The Huntsclan

Chapter Three

Sneaking out of Guardian Academy was challenging but not impossible, especially if you were familiar with the instructors' schedules and knew where to navigate. We soared on our hoverboards through the lush, overgrown trees of the Washington State mountains. Just in time, we veered to avoid the village and continued straight, making another turn to bypass the imposing black skyscraper known as Headquarters. Together, the academy, the village, and the headquarters formed what was referred to as Sanctum.

As we glided through the mountains and away from Sanctum, heading toward the city, my thoughts drifted. I had been so happy with Harvey; I truly believed I had found the person I would spend my life with. Yet in an instant, he was gone. There was nothing I could do to change that. I lost my best friend and the love of my life, and I had no control over it. I had never felt so powerless. I longed to feel his arms around me, to taste his lips against mine, to hear him think of how much he loved me, knowing that my feelings were reciprocated. He had meant everything to me. To love and be loved was the most exhilarating experience in the world, far better than any high. And now, I was experiencing the withdrawals.

"Where should we go first?" Karina asked excitedly as we approached the city, the bright lights finally visible through the trees. "We could grab some fast food, see a movie, or—"

"Let's just get some food and wander around the city," I replied, lacking her enthusiasm. I wished I could feel the same excitement, but the pain in my heart felt unbearable. It never left, it was a constant ache. At this point, I was the queen of pain. Physical and emotional.

"That's boring, but okay. Maybe we'll see something interesting, like a street fight," she replied with a grin, dismounting her hoverboard and pressing a button to fold it down to pocket size.

"We see fights every day at school," I pointed out, following suit and stashing my board in my hoodie pocket. Neither of us was stupid enough to wear the black leather uniforms outside of school; the mortal world was blissfully unaware of the Huntsclan and the monsters that coexisted with them.

"Yeah, but that's different. These are real fights, in the human world, without instructors." Her dark brown eyes sparkled with excitement under the moonlight. "It could get exciting."

"I guess I can't argue with that. Most fights in the city are pretty boring though; no one knows how to throw a decent punch," I replied.

"We could get lucky," Karina said with a smile, and I followed her into the city, blending seamlessly with the small crowd still strolling the streets despite it being nearly midnight. We decided to turn into a dark alleyway; after all, we weren't afraid of anything. We had been trained to fight and kill since we could walk. The faint sound of metal music drew us in, leading us to a small opening marked by a large red neon sign that read 'The Knights' above a set of old wooden French doors connected to a one-story concrete building.

"This place looks cool," Karina said, leading us inside before I could voice any objections. The interior was dimly lit with tinted red and blue lights, bustling but not overwhelmingly crowded. It was a biker bar, and most patrons sported similar black vests emblazoned with the bar's name. A group of older men played pool with a striking middle-aged woman, while the bar area was half-full of patrons laughing and chatting loudly.

"I ain't seen you two in here before," a voice called from behind us, thick with a Southern accent. I turned around to find a young man, surprisingly close to our age.

"We're not from around here; we're just exploring the city," Karina replied with her trademark smile. She always had a way with people, unlike me. My heart raced in my chest; we rarely interacted with anyone outside the academy.

"Well, let me buy y'all a beer or something," he offered, flashing us a charming half-smile. I shot Karina a warning glare, sensing her thoughts as she considered accepting the offer. "One beer wouldn't make a difference," she reasoned internally, unaware that I could hear her.

"Sure, one beer wouldn't hurt, right, Emily?" she said dramatically, her big brown eyes pleading with me. I knew she was trying to distract me from my grief over Harvey, but this wasn't how I wanted to do it. I preferred greasy fast food and moonlit views of the ocean before heading home for some much-needed rest.

"Sure, Kayla," I replied, rolling my eyes, not caring if I came off as rude. I had no intention of engaging with this guy; it wasn't my scene at all. It was bad enough that we had to use code names and act normal.

"Nice to meet y'all, Kayla and Emily. I'm Ash," he said, pulling out two bar stools for us. I wished Karina would sit in the middle, but instead, she took the end seat. I stared at her in disbelief before settling down between her and this stranger. I could hear her intentions in her thoughts, and it horrified me. She was hoping I would get laid or, at the very least, have an interesting conversation with Ash. He was cute, with short, curly light brown hair that bordered on dirty blonde. Though he was skinny and shorter than Harvey, he still stood at least six inches taller than me. He had a square jawline and round blue eyes that made him seem more handsome.

He ordered three beers from the bartender, an older man who looked to be around my father's age. Not wanting to be rude, I took a sip, forcing myself not to grimace at the taste of alcohol. "Thank you," I managed to say, though it felt like a struggle. The flavor was bitter in my mouth although I could tell Karina really liked the beer.

"I don't mind buying a drink for some pretty girls," Ash said with a smile, directing his gaze at me. "Where are y'all from?"

"California," Karina replied from beside me, and I nearly snorted beer out of my nose, prompting both of them to give me odd looks. We had never even left our home state before.

"Sorry, my friend isn't much of a drinker," Karina said smoothly, patting my back. "Neither am I."

"Then why did you two come to a bar?" he asked, intrigued.

"We were just wandering around, looking for something to do," she explained. "This place looked interesting enough."

"Compared to the bars in California, I doubt that," he quipped, and for a moment, I felt as if he could see through our facade.

"Like I said, we aren't big drinkers," Karina replied, maintaining her calm demeanor. Still, I sensed something was off, and when I tried to listen to Ash's thoughts, it hit me like a jolt of lightning. I couldn't hear his thoughts—or the thoughts of anyone else in the bar.