Entangle (A Lure Novella)

  Chapter 5

  Tova was a harder trainer than Philip. When regular training was done for the day, we’d stay in the field, and she’d make me do what we learned over and over. That part wasn’t so different, but she’d also watch closely and critique every tiny movement. It was strange being the one watched. I was used to watching her so that I wouldn’t miss anything when it came time to tell of how great she was. It was unnerving switching roles, especially since she wasn’t watching in order to praise me. She only pointed out mistakes.

  “No, Randolph! Pay attention. Like this,” she snapped before demonstrating.

  I was paying attention, but I couldn’t move like that. She tried to help by moving my limbs into the proper position, but on my own, I couldn’t achieve better than an approximation. “Can we move on to something else?”

  She sighed. “Fine. Let’s try some defense. You aren’t as bad at getting away from an opponent.”

  She walked a few steps away from me, and then faster than I could blink, turned and came at me with her sword. I dodged and ducked to avoid swing after swing. She was right. I was better at getting away. The only thing I’d really improved on in my time here was my stamina, so I could run circles around my opponent all day.

  I ducked to the ground as Tova’s sword traveled through the air. Before she recovered from the momentum of the swing, I slinked behind her. I lept onto her back and grabbed the hand holding the sword so it couldn’t move toward me. We fell onto the ground. I rolled off of her and sat up, leaning on my elbows. She looked genuinely surprised. I smiled wide.

  “Good job,” she said. It was the first time I’d ever beaten her, even if it had been unconventional. “But not everyone is going to be as small as me. And it probably won’t be one on one, so that strategy isn’t going to work very often,” she reminded me. “You still need to be able to do other things.”

  That was all I got before the attacks started again. She didn’t let up all week, and by the end, it had paid off. At least, it seemed to when Philip said all of us, including me, were moving on to the next stage.

  After the announcement, everyone filed out, excited to celebrate. Philip pulled me aside. I waved at Tova to let her know I’d catch up, and she smiled and nodded before heading out with the others.

  Philip had watched the exchange intently. Then he faced me and said, “I want to be brutally honest again.”

  “Go ahead, sir. I wasn’t offended the first time.”

  He nodded. “Alright then. You’re still terrible.” He looked me dead in the eye as he said it. “Barely good enough to get by, and I’m not even sure of that.”

  “So why…?”

  “I have a feeling that if I cut you right now, I’ll lose her too,” he motioned to where Tova had been. “She’s one of the best in the class. I want her to stay.”

  “I agree, sir. She belongs here.”

  He paused for a moment to decide what he wanted to do about me, since I definitely did not belong here. “As I said, I’m keeping you on…for now. As soon as she’s comfortable enough that I’m not worried about her following you out…”

  “I’m gone,” I finished for him. He nodded. He had said he was being brutally honest, but he still wasn’t speaking the full implication. Tova would outgrow me. I’d known it in the back of my mind for a long time. Neither Philip or I wanted to voice it though.

  So we didn’t. “I’m glad we understand each other,” he said. “I hope you don’t take it personally.”

  “Not at all, sir.”

  I decided not to tell Tova the details of the conversation. I was going to enjoy the time I had with her since I may not get much more. I also thought about how I might still visit her even after I went back to town. I could sneak along the sides of the compound to this building and let the darkness shield me. There was a lot of open space though, so getting across the gaps would be tricky. I could try tunneling in. Philip had said the second stage of training would involve using our elements along with our weapons. I might actually be good at that. I enjoyed working with my element. I doubted it would work for sneaking in though. This compound surely had obstacles in place for each type of fairy in case of Seelie attack.

  When I got to the dining hall, Tova was talking with one of the other recruits. I think his name was Niklas. He frequently challenged her, and beat her about half the time. He’d rub it in her face when he won, and make excuses to save his pride when he lost. I didn’t like him. Neither did Tova—at least that’s what I thought until I realized she was not arguing with him. She was laughing. And not at him, at something he said. Were they actually getting along and joking around? It was strange.

  I went over to join them, and the laughter from him and his friends tapered off. Tova held on a little longer, but eventually hers ended as well when she saw that everyone was staring at me. “Hello,” I said to the group at large. It seemed their newly friendly manner did not extend to me.

  “Let’s get some food,” one of Niklas’s friends said. They all wandered off toward the serving table. Except for Niklas, who said, “Tova, you should join us.” He looked right at me as he said it, making it clear he meant Tova and only Tova should join them.

  Tova turned to me, looking worried. Before she said anything, I asked, “Do you want to go with them?”

