Emma rang the doorbell. Brock opened the door.
Emma asked, “Is he in?”
Brock nodded and invited her in. He went up to the media room, opened the door and called for Marcus. Marcus appeared few seconds later.
Marcus said, “Hey Emma. It is so nice to see you.”
Emma held up a newspaper and said, “You are famous.”
“I know.”
“Selena is not happy.”
“I know.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know.”
Emma sighed. She said, “I believe when you told her you would train her, you would be a bit more discrete than this.”
Marcus said, “Hey I was always going to be famous. You know, author and all.”
Emma said, “You are famous for defeating a power fighter and not because of a book.”
“Why are you getting so worked up?”
Emma muttered, “I care for her.”
Marcus frowned, “Who? Selena?” Emma blushed and did not say anything.
Marcus understood. Brock did too. “Marcus”, he said in a warning tone.
Marcus simply nodded. He said, “She does not seem too concerned though.”
Emma collected herself and said, “She does. She is not saying anything to you though.”
“Why not?”, the frown was prominent on Marcus’s face now.
“I don’t know. Talk to her.”
Marcus said, “Very well. Now, do you want some breakfast?”
Brock simply shook his head as Emma said yes. Marcus needed to stop being such a prick.
***
Taylor looked at her best friends. They were trying not to cry.
“Do you really have to go?”, asked Forum. She looked as if she was going to break down the next second.
“Yes, do you really have to?”, asked Evana. She was holding it better than Forum.
Taylor smiled warmly at her friends and said, “I really have to. I have to start rehearsing for a play. I will be back when the play hits the theatres in L.A.”
They both said good bye to her friend and watched her board the plane. Once inside Taylor was not smiling anymore. She had a sad expression on her face. She had delivered the message. She had not been happy. She had seen the look on their faces. She hated what she had to do. She hated what they had her do. She wanted them out of her life.
She took her seat in first class. The air hostess asked her if she needed anything and she replied no. She relaxed in her seat thinking about them, thinking how she was going to get rid of them.
As the plane started to take off she gripped the sides of her seat. She was still a bit afraid of air travel. She relaxed only after the plane was stable in the air. She looked out of the window to see the sun shining through it. She was now completely relaxed and smiled thinking of her friends.
That was when the tail exploded.
***
Marcus and Selena were having a walk. Marcus wanted to talk to Selena and she said that she was going for a walk. So Marcus accompanied her. They had been walking in silence for some time now.
Marcus finally broke the silence, “Emma visited me during breakfast.”
Selena said, “That would have been about an hour ago only Marcus. You talk as if it was ages ago.”
Marcus said, “True. She said you were angry.”
“I am not angry”, she said shortly.
“And yet your tone suggests otherwise.”
“I am not angry”, said Selena as if it was the end of discussion.
“You are angry because I got famous.”
Selena stopped. Marcus stopped too. Then she started again and Marcus followed.
Selena said, “I am not angry. I am; I can’t exactly say what I am but I am definitely not happy.”
“Oh yes, that’s what she said. You are not happy. I mistook it for anger.”
“She told you all this just about an hour ago.”
“I have weak memory for certain things.”
Selena laughed and Marcus grinned at her. She said, “You make it hard to be angry at you Marcus McKnight.”
“Ah, so you were angry.”
Selena punched him in return. They continued walking for some time. Then Marcus said, “I wanted to talk to you about your training.”
Selena said, “I thought you said you wanted to start it in the New Year.”
Marcus nodded and said, “Yes. But we do need a location where you can practice. I believe you would want it low key.”
“Low key?”
“Hidden. Under the radar. Not known by people and all that.”
Selena laughed and said, “I already have a place. I will show it tomorrow.”
Marcus nodded. They had now reached near the Chan residence. A car passed through the gate. Marcus glanced at the passengers and stopped. Selena glanced at the passing car and paled. Forum and Evana were in the car. Taylor was also with them. Taylor half glanced at Selena before turning away. Marcus recognized the third girl. He had seen her with Forum and Evana before.
He said, “Was that Taylor Warren?”
He turned to look at Selena who looked as if she had seen a ghost.
Marcus said, “Are you all right?”
Selena nodded and said, “Fine. I have got to go. I will meet you tomorrow. Same time?”
Marcus nodded and she started off. He looked at her retreating back and then at the direction in which the car was heading. He thought for a moment and then finally decided to follow. He could be wrong but he thought he had found another one.
***
It was the day before Marcus was leaving for America. He, Chen and Tsi Tzu Tsen were standing in front of the wall. The writing on it had changed.
Chen asked, “What does it mean?”
Triple T said, “Seems clear enough.”
Chen rolled his eyes and said, “I did not mean what is written literally. I meant what it means.”
Triple T raised his left eyebrow and said, “What?”
Chen shook his head and said, “Never mind.”
Jun Chan came at that time. He said, “I heard the writing had changed.”
The three present simply pointed. Jun read it.
He said, “What does it mean?” He then turned to Marcus and said, “Does it make sense to you?”
Marcus shrugged and said, “Maybe it has something to do with where I am going.”
Jun said, “Are you saying that you will find your answers in Los Angeles?”
Marcus nodded. They were silent after that. They simply looked at the wall for some time. Marcus read again what was written on it:
To the messenger
Clues to find the five
One you will save from loneliness
One you will give protection
One you will save her life
One you will save from lost love
The bride you will simply know
And you will find all where you go
“Interesting message”, said Marcus.
The others simply nodded absently. He had not understood at that time. He had not believed it all the time Kami had told him. But as he was in the check in line behind Taylor, making sure Forum and Evana did not recognize him, he thought he had found the third one.
***
The plane spiralled down. Oxygen masks came down and the seat belts sign flashed like mad. As the plane went down Taylor thought of what had just happened really. She prayed that if she survived then she would do everything to make it right.
It was then the plane crashed. Taylor had closed her eyes, waiting for death. She opened them. Nothing had happened. She was all right. She looked around. All the passengers were all right too; shocked but all right. What the hell had happened?
The pilot came out of the cock pit at that time. Everyone was evacuated. It seemed that everyone was okay. Taylor did not understand. She looked around as she exited the plane. The plane had crashed in an empty field outside L.A. No one seemed hurt. How was this possible?
She could see the emergency vehicles approaching the crash site. The crew was trying to move all the passengers away from the crash site saying that it was not safe. She started walking with them. A man detached himself from the other passengers and came up to her.
