50. Learning Vengeance
Learning Vengeance
Rez
Iwatch as Captain Brooks’ chest heaves from his uncontrolled anger on the other side of the ring.
I step inside and let my arms hang at my sides, but silently apply my defensive barrier around myself.
Just because he can’t shift for the first five minutes doesn’t mean I can’t use my magic.
The fact that he still thinks I’m human is his own fault.
Though how anyone would still believe that at this point is beyond me.
This manic shifter fucked around and is about to find out how wrong he’s been.
‘I hope you’re with me, Zareen.’
‘Of course. He is just a toy to us.’ She laughs, and I get a vague visual of a golden muzzle tilting back and yapping. What is she? ‘In the first five minutes, you should learn how to carry out Vengeance on your toy. Once he shifts, the real fun starts.’
Before I can ask her what she means, a horn blows, starting the clock, and Captain Brooks comes out running, bare knuckles swinging at my head. I easily duck and move to the other side, frowning at him.
“Really?” I mock. “You do know I attended school here, right?” I point out.
‘As a shifter, he will have lots of stamina, especially considering his rank,’ Zareen explains.
Good to know, I think, right as Brooks spins and kicks out, hitting me in the stomach.
He follows up with a right hook that sends me flying.
Thankfully, my shield holds, and I’m not in pain, but that’s not something he knows, as he walks over to me smugly while I continue to lie on the ground face down.
A flash of an image hits me, of someone lying in this ring, but it’s not me. Someone else, once in this position, looks up at a younger Brooks, reaches out a bloody hand, and begs, “Mercy.”
Knowledge that I wouldn’t normally have pours into me about the Blood Matches. Where is this coming from?
‘Do you really need to ask?’ Zareen snarks.
It’s legal; it will just demote the shifter to the lowest rank, but it does spare their life. Brooks leans down so they can see his evil eyes and wicked lips.
“I don’t believe in mercy,” he says, before he reaches for their neck. Snap.
“Well, that didn’t last long,” Brooks says, as I find him in the same position as the vision.
The crowd goes wild as he starts to bend down and reach for me.
I know better than to let him touch me; he’s obviously more likely to snap my neck than pick me up, so as his hand comes within my line of sight, I spin on my back and kick as hard as I can.
“Fuck!”
He falls on his back, and I’m immediately on him with a dagger at his throat, but unfortunately, he’s expecting that and blocks my attempt. Knocking my dagger away, he throws me over his head, and he takes his time getting up and reassessing me.
“Well, at least they’ve taught you some fighting moves.” He almost sounds impressed. I stand up but don’t bother dusting off the dirt as I walk closer to him, allowing a cruel and unusual smile to grace my lips.
“Someone had to, since I know you don’t believe in mercy.’ I give him a few seconds to watch his eyes go wide at my words, and when he blinks, I strike and throw Ryker’s dagger.
Shit. Damn shifter and his hearing. My aim isn’t perfect, but with Brooks turning at the last moment, I don’t hit my target. Instead of hitting him in the chest, I graze his left bicep.
“You almost had me believing you know stuff about me,” Brooks says, coming at me again. This time, I don’t move away; I circle him just like I did with Astaroth on the training mats in Hell.
“What makes you think I don’t?” I start. “Maybe I’m here to dish out Vengeance to you.”
“Vengeance? For what?” he huffs. “Or who? I haven’t done anything wrong, and if I have, you definitely wouldn’t be the one to pay it to me.” He snorts before coming at me with a sword he pulls from his own S.I.N. box.
I dodge, roll, and kick out, hitting his knee, knocking him off center, and quickly pull one of Ryker’s daggers, plunging it into his hamstring, and moving out of reach.
“Ahh!” Brooks screams and spins around, trying to get the dagger out.
Knox
“Yes!” Lynx shouts, jumping up and cheering Kitten on.
I catch a few shifters secretly smiling as well while Brook reaches for the dagger in his leg.
‘Sorry to put a damper on everyone’s mood, but have you noticed anything off with the other shifters?’ Knots points out.
I quickly scout around the ring, and my stomach sours at my discovery.
Rebel tattoos slowly appear on half the shifters around the ring, one after another.
Thankfully, it’s not everyone, but what’s so disturbing is the fact that they: one, have infiltrated Dad’s pack, and two, everyone is comfortable mingling with them as a whole.
Since when have we been socializing with the Rebels?
‘Ahhh,’ War gasps. ‘I see now is the perfect time for you to implement the Rage Induction.’
