Page 24 of Phoenix Falling
Amy stepped forward to the front of the group. “They’re back, aren’t they? The Anigma?”
Clara whimpered. Though her memories of the horror had been taken, she knew the basics of the society we now lived in. She knew the Anigma were a threat. On the other side of her, Darcy drew her close. The child wrapped her arms around Darcy’s waist.
But Demetri was shaking his head. “Not that we are aware of, no. But I won’t lie to you.”
Someone in the crowd snorted. Tabby. She hadn’t lost an ounce of her anger at what had happened to us, even with two months of peace. I didn’t blame her.
Demetri gazed at her with sympathy. “I won’t lie,” he emphasized. “Though we defeated Maddox, his is not the only Anigma contingent out there. We wouldn’t be so foolish as to assume we are impervious to danger.”
“Training can’t save us from one of them,” Helen said, nodding her head toward the group behind Demetri. The practical one of our bunch. And she was right. They were too strong, as we all knew. Superhumanly strong.
“You may not realize that your brains aren’t the only thing changed,” Lyris said from the side wall where she leaned casually, watching us all. “Your bodies have the ability to be stronger, faster, heal quicker. Training can teach you to use what you’ve got, give you a fighting chance. Every self-defense instructor worth his salt will tell you the first rule of a fight: run. And if you can’t run, only fight until you can. We want to make sure, should you ever need it, that you have that chance.”
“Do you run, Lyris?” Tabby asked. We’d all come to trust the female Archai, to rely on her to give us insight and advice when it came to this strange new world we had been thrust into.
Lyris straightened away from the wall. “When I have to, yes. I wouldn’t be two millennia old if I hadn’t learned to recognize when I couldn’t win a fight.”
I waited, wondering who would say yes, who would say no. Finally Violet raised her hand. Demetri’s voice gentled even more. “What is it, Vi?”
She glanced uneasily his way, then fixed her gaze on Lyris. “I’m… I’m not comfortable with—”
Her words choked off as if strangled. Helen, standing beside her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
But she didn’t have to finish; Demetri understood. “We’ll never ask you to do something you aren’t comfortable with,” he assured her. “That’s why we’ve got some of our females as well, to work with you if or when you are ready. If you feel more comfortable watching, that is fine too.”
“What about me?” Clara called out. “I don’t have to fight one of them big guys, do I?”
“You get to play with me, girlie,” Lyris said. “How’s that?”
The little one gave a hop, her fear forgotten. “Good!”
“Great.” Demetri grinned. “Let’s warm up a little bit, then get started.”
Minutes later Tabby appeared beside me, grumbling under her breath. “If we’re some fancy new species, why do we have to run? It’s not like I’m dying of heart disease.”
I huffed out a laugh through my ragged breathing. “We might be harder to kill, but that doesn’t mean we can run fast.”
“Or very far,” Samantha wheezed, coming up beside us. She was the youngest aside from Clara; she’d turned seventeen while in captivity with the Anigma. “How did I not figure on having to do gym class for the rest of my long friggin’ life?”
The three of us laughed as much as we were able before saving what breath we had left for the rest of our assigned laps.
The men and women waiting for us lined up in a row as we approached after our final circuit of the room. Aside from Nala, whom we were all familiar with, they were rigidly at attention, like soldiers on assignment. I couldn’t resist sending to Demetri,“They’d be a lot less intimidating if they relaxed.”
He frowned. Almost immediately every man in line dropped their arms and loosened their stances.
“Better,”I said.
Demetri smirked.
“Let me introduce you all. You know James, Jacob, and Cale. They’ve helped guard you all. And of course Lyris over there with Clara, and Nala.” The dark-haired, dark-skinned female nodded, giving us her usual warm smile.
Demetri pointed to the other women, standing on the opposite side of Nala. They were tall, beautiful, but also with compassionate eyes and understanding expressions that put me at ease instantly. “This is Esther, Lucia, and Rhiannon. I know they’d love to get to know you. With the announcement in the clan meeting, so many of our people have asked about meeting you, eager to welcome you to our community.”
“Was that safe, announcing our presence?” Tabby asked.
Demetri tilted his head, frowning. “We don’t want you to have to live in these confined spaces forever. The only way to integrate you is to let our people know that you exist. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Tabby shook her head. “It just doesn’t feel as secure as knowing we’re a secret.”
