Daughter of Blood and Nightmares

32.0: To Keep Her From Him, I'll Let That Secret Slip

Brit approaches me from down the hall. She wears her Order uniform tight, because she thinks it makes her look good, but it also keeps her from actually doing anything. Brit is an Order soldier just to have people look up to her, envy her. There's a foulness to her attitude sometimes.

"I heard about your little endeavor with Oliver and the nightmare girl yesterday." Her eyebrow cocks up in speculation. She obviously doesn't like Ashton.

"She's mine to do with as I please." I regret my choice of words the second they come out.

She struts up to me, hand shoved against my chest as she leans in. "Oh, you just love that don't you. Innocent, naive, somewhat pretty girl with big doe eyes that look strictly at you." She tries to replicate Ashton's wide eyes that drive me insane, but Brit's icy blue stare doesn't come close. "You're drowning in arrogance."

When I finally slap her hand away, Ashton marches through her door. Her eyes immediately on Brit. The disdain that Brit has for Ashton is reciprocated. This mission might be the hardest one yet. As if Zayne cares about how easy a mission goes just as long as it is successful.

Ashton quickly questions Oliver's and Rafe's whereabouts. Before I can reply Brit steps up and of course her words are cold and harsh. They're just the first of many. I'm starting to second guess Zayne's ability to read people. I know he wants everyone to know the nightmare girl, but having a soldier that obviously doesn't approve of her isn't going to help the mission.

The three of us walk down the hall in silence. Ashton's demeanor is that of a true prisoner with Brit around. She slides into the backseat with big eyes watching the scenery pass by. I see her tense up in the mirror as we get closer to West River. Does she think we're going to Parker St. again?

I only heard small, miniscule details about the mission. A farmer claiming someone or something is tainting his field, killing his crop. Once the brown field comes into view I see his concern. All the fields leading up to his were a healthy vibrant green.

As I park in front of the field, the three of us get out to stand at the edge of the dying crops, looking at it stunned by the amount of damage that has occurred. I'm not even sure he can get his product back this year. Even if we do get the person...thing responsible doesn't mean that everything is just going to spontaneously grow back.

I'm almost relieved when Ashton has a snarky remark. Brit quickly tells her basically everything we know about this case. Something's in there.

It turns into an argument when fears are brought up. Brit assumes that Ashton is scared of everything, but she hasn't seen her throw herself into danger. She hasn't seen her elbow a demon in the face, stab a banshee or get punched by a drunken man and act as if it was his words that hurt her more than his fist. She hasn't seen her struggle to fight off humans even though she isn't truly present. She's been beaten down a lot, but she always gets back up.

Stuck in the middle, I'm forced to mediate the fight. Quick, annoyed words bring it to a stop before I step between the thickly packed corn stalks with expectations of them putting their quarrel aside and follow. The path is narrow and within a couple of steps, my view is narrowed and my senses are on alert.

I can hear Ashton's bickering and swatting hands as she fights her way through the corn. At first I don't mind it. It's going to save us from having to walk this entire field because whoever...whatever is in here is bound to come to us. But once movement from someone other than her or Brit blazes through the corn, I hush her.

She nearly walks right into me either not paying attention or feeling lost. The three of us freeze as a growl erupts from all around us. The sound of fast, running footsteps go from our right to somewhere in front of us. Seconds later another set, the same, race behind us.