Rifts (8 page)

"And get your spit in my water bottle? Gross."

"We've got the same germs," he ground out. I watched his face pink up as his fists clenched.

Man, he was too easy. "No way, you got cooties."

"You're killing me. I'm going to pass out and die of thirst and it will be your fault."

"Hi Dylan," the buried Cherub interjected.

"Hey, Alton. How come you're buried?"

"I piss-er-peeved your Mom off."

"So she's just cruel to kids all over the world. Makes sense."

"Yes, I am the destroyer of innocent children across the Universe. Making them suffer one drop of water at a time." To drive the point home, I took a long swig of water.

He growled.

I grinned and held out the bottle. "You're too easy kid. How goes the training?"

"I'm pretty sure that Athena is trying to kill me."

"Probably," I agreed.

"How goes
your
training? Get that box shaped?" He snickered at me and for a brief second, I wondered how brown would look on him. There was a pocket just waiting for him – right next to Alton.

"Training is going along fantastically, thanks. I prefer to stay outside the box and go with more distinct shapes." My hand swept toward the table in a grand gesture, showing off my misshapen lump of clay.

"Mom," he said uncertainly. "That doesn't even resemble a box."

"Yeah, let's just say that pottery isn't going to be my gift."

"The point of making boxes is to learn to control and shape your powers, Grace." The deep voice sent shivers up the back of my spine and I had to tamp down the immediate anger against my physical reaction.

"I'm aware of what the lesson is, Drew. Thank you."

I pushed Alton out of the ground and gave him a pointed look. He grabbed Dylan and ushered him toward the Bubble Field with the excuse that he wanted to see the how the bubbles would look if Dylan used his powers to freeze them. Smart kid.

Turning around, I braced myself for the onslaught of feelings. Drew looked even more beautiful here in this magical place. His hair had grown a little and was curling around his ears. It was the same golden in reverse - as always - and it took all of the power in my soul to not reach out and smooth it behind his ear.

If someone were to ask who would play Drew in a movie. I'd have to think long and hard. He was a mix. Chris Pine's eyes, Ryan Reynolds’s body (insert dreamy sigh here) and Jensen Ackle's hair and chin. Just thinking about it made me angry again.

"What do you want?" Did I sound strong? Did I look okay?

I shouldn't be thinking about what I looked like. But, I did. I know that I'd toned up considerably since I'd started training with Athena so the extra chub that I’d been carrying had left me. Since I was out of the public eye, I'd let my hair stay its indigo blue color but it was hanging past my shoulders in a riot of sweaty curls. I'm pretty sure that I didn't look okay.

"To see how you were holding up." Okay, not strong enough.

"Holding up fine, thanks. What part of 'I don't want to see you ever again' did you not understand?" The 'fight or flight' urge was so strong that I had to force my body to stand still. It was a compromise, but crossing my arms seemed to help. My legs were still ready to take off if necessary, though. The problem was that he'd probably catch me before I took three steps and wasting energy wasn't something I felt that strongly about.

"I figured that you'd had enough time to get over your hissy fit and we could talk."

Oh, so he was
spoiling
for a fight. "You can read my mind. What am I thinking?" Two could play and a strongly worded 'fuck you' was at the forefront of my thoughts. His social skills were in need of some serious improvement. Hissy fit, my ass.

"Do you kiss your kid with that mouth?"

"What, words never passed my lips. So you know where I stand. How about you push off and let me get back to my training?"

"Obviously you don't have the right person training you if you can't get a box," he said, gesturing at my lumpy mess on the table.

"Obviously you're an asshole who needs to leave before I ask my dog to bite your face off." Yes, it was childish but for some reason I could never keep up the witty sarcasm when he was around.

"Real grown up, Grace."

"Do you really think that pushing me when I'm still mad is a good idea? Are you
looking
for a fight? Because let's go. I'm all in."

Scooter - who'd taken to following me around the training compound - growled and rubbed against my legs. His warning went unheeded.

Drew's eyebrow quirked up and a slow smile spread across his lips. "Done," he said, shortly before his fist swished past my face.

I'd moved at the last minute, reading his intent but not fast enough to avoid him grabbing a handful of my hair and yanking me forward.

This I was ready for. Athena had spent weeks training me in response and attack. As Drew pulled me forward, I cleared my mind and my hand shot out, nailing him in the solar plexus. A pained grunt was my reward.

"Nicely done."

I didn't talk. I swept my leg around, catching him low and following him down with a jab to his perfect jaw. My fist met with a satisfying crunch.

