Page 5 of Shadows of the Lost Relic (Vanguard of the Ancients #1)

Chapter 5

Lyra

C aspian was still weighing heavily on my mind as we walked down the corridor away from his workshop. I was glad to have met him, and could only hope I got to spend some time one-on-one with him. It was clear he wasn’t comfortable talking around Kane and Theo, and Evan hadn’t even come into the room. I noted the gap between them and filed it away, knowing it could be useful later.

For now, I tried to get the boys talking, wanting to see if I could learn anything else about him. “He’s an interesting guy.”

Kane was the first to speak, nodding with a grin. “Yeah, he is pretty great. I mean, he’s quiet, but he’s smart as hell, you know? We wouldn’t be able to do half of what we do without him.”

Theo was silent, his expression thoughtful. I could tell he was thinking, but he didn’t look like he was ready to share it. That was fine. I had my own thoughts to sort through.

We walked in silence, the atmosphere between us shifting subtly. I kept track of where we were going, adding it to my mental map of the complex. Our meeting with Caspian had changed the atmosphere between us all. It was like adding a new piece to a puzzle, one that altered the entire picture.

When we reached the main hall, I turned to face the boys. I crossed my arms over my chest and planted my feet, showing them I would not move until I got some answers. “So, what now? You said there were going to be tests and fun stuff? I haven’t seen anything fun around here yet.”

Kane grinned, his eager puppy energy spilling over as he clapped his hands together. “If you want something fun to do, you can always do me. But for now, why don’t we take you to the training rooms and see what you can do?”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at him. “You have seen what I can do. You were stalking me around a museum, remember? And I’m sure you were watching me before then. Why bother stalking me for so long if you weren’t going to take notes on what I’m capable of?”

Theo finally spoke up, breaking himself out of his thoughtful silence to rejoin the conversation. “All the new recruits to the Vanguard go through testing. You’re no different. We’ve seen how you break into places, but you’re more than that, aren’t you?”

Kane’s grin widened as he slung his arm around his brother’s shoulders, leaning toward me. I wasn’t sure he ever kept still for more than a few seconds. “Relax. It’s nothing too intense. Just a chance for us to see what you’re made of. And for you to see what we can do.”

I studied them for a moment, trying to gauge how serious they were. Kane was throwing off the vibe that Theo was trying to portray. I didn’t like the idea of being tested, of having to prove myself to them. They had approached me and asked me to join them. But I knew I couldn’t back down. If I wanted to stay—if I wanted to figure out what the hell I was doing here—I needed to play their game. Besides, Kane had mentioned that I would get to see what they could do, and that, more than anything else they had said, held my interest.

I squared my shoulders, taking a deep breath before I answered them. Even I could hear the resignation in my tone, though. “Fine. Let’s get this over with, then.”

Kane clapped his hands together again, clearly excited. He hadn’t noticed my lack of enthusiasm at all. Or maybe nothing could get in the way of his determination to have a good time. “That’s the spirit! Come on, we’ll show you the way.”

As we made our way through the halls, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of anticipation and dread. I wasn’t sure what to expect, wasn’t sure what kind of testing they were going to put me through. I had a plan, though. I didn’t have to show them everything I was capable of. Just enough to get me through the tests, and no more. Let them keep underestimating me. They already knew far more about me than I was comfortable with.

They led me to the same training room they had briefly shown me during the tour, although it was set up differently. Rather than the gym-like feel it had when I saw it last, it was set up more like an obstacle course in the middle, with fight spaces around the edge. The targets lining one side of the room were worn and abused, as if someone had been through a particularly bad break-up and took their frustrations out on the poor things. There was other equipment scattered around, a series of mats for hand-to-hand combat, and a collection of weapons that ranged from traditional to high-tech.

Kane grinned as he spun around, his arms wide. It was like he was showing off his favorite place in the world. “Welcome to our playground. This is where we come to blow off steam, work out our frustrations, and kick ass.”

Theo gave him a pointed look, clearly not as enthusiastic about the ‘blowing off steam’ part. But he turned to me with that intense gaze of his. “You ready?”

I took a deep breath and nodded. There wasn’t anything they could throw at me that I wasn’t ready for. I had been a master thief for years and had done dirtier work than that when required. “Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”

Kane moved to the side of the room, grabbing a set of knives from a rack and tossing the roll to me. “Let’s start simple. These seem like they would be your speed. Show us what you’ve got.”

