-CHAPTER EIGHT-
•Death Awakens a Curse•

Jennifer's POV (Point of view)

I woke up the next morning with a massive headache; it felt like someone was bashing a rock against my skull. I rose up from the infirmary bed and saw James asleep in a chair next to me. A nurse came into the room with pillows and clean blankets, singing gospel songs.

"You're finally awake. Are you feeling better?"

"I'm as good as new." I lied. I wanted to leave as quickly as possible. I still felt weak from last night, but I didn't want to waste any more time lying in the infirmary.

"Well let me feel out the paperwork and you're free to go."

"Okay." I looked down at my ankle, tightly wrapped in bandages, and spotted a note sitting at the edge of the bed.

I opened it and I read:

Dear, Jennifer

I hope you're ok. I carried you to the infirmary and made sure someone came to check on you. I don't know what was going on but I'm glad you're alright. By the time you see this I should be completely asleep. I know you aren't really looking for friends, but I'm still going to be here when you need me. If you're gone before I wake up I'll see you around.

Sincerely, James

I didn't understand why he cared so much. He barely knows me. He gets attached too easily and he's nice to everyone; most of the people here could care less about me passing out, but James, he does. I've seen him fight and he's one of the best fighters I've ever seen. How could someone so vicious in battle be so calm and friendly in reality? It's like he's a completely different person each time I meet him.

The nurse returned with a pink slip.

"You can go now."

"Thank you." I slid out of bed and wobbled as I tried to stand.

"How long has he been here?" I asked.

"He never left. He refused to leave until he knew you were feeling better. You've got a good one on your hands; don't mess it up." She laughed.

"Oh, no, were not--"

"Have a good day. "

Before I could explain she walked away with her headphones plugged into her ears, and a smile stuck on her face.

I turned towards James. He looked as if he was having a good sleep; I didn't want to get in the way of that. He's already helped me enough. I found a pen sitting on the nightstand. I grabbed it and wrote a message on the back of his note:

~Thank you for helping me, if you hadn't who knows what what have happened to me. Come find me when you see this and maybe we can hangout.~

I placed the note in his lap and left the infirmary. As I walked among the other students, I couldn't help but notice everyone acting weird; they were staring and whispering things under their breath as I walked by. My little incident last night must have made me the topic of everyone's conversation.

I found myself approaching the two main offices that stood side by side. One belonging to Principle Ronald and the other to Crowley.
I could see Jinx in the distance knocking on Crowley's door. He let her in and caught a glimpse of me. He pointed at me and signaled for me to come inside.

I felt uneasy as I walked inside. Crowley still didn't look like he was in a good mood. Seconds after entering, I noticed the room resembled a strange nightclub; neon lights hung on the walls in the shape of a dolphin, techno was blasting from his speakers and he had bottles of liquor sitting at the corner of his desk.

"How... professional. I see you take a lot of pride in your work." I said, sarcastically.

"I like to do things differently," he said. "Just like my office, I am unique, but I didn't call you in here to talk about my workplace. I wanted to talk about the job I assigned to you two last night; can you explain to me what happened?"

I was silent, but Jinx didn't hesitate to rat me out.

"Jennifer messed this up; is that right? He focused his attention on me. "I released you because you're one of the best, well-trained assassins around. You went up against clan elders and eliminated them with ease, but you couldn't do a simple extraction job? Something about that doesn't seem right. Let me ask you something; do you have a weak spot for the mixed breeds?"

Jinx had a grin on her face as Crowley raised his voice at me.

"Answer me!" He slammed his fist down upon a black book; the title instantly caught my attention:
"How to raise the dead." Why would he need something like that? What was he planning?

He must have noticed I was looking because he quickly put the book away and completely out of sight.

"I... Something happened...I was distracted."

"What could have possibly distracted you?"

I remembered the eyes of that little girl; so calm, so...innocent. She looked as if she was worried; not because of what I was doing, but afraid of what we both might have seen in that glance into my future.

"I cut my leg." I said, as I showed him the bandage.

He cursed at me without any feeling of remorse.

"You failed you're mission because of a cut?! What's going through your head. Jinx, I'm hoping you didn't disappoint me as well. Show me the power you acquired."

"Unfortunately, sir, I didn't manage to get any either; I didn't have enough time to finish the ritual. The ritual was ruined but I did manage to put a tracker in him beforehand."

"What good is that? I need power, not some boy's location."

"As our first plan turned into a failure, I already worked out another plan," she said. "Once the exams start the mixed breeds are most likely going to stick together."

"What's your point?"

"With the tracker, I can find the target, along with all the rest of the mixed breeds. I can steal their powers, then kill them all one by one; and since it's a survival test no one would care or suspect anything more than me just taking out the competition."

He seemed surprised at her devious plan, even I was a little shocked. Crowley let out a sinister laugh.

"Jinx, you're a genius. Maybe I was wrong about you needing backup along the way; you seem to be capable all on your own."

"Wait, so you are going to kill them? What happened to just extracting their powers?"

"Sacrifices have to be made to carry on the greater good."

"I agree. " Jinx said, rubbing her fangs.

"What could be so good that it requires the extinction of the entire restricted sector? You can't do that it's not right."

"Well who's going to stop us? You?"

"If I have to."

I looked down hoping to find my weapons but they were all confiscated.

"Well, well, don't mind me saying this but I'm kind of starting to think you messed up that job on purpose," said Crowley. "Tell me something...are you planning to betray us, Jennifer?"

I quickly grabbed an empty bottle of vodka and busted it across his desk as I backed away.

"I'm not going to kill them, and neither are you!"

I suddenly felt light-headed. My quick movements are putting a lot of strain on my body; that's not good considering my injuries haven't completely healed yet.

"What a shame; so much talent being wasted."

