Runaway (The Knight Society #1)

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” I asked, sure I must have misheard.

“I said you’re not coming.” Nope, hadn’t misheard. Which was funny because why the hell wouldn’t I be going on a mission that was my idea in the first place?

“Why not?” Pierre heaved an exasperated sigh and looked to Uncle John for help. He received a shrug and a look that clearly meant ‘you’re on your own with this one buddy’. I spared a glare for Uncle John because he clearly wasn’t on my side either.

“We’ve already assigned all the roles necessary for the mission and your presence is not required.” The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My jaw dropped open and I stood there gaping like a fish.

“Wha- Tha- But it’s my plan!” I sputtered. Pierre gave me a consoling look and I wanted to punch him in the face.

“I know and I’m sorry but you just aren’t needed for this.” Staring at him in disbelief I threw my hands up.

“What do you expect me to do then? Just lie around waiting for you guys to come back?” From the look on his face that’s exactly what he expected. Oh hell no. I was about relay this to Pierre in less polite terms when Drake walked into his office. He paused for a moment, no doubt taking in me looking like I wanted to murder someone but walked over to Pierre. They moved off to the side and talked for a while before Pierre turned to me with a smile.

“Well Jack it looks like you won’t be sitting around doing nothing after all!” Unnerved I glanced between him and Drake suspiciously but Drake’s impassive face revealed nothing.

“What’s going on?”

“A couple of mongrels have been sighted near the property and I’d like for Drake and you to go and take care of them.” Surprised I gestured to the two of us.

“Me and him?” Drake’s brow furrowed.

“Got a problem with that?” He asks snarkily and I pause. The last time I hunted with anyone was the day Thomas died. Part of me wants to refuse, to say I’m not up to the responsibility of having someone’s back again. I study him, taking in the sword strapped to his hip and the tattoo on the back of his hand marking him as a Knight. It’s different this time. Drake isn’t some underage kid, he’s a full-fledged Knight who can take care of himself.

Painting on a smirk I raise an eyebrow.

“No problem here cowboy. Just need to know if you can keep up.” I reply and his frown grows deeper.

“Cowboy?” Oops that kind of slipped out.

“Yeah you know a cowboy, like in all of those western films.” He seemed, if possible, amused.

“And what pray tell makes me a cowboy?” I grin up at him.

“Have you looked in the mirror recently?” A hint of a smile tugs at his lips and I feel as if I had made some grand accomplishment.

“Well it seems like you two are both up for the challenge.” Pierre said happily and I shot Drake a grin.

“Oh yeah I’m game.”

Half an hour later I stood on the front steps armed to the teeth, hand wrapped around my sword (thankfully I had finally gotten it back) waiting for Drake to bring the car around and soon after we were on our way. The car was heavy with silence and I shifted around for a while before focusing on Drake.

“So why aren’t you doing this with your partner?” I asked and his hands tightened on the wheel before he flicked me a glance.

“I don’t have a partner. Never have.” Confused I stared at him for a couple of moments before speaking up again.

“What?” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Back at the Texas branch, where I was born and raised, there was a kid who was meant to be my partner. Billy Drew. He died in a mongrel attack a few years ago. There weren’t any other kids my age at the Texan Institute and after I moved here I’d been working on my own for so long….” He trailed off but I understood his meaning. After being on your own for so long, it felt wrong to rely on someone else, to trust them with your life. To trust yourself with theirs. It was much easier being alone.

“I’m sorry.” I said, genuine emotion clear in my voice. He gave a small shrug.

“I never really knew the kid, we weren’t friends or anything beforehand.”

“And you don’t want a partner?” I asked softly. He shrugged again but I could see the genuine yearning in his face.

“I don’t know. I guess it would be nice to have someone watching my back.” From there on in the conversation faded and we continued the ride in silence.

Drake pulled to a sudden stop on the side of the road and quickly gave me a rundown on what was waiting for us. Apparently there was three of the mongrels resting for the day in a clearing near the Institute. We were to quickly take them out and take their bodies back to the Institute for disposal. The thought of loading the creatures into the car made me feel ill but I ground my teeth and said I had understood. After an hour Drake pulled off the road and parked the car.

