I hate to admit it but I fear the One Direction guys were right. Art put me with Anuerin McKay as revenge for me losing my temper with him and frying his ass. Anuerin McKay was a serious grade one a-hole with severe attitudinal problems; it didn't matter that he was bloody hot. He was a right son of a bitch.
I began my so-called training at 0900 hours sharp every single morning. And every single morning, McKay made me do the same routine over and over again and I would not have breakfast until McKay thought that I had worked my butt off and usually my lunch at 1200 hours was also my breakfast. As you can imagine, I was surely and steadily getting incredibly pissed off at McKay and the others.
The evenings were my times off. Most of the time, I locked my self in my assigned quarters; in my sad excuse of a bedroom, I had a Bobo doll, which I locked in a closet down the hall every night as I still was not quite over my fear of clowns, and every evening I would beat the living shit out of the Bobo doll, pretending it was every member of Jove's Elite Unit, especially Art and Anuerin; the Bobo doll smiled and bounced back as always, not at all tired of being abused. It became my best friend . . . almost.
Day 13.
Yep.
I had endured twelve days of the same old-same old.
As perusual, Colin and Nyssa Ceres came into my room at 0800 hours with that bloody loud bell of his, shouting, "Get up! Up and at 'em, Valyn! Rise and shine! The sun is up; you better hurry up before Anuerin comes up here himself to get you outta bed! Come on! Or we'll shove you out of bed."
The first time the Ceres twins did this, I swore at them in Dutch until I was blue in the face. Then Art came in like a tyrannical general and literally barked at me; he was asking for another fireball, and this time one to the face, but I had resisted the urge and for once had done as I was told.
Colin went out of the room; Nyssa helped me to get dressed. Same as in the past twelve days. The Ceres twins were some of the only decent Elite foot soldiers in Jove's force. Nyssa then took me to the same room where she and Colin had taken me after I woke up from an almost-a-week-coma-like-state.
"Good morrow, Anuerin," Nyssa said to my tyrannical 'mentor' in a sarcastic manner; she greeted him the same way every single morning. I think she was still hacked at the fact Art chose him to mentor me and not her and Colin.
She then turned to leave, gave me a quick hug before she did, and left me once again alone with Mr. Permanent Frowny Face.
Anuerin didn't say anything to Nyssa or to me, but I had gotten to this anti-social trait of McKay's by now. He glared, well it was looked but his eyes were so cold that any stare was just as hard as ice, at me as he stepped onto the training ground. I rolled my eyes and did the same.
"Slept well?" he asked.
What?
Were my ears deceiving me?
Anuerin . . . asked me . . . whether or not I slept well? Seriously?!
"Same as usual," I answered coolly, not making eye contact with him. "Which is to say, badly."
A ghost of a smile sketched onto McKay's countenance. "Nightmares," he said, as if he knew what I was talking about.
"Of a sort," I replied stiffly.
Why was Anuerin not shouting at me like he always did? I had gotten used to his barking and snarling about doing laps around the arena and running like a granny and blah, blah, blah, etc, etc.
As if he could read my mind, he said, "Do you really think that all I can do is shout at you?"
"Yes," I answered truthfully, still not looking at him.
"Really?" His tone was sneery and slightly pissed off.
"Well, you didn't make the dandiest of first impressions," I retorted. "So, are we just going to stand here? It's 9:01. Practise should have started a minute ago." The latter was a quote; on Day 3, I had come a minute late to practise and Anuerin had been none too impressed.
"Well what do you expect from someone from a military background?!" Colin had said to me at lunch after my half an hour rant. "He's used to keeping to schedules on time. His father and mother bullied him relentlessly, hardening him into a soldier. But all of that has paid off; Anuerin is a formidable opponent."
Anuerin looked at me in surprise, shock and slight anger. I smirked back at him nastily. Payback's a bitch, McKay. Especially when it comes from Valyn Enya Mesman.
"Coming out of your shell, aren't you?" he said steely.
"Who said I was in a shell?" I answered defensively. "I don't shut myself in any shell! If I want to talk to you, I talk. If not, I don't need to tell you because it's not rocket science to guess at! I don't like you, you don't like me."
A small orange blaze shot up from a few cracks in the floor closeby to where I was standing.
Anuerin looked at them emotionlessly and said, "Disappointing, Valyn. Even after thirteen days of training with no fire, you have just let yourself down. You have not improved in controlling your inner anger."
Not improved in controlling your inner anger?!
Not improved?
Not improved!
W. . . . T . . . . . F?!
He did not just say that!
Oh he was going to get it now and not in a good way either, the dickhead!
"You should not have said that," I hissed in a dangerously quiet voice. "From Day 1 onwards, I had tried to keep my cool with everything. The fact that Art and the others thought they could do with me as they pleased, as if I was some kind of pet, some kind of slave! The fact that people out there who I had no clue of wanted to kill me and kidnap me just because I have some kind of fucking Kinetic power and I have to find 11 others who are freaks in the same way I am a freak! Do you know how that feels?! Do you?! No! You're just a soldier's kid! The maniacs had taken my parents just to get to me; I didn't even know where they were or even if they were still breathing or not! I got shot at because of who I am; I have been bullied because of who I am; I have had to fight to survive just because I exist! The fact that, you, Mr. Continously Sour-Faced McKay day after day made me do the same routine over and over again until I dropped, with no breakfast until lunch like I'm one of your pathetic foot soldiers, and made me re-do things over and over again if you were not satisfied and I never once threw a fireball or lit a fire or caused a heatwave or a power cut or an earthquake even though I severely wanted to! You look at me the same way everyone else does! All you see is a Frankenstein's monster; something that is unnatural; something that should not exist; something that might as well be dead or a corpse and don't you deny it! You don't care about me or my kind; you are just like Sedah and his men. And now you DARE to say that I am not improving! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"
By now, Anuerin and I had been surrounded by a fifteen-feet high circle of red and orange fire; I knew my sockets had been engulfed by fire again because everything I looked at looked like it was on fire. More cracks had appeared in the floor due to a small earthquake; some dust came crumbling down from the ceiling.
