I felt a trickle of fear and confusion as I did the math again. There was only supposed to be one left, but replaying Syrani’s conversation again in my head, that she followed one and was attacked by another, that left two. Something wasn’t adding up.
It was then I felt the light breeze brushing the hair on the back of my neck and I froze. Turning toward the window, a black outline of a man’s form was stepping slowly down from the window sill.
Mentally I cussed at myself for not checking and locking the window. The figure pulled out the fake knife and advanced toward me with purpose. Quick as I could, I threw the jar at him and rolled away from the door, trying to put as much distance between myself and the man.
He expertly darted out his hand and caught the jar in midair, bringing it down and pocketing it. Without wasting any more time, he lunged at me. Shocked that he caught it, I couldn’t do much more than grab my own dyed knife in hope that I could stab him first. Jumping backwards I evaded the first lunge with the knife but I was cornered and I had stupidly moved away from my only exit.
Trying to make a run for it I dashed for the window that he had entered and felt the slash of the knife strike my arm. Realizing that it would count as a hit, I quit running.
“Darn it,” I said, turning toward him and grabbing my arm where he slashed it. “That will definitely count. I’m dead and you win!” I held out my hand to him in a congratulatory handshake, when I realized my palm was covered in red paint, not green. It took a moment to realize it wasn’t paint, but blood.
Feeling my breath catch in my throat, I looked up at the person who I was extending my hand to.
He was short, unshaven and had greasy dark hair. I didn’t recognize him but his smile held pure evil as he chuckled at me.
“You’re absolutely right,” he said in a sinister voice. “You are dead.”
I stood frozen to one spot, fear radiating off of me in waves that I was projecting to my horse.
The man moved toward me swinging his knife. I couldn’t move.
Faraway physically took control over my mind and body and pushed me out of the way of the downward thrust of the knife. The knife sliced at my cloak and I regained control of my body and senses and moved into action, mentally thanking my horse for saving me, twice.
I leapt to the far side of a table, using it as a barricade between us as I tried to maneuver myself toward the door, but he just kept coming. I glanced to the window which led to a forty foot drop that I knew I couldn’t survive.
Grabbing the last sleep scent jar I had, I threw it at him as hard as I could. The killer ducked and it crashed into the far wall, too far away to do any good.
That was it, I was out of options.
In a last-ditch effort, I shoved the table as hard as I could into his stomach. He grunted and doubled over in pain. Sprinting toward the door I gripped the door handle and began to turn it, only to realize it was still locked.
Turning the lock I was able to open the door when my attacker yanked me back into the room by my hair, tossing me across the floor. I slid until my back crashed into the armoire followed by the loud crack of my skull hitting it as well.
Stars filled my vision and pain screamed through my head as I painfully watched him close the door. I was so close! Just a few more seconds and I could have escaped. Now my body was throbbing, I had problems focusing and darkness filled my vision. It didn’t last long as the blackness faded into the form of the man looming over me with his bloodstained knife.
“Please!” I begged. “You don’t have to kill me.”
“Yes, I do. Raven is afraid you’ll regain your memories and reveal us.” He kneeled down in front of me.
My hands flew out in defense, hitting him to keep him as far away as possible.
“You are a costly loose end. You need to be disposed of.”
The moon chose that moment to go behind a cloud and we lost all light.
Grabbing the dirty hand that held the knife I tried to pull it from his grasp, but he was stronger than me. Losing the battle I kicked, scratched and finally bit his arm until the taste of blood flowed into my mouth.
He punched me in the jaw and I went slack with dizziness. I saw him grin in triumph as he raised the knife to slice my throat. Praying to God to make it quick and painless, I closed my eyes.
A soft thud and a grunt were all I heard as I opened my eyes, to see the man drop the knife that was inches from my neck and fall onto my body, blood trickling from his mouth.
Crying out in fear I struggled with the weight of his body and tried to push him off of me. Feeling his blood flow onto me, he was still breathing, rasping in my ear.
Soft sobs escaped me as I was helpless to move his dying form. The sound of footsteps drew near as the body was rolled over onto the floor next to me. Not caring if I lived or died, or if the other person in the room meant me harm, I curled up in a fetal position and watched the man slowly die. All thoughts of being brave left as I watched him struggle for life.
“We will keep coming,” he rasped out. “Until she’s dead. There are more of us. There are always more, willing to die for the Raven and his ideas.” He began to cough and spit out more blood.
Wherever he was wounded, it was a mortal wound.
“We are like the sands on a shore, numerous beyond measure and everywhere. Eventually we will have her and she will die.”
He didn’t say anymore as the other stranger in the room was tired of his threats and leaned over the body grabbing the head, while blocking my view. The thought faintly hit me that this must be the deadly SwordBrother. The sound of the neck snapping brought me back to awareness and hysteria at all at once.
“NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO!” I heard myself say over and over again. A faint pressure was building in my head, the signs of another headache coming on.
“Shhh, Thalia, shhhh. It’s alright. You’re safe,” the SwordBrother kindly intoned.
Turning toward me, he used his body to block the sight of the dead assassin. Raising his gloved hand he stroked my hair from my forehead in a gentle and reassuring manner.
