CH17

We stand in a neat row in the courtyard opposite to the Academy’s main building; our whole battle group is here, waiting for the hetman to finally give us the verdict. It is already past midnight so theoretically we failed, but we are still the first group to arrive.

And this was supposed to be a quiet day dammit, but no! Some shithead must have had a thought that it would be so nice if we played boy scouts. We woke up this morning only to find ourselves lying in the middle of the forest surrounding the Academy’s training grounds. How did we get there? No idea. I would say drugs; maybe our last dinner was dosed or maybe something knocked us out when we slept. Does not matter. The midterm exams were just around the corner so we should have expected something like that.

Our assignment was simple. There were three other groups in the forest, eight members each. We only needed to track down one of them, take their badges and find our way back to the Academy. Finish it before midnight and you passed. Without weapons or equipment, we were to rely solely on our skills. The problem was – all the others had the very same goal.

The whole thing was quite pointless from the tactical point of view. Chasing one another through the forest and setting up ambushes had nothing to do with modern warfare. That is not how the Brotherhood fights. Teachers probably wanted to test our teamwork and how we would act under pressure.

But we did our job perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. Maybe the ambush we had set for Nun and her boys was a bit crude, but hey, as long as it works. And I bet she is still chasing other groups to take them down and steal their badges. The girl is as cute as she is stubborn. She would never accept defeat.

“So be it,” Draco looks at us. “Given the circumstances, let’s say you passed the test. Barely. You are dismissed.”

It takes me all the strength I had left just to stop the sigh of relief from escaping my mouth. I hear mumbling behind my back. Apparently not everybody is as considerate as me.

““As ordered!”” We all shout, ready to go back to our dorms. Nobody wants to stay here longer than absolutely necessary. It is the middle of February, for God’s sake. We are lucky there is no snow.

“Ares, not you. You’re coming with me,” Draco says before even the dream about a nice shower and warm bed can fully embrace my mind. “Headmaster wants to see you.”

He turns and walks away, not bothering to check if I follow. As our hetman Draco has no real power, not like the teachers have. Nothing strange in that. Hetmans are not assigned until every single person in a year group gets rid of his – or her – number and finally gets a name for himself. Also, by that time those who were too weak to survive the regime have been already dealt with. That usually takes a year or two. Their job is to take care of everything the teachers consider beneath them and to help younger student assimilate.

Draco is just one year older than me and the position does not suit him much from what I have seen so far. Oh, he seems to be a decent guy, one that would never abuse his position to make our lives a bit more miserable just for laughs. On the contrary, thanks to him we avoided more than one solid beating. I can respect that. What I cannot understand is why he accepted the position in the first place. Draco is not the most patient guy I ever met and he certainly detest formalities.

But I have bigger problems right now. What Jack might want from me, a fourth year cadet? I heard he came last Monday on a visit, but thought it was because he wanted to personally oversee the exams. Why would he want to talk with me all of a sudden? I had only seen him a couple of times in my live, he had never talked with me privately.

Various scenarios come to me as we walk through the main building’s halls on the way to Jack’s office. Am I in trouble? I do not think so. In the last couple of weeks I was nothing but a diligent student. Sure, mostly because Ulysses had started giving me private lessons and I was constantly working my ass off, but the point stands. Besides if I had done anything bad enough to grab the attention of the headmaster himself I would have been dead by now anyway, right?

So what the hell is going on?

My thoughts are in disorder when we approach headmaster’s office. Draco does not even bother knocking. Meaning, we are expected.

“Ah, finally. I thought we would have to send a team or two into the woods to retrieve you. How was the exam?” The headmaster stand behind his desk.

“Very refreshing, sir.” I stand at attention. “I’m looking forward to finals.”

“Glad to hear that,” the man smiles, but his eyes remain focused on me. “I will make sure your teachers prepare something extraordinary this year.”

