Relentless by Suzanne Cox Read Free Book Online Page B

chosen.  I curled up in the soft cushions of the sofa and half-paid attention while I counted the hours until we’d go to Key West. I hoped it wouldn’t be hard to ditch the others. Myles obviously had no intention of keeping any of us company, but I wasn’t sure I could lose Jared. He’d attached himself to me that first day and seemed to be everywhere I went. I didn’t really mind because I liked Jared, and he and I were kind of in the same predicament here at the school. But I couldn’t have an audience when I went to meet Eric.
    Suddenly, I felt a bump on the arm of the sofa where my head was resting. I jerked up to see Brynna staring at me from her chair only inches away. She nodded her head to the room behind us, and I glanced back in time to see Myles going out the front door. Alone.
    “Wonder what he’s up to?” Brynna asked.
    I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
    “Wonder if it has anything to do with this whole Key West trip.”
    “Is it unusual for him to suggest going?”
    “No, we go all the time, but he usually doesn’t go when Lana’s not here. Of course, when school’s in, she’s pretty much always here.”
    I looked to the other end of the couch where Jared sat watching the television, though I was sure he was listening to every word we said.
    “Well, I’m just glad he’s going. I’ve never been to Key West, but I’ve heard about it, and I can’t wait to see it.”
    We both turned our attention back to the television, but I did notice when Myles came back nearly an hour later. What was he up to in the middle of the night?

Chapter Four
    Beneath me, the Jet Ski idled in the calm water of the small inlet where the boats were docked. It was also the area where they set up the Bodinwa course. I’d learned to play Bodinwa on the Jet Ski this past summer at Louise’s house. It was an odd name for a game, a sport, really, that had even more odd names for all its pieces and parts. It was based on an ancient game that had been played by our werewolf ancestors centuries ago. Back then they’d played on foot or on horseback. While it was still sometimes played that way, this school and others played on the water using Jet Skis. It was a fun game, challenging, and I was good at it. Really good. Had been from the very first day I ran the obstacle course swinging the stick they called a lupin, knocking the round balls, or fints as they were called, off the cones or solas. There were also floating posts with arms sticking off one side. These were called minwas. The arms had hanging metal rings known as jawas, and you had to stick the lupin through the ring and yank it loose then carry it along with you.
    I was vaguely aware that a small audience had gathered on the beach to watch. I hadn’t known we would have an entire class where we learned the skills to compete in this game. There was a bigger picture; in this school there always was. Bodinwa, in its ancient form, was training, fighter training. We had to learn to battle our opponents on land and water. I’d yet to do this on land with a four-wheeler or on foot or horseback, but the instructor had assured us that we would get to each version in a few weeks, except for horseback. They didn’t keep horses on the island. When we moved to a new campus, we would have the opportunity to learn on horses.
    After an entire afternoon of training and practice, the real fun began. Our teacher was Tom Elkes, the cleaner I’d met the other night. He’d started the class by having us practice swinging the lupin. When I’d learned Bodinwa, we’d used a piece of plastic pipe, but here they used a wooden stick that was perfectly round and about three feet long. A space had been carved for your hand, and a piece of leather was strung through a hole near the end of the stick. The leather looped around your wrist to keep you from losing the lupin if you had to release your grip on it. There were wolves carved into it and symbols that resembled those that appeared