Chapter 20
Pipers: Rare breed of Horrors known to occupy the marshlands of Nightsbridge. They lure their prey with high frequency sound waves, then incapacitate them with a neurotoxin so that they may consume them alive.
THE COMPENDIUM OF HORRORS
The storm did indeed last all weekend. But time passed quickly, mainly because the Unwoven were so determined to make my first weekend at Nightsbridge fun. I wasn’t used to spending so much leisure time with people, and I expected to hate it, but…it wasn’t so bad.
The only good news was that the swelling in my hand had all but disappeared.
I could even move my fingers. My gut warned me to keep this information to myself.
Rapid healing wasn’t normal for an Arcanus.
Fel, it had never been normal for me either.
But being on Nightsbridge soil was changing me in ways I didn’t understand.
Until I figured it out, I’d keep schtum.
I doubted an injury would prevent Sterling from putting me through my paces.
I’d hoped for a little more time to wrestle my emotions into the neat little boxes I’d learned to house them in before facing him again.
Boxes labeled anxiety, rage, and murderous intentions.
The murderous intentions box was the largest because it housed all the ways I’d imagined ending his life.
One day soon, I’d unpack that box and pick a method. Or maybe two or three to make it interesting.
The training grounds were on the other side of the barracks, and beyond that were some pretty gardens, not that I’d had the chance to explore them yet.
But as we rounded the barracks tower, I spotted a guy standing by the gated entrance.
He clutched a book to his chest, looking wistfully in our direction.
I raised a hand in greeting, and he blinked sharply before tentatively lifting his hand in return. His attention shifted to Dori, who was walking ahead of me. He waved, but she didn’t notice.
“Hey, Dori, there’s a guy waving at you over… Oh, he’s gone.”
“What did he look like?” she asked.
“Messy, blond hair and glasses. Tall, I guess.”
She shook her head. “No idea who that is.”
The clang of wood on wood grew louder as we crossed the running track that surrounded the oval training area. It contained an obstacle course and an area for combat, which was taking place right now as paired-up students clashed with wooden swords and fists.
“If they pair me with that sadistic turd Tyler, I will break his teeth,” Dori said.
“Who’s Tyler?”
“A Damascus,” Clary provided. “Thinks he’s untouchable because his brother is a hunt leader.”
Sterling had a brother? Interesting. And there he was, the bastard himself, standing with his back to us, arms crossed, assessing his students.
As we approached, he turned his head, zeroing in on me with his eerie pale-blue eyes that I was certain would look better on the end of toothpicks. I’d scoop them out of his head first, of course, careful not to damage them, while I reveled in his agonized screams.
Oh, and there it was—the lip curl, the nostril flare—as if he was looking at a pile of shit.
I gritted my teeth, keeping my expression neutral.
“He looks pissed,” Benedict muttered.
“Nothing new,” Clary said through the smile fixed on her face.
“Someone get him a blood bag.” Dori didn’t bother to lower her tone.
Sterling’s brow lifted slightly.
“I think he heard you,” Clary whisper-hissed.
“Like I give a shit.” Dori shrugged.
Sterling broke away from the students and walked over to us. Tendrils of silver hair had come loose from his topknot, whipping about his face in agitation as he approached.
I wondered how he’d feel about being bald.
“Miss Embercrest.” He smiled thinly at Dori. “I hear exercise is the perfect cure for constipation, and since you don’t give a shit, you can give me ten laps. Now.”
Dori’s jaw tensed, and for a moment, I thought she’d argue, but she dropped a curt nod and jogged off toward the track.
“Miss Tavona, find a group to teach on defensive maneuvers. Ironhart, you can do the same but with offensive.”
They hurried off, leaving me alone with Sterling. I fixed him with a blank look, waiting for instructions.
He looked me up and down, slowly and derisively, his gaze lingering on my bandaged hand before he turned to walk away.
What the fuck? “Hey! Damascus, what about me?”
He paused but didn’t turn around. “What about you?”