Crowley shot his shadow passed me and locked the door.

"You're not leaving this room. We will kill you and we will get away with it. No one here cares enough about you to even notice you're gone."

Jinx revealed her fangs and approached me. I felt uncomfortable fighting someone from my own clan, but this was not how I was going to die.
They drew near. As much as I wanted to defend myself, my body just wasn't strong enough to handle another fight so soon.
Just as I thought things were about to get bloody I heard a knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" Crowley groaned.

I tossed the broken bottle and Jinx hid her fangs. Crowley opened the door and I saw James standing on the other side.

"Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I was just on my way there but I was told to come get Jennifer; Lucille and the others need her help in the cafeteria. I figured she'd be here."

"Is that right?" He looked my way and gave me a killer stare; by the way he was looking I assumed he was thinking something like, "You better watch your back".

"Well, in that case I guess you'd better hurry. You wouldn't want to keep them waiting," he said.

"I'll see you real soon." Crowley whispered, as I walked passed him.

I passed through the doorway cautiously and the door slammed behind me.

"You're welcome." James said.

I was confused. "What should I be thanking you for?"

"I saw what was going on."

"You what? How? The door was closed."

He looked away and rejected my question.

"So what were you doing in there?"

"Having a discussion, nothing to worry about. You said you saw what was going on but did you hear anything?"

"No, I was just passing through."

His voice told me no, but his facial expression told me otherwise. I was worried; I couldn't risk having my true reason for being here revealed to everyone.

"I'm assuming no one really wanted me?"

"Nope."

"Nice one, so what's going on?"

"I read you're note and I figured I'd take you up on your offer."

"What do you mean?"

"I was thinking about taking a trip to town. Want to come?"

I was shocked; I couldn't help but smile. I thought I'd never get out of this place.

"Maybe you aren't the good boy I thought you were after all."

He laughed. "Everyone's got a bad side, I try my best to keep mine hidden." He grabbed my hand. "Come on."

He led the way and we ended up at his dorm room. We walked inside; his room was fairly clean for two boys living in it. He stopped at his closet.

"Here we are."

"Here... as in your closet? If you were planning on taking me to strange places, you could have at least bought me dinner first." I joked.

I managed to make him smile. "No, look." He pushed the hungup clothes to the side and a door was revealed.

"A secret door, nice."

"Well when you've been here as long as William and I, you get tired of the scenery. Sometimes you just have to escape."

"If only it was that simple. Where does it lead?"

"Follow me."
He opened the door and we entered the room; I found weapons, and other kinds of tech-related gear hungup on the walls.

"Hmmm...I thought weapons weren't allowed out of the armory."

"Oh those are just...uhm...collectables."

He might be a handsome, strong, well-mannered guy, but it's plain to see that he's a terrible liar.

"I'll let it slide for now but I'm expecting a explanation later."

"Of course."

If things weren't already odd enough, in the middle of the room, a big hole is carved into the floor. It was slightly covered by a rug but it was still pretty noticeable.

"What's that?"

"That would be our way out." He said, kicking the rug out of the way.

"You expect me to just go down some creepy hole?"

"Suit yourself." He jumped down into the hole and fell out of sight.

I was nervous but I worked up the courage. I closed my eyes as I jumped down inside. As I entered I noticed that I wasn't falling, I was sliding downward in a spiraling path of turns and loops. The fun ended when I made a crash landing into a group of bushes.

"Finally. I was starting to worry that you might have chickened out. Take a look around."

I emerged from the bushes and found myself in the courtyard at the majestic water fountain. Until now, I have never seen the true beauty of Veritas since before I went to Alcatraz. The view was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. The buildings stood as tall as skyscrapers, the houses and stores were well-built, the wind blew gracefully, and the sun shined perfectly across the Land of Tranquility. Veritas resembled the outside world, in some ways, but it only existed for us-the Gifted.

"It's amazing, right?" James said, helping me to my feet.

"You have no idea. I'm speechless."

"I knew you would like it." He picked up a daisy and handed it to me. I took it and twirled it with my fingers.

"Do you treat all the girls this way?"

"Yeah, my girlfriend actually loves it."

I reacted quickly. "Are you serious?"

He chuckled softly. "It was a joke."

I punched him in his arm, playfully.

"So you're a comedian now?"

"Well, whenever the moment presents itself, I don't hesitate to take the stage." He walked ahead through the field of flowers and I followed behind.

We headed into town. I admired the scenery and the striving community; local workers used their powers to construct buildings, crime was, for the time being, at an all-time low. For that moment I actually felt like I didn't have a worry in the world; I knew the feeling wouldn't last long. Just when things seem perfect, reality creeps back on you and changes your entire perspective.

As we continued our stroll through town, we arrived at a dojo; a guy dressed up in a martial arts outfit stood outside flipping a sign that said:

"Test your skills against the undefeated champion, Master Roshi. Think you have what it takes, then sign up and get ready for the fight of your life."

Rules: *All forms of gifts are forbidden and must not be used at any time, for any reason.*

"Sounds interesting. Want to check it out," said James.

"Sure. Why not."

We stepped inside and the place was full of people. Everyone was lined up waiting for their turn to fight. A man wearing a championship belt over his black belt stood in the center of the fighting mat. He was tall, muscular, and the lights shined bright against his bald head. He looked familiar...I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

We stopped at the registration table; James signed up and I decided to sit this one out. I've done enough fighting for the last few nights; I should probably be resting instead of taking a stroll through town, but what's the fun in that? I'm not sure how much more my body can take before it finally gives out, but I'll manage.

The referee stepped onto the mat alongside the champion. "Registration is now closed. Challenger #1, step forward, and start off the challenge."

