Lightning Tracks

by A. A. Kinsela

  With a resigned sigh, Artemis said, ‘Fair enough. You’ve heard of the solstice massacre?’

  ‘Yeah. Cal told me about it.’

  ‘Well, we were there.’

  ‘You...you killed...?’

  Cal’s jaw clenched. ‘Bandála recruits. Yes. We had no choice.’

  They explained how they’d been forced to participate in the massacre, how Artemis had overheard Alexander informing Roan of his plan to track Nick down, and how she’d challenged Alexander. When Nick learned of the flogging she’d received, he clutched his stomach and gulped down the bile that rose in his throat. Finally, he heard how Cal’s desertion had triggered a lethal Arai response, resulting in the murders of his father and sister.

  For a long time, Nick was silent. Cal and Artemis were Arai. They’d shot Bandála soldiers. And now they were hiding out in a city full of people who, if the truth was ever discovered, would not hesitate to cut them to pieces.

  Right now, their lives were in far greater danger than Nick’s.

  ‘I take it Kráytos and Rayámina don’t know you’re here?’ Artemis asked.

  ‘No. I kind of...needed some space.’

  Cal whistled. ‘You’re going to be in so much trouble.’ He opened the door and beckoned. ‘Come on. I’ll take you home.’

  ‘Wait,’ Artemis said as Nick sidled past them both. ‘You’re not going to say anything about us, are you?’

  They stood, expectant and tense, their stares fixed on him. Nick remembered the spiked heads at the gates and said, ‘I know what it’s like to have a dangerous secret. I won’t tell anyone yours.’

  Cal’s shoulders slumped with relief. In a quiet voice, Artemis said, ‘Thank you.’

  And with that, Nick turned and walked into the daylight with Cal at his side.

  Chapter 28: Cover blown

  The next morning the training field was packed, as usual, with Bandála soldiers working through drills and jogging the perimeter. Nick left his bodyguard at the edge of the field and headed over to Pan’s beginner group. Jinx was at the back, fooling around with a couple of friends, and when she spotted Nick she pulled a face at him, squishing her cheeks and sticking out her tongue. He couldn’t help laughing. Pan barked an order and Jinx whipped back around.

  Nick went through the motions, keeping an eye out for Cal. He wanted to ask so many questions, but after an hour, Cal still hadn’t appeared. When it came to weapons training, the older recruits stepped in to instruct the beginners.

  ‘I heard you’re training with Rayámina now, Nick,’ Miles said, loud enough to make heads turn. ‘Are you going to show us what you’ve got?’

  The heat of the attention rattled Nick’s confidence. ‘Maybe another time,’ he replied.

  He spun away and almost smacked into Cal.

  ‘I think we do need to see what you’ve got, Nick,’ Cal said, a cocky smile spreading across his face. ‘One round. You and me. Over in the annex.’

  Nick glanced towards the archway that led to the secluded training area.

  ‘You have got to be kidding,’ Miles said, his face alight. ‘The peaker just challenged Rayámina’s recruit to a match!’

  A girl behind him snorted. ‘The peaker won’t last three strikes.’

  ‘Give him a break. Four at least,’ someone else said.

  The bets started flying. Cal ignored them, his amber gaze focused on Nick.

  ‘How about it?’

  Nick shook his head. ‘What are you doing? This is crazy!’

  Rolling up his sleeves, Cal walked towards the annex and called over his shoulder, ‘Scared, are you?’

  Even if Cal won, which Nick had no doubt he would, a sparring match in front of this many witnesses would be suicide. The moment the Bandála recruits realised what Cal was capable of, they’d demand answers, and when they got them, they’d rip him apart.

  ‘Go on, Nick,’ Miles said with a chuckle. ‘He’s a push-over. You’ve got nothing to worry about.’

  ‘No,’ Nick said, turning away. He’d rather run up the mountain than play Cal’s dangerous game.

  ‘Coward!’ Cal shouted.

  The word whizzed over the crowd, making heads swivel.

  ‘You’re good at retreating from a challenge. Is that all Rayámina taught you?’

  Nick stopped. Turned. Red hot mist was rising over his vision.

  ‘You want some knuckle guards, peaker?’ Miles asked. Then he glanced at Nick and said, ‘On second thought, we’d better stack your funeral pyre.’

  Laughter broke out around them, but Cal’s gaze remained fixed on Nick.

