Unsurprisingly, Caleb and Eddie had the most, followed by three other guys I hadn’t paid much attention to. The two who’d worked together were tied for the sixth-place spot. I wondered if the Warriors would accept seven victors, but after deliberating with the masters, Chris selected only one as the winner. He congratulated the other, encouraging him to try again next year. I hadn’t noticed the guy who’d won—Wayne—doing anything particularly different from his friend in fighting. Wayne was, however, much bigger and better built. Something told me the Warriors put a lot of emphasis on physical appearances, probably assuming that he who looked the strongest would be the strongest.
That didn’t bode well for me, because when the girls were called up—thirteen of us—it was clear I was the smallest and least buff-looking of them all. Things worsened when Chris announced that only two girls would advance and that they would be determined based on whoever had the most hearts at the end of the hour. Eddie and I exchanged brief glances across the arena at that. Two girls? That wasn’t much of a safety net, especially when it was imperative that I, more than Eddie, stick around to search out information about Jill’s whereabouts. He gave me a tight smile and nodded encouragingly, seeming to say, “Well, then, just make sure you’ve got the most hearts.”
Right. No problem.
Seeing the guys compete first had given us some sense of what the best strategy might be. We positioned ourselves in the arena, a number of the girls immediately moving toward potential weapons. I saw a few of them eye me, as the smallest, and I readied myself for defense. In some ways, I welcomed it, as that was what I’d focused on the most with Wolfe. But defense wouldn’t win me any hearts. I wasn’t violent by nature. Offense was second nature to Eddie, and he’d had an easier time slipping into that role.
Chris started the match, and chaos once again ensued. Two girls immediately headed for me. Blood pounded in my ears, and a cool sense of purpose slowly slid into place as I drew on all of Wolfe’s lessons. I stayed out of their reach, ducking their brutish and often clumsy advances. It seemed to frustrate them when I didn’t prove to be an easy victim, and eventually they got in each other’s way. With a snarl, they turned on each other, both falling into the dirt in a tangle of hitting and hair pulling. One emerged victorious, carrying the other’s heart, and charged toward me. Finally, I allowed myself to give in to the fight and astonished her with a punch that sent her stumbling backward as my magic-infused strength coursed through me. I had that same strange sense as before that the strength was both part of me and yet not part of me, but soon I fell into its rhythm. After a few more failed attacks, the girl yielded and gave me her hearts.
I looked around, uncertain of my next move. I knew I needed to just go up and attack someone, but it was still a weird and unfamiliar sensation. You’re playing a role, Sydney, I told myself. Get into it. Don’t feel bad—remember what these people are. What they might have done to Jill.
I was spared from choosing my next victim when another girl decided my earlier victory was a lucky break. A similar process followed, with me engaging in a long game of self-defense. The best fight is the one you avoid, Wolfe had always said. I led my foe on a merry chase, and when she finally grew impatient and lunged for me, I was able to trip her up and effectively pin her to the ground. Her ankle twisted as she went down, and I was able to take her heart with little resistance. It was also clear she was out of commission, and although I felt a little guilty about that, I was relieved to be responsible for an injury that would only require a little recuperation. Based on the screams of those around me, others wouldn’t be so lucky.
That left me with three hearts, and I felt rather proud. A glance over at Eddie, sitting near the other male victors, told me I shouldn’t feel so cocky. He gestured frantically, the message loud and clear: Pick up the pace. My pro-defense tactic was keeping me safe but not racking up the hearts. A quick reconnaissance told me others had more hearts than I did, but before I could choose my next course of action, the decision was taken from me.
The girl who’d sat near me, the big bulky one, came at me full force. We collided and fell to the ground. Her fist closed around the cords around my neck, and she pulled, nearly choking me in the process. That magical strength surged within me, and with one big push, I knocked her off of me and scrambled to my feet. She too rose and eyed me speculatively, clearly surprised at the hidden force beneath my small exterior. Chris shouted the five-minute warning. I braced for the tall girl to come at me, but then, with a quick shrug, she turned away and headed toward someone else. It took me only a moment to understand why. She clearly had the most hearts of any girl. With time nearly up, she wasn’t going to risk losing them to someone who’d surprised her with a big show of strength. She’d play it safe and let the clock run out. A few other girls were in contention for second place and suddenly grew more frenzied in their attacks.
Me? I was squarely in third—except there was no third place.
I met Eddie’s eyes again and saw true concern now. Then, my gaze slid to the person sitting beside him in the stands: Caleb, smug and secure in his position. Without thinking twice, I strode over and jerked Caleb up by his shirt. That magical strength burned through me, matching us far more evenly than we would ever have been in normal circumstances. Catching him by surprise gave me an extra edge. I landed a punch that would’ve made Wolfe proud and then kicked at his knee. I didn’t break anything, but Caleb did trip and fall to the ground. I quickly pulled the hearts from around his neck and sidestepped as he swung a fist toward me and roared in rage. Eddie jumped up, quick to defend me, but by then, Chris was calling time.
He hurried over to us, frowning at the unorthodox behavior. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
“Winning,” I said. I held up my original three hearts with the mass I’d stolen from Caleb. “You said the winning girls would be picked based on whoever had the most hearts at the end of our hour. That’s me.”
