Vespertine

Caiden didn’t bother scrambling to hide the book he was reading as Scarlett knocked on his door and then entered without waiting for a response, as she often did. He looked up and took off his glasses, waiting for her to speak first.

She leaned against the doorframe. “The raid failed. We didn’t get Salvatore, and lost a few of our sorcerers. Astor wants you to start you mission right away.”

Caiden took care to not let his distaste show on his face. Instead, he folded down the edge of the page he was on, laid the book down on the chair and got up, placing his glasses atop the novel. “How do I do this?”

She tossed him a short, black stick. “Stun her, if your powers don’t work. Get her back here without anyone noticing you. Try not to kill her.”

“No need to worry about that,” Caiden muttered. “And where will I be going? They wouldn’t still be at their base?”

“They’ve relocated,” Scarlett said, examining her fingernails. “Luckily, I know a person.”

Caiden stretched, heading out the door. Scarlett followed and slammed the door shut behind them as they headed down the narrow corridor.

Caiden didn’t like his room much— he preferred the open space of the library, out in the city. But Astor liked to keep a close eye on him, and Caiden knew that even though the chances of him running away were slim, Astor was not one to take risks.

They turned down another hallway, this one leading to the locker rooms just outside the arena. He trailed into the shower area, and then turned around and raised an eyebrow as Scarlett followed him.

“Relax,” she said. “I’m not gonna watch you change or anything.”

“Then why are you following me?” He asked pointedly. For some reason, he could feel his ears turning red. They did that sometimes.

“It’s funny to see the look on your face,” she shot back, grinning. “Also, I’ve got more stuff to tell you.”

He rolled his eyes and kept walking. He reached his locker and pulled on the lock, swiftly dialing the numbers with a flick of his fingers. The metal door swung open to reveal his combat clothes and boots. Clothes he had only worn for training. He sighed under his breath and pulled the tough fabric from the hooks and began undressing.

Scarlett stood on the other side of the lockers. He could imagine her leaning back against the row, looking at her nails again. She liked them perfect, and she usually managed to keep them so, which meant that if she was looking at them she must have chipped her polish. He wondered whom she was killing when that happened.

He slipped on the form-fitting tee as Scarlett began talking again. “So, Quinn, she’s a strange girl.”

“How so?” He asked, his voice muffled by the locker as he rummaged around for his socks. He shed his sweatpants and pulled on the black trousers, then put on the socks. He had walked here barefoot.

“Her parents died a little over two years ago, yet she’s managed to recover remarkably fast. Salvatore is what they might call naturally talented, but Quinn is determined. And that will make her dangerous.”

Caiden managed a little laugh. Truth be told, he would rather not know anything about her. Knowing just made it harder to view her as an object, a mission meant to be completed and then forgotten about. “Your person on the inside gives a lot of information, don’t they?” He stepped into his boots as he spoke, lacing them. Then he swung the door shut and stepped out.

Scarlett waved her hand dismissively. “It’s their job to know things.” She nodded satisfactorily at him, and then they headed off to the weapons room, or as Caiden liked to call it, the World’s Biggest Safety Hazard.

He waited while she pored over the options. She’d probably choose better weapons for him than he could himself.

She ran her fingers down the selection of knives, and then pulled out one on the smaller side. “Just in case your power doesn’t work and she takes your stunner.”

“Why a knife?” Caiden asked, cringing as she tossed it to him. He caught it by the handle, like she had trained him, but it still seemed to him like an infinitely better idea just to hand it over.

“Knives make her nervous,” Scarlett responded, flipping off the lights as they walked out. “It’s why she uses one. Being able to understand something makes it less scary.”

“But still scary.”

“Precisely.”

They were heading towards the parking lot down, where there would be a variety of vehicles to choose from. Unfortunately, seeing as he couldn’t drive, Scarlett got to pick. She went for a plain, unnoticeable sedan, the kind a mortal would drive. It would blend right in no matter what.

Caiden realized he was bouncing his leg impatiently as he sat in the passenger seat. He frowned and tried to make it stop, but it was as if his leg had a mind of its own, and any attempt to restrict its movement resulted in a fierce rebellion. Was he nervous?

Of course, one part of him said, you’ve never done this before.

But why does it matter? Another whiny voice demanded. You’ve trained a lot. You’ve nearly beaten Scarlett a bunch of times, and she’s good. And it’s not like you have to kill her. Or even see her face. You just have to get behind her, stun her, and bring her back.

He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t noticed the car stopping. Scarlett put a firm hand on his knee, forcing his leg to stop its frantic tapping. “We’re here,” she said softly.

