Entangle (A Lure Novella)

  Chapter 7

  When I arrived at the barracks, everyone was still at dinner. I slipped into the dining hall to grab some food and took it to my bunk. I pondered what would happen when everyone found out that I’d gotten Gregor permanently dismissed.

  My thoughts were interrupted by someone entering the otherwise empty barracks—make that two people. It was Luca and Regina, and they didn’t acknowledge me as they were too busy ripping at each other’s clothes. They were both in my class, though that wasn’t how I knew them. I knew them vaguely through my parents. I also knew that Luca was currently engaged to Camilla, another friend of the family.

  The couple was fast. I didn’t have time to decide whether or not to alert them to my presence, let alone do it, before it was too late. If I cleared my throat now, I’d have already seen too much. As silently as possible, I rolled out of my bunk, crawled along the side of the room, and slipped out the door. My exit wouldn’t have been stealthy enough to fool most people, but these two were too preoccupied to notice.

  With nothing else to do, I started walking with no direction in mind. I wondered if I should say anything about the infidelity I’d witnessed. My mother would enjoy the knowledge. She would whisper about it with her friends. It would certainly be the most interesting topic of conversation for a good while. Camilla and her family would likely be shamed though. I had nothing against them, so I’d say nothing for now. I’d store it away in case it ever became useful.

  I was wandering behind the main compound. The sun had set, but the moon was bright. I waved my hand to make some flowers bloom. The bright red petals spread like fire in curving lines around the field. I felt as if this was the first time I’d truly relaxed since I came here. I smiled and breathed in the scent of my blossoms as I continued meandering along.

  There was a copse of trees ahead. That was as good a place as any to not be bothered. I sat and leaned against a tree. I listened to a nearby stream. Right as I relaxed, I heard a light voice. It was too quiet to make out the words. I was curious as to who else would be here, so I got up and moved toward it.

  The stream became visible as I got closer. It cut through the trees here, making it a perfect place for water fairies to practice without being seen. Or for Seelie water fairies to hide before they attacked. I quieted my steps just in case.

  When I peered beyond the next tree, I saw a man in the same armor as I wore during practice. He’s UnSeelie then. But I was still worried when I saw what he was doing. There was a small kelpie standing in front of him, and he was reaching for it instead of making the intelligent choice of running away. He must be in a trance. That was pathetic considering we are taught to resist trances from the time we’re born. Most of us wouldn’t have any problem with a baby kelpie like this.

  Rolling my eyes, I called out, “Put your hand down unless you want to lose your fingers.”

  The man turned to me, his blue eyes surprised and confused. Even more pathetic that he’s a water fairy and can’t resist a baby kelpie. And he didn’t seem to be listening to me. His hand was still stretched toward the kelpie, and since his eyes were on me, he didn’t see it move slightly closer to its meal. With an exaggerated sigh to let him know just how idiotic he was, I jogged over and stepped between him and the kelpie. A baby kelpie couldn’t take on two grown fairies, so it stepped back. I shooed it away, and the tiny kelpie trotted off down the stream.

  “What’d you do that for?” the man said from behind me. That wasn’t the ‘thank you’ I was expecting.

  “Did you want to have your fingers ripped off?” I asked as I faced him.

  “He wasn’t going to rip my fingers off, you imbecile.”

  “Really? Because you were reaching your fingers toward it, and its mouth was getting awfully close to said fingers.”

  “It was coming to sniff me. It wasn’t going to bite. It knows better.”

  “It knows better?” This man was clearly insane. Maybe I should leave him to it.

  “Yes. I’m taming it. It knows not to bite me.”

  Oh fantastic, he was one of those people. Kelpies are predators. We are prey to them. Yet there are a few dim-witted fairies that hold the ridiculous belief that they can tame kelpies. “I know that there are folktales about that kind of thing—trust me, I love those stories, even made up a few of my own—but they aren’t real. You can’t tame a kelpie. That one would have taken a bite out of you if it could have.”

  “You mean you couldn’t tame a kelpie. I’m a water fairy. I know what I’m doing.” Before I could argue again, he said, “Leave me alone and mind your own business.” Then he stormed off in the opposite direction the kelpie had gone. Since he wasn’t going after it, I didn’t go after him, instead heading back to the barracks.

  The next evening, I saw him walking to copse of trees and the stream again. I think I audibly groaned. If only someone else had found him, then he’d be their problem. I followed, since I couldn’t just let him die. Fortunately, his little kelpie never showed up, and he left after a while.

