Vespertine

Scarlett tossed a file on the table in front of Caiden, interrupting his breakfast. He looked up at her curiously, a blueberry muffin partially stuffed in his mouth.

“Know who this is?” Scarlett asked, flipping open the manila folder and tapping a finger on the page as she slid into the seat across from him.

He shrugged, unable to respond with a pastry crammed halfway down his throat. The picture she was referring to was of a tall, handsome young man, with cropped brown hair. He was leaning against a window in a coffee shop that Caiden didn’t recognize, seemingly lost in thought. And definitely unaware that he was being photographed.

“This is Salvatore Vespertine,” Scarlett said. “Leader of the V’s.”

Caiden finally swallowed and picked up the picture with his left hand, bringing his coffee to his lips with the other. “That’s Vespertine? He’s less scary than I thought he would be.”

Scarlett nodded. “Yep. And guess what your first mission is?”

Caiden choked on his coffee and stared. “No.”

“Yes.”

“You want me to kill the leader of the V’s? On my first mission?” he asked incredulously.

“Not me,” Scarlett corrected. “Astor wants you to.”

Caiden shook his head adamantly. “Yeah, I don’t know if you forgot, but I’m sixteen. I’m too young to die. Scar, I can’t even drive. What kind of person dies before they learn how to drive?”

She rolled her eyes. “If I teach you how to drive, will you take the mission?”

“That’s not the point!” He snapped. “I’m going to die!”

“Except you won’t. Your power, remember?” Scar reminded him.

He sank into his chair. “It doesn’t always work. You know that. I get nervous.”

“Only because you don’t believe it does,” Scarlett said, sounding a bit annoyed now. “Caiden, you’ve got to toughen up. Have a little faith. If you don’t have confidence, you’re never going to be the—“

“I don’t want to be the savior,” he mumbled. Scarlett frowned.

“What’d you say?”

Caiden rubbed his face resignedly. His heart was beating a little too fast. “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”

“Is that a yes?” Scarlett asked, raising an eyebrow.

Caiden stared blankly at the file. He flipped the picture over, skimming Vespertine’s profile. The next picture was of him driving in a truck. A girl sat next to him, caught talking mid-shot. She had straight brown hair and warm eyes, handsome like Salvatore was. “And who’s this?” he asked, deliberately avoiding Scarlett’s question, even though the answer to his question was obvious.

“Quinn Vespertine,” she responded. “His little sister.”

“His weak point,” Caiden said. She nodded.

“Precisely. Astor taught you well. When going up against someone like Vespertine, you need more than strength. You need leverage. And that’s exactly what you’re going to get if you take the mission. Salvatore may be tough, but his little sister isn’t quite so seasoned. All you have to do is get to her, and then you’ve got Salvatore in your palm.”

He ran a hand through his unruly blonde hair. If all they wanted him to do was take down the sister, he supposed he could handle that. Besides, if he refused, Astor would just give him another, equally dangerous mission for him to prove his worth. “I guess,” he answered hesitantly, dragging out the words. “If Astor wants me to take it, then I will.”

Scarlett smiled and ruffled his hair. “Good boy.”

He didn’t respond. He ran a finger over the picture of the two of them. Salvatore was smiling at whatever Quinn was saying, and he could see that they had similar dimples on their right cheeks. He knew that Vespertine had killed a lot of their sorcerers. And he also knew that killing him would make Caiden no better. It didn’t seem right.

He also knew the mission didn’t make much sense. Astor had been trying to get Vespertine for years; why would he send an unproven rookie to accomplish what even he couldn’t? It wasn’t truly about the mission. It was about Caiden.

But really, what choice did he have?

“And hey,” Scarlett said in a teasing tone as she stood up. “If you survive, we’ll go get your driver’s license.”

He glared. “Not funny.”