In the van, Aaron held the wheel and Sonya sat before him. Wendy and Mason sat in the seethe with the recruits and Sasha were at the end of the seethe with Wendy beside her.
"What happened? We've trained, you've trained a lot with the wings and is not expected to wail you down upon coming out," Aaron said.
"It's nothing," Sonya replied.
"I know it is nothing, talk to me if there is anything to say, we will work it out," Aaron argued.
"I am fine. We proceed with the plan," Sonya returned.
"it is not about the procession of the plan or the team, but about you. You need to be strong," Aaron said and turned his eyes on the road as he drove.
"You all should train the girl to fit into the team. She has a mark of the elder; a rare one. I will give a short explanation about who she is and what she is capable of back at the compendium, then I will leave," Sonya said.
"Tonight?" Aaron asked in dismay.
"Yes, tonight, maybe at dawn. I have an interview at Legion tomorrow and I can't wait behind," Sonya explained and silence took over.
The blockage was raised and the van zoomed into the long road that existed after the gate. It was a college of history, called the compendium with the last blocks at it known to be a workshop for the talented but secretly used as the lair of the hunters.
In the lair, Sonya walked in and was surprised to see the recruits on their feet with Chris in their midst.
"I told you to let them rest," Sonya said as she walked their midst and aimed for the dais. Wendy followed behind, with Sasha in her hands and clothed with a towel. The recruits were next and they joyously walked behind the leaders and sashayed to the dais with her. Entered Mason and Aaron and the door was shut. They all removed their masks from the composition of their faces except Sonya.
"I am sorry, captain. I wanted them to stay awake to witness the demise of the chosen recruits but it seems they know the routes around survival," Chris answered and the chosen recruits looked in his direction.
"Heads up, y'all. We engaged in a brawl with the demons today. If you want to know how they look, ask your mates. I have told you, they grow and evolve every day. They have new features and it is stupid to prepare for the features we have seen today. You face them tomorrow; you see new things to face. We were lucky to be there before them and we were able to save Sasha, our latest and probably the last recruit," Sonya explained.
"Bring her to the podium," Sonya ordered and Wendy took Sasha to the dais and left her there, beside Sonya.
"Aaron, show her what your powers are; Mason hit him hard," Sonya said and Mason walked to the middle of the recruits. The recruits stepped back to avoid the reflection of the impact and reaction that was about to happen while they are the audience.
"Don't make it too big, pal," Aaron said and winked at Mason while Mason smirked.
"Just a size of the son," Mason replied and it was Aaron's time to smirk.
Sonya spoke, "Mason here shoots cannonball as you have seen where we get you,"
As Sonya spoke, Mason invoked the unseen heat in the atmosphere and a firing and lightning ball was forming in his hands, getting bigger per second pass.
"Aaron here is a shield," Sonya said, turning to face Sasha whose eyes were fixed on the display of strength that was happening before her. As Sonya spoke, Aaron stood his ground, and before him was a mass of steel erected and standing solid before him. At an expected and absorbable size, Mason hurled the cannonball that he had formed from the winds in the direction of Aaron, and Aaron's shield withheld the shot without leaving a dent on the surface of his shield. After the display, the shield melted into thin air and they both stood straight on the training ground.
"You are one of us with your power. You are a huntress by nature and this is a hunting team. We are called the cleansers and our mission is to clear the world of the demons terrorizing the world of men as you have just witnessed. You saw a man approach us, you saw them turn into beasts. Just like that, they are business tycoons, musicians with fame and accolades, college students, and street thugs with undying strength and agility, all in the daytime; but in the night they crawl to parties and feast on souls and then ferry them to hell. This is what we are cursed to do. We don't pray or pay for the mark. We will denounce it if we could. But we can't. We have to live with it and remember; with power comes great responsibility. Show them your strength, Sasha, you are home. This is your people and with us, you're not a weirdo," Sonya said and as though Sasha was waiting for the moment to reveal her powers, she glowed out of the concealing that the towel gave her and many of the recruits had to make their hands a cap before their face to limit the rays that were entering into their eyes.
"What! She has the power of an elder," Chris said when he went close to Sonya.
"That is indeed confusing to me too," Sonya replied and then walked to the closest range to Sasha.
"Her bioluminescence emits the glorious light from the throne," Sonya said aloud
"It weakens demons and blinds them; I saw it happen. She is meant for this team," Sonya said and gave a slight nod to Sasha and she killed off her light.
"Before all, I want to ask a question they would want answers for and that is how do you possibly escape the pick? A couple of months ago we were out, seeking the marks and we found this," Sonya said and pointed to the recruits. It wasn't, and it isn't a season for the mark of the elders. Also, your gift is rare. We need to be sure we're taking in the right fellow. Where were you all these while?"
Sasha mumbled and then turned to face Sonya who was right before her.
"My father is a witch," Sasha finally said.
"Is he a Tidilph?" Chris asked interrupting.
"No, a Lockwood," Sasha answered with a slight turn in Chris' direction and he dropped his eyes in disappointment.
"Never heard of that witch clan," Chris said.
"He controlled the eminence of the gift and hid it. But they found him anyway and they…" Sasha stuttered.
"It's okay," Sonya said and held Sasha in her arms.
"Wendy, take her in and see to her needs. Meet me upstairs when you are done," Sonya said and passed Sasha to Wendy.
"The vowels survived their first outing," Sonya began and stepped aside for the vowels to walk close to the edge.
"They survived because they were good. This is not a signature to live forever more. If you fight one of these, and you meet another, there is a telepathy communication between demons that tells them how many of them you have fought and how many you have killed. This elates their sense of alertness and they would be willing to kill you. Tell them what you saw. Chiefs, meet me upstairs," Sonya concluded and took the exit door behind the door that would lead her up the stairs.