Of Noble Chains (The Ventori Fables)

by Miles, D. L.

  She wondered if the boy was having difficulty fitting in; she had at first. The children didn’t seem to care much if someone was in a clan, but a lot of humans felt differently. And because the parents would usually warn their children of the “evil” clan members, the innocent ones would get ostracized. Zia wondered how she would have dealt with it if she never had her brother.

  After moving past rows upon rows of dust covered books, Zia came to the opposite end of the library. The morning light shone bright through the large windows, illuminating four tables and a six year old boy who sat in the middle. His legs swung beneath his chair, his nose stuck in a book. Zia smiled, remembering how she was the same when she wasn’t out with her brother. Books were a brilliant escape into history, and she loved them for it.

  It must have been strange for a human to see a boy so young reading something so thick. But it wasn’t unusual for a clan member, especially one of the Neith clan. They were all brilliant, and most could read more than one language by the time they started walking.

  “Trenton,” Mrs. Mayfield got the boys attention and he looked up with big, almost impossibly green eyes, “this is the girl I was telling you about, Kehzia Noble. She’s a clan member like you, she’s here to teach you a little about what that means.” Zia gave a little wave at the boy and sat across from him.

  “Hey,” she said, and Mrs. Mayfield walked back to her duties, “you can call me Zia.”

  “You’re part of my clan?” Trenton asked, face full of hope.

  “No,” Zia set her bag on the table, resting her forearms in front of her, “I’m from the Medea clan. You’re Neith, right?” The boy nodded his head. “Well you have a very…smart heritage then.”

  Trenton lit up at that. Questions started to pour from his mouth, asking about everything from what kinds of clans there were and where they originated to who their greatest heroes were. Were there a lot of Neith in the city? Why was everyone so secretive about the clans? How many times did the Neith save the day? Zia held her hands up to stop him, “Whoa, slow down, kid! How about I start from the beginning, alright?”

  He eagerly nodded his head, brown hair flying about.

  “Okay,” Zia thought, wondering how she could tell him such a detailed history so he would understand, “I’ll start with the clans; there’s five of them: Neith, like you, Medea, like me, the Shakti, Raijin and the Jasper. A long time ago they existed together, but not really united.” She mashed her hands together.

  “But they fought the shadows, didn’t they?” Trenton asked.

  “I’ll get to that,” Zia stopped him from asking anything else, “but hundreds of years ago they were just people. They didn’t always have the powers that they do now; though they did have certain abilities they were known for. The Jasper were excellent hunters, they could track down anything anywhere in the world, but usually only for their own gain. The Medeans were the swiftest and most cunning of them all, using their brains in a fight rather than their brawn, but that didn’t always outdo the Shakti, who were the strongest warriors of all. And the Raijin were spiritual, they were excellent alchemists and healers.” Zia paused, teasing Trenton.

  “What about the Neith? You forgot the Neith!”

  “Oh, did I? I’m so sorry,” Zia dramatically held a finger to her face, as if thoughtful. “The Neith were the smartest, they could create anything they could imagine and often worked with the other clans to help build better houses or find ways to get better harvests. You know kid, it’s because of the Neith that the clans were able to unite at all.”

  Trenton clapped his hands as he inched forward. Zia was worried he might fall from his chair if he tried to get any closer.

  “The Neith helped the five clans come closer together,” Zia continued, looking out the window as she pictured it in her mind, “they would often bring them to each other when they needed help.” She looked back down at the boy. “Like if the Shakti clan ever needed something for their wounds, the Neith introduced them to a Raijin, or if the Jasper needed help getting a trap set up, they would show them to a Medean. So over time the clans became friends, without even realizing it. There was still a bit of tension though.”

  “What about the shadows?” Trenton scrunched his face up, and Zia almost did the same remembering the werewolf from last night. It reminded her of the faces she would make with her brother when she was a child; part of her heart chipped off then, never to be seen again. At least it felt that way.

