Refuge(22)

“Oooh, someone doesn’t like you,” whispered Jordan close to my ear. I started to ask her what she meant, but Celine spoke again.

“Here is how we’ll do this. One by one you will enter the arena where we will release two bazerats. Your task is to neutralize them. Before you go in, select your weapon of choice from the pile by the door, but remember bazerats are fast, so choose wisely.”

The group of trainees surged forward to find weapons, and I was left standing alone in front of Celine. “You want us to kill them?” I looked from Celine to Sahir, and they both nodded. “Why?”

“Why?” Celine repeated as if she couldn’t understand the question. “Because they are vermin and they would not hesitate to kill you.”

“But they only kill when they are hunting for food or when they feel threatened, right? They are no danger to anyone now.” I pointed at the bazerat in the cage. “That creature is terrified of us.”

Celine arched a perfect eyebrow. “Would you rather we had you face the entire pack to make it feel more dangerous to you? This is how we train. Think of it as a sport.”

My nostrils flared, and I shook my head. “I don’t kill for sport.”

The other trainees had joined us again, holding their weapons, and they quieted when they heard my declaration.

Celine’s lip curled. “How do you expect to be a warrior if you can’t kill? Do you think vampires will cut you a break because you won’t kill them?”

“I have no problem killing in self-defense. I’ve already killed two vampires.” I ignored the whispers around me. “But these creatures are not vampires. They’re not even malicious.”

“You’ll change your tune when you face a couple of them with no bars between you. In fact . . . ” She put a manicured finger to her chin. “Why don’t you go first?”

“Fine by me.” I saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes. Did she expect me to refuse, to run away? I started for the door of the building, but stopped when someone grabbed my arm.

Terrence pushed a knife into my hand. “Don’t be stupid,” he said when I tried to refuse it. “You don’t have to use it if you don’t need to, but don’t go in there without some protection.”

Nodding, I gave him a small smile and took the knife, immediately noticing that it felt different in my hand than the one Nikolas had given me. This one was larger and heavier, and the blade had a jagged edge instead of a smooth one. I held it flat against my thigh as I pulled the door open and stepped inside.

The door shut behind me with a loud click, and I found myself in a short hallway that opened into a large room. It was much darker inside the building and the only light came from the windows, but it was enough for me to make out the bleacher-style seats on three sides of the room and the polished wooden floor beneath my feet. The floor in the middle of the room was roughly thirty feet long and wide, and in the very center sat two empty crates.

“Great,” I muttered, scanning the room for the bazerats. It was difficult to see anything in the deep shadows beneath the seats, so I stood still listening for movement. All I could hear was my own breathing. There was a shuffling sound as something moved beneath the seats to my left. I looked that way, but it was impossible to distinguish between shadows and the dark shapes of the bazerats.

From the other side of the room came the scratch of claws on wood, and I caught a glimpse of two glowing yellow eyes beneath a seat. How the hell did he get over there so fast?

I jumped when I heard a sound on my right again, and I whipped my head around in time to see a second pair of eyes peering out of the shadows. The hair stood up on the back of my neck as my heart sped up.

I clenched the knife in my fist, glad now that I had taken it from Terrence, and walked slowly toward the center of the room where the crates sat. There was nothing to be afraid of. If they attacked, there were only two of them and I had a very sharp blade. I would just rather not kill something if I could avoid it.

Hell, maybe I wouldn’t even need to use the knife. I’d used my power to calm a crazed werewolf and two hellhounds, so surely it would work on these little creatures. I hoped so, because if I had to rely on my fighting skills, I might as well serve myself up to them on a platter.

That’s not true, a little voice inside me argued. You fought off a crocotta and killed Eli. You are not weak or helpless.

I stood up straighter. For some reason, Celine didn’t like me, and she was out there waiting for me to fail. But I wasn’t weak, and I certainly wasn’t a coward. She wanted these things neutralized, and that is exactly what she was going to get.