  He went everyday, and I kept an eye on him from behind a tree so I wouldn’t have to argue with him again. On the fourth day, his kelpie came. He started coaxing it toward him as if it needed any coaxing to approach its food. When it got close enough to swipe at him, I came out from behind the tree to go save him.

  I didn’t have the chance to get to him though. Hooves pounded on the bank of the stream before splashing across. A full-grown version of the baby kelpie, likely its mother, was racing toward the stupid water fairy, ready to teach her baby how to kill.

  The water fairy didn’t rear back. He was probably already in the mother kelpie’s trance. They could be hard to fight off, especially if they take you by surprise. I wasn’t affected though, so I didn’t think she had noticed me. I used the opportunity. As fast as I could, I made the branches of the trees nearest them stretch out and wrap around the two kelpies. The mother was able to break through the first ones, but lucky for me, there were plenty of trees to use. I kept at it until the branches held tight.

  I approached slowly in case the mother kelpie was able to break free. Once I was close, I could see I’d caught her in the nick of time. Her razor sharp teeth were less than an arm’s length away from the water fairy’s head.

  “You again,” he snarled at me. Once again, not the ‘thank you’ I was expecting.

  “Yes, me again. You’re welcome again.”

  “I told you to leave me alone. I know what I’m doing.”

  “If I’d left you alone, you’d be dead. So once again, you’re welcome.”

  “I’m taming them! And you’re messing me up!”

  “They are not tame!” How was he not understanding this even with a kelpie this close ready to bite his head off? “They might have left you alone, since you’re a water fairy, if you hadn’t bothered them. But you’ve gone and tried to harm her baby, so of course she’s going to hurt you.”

  “I’m not harming the baby!”

  “Do you really think kelpies, headstrong as they are, enjoy being tamed? She probably considers taming a form of harm. And she won’t let you do it to her baby.”

  “He’s right,” a new voice called from behind us. We both turned our attention to it. It was one of the other commanders on the compound. I hadn’t met him, but from the look on the water fairy’s face, they knew each other. “I requested your presence in my office an hour ago. You failed to come because you were attempting to tame kelpies?” He rolled his eyes exactly like I had.

  “Sir, I—”

  “I’m going to be rethinking your position here. What you’ve attempted is extremely dangerous—”

  “Sir, I had it under control. I would have succeeded if he hadn’t—”

  “If he hadn’t saved your life? And don’t interrupt me. Even if you had appeared to succeed, we would not allow a kelpie into our ranks. They are unpredictable and dangerous.” As if to emphasize the point, the mother kelpie made another attempt at breaking her bonds.
That seemed to remind the commander that it would be better to have this discussion elsewhere. “Let’s head back to my office.” When the water fairy reluctantly began walking, the commander asked my name.

  “Randolph, sir.”

  “Thank you, Randolph. That was quick thinking and good work there. I’ll be sure to remark on it to your commander.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Days passed uneventfully. The only acknowledgement I received from Philip that might have been about the kelpie incident was a small nod. And I could have imagined it. I decided to try talking to him again about being discharged. Everything was back to normal, which meant I was doing terribly at training once again. When everyone went to the dining hall that evening, I caught up with him as he walked to his office.

  “Sir, can we discuss my leaving again?”

  “You’re still staying,” he said.

  “Alright, sir. But why?”

  He stopped and faced me. We weren’t at the building yet, still standing out in the open, but he glanced around to make sure no one was there anyway. Lowering his voice, he said, “I know about the kelpies.”

  I still didn’t think that was enough reason for him to waste his time training me with swords. I quirked an eyebrow in question.

  “The kelpies, the poison… You may be hopeless with a sword, but you’re smart. That’s why I’m keeping you. For now.”

  I nodded slowly, trying to understand if there was a deeper meaning there. When I couldn’t decide, I had to ask, “Are you expecting that to come in handy again soon?”

  He looked at me intently, but then he only shrugged. “You never know.”

  He was lying. He did know. He was expecting trouble, and he was keeping me around so that I could find out about it. I nodded more confidently that time in attempt to show that I had received his message. “Alright, sir.” And with that, we parted.

  Nothing of much interest had happened recently, but I listened closely to the conversations I heard. I watched for little signs. It paid off a few weeks later.

  I’d started noticing little things happening between Tova’s friends, Niklas and Emil. There were little looks of hostility, a few comments passed off as jokes or muttered too low to hear. Taken individually, it would have been easy to assume they were meaningless, merely two strong men jostling for power over their little group. But all together, I was getting the idea that the animosity between them was real.

