Up North

BELLA

“So you’re really going to personally help stop my brother?” Erik said, leaning on the door in my bedroom while I was packing.

“I thought you wanted me to? Don’t tell me you’re suddenly feeling bothered by it?” I asked, looking at him cautiously after placing two sets of combat clothes in my black weekend bag.

“It’s not that it bothers me. I just worry about you. My brother has almost succeeded in killing you twice,” Erik said, frowning with concern.

I closed the zipper on my bag before I walked up to Erik and wrapped my arms around his waist.

I was shaking a little. I needed him to believe in me, like he’d told me he did.

“That’s part of why I want to go. He might succeed on his third try,” I said in a hushed voice.

“No, Bella, he could never hurt you while you’re with me,” Erik protested while embracing me.

“It pains me that I can’t be there with you,” he added.

“I’ll free you from your blood curse, Erik. I will do what you cannot,” I said firmly and looked up, straight into his eyes, convincing my body that everything was as it should be.

The tension on his face faded and he smiled weakly at me.

“You’re right, you will,” he agreed before he kissed me, like I wasn’t leaving in the morning to battle a murderous cult.

***

“Hey, Bella! Still pissed at me? I heard about your suspension getting revoked,” Anna asked as I walked up to the bus in front of our headquarters.

“No, you’re good. Good morning,” I yawned.

It was only five o’clock in the morning. She sure didn’t look at all as tired as I was feeling.

“Well, we’re lucky to have you. We could use a good sniper,” she said apologetically while we got on the bus.

Anna had made new friends in her squad, but she still chose to sit with me.

I wasn’t angry at her anymore, but there was a rift in our friendship, one that I wasn’t interested in trying to fix.

“Did you start smoking, or is it just the company you keep these days?” Anna asked, almost with a chuckle.

“Both. I went out for a drink last night. I guess the scent stuck to my coat,” I lied.

I knew she was judging me for the lingering smell of cigarettes, and I didn’t like it.

“You’re lucky smoking doesn’t impact us all that much,” Anna sighed.

“Seriously though, what happened to make the council forgive you?” she asked.

“I’m not allowed to talk about it, remember?” I chuckled, hoping she wouldn’t dig any further.

“You still hang out with spellcasters though, don’t you? I heard a rumor that a spellcaster took you from your parents’ home,” she asked in a hushed voice.

“You’re right, I do. I even consider a few my friends. But do I use the forbidden arts myself? No, I don’t. I hope that answer satisfies your curiosity,” I replied honestly, feeling amused by the slight dread shown on my old friend’s face.

“Hardly. Should you really be on this mission if you’re feeling sympathy toward them?” she said suspiciously.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. How could she even think that?

“Don’t worry, there is no way in hell I’ll feel sympathy for people who slaughter innocents,” I snorted.

“Right, that’s reassuring,” Anna said with an uncertain frown.

“By the way, Jasper seems to think you might be dating Alex from your squad,” she said, changing the subject.

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the absurdity. Alex felt like an older brother, always looking out for us.

“No, we’re definitely not dating!” I said.

“Then could you introduce us? That man is just straight down hot,” Anna admitted with a giggle.

“He smokes,” I pointed out.

“When you’re that hot, it’s forgivable,” Anna insisted.

I shrugged.

“Well, I think he’s actually started seeing someone recently. On top of it, you’re too young for him. He doesn’t see us as women,” I chuckled.

“That’s a shame,” Anna said, pouting her lips in a grumpy manner.

***

It was early evening when we reached the hotel.

We had gone so far up north that it had taken us all day.

At times like this, I wondered why we didn’t just use magic.

We had the eleventh squad along with us, after all.

“So, should you really be joining us for this?” I heard the all-too-familiar voice of Jasper behind me after I’d exited the bus.

I had forgotten that the second squad was also joining the hunt.

“Hello, Jasper.” I sighed, picking up my bag while I heard Anna mumble, “That’s exactly what I said.”

“Disappointed to see me?” he asked with a smirk.

“It depends. Are you going to act like a jerk again?” I asked, seriously.

“Damn, Bella, that’s harsh,” he laughed.

“Well, are you?” I asked again.

“I’m sorry if I offended you, but you have changed a lot in a short amount of time,” he said, raising his hands.