The first person to step on the mat and take on the challenge was a super skinny guy that couldn't even stand straight up because his baggy clothes weighed him down. He charged towards the champion and tried for some type of superman punch; he failed epically as he missed and was knocked out with one punch from the champion. The ref dragged the man off the mat and yelled, "Next!"

The next challenger was a bigger guy; if he took off his shirt and put on an adult diaper he'd be the perfect sumo wrestler. He played it smart in his fight. Even though he was a little sluggish he showed that his brain was just as big as his body. I was surprised to see him dodge the attacks so smooth and skillfully; it was almost as if he was predicting the path Master Roshi would throw his punches.
Master Roshi caught on to his fighting style and threw a fake punch; the man flinched and suddenly stumbled backwards, as if an invisible force had pushed him back. He tried to regain his balance, but Roshi did a leg sweep and knocked him right off his feet and onto his back.

"Better luck next time, amateur," he said, with a cocky attitude. "Who's next?"

I looked over at James, who was quiet as he examined Master Roshi. It was odd, nonetheless.

"Hey, is something wrong?" I asked.

"It may too early for me to say. Tell me, does something seem a little weird to you here?"

"The last fight kind of took me by surprise, but I'm not sure if I would call it weird. You got to give it to him, the man can fight."

"Yeah...I guess so."

One after the other, more fighters dared to step onto the mat and take on the martial arts champion, Master Roshi, but all failed. It got so bad that everyone who signed up started running back to the registration table asking if they could withdraw from the competition.

"Is that all the challengers for today? At this rate I guess I'll be closing down shop early today."

He started to walk away, but he was stopped by James as he yelled out, "You got one more volunteer."

He looked our way and began to laugh.

"You're just a kid. I don't think you're ready for a fight against me."

"Oh but I'm not the one volunteering; she is." He pointed at me and Roshi let out even more obnoxious laughter.

"What are you doing," I said.

"I've seen you fight; you're really good."

"Today is a really depressing day. All you men have forced me to resort to fighting kids; and a girl of all people, that's sad. I don't see how this is a challenge at all."

His words pierced through my pride like a heated dagger. Out of anger, I took off my shoes and stepped onto the mat. My injuries suddenly weren't a problem; my blood was boiling.

"Are you crazy, little girl? This dojo is no place for girls. You should just go knit me a scarf or something."

"Do you ever shut up? If you think you're as good as you say you are then beating me shouldn't be a problem at all."

Everyone that was making a run for the exit was now standing in a circle around the mat.

"If you back out now I won't humiliate you so bad," said Roshi. "I can smell fear a mile away."

"Well it must be your own because I have no fear; especially from a man who has no real skill in fighting."

The crowd laughed and cheered me on.

"Let's just get this over with," he said. "All I need is two minutes."

"Why so long? All I need is one."

James tapped me on my shoulder and pulled me to the side with a big grin on his face.

"Don't hurt him too bad."

His encouragement boosted my confidence. The referee stepped onto the mat and signaled for us to come to the center. He told us to shake hands and bow; I bowed out of respect, but he refused and walked away. The ref stepped off and yelled, "Fight!"

Roshi leaped towards me and threw his first punch. I slid to the side and dodged, but somehow I still felt the force of a punch against my cheek. He snickered as he taunted me.

"How'd that feel?"

I held my face and brushed off the pain. There's no way he could have hit me, I know I dodged it in time. I let the issue go and I jumped back into the fight. He rushed towards me again and I went for a leg sweep; I quickly rose to my feet as he jumped into the air, dodging my first attack, and I hit him with a roundhouse kick to the chest. He fell back head first onto the mat.

"That was a lucky shot, little girl. It won't happen again."

He threw a combo of five punches in succession and I blocked myself from each attack. He left an opening in his defense and I punched him in the gut.

It didn't seem to hurt him much but it did make him stumble backwards.

"Enough with the games this match is over!"

"Aw, don't quit. It was just getting good."

"Who said anything about quitting?"

I suddenly sensed a burst of energy swarming around the room; an intense amount. He rushed forward again with another punch and I dodged; I felt the same feeling I did the first time he missed. My cheek was throbbing with pain.

"You look surprised. I bet you didn't expect that."

"You didn't touch me. What the hell is going on?"

He chuckled and I felt something fly passed me and cause my hair to bounce.

"Jennifer!" James called out my name with concern in his voice. "Stop the fight!" He shouted to the referee.

"What's the problem," he said.

"You're so-called champion is cheating. He's using his powers."

James must have felt the same thing I was feeling.

"What are you talking about," said Roshi. "My fighting style is pure skill and technique."

"I see nothing suspicious; don't accuse the champ of anything without proof."

"Well turn on all the lights until there's no shade. He's from the Shadow clan; working in the darkness is what they do best."

"Don't listen to him," said Roshi. "He's just trying to delay the match."

"I'm only making it fair," he replied.

"Show me proof and I'll end the fight."

"His power can't be seen."

"Then how are you able to see it? The ref asked.

He hesitated. "I...-"

For some reason he didn't want to tell him how.

"You're just going to have to watch."

James stepped onto the mat and stood next to me.

"It's not just him is it?" I whispered to him.

"No."

"Who or what am I fighting?"

"An entity; it's a demonic spirit. No one can see it except me and Roshi."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Maybe you should sit this one out now. Do you see his eyes?"

I studied the champion, I hadn't noticed but I could no longer see the whites of his eyes, they were pitch black-a sign of possession.

"There's no telling what he might do."

"Well, let me help you. I'm not some weak little girl."

"Fine." He looked a little frustrated. "If you're going to fight you need my eyes. Drain me."

"That's dangerous. It could kill you, James."

"Just do it."