‘Teach me,’ I practically yip, eagerly awaiting to learn how to tear apart my enemies without getting bloody.
‘To start, find two shifters that seem close and comfortable with each other, and once you find them, focus on their body language. Your new talents will allow you to see a film around each of them as they move and interact, like an invisible shield.’
As I focus on the closest animated couple next to me, my sight wavers slightly until a red checkered shield surrounds the couple. Why is it red and checkered?
‘The Checkered represents a new, unstable relationship that has merged. Red means they are bonding over mutual anger,’ War explains. ‘Now what you need to do is mentally grab ahold of their net and separate them while having the intent to cause strife between them.’
‘It’s that simple?’ I ask, cocking my head to the side and looking at the net moving over the couple.
‘That's simple?’ War scoffs. ‘The goal is to do this to entire armies, causing thousands of soldiers to turn on each other within seconds, and you haven’t even done it to two shifters yet. So don’t brag to me until you can do it to a crowd with a mere thought,’ he growls, and I feel my lower back flare with heat before going cold, and his presence is gone.
Well, shit. Didn’t mean to piss off my mentor, but I guess he does have a point.
I haven’t even tried, and I’m calling his power easy to wield.
Following War’s instructions, I reach out and grab the net only to have it slip through my fingers.
Fuck. Okay. Concentrate, Knox. You can do this, I murmur to myself as I mentally attempt to grab the film moving along their body.
This time, I snatch the red netting and pull them apart, separating the shifters’ connections from each other. The once red netting shreds apart with some effect, and one of the nets swiftly changes to deep blue while the other stays the same red.
Blinking a few times, my eyesight returns to normal, right as the fruit of my labor begins.
The couple immediately starts arguing and gets into a heated debate.
I can’t tell what they are fighting over, and it quickly gets somewhat physical, so they are asked to leave and are escorted away from the Blood Matches.
I hate to admit it, but War might know what he’s talking about. It’s time to make miniature wars and help my Kitten out.
Rez
As I circle and keep Captain Brookes in my peripheral vision, I watch as he curses up a storm as he falters trying to grab the knife I just plunged into his leg.
It gives me a few moments to catch my breath and check to see if any of my magic is picking up anything else.
I don’t have any more extensive visions like before, but knowledge pours in of what Brooks has done.
It’s as if his sins are being categorized for me.
Is this what it’s like for Bez? Fuck, Beelzebub is like Santa Claus on steroids, except I’m not the one looking through the naughty-or-nice list; I’m sitting back as a list of his atrocities is being spelled out for me.
“Oh, Brooks,” I say in a singsong tone, as the list ends and my stomach turns to stone after ingesting everything this thing has done. “It seems you need to atone for a lot of things. Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”
Brooks finally grabs the dagger from the back of his leg and flings it back at me, only for me to dodge. He runs at me and swings, but I step into it, flipping him over, and slamming the palm of my hand into his nose.
“Carmen, the deer shifter you assaulted and murdered!” I yell, grabbing another one of Ryker’s daggers. I cut across his cheek too fast for him to stop me, and a chunk of skin and most of his cheek go flying. “Danielle and Danny, the twins that you sold off to demons,” I growl.
He manages to throw me off, but I get back up. The look of horror crosses his face as he gingerly touches his cheek and finds it isn’t healing.
“Poison dipped daggers.” I lift Ryker’s dagger in my hand and wink.
Anger flashes over his face as he starts to whisper something right as a horn blasts.
“Next stage is shifting. To Death,” someone yells, and the crowd cheers as I watch Captain Brooks carefully. He finishes his incantation and gives me a smirk when I watch the rebel tattoo become visible and alive on his intact cheek before he starts shifting.
‘Rez?’ Lynx calls out.
‘I saw it, Lynx,’ I tell him, watching Captain Brooks’ muscles expand, and he grows taller than me.
‘Did you happen to see the others? Or were you just focused on the Captain?’ Lynx asks.
‘Others?’ I ask, quickly looking behind the half-shifted form that Brooks was changing into, and that’s when I realize we’re up shit creek, and we’re probably going to die.
Blood Match or not, this is it for us. ‘Aww Shit.’ Most of the shifters that I spot surrounding the ring have Rebel tattoos in various places that have now become alive and are proudly on display.
‘There’s the panic I needed to make sure you had. Okay, back to your regularly scheduled program. As you were. Good luck,’ Lynx says.