Braxton’s voice was flat. “A and D starts in ten minutes, and we can’t miss it again.”
Right, we had an attack and defense class at 9am. Braxton looked tired, he’d barely stopped searching since we returned. His need to find Nash was eating away at him. Unfortunately we had to keep up appearances, and college was not going anywhere. We still had three years left of classes. And it was important for Mischa. She needed to learn about the supernatural world more than any of us. Despite the fact she’d been to human college and held a degree in arts or some bullshit, she was woefully uneducated in the important things. Maximus helped Mischa to her feet. She straightened her shirt and brushed the dirt and leaves from her hair. Alright, time to book it or we’d be in shit again.
We were quiet as we made our way through the streets and across town to the schooling block. We had to move at a fast jog, it was a fair distance. All of the different schooling levels were housed in this zone. The area was massive and the college spread out over most of this space. The buildings were old architecture, big, wooden structures that had plenty of space. We weren’t big on changing what still worked, and most had been standing for a very long time. I loved the character in each building, the scars from shifter fights, the black marks of misspells. History was recorded in and on the walls.
“I’m really not looking forward to this again,” Mischa said as we opened the door to step into the gym.
The smell was the first thing to hit me. I was used to it of course, but old sweat and blood was never my favorite. There were padded mats scattered around, to stop some of the hurt that was about to happen. In Mischa’s one and only A and D class since she’d returned to Stratford, well, she’d been a little dominated. Most of us had been fighting for years, and on the outside she’d been a cheerleader … which was in no way helpful here.
I couldn’t halt my smile. “Hopefully Lincoln – the teacher, big horse shifter,” I added at her confused look, “teams you up with someone less … vigorous … this time.”
She returned my smile with a narrowed eyed glare. Jacob and Tyson snorted with laughter as we crossed the room. What? It wasn’t my fault she’d gotten stuck with a jack rabbit shifter. The little critters were … enthusiastic. She was lucky it was fighting and not sex. There were some things that would never be a turn on. Rabbits were one.
The room was already filled with various supernaturals. Everyone was out on the floor and they were mostly already teamed up.
“Jessa, you’re with Candice,” said Lincoln with his bald head and perfectly white but a little bucked teeth.
With a half eye-roll I shook my head at the Compasses before crossing through the room to stand in front of the vampire female. Candice was taller than me, broad and strong looking. Her skin was tanned and her hair was golden blond. She had silent, watchful brown eyes and I knew it would be a mistake to underestimate her. Rule number one in battle: Always watch the quiet ones.
I didn’t know any humans personally, but I’d watched their television shows and it was clear that something set us supernaturals apart from them. It wasn’t just that most supernaturals were exceptionally good looking – even the demi-fey with all of their differences were still incredibly mesmerizing. More than that, it was this energy which was infused into us. We glowed with it and the shine of our skin and the gleam in our eyes foretold how we differed from regular Joes in the human world. A few humans seemed to have a glow to them – from my television watching anyways – and were probably half-breeds, but the majority faded to nothing beside us. I wasn’t being vain, it was simple fact.
The demi-fey, who would be considered ugly by human standards, weren’t, they were just different. But if you truly studied them, the knobby knees, the foreign features, you found a uniqueness. Humans thought the stranger of the demi-fey were ugly because they did not understand them. And like all creatures, they feared what they did not understand.
Mischa ended up next to me, on my right side, against a pixie. Her partner was one of the demi-fey who could change her size at will. She had very big, round eyes, and her nose and mouth were small, fading into the rest of her features. Her hair was coarse, standing up in spiky twirls around her head, and her skin the color of a sunset. In the past, demi-fey had been hunted almost to extinction by the very humans that we tried to protect. Now I was glad the supernatural communities provided a sanctuary for them.
Lincoln was at the front of the room, his voice loud and bellowing. Typical horse. “Alright, we are on rotation today. Hand to hand.”
Usually we trained with all types of weapons. I was able to hold my own with pretty much anything, but was particularly proficient in crossbow. I liked the power and ease, although it lacked accuracy when on the run. I sized up my opponent. Candice was vampire and would be quick, strong. I needed to use my shifter strength, otherwise she’d crush me. She came straight at me, her arms elevated in front of her and her strides strong. I didn’t hesitate, ducking her first blow and using my elbows to clip her unguarded chin. She was an offensive fighter but not great with keeping her guard up. I was distracted by Mischa hitting the mat next to me. The pixie had zipped around behind her and planted both feet into her back, slamming my twin face-first into the stinky, squishy floor.
Of course my moment’s distraction was all Candice needed to crash into me, and, using a wrestling hold, flip me over and twist my arm behind my back. She held it at the point that the slightest exertion of pressure would break the bone. I’d be pissed, because even for me a broken bone took twelve hours to heal – unless I called in a healer. Luckily I was sneaky, and she’d left my other arm free. Stupid move really. Pushing down for leverage, I bucked, which loosened her hold. Seems she hadn’t had a true grip on my wrist. Swinging my legs around, I twisted my body for enough leverage to uppercut her. I followed through with my entire weight – well, the best I could from my position on the ground. Her screech was cut off as she slammed back into the mat. I was up and moving, but the whistle sounded before I could beat on her some more.