Deceitful (Rules of Deception 1)

“So what exactly are we supposed to do?” Tanner asked lightly.

The tension suddenly left Alec. “I want you to attack Tessa with your Variation. Holly, you will try to take her by surprise.”

Holly nodded eagerly.

“It’s not likely someone invisible will attack you,” Alec said, catching the troubled look on my face. “But it’ll heighten your senses and help you focus. Don’t trust your eyes, use your ears. Tanner will keep you distracted. Now close your eyes so Holly can have a chance to disappear.”

I did as he asked and tried to listen for Holly’s steps, but either she wasn’t moving or she was a lot stealthier than I gave her credit for. Alec whispered something, though I couldn’t tell what or to whom.

“Ready!” he shouted a second later.

The moment my eyes shot open, a ball was hurtling toward my face. At the last second before impact, I ducked, while scanning the room for Tanner, my still-visible attacker. He stood a few feet to my side, his arms crossed over his chest. Of course, Tanner didn’t need to move a muscle to throw things at me; his thoughts alone were enough. With a ripping sound, a jump rope came loose from the wall at the end of the dojo. It shot toward me at knee level, twisting and rotating in the air like a lasso. Sneakers squealed behind me and I whirled around, expecting an attack from Holly, but was greeted with empty air. Something thrust against my calves as pain sliced through my legs. My arms shot out, fighting for balance, when a foot materialized out of nowhere and slammed into my chest. The air shot out of my lungs with a gasp as I fell backward and collided with the ground. Fire slithered up my tailbone and across every inch of my body until I felt sure I was burning alive.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to regain my breath. If this had been a real fight for my life, I’d be dead. Defeated by a rope and an invisible girl.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.” The feel of Holly’s warm hands on my shoulders shook me out of my misery. She, Tanner, and Alec stood over me, watching me with knitted brows.

“No, it was my fault. The rope distracted me and I couldn’t shift my focus fast enough. I was just overwhelmed by the situation.”

Alec nodded like that was exactly what he’d expected. Jeez, I thought, thanks for the vote of confidence. “At the beginning of your mission, you’ll feel the same way. There are so many facts, so much information you’ll have to process all at once. I think this exercise will help you discern the important things from the not-so-important things.”

I let him pull me up and dusted myself off, though the mat hadn’t left any dirt on my clothes.

“Why didn’t you use your Variation?” he asked.

“I—I don’t know.” It hadn’t even crossed my mind. My Variation helped me disguise myself but I’d never considered it a useful talent in a fight.

“If you want to defeat your opponent, especially if it’s another Variant, you need to use your Variation. It’s what gives you an advantage. It’s what keeps your moves surprising and what makes you dangerous.”

Alec was right. This wasn’t the time for holding back.

“Okay, let’s try this again,” I said, my voice steadier than I’d expected.

Holly became invisible again. I tried to track her movement by sound, but it was useless. Tanner advanced on me, for once unsmiling. He balled his hands into fists as I took a step back from him. Abruptly he stopped, just as a medicine ball hurtled toward me. With a wheeze I dropped to my knees. The ball had missed my head by mere inches. I looked up in disbelief.

“Maybe you should use objects that won’t kill Tessa if they hit her,” Alec said, scowling.

I jumped to my feet and charged toward Tanner. A grin flitted across his face but it quickly disappeared when I thrust my fist into his stomach. He parried my next two punches and I drew back to think of a new tactic. I felt a draft on my back and jumped aside. “Holly?”

She didn’t give herself away. Tanner grabbed my arm but I slipped out of his grip. He kicked at my legs, trying to make me stumble. Another medicine ball hurtled toward me at stomach level. That would hurt. I bolted away from it but the stupid thing continued to follow me.

Use your Variation, I told myself. The rippling tore through my body and I shrank as I stumbled toward Tanner. His face wavered when he saw me—now in the body of the young girl from the mall, no more than five years old. The medicine ball slowed. I darted toward him, fell to my knees, and bit into his calf. He drew back with a yelp and landed on his butt. I grinned as I shifted back to myself. Someone barreled into my back. I fell to the ground beside Tanner, turned around, and saw Holly, who was beginning to slowly materialize.