I caught it easily, then rolled it open and withdrew a knife. I took a moment to test its weight in my hands, masking my surprise at how well-balanced they were. The blades would fly true if thrown with the right force and precision.

I’d trained with knives before—they were one of the few weapons I was comfortable with—and I knew I could handle this. Knives were more suited to my slight stature, and they were much quieter than a gun. Not to mention they could be useful for things other than dealing with people. I much preferred to sneak through the darkness, but I could use a thrown knife to move a camera, or pin down a button on a wall.

Still grinning at me, Kane nodded to the obvious targets on the wall. “Targets are set up over there. Let’s see how many you can hit. We can place a wager if you want to make this interesting.”

I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the targets and ignoring his comment about the wager. I knew he was just trying to throw me off, to make me uncomfortable.

The targets were spread out at different distances; some stationary, others moving slowly from side to side. It was a basic setup, but more complicated than the one I had learned with. That had just been pizza boxes and other trash spread out in an abandoned warehouse.

I took a step forward and settled into a comfortable stance—weight on my back foot, body turned slightly. It might not have been the best technical way to throw knives, but I didn’t train in an institute. I trained through necessity, through life and death situations. I had learned everything I knew because I needed it to survive. With a practiced flick of my wrist, I sent the first knife flying. It hit the target to the right of dead center. I wasted no time throwing the next one, and the next, until all I had embedded all five knives into the targets; none of them a perfect hit, but close enough.

Kane let out a low whistle, clearly impressed. “Not bad. Not bad at all. Some room for improvement there. I’d happily give you some pointers.”

My eyes rolled at the thought of what his help would look like. Probably standing behind me and guiding my arm like a cheesy movie. There was no point in answering him, so I waited for the next challenge. Playing his little game was only going to encourage him. There would be time for flirting later. Maybe.

Theo stepped forward, his expression thoughtful as ever. I was beginning to wonder if his face was stuck that way. I clearly hadn’t fooled him with my slightly off-center throws. “You’ve got good aim. Precise. But let’s see how you handle things when we make it a little more unpredictable.”

He nodded to the far end of the room, where a series of dummies awaited my blades, each one equipped with mechanical arms that could move and strike. They looked like dummies you would see in a martial arts movie training montage. Somewhere the hero would train after facing a devastating loss. I wasn’t used to fighting against anything as fancy looking as this. I preferred not to fight hand-to-hand at all.

With a nod from Theo, the dummies sprang to life, their movements quick and erratic as they advanced on me. I hadn’t been expecting that! Fuck! Who made dummies that moved? It was straight out of a nightmare. As they reached me, I reacted, ducking and weaving, striking out with my elbows and knees as I moved back from the line of dummies.

It wasn’t easy. They were fast, faster than any opponent I’d faced before, and their blows were heavy enough to bruise. But I kept moving, going on the offensive when it became clear I couldn’t just dodge my way out of this. I was going to need a long bath after this, maybe a massage. By the time the dummies stopped moving, my heart was pounding, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I was already sore and was not looking forward to tomorrow. But I’d done it. I’d made it through.

Kane and Theo exchanged a look, then turned to me with twin expressions of approval.

“You’re tougher than you look,” Kane said with a grin. That lascivious tone was still there, and I knew he wasn’t talking about the fight.

“Not bad. You’ve got potential. You could use more training, though.” Theo agreed, his tone more measured, cautious. He didn’t seem like the sort who gave out praise often. He probably thought it motivated people more to seek it, or something stupid like that.

I wasn’t going to play his game. I didn’t need his approval. They had sought me out, after all. Told me they needed me to make their magic box work. “So, do I pass?”

Kane’s grin widened. It was like he never stopped smiling. Everything was a joke to him. I could appreciate it, but it was also wearing on me a little. “We’re not done yet.”

Before I could respond, the door to the training room opened, and Caspian walked in, his expression serious. He held a small device that looked like a modified taser or stun gun. He refused to look at me as he stopped beside Theo, instead keeping his gaze focused on the device.

“We need to test her against the real thing,” he said in a low voice.

He must have been watching from somewhere nearby. It was too much of a coincidence that he had walked in at that moment. I was kicking myself mentally as I flicked my eyes around the room, spotting the cameras high in the ceiling. They should have been the first thing I saw when I walked in, instead of letting the boys distract me.