I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was being completely serious. I grabbed his arm and linked our energies together. He flinched a little as the draining started. His power within was greater than anyone I had ever come in contact with; even some of the council members.
Some of his blood was drained along with his power, satisfying my prolonged hunger; part of me wanted to consume it all, but I resisted and focused on only his eyes. I drained a small amount of his power and sent it back to myself. I closed my eyes; I could feel them changing behind my eyelids. I started to open my eyes but I didn't have to I could see everything around me without actually looking at it.

"Try to ignore the extra things you see and focus on only this room." James said. "Can you see it now?"

I opened my eyes and looked over at Roshi. I could see a dark cloud over his head that slowly formed into a small creature.

"That's an entity?"

"Yeah, they're dangerous to go up against--especially for someone who's never had experience fighting one."

"So what do we do?"

"If things don't go well, we may have to kill him."

"Wait...what?"

"I'll explain afterwards."

Killing someone wasn't something I could imagine James doing. He seemed more of a peaceful, loving type of guy, not someone obsessed with bloodlust.

I felt a little uneasy.

"Ok, if it's the only way."

I took out a dagger I managed to swipe from the secret room and tossed it to James. All that moving from my earlier fight caused my wound to re-open. The blood came running down my arm and into my hand. I quickly created a dagger made of hardened blood.
James nodded at me then pounced into action; he threw the dagger at Roshi and he evaded it. The dagger sunk into a fire extinguisher.

"You missed." It was Roshi, who spoke, but it wasn't his voice, it was the evil spirit within.

"I wasn't aiming for you."

The sound of a hissing noise caught my attention.

"Get back!"

I dived backwards and the extinguisher exploded; throwing foam all across the room, covering Roshi completely.

"Everyone get out of the way," said the referee. "Get out of the building!"

One by one everybody ran for the door in a panic.

"You really think that's going to be enough to stop me?" Roshi said.

He snapped his fingers and busted all the lights out except the one hanging over us, making it almost pitch black in the room.

"He just ruined his field of vision," I said. "We have the advantage now."

"He's from the Shadow clan, remember. We're nothing but prey to him in the dark."

"So, he's just like Crowley." I thought to myself. "This should help me prepare for what I may have to deal with next time I meet face to face with Crowley."

Roshi disappeared into the shadows. I could still see him, but as he kept moving around his body seemed to multiply until I finally lost track of where he actually was.

"Can you sense which one is the real one," said James.

I tried my best to scope out the real Roshi, but no luck; his power split evenly among the clones. In the distance outside of the dojo I could see a person with intense power, nearly on the same level as James', coming towards us.

"I think we have company."

James smiled. "He finally decided to show up; took him long enough."

"He? Who's he?"

I could see a strange object that resembled a hammer in the person's hands. He held it with one hand as he dragged it across the ground.

"You might want to step back a little," said James. "He can be a bit reckless."

The guy lifted up the hammer and threw it towards the dojo; the hammer crashed through the wall, exposing the sunlight. One by one the shadows were engulfed in bright light and dissolved into nothing.

"Well its bout time." James said.

The guy stepped into the dojo. It was his brother; seeing him brought back the memory of my future.

"My bad; I got lost on the way here." William said.

"You do this on every mission. Stop flirting with every girl you see on the streets or we're going to lose our jobs."

I stood confused as I saw them surround the possessed man.

"This was a mission the whole time?"

"Yeah," William said, picking up his hammer. "We're the Protectors of Veritas."

"Wait...the what?"

I could tell that he was getting annoyed.

"The Protectors of Veritas, as in the people who watch over this world and keep it safe from criminals and any other type of danger."

"Since when has that been around?"

"You ask a lot of questions, girl. James, you can handle that. I need to wrap this up; I have to meet up with my lady friend in half an hour."

"Well, we've got plenty of time."

Roshi stood in front of us; his dark pupils confirmed that he was still being possessed by the Entity.

James and William rushed towards him, and then split off in separate directions. I sat back and watched their movements. William swung his hammer carelessly, busting holes in the walls. Roshi took advantage of his lack of speed and managed to avoid being touched. James vanished and appeared behind Roshi. He slammed his hand onto the man's back and sent a force through his body, so powerful that it pushed back my hair. Roshi froze in place and didn't move an inch.

"What did you do to him?" I said.

"I hit his pressure points."

"How many did you hit?"

"All of them. It's a move intended to mess up the flow of his blood so that it all comes rushing to one particular spot. So, if he tries to move on his own the pressure will instantly build-up and his spine will collapse.

I was frightened by his power and his ruthlessness, but at the same time I was also amazed by it. James slapped a pair of strange handcuffs on him and his eyes returned to normal, meaning the entity was no longer in control. I remembered those handcuffs well; they were co-created by the Evolution and Vampire clan to seal off a person's powers. That wasn't even the worst part though, they also give you horrible headaches, nightmares, and they blur your vison-good thing is, is that the side-effects are only temporary.

William picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

"I'll take him back to Principle Ronald. I'm sure he'll be glad to know we got the job done, but he's not going to be happy about the damage. I'll have to smooth talk him...again."

"Thanks, I'll meet up with you later."

William left and it was just me and James standing in the demolished dojo.

"Well, shall we go?"

"Where are you taking me now, another dangerous mission?"

"Nah, I'm done for today, and if it's okay with you I'd like to make this last a little longer."

His hazel eyes pulled me in. My heart continued to skip a beat the longer we made eye contact. In the past I have faced dangerous opponents and psychopathic killers, but not even that amount of adrenaline could top the way I was feeling right now at this exact moment. I've hardly had any time to get to actually know him, but already I felt like I could trust him; I felt the need to always want him around.

"It's starting to get dark," he said, "We should go before someone comes looking for us."

I started to stutter. "Y-Yeah...we should...umm yeah."

He held my hand and I could feel my face instantly turning red. I never had time for these kind of moments because of the way I lived in my past life. I didn't get the mental and physical experience most people get. I honestly never thought I would.

