I fluctuated between varying levels of consciousness. Sometimes I enjoyed a dreamless sleep, sometimes I dreamed only of crying turquoise eyes, and other times I thought that I might actually be awake. During one of my seemingly conscious periods, I thought I heard Henri and Erik talking.

“I never thought I would see the day,” Henri teased, his tone light even though I somehow knew that the underlying mood in the room was heavy.

“What day?”

“The day that Erikson Kelley would genuinely care enough about a girl to ease her pain instead of causing it.”

“I’m offended! I always try to comfort girls in pain,” Erik responded, with mock indignation.

“Yeah, girls suffering from broken hearts who need a shoulder to cry on and a body to keep their bed warm.” Henri laughed.

“It’s comfort all the same, buddy.”

“Seriously, Erik, what you did for her was really amazing. The mastering of her talents alone was pretty impressive but taking the pain… wow.”

“I would do the same for you.” Erik sounded embarrassed.

“Really? Really? You’d take the pain of having a curved blade pulled out and the wound stitched up, without any painkillers, for me?” Henri asked incredulously.

“Of course I would. I would even suck the poison out of a wound for you.” Erik’s voice had a light joking tone.

“No way, man. If I somehow get injected with poison or bit by a poisonous snake, or whatever, promise me that you won’t stick your mouth on my skin. I’ve seen some of the women your mouth goes home with, and I’d rather take my chances with the poison.” Henri laughed. There was a dull thud.

“Ouch,” Henri cried, followed by Erik’s laughter.

“Erik, promise me one other thing,” Henri said, his voice turning serious again.

“Sure, what?”

“You need to put aside any feelings you have for Talia.”

“I don’t have feelings for her, Henri,” Erik insisted, his voice so low that I thought I might have misunderstood him.

“Okay. You want to play it that way? Fine. Just remember one thing—she has been dating the Director’s son for years, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

“Donavon’s an ass,” Erik said emphatically.

“You know I don’t disagree with you there but that doesn’t give you the right to mess with his girlfriend.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept with another guy’s girlfriend for that reason.” Erik tried to lighten the mood.

“Talia isn’t really the kind of girl that you have a one-night-stand with,” Henri switched tactics.

“What makes you think that it would be only one night?”

“Because you’re you; it’s sort of what you do.” Henri paused. “Look, you’re not the only one who cares and doesn’t want to see her hurt.”

“I’m not the one you have to worry about hurting her,” Erik said quietly.

Henri gave a loud sigh, and I imagined him slowly nodding his head.

“Yeah, I know you’re not,” he replied. “Just promise me that you’ll leave it alone?”

“Whatever, man.”

“Erik, you’ve been different since you met her,” Henri insisted.

“She makes an incredible first impression. There aren’t too many girls who can kick my ass,” Erik mused.

I smiled at the memory.

The first time I’d met Erik was at my placement exams for the Hunters. The last scoring phase was a five-round spar—five rounds of hand-to-hand combat against members of the Hunters. No weapons were allowed, only talents and raw physical fighting. Oddly, of all the rounds of qualifying tests to become a Hunter Pledge, this was the one that I had dreaded the least. I knew that most, if not all, of my opponents would be male. I knew that Mac had personally selected the best fighters. I also knew that most of them would be Morphers. Most importantly though, I knew that none of my opponents would be prepared for what I could do. The first four I had beaten because my talent was stronger, not because of my combat skills. I’d used my mental abilities to dictate their moves for them. I’d scripted the fight, choreographed the blows, and known the final act would end with my victory. Not one of my opponents had stood a chance—each match was essentially over before it began. I was cocky by the time I faced the fifth competitor. I knew that being last meant that he was the best fighter. I hadn’t known that he was a Mimic.