  Emil especially was becoming more aggressive. When he fought Niklas during training, he wasn’t just practicing different strikes. He was throwing killing blows, and it was fortunate Niklas was so quick to respond, because Emil was not pulling back. Philip must have seen it, as he permanently separated them after breaking them up for the sixth time.

  Sadly for me, I was paired with Emil for the rest of the day. We switched from weapons to elements, and I had a feeling Philip had done that on purpose, since I wasn’t quite as hopeless with my elemental power. I survived for a few minutes each time we fought. Emil wasn’t trying to kill me. He was also distracted. He was still trying to hurt Niklas even while he was paired up with me.

  Emil was an earth fairy, like me, and quite good with it. With the tiniest of gestures, he would create small fissures or bring up roots right underneath Niklas’s feet. The hazards were so small that they could have been there all along, and Niklas had failed to notice them until he had nearly sprained both ankles tripping over them. I only knew them for what they were because I knew what to look for in Emil’s movements. I had a similar style.

  That evening, I watched as Emil followed Niklas out of the dining hall. I knew Emil was going to confront Niklas, and while I didn’t much like either of them, I also knew I shouldn’t let it get out of hand if I could stop it. I decided to keep an eye on them and intervene if Emil started trying to kill Niklas again.

  They were right outside the door when I came out. I thought they would have gone farther so as not to be overheard. They cut off their conversation abruptly when I came out, and they stared me down as I quickly redirected my path to avoid bumping into them.

  “Sorry, boys. Good evening,” I said casually. I made my way to one of the side doors to the barracks that they couldn’t see and opened and closed the door so they’d think I’d gone in. Then I silently moved back to the side of the dining hall. The noise from the dining hall was loud, but I could still make out a little of what they were saying.

  “…won’t let you ruin this…” came Niklas’s rough voice.

  “…too late…kill you before I let…” answered Emil.

  “No, you won’t.” Niklas was louder now, not afraid of being overheard, and his voice had taken on a mocking tone. “You can’t. I’m where I am for a reason: I’m the best here.”

  Was that really all this was about? Emil was jealous that Niklas was top of the class? What a ridiculous reason to kill someone.

  I heard a slam, so I peeked around the corner. Niklas had pushed Emil against the wall and leaned over him threateningly. I expected one of them to start throwing punches now, but the door opened from inside the dining hall.

  “What are you two doing?” I recognized Tova’s voice.

  “Nothing. Emil just tripped,” Niklas told her. I doubt she believed that, and I could picture her rolling her eyes.

  “Stop being stupid. Come on,” she said.

  I heard Tova and who I presumed to be Niklas walking in my direction. I took a few steps back and tried to melt into the shadows. They passed and headed to the main door of the barracks, but not without Tova flicking her eyes right to me. Thankfully, she said nothing to Niklas.

  I peeked back around to see if Emil was still there. He muttered a few things that I couldn’t understand as he dusted himself off. Then he went back into the dining hall.

  I couldn’t go into the barracks now. Niklas probably already thought something was amiss due to my absence right now. If I went in now, he’d know I’d been listening.

  I took a walk to the copse of trees and the stream even though there was nothing interesting there to see tonight, before finally going to the barracks. When I got there, Tova immediately said, “See, he’s right there. He went for a moonlight stroll. He does it all the time because he’s strange that way.”

  Niklas was eyeing me. I’d been right. I smiled at him to acknowledge his gaze and didn’t say anything to either of them. That would have added to the strangeness. I simply got in my bunk and went to sleep.

  At practice the following day, Niklas was paired with Tova. I was not paired with Emil. Nevertheless, I stayed as close to him as I could because I could see that he was pulling the same tricks as yesterday. His attacks were becoming so frequent that they were actually starting to take a toll on Niklas. Niklas was getting sloppy, throwing fireballs everywhere.

  I didn’t want to intervene here. It was too risky. But finally I had to.

  One of Tova’s fireballs was coming for Niklas. It would have been easy to dodge, but before he could, Emil trapped his ankle in a crack and tied him down with a root. I saw a moment of panic in his eyes as the fireball soared toward his head.

  A second before it hit, the ground reared up in front of him. The fireball crashed into a wave of dirt and grass. It didn’t touch Niklas. I sighed in relief and let go of the power I held over earth. The ground went back to normal, only now it was burnt.

  When I looked up, everyone was staring at me. Most people appeared confused. Niklas and Emil looked furious. Tova was scared. She was probably thinking I was done for. I gulped.

  Philip tried to distract everyone for the rest of practice with new, complex sword techniques. Sadly, it could not last forever, and soon I was inching toward the dining hall. Before I could walk through the door, Emil stormed out and slammed right into me.

