Breed of Envy (The Breed Chronicles, #02) (31 page)

“So, technically,” he started, “I didn’t lose the bet.”

I set the holo-disc back down and twisted to face him. That cocky smile was back. In my chest, my heart thumped again. “But I said the words first, so really, you still did.”

He looked hurt. “Are you using logic against me?”

“Yes, yes I am.”

He ran to me, lifted me off my feet, and swung me around in a dizzying circle. “Fair enough.”

“Thanks, Linc,” I said quietly. “For waking me up at seven and for the photos, and just…everything. It’s been a great birthday.”

His smile was slow and just a bit mischievous. “Anytime.” He pulled a small camera from his pocket. “C’mon.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Wanna go make some memories with me?”

“Yes, yes I do,” I said with a smile.

C
HAPTER 16

Linc and I took a lot of photos over the next few weeks and studied as usual. Things were great. They hadn’t really changed all that much, but my mood was better than it’d been in…years, it seemed. Even Rachel and her girls couldn’t get under my skin, despite their best efforts to, mostly because I hadn’t really seen them around. I had a feeling that was mostly due to Linc and Tasha playing interference.

But they got me alone at the end of April after my Demonology class (the day my big report had been due). They wouldn’t have seen me, but I’d forgotten my tablet and had to go back for it.

“Well, well,” Rachel said, stepping off the elevator. “Look who it is. Been hiding from us, Jade?”

I didn’t bother saying anything. What was the point? The more I talked, the longer her crap would last, so I just stayed quiet, waiting for her to get it out of her system.

“Are the ribs better?” she asked with a snarky smile.

“Give it a rest already, Rachel.”

I blinked at the words, mostly because I’d been thinking them, but I wasn’t the one who’d said them. I looked to Rachel’s right. One of her friends—Kristina—was staring at her with a look of disgust on her face.

Rachel’s eyes went wide. She rounded on her friend. “What?” Her tone was low.

“I said give it a rest.” Kristina rolled her eyes. “Calling her names is one thing. She can handle it. And if she can’t, then that’s her problem. But the rest? That’s over the line.”

Leslie and Amber both stared at Kristina. Neither of them had said anything, and they didn’t seem to be in a hurry to. They both just backed away a few steps, like they weren’t sure what was going to happen but didn’t want caught in the middle.

“What, are you her
friend
now?” Rachel asked, pointing a finger at me. “I didn’t see you sticking up for her before. Why now?”

“Trying to hurt her when she was already hurt? That’s low, even for you. Even Felecia wouldn’t have gone that far, and she had more of a reason to.”

I was pretty sure Kristina was wrong on that point, saying Felecia wouldn’t have done the same thing, but I didn’t argue. I was too shocked to do anything but stand there and watch.

“You,” Kristina continued, “just hate her because Director Greene likes her.” She shook her head. “You’re just jealous of her. Why didn’t I see that before?” she added, more to herself.

I wasn’t sure who was more shocked by Kristina’s apparent change of mind, Rachel or me. A quick look at Rachel had me making up my mind.
Definitely her
, I thought. Her face was red, her fingers curled in fists. She looked ready to explode.

I glanced at Kristina like she’d grown a second head. She saw it but didn’t seem offended. Instead, she shook her head. “Sorry,” she muttered to me, then shot dirty looks to Rachel and the others and stormed away.

Rachel was still fuming, staring after her friend—or ex-friend, probably. Her expression had me fighting a laugh, so I took off before they remembered I was still there.

Part of me was glad to have at least one less enemy to worry about, but the other half of me was afraid it wouldn’t really do much good. Rachel would probably just blame me for it and start even more crap with me. But I tried to focus on the good part, that I had one less person that wanted to kick my ass.

*~*~*

On the last Friday of May, after our classes, Director Greene had the all the P2s and P3s outside on the bleachers. No one seemed to know what was going on and there were quiet whispers and speculation. I didn’t bother to speculate. As much as nothing stayed secret around here, I had a feeling that Greene kept his thoughts to himself, and short of explaining himself, there probably weren’t that many people who could actually guess (accurately, anyway) what the man was thinking.

He didn’t keep us waiting long, maybe five or ten minutes, before he strolled up to the podium he used for speeches. Peter, Adam, and some other hunters, along with the teachers, were standing at his sides, almost like they were flanking him.

“As most of you learned last Phase,” Director Greene began, “we’ve been changing how we do things, trying to better the Prospects’ end-of-term exams. For this reason, I, along with the teachers, thought it best to give the P2s and P3s some basic field experience.”

The words had barely left his mouth before the air echoed with cheers and cries of joys. Linc’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. Tasha and Chris both looked excited, though I saw Tasha clutch Chris’s hand and his wince that followed.

Greene waited until the noise subsided before continuing. “This will not be a ride-along exactly, nor will it be an actual hunt. Instead, those who are deemed…safe,” he said carefully, “will be permitted to go on a CC—a Capture and Contain.”

Everyone glanced to someone else, frowned or shrugged.

“Capture and Contain?” someone in the back asked.

“That is correct.” Greene nodded. “We study not only human DNA but demon DNA as well. To study demons, we must first have them
to
study.”

Tasha looked like she might be sick. “Isn’t that like, inhumane or something? I mean, I know they’re just demons, but still…”

Greene gave her a soft look. “That’s why it’s called a Capture and Contain and not a Capture and Kill. And yes, in a way, I suppose it is slightly inhumane. However, would you rather a demon be at a CGE facility, contained where it can harm no one, or out on the streets, possibly killing anyone who has the misfortune of crossing its path?”

Tasha didn’t answer, but she didn’t look any more pleased by Greene’s explanation.