At first, Erik had fallen prey to my mental manipulation like the others, but he quickly realized what I was doing. Soon he was using my own abilities against me. I’d never met a Mimic or another elite-level Manipulator, so I was unprepared. I was already drained from expending so much mental energy on the previous fights. When I realized that I would have to fight him for real, I panicked. I had never envisioned a future where I didn’t become a Hunter, and I wasn’t about to let him change that. I went at him with everything I had—and then some more.

Our fight had been dirty, a no-holds-barred sparring match. When it became obvious neither of us would concede victory to the other, Mac declared the match a tie. At the time, I’d been incredulous that I’d have to take a draw for my last fight. Later, on my first day of training at Elite Headquarters, Henri informed me that it was the first time Erik hadn’t won—ever.

“Talia, it’s time to wake up,” Erik whispered, close to my ear.

“Not ready yet,” I replied sleepily. I could feel him smoothing the damp curls that were stuck to my forehead. Why was I so sweaty? Why was Erik whispering in my ear to wake me up? My eyes flew open and I tried to sit up, but my stomach muscles protested. I was barely able to lift my back off of the bed. The sudden and intense throbbing in my side made me fully conscious, like a cold bucket of water to the face.

“Easy.” Erik smiled at me. “We have time, you don’t need to rush.”

“I think I might need help getting up,” I said sheepishly.

“Hold still so I can check your stitches, okay?”

“As long as you promise that it won’t hurt,” I tried to joke, but instantly regretted it when the memory of the pain he’d taken from me surfaced.

His hands lightly touched my bare stomach, and I froze. I felt a jolt of electricity where his fingertips lingered. My whole body was overcome by a pleasant tingly sensation and my heart started racing. I gasped involuntarily. I felt the blood rush to my face, and I tried to hide my humiliation over my body’s reaction.

“Did that hurt?” Erik asked, his voice laced with concern. “I’m sorry, I’ll be more careful.”

“No, it didn’t hurt,” I whispered. “I’m just jumpy,” I added lamely.

“I won’t hurt you,” he promised.

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I instantly recalled the conversation that I’d heard between him and Henri, wondering if it had, in fact, been a dream.

“Where’s Henri?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Packing the car and getting us ready to leave.”

“What all does he have to do?” As long as I kept talking, I could ignore my body’s involuntary response to Erik’s contact.

“He’s burning all the stuff with your blood on it.”

“What? Why? I thought he said my blood wasn’t poisoned?” I said frantically, trying to sit up again.

“It’s just protocol, Tals,” Erik soothed. “After I get you up and dressed, he’ll burn this mattress and the sheets, too.”

“Oh, right… protocol.”

“Your stitches look good. Let me help you up so I can re-bandage the wound.”

Erik slowly lifted me into a sitting position. I sat on the edge of the bed, wearing only my bra and underwear, and feeling more than a little self-conscious. Erik carefully covered my stitches with bandages and then wrapped gauze around my entire mid-section. He handed me a black tank top, and I pulled it on over my bandages.

“Stitches feel okay?” he asked.

“As good as they can,” I answered.

Erik helped me to my feet and handed me a pair of loose cotton pants, but I couldn’t bend over to put them on myself.

“I feel like a little kid,” I lamented as Erik helped me into one leg and then the other.

“No way. You wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve done this for Henri.” He winked at me.

I rewarded his attempt at humor with a small snort of laughter but instantly regretted it when pain exploded down my left side.

Once my pants were on, Erik guided my feet into leather flip-flops and wrapped a lightweight jacket around my shoulders.

“Ready?” Henri asked, walking through the door.

“Yeah,” I smiled. “I’m ready to go home.”

“Erik, get her into the vehicle while I finish up with the mattress and sheets.”

Erik half-carried me down the stairs from what I now realized was a loft in the barn. Once I was as comfortably settled as I could be in the backseat of the car, he went back to assist Henri.

The new vehicle was even nicer than the previous one. For starters, it was a lot bigger and had a lot more gadgets. There was enough firepower in the doors to outfit an army, and the front passenger seat looked like a mobile command center.

