Out of the Mountain (10 page)

“I have been well trained.” I didn’t like the way the others were looking at me . . . as if they agreed with him. My hackles rose. They had no idea how well trained I actually was, and I could use that to my advantage.

“None of your training has been put to practice,” he said dismissing me.

“You fight me then,” I dared him and he looked at me as if I had sprouted another head. I fought a laugh.

“I will do no such thing.”

“You afraid?” I goaded him, and for a moment I didn’t think it was going to work. The others didn’t seem to think it would either.

“It would seem our princess is in need of a reality check,” he sounded smug, like he had already won. The others gaped in disbelief. I took a moment to thank Master Tatsu once more for all that training.

I wasted no time launching myself at him. He swiftly dodged me, sharing a rueful look with the group, which was his mistake. Within a second of his dodge I spun, aiming a kick at his jaw. I heard a collective gasp as my foot grazed the stubble on his chin. He moved just in time for me to miss. My foot had barely touched him, but the glow of his eyes told me he was furious. Within seconds I was on my back looking up at the sky, completely unsure of how I’d gotten there. I jumped to my feet only to be knocked down again. Anger filled me, and this time I dodged the arm that was waiting to swipe me back once again. I took a sweeping kick at his legs, which sent me falling when he promptly jumped over it. Spinning to face him again, I threw punches in rapid succession that were firmly blocked, and in my anger I became sloppy. I tried to push myself back far enough to land snapping kick against his head.

He caught my foot in the air and I growled, an actual animal noise escaping me when I saw humor in his eyes. He was enjoying this. Startled by the noise I had made, I stepped back and looked at him, yellow eyes alight. I wondered if mine were shining like that. I thought they must be, then my eyes found his lips and I was entranced. What would he taste like? He licked his lips then, and I shivered looking into his eyes again. A throat cleared and pulled me back to reality.

I turned to see Silas looking mostly amused, but Adelaide didn’t look pleased at all. I looked at the rest of the group and almost laughed at their stunned expressions.

“You have some training,” Rowan admitted, and the group laughed.

“And maybe it does need to be put into practice,” I admitted in turn.

“There’s still an uneven number!” Adelaide pointed out unhappily.

“I’ll spar with her.” Luca winked at me and I smiled.

“That will not be necessary,” Rowan growled.

“Go ahead, Luca. I will spar with Joel,” Adelaide said, frown growing.

I didn’t look at Rowan. Instead I took my place in front of Luca and tried to suppress a grin. Rowan might think he had won that battle, but I was the one who had gotten what I wanted. The training was much tamer than the outright fighting I had been imagining. Instead we were instructed by Rowan and Adelaide (Silas had more important things to do) on how to block and hit. Basics come first. It was a lot of repetition, much like my training with Master Tatsu. Practice makes perfect, after all. I had to admit that it was different against a moving opponent, and I worked to adjust what I knew. It wasn’t easy by any means.

***

At the end of a long day, the others ran off toward the barracks, and I was wandering back up the stone steps of the palace feeling left out. It was a long and monotonous journey, and it would have been easier to have went back with the others. I would have much rather of been surrounded by people than be separated all over again. I let out a long sigh and jumped when someone grabbed my arm.

“What is the matter now?” Rowan asked quietly. I pulled back out of his reach and groaned.

“I didn’t even know you were following me.”

“Yes, I noticed. That is why I told you to work on your observation skills. I could have killed you many times over by now.”

“I don’t even understand why someone would want to kill me!” I growled, running up the steps. He easily kept pace with me.

“Stop following me.”

“I am your guard. It is my job,” he said simply.

“I am perfectly safe here.”

“You are never perfectly safe, and the sooner you realize that, the better.”

“Maybe if someone would give me some kind of information,” I pleaded with him, and his eyes softened for a second before they hardened again.

“You know all that you need to, if you would put it together. Kieran is on the rise again, actively searching for you. People are disappearing, and magic is being drained. Someone is using massive amounts of blood magic, and we can feel it shifting the balance. You must be kept safe. The prophecy clearly points to you being the one who tilts the balance back into our favor,” he said earnestly.