Chris flushed at being trapped in his words. “Yeah, but—”
“And you said any tactic is fair game.”
“But—”
“And,” I continued triumphantly, “you asked if we were willing to do anything in the fight against evil. I am. Even if it means facing someone bigger and stronger—which those vampiric demons obviously will be.” I waved a dismissive hand at the other female competitors, who were staring openmouthed. “What’s the point of going up against them?”
A shocked silence hung around us—then it was replaced by laughter. Master Angeletti made his way toward us through the stands, careful not to trip on his golden robes. His face was filled with mirth. “She has a point, Juarez. She outsmarted you, and I say if she can do that—and take down our biggest male competitor—she’s earned her spot.”
Caleb turned beet red. “I didn’t give her all I had. She’s just a girl.”
Master Angeletti waved him off. “Relax. You can still stay. This girl—what’s your name?”
“Fiona, sir. Fiona Gray.”
“Fiona Gray can have one of the female spots. It looks like the other goes to that young lady over there.” Master Angeletti nodded to the tall girl, the one who’d played it safe in letting the clock run out. Her name was Tara, and although she didn’t look thrilled to see me declared a victor, she made no complaint so long as she got her spot. It was the girl who would’ve been second place who spat out a series of obscenities my way. That seemed to amuse the Warrior authorities, but they held fast in their decision. She and the other defeated recruits were dismissed.
We victors were then treated to a banquet in our honor, back in what served as the compound’s mess hall. The seven of us were seated at one table, while the seasoned Warriors filled others. Personally, I would’ve preferred a shower, but at least I got the chance to sit by Eddie again. He and I grinned and nodded over our plates of ribs as the others relived key moments from the earlier matc
hes and talked about how we were “totally” going to annihilate real vampires. Most of the others seemed impressed by what I’d done to Caleb and got a good chuckle out of it. He, however, clearly wasn’t amused. Throughout the meal, he shot several dark looks over to where Eddie and I sat, and I hoped I wouldn’t regret my last-minute save in the arena.
After lunch, the Warriors decided they’d tested our pen-chant for brutality enough—for now, at least—and that it was time to see what kind of personalities we had. We were called one by one to come speak to the high masters and a select group of Warriors about our intentions going forward. They brought us in by alphabetical order, meaning I went before Eddie and wasn’t able to get any sort of warning of what was to come. This, at least, was pretty consistent from year to year, and Sabrina had briefed us on what to expect: mostly a lot of interrogation during which we’d affirm how much we hated vampires.
What I wasn’t expecting was how much it would remind me of re-education.
Once I was seated in front of the masters and all-male council, they directed my attention to a large screen hanging on the wall. An image of happy, ordinary-looking Moroi appeared.
“What do you see?” asked Master Angeletti.
My heart caught in my throat, and suddenly, I was back in that underground prison, strapped into a chair with Sheridan’s pretty but cruel face gazing down at me.
“What do you see, Sydney?”
“Moroi, ma’am.”
“Wrong. You see creatures of evil.”
“I don’t know. Maybe they are. I’d have to know more about these particular Moroi.”
“You don’t need to know anything except what I’ve told you. They are creatures of evil.”
And then she’d tortured me, dipping my hand an acidic solution that felt like it was burning my flesh off, forcing me to endure the pain until I would finally agree with her and repeat that they were creatures of evil. The memory was so intense, so vivid as I sat there with the Warriors that my skin started to crawl again. The room felt like it was closing in, becoming a prison just as re-education had been, and I worried I would faint in front of them.
“Fiona?” asked Master Angeletti, tilting his head at me. Although stern-faced, there was an indulgence to his voice, as though he thought I might be intimidated by their presence. “What do you see?”
I swallowed, again paralyzed by fear of my past. As my silence persisted, the other Warriors began looking at me curiously. It’s an act, Sydney! I frantically told myself. You did it then, you can do it now. This isn’t re-education. You aren’t trapped, and Jill’s life is on the line.
Jill.
It was the thought of her name, the memory of her clear and innocent face that drew me back to life. I blinked and focused back on the screen.
“Evil, sir,” I said. “I see evil things that have no part of the natural order.”
And so it began. I answered in the ways Sabrina had prompted me, not that I needed much coaching. I just had to answer like I would have in re-education. I recited a cover story we’d come up with, about how my brother Fred and I had been attacked by a Strigoi one night and barely gotten away with our lives. I explained how we’d tried telling the authorities, but no one would believe us. We’d known the truth of the evil we’d seen and spent the next few years searching for help, until finally we’d met Sabrina and learned of the Warriors’ quest.
When the interview finished, the Warriors were smiling reassuringly, pleased with my answers. I smiled back, but on the inside, I was a mess. I could barely stop myself from shaking or losing myself to the memories of that terrible time. I gave Eddie an encouraging nod when I was released back to the waiting room with the others, and then I sank into a chair, grateful that no one seemed interested in talking to me. I was able to sit and space for a while, steadying my breathing and shaking off the memories. He returned a little while later, irritated by their line of questioning but overall relaxed.
