Slayers (24 page)

Read Slayers Online

Authors: C. J. Hill

BOOK: Slayers
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Kody pushed away his plate, annoyed. “We’re going. It’s what we’ve trained for.”
Shang nodded. “We need to think of why we’ve been given our powers.”
Dr. B’s eyebrows drew together. “Even if you’ll be fighting people instead of dragons? You might have to kill someone—a guard who has no inkling of what he’s guarding. Could you face a murder sentence? Would you want to see the rest of the Slayers and myself charged as accessories to murder? And the emotional repercussions—I hate to think of you having to carry the burden of taking someone’s life.” He shook his head. “The more I think about this, the more reasons I have to wait, to let them strike first.”
“Even when we know they’re fixing to kill innocent people?” Kody asked. “We gotta protect them. We can strike first, so we should.”
Rosa fiddled with a celery stick on her plate. “I don’t want to kill anyone. Aren’t we as bad as Overdrake, then—murderers?”
“The ends don’t justify the means,” Alyssa agreed. “If we attack first, we’re the aggressors. We’re the ones in the wrong.”
Lilly said, “But we don’t have to kill anyone. We could disarm the guards. They won’t be strong enough to fight us in hand-to-hand combat. We go in, we destroy the eggs, we get out.”
Dr. B examined the picture on the wall, as though hoping to find something he’d missed before. “Of course, we wouldn’t
plan
on killing anyone. But things don’t often go as planned. Too many variables exist. What would you do if one of your team members was being attacked? Would you kill to save their lives? Your own? Would you kill to avoid capture? These are things we need to think about.”
No one spoke. They stared at either the picture or the table.
After a few moments, Dr. B said, “We haven’t heard from you, Tori. What do you think?”
She didn’t know what she thought. Every time someone spoke she completely agreed with what they said. Yes, they should do a preemptive strike—it was better for society in the long run, but no, the ends
didn’t justify the means, and how could she kill anyone? It was one thing to theoretically think about it, killing in self-defense or because you had to save society from a greater evil, but to actually do it—to point a gun at someone and pull the trigger, or worse yet, to use her new strength to kill with her bare hands—she wasn’t sure she could. And yet, she knew Overdrake wouldn’t let anyone near those eggs without a fight. If they went in without being prepared to kill, they could be killed themselves.
“What do the team captains think?” she asked.
“The team captains,” Dr. B said carefully, “want you to express your opinions without being influenced by their thoughts.”
Bess let out a frustrated groan. “Why do you always want us to come to our own conclusions? Can’t you for once just tell us what the right answer is?”
Dr. B put his hands behind his back, the same stance he used to teach class. “I don’t know the right answer. I wish I could predict the future and tell you how a preemptive strike would turn out. Although perhaps it’s better not to know these things in advance. What if I knew we would succeed in destroying the eggs, but one of you would die in the process—would you still think an attack was the right thing to do?”
There was silence, then Bess said, “It depends on which of us died.”
The rest of the Slayers laughed. It was a welcome break from the tension.
Dr. B didn’t laugh, though. His tone was soft, but serious. “I’m going to give you an hour to weigh it out in your minds. Then we’ll meet back here and discuss it again. If the majority wants to go, we’ll go, but I won’t force any of you to act against your conscience. If you don’t want to come, you can stay at camp.”
He snapped his laptop shut, signaling that the meeting was over. The campers stood and stretched, pairing off not with their friends,
Tori noticed, but with their counterparts. Rosa and Alyssa exchanged a knowing look. They had both been against going. They walked out of the room, talking in hushed voices.
As Shang and Lilly stood, their eyes locked, as though checking to see if they were on the same page. They left together, Lilly talking, Shang listening. Kody and Bess walked side by side toward the door. They’d both lost their counterparts. Perhaps as they walked they were thinking about their missing halves. They had spent all that time training together and now had to work alone.
Tori got to her feet. Both Dirk and Jesse were staring at her. Her gaze slid back and forth between them. She could think of only one reason for their interest. She hadn’t said which side of the issue she fell on.
If Jesse and Dirk were against a preemptive strike, that would mean she would end up being the tiebreaker. And the one thing she was sure about was that she didn’t want the decision to fall to her.
T
ori stood up from the table and walked out of the building without stopping to speak to either Jesse or Dirk. She hadn’t gone far before she heard footsteps behind her. Leaving the trail, she made her way into the forest and sat down on a fallen log. Then she let her thoughts drift through the layers of green surrounding her while she waited for Dirk to catch up. A few moments later, he did.
When she’d first come to camp, she’d lumped Dirk together with a lot of the guys at her school. Guys with easy good looks and cavalier attitudes. Guys who discarded girls without a second thought.
But maybe Dirk was different. He’d already devoted his life to protecting society. That automatically saved him from being shallow.
He sat down beside her and ran a hand through his hair. In the muted forest light, his blue eyes looked the exact same color as the sky.
