“Strengthen the mind to strengthen your powers,” our instructor quoted. He explained that the more you understood the Denai gifts the more you could do. I studied harder than any student, and every evening I would return to my room and try to perform the simplest of tasks; lighting a fire, moving an object, farseeing. And every night it was the same thing. Nothing. Zilch. In fact I think I was getting worse, not better.
Under Adept Pax Baton’s orders I started learning self-defense and combat training. I reported each afternoon to the training field and waited for my instructor to arrive. I was apprehensive the first day as I waited, sitting on the fence to see which soldier was assigned to train me and beat me into a pulp.
When Garit’s smiling face arrived, I breathed a short sigh of relief. Short, because he may not have beat me to a bloody pulp, but it didn’t mean that he was going to take it easy on me. He had two weeks to get me and the rest of the students ready for a training game; and I was the bait.
Pax had explained the training game to Commander Meryl and me the previous day. Adept Pax’s office consisted of a huge desk and black rug; his chairs were massive in size to fit his giant frame. His walls were bedecked with many different fighting instruments. The huge room felt empty until I figured out the real purpose of his office. It was his private training room.
“The Council has decided, Commander, that since there have been numerous attacks on Thalia, she needs to be guarded,” Pax spoke.
“It wasn’t our fault she was attacked in town!” Commander Meryl stated defensively.
“No, it’s no one’s fault. At that time we didn’t know that she would need to be guarded. And we still aren’t sure what the Septori are capable of, or who we are really dealing with. I mean, are they human, Denai, mercenaries? We don’t really know. Commander Meryl, your guard is the best in the world, but here where the strongest Denai live and train, it is easy to get lax in our duties. Most bandits would either be stupid or extremely desperate to try and attack our towers.”
Pressing the tips of his fingers together in thought, he continued. “But it made us realize that we need to be prepared against all forms of threat. Whether it be a Denai threat or human, our soldiers and students alike need to be aware of the danger and possibility. Adept Lorna and I have made a decision to start putting students under your care for training.” Pax moved away from the desk and started pacing.
“Are you suggesting that we are going to be attacked?” Commander Meryl asked, his face frozen in seriousness. “Do you know something that we don’t?”
“No, but look at what we do know; we know there is a madman on the loose that has created a cult following strong enough to make us worry. They are skilled enough to avoid detection and attack one of our students on our campus. It’s like they are taunting us. They want something we have, or should I say, someone. We can’t foresee the future and what steps they will take to get her. We can only take all the precautionary steps to prevent them from achieving their goal!” Pax pounded his fist into the table making a thud loud enough that I jumped in surprise.
Why was I even here for this discussion? This sounded like a conversation that should be between them, not me. But at this point I felt it better to sit quietly and speak as little as possible. I couldn’t figure out Adept Pax’s reason for me to be in this meeting. And I just prayed that he would forget about me so I could sneak away. But no sooner had that thought crossed my mind when I saw his eyes dart back to me and a smile started to spread across his face.
No chance of that.
Pax grinned. “So, to help us achieve our goal I have devised a training game, to encourage and challenge your soldiers and my students.”
Turning back to Commander Meryl, Pax leaned his giant frame against the shelf and folded his arms across his chest. “We are going to simulate an attack on the Citadel. But it will be on a small scale, nothing to worry the Queen or the town. Four of your best captains will try to attack our training grounds.”
Commander Meryl’s eyebrows rose in thought.
“Go on...”
“You will select a group of your best soldiers who will be the attackers. Their goal is to attack, distract and kill the students, while my specially selected assassin will sneak in and eliminate his prime target.” Pax moved away from the desk and picked up a book and flipped it open absently before putting it back on the shelf.
“Kill! What do you mean KILL?” I squeaked out. I had a feeling I knew where this conversation was going. My palms started to sweat and I decided that I didn’t like the idea of being killed one bit.
Commander Meryl began to stroke his short grey beard in thought. “The idea has great merit. I think it would be something to consider. Thalia’s right though; explain how we are to be killed exactly?”
Adept Pax’s eyes turned dark and they glittered dangerously in the candlelight. All emotion left his face, “Like this!”
In a blur of motion, Adept Pax charged both of us and I felt something heavy stab into my chest, knocking the breath from me, as my chair fell backwards and hit the ground. Grunting in pain, I grabbed my chest to see a pool of red blood gush between my fingers.
Pax leapt upon Commander Meryl bringing him to the ground in one smooth motion. I watched in shock as Pax pulled a knife from his belt and mortally stabbed Commander Meryl in the gut, as blood flowed out and onto the cold tiled floor.
Chapter 18
Pax slowly stood up from his kneeling position over Commander Meryl’s prone form, face deathly white and uniform covered in blood. This was it. I thought, my body starting to shake and go into shock; the end.
Hearing a slight chuckle, I looked over in surprise to see that it was Commander Meryl. Pax started to laugh as well. Stunned, I watched as their chuckles turned into full-fledged belly laughs. I couldn’t believe how a mortally wounded person could laugh that hard. Then I noticed that I wasn’t in any pain, other than the slight discomfort of landing on the cold, hard floor. Looking down at my shirt, I saw that I was covered in blood but could find no visible wound.