  “They’re called Specter’s now kid,” Zia sighed, “because they’re ‘the witnesses’ of humanity.” She rolled her eyes. “They existed then too, unfortunately. But the clans didn’t know about them, they were too far away, on another continent even.”

  “Con-continent?” Trenton sounded out, moving his eyes around as he tried to look down at his mouth. Zia explained what it meant and moved on.

  “None of the clans are from here,” she said, “but there were humans here, and Specter’s. The Jasper clan were not only treasure hunters, they were explorers, and when they came here most of them were wiped out by the Specter’s.”

  “Not all of them,” came a voice from behind the shelves. Zia turned to see Hayden creeping out of the History section, a superior smile across his face. “One of them survived and went back to the homeland to tell everyone of what he had found.”

  “What are you doing here?” Zia asked, getting even more annoyed when he sat down next to her. He flashed her a smile, not unlike Aeryn’s mischievous grin. Her stomach did a little flip, and she pursed her lips.

  “I heard there was a kid wanting a history lesson,” Hayden leaned towards Trenton, “and I thought it would be good if he learned from someone who actually got into the Tracker program.”

  “They let you in?” Zia couldn’t hide her astonishment.

  “Yup,” he tossed her a wink and rested an arm on the back of her chair. “Now who wants to find out what happened to the Jasper clan?”

  “ME!” Trenton almost screamed. Zia huffed and leaned back in her chair, letting Hayden take over as she contemplated how he had got into the program and not her. He would know more about this topic anyway, since he was a descendant of the Jasper. She was curious if he had picked his official clan yet.

  It must have been hard, though she always pretended to think otherwise. To have to pick a clan…it was devastating to one of the sides. But she always thought he would pick Jasper, since he wanted to be Ventori.

  “Well,” Hayden inched a little closer to Zia, and due to distraction she allowed it, “when the man returned to his fellow clan members, they sought help from the Shakti, thinking they would be good protection. And the Shakti, being the hotheads that they were, couldn’t get to the new land fast enough. Of course, when they arrived, they were almost all killed again. The few that returned then sought help from the Medea clan.”

  “Who were smart and went to contact all the clans,” Zia came in, proud of her ancestry. “They started to fight then; the Shakti wanted revenge for their fallen family, while the Neith wanted to leave the new land alone, since it had nothing to do with them.”

  “But the Raijin didn’t care much about war or fighting, they wanted to know about the humans that were here.” Trenton was quiet, absorbed by the story. For a while, Zia almost forgot how much she hated Hayden and their years of competition; she kind of liked how good he seemed to be with kids. “They wanted to know how the humans were handling it and they didn’t like hearing about how they were dying the same as the Jasper did.”

  “So the Raijin thought for one day,” Zia said, leaning forward again as she came to her favourite part, “and finally they called upon the spirits of the world to help them. At first the spirits didn’t want to, and they said it was for selfish gain, but the Raijin explained they wanted help to protect the humans; to protect themselves and save the new land from the shadows.

  After consulting with the other clans, the spirits obliged, and gave them each gifts. They gave them the power and t
he agility to battle the monsters, but also gave it to their children.”

  “But that’s not all,” Hayden cut in, “they also gave each clan additional gifts, enhancing what they were already capable of. And after training with their new powers, they came to the new land and fought back the shadows.” Hayden began to punch the air and Trenton giggled in delight. “They killed every shadow they could find until the land was safe, and the humans no longer had to hide at night.”

  “Or so they thought,” Zia held up a hand, “the shadows had just gone into hiding, and thinking their job was done, so did the clans. They didn’t want anyone to know of their abilities; it was actually the Neith that suggested hiding, in case something should come up and most of them returned to the homeland. ”

  “But hundreds of years passed,” Hayden leaned back again, wrapping his arm over Zia’s chair, “and the clan members that stayed appeared as humans, their true history becoming legend. Until the shadows came back. They wanted revenge for their ancestors, and started killing whatever got in their way.”

