Undercity: Manifest

Chapter Eleven

The coffee Ben handed to Sadie was the only thing keeping her eyes open as she entered her final report for the day. It had been a month since she started at the academy, most of this time had been spent in the lecture halls and drill simulators. Her training with Dante continued every evening after her shift, and she still met with Payden once a week for her lessons. She was exhausted.

Payden was no closer to finding any answers which would help Emilie. Chris was confirmed as a human, following an extensive background check, and Dante reporting that he had not sensed magical energy from him. He had stalked him for the better part of a week to be sure.

Patrols with Ben were by far Sadie's favourite part of her new life. She was surprised by how much she actually enjoyed being a cop. The early stage of her career had kept her out of the majority of the action. It was fascinating how the Mystics worked alongside the human officers. All supernatural incidents were picked up and covered up with a frightening efficiency. Sadie had come to learn that all emergency calls were filtered by the Coven's tech department which ensured officers like Ben were dispatched to anything suspicious.

It would be another month before she was sworn in and officially became a rookie officer. Time didn't carry the same meaning to her anymore. She was morbidly aware that whilst her life would go on for an unimaginable length of time, Emilie was only months away from dying. She hadn't told her. How could she? Her only hope was that Payden would find something to change things.

'Penny for your thoughts?' She forgot Ben was standing there.

'Keep your money. I'm nearly done with this then I'm heading to meet Dante.'

'You look knackered.'

'Keep the compliments coming why don't you.' Clicking save on her now complete report, Sadie spun on the office chair and looked up at Ben. He was smiling- he always was. She had come to enjoy his company over the past month. It was impossible not to like the man. She had kept her distance from him at first, due to harbouring some annoyance at him for lying to her to get her to the station the first time, but it he quickly wore her down with his natural charm.

Unlike Dante, Ben was patient with her by making sure she was taking things in and giving her time to ask questions, which he was always more than willing to answer. Dante on the other hand, constantly looked like he was chewing a wasp, regularly considering any questions she asked a sign that she was not listening in the first place. Her progress had been slow, but she was starting to feel stronger and more consistent with the drills. She was yet to land a strike, but it would come, and she couldn't wait to wipe the smug grin off Dante's face when she did.

...

Aching before she was due to start a training session was not ideal. Sadie was waiting on the edge of the mat when Dante strode in without greeting her. If he wasn't such an unapproachable moody git, she would probably find him attractive. She shook that thought off with a mock shudder as soon as it entered her head.

'Did you warm up?' He asked whilst removing his jacket.

'Yep, all ready.' Being overly perky was her way of annoying him.

They began with some basic sparring drills which Sadie lost every time. She was getting closer to striking him as each session passed, but he was always one step ahead. As her back slammed into the mat, a result of a perfectly timed sweep from Dante, she decided today was the day. In a month she would need to be able to defend herself against stars only knew what. The last thing she was going to be was unprepared.

Knowing Dante would not offer to help her to her feet, she stood of her own accord and readied herself in the stance he taught her. Dante attacked first with a jab she managed to evade, followed by a low kick, which she also dodged. She threw back a wild hook which Dante avoided with ease before sending a kick towards his stomach- he only narrowly avoided that one. With each strike, dodge and block, her confidence grew. Dante moved to the left, she saw it before it happened and met him with a solid right hook which landed on the bottom edge of his jaw. Holy Fuck!

She was so shocked that she finally did it she stopped dead, dropping her arms to her side. For the second time today, Dante swept her legs out from under her sending her cascading to the mat. Feeling both prideful and a bit stupid, she lay there not really sure what she was waiting for.

Dante's hand was extended to her, 'Good.'

Sadie tried to make sense of what she saw and heard. Did he just praise me? Is he helping me up?

'Yes Sadie, I'm helping you up.'

'Did I really say that out loud'. Mortified, that was the only way to describe her feelings.

'Is it so hard to believe?'

'Yes.' He was pulling her to her feet by the time she said this. 'You've been beating the crap out of me for weeks and you finally decide to be nice when I hit you.'

'You've finally made some progress.'

She could feel a smile forming at his words- it never materialised.

'Next time you land a blow, don't drop your guard.' 

And he's back.

The session continued for the next hour during which she was able to land a few more blows. It was the first time she felt good about anything since this whole ordeal started. There were no more words of praise from Dante beyond the occasional acknowledgement of a shot landing. 

The session was drawing to a close when Payden walked in. She had never attended one of their training sessions before.

'Looking good you two.' 

Dante rolled his eyes at his cousin.

'Hi Pay.' Greeting her as she sipped her water, Sadie moved off the mat to let them speak.

'Sadie, I need to speak to you.' That got both Sadie and Dante's attention. 'I think I found something that can help'.

Fifteen minutes later, Sadie, Dante and Payden were all joined by Zach in his office. Sadie had never been in his office before. A large desk, covered in files, took up the majority of the back half. The rest of the space was filled with cabinets and a small seating area. Zach looked different in this setting almost corporal.

'I have been researching twin births.' Payden began. 'The majority of our history was passed on orally, including the time of the trials when Hecate's punishment began. A lot of the problems with modern research stem from inconsistent translations.'

'Spare us the history lesson Pay.' Patience was not one of Dante's strengths.

Payden angled her head and raised her brows at him. 'Anyway... the word for 'child' in the context I have been researching could also translate to 'pregnancy'. Meaning it is entirely possible, that rather than only being able to conceive one child, a warlock may only be able to conceive one pregnancy'. Seeming to realise that the other three hadn't fully grasped what she was saying, Payden continued. 'This means that twin births can happen.'

Zach was the next to speak. 'We already know that Pay. Sadie and her sister's existence tells us that much.'

Sadie could feel herself becoming deflated as the tiny bit of hope she had allowed herself to feel disappeared with Zach's words.

'I also found a recorded twin birth in an old tome'. Placing the book on Zach's desk, Payden turned towards Sadie. 'I know it's not an answer or a solution, but it's a start.'

'What happened to them?' Hope, Sadie had to hold on to some hope.

'According to the record I found, one twin was born a witch and the other human.'

'So does that mean Emilie might not be a witch?' Sadie hadn't even finished mulling over what Payden said before Zach asked.

'It's possible, but this is the only recorded case I have found. We need to meet Emilie and see if we can pick up on any magical energy from her to be certain.' Payden's answer was enough for Sadie to open herself up to the possibility that Emilie could live.

'Take Ben. You can introduce him as your partner. It will be easier to explain than if you were to take me or Dante.'

Sadie nodded at Zach. It made sense. Emilie was always asking about her new job, and they had discussed Ben a few times. Introducing them would be easy.