The Certainty (Book Four in The Illusion of Certainty Series)

The First Interview

“So…Georgiana Vertigo.”

I was sitting in a very uncomfortable chair in front of three very unhappy looking people. The older man was the one that addressed me and he was sitting in the middle. He was the Leader of the Guild. I was nervous and I kept wringing my hands in my lap. They were studying me, like a lab rat. Just what I always wanted.

“Yes sir,” I said.

“We’ve heard quite a lot about you.”

“I hope all of it was good.”

He smirked. The woman to his right, the Elder, didn’t.

“Your disciplinary file tells me you are willful and you don’t follow instruction,” she said.

I didn’t really know what to say to that so I kept my mouth shut and my snappy comment to myself. There was nothing in that file I was ashamed off and I wasn’t about to let this broad make me feel like an idiot.

Take deep breaths. They are trying to test you, see if you are impulsive or if you can control yourself.

I smiled on the inside.

“I’m aware of my mishaps,” I said.

“Fights, curfew violations, defacing school property…”

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “I’m aware it may read…horribly. But I’m a Slayer. I was never made to sit still. Yes I got into a few fights…”

“A few?” the woman said. “I counted twenty at least.”

“I didn’t start all of them.”

“No you were just a willing participant.”

I sighed. Nothing I said was going to mean anything to these people. I was starting to wonder why they’d requested an interview with me in the first place. I was who I was, they couldn’t change it. No one could. Not even my parents.

“I think we’re getting off track,” the man said. “Most of the applicants have some sort of disciplinary file. Georgiana is different. She’s already experienced.”

Oh boy. They were referring to my four kills. The woman flipped through her file on me and skimmed the report.

“Yes…it appears you’ve killed…four?” She looked up at me. “How are you handling that?”

“I’m doing ok.”

“It says here you were in therapy for a while…”

“Yes. I was placed in therapy after the incident in New York.”

She shook her head. “According to this you were placed into therapy before that, months before.”

“I was having a few issues.”

“What sort of issues?” the other woman asked, the second in command.

“I went to Vampire Domain and was forced into the Blood Trial.”

They all looked at me sharply. “Excuse me?” the man said.

“What? It’s not in there?” I sat forward in my chair. “I was summoned to Vampire Domain. They forced me into the Blood Trial…”

“Yes that’s in here…”

“I almost died. I was having a hard time with it.”

“According to your therapist’s requested comments, you were having issues with a friend’s transformation,” the man said. “A…” he looked at the file, “…an Aidan Hanover.”

“Yes. He was forced into it.”

He nodded. “Those are always the worst. Losing a friend like that.”

I just nodded. I didn’t like talking about Aidan. I’d moved passed it, or at least I was trying to. Technically he wasn’t forced into anything. He chose it but I wasn’t about to tell them that.

“It says he came back but transferred to New York quickly after,” the Elder said.

“He wanted to be near his family.”

The SC nodded. “That’s understandable. Most of the time the newly turned want some sort of reminder from their former life.”

That was the worst thing to say to me. I sat back in my seat and didn’t comment. I wasn’t sure what they wanted me to say exactly. He hated New York. He hated his parents. He hated…

“Aidan was a…unique person,” I finally said. “He didn’t deserve what Jason did to him.”

“Neither did you,” the man said. “We’ve all heard…the tale is rather fearsome isn’t it?”

“The point is she survived it,” the SC said. “That shows longevity and perseverance.”

“Or she’s a time bomb ready to explode,” the Elder said.

They’re judging me like I’m a cow at the state fair.

Just try to get through it.

“I’ve dealt with it,” I said.

The man had that sympathetic look I’d seen so many times before and nodded reassuringly. The SC just wrote down some notes. The Elder was staring at me, like she was expecting me to explode right in front of her.

“That’s a lot to handle,” she said. “Being tortured by someone who held authority at your school, someone you were supposed to trust.”

“I didn’t know him before…”

“Before he tried to kidnap you?” she said.

I nodded. “He was just another teacher on campus. I never ran into him, never took any of his classes.”

“So why do you think he zeroed in on you?” she asked.

I looked at her. “I don’t really know. He never really said.”

“That’s odd isn’t it? Normally they boast about why they want to kidnap you, torture you, try to turn you…”

“Look…” I closed my eyes and tried to gather my thoughts. She was needling me for a reason. I didn’t know what it was but I had to watch what I said. “He didn’t say much. I didn’t know him. We weren’t friends obviously. He made himself my enemy for some unknown reason. He never told me why…he didn’t really tell me much at all.”

“Not even while he was torturing you?”

Michael growled at that one.

“Not even then.”

She nodded and started scribbling on her pad.

“Is there any other questions?” the man said. “I’ve heard everything I need.”

“I’m all square,” the SC said.

“Me too,” the Elder said making one last note.

I gave them the best smile I could.

“Thank you, Georgiana,” the man said. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

I smiled and got up. “I’m sorry,” the SC said. “About your loss.”

She was talking about Aidan. I gave her a curt nod and left the room. When I closed the door I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

That was intense. Are they all going to be like that?

I’m afraid so. Their job is to assess if you would be a good candidate. They are going to tear apart all of the events and bad decisions you’ve ever made in your life. That includes me.

Great. I have to do this without you?

You’ll be fine Georgiana. Just remember it’s nothing personal. They just want to get to know you without all the hand holding and courting.

I laughed. But those are the best parts..