“Are you all right Taylor?”, he asked.
She nodded and said, “How do you know me?”
“You are Taylor Warren aren’t you?”
“Yes, but how do you know me?”
Taylor was now feeling suspicious of the man. He laughed a bit and said, “I doubt you remember me but my name is Marcus McKnight.” He put his hand forward. Taylor remembered him. Funny meeting him here. She shook his hand. It was then the emergency vehicles arrived.
***
“What do you think?”, asked Trent of his partner.
“Shadow bomb”, replied Dorian and Trent nodded. They were looking at the wreckage of the flight 632 which had just crashed. It was not much. The expert with them was confused as to how this was possible. It was as if someone had put a shield on the entire plane but that was not possible. No one has been able to do so till date.
“I know one thing that we won’t be working on this case much”, said Dorian.
Trent nodded. He said, “Terrorists?”
Dorian shrugged and said, “It is the obvious explanation. But how did they get the bomb in the plane?”
Trent looked around and said, “I don’t know Dorian but I intend to find out. I want to find the sons of bitches that did this. I don’t care who will be in charge of this case but I want in.”
Dorian nodded and said, “So should we ask questions to the passengers now?”
Trent said, “Might as well get it over with. It might explain something.”
They took out the passenger list that they were given. Earlier they had simply glanced over it. Now they looked at it carefully. The passengers had already been taken back to the airport. They had to wait for the official query. As they looked through the passengers’ name, they paused at a name. They both looked at each other.
Trent smiled and said, “This should be interesting.”
***
Marcus and Taylor were sitting together. Taylor was pretty shaken while she could see that Marcus was amazingly calm. He was telling her some of his funny stories, trying to calm her down. It was working. She took a deep breath to clear her head. This was no accident. She had an inkling as to who had done this and why. The Dark Hand. They wanted her dead. This was not good. She had to do something about it.
“Taylor”, said someone and she snapped out of her reverie. She looked around to see Forum and Evana had come. Marcus was looking a bit uncomfortable. It was Forum who had called her.
As they approached Evana said, “Hello Marcus. What are you doing here?”
Marcus was going to reply when he looked behind them and paled. Taylor looked at who he was looking. A woman with a pram was walking hurriedly towards them and besides her was, wait she knew who it was. It was Brock. As soon as the passengers returned to the airport, they had called their families to tell them they were okay. Marcus had also called someone. It had to be his sister. Taylor did not remember her name. Taylor had called Forum.
Forum and Evana looked around too. Then they turned back and said together, “Boy, you are in trouble Marcus.”
Marcus muttered, “That’s an understatement.”
As they came closer Marcus said, “I can explain Arya.”
So that was her name. Taylor looked at her closely. She looked angry; very angry.
Arya said, “I only want to know one thing Marcus. Were you running away again Marcus?”
“What? No!”, said Marcus. She nodded and said, “How long are you here?”
It was Taylor who replied, “It was announced that there are few detectives who want to ask us some questions about the crash. Then we are free to go.”
Arya turned to look at her. She smiled and said, “Taylor Warren. It has been a long time.”
They shook hands. Taylor remembered she had gone to Marcus’ house one time with Forum and Evana and had met his sister. She remembered her to be a nice person. Apparently she looked dangerous right now. She was throwing angry glances at Marcus who looked as if he had swallowed something nasty.
Marcus whispered to Brock, “You had to tell her now?”
Brock simply said, “Yes”, and Marcus shook his head.
It was then the detectives entered. They said their names were detective King and detective Gregory. They called for the first passenger. Taylor sat back and sighed. She really had to do something to protect herself from The Dark Hand.
***
Marcus was called the last. The detectives were sitting behind a desk. There was also an airport official with them. Marcus nodded as they asked him to sit.
“So, Marcus McKnight”, said Trent shuffling some papers in front of him, “What were you doing on the plane?”
Marcus had an amused expression on his face.
Dorian asked, “Do you think this is funny Mr McKnight?”
Marcus glanced at Dorian and then at Trent and then back again.
He said, “Dear God, even you two are pissed off at me.”
Marcus had known both the detectives before he had run away. Although at that time they had just joined the force. He had been introduced to them by Brock. Brock was closer to them than Marcus. Apparently he had made many people angry when he had run away.
“Answer the question please Mr McKnight”, said Trent.
“I was going to New York.”
“Why?”
“Sightseeing.”
The detectives shifted in their chairs. Trent said, “Please don’t play games with us Marcus.”
Marcus sighed and said, “I am telling you the truth.”
Dorian said, “No you are not. You had no luggage Marcus. And according to the records that we have, you bought the ticket at the last minute.”
“So?”
“It all seems suspicious”, said Trent.
Marcus asked, “Are you accusing me of blowing up the plane?”
Dorian said, “No one said about blowing up the plane.”
Marcus said, “Oh come on, it was a shadow bomb. I felt it when it went off.”
Trent and Dorian looked at each other. Trent said, “How did you...”
Marcus cut him off, “Okay, look here. I know you are simply giving me a hard time because I ran away. I believe Brock has already told you about the circumstances and so let us just move on. That was a shadow bomb which went off. And it was not there when the plane took off. It means that it was teleported there when the plane was in air. This was no simple job. It would take many people to pull it off. Five at least. Actually it would have taken one shadow master to conjure the bomb and then it would take five of them to teleport it to the plane. For the co-ordinates they would require a person on board. Find him and you will find out who was behind this. This was a suicide mission for him. They did not expect anyone to live. So you should move fast before this guy is found dead.”
The detectives were sitting with their mouths open. Then Dorian said, “How can you say all this for sure? How do we know that you are not the guy who blew up the tail and now is trying to fool us with a cock and bull story?”
Marcus stood up and said, “Because I know who did it. Even if I told you, you would not believe me. So I am simply going to go now. This farce of an interview is over.”
The detectives were too shocked to say anything. As he was about to leave Dorian found his voice, “Marcus, who do you think did it?”
Marcus paused at the door. “The Dark Hand”, he said and left.
***
Forum was taking Taylor back to her house. She was constantly talking about what had happened but Taylor was not listening. She was thinking very hard. It was The Dark Hand. There was no doubt about it. It seemed that they wanted her dead. Well, they could have wanted someone else on the plane dead too but it was unlikely. It was her. And going to the Chan residence was going to put their family at risk. She could not go there. She had to go somewhere else.