  ‘Maybe Rayámina didn’t need to teach you anything. Maybe cowardice is already in your blood. Your parents were good at running. Looks like you are too.’

  Fury coursed through Nick. His senses sharpened.

  Cal grinned savagely. ‘Come on, Nick. Prove to us that you have what it takes.’

  Nick charged. Cal caught his left hook and tossed him through the archway, sending him tumbling across the deserted annex. As he stumbled to his feet, the recruits streamed in from the training field, yelling encouragement. Cal dropped his centre of gravity and raised his fists. Nick flew at him. His next few jabs were blocked. A series of kicks and combination punches didn’t hit their mark either. Cal parried blow after blow. His defence was so sleek and seamless it was as if he could predict Nick’s movements. And he did it all with a mocking smile. Infuriated, Nick fought harder, faster, straining to break through Cal’s guard, but he couldn’t. Cal was too good.

  He became aware of Jinx shouting his name. When she pushed through the crowd into view, he snapped, ‘Stay out of this, Jinx.’

  ‘Stop being stupid boys!’

  ‘I said stay out of it!’

  While Nick was distracted, Cal struck as quick as a taipan. Nick staggered away, tasting blood. The recruits roared their indignation, and Cal ducked as an empty waterskin was hurled at him. He snatched it up, lobbed it back over the heads of the crowd, then stood watching as Nick wiped the corner of his mouth and shook the stars from his eyes.

  ‘Poor form, peaker!’ Miles yelled.

  Ignoring the comment, Cal strode forwards, his face grim with resolve. Nick barely dodged the next several blows, ducking and weaving and drawing on every trick in his arsenal to avoid the onslaught. He was concentrating so hard on avoiding Cal’s fists that he couldn’t even raise his shields. A well-placed jab had him doubled over and wincing in pain.

  Cal got around Nick’s guard, striking his face, ribs and stomach. None of the blows was hard enough to do any real damage, and Nick knew Cal was capable of much more than bruises.

  But Cal’s challenge had been genuine. The bloodthirsty desire to fight was etched into his face. He’d riled Nick up, made him so angry that he’d rushed forward and thrown the first punch. Then a realisation struck Nick. Cal had used a classic Arai tactic that David had told him about weeks ago.

  ‘The Arai focus a great deal of their training on defence and provocation. They’ll try anything to stir you up into a rage then they’ll ward off your attack until you get tired. That’s when they go in for the kill.’

  Nick had walked straight into Cal’s trap. He dropped his arms to his sides.

  ‘Raise your guard, Nick,’ Cal warned.

  ‘Why are you doing this? It isn’t you. It doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘Raise your guard!’

  ‘I’m not going to fight you!’

  With a snarl, Cal aimed a right hook at Nick’s temple, a king hit that would shatter bone. Numbness spread across Nick’s skin. His forearm flashed. Cal yelped and retreated, rubbing his knuckles and grimacing.

  Artemis appeared beside Jinx, her face drained of colour. When Cal saw her, he seemed to hesitate.

  ‘I mean it, Cal,’ Nick said. ‘I won’t fight.’

  ‘Then I’ll make you.’

  Cal scooped up a wooden staff from a pile of training weapons and twirled it fast, passing it from one hand to the other, swinging
it behind his back and over his head. He was showing off. Someone tossed another staff to Nick, but before he could work out how to use it, Cal’s weapon rushed towards his head. The staffs collided with a crack as loud as a bullwhip. The blow jarred Nick’s hand. He shook out his fingers and prepared again, this time angling his body so that he wasn’t facing Cal straight on. It made little difference. The next hit sent a spear of pain up his left arm, and his staff skittered away. Cal attacked again. Nick’s shields blazed. Sparks flashed, and he dropped to one knee under the force of the blow.

  Cal’s staff snapped in half. One piece rolled at Nick’s feet. Cal clutched the remaining stake, staring down at Nick with eyes full of hard, pained determination. Before either of them could make another move, Miles snatched the weapon from Cal and shoved him back.

  ‘Where did you learn to fight like that, peaker?’

  Cal shot him a look brimming with venom. ‘My name is Cal.’

