Joey’s hands were soft and warm as they worked to wrap the bloody wound at my side. We didn’t speak the entire time. He wouldn’t say it, but I knew he was mad. I could see it in his eyes, the sincerity in them making his eyes appear as though they were made of light brown glass, sharp around the edges. I jerked a little when Joey applied too much pressure on the wound, he mumbled something of an apology, but didn’t look up. When he finished, he put the first aid kit to the side, and offered me his hand to lift me off the bench. I winced at the slight movement, but it was bearable.
“Thank you”, I whispered, scanning his face for…. something, anything other than anger.
“Stop that will you? I’m not mad,” he said, finally looking at me.
“You know you’re a terrible liar,” I mumbled, “you have to understand, I couldn’t tell you.”
“We’ll talk later, right now we need to do something about him”, he turned around to face the man who had attacked us not 10 minutes ago. Right now, he was gagged and tied up on the floor. He glared at me and Joey, and I returned his glare with one of my own.
“I need to take him to Kala.”
“My cars out back”, Joey said walking towards the man. He grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet. His hands weren’t gentle.
The walk to the parking lot was quiet. Neither of us spoke. The man kept struggling against Joey’s strong hold every two steps.
“I will knock your punk ass out it you don’t stop that”, Joey growled. Some people might say that Joey’s anger and strength comes from being part of the football team, but that was only part of the reason. He was a keeper, they are naturally born with this strength and the need to work out. They protect, but most are kept hidden from their identity for their own protection. But how did this guy know who or what Joey was?
We reached Joey’s black Audi, which had a dull shine in the silver light of the moon. He opened the back door and shoved the man inside. I walked over to the passenger’s side and got in. Joey put his keys in the ignition and I purr of the engine. The smell of pine was familiar, and it always comforted me. It was a scent that made my stomach do a little flip, it made me forget the fight, forget the wound, it felt as though it was just me and Joey in the car. But it was a lie. There was no denying the heavy breathing of the man. The tension between everyone in the car was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Joey was the first to break the silence.
“Okay, so let’s talk, I think we both know there’s a lot of explaining to be done.”
“Fine, where do you want to start?”
“I think you know, but why don’t you tell me who the hell he is”, Joey glared in the rearview mirror.
“I don’t know for sure, my guess is he’s an assassin.”
“He just tried to kill you and me, and you think he’s an assassin?”
“Well it’s hard to say these days.” I sighed.
“What about the tattoo on his neck? I’ve never seen one done before like that.” That’s when I looked back and noticed the snake making it’s way up the assassin’s neck. That familiar pattern made me go cold all over.
“What?” Joey asked taking a quick glance back. I turned around, looking straight ahead.
“That’s Andrew’s insignia.” I said blandly. I felt a mix of rage and fright in my stomach. Andrew was leader of the Host. Trained assassins ordered to kill anyone who poses a threat to their leader or them. If Andrew sent one to me…. I couldn’t finish the thought. A spark of recognition ignited in Joey’s eyes.
“Isn’t Andrew the guy who runs all those clubs here?”
“Yeah”, I replied grimly. Andrew was the guy most talked about in town. He ran most of the clubs and was known mostly as a millionare. People don’t know about his other job.
Hunting and killing witches and shifters who supposedly pose a threat to him.
“And why the hell does he want to kill you?” I glanced at the rear view mirror.
“We’ll talk later.” We reached the edge of the woods. “Turn left here.” The city of Violet Hill was small, everyone pretty much knew a lot of people, but it was big enough for people, or things, to hide. Joey entered the dark forest. The only thing you could see was whatever the headlights landed on. We drove for about 20 minutes on a bumpy earth path. I felt a jolt of pain with each rough bump. After a while I was relieved to finally see the path clear up. The was smooth the rest of the way.
“Stop here.” Joey easily slid the breaks on. I got out and shut the door, Joey was on the other side getting the guy. I led us through the tall trees, crunching twigs and dried autumn leaves under my black boots. The weather was chilly, which made me kind of regret leaving my sweater at school. I was wearing a regular t-shirt and skinny jeans. The chilly night air slapped at my bare arms, I had to suppress a shiver.
The closer we got to the caves, the more nervous I got. I had to explain things to Joey that took me years to understand. He was special, and that was not something to celebrate. It made him as big of a target as me. We arrived in front of large hill, moss and rocks disguising the entrance on the side. It wasn’t hard to find if you knew what you were looking for. I cleared away the veils of leaves covering the handle. The rusty metal felt even cooler on my already chilled hand. I gave it a large pull, clenching my teeth against the pain that shot through my side.
“Okay you’re gonna hurt yourself” Joey said grimly behind me. He reached over with his free hand and the wooden door creaked open. The greeting we got, however, was enough to make Joey leap to knock me out of the way.
I only laughed a little as an arrow passed between us.
“It’s okay”, I said to Joey in between giggles, “Hi Marcus”. Marcus was on patrol I was guessing since he was the one holding the bow and arrow currently.
“Damn it, Hamilton. You couldn’t at least give me a heads up first?” Mark said reaching down to help me and Joey up.
“Emergencies don’t always leave someone time to send a text”, I replied brushing grass off my jeans, “Joey this is Marcus, he’s one of the guards.” They shook hands with a silent “hey” from each one.
“Serena never told me much about you,” Mark said, his smile spread across his face, “but I understand you are unique among us.”
I groaned. Marcus was the scientist here. He was fairly interested in the power of keepers most because not one keeper is the same to another, and their powers vary. Witches, however, are mostly the same…. except me. Marcus has been studying me a lot when I let him, and now I have a feeling he will do the same with Joey. 
“For once could you not be such a creep,” I said shoving him lightly. Marcus just laughed and I saw Joey give a little smirk. Marcus’s smile disappeared when he saw the man still gagged and under Joey’s restraint.
“What the hell..”
“Inside,” I cut him off. I didn’t like to talk about these things in the open, you never know who could be listening.