Page 52 of Forging Bonds: Part One

“That’s insane,” Van says, his expression showing how impressed he is.

“It’s got to have something to do with why my wings are different,” Raiden muses. “Although I was beginning to think that it might be because I had my magic hidden for so long, and maybe it warped or changed it in some way.”

Ransom shakes his head, “I don’t think that’s possible. Doc, on a biological level, could that happen?”

Doc pulls a face as he thinks about the question, “No, it’s not technically possible. However, just because something hasn’t been seen before doesn’t mean that it’s not possible. Although I do think that it’s unlikely.”

Raiden nods, “I never read anything about it, but I felt it needed to be questioned. Just like you said, just because it’s never happened before doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.”

“I do think that your ability to pick up flying combat must have something to do with your wings,” Ransom agrees.

“Are reapers not known to be good fighters?” I ask with a slight frown. I would have thought that they were some of the best.

Raiden’s eyebrows crease slightly, “They are in the sense that all creatures who are hated should be able to defend themselves, but most reapers have to put a lot of effort into training to fight. It’s not a natural ability for us. We’re good, but we have to learn it.”

I nod, “Yeah, I get that. So, the fact that you picked up flight combat so easily is not typical?”

Griff shakes his head, “No, it’s not. I haven’t trained with many reapers. They like to keep to themselves, I think other than Raiden, there was only one other one who would actually train with the rest of the flight class.”

“Wait, are you the only reaper at SID?” I ask Raiden in shock.

He nods, “Yeah. Reapers are almost always employed in reaper-only places.”

My eyebrows rise even further, “They really do keep you separated from all the other supernaturals, don’t they?”

Raiden nods, anger flashing in his eyes, “Yes, and that needs to change. Over the last forty years that we have been here, the number of attacks on reapers has gone up substantially, and it’s because instead of lessening the fear, the council has increased it. What I can’t understand is why.”

“It’s definitely something that we need to look into,” Van nods in agreement.

“Don’t forget the Melody thing,” Doc adds. “She is at a higher tier level than she should be. We need to work out how because I know for a fact that she has been using that to her advantage in order to hurt other reapers of a lower tier.”

“Shit, I had forgotten about that,” River says.

“Well, it most likely has something to do with her family pulling strings. Her Mom and Dad are on the council,” Raiden says.

“Your Dad is on the council, and your tier wasn’t changed,” Reed points out.

Raiden smiles, but there is no joy in it at all, “That’s for two reasons, the first is that I was very publicly shown to have a low tier . . .”

I frown and interrupt, “What do you mean?”

“I was five, nearly six, and he had me tested in front of all the important members of the reaper world. He thought I was going to be a high tier because of who he is,” Raiden explains, shadows darkening his eyes.

“That’s fucking awful, who puts that kind of pressure on a child,” I reply angrily. I don’t like the shadows that cloud his features, and I absolutely hate the way that he was treated and that his father was the instigator and not the protector that he should have been.

“What was the second reason?” Van asks curiously.

“He doesn’t care enough,” Raiden replies with a shrug. He doesn’t seem too affected by the revelation, “Melody’s parents care about her enough that they obviously didn’t want to put her through the shit that comes with being a lower tier.”

“That makes sense, I guess,” I reply. I refuse to feel sorry for her. She’s a fucking awful person and definitely deserves to be treated how she treats others.

“Yeah,” Raiden agrees. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“I want to get a training session in,” I say. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in a fight, and I haven’t done any sort of training for a while too.”

“It’s been like a week, maybe two, since you were last in a fight,” Doc points out, his eyebrows rising.

I nod, “Exactly, it’s been a while. I need to keep my skills sharp.”

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