  “This was just over a hundred years ago,” Zia said, “and that was when Havilan the Light took over, and brought all the clans together; all but the Neith who chose to stay in the homeland.”

  “Why didn’t the Neith fight?” Trenton looked sad then, and Zia didn’t really know what to say. There wasn’t any explanation she could give him that wouldn’t make the Neith look bad; they stayed behind because they didn’t want to fight. Instead she said, “The stayed behind because they wanted to find a way around the fighting.”

  “But the other clans rose up and fought back the shadows, just as their ancestors did!” Hayden became animated again. “And they brought back peace to our world.”

  “After the second war, Havilan met with the Specter’s leaders and offered them a truce,” Zia smiled at the next part, “which is when the Neith came back and became the negotiators. They created the Accords that we live by today.”

  Two hours passed as Zia and Hayden explained what they could to Trenton. The boy had a lot of questions, and not all of them could be answered. Neith history was delicate, and most of it was kept away from anyone outside the clan. But when Mrs. Mayfield appeared and told Trenton that it was time to leave he seemed disappointed. They all said their goodbyes, and Zia promised to come back and visit him again. Unfortunately, Hayden promised the same.

  With a sigh, Zia slouched down in her cushioned chair and leaned her head on the back, only to remember that Hayden’s arm was still there. She shoved it out of the way and closed her eyes.

  Her bangs fell in front of her face, and she puffed out some air to get rid of them, but they stayed where they were. As she was about to move them herself, a warm hand brushed them away for her and she opened her eyes to find Hayden had done it. The soft glow of the sun was illuminating his features, and she didn’t remember him looking as good in classes as he did then. She felt the blood creeping up to her cheeks when she sat up straight.

  “I can’t believe you got in,” she mumbled to herself, embarrassed over her new feelings.

  Hayden laughed, oblivious. “Didn’t you?”

  “I did…sort of.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means she’s working with me,” Zia’s eyes shot open when she heard Aeryn’s voice. Almost jumping from her chair, she stood and faced him. He was looking as good as ever, silhouetted in a soft aura from the light that streamed through the front doors. “We need to go.”

  “Who’s that?” Hayden stood up, almost defensive as he stayed between Zia and Aeryn.

  “My mentor,” Zia gave him a wicked smile, “Hayden Rider, meet Aeryn Rinehart.” She walked over and patted her mentor on the arm, bag still swinging on her shoulder.

  “Rinehart?” Hayden’s eyes widened. “As in…?”

  “Yup,” Zia spun on her heel and walked away, “see you in September!” Aeryn followed her towards the front doors.

  Just as she passed a row of shelves, a woman caught Zia’s eye. She only caught a glimpse of the raven-haired woman, until she disappeared behind the books. Zia stopped and eyed the row, stepping forward to get a better look.

  “What is it?” Aeryn asked, almost bumping into her. Zia looked at the two rows beside her, switching between them as she tried to find the person. But she only saw a brunette walk out from the shade, reading a harlequin romance novel.

  “Nothing,” Zia said slowly, trying to tell herself it was her imagination. But as they exited the library she couldn’t shake the thought that someone had been there; that a Specter had just been watching her.

  Everything was normal, the woman thought, but she still had the feeling that something big was about to happen. This girl, this Kehzia Noble, was bound to get in the way sooner rather than later it seemed. She tapped her nails on her desk, eyeing the photograph of the girl.

  Half-bloods, she sneered, they’re next after the humans.

  Because really, who wanted to live in a world with humans and Specters?

  Her phone rang and she picked up right away. “What?” Her tone dripped with venom.

  “Just thought you should know that things are going well at the hospital,” a familiar male voice said. He was as arrogant as ever. “The spells aren’t even detected.”

  “Call me when there’s a problem,” she ordered and went to hang up the phone. As she did, she heard him say, “What sort of problem could come up? Nobody cares about vampires.”

  The phone clicked, harsh and loud, the noise echoing in her bare office.