“We have to go the rest of the way on foot so we don’t attract their attention and let them get away.” I nodded and grabbed my sword from the backseat. Getting out of the car I breathed in the cold air letting it wake up my body which was now stiff from the long ride here. Drake was stretching similarly nearby and after he was done he glanced over at me, eyes gleaming in excitement. “You ready?” He asked and I grinned at him.

“Let’s do this cowboy.” He grinned back and we took off into the forest. We had made something of a plan beforehand; we were to take out one of them together and then we got one each which seemed fair enough but upon approach to the clearing that plan kind of went down the drain when another two mongrels had decided to join the party. Drake hissed a curse and gestured for me to come closer. I tiptoed around the noisiest seeming objects and pressed up against the tree next to him. He leaned down and whispered in my ear.

“Change of plans. It’s two each now but we still need to take out the fifth first so they don’t get the upper hand. I nodded and pointed to the two I wanted, Drake agreed and we decided upon the fifth. I then slowly made my way to a position opposite Drake to capitalise on the surprise factor we had. My heart was pumping furiously with anticipation and I was sure the sleeping mongrels would hear it and attack. Drake made the signal and I leapt into action. Charging forward Drake and I reached the fifth mongrel and drove our swords into its back at the same time. It let out a startled yelp and whine and collapsed. A chorus of growls erupted from behind us and I quickly withdrew my sword from the dead mongrel and spun around to face the rest. Two split up from the group and started slowly towards me in an effort to separate us. I flashed Drake a smile and let them edge me away from him.

The mongrels bared their teeth and deep growls emitted from within them. I raised my sword up and the crouched low, ready to attack. I took a deep breath and they pounced. I jumped out of the way of their attack and with my free hand grabbed one of the many throwing knifes hanging from a strap around my thigh and threw it as hard as possible at one of them. It hit the right one‘s back leg and it let out a whine of pain. The one on the left however spun around and rushed towards me. I crouched in apprehension as it barrelled towards me. It leapt into the air once more but instead of jumping out of the way this time I swung my sword out and managed to cut along its face and knock it out of my path. It fell to the ground behind me with a whimper of pain. I spun around and plunged the sword into it back. It slumped to the ground dead and I quickly turned in search of my other target. It had somehow managed to remove the knife from it leg and was pissed. It ran at me and I prepared for its jump but instead it charged at my feet knocking me over. It wasted no time in climbing on top of me. Its face hovered over mine and I fought the rising panic in my chest. Any second now it could rip my throat out with its teeth but instead it just leaned closer growling some more.

My hands scrambled for the knives hanging from my leg. Finally gripping one of the silver handles I raised the knife and plunged in into the mongrels back. It collapsed on top of me and I lay there in shock. Why hadn’t it attacked me?

A gunshot brought me back to the present and I pushed the mongrel off me, seized my fallen sword and watched as Drake fought the remaining two mongrels. A normal person would have gone over to help him but I saw the grin on his face and kept my distance, sword at the ready in case anything went wrong. The three of them continued to attack each other for another minute or so before Drake killed the first one and after that minute of watching I had to admit he was good. He moved with the elegance of someone who had years of training – which if course he had. The final mongrel leapt at him and he positioned his sword so the beast jumped on it instead. Unfortunately the mongrel was too heavy and its momentum forced Drake to fall backwards with the mongrel on top of him. I cracked up laughing but jogged over and assisted in pulling the thing off him. By the time we managed to haul it off him we were both in tears. I sat next to him on the grass and looked at the remnants of our battle. Bodies and blood covered the grass and I couldn’t help the feeling of guilt that crept into my heart as we had destroyed what was once a beautiful little spot.

“Don’t worry” he said “the rain will wash away the blood.” I grinned back at him. Seems like the cowboy wasn’t so tough after all.

“You know you’re pretty bad ass, for a cowboy that is.” I teased and he grinned down at me.