Henri opened the driver’s side door and hopped in. Erik climbed in the passenger seat and started up the display screens. Apparently, it didn’t just look like a mobile command center—it actually was one. We drove through the open barn doors, and I noticed that it was dark out.

“How long was I asleep?” I asked.

“Only about three hours,” Henri answered. “We couldn’t spare any more time. I wanted to leave while it was still dark.” Shame washed over me at his unspoken meaning. We had to drive because I wasn’t in any shape to make the trek on foot or even ride on Erik’s back.

“Why don’t you lie back down and sleep?” Erik suggested. “It’ll be a couple of hours until we get to the pickup location.”

“What are you doing?” I asked, nodding towards the monitors.

“Checking in. The Director wants us in constant contact with him. He’s worried about you,” Erik said.

Great, Mac already knew that I’d screwed up my first mission.

I was still in a lot of pain and woozy from the drugs that Henri had given me earlier. I curled up in the nest of blankets and pillows and instantly fell back to sleep.

I slept during the entire drive, only waking when the vehicle stopped. Henri parked outside of a large, old house. It looked like it had once been beautiful but had succumbed to neglect and age. The peeling paint revealed wooden boards underneath and the windows were so thick with grime that it was impossible to tell if curtains hung inside. A white wraparound porch marked the entrance to the house, but I doubted that it would hold my weight, let alone all three of us.

The sun was fully up and shining brightly in the sky. I guessed it was late morning by the angle.

“Where are we?” I asked drowsily.

“About five miles from the hover-plane,” Henri answered. “Erik will morph and carry you the rest of the way. It’s too risky to drive any farther.”

“I can walk,” I insisted.

“No, you can’t,” Erik interjected.

I gritted my teeth and sighed. I hated to admit it, but he was right. I was weak and in a lot of pain. It was unlikely I’d make it the entire way on my own. Even more than admitting that Erik was right, I hated that he knew how crappy I felt. He was reading it out of my mind, and I didn’t like having the tables turned on me like that.

Erik morphed into a large black horse as soon as he exited the vehicle, and Henri lifted me easily onto his back. Once I was settled, the three of us set off towards the town. Erik trotted at a moderate pace. Henri ran alongside of us, ready to catch me should I fall. Each step sent a jolt of pain up my side, but I knew that this was better than the alternative: walking.

The town was small, with only one real street that was lined with old brick buildings. Erik and Henri both slowed to a walk, and Henri reached up to take my hand. It was early enough that few people walked the street. To onlookers, we looked like a man with his wife and their horse.

As we walked, I spotted a hover-plane with The Agency logo idling halfway down the street. Nearing the plane, I noticed the exterior had the telltale sheen of camo-metal. There was a more technical name, but I couldn’t pronounce it. The metal was designed so that once we were airborne, it would blend in with the sky and make the plane hard to detect. The metal also contained a chemical coating that scrambled radar.

Henri gripped my hand tighter and walked up to the plane. Several Agency medics surrounded the ramp that led into the underbelly of the plane, looking anxious.

“We were starting to get worried,” a curly, blond Medic called out, sounding relieved.

“Sorry, we got here as quickly as we could,” Henri called back.

A small red-haired boy with freckles waited inside. He gave a small, relieved smile when he saw us. “Hey, Natalia,” he greeted me.

“Hey,” I replied. I recognized the boy from school—we were in the same year. I thought that his name might be Chad, but I wasn’t sure.

He reached up and carefully lifted me down from Erik’s back. As soon as I was off, Erik morphed back to human form, causing the Medic pledge to gasp. I guessed that he’d never actually seen someone morph before.

“Hi there, I’m Erik,” he said, extending his hand.

“Chad,” the red-haired boy stammered, confirming my earlier guess.

There was a bed sitting off to the right. Erik helped me over to it with his arm wrapped around my waist, careful not to disturb my stitches. Chad followed closely behind.