  She tapped her nails again on the desk, getting louder with each click. Her Shakti blood was coming through and she sensed a problem on the horizon. But she decided to handle it herself, his Lord would not want to be bothered…not yet.

  His plan was just beginning.

  Chapter 11:

  “Why are we here?” Zia asked Aeryn as they stood in the elevator of Havilan Memorial Hospital. She had been trying to figure it out on her own, but nothing came to mind. The numbers climbed higher and higher and Aeryn said nothing. “Are you mad at me?”

  “Aeryn didn’t even turn to face her, his eyes still on the numbers. “Why do you ask?”

  “Well,” started Zia slowly, “Iscah, my friend, when she’s mad at me, she does this thing when she hangs out with me but doesn’t really talk to me or pay me any attention. It’s kind of what you’re doing now…”

  Aeryn laughed and brushed his hair back with one hand. Zia melted a little, thinking those combined actions were the sexiest thing ever. He asked, “Are you saying I’m acting like a seventeen year old girl?”

  Zia leaned back on the silver bar that encircled the elevator. She had never been good at telling how people felt towards her, even though she was great at it when watching others. She bit down on her bottom lip and confessed, “Kinda, yeah.”

  “I’m not mad at you,” he shook his head and leaned back with her, finally taking his eyes from the blinking green numbers to look down at Zia. He wondered, “Should I be?”

  “No…I just thought you would want to like…punish me or something for last night,” Zia shrugged, unable to find a better word than “punish”. How could it sound so scary yet enticing at the same time? She held back a flinch; oh damn, was she that kind of girl?

  “Do you want me to punish you?” Aeryn’s voice was terrifyingly soft and out of place. Zia flicked her head up, not even realizing she had been having a staring contest with her feet. As she opened her mouth to answer, the elevators dinged and the doors opened. Aeryn waved his hand and said, “Let’s go.”

  The Ventori walked out of the silver box, passing a few nurses in scrubs as they ushered a patient to another floor. Fluorescent lights lined the ceiling, trailing down the hall as a man walked up to them; Zia recognized him, Father Killian.

  “Aeryn,” he said, “I cannot thank you enough for coming. No other Ventori wanted to take the case…they didn’t see what the issue was.”

  “Not a problem
,” Aeryn shook hands with Father Killian, who enveloped Aeryn’s with both of his. “It’s good practice for the kid anyhow.” The Father gave Zia a nod of acknowledgment and she only huffed after being referred to as a “kid”.

  “There’s a case here?” Zia chimed in, wanting to take the lead a bit. She would show Aeryn what a “kid” could really do.

  “I believe so,” Father Killian herded them back into the elevator when the doors opened back up. He pressed a button for the basement, which Zia recognized as the morgue. “It will make more sense when we get down there.”

  A few seconds later and Zia and Aeryn were following Father Killian down a dim, yellowed hallway. Some of the lights were out, and the walls were stained with water marks. Zia wondered why the hospital wouldn’t take better care of this area, it’s not like they didn’t have the resources.

  “So why don’t you give the kid some background info Father?” Aeryn asked as they approached two large, silver doors. Through the windows Zia could make out sets of cabinets, also silver, with small white boxes on them; the cold chambers. A shiver ran through her as she thought of who might be in them…or if Donataen had ever been in one. But then again, there wasn’t enough of him left in the end.

  Father Killian looked over his shoulder, hands reaching out against the swinging plastic doors. He shoved them open, with quite a bit of force, he said, “There’ve been four deaths in the past week.”

  Aeryn and Zia walked through the frame, a rush of cold air and the stench of sour chemicals hit them hard. Zia was fine, but she couldn’t hold back a laugh as Aeryn choked on it.

  “Gonna live?” teased his student. He covered his nose before quickly retreating backwards.

  He moved towards the doors, mumbling something that sounded like, “I’m sensitive.” The doors swung shut behind him and he peered in through the blurry window. “You can take care of this part, I’m sure.”