* * *
"Hey," a voice behind me said.
I spun around, turning into teleport mode to find something to defend myself. Just as the teleport thing started to wear off, I found a pencil and turned to face the intruder.
Katline stood wide-eyed, staring at the pencil I was holding like a knife. "I've heard of the pen being mightier than the sword, but I don't think they said anything about the pencil," she said, smiling that shy smile she has. Gesturing towards the armchair next to me, she said, "May I sit next to you?"
I nodded sheepishly, lowering the pencil and cursed myself for not remembering the newest arrival in our little family. I turned my attention back to the book that I was reading, "I am Number Four." I listened to the sound of Katline slowly sitting down in the chair and waited for the questions to start coming.
* * *
"Where is our little demon caller?" Nico X sneered, lounging on a threadbare armchair. The sound of fists on flesh resounded from the room next to him where Walr was training with the Valkinitz; from the sound of it, Walr was winning.
"He ran away after his... failure," a silky voice came from the other side of the room. Desslyn crept slowly out of the pitch black corner, her dress trailing behind her like black oil. A long scar ran from her left cheek bone to her lips. "Are those numskulls done playing around in there yet?" she said, her face turning into something fearsome.
Nico shrugged lazily and Desslyn let out a low growl. "Okay, okay," Nico said, as he got off his perch and made his way through the trash littered floor. "Hey, you done in there?!" Nico yelled, pounding on the thick door.
"ROOOOOAARR!!!!" came the reply and something slammed against the door on the other side. Nico flew back at least five feet from the impact and hit his head against the wall. "Does that answer your question?" Nico said slowly, blood streaming from the already healing wound on his head.
 |
| "... and hit his head against the wall" |
Desslyn sighed sulkily and sat down on the moth-eaten couch, crossing her arms. "Bleach boy needs to come back."
"No, he doesn't," a voice that mimicked the ice dracian's came from behind her. Orgis was standing in the doorway, his armor gleaming with white heat.
"But dear-" Desslyn said, standing up and wiping the dirt from her dress.
"No," Orgis said, staring down at the dracian of ink. "Chogt X is not needed for this army to operate. Get suited up."
"What is it this time?" Nico said sullenly, remaining seated on the dirty floor, gazing at Orgis with tired eyes.
Orgis just walked past Nico and strode over to the thick door that now had a dent in it, burning any debris that lay in his way. "We're getting more recruits," he said bluntly.
"But we already have 120 dracians," Nico protested weakly.
"It's not enough," Orgis replied and laid his hand on the 4 inch thick steel door. Nico and Desslyn watched as the metal grew red hot around his hand and melted, leaving a hole in the middle of the door. Orgis reached through it and ripped the door off of its hinges. "Come," he called into the training room.
Nico flinched as Walr shuffled past and grunted at the form on the floor. "Here we go," Nico mumbled, pushing himself off of the floor.
* * *
I didn't have to wait too long. After a minute of silence, Katline pounced.
"So... you can teleport?" she said calmly, looking at me from the corner of her eye.
I smiled; I had expected her to come to me first to start getting answers. Austen would be too easy for her and he might change things to protect her, Jennifer was awkward when it came to these things, Toby was obviously off limits and unnerving, and Tony was confusing and offset from most situations.
Me? I was the perfect question and answer guy; quiet, intelligent, and extremely handsome. Wait- cross that last one off; put "humble" instead.
Realizing Katline was still waiting for an answer, I nodded. "Yup," I said, watching her face for her reaction.
Katline nodded slowly and I could almost see the thousands of questions churning in her mind. "What's it like?" she said finally, looking at me this time.
I smiled to myself again, I had thought she would ask this question too. "When I'm teleporting, it's like everything slows down... a lot. Whenever I run when I'm teleporting, it looks like I'm popping from one place to another," I explained, reciting what I had thought up when I was staring up at the wall, unable to sleep, talking with Jennifer.
Katline blinked and I almost laughed at the effect my words had on her. She stared off into the distance, thinking again. "You're in love with Jennifer, aren't you?" she said suddenly.
I was stunned at the sudden change in conversation and I could feel the blood rush to my face. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.
Katline's eyes twinkled and she said, "You are, aren't you? I knew it!"
My face got hotter and I managed to spit out, "How?"
Katline's face turned to understanding and she whispered, "I saw you guys holding hands a lot. I thought you guys were just close but now..."
I let out a sigh of relief and managed a half-smile. "You can't tell anyone, okay?" I said looking into her eyes.
"Why?" Katline said, eyebrows scrunched. "In the student files it says that you are all adopted by Mr. Toby White."
Bewildered, I said, "So?"
"So." Katline explained, eyes twinkling. "It's not unusual for adopted kids from different biological families that are adopted by the same person to date each other."
My heart started racing but I managed to keep my expression cool and collected. "How do you know this I said critically, struggling to keep the desperation from entering my voice.
Katline smiled reassuringly, realizing how close I was to having a mental breakdown from pure happiness. "There have been a couple of adopted families that travel through Little Falls. Some of the people on forums talk about it, too," she explained, combing her hair with her hand.
My breath caught in my chest and I felt a hysterical giggle grow in my throat. Shoving the joy down, I said, "I've got to tell Jennifer."
"No need for that," a familiar voice said from the other side of the living room. Turning to see Jennifer, a smile broke the blank mask I had constructed.
Jennifer smiled too, stunning me with herself. Once again, she thought to me. It seems as if our world is perfect again. She sat on the arm rest of the chair, an act that was immediately punished by a quick slap with a fly swatter if Tony caught you.
This town, I replied. Is always a surprise. Luckily, all of them have been good. I held her hand, staring into her eyes.
Katline cleared her throat and I chuckled reflexively. The action seemed so comical, like something out of a child's show.
"Thank you so much," Jennifer said aloud, turning to look at Katline. "You have made our lives so much better." Her sincere voice pierced into my mind and I felt a warm glow inside of me. I nodded my agreement, looking into Katline's eyes.
Jennifer's response caused two little spots to appear on Katline's cheeks and she looked down. "It's no problem. You and Cody deserved to know," she murmured.
Jennifer nodded and turned to me. "Now, all we have to do is explain this to Toby," she whispered to me, a smile lingering on the sides of her mouth.
"How come I feel like I've heard that before?" I murmured, leaning closer to Jennifer, kissing her lips.
Katline politely turned her head away and looked back when we were finished. Seeing her eyes staring at my wrist, I quickly pulled up my sleeve though I knew the gesture was useless. Katline had probably already seen Austen's bracelet and had been told about it.
Despite this, Katline's eyes were wide and I began to doubt my assumption. "You have one like Austen's!" she said, amazed by this simple fact. Wait until you hear her out, Jennifer's voice said grimly in my head
I nodded and opened my mouth to explain that all of the Nights had one when Katline interrupted me. "It's like mine, except black," she said, holding her arm up.
Clearly seen in the morning light that shafted through the window, the white band and runes glittered in the morning light. "Oh my..." I breathed and Jennifer nodded mentally.
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