He’s either spent the entire day with the ear
phones I can see trailing out from under his hair firmly stuck in
his ears, and he has no idea why everyone else looks ready to
murder me where I sit, or he doesn’t care. I’m pretty sure it’s the
first one. Either way, I need a pencil, and he is the only one
available to ask.

“Hey, um…” I
don’t think I’ve ever seen this guy before. I have no idea what his
name is. Great way to start off asking for a favor.