“Power is being drained?” I heard Farran’s voice loud from beside us and jumped.

“Yes, it began days ago. Similar to the first time Kieran started killing and draining power.”

“That can’t be right,” Farran scoffed.

“I am certain it is correct,” Rowan replied, meeting Farran’s eyes, and like that he vanished.

“What? Where did he go? How does he do that?” I yelped at the empty space in front of me.

“He is the only one I have witnessed with the power to come and go in that manner.” Rowan narrowed his eyes at where Farran had been.

“Wait what about Queen Alma’s assassin? Farran said she vanished.”

“She?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yes, she, Narissa. Obviously that’s who it was,” I scoffed, and I saw the hint of a smile on his lips. My heart skipped a beat.

“Nice observation,” he said, quickly turning and entering the palace. I ran after him.

“Narissa uses blood magic. She is as dark and twisted as the creatures she has unleashed on the earth. She doesn’t vanish completely as much as she slips into the shadows and travels. Farran can move from one place to another in the flash of a moment, although I believe it drains most of his magic and takes time to rebuild when he goes far,” He continued when I reached his side. I was hanging on his every word.

“So Narissa and Kieran are working together to achieve what goal? Total domination?” I snorted at the thought.

“That seems to be the end result that they desire. I cannot say it is an achievable goal, but both went mad with power long ago. They are fueled by their need for revenge and what they believe is owed to them. They will stop at nothing. They are so unpredictable, I would wager that they are working toward two different goals and barely cooperating with each other at this point. Too much chaos is occurring for it to be a thorough plan.” He was leading me to a part of the palace that I hadn’t seen yet. I tried to pay attention, but it was hard when he was being so talkative. This was the most I had ever heard him speak. He walked across a large hall and pulled open the wide doors and motioned for me to follow.

The doors led to an enormous library with shelves lining the walls from floor to ceiling, filled with books and artifacts. Rolling ladders were secured to a complicated system that I couldn’t wait to explore. I loved books. Most of my life was lived through the pages of books while I was locked up in the mountain. Master Liung had allowed me to do borrow books from the library, as long as I was discreet. I took a deep breath and smelled the leather-bound pages, letting out a happy sigh. I blushed when I noticed Rowan watching me.

“You enjoy books.”

“Yes, I do,” I agreed with a smile.

“You can learn a lot in this library. I suggest you make use of it,” he said, effectively ruining my happy mood.

“I have been taught in almost every subject that you can imagine, and the masters trained me every day. I am not a small-minded child,” I said indignantly.

“I did not say you were small minded,” he grumbled, brow furrowed. His hand rubbed his chin. I could hear the scratchiness of his stubble, trying to distract me from my point.

“You implied,” I said, and his eyes narrowed.

“You assumed,” he bantered.

“Do you argue with everyone who crosses your path?” I frowned in frustration.

“No, I do not,” he said firmly, and I let out a long and loud sigh for his benefit.

“I simply meant that there were records in this library you could make use of. Things you wouldn’t have been exposed to. Shuni, conjuring magic, blood magic, all the things the monks shielded you from in that mountain.”

“You know, it is odd that even in all my reading, I never came across anything about Shuni. Sure I came across shapeshifters, zombies, witches, vampires, and the like, but all of that was clearly written in fiction. The histories I was taught only pertained to the Conduit, and the surrounding areas.” I pondered aloud.

“Most likely a precaution by the monks. I am sure they did not want you to become too curious. Best to let you believe the most extraordinary thing was right in front of your eyes to keep them from wandering.”

“So even the freedoms I was allowed had limits,” I grumbled. They would have had to have cleaned out the library; even my most rebellious choices had been allotted by them.

There was a popping sound and I jumped, looking around for the origin of the noise. I saw a piece of paper floating, and Rowan snatched it out of the air. His eyes widened before he called the guard in from the hall. He handed me the slip of paper and I read.

“The staff is gone. I will return as soon as I am able. Be on guard. Farran.”

***

Hours later, we were all filtering into the dining hall awaiting the arrival of the Council of Six.

