Chapter 61 – Prestige

Once Divinity had left him, Sal walked in silence toward the meeting point. He thought about the fact that Hannah had willingly joined Divinity’s team. Did that mean that she had come to her senses and had ironed out her jealousy? Sal didn’t want to be hopeful in case it didn’t work out, but if she was better, then maybe he’d be able to get things back on track with her.

A lot of the things she had said to him weighed on his mind, but he didn’t want to lose a friendship over the words of Wester Templeton. Just thinking about that guy made Sal clench his fists.

“Less useless thoughts. Focus up,” Erika admonished him from ahead. “And before you ask, I didn’t read your mind. You’re just painfully earnest in your expressions.”

Without even waiting for his reply, she instructed the team to form up on her location.

Sal joined the group and looked around to see what was happening. Each and every first-year was there in force, taking up a massive clearing where a park likely existed before. Ruined buildings surrounded them in a giant square, giving them a full panoramic view of the destruction in the distance.

What made the experience all the more eerie was how close the barriers were to their location. Sal could see the almost translucent blue walls of energy on the horizon. As long as they were blue, it meant that there was safe-ish territory on the other side. Red barriers were the last defense against the demons, and Sal had no desire to see any of them.

“That’s all of them!” a loud voice called from far behind them.

Sal turned to see who it was, but all he saw were the backs of hundreds of students with the same curiosity. His grip tightened on the metal case in his hand.

“Excellent. So that’s two hundred groups of five. We can start pairing them off with their designated guardians.” Chatfield’s unmistakable voice echoed out from the front of the crowd.

Sal wondered why they weren’t using voice amplification equipment.

“Let’s welcome the cavalry! Any bets on them not making this flashy?” Chatfield laughed, and Sal finally managed to see his face at the very front. He held two of his fingers to his ear as he spoke, and Sal realized that Chatfield wasn’t talking to them, but likely to someone at the back of the group with a radio or something.

Sal felt a sense of foreboding as he looked around. Were the guardians going to be people from the Hunter Bureau? He had been under the impression they would be taking classes out in the excursion, so why would there be any need to give them a Hunter mentor so early? The uncertainty was gnawing at him when the first explosion rang out in the distance. More than a few gasps escaped the crowd. The initial thought in their minds was a demonic attack.

“They’re the worst,” Erika muttered as she stared off into the distance at the other side of the park.

Sal followed her gaze to see the remnants of a building collapsing to the ground, with debris still falling off the airship that had smashed through it. The hulking structure looked more like a cargo ship than something designed for combat, made more poignant by how it seemingly crashed through any obstacle in its way.

“You recognize the ship?” Sal asked in disbelief, which earned him a withering glance for his troubles.

“It’s a carrier. Defunct technology that only one guild is foolhardy enough to keep in operation.” Erika spoke matter-of-factly as she jutted her chin toward the carrier.

It seemed to pitch off to one side before falling to the ground a short distance from where they stood. The ground shook from the impact and a few of the students lost their balance.

Sal couldn’t help but laugh as he read the lettering on the side of the carrier. Parts of it were obscured because of how it effectively sank into the ground from the impact, but there was no mistaking it. He knew they were crazy, but the Reavers Guild seemed to not give a fuck about appearances. When the doors opened at the back of the carrier, a dozen people came out of it laughing, with one appearing beside Chatfield in a burst of black tendrils.

“Reavers Guild reporting for duty, Captain!” Blink laughed as she gave a mock salute, surprising everyone in the front rows.

From Sal’s perspective, Chatfield had enjoyed their entrance but was attempting to maintain his composure. Maybe it was from spending a bit of time with him, but Sal was starting to appreciate that the man was, in fact, human.

Chatfield returned the mock salute with one of his own and gestured to the crowd. “You have your assigned group, so feel free to seek them out.”

Blink nodded with a grin as her eyes scanned the crowd. “Which one of you is McGregor?” Her voice had switched to a commanding tone, and all jovial energy left her in an instant. The transformation was enough to make the crowd flinch. A single hand rose from the middle of the crowd, and Sal turned around to see Evan looking at Blink with barely disguised uncertainty.

“Perfect.” Blink disappeared from beside Chatfield and reappeared an inch from Evan’s face. “I’m your guardian. Show me your team.”

They were close enough to Sal that he could hear their voices. After a few awkward moments of pointing at one another, Blink seemed satisfied and instructed each of them to hold her arm. It was clear what her intention was and the rest of Evan’s team looked terrified. Evan, on the other hand, smiled as they placed a hand on Blink’s wrist without hesitation.

Startled gasps and discussion broke out the moment Blink disappeared with her assigned group. Sal heard the mutterings about the groups not all being together, and training in different areas. He didn’t pay any attention to that, though, because if the Reavers were there, it meant that his instructor might actually be Watcher. It was selfish to think that he’d get someone he knew, but if it was Watcher, Sal would learn a lot more from the gunman than any of the others. Worst-case scenario, he’d get Villa, but Sal dismissed that thought as there was no way the vice—guildmaster would free herself up for a month just to train students.

Another set of carriers appeared but were much more modern and sleeker-looking in comparison to the Reavers Guild. They all had wild color combinations, and Sal learned that the yellow and black carrier was from the Paradox Guild. The jet-black carrier was Delvers, and the dark-green one belonged to Source. He only knew it by listening to the observations from the other students. It was just another stark reminder that he knew so little about the different guilds and their identifiers.

By the time the other carriers had landed, the remainder of the Reavers had appeared beside Chatfield, asking for his help in finding their groups.

Sal looked over at them hopefully, but none of the twelve people who had arrived came anywhere near his group.