  He pushed me down to the ground and growled at me, “You’re going to regret this.” He kicked dirt in my face, but then left with nothing more. I’d expected more, but maybe Niklas would make up for it.
br />   Niklas was, of course, waiting just inside the door for me. He and his friends immediately surrounded me.

  “I knew you hadn’t gone for a walk,” Niklas said darkly.

  “Shouldn’t you be glad that I saved you?”

  “I would have been fine. That idiot couldn’t hurt me.”

  Riiiiight. I probably shouldn’t press that though. “Well, either way you’re fine and no harm done.” I tried to step past him, but he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back.

  “You interfered. You still need to pay for that.”

  “Why? If anything I helped you. Emil is likely being discharged as we speak, and you are not to blame for it. You’re welcome.” I tried to walk away again, but this time he slammed me backward all the way to the wall.

  “It doesn’t matter. He was mine to deal with. You should not have eavesdropped.” He said the last sentence slowly to punctuate every syllable while also moving closer and closer to me until I could feel his—very bad—breath on my face.

  I tensed and braced myself for his first blow. Right before his fist made contact, I dropped to the ground. I slid between his legs and out the other side. This made him very angry.

  “You can’t get away. Stay still,” he growled.

  Instinct wouldn’t let me. He threw several more punches, and I danced away from them all. His friends started grabbing for me, but I slipped between their fingers. I had learned one thing here. I could get away.

  I felt like I was dodging for hours even though it only lasted a few minutes. Niklas and his friends grazed me a couple times, but they didn’t catch me…until I got to Tova. I froze as I met her worried eyes, and Niklas was able to grab me. He got in two good punches, one to my nose and one to my stomach, before Tova intervened.

  “Stop, Niklas, stop!”

  “Quiet!” he snarled at her.

  I wanted to take a turn with the punches. He couldn’t talk to her like that. She got between us before either of us could do anything though.

  “He was right at the start,” she said. “He saved you, both from the fireball and from any blame in this situation. You should be thanking him.”

  “He shouldn’t have gotten involved. He needs to know what happens to people that get in my way.”

  “You got in a couple shots. You’re done now.” Her tone left no room for argument.

  He paused for a minute. Then, “Why do you keep defending him? You did it that night when I first suspected he knew something. You’re doing it again. I thought you’d figured out that he’s weak, that he’s not worth your time. Unless you want to be weak too.”

  She hesitated. “He’s still my friend.”

  “Is he? You’ve barely spoken to him in weeks.”

  I hated it, but he was right. Tova and I could hardly be considered friends anymore. I could see it in her red cheeks that had nothing to do with her fire and all to do with her embarrassment over having me in her life.

  A side door was just behind me. Everyone’s focus was on Tova as I slowly backed toward it. When I opened it, Tova was the only one who noticed at first. Her gaze was sad and resigned. We both knew my time was up here.

  “Farewell, my fire warrior.” I gave her the most honest smile I could before slipping out.

  I heard Niklas and a couple of the others shout from inside. I decided to tunnel to Philip’s office. I was closing up my hole when Niklas managed to burst out, ready to chase me. But he couldn’t when I was down here.

  I tunneled to the escape route I’d used to break in before. I entered through the same trapdoor I’d used last time and gave the officer in that room a scare.

  “Don’t mind me, sir, just passing through.”

  I think he was too confused by my sudden presence, so he didn’t say anything as I left the room. I gave a quick knock on Philip’s door and opened it without waiting for a reply.

  “Good evening, sir.”

  “Evening, Randolph. I must say, I expected you to look worse.”

  “As did I. Either way, I think we are in agreement this time.”

  He nodded, but didn’t actually say it yet. “You know you made a mistake, don’t you?”

  “It was a mistake to save his life, sir?”

  “He wouldn’t have died. At least, I don’t think he would have. But you revealed that you knew more than you should have. Now you won’t be able to take this any further.”

  “Why do I need to?”

  “I told you I wanted you to keep an eye out for something.”

  Well, he didn’t really tell me. He just sort of implied it. “And that wasn’t the something, sir?”

  “No. That wasn’t it. I’m not sure if it’s related, but it doesn’t matter now. I can’t find out now that you’ll be gone.”

  I felt bad now. He had confirmed that I’d be gone, and not only was I worthless in combat, I hadn’t gotten to fulfill my usefulness in another way yet. “I’m sorry, sir.”

  He waved me off. “Too late now. You are discharged.” He handed me a paper and sat back in his chair with a sigh.

  ***