“And you lost your knife and stuck your finger through its eye. That was soooo gross,” she added with a shudder as Sophie turned a little green.
“It worked, didn’t it?” Ren said, with more than a little pride.
The two of them dissolved into the kind of rapid-fire reminiscing that made the new kids look even more terrified. Sophie went from green to pale. Trevor was gripping his fork like a weapon, which honestly wasn’t the worst instinct. And Zane was watching Ren and Ana with what looked like fascination, his head tilted slightly, as if they were everything he aspired to be.
A good sign, actually.
“Breathe,” Allie told Sophie. “Seriously. You’re going to be fine.”
“Says the girl who closed the gates of hell,” Trevor muttered.
It was the most words he’d strung together since arriving. Everyone turned to look at him, and I watched his shoulders hunch defensively, like he regretted speaking.
“You’re right,” Allie said. “Turns out I’ve got some superpowers. Yay me. But my mom doesn’t, and she’s the most kick-ass Demon Hunter I’ve ever met.” She turned to look at Marcus. “Sorry about that.”
He shrugged. “No argument here.”
“We don’t know what your skills are,” Mom continued, speaking now to the whole class. “But we do know that each of you has potential, or you wouldn’t have been recruited. So learn to work with what you’ve got, and work hard to learn the skills we’ll teach. Do that, and you’ll be kicking demon ass in no time,” she added, making Sophie giggle.
“Remember,” I added, “Tonight’s just step one. No one’s expecting you to do mystical cartwheels.”
Sophie put her hand over her mouth to stifle more giggles, then settled back in her chair, apparently realizing we were all staring at her. “What?”
“Well, okay, then,” Trevor said, hunching his shoulders and sounding less surly—and a bit more confident. “I can do that.”
“You can,” I assured him. “And you will.” I looked at each of them in turn. “Wear comfortable clothes and tennis shoes. We’ll meet in the Great Hall at dusk.”
Marcus followed me into the hallway. “Who’s our target?”
I fished the clipping from my back pocket and handed it to him. An old man had collapsed on the beach near the surfboard rental place. The lifeguard said he died, but by the time the paramedics arrived, he was sitting up and talking. They figured the lifeguard just didn’t know his stuff, even though he swore the guy had no pulse.
“Gotta be a demon,” Marcus agreed as he handed the clipping back to me. But it’s been hours. No guarantee we’ll find him.”
“There never is, but you know as well as I do they like to come back a time or two to the place where he died.” I shrugged. “If he’s not there, we’ll just get ice cream.”
Marcus chuckled. “Can’t argue with that.”
I leaned against the wall. “How’s training going? Any thoughts?”
He nodded slowly. “Sophie’s still green, but I can already tell she’s got it in her. We may not see it tonight, though. I’ll keep an eye on her. As for Trevor, the kid’s wound pretty tight.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I said.
“I think tonight will help. He acts like a surly prick, but I think it’s because he doesn’t know his place yet. I met quite a few of that type back in Rome. We’re still in week one. It’ll shake out, I think.”
I nodded, thinking about the surly, withdrawn teen, and trying to overlay him with a softer side. “Honestly, I don’t see it. But I hope you’re right. And Zane?”
Marcus shrugged. “Seems made for the job. Easy-going but sharp. And strong. He told me he’d done some martial artstraining as a kid. He’s got potential. I just...” He trailed off with a shrug. “What?”
He shook his head. “Not relevant.”
I crossed my arms. “Hello? I’m the headmistress here. What?”
“He just reminds me of one too many smug assholes I’ve run across. And, no, he hasn’t done a single thing that falls in the asshole column.”
“He’s the kind of guy who’d be the head of a fraternity and the most popular guy in school if he had a different life,” I said. “Then again, my only frame of reference for that kind of life is television.”
“Yeah, but you’re not wrong. His mom died when he was fourteen, but he still managed to stay under the radar. Kept their apartment, found enough work to pay the rent. The guy’s a survivor. He’s an asset. Not yet, but he will be.”