  ‘We found you half-starved in the north spur of Deadman’s Stretch,’ Miles continued, ignoring the threat in Cal’s voice. ‘You said your family had been killed. You had us all convinced you were a runner. But slaves aren’t taught to fight. Not like that. There’s only one place you could’ve learned those skills. A mileskúlos training camp. You’re not a runner. You’re an Arai.’

  When Cal didn’t respond, Miles swung the broken staff, catching him across the face. He reeled back. Several hands grabbed at him and held him still as Miles gripped his shirt with both hands.

  ‘What is going on in here?’ Pan demanded, elbowing recruits aside. ‘You’re meant to be in weapons training. All of you. Miles, get away from him. You know you’re not allowed to go near one another. Rayámina’s orders.’

  ‘I think you’ll want to see this, Pan,’ Miles said, and he ripped Cal’s shirt down the middle.

  Nick gasped when he saw the horrific bruising on Cal’s stomach and chest. Someone had really laid into him. Everyone else was far more alarmed by the sight of his Arai tattoo, pointing and sneering like he was some captured feral animal.

  ‘Oh, gods,’ Pan muttered.

  Miles rested the tip of the splintered stake on Cal’s chest. ‘You know very well, peaker, what we do to Arai who step outside their territory.’

  The hairs on Nick’s arms lifted. ‘That’s enough, Miles,’ he said.

  ‘Enough? We haven’t even got started.’

  Nick knocked the staff aside and stood between him and Cal. ‘I said back off.’

  ‘You’re defending him? After what he just did to you?’

  ‘I’m making sure you don’t do anything stupid. You haven’t heard his reasons for being here. And besides, Cal’s not the only one in Auremos who has the tattoo.’

  ‘Everyone else has declared their brands. This mongrel kept his hidden.’

  ‘Why would he tell you if he knew this is the way you’d all react?’

  Pan held up her hands and said, ‘Whoa. Wait a minute. Nick, have you known this whole time that Cal was an Arai?’

  Nick glanced at Artemis, who shook her head, like a warning.

  He ignored her. ‘Yes. Cal’s my friend. He told me.’

  Jinx stepped up beside Nick and said, ‘He’s telling the truth. Cal’s a deserter.’

  Everyone looked at her, including Nick and Cal.

  ‘How did you know that?’ Nick asked.

  ‘Unlike you, I pay attention. Honestly, you’re so thick sometimes. How is it even possible we’re related?’

  This drew a few chuckles from the recruits. Nick was about to retort when it occurred to him that she might be trying to use humour to diffuse the situation.

  Pan’s eyes narrowed. ‘You two are related?’

  Jinx shrugged. ‘Cousins. Well, our dads were cousins, so I guess that sort of makes us cousins.’

  ‘Jinx!’ Nick gasped.

  She clapped a hand across her forehead. ‘Oh, crap! Was I meant to say that? I didn’t mean to say that. Just ignore me.’

  Pan stared. In a quiet voice, she said, ‘Rayámina only had one cousin.’

  Artemis spun around and pushed away through the crowd. Nick could only assume she was going to find help.

  ‘You’re him,’ Pan murmured. ‘Gods. You’re him.’

  ‘He’s who?’ Miles asked. Several others repeated the question.

  Pan regarded Nick with a mixture of awe and outrage. ‘Why has Rayámina not told us about you?’

  Nick didn’t reply.

  She swept an arm out towards the recruits. ‘Are you going to tell them? Or do I have to?’

  ‘Pan, please, I—’

  ‘We have a right to know who we’re protecting!’

  ‘Nick, don’t say anything,’ Cal said, then grunted as Miles slugged him in the stomach.

  ‘Shut it, peaker. Your head’s already earmarked for the stakes.’ He scooped up the broken staff and inspected the splintered end.

  Jinx snatched it off him. ‘You can’t execute him without an officer present.’

  Gesturing to Pan, he said, ‘We have an officer present.’

  ‘Who hasn’t given a kill order.’

  Miles raised an eyebrow at Pan in a wordless question.

  ‘Cal’s got an undeclared brand, Nick,’ she said in a low, dangerous voice. ‘It’s the law. Give me a reason not to do this.’

  Cal winced as he was forced to his knees.

  ‘Pan, he’s a deserter! He’s allowed to be here. He wants the Arai gone as much as any of us do.’

  ‘Prove it. Explain why we should trust what you say. Tell us who you are.’

  Cal had deliberately put himself in the firing line, and Nick couldn’t let the Bandála recruits use him for target practice.

