"I really don't want you to do it yet," Sylvia said. "You're still not well enough."

Roni hugged her close and kissed her lightly on her lips. "If Bridget says I'm okay to go, then there is no reason to wait any longer. I'm tired of it."

"You're still weak. Wait until you're back to full strength."

"It can take months."

"So what? What's the rush? You are here with me, safe, doing what you love doing, and you joined Jackson's band, and you have loads of fun with that. A few months are nothing. It's like the blink of an eye for an immortal."

"I know that it's hard for you to understand how I feel." He put his hand on his stomach. "There is this feeling of unease constantly churning in my gut. I fear the fight, I fear the transition, but I also fear not transitioning. I don't have one fucking calm moment unless I'm asleep or making love to you. And even then that constant worry sometimes manages to hijack my brain. I need it to be over and done with one way or another."

Tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, Sylvia nodded. "Then let's do it. Who are you going to wrestle?"

Roni smiled. "This time, baby, it's not going to be just a wrestling match. I'm getting the whole ceremony, with someone recommending me for transition because I was found worthy, and then someone volunteering to be my mentor and life-long friend. Anandur organized it. I wish he could be the one. Unfortunately, the guy is too nice to fight a sorry excuse of a challenger like me."

Sylvia's tears dried out. "Maybe what was missing from the previous attempts was the ceremony?"

Roni kissed her forehead. "I don't believe in mystical nonsense. The ceremony has nothing to do with it. But it's nice to have my new friends cheering me on."

"How come no one told me?"

"Because I didn't want you worrying about me for days."

She pushed on his chest, getting out of his arms with ease. "Don't you ever do something like that again. I will just worry more about all the things I suspect you're not telling me."

"You have a point. I'm sorry. I didn't think it through."

"Promise."

"Scout's honor."

"You're not a scout and have never been one."

"Roni's honor?"

She grimaced. "It will have to do."

What the hell? Did his girl doubt his honor? They would have a talk about it later, when there wasn't a bunch of immortals waiting for him. After all the trouble Anandur went into arranging his ceremony, it would be incredibly rude to show up late.

"Let's go."

Down at the gym, a small crowd was waiting for them. The Guardians, most of whom Roni knew, Kian and his wife, Amanda and her frightening ex-Doomer, the guys from the band, Tessa and, of course, William.

"And here is the star of tonight's show. Everybody, a round of applause for our new resident hacker. Mr. Roni." Anandur wrapped his massive arm around Roni's slim shoulders and led him away from Sylvia.

A few snickers and whistles followed them to the center of the room.

As Kian joined them, everyone went quiet.

Anandur let go of Roni. "Good luck, kid."

Kian waited for Anandur to step away before addressing the immortals standing around the wrestling mat. "We are gathered here to present this fine young man to his elders. Roni is ready to attempt his transformation. Again. I vouch for him personally and so does Anandur, as well as William. Who volunteers to take on the burden of initiating Ronald into his immortality?"

A burden? He was no burden on anybody. If anything, he was a valuable asset.

Kian leaned closer. "Those are ceremonial words. Nothing personal. Besides, whoever induces your transition will become responsible for you. So yeah, he'd better like you."

That limited his options. Roni had been trying to behave better toward the immortals than he had toward the agents, but old habits died hard. He was still a snarky, abrasive dude with an attitude.

"I do." Brundar stepped forward.

Oh, man. This wasn't good. Brundar was the guy everyone was afraid of. But on the other hand, he owed Roni quite a few favors.

Kian turned to him. "Ronald, do you accept Guardian Brundar as your initiator? As your mentor and protector, to honor him with your friendship, your respect, and your loyalty from now on?"

Having Brundar, the lethal assassin, as his protector wasn't a bad deal. It was worth a few scary moments. After all, the guy owed him, so he wasn't going to kill him, right? Besides, Brundar was rumored to have exceptional self-control.

"I do."

"Good choice," Kian said. "Any objections?"

No one spoke up, but a few people shook their heads.

"Does everyone agree these two are a good match?"

As Anandur started clapping, the rest joined him. Apparently, everyone agreed Brundar was a good choice.

Kian smiled and waved at a short guy in a suit holding a tray to come closer. "As everyone agrees it's a good match, let's seal it with a toast." He waited for the dude in the suit to distribute small wine glasses to everyone, including Roni and Kian. When everyone was holding a glass, Kian lifted his. "To Ronald and Brundar."

Again, several people cheered while others whistled, and the short guy collected the empty glasses.

"Gentlemen, take your positions," Kian instructed, then stepped off the mat.

Here goes.

Roni didn't run off only because he was paralyzed with fear. It was irrational, he knew Brundar might hurt him but he was not going to cause him any lasting damage. Except, the response was instinctive—prey didn't wait around for a predator to attack. It ran.

"Don't be scared, kid," Brundar said in a hissing but calm voice. "You don't even need to fight me. I produce venom on command."

Roni straightened from the defensive pose he'd been crouched in. "Someone could've told me that. I almost pissed in my pants."

Anandur laughed. "You have to admire a guy who has the guts to admit that. You have balls, kid."

Funny, Roni thought that he had just announced he had none.

Ignoring the spectators, he asked Brundar, "What do you want me to do?"

"Turn your back to me. It will be less frightening that way."

"I'm not afraid of the bite, just of fighting someone like you."

Brundar's expression changed back to his usual stern demeanor. "Do as you're told, Roni."

Wow, scary dude should be obeyed without question. Roni pivoted on his heel before Brundar finished the sentence.

The Guardian was on him in a blink of an eye, one hand holding Roni's head, the other clamped over his shoulder. The bite came a split second later. By now, Roni knew what to expect, and it didn't even feel as painful as the two other times. A moment later, the pain disappeared, and the euphoria took over.

Roni felt his body go lax, and he would have collapsed on the mat if not for Brundar's strong arm holding him upright.

As the Guardian kept pumping him with venom, Roni had the fleeting thought that too much of it could kill him, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

A moment later the lights behind his closed eyelids dimmed, and everything turned black.