They had parked a bit away from the building, in the shade of some trees and bushes. Caiden peered over the shadows at the building, which had clearly been abandoned. There was no movement outside. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but twilight was falling fast, and he took a deep breath.

Scarlett was looking carefully at the building from behind a pair of binoculars. “I think she’s outside,” Scarlett said, a hint of incredulousness in her voice.

Caiden raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? That easy?”

She shrugged. “I guess so. Ready?”

He shook his head. “Wait, wait. She’s outside? Alone?”

“Yes.”

“Alone, alone?”

“No, Caiden, she’s got a fucking dinosaur with her. Yes, alone, alone. Just go.”

“Couldn’t it be a trap?” He hedged, while simultaneously opening the car door.

Scarlett shook her head. “Doubt it. I don’t think they’d expect anyone to go after Quinn so soon, and Salvatore is doubtless protective of his little sister. He probably doesn’t even know she’s outside. It’s hard to imagine him using her as bait.”

Caiden was still not entirely convinced, but departed without another word. He crept closer to the street in front of the building, but decided not to leave the hedges just yet. Cautiously eyeing the building, he saw the figure of a girl coming from behind the building. Definitely Quinn Vespertine. He watched for another couple of minutes. She seemed to be circling the building, which would make it easier for him to predict her movement. Easy, too easy.

She disappeared around the corner again, and he decided he should probably get going. He stepped out from behind the bushes and rapidly crossed over to the building, warily looking out for any possible traps or security systems, but there didn’t appear to be any.

He stayed behind her, always one wall away. As she rounded the front again, he waited until he was sure she was around the corner.

He treaded lightly behind her. She was close to him now, but not close enough for him to use the stick. He temporarily paused, and tensed as he realized that when she turned the corner, she’d see him from the side of her vision. Then he realized she was still walking, out onto the street. Evidently, she had grown bored of circles.

Or was she onto him? Had she done that on purpose to lure him in? No, he decided, her demeanor hadn’t changed at all. She could just be terrifyingly good at hiding it, but chances were that she still hadn’t noticed him. He remembered that he actually had to be close to her in order to incapacitate her, and started walking quietly behind her again.

He was almost impressed with himself at the silence of his steps. And then she was close again, close enough that with one large stride he could close the distance between them and strike.

Yet he found that he couldn’t. Just one step and he’d finish his mission, but his legs were frozen in place. He shakily pulled out the stunner, and turned it on, but his brain did not seem to comprehend the action as a signal to attack.

Oh my god, he thought weakly. Seriously, what is wrong with you? Just do it. Close the distance. Then you can go back and finish your book. Do it for the book.

Before he could lose what little courage he had mustered, he leapt forward, but in that instant she whipped around and instead of landing on top of her and stunning her like he was supposed to, he opted to recoil wildly and then land disgracefully. A vague wave of regret washed over him as soon as his back hit the ground.

Her knife was in her hand before he even really had time to register what just happened. “Who the hell are you?” She growled, and Caiden could see why knives made her nervous. The blade looked wickedly sharp, and it was safe to say that at the moment, Caiden was very nervous.

His thoughts raced. Say something, goddammit. Say something before she slits your throat. Or maybe don’t. Just get up and attack her. You could probably beat her in a fight. You have a knife. Fuck, she has a knife. Why did I let Scarlett choose the knife? I don’t know how to use one. When have I ever used a goddamn knife? Why does Scarlett pick my weapons, anyways? Okay, you’ve been silent for too long. Say something. Please.

“Uh,” he ever so eloquently managed.

She narrowed his eyes. “I meant a name.”

Name. Name. Lie to her, obviously. Why can’t I think of a name? Why do I suddenly not know any names besides my own?

“Jesus,” he blurted out. She stared at him.

“Your name is Jesus?”

He closed his eyes. Christ. Literally.

“Yes,” he said slowly. “My parents were kind of weird.”

She had not let down her guard, but he could see a faint smile playing at the edge of her lips. “Clearly. They raised a weird child, too. Why are you dressed like that?”

He looked down at himself, then back at Quinn. She was casually dressed in a sleeveless tank and jeans, worn boots laced tightly. In comparison, he looked as though he was trying to rob a bank. Not to mention it was warm outside, and his attire could have been suited to a colder season.

“My boss makes me wear this around. Like advertising. He runs his own, uh, clothing company. I’m a model,” he said quickly, and then instantly realized how stupid that sounded. He couldn’t believe she hadn’t started laughing yet.