“What do you want me to do?”
“You?” He threw a scathing look over his shoulder. “You can do the only thing that you’re good for. Nothing.” He walked off, leaving me standing on the outskirts of the arena with a hot coal of hatred burning a hole in my chest.
I couldn’t kill him, but I’d find a way to make him hurt. To make him scream. “I guess we can’t all be Daddy’s little lapdog!”
He stopped, shoulders bunching beneath his black, fitted shirt before reaching into his pocket to draw out a whistle.
He blasted it twice in short succession, and everyone stopped what they were doing. “Miss Onyx has kindly agreed to aid me in demonstrating the Hamlin maneuver.”
The horror on my fellow Unwoven’s faces, coupled with the grins on the younger students’ faces, was enough to put me on edge. But I’d be damned if I showed him that I was concerned.
He turned, wearing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Miss Onyx, if you wouldn’t mind joining me.” He headed for the other side of the training arena, all sand and gravel.
I followed as Dori rushed to catch up. “What are you doing? The Hamlin is one of the most aggressive hand-to-hand techniques. It’s meant for a piper-Horror.
Only seasoned Hunters are allowed to demonstrate it on each other.
There’s a way to play the piper to avoid getting hurt, and you’re already hurt. ”
I had no clue what a piper was, but if Sterling thought he could hurt me, he was going to be sorely disappointed. “I’ll be fine.” I broke away from her to join Sterling. “What do you need me to do?”
“Stay calm,” he said. “Don’t tense up. Don’t fight me. And you’ll be fine.” That smile again, all deceit and jagged edges.
I shrugged, feigning indifference. “Let’s do this.”
I rolled my shoulders and ordered my body to relax—no easy feat in the presence of a male I wanted to stake then barbecue.
The students gathered close, nudging one another and whispering.
A boy with a silver buzz cut pushed his way to the front.
His facial expression, the hair, and the sharp arch of his eyebrows were all similar to Sterling. He had to be his brother, Tyler.
“Do we get to try after?” he asked.
“No,” Sterling said.
“Why not?”
“Because I said so.”
“But—”
“Enough!” Sterling snapped. “One more word and you’re off combat class for the month.”
Tyler pressed his lips together, hands curling into fists at his side.
Sterling circled me. “There may come a time when you are without a weapon, a time when the Weave is out of touch, and you have only your body to rely on. One thing we have learned about pipers—their arms are thick and powerful, but their bones are not so strong.” He stopped behind me, and my skin crawled with awareness.
“In order to incapacitate a piper, you must get behind it and—”
He grabbed my elbows, yanked them back, and shoved his knee into my spine, forcing my body into a sudden arch before slamming me into the ground so hard that he knocked the breath from my lungs.
He knelt on me, pressing into my back and pulling on my arms in a way that would have had anyone else screaming.
“Then you yank,” he continued, his tone conversational. “Sudden and hard to break the spine and dislocate the joints in the arm.”
The pressure on my spine built, tendons in my shoulders straining. If he didn’t stop soon, my arms would pop out of their sockets and my bones would snap.
I couldn’t risk another injury.
There was only one thing to do.
Give him what he wanted.
I screamed, shrill and bloodcurdling.
Gasps of shock and cries of “Stop, you’re hurting her!” filled the air.
Maybe I’d overdone it?
He leaned in, one knee still at my back, pinning me as his breath brushed my ear. “Accidents happen here all the time.” His grip on me tightened, and in that moment, I knew for certain that he didn’t plan to let me walk away from this demonstration unscathed. He was going to dislocate my shoulder.
He wrenched my arms again, but this time, I resisted.
Tugging toward the ground to yank him forward, I dropped my head, then whipped it back in time to catch him in the face with a blow that slackened his grip enough for me to jerk free.
I rolled out from under him and was about to pull myself up when he landed on top of me.
Stradling me, he slammed me to the ground by the throat. “And if the piper succeeds in slipping free and you get a chance to pin it—go for the throat and crush its windpipe.”
