The Sons of Satrina: A Sons of Satrina Novel (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two.

Aisline was over the moon with how her training was going.  She was more than holding her own. Her stamina levels were way through the roof and she felt like an important part of the team.  By most of the guys, anyway. 

She was still getting heat from Denver.  He had given up trying to stay out of her way and had opted to act like an ass whenever they were in the same room, which unfortunately was most of the time
. But, now she had the backup of the rest of the guys, which he liked even less.  It was just fortunate for him that they didn’t know the full truth about what had happened in her room that night.  This would all be a walk in the park compared to the wrath that they would unleash upon him if they knew.  His jibes about the weakest sex, damsel in distress and all the rest of it fell on deaf ears.  She had perfected the art of ignoring every word that he uttered.

Apart from the nightmare that was Denver, these last few months had been a dream come true for her, albeit a new kind of dream.  And her relationship with Kayleigh finally seemed to be back on track.  It had taken a while but life was too short and there was no
point in holding a grudge. Apart from anything, she didn’t have time.  All her thoughts were centred on combat.  She needed Kayleigh and didn’t want the atmosphere hanging over them like a dark storm cloud.

“Hey, Ash,”  Kayleigh had called tentatively one night a few weeks ago as Aisline passed by her open office door.

“Oh.  Hey.” 

At first, Ash wasn’t going to stop, but something told her to stop being so harsh towards Kayleigh.  Life was too short to waste time on something so petty.

“What are you up to?”  Kayleigh asked, her smile small and cautious.

Aisline smiled back at her and replied, “Absolutely nothing.  No plans.  Just sitting and resting.  I don’t think I’ve got the energy to do anything else.  I’m about ready to drop on my feet here.”

They both laughed.  It was easy to see how all the trainees were doing with all the upped training they were receiving.  It was a tiring business and Kayleigh didn’t envy them all one little bit.  She knew that she wouldn’t be able to hack it and admired them all greatly.

“So, are you too tired for a DVD and popcorn?”  Kayleigh missed the time that they used to spend together.  She hoped to be able to build some bridges here.

“Hmmmmm,” Aisline teased, “And salt n vinegar Pringles?”  She cocked an eyebrow and smirked.  Anyone who knew her, knew that Pringles and mint choc chip ice cream were the way to her heart, though not necessarily together.  That was just gross.

“Of course, that goes without saying.  And, I have Pepsi….!”  Kayleigh laughed.

“Tell you what, I’ll see you up in my room in about half an hour.  I’ve got to grab a shower, but apart from that, I’m good to go.” 

Aisline beamed and jogged off.  This was just what she wanted and needed.  A bit of girly time, time to relax and not think about anything.  A DVD with a friend was the best idea anyone could have had.  Jensen Ackles, Pringles, Pepsi and popcorn?  Heaven!

It had done the pair of them the world of good. They’d had
several more girly nights like that since and it was the down time she needed to relax fully from her training.  Life at the academy was harsh and she relished the relaxation time they shared.

Kelton and Kayleigh always took the time to encourage her in her training and always expressed how proud they were of her for the pretty easy adjustment into this lifestyle.  It was sometimes strange for her to think back to her life before this.  It no longer seemed real.  This was the life that she had been born to lead.
It was everything to her.

Aisline was still the black sheep of her family, the mar on their immaculate reputation.  She’d still had had no contact from any of them, even though she spoke regularly to Lana now and was up to date with everything that was going on back at home, and she no longer expected any.  She knew her family.  They would never back down or admit that they had been wrong.

Checking out her watch, she saw that she had to haul ass to grab something to eat before training or she was going to be late.  Grabbing her bag, she threw it over her shoulder and jogged down towards the sparring rooms, munching on an energy bar on the way.  She knew that it wouldn’t be enough to keep her going, but she didn’t have the time to waste this morning.  She had already changed into her work out gear and was good to go, so at least that saved a bit of time.

Skidding into the sparring room, she was surprised to see that there were rows of benches assembled instead of the usual blue gymnastic mats spread on the floor.  The rest of the guys were milling around in various groups, waiting patiently to find out what was going on in here.  She was pleased to see that she wasn’t the last one in, and that they were still waiting on Warrior Kelton’s arrival and she sighed in relief.

Being late wasn’t tolerated and he didn’t let anyone get away with it, and Aisline really hadn’t relished doing laps of the gym.

Spotting Jackson and Dylan, she ambled over to join them.  “So, what’s all this about then?  I didn’t hear anything about training being cancelled for today, did you?”

The two of them smiled as she approached, “No idea, chick.  We’re as much in the dark as you are.”  Dylan replied.

“Hey, gorgeous!”
Trey shouted as he strolled up behind Ash and flung a heavy arm around her shoulders.  From Trey, it wasn’t a slimy or creepy greeting, not like it could have been from some of the other guys.  With Trey it was simply affection and friendship, no sinister undertones and she loved him for it. 

The door opened up again and in sauntered Denver, humming along to the strains of LMFAO’s ‘Sexy and I know it’ that was playing loudly on his iPod, shoving his way past the rest of the trainees to stand next to Lewis and the rest of his cronies.

Aisline really detested that guy, and she deeply felt sorry for the others that hung about with him.  Poor Lewis was deluded, believing that Denver was the best thing since sliced bread, and the rest of them were too afraid to break away from him through fear of what he would do to them.  She just didn’t get it.  It wasn’t like he was one of the toughest of the trainees, and it was clear to all that he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box.  But he had some sort of hold over the rest of them in his clique that was tight enough to keep them on a short reign that was tethered to him.

Hearing the door open once again behind them, they all turned to see Warrior’s Kelton, Wrenston, Massine, Verynai and Merion walk into the room, followed by part of the class that had recently graduated into the field only a matter of weeks ago.  They all stood
up a little straighter - these warriors were the crème de la crème.

