Slayers (36 page)

Read Slayers Online

Authors: C. J. Hill

BOOK: Slayers
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Dr. B dropped the paper onto the table with the others. “They ran the story, but since they’re also currently reporting on a horse boy and psychic vampires, I doubt anyone will pay much attention to it.”
Lilly put her drink down with a forceful thud. “How stupid can people be? They saw a dragon flying overhead and thought it was a UFO? How many UFOs flap their wings?”
Dr. B tapped the pile of printouts. “According to the
Weekly Globe News
, one. That’s part of their article. ‘New alien technology.’” He let out a tired sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s amazing how people see only what they believe is possible.”
Rosa blinked, her brown eyes nearly wilting. “So the government still won’t help us. No one will.”
“Our objective,” Dr. B said softly, “has always been to see how many people we can help, not to see how many will help us.”
Lilly pushed her plate away. “Yeah, because we already know how many people will help us. None. Overdrake is right. People only care about themselves. Why in the world are we risking our lives for them?”
For a moment, no one said anything and Tori wondered if a lot of the Slayers felt the same way. They had all risked their lives last night. Any one of them could have died. In fact, it was only by a stroke of luck that they hadn’t all been killed. Was it too much to ask that someone out there at least care?
Dr. B rested his hands against the table. “Do you think you’re the only selfless people around? Would you say those sorts of things to foster parents, firefighters, or soldiers?”
“No,” Lilly said sullenly, “but at least they get paid every month.”
Dr. B straightened. “The reason we live in a free country is because enough people thought freedom was worth fighting for. The day we lose that selflessness is the day this country will fall.”
Lilly picked at a potato chip on her plate. “I’m not going to pull a Leo and Danielle. I just wish for once someone else out there would be selfless and give me a break.”
“One thing that last night taught us,” Dr. B said, “is that this fight will be harder than we realized.” His gaze swept slowly over them. “In order to succeed, we need every single one of you. And …” His voice dropped. “We need Ryker, too.” He looked past the group off into the distance and shook his head. “I thought for certain he would have contacted me by now, but, well, hopefully we’ll hear from him before the dragons hatch.”
No one commented on the likelihood of that. It seemed like a faint hope. Anything could have happened to Ryker. He could have died in infancy. But then again, that didn’t mean there wasn’t another Slayer out there. Tori had found her way to camp. Someone else might, too.
Ryker. Ryker. The name repeated in her mind like a prayer.
Dr. B glanced at his watch. “On to the next item of business. As you know, our location may be compromised. I have staff monitoring the surveillance cameras, but it isn’t a long-term solution. After we’re through here, I want you to pack up your things and take them to the van. I’m moving you to a backup location for the rest of the month. We’ll set up our spare simulator there so you can finish your camp training.”
Several people asked, “Where?” and “How far away is it?”
But Dr. B shook his head to indicate he wasn’t answering. “You’ll see when we get there.” He picked up his computer printouts, tucked them under his arm, and as he turned to go, he said, “Tori, can I see you for a minute?”
She stood up and followed him, feeling everyone’s eyes on her. He didn’t speak until they got outside. By then she was convinced he was either going to give her some sort of talk about how she needed to get up to speed fast, or he was going to tell her the van didn’t have room for all of her stuff and she’d have to leave some behind.
Instead of stopping outside and delivering a speech, Dr. B walked along the trail that led to the stables. “I’m going to see Leo’s and Danielle’s horses before we load them onto the trailers. They’ve both grown listless since their riders didn’t come this summer.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of carrots for her to see. “I try to give them extra attention when I can.”
Tori walked beside him, waiting for him to say more.
“Bane is much happier since you’ve come,” he said. “He was the despondent one in summers past.”
A wave of guilt hit Tori. She hadn’t even known the horse existed, and it had been pining for her. “He’s a great horse. I’ll give him lots of attention this summer. And I’ll ride Leo’s and Danielle’s horses, too, if you think it will help.”
