What he wants...

I was steamed from the talk with Alina.

Wandering through the building, I was able to find a training area. I had change into tight fitted shorts and a big hoodie, hair pulled away from my face.

The punching bag caught my attention, and bare knuckles, I hit it, remembering the tips Zach gave me when he was teaching me how to fight.

The sound of flesh hitting the bag was calming, and I kept at it, until a small cut formed on one of my knuckles, blood starting to ooze out.

"You know you're suppose to wear gloves before you hit that, right?" A voice said behind me.

I turned, calming my breathing, to see Leo standing there, hoodie on, and baggy sweatpants. He looked bored, studying his fingernails.

"I know." I said curtly.

Leo sighed, before throwing something at me. I caught it, listening to the crackle of paper. Staring at my palm, I realized that it was a band aid.

"Thanks."

"Plus, you're hitting it weird. Like, kind of side to side swings. Just go forward, and lean into the punch for the most damage." Leo said.

He stepped onto the mats, raising his fists in the air. He threw a punch, straight and curt, body leaning into it.

I took note of it, turning to the punching bag and hitting it like he told me.

Turning to see his reaction, Leo nodded his approval.

"Now that you know how to throw a basic punch, what else can you do?" He asked.

I tried to remember what else Zach had shown me, my one sparring march with the bots.

"You're probably going to get your ass handed to you at that match, Laney." Leo sighed, shaking out his arms.

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence." I replied.

"You literally have no idea what you're doing in combat, Laney. And Alina does. She's been to over sixty missions with thirty of those being solos. She will cream you." Leo bounced in place, sighing.

This was true; trying to prove my worth to them seemed easy in saying, but in actual doing, I was going to get hurt.

Leo stretched some more, before rushing at me, diving into my side. I let out a startled cry, slamming down on the mats. Leo's fists moved, quick and fast, each punch landing and connecting on my body.

I grit my teeth, putting my forearm in front if me as his fist aimed for my face. I pushed him off, twisting his arm, kicking his legs out from under him. He struggled, elbow connecting to my chest.

The wind was knocked out of me and I wheezed, rolling off of him.

"Again Laney." Hensaid, as he picked himself up from the ground.

I struggled to my feet, clenching and clenching my hands.

"Let's go."

I was slammed down on my back, my hands flopping down to my sides. I laid there, trying to catch my breath. Leo collapsed next to me, breathing hard. We had been sparring for about an ongoing of two hours.

It had taken him a bit longer to pin me down this time, his stamina and speed waning. I had manage to keep up with him somehow.

My mark had glowed a total of eight times during those hours. Not once did I act on it. Leo hadn't used his speed, fighting me normally.

Sitting up, I turned to Leo.

"Do you think I got better?"

Leo sat up, pushing up his sleeves.

"A bit, yeah. I think you might be able to hold your own against Alina. Now if Harrison decided to join in on this one-on-one, that might be a problem."

"What? No way, it need to be a fair fight."

Leo sprang up from the floor, wiping his hands. "Nothing about this is fair."

He reached out a hand, and I took it, letting him pull me up.

I had to agree with Leo on that.

Once I was back in my room, I took a long shower, wincing at the new formed bruises.

Feeling a bit refreshed after it, I changed into my loose t shirt and pajama shorts. I wasn't ready for sleep, not really wanting to give Casmir a reason to visit. He had seemed subdued after getting in contact with Jabez, but for some reason, knowing he could enter my dream state and do what he want, made me want to vomit.

I wondered if he did that with anyone else.

Silk laid in bed, eyes closed, snores reaching me. Her tail would wag now and then, soft growls coming from her. I wondered what she thought of this whole mess.

It dawned on me that neither Zach nor Rowan had contacted me or even tried to. They both had my number-I had yet to change it-yet my phone stayed dry.

Maybe it was for the best; we were all on different teams in this situation. Even I was; as soon as I had the chance, I was joining Jabez. After all, the goals that Rosie was having were different than my own.

If I was being completely honest, the battle with Casmir seemed less and less on my mind than meeting with Jabez's team and David's team. That seemed more dangerous at the moment; everyone fighting on the same team but with different reasons.

I laid in bed next to Silk, holding her a little tighter. The loud thump-thumping of my heart must have disturbed Silk, because she shifted closer to me, her head on my stomach. I kissed the top of her head, and prayed for a dreamless sleep.

My prayers fell on deaf ears, it had seemed.

We stood apart from the earth, Casmir shifting his appearance to look like a tall man with long black hair pulled away from his face. He had on a loose shirt, with the buttons unbuttoned, exposing his chest, eyes changing colors. He held out a hand to me, and I stepped back from him, arms crossed.

I realized then that I was wearing a laced soft purple dress, that went down in layers, the arms sleeveless. A flowered crown was in my hair, and I shifted it, confusion on my face.

"What are you playing at, Casmir? Didn't you want to destroy the earth? What's your plan?" I asked, taking more steps back as he neared closer to me.

"Oh, Laney. Jabez is grown; she knows what she wants and frankly I now know what I want."

He was just a foot away, and he held out his hand again, this time heading for my face. I couldn't feel my power, the absent feeling leaving me panicked.

So this is what he wanted; a war created by us, and he wouldn't have to do the dirty work himself.

"Close." He answered my unspoken thought out loud. "You see Laney, even before the capture of Jabez, which was foolish and weak of her, I'd kept a close eye on you. You were special; different from the others because you weren't born with these powers, they were given to you by a dying race."

I stood there frozen in shock; the words left me, and I felt my eyes widened in surprise. Casmir placed a hand against my face, brushing my cheekbone gently.

"You were far more interesting than the other cases, Laney. And what my luck, that you'd be dragged into this?" he went on, holding my other hand in his.

"What....why? Me?" I stuttered out.

"You don't know, do you? The race was one of the most formidable foes in the cosmos. They weren't suppose to continue on, but they did with you for some reason. I myself haven't been able to figure out why though."

He brushed a strand of my hair out from my face, his getting closer, and closer to mine, until-

-a mark blinked in front of my face, glowing red, before shoving Casmir back. He made a strange noise, landing on his back. I stared in confusion and horror, as I stared at my hands. They were fading, my eyes going back to his. He was on his feet, reaching out for me, hands turning to his claws as he made to grab me-

I awoke, sweat on my forehead, my hands gripping onto the blanket in a tight hold. My eyes went to my clock; three-thirty a.m. Flopping back on my bed, and scooting Silk a bit further from me, I sighed. The nightmare was still fresh in my mind, knots in my stomach.

I knew what Casmir wanted.

Turning on my side, shivers arose down my spine.

This time, I didn't ask for sleep.