“Who are you?” I whispered into the dark.
“I’m a SwordBrother.”
I wasn’t in the mood for games. “No. What’s your name?”
He leaned back on his heels, bringing his face into the moonlight.
“But you already know it,” he spoke softly. The moonlight illuminated the strong jaw, the long black hair and dark stormy eyes of Kael.
Chapter 22
My heart fluttered in excitement and apprehension at seeing him. “What are you doing here? Are you following me?” I asked defensively.
Kael pulled back his hand, his face becoming stone, hiding all of his emotions. “I’m here because I was asked to be here by Pax Baton as a favor, to test the Citadel’s defenses” His eyes bore into mine and he rocked back onto the balls of his feet, hands resting on his knees.
“But you showed up in the marketplace and saved me, and now here. How did you know I was in trouble if you weren’t following me?” I blurted out angrily.
He snorted. “You must think pretty highly of yourself, if you believe that you’re important enough to have a SwordBrother protecting you.”
I gave Kael a startled look.
Leaning in close to me his breath whispering against my ear, he said very slowly, “Believe me, you’re not.”
My blood boiled at his words. He drove me to insanity with his apparent disregard for me. How can a person save your life in one breath and act like he can’t stand you the next?
“If I’m not important, maybe you should have left me to die,” I snarled at him, showing him my teeth and displeasure.
“Believe me, I’ve thought about it.”
Jumping to his feet, he walked over to the dead assassin and began to rummage through his pockets, pulling out a garrote, a small piece of paper that looked to be a sketch of the Citadel, throwing knives, a small clear vial of fluid, which Kael sniffed and labeled a
s poison, and another piece of paper with ancient symbols drawn on it.
Obviously he was one of the vile Septori, but he had told us nothing of where he came from. Kael found the side pouch and pulled out my clay pot and put it on the floor without opening it, giving me a look.
“Why don’t you smell that one?” I asked, wishing full well he would, so that he would fall asleep. It would serve him right for the way he treated me.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “No, thank you, I’ve seen what this can do.”
The hair on my arms stood on end. That was all the proof I needed, he just gave himself away.
“You can deny it all you want, but how do you even know what is in that jar if you weren’t following me?” I gradually slid up the armoire with my hands pressed against the wood. “I didn’t even pick up those items, Avina did. And I transferred them to those clay bottles myself, alone, in my room.”
Kael stopped rummaging in the pack and slowly stood facing me, his face unreadable. “You forget that this whole thing is a test, in which I am paid, mind you, to kill you. I would be lax in my duties if I didn’t stake out my target before I attacked.” He took a step toward me and the way his voice changed and became deeper made me want to bolt for the door, which I did. Running for the door I grabbed the handle only to be stopped at the last minute as his full weight slammed against mine, the door trapping me and his arms holding the door closed. His body was pressed close so I couldn’t escape under his arms.
Turning around I looked at his profile, which was more rugged and dangerous than Joss’ good looks. Where Joss made me feel safe and secure, Kael made me feel like I was on a cliff about to fall off into a mass of rolling waves. He played with my emotions and I hated it.
“Open the door!” I demanded, looking at him straight in the eyes. “Get away from me!”
His eyes darkened with hidden meaning. “I can’t.”
In frustration he hung his head down, his dark hair covering his face. “You don’t understand. I can’t let you go. It’s you.”
Having enough of his hidden meanings and mind games, I tried to push him away and his fingertips grabbed my upper arms, digging in hard.
“It’s all you and I hate you for it.” He pushed me back into the door and my already bruised head hit the door again and I winced in pain. I saw bright lights and blinking hard I glanced at him, to see him grimace when he saw what he had done. His eyes started to lose focus.
“Kael,” I said in a very calm voice, as I tried my best to talk reason into him. “Kael, listen to me, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Don’t you see? I have to kill you; it may be my only chance.”
He sounded mad. Not angry mad, insane mad; which only made my temper rise.
“Kael, you are hurting me.” I reached into my pocket, hoping he wouldn’t notice, as I could see that his mind wasn’t really focusing. I gripped the dye knife hard in a final act of desperation, and went limp.
Letting my body weight drag me to the floor, he would either have to drop me or pull me closer to catch me. He caught me and pulled me closer and I stabbed him with the dye knife.
His eyes went wide as the contact of the yellow dye on his shirt spread. He dropped me and winced as I hit the floor. I moved away as he stared at the spot, touching it with his hand and pulling it away covered with yellow.
His face became hard again and I could see that his eyes had regained their focus. He looked at me, his jaw set in anger, hate emanating from his stance.
“You see, this is entirely your fault,” he spat out.
“I didn’t do anything to you!” I screamed, letting the anger flow. “I wish I had never met you. Never in my life have I met someone as uncaring as you, except for the Raven and the Septori. And since this training game is over, I never, ever want to see your face again.”
Pulling open the door, I stormed out and marched toward the main hall. Holding back tears, I dropped the stupid knife on the ground. How could this happen? How could someone who has saved my life three times care for me in one minute and the next, loathe and hate me? And why did I care? Would it matter so much if he did like me? Did I want him to like me?