“That’s a relief,” Erika muttered as she looked around at the other carriers. “It would be better to have a competent instructor who will teach us correctly, than the current methods they undoubtedly use.”

Brophy stepped forward and laughed. “Delightful observation, Miss Clifton. Do you have any preferences yourself?” He moved through the crowd as he approached, seemingly phasing between the gathered people, and Sal had to give him credit—he likely had a terrifying amount of agility to be able to pull that off.

Erika didn’t even bother to look at Brophy as she responded. “Someone in the top one hundred Hunter rankings. You can’t fluke your way onto that list.”

Brophy’s smile didn’t falter as he stepped back to stand beside Rochelle. “I doubt the Hunter Bureau would designate such prominent members of society to people like us, but it’s a bold suggestion.” Brophy ran a hand through his black hair as he grinned at nobody in particular. “Personally, I have a lot of time for the Paradox people. They’ve really been making strides in pushing the front lines and would be excellent mentors for a party such as ours.”

Erika gave Brophy an incredibly frosty stare. “What did you do?”

Brophy shrugged as he gestured at the descending carriers. “I’m just as concerned as you are that we get the best guardian. All I did was make a few suggestions on our behalf, but who knows what way the dice will land.”

How he managed to make his meddling sound flippant was beyond Sal, and Erika’s increasing level of rage was quite the spectacle. Sal wasn’t sure he had ever seen her losing her composure, as their conversations had only ever been curt at best.

Just as Erika was about to snap at him, an enormous pillar of light pierced down from the sky, before expanding outward in a circle. It wasn’t like lightning, but rather a wall of ethereal white that practically pulsated with essence. When the light disappeared, Sal saw a group of thirty people standing in the center of the pillar. An indent had been formed into the ground, in a perfect circle, as though a giant hammer had slammed into that one specific piece of land. The most impressive thing wasn’t the entrance or the effects, but rather the people who remained.

Sal couldn’t help himself and started to Appraise all the incredible pieces of equipment.

“What are you mumbling about?” Erika diverted her attention to Sal, who was listing off what he was seeing.

Instead of quieting down, Sal pointed to the different Hunters who were making their way toward Chatfield.

“Stargazers spear, Epic grade.” Sal pointed to the next person. “Nightstalker helm, Legendary grade. Specter’s cloak, Legendary grade.” He was about to list more when Brophy gave him a panicked look.

“Specter’s cloak? You saw that?” There was clear apprehension on his face, and it was remarkable how he had gone from composed to terrified in a single heartbeat.

Sal nodded as he gestured at the woman in the distance. “Her other equipment is pretty incredible. I can’t get a good look at them all though, because people keep walking ahead of her. Looks like a lot of it is made with dreadcloth, so she must be an Assassin type?”

Brophy’s expression darkened as his shoulders slumped. “She fucking promised…” he muttered as a terrifying glare marred his normally smiling face.

Erika’s laugh was almost musical, if it wasn’t for the sneer on her face. She gave Brophy a pitying look as her eyes glowed in gold. “Ahh, looks like your plan backfired. I can’t imagine her appearing here for any other team, so maybe I should be thanking you?”

Erika leaned down to get a better look at Brophy’s face, ensuring that he could see her smug grin. “Thanks, Brophy.”

Sal frowned as he placed a hand on Brophy’s shoulder. “Are you okay, man?”

Brophy shoved his shoulder violently, knocking Sal’s hand away. The look of unadulterated rage was like a tempest aimed directly at Sal.

“Don’t fucking touch me. You planned this, didn’t you? All of you? That’s why you put me on your team?” His eyes were wild as he glanced around at all of them, searching for clues to their betrayal.

Erika’s laugh continued. “Oh my, I had heard the rumors…but this…wow. This is a whole new level for you to have stooped to. Just how broken is our little Brophy?”

Sal was so preoccupied with Brophy’s behavior that he didn’t notice the crowd parting in front of them. Every student who recognized her tall and elegant appearance had an expression of reverence, with some going so far as to take pictures on their tablet. Sal turned in time to make eye contact with the owner of the specter’s cloak, only to recognize her immediately.

“Prestige?”

Erika smiled as she bowed her head in respect. “It’s a pleasure to meet yo—”

“Miss Clifton.” Prestige gave Erika an unflinching stare that subdued her instantly. With just a single look, Erika was silenced and seemed to be trembling either from embarrassment or something else.

Sal took a step back to give them space, and Prestige’s eyes locked onto him as though searching for something. He felt like his entire soul was being bared to this woman, and it was a haunting experience. Was it the same aura ability that Villa had used on him when he had first started? He had no idea, but he knew it would be suicide to try to meet this woman’s gaze again. Sal looked toward the ground and mimicked Erika’s bow of respect.

Prestige moved forward until she stood directly in front of Brophy. “What did I tell you about trying to pull strings?”

Brophy’s face blanched as he stared Prestige dead in the eye. “Ah, Mother. What a pleasant surprise.” His trembling had disappeared, and Brophy looked to be in full control of his emotions again. That easygoing smile was back on his face, and Prestige looked disgusted by it.

“We both know those tricks don’t work on me. Drop it.” Prestige’s voice was both quiet and deadly at the same time, and had the instant effect of breaking Brophy’s façade.

What remained was something scarier than the anger he had displayed earlier. An eerie calm came over him, and all emotion dripped away from his face. Where most people would look passive in such a state, Brophy looked more like a haunted man destined to slaughter. There was only darkness in his eyes as he returned his mother’s stare.

“Bit late to try to fix me, isn’t it?”

His voice was laced with loathing and vitriol, and Sal couldn’t help but notice Erika flinch. Judging by her wide golden eyes, she had just made the mistake of looking into Brophy’s head.