  ‘I trust Cal because I know who he is and why he’s here. He’s not an Arai. Not anymore. He...he’s helped protect me.’ His voice stuck in his throat.

  ‘And why,’ Pan asked, crossing her arms, ‘would some unknown, unremarkable kid like you need protecting?’

  The recruits looked on, expectant. Jinx hugged her stomach as if she had cramps.

  ‘It’s not from you,’ Nick replied. ‘Cal’s not protecting me from the Bandála. It’s the Arai. They’re after me. They’re after me because I...’ He gulped. ‘Because I’m Nicholas Kári.’

  A collective gasp rose, followed by a few seconds of absolute stillness. In that moment, Nick didn’t breathe. He couldn’t. His head was too full of terrifying possibilities. Would they attack him? Would they let Miles spear Cal with the stake? He tried to read the expressions around him. They ranged from shock to outrage to amazement. He wasn’t sure what it meant. Then, all of a sudden, shouts erupted, and the news spread across the training annex like a sandstorm.

  ‘Kári! He’s back! He’s alive!’

  ‘Can you believe it? Kaléysan’s son is in Auremos!’

  ‘You don’t actually believe him, Pan, do you?’ Miles asked.

  Ignoring him, she moved closer to Nick. ‘Do you have the Arai mark?’

  Gritting his teeth, Nick nodded.

  ‘Show us.’

  With a hundred young, lethal soldiers watching on, he’d never felt so vulnerable in his life. His hands shook as he tugged his collar down to reveal his tattoo. A fresh wave of gasps and mutterings swept through the crowd.

  ‘He doesn’t have the mileskúlos mark!’ someone said.

  Nick wanted to ask what that meant, but Pan fixed him with a penetrating stare and asked, ‘So, Nicholas Kári, are you with us?’

  Nick knew, in that moment, there was only one answer that would keep Cal alive. He gave a firm nod. ‘I am. And Cal is, too. Valerius, Rayámina and Xanthe know who he is and why he’s here. He’s defected. Ask them, and they’ll say exactly what I’ve just told you.’

  ‘If that’s true,’ Miles said, ‘why did the peaker fight you?’

  Nick wanted an answer to that question as well, but from the closed expression on Cal’s face, he guessed it was something that would give the Bandála even more rea
son to skewer him.

  ‘He was sick of hiding. He wanted you to know. I guess we both did, really.’

  ‘Is that right, Cal? Were you sick of hiding?’ Pan asked.

  Cal hesitated, as if weighing up whether the consequences of running with this lie would be worse than what he was facing right now. He nodded.

  ‘There. See? Now let him go,’ Nick said.

  Pan shook her head. ‘I want this story verified. Someone go and get Rayámina.’

  ‘Gladly,’ Miles said, and pushed through the crowd. But Kráytos was already striding towards them, his expression filling Nick with dread. Artemis was right behind him.

  ‘Sir,’ Nick began.

  Kráytos held up a hand to silence him, and this time, Nick knew he had to obey.

  ‘Release him,’ Kráytos ordered, pointing to Cal.

  The recruits stepped back, and Cal rose unsteadily to his feet. He kept his head bowed, but Nick could tell from the quick rise and fall of his chest that he was scared. Kráytos scrutinised them both for an agonising minute before he spoke.

  ‘Cal is in Auremos with the Council’s permission, and these boys have both been granted full protection from the Bandála.’

  ‘But, sir,’ Miles said, ‘aren’t they supposed to have declared their Arai brands?’

  ‘They did.’

  ‘And why are we only finding out now that Nicholas Kári is alive?’

  Kráytos levelled his dark gaze at Miles. ‘Because you didn’t need to know.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘You will accept this explanation, Miles, and you will not question it. None of you will. Is that clear?’

  A resounding ‘Yes, sir!’ echoed around them.

  ‘Both of you,’ Kráytos growled, turning to Nick and Cal, ‘come with me.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Nick murmured, and with a final glance at Artemis, he trudged out of the training annex.

  Chapter 29: Cal’s confession

  As Nick, Cal and Kráytos marched to Market Square, Nick glared at Cal’s back, his mind firing off streams of silent, furious questions. What was Cal thinking? Why did he challenge Nick? How on earth was he going to explain this to David? By the time they reached Nick’s apartment building, his head was so full that he could barely see straight.