He was messing with me. I was certainly faster and stronger than I'd been a month ago but not as fast as he was. He grabbed my wrist and slammed me down hard on the packed earth. The breath whooshed from my body, stunning me.

He amped it up a notch and pulled in a knife. Oh, so that's where we were going. Knives were just fine. I pulled in my dual kukris, jumped to my feet and nodded once.

"It's on. Loser leaves me the hell alone."

"What makes you think I'm going to lose?" He grinned as we circled each other.

"Because I've spent a month in an intense boot camp with your sister, that’s what. She also taught me how to block you out of my mind. You're toast."

"Did she tell you that no amount of mental block is going to make me forget the way your body moves? I do recall teaching you how to move. I can anticipate your moves, darling."

The words, though innocent enough, created a physical response in an area I desperately wanted to ignore. I didn't want to think about him studying my body, my moves or my moods. It put too much weight on his emotions surrounding me and it was simply too late.

"I've got new moves." I feinted with one hand and slashed with the other.

Steel rang in a Spanish staccato as we danced around each other slashing and stabbing. Trickles of blood were running down each of our bodies where one or the other had scored a small hit. Hurt and pain fueled my attacks. It seemed perfectly logical that he should hurt the way I'd been hurting.

Drew had become my best friend. I'd cried in the shower over my feelings for him, for the love of God. The thought disgusted me. How could I have been so weak? He'd played me like an out of tune guitar, tweaking and tuning as he went until I was singing like a pro.

That’s what made me the angriest. I felt like a fool.

"Getting tired?" he asked.

"Are you getting wrinkles?" I retorted. "I know a girl who does Botox for those lines above your brows. Don't wanna lose the one asset you can count on."

It was ugly. I know it was ugly. I'd make amends later. Now I had to concentrate because that had pissed him off and he was coming at me faster and harder now. My kukri blocked a slash of his scimitar, but the dagger sliced up my arm leaving a nasty gash.

"Get those things sharpened would ya?" And I stabbed, piercing his right side. I'd purposefully missed anything vital, although the desire to lop off one organ in particular was strong.

"At least they're sharper than your tongue. You're losing your waspish touch Grace."

"Mmm, yes." Stab, swing, dodge. "Or perhaps I don't care enough to bring out my very best insults. What’s that saying? They deserve the very best? You don't. You're getting the generic wit."

I ducked just as his sword would have lopped off my head. It sliced cleanly through the top half of my hair and I spared a moment to be annoyed. The last thing I needed was a mullet.

Neither of us noticed the audience that had loosely gathered around us. The intensity of the fight was all encompassing. Well, until a voice thundered, "What in the Sam Hell is going on here?"

Both of us froze. I scowled at him, but turned around and bowed. "Sir, it's a pleasure as always to see you. But the phrase is 'Sam Hill.' What in the 'Sam Hill' is going on here?"

Someone behind me choked out a snicker and I hoped for their sake that he hadn't heard it.

"I heard that Cherub. Give me fifty laps."

"Awww, maaan." Was the whine I heard and I bit my lip to keep the smile off of my face.

"Good evening, Father." If we could bottle his voice, it would sell like crack. I hated his stupid voice.

"Adonis. I see that you're well," was the wary response.

"As well as can be sir. I'm just here checking on my charge's progress."

"Looked to me like you were trying to chop off her head." Zeus leaned back against a table and crossed his arms. His eyebrows were raised in mock question.

"Just making sure my sister is training her properly."

"Lie." Athena's voice rang strong across the courtyard.

Drew scowled in her direction and continued. "It looks as though she's made great progress."

"And he speaks some truth." She responded.

"Shut up," he ground out.

"Make me." Her voice was smooth as silk and I wanted to cheer her and hug her and be her bestest friend in the world for the rest of my days.

Hey, if you're going to have a champion, Athena isn't a poor choice.

"Brat."

"Hmm, also truth. Come along Grace. Let's get those cuts cleaned up. It's time for our session."

"I need to speak to her." Drew's voice was frustrated and a small thrill shot from my head to my feet.

"You had an hour to talk to her. You chose to fight. It's my turn to bask in her attention. So, piss off, baby brother."

He growled and grabbed my wrist. "We need to talk."

I twisted out of his grasp and mouthed, "Go fuck yourself" before walking off.

If there was one thing I was really good at, it was holding a grudge. If he thought that he was walking away from this as friends, he was in for serious disappointment.