  She looked at her feet. “Yes. I know it’s odd, but they actually aren’t so bad once you get to know them.” I didn’t point out that five minutes probably wasn’t long enough to get to know them. “I think they were just joking around before, since I was new and all.” I also didn’t point out that I doubted that was true. “Anyway, it’d be nice to have more friends here, don’t you think? I’ll try to convince them you’re alright.”

  “It’s fine, Tova. You can go with them. Let me know if they give you trouble.”

  She nodded and bounded over to them. “You’re outgrowing me faster than expected,” I murmured to myself.

  Over the following days and weeks, Tova pulled away from me. It was gradual. So gradual that I didn’t think she noticed. She would deny it when I said anything about it. But I sensed it. She spent more time with Niklas and his friends, and of course, they never accepted me. I didn’t want them to.

  Too soon, we only saw each other when we were falling asleep on our bunks that were still right next to each other. “Tell me a story,” she whispered to me.

  “Which one?”

  “I don’t know. Any,” she said through a yawn.

  I gave it a moment of thought. “Once there was a lakeside town that was being decimated by a herd of kelpies. The leader of the herd was a giant, green beast with teeth as sharp as knives and enough anger to destroy an army. The town chieftain had tried everything to rid his home of the deadly monsters, but nothing worked. The kelpies could overpower ten fairies. Weapons would slide off their slick coats. Not even the elements could hold them back, because this was a lake town full of water fairies, and the water elementals obeyed the kelpies too. The chieftain had run out of ideas. He needed a hero.

  “By some miracle, his prayers were answered. One day, a powerful fire warrior strode into the town and saw the predicament. She decided to be the hero they so desperately needed. She met the kelpies at the edge of the lake, and they attacked, not realizing what she was. She countered with a burst of flame as tall as the beasts, and they reared back in surprise.

  “The kelpies tried to subdue her flames with splashes of water, but she was a master of fire. She merely made it spring back up hotter, turning their splashes to steam. Then, keeping her body within the protection of fire, she swung her sword through the flames at the nearest kelpie. Heated from the fire, the blade sent more steam up from the kelpie’s body and burned its flesh.

  “Again and again the fire warrior swung. The kelpies’ slick bodies were no longer helping them, but hindering them. The burns sent several running for the lake. The warrior was smart though. Before they could reach it, she sent another burst of flame just above the
waters edge, blocking the kelpies from retreating.

  “There was no escape for the kelpies, and the warrior didn’t let up on her attack. She slew every last one of them…except the leader. When none but the great, green beast remained, she stared it down through the flames.

  “‘You are no match for me, kelpie. But I will spare you if you surrender to me.’ The kelpie considered. Truthfully, it respected the warrior’s strength. And without a herd, it needed a place to go. Why not with the fierce warrior? Slowly, the kelpie bowed to her.

  “She declared him her steed, and rode through the village proclaiming her victory. The townspeople cheered. She was indeed their hero, and happiness reigned from then on.”

  I finished the tale with a flourish, thrusting Tova’s arms up as if she held a sword up in victory. She giggled. “I haven’t heard that one before,” she said.

  “What do you mean? We used to play that all the time as kids.”

  She thought about it for a minute. “Oh, right, I remember now.” She smiled as she reminisced.

  It bothered me that she’d ever forgotten, but I didn’t want to dwell on it. Instead I chuckled and asked, “What was it you named the kelpie once he became your steed?”

  She laughed so hard for a second that I thought she’d wake up the rest of the recruits. She clamped a hand over her mouth to silence herself. Once she could whisper again, she said, “Horacio. What a name for a kelpie.”

  I laughed silently along with her.

  It was the following day that it became clear she no longer needed me. We were fighting in pairs. We were armed with daggers, but we were only supposed to use them in defense. We were to attack with our elements.

  I was paired with some guy I never got the name of. He was a fire fairy, which was a huge advantage over earth, since he could just burn up whatever I threw at him while I could do nothing but dodge his attacks. Still, I was holding my own. I was good at getting away. I didn’t know how to disable him though, so I was mostly making the ground shake to throw him off balance.

  He threw a fireball at me, and I dropped and rolled. I came back up to see him running at me full speed. I shook the ground for the thousandth time, and he stumbled. Philip came up behind me, and I jumped when he spoke. “You two are at a stalemate. It’s going to come down to who gets tired first. Unless you do something more,” he said, raising his eyebrows at me.

  He moved on before I could ask for a suggestion. When I looked at my opponent again, he was too close. I panicked and shook the earth much harder than last time. Thin cracks formed beneath my feet. That gave me an idea.