Anuerin said nothing and did nothing. He just stared blankly at me but for once, his eyes were not filled with malice. They were filled with pity and sympathy; two emotions I have always hated. I had enough of the sentimental bullshit; every time I met someone and told them I was adopted, pity and sympathy came into their eyes and I just couldn't stand it.
"You have no idea what Sedah and his men are really like," Anuerin said. "You have no idea. I am nothing like them. I am trying to help you-"
I didn't let him finish.
For the first time there, I turned my back on him and speed-walked into the direction of the exit. To make things clear, I did gain some sort of control over my pyrokinesis over the past twelve days previously; I made the fire part at the door way for me in a Moses like way and clicked my fingers as I walked out. The fire ring extinguished itself in a matter of seconds. Take that for no, control, McKay!
McKay, on the other hand, was not at all intimidated; he followed me out but at a safe distance.
"Valyn," he kept calling to me. "Valyn. Valyn! Valyn! You listen to me right now!"
I stopped in my tracks abruptly and whirled round to face him, irritated that he would not leave me alone; wasn't the smartest move I made there as I almost bumped right into him. Yep, there was now very little space between him and me but I ignored this usually intimidating fact by snapping at him.
"Oh, yeah?" I sneered, glaring him right in the eyes, no longer frightened of that icy glare of his. "Why should I? You haven't helped me at all. Train me, huh? You're not even doing that properly!"
I turned away from him and tried to continue down the corridor towards the elevator, but Anuerin had taken hold of my right arm and encased it in a firm, iron grip, which forced me to slow my pace.
"You are going to listen to me," he said through heavy breathing.
I smiled to myself. McKay was now trying to contain his anger. Justice is sweet!
I didn't turn around to face him, but I didn't kick him in the shin or try to burn his hand off, which I would have loved to do. Instead, I just stood there awkwardly and waited for my supposed mentor to start giving me a lecture.
"I am trying to help you. But for some reason, you won't let me. If you had actually paid real attention to what you were doing for the past two weeks then you would have known that I was training your other abilities."
I scoffed but said nothing.
What other abilities?
Idiot.
All I could do was control fire, and electricity now and again.
Again, as if he read my mind, Anuerin said, "You do have other abilities whether you believe it or not. Fire is your main strength, yes. But that is because it is who you are. You are fire itself. But like fire, you have more than just one ability-"
"Spare me this bullshit," I spat and yanked my arm from his grip. "I have no other abilities. All you made me do was long distance running and gymnastics! That has nothing to do with my abilities!"
"You're contradicting yourself," my annoying devil advisor said in a sing-song voice. "You know fully well that you could not have escaped those two goons who took your parents without that extreme agility of yours."
"Hate to admit it, she's right," the oh-so-helpful angel advisor agreed. "You can't see yourself in a mirror, Valyn. You have no idea of what you are capable of; Anuerin was training your Extreme Speed and Agility. He is helping you; he's just not helping your pyrokinesis. You are just slightly too stubborn to see that."
"You two are so bloody goddamn helpful, aren't you?" I hissed at them.
"What?" Anuerin said, surprised.
Cue mental facepalm! Forgot that others cannot see my devil and angel advisors.
"Nothing!" I snapped at him, regaining my composure quickly. "Just leave me alone, Anuerin. I've had two weeks of solid training. Let me have one day off."
Not waiting for his reply, I continued down the corridor and was relieved to discover that he did not attempt to persue me this time.
I ignored the classical music that was playing in the elevator. My thoughts were blocking all my other sense and Anuerin took over my thoughts.
That obnoxious, egocentric, bossy, moody, two-faced, hot-
Valyn, you did not just think that! my brain snapped at me.
I slapped myself twice, trying to knock some sense into myself. There was no way I was going to end up as a walking cliche! No way! Not Valyn Enya Mesman!
I was still shaking my head at myself as I made my way to my room.
For once, I didn't fetch the Bobo doll; I decided to cut the poor clown some slack. It got beaten up enough and there was always a limit to one's patience; even Bozo the clown has feelings even though he creeps me out to no end. Instead, I went to the guitar that stood in the corner of my room next to the French windows that led out to my balcony.
Nyssa and Colin had bought me a guitar as soon as I told them I played some music but until then I had not touched it once and I missed my music; doing covers and writing my own songs. I published a few songs on Wattpad; when enough people liked them, I wrote tunes to go with them on YouTube and got 65 k views in a matter of hours! It was mad!
I gently took the guitar from its stand, some paper and a pen and then went out onto the balcony and admired the London view and felt a massive smile carve on my face as the rare English sunshine beamed onto my face; I closed my eyes and soaked up a little Vitamin D. I then dared to look down at the red double-decker buses and all the black taxis and the amount of taxis. People on opposite balconies that saw me waved at me and I waved back. I looked from left to right; right was my favourite as I could clearly see the London Eye, the Gherkin and Big Ben. London. One of my all time favourite cities.
I seated down in the ivory chair and table, turning it a little to the left to not be completely blinded by the sunshine, on my balcony that stood a little further away from the balcony and began strumming on the guitar, surprising myself that I didn't sound too bad even though my practise times got severely cut short when I entered the Gymnasium due to the amount of homework and revision set.