Kane’s grin faltered as he looked between Theo and Caspian. So there were things that dampened his high spirits. Now I was even more worried about the device that Caspian was holding. He looked back at Caspian before he spoke. “You sure about that? She’s new.”

Caspian didn’t meet his eyes, but his tone didn’t waver either. “You need to know how she handles herself in a proper fight. What if she gets out there and she freezes?”

I frowned, not liking the sound of that. Or the sound of Caspian questioning me. I had been on his side in all of this; I thought we were developing a bond. And now he was in the training room about to do something to me that I was sure I would not like. “What’s the ‘real thing’?”

His expression was grim as he held up the device, still not meeting my eyes. “We’re going to simulate an attack that’s very similar to what you might face out in the field. This is a tool I developed for training. You’ll be fighting against a holographic opponent, but the pain will be real. It’s different from the dummies. Those can be turned off. And even though this can too, the pain being real makes it real in your mind. It means you will react differently.”

I hesitated, my mind racing. Those were a lot of words. But genuine pain? Using the device was more than just a test. It was a challenge, a way to see if I could really cut it with them. To see if I was going to let down his team, a team he clearly cared about. There was no way I could back down from this. “All right. Bring it on. But I will say, the pain from those dummies is real.” My voice was steady, even though I was apprehensive about what was to come.

Caspian didn’t acknowledge me other than a nod. He moved to the center of the room, setting up the device and pressing a few buttons. The lights dimmed slightly, and a low hum filled the air.

“This will feel real,” he warned again, slightly turning toward me, but not all the way.

I nodded, taking a deep breath as I prepared myself. I wasn’t sure why he kept emphasizing that. Everything I had gone through today felt real. It was impossible to know what to expect, to know what was about to come at me. All I could do was hope I was ready.

The device beeped, and the room seemed to shimmer for a moment. Out of nowhere, a figure appeared—a tall, menacing figure with glowing red eyes and a weapon in each hand. Sure, Caspian had told me it was a hologram, but it looked and moved like a real person, coming at me with deadly intent.

I couldn’t wait for it to strike first. I didn’t want to be on the defensive. It had weapons, and I didn’t. I inwardly cursed myself for not picking up two throwing knives. I couldn’t turn my back to run for the wall where the rest of the weapons were. There was no telling how fast this thing was.

I lunged forward, using the same skills I’d honed over years of surviving on the streets. The same skills that had kept me alive, and more importantly, out of jail. I dodged its attacks wherever I could, trying my best to dart in, and then dance out of its range, all while trying to find an opening or a weakness I could exploit.

The fight was brutal. Worse than I could have imagined. Every blow it landed sent a jolt of pain through my body, making it harder to keep going. It wasn’t exactly like being stabbed. More like being shocked, but the pain lingered and tired me quickly. I didn’t stop, I couldn’t. I pushed myself harder, faster, ignoring the pain, ignoring the fear, until finally, I saw my chance.

Rolling under its guard, I disarmed the hologram with a swift kick that sent one of its weapons flying. Without losing my momentum, I brought my foot into the middle of its back with a final blow that sent it crumbling to the ground. It flickered out of existence as the simulation ended.

The room went silent.

I stood there, breathing hard, my body aching from the fight, swaying on my feet. Just the thought of raising my arms from my sides made me wince in pain, but I’d done it. I’d beaten it. Every breath I drew burned in my lungs. The adrenaline was wearing off quickly, and my arms were getting heavier and heavier. It was all I could do not to fall to the ground.

Caspian was standing next to his device, deactivating it entirely as Theo and Kane walked over, their expressions a mixture of surprise and approval.

“The girl has some moves.” Kane said with a wink, his grin returning.

“You passed,” Theo said simply. Again, no compliment. Or maybe he thought that was one.

I wasn’t sure what to feel. Relief, maybe? Satisfaction. But there was also a feeling I didn’t know how to name. A sense of belonging, maybe. A sense that, for the first time in a long time, I’d found people who understood me, who saw what I was capable of.

“Welcome to the team,” Kane said, clapping me on the shoulder.

It nearly sent me to my knees, and I had to take a few steps forward to keep from stumbling. A small smile tugged at my lips, although even that hurt to do. Maybe, just maybe, I’d found a place where I belonged.