The Avarian Chronicles: A Tear In The Veil

by K. M. Randall

  It charged at me, my flames no longer deterring it. I couldn’t help but let out a squeal of fear as it knocked a table flying before jumping on me.

  Claws dug into my shoulders as it pinned me to the floor. My head bounced off the wood and stars danced in my eyes as I stared up at the huge fangs, about to devour me.

  Without even thinking, I thrust the knife straight upwards.

  I felt it sink into flesh. In my blind fear, I yanked it out and stabbed again and again until the creature finally fell. It landed on me but I managed to shift out from under it before all its weight pinned me down.

  I shimmied away from it until my back hit a wall. I still held the knife which was now shining with blood. The flames from the fireplace illuminated a pool of blood as well as a trail from where I’d shuffled away.

  It was dead.

  I used the wall to pull myself to my feet, too scared to believe the danger was over. I held the knife out in front of me as I approached the Impius, just to be sure it was really dead. It didn’t move, didn’t stir. If the blood was anything to go by, I’d killed it.

  I looked across the room to the doorway. Eyes peered out at me but it was finally silent.

  Nobody spoke for a minute or two, not until shouts sounded from outside. I lifted the knife again, not sure if I had it in me to fight another one. My hands shook as I stared out into the street.

  When people appeared, I sagged a little.

  “Ashley!”

  One person raced forwards, leaping through the broken window. It was Blaine. He rushed over to me, grabbing my wrists as he looked down at the Impius.

  I finally dropped the knife.

  A few others from his unit climbed in through the window and began analysing the scene. Blaine lifted one hand to the back of my neck, angling my face up towards him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. I swallowed hard and gave a small nod. “Are you hurt?”

  I couldn’t bring myself to speak. His eyes studied my face and I wondered how bad I looked.

  One of his colleagues muttered something into his radio about it being clear as he nudged the dead Impius with his foot. Another was investigating the back, checking on everyone in there.

  “She’s bleeding,” the nearest one said, pointing to my leg. The pain from my leg felt like a memory. I had barely noticed it. Blaine released my face and looked down at my leg.

  “You killed it?” he asked. I gave a small nod.

  “Not bad for a Princess,” his colleague muttered. “You need to get her out of here.”

  “What if there’s more?” Blaine asked stiffly.

  “We’ve got it covered. Just get her safe. Unless you want the King’s wrath.”

  I didn’t have the energy to argue. Blaine gave a small nod and turned to me.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have left,” he said. “Can you walk?”

  Chapter 11

  Blaine said nothing as he cleaned the blood off my leg. I stared down at the bloody mess as he ran a damp cloth over the cuts. It hurt like hell now but I remained silent as he worked.

  I figured he’d brought me to his flat. It was small and simple, like it belonged to someone who didn’t have many possessions. He had a first aid kit on the table beside me and was silently working on my cuts. They weren’t too bad but the blood made them seem a lot worse.

  “Are you okay?” he asked into the silent air as he gently dabbed at the cuts with something that made them sting.

  “Fine,” I managed to say. He picked up a jar of healing salve made from Avarian plants and dug his fingers into it.

  “You’ve barely said a word,” he countered as he rubbed the salve over my cuts. It burned at first but quickly went numb.

  I didn’t answer him because I didn’t know what to say. The whole evening felt like some cruel nightmare and I wasn’t sure how I should be acting. I wanted to just brush it off but I was still shaking from it all.

  He didn’t say anything else for a while, focusing on my leg. He wrapped a bandage around it, securing it in place and then checked me for any more cuts. I had a few bruises and my shoulders had small cuts from where the Impius had pinned me, but I was unhurt otherwise. Once he was satisfied, he pushed the first aid kid aside and knelt down in front of me, forcing me to look at him.

  “How does that feel?” he asked.

  “Fine.”

  “You’re really pale.”

  I didn’t reply, just gazed at him. How the hell did he do this regularly? Sure, he was trained for this kind of thing but I refused to believe it didn’t affect him. I wasn’t sure I’d ever sleep again.

  “You saved all those people in there,” he offered, as if that would make me feel better. “They would’ve been dead if you hadn’t been there.”

  “Can we not talk about it?” I asked weakly. He eyed me unsurely.

  “You should sleep.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Then go clean up. You’re covered in blood.”

  Maybe that would help. He offered me his hand and pulled me to my feet.

  “You can go back out there,” I told him. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I’m not leaving you again.”

  “You’re not my bodyguard. You have a job to do.”

  “Right now, my job is to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine. I already told you.”

  My words came out sharp but he didn’t flinch. Instead, he stared at me intently.

  “The first time I killed one, I didn’t sleep for days,” he admitted. A lump rose in my throat. “And I had more than a steak knife to help me.”

  I lowered my gaze to my hands, fiddling with my bracelet. He took my hand, enclosing it in his.

  “Go get cleaned up. Try and keep the bandage dry though.”