A song then formulated in my head as I strummed on the guitar and I started writing the lyrics onto the paper. I didn't get very far; I had changed my mind and turned the paper around to retry. Again as I just strummed gently on the guitar, throwing together a few random notes, a song started formulating and I had to write it down. As before, I didn't like the song that I had started writing.
Frustrated, I threw down the pen onto the paper.
Stupid brain, I thought.
My angry thoughts then made me drift onto Anuerin and how he was such a big, mean bully. About how his colleagues, even the world's most famous boy-band, expected some kind of action hero that has to not only find others like herself but also find her parents. The pressure, anger, hatred and bitterness started formulating itself into a song and tune.
Not bothering to write this song down, I started strummed the tune on the guitar and hummed the intro before going into the song six seconds later.
"My life has never been ordinary, nothing extraordinary
No, not at all
I am never the girl with many friends and it suited me fine
I am the girl who talks to the rain
I am the girl who talks to the sun
I am the girl with too many languages in her head
The chica who never could really shine
Yeah
But then one day
So suddenly
With no warning
No heads up
What's going on with the world
The world I thought I knew
Everything changed and I am suddenly
Suddenly
Out of the blue
The o-o-one
Chosen for this
I can't be
The Cho-o-osen
One for this task
I can't be
The Chosen One
The Chosen One
What have I ever done
What did I ever do
Do to be the special one
Do you see me
Or do you see the Cho-o-osen O-o-one
The Chosen One
God, w-w-why
Why me
Why me
Why me
What have I done to deserve this
How can you do this to me now
After so long of being ignored
I am not who you think I am
I am not who you think I am
I'm not
The o-o-one
Chosen for this
I can't be
The Cho-o-osen
One for this task
I can't be
The Chosen One
The Chosen One
Fi-i-i-re
Fi-i-i-re
Is what I am
Fi-i-i-re
I am one of eleven
Why me
Why me
Why me
Fi-i-i-re
Fi-i-i-re
I'm gonna find the others
You'll see
But I, I am still not sure
That I am
The o-o-one
Chosen for this
I can't be
The Cho-o-osen
One for this task
I can't be
The Chosen One
The Chosen One
My life has never been ordinary, nothing extraordinary
No, not at all
I am never the girl with many friends and it suited me fine
I am the girl who talks to the rain
I am the girl who talks to the sun
I am the girl with too many languages in her head
The chica who never could really shine"
That was when I found out that my singing was heard.
As soon as I stopped singing and stopped strumming my guitar, cheering and applause sounded behind me and I whirled round to see Nyssa, Colin, Art, Venus, Chris, the 1D guys (I was really surprised to see them) and Anuerin standing in my room.
How did they come in without me noticing?
Duh! You know what you can be like! When ever you're composing, you lose track of your surroundings, my brain snapped.
"Amazing! Bloody brilliant!" Colin was shouting, practically dancing. "You weren't kidding when you said you're into music, Val."
"You thought I was kidding?" I said, giving him a pointed look.
Colin looked at his feet. "No."
I grinned. "Liar."
"I hate you right now," Niall said, shaking his head at me. "Thank heaven you didn't enter the X Factor when we did or you would have won!"
I scoffed at this. "Yeah, sure," I said sarcastically.
"No, we're not kidding," Zayn said. "That was great. You should perform with us on stage some time."
I chuckled. "Sorry, hell no! No longer do crowds!"
"Since when?" Harry asked.
"Since I was 14."
"Pfffft, girl I'm surprised your voice hasn't died!"
"Harry!" the other 1D guys snapped.
I then changed the subject and said, "Why are all of you in my room anyway? Eavesdropping? Spying? Babysitting?"
"Man hunt actually," Colin said cheerfully.
"When no one had seen you for a while, we decided to search for you," Nyssa added.
"Then our neighbours called and told us there was someone they had never seen before on one of our balconies with a guitar and singing," Chris said brightly.
I rolled my eyes. "I came here for privacy. I can see that you people can't grant me that liberty anymore."
"Welcome to our world, sweetheart," Harry said.
"Don't call me that!" I snapped.
"Do . . . you want something to eat?" Colin asked carefully.
"Sure," I muttered, looking at my feet.
As the intruders took their leave I turned back to look out at my London view, trying to hide my embarrassment of being overheard. I started strumming on the guitar again, trying to encode the tune into my longterm memory.
One, however, lurked behind.
Three guesses who.
"Valyn?"
I stopped strumming but didn't answer.
Anuerin continued, "Valyn, look at me, please."
Something about Anuerin's tone surprised me; it smiled. His voice was smiling. Curiosity taking over, I looked at Anuerin. I was gobsmacked to see that Anuerin's face was alight, all because he was smiling. Genuinely smiling. I narrowed my eyes slyly at this.
"That was really good," he said.
Not gonna fall for that one, amigo, I thought.
I sighed and scratched my forehead, which suddenly started itching. "Anuerin, I know you want something, so just ask me."
Anuerin's smile minaturised slightly. "Can I still mentor you, or am I fired?"
I had to stop myself from laughing by biting my lower lip. I answered with a question, "Do you still want to mentor me?"
"Yes," he replied, smiling again. The smile then morphed into a smirk. "On one condition."
I rolled my eyes. "What?" I dared to ask.
"Come and have lunch with me. At Selfridge's."
I thought my ears were deceiving me, playing tricks. Did my moody mentor just ask me on some kind of date?! At one of the most expensive department stores in London?! Was he mad?!
