Chapter 9

The train took us straight to the drop-off point two blocks from the castle. Hilde did the polite thing and sent Mia a message letting her know we’d be arriving soon. I just skulked along with a surly attitude. It was too bad the cavern floor had been paved, otherwise I’d have kicked a few rocks on the way to the castle.

Hilde recognized my mood. As we neared the front gate, she brushed my arm with her fingertips. “You really don’t have to do this, Eddie.”

I looked up at the imposing stone castle looming over us at the end of the street and the sheer rock wall behind it. In the sunlamp light of day it didn’t look quite so ominous as it had at night. Still, the sight sent ripples of goosebumps across my flesh. “Nah, I do have to. You don’t get stronger by running away from your problems. I need to know about Mom, even if I don’t like the answers.”

Hilde placed a hand over her heart. “Then I’ll be with you every step of the way. We’ll figure this mess out together, and if you decide to leave, I’ll just get the training I need to not hurt anyone and be right out the door with you.”

Her warm reply soothed my irritation enough that I swung the front gates open without banging them. I even eased them shut behind us, a feat which despite their mammoth size proved deceptively easy. “Holy rust, Hilde. Look at how smooth these move.”

She stuck her face close to the hinges. I felt a little silly doing this in someone’s front yard, but whatever.

“These are really top work, Eddie. I’ve had a few custom parts made for the car, and even the skilled blacksmith I found wasn’t this good. They’ve got most of the impurities out. Perfectly straight, too.”

“Who do you think made them? Parts this nice are tough to come by. Avalon Corp hoards all the quality materials to maintain Topside.”

“Right, but the smiths over in District Seventeen are rumored to be the best in Midcity. I’ll bet one of them did this work.”

Niles opened the front door to us as we mounted the steps. His gray mustache bristled in a genuine smile which twinkled in his eyes as we entered. He bowed from the waist. “It’s a pleasure to see you return, Master Salt and Mistress Becker.”

“Thanks, Niles. Good to see you too.” And I meant it. The old guy seemed genuine and straightforward. Despite being dressed to the absolute nines in his fancy suit with tails, he didn’t look down on me in my ruffian outfit or Hilde in her belted dress. The muscles bulging beneath his expensive fabric earned bonus respect.

I remembered my manners as Hilde and I lowered our masks. “We’re here to see Wyatt. Is he in?”

“Master Tombstone is waiting for Mistress Becker in the back garden.” Niles shut the door behind us and swept his gloved hand invitingly over the entry hall. “Though he’s left instructions that I am to consider you both members of this household and make myself available for your every need. Is there any immediate concern I can alleviate? Some refreshment, perhaps?”

Hilde’s stomach growled at the suggestion. Her red cheeks burned so hot I worried she’d burst into flame right there on the carpet.

If Niles had acknowledged her, she’d have melted through the floor. But the old man didn’t even twitch.

“Sorry,” she said in a tiny voice. “We don’t have much food at my house.”

“I shall have a selection of eggs and toast brought to you, Mistress Becker, if that will suffice.”

Hilde nodded meekly, her cheeks still stained red.

“Nothing for me, thanks.” I gave Niles a thumbs-up. He was a fancy butler and all, so I wasn’t sure if he’d get the gesture, but he nodded. “You said Wyatt wants to see Hilde. What about me?”

“I’ve been instructed to see you into the front parlor. If you both are prepared to accompany me, I can have your breakfast delivered when Mistress Becker attends Master Tombstone. I suspect she’ll require solid nutrition for the day’s activity.” Niles beckoned over a passing maid in a black uniform and said something to her in a hushed tone, to which she nodded and hurried away. Niles turned to us and bowed again. “If you’ll follow me, please.”

He strode across the carpets toward one of the archways on our right. I sauntered after him and Hilde followed with her hands clasped meekly in front of her. The archway opened onto a large seating area with sumptuous white couches and tall windows which spilled light across the cozy room, setting all the little dust particles in the air to glittering. Paintings of landscapes and marble busts of no-doubt famous dead guys ringed the outside of the room, though the culture was lost on me. If it wasn’t a kaiju or a new recipe, I’d hand it off to Hilde or Evie to coo over.

Mia sat perched upon one of the white couches, her curvy body wrapped in a white blouse with matching white pants and high-heeled boots. Her brunette ringlets lay sprawled across her shoulders in a relaxed style belying her perfect posture as she sat sipping on a cup of tea and chatting with a new person, a guy in his late twenties with a scar across one craggy eyebrow. He’d wrestled his shaggy red hair back with a ragged white headband which matched his white t-shirt stained with engine grease. More grease discolored his calloused hands and dark pants. He looked beefy and rough, but as he turned to me, his gray eyes held more curiosity than gruffness.

Mia rose to her feet in a graceful flow. She reminded me of a cat. “Oh my, I hadn’t expected you back quite so soon. It’s a delight to have you with us.” She took one of Hilde’s hands and gave her a charming smile which I didn’t like at all.

I let her know it by sliding my hand between theirs and breaking the grip. “We aren’t here on a social call. You said you’d have some perks for us if we joined. Is there some catch I should know about, like the vaccine comes with a mind control power or something?”

Mia looked a little sad at my surly intrusion, but she recovered quickly and clasped her hands in front of her waist. “No, nothing like that. Wyatt just wants you both to join us. He’s confident you will when you learn enough about us. The vaccines are your signing bonuses. You’ll also receive pay at the starting rate.”

Hilde goggled at her. “You’re going to pay us?”

