by Ian Gregoire
“Come on,” said the senior Sanatsai. “We’ll go as far as the edge of the copse. If we don’t find anyone, we come back and resume our patrol.”
Both men jogged from the scene, guided through the trees by multiple illumination orbs.
Kayden watched and waited for the pale blue light to fade, then disappear into the distance before speaking. “We’re in the clear, for now,” she said quietly, “but they won’t be gone long. This copse can’t be more than five hundred yards from one end to the other. We need to go.” She ceased her invocation of Raytandushay, making herself and Lazar visible, then tore her gaze away from the direction of the departing Sanatsai to peer down at him. Narrowing her eyes, she scrutinised the odd look upon his face. “What’s so funny?”
“I’m excited,” he replied with a cheeky inflection.
Remembering that she was lying on top of him, Kayden realised she could feel Lazar’s straining erection pressed against her abdomen. “Oh, for crying out loud!” She quickly clambered off him, getting back to her feet.
He picked himself up from the ground. “Sorry,” he said, brushing leaves, twigs and dirt from his uniform. “But you can’t pin me to the ground, lie on top of me, and not expect a reaction.”
Ignoring the comment, she turned her back on him, and stepped away to observe the southern end of the campus. She felt him amble up behind her while she sought out the response to the lightning flash orb unleashed by the departed Sanatsai. As expected, she saw several illumination orbs moving inexorably towards their position, each being trailed by a marching Sanatsai.
“When those two Santsai first appeared,” Lazar murmured over her shoulder, “I couldn’t understand how they failed to see us on the ground. But then I worked it out… you made us invisible.”
“Congratulations, genius,” she quipped, distracted. “You’re not just a pretty face, after all.”
“What I still don’t understand is how I could still see you, and myself for that matter, while we were invisible.”
“You could see me because I was holding on to you.” She turned around to face him. “I would have been as invisible to you as I was to them otherwise.” Placing a hand against his chest, she slowly pushed him backward so they wouldn’t remain as close to the edge of the copse of trees.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re going to have company, shortly,” she said, bringing them to a stop. “Several more Sanatsai are approaching.”
“So what was the point of this detour into the trees in the first place? If you can make us both invisible, why aren’t we simply walking back into Antaris, right under their noses?
“Because something is wrong. I don’t think it has anything to do with us, but even with the aid of invisibility there’s little chance of us walking in undetected if the campus is in a state of heightened alert. If we want to get back to our dorms before anyone finds out we’ve broken curfew, we’ll have to do it from above.”
Raising a hand, she gestured for silence to pre-empt any further debate. “No more questions.” She moved to stand alongside him, shoulder-to-shoulder. “Just put your arm around my waist.”
Looking confused, Lazar tentatively snaked his left arm around her waist.
“Like this.” Kayden wrapped her right arm around his waist, gripping firmly. “Now hold on tight.”
“Why?”
By way of reply, Kayden instantly invoked three applications of Zarantar simultaneously: the invocation of Raytandushay made her and Lazar invisible; the invocation of Makfayshulat caused her to levitate; the invocation of Yuksaydan carried Lazar’s weight. Rising high above the treetops, they began to drift steadily towards the campus.
“How are you—?”
“Quiet!” she hissed in an urgent undertone. “There are a number of Sanatsai in the air, above the campus. They’re not using illumination orbs so you might not spot them until we get very close. I don’t want your big mouth giving us away.”
Lazar dutifully remained silent during the flight towards the campus. Once they crossed over the southern perimeter wall, Kayden was able to observe the campus grounds below. Antaris was a hive of activity. Numerous two-man patrols roamed the grounds—far more than was usual. It occurred to her that maybe a training drill was underway, though there had never been one before during her tenure as apprentice. But if there was to be one, doing it after curfew while all the apprentices were in their dorms was probably the best time.
As they bypassed the clock tower, Kayden was shocked to discover the time was fast approaching Fourth Hour in the morning—considerably later than she usually returned to campus after a late-night rendezvous with Lazar. She altered course, drifting in the direction of the men’s dormitory, where she would drop off her passenger before making her way back to her own dorm. When they were closer, it was impossible not to notice that the forecourt separating the administration building from the assembly hall was crowded with people. They appeared to be engaged in some kind of renovation work, and their presence meant she couldn’t risk dropping Lazar off at the front entrance to the men’s dormitory. Left to his own devices, he would almost certainly be spotted entering the building.
Moments later, journey complete, she and Lazar descended to their final destination, landing behind the men’s dormitory on the walkway separating the building from the eastern perimeter wall. A two-man patrol had just marched by, heading northward towards the residential building for the campus’ male staff, while a second patrol was further away, heading southward in the distance. Kayden thought it prudent to maintain her invocation of Raytandushay and remain invisible, on the off-chance that either patrol unexpectedly turned around and spotted her with Lazar. Fortunately, both patrols were far enough away not to hear them talking, because Lazar was questioning her instantly.
“How did you—?” He was glancing sideways at her with disbelieving eyes. “What you just did is impossible.”