Evana had been silent the whole time. She could see that Forum was highly agitated while Taylor was deep in thought nodding subconsciously to what Forum was saying. Something was not right about this accident. She could not place her finger on what it was but there was something definitely wrong here. And why was Taylor so silent. She was shaken, it was understood. But this was something else. She looked somehow scared. Evana wondered why that was. And the most important thing that was going through her mind was what the hell Marcus was doing on that plane?
Taylor suddenly came out of her reverie and said, “Forum I have something to ask of you.”
Forum frowned and said, “What is it?”
Taylor hesitated. She would have to handle this delicately. She said, “Don’t take it the wrong way but will it be all right for you if I stayed at your friend Marcus’ house for some days instead of yours?”
Forum gaped at her. She said, “Why?”
Taylor said, “I don’t know. He has got me thinking. What was he doing on the plane? From what you told me, he has just returned after five years from China. I doubt he would go to New York without informing someone. There is something about him. And I think somehow it will good for me to stay with him for some days. There is nothing wrong with you guys but I have got a feeling about him. He is intriguing.”
Now Forum and Evana were both gaping at her. Forum said, “Very well. But on one condition only. Find the truth about what the hell he was doing on that plane. I very much doubt he will tell us. He is not the same Marcus we knew five years ago. He has changed and I can see that clearly even though what he portrays.”
Taylor nodded. She did not know why but she knew Marcus McKnight would be the solution to her problem.
***
“Why were you on the plane Marcus?”, asked Arya.
They were back at Marcus and Brock’s house. Brock was preparing coffee for all of them. Arya was sitting on the sofa while Marcus was pacing a bit.
Marcus said, “I cannot tell you everything Arya. I doubt you would understand it. Hell, even I don’t understand all of it.”
Arya exclaimed, “Marcus! No swearing in front of the baby.”
Marcus stopped pacing and said, “Sorry. It’s just a long story. And I don’t want to drag you into this.”
“Drag me into what Marcus?”
Marcus sighed and said, “I cannot tell you everything Arya but I can tell you one thing. I was on that plane for Taylor Warren.”
Arya looked confused. She said, “Why?”
Marcus said, “As I said before I cannot tell you everything. Just be satisfied with this. I don’t want you in this. I want you to be safe.”
Arya said sharply, “What have you gotten yourself into Marcus?”
Marcus said, “I was an unstable Arya. There is a price for coming back from it. This is my price Arya. Please do not get into this.”
Brother and sister looked at each other. Arya was looking daggers at Marcus while he had a look of determination on his face.
Arya stood up and said, “Fine Marcus. But this is not over yet.”
She left. Brock said, “Are you going to explain to me?”
Marcus looked at Brock. He had told Brock many things about his life in China; more than anybody else. But did he want to tell about this to Brock. He finally decided he should. He nodded and said, “Tonight.”
That was when the door bell rang.
***
They rang the door bell and waited. Brock opened the door. His eyebrows rose when he saw who it was. Forum, Evana and Taylor came in.
Brock said after them, “What are you all doing here?”
Forum simply declared, “Taylor is going to stay with you two for a few days.”
Brock said, “What? Why?”
It was Taylor who replied, “Will it be a problem?”
Brock said, “No, I don’t think so. But why here when you could go to the Chan residence? You must be in shock and that would be a good place to stay.”
Taylor said, “No, this fine too.”
Forum and Evana were grinning. Brock looked at Marcus for support. Marcus was looking at all of them with narrowed eyes.
He said, “Whatever you decide Brock.”
Forum said, “Excellent, it is decided then. Taylor will stay here. It is only for a few days Brock. Then she will come live with me.”
Evana said, “Yes and Marcus, I have a question. What were you doing on the plane?”
Marcus rolled his eyes and said, “I was stalking your friend Taylor here.”
Evana and Forum looked at each other. Evana said, “Fine. If you are not ready to tell us then we understand. But please don’t lie. We will wait.” She stood up. Forum and Evana said their goodbyes to Taylor and left.
After they had left Brock got Taylor settled in the guest room. Then he came back and said to Marcus, “Is this all right?”
Marcus said, “I don’t know Brock but I can tell you something. This was Taylor’s decision; living here with us.”
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“Do you have any idea why?”
“I might have inkling but I would have to ask her.”
“Ask her what?”
Marcus shushed him as Taylor came out. Taylor said, “I have sort of settled in. But I will need to go shopping for some basic necessities. After all, I did lose my entire luggage.”
Marcus nodded and said, “Very well. We will come with you.”
Brock looked surprisingly at Marcus and said, “We will?”, and looking at Marcus’ expression he said, “Of course we will. Shall we go now then or do you want to rest for some time? I completely forgot. You just went through a traumatic experience.”
Taylor shook her head and said, “No, now will be fine.”
As they were all leaving together Brock wondered what his friend was up to.
***
Next day Selena and Marcus went to the place Selena was talking about. It was a huge empty warehouse. Marcus looked around and nodded approvingly.
Marcus said, “You train here right now?”
Selena nodded. Marcus said, “It is a sweet place. And no one is using it?”
Selena shook her head. Marcus said slowly, “And how did you stumble upon this place?”
Selena said, “It belongs to Big D. He knows about my plight.”
“The entire truth?”
“Yes.”
“So who else is in the club?”
“What club?”
“The club in which they know the truth about why you want to train without anyone knowing?”
Selena grinned and said, “You are not ready to know.”
“Very well. Then why did you go pale on seeing Taylor Warren? I doubt you even know her; or do you?”
Selena paled again on hearing that name. She did not say anything. Marcus sighed and shook his head. This was going to be harder than he thought. This was all connected. He knew that. He needed some answers. He was going to get them tonight.
***
Charlie Dodd looked around cautiously. He had to be careful. He had to get out of L.A. He was not meant to survive. He was supposed to be dead in the plane crash. The target was supposed to be dead too. However none of that had happened. The plane had crashed but it had not caused the death of the target. All the passengers had walked away unscathed. Charlie had wondered how that had happened. But now was not the time for that. Now was the time for escaping.
He joined the line at the ticket counter. The Dark Hand was mad. They had blown up a whole plane just to kill one girl. Charlie shook his head. The poor girl had no idea. And he was there on the plane so that the bomb could be teleported there. He had been shadow marked. It was only time before they caught up to him. He did not want to die. He had not wanted to die in the first place but he had no choice. Now fate had given him another opportunity to live. He was going to use it.
