6. Rai

Chapter six

Rai

A Bad Idea But a Good Ass Time

" Y ou're dropping your shoulder, giving your moves away," Instructor Snyder said as I sparred with one of the Guards of the Guild.

"Yes, sir," I said, then made adjustments as I continued to spar. This was hand-to-hand combat day and I took my opponent down, locking his arm in a hold he couldn't counter. He tapped out and I let him go.

"Good job, Rai," Instructor Snyder praised.

I nodded and rose from the mat. I offered a hand to the Guard-in-training, but he refused and got up on his own. I didn't care. I was used to their attitudes by now. Fuck them. For some reason, a lot of the Guards and some of the Guardians didn't like or trust me. I didn't know why. I mean, weren't we all on the same team?

"Again," Instructor Snyder said.

"It's my birthday, can't we call it a day?" I pleaded. I really wanted to take it easy.

"Will demons give you a break on your birthday?" Instructor Snyder asked.

I didn't bother to answer that question. I just squared off with Tony again, I made sure to be mindful of my shoulders when throwing punches or kicks. I was sixteen now and since I'd arrived at Stellar Academy, better known as the Celestial Guild, I'd been training my mind and body. Learning an array of subjects like languages, history, the elements of magic, geography, and of course, combat. The latter was the most important thing to master, so most of my days were spent sparring.

Two hours later, I was finally able to finish training and I walked to the dorm to shower. I had my own bedroom, but not my own bathroom. At least each shower had individual stalls with frosted doors. Before I could get into one, I was shoved from behind and I stumbled but managed to catch myself before I fell. I turned to see who had pushed me and it was Andrew Willard along with Dana Smith and Tony Lombardi. The Trio, as they were called. For most people here, it was just because they were best friends. But for me, it was because they were bullies.

"You must want me to beat your ass for real this time," I said since I had sparred with Tony earlier and had bested him.

"You got lucky, freak," Tony said with a snarl. He was standing behind Andrew, who was their ringleader.

I looked at the three of them and then flexed my shoulders. "This time, I won't be holding back. I'm going to make you feel pain."

"Yeah, you would say that, considering what kind of Guardian you are," Andrew said.

I frowned. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"He's so foul," Dana remarked.

"You must have me confused with your momma's pussy," I told him.

He yelled, then charged at me, but before we could come to blows, the boom of a commanding voice ordered us to stop. We all turned to see Headmaster Darius Morris approaching. He looked regal as always and his very presence demanded obedience.

"What is going on here?" he asked once he was standing in front of the four of us.

"Nothing, sir," Andrew said.

"Bullshit," I murmured

Darius looked at me. "Language. I've told you about that."

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I refrained out of respect for him. Also, because he would probably punish me for it. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Explain what happened," he said. "And let me add: Do. Not. Lie."

"We just had a few words for Rai, but he turned savage," Andrew said.

"I was minding my business when he pushed me," I said, telling the actual truth.

Our Headmaster studied us and his gaze felt heavy enough for me to lower my eyes. "Because it's your birthday, I will not punish you—any of you."

I looked up at him. "But I didn't start it. Why should I get punished, sir?"

"Because of your foul language. You're a Guardian, Rai. You should have better judgment than to further provoke those who are in your charge," Darius said.

"Provoke, my ass. I don't start fights, but I will finish them," I said.

Darius looked at me, his expression was unreadable, which was normal for him. I couldn't tell if he was pissed at me or not. He turned to the other boys. "Go, and do not do this again."

"Yes, Headmaster Morris," they said at the same time.

Darius returned his attention to me. "You're strong and fierce. These are traits a Guardian must have to survive. But wisdom is the main one. To know when to fight is important. And until you can control your temper, you aren't worthy of the destiny you've been given, Rai."

Well, that hurt.

"Go, wash up, and continue with your night." Darius walked away then.

I didn't like what he said, but I decided to think about it. To reflect on the situation where I could have taken a different approach. I finished bathing the sweat and grime off and returned to my dorm room to get dressed. As I was tying my sneakers, I decided that Darius may have had a point. I was stronger than them, could have taken them all on, and that was why I didn't fear them. But, as a Guardian—a leader—perhaps I should have tried to de-escalate. But those assholes always picked on me... a good ass-whooping may be what they need. I came to that conclusion too. There was a knock on my door; I opened it and smiled to see my only friend grinning back at me, his blue eyes alight with mischief.

