Training Day

Training Day
"It was a trick!" Viv screamed, blue light bursting from her hands. The force knocked Erebus backward against the wall. Damien's blank face twitched for a second, showing a hint of a smile.

"Now!" Damien shouted, suddenly alive with passion again. He lunged at Erebus while Viv ran to her father.

Marcel's eyes fluttered open. "Vivienne? Is it really you?"

"I'm here, Dad." Viv tugged at his chains, her new strength making the metal groan. "We're getting you out."

A roar of anger made her turn. Erebus had Damien by the throat, pulling him off the ground.

"You can't trick me," Erebus hissed. "I'm too old, too powerful."

"We weren't trying to trick you," Damien choked out. "We were stalling."

The roof exploded as Lilith and twenty vampires dropped down from above. In the chaos, Viv broke her father's chains and pulled him to safety.

"The others!" Viv shouted, looking for the missing people.

"This way," Marcel said softly, pointing to a door.

As they moved through the building, a strange fog started to fill the halls. Viv's view blurred.

"What's happening?" she gasped.

"Sleep gas," Marcel whispered. "Erebus's trick."

Viv fought to stay awake, but the darkness closed in. The last thing she saw was Damien running toward her, his mouth forming her name.

Viv woke up with a gasp. She was in Damien's house, in her bedroom. Sunlight streamed through the windows. Had it all been a dream?

The door burst open. Damien ran in, his face tight with worry.

"You're awake," he said, relief washing over his features. "You've been out for two days."

"Two days?" Viv sat up too quickly, making her head spin. "What happened? My father? The missing people?"

"Everyone's safe." Damien sat on the edge of her bed. "We got them all out before the building collapsed. Erebus escaped, but he's wounded."

Viv closed her eyes, remembering the fight, the release of power from her hands. "I don't know how I did that," she revealed. "It just happened."

"Hunter blood," Damien said. "Powerful but wild. You need to learn control before you face Erebus again."

"Teach me," Viv said, meeting his eyes. "I'm ready."

Damien's private gym was built like a prison. The walls were lined with guns of all kinds. In the middle was a large mat where Viv now stood, her heart racing.

"First rule," Damien said, circling her, "control your emotions. When you feel angry or scared, your power surges. Uncontrolled, it can hurt others—or yourself."

Viv took a deep breath, trying to slow her racing heart. The blue light under her skin pulsed with each beat.

"Second rule: focus. Your senses are sharper now. That can overwhelm you in a fight."

Without notice, Damien threw a soft ball at her head. Viv's hand shot up, stopping it inches from her face.

"Good reflexes," he said with a small smile.

"I saw it coming in slow motion," Viv said, shocked.

"Hunter time sense. Your brain processes faster now." Damien took a fighting stance. "Let's see what else you can do."

He moved with lightning speed, aiming a soft punch at her shoulder. Viv stepped back, her body reacting before her mind could catch up.

"I didn't know I could do that," she said, eyes wide.

"Your body remembers what your mind never learned." Damien threw another punch, which she dodged. "Hunter skills are in your blood. Trust your instincts."

They sparred for what felt like hours. At first, Viv was clumsy, her new strength and speed making her moves jerky. But soon, she began to flow, to dance around Damien's attacks.

"You're a natural," he said, breathing hard despite his vampire strength.

Viv grinned, feeling truly alive for the first time in days. "Again," she demanded.

Damien lunged at her. Viv ducked under his arm and spun behind him, hitting his back lightly.

"Got you," she said.

Damien turned, smiling. "You're learning fast."

"I have a good teacher."

Their eyes met. For a moment, the room seemed to fade away. Damien stepped closer, his hand reaching up to touch her cheek.

"Vivienne," he whispered, his voice rough.

Viv leaned toward him, her heart pounding. The blue mark on her wrist flared, matching the glow in Damien's eyes.

The door banged open. "Am I interrupting?" Lilith asked, her voice sharp.

Viv and Damien jumped apart like guilty teenagers. Viv felt her face grow hot.

"What is it?" Damien asked, his voice cold.