Once I was settled comfortably with my head on the small, square pillow, Chad worked quickly, hooking up monitoring devices to my body. There was a cuff on my arm to monitor my blood pressure, several cold plastic leads on my chest to monitor my heart, and sensors on each temple to monitor my brain activity.

While Chad worked, I watched Henri and the remaining Medics file through to the front cabin of the plane. Erik stayed back with me, not wanting to get in Chad’s way, but refusing to take his seat.

The curly, blond Medic joined Chad at my bedside and introduced himself as Dr. Daid. He patiently listened as Chad quickly briefed him on all my vitals. Having no idea what my vitals should be, I didn’t know if the numbers that he rambled off were normal.

“Take off in five,” called a gruff voice from the front of the plane.

“You should get belted in,” Dr. Daid said to Erik.

“I’d rather stay back here if that’s okay,” Erik replied tightly.

“Suit yourself.” Dr. Daid turned to collect some supplies that he would need.

Erik helped me turn on my side and then covered me with a thin, scratchy blanket.

“How’re you feeling, Tal?” Henri asked, poking his head back in from the main cabin, his eyes full of concern.

“I think I’ll live,” I answered.

“Good.” He smiled warmly. “It’ll be a couple of hours before we get back to Headquarters. Once the Medics check you out, they’ll give you something to make you sleep.” Henri turned to Erik, “Come up front when you’re done.”

“Will do,” Erik replied, not taking his eyes off mine.

Chad returned to my bedside with a tray of instruments. He watched as Dr. Daid used an imager, slightly fancier than the one Henri had used, to scan my stomach and back. The images were displayed on a large monitor behind the bed. He assured me that the blade hadn’t ruptured any organs and that the only real internal damage was a scrape on my lower rib. He touched the screen of the monitor, on an image of my rib, to enlarge the area that he was talking about. I nodded my understanding, but I had no idea what he was actually pointing at.

Next, Dr. Daid removed the bandages. I winced as he touched the area surrounding the stitches. Erik offered me his hand, and I squeezed it hard. The pain made me grip a little harder than I meant to and a groan escaped Erik’s lips.

“Sorry,” I sent apologetically.

Erik smiled kindly and rubbed his thumb gently across the backs of my fingers to let me know he didn’t mind.

“The stitches look great,” Dr. Daid commented. “Whoever did these has a very steady hand. Once you heal, we’ll be able to remove the scar without a problem.” He grabbed a white spray bottle off his tray of accouterments and sprayed both sets of stitches. When the droplets first hit my skin, I let out a small scream as a white-hot pain shot through my body. Just as quickly as the pain had come, it was gone. It was replaced by a cool, numbing sensation.

“Sorry,” Dr. Daid said, sheepishly, “should’ve warned you.” He grabbed a small pen-like object off of his tray and reached for my free hand. Before I had time to ask what he was doing, I felt a sharp prick on the pad of my index finger. He squeezed a few drops of my blood into a small vial.

“I’m doing a more complete test for poison,” he explained. “The field kit they give you guys only tests for the common ones.”

I nodded my understanding and looked over at Erik, who attempted a reassuring smile.

Finally, Dr. Daid took clean white bandages and rewrapped my mid-section. When he was finished, he gave me a cocktail injection of painkillers, an anti-infection medication, and something to make me sleep.

“I‘ll come check on you a little later,” the doctor promised. Dr. Daid turned his attention to Erik. “You should let her sleep. She’ll heal faster.” He got up and made his way to the front of the craft. Erik nodded, but waited until the doctor was gone before speaking with me.

Erik leaned down and whispered in my ear, “If you need anything, I’ll be right up front. Just yell, okay?”

“Thanks,” I mumbled. The injection hit me hard, and I was already struggling to keep my eyes open. I had nearly drifted off when I felt the pressure of Erik’s hand release my own.