Marcel and I became friends a few months after I'd first come here and have been thick as thieves ever since. He was the second person I told about my dreams that I was still having. Darius had said those visions faded after the first year, but not for me. The only thing that did change was the visions featured the strange, but gorgeous demon. He was a busy one, too, wreaking havoc throughout time. But lately, he wasn't. The visions I had of him seemed like he was lonely and a bit lost. It made me more curious about him, and it also made me want to comfort him as in the visions, I could feel his pain. But I had to remind myself when my eyes opened, that he was a demon, and any pain he felt paled in comparison to what he deserved.

As for Marcel, he was my confidant for everything. I could talk about things with him that I didn't feel comfortable discussing with Darius. And it was the same way for Marcel where I was concerned. He didn't like the Trio either.

Marcel shoved past me into my dorm. "Close the door, rapide ," he said in a rush of French-accented words. He always spoke with a mixture of English and French.

I did. "What's up?"

His smile was wicked as he held up two necklaces with black jewel pendants. "I got them."

"What are they?"

He gasped. "Quoi! Mon ami, remember, I said that I could get us out of here for your birthday?"

My eyes widened at that, because I thought he had been talking shit. I walked over to him and took one of the necklaces, studying it. "So, what? We wear these and we're able to get past the barrier?"

Marcel nodded. "Oui."

I laughed and slapped his hand in our celebration. I'd been wanting to get the hell out of here for the longest time. Years, to be exact. "So, when do we go?" I asked him.

"Ce soir, thirty minutes after lights out."

So, nine-thirty. Gotcha. Marcel Monroe was being trained to be a Guard. His training wasn't as extensive as mine and I was the only Guardian who was being trained as all of the others were seasoned warriors. I'd also met the other five Guardians. The only one besides Darius Morris who seemed all right with me was Terri Uche. The others barely spoke to me, and when they did, I could hear the venom in their tone. At first, the attitudes of the majority of the people here toward me really bothered me. I cried a lot because I felt my environment was so damn hostile. But then, I just started ignoring them, not caring about what any of these uppity assholes thought of me.

Sometimes, all you needed was one person to make you happy. Marcel was that person for me.

***

It was my birthday, but there wasn't any celebration. No parties or anything like that. What I did get to do was pick a movie I wanted to see and anyone who wanted to attend could join me in the theater that we had on-site. It was one of the amenities of this place that had attracted me. That had me begging my mom to let me enroll. Stupid school.

I sat in my seat, feet up, nachos in my lap and Marcel sitting next to me. Only about twenty other Guards and staff had joined us for the action movie I'd selected. I did get a slice of cake for my birthday with one candle to blow out. My only wish? To be able to see my family one day. Even if I couldn't talk to them... I kind of just wanted to see how they were doing. I missed them every day.

I pushed the memory of my family from my mind because it only made me depressed when I thought about them and the life I had to abandon. It didn't help to know that I'd outlive them all because I was to one day become immortal. Instead, I focused on enjoying the movie, but more importantly, I fantasized about how much fun Marcel and I were about to have once we broke out of this hellhole.

The movie was a short one, only ninety minutes, and then we all had to turn in for the night. I only pretended to go to bed and thirty minutes after lights out, I jumped out of my window and met Marcel behind the bushes by the back wall.

"Took you long enough," he fussed and brushed his blond hair from his eyes, then placed a black cap over his head.

I gave him the middle finger. "I had to run a farther distance. Nice of you to pick a location closest to your dorm, asswipe," I taunted and he chuckled.

"Mon ami, I already did the hard part and you're welcome, ingrate," he placed his pendant on and I did the same.

"Thank you. Okay, let's go." I leaped up on top of the stone wall, then extended my hand to Marcel to help him out. My enhanced physical abilities were one thing Guardians had. I could run faster, was stronger, and jumped higher than normal humans and even Guards. They had their own abilities, but not on the level of a Guardian. I thought some of them might have been jealous of me since a lot of us were around the same age, yet, I wasn't like them.