We made our way towards the academy and had long conversations about endless nothings. We snuck back into the academy and he walked me to the cafeteria; I noticed the theme upon the walls presented a real-life image of space. The sight of stars and constellations made the room lively.

"It's beautiful." I said, completely mesmerized.

We sat side by side on the top of one of the tables and just looked up at the constellations.

"This place kind of grows on you once you get used to it," I said.

"Yeah, it's not so bad after a while."

I felt dizzy and my eyes felt sore.

"Is this what you guys have to deal with every time you want to use your powers?"

"You get used to it faster than you think. Don't worry, the side-effects will wear off soon."

"I never knew your clan possessed this much power."

"Well...that's not always a good thing. Many of us aren't born with our clan's famous eyes, and even if you are you're always at risk of dying or becoming fatally injured. Even some of the strongest in our clan can't handle all the power; overusing our eyes could result in blurry vision or even permanent blindness. It's been said that because they're so powerful, even when our bodies die our eyes stay intact."

"That's very weird, but also amazing."

I looked down at his shirt and noticed his necklace. It was unique; something I had never seen before.

"Where did you get that?"

"My Mother...she gave it to me when I was a kid; told me it would bring me luck and keep me healthy."

"Do you believe that?"

"Yes, with all my heart. I mean, come on I was lucky enough to meet you, right?"

I turned my head toward his and I felt hypnotized by his eyes once again. We both leaned in closer until we were just inches away from each other. I blushed without even trying. I got closer and examined the detail of the necklace and suddenly noticed a mark on his neck.

"Hey, what's that?" I attempted to touch it and he quickly grabbed my hand.

"It's nothing. It's just a birth mark."

Suddenly, I heard a noise come from the kitchen and then Becky came wobbling out.

"Hey, you finally made it."

"What's Becky doing here?" I asked.

"I'm here to whip you two up something real nice. Lucille says you two shouldn't be around each other, but I say "who cares", you're young. Live a little."

She did a disturbing bow and wobbled back to the kitchen.

"Hmmm. So, she was expecting us?"

James ran his fingers through his hair and smiled a little.

"Well, I sort of planned this. I figured it was the least I could do for hurting you."

"Hurting me? What do you mean?"

He leaned down and rolled up my pants leg, showing off the bandage wrapped around my ankle.

"You did this?"

He nodded. I could tell he was telling the truth by the way his smile vanished so quickly.

"Last night I heard you and Jinx outside my room in the halls, so I went to see what was going on. I saw the two trolls and hidden them in the janitor's closet until they woke up."

I quickly jumped up; he grabbed me by my arm and pulled me back down.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"You might have hid them for a short time, but they're still going to know who we are."

"Don't worry. I already handled that."

I lowered my voice to a whisper. "You didn't kill them, did you?"

"Of course not, but by the time they wake up they won't have any memory of it. They'll only assume that it was just a bad dream."

I was relieved. "Thank you."

"No thanks needed; a friend was in need, so I helped out. But...you're still not getting off the hook that easily. There's still a few things that are bothering me."

"And what would those things be?"

"Why exactly did you guys break into the restricted sector?"

I didn't want to answer but I feared he may have already been on to me.

"We had a job-a simple extraction operation, but we failed."

"Extraction? So, you guys were taking their powers...well at least trying to."

He caught on fast. I feared someone would catch on to me eventually, just didn't think it'd be him or so soon.

"We were given a task. It was supposed to be a simple "plant and harvest", but things didn't go as planned...obviously."

"You might have failed but members of the Vampire clan aren't so keen with giving up on a task. I saw the red orb she put in that boy; what was that?"

"A type of tracker the Vampire clan uses. It basically links the power within our own blood and fuses with theirs, so that they can be found and hunted down later. A basic fail-safe plan in case we screw up during a job."

"She can't...she wouldn't."

I turned my head away. I couldn't dare look at him.

"She's going after them, isn't she?"

I refused to respond. I was too ashamed.

"Please, Jennifer; tell me, is she going after them in the exams?"

I bit my lip aggressively but that wasn't enough to keep the secrets locked away. I chocked and let out a frightful, "Yes."

"Thank you for your honesty. I'm sorry to cut this night shorter than expected, but I have to let Principle Ronald know immediately."

He slid off the side of the table and reached into his pocket. I felt guilty for what was yet to come. He took out his headset and I quickly went down and snatched it away.

"Give it back. I have to deal with this."

"Please, James, don't do anything hasty."

"I can't let her do that to those kids, especially the one you two marked as targets that night; I made them a promise."

"Wait, you know them?"

"Their names are Argo and Julia; they're special, unlike anyone I have ever seen."

"What makes them so special?"

He was hesitant. I knew that he probably didn't trust me with that kind of information, especially when I was the one who put their lives in danger.

"T-they have the power to manipulate time. Their basically human time machines."

"Time travel?"

I remembered the moment when I touched the girl, I was sent to a random moment in the future. If Crowley or Jinx got that type of power there's no telling what would happen to this school, or Veritas; or maybe even the entire world.

"You said you made a promise, what was it?"

"I said I'd help them clear their names as a dangerous breed, and get them out of the academy for good...all of them."

"That's going to be a hard promise to keep. I honestly don't think that's going to be possible at all."

"And why's that?"

"We-Jinx and I-were given the job to finish them all off. The contract-holder isn't going to stop until it's complete."

"You're not actually going through with that still, are you?"

"I'm an assassin, James, this is what I do. Once you get into my line of work, you can't just leave whenever you want. The only way out is death. Being an assassin marks the end of your freedom; free-will no longer exists."

"You're not some heartless killer though. I've seen the way you act, I don't know a lot about you but nothing about you draws my attention to you being some kind of serial killer-at least that's not what I see as the real you."

