Thanking him for my breakfast, I dig in as Knots joins us at the counter. It’s a pretty peaceful breakfast until Moni comes in and notices my hand while I have a mouth full of food. “Holy Shanky Shark. Did you fry an eel?” I shake my head. “Got freaky deaky with some body paint and forgot to wash?” I roll my eyes. “Play tag with the toaster? I did that once. I shrunk down and went inside. I wouldnotrecommend it,” she drops her voice and whispers, “it’s scary.”
“Lynx,” I manage to say without choking.
“Still no idea where he’s at?” Knots frowns as he plays around with his fruit bowl.
“No, but he mentioned things are starting to disappear in his mind. I’m worried about him. What if he forgets about me next?” I admit, chewing on my bottom lip. There’s been times that I’d wish he’d forget something because he would always bring it up later to embarrass me. But this sounds like something different.What if it’s like early dementia? Or a Storm Shifter disease he picked up from being away from me? Maybe it’s a mate thing and he has to be around me to always remember me? We’ve always been together and this is the first time we’ve been apart for more than a sleepover.
“I’m sure it’s nothing, Rez. The only thing you need to worry about is not getting your ass handed to you during combat training,” JP tells me as he slides on a black tactical vest, squeezes my hand, then grabs my dish.
My mouth drops as he puts the dish in the sink and zips up the vest. “What are you wearing?”
“Now that looks like armor,” Knots helpfully adds, giving JP a fist bump.
Lord help me, we need more estrogen in this room.
“While you guys are training, I’m going out with a small group to look for Zeke since we didn’t find him during yesterday’s venture. I can’t go alone because the Deathweaver is still loose. This is the armor the special unit has to wear.”
“How strong is Ze—the Necro to keep a Deathweaver alive for this long?” I ask as another lead brick hits my stomach while thoughts of Zeke resurface. I don’t want to believe it was him that did this, at least not by choice.
I spy JP and Knots sharing a look before Knots answers my question. “It’s not the Necro keeping it alive anymore. They might have been the one to bring it to life, but once it takes the blood of another while it’s in their animated state, they no longer need the full capabilities of the Necromancer to stay undead. Deathweavers are a pretty scary race, and there’s a reason why we didn’t mourn their races when they died out during my time.
Oh shit. If it was Zeke, this is probably all my fault.
“Nope. Shut it down right now, Rez.” JP walks over to me and pulls me into a hug. “No self-doubt and thinking you’re responsible for his absence. Remember, we are all in this together and all of us play a part. For all we know, someone could have taken him, and if they did, they’re at blame, not you or anyone else. Hell, I didn’t even realize he was missing until Matthew called and asked about him. So, this isn’t on you, okay?” He pulls back enough to give me a sweet kiss long enough to make Moni gag.
“Eww gross. That’s my brother. I don’t mind seeing you kiss the other guys because I can trick my mind into thinking they are just distant cousins or something, but that’s JP. He used to—”
Water shoots across the room and hits Moni square in the face.
“Ack! Damnit, JP! Now I’m all wet!”
“Do you want some cheese and crackers with your whine?” JP asks. I snort and we all erupt into laughter.
I give JP a knowing look before I help get Moni cleaned up.
“Rez,” JP calls as Moni and I head towards the door. “While I’m out, I plan on looking for any evidence of Lynx since I’ll have armed guards. They might not be out looking for him, but I’ll keep an eye out for any signs though.”
My heart warms at his confession, and I get choked up a little as hope surges once again for me.
‘Thank you,’I send him a mental message and a smile before turning back to my bestie.
“Okay, Moni, where’s this Combat Class supposed to take place?”
“Oh, I’ll show you. Everyone is going to be there!”
Oh yippee!
I had forgotten we even had a gym at the back of the campus. Looking around in the doorway, all kinds of creatures are gathered, some already sparring while others have broken off into clusters and are talking. You could almost say they’re standing in cliques.
The gym doors slam behind us and all eyes turn in our direction.
“Do you think they see us?” Moni whispers uselessly in the dead silent room.
“Not a chance,” I retort.
A small group breaks off from the mass in the middle, and wouldn’t you know, it’s the Queen Harpy herself and a few of her loyal dogs walking our way.
Before they can reach us, the doors on the other side of the gym burst open and the sound of hooves hitting the wood distracts us. My eyes follow the sound and my jaw drops.Holy Centaurs.Three of them, to be exact, march up to the edge of students and fan out in a line.
