Hunting Shadows (Shadows 3)

“None,” I said with an embarrassed laugh. “I’ve always been interested in fencing, but that’s about the extent of my experience.”

The girl wrinkled her nose, not sharing in my amusement. “Fencing is a serious sport. It’s not something you can just pick up in an afternoon. It might not have as much appeal as football or basketball, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t take skill.”

“That’s not what she meant,” Ryan interjected with a wide smile. “She’s interested in the sport and she heard that Maxwell had an amazing team so we thought we’d check it out.” He was oozing charm as he looked at her like she was the only girl that existed in the world. It was a side of him I had never seen, and I couldn’t help but be slightly disgusted by the way the girl’s whole demeanor changed.

“My name’s Britney,” she said as she stuck out her hand. I watched as Ryan took hold of it while he kept that dazzling smile focused on her.

“Ryan. Nice to meet you.” He glanced over at me, his look turning sardonic. “And this is Caitlin.”

“Are you a student here, Ryan? I haven’t seen you around before.” Britney took no notice of his introduction of me as she reluctantly dropped her hand when Ryan released his grip.

“I’m a little too old to be a college student,” he said with a laugh. “I’m a family friend of Caitlin’s and I’m visiting for a while.”

Britney proceeded to sit down next to Ryan as she flipped her hair flirtatiously. “Are you interested in fencing too, Ryan?” she practically cooed.

“Sure, but I don’t know much about the sport.”

I listened as Britney spoke enthusiastically about fencing as I tried to pick up anything that would jar a new detail from my vision. I watched the other fencers as she droned on, narrowing in on the ones that could potentially be from my vision.

“How sharp are those swords you use,” I interrupted, trying not to notice how closely she was leaning towards Ryan.

Britney frowned at me but answered, sounding affronted by my lack of knowledge. I guess it didn’t help that I had claimed an interest in the sport. “They’re not called swords. We use three different kinds of weapons depending on the kind of tournament. There’s the foil, épée and saber. None of them are sharp.”

“Which one is that?” I asked as I pointed to a sword that looked like the one in my vision.

“A saber,” she answered shortly.

“The edge isn’t sharp?” I asked again. I understood her annoyance when she answered again in the negative, but it was hard to accept that the saber wasn’t sharp. The one I had seen in my vision had been sharp enough to decapitate someone in one fell swoop. I shuddered at the thought and tried to banish the gruesome image from my mind.

“Tell me about the members of the fencing team,” Ryan requested with a coaxing smile. Britney didn’t hesitate in answering, not even questioning why he wanted to know. I guess it was a good thing he was with me because I doubted she would be so chatty without him here. I listened carefully when she described the three people I was interested in.

“That’s Amanda,” she said as she nodded towards a tall girl who was talking to one of the other girls. “She’s a senior and has been on the fencing team since she was a freshman. She’s amazing. Bryce and Justin just joined the team this year. They’re both sophomores but they’re pretty good, especially Justin.” Britney cocked her head at Ryan with a mischievous smile. “I’m a senior and I’m twenty-one. I can tell you more about me on a date tonight if you’d like.”

I almost guffawed loudly at her boldness, but I was left speechless when Ryan agreed. I was silent as they exchanged phone numbers and Ryan promised to call later in the day to figure out their plans. I couldn’t keep silent any longer when she skipped happily away back to her team.

“I didn’t realize you came here to find a date,” I said, unable to keep the tinge of scorn from my voice. “She’s a little young for you, isn’t she?”

Ryan looked at me with a slight smile. “She’s the same age as you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, like I said, she’s a little young for

you.”

He shrugged although his smile grew wider. “I’m not looking for a romantic tryst. I figured she was a good way to get access to the fencing team. It didn’t seem like you two were going to strike up a friendship.”

I couldn’t refute the logic of his argument, but it still irked me. I didn’t get a chance to respond because I felt my cell phone buzzing in my jacket pocket. I pulled out my phone and saw that not only was Simon calling, but I had five missed calls from him. I cursed myself for accidentally putting my phone on vibrate and forgetting to call him when I got to the auditorium, as I had promised.

“Simon, I’m sorry I forgot to call you,” I said immediately when I answered the phone.

“I’ve been going crazy here! I was about to leave to come find you!” Simon sounded stressed and I felt guilty for making him worry.

“I completely forgot. I’m sorry,” I repeated. I heard him take a deep breath and he sounded much calmer when he spoke again.

“Did you find anything out?”

“Not really. There’re three people from the team that could potentially be the person in my vision based on their build, but I still don’t know who it is.” I glanced at Ryan who was watching the fencing team, but I knew he was listening to every word of my side of the conversation. “Fortunately, Ryan got a little chummy with one of the members and he’s going out with her tonight to get more information.”

“At least he’s good for something,” Simon said sourly. “Are you coming home now?”