“Psychos,” he muttered to me, keeping a smile on his face for the sake of the others in the room. “I stuck to the story, and they took it well.”
“Same here,” I said, envious of how easy it had been for him. He didn’t have the baggage I had.
Once everyone had been interviewed, it was time for dinner and another banquet back in the mess hall. As we ate, Master Ortega recited a psalm and gave a long sermon about the glory of humanity and the light and how we were all doing such a great job in fighting the good fight. It was a variation of what I’d heard with the Alchemists, even before re-education, and I wondered if I’d ever be free of groups of people trying to impose their beliefs on me. Fortunately, we were given some personal time afterward, and Sabrina came over to talk to us in a corner of the room. Other sponsors were meeting with their recruits, so nobody took it amiss.
“Hanging in there?” she asked quietly. We nodded, and she gave me a wry smile. “Ballsy move, going after Caleb.”
“I thought they’d appreciate the moxie,” I replied.
“Yes and no,” she said. “Taking on a challenge like that does score you some points, but there are those who just don’t like anyone breaking the rules.”
“Sounds familiar,” I said, thinking of the Alchemists.
“What’ll happen now?” asked Eddie.
Sabrina glanced around and shrugged. “Not much tonight. There are separate dorms for men and women, so everyone’ll go to bed soon. That’ll be your chance to look around, Sydney. I checked out the facilities earlier today, and there aren’t a lot of locked doors to deal with. You said those were a problem, right?”
“Right,” I agreed. Invisibility spells could hide me but wouldn’t do any good if someone saw a door opening by itself. “And security cameras.”
She shook her head. “There are none of those. Most security’s on the perimeter of the compound. They want to keep others out and all of us in. Moving around—if they can’t see you—shouldn’t be too difficult for you. The areas they want protected have armed guards, which hopefully you can slip past.”
“Hopefully.” It was amazing that we could discuss armed guards as minor obstacles. “Except I’m just not sure where I’m going.”
“I am,” she said. “I found out while scouting around. If you look out the window behind me, you’ll see a big gray building. That’s the women’s dorm. To its right is the men’s dorm, and to the right again is the building where the masters have their headquarters. That’s where you’ll find your answers.”
Eddie and I both glanced at the window indicated. He frowned. “I hate that this is all on you. I feel useless.”
I touched his arm reassuringly. “You’re my backup,” I said. “I feel better having you here.”
“And we may need your help when it’s time to get out,” added Sabrina.
I noted her use of “we.” “You’ll be coming with us?” I asked.
“When you guys disappear, I’ll get in trouble for bringing false recruits—even if they don’t think I’m part of a conspiracy, they’ll accuse me of being sloppy. I don’t want to deal with that. And honestly?” She sighed. “I’m ready to be done with this job. I’ll help Marcus some other way.”
Our free time wrapped up, and everyone was sent off to their dorms. Chris advised us recruits in particular to get some sleep because we had a “big day” tomorrow. I tried not to grimace. I was already sore and scraped up from today, and my work wasn’t even over.
As I entered the girls’ dorm, I found that Sabrina had been right. There were a lot of open doorways connecting halls and rooms. Because there was no air conditioning, many windows were left open as well. Curtains were hung in the room doorways to provide privacy, and those didn’t even touch the floor. It was almost a dream come true for someone needing to sneak around invisibly, especially since there were so few women around to begin with, meaning most of the dorm wasn’t in use.
Unfortunately, my room wasn’t empty. Someone had had the brilliant idea to put Tara and me together. She glowered at me as we got ready for bed and made a few seemingly idle threats about how she’d prove to everyone that she was the superior candidate. She didn’t seem like she’d attack me in my sleep, though. The problem was that I couldn’t risk her waking and seeing my bed empty—then reporting me. That meant I had to cast a sleeping spell on her, something I’d never done before.
I waited until she seemed to be sleeping naturally, then I crept out into the dark room. The curtain hanging in our doorway hung down about two-thirds of the way, allowing some light from the hall to shine in. I studied Tara’s sleeping form and braced myself for the spell. It didn’t require a lot of strength, exactly, but it did require some complex calculations. It almost worked like a drug. The amount of magic required was dependent on the person’s size. In the dim lighting, I hazarded a guess at how much she weighed. One hundred sixty? Casting too weak a spell could risk her waking early, and I couldn’t have that. So I erred on the side of caution and cast as I would for someone weighing two hundred pounds.
Her breathing deepened as the magic flowed through her, and her features seemed much more relaxed. Maybe I was doing her a favor. Maybe a night of solid sleep would help her in tomorrow’s competition. Little did she know she’d soon be the only girl competing. Backing away, I cast my own spell, wrapping my body in invisibility. I put as much magic as I could into it, making sure it would last a while and not be easily broken.
Once that was in place, I knelt in front of the curtained doorway and crept under, careful not to disturb the fabric. Out in the hall, a guard with a gun stood nearby, stifling a yawn. He clearly didn’t expect much of a disturbance tonight. I walked past him easily, right over to an open window, and climbed out into the darkness, off to explore the depths of the Warriors’ camp.