“I knew you’d come talk to me,” she said.
“Did you?” he asked.
“Because … we might be counterparts.”
“Oh.” He put his hands beside him on the log and looked out into the forest, his usual swagger gone.
She wondered briefly where Jesse was. Alone? Maybe he’d caught up with Bess and Kody.
Dirk kept looking at the forest. His eyes were brooding, a sharp contrast to his flawless face.
She said, “I don’t know what we’re supposed to say to each other about strategy and all that. I’m too new at this.”
“I don’t know, either,” he said. “I’ve never had a counterpart. Maybe that’s why Dr. B made Jesse and me team captains. There was only one of each of us.”
“I doubt he’ll demote you just because I’ve shown up.”
Dirk didn’t comment on that. “Have you heard anything else from the eggs? Anything unusual?”
“Only some muffled sounds. I don’t know what they were.”
He nodded, taking in this information.
Tori leaned toward him. “How do you deal with it—always having the dragons there in your mind?”
He looked at her, his eyes finally connecting with hers. “I don’t remember a time when they weren’t there, when I didn’t have that double vision in my mind.”
“Really?” she asked, astonished. “You’ve always been connected?” He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but she knew it was. “When did you realize they were dragons?”
“I’ve always known,” he said. “Haven’t you?”
She fingered the bark on the log. “I’ve always suspected dragons existed, and I’ve always had good hearing. But the heartbeat is new. It’s annoying.”
He grinned at that, then looked her up and down, studying her. “Do you think we’re really counterparts?”
“Our gifts are close enough that we must be. Unless you think
there are two more Slayers Dr. B hasn’t found yet. Another person with the gift of sight and one with the gift of hearing.” She scrunched her nose. “There can’t be four of us with such worthless abilities.”
He raised his eyebrows and let out a breath of disbelief. “Worthless?”
“Well, we can’t do anything cool like fly. We can’t even be useful in a fight by putting out fire, healing people, or protecting them with shields.”
“It’s not worthless,” Dirk said, irritation lacing his tone. “You’re not …” But he didn’t finish.
“I’m not what?” she asked.
He surveyed her, tilting his head. “The others can feel when their counterparts are near, even when their eyes are closed. Do you want to try it?”
It sounded cool, sort of like a psychic ability. “Okay,” she said.
“Shut your eyes,” he told her.
She did. He stood up and took a few steps behind her. “See if you can tell when I come near you.”
After a minute, Dirk stepped up behind her. She kept her eyes closed. “I can tell you’re there.”
“You felt it?”
“I heard your footsteps. I’ve got good hearing, remember?”
“That’s cheating,” he said, but his voice was more amused than upset.
“Do you want me to try sneaking up on you?” she asked.
“No, I’ll be quieter this time. Keep your eyes closed.” His footsteps padded away from her.
She called to him, “I’ll talk so I can’t hear you over the sound of my voice.”
“All right.” He stood quite a distance behind her. “Tell me about your boyfriend.”
“How do you know I have a boyfriend?”
“Girls as pretty as you always have boyfriends. Let me guess. He’s some rich kid who drives a convertible and wears funky leather shoes that cost an arm and a leg.”
“He doesn’t wear funky leather shoes. They’re
normal
leather shoes.”
Dirk laughed, probably because he’d been right about the rest. He hadn’t moved any closer. “The guy’s a jerk.”
“You don’t even know him,” Tori said.
Dirk didn’t answer. Apparently, he was ready for her to talk to cover his footsteps. She tried to think of something to say about Roland, but the truth was, she hadn’t thought of him today—or much yesterday, for that matter. And sitting here, she had a hard time picturing him. All she could think about was the fact that Dirk stood somewhere behind her, watching her. “Um, Roland and I met in debate club. I’m lousy at debate, by the way. I only tried it because of my dad. Politicians have to know how to argue different sides of an issue, so he wanted me to try it. But most of the time, I didn’t see the point in debating. It never changed anyone’s minds about anything. Besides, my parents have drilled into me for the last sixteen years that I’m not supposed to publicly give my opinion on anything, so it’s sort of hard to undo all that instruction. When your dad’s a senator, your parents are always worried you’re going to say something idiotic in front of a camera and it will end up going viral on YouTube.”
“You’re supposed to be talking about Roland,” Dirk said. She could tell by his voice that he hadn’t come closer.
“Okay, um … Roland is nice and he speaks fluent French. He’s about as tall as you are, although not as built.” She hadn’t meant to tell Dirk that she’d noticed his muscles, and she flushed with embarrassment. Thankfully, he was behind her and wouldn’t notice. “I mean, he’s not as athletic as the guys from cabin twenty-six.” That still sounded awkward. Dirk probably thought she ogled all of them.
She wondered, though she didn’t want to, if he’d noticed how she was built.