Anuerin then attempted puppy eyes. "Please?" he added meekly.
I took a deep breath. "Fine," I answered. "But this does not mean that I forgive you!"
"Of course," Anuerin replied but he couldn't hide his smile.
As much as I wanted to believe that Anuerin had changed his tune, my gut instinct told me that it wasn't completely genuine.
First of all, people do not change in a matter of days. Secondly, Anuerin was too much of a military man to soften is tone quickly. Third, I shouted and disrespected him; some people are not usually that forgiving. Fourth, he worked for the United Kingdom government - they have their own agenda. They were not helping me out of the goodness of their hearts!
I kept my silence from the headquarters all the way to Selfridge's, listening to Anuerin as he chatted about London history and monuments.
I couldn't keep my silence any longer when we got to Selfridge's. Anuerin, who had not been oblivious to my lack of speech, finally said, "What's the matter, Valyn? You literally have not said a word since you agreed to come."
I deeply inhaled and exhaled. "Why are you suddenly being nice to me?"
I thought Anuerin was going to come up with some cock-and-bull story but he said with a slight shrug, "Our little spat was overheard. No sooner had you left me back there feeling like a total ass, Art and Athos, the leader of another division, said I was being too hard on you. That I was slowly but steadily driving you away; "She's supposed to trust us, not hate us!"" The latter he said in a perfect immitation of Art, and it got a chuckle out of me.
Anuerin looked smug at this and continued. "Athos made me promise to try be your friend as well as your coach. Said to remember that you're a girl and therefore has a natural short fuse box; also mentioned that it didn't help that you are the element of fire. Said it just makes your situation all the worse."
I gave in to the laughter this time.
"Well, I appreciate you making the effort," I said as I regained my composure; annoyingly enough, the smile was still on my face.
I looked down at the table at my hands.
"So," Anuerin said, clearing his throat, causing me to look up at him, which was probably what he intended for me to do. "Tell me about yourself?"
My barriers had been put up again. "Why?" I asked.
Anuerin shrugged. "Two weeks I have seen you but all we know about each other are our names and background. Not good for a working relationship."
I snorted, looked away from Anuerin again.
My 'imaginary friends' spoke to me again at this point.
"Go on! Where's the harm in having a little fun?" my devil advisor said. "You've been interrogated. So now, let's give this Welsh welp a taste of his own medicine!"
"Remember to keep it borderline civil," the angel added.
Got it, I answered.
"OK, I am going to tell you three things about me," I said. "You have to work out which one is the lie."
Anuerin nodded in agreement. "Sounds like fun. OK."
"OK," I said, smiling slightly. "I used to attand tango lessons, I hate shopping and my guilty pleasure is a roll of Maryland biscuits."
Anuerin laughed. His laugh made me laugh; I couldn't help myself even if I tried. It made his entire face light up, and brought an amazing light to his usually brutually cold eyes; I know this is gonna sound sappy but Anuerin's laugh could have lighted up the darkest parts of the universe. Seeing him like this, you would not believe that he wasn't always like this. People were giving judgemental looks but others had to laugh as well. I didn't blame them; Anuerin's laugh was infectious.
"You really know how to make life easy," Anuerin said sarcastically. He then frowned thoughtfully. The fact he was actually taking this seriously made me laugh quietly to myself. "Hmmm . . . . well, you don't look like the shopping type, so I doubt you like it much . . . am I correct?"
I grinned at him. "Maybe."
"That's a yes," Anuerin decided. He started brooding again. "Now . . . the tango lessons, or the Marylands . . . . Grrr, hard one now! Girls always love biccies . . . can't get enough of them . . . Valyn, she doesn't look like much of a dancer . . . " He then looked at me. "Is the tango lessons one the lie?"
It was my turn to laugh in triumph. "I win!" I jeered at him. "I did take tango lessons!"
"Really?! But . . . does that mean you don't like Marylands?"
"I do, they're just not my guilty pleasure. Vlaae is."
"What is?!"
"Vlaae. It rivals the German Kuche and the exquisite French patisserie, in my personal opinion. My father was the best Vlaae baker in town; won four years in a row with his creations in every bake off." I knew I sounded full of pride and boastful but Papa's Vlaae talents was the real familiy treasure. I cared nothing for the dagger in my boot.
Talking about my dad made me drift back onto that night. The night I was close to being kidnapped. The night my parents were kidnapped.
Were they alive?
What was being done to them? Russians were not particularly known for taking mercy on those who displeased them.
Where were they being held?
What had they done to deserve to be targeted?
My parents were too innocent for this. They would not survive. For goodness sake, what could Sedah want with a clock maker and a baker?! I doubt it was just to lure me to him.
Anuerin must have seen my expression change because he said, "Is it my turn to get you guessing?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
"OK. I wanted to be an actor not a soldier. I used to cage fight from thirteen to eighteen years old. I had a twin sister, who was just like you, who died in childbirth."
I tried not to wince at the last one. I highly doubted that one was the lie.
Option Two. I could definitely imagine Anuerin in a cage and beating the shit out of some two-tone guy!
Option One. I could never imagine Anuerin on stage or on a film set following orders from directors in the most outrageous of costumes in wacko characters! Just thinking about Anuerin, with his perminent frowny face, in a pantomime was just comedy in itself!
"Option One has to be the lie," I said, trying to keep my voice steady while attempting to suppress my laughter, "because I seriously don't imagine seeing you prancing around on a stage dressed up as a girl when you're a guy in a pantomime!"
Anuerin too had to chuckle at that but quickly stopped. He tried not to let the smile fade from his face but I could see sadness in his eyes. "That's something along the lines what my parents said when I had the nerve to tell them what I really wanted to do with my life."