“Keep your voice down,” she replied in a hushed tone. “Just because no one can see us, doesn’t mean they can’t hear us. And what are you talking about, what’s impossible?”
“It’s impossible for a Sanatsai to invoke a second application of Zarantar while invoking Raytandushay. And yet, you just pulled off three simultaneous invocations to get us here.” The look upon his face suggested he was either awestruck or fearful; it was hard to tell the difference. “How did you do it?”
Kayden realised he was correct. She had successfully accomplished an additional two simultaneous invocations while invoking Raytandushay—something she’d never done before. No wonder he was so… impressed? In some ways she was surprised by it. Although she had been practising the simultaneous invocation of a second application of Zarantar with one of the higher-level applications in recent weeks, she had not yet attempted more than that. But now she knew she could do it, having just effortlessly done so without even thinking about it.
“Surely you must have noticed that I’m Master Fay’s favourite apprentice,” she began. “If nothing is impossible for her, assume that I can learn to do anything she can do.”
Offering no response, Lazar stared intently into her eyes. She briefly wondered what he was thinking, before deciding it was better to get him indoors to prevent any awkwardness occurring between them.
“Don’t make a sound,” she ordered.
Still gripping him by the waist, Kayden pulled Lazar with her towards the wall of the dormitory. She felt him resist as they were about to march face-first into the masonry of the building, but at the last possible moment she invoked Naymutandushay to make them both intangible, allowing them to walk through the wall, into the dorm room on the other side. The interior of the room was dark, too dark to see anything, so even if they weren’t invisible courtesy of her continued invocation of Raytandushay, none of the room’s apprentices—if any were still awake—could witness them stroll from one side of the room to the other, and pass through the wall into the lit corridor outside.
The wall-m
ounted lanterns, running from one end of the hallway to the other, revealed the coast to be clear so Kayden brought herself and Lazar to a standstill, ceasing her simultaneous invocations. She removed her arm from his waist, and turned to face him.
“You don’t have to hold on to me still,” she whispered. “We’re not invisible any more.” He sheepishly let his hand fall from her hip. “I take it you can make your way back to your dorm room without my assistance?”
Lazar didn’t answer; he was too busy staring at her.
“What is it?” she queried, unable to interpret the expression on his face.
“You’re not just a fantastic lay, are you?” he replied. “You’re just fantastic, in general.”
She wanted to roll her eyes at his flattery, but managed to refrain. “I’m leaving now,” she declared in mock indignation.
“Wait! Don’t I get a goodnight kiss?”
“If goodnight kiss is a euphemism for punch in the face,”—she put as much disdain into her hushed words as she could muster—“I’d happily give you one.”
“Never mind. Maybe next time.”
With that, Kayden invoked Raytandushay once more, disappearing from Lazar’s sight. The look of admiration she observed on his face gratified her more than it should have as she stepped away. It was time to make the short journey to the women’s dormitory on the opposite side of the campus. She needed to get as much sleep as she could before the first class of the day.
It was morning, and Kayden stifled a yawn as she stepped out of her dorm room into the corridor. She’d been awake for a matter of minutes and was still feeling lethargic as she ambled the short distance to her destination. She had failed to get enough sleep last night; she was functioning on barely three hours shut-eye.
Damn Lazar for keeping her out so late after curfew, she thought, as several apprentices strolled past her. That cocksure dunderhead was like an insatiable rabbit. Where did he get his energy from?
She arrived outside one of the dorm rooms used by the level nine apprentices, where her friend and colleague Neryssa Mirandi would be waiting for her. Raising her hand to knock upon the door and announce herself, it swung open before she could do so. A short-haired, athletic apprentice marched swiftly out of the room, bumping into her.
“Are you blind? Watch where you’re going!” said the apprentice irritably, glaring over her shoulder to give Kayden a dirty look as she breezed into the hallway.
“You bumped into me, you stupid bitch!” snapped Kayden, raising her voice. The other apprentice continued on her way towards the stairway at the end of the corridor. “That’s right, you keep walking,” she muttered while glaring after the worthless, good-for-nothing apprentice. “I don’t have the energy to teach you a lesson right now.”
“Kayden! Are you coming in or not?”
The dulcet tone of her friend’s voice drew Kayden’s attention back to the dorm room. She promptly crossed the threshold, closing the door behind her. Neryssa was standing in front of the room’s only tall mirror, preparing to put on her black hooded cloak, while three other apprentices loitered around one of the nearby beds, nattering. As one, the three women stopped talking and started for the exit, seemingly in response to Kayden’s presence.
She ambled towards her friend, ignoring the three departing roommates.
Observing Neryssa’s bright countenance as she drew nearer, Kayden briefly wondered what the apprentice had to be so cheery about this early in the morning. But she quickly remembered that Neryssa was always in a good mood.
“Where were you during early morning assembly?” asked Neryssa. “I was looking for you, but I couldn’t find you.”
“Assembly?” Since when was there an early morning assembly scheduled? “Oh, I must have slept through it,” she offered, sitting down on the edge of Neryssa’s bed. And it was obviously too much trouble for any of her stupid roommates to wake her up.