“What’s going on?” Briony asked
,
and I shrugged. Luca stood on my other side and smiled brightly at me.

“Things have certainly been more exciting since you arrived,” he said, leaning in and I felt a little drop in my stomach. He was undoubtedly making his intentions clear enough to me, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

“Thanks?” I puzzled, unsure if exciting was good or bad. Others brushed past us, trying to get closer to the front of the room. No one noticed who I was or that I was standing among them. I kind of liked the feeling of anonymity. Luca put a hand around my shoulders as if he had noticed it as well, and I tried to relax into his hold. It was kind of nice, even though it was some sort of small effort of protection on his part.

“We don’t get to see you as often as we like, do we Briony?” He pouted, and she snorted out a laugh as she glanced around us subtly. I was starting to get the feeling that these novices weren’t only being superfriendly, standing around me in a sort of formation.

“We really don’t. They like to keep their princess locked up in her tower,” she joked, and I grimaced. If she only knew how accurate that was.

“A little bird told me that tomorrow is your birthday,” Luca continued, and I looked at Finley suspiciously. They all burst into laughter.

“It’s just an expression, Vivi, and I doubt you would think that Finley as a hawk was a little bird,” he joked, bumping my shoulder. I smiled.

“Yes, tomorrow is my birthday.”

“We are going to throw you a little party, a revisit of the first one, I think?” he asked, looking at Briony, and she nodded eagerly. All the others in our group exchanged smiles and started whispering excitedly. I would have joined in if Rowan wouldn’t have appeared in front of me. Luca abruptly dropped his arm from my shoulders, and I caught that hint of a grin on Rowan’s lips.

“Your presence is requested by the Six, Princess,” he said formally, and I rolled my eyes. I smiled at the others before I let him lead me away.

“What did you do? Tell them they had to babysit?” I accused as soon as we were out of ear shot.

“I merely suggested that they had a responsibility to keep you safe, even now as novices.”

“Well, I would rather they keep thinking of me as their peer, not their job. You might not care for it, but I want to have friends, Rowan,” I complained, and he frowned down at me askance.

“If I am not mistaken, friends also have the responsibility to keep one another safe, Vivienne. It is not my fault that they were overly enthusiastic with it,” he replied, and I sighed, knowing he was right but not wanting to admit it.

We made our way through the crowded hall and onto the platform as the Six entered the room and came to stand with us. Dahlia stood next to me, and I noted that she smelled really good, like strawberries. I tried to focus on that as I shared small nods of acknowledgment with the others. Mauve took center stage and began addressing the crowd.

“I have called this meeting to address the events of late, and offer as many answers to your questions as we can provide. I received a message from Prince Farran, and he has discovered that Kieran has possession of the Conduit king’s staff once more. He acquired it sometime soon after Prince Farran escorted the Princess to us. He seems to think that removing the block that was placed on the princess in his home released a burst of magic that rendered the wards surrounding it null.

“This was also unfortunately where the staff was being kept. In the years since he acquired the staff and went into hiding, Farran tried to discover what had been done to it in Kieran’s care. He found that it had been altered by dark magic deeply, allowing Kieran to use the staff to drain power from others by sacrificing their blood to it in return. The staff then allowed Kieran to use the stolen power to amplify his own. Farran was unable to reverse the effects and simply kept it hidden and protected instead.

“All we can do as of now is band together and continue our efforts to stay safe within our gates. We knew this time was coming and have been preparing for years in advance. I believe that we are right on track with the princess now here to lend her help and insight into any new situations that arise.” She motioned to me, and I felt the attention turn my way and gulped. Dahlia noticed my discomfort, and what I assumed was much to Mauve’s chagrin, she stepped forward.

“For the time being, we are safe to continue life as usual; the threat is not yet at our door, and we have no idea the plans they are making. We cannot live in fear of tomorrow and forget to enjoy the day in front of us. Take that and think about it for the night, and when the sun rises again, I hope you all find renewed hope and purpose to carry you through.” Dahlia smiled as the crowd cheered for her, and Mauve nodded, smiling tightly, before she turned to walk back out the door she came in. The others followed, and the meeting was dismissed.