“Okay, Model Jesus,” she said, snorting a little. “What the hell were you doing behind me?”

It was obvious he had been trying to attack her. Denying that would just make it known that he was lying, and that he had something to hide. He had to play it off. There had to be a legitimate reason he attacked her.

“You look like her,” he said, to stall for time.

“Who?” She asked impatiently.

“Uh, like this sorcerer I know. I don’t like her very much,” he said, trying to think quickly.

“Well, I’m not her. I’m not even a sorcerer,” she said. She was beginning to lower the knife; having obviously decided Caiden wasn’t a threat.

“Me neither,” he said, figuring that would make her more inclined to trust him and put the knife away. “The sorcerer you look like, she killed my parents. That’s why I attacked you.” He tacked the last bit on for extra effect, lowering his head a bit to emulate sincerity.

Her eyes widened a bit, and the knife came back up. Caiden tensed. Shit. She had seen through him.

But the knife simply switched hands and she swiftly stuck it back in its sheath before offering him a hand and pulling him up.

“My parents were killed by a sorcerer, too,” she told him. Her hand was still touching his, and he realized that he could simply use his power to incapacitate her.

But the image of her writhing in pain stopped him for some reason. She let go and he focused on what she was saying again. “I get it. But seriously, if you’re going to attack someone, you should really be more prepared.”

He groaned internally. She was becoming animated now, and he had absolutely no desire to hurt her. This was why knowing was bad. Interacting was bad. What was he supposed to do now? Just stab her in the back?

“Do you have a home?”

The question caught him off guard. “Uh, yeah. Kind of.”

“That’s good. Listen, I’ve got to go, but if you need someone to talk to about this kind of stuff, or even just to teach you how to properly deal with that sorcerer the next time you see her, you can give me a call. I’ll help you.”

Goddamn. Why was she so nice? Why the hell did he tell her sorcerers had killed his parents? Now she pitied him. She sympathized. She was giving him her number.

She pulled out a pen and grabbed his arm, deftly rolling up the sleeve. She scrawled her digits on his forearm and then released him, giving him a smile that he recognized from the photos he had seen. Single dimple.

Then before he knew it, she was walking away, and he was standing there like an idiot, his sleeve still up and his weapons untouched in his back pocket.

He could still go after her. Her retreating figure was nearing the building, but she wasn’t at the door yet. He could run after her, call her name, pretend like he wanted to talk, and then attack when he got close. He could.

He turned around and cursed, heading back to the car.

Scarlett was waiting, the binoculars still in her hand. She wore a distinctly shocked expression. “What the hell happened? You had her! She completely lowered her guard!” She said, aghast.

Caiden slunk down in his seat covering his face. “She thinks I’m Jesus.”

“She thinks you’re what?”

“It’s a long story,” he sighed.

Scarlett shook her head. “Jesus or not, why the hell didn’t you get her?”

Caiden shrugged, trying to make it seem like he had known what he was doing. “I figured I could gain her trust, maybe manipulate her into telling me more about Salvatore. She’s probably more useful that way, right?”

“No,” Scarlett responded immediately, giving him a classic you’re an idiot look. “That’s what the inside informant is for.”

Caiden played clueless. “Oh, well, I didn’t know that. I’ll get her next time, no problem. It’ll be easy since she won’t be expecting it.”

Scarlett stared at him suspiciously for a little bit, and he pretended not to notice. Then she sighed and turned the engine on, readjusting her position so that she was facing forward again, and they pulled out from behind the bushes, heading home.

He knew he couldn’t act dumb forever. He couldn’t play the rookie card; he couldn’t claim he was just unprepared. Sooner or later, he was going to have to do what they wanted him to do, or face the consequences.

“That was unexpected,” Staed voiced aloud after a few moments of silence as they watched Scarlett and Caiden disappear into the darkness.

“Yes,” Astor agreed thoughtfully. “Predictable on Caiden’s part, but I hadn’t thought the younger Vespertine was so trusting.”

“A testament to her abilities,” Staed said, shaking his head. “Not her nature. Did you see her stance? Still squared away when she was talking to him, minimizing possible attack area. She never took her eyes off him. If he had tried to pull anything, she would have been able to defend herself without a problem. She’s skilled enough that letting down her guard isn’t a fatal mistake.”

“Possible,” Astor concluded. “I think we need to have a little talk with Caiden sometime. He’s almost there, isn’t he?”

Staed could read the thin, nearly undetectable deliberation woven into his musing tone, and he nodded. “Yes. It won’t take much to push him over the edge.”

“Not much indeed.”