T
he men all wore their official warrior uniform, which consisted of black shit kicker boots, black combat trousers and a fitted black shirt with the emblem of the Sons on the left breast pocket.  The prominent six sided red star on their uniform matched their newly tattooed red warrior mark on their faces.  It was a bold statement to the rest of the world and an awesome sight to see. This was what all the trainees were working towards - the ultimate goal.

It was always an extremely proud moment within the school when their latest trainees graduated to warrior status and got their marks, officially.  Sure, the birthmark was a show in itself, but to have it tattooed
on, no matter now excruciatingly painful at the time, was a great honour indeed.

They didn’t have any of their weapons present, but each of them looked totally bad a
ss just the same.  Each of the warriors stood with an identical stern, serious expression etched on their faces in stone, not acknowledging any of the smiles or greetings from the younger trainees.  They were all about the job tonight and it quietened down the others with rapid speed, seeing what they were to become, the seriousness of their vocation.  This was what they were all working toward and it was inspiring to see.

“Please take a seat, class.”  Master Warrior Kelton called out in his deep, commanding voice, as the rest of the graduates and the Warriors lined up against the far wall, standing straight with their feet hip width apart and their hands loosely clasped behind their backs.

Everyone quickly filled the benches and waited, eager to hear what was happening.  With the brand new shiny warriors here, it was sure to be something big and exciting.

“Right. F
irst of all, we’d like to welcome back our new fully fledged warriors.” Kelton turned to face the younger crew that were standing, “You make us all very proud.”

The trainees who were seated couldn’t help but whoop it up briefly, before a glance from Warrior Kelton shut them up again. 

Remaining serious and professional, the new warriors didn’t change their expressions in the slightest at the high praise from their main warrior.  This was something that the trainees hadn’t yet mastered.  If Master Warrior Kelton even threw them a minor complimentary word in their direction, they beamed like a beacon for an entire week.

Turning back to the rest of them, focusing fully on the trainees, Kelton’s face grew very serious again.

“As you are all more than very aware, this has been a difficult time for us.  A difficult time for us as a race, and a frustrating time for us as warriors.  In addition to the assassination of our beloved leader, Bartholomew, the Lamia Mortuorum are also increasing in numbers.” he paused for a moment, letting the seriousness of the situation sink in to all that were in the room, “You need to train.  You need to fulfil your years of training.   We cannot cut our training times down even further, not without endangering your lives and the lives of our community.  We have a division that are dedicated to the investigation of the elimination of our treasured leader, Bartholomew, but we have no further information with regards to his death or the culprits. 

“So, in addition to the training we are giving you within the school, for a trial period, we are now going to send you out into the field as a new part of active training in your schedule.”

There was a collective gasp from the trainees.  Well, that was a bit of a shocker!  No one would have expected anything like in a million years.  In all the combat academy’s history, never had an un-graduated student been allowed out into the field.  This was huge.  Sure, there had been whispers and rumours among the older trainees, but no one really believed them.  However, here they were, being told that they really were going out into the big bad world. The trainees were practically bouncing in their seats at the prospect of being out on the streets, playing warrior for real.

The death of their leader ha
d not brought forward any more new warriors as of yet, apart from Aisline, and there was already talk of lowering the age of induction, or the age of graduation.  If they could lower their age limit, then their ranks would grow in turn, kicking more warriors out there on the streets.  The numbers of Sons of Satrina warriors weren’t high enough to compete with the Mortuorum, and desperate times call for desperate measures.  There just weren’t enough of them to keep the Mortuorum under control.  They’d already graduated a set of trainee warriors a whole year ahead of schedule.  There was only so much they could do. 

Staring straight ahead, no one uttered a word or moved a muscle now.  Each and every one of them were paying full attention to what Warrior Kelton was telling them.  This was unprecedented.  Shock rippled in waves through the trainee’s. 

“After a great deal of deliberation,” and on his part, trying to talk the council out of it, but he’d been overruled, “This is how we’ve decided things will roll.  You will be going out in teams of six - two trainees, two graduate students and two Master Warriors.  It is your role to shadow the other four, you will not engage in combat.  You will remain on the side-lines.  This is for field operation observation only.  You will be part of the strategic planning, but not the full execution.  If you should encounter the Mortuorum, you will stand down and let the others do the work.  You will monitor.  You will examine.  You will not, and I repeat, you will not engage in combat.”

The silence in the room was potent as everyone sat on the edge of their seats, more than eager to get out in the real world.  This was unreal - only more than a few months into their training and already they were to be going out there, facing off the enemy.

It didn’t matter that they weren’t allowed to actually fight. That would come later anyway.  It was the thrill of being out there, hunting down the enemy, executing a plan that they had set in motion.

Kelton didn’t feel their thrill.  He’d already had this lecture with older warriors and this was the bunch that he least wanted to let loose on the world.  Not that they weren’t strong enough, or capable, or intelligent
enough to keep out of trouble. It was their lack of training that troubled him.  What the hell were the council thinking?  Making demands that each and every trainee Warrior at the academy go out on field training?  They were a set of pencil pushing pussy’s who couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag, but they were more than happy to send out a bunch of kids with minimal training and skills.  Kelton had fought them on this, and lost the battle.  All he could do now, was plan with the other Master Warriors to ensure that the trips went without a hitch.

“This is real.  This is real life, guys.  Only those of you deemed far enough along in your defensive training will be permitted to enter into the first echelon of this intensive training segment.  Each and every one of you will get a shot at this, but you will enter the field in waves.  We need to know that you can handle yourself if the need arises, from purely defensive angle, as the Mortuorum are not to be underestimated.