“Not everyone will go on one, nor will they be forced to at this point. The actual C&C will be voluntary, so if any of you feel this is not something you wish to do, or feel that it’s inhumane, then a mock C&C will be arranged for you instead. I should warn you, however, that this is something the CGE does so you need to be aware of that. You need to understand that, if you become a hunter, going on C&Cs will be part of your job description.” He gave Tasha a short nod, then his gaze roamed over the rest of the students. “This is an ugly part of the business, but it’s also a necessary one. We can’t learn what we need to know about demons if we have no contact with them, if we don’t study them. It’s a necessary evil, I’m afraid. If all we were to do was sit back and wait for an attack to happen, think of how many lives would be lost. Think of how many lives could be saved if we discover a cure for vampirism or one of the many number of diseases and illnesses demon attacks cause.”

I winced inwardly, just waiting for Greene to bring me up. He always did. He always found a way to.

“The C&Cs,” Greene continued, “are just as important as our regular hunts, and oftentimes, just as dangerous. There really is no typical hunt when you’re dealing with demons, so if you are willing and permitted to go, I urge you to take them seriously.” He paused a moment, looked around. “Both the real and mock C&Cs are assignments, so those who go will be graded accordingly.”

“Which class is it for?”

“What do we have to do?”

Greene held up his hand at the questions. “I think Mr. Holt and Mr. Sheldon would be better equipped to handle these questions.” He stepped aside while the other two men moved forward.

Mr. Sheldon took to the podium first. He relaxed against it, smiled. “The C&C will be graded toward all of your classes, since they will—hopefully—use skills you’ve learned in each. Demonology for research purposes; Tracking for, well, if you can’t figure that one out…” He trailed off and winked as most of the students laughed. “Combat for fighting, though I hope this skill isn’t actually required, and of course, Weapons. Again, kind of hoping the lots that go don’t need the last two, but in case.”

He stepped aside so Peter could speak. “You’re going to use those skills you’ve learned to help us find, capture, and contain the demons we’re looking for. The Prospects who go will, as they were for last year’s end-of-term exams, be carrying weapons. These are just for emergency use only, especially when we’re trying to contain and not kill. We’re going to rely on what you’ve learned to help us track the demons. You will know beforehand what we’re after, because you’re going to come up with a plan of attack, so to speak. You’ll know a week before you go, so that gives you time to come up with something.”

“How are we graded?”

“How do we fail?”

“You’re graded on how good your intel is, how well you perform your given tasks, and how effective your plan is. We’ll need a written plan before we leave so I, along with the other hunters in the group, can see if it’s going to work. If we don’t believe it will, we’ll give you a chance to fix aspects of it en-route. In most cases, there’s at least one step that is wrong or more dangerous than necessary, so you’ll have to think on your feet, under pressure. And in the slim case there isn’t anything wrong with your plan, we’ll probably tell you there is anyway, so you’ll still have to think on your feet.”

“Well, that’s just mean,” Tasha said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Peter grinned and chuckled. “It is, yes. But it wouldn’t be an assignment if it was easy. Demon hunting isn’t easy, and as Director Greene said earlier, very few hunts, or CCs, are typical. You need to be prepared for that.” Peter’s gaze went to someone in the crowd. “As for failing… You fail by not following the rules, doing something that endangers yourselves or us, and by leaving us no choice but to terminate the demon we’re after.”

All around us, people started shouting questions and hands shot in the air. Peter just waved them down. “I’m not saying you’ll fail if we have to terminate—only if you’re the cause of said termination,” he said. “If you do something that makes it impossible to capture, by say, getting spotted or doing something that puts you in danger and leaves us no choice. We’re not looking for or expecting perfection here—only the ability to follow directions, think a plan through, and act on said plan without getting yourself or anyone attacked or killed.” For just an instant, Peter’s eyes met mine. And for that instant, I thought
Please don’t call on me!,
but then he just winked. “It’s not easy, but neither is it going to be the toughest assignment you’ll ever have. Or it shouldn’t be.”

“When do we find out who’s going or who wants to go?” Linc asked.

“If you don’t want to go, just let one of your teachers know next week. After that, once we’ve ruled out who doesn’t want to participate, we’ll start making lists of those who want to. If you want to help out on a C&C in another way, let your teachers know that as well, and we’ll compile a list for those Prospects. The actual lists of who’s going won’t be available until closer to end of term, so probably late June or beginning of July,” Peter said.

Mr. Connor went to the podium as Peter stepped aside. He didn’t look as comfortable as the others had. He was a force to be reckoned with in class, but he didn’t seem to like the idea of being in front of a lot of people—even the Prospects. “As Peter said, we’re hoping those of you who go won’t need to use your Combat skills, so we’ll have planned scenarios to test you with after. If, of course, you’re unlucky enough to have to use said skills, you won’t have to take the exams. Some of our agents—including Peter here—have volunteered their time and bodies to stand in as demons and test you. He,” Mr. Connor said, looking at Peter, “doesn’t think it’ll be much of a competition, given you’re only P2 or P3 Prospects.” Mr. Connor’s eyes shone and he had a sly smile on his face now. “I, of course, expect you to show him how wrong he is. Extra credit to anyone who knocks him on his…butt.”

Peter laughed beside him, as did most of the Prospects. “Hey,” Peter said, holding his hands up, “I never said that. We’ve got some good fighters.” He gave a small shrug. “I do, however, have more experience,” he added. There was a hint of challenge in his tone. He didn’t say it to be mean, only to challenge people to step up and give them an extra reason to try for the extra credit Mr. Connor was offering, I thought.

I saw more than one person—mostly the guys—shoot Peter ‘I can take him’ looks. Others had on looks of ‘oh, crap’ on their faces. Peter was a good hunter and, according to Greene, one of the CGE’s best, so I hoped a few of the Prospects managed to knock him on his ass, even if the odds weren’t in their favor.