Fuck he was strong. His grip like steel. I twisted and bucked, but he had me trapped.
Panic detonated inside me as he proceeded to squeeze, his attention on the students as he slowly cut off my breath. I clawed at his hand, eyes bugging. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t kill me, the blood oath between his family and mine prevented that, didn’t it?
Accidents happen here all the time…
No. This was no accident. There were witnesses, but Sterling didn’t seem to care. The pressure on my throat increased. I choked, tears blurring my vision, as the other students’ cries of alarm were muffled beneath the beating rush of blood in my ears.
Someone slammed into Sterling, knocking him off me and setting me free. I rolled onto my side, gagging and coughing as air found its way in and out of my lungs once more.
“Oh, Trinity, Ana!” Clary and Dori rushed to my side, helping me up.
It took a moment to regain mastery of my limbs—but the sight that awaited me made the last few minutes worth it.
Drayven straddled Sterling’s back, one hand pressing the dhampir’s head into the gravel, forcing him into submission.
It was a fucking vision. I took a mental picture and filed it away to examine later.
“Get off me,” Sterling bit out.
Drayven pressed Sterling’s head hard enough that the crunch of gravel against the Phage’s alabaster cheek was a delicious melody. “What the fuck are you playing at?” he growled.
“Teaching,” Sterling bit out. “You remember what that’s like, don’t you?”
“That was not teaching.”
“If she can’t handle a little pain, then she doesn’t belong here.”
Sterling was a lying piece of shit, but there was no way to prove that he’d planned to kill me. No way to prove that he wouldn’t have stopped. Drayven must have realized it, too. He made a soft sound of disgust and with a final shove, climbed off the Phage.
“The Hamlin is not on the curriculum for Combat 101.”
Sterling chuckled, the sound harsh and derisive. “You should know.” He pulled himself up and dusted off his clothes. “You’re the reason it was removed.”
Drayven’s jaw ticked, his fists bunching, and for a moment I thought he would hit Sterling.
I wanted him to hit the bastard. To break his fucking face.
But he didn’t. Instead, he exhaled sharply through his nose and relaxed his stance.
“Class is over.” He strode toward me. “You—come with me. The rest of you get out of here.”
“She’s hurt,” Dori said.
“I’ll take care of her,” Drayven replied.
That seemed to satisfy the Unwoven, and they backed off, allowing me to leave with the barghest, but not before I caught the malicious glint in Sterling’s eye.
I gave him the finger with my good hand, then followed Drayven toward the gardens and through the gates, where he finally spun to face me, his attention dropping to my neck.
“How bad is it?” he asked. He gently nudged my chin up to examine my throat. “You’re bruised. There’ll be internal swelling.” His jaw flexed. “That bastard.”
“I’m fine,” my voice came out a raspy croak.
“No, you’re not. But you’ll live.” His shoulders dropped a little. “I’ve never seen Sterling behave like that toward a student before, so I need to know, what is going on between you two?”
“Nothing.”
“You told me he was a murderer. He obviously hurt someone you care about, but what did you do to him?”
Heat gathered behind my eyes, and I gritted my teeth. “What did I do to him? Me? A big fat nothing!” My throat pinched, warning me that I was hurt, in pain, even though I couldn’t feel it. “And I regret that nothing every fucking day.”
I’d been a child. A nobody, with no contacts, no power, and nothing to do but cry until my heart broke.
His shoulders slumped, and his tone softened. “Tell me what happened.” I didn’t want to talk about it, so I shook my head. “Listen to me. Sterling is a ruthless killer, and if he feels that you’ve wronged him, then you’re in danger. I need to understand why he would want to hurt you.”
It’s not your fault. It was an accident. It wasn’t your fault. But in the grand scheme of things, how much did the little details matter?
“Ana? Please tell me,” Drayven said. “What did you do?”
I closed my eyes and took a breath, speaking the words I’d only ever said in my head. “I killed his sister.”