“Yeah you’re not half bad as well, for a runaway.” I nudged him in the stomach and grinned, we definitely had grown closer over the past couple of hours. There’s nothing like bonding over killing and near death experiences. He got to his feet with a sigh. “We should start getting these to the car, unless you want to be doing it in the dark.” I sighed and accepted his held out hand. For the next hour we made multiple trips back and forth between the car and by the time we had finished it was late afternoon. Drake began to tie the last one on the roof while I studied my appearance in the cars side view mirror. My face was fine and I quickly fixed my messy hair but the real problem was my shirt. It was soaked in blood and there was a large rip along the side from when I had pushed the mongrel off me. It was way beyond repair and the thought of having it on the whole car trip back made my skin crawl.

“Here!” a piece of fabric hit me in the face. I pulled it away to find a clean t-shirt. “I always bring along a change of clothes just in case.” I smiled at him apparently at some point he had also changed his shirt and only a few spots of blood remained on his pants.

“Thanks.” He gave me a small nod and turned around, thankfully giving me some privacy. I quickly yanked off my shirt and put on his. It was about three sizes to big but it was clean and dry. I balled up my discarded shirt and chucked it in the back of the car. I then opened the passenger seat door and climbed in; Drake soon joined me and started the engine. We pulled back onto the road and began the long journey back. At some point I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew Drake was softly nudging me.

“Jack. Hey we are back.” I opened my sleepy eyes to spot us slowly passing through the Institutes black gates. I stifled a yawn and tried my best to wake up several numb limbs. Outside the sun had begun to set and the sky is a beautiful mixture of yellow, orange and red. Drake chuckled.

“Do you always get this tired after a battle?” He asked and I sleepily smiled at him.

“Not usually. It’s been a while though, I could be getting old.” I accentuate my words by stretching and a loud crack emanated from my back. Drake just chuckles again and pulls up at the front door, hopping out of the car. I join him letting the cool air whisk away my fatigue. Drake began to walk up the steps so I followed confused. “What about the bodies?” he opened the doors with a smile.

“Someone else will take care of it, but right now I’m starving. You coming?” My stomach gurgled in response and I grinned.

“Let’s do it cowboy.”

We began the walk to the Commons Room making idle chit chat. When the door finally came into sight we were discussing Drakes clothing.

“No, no don’t get me wrong, you look good but you look so much like a cowboy it’s kind of hilarious.” He shot me a glare.

“I rather happen to like cowboys.” He sniffed a little and I broke out in laughter again with him soon joining me. The Commons Room was empty except for the food lining the table. Taking seats opposite each other we soon piled our plates high with every type of food there was. We had finished eating and were passing the time amusing ourselves with the bowl of grapes.

“Ready?” I called over the table and I got a grin in reply.

“Bring it.” He called back and I smiled and threw the grape up in the air, he manoeuvred and caught it perfectly in his mouth. He flashed me a triumphant smirk and I began to pelt him with grapes all the while laughing when the doors were pushed open and a group of people come to a stop in the doorway, their expressions confused. Drake and I glanced at each other and exploded into another round of laughter. Concern clouded their expressions, probably thinking we were crazy. However they seemed more shocked at Drake’s laughter than mine; perhaps it wasn’t a very regular thing around here? I put down the bowl of grapes and avoided looking at Avery as they all made their way to a seat. Pierre took a seat next to me amusement creasing the corners of his mouth.

“I assume your hunt went well then?” Tossing a grape up in the air, I catch it with my mouth.

“The bodies are strapped to the roof of my car out front.” Drake tells him.

“Good job you two. We’re heading out to the hive first thing in the morning.” As if reading my mind, Pierre continued before I could chime in. “And no Jack, you still aren’t allowed to participate.” Grumbling I shot him a glare. In a battle of wills we stared each other down until finally he sighed and looks away. “However, if it means so much to you, you can watch from the car.” He conceded and I cheered internally.

“Thank you.” I said, the very picture of calm responsibility.

See I can be calm…right.

Pierre raised an eyebrow at my tone not quite buying into the act, but at the moment I was too excited to care. I barely restrained myself from rubbing my hands together like some B grade movie villain. It’s time for the real hunt to begin.