  I concentrated and directed all of my power to the spot directly beneath my opponent. Cracks branched out from underneath him. It was working. I kept going until finally the earth cracked open. He dropped into the hole.

  I wanted to jump for joy. I’d won! I’d actually won. It was the first time I’d beaten anyone and probably only the third or fourth that I’d lasted more than five minutes. “Yes!”

  My victory was premature. I walked over to the hole to help him out. I was a few steps away when suddenly he swung himself up and out. He tugged his daggers from where they were dug into the dirt, and ran for me. He looked enraged. I desperately tried to stop him with a few roots around his ankles, but he burned them away before they could grab hold of him. He tackled me. He growled in fury and raised the dagger over me, ready to bring it down on my throat.

  I scrabbled on the ground, but it was no use. He was heavy and had me pinned down. “What are you doing? Stop!” I was about to scream for help, not caring about my dignity.

  Someone flew from the side and knocked him off me. It was Philip. “What are you doing, soldier? You’re supposed to disable. You’re not supposed to actually kill anyone!”

  He didn’t respond. He just grunted and glared at me before stomping off.

  Philip shook his head and turned to me. “Well, cracking the earth, that was good. It was what I was hoping you’d do. I know you were being a good sport, but maybe next time don’t approach the downed enemy.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Anyhow, sorry about that. I’ll talk to him. You’re done for the day.”

  “Thank you, sir.” I walked away toward the dining hall. I passed a few other pairs who were still fighting, but Tova wasn’t among them, so I figured she was already getting dinner.

  As soon as I walked in, I saw her surrounded by her new friends. Niklas was talking to her loudly. “You need to leave him behind. He’s weak, and he makes you weak too.”

  “He’s my friend,” she said quietly. “More than that. We were supposed to get married…I think. It was before we came here. I don’t know if that’s still happening.”

  “It’s not. And that’s a good thing for you. You don’t want to be dragged down by him.”

  She looked upset by his words, but didn’t argue with him. I stood there for a few minutes, unable to move. Finally she noticed me. Her eyes widened in fear, and I knew she was wondering how much I’d heard. I nodded ever so slightly to tell her that yes, I had heard.

  She left the group and came over to me. Staring at her feet, she mumbled, “I’m so sorry.”

  “Do you believe them?” I asked. “That I make you weak?”

  She looked up at me, shaking her head, but not actually able to say no. She only stuttered random sounds.

  “I do,” I said.

  “What?”

  “I believe them. That I make you weak.”

  “You…”

  “I do. I’ve never been anywhere near as strong as you, and I hold you back by making you help me and defend me all the time,” I said. I honestly believed that, even if I didn’t want it to be true. I gave her a sad smile. “It’s alright.”

  I’d never seen Tova cry since that first day I’d met her, and those had been angry tears. Sad tears were something that didn’t fit her at all. I didn’t think she would allow herself to shed them if she was left with this crowd, so with a barely audible ‘goodbye,’ I slipped out the door.

  I was going to go to Philip and tell him it was time I leave. He would understand. He’d probably be glad to finally be rid of me.

  I’d crossed the field and come to the building Philip would be in. I was about to knock on the door when I heard sounds from around the corner. Everyone should be inside the dining hall or barracks by now. I silently slipped along the side of the building and stopped at the edge to listen.

  “…like this for you too. Just wait,” a low voice rumbled. I didn’t recognize it.

  “I’m not doing so badly,” a higher voice replied. That one sounded sort of familiar, but I couldn’t place it. It was probably one of the others in my group, someone who never talked to me but maybe I’d heard around. That didn’t actually narrow it down much. “At least I’m better than that one guy I told you about.”

  Were they talking about me? It didn’t matter. I wasn’t offended even if they were. I shook off the thought and tuned back into the conversation.

  “It doesn’t matter,” the low voice said angrily. “You’ll end up right where I am. Or worse.”

  “I think you’re exaggerating,” the high voice said.

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m right. You’ll see.”

  They paused long enough that I thought the conversation was over. I was about to leave and forget the whole thing, when the high voice started talking again.

  “Even if that’s the case, what are you going to do about it? All you’re doing now is whining.”

  There was some unintelligible grumbling. Then, “Gregor is planning something. He’ll get Philip back for all of us.”

  My eyes widened for a moment. Who was Gregor and what was he going to do to Philip?

  I crept away from the voices slowly. I passed the door without knocking or entering and headed back to the barracks. Maybe what I’d heard was nothing to worry about, and they were just letting off steam. But maybe it wasn’t that simple. Maybe they were really going to do something to P
hilip. Until I found out for sure, I’d stay.

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