"You said it yourself, you know little about me; there's still a full past life of mine you probably have no idea about. Since everything is being brought out tonight; how about I catch you up to speed on some things. My parents tried their best to keep me away from the stereotypic crap our clan was slandered for decades ago. They fought for me; they wanted me to be the one to change the history of our clan, for the better, but somehow I still ended up doing the opposite of what they had hoped for. I ruined our family's reputation, I made a name for myself-one that got plastered on every wall and TV station around the world.

I've been a killer since I was nine; my first contract was my eighty-year old neighbor and his wife-they were practically like my godparents, but that still didn't change the inevitable outcome. I killed a total of two-hundred people in just two months that year. My parents died for nothing. All they wanted was for me to live a happy life and I ruined theirs in more than just one way."

I had tears in my eyes; they seemed to get harder and harder to hide each day. I was holding on to a broken heart that was stuck with an expired warranty.

"I lost my way a long time ago, James, and there's no way of going back. I'm a criminal, a cheat, a liar, and worst of all...a murderer; I have no bright future ahead of me, and I will always be haunted with the memory of those who died by my blade."

"It's never too late to change; even if you're faced with a situation like that, you can still make your own decisions. If you don't want to be someone's pawn, don't allow yourself to be controlled."

"It's not that easy."

"Of course it is. Look, I know what you're going thr-"

Before he could finish I snapped, like a branch that had been struck by lightning.

"Don't you dare try to act like you know what it's like to have a past like mine; you have no idea!"

"Wait a minute!" He suddenly stopped. He wanted to backlash and shut me down, but I could see that he was fighting the temptation and held it in. He sat back down and spoke softly with a calm tone but sad expression.

"When I was six years old, I had already obtained my powers, and William was just starting to develop his. Every day we worked hard to be the kind of people everyone could depend on when something had gone bad. Our Dad was a great man, still is, but our Mom wasn't just our mom, she was our mentor; our leader...our hero. She didn't hesitate to help anyone in need; she was the very definition of selfless.

When we heard that she had accepted a mission that was basically suicide, we panicked. We tried our best to keep her from going, all the way up until the day she was planned to set out, but there was never a way of changing her mind after she had already got focused on something. Unsatisfied with her decision, we disobeyed her and we snuck out, following her into the Forbidden Forest. The Forbidden Forest is the type of place that still gives me nightmares to this very day; I don't think I could ever go back. But regardless of how scared we were at the time, we continued to follow her and the Elites for maybe an entire month before we finally caught up.

It was night. The air was cold as it pressed against our damp clothes, caused by the downpour earlier that day. We had finally found our Mom after all that time, but first we hid close by to think of a way we could convince her not to punish us for coming into a place like that."

James smiled and even chuckled a little as his eyes watered.

"When we finally worked up the courage to approach her, we passed through a group of bushes, but what was waiting for us on the other side shot fear into our hearts; we triggered a trap, that William got stuck in and an alarm was set off. I struggled using all of my strength until I finally managed to get him out of it. We didn't know what to do about the alarm. Then suddenly, a team of soldiers came rushing through the forest to our location; at that moment we knew it was already too late.

We screamed out for help as loud as we could as we ran towards the shelter our Mom was settling in. As we ran, I can remember hearing gun shots, and a lot of chatter on the soldiers radios; it seemed like the chase would never end. We managed to find a member of the Elites on guard outside and we rushed to his side. He pointed us in the direction of the entrance and we headed to it. We hoped that he would beat them and join us, but even the strength of an Elite wasn't enough to take on an army alone.

After that, things only got worse. We were the cause of every disaster that night. When we were escorted back home I took full responsibility for everything that happened and I was punished severely; not just physically but mentally also. I accepted it. And on that cold, and terrible night, I will never forget the disappointed smile our Mother gave us before she passed away. Still to this day I blame myself, but now I know that eventually everyone has to let go, and instead of bathing in a tub of self-pity, we need to build ourselves up with confidence and do things that would make that special someone happy even beyond the grave."

He wiped away his loose tears, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"That brings me to the last thing I need to tell you. Jennifer, this hate you've been building up inside of you, it's not good for you or anyone else around you. You put up this defense mechanism to "protect" yourself from being hurt, but I'm sure all that did was push people away and ended up hurting you and putting you in even more complicated situations. You don't have to hide behind your past self anymore."

His words touched my heart and changed how I felt about everything. My whole life I've been haunted by the deepest and darkest memories of my past. After the incident I wasn't accepted by anyone, not even my own clan. It made me feel deserted, unwanted, unloved, and completely alone; but for some reason when I'm with James I don't feel that way. As if it all goes away with just the sound of his voice.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me in closer to him. I tried my best not to blush, but doing that was like getting a dog to never bark-it was impossible. We sat there just staring at each other. No more words were spoken. The only movement our mouths made were when our lips were pressed against each other's.

"Why me?" I thought to myself. "He could have anyone. What's so special about me?"

Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, a familiar voice spoke out and put an end to the perfect moment of romance.

"Sorry to break up the pity party, but we have to go," she said. She cut her eyes at James and revealed her fangs. "I should kill you right here."

James stood up to her and looked her eye to eye. "I'd like to see you try."

"Back off, Jinx! Don't start something you can't finish."

"Oh, I will and when I do I'll be sure to make it slow and extremely painful."

I was about to conjure a clone but James stopped me before I could.

"I overheard your entire conversation. He was the cause of our failure the other night. We can't let him get away with knowing about us."

"We're not killing him!"

"You would really risk you're life for Supernatural trash?" She placed her hand on her hip where her chain-blade hung.

The sound of a pan falling to the floor drew her attention. One second James is sitting next to me, and then I see him behind Jinx with the tip of her blade just inches away from her neck.

