Page 19 of The Death Striker's Partner
“I like the view.” Hannah’s face fell and she nodded slowly. “What is your nest like? Who is your sponsor? Have you recovered from your injury? Why didn’t you call me as sooner?” I watched as she absently scooped up her breakfast and discarded the cooked meat onto a plate. She smiled and leaned a hip against the kitchen counter and folded her arms, only to release her right arm to toy with the pendant as she spoke to it.
“I didn’t call sooner because I didn’t want to startle you if you weren’t ready for my call. I thought it would be better to wait for you to call me.” Her dark brown eyes lifted and nearly caught me staring. I hoped she didn’t notice my gaze, as I resumed punishing the training dummy with my fists, forearms, and elbows. Still…I listened…
“Okay.” The silence that stretched between them seemed awkward. “It’s still your turn.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Hannah chuckled and took her plate over to the brown leather bean bag that now lived on the lower tier. The engineer came and installed a pulley system for her to use, as well as the kitchen appliances, human hygiene facilities, and a very large bed on the upper level. She sat on the cushion and I had to adjust the slant of my pelvis to focus on the other side of the dummy. That way…I could peer to my right and watch her. “My Sponsor is a Peacekeeper called Tumva.” I paused, turning more to catch her gaze openly, and she smiled at me. “He responded to the incident at the palace and carried me off to the hospital. Tumva made sure I was okay and then asked to be my sponsor. I’m going to be a police officer. Can you believe that Bumblebee?”
“Why would I think you are lying?” Hannah seemed to find her sister’s response amusing as she laughed mid-chew of her breakfast. She raised a brow at me, making the scales at my throat darken from staring at her for so long, before returning my attention and fists to the training dummy.
“You’re right. Anyway, I’m going to be an officer and Tumva is going to train me himself. At the end of the sponsorship program, I’ll have a job too. A real career.”
“Is that…what you want?”
“Yes Bumblebee. That’s what I want. I need to be able to support us once this is all over, and this way I can.” Hannah sounded so proud and I turned to smile over at her. Is that why she agreed to my offer? Because she wishes to support herself and her sister? Admirable.
“No, you don’t need to support me. I don’t need you to do that anymore.” Hannah’s smile fell and she looked down at her plate on her lap. Her sister didn’t sound very happy for her. “I-I have Izule now. He’s taking care of me, and I earn a lot of money from Allico Inc. I don’t need you to support me anymore.”
I tasted her sadness on my tongue as I abandoned the training dummy. I slithered across the room to tower over her. Hannah’s dark brown eyes were watering again. Her lips trembled, and she didn’t seem to notice my scaly girth in front of her. She was looking through me with shock.
“B-but Billie I-”
“No. No, it’s not your turn anymore. It’s mine. I-I-I no I-”
“Billie, you’re hyperventilating.” Hannah sat forward, her plate slid from her lap and onto the floor. I lowered on my coiled tail to show her I was here with her. Her heart was shattering in her eyes, and I wanted her to see that I was here. Hannah spoke like she couldn’t see anything but her sister’s panic. “You need to steady your breathing. You are my sunshine, my only sunsh-”
“Billie, I am here.” Someone spoke over the call and I recognised the sound of many scales sliding over each other over the speaker. Whoever the owner of the voice was, they were Ucfeni, and they were tangling protectively around Hannah’s sister. Next I heard deep ululation and the rapid sound of Billie’s breathing…settled. I nodded, reassured that the Ucfeni had soothed the younger woman.
“Billie?” Hannah asked with worry. “Are you alright?”
“I have her. She needs some time in my coil right now, and can’t talk to you.” The Ucfeni spoke and Hannah’s mouth opened with shock and an angry edge. “She will call you back when she’s ready. Don’t worry. I have her.”
“But-” The call ended with a beep and Hannah deflated on the bean bag. “…”
Before I knew it, my hands were braced on the leather padding on either side of her. I caged her against the bean bag and stared into her teary brown eyes as she looked for answers in mine. “…what did I do wrong?” I gulped, unsure how to answer that question.
“I do not know.” I spoke honestly. “I think it is admirable to wish to provide for another.” That was the heart of the sponsorship program, after all.
“…my sister was upset with me…I don’t know why and normally I would be the one who would know what was wrong. What to do to help her. I’m normally the one telling other people she needs time. She’s upset right now andI’mnottherefor her.” Hannah closed her eyes and more tears flooded down her cheeks. “What did I do wrong?” She whispered and I gripped my fists on the bean bag on either side of her.
“I don’t know…” She sniffled and smiled at me suddenly.
“Of course you don’t know?” She laughed sadly and ran her hands back through her long brown hair. “It was a rhetorical question Tumva. I didn’t expect you to have the answer, though,that would have been convenient.” Hannah sat back and folded her arms under her chest.
“I don’t have the answer.” I inclined my head and hummed deeply. “But I can comfort you.”
“I don’t need comforting.” Her voice held a snippy edge that stopped me from ululating for her. Her gaze became hard and I wondered ifIhad now said something wrong. “I need to be busy. I’m not used to sitting on my ass.” She rolled her eyes when I didn’t understand her meaning. “I don’t understand why Billie got so upset with me, but I still need a job at the end of this. You still have a job to do, and I’m sick of sitting around here.Pleasesay we’re going to this ‘pit’ you talked about today so I can get started?”
“I see.” I nodded slowly and clenched the muscles in my abdomen to lift my upper body up from the bean bag. “You wish to be occupied with work?”
“Yes.” She nodded with relief. “And if I can hit something, that would be abonus.”She gave my training dummy a curious glance. I couldn’t tell if she was joking, or not, but I was eager to see to her needs. If she wanted violence, I knew all the violent nooks of Orna. But first I would need to ensure she was ready for what she would encounter there beside me.
“I had not intended to take you out of the nest today, but if what you need is to work, then we shall work.” I turned on my pelvis to slither away from her and to the front door. “Go and prepare yourself. I will wait here for you, and then we will depart. The combat room in the pit awaits.”
“Combat room? Yeah, that’s what the doctor ordered.” She heaved out of the bean bag and retrieved her ruined breakfast. I watched her discard the bacon, wash the plate, and eat something called an apple on her way to the pulley system. She used the rope to lift herself up in the swing seat to get readyfor her first day of training. I remained to wait for her…and hummed with thought.
She does not seek comfort. She does not welcome it. She is a woman of action.I rubbed my chin and nodded to one side.I don’t know what her sister’s problem is, but I will capitalise and channel Hannah’s frustration into her training. The sooner she proves she is capable, the sooner I can take her on patrol with me.
I am not a creature of comfort. I am a Death Striker. It is alien to me to give or receive softer emotions. Battle and violence are my left and right hands. The honour in my heart binds my actions to protect the innocent and envenom the guilty.Perhaps Hannah is the same? She isn’t one to sit around and chat about her problems. She’s a fixer. A doer. A soldier at heart?I waited for her to lower herself back down to the bottom tier and march up to me with fire in her brown eyes. “I’m ready to start my peacekeeper training, sir.” She saluted me, and had no way of knowing she was showing more respect in that one gesture than I had been given my whole life. I smiled and nodded to her follow me out of the den…and to the pit.