“Roland wants to go into business someday. His grandfather owns a string of hotels, so he’ll probably do that.” As she took a breath, she listened but couldn’t hear anything. “He likes baseball and—” She stopped midsentence because suddenly she felt Dirk was near. And not behind her, as she’d supposed, but right in front of her. In fact, she was almost certain his hand was outstretched near her face.
She kept her eyes closed, but lifted her hand, fingers spread apart, slowly upward until she touched Dirk’s hand. Then she opened her eyes and saw that their fingers were perfectly aligned.
Dirk let his fingers slide until they interlaced with hers. He kept hold of her hand while he sat beside her on the log. “I guess this means we’re counterparts,” he said.
“I guess so.” Tori’s heart hammered in her chest, but she couldn’t tell whether it was because she’d felt Dirk’s presence without seeing him, or because he still had hold of her hand.
Her emotions pulsed, came alive. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She’d already decided she liked Jesse. She had come back to camp to help Jesse.
But she hadn’t expected how this counterpart connection would affect her. Here, with the physical connection of holding Dirk’s hand, it seemed as though she’d known him all his life, that she could say anything to him, and he’d understand.
His voice was low. “Can you see into my mind? Do you know things about me now?”
She shook her head. “Can you tell things about me?”
“Yeah, I can tell Roland isn’t going to last.”
She glanced at her fingers criss-crossing with Dirk’s and didn’t answer. She should pull her hand away, put some distance between them, but she didn’t.
He leaned closer. “Can you tell what I’m going to do next?”
She looked into his eyes and nodded. She could tell, although it probably wasn’t due to any connection. It was just the sort of thing you knew when a guy held your hand and leaned close. He was going to kiss her.
He pulled her to him and bent his head down. It was a soft kiss—at least it started out that way. A few seconds later, it grew more insistent, more passionate. She let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck. Thoughts and feelings erupted inside her like hundreds of sparklers going off. She shouldn’t be doing this. This wasn’t what the counterpart bonds were for.
Besides, she had hardly
talked
to Dirk. She didn’t know anything about him. Except that he was good-looking. And a good kisser. And was attracted to her while Jesse probably wasn’t. Dirk wouldn’t be here kissing her if he knew his friend was interested in her.
It was these thoughts of Jesse, intruding into her mind, that made her pull away.
“Okay,” she said, her voice husky, “we probably shouldn’t have done that.”
He smiled, not in the least bit penitent.
She found it hard to breathe, hard to talk. “I’m not like this usually,” she said. “I don’t even kiss guys on the first date.”
His smile didn’t falter. “Poor Roland.”
She blushed and hated that fact. “Um, look, let’s pretend none of this happened, okay?”
He shrugged, and his eyes glinted wickedly. “You can pretend if you want.”
She straightened her shoulders, keeping her posture erect, formal. It was better to bring things around to a more normal topic of conversation. “So are you for or against going to Winchester?”
The humor dropped from his voice and his expression tensed. “Against. It’s too risky. There are too many things we can’t plan for. If
you want to fight a snake, it’s best to do it on your turf. You don’t go down its hole.”
“What does Jesse think?”
Dirk looked off into the forest again. “He thinks we should go.”
Tori let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She wouldn’t be the tiebreaker. The majority wanted to go. Now that she knew how it would be decided, her thoughts automatically grew sharper, more focused—like when she jumped in the control room and pushed Theo up against the wall. Her mind, like her body, had switched into Slayer mode.
She could do this.
Dirk pulled a chunk of bark off the log and broke it between his hands. “I don’t blame Jesse for wanting to go. If we fight Overdrake now, our lives are equally at risk. If we wait until the dragons attack, he’ll carry the greatest risk because he’s the only flyer.”
Tori couldn’t imagine Jesse using that reasoning. “Did Jesse say that?”
“He didn’t have to.” Dirk broke another piece of bark. “But it has to influence his opinion.” He chucked a piece of bark. It flew farther than was normal, hit dead center into the trunk of a distant tree, and exploded apart. Dirk turned his attention back to Tori. “You don’t need to worry about this. The one thing Jesse and I agree on is that you’re not going.”
“What?” she asked, stung.
“You’re too inexperienced, so you don’t have a vote. You’re staying at camp.”
They weren’t even going to let her vote? “The two of you just decided that, did you?”
“I was supposed to let Jesse tell you.” Dirk leaned back on his hands and smiled. “So you can add that part of our conversation to the list of things you’re pretending didn’t happen.”
She stood up. “I was undecided before, but now I’m going.” Then
she turned and strode back to the trail. She wanted to find Jesse, to demand an explanation.
She jogged around the forest by their cabins, but didn’t see him. Not on the ground, not in the trees. A guy who could fly could be anywhere.
Yesterday she would have been fine with not going. A part of her, the logical part, told her she should be relieved, but she wasn’t. Jesse and Dirk both thought she was incompetent. They saw her as a spoiled rich girl who couldn’t hold her own.

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