"I could end this right now and save myself the trouble of doing it later." James pulled the blade closer towards them.

"James, don't. You'll regret it. Trust me."

He ignored me for a moment and then finally gave in.

"If you have that much of a problem with me, settle it in the exams."

He was no longer the happy and playful guy I had spent the day with; he was completely serious. He released her and tossed her back her weapon. She placed it back on her hip and began to walk away.

"Like I said earlier, Jennifer, we have to go."

I didn't want to leave, but I knew what would happen if I didn't; James seemed to understand that.

"Remember what I told you," he said. "Don't allow yourself to be controlled."

With that being said, I gave him a hug and followed behind Jinx down the poorly lit hallway.

She led me to the armory; everything was pitch black and the room was filled with smoke.

"What took you so long?" Crowley said. "I'm a very busy man."

"She was with that Supernatural freak, James Nightfury."

A spotlight shined down directly on me.

"What were you doing with that boy? Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?"

"Sir, James was the one who sabotaged our mission," said Jinx. "He also knows about our plan concerning the mixed breeds."

"Impossible. He couldn't have known about that...unless someone told him."

I was blinded by the light but I knew he had his eyes right on me.

"Jennifer, you really aren't making this easy for me. You've went against my wishes once already and then you try and attack me in my own office-very big mistake. You pathetic little girl; no ones coming to your rescue now. I could kill you right now."

A cloud of smoke spiraled around me and I felt a tickle in my throat. I suddenly felt all the air leaving my lungs and my will to breathe started to slip away.

"I own you, you don't own me; I'm the director and you're the actor, when I set the stage you perform!"

I struggled in the attempt to breathe, and only managed to choke. My lungs felt trapped and weren't working properly.

"I'm very tempted to end you're pathetic life, but I need you to do one last thing for me. I'm giving you another chance to prove you're not just a waste of my time."

He removed the deadly smoke from around me and I desperately gasped for air.

"I'm done working for you! Whatever it is, do it yourself."

"I would love to take on this honorable task but I've decided to pass on the responsibility to you. I would advice you to take it."

A shroud of smoke appeared before me in the shape of a hand; it presented a manila folder.

"Go on. Open it."

I snatched the folder from the shadowy hand and opened it, fully concerned about what he might be plotting next.
There was a long list of information, taking up a least three or four pages. I flipped through towards the end of all the intel and found a picture of the target. I instantly starting sweating, and I almost fainted at the sight of the targets name. The task was like none I had ever done before. I quickly threw down the folder onto the ground.

"You're insane!"

He let out a sinister chuckle that echoed through the smoke.

"Yes, possibly; but nonetheless a contracts a contract; I need you, Ms. Fang, to kill our beloved, Principle Ronald."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. To kill Principal Ronald would mean more than just murder; it would destroy the peace and hope of our entire world.

"You said you two were best friends, how could you even say something like that?"

"Face the facts, assassin, there is only room for one leader, and that spot will be mine, as I rightfully deserve it."

"I can't do it...I won't do it."

Crowley paced back and forth.

"Well that's a shame. I really wanted us to be allies; allies protect and serve one another."

I smacked my lips and broke eye contact.

"I see you've taken an interest in James. Maybe I should have someone take care of him so our information doesn't get leaked."

I felt nothing but hatred and I instantly lost my cool.

"He has nothing to do with this. Leave him alone!"

"Actually, he has everything to do with this. You're knight and shining armor is a threat to our entire plan."

"He doesn't know anything. I didn't tell him anything."

"Clearly, that's a lie. I see spending time with him has made you rusty; you've lost that killing edge I adore so much." Tsk, tsk. I wish I could trust you, but I honestly can't."

"I'll do whatever you want. Please, just leave him out of this."

"Well, as long as you do your job I won't harm him, but you must decide who goes; James Nightfury or Principal Ronald."

I couldn't just kill the man who helped saved our entire race, but at the same time I couldn't just kill James either. I was stuck with the choice of harming the one person who I feel I have left in my life that understands me, or destroying the hope of Veritas, by slaughtering it's king. I was feeling so much pressure that I thought my head would explode.

"So who's it going to be?"

I wasn't proud of my choice, but with pain in my voice I said, "I'll take the job."

"What an excellent choice! He should be in his office right now as we speak."

He tossed down a bag. It was my fiddle bad filled all my weapons and other secret items.

"Take care of him and get rid of the body. I'll take of everything else." He laughed.

I grabbed my bag off of the floor and then left the armory, regretting my painful decision. Only fear and what would come next was on my mind.

*****

I arrived at Principal Ronald's office. His door was slightly cracked; wide enough for me to take a peek inside. I could see him sorting through paperwork, drinking from an "I heart the principal" mug. I took a long deep breath. I took both my daggers from my hip; upon entering I hid them both within my sleeve.

"May I help you?" Ronald said.

"I'm Jennifer, sir. The transfer student. We spoke a few days ago."

"Ah, the new student; yes I remember. I heard you helped James and William earlier today, thank you."

My hands were shaking. The moment was intense and I could hardly keep it together.

"You're welcome, sir."

"Yes, well was there something you needed?"

I examined the newspaper that sat on his desk; breaking news on the Forbidden Forest.

"I wanted to know about the forest. What's so bad about it?"

"Ah, that's a very delicate subject to bring up into conversation but I guess we can speak on it. " He took a quick sip of his coffee.

"Well, many years ago I sent Veritas' finest team, the Elites into the Forbidden Forest. Alongside them, whom led and controlled the operation, was a very special woman--Veronica Valor. Have you heard of her?"

"Yes, a little each day but I just assumed she was just some made up legend."

"What kind of things have you heard?"

"That she was an Elite member from the Supernatural clan and that she had rare powers that no one had ever seen; the list just keeps going."