I suddenly stopped laughing. "Oh. Sorry. I-I-I didn't know . . . you just don't-"
"Seem like the type?" Anuerin guessed, smiling slightly. "It's OK. You're not the first. The others laughed at me for a week when I told them! I wish my parents did that instead of sending me to military boarding school."
"How was that?" I asked.
"The miliatry school? It was like a prison. It turned me into the soldier my parents wanted, but it turned me into the person I never wanted to be, so I ended up taking it out on others."
"Turning you into Mr. Grumpy Gills," I said, quoting Dory from Finding Nemo.
Anuerin looked at me apologetically but nodded. "You could say that."
I frowned. "Which one is the lie then?"
"None of them. Apart from one little detail in Option Three: my sister was nothing like you."
"Is that a compliment or an insult?"
"Compliment, of course. You really aren't used to compliments, are you?"
"Not particularly," I agreed. I then bowed my head. "My condolences to you about your sister."
Anuerin shrugged. "It's OK. She died four years ago." He sighed. "Her name was Clare. She was the only one in my family who supported my ambition to be an actor. She would sign me up to every school play without telling Mum and Dad-"
"You do know you don't have to tell me about her," I said.
"I know but I want to," Anuerin answered, smiling again. "I need to talk about it. Clare would also invent alibis for me on recital nights; she even bribed some of my friends to ensure that they wouldn't have fits the size of the Empire State Building. She was also the one who accompanied me to cage fights; kicked and flipped any guy who attempted to touch her in the audience. Clare was the one who protested against my parents sending to me to military school after they found out about my so-called 'secret life'. Mum and Dad ignored her, seeing as she was a disappointment to them because she was a) a pacfist and b) had decided to go to dance school in London when she turned sixteen. When I left home . . . Clare began slipping away. She changed beyond recognition; she no longer wanted to dance, she started drinking and partying and smoking even though she had repelled alcohol and smoking. She no longer wrote to me; I didn't like the boyfriend she had at the time. Gerran. He was Twat Number One; a notorious womanizer and one who I beat in the cages. I knew he cared nothing for her; he was using her to get money and sex. She didn't listen to me; convinced herself she was in love. Then, a year after hearing nothing from Clare, I get a call from her that states she is pregnant, Gerran has left her for her best friend and that Mum and Dad have kicked her out because they don't want a pregnant ale addict under their roof."
"Lovely parents you have," I muttered sarcastically.
Anuerin continued. "Clare went to live with Grandma back in Wales. Grandma, although disappointed, did not send her away and apparently had spent hours and hours on end having screaming wars with Mum and Dad on the phone. Everything went fine - Clare carried the baby to term. Ultrascans confirmed that she was having a girl and immediately decided the name should be Erin, after the nickname she gave me. I was flattered but embarrassed-"
"Why?! You're her brother!"
"Yes but it kept to family traditions and Clare and I made a pact to try and break away from family tradition. But when it came to the baby's name, there was no changing Clare's mind. Anyway, I only returned when Clare went into labour. It was torture; it took Clare three full days to deliver Erin."
I grimaced and put my head in my hands. "Nondeju!"
Anuerin continued. "My thoughts exactly. It was thought that Clare would survive but Erin wouldn't. They had to perform emergency C-section. But Clare . . . she developed an illness during when she was trying to get Erin out via the traditional way; it took her within days. Doctors still don't know what it was. I lost my twin sister on Halloween and Erin lost her mother. I was pissed off and devestated."
I exhaled deeply, shaking my head.
Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
Mr. Grumpy Gills certainly had some history!
"Where's Erin now?" I dared ask. "Please tell me Gerran didn't get hold of her."
"Hell no! Grandma ensured of that. She took the kid in,much to Mum and Dad's protests. Before I left the family permanently, making myself disappear, I went to Gerran. Told him that Clare died . . . and that she had a miscarriage-"
I couldn't keep in the silent gasp that had formed when he said the latter part. "You lied to him?!"
"He never once gave tuppence about Clare or Erin, so why should he have the right to see the kid when she was born?! He doesn't. Better keep him out of Erin's life for good, was my thought. When I told him, he didn't care either! He just continued drinking and left with Clare's traitor of a best friend."
I nodded. Anuerin had a point but it was still kinda cruel. But then . . . he made himself disappear from the family, so he wasn't there for Erin either.
"Why didn't you take Erin in yourself?" I dared to ask.
Anuerin tensed up noticeably and looked down towards the table. "I was too young. I couldn't. I was reckless and impulsive; I couldn't handle raising any kid, let alone my sister's. Beside, I wanted nothing to do with my family. Still don't."
As he spoke, I got the idea that Anuerin hated talking about Erin and I had a mental image of why. I suspected Anuerin blamed his own niece for the death of his sister.
Clare dying and Erin, a piece of Gerran as well, surviving was the last straw for him.
All I could do was nod.
"So, enough about the unpleasantries," Anuerin said, smiling again as he changed the subject. "I get to ask you a question since you got my turn wrong."
"Fine," I agreed.
"OK. Just so you know, you can answer in only 'yes' and 'no' if you wish." Anuerin took a big sigh and then said, "When you had that hissy fit at me, did you mean what you said about yourself? Do you really consider yourself a freak; a monster created by evil scientists?"
Dammit, Anuerin. I chuckled nervously. "I knew my rant was going to come back to bite me sooner or later. I just didn't think it'd be this soon."
It was now my turn to be uncomfortable and look down at the table.
Anuerin leaned forwards slightly to try and keep eye contact with me. "Do you?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"Why do you?"
