51. Ahmina
AHMINA
Ahmina watched the Slayer shadows in front of her wide-eyed. The Defenders in the group were clearly caught up in some sort of disagreement. They were too far ahead for her to hear why.
“Stay back.” Professor Kaplana’s voice was stern. “Something’s not right.”
“Looks like Slayer drama to me,” Artie said, unconvinced.
“Oh! Do you think they’re going to take off their shirts and start wrestling?
” He jumped up and down sending the group into a fit of laughter.
Leave it to Artie to turn it into some sexy Slayer throwdown.
That’s what she loved about him. He was a formidable opponent, a skilled fighter, and an even better Clever.
And still, he could always put a smile on his friends’ faces with some sassy, sexy joke.
With the conflict resolved, they followed the Slayers’ path deeper into the forest. They walked for so long that Ahmina’s body ached.
The arches of her feet protested the rough terrain, and she longed to reach down and rub the knots from them.
Finally, after what felt like forever, they reached a river with rapid, crystal-blue water roaring and crashing against the shore.
They traced it carefully until it split and slowed into a soft, steady rhythm.
The Slayers collected along the edge, prowling, as her squad stood clustered in between them.
“Today you’ll be searching for traces of a well-known group of Blood Bears,” Kaplana said to the group.
“Why are they called Blood Bears?” Artie whispered, his face tight. Her friends had all come together to help her study, giving her pop questions whenever they could.
“Because their fur is the color of dried, stale blood,” Ahmina answered, grateful she could remember as much.
“Ability?”
Blood Bear. Travel in families and small groups. Giant in size with great strength and power. Magical ability: Physical. They can make all your organs spontaneously tear, shredding their opponent from the inside out.
“Internal tearing,” she said, prompting a nudge of approval from Artie.
The thought of the Bear’s magic alone made her adrenaline spike. She looked around and spotted Lennox in a deep discussion with Ren at the edge of the forest. She studied him, the way his biceps flexed slightly at the hem of his shirt while he gestured, a phoenix tattoo winding down his forearm.
The way the breeze ruffled the tuft of hair that always fell into his face.
His casual stance and steady shoulders.
How his shirt was tucked loose into the top of his belted pants, like he rushed to get ready and missed a spot. So endearing.
As if he could feel her gaze, he glanced over, and they locked eyes. She quickly looked away. She didn’t want him to know she was staring at him. Because she absolutely was not staring at him.
“Your task is to piece together which direction the Blood Bears have gone and why,” Kaplana ordered, more tense than usual.
The Clevers split off in groups while Ahmina headed toward the river alone. Kneeling down by the water, she looked for any trace of the bears.
Nothing.
Slowly, carefully, she made her way along the riverbank away from the crowd to look for tracks, fur, droppings—really anything that could indicate the Blood Bears had been there.
She thought back to the Venom Viper. What if she had known how to identify its presence?
Not that she would have been able to see them, she reminded herself.
It was pitch black that night. The Viper had been close; even if they had decided to go in a different direction, it’s possible it could have caught her either way.
Ahmina hadn’t realized how fast Vipers were.
But if she had known more, worked harder, maybe she could have avoided it. She cursed her own mind. If it didn’t turn to soup so often, maybe she could have handled the situation differently. Maybe she wouldn’t have almost died.
Maybe, she could have been the first student back, like Loveleena had been, and gained the respect of her professors and peers alike.
Maybe she could have saved herself instead of Lennox coming to her rescue. Ugh. She rolled her eyes at the thought of it. She hated that he saved her. But at the same time, she was grateful. And it made her feel more connected to him somehow.
He did suck venom out of her blood, after all.
She swallowed and instinctively lifted her hand to her stomach. The thought of it still made her a little queasy.
Lennox seemed to have a way of helping her when she needed it the most. When she was spiraling.
Which she found both comforting and odd.
Her mind drifted to when she had said goodbye to Lennox at her dorm door after her anxiety attack in the library.
How he had looked at her. How he smelled: like sweet tea herb, citrus, and bergamot.
How he lingered like he didn’t want to leave.
I prefer to use my mouth for more… enjoyable things.
His words stuck in her mind, playing on loop, sending a jolt of heat through her core.
Her memory was interrupted when she spotted a pair of Blood Bear tracks carved into the mud.
She pressed her fingers down into them to feel the damp, soft soil.
When she peeled them away, the soil stuck to her fingertips.
The tracks were fresh. She found something!
Finally, she had a win. Adrenaline coursed through her as she scanned the riverbank, looking for Professor Kaplana.
Her heart stopped when she spotted three pairs of eyes peering out at her from the trees across the river.
Stumbling backward, she tried to scream, but her throat was dry and her voice absent. She looked back to where her squad was situated up the riverbank; she had wandered so far down, lost in thought, she hadn’t even noticed. She had to warn them. She had to do something. Anything.
