“I don't know,” Kitten replied, and her voice was tortured.
“Think.”
“I am!” she hissed.
“Think,” Le'Ace said in that still, crisp voice.
Another pause.
Kitten shrugged. “Twenty?”
Le'Ace pushed out a breath. “Wrong. Turn around and count. If these desks had been aliens, you would be dead.”
Seemed we'd be dead from a lot of things if this was the real world.
Kitten turned, and her cheeks were flushed a rosy red. “Twenty-one.” She stomped her foot. “I was close!”
“Close will not keep you alive. Close will send you to an early grave.”
Kitten's shoulders sagged. “I'll do better next time.”
“I hope so. Even if you had said twenty-one, you would have been guessing and that is simply not good enough. I told you not to guess. Details are important. Every detail. A single detail can save your life or destroy it. You must be aware of everything at all times.”
“Impossible,” I said. What she was saying was impossible. No way a person could input so many details so quickly.
“You had your fingers crossed at one point.” She arched a perfectly sculpted brow. “I know that but I wasn't looking at you.”
I pressed my lips together and tried not to be impressed.
“But you are,” she said as if she'd read my mind. Maybe she had. Was that possible? I gulped. More and more I was learning just how little I knew about the world and its inhabitants. “Have a seat, girls. Take a few minutes to meet the others.”
“But she's an alien,” a blonde said, pointing to Kitten. “I don't want to get to know her.”
Kitten hissed.
Le'Ace frowned. “She's nonpredatory. You'll treat her as you treat the other students or you'll return home. Understand? If you don't, you can go to your room and pack your bags right now.”
Everyone nodded, which saved them from my wrath. Right now, Kitten was my only friend. I was feeling a little protective of her.
I walked to the seat in back, between the tattooed blonde and the lovely Asian girl.
“Hey,” the Asian said.
“Hey,” I replied.
Tattoo turned away from me, giving me her profile. Asian leaned toward me and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “I'm Cara. Pay no attention to Emma, the bitch beside you. She hates everyone.”
Emma didn't respond to the jab.
“I'm Johanna,” one of the blond girls said, the one who had spoken against Kitten. “I saw you enter the Common yesterday. You don't look as nervous today.”
“Well, I've since read that oh so comforting manual,” I said dryly.
All the girls laughed. Except for Emma, whose gaze remained straight ahead. Still, I found myself relaxing. For the most part, they seemed to like me. How long would that last?
“Hey, Phoenix,” Kitten called. She'd taken an open seat up front. “This is Dani, Lindsay, and Jenn.” She motioned to a pretty blonde, a redhead, and the second black girl.
The girls smiled at me, and I returned the greeting.
“They're nice,” Kitten added with a pointed look at Johanna.
“Hey, I'm nice,” Johanna said. “Your heritage just caught me off guard, okay? We're supposed to kill Outers, not befriend them.”
“Not all aliens are bad,” Kitten growled.
Johanna held up her hands, palms out. “I believe you, all right? God. Give me a freaking break. I haven't slept in, like, a week.”
“Why don't you two start over?” I suggested.
Both nodded reluctantly. I introduced Kitten to the girls I'd met, and they exchanged greetings.
“All right,” Le'Ace said. She stood at the head of the class, her arms anchored behind her back. “Now that everyone knows everyone else, let's get started.”
Was it bad that I already wanted a break?
“This is Alien Anatomy 101. I will teach you everything A.I.R. knows about aliens and their bodies. As a bonus, I will teach you about their powers, their abilities, and their weaknesses. Some we know for sure, some are just guesses.” She leaned her hip against the metal counter. “What you learn in here needs to be applied in all of your weapons and combat classes.”
I settled more comfortably into my seat and cast another glance at Kitten. She was listening raptly, as if the world could be conquered with Le'Ace's words alone. Maybe it could. Kitten was also licking her hand and purring. Weird, but cute.
“At your desks, each of you has a computerized notebook.”
I looked down at my desk, but saw nothing. Wait. There was the faint outline of a silver box. But it was not raised and seemed to be part of the desk.
“Place your hands on it,” Le'Ace instructed.
I did, and the moment my hands touched the silver, a virtual screen appeared, as did the shadow of a keyboard.
“The computer recognizes your fingerprints. As you type, the pages will be printed in your room.”
Okay. That was seriously cool.
“Let's begin with lesson number one. This,” Le'Ace said, “is an Arcadian.” The moment she spoke the alien name, an image appeared on the holoscreen behind her. A tall, white-haired, violet-eyed male stared down at us. He was beautiful. Mesmerizing. Powerful. Savage. Raw. I wanted to stare at him forever.
“He's also Mia Snow's boyfriend, so do not lust too much,” Le'Ace added, and there was genuine amusement in her tone. Not so emotionless after all.
“I thought dating aliens was against the law,” Jenn said, her dark eyes roving over the other students.
Especially for an agent. Right?
Le'Ace shrugged. “Most assume it is against the law. That is what the government wants you to think. Once it was, but now it is merely frowned upon. There is a punishment, though. Civilians will look upon you with disdain. But Mia is not someone who cares about that.” She eyed us, one by one. “The lesson here is that you must be prepared for the consequences if you decide to break any type of directive.”
I had so many questions about Mia and the alien, but Le'Ace continued the lecture. “I will occasionally bring an alien ally here for you to question. There is a Raka, a golden one, named Eden Black, who has killed more aliens than even Mia. Her insight is invaluable. There is a Targon, the strongest warriors to invade our planet, who has promised to visit. His name is Devyn and his telekinetic powers are vast.”
I couldn't wait to meet them and see them in action.
Le'Ace continued, “Enough about what is to come. Let us concentrate on today's lesson. While the Arcadians have bodies and internal organs very similar to ours, they possess many abilities, most of which originate in the mind. Some are psychic. Some are mind readers. Some can control your thoughts and actions.”