"Because all of my life, I was treated differently. Even by my own adopted family."
"Is there another reason?"
"Yes."
I said that a little too quickly because Anuerin started frowning; and seeing the guy every single day for almost two weeks I picked up some of his little body language and facial quirks to tell what he was thinking. At the moment, he had put on his I-am-waiting-for-you-to-continue face. After a minute or two, I looked back up at Anuerin
"Water," I said at last.
Anuerin looked slightly taken aback. "Water?" he repeated.
I nodded, feeling ashamed. I was about to spill one of the darkest secrets I held.
"I can't go near bodies of water, regular or tap water or rain water. I can't go near bodies of water without feeling drained or tried, or like someone is pouring boiling oil over me. I can't breathe. I can't drink water of any kind; when I try to, it's like I'm drinking battery acid or something like that. Normal rain water is like acid rain to me; when it touches my skin, I have this feeling that it's eroding my skin. I can't even take a bath; the water has to be at least fifty degrees Celcius before I do. Swimming is a no-no for me now; the mandatory swimming lessons in Holland were like Hell on Earth. My parents didn't think anything of it until they saw me smoking once after getting out of the pool; smoking, not in smoking cigarettes, but smoking as in the kind fire does when being dosed with water."
I bit my lip, trying to ignore Anuerin's intent stare.
"My parents then got worried and took my to see the doctor, who said I was allergic to water and water temperature." I chuckled humourlessly at that memory. "But I knew better; the doc kon niet die emotie in zijn ogen ververgen."
Anuerin looked uber confused.
I chuckled. "Sorry. Can't say everything in English yet."
"Well, what did you mean to say in English?"
"That his eyes did not really conceal his emotions very well."
"Oh, he couldn't hide the emotion in his eyes? You mean to say that his eyes betrayed him?"
"Yes."
"OK. Continue."
"The doctor had attempted to cover up the fact he didn't know what was wrong with me. In fact, come to think about it . . . we never got the test results back from the test they made me do . . ." My eyes widened with fear. "Nonjedu! Godverdomme! They must have seen the abnormalities in my DNA! No wonder they looked at me weirdly! Klootzakken! Godverdommese klootzakken!"
"Calm down," Anuerin said gently. "You may have a point; we'll ask a few of our scouts in the field to check out the data base on you in the Dutch hospital system. But I agree that not laying eyes on your own test results is worrying. As for your not-being-able-to-go-near-or-in-water dilemma, it's actually pretty obvious why that is."
"And why is that?"
"Valyn, you are Fire. Fire and water naturally do not mix! They are ying-and-yang, North and South Pole. Just as the Ice Kinetic won't be able to go near anything to do with your element, you cannot go anywhere near the Water Kinetic's domain. You are the elements of nature in human form; you have to stay within the Laws of Nature."
"Brilliant," I said sarcastically. "And these laws are ones you can't rebel against, right?"
Anuerin chuckled and nodded. "I'm afraid so."
"Anything else you want to ask me?"
"Yes." Anuerin was now grinning really cheekily. "How many guys have dared to ask you out?"
I mentally wanted to die at this point.
Anuerin's POV
I honestly have no idea why I did not ask Valyn to lunch earlier. Until that point when Valyn lost her temper with me, God knows how long she had waited to let all of that anger and frustration out of her system, I didn't see her as anything but a Kinetic who needed a firm hand and just needed to constantly train before Jove sent her out into the big wide world to find her eleven 'siblings', as we called them. In just today, my whole view-point on Valyn changed. Especially after hearing her sing back there on the balcony. Hearing her sing was like listening to an angel, and the story behind her song . . . Wow . . . .
Erin, what the hell is happening to your head, man?! my brain scolded at me. You are her mentor and you have been for the past thirteen days! You cannot start falling for her after one day!
My brain was right; when it came to Valyn Enya Mesman, I had to keep focused. Her job was to find the other Kinetics before Sedah and his men do, and it was my job to train her for that job. Both of us could not afford the distractions.
Valyn clicked her fingers in my face. "Oi! Earth to Erin!"
I jumped slightly and smiled weakly. "Yeah. I'm still here."
"I asked you if I can order another Schwarzwald Kirsch Torte."
"A what?"
She rolled her eyes. "Black Forest Gateau. Jeez! Learn your European languages man!"
This got me curious again. "How many European languages do you speak?"
"Dutch, German, Spanish, and a minor amount of French," she said proudly.
I suddenly felt inferior. "I only speak Welsh, my mother tongue, as well as English."
Valyn smirked. "Awww, poor Erin!" she said in a mock sweet tone and I looked at her in mock anger.
A ringtone then sounded. Knowing the tune, I checked the caller ID just to make sure.
Low and behold, it was Nyssa.
I seriously needed to change the tune; Haunted by Evanescence really creeped me out, which Nyssa did as well and she knew it so probably the reason why she installed it on my phone.
The regular posh prats in the cafe in ear shot glared daggers at me while Valyn was trying not to laugh at me as she went to order another Black Forest Gateau.
I smiled reassuringly at her as I picked up.
"Bad timing, Nyssa," I said.
"Oooo, your date with Valyn going well then?" Nyssa answered teasingly.
I rolled my eyes. "It's not a date, it's a-"
"Lunch with a colleague on a professional basis. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know," she recited in a bored tone. "You may have Art and the others fooled, but I know you too well. Even when you were a right twat to her, I could tell the more time you spent with that girl, the more you were growing to like her. Even if she didn't lose her temper with you, it was a matter of time before you would pluck up the courage to talk to her."
