Riley motioned for me to fol ow and then headed back to the basement.
The training lasted al day, but I wasn't part of it. After Riley went back to his team leaders, I took my spot beside Fred. The others had been divided up into four groups of four, with Raoul and Kristie directing them. No one had picked Fred for a side, or maybe he'd ignored them, or maybe they couldn't even see that he was there. I could stil see him. He stood out - the only one not participating, a big blond elephant in the room. I had no desire to insinuate myself into either Raoul's team or Kristie's, so I just watched. No one seemed to notice that I was sitting out with Fred. Though we must have been somewhat invisible, thanks to talented Fred, I felt horribly obvious. I wished I were invisible to myself - that I could see the il usion so that I could trust it. But no one noticed us, and after a while I could almost relax.
I watched the practicing closely. I wanted to know everything, just in case. I wasn't planning on fighting; I was planning on finding Diego and making a break for it. But what if Diego wanted to fight? Or what if we had to fight to get away from the rest? Better to pay attention.
Only once did anyone ask about Diego. It was Kevin, but I had a sense that Raoul had put him up to it.
"So, did Diego end up getting fried after al ?" Kevin asked in a forced joking tone.
"Diego's with her," Riley said, and no one had to ask who he meant. "Surveil ance."
A few people shuddered. No one said anything more about Diego.
Was he real y with her? I cringed at the thought. Maybe Riley was just saying that to keep people from questioning him. He probably didn't want Raoul getting jealous and feeling second best when Riley needed him at his most arrogant today. I couldn't be sure, and I wasn't going to ask. I kept quiet, as usual, and watched the training.
In the end, watching was boring, thirsty work. Riley didn't give his army a break for three days and two nights straight. During the daytime it was harder to stay out of the mix - we al were crammed so tightly into the basement. It made things easier in one way for Riley - he could usual y catch a fight before it got ugly. Outside at night, they had more room to real y work around each other, but Riley was kept busy darting back and forth to catch limbs and get them back to their owners quickly. He kept his temper wel, and he'd been smart enough to find al the lighters this time. I would have bet that this would spin out of control, that we'd lose at least a couple of coven members with Raoul and Kristie skirmishing head to head for days on end. But Riley had better control of them than I had thought possible.
Stil, it was mostly repetition. I noticed Riley saying the same things over and over and over again. Work together, watch your back, don't go at her head-on; work together, watch your back, don't go at him head-on; work together, watch your back, don't go at her head-on. It was kind of ridiculous, real y, and made the group seem exceptional y stupid. But I was sure I would have been just as stupid if I'd been in the thick of the fight with them rather than watching calmly from the sidelines with Fred. It reminded me in a way of how Riley had dril ed into us our fear of the sun. Constant repetition.
Stil, it was so dul that after about ten hours that first day, Fred produced a deck of cards and started playing solitaire. That was more interesting than watching the same mistakes over and over again, so I mostly watched him.
After about another twelve hours - we were inside again - I nudged Fred to point out a red five that he could move over. He nodded and made the change. After that hand, he dealt out the cards to both of us, and we played rummy. We never spoke, but Fred smiled a few times. No one ever looked our way or asked us to join in.
There were no hunting breaks, and as time went on, this got harder and harder to ignore. Fights broke out more regularly and with less provocation. Riley's commands got more shril, and he tore off two arms himself. I tried to forget the burning thirst as much as possible - after al, Riley must have been getting thirsty, too, so this couldn't last forever - but mostly thirst was the only thing on my mind. Fred was looking pretty strained. Early into the third night - one more day to go, and when I thought about the ticking clock it tied my empty stomach into knots - Riley cal ed al the mock fights to a halt.
"Round it up, kids," he told us, and everyone moved into a loose half-circle facing him. The original gangs al stood close together, so the practicing hadn't changed any of those al iances. Fred put the cards in his back pocket and stood up. I stood close to his side, counting on his repulsive aura to hide me.
"You've done wel ," Riley told us. "Tonight, you get a reward. Drink up, because tomorrow you're going to want your strength.
"
Snarls of relief from almost everyone.