He smiled at her approvingly. “You’re very thoughtful.”
She didn’t answer him. He was only being nice.
“Thoughtfulness is a necessary trait for a captain,” he said.
Oh, no. He couldn’t want that from her. “I’m not a captain,” she said.
His pace slowed. “But once you’re trained, you will be. You’re a flyer. The flyers have to go after the dragon, so they’re best able to direct the battle. The A-team needs you.”
“No,” she said, a feeling of horror rushing over her. “Dirk is the captain. It’s his job.”
“And he’ll continue to do it until you’re ready. I imagine that will take a while. For now, you’ll stay on Team Magnus and Jesse will train you.”
She relaxed, but only a little. She still had time to convince Dr. B that she wasn’t suited for the job. Lilly and Alyssa weren’t going to want her as their captain. Ditto for Dirk. “Does Dirk know?” she asked, but even as she said the words, she knew he did. That was why he’d barely talked to her since they got back to camp, why he hadn’t looked at her during lunch.
She realized with relief, and also with a surprising amount of disappointment, that her ability to fly had ended their very short romance. Dirk wouldn’t have romantic feelings for the girl who was forcing him out of his place as captain. He was the type who didn’t like taking orders; he wouldn’t want to take them from her.
“Dirk has always known flyers were best suited for captains,” Dr. B said. “His team just didn’t have that option before now. He’ll step aside graciously when it’s time.”
Right. Tori had no idea how to be a Slayer, let alone a captain, and Dirk was supposed to turn his team over to her? He wouldn’t want to do it. Not this summer, not any summer.
T
he Slayers rode an hour through bumpy back roads to the new location. The cabins didn’t look much different from the ones they’d left, except these had bars across the windows. The new Dragon Hall was just a covered pavilion with a generator where a mechanical dragon could be hooked up. There was no shooting range, and the stables were so close to the rest of camp that Tori was sure the smell of manure would waft over. But at least they didn’t have to worry about Overdrake finding them. Not even the Slayers knew where they were.
The cabins were full of dust, cobwebs, and rodent droppings. A couple of bats had taken up residence in the shower stalls, and the guys seemed downright happy to find a snake lounging in one of their dressers. They threatened to keep the thing as a pet until Rosa launched into a speech about the dangers of venom and Bess swore she would personally kill anyone who lost any powers because they’d messed around with a snake.
When Booker arrived with the first horse trailer, Tori went to help him get the horses situated. Bane nipped at any horse that got too
close, but he settled down when Tori took his reins and obediently followed her to a stall.
As she walked out of the stable door, she came face-to-face with Dirk leading his horse in. It was the first time they’d been alone together all day and for an awkward moment they just stared at each other. Then Tori blurted out, “I don’t want to be captain.”
He nodded and gave her a wry smile. “I’m glad you told me. I was wondering what you wanted.”
She ignored the innuendo. “You should be captain. We’ll just have to make Dr. B see reason.”
“Yeah, good luck with that. You might not have noticed this yet, but reason doesn’t change that many things in life.”
“We can still try. You’ll always be better for the job.”
He fixed her with a serious gaze. His mouth opened to speak, but then he shut it again, changing his mind about whatever he had been about to say. Instead, he reached out and put his hand on her arm. “I don’t blame you for this, Tori. You and I—we’re counterparts.”
It felt too intimate standing here with him like this. Their automatic familiarity could be a bad thing, she realized. His gaze could suck her right into its blue depths without much thought or effort on his part. “We’re counterparts,” she agreed, “but I can fly, so I must be Jesse’s counterpart too, right?”
Dirk dropped his hand from her arm and tugged on his horse’s reins. “I’ll see you later.” Without another word, he walked past her. She watched him go and had to stifle the urge to call him back. She wished she had been able to say something that made him happier.
