Touch of Darkness

Chapter 10: Training Session

When I mentioned it to Alice she said she was already getting started on that. It should've been obvious, though. From the beginning everyone was suspicious of Zedd, and now after knowing that he and Alessia are from the sixth family that was supposed to be missing, the situation isn't any better. I'm still determined to believe that Zedd is a good person. He did help us after all; he taught Alice how to draw out her healing powers, and he chased off that hooded figure.

Just before I arrived at the office after lunch, I took a moment to look around at the scene of the fight. It's hard to imagine that in this place that I'm in almost everyday, any of us could have died then. A shudder runs down my spine just thinking about it. As I'm standing there, suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder and I spin around in a panic. When I see who it is, I let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh, it's just you, Zedd."

He sulks a bit, "Just me? That hurts a bit."

I give him a small smile, "I didn't mean anything by that. It's just..." I glance around the office, "Bad memories. It's a little scary, y'know?" My eyes lower to the ground and my voice drops.

"Oh," he rubs his neck as he thinks for a moment and then pulls me over to the desk. He sits down and gazes at me intently while holding onto my wrist. I stared back at him with a puzzled look until he continues speaking, "I might've sounded like I was joking when I said it before, but I am serious about training you. You only just got your powers, and this isn't the only time you'll be in combat." His hand moves to where I had been wounded on my arm. It's completely healed, thanks to Alice, but I can still recall how painful it was. "I only just got there in time. But as much as I'd like to, I won't always be able to come to your rescue."

His words are slightly irritating and I pull away, "No one asked you to act like a knight in shining armor. If it's so much trouble for you, then you don't have to worry. Chris, Alice, Elijah, Cain, and I will help each other. They were there in the first place when I was attacked."

He raises an eyebrow, "They may have been there first but you all barely stood a chance."

I snapped back at him, "You said it yourself, we just got our powers. Next time we'll be able to fight back and defend ourselves-"

"Exactly." Zedd stops me before I can finish, "And in the meantime, do you think whoever attacked you is just going to sit idly by, waiting for you to get stronger? How do you think you'll be able to hone your powers? None of you are fully aware of your own situations, not even that know-it-all Alice. That's why I'm offering to train you. I can help you. I don't want to see you get hurt again. Please, will you let me help you Victoria?"

The look in his eyes is hard to get away from, but I can't ignore everything he said just now. The way he talked was almost condescending. He thinks so little of all of us. Even though it's difficult, I manage to turn my back to him and take a seat at the opposite side of the desk.

"I'll let you think about it," He adds with a sigh. He is met with silence from me.

I can't accept his offer right now, but I don't want to refuse him either. Maybe that indecisiveness is from me knowing that his words had some truth to them. We barely know anything about our powers. Chris just learned he could teleport, and Elijah only discovered his Deflection ability during that fight. Cain hardly has his strength and animal powers under control too. Alice can use her knowledge, but only to an extent right now. We can't rely on her to find out everything that we need to right now. And as for me, it feels like I know how to use the nullification power, but there might be more to learn. Zedd might be the only one I can turn to for this. I definitely don't want to see any of them get hurt or worse if I can help it.