Dark Sight

Chapter 9

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in?" JC asks as we approach the hotel entrance.

"I'm fine," I say. "I think I just need a long shower."

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Dad wants me to accompany him to all meetings, so you'll be seeing me around a lot."

I give one quick smile and a wave before ducking into the lobby of the hotel. As I near the stairs I take a glance over my shoulder to ensure JC's no longer standing at the door before deviating my path back towards the entrance, my hand grasping my very slimy mobile.

I stare at the dead screen, cursing the fact Asher didn't get me a waterproof phone. I can only hope Jensen's back from whatever business he had, but where the hell can I find him -- if he's even back yet.

A hand grasps my shoulder, and I spin around, using my strength to slam the useless phone into my assailant's head.

"Whoa there." Jensen catches my hand before it reaches his head. His gaze moves up my body as he lets me go, an anxious expression flashes across his face. "What have you been getting up to...?" His eyes stop at my neck before his expression turns thunderous. "Where is your charm?"

I reach for the chain that used to be around my neck before remembering it broke with the psycho singer was trying to strangle me with it. "Um, can you believe I pissed off something like a siren?" The name of the bitchy singer finally popped into my head, but no one told me they'd be made of god damn water.

"What do you mean you pissed off a siren?" Jensen asks.

"I sort of went to a party and sort of said that I didn't like the awful screeching the singer was making," I say, dropping my gaze to the ground. "How the hell would I know the bitch would have a meltdown and try to kill me?"

"What possessed you to go out in the first place? I told you to stay in tonight."

"Um, well it..." I trail off, not wanting to finish my sentence.

"That's it, I'm gonna kill him." Jensen spins around and storms towards the hotel.

"Don't." I grab the sleeve of his jacket. "It'll only make it worse."

He stops walking and lets out a loud exhale of air. "I don't think it's a good idea to stay in this town."

"I know," I say in a soft voice, "But, he won't leave until after the show's done."

He turns to face me. "We can always run. That's always an option."

I shake my head, perhaps a bit too quickly as I catch a hint of despair that flickers in Jensen's eyes. "We can't do that, but if you are worried about me, why don't you train me?"

"Sera," Jensen lets out a groan.

Before Jensen has time to say anything else, I jump in with, "Ridley showed me a few things. At least then you'll be confident I'll be able to protect myself if anything does happen. Even if only enough to allow me to get away without relying on that damn mace you gave me."

Jensen remains silent for a long pause as he stares at me, before saying, "Fine, but with one condition."

"Anything."

"I'll train you, but I want you to tell me what happened tonight."

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to be safe?" I ask, running my fingers along the cold metal of the dagger I'm holding. I turn my attention towards Jensen who's standing two metres away, dressed in dark jeans and a black singlet top.

After sneaking out of the hotel room early in the morning, I met up with Jensen at the park beside the hotel to start training. "Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you." He flashes me a smirk as he holds up his gloved hand in a fighting position.

"That's not what I meant." I shake my head. "Can you even move well in those jeans?"


A cool breeze nips at my bare legs. Forgetting how early he wanted to start, I chose to wear shorts mixed with the only baggy jumper I own to allow easy movements. Who the hell does any training in tight jeans? I don't think he is taking this training session seriously.

"Don't worry about me." He shakes his hand and gives me another smile. "Worry about yourself. Now, I want you to attack me. I want to see your moves first before I teach you anything."

"Oh, okay."

"Ah, wait a minute first." He reaches into his pocket and grasps something in his fist as he moves towards me. "I thought you would need this back." He holds out my missing charm, complete with a new chain.

"Where did you find this?" I ask him as I take the small marble-like charm.

"Exactly where you said you dropped it." He shakes his head. "It's best if you don't lose this."

I nod my head as I fasten the chain around my neck. As the familiar coolness settles on my chest, I raise my sight up to him and ask the one question that's burning in my mind, "What does this do?"

Jensen stares at me for a moment as if he's unable to answer my question. When he's able to collect his composure, he says, "It's just a lucky charm. I feel a lot better knowing you have it."

I look him directly in the eye, and noticing the slight twitch, I know he's lying about something. "It's not a lucky charm. I can tell when you're lying to me. Why won't you tell me what it's for, especially since it seems to be so important?"

"You don't need to know."

"Well, tell me one thing about last night. Why would a siren die from drowning?"

"You don't know if that's what happened." He walks back to his original position and moves back into a fighting stance. "Let's start training before everyone wakes up."

"Okay, so what do I have to do?" I ask, trying to push the dejected feeling swirling around my stomach aside and concentrate on what I'm doing now. Jensen's hiding something from me, but that can't be helped at the moment. It can't be that bad as he'll never hurt me. But as I stare at him standing in his fighting stance, I start to think maybe he just might hurt me.

"Attack me."

I hold out the knife in front of me. "Fine, if you're asking for it." I charge towards him.

As I near him, I thrash the dagger in a slicing motion. At the last second, Jensen dodges the blade and catches my arm, in one quick motion he flips me onto the ground. The dagger flies free from my grip, dropping with a thud to the grassy ground.

I let out a gasp as all the wind rushes from my lungs with the impact of the ground. I don't give myself a second to recover before I push myself back up on shaky feet. I'm not going to let one hit make me give up on this training idea.

"Are you alright, Sera?" Jensen asks, concern spreading across his face. "It's okay if you don't want to continue."

"I'm fine," I say through gritted teeth. "If you think I'm going to give up, you definitely don't know me."

Jensen folds his arms in front of his body and smiles. "Well, if that's the case, then what I saw was just dismal. You made a frontal attack which anyone could block or dodge. You didn't show any skill that Ridley should have taught you, and I'm sorry, but after that one hit, you'd be dead from a real attacker."

I feel my face redden, but I force my gaze to remain locked with his. "Fine, I know it's been ages since I've had any proper training, so what do you suggest?"

"Don't worry, little sister. If you're not scared of pain, I can train you." He flashes me another smile as he moves into a fighting stance. "Are you ready?"

"Bring it," I say in my strongest voice. My knees trembling betrays my strong determination. But I'm not going to give up. Whatever he does, I'm going to show him a fight.