 
 
When they ate dinner under the cool, wall-less shade of the pavilion, Dirk talked and laughed with the others, but not her. He only looked at her once. His eyes held onto hers with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. She could only stare back at him, trying to read the
emotion in his eyes. Was it a challenge, a longing, or something else? He turned away before she could tell.
Jesse looked at her a lot, measuring her responses to everyone else. She wasn’t sure why, but it didn’t surprise her that he waited for her to finish eating even after everyone else had left. When she was finally done with her dinner, he walked beside her along the trail that led to the cabins.
“Can I talk to you?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said.
“Not here.” He took her hand and pulled her upward. At first she stayed on the ground, not sure how to transition into flying, but he pulled her harder and she moved upward, following him like the tail of a kite.
“Dr. B told me to help you practice flying,” he said, and led her off the trail into the curtain of the forest.
The sailed lazily around the trees, floating higher into the scent of fresh leaves. The wind tingled through her hair, streaming it out behind her. She reached out her free hand, caressing the air.
A rush of happiness hit Tori. She could enjoy flying now. She wasn’t fleeing from Overdrake’s compound or avoiding a dragon’s jaws, she was just soaring, like the times she flew in her dreams—but it was better, because Jesse held her hand. The world was lush and growing, peaceful.
Jesse made a sharp turn downward and then shot up. Tori laughed because it felt like she’d just come off a waterslide.
Next he somersaulted, switching direction and flew face-upward. After a few moments, he spun back onto his stomach and let go of her hand. “Okay, now let’s see you do a somersault by yourself.”
She weaved around the trees in front of her and tried to slow down. “I already have a huge bruise on my hip. Do I really need a matching concussion?”
He followed her, floating a few feet above her. “You can do it. Come on, try.”
“I don’t know how to stop yet and you want me to do tricks?”
“Try,” he urged.
She bent into a turn and ended up heading straight to the ground.
He dived after her, grabbed her hand, and led her through a flip so she flew upward again. Then he pulled her to a stop. They hovered in the air, and he led her over to a sturdy tree branch. In one graceful movement, he swung himself onto the bough, then motioned for her to follow. She pulled herself to the branch, much less gracefully, and sat between him and the tree trunk. The bark was rough and poked into her legs.
“You’ll get the hang of it soon,” he said.
She gripped the trunk and peered down at the ground below them. It looked so far away. “How did you manage to learn to fly by yourself?” she asked.
“It’s innate. Your problem is you’re overthinking it right now.” He reached out and took her hand from the trunk. “You don’t have to worry about falling, you know.”
“Right,” she said. She forced herself to stop looking down. It was better to look into Jesse’s brown eyes anyway.
Of course, as soon as she did, she couldn’t think of anything to say.
“So,” he said, drawing the word out, “is something going on between you and Dirk?”
Her cheeks flushed. It wasn’t a question she wanted to answer. She had expected Jesse to talk about flying. “Why do you ask?”
Jesse hesitated. “He’s acting strange.”
“He doesn’t like the idea of me replacing him as captain.” Tori let out a sigh. “Which makes two of us, because I don’t want to be captain.” But the answer didn’t feel like the truth. She fiddled with the
bark underneath her fingertips. “And well, okay, he did kiss me yesterday, but I don’t think it meant anything to him.”
Jesse arched his eyebrows, processing this piece of information. He shifted on the tree limb so he could see her better. “Why do you think it didn’t mean anything to him?”
She felt herself blushing. “Because it was a spur of the moment thing. He was trying to see if I could read his mind …” On second thought, she didn’t want to go into the details. “Dirk just seems like the kind of guy who kisses girls without thinking much about it; somebody who rotates through girls quickly.” She paused. “Am I right about that?”
Jesse shrugged. “He’s had a lot of girlfriends.”
“You’re not like that. I mean, about kissing girls without thinking about it.” Tori suddenly felt as though she’d said too much. She flicked a nearby leaf to give her hands something to do.
“I’m not like that,” he agreed.
