Chapter 2

Nausea hit a split seconds before suckers, moving too fast for sight appeared in the doorway stopping sudden holding their throat, choking on black liquid I always thought was their blood, but it was our poison. I saw the evidence of what two stevotcha's poison could do together. An aspect rolled over Aurora and it was exhilaratingly frightening and I couldn't tear my eyes away, her body seemed to get bigger, metaphorically and she look strong like a sucker, her claws lengthened and so did her fangs. Hissing coming from her throat as dark brown hair sprouted from the roots of her blonde curls. A wolfish growl made my head snap down to the floor, a grey arctic wolf growled viciously and lauched itself at the same time as Aurora at the suckers, teeth gnashing and tearing their flesh, as they choked screams. Aurora's aspect in animal form I guessed, like mine was gran's owl. "Come on Dru!" Graves shoved pulling her stiff arm. My hand locked tighter around the Malika's and I twirled forwards mirroring Aurora's stance and sliced the head off the sucker about to launch for Aurora. All the suckers had been killed or where dying. Aurora's aspect left her and she clutched her Malika's to her. "Good you have a set, we match!" She said hyped from the adrenalin of battle. This girl was crazy! But with style. Her face smoothed into placid calmness and I envied her control.

"Graves could you get the car" She asked throwing a set of keys with a fury key ring; it was a lucky rabbits foot. Cool. Graves looked to me for an answer but I didn't have one, I normally had a plan, but with the series of events unfolding I came up with nothing. I shrugged and nodded. I don't know if it was because Aurora was calm and collected, something I wasn't, or it was being I had a good judge of her character, but I trusted her. We were all fighters in the same cause. Graves left us and silence filled the three foot gap between us. Vague curiosity crossed her face and she had tilted slightly to the side. "Who taught you?" She asked.

"A djamphir named Christophe" I replied, my voice scratchy from my war cry. Aurora's eyes flickered upwards as though reliving a memory, then a chilling sardonic laugh came from her. It was musical and high pitched. "I know of him" She said walking around the room, as lightly as a feather. A hidden message written on her features. Confusion filed my over whelmed brain. "But he has only train three of us?" I wondered.

"Oh silly he didn't train me, I'm much better than that old fart, we haven't met, but we have a mutual enemy" She said and disgust ran through her porcelain features.

"Sergje" I spat, she nodded foully. She was gathering up pieces of scattered clothing and shoving them in a bag. "How have you gone un-noticed?" I asked, curiosity killed the cat, I was a dead kitty.

"I might as well just read out my back story to you" She mocked and I looked away from her piercing gaze. "I was raised near enough from birth by Suckers, yeah you might be wondering why they didn't just kill me. Serge wanted to use me as a weapon, his own personal stevochta assassin to kill my own kind, he taught me to fight, to handle malika's, to kill, made me into the perfect solider, till I bloomed, I stayed with them for six months and when they tried to test me, by bringing in a djamphir, I turned on them, killed as many as I could and ran... Sergje caught up to me years later, shot me and saw me fall into a river, I survived, but everyone thinks I'm dead, the schola's didn't know because Sergje raised me, I have ways of being invisible. No sucker that has seen me has gone back alive" She said, informing me to a lot of personal stuff. I was in information over load and my eyes winded and I tried to keep my shock under toll.

The warehouse was completely out of the way and was no one was anywhere in at least ten miles. Graves and Ash were restless on the drive. Aurora broke at least a dozen driving regulations, her car was a mustang GTI, and it was going 100mph. Her car drifted into the driveway of the warehouse. It was obvious abandoned and deserted. It didn't even look like it had electricity. She parked the car and got out. Graves tilted is head towards the door that had a shadow of a light inside. He sniffed and smelled the same thing I did. Wulfen. " Oh I think they are friends of yours, I found then after the schola had cleared out they were wandering around and I heard you names mentioned and brought them back here" Aurora informed locking her car and helping Ash inside. She stood in the door way and cast her arms outwards. "Welcome to my Bat cave no pun intended" She wiggled her eyesbrows and it was completely crazy, the smile she had. I stepped forwards but Graves grabbed my wrist turning me to face him pulled my hand free. "Remember Christophe, and how that ended up" Graves question. A warm feeling invaded my body and just as suddenly as it had come cold realisation settles in. Christophe had betrayed me. "Un-like that's ass I have a sense of humour and I fight better and I don't do what I'm told" Aurora remarked smiling bitterly.

"Dru?" Nat screamed and ran forward meeting me in a hug. Shanks and Dibs stepped out of the shadows, and then we were all in a huddle.

Nat hadn't forgotten what I had done to all of them. "Dru you could have gotten yourself killed!" She spat.

"Yes I know I'm so sorry but I had to get Graves" I tell them and then nodded in agreement. I looked to Nat and she didn't have her gun on her. She saw me eying the empty holster and my eyes traced over to Aurora. "We agree to give in our weapons, since she was going to get you" Nat said and I sighed in relief. "Is it true is Christophe dirty?" Shanks asked.

"No it was Leon he framed Christophe, Leon all along had been working with Serge we didn't find that out till I was trapped" I said and then all nodded listening. "You have met and escaped from serge?" Aurora asked, her eyes narrowed and I saw distain cross over her features.

"He is trying to kill me" I told her in a raised shout.

"How did you escape?" Shanks asked.

"She staked him with a lamp and he is pissed about it!" Graves said. The all looked like that was a big deal, but he was still alive.

"But he isn't dead?" I spat and clenched my fists.

"Dru, take a walk with me why don't you?" Aurora asked nodding with a secretive sly smiled on her face. I was drawn to her and my feet to her as my friends stared at me in disbelief. "She isn't going to hurt me" I told them and followed Aurora outside into the bitter autumn breeze. The night was dark and I was safe, for the time being. Aurora walked with a deadly grace that I had only saw in one other djamphir, Christophe, she was deadly and so graceful. Her scent smelled of apples and cinnamon, spicy and exotic. She hopped on to a fallen tree, fallen from a storm and walked its length. "Dru you are a strong girl but not even you could have killed him alone, not even I can, but together we could, give me one month and I will train you so you can take down any sucker, and Serge himself, one month Dru" Aurora asked, her blue eyes trailed on my response. Christophe had pushed me, but Aurora wouldn't push me she would drag me till I was beyond exhausted. "One month and then you can go back to the shola" She added.

"I don't want to go back to those lying fools" I spat feeling the aspect run over me like wildfire. Warming my chilled body and making Aurora smile. But I knew how un-easy the others were and I knew that I couldn't run away forever. "So it's a deal, you train me then we part ways?" I asked stretching my hand out, no longer claws. "Yes... But your training will be brutal, it will make you want to weep and when you do I will push you harder" She warned with a levelled stare.

"It's a deal" I said and shook her hand, and then she flipped me onto my back. Smiling as she loomed over me.