The shadow mark would disappear in a day or two. Till then he had to be on the run. He would have to survive. He took a deep breath and stepped up to the counter. He bought a ticket. He wasn’t even aware what destination he said. He paid for his ticket in cash, collected it and left. He was walking neither fast nor slow. He did not want to draw any suspicion. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the authorities figured out what had happened and they would somehow catch up to him. He could not let that happen. He wanted to be free, free from the Dark Hand and live his life in peace.
He went to the toilet. He was washing his hands when it happened. The lights went out. He was in pitch black. He gulped. He was scared.
He said weakly, “Hello?”
There was no answer. He started for the door and he saw that it was blocked by a shadow. He looked around absolutely terrified. The whole bathroom was enveloped in shadow. They had found him. But how? And this fast?
Someone put a hand on his shoulder and he jumped. He turned to see someone standing behind him. Charlie could not see who it was because of the darkness and the shadow.
“Hello Charlie”, said the person, “Remember me?”
Charlie squint his eyes. He recognized the person.
Charlie said, “You were on the plane weren’t you?”
The person nodded. Then he said, “Now really look Charlie.”
The person waved his hand and shadow moved across him. Charlie paled at the sight. But he was a bit pleased. He was not going to die. Maybe there was still hope left for him.
The person said, “So you recognize me now?”
Charlie nodded. “Good”, said the person, “Because we need to talk. I have some questions for you Charlie Dodd.”
Charlie said meekly, “I will answer them... Lord Blade.”
***
They were standing in front of their parents’ graves. Marcus and Arya were both silent. Today was 23rd of December. It was the anniversary of their parents’ death.
Marcus broke the silence, “I visited the graves before... before... you know.”
Arya nodded. Marcus continued, “It’s been five years though.”
Arya did not say anything. She looked at the now blank spot where they had buried an empty coffin for Marcus earlier. She was scared for him. She was scared that he had gotten into something terrible when he ran away and now could not escape from it. She knew he would never tell her the truth in order to protect her, but this did not stop her from worrying.
Shane came up to them at that moment. He said, “Do you guys want some more time? If not then we should go. Chris is also getting restless.”
Arya nodded and looked at Marcus who said with a sad smile, “We should go.”
They both laid the roses, which they had brought with them, on the graves. As they left Arya was gripped with a fear, a fear of burying a not so empty coffin of Marcus in the near future.
***
Brock woke up on Christmas morning with a start. He just had a terrible nightmare and he was panting as if he had run a mile. He massaged his eyes and gave a start when he heard music from downstairs. Then he realized that it would be Taylor. He gave a snort. Taylor Warren. Marcus had explained everything to him that night. They had a consultation with Jun Chan, Chen Chan and a guy named Tsi Tzu Tsen.
Now Tsen had been a weird guy. He had slept through the entire meeting and had only said maybe a word or two. Most of the times he had simply grunted. Grunted! Seriously!
Brock got up and got ready. It was Christmas. He was going home to celebrate it. Marcus was going with Arya to the Coroner Christmas celebration. Taylor was going to celebrate it with Evana’s family. Forum would be disappointed but Brock knew that Christmas was a time just for family for the Chans.
He was grinning when he went to take a shower. However his mood soon changed as he thought about what he had learnt that night. It was interesting. It was hard to believe. Marcus had said it had been tough for him to believe too. But since he had come here and found three of them he had started believing.
Brock sighed as he went downstairs. He was surprised to see Flora there.
“Hello”, she said as he came downstairs. Brock went up to her and gave her a kiss.
“What are you doing here? And why did you not call for me when you came?”, he asked.
Flora said with a small laugh, “I was having a lovely conversation with your new roommate.”
Brock looked at Taylor now. She was in conversation with Marcus who, Brock was surprised to see, showing amazing attention to her.
Brock turned to his girlfriend and whispered, “I think Marcus is into her.”
Flora looked at Marcus and Taylor and said, “You realized it now? She has been here for three days now. I knew about it the first time I came. You are noticing it now?”
Brock gave a short laugh and said, “Well you know how observant I am. So what brings you here though?”
“I was missing you”, said Flora, “and...”, she came close to him and whispered in his ear. Then she started off towards his room. Brock followed grinning. Early Christmas gift for him.
***
Tisane looked out of her balcony. She was thinking of her team. After she had formed the team they had a few meetings. But the official training had not started. She had to start it soon. She had six months from January. Then from July would be the qualifying tournament. If her team won in the qualifying tournament, then only would they be able to go to the world tournament.
Tisane was feeling a bit worried. Would she able to get her team working together in these six months? She knew about all the problems a team could face as she had been a part of a team too. She sighed. This was tiring.
She decided to go down. This was no time to feel down. It was Christmas after all. It was time for celebrations. With a smile she knocked on her sister’s door.
***
Marcus groaned. It was just after the Christmas dinner and the whole family was settling around the Christmas tree to open presents. There were a lot of presents. This was understood as the Coroners were a large family. He had a tough time shopping for all of them. Arya said he was trying to compensate for all the Christmases he had missed and Marcus had simply waved her off. Maybe she was right.
They started opening presents but Marcus was not into that. He was thinking. Thinking about all he had to do. He did not like it but he had to do it. He had to stop The Dark Hand from troubling Selena and Taylor until he was ready. He had now figured out that The Dark Hand was troubling Selena too. The conversation with Charlie had been illuminating. He hoped he had got Charlie out on time. Now it was time to distract The Dark Hand temporarily. He would need help for that.
Arya broke his reverie. “Would you like to open your presents Marcus? You are the only one left”, she said.
Marcus looked around. Everyone was looking at him.
“Sorry”, he said, “Got lost in thoughts.”
With a smile he started to open his presents. Yes, this was going to be a tough call.
***
The elders looked at each other. Then they looked at their leader. There were five of them; four elders and their leader. The highest echelon of The Dark Hand. The elders wondered why had the leader had called them. This was going to be no simple meeting. They had not met since two years now. They waited for their leader to explain.
The leader said, “I got a call from Master Blade that he wanted to talk with me. He said it was important. He wanted to talk with me alone but with him I do not want to take any risks. So I called you all.”
The elders merely nodded. They understood. The leader had made a wise decision. Suddenly the air shimmered before them and two mirrors appeared before them. They knew what it was. The leader passed some of his energy to the mirrors. A person appeared in each of them. In one of the mirrors was Master Blade, while in the other mirror it was Master Jun Chan.