Marcel didn't have such petty feelings. He took my hand and I hoisted him up and then we were off, running like two thieves in the night toward our freedom. And no alarms sounded off. No one was chasing after us, nothing. This was the best birthday present I had in years and I was going to enjoy every second of it.

***

I was huffing and puffing by the time we came to the first car. "When we do this again, we need to figure out a way to get a ride."

Marcel was bent over, breathing hard as he nodded. "Oui."

We'd run over ten miles from the Guild to a small town. I had no idea the Guild was that isolated—damn it. Still, I refused to go back before I could get to the city to see what the nightlife was like.

"Don't worry, I got this," Marcel said, then walked over to the car and pulled something from his backpack.

I watched with keen interest as he managed to get into the car and disable the alarm. I climbed in beside him and he did some other stuff to get the car going and we were off, cheering and giving each other high-fives as he headed down the road.

Thirty minutes later, we were in the city and people were walking around, talking, eating, just enjoying themselves. It almost felt foreign to me because I hadn't been able to see life outside the walls of the Guild since I had been twelve years old. Marcel parked and we got out and just went into stores or other businesses just to see what was going on. Some places ran us out because we were underage, but one place didn't seem to care. It was a club and I'd never been to one before.

We entered and the music was blasting so loud, I could feel it vibrating in my body. We didn't even get carded, which was so awesome. I wondered if they'd let us drink. I grabbed Marcel's hand and drug him off to the bar where the bartender looked at us, then smirked.

"Two Martinis please," I ordered. I heard about this drink in a movie and really wanted to try it.

The bartender looked at me, then off to the side to someone else. I turned to see a woman sitting in a red velvet booth with a velvet rope blocking the entrance. She nodded and I turned back to the bartender. He mixed the various alcohols together, smirking the entire time as if he knew something we didn't. Probably because he knew we were underage.

"Enjoy, gentlemen," he said as he handed us our drinks.

We took the booze and then looked at each other, grinning. "Awesome!" we said together before clanking our glasses. after taking a sip, we both coughed at the bitter taste.

"Ugh, that tastes like shit," I said.

"Not what I expected," Marcel added. "It sounded so tropical."

Still, I took another sip, then another, as did Marcel. I took my drink out on the dance floor and Marcel and I just danced and drank, it was so much fun. We were given more drinks and didn't even have to pay for it. I started to feel lighter, happier, and I hugged Marcel as I laughed. All of a sudden, I felt someone standing behind me. I was grabbed around my waist and pulled against a strong chest. My drink was taken from me by strong hands and the man leaned down to my ear.

"Little boys shouldn't be in dangerous places like this," said a deep, seductive voice in a Greek accent. There was something off about his presence, his aura, and I shoved his hands away from me and turned to face him, staggering as I did.

Oh. My. God... he was GORGEOUS! My mouth dropped open, all words escaped me. I had wanted to tell him off or something, but I couldn't say anything. He had the prettiest eyes I'd ever seen... were they indigo? How unique. His black hair was cut short in the back and sides, but his bangs were longer. His face was sculpted by angels, had to be. It was too perfect and his mouth... so sensual. Who... no... what was he? He looked so familiar.

"What's your name?" I practically yelled to him over the loud music.

He smiled, then leaned down, kissing me softly on the mouth. It was my first kiss. A gentle brushing of his lips to mine, but it was electrifying and I felt the heat rush through my entire being. My cock had already stirred to life, but now it was fully engorged. How the hell could one kiss make me feel this way? I opened my eyes to see the man wink at me.

"Rai, Marcel!"

I turned from the stranger who had me captured to the sound of Darius Morris, as his was a voice you couldn't mistake or ignore. Not even in my drunken state. I saw him parting the dancing crowd along with four Guards.

"Shit," I cursed and turned back to see that the man who'd stolen my first kiss was gone. A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I looked to see that it was our Headmaster's, a look of annoyance on his handsome face.

"We're going now," Darius said, then shoved me in the direction of the Guards, who took my arm, just like they had Marcel's, and we were removed from the club and put into waiting Jeeps.

I knew I was going to be in a LOT of trouble, but it had been worth it. Still, I wondered, who was the fine-ass man? Damn, he was hot and why did he look so fucking familiar?