Desperation for peace of mind gnawed at me. I needed to practice blocking unwanted pictures. But Hayden had asked me a question. “We brainstorm, go over clues. They ask me questions and we try to figure out what’s going on. If they have any news, they’ll fill me in. Last time, Agent Phillips promised to give me some self-defense tips at this next meeting.”
Hayden stopped just before the doors. “It’s weird. If you’re in so much danger that you need to be watched full time, why do they let you go to school at all? Why not put you in protective custody? I don’t know. An FBI agent and the principal spending a private hour with you, then volunteering self-defense tips — all without involving your parents? Don’t you think it sounds a little fishy?”
Not if you knew what I know. “N-no.”
Hayden stared into my eyes a moment. “I’ll see you after my PE class.” He pushed past me to get the door and his arm brushed my shoulder.
Little electric ripples shot down to my toes. I had to get a grip. The last thing I needed was to get all puppy-eyed over a guy like Hayden. Sure, he’d been a total gentleman during our tutoring sessions. He remained studious and aloof — until his mind went idle and his visions rushed me. So I did my best to keep his brain occupied. I didn’t fool myself into thinking that just because he didn’t act on it when he fantasized about getting me naked that it meant he had any real respect for me. Not that I wanted him to act on it. He wasn’t my type.
“Yeah, see ya,” I said, too disturbed over my body’s reaction to his accidental touch.
As the door to the auditorium closed behind me, I picked up on something. An energy behind me, on the other side of the door. The little hairs on my arms sprung to attention. I opened the door again and poked my head outside. A quick scan revealed nothing except concrete paths, lawns and shrubbery. Strange. But I didn’t worry too much about anything happening in broad daylight… on school grounds. Still, waiting around for someone to pounce set my teeth on edge.
I made a beeline to Fawn and Mr. Linton who stood next to the table and chairs. “Someone’s out there. I feel it.”
“We know. We’re doing everything in our power to keep you safe.” Mr. Linton motioned toward one of the chairs.
I ignored his direction and leaned against the wall, willing my pulse to steady. “It doesn’t bother you? The waiting? Shouldn’t we do something? If they’re dangerous, why do we just sit around so they can get the jump on us?”
“Things will happen soon enough without you rushing it.” Fawn kept her voice low and soothing. “You need to focus on honing your skills and let us do the worrying.”
I usually tried to give people the benefit of the doubt. Since my entire world changed the past week, trusting wasn’t coming easy now. Maybe being around Hayden had tainted me. More likely, my reluctance to trust stemmed from the fact that I had to rely on two people I barely knew to protect me from others I knew not at all.
“How certain are you that they’re not after my family? If anything happens to my little sister—”
“Positive.” This time, Mr. Linton pulled out the chair for me and sat in the one next to it. I didn’t take it. “They have no use for common people, which makes your family of no consequence. By involving non-supernaturals, they risk exposing what they are. Trust me, they won’t take that chance.”
“Tell me again what they want with me.” So far, they hadn’t actually spelled it out.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Fawn sat across from the empty chair. “You’d help in furthering their agenda.”
“Which is what?” I leaned over and rested my hands on the back of the chair.
Fawn studied me. The look on her face told me I should already know the answer. “Imagine what someone like us could do in a position of real power. Unfortunately, the good guys don’t crave power. Since the bad guys are the ones that fight for it, they usually end up in control.”
“Are they in control now?”
“No.” Mr. Linton shook his head. “The non-supernaturals still run everything. Our job is to make sure it stays that way. If you’re on our side, it will be more likely.”
“It’s hard to believe that the less scrupulous sorcerers aren’t already ruling the world.” There had to be some of them in power. I wondered what Fawn and Linton weren’t telling me.
The corners of his mouth curled up. “Neither’s really in control. There’s probably less than a couple thousand of us on the whole planet. And we’re too busy fighting each other and trying to stay alive to give any of us a chance to take over.”
Fawn bent over her briefcase and retrieved some photos. “Look through these and tell me if you recognize anyone.”
* * * *
Hayden seemed distracted. Oddly enough, this time I wasn’t the cause.
“Self-defense, huh? Whatever you learned today, you’ll need to practice.”
“Actually, we didn’t get to that.” I read the paragraph in the text again, deciding the best way to explain it to Hayden without overloading his brain circuits.
“Oh, really? Who better to learn from than me? I’m qualified.”
I yanked my thoughts from his text to stare at him. “You’re offering me self-defense lessons?”
He shrugged. “Well, yeah. You tutor me every day on your own time. I could return the favor.”
“You’re my bodyguard, remember? It’s not like you’re just standing around.”
“I’m being compensated in other ways. You’re not. Besides, what if something happened and no one was around to help you?”
Having him teach me how to defend myself was a fantastic idea but I wondered how smart it would be to spend even more time with him. “You beat up some guys last year and now you’re an expert?”
Hayden scoffed. “I had real lessons. I can show you what they taught me.”
I gazed unseeing at the textbook. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, I get it. You’re not jumping at the chance, because you secretly like me.” Hayden grinned. “You’re afraid that after a while, you’d eventually break down and give into temptation.”
I tried to work up a good sneer, putting everything I had into it to make it convincing. “My, we think a lot of ourselves, don’t we?”
“That’s the only reason I can think of that would make you turn down a perfectly good opportunity to be in control.”
If I refused, I’d have to come up with an excuse that didn’t involve admitting how hot he was. How tempted I’d be… Or I could take advantage of his offer and trust myself. It’s not as if I’d ever be in danger of truly liking him. “Fine. Teach me.”
“Good. I will.” He gave me a smug look and wiggled his eyebrows.
I ignored that, but something else bothered me about his offer. “I’m curious about something. If your dad used to beat you—”
“Step-dad.”
“Right. Step-dad,” I said, our studies completely forgotten. “If he used to hit you, why would he spring for lessons that would teach you to defend yourself against him?”
“He didn’t. I used to walk home from school and pass this martial arts studio. One day I went inside and asked for lessons. The guy said no, of course. I needed my parents’ permission and I had to pay for the lessons. I was naïve, but pretty determined.
“Every day after that, I stopped and watched through the window. One night, my step-dad came home drunk when I was supposed to be in bed.” Hayden touched the bridge of his nose. “Broke my nose. When I stopped at the martial arts studio the next day, I worked up the nerve to ask the guy for a job and he said yes. Probably felt sorry for the poor kid getting his ass beat.
“Legally, I was too young to work, but he let me do little things, like get clean towels and set up the rooms.” He smiled, but there was a far-away look in his eyes. “After a while, he gave me some lessons. Later I got good enough to teach the beginner classes. I taught them and he continued to teach me. The rest is history.”
Hayden had had a rough time, but had persisted until he found his way out. I was mightily impressed with what he’d accomplished. Too bad he took a wrong turn somewhere. He had a ways to go before rejoining the human race, and I had little faith he could do it.