Dark Descent: The Arondight Codex - Book One by R Nicole (best books to read all time TXT) 📗

“I beg to differ,” Wilder declared, “I’m Scully and you’re Mulder.”

“No, I’m Scully because she’s more level-headed. Mulder is the crazy one.”

“From where I’m standing, you’re looking like the crazy one in the equation.”

“Wilder!”

“Let’s see how Mary Sue you are, Mulder,” he said, tossing me a wooden sword.

My fingers grazed it, and it slipped and fell onto the floor with a clatter. “See? There’s no Mary Sue in this room. I suck at hand-eye coordination.”

“Pick it up,” he commanded.

Grasping the sword, I held it up. I had no idea what he wanted me to do with it, so I just stood there like a lump.

Wilder kicked off his boots and moved out onto the mat. “Try to hit me.”

“Try to hit you?” I repeated lamely.

“You wanted to fight back. Well, Purples, show me what you’ve got.”

I made a face and pulled off my boots, tossing my socks over my shoulder. Padding out onto the mat, I held the wooden practice sword up. How did I do this? Just swipe it at him? The thought of slapping him down was too good to be true, and I knew the catch was going to hurt, but I gave it my best shot anyway.

I swung with all my strength, and Wilder twisted, bringing his sword back to meet mine. They clacked together so hard that I lost my grip, the sword fell and I followed it.

I landed with an oomph, and he cocked an eyebrow.

“That was lame.”

I groaned and scrambled to my feet. “I don’t know anything about fighting with a sword. Well, except for the slice and stab part.”

“This exercise isn’t about that,” he said. “It’s about instinct. Now, try again.”

I lunged, and Wilder’s sword slammed into mine with a clack. I pushed against him, but the wooden hilt slipped from my grasp and I stumbled forward. A second later, I was whacked on the arse with the flat of his practice blade.

“Ow,” I complained, rubbing my left cheek.

Wilder kicked my sword back towards me. “Again.”

Picking it up, I readied myself for another arse whooping. This time, I waited and considered my options before striking, but when I finally took a swing, I was rapped on the side.

“Dead,” he declared.

Grimacing, I felt anger start to rise and tried again. Then again and again. Every time Wilder knocked me down, I got back up, determined to not let him win. I landed on my side, jarred my shoulder, twisted my knee, fell flat on my back, bruised my arse, and hit my funny bone all before Wilder finally confiscated the wooden sword from me.

“It was a fluke,” he declared, setting the swords back into the bracket on the wall.

“What was a fluke?” I demanded, panting and wiping the sweat off my forehead.

“Killing that demon on our evening run through Moorgate.”

“Hang on a second, I—”

“I’m here to train you to become a Natural, Scarlett,” he interrupted, his brow creasing. Man, he was pissed at me. “I won’t listen to your excuses. I’ve been training my whole life, you’ve been here a single morning. If you don’t want to die on your first mission, then shut up and listen.”

I swallowed hard and shrunk away from him.

“Watch, listen, learn,” he said, “and have a little patience. A sword is nothing without the wisdom to wield it.”

Oh my God, he was Yoda. Yeah, if Yoda was a six-foot-two arsehole wrapped in punk rock hipster paper with an anarchy bow stuck on top, then I guess that’s what Wilder was. I was beginning to see why Greer paired me with him, despite his ominous whisperings in my ear the previous day.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he demanded with a scowl.

Realising I was staring, and had been for a full minute, I blinked. “What now, boss?”

He sighed and raked his hand through his hair. “Cardio.”

“Cardio?” I imagined running on a treadmill and lifting weights, and my enthusiasm level dropped.

“Cardio.” He narrowed his eyes, signalling it wasn’t open for discussion, and snatched up his water bottle.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, but if we went out into the gym, we wouldn’t be alone.

“But,” I began.

“But what?”

There’d never been a chance to bring it up until now.

“Wilder…”

He turned and walked back towards me. From the look on his face, I gathered he expected I was about to make another excuse.

“Why is my Light purple?” I blurted.

He stilled and then picked up a strand of my hair. I tensed, the gesture too intimate for a guy like him. Especially when he made his annoyance at my presence abundantly clear every chance he got.

“Why is your hair purple?” he asked, and I shrugged. “Exactly.”

“I never told anyone. I got the feeling that it wasn’t… normal. Not that any of this is, but I don’t think I can cope with being super-supernatural.”

“Good, you should keep it to yourself. Around here, people who are different…” He sniffed and glanced away, his expression hardening. “You won’t need to reveal your Light for some time. There’re stages of training you need to complete before you can even think of learning those basics. We have time to figure it out.”

“Am I in some sort of trouble?”

He shook his head. “No, but this is a complicated world, Purples. There’s a fine line between Light and Dark, and no one ever took into consideration those that live in the shadows.”

I narrowed my eyes and nodded. I got it more than he realised. Shadows didn’t fit in a black and white world. They needed both light and darkness to exist and their mere presence threatened both worlds. There was something different about me, but until I understood where I fit in the hierarchy of the Naturals, I’d have to play it safe.

“Do you live in those shadows?” I asked, thinking about all the gossip I’d heard about him.

Wilder grunted and narrowed his eyes. “The less you know about me, the better.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-one.”

“Really? I thought you were pre-pubescent.”

“You’re not getting out of