• Chapter 8


    The First Training


    I snuck out again about ten minutes before midnight. I check again to make sure Lance is asleep on duty out in the hallway, and then turn to walk to the window. Praying to God that it won’t creek when I open it, I unlatch and carefully ease the window open.

    And it creeks.

    I freeze, hearing a disruption in Lance’s snoring, and then relax when it goes back to normal. I bend down a little and then launch myself out the window, landing like some kind of ninja on the perfectly mowed, jade green grass with a gentle thud.

    Kaden stands by the tree I was in earlier today, waiting with a bow and arrow. I turn my head slightly to the left and see a target stapled onto a tree.

    “First lesson: archery.”

    “Okay, let’s get started.” I clap my hands together once and stand there, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

    “You are a very impatient person.” He chuckles and shakes his head as he walks out to meet me. He shows me how to hold it and demonstrates by shooting an arrow at the target--it hits bull’s-eye.

    “Nice.” I compliment. The tip of his mouth slightly rises in a half smile--or at least I think it was. I smile all the way. It seems that at night, I regain control of my normal self.

    “Now you try.”

    “Okay.” I hesitate when he holds out the weapon to me, but then reach forward to grab it after a moment. I try to hold it in the position he did a moment ago.

    “Okay, shoot.”

    I do--and it hit’s a statue a couple feet away from the target, and it topples over and hits the ground, the head splitting from the rest.

    “Oops…hehe.” I glance back at Kaden through my thick sheet of black hair to see him with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. After a moment, his serious face breaks into a smile and he starts to laugh. Soon enough, I join his laughter as I lower the bow.

    “Okay…let’s try again.” He finally manages to say after our laughing session. Turning serious again, he leans forward and gently lifts my elbow to level it with the shoulder. He moves around to my back and drapes his arms over mine, placing his pale, ice cold hands on my warm, fragile ones. A shiver is sent down my spine at his touch, but I ignore it and try to focus on hitting the target.

    Together, we pull the arrow back and then let it fly. My hand slightly jerked while it was being shot, and the tip scraped across the tip of my index finger.

    “Dammit!” I mutter, dropping the bow. Kaden still has it in his hands and he falls back a little from my sudden movement.

    “What’s wrong? You hit the center perfectly.” I don’t answer as I inspect the cut on the finger. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

    He walks forward and I jerk away from him, stumbling backwards as the smell of fresh blood fills the air. Kaden freezes as his eyes wander to the cut on my finger. I can see his blood red eyes start to glow as he bites his lip, trying to keep himself back from the inviting aroma.

    “Kaden….you aren’t going to hurt me, are you?”

    He doesn’t answer as he stares at the blood running down my finger. His right foot takes a little step forward, and I find myself backing up, but my untied laces on my old, beat up, black high top Converse trip me and I fall backwards onto my back.

    In a flash, Kaden is kneeling next to me and helping me sit up. His hand stays gripped onto the hand with blood flowing down it and the same rush of energy rushes in. All I can hear is my heart beat tremendously and feel it thump against my chest so fast and so hard it aches and feels like it’s going to just break it’s way out.

    “I am here…” He begins slowly, then gently lifts up my hand--with the finger with the cut facing towards me--with his hand now intertwined with it, the blood falling over both our hands. “…because your blood can save me.”