“Well of course. Did you think we’d ask you to work for free?”

The grease-stained guy rose to his feet and extended his hand to me, with the back offered. “James Rawken. Call me Jim.”

I pressed the back of my hand against his and held contact for two seconds to indicate respect. He wasn’t dressed all fancy like everyone else and looked like he actually worked for a living, so I didn’t mind giving him the benefit of the doubt. “Edgar Salt. Call me Eddie.”

“Good to meet you, Eddie.” He stuck his thumbs in his pockets and slouched. His broad shoulders bore bulky work muscle, not toned pretty-boy muscles from targeted gym workouts, and my regard for him jumped another notch.

“Jim is our engineer,” Mia explained. “He maintains the weapons we use, plus he makes a lot of custom tools we can’t get anywhere else.”

“Speaking of which, I oughta get back to work. Your new car ain’t gonna build itself, Mia.”

“New car?” If Hilde’s eyes had got any bigger, they’d have popped right out of her head and rolled across the floor.

Mia took in her interest with a slow smile. “Jim is building me a custom vehicle for tougher jobs, with some armored plating and useful gadgets. But he’s still gonna make it sleek and gorgeous for me, with plenty of horsepower, right Jim?”

“I know you wouldn’t take it any other way. Style over function.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Mia pouted. “Aesthetics are just important to a woman.”

Hilde practically vibrated in place. “What kind of car? What base model you starting from?”

“An Avalon Torrent.” Jim eyed the beaming Hilde. “You know cars?”

“I’m rebuilding a Stalker at home.”

“No kidding? They didn’t produce many of that model because of the shortages. They halted production halfway through the first run to ration the steel.”

“I know, it’s been an absolute mess finding the parts.”

“You know, I may have a guy I can get you in touch with. He’s hit-or-miss, but no one’s better at scrounging up weird pieces. Want to see the Torrent? She’s only about halfway done, but—”

“Yes!” Hilde cried. Her voice echoed in the large room, and she looked sheepish, but she nodded at Jim.

He laughed. “Well, come on, she’s over in my shop.”

“Wait a minute,” Mia protested. “Wyatt wants her in the back garden for initial training.”

“Oh it won’t be long. Right?” He winked at Hilde, who beamed back.

She looked at me, then seemed to remember where we were, and some of her enthusiasm dimmed. She gave me an apologetic look, but I sighed and waved it away. “Go on, enjoy yourself. I know you’re like a kid in a candy store right now. Just tell me about it later.”

Hilde squealed with joy. She and Jim hurried away through the arch back toward the main hall.

As they exited, the dark huntress Kagura swept into the room. Her long black trench coat rustled over her black leather armor. Jim stopped beside her and kissed her affectionately on the cheek before he and Hilde left, but no expression crossed the huntress’ stern face. Hilde shot me one last look over her shoulder before they disappeared into the main hall.

Kagura stomped up to me and halted a few feet away. Her hard black eyes bored into me with relentless intensity. “Are you prepared for your initial training?”

I hooked my thumbs in my pockets and returned her glare. “Didn’t know I’d be working today. Mostly just came to get some information. And my vaccine.”

“We’ll get your vaccine by the end of the day,” Mia promised.

“People who do not work do not deserve pay.” Kagura’s eyes still hadn’t left my gaze. She hadn’t even blinked.

“You’re kinda creepy.”

Mia covered her mouth with her hand. Her brows furrowed with worry.

“I have no interest whatsoever in your opinion of me.” Kagura didn’t even sound angry, just flat and stern. “My only interest is in following Wyatt’s instructions, which today means providing you with an introduction to combat. From what I saw in the alley behind your restaurant, you are utterly inept in every possible way. We will need to correct your deficiencies before your next excursion or else you are unlikely to survive, and your death may affect the rest of the team. I refuse to allow a weak link in our combat group.”

I snorted. “Jonathan seemed like a pretty weak link.”

Mia gasped. “Eddie!”

Even that brutal comment didn’t earn so much as a flicker in Kagura’s expression. “He proved unsuitable to the task. And yet, he was far more prepared than you are now. If you do not wish to die and get everyone else killed along with you, I suggest you learn the basics. Otherwise you can leave. My team must be skilled and efficient. You are currently neither.”

“Who else is on the team?”

Mia averted her eyes. “You, me, and Kagura. We had a couple casualties in the last two years and haven’t replenished the losses. For a while it was just Kagura and me, and then Jonathan joined recently. Now it’s just the three of us.”

“Just the three of us? The three of us are supposed to take on every possible threat?”

“All the more reason for you to be adequately prepared.” Kagura turned with a crisp shift of her booted feet and gestured sharply for me to follow. “Come with me to the underground training area.”

Kagura strode away. I ground my teeth at her commanding tone. The only thing keeping me from walking out was Hilde. She needed these bastards. For now. Throwing a tantrum now would just get me kicked out, and she’d probably leave on principle. She was loyal like that, which I usually loved, but just then caused me a major headache.

Mia tried to say something. I brushed past her and followed Kagura out of the room back into the main hall. The black-haired warrior strode across the carpets to one of the other archways and into a narrow room with an elevator, where she pressed the call button to descend. The car popped up in seconds with a soft chime, and the doors whooshed open.

Kagura tromped in and turned to stare at me.

“Tch,” I hissed in annoyance. With my thumbs hooked into my pants pockets, I strode into the car and stood as far away from the imposing huntress as I could get.

Blossom whispered in my mind.

Kagura pressed the button for sublevel four. The doors slid shut as we descended rapidly underground.