Get up! she urged herself. But fear paralyzed her body, and all she could do was dig her heels into the mud to try and move backwards, scrambling along the riverbank, dirt wedging under her fingernails.
The smallest Blood Bear wandered out of the trees into the water.
Horror gripped her as it broke into a run, its oversized paws splashing through the shallows.
The adult Blood Bear leaped from its hiding spot in the trees and ran to protect the young bear.
The sunlight revealed maroon fur framed by lightning eyes and fanged teeth, sending Ahmina into shock.
She barely registered its foul, hot breath before a roar tore through her, reverberating in her bones and shaking the trees.
She had been desperate to escape, but now the notion almost seemed dramatic. It was just a mom and a baby. The bear was just protecting her baby. Ahmina’s heart sank and she stood up.
How… innocent.
“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you,” she said as she walked toward them. She had to apologize. She didn’t mean to startle them! Of course the mother bear would be protective of her child.
The icy water rushed into her boots, freezing her toes, but she didn’t care.
It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.
It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.
Just a mother and her child.
I won’t hurt you.
From somewhere behind her, she heard yelling, which annoyed her. They were going to scare the bears! The mother bear approached her, hackles raised, a snarl on its lips.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” was all she heard before Lennox yanked her back by her shirt. She fell into the river on her butt, icy water coming up to her chest, stealing her breath. In front of her, Lennox stood, staring down the bear, his hand gripping his dagger at his side.
Something inside her snapped. The empathy that had consumed her a moment ago dissipated.
She tried to hang onto it. It felt so good, so warm, but it was like hanging onto a dream already forgotten.
She scrambled to her feet, breathing hard.
The freezing water had shocked her out of her delusional state.
Lennox was locked in a stare-down with the bear before he turned to face her.
“Are you okay!?” He held her face in his hands.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so SO sorry!” Ahmina had never seen Lennox so concerned.
“Shit. Ahmina. I feel so bad.” Lennox had never, ever, used her full name: Ahmina. It was always some nickname.
The bear roared, stepping closer to Lennox while shielding the cub.
A current within her blood surged, and the bear screamed. Its massive body suddenly crashed into the water as blood poured from its ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. The baby bears took off into the forest without their mother, now motionless in the river.
The crack that had opened within her moments ago closed just as quickly, and her blood settled, making her whole body feel heavy. It was an odd sensation, one she’d never felt before.
Lennox’s face shifted slowly, his furrowed brows arching and his eyes widening as they both stood in confusion, processing what had just happened.
“Is it dead?”
Lennox nodded. If she wasn’t mistaken, she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. He didn’t ask her if she was okay, what happened, or how the bear died. He simply examined her, as if checking to make sure every part of her was still intact.
“Our reports said they were well out of the area!” Professor Kaplana screamed to Professor Barrow as they came sprinting down the side of the riverbank. “Ahmina, Lennox, are you okay?”
“We’re fine, Professor,” Lennox said calmly, as if they didn’t just have a Blood Bear inches away from them.
“Great job at taking out the mother,” Kaplana praised Lennox.
“I didn’t—"
“Ahmina, why did you follow fresh tracks? You should have notified us immediately. It's a basic strategy; you should know that,” Kaplana said, scolding her like a child.
“Ahmina, you look shaken up. I’ll take you back to the Academy,” Barrow suggested, nudging Ahmina along. Lennox let out a rough ugh in response.
“I’m coming with,” Lennox said quickly.
“No. Kaplana needs you. Stay,” Barrow directed, and Lennox hung back. Ahmina’s mind was too loud to think straight so she allowed herself to be guided out of the water and back through the forest, Barrow leading the way.
“Blood bears affect your organs,” Ahmina said, repeating the encyclopedia facts to herself.
“The mothers have evolved,” Barrow said, butting in as if she had been speaking to him. “We’ve found Blood Bears who now have mind magic; they use empathy to protect their children from harm.”
“E-e-e-mmmpathy?” She shook from the damp cold clinging to her bones.
“Here, you’re freezing. Take my jacket,” Barrow said, wrapping his black leather jacket around her.
That’s why she had felt so sorry for the bears. Was Lennox also influenced by them? Is that why he was so concerned about her? “Can they make you em-path-eticccc…” Her teeth chattered as the words came out. “Tow-ard any-thing? Or just-just-them?”
“Just them,” Barrow confirmed. “As far as we know. There’s no reason for them to make you empathetic to anything else.”
Ahmina’s mind spun as they made the long journey back to the castle, trying to connect the day’s events.
By the time she got back to the Academy, had a hot shower, and pulled on her sweats, the rest of the students had returned.
Starving, she made her way down to the mess hall for dinner to find it packed with students in furious discussion. Several sets of eyes turned toward her. As she passed each table, voices lowered, and her stomach turned.
She clutched her elbows, holding back hot tears, but her eyes betrayed her.