Trials

I was in a bit of a daze on my walk to the headquarters. He had such pretty eyes.

I shook my head when I realized I was grinning like a fool, while sipping black coffee I hadn’t even wanted. It didn’t matter how hot he was.

We had always been warned to stay away from supernaturals. Even though spellcasters were technically humans, we were taught that their strong connection to the arcane could corrupt our spirits and was as forbidden for us to date as other supernaturals.

Anna was waiting for me outside of the headquarters when I arrived.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink black coffee before?” she chuckled, surprised.

“There was a really hot guy behind me in the line,” I confessed with a loud sigh.

Anna laughed at me. “Aren’t you seeing Jasper?” she asked, somewhat confused.

“Just because we had sex once, doesn’t mean we’re together,” I mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed. Our tumble hadn’t changed anything.

Not much anyway…

“All right, I’ll take your word for it,” she said skeptically.

Anna’s eyes brightened. “What squads do you think we’ll get into?” she asked, on a more exciting note.

“With your blade skills, I don’t think there is any doubt you’ll get into the first squad,” I chuckled and sipped my coffee.

“Oh come on, I hope both of us get into the first squad. Your sniping skills could easily put you there too,” she said wishfully.

“One can always hope. My dad wouldn’t like it at all,” I chuckled.

What would be worse than fighting demons would be doing it almost every day, like the first squad did.

“Speaking of, are you going home after we’ve gotten our results?” Anna asked curiously while we entered our locker room.

We chatted with the other girls while we changed into our workout clothes. We were a small group in my year, and we’d likely all go our separate ways after the tryout.

After we’d finished our warm-ups, we were tested against the squad leaders in different combat styles.

Anna did just as well as I expected in fencing. She really was marvelous with blades, as long as they had a decent reach.

Daggers were not as much her thing.

I did all right in the close combat trials, but my skills did not stand out. My talent lay elsewhere.

I was a wicked shot with all kinds of firearms. I knew I’d done great on those trials.

“That was impressive,” Louisa said as I exited the simulation. “You’re almost as good of a shot as I am.”

“Thank you,” I said with a shy smile, but I looked away.

When I was little, and she’d been my teacher, I’d had no problem meeting her gaze. It had impressed her that I was the only one in our class that did.

Since she wasn’t an umbra, she had joined the order under different circumstances, which were unknown to me. I just knew many of the older members didn’t like or trust her, and she didn’t seem to like them much either, but they still seemed to hold respect for her.

“So, Bella. I was wondering. Do you like being a good girl? You know, like following orders, always playing by the rules, or do you prefer to explore possibilities and take risks?” Louisa asked me, leaning against the wall with folded arms.

I looked at her, surprised. She was watching me curiously.

I didn’t know what to say. If anybody else had asked, the answer would be easy.

I’d say I liked playing by the rules, but Louisa could tell that I’d be lying. I had played by the rules ever since the incident nine years earlier, where I’d led a boy to his death.

In truth, I hated it, letting others decide everything for me.

“I think you already know. You knew me the best out of every teacher I’ve ever had,” I replied eventually, smiling at her.

She laughed. “Yeah, you obviously know me too, kitten,” she said, smirking as she kicked off the wall.

“I’ll see you at sorting,” she said, amusement still playing in her voice before she left.

It felt odd hearing her old nickname for me, like no time had passed at all. I wondered what that had been all about while I waited for Anna to finish.

When we were done with our trials, we had been told to wait in the great hall. We had some time on our hands and had gone out to get frappuccinos before heading to the great hall.

“So, you think we both made it to the first squad?” she asked while we sat down to wait.

“I don’t know. I’m confident I got everything right on the theoretics, and I did well in the firearms sim. How about you? You did awesome in combat,” I replied.

“I guess we’ll see,” she said, chuckling while our teachers and the squad leaders came to join us to announce our results.

We had made it back just in time. They started out by announcing those who didn’t get to join a squad, who were better suited for something else, which were only two in our small group of twelve.

Even though we were all taught combat, it wasn’t for everyone, and there were plenty of other jobs at the headquarters for those who didn’t want to hunt, or who wanted to retire from the action.

I had held my breath and finally relaxed when they started placing the rest of us with our new squads. At least I’d get a squad.

I got excited for Anna when she got called to the first squad, and held my fingers crossed I’d get placed there, too.

I was full of anticipation when it was finally my turn.

“Bella Rosqvist, X-Squad,” my teacher called out.