Upon closer inspection, I saw the remains of a small rubber-like ball that had broken open on impact. Pinching it between my fingers let loose a red liquid paint.
Pax walked over, pulled me up and set to work on putting his office back aright. Commander Meryl nimbly jumped up and patted Pax on the back.
“That’s brilliant, my friend. May I see it?”
Adept Pax handed over what looked to be a real knife, but the blade was made in a soft rubber that, when bent, leaked red paint.
“It’s a pliable version of a practice knife that has been altered to release paint on contact. We will all be armed with similar weapons. Anyone that gets marked with paint is therefore considered killed and is out of the game.”
“Absolutely brilliant!” Commander Meryl intoned again. “And when can we expect the training game to begin?” His eyes twinkled at the thought. “You are right, our soldiers have been getting bored and this is just the thing to test them. It gives me a chance to do some internal promotions as well.” The Commander sat back in his chair, crossing his legs with a thoughtful grin on his face.
“You have two weeks to prepare and begin the students training as well as Thalia’s. When the fourteen days are up, your Captains, along with my chosen Assassin, will begin the attack on the Citadel.”
“I see the point of only having a small attack team. You doubt this madman would unleash a full army upon us, when a small group would have more success at sneaking in. But, Pax, my Captains are good, but how can four of them attack the whole training facility and it be considered an even fight? Unless you have something up your sleeve?” Commander took one look at Pax’s knowing face before slapping his knee in excitement. “You ol’ dog, you do, don’t you? Who did you find to be the assassin?”
“I have called in a SwordBrother.”
Commander Meryl shot out of his chair, his face registering shock. “You know a SwordBrother? How in the world did
you get one to agree to come here? That alone will even out the numbers, if not give us an advantage.”
I was stunned by the news. Being in the Healer’s wing for so long, I had plenty of time to do some reading and recently just learned of the existence of SwordBrothers. They were the most prestigious and fiercest fighters in the world. Their whole existence centered around honor, battle and sword skills. They are an extremely dedicated Clan, who were the personal bodyguards for the Kings and Queens of old. Only the powerful were important enough to have a SwordBrother for their bodyguard. But during the Denai War, they were betrayed by those they swore to protect. Now they refuse to swear fealty to anyone; King, Queen or Council.
Since then, they have gone into isolation and took with them their fighting techniques and secrets. Many have tried to find their clan over the years only to disappear and never return. They have become the stuff of legends and stories. A threat you would give to your misbehaving child. “Careful, or a SwordBrother will steal you away in the dark of the night.”
My throat constricted in nervousness and I felt myself running my sweaty palms on my legs. The Commander was ecstatic; to actually live to see the day where he would not only meet a legendary Swordbrother, but have him train some of his Captains, that was a great honor and privilege.
“Like I said, I had to call in a favor.” Adept Pax’s eyes became distant as if he had become lost in his memories. With a shake of his head, he turned to us again. “But remember, I want Thalia to be under guard as soon as possible. And her self-defense training starts now. Thalia will be the prime target. For I have also promised the SwordBrother a prize if he kills Thalia. It would do her good to be doubly on guard.”
“No!” my mind shouted. “No guards!”
From the shocked looks on Adept Pax and Commander Meryl’s faces, I realized I didn’t think it, but yelled it. I wasn’t emotionally ready to be surrounded by guards; it would be like being in prison again.
“Adept Pax? I know you mean well. But I don’t want to live my life under constant guard. What if we never capture the Septori, will you guard me forever? Someday I will have to rely on myself.” I stood tall, straight and refused to break eye contact.
Under the scrutiny of his dark eyes I could feel myself shrink in size, but I clenched my teeth in determination and refused to back down.
“Well then, you better hurry and learn to defend yourself either with a weapon or with your power.” Turning back to his desk, he dismissed me and began to debate defensive plans for the Citadel.
Stopping myself at the doorway, I turned around and addressed them both in the most determined voice I could muster.
“Adept Pax… Commander, I won’t participate in your training game or agree to be the bait for the assassin unless we change one thing.”
“What’s that, my child?” Adept Pax looked confused.
Pulling on my ruined shirt and holding it away from my body in disgust, I made a disgusted face. “The color of this awful paint. Blood red is impossible to get out.” And with that I left the office with the echoes of their combined laughter following me down the halls.
Chapter 19
“Thalia, where are you?” I barely ducked in time as Garit’s practice blade flew over my shoulder where my head had just been. Scuffling out of the way, my feet kicking up dirt, I moved around to Garit’s weak side. It didn’t matter; he was right, my mind had been somewhere else. He feinted a lunge at my face, swept out his leg and kicked my feet out from under me.
Staring at the clear blue sky, I longed for the day when I could be back inside doing dishes, instead of being submitted to a daily beating.
“Your mind was somewhere else and you lost focus.” Garit stretched out his hand and pulled me up from the ground.