Neither of them said anything for a moment. Out in the forest, a pair of birds chased each other around the trees. The sun had gone down far enough that a pattern of mottled shadows spread out across the forest floor.
Jesse’s gaze didn’t leave her face. “Dirk came after you when Overdrake captured you. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t like you.”
“He was helping out a fellow Slayer,” Tori said. “You came after me, too. That doesn’t mean you like me.” She turned to see his expression, to see him agree.
Instead, Jesse stared back at her. “That might not be the best example to prove your point.”
“What do you mean?”
He regarded her without speaking. His eyes were warm. “I didn’t come after you just to help out a fellow Slayer.”
Her heart made several short, frantic beats. She
hadn’t
imagined everything between her and Jesse. After a moment’s hesitation, she
reached out and put her hand over his. The feel of his skin made her fingertips tingle.
He looked at her hand and didn’t move. “Dr. B has always said we shouldn’t get romantically involved with one another. It could lead to problems on the team. Favoritism. Clouded judgment.”
“Oh.” She removed her hand and tried to pretend his sentence hadn’t sliced her to the core. “I guess that makes sense.”
“Plus, we’re only going to be together one month out of the year. We’re not supposed to keep in contact with each other outside of camp.”
“Okay,” she said, stung again.
“And we’re from completely different social spheres.”
How many reasons did he plan on giving her? “Okay,” she said. “I get it.”
“And political spheres. You’re dad’s a Republican senator, my parents are Democrats.”
Tori folded her arms, angry enough that she forgot she was perched high in a tree. “Do you really need to keep listing reasons why I’m not right for you?”
“Yeah,” he said. “If I keep going, maybe I’ll convince myself.”
His answer instantly dissolved her anger. She smiled and put her hand over his again, this time tracing the length of his fingers with one of her own.
“You’re not making this easier,” he said.
“Good.” After she made lazy circles on the back of his hand, she twined her fingers through his.
He let out a sigh that was almost a groan, then took her hand and pulled her closer. Time slowed. The wind whipped a strand of hair across her face, and he brushed it away, letting his fingers linger on her cheek. Then he leaned over and kissed her.
It felt like victory.
She melted into him, forgetting they were in a tree, forgetting about the work ahead of them, forgetting everything except the fact that his lips were on hers. She wound her arms around his neck and leaned closer, letting her fingers brush against the back of his hair. She wished this moment could go on forever. Jesse holding her. The soft caress of his lips.
Finally, he lifted his head. “You should be glad you can fly.”
She smiled back at him. “Why?”
“Because if you couldn’t, you would have fallen out of this tree.”
She looked down. She wasn’t sitting on the branch anymore. Sometime during their kiss, she’d slid off and was hovering in front of him, unsupported. She reached out, grabbed hold of the branch, and pulled herself back over. “Yeah, that would have been awkward to fall to my death while you kissed me.”
He took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m going to have a great time teaching you how to fly.”
“Good,” she said. “I liked my first lesson.”
He pushed off the branch, pulling her with him. They glided hand in hand around trees and through patches of sunlight.
This is wonderful,
she thought, and the next moment she heard a voice in her head, near the dragon’s heartbeat. She enlarged the sound while she threaded through a maze of branches.
“Hello, Tori,” Overdrake murmured. “I know you can hear me. Isn’t that convenient? I can chat with you whenever I want. I can make you listen to whatever I want. So many possibilities. I’m deciding which is better—my CD of fingernails scraping blackboards, or the Bee Gees’ greatest hits. Maybe I’ll play them both.
“But here’s the thing I want to say first. You killed one of my dragons. I’m not going to forget that. Granted, in the long run you did me a service. You showed me that the dragons have a weakness I didn’t know about.” He let out a laugh that held no amusement. “If there’s
one thing I can’t abide, it’s weakness. So rest assured, I’ll fix that problem. You won’t be able to choke any more of my dragons. And here’s a message to pass on to all of your little friends: Stay out of my way from now on, or I’ll crush every single one of you.”

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