Blade and Jun both bowed to the five people and they bowed back.
The leader said first, “Master Chan, it is a surprise to see you. I was expecting to talk to Master Blade alone.”
Blade said, “Same here. I was expecting to talk to you alone.” He did not say the leader’s name. Blade knew that it was a grave insult to do so. The leader of The Dark Hand could be addressed as simply the leader or as The Hand, but never by his name. The same did not apply to the elders.
The leader said, “You know I do not do serious”, he paused looking for the right word, “discussions without the elders.” That was the end of it. Blade simply nodded.
Blade said, “I understand. Master Jun is for that purpose only.”
The leader said, “But why two mirrors then? Aren’t you two at the same location?”
Blade felt uncomfortable but did not show anything. Showing any signs of weakness was dangerous.
He said, “No. That is why two mirrors. But you already knew that didn’t you Lord Hand? I don’t believe you are ignorant of my situation.”
The leader smiled and said, “Right you are Master Blade, or should I call you Marcus McKnight?”
Blade/Marcus gave a short laugh and said, “Blade will do just fine Lord Hand.”
The leader said, “What is the reason for calling me Master Blade?”
Marcus took some time before answering. He simply said, “Taylor Warren. Selena Stone. Why?”
The leader looked the elders as if asking for permission. All the elders gave him a slight nod. The leader nodded back and explained everything to Marcus.
Marcus was deep in thought after the leader was finished. Jun said, “Are you all right Marcus?”
Marcus simply nodded and said, “They are under my protection. Forget about them.”
The elders shifted. They were angry. This was insolence. Who did this young brat think he was?
The leader was the only calm person. He said, “May I know why Master Blade?”
Marcus explained. The explanation hit the elders hard. The leader however started laughing. After he had stopped laughing he said, “We have no problem with Taylor Warren but Selena Stone we cannot let go. Honour demands it.”
Marcus nodded and said, “Very well, but remember I will be helping her now.”
The leader nodded and said, “I deduced that much. We cannot let her go Master Blade, but as a favour to you we could give her more time.”
Marcus nodded. The meeting was over. He had got what he wanted.
***
Forum woke her sister up with a call of Happy New Year. Tisane smiled as she got up. She knew why Forum was excited. Today was the first day of the team’s training. They had all decided to meet at 7 a.m. at a place which Tisane had decided.
After getting ready Tisane and Forum set off towards the ground where the others were going to meet them. As they parked their car, Tisane saw them at once. Juran and his team were also there. Not only that, Wizard was also there with his team. Tisane swore in her mind. Why had she not thought of this?
She looked around for her team and found them. AA was looking at the other teams with a bit of apprehension. Emma looked disinterested and was reading a book which she seemed to have brought with her. Brock was meditating. And Marcus, oh dear, Marcus was sleeping. He even had an eye cover on his face.
Fuming, Tisane walked towards her team. She said, “What is happening over here?”
They all turned towards her. Emma stopped reading and Brock stopped meditating. Marcus still remained asleep.
It was Alpha who spoke, “It seems that Juran and Wizard have the same idea as you Tisane. All want to train their teams on this ground.”
“And why not”, said Marcus from the ground. It seemed he was not asleep after all, “This is a very good place to train.”
Tisane walked up to where Juran and Wizard were standing. Flora and Selena were also standing with them. Selena looked a bit disgruntled. Flora was the only one who looked calm. Juran and Wizard were both looking a bit furious.
Tisane said angrily, “What is going on here? I thought I was going to train my team here.”
Juran said drily, “It seems that we are of the same opinion. We cannot all be here. Only one of us can. So how do you want to settle it? We were waiting for you only.”
Flora suggested picking chits and the idea was rejected. They all wanted only one thing but no one wanted to say first.
“Oh come on. Just say you wanna fight and get it over with”, shouted Marcus from the ground.
Wizard looked surprised. He said, “He can hear us?”
Marcus shouted again, “Clear as rain drops.”
Wizard said, “What does he mean?”
Tisane said, “Ignore him. But he is right. This would be settled with a power fight.”
Juran was grinning wickedly, “Tisane I am not fighting.”
Tisane fumed, “Then why are you grinning like an idiot.”
Wizard understood what Juran meant. He said, “I will have to talk to my team. I will have a fighter ready soon.”
Juran nodded and they both left. Tisane returned to her team fuming.
Tisane said, “One of you is going to fight a member from Juran’s team and Wizard’s team.”
Marcus simply said, “Wake me up when this is all over.”
Brock returned back to meditating and Emma returned to her book. Alpha looked at Tisane and then at the other teams. Then he said, “Tisane is it important to train here?”
Tisane frowned and said, “No, but if we win we could train here.”
Alpha said, “We can train back at my place. I told you earlier. We have state of the art training facilities.”
Tisane said, “All that is fine but is none of you excited to fight here?”
Emma put down her book and said, “You were expecting this weren’t you?”
Tisane grinned now. She said, “Guilty as charged. So, what do you say?”
“I’ll go”, said Marcus from the ground.
Tisane said, “Is it all right with the others?”
They all agreed. At that moment Selena came up to them. She said, “So, who is going to be the fighter of Incognito?”
Marcus stood up saying, “Me.” He started walking towards the centre of the ground. Tisane shouted after him, “At least take of your stupid eye cover.”
Marcus said, “I am going to give them a handicap.”
Brock woke up from his meditation to look at his friend fight. Forum slapped her forehead and sat down besides Brock. Emma closed her book and did the same. Alpha came and stood beside Tisane who looked shocked. Selena simply shook her head and sat down besides Emma.
Tisane looked at the other fighters. One was Hilary while the other was Milo. This was not going to go well.
***
“Take off your cover Marcus”, said Hilary as Marcus approached them.
Marcus said, “And miss all the fun? Nyah. I am fine.”
Milo said slowly, “Don’t be an ass Marcus.”
Marcus said seriously, “Never with you Milo, you know that.”
Milo simply nodded and took his position. Hilary gave an exasperated sigh and took her position as well. Milo and Hilary looked at each other and both nodded at each other. Juran and Wizard looked at each other and grinned. Flora gave the signal to start the fight.
Marcus heard the signal and focused. He was right. Milo and Hilary both attacked him at once. Marcus smiled as he felt them coming. His shield was up. He knew what he had to do. Milo hit him with a thunderstrike which Marcus dodged. He actually flowed around it and punched Milo heavily in the gut. It was his psi strike. He knew Milo flew away from him and crashed into, oh dear, Tisane. She was going to be angry.