"Nothing can happen between us," I growled, hating the fact myself. "Did you just call for the sake of being irritating or is there a reason?"
I knew Nyssa was pouting on the other end because she said, "Awww, come on! Don't return to being Grumpy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But yes, there is a reason I called. You and Valyn are going to have to cut you 'professional colleague lunch' off."
"Why?" I asked, suddenly alert. "Something happening? Has something happened?"
"No, nothing yet. But the fake passport IDs of four of Sedah's hit girls have come up. They just arrived at London Stansted. I highly doubt that they are here to take a sight-seeing tour through Buckingham Palace, take a ride on the London Eye or buy a I Heart London T-shirt!"
"Keep your hair on, Nys, we're coming," I answered. "Which ones are here?"
"Anna Alekseeva, Natalya Ivanova, Nina Fedorova and Izolda Vasilieva."
I cursed to myself In Welsh. Of course, it just had to be those four!
"Anuerin? You still there?"
I sighed. "Yeah. Yeah. I am."
"Valyn there?"
I looked up at the dessert table. Valyn had gotten the largest slice of Black Forest of what remained of the cake. Seeing Valyn, who was as skinny and slim as anything, piling up a vast amount of calories on the plate and she couldn't give tuppence about it made me smile.
"Yeah," I said, "she is."
"Your voice is smiling!"
"Shut up, Nyssa!"
Nyssa blew a raspberry. "Just come back to HQ. We need to get Valyn outta here ASAP!"
Valyn came back just as I hung up on Nyssa. She must have seen the frown on my face because she said, "Todo bien? Que pasa, amigo?"
I grinned. "No comprendo Spanish."
She smirked. "I know."
"Evil girl."
"Better believe it, honey." She stabbed her fork into her second piece of Black Forest and dug in. "What is it? You look bothered about something?"
"We have to leave. Now. Your location has been uncovered and therefore your safety has been compromised."
I expected her to freak out. Instead, Valyn calmly nodded, wrapped up her gateau in a napkin and slung on her leather jacket. "Well, then. We'd better make sure no harm comes to the people stupid enough to come after me. Especially after taking my parents."
I blinked, then chuckled.
She frowned at this. "What?" she demanded.
"You are not panicking," I said, stating the obvious.
"Of course not," she answered, rolling her eyes. "They say fight fire with water but you have to fight fire with fire. The baddies are like you; they are normal, un-kintetified human beings, they cannot beat me at my own game. Let them come. I have a score to settle with them, anyway."
Valyn's POV
I felt less brave than I actually felt; at least Anuerin bought my bravado pretty well. Once more, I was silent throughout our car journey and for once, Anuerin was the same.
I liked that lunch with McKay, believe it or not. I couldn't believe that story about his sister and niece, though . . . it was shocking. What was more, I couldn't believe that I told him about my weakness to water! I was trusting him . . . this could be good or bad!
"You have gone silent again," Anuerin said as we passed the statue of Lord Nelson.
"So have you," I pointed out.
"You're not getting scared, are you?" McKay teased.
"Not on your watch!" I answered back. "Just . . . the adrenaline . . . and the constant raging fire inside of me that continuously wants to come out and burn things."
"Why do you always stay to fight? A good soldier knows the right time to fight and the right time to keep low."
I rolled my eyes. "When you stay low, nothing happens," I said, surprising even myself. Damn, hanging around with Mr. Army Lad has rubbed some stuff off of me! "I've been raised to stand my ground and not give in and that's what I am going to do. Why else do you think I put up with you, a-hole?"
Anuerin remained silent and looked at me, with shocked eyes.
This confused and surprised me further and I tilted my head at him. "Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked slyly.
"Like what?" he asked innocently, blinking suddenly.
I chuckled at this. "Like you had just seen a ghost or something."
He cleared his throat. "I wasn't."
"Yeah, yeah," I said sarcastically.
"And I'm not an a-hole."
"Debateable, and you know it yourself."
"Do you really think I'm an a-hole?"
"Not now . . . if that's what you're asking . . . or back there when we were having lunch . . ." I sighed and looked at my lap. Damn you Valyn and your bloody bigmouth! Why are you bloody stuttering in front of this guy?!
"It's OK, Val," he said chuckling, playfully smacking my arm. "I'm messing with you! Lighten up!"
I smiled but weakly.
I must have really worried McKay at this point because he took my right hand in his left and gave it a comforting squeeze. I was surprised to find that his hand was surprisingly warm and soft; shouldn't tell his dad in case he would make Anuerin scrape sandpaper against his hands!
I also tried not to gasp as his hand made contact with mine. It was as if McKay sent an electric shock into my hand as soon as his skin contacted mine.
W.
T.
F.
Looks like Fire is getting the hots for Mr. Grumpy Gills! my brain sang in a jeery tone.
Shut up, brain, was my answer.
I then completely contradicted myself and gave my brain more of a reason to jeer.
I asked Anuerin for a hug. He complied; as if reading my mind, not the dirty-minded brain mind, he did not let me go, as I was grateful for that.
"Everything's going to be fine," he said in a low tone. "Valyn?"
"Ja?"
"Promise me you won't do anything stupid?"
"Like what?"
"Like . . . . deliberately putting yourself in the firing line."
"You worried about me, or something?!"
"Yes. We haven't finished training you."
"Oh." Why did that bother me?!!?!?! "Well, you won't have to worry about me. I handled foot soldiers before."
"These girls are not footsoliders. They are official contract killers."
"Great! Let the fun begin!" I said with sarcastic happiness.
The fun began with Nyssa, Colin and Athos (a guy who seriously looked hot with a beard!) dragging me down to the tunnels as soon as Anuerin and I stepped foot inside the HQ.