Stopping in the middle of the hall I pressed my head to the cold stone wall and let the tears flow, letting all of the hurt and anger pour out.
When I finally felt composed, I realized I didn’t want to be in the main hall, surrounded by people. Changing directions I decided to head outside. I would let Kael address the Adepts and tell them he had lost to me.
Once I reached the courtyard I made a beeline for Faraway, and stopped in the shadows of a column as I saw Adept Pax, Lorna, Commander Meryl and his troops rush inside.
They have been notified of the dead assassin upstairs. Faraway spoke.
“How?”
Kael is in the main hall and spoke with Adept Pax. Pax then mindspoke Adept Lorna.
“How do you know this?”
I knew that the Adepts and some of the students were strong enough to speak to each other using their minds, but I wondered how Faraway knew that.
Because I like to listen in on their conversations when they’re not shielding, he said smugly.
I rolled my eyes. Of course my horse would like to listen in on gossip.
When I finally made it to the pasture I ran to Faraway and hugged him. He nuzzled my shoulder affectionately.
I could also enter their minds and speak to them if I wanted to.
Lifting my head from his mane, I said out loud, “Why didn’t you earlier when I was attacked?”
Because the SwordBrother was already on his way.
“What? Kael? How?”
But Faraway gave me one of his enigmatic looks and took a bite of grass ignoring me. After no more information came forth, I sighed in frustration leaning against his shoulder, lightly running my hands along his breast and over a light tattoo-like emblem that had mysteriously appeared.
It appeared shortly after the first attack when Faraway saved me. I originally thought that Master Grese had branded him without my knowledge and after an awkward confrontation he denied it. The mark was actually quite beautiful; two beautiful connecting whorls in an S that was transected by a simple wavy line. It felt right and only enhanced Faraway’s beauty. He wore it like a badge of honor or a medal.
“What did you do to me, when I was frozen with fright?” I asked him. “I felt you take over my body and force me to move?”
I had to, Faraway replied. I’m your Guardian. Your mind was frozen in fear and your body wouldn’t move. We are linked through our bond. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that without your permission. But I’m still learning my boundaries.
All this did was create more questions about what kind of bond we had and this whole guardian thing. I was going to have to spill my secret and talk to one of the Adepts and soon.
“So at least you have more power than me?” I actually felt a little disappointed at that thought. I hadn’t shown signs of power since Faraway saved me.
I have power because you chose me as your Guardian, Faraway encouraged, knowing that I was feeling down. I have power because of you.
I heard someone calling my name.
They are looking for you. They are worried, Faraway reflected calmly.
“I don’t want to go in,” I said stubbornly. “I refuse to look at or talk to Kael ever again.” My response caused an exasperated snort from Faraway who pushed me in the back with his muzzle, forcing me to walk forward or get knocked on my butt.
“Watch it, Horse!” I joked. Leaving my hand on his shoulder we walked back to the stables. It was interesting; now that we were bonded I couldn’t get enough of touching him. Faraway didn’t mind, he loved it, but touching him seemed to calm me on many different levels. It was like a drug and it was addicting. It was similar to constantly touching a power source that could rejuvenate and calm you at the same time.
The closer we got to the stables the more chaotic it became as gu
ards and soldiers, who were moments ago laughing and teasing each other, were now searching the grounds, faces serious and deadly.
The Denai students were mingling about in small groups, whispering nervously. I put Faraway in his stall and gave him fresh water and hay, delaying the inevitable as long as possible. When there was nothing else to do but go inside I stepped outside and almost immediately wanted to hide again, as all five of the Adepts descended on me. All five surrounded me like an armed guard and ushered me inside the Citadel.
I watched as the iron doors shut and were locked. I knew it was to keep anyone from getting in but in this moment if felt more like they were trying to keep me from getting out.
Chapter 23
I was beginning to hate the chair.
I was sitting in the same hard chair in the Adept Council room again. I shouldn’t be surprised. I was almost tempted to ask to stop by my room and get a pillow to sit on, but one glance at their faces and I knew to not even ask.
The meeting was kept short, they wanted me to recap my steps the previous day and what happened when I got to the spare room. I gave them a condensed version of everything, leaving out Kael’s erratic behavior, not really understanding why I chose to.
Since it was almost dawn, I was dismissed to go to my room. Adept Lorna said that I would have a guard assigned and to get some rest. I made a motion to argue and she cut me off with a look that said: don’t you dare. Sighing in defeat, I left the meeting room.
Not really caring one way or the other, I went out the door and came face to face with a worried Joss. His handsome face looked ragged and tired but lit up when he saw me; he pulled me into a bear hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he murmured into my hair. When he reluctantly let go of me, he still held onto my hand.
Too tired to pull it out I let him lead me back to my room. I gave him my key; his sure hands inserted it and unlocked the door.
Lighting a lamp, he did a thorough search of my room, under the bed, in the armoire behind the curtains. His actions made me smile as I pulled off my boots, and washed what was left of the grease paint from my face. Most of it had rubbed off in the fight and I was too tired to go to the baths or care.