Marcus however had no time to think about it as Hilary had attacked again. Marcus had dodged her attack also when he had dodged Milo’s. He deflected the second attack which hit Milo as he was getting up. He was again thrown back but this time Tisane and the others had moved and so Milo did not hit anyone. Marcus smiled. He could not see anything but could sense everything around him. This was fun.
“Do you always have to show off?”, said a voice inside him.
He smiled. It was DA. He thought, I get it from you DA.
I don’t show off, said DA.
Oh please, said another voice. It was CA.
You show off worse than anyone I have ever known my entire life, said a third voice. It was WA.
Hush now. I am fighting. Let me focus, said Marcus to the voices.
Like we have ever stopped you, said DA. But they shut up all the same.
By this time Milo and Hilary had let off a stream of attacks at Marcus and he had managed to dodge them. Defending was fine but he had to attack soon. Before he could do anything, Juran said, “Why don’t we make this more exciting?” He was crackling his knuckles. He shouted, “All power fighters; fall in.”
And pandemonium followed.
***
It was after the fight that they had all gathered at AA’s house. Apparently they had lost. Tisane looked at her team with slight disappointment. According to her they had not worked together as she had expected. As a matter of fact, none of them had. Tisane knew that Juran, Wizard and her had their work cut out for them.
Tisane looked at her team now. Brock, Forum and Emma were sitting on one of the couches and were discussing about the fight. AA had gone looking for his wife who, according to Jensen, was somewhere in the mansion but did not know where. Alpha had sighed and left, muttering under his breath. Marcus was again asleep on a couch. At least he had his eye cover off. It had got torn off when all of the teams had joined the fight.
When Alpha was back, Lara was not with her. He shook his head to Tisane’s inquiring gaze. Tisane sighed and said, “All right team, listen up.”
All of them paid attention to what Tisane was saying. She continued, “I am disappointed with your performance today. I had hoped that there would be some level of unity amongst you, but some of us want to attack our own team mates.”
She looked pointedly at all except Marcus. At one point during the fight, all of them had attacked Marcus because of a joke that he had said. It was at that time his eye cover had gotten torn. He had it on till that moment. Tisane had mixed feelings at that time. She was relieved to see Marcus without his eye cover, but was also disappointed that her team had been partly responsible for attacking him.
Marcus grinned and said, “It is no problem. I forgive you guys.”
“Shut up runt”, said a voice from upstairs. It was Lara. Selena came from the washroom at that moment.
Tisane rolled her eyes and continued, “From what all I observed today, you all need to work on your teamwork skills a great deal. Also, as per the request put forward by Marcus and Brock, we also need to train Selena as an individual fighter.”
They all looked at Selena who returned their stared without blushing. Lara said from above, “Stop staring at her runt.”
Marcus muttered something under his breath. AA said, “As I said earlier, we could all train here.”
Tisane looked at all of them individually as if to seek their approval. They all agreed. Then Tisane turned towards Selena and said, “Come with me Selena. I have something to discuss with you in private.”
As they left the room, Marcus’ eyes followed them like a hawk. He wondered what Tisane was up to.
***
“What did Tisane want from you Selena?”, asked Emma. She, Selena and Marcus were now walking back to Marcus’ home. Brock had taken his car to go and meet Flora. He had said that he could drop them but they had refused. Actually Marcus had refused and the other two had followed suit. Apparently they both had something to discuss with Marcus.
Selena replied, “She wanted to know my real reason for training.”
Emma said guardedly, “And did you tell her?”
Selena looked down and shook her head. Emma saw that she looked tired. She sighed and turned to Marcus, “I had something I wanted to discuss with you.”
Marcus said, “Can’t it wait till we reach my house?”
Emma shook her head and said, “I am not coming in. I have an appointment.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow and Emma said, “It’s a dental appointment. Are you happy now?”
Marcus did not say anything. Emma said, “As I was saying, Marcus, I want you to help me with something.”
Marcus politely raised his eyebrows. Emma said, “As you know every member of the team will be training Selena during our morning team practice.”
Selena raised her head and looked at Emma at that statement. Emma continued, “I have a feeling that you wish to train Selena alone. Moreover I think you have already discussed it with Selena.”
Marcus and Selena shared a look. Selena said in an accusing tone, “Were you eavesdropping?”
Emma blushed and said, “Sort of. I didn’t mean to. It just happened.”
Marcus gave a short laugh and said, “What about it?”
Emma said, “I want to be present when you train her.”
Marcus looked at Selena for approval. Selena thought for a moment and said, “Fine, but not a word of this to anyone else you are out.”
Emma smiled and nodded. After reaching Marcus’ home, she set out for her dentist’s appointment.
***
“You are unusually quiet today Selena”, said Marcus. They were sitting in his living room. Selena looked at him but did not reply.
She then sighed and said, “I am tired Marcus. I have too much drama in my life.”
Marcus looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and then said, “Did you come here to talk with Taylor?”
Selena did not react to that. She did not show her surprise. Marcus was right. She had come to meet with Taylor. But how did Marcus know?
She said slowly, “Why do you ask me that?”
Marcus grinned knowingly and said, “I have a sort of a sixth sense.”
Selena snorted. She knew about Marcus’ sixth sense. It was the same thing he had said to her many years ago; a different time; a happier time.
Selena said, “So, is she home?”
“Who is home?”, Taylor chose that moment to come out of her room.
Selena noticed that Marcus’ body language changed completely. He said, “Apparently Miss Stone has come to meet with you Miss Warren.”
Selena could clearly see he was flirting with Taylor. Taylor smiled and replied, “Why thank you Mr McKnight. It was nice of you to inform me regarding this.”
Taylor and Marcus stood there smiling, looking at each other and ignoring Selena. Selena gave a false cough and they came out of their reverie. Taylor was blushing a bit while Marcus looked unperturbed. He looked politely at Selena.
Selena said, “Can I talk with you privately Taylor?”
Taylor looked suspiciously at Selena. The she slowly nodded and said in a serious tone, “Come to my room then.”
Marcus said, “Well then, I will leave you two girls to your pretty little talk and go out for a walk. I doubt you want me to hear what you guys are discussing.”
As Marcus was leaving the house, he paused and turned. They both looked at him. Selena saw that he was clearly trying to say something but was hesitating.