  Keeping the bandage dry was harder than it sounded. I would’ve liked to have just stood under the hot water for longer but once the water stopped running red, I knew I was clean. I climbed out the shower and wrapped myself in a white towel, wondering if any traces of blood I’d missed would stain it. My eyes dropped to my dress on the floor. It was ruined and gross so I just tossed it in the bin.

  I opened the door and peeked out. Blaine was sat at the kitchen counter, texting on his phone. He glanced up.

  “I don’t suppose you have any girls’ clothes lying around?” I asked weakly. He smirked and walked across to the bedroom. When he returned, he handed me a t-shirt and some shorts.

  “That’s all I’ve got,” he apologised. I gave him a weak smile and closed the door. The shorts were way too big and wouldn’t stay up but luckily the shirt came down to my thighs. At least my underwear wasn’t ruined.

  I emerged in the shirt and crossed over to the kitchen counter, where he was staring at nothing in particular. He met my gaze as I slid onto the stool beside him.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Better,” I admitted. “The shorts didn’t fit.”

  “I didn’t think they would.”

  He pushed a mug towards me. I looked into it and saw tea.

  “Thanks.”

  I took a sip and let out a sigh.

  “They’ve nearly repaired the veil,” he said. “No new reports either.”

  “I’m sorry you had to babysit me instead.”

  “You’re too important,” he said. “I never should have left you the first time.”

  “It was just bad luck. You couldn’t have known it would happen.”

  “I still shouldn’t have left you. You could’ve died.”

  “I didn’t though.”

  “That’s not the point, Ash.”

  I tapped my nails on the side of the mug a few times.

  “Could you… train me?”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m not asking to join your unit,” I said at his expression. “I just want to be able to defend myself.”

  “I think you did pretty well tonight.”

  “You weren’t there. I only killed it because I
got lucky.”

  “What kind of training do you want?”

  “Anything you can. I never want to be that scared again.”

  “Being prepared doesn’t erase the fear,” he said gently. “But I’ll train you in some basic defence.”

  “Thanks,” I said. I took another sip of tea as my phone rang. I looked at the screen and saw Rick’s name. I rejected the call with a sigh.

  “Don’t you want to talk to him?”

  “Not right now.”

  “Maybe you should sleep. You can take the bed.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.”

  A whistling sound greeted our ears from the open window. I looked at Blaine.

  “Is that the all-clear?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” He let out a breath. “This is going to be all over the news though.”

  “How many died?”

  “Seventeen.”

  “Shit.”

  “More were injured, but there were over a dozen of them running through the streets. The one in the restaurant slipped through the cracks while we were taking care of the others.”

  He ran his hand through his hair, clearly stressed.

  “Maybe now would be the ideal time for a distraction,” I offered weakly. He frowned. “A royal engagement type of distraction.”

  He rubbed his eyes.

  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

  “We don’t have to make a big deal of it,” I said. “We just need to announce it.”

  “I thought they wanted the proposal to be done in public?”

  “They do but… it doesn’t matter. As soon as we announce it, it’ll be the talk of the country.”

  He considered me for a moment then stood up and walked into the bedroom. When he returned, he was carrying little black box. I raised an eyebrow.

  “You already have a ring? Why were you asking about it earlier?”

  “I wanted to make sure I got it right before I gave it to you.”

  He pushed the box towards me. I opened it after a pause and stared down at the ring inside.

  It was a beautiful princess-cut diamond with emeralds around it.

  “That’s… beautiful,” I said, lost for what else to say.

  “Even though this engagement isn’t real, I figured you’d want a nice ring to wear until…”

  He didn’t need to finish the sentence. It was actually really sweet of him to think about that, not that I was about to tell him that. He pulled the ring out of the box and gestured for me to give him my hand.

  He slid the ring onto my finger. It fit just right, luckily.

  “It suits you,” he said, clearing his throat. I stared at the ring on my finger, wishing I felt something other than duty when I looked at it. Engagement rings were supposed to symbolise love, not duty. I lowered my hand to the table.

  “Thanks,” I said quietly.

  “How do we… announce it?”

  I tapped my fingers on the table.

  “We could arrange an interview,” I said. “Or we could do it the less awkward way and just post about it on social media.”

  “Like… update our Facebook?”

  I laughed.

  “I was thinking Instagram or Twitter.”

  “I don’t have them.”

  “Of course not. I do though.” He rolled his eyes. “But we should probably wait until tomorrow.”

  I glanced at the clock above his oven. It was nearly midnight.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked. I shook my head. My phone rang again. This time it was my dad.

  I sighed and put the phone to my ear.

  “Hi, dad,” I said weakly.

  “I’ve just spoken to Andrew. Are you okay? Where are you?”

  “I’m fine. I’m with Blaine.”

  “Andrew said you were attacked. What the hell happened?”

  I looked at Blaine. His face was expressionless and I figured he could hear everything my dad was saying.

  “An Impius got into the restaurant,” I said, knowing better than to lie to him. “I’m fine though. Nobody was hurt.”

  Apart from the man who never made it inside. I tried not to picture what happened to him.