What? I was confused—what was the X-Squad? I had never heard of it before.

Louisa waved and winked at me. She was my squad leader? Was it because she wanted to keep an eye on me? Make sure that I didn’t step out of line?

“What kind of squad is that?” Anna asked while nudging me. She looked as confused as I felt.

The rest of our peers also looked at me curiously. They didn’t seem to know either.

“I’m just as surprised as you are. I have no idea,” I whispered back.

After everybody had been appointed a group, we were to greet our new squad leaders.

Louisa was indeed my new squad leader.

“You think I’m punishing you, don’t you?” she said, chuckling once I stood before her.

“Have you ever heard of the squad before?”

“No, I haven’t heard of it,” I admitted, feeling nervous and confused.

“Good, the kids aren’t supposed to know about it. I’m not punishing you, quite the opposite. You’ll see tomorrow,” she said. She smirked while she handed me an envelope.

“Your new locker key and map, so you don’t get lost tomorrow. You’ve never been on the higher levels, after all.”

I nodded. “Will I get to hunt?” I asked, feeling a little uncertain.

Louisa wasn’t an umbra, after all. What kind of squad would they let her lead?

“I’ll see you tomorrow, kitten. I’ll introduce you to the squad and tell you all about us. Go home and get some rest. You worked hard today,” she said.

She ruffled my hair, like I was a child.

It worried me that she hadn’t answered my question.

***

When I left the headquarters, my chauffeur was waiting for me. I hadn’t replied to my parents’ texts these past two days.

He opened the back door of the black car, and I got in. To my surprise, my mother was inside.

“Hello, Sweetheart, have you enjoyed your days of freedom?” she chuckled.

I smiled at her. It felt good to know she had my back and wasn’t angry.

“Yes, I have, but I kinda missed my bed and my wardrobe,” I replied.

“So, what squad are you in?” she asked curiously.

That was probably why she’d come.

“X. Do you know anything about it?” I asked, feeling worried after seeing her eyebrows spike.

“Oh wow. How did you manage that? I’ve never heard of anybody joining it as a first squad before. Let’s tell your father you’re in the second squad—seems more reasonable,” she said, giving me a sly smile.

“Why do you say that? What kind of squad is it?” I asked, surprised.

“They usually don’t want new recruits in it. That’s why you haven’t learned of it. I’m not exactly sure what they do, because we’re not supposed to talk about the X-Squad,” she began explaining.

“But I think they specialize in supernaturals, rather than demons. It’s our kind that hunts them, when they break the law,” she finished.

My jaw dropped.

“You think I’ll be hunting vampires and werewolves?” I asked, shocked.

“I doubt it, they’d never let anyone under the age of twenty-five hunt a vampire. But, yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ll task you with hunting werewolves, spellcasters, and other beings,” my mother said.

“Spellcasters,” I mumbled dreamily and thought of black curls and golden eyes. My tummy turned into a knot.

“Hunt them, you say?”

***

~“We shouldn’t be here, Bella. Let’s go back, I don’t think we’re ready to fight a demon,” my friend Tom said behind me as we walked through a maze of containers.~

~He had dared me to find the demon we had overheard lurked at the harbor. It was dark, and fog licked the concrete.~

~“I’m brave enough, Tom. I even stole a sword to kill it with!” I said, full of pride, and turned around.~

~What I saw made me scream. Hovering above him was a giant spider-like creature. A long leg curled around Tom, lifting him into the air. He gasped before his blood sprayed all over me as it ripped him apart.~

~I watched in horror as it began to eat him. The warm liquid rolled down my face. The taste of metal on my tongue made me regain my senses, and I began to run.~

~When I looked back, it was chasing me with an eerie silence.~

~When I got around a corner, I ran straight into Louisa. She had her gun drawn and a sword in the other hand. She fired several shots at the creature before attacking it with her sword. After a quick dance, she managed to cut its head off.~

~She turned around and looked at me. Her amber eyes were glowing, and she looked furious.~

I woke up in shock, drenched in sweat and struggling to breathe.

We were ten when I watched my friend get butchered.

I sat up. “Just a dream,” I lied to myself, trying to catch my breath.

Louisa had told headquarters what happened to Tom was an accident and kept my involvement a secret.

I hadn’t dreamed of Tom’s death in years.

Only Louisa knew the truth of what had happened, and that it had been all my fault.

I couldn’t help but worry my squad placement had something to do with it.