I quit dusting off my pants because it wouldn’t matter. I would be seeing the ground again real soon.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try harder,” I said weakly
“Come, sit.” He motioned to two barrels and I sat on one and waited for him to take the other.
“For you to regain your focus, we first need to address what it is that has you so worked up and scared.”
“I’m not…”I began.
“You are!” he interrupted.
I didn’t like being vulnerable and having to share anything personal, especially to a guy. Even though I didn’t want to admit it, he was right.
“I don’t want to be the target.” I focused on the distant mountains and the shape of the cloud passing over them, so I wouldn’t have to make eye contact. Briefly I gave him a simplified version of my life story. And I had to give him credit, because he didn’t even blink an eye. It was nice to not have an overly dramatic reaction from someone for once.
“I feel as if I’m a scared rabbit just waiting for the hunter to take me out. The thought that I’m going to be hunted down and killed terrifies me. Even if it is just a training game, my heart quickens and my palms go sweaty and I freeze up at the thought. I’m back in the cell all over again and I don’t think I can do it.”
“Bull!” Garit said vehemently.
I turned my head and looked at him in surprise, my mouth going open.
“The only person that can make you be a victim again, is yourself. There is no cage, Thalia, it’s only in your mind.” Garit rapped his fingers against my temple roughly.
Looking into his face, I saw he meant every word. His red blonde hair looked even redder in the sunlight and the small scar on his chin stood out on his tan skin. He tossed me my practice blade. I caught it with ease.
“Thalia, if you don’t want to be the prey anymore, then you can only do one thing. Become the hunter.”
Our lessons changed. Instead of learning defensive moves Garit taught me to go on the offensive and to use every dirty trick he knew. Attack the eyes, or a kick to the groin, quick jabs into the solar plexus to give you time to run away. My size and speed would lend to quick attacks and evasive maneuvering.
I couldn’t overpower any attacker with strength, but if I could keep out of their reach and attack them from a distance, I would have a chance at survival.
We worked every day on hand-to-hand combat and evasive fighting. Then we went over knife techniques, because if I let someone get close enough to me to get caught, I would need a knife.
But I was most surprised on my third day of practice when I went out to the training field and Garit wasn’t in the training ring. I spotted him in the far field next to a fenced-in pasture where the horses were grazing. I glanced at the pasture to see if I could see Faraway. Yep, he was prancing around the field in happiness, grateful to run, his beautiful mane that I brushed every day shining in the setting sun. I smiled at Faraway’s youthful antics, and then climbed the fence to reach Garit.
Garit had a silly grin on his face and I saw that he had constructed a large man out of hay, feed bags and old clothes. Looking closely at the dummy there was a painted beard on the face in a very bad imitation of Commander Meryl.
“I got the clothes from Berry. When I told her what they were for she was excited to help me with my project, even going so far as to add buttons and decorations to the uniform.”
“What is it?”
“Well, it’s a human target!” Garit pulled out a beautiful dark wood bow and a leather quiver full of arrows. The bow wasn’t the same size as the ones the archers used; it was much smaller, fit to my height and arm length.
Picking it up, I let the wood pass through my fingers feeling the coolness of it. The string vibrated into my soul when I touched it. It felt right.
“Since this is serious, I didn’t want to start you off hitting at a pile of hay. We needed something man size, so you can get used to aiming at a small target. Of course, they have them at the training yard, but I thought you would feel more comfortable training away from everyone’s prying eyes.”
That was exactly what I needed. I had been feeling very self-conscious lately in my lack of ability of Denai power. I was beginning to
wonder if maybe Joss and Prentiss had been mistaken in their assessment of what had happened in the healing ward.
We started the session fifteen paces away from the Commander dummy and Garit walked me through how to string the bow, notch an arrow, sight a target and release. My first shot hit the dirt and stopped eight feet from the target.
Faint laughter tickled my mind, and I looked at Garit. He was grinning from ear to ear at my pathetic attempt.
“It’s okay. Try again. You don’t have the arm strength yet, but you will.”
Notching another arrow I sighted down the shaft at the target aiming for the large round stomach. Pulling the bowstring and arrow back, I was about to release when I heard HIGHER brush against my conscious.
Making the said adjustment, I released the bowstring and watched the arrow fly true and hit the stomach of the target dead on, only to bounce off and land pathetically in the grass.
I raised an eyebrow to Garit and threatened, “Not a word, not ONE word or I’ll use you as the dummy.”
He wisely held his tongue.
Getting frustrated I stormed away from the dummy to an even farther distance and notched another arrow, pulling the bowstring back as far as I could with the intention of sending it flying as hard as I could toward the target without even aiming.
Patience, the voice came again.
Breathe slowly.
I did what I was told.
Aim higher.
I made what I thought to be an adequate adjustment.
Breath out, it commanded.
Feel your heartbeat?
I listened to the sound of my heart and it seemed to slow.
Release between beats.
I did and watched in amazement as the arrow flew straight into the chest of the dummy. Garit was walking toward the dummy and fell back into the grass in shock as he saw the shaft buried inches deep into the heart of the target.
“Whoa, Thalia, I didn’t think you were serious about making me the target, but well done!”