  “Where was Blaine?”

  Blaine flinched beside me.

  “He was out fighting them.”

  “He left you alone?!”

  “I told him to,” I replied calmly.

  “He should’ve stayed with you. You were nearly killed.”

  I nibbled on my lip as he ranted at me. Blaine became a statue, listening to my father raging.

  “Dad, stop,” I cut across him. “I’m fine and I’m safe. Isn’t that all that matters?”

  “I thought Blaine would protect you,” he said, letting out a long breath. “That was the one thing I thought he would be able to do.”

  Blaine stood up, clearly bothered by what my father was saying.

  “Dad,” I warned. “You can’t blame him. It was just shitty luck.”

  “Maybe,” he conceded. “But I’m starting to question this arrangement. Maybe it’s not a good idea after all.”

  I frowned slightly. Was he serious? Blaine glanced over at us. I wondered if he could still hear what my father was saying.

  “Can we talk when I get home?” I asked weakly.

  “I’m at the HQ at the moment. I don’t think I’ll be home until morning. Where are you?”

  “I’m at Blaine’s flat.”

  “What are you doing there?”

  “It was the closest place to the restaurant.”

  “Are you going home?”

  “I… Yeah, I guess.”

  “I don’t want you alone right now. I’m sending someone round to pick you up.”

  “Dad, no. I don’t need someone hanging around…”

  “You are not to be left alone.”

  “Stay here,” Blaine offered. He was sitting on the sofa now.

  “What was that?” dad asked.

  “Blaine said I could stay here until morning.”

  There was a brief pause.

  “Is that what you want?” he asked me. I looked at Blaine.

  “Don’t you need to go back out there?” I asked him.

  “They can handle it,” he answered stiffly. “If you don’t want to, I can drive you home.”

  All these options were giving me a headache. I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t want to be an inconvenience to Blaine. He was committed to his job.

  “I’ll call you back, dad,” I said. I hung up before he could say anything else and hid my face in my hands. “I’m sorry. He’s just angry.”

  “He’s right to be,” Blaine replied. I glanced through my fingers at him. “I shouldn’t have left you. You’re the fucking heir to the throne.”

  “That doesn’t mean you have to abandon your duties to babysit me.”

  “You could’ve been seriously hurt.”

  “Yeah, which is why you’re going to train me to protect myself.”

  He didn’t answer, staring at the floor with a slight frown. I joined him on the sofa and reached my hand to his.

  “Are you okay?”

  He glanced down at my hand, at the ring on my finger.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing the stubble on his cheek. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  I forced a small smile.

  “I know our relationship isn’t real,” he said, not looking up at me, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t care what happens to you.”

  “I know.”

  He squeezed my hand gently before standing up, avoiding my gaze.

  “Are you sure you’re not hungry?” he asked, strolling over to the kitchen. “We never actually got our food.”

  Chapter 12

  I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I sat up in alarm, my head spinning from the sudden movement.

  I was still in Blaine’s flat, lying on his sofa. A blanket was draped over me and a pillow had been propped under my head. I rubbed my e
yes and grabbed my phone off the coffee table.

  “Hello?” I mumbled, not even looking at who was calling.

  “Are you home?” dad asked. He sounded tired.

  “I… No. I’m still at Blaine’s.”

  “Oh.” He didn’t sound pleased. “I’m heading back to the flat now. Do you want me to pick you up?”

  “Um… sure. I don’t know his address though.”

  “I’ll find it. I’ll be there soon.”

  I hung up and looked at the time. It was six in the morning. Blaine appeared, sliding into the armchair beside me.

  “I fell asleep?” I asked, even though it was obvious.

  “Yeah.” He was frowning.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It just looked like you were having a nightmare.”

  I blushed. If I did, I couldn’t remember it. I looked at him and realised that he looked worse than I felt.

  “Have you slept?”

  “No.”

  He had his phone in his hand, turning it over absently.

  “Is there any news?”

  “There’s loads of news,” he said stiffly. “It’s all over the internet, probably in the papers this morning.”

  “That bad?” I guessed. He nodded. I glanced at his TV, sitting in the corner.

  “I don’t think you want to see,” he said. I picked up the remote and turned it on.

  I flicked through the channels. Several of them were broadcasting news from the attacks last night. I saw some figures, estimating that nearly fifty people were injured and over twenty were dead. I felt queasy as one of the channels displayed a photo of body-bags.

  “This is the worst one yet,” I realised.

  “Yeah.”

  I grabbed my phone again and began searching for news articles, not really sure what I was looking for. I was certain Isabelle would’ve written some trashy article about how it was all our fault.

  I almost scrolled past it, but something caught my eye. It was a video posted by a random person. The video was titled: Fae Princess kicking ass.

  I opened the video, my stomach churning at what I was about to see.

  Someone in the restaurant had been recording while the Impius attacked. Most of the footage was dark and hard to see, but I watched anyway, recognising myself from the back as I brandished fire at the monster. Blaine came to sit next to me, looking over my shoulder.