Lilith's smile didn't reach her eyes. "We have a problem. Marcel's gone."

"What?" Viv stepped forward. "Gone where?"

"He left this." Lilith held out a note.

Viv snatched it from her hand. Her father's messy writing said only: "Following a lead on the cure. Don't look for me. Trust no one."

"He was barely healed," Viv said, fear gripping her heart. "Why would he leave?"

"There's more." Lilith's face turned serious. "Three of the people we rescued have died. Their blood... changed somehow. Turned black."

Damien cursed under his breath. "Erebus's ritual wasn't stopped. It was just the first stage."

"What does that mean?" Viv asked, looking between them.

"It means he got what he wanted, even in defeat." Damien took the note from Viv's hand, studying it. "Your father knows something he's not telling us."

"I trust him," Viv said firmly.

"You shouldn't." Lilith's voice was cold. "Marcel was captured too easily. And now he's gone when we need answers."

"He's my father!"

"He abandoned you for twenty years," Lilith shot back. "People change, Vivienne. Especially after Erebus gets to them."

Viv's anger surged, making the lights flicker. "You don't know anything about my family."

"Stop," Damien commanded. "Fighting each other is exactly what Erebus wants." He turned to Viv. "More training. Now. You need to control your power before it controls you."

For the next hour, Damien pushed Viv harder than before. He struck without warning, forced her to dodge multiple objects, blindfolded her to test her other senses.

"Feel the energy," he said as she tried to lift a heavy weight with her mind. "Don't force it. Guide it."

Sweat poured down Viv's face as she focused. The weight wobbled, then rose an inch off the ground.

"I'm doing it!" she gasped.

"More," Damien pushed. "You're stronger than you know."

The weight rose higher. Viv felt something unlock inside her, a door opening to power she hadn't known existed.

Suddenly, all the weights in the room rose into the air. The lights brightened, then burst in showers of sparks. Viv cried out as energy coursed through her body.

"Too much!" Damien yelled, rushing toward her.

The moment he touched her, their matched marks flared like blue fire. The energy stabilized, moving between them in a perfect circuit.

"How did you do that?" Viv whispered as the weights slowly lowered to the ground.

"I didn't. We did." Damien looked as surprised as she felt. "The bond is growing stronger."

A slow clap came from the hallway. They turned to see a tall person leaning against the frame.

"Very touching," Lord Erebus said, smiling coldly. "The vampire and the hunter, bound by blood and something more."

"How did you get in here?" Damien hissed, pushing Viv behind him.

"Your friend let me in." Erebus stepped away, revealing Marcel standing behind him, eyes blank and empty.

"Dad?" Viv tried to rush forward, but Damien held her back.

"That's not your father anymore," Damien said quietly. "Look at his eyes."

Marcel's once warm blue eyes were now black pits, just like Erebus's.

"What did you do to him?" Viv asked.

"I showed him the truth," Erebus said. "Just as I'm here to show you." He held out an old book. "Did Damien tell you what the twinned souls bond really means? Did he tell you what happens when it's complete?"

"Don't listen to him," Damien warned.

"One lives, one dies," Erebus continued, his voice smooth. "The power you share can't exist in two bodies forever. Eventually, it will choose." He smiled at Viv. "Ask him about the last pair. Ask him what happened to his sister."

Viv turned to Damien, her heart in her mouth. "What is he talking about?"

Damien's face went pale. "Vivienne, I can explain—"

"He killed her," Erebus said. "His own twin sister. For power."

"That's not true!" Damien shouted, but doubt had already crept into Viv's thoughts.

"Why should I believe you?" she asked Erebus.

"You shouldn't," Erebus agreed. "Ask the book. Your hunter blood can read its truth."

He tossed the old tome toward her. Viv caught it automatically. The moment her fingers touched the cover, visions filled her mind—a ritual, a woman with Damien's eyes screaming in pain, blood flowing between twinned marks as one body withered and the other grew strong.

The book fell from Viv's numb fingers. She backed away from Damien, horror on her face.

"Tell me it's not true," she whispered. "Tell me you didn't know."