We set off at first light, the vans bumping down the gravel road. Inside I was jostled between a napping Ed and a cranky looking Avery. I tried to keep the contact to a minimum but the tight confines and the way Ed spread out in his sleep make that impossible. The van hit a pothole and Avery flashed me a scowl as I bumped into him. I scowled right back.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” I muttered and he sighed wearily.

“That saying only works if I actually slept last night.” Running a hand down his face, it’s then that I noticed the heavy bags under his eyes.

“What, thoughts of scary mongrels keep you up all night?” I teased and he smirks.

“Not quite. Replace mongrels with Ed, and scary with annoying and you’re on the right track.” Ed’s eyes cracked open and a salacious smile curves his lips.

“You loved it, don’t try to deny it. You were begging for it by the end of the night.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, his meaning all too clear. I spluttered and Avery scoffed loudly.

“Begging for you to shut up.” Leaning in closer to me he gives me a conspiratorial smile. “Never, and I mean never, mention the words ‘road trip’ around Ed.”

“Road trip?” I whispered back and he gave a little shrug.

“Unless, of course, you’re a masochist. But you don’t strike me as the getting off on pain type.” I smirk at that. I definitely don’t seek out pain, but it seems to find me wherever I go.

“Did I hear the words road trip?” Ed called out and I watched as dread fills Avery’s face. “Ohhh Jaaaaack.” Ed sung and I gave Avery a panicked look. He shook his head back and forth, hands raised, palms facing outwards in a warding off gesture. Clearly, I was on my own. Swivelling in my seat, I faced a much chipper looking Ed.

“No?” I said weakly and watch as a disconcerting glint enters his eyes. Raising an arm, he draped it over my shoulders and tugged me closer.

“Well now that it’s out there anyway, let me tell you about the road trip I’ve got planned.”

When the van finally comes to a stop, over an hour later, I have an extremely detailed itinerary of the first three days of Ed’s road trip around Scotland. It’s a twenty day trip. No wonder Avery looked like he was in pain.

Ed and Avery hop out of the van and I quickly follow. Uncle John and four other Knights who were riding in the first van with him are already unloading the equipment. Cameras and all other manner of high tech equipment is deposited on the ground.

“Jack.” Avery calls out catching my attention. He reaches into the van and pulls out a tablet and another smaller device the size of a button. I stared at him quizzically as he hands me the tablet, and pins the smaller device to his shirt.

“I figured you would probably get worried if you had to sit in the van by yourself, waiting the whole time, so I picked up this.” He takes back the tablet and pushes a few buttons, and I appear on the screen. I frown at the screen a moment before it hits me. A live video feed. I look down at the device he pinned to his shirt and at closer inspection I can see the lens. My chest tightens slightly and I smile up at him.

“Thank you.” I say, taking back the tablet. He shrugs and rubs a hand through his hair.

“Don’t worry about it. I figured it was either this or you’d just follow along, orders be damned.” He flashes me a quick grin and I flush. That might have been the plan, but like hell I’m going to admit it.

It’s not long before they’re ready to head out. I watch as they disappear into the forest, trepidation making my stomach clench. I’m not, nor will I ever be, a wait on the sidelines type of girl and having to stay back is slowly driving me crazy.

As soon as I can no longer see them through the tree line, I turn my focus to the tablet. For a while its nothing shaky footage of them jogging through the forest, until finally about half an hour later they start to slow. My grip on the tablet tightens as they approach the mongrel hive. I watch the black and white footage, rapt, as Avery creeps closer and comes to a stop just before a small valley. A valley filled with sleeping mongrels. My breath caught and my heart began to beat furiously. Somehow it was worse than if I was actually there.

Avery turns slightly and Uncle John comes into view, his face drawn. He gestures with his hands and they retreat slightly before stopping once more. They quickly get to work setting up the cameras. All the while my hands keep up their death grip on the tablet. It takes ten agonizing minutes but finally they are done and begin to head back. I don’t look away from the tablet until an image of the vans comes into view. Looking up I see them enter the clearing, smiles all around and despite how glad I am that they’re safe a small voice inside me is screaming that it was too easy.

We load back into the van and start the trip back to the Institute and despite trying to shake it off the feeling of unease lingers for the rest of the day and well into the night.