"All true; she had powers that no one had ever seen before and still to this day, as far as we know, she's the only one to ever obtain them."

He opened his hand and a holographic replica of the Forbidden Forest popped up from a device wrapped around his palm.

"After her death we managed to send a team inside and smuggled a few cameras and resources inside, so that we could keep an eye on the exams and the entire forest itself."

"What's with all the glowing red spots?" I asked.

"That's all our damaged equipment; all of its lasted for years without interference, but now something has happened. I believe someone has snuck in and disabled them."

"But I thought going into the forest was off-limits."

"Precisely, but it seems the rules don't apply to some of the people here."

I had a clear idea of who could have been behind the tampering.

"What else do you know about the situation?"

Principal Ronald looked down at his papers and then quickly took a glance at me without responding. I noticed the headlines above each; it was a familiar one: Wanted.

"Sir?"

"No...that's it. Uh...If you don't mind me asking, why exactly do you want to be a part of this school?"

I reacted quickly without thinking.
"A friend of mine told me that coming here would be the best option if I wanted to learn the positive ways to enhance and control my powers."

"Your friend is smart. Where exactly did you come from before you enrolled in Gifted Academy?"

I was literally on the verge of panicking.
"I lived with a friend in Vermont."

"Oh, Vermont, I hear that's a beautiful place around the holidays."
He took a good look at me. I tried my best not to stare at him too much.

"The other night must have been rough for you."

"The other night?"

"Yes, you nearly bled out in the Hall of Valor yesterday. Had a nasty bite on your leg."

"Oh...yeah. I'm still not sure on what happened."

"I was only aware of your leg injury, what happened to your arm?"

"I...uh... cut myself when I was on cooking duty. I can be a little accident prone sometimes."

"I see..."

He slid his pencil across the top of his desk and stood up from out of his chair.

"Now that it's on my mind I've got to say, you look really familiar. Have I ever met you're parents by any chance?"

"It's possible, but you wouldn't have seen them recently; they passed away a few years ago."

"Nine years perhaps?"

"Yeah...how did you-?"

He ignored me. "What happened to them?"

I hesitated. "They were murdered by a man I once thought I could trust."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was asking, because nine years ago was when the last Council of the Vampire clan was killed. Were you in Vermont before or after that incident?"

He was starting to put all the pieces together and I didn't know how much longer I could keep the lie going.

Suddenly, the door made a squeaking noise. Ronald took a glance passed me and went to check it out.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"I thought I saw someone. Did anyone come with you?"

"No, sir. I came alone."

"All this late night working has got me seeing things," he said. "Maybe we should wrap this up and call it a night."

"I couldn't agree with you more."

My hands started to shake and I felt like I was about to have a panic attack.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

He took a step toward me and he stepped into a pile of blood. A clone rose from the puddle and held onto him tight; it disintegrated and the dried blood constricted his movements like a full-body stray jacket.

He didn't seem surprised and he didn't even try to fight free; he just sighed and shook his head.

"So you actually went through with it, Ms. Fang," he said.

"How did you find out?"

"How could I forget someone like you? Did you forget I was visiting your parents just before you killed them."

"I was tricked. That wasn't who was supposed to die that day."

"Well they did, and now by the looks of it, I'm your next victim. I've been watching over you since you've arrived. I know how you operate but the way you came at me tonight, I assume this assassination wasn't something you wanted to take part in. Who put you up to this?"

"I-I can't tell you."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I don't have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice," he grinned. "Don't allow yourself to be controlled."

James told me the same exact thing before I took this job. Was that just a coincidence or...?

"If you continue down this path of bloodshed, you will suffer a terrible fate. You've already gone through this once. How many more times do you have to almost die before you realize you should be living your life differently?"

I thought about his words and replayed them over and over again in my head. Then I finally just came to the thought that maybe my fate was decided for me a long time ago.

"I have to do this; you don't understand what could happen?"

"Oh, I'm sure I do. I think it's you who doesn't understand what's at stake."

He shook his head and let out another sigh.

"You're probably wondering why I didn't attack you when you first stepped through my door."

I thought it over. The cracked door--easy exposure, unarmed, no witnesses.
"You let down your guard on purpose; you were expecting me. You played me all the way until now and still let yourself be caught."

"That's exactly right. I was testing you, and you passed."

"What was I being tested on?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. But there's something I'm sure you're looking for. Open the top drawer to my desk and take what's rightfully yours."

I headed over to his desk and opened the drawer. On top, glowing bright with my presence, was my vampire dagger that he took away from me.

"I knew eventually you'd be back to get it. You're employer must really want me gone if they sent you; you've never failed a job. Do you even know why you've been ordered to kill me?"

I was silent.
"I didn't have a choice. He would have killed--"

"Say no more. You chose me for a reasonable reason-to protect someone else, am I right?"

He read me like an open book.

"I've seen how you are with other students-distant, quiet, but I've also seen how you are with James Nightfury. At first I was a little skeptical about you being around him after I noticed who you were, but I decided to let you stay. I believe you won't harm him.

"I couldn't imagine myself ever doing that, sir."

"Good..."

"Why are you so protective over James, if you don't mind me asking?"

He smiled sincerely and refused to answer my question.

"You did me a favor, so I'm returning it. Finish this job then get out of here; James and William must never know who did this. I'm sure you understand why."

The truth had to be kept locked away; this secret had to die with the both of us.

"And one more thing...make this you're last assassination; that part of you died a long time ago, don't make the same mistake again."

"Yes, sir." I said, completely unaware that tears had been running down the side of my face.

The room went into a state of silence; he nodded and just smiled lightly.

"It's time."

I shed one last tear, closed the door to his office, and then turned off the lights to prevent myself from witnessing the death of an icon. He didn't fight, he didn't struggle. He accepted everything-my hatred, my corruption...my betrayal.