Fully attired, Neryssa stepped away from the mirror, turning to face Kayden. Frowning at her colleague, she asked, “Rough night, was it?”
Why did she ask like that? Kayden wondered. Surely Neryssa didn’t know about her indiscretions with Lazar. “I didn’t get much sleep.” Cautiously, she added, “Why do you ask?”
“Well, aside from the fact you look a little worn out, you’re wearing your tabard back-to-front.” Neryssa did a double-take. “For that matter, it’s inside out as well.”
Looking down at herself, Kayden was surprised to find that Neryssa wasn’t joking. How had she not noticed?
Neryssa shook her head, then held out her hands to Kayden. “Stand up, you silly goose.” No sooner had she taken hold of Neryssa’s hands, she was yanked up onto her feet. “Let me help you get dressed properly then we can go to the mess hall for breakfast.”
“I’m not a child, Neryssa,” Kayden groused. “I can dress myself without help.” She stepped away from her friend and headed for the tall mirror.
“Evidently not,” said Neryssa light-heartedly, trailing in Kayden’s wake.
As Kayden stood before her reflection, preparing to put her uniform on correctly, she remembered something. “Drat! I just realised I haven’t been to the bathhouse yet.” She turned towards Neryssa. “Would you mind delaying breakfast for quarter of an hour while I have a wash first?”
“Oh, what are you like?” The annoyed tone was obviously feigned; it was at odds with the amusement in her eyes. “If you think you can wash yourself properly without my supervision, I’ll wait here for you until you get back. Now, run along.”
Kayden vacated the room, thanking Neryssa as she went, and hurriedly returned to her own dorm room to strip out of her uniform. She donned a bathrobe, and grabbed a towel, then made her way swiftly to the women’s bathhouse. After a quicker than usual wash, she went back to her dorm, feeling refreshed and more alert. She got dressed—taking extra care to put her uniform on correctly—then headed back to Neryssa’s dorm room.
Her friend greeted her at the door and gave her the once-over, looking her up and down. Satisfied that the uniform was being worn correctly, Neryssa rewarded her with a sarcastic round of applause. If it had been any other apprentice making her the butt of a joke, Kayden would have been irked, and more than a little tempted to dish out some retribution. Instead, she flashed her counterpart a sardonic smile, and said, “Thank you! Now, if you’ve finished having fun at my expense, let’s go.”
Neryssa stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. Together they strolled towards the staircase at the end of the corridor.
“So, this early morning assembly I slept through,” said Kayden, striking up a conversation. “What was it about?”
“What do you mean what was it about?” The incredulity in Neryssa’s voice almost made Kayden feel stupid. “It was about last night’s attack, obviously.”
“Last night’s attack?”
Neryssa glanced sideways at her, frowning. “You’re not going to tell me you slept through that as well, Kayden. I’m not that stupid,” she said adamantly. “What could you possibly have been getting up to last night for you not to know the campus was attacked?”
The campus was attacked? That would explain the increased security she encountered, Kayden realised. “Stop questioning me,” she retorted. “Just tell me about the attack.”
“It happened at the strike of midnight,” began Neryssa. “The account Master Darrian gave us during assembly was just a cover story; no one believes that a group of foreign Sanatsai launched an attack just to steal details of the Order’s training methods. According to some of the girls whose windows overlook the scene of the attack, the whole thing was really an assassination attempt aimed at Master Fay.”
“What?” gasped Kayden, her heartbeat quickening as she halted at the top of the staircase. “Is she…? Is Master Fay all right?”
“She looked fine during assembly. But according to Danya Shaylanis, the attackers very nearly succeeded. Apparently, there were fifty of them, but still they failed
so they all killed themselves.”
Relieved, Kayden proceeded to descend the flight of stairs. She would make a point of visiting Fay after breakfast, to see how she was dealing with the attack.
“So, what were you doing last night?” Neryssa quizzed her. “Whatever it was has left you looking—”
“Could we talk about something else.”
“Fine. But in all seriousness, Kayden.” There was a tinge of concern in Neryssa’s voice. “You always study longer than you need to, and train much harder than you should. It’s little wonder you’re starting to burnout. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. You really should give yourself a break.”
“You always worry unnecessarily, Neryssa,” she countered. “I’m not burning out, I just didn’t sleep well last night. Once I get some breakfast inside me, I’ll be fine.”
“Still, there’s no longer any need for you to keep pushing yourself the way that you do. You’re a level ten apprentice now; your apprenticeship will be coming to an end very soon. In a few short months you’ll be inducted into the Order. You have nothing to prove to anyone.”
Exiting the dormitory together onto campus grounds, Kayden and Neryssa set a course towards the mess hall, to join the throng of apprentices and staff members sitting down for breakfast. They hadn’t gone far when Kayden felt a familiar presence nearby, causing her to glance back at the administration building. Standing outside the rear entrance, still as a statue, was the campus administrator—hands behind her back, staring fixedly at her.
“Neryssa, hold on a moment,” she said, shuffling to a stop, “there’s Master Fay.” As her colleague halted beside her, Kayden realised at once that Fay wished to speak to her about something, privately. “Wait here for me; she wants to tell me something.”