“Honestly, you were kinda acting like a jerk yourself,” he pointed out, making quotation marks with his hands, referring to my own words.

“It makes no sense for you to be mad at me for hooking up with another girl when we weren’t dating or anything,” he pushed.

I sighed. Thinking back on it, I had been kind of rude.

He hadn’t owed me anything. He had just been concerned for me, but I had felt too humiliated at the time to talk.

“Let’s just call it even?” I suggested, not having the energy to deal with any drama.

“So, are we good?” he asked skeptically.

“Kinda,” I said, forcing a smile.

I jumped when I heard my name being called.

“There you are, Bella. Would you consider joining us for dinner?” The question came from an older woman with a scar across her face.

I recognized her as the first squad leader.

With her was a tall, slender woman I knew from the trials to be the eleventh squad’s leader, and a tan, muscular man who was the second squad’s leader.

“Of course, as soon as I’ve dropped off my luggage,” I answered politely after I’d grasped the situation and lowered my gaze in respect.

“Why would they invite you to dine with them?” Anna asked, confused.

“Probably because I’m not part of any of their squads,” I lied with a shrug, even though I was sure Anna knew that I was lying.

Although I wasn’t sure what they wanted, I suspected it was my intel.

***

The hotel was beautiful, bright, and modern.

It wasn’t something I expected this far up north.

It was also decorated for the season, and the scent of pine and the snowy landscape really got me into the Christmas spirit, despite everything going on.

I was the first to arrive in the conference room where I was to have dinner with the squad leaders. There was a small buffet of dishes already served on the table.

The rest of the squads were having dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. Instead of sitting down, I paced along the panorama window, admiring the snow-covered mountains glistening in the darkness.

My phone buzzed. It was Anna, asking me out for a drink at the bar after dinner.

I had just sent my reply when the door opened, and I was joined by the squad leaders. They all arrived together.

“So, no need to waste time on pleasantries. We know that you are the informant and that you could have useful information for us,” the eleventh squad’s leader said while we sat down to eat.

“I’m pretty sure she already told you everything I know,” I said, feeling my stomach knot and my palms getting damp.

“Well, we would like to hear your impressions of Marcus. We hope to end him tomorrow,” the second squad’s leader said with a deep, booming voice.

“Well, he’s delusional but very convincing. He truly believes he can bring back Morgana,” I explained, fumbling with my fingers.

“So if I understood Louisa right, bringing back Morgana has been his goal all along? All of the rituals he’s done have failed?” the second squad’s leader asked.

“As far as I know. He has tried many times,” I answered honestly.

“You should really eat something, girl, you’ll need your strength!” the first squad leader pointed out when she noticed I hadn’t touched the food.

I wasn’t hungry. I hadn’t felt nervous before, but as the solstice was upon us, that had changed.

I shouldn’t, though—Damion was going to be there. He wanted this mission to succeed.

He wanted to burn off the rot without having to break his neutrality. I forced myself to eat to not make them more suspicious of me.

Of course, they worried that I might be a sympathizer. They considered all of us from the X-squad to be untrustworthy, yet they were dependent on our information about the otherworld.

“You should have been in my squad. I have never seen Louisa take one so young before,” the first squad leader said, looking a little sad.

“From what I’ve heard, you could have been a better candidate for my squad,” the eleventh squad’s leader said with a mysterious smile.

She was an elegant woman with long black hair.

“No thanks, I don’t ever want to go through another cleanse again,” I admitted, and cringed as a thought about having to take a dip in holy water every week crossed my mind.

***

Anna and Jasper were sitting at the bar waiting for me. They were both drinking beer.

I chose to order a glass of rosé. I didn’t like beer.

They didn’t ask me about my life in the X-squad. Instead, we talked about living alone and the old days when we trained together.

It was nice just hanging out, like before but with drinks and no homework.

As I succumbed to sleep that night, I once again dreamed of the child, but he was a little older.

~We were sitting by a table, and I was teaching him to read the arcane language. He was complaining about it being boring. I wrapped my arm around him and kissed his forehead while I laughed.~

I woke up with a tear falling from my eye. I realized where I’d seen those eyes and curly brown hair.

I knew for sure now that the boy was Damion.

“So that’s how it is?” I whispered to myself as I pieced the puzzle together.