Finally he said, “Whenever you both are ready, I will be there to help you. No questions asked.”
With that he left the house. Selena looked at Taylor and said, “Do you think he knows?”
Taylor shrugged and said, “I don’t know. But I think it is time to tell him.”
***
Marcus looked at Selena. The team training had started the next morning. In the evening Marcus and Selena had met for Selena’s training at the building, which Selena had showed to Marcus. Emma was not present.
Marcus said, “Should we wait for Emma or do you want to start.”
Selena hesitated. Then she said, “Marcus, I have asked Emma not to come today.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow and Selena continued, “I want to tell you the whole truth today. The whole truth about why I want to learn to fight.”
“Actually we want to tell you the truth”, said a voice behind them. They turned to see Taylor coming towards them.
Marcus said in a serious voice, “I know the truth.”
They both looked at him surprisingly. Selena gaped at him. Taylor stuttered, “Ho... How... How... What... What do you mean?”
Marcus said, “I know both of you like me and have been secretly meeting to decide who can go out with me and now you have come to a decision.”
He received a whack on his head from both of them. Selena angrily said, “Are you ever serious Marcus?”
Taylor said, “Forum has described a great deal about you to me Marcus. I forgot that she said that I should not take you seriously half the time.”
Marcus grinned and said, “Life is no fun if you are serious all the time.”
Selena shook her head and said, “I can’t believe that I liked you once.”
Marcus said, “Me neither.”
Taylor said, “Anyways, what we wanted to say is...”
Marcus raised her hand and cut her off. He said, “I don’t want to know.” Looking at their faces he continued, “Don’t get me wrong. I am honoured that you feel you should tell me your secret, but the fact is I am willing to help you even without knowing what it is. I know I said earlier I was curious, but I am not right now. I mean what I said yesterday. I will help you guys; no questions asked, but I don’t want to know what pickle you two ladies have landed into.”
Taylor raised an eyebrow and said, “You think it is something illegal don’t you? So if we get in trouble then you can claim ignorance.”
Marcus laughed and said, “If it was something illegal I would be the first to help you. The reason for my lack of curiosity is something completely different.”
Selena said, “And that would be?”
“The reason is that I can claim ignorance. However that is not to save my skin but yours”, said Marcus.
Selena said, “And how is that?”
Marcus said, “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.”
Selena sighed and looked at Taylor who simply shrugged. Marcus clapped his hands and said, “So, shall we get cracking then?”
***
Tisane looked at the date. It was the 1st of June. Tomorrow was the day when she would be registering her team for the qualifying tournament. She felt elated every time she thought about her team and today was no different. The team was getting better. The team work between each of the members was improving. Marcus had been a great contributor in this and he played the role of a supporter which somehow agreed with everyone.
Tisane got out of her bed and went to the window. She opened it letting the fresh morning air come in. She breathed in deep. Time flies. It was a true expression. Time had indeed flown since they had started training. Forum had become more proficient, her attacks more skilled and accurate than they were before. Alpha was just as dangerous as Tisane remembered. He had also gotten stronger with the team training they had each morning.
Emma was an interesting fighter. Never had Tisane seen a fighter so focused, so dedicated yet so lonely. Emma always looked lonely to Tisane even though Tisane knew she was not. A strong bond of friendship had developed between her and Marcus. Marcus was now a different story. He had been right. His novel had been a success. He was managing training as well as the publicity of his novel. Tisane wondered whether Marcus really needed the training or was he humouring her? He was on a book tour since last month. He was supposed to be back today.
Tisane was a bit worried about Brock. He was training the hardest as if he was on a mission or something. Something troubled Tisane about Brock. It seemed that he had some other agenda than simply participating in the world championship. She wondered what it was. The training of Selena was also going on well. Tisane was surprised to find her a quick learner and a skilful fighter. Tisane wondered why Selena had not wanted to be a power fighter in the first place, why she was training right now and did she want to be a fighter in the future? Selena had not given her clear answers to any of this questions and that left Tisane a bit frustrated.
Lara was hardly in the training sessions. Even though she was the spare member, her archaeological assignments kept her busy. As a result, she was hardly seen in the practice sessions. Tisane had also kept track on the trainings of Juran’s and Wizard’s team. It seemed that they were good. How good; Tisane believed that question would be answered in the qualifying tournament.
She stepped back from the window. She had to get ready. There was going to be a team meeting today as soon as Marcus came back.
***
Marcus looked out of the window as the plane landed. He had had a successful tour. It was time to come home. It was time for the tournament. Marcus believed that the last five months had been fruitful. Each of his team members had amazing potential and they were honing their skills very well. Marcus had been indirectly helping them.
Selena however was a different story. She had been getting better and better at an astounding rate. Marcus could tell that she had definitely surpassed some of the power fighters he knew in power and skill. Marcus knew why she was training this hard. He had stopped them that day but he already knew everything. He wondered what would happen if they found out what he knew and how he knew it. He shuddered to think about it. He was not concerned about Selena but Taylor.
Taylor had stayed with them for a month before going back. Marcus had fallen for her during that period. He remembered her words before she left, “Marcus, I never got to tell you but I like you. I don’t know when I will be coming back, but when I do”, she had hesitated a bit and continued, “Marcus, will you go out with me?”
Marcus had grinned, given her a kiss on the cheek and said, “Why don’t you come back and then we will see.”
Taylor had muttered ass and had left for her flight. Marcus shook his head when he thought about her. He could have said something better. What he had said to her was the most ridiculous thing. They had kept in contact over the phone after that. Marcus had hoped he would get to see Taylor during his tour but had been unsuccessful.
Now he was back and in a month the qualifying tournament would start. He had to get his head in the game. He realized he had already reached the luggage belt. He picked up his luggage when it came and headed towards the exit. He smiled when he saw her sister waiting for him. Arya had Chris with her. Along with them was someone he did not expect.
“Surprise”, said Taylor as he walked towards them.
Marcus did not even hesitate as he reached them. He dropped what he was carrying, pulled Taylor close to him, and kissed her.
***
Brock asked Marcus, “So how was the tour?”
Marcus replied, “It was fine, just fine.”
Brock looked curiously at his friend. Marcus had a wide grin on his face.
Brock asked, “Why are you grinning like an idiot.”
Marcus said, “I finally asked Taylor out.”
Brock said, “So, she is here.” It was not a question but Marcus still nodded.
Brock said, “And I assume she said yes and that is why you are so jubilant.”