His gaze makes me shiver. Did he notice? Maybe he will blame that on the weather. After all I just spend the whole day in that damn forest. I was a bit chilly.

I look around the office, trying to find some clues as to what I am doing here, when I spot two more figures present. The room is not that spacious, but these two sit on a sofa up against the wall. Actually, no. Only one person is sitting, a woman in her thirties, while the other apparently fallen asleep.

That would explain why they dimmed the lights.

“Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Scythe, one of your fellow sisters.” Jack says. “Scythe, you already know Draco and I’ve told you a lot about Ares.”

He did?

The woman waves at us friendly, but clearly does not intend to stand up to greet us. Probably because she does not want to disturb the sleeping girl, who rested her head on the woman’s arm.

Scythe, with her lean and muscular body, is not the finest example of femininity. If I were to describe her in one word, it would say she is an athlete. With her dark braided hair and tanned skin she looks quite exotic. And hot.

“You haven’t told me he is such a handsome lad, Jack. You know this a pretty important detail for a lady.” The predatory smile she gives me this time makes me sweat a bit. That would be one hell of an adventure.

“Scythe, please.” Jack sighs. “We have much more important things to take care of and we already wasted too much time. I would be grateful if you could restrain your libido, at least for now. And Ares, if you value your psyche, don’t even think about it.”

“What a killjoy,” our sis murmurs playfully.

“Hm-mm,” Draco coughs. “It’s a pleasure to meet you sis. And who is the other one, sir?”

“That…” the headmaster gives us a glare. “Is precisely the reason why I wanted to consult with you. Scythe, if you would be so kind to explain…”

The woman shifts uncomfortably in her seat, but then freezes, looking apologetically at her companion. The other girl does not wake up and my sister is clearly relieved.

“I met her two weeks ago, when one of my friends working in social service contacted me. There was an accident concerning one of the families he had been monitoring. A fire broke out. Both parents died, all three of their children were injured. Nasty case.” Scythe makes a sour face.

“What does this have to do with her?” My hetman points at the sleeping girl.

“Everything. You see, that family was kind of special. A professional foster family. They would take in orphans and various “kids with problems” in exchange for governmental founding. They made quite a business of it.” Scythe looks over her arm. “The girl was one of their charges, before she run away a month ago.”

Oh, I think I understand.

“The fire. Was that her job?” I want to confirm my suspicions.

“No evidences for that,” my sister says, her expression deadpan. “But my friend had shown me her records. She lost her biological parents when she was eight. They both died… in a fire. Cops thought it may have been an arson, but they couldn’t find any suspects so the case was closed. They disregarded the child.”

Ok, so the girl likes to play with fire. Why was she here though?

“Your sister wants me to accept her as one of our students,” Jack apparently could guess what I was thinking. “And I wanted to hear your opinion. If I agree, she will become part of your battle group.”

“Uhg, isn’t she too old?” I ask. “She’s like, what, seventeen?”

“Sixteen,” my sister corrects. “Just like you Draco. But I think she may need an extra year to catch up. That’s why I want both of you to take a good care of her, and you, Ares, are just the man we need.”

Meaning: you will have a shitload of extra job, my dear boy. Lovely.

“I’ll do it,” Draco unexpectedly says. “I’ll train her. Give me a year and she will become one of us.”

“That’s a huge responsibility,” the headmaster frowns. “Are you sure about it?”

“Yes, sir. Completely sure.”

“Ares?”

“If she can pull her weight than I have nothing against the idea. And if Draco says he can turn her into a soldier than I believe him.” I add.

Jack appears deep in thoughts. A minute or two passes, before he speaks:

“Hmm, so be it. I agree. From now on she is your sister,” he finally makes the decision. “And, by the way, how should we call her? She’s too old to be given a standard number.”

Scythe sends him a smile, genuinely happy with the outcome. She strokes the sleeping girl’s dark hair, while the girl in question remains blissfully oblivious as to what happened just now.

“Blaze. Her name is Blaze.”