"Hurry up! You bloody retards, man! You trying to get yourselves killed?!" Nyssa ranted as she marched down the corridor while slowly dislocating my arm. "We need to get you out of here, ASAP, Valyn! Russians + contract killers = major trouble and blood bath coming! And they are coming here for you; we even had to revoke One Direction's access to this place and put them in the Savoy; we have just earned the headline in the Daily Mail, HOTEL KICKS OUT ONE DIRECTION!"
"Well, that's too bad!" Anuerin said sarcastically as he practically ran to keep up with my three kidnappers. "Nyssa, you are ripping Valyn's arm off!"
"Erin, I know that you feel protective of this girl but Jove himself has given Nyssa, Colin and myself the task of keeping Valyn safe now," Athos said calmly and reasonably. "We need you and your team, Erin, to help fight Anna Alekseeva, Natalya Ivanova, Nina Fedorova and Izolda Vasilieva. As you know, we are not the strongest of fighters but we are the fastest drivers. And Valyn needs to leave, now!"
We dodged past and round people; they were scrambling for weapons in almost every single room, setting up boobytraps in every room, corridor and toilet (dread to think what those do!) and getting into cars that looked all the same in the parking lot . . . no scratch that, they were all the same! Black Land Rovers and Volvos.
"Exactly! Which is why I should come too! You can't fight and you can only use guns properly . . . just! And I am her mentor," Anuerin protested. "Please-"
KABOOOM! CRAAAAAAASH!!
Although these loud, ear shattering noises occured overhead, they were as loud to us underground as if they were occuring right beside us. The ground underneath our feet shook and everyone had to crouch down to ensure no one fell over.
"GAAAAAH! I HATE IVANOVA AND HER GRENADES AND EXPLOSIVE STINK BOMBS!" Colin bellowed.
"Excuse me?!" I said.
"Natalya Ivanova; Queen Bitch Number Two," Nyssa answered darkly. "Mistress of Anything To Do With Explosives. She even has this new explosive stink bomb that not only destroys buildings and kills humans upon impact but unleashes knock-out gases that stink like Colin after an entire day at the gym; I can tell you, it's really nasty-OWWW!"
Yep, Colin had smacked his sister round the head for that.
"We need to move," Athos said, getting us all back onto our feet. "Erin, we have to talk about this later!"
"Fine," McKay snarled. "But if any harm comes to her, it is on you, Nyssa and Colin, and I will never forgive you."
"Why are you so protective of someone you hardly know?" Colin asked.
I saw Nyssa roll her eyes; she knew something that obviously Athos, Colin and I were not aware of.
Anuerin grinded Nyssa to a halt and thus had mercy on my poor arm, which BTW, was now throbbing as if I had been weilding an iron broad sword that had not been balanced properly. I speak from experience when I say that that hurts like a right bitch!
He was now pointing to the nearest Land Rover, glaring at my three new babysitters. "Go to the car. I want to speak with Valyn alone."
Nyssa, Colin and Athos complied. I say they would have been incredibly stupid not to have done so.
I turned back to McKay. "What's up with you? I have never seen you like this."
"I said before; I don't want you to get hurt. And although Athos is one of the best, Nyssa and Colin's track record does not match up. Valyn. I was put up to teach, guide and protect you and I am not doing that job if something happens to you. Once I start something, I finish it. I . . . should shut up round about now."
"Yeah, good idea," I agreed.
But, I could not ignore the sudden increase in my heartbeat. I was . . . touched, by what he said. Something I never felt with what someone of the opposite gender said to me.
Anuerin embraced me, also something I needed to get used to from him, and I was quick to return the hug. This guy was seriously messing with my head! He was so confusing . . . one minute he could put the 'evil' in the word 'devil' . . . and then the next . . . he was taking me to lunch, laughing and hugging me?!
I could hear his heart beat, and it was just as fast as mine. He . . . smelled of chocolate . . . and felt warm. His entire being felt warm.
"Be careful out there," he whispered. "Training wheels are coming off to early, Valyn. Think you can handle it?"
I scoffed. "Please! I could ride a bike at the age of two!"
Anuerin chuckled and let me go, beaming at me. "Go kick their asses!" he said, trying to imitate me.
I rolled my eyes. "Get out of here before I kick your ass!"
A look of pain spread across his face but Erin turned and left the parking lot, looking back once before going into a sprint. He was gone.
"Come on, Valyn!" Colin shouted.
"In the rover, chica!" Athos added.
I jogged over to the back to where Nyssa was waiting with the car door open. She had a look of understanding on her face, a cheeky grin nonetheless, and gave me a wink.
"Let's roll!" she shouted as I shut the door and sneared myself in with the savety belt.
And we had to roll fast.
KAAAABBBOOOOM!!!! HISSSSS!!! CRASH!!!
The sound of the assassins' bombs was right behind us. Other cars and rovers were following Athos's rover, towards the exit but causing one great big useless traffic jam. It was chaos.
Something the Russians loved, I guessed.
"We're gonna make it, we're gonna make it," Colin said.
Fate laughed in Colin's face.
Goddammit, Anuerin! WHY DIDN'T YOU KISS HER?!!?!
Gaaaaaah!!!
The brain of guys, especially those made up, are sometimes hard to figure out!!
I hope you are enjoying the story so far!
What are your thoughts on Anuerin and Valyn? Please let me know! I'm not very good with mushy couple scenes and could use some help!!
Should I kill off some characters? And if yes, tell me who! :D
The pic on the side is Valyn, looking at Anuerin retreating for a moment before getting into the Land Rover!!