Marcus said, “We kissed.”
Brock said, “And that has you behaving like an overgrown buffoon.”
Marcus sighed and said overdramatically, “I get it Brock”, he sniffed for effect, “You can’t see me happy.”
Brock rolled his eyes and said, “You are mental. I am going back to my movie.”
Marcus said, “Lunch later?”
Brock waved a hand and said, “Yeah, whatever.”
He went up to his room, put on his headphones and turned on a random movie on his laptop. He was not actually watching a movie but thinking. He had met with detectives King and Gregory a few days back. What they had said to him about the upcoming qualifying tournament troubled him. He needed to keep his ears and eyes open. A lot was riding on him.
***
It was the evening of the 1st and Forum was getting ready for the meeting. Her sister knocked on the door and shouted, “Forum, are you ready or not?”
Forum sighed and said, “Just a moment.”
Her sister was always impatient. Five minutes later Forum exited her room to find Tisane waiting in the corridor.
“You are too slow”, said Tisane.
Forum rolled her eyes and started downstairs. Her room was on the first floor of the house. She wished that Tisane would just call instead of personally come. She was quite capable of reaching the meeting place on her own. But no; her sister had to come and make her life hell.
Tisane said, “What were you doing that took you so long? You do realize that we are going to a meeting and not on a date.”
Forum did not say anything. She did not want to respond to anything provocative her sister said. Today was not the day. She would wait till the right moment.
As they headed towards the car Tisane stopped Forum and said, “I had something I wanted to discuss with you before we reach the meeting place.”
Forum said, “Shoot.”
Tisane said, “There is something troubling me about Brock. Can you find out and tell me what it is?”
Forum looked at her sister with surprise. She had known that something was indeed troubling Brock but if he had not told her till now, he was not going to say if she asked him directly. In that regards Brock and Marcus were the same. They opened up only after a very long time. They were experts in keeping their emotions bottled up.
“I will see what I can do”, said Forum, “But if he doesn’t want to tell me, he won’t.”
Tisane simply nodded and they got into the car.
***
Selena looked at the gathering. All the team members were there including the manager and the spare fighter. They were meeting at Lara’s mansion. It had become their training place and also their official meeting place. Selena looked at each and every one of the members present.
Tisane looked a bit nervous. She was reading the rules of the registration for the qualifying tournament one last time before starting the meeting. She had a scowl on her face as if she did not like what she was seeing.
Forum, Marcus and Emma were having an animated conversation about something. Brock sat brooding behind them. Selena very much wanted to go up to him and say, a penny for your thoughts, but she held herself back. Brock had been distant for the past one week. According to Flora he was dealing with something but she did not say what. Selena let it go.
AA was talking with his wife who looked completely bored. Lara was their weakest link, their wild fighter according to Selena. Wild fighter was the term coined for power fighters in a team who were highly unpredictable and did not care much about fighting in a team. They were the loose cannons on whom you could not much rely. That is why Selena was glad that Lara was simply the spare fighter.
Jensen was standing in the background. Zip was also there, however sitting in the office, a glass wall separating him and them. Alistair also sat in his own office. The room they were all in consisted of five offices which were separated from each other and the room by glass walls. The room was hexagonal in shape with each of the offices along its walls and entrance on the wall which did not have the office. Marcus called it the bee room.
Tisane cleared her throat and began, “The qualifying tournament is going to start in about a month; 1st of August to be exact. We have till 10th of June to register our team. I have already registered our team. I have also read the rules and there were some points that I would like to discuss.”
There was a pin drop silence in the room. Everyone had their focus now completely on Tisane. Alistair had come out of his office and leaning on its entrance to hear what Tisane had to say. Only Zip was uninterested and you could hear the steady tap of his keyboard as he worked.
Tisane continued, “There are going to be random fight line-up.”
That got a groan from everyone present. Tisane held up a hand and said, “Also the types of fights are also going to be random. This is in sync with the tournament rules.”
There were other concerns of Tisane but Selena soon lost interest. She was thinking about what Taylor had said to her earlier when they had met. The Dark Hand was giving them more time. That was interesting. Selena wondered what had caused them to do this. She was wondering if there was some catch in this but Taylor had assured her there was none. Taylor had also told her that miraculously, the Dark Hand decided not to bother Taylor unless it was absolutely necessary and had taken a Shadow oath to prove it. Taylor said something or someone had got the Dark Hand shaken. Selena wondered what it was.
***
Marcus woke up to a bright sunny morning of June 30th. Tomorrow was going to be the start of the qualifying tournament. He was excited about it. Tomorrow the true test was going to start. He also needed to keep his eyes and ears open. He had found three of them. There were only two to go. He hoped he found them by the end of the tournament.
Brock woke up troubled. He knew what he had to do in the tournament tomorrow. What detectives Gregory and King had asked him was weighing on his mind heavily. He knew he had been acting slight off for past some time and he knew others noticed it. He had only confided to Flora about it and she was supportive. He had wondered whether he should talk to Marcus about it but decided against it. This morning the thought played on the edge of his mind but he ignored it. It was time to get ready. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.
Tisane woke up grumpily. She did not want to wake up. She looked at Juran sleeping soundly besides her. She watched him for some time, watching his chest fall and rise up periodically, and then stood up. Tomorrow was an important day and she had last minute preparations to do.
Forum woke up groggily and looked like a zombie till she had her shower. It had been a long last night and she regretted it right now. The tournament was starting tomorrow and instead of resting properly she was out partying with Evana and Taylor. That was not good. She had to be in top form for the tournament. She had something to prove. And she was going to prove it, starting from tomorrow.
Emma woke up with a smile on her face. She had a good last night. She turned to look at the girl from last night but all she found was an empty side where she should have been. She gave a snort and stood up. Emma did not mind. She was feeling happy. It was going to be a good tournament.
Lara saw that Alpha was nervous. She knew that it was some time since he had fought in a proper match let alone a tournament. He had been up early and practicing. He was still practicing and Lara was watching him with a cup of coffee in her hands. She felt concerned for him but she knew he would do well. She had agreed to be the spare fighter because of one reason only. That reason was Alpha.
Selena had a bad morning. A letter had arrived for her in the morning. She knew who it was from. There was no doubt about it. The hand shaded with black was extremely clear in the picture ensuring who the letter was from. It was the letter that concerned her. They had sent her a short message, three letters written beneath the hand, “BEST OF LUCK!”