by Heath Pfaff
Zark and I had become an incredible team. When we worked together we were the strongest group in our year. We complimented each other in a way a lot of other teams didn’t. No one congratulated you at the academy, but it was a source of pride for both of us. We talked about it when we had time together, and it did bring us closer together, though we never crossed that line that we had come so close to crossing at that first group trial. The promise of death was enough to keep us acting appropriately.
We hadn’t even kissed. It wasn’t worth dying over. Besides, we’d built a relationship of a different kind between us. We had trust and friendship, and that was something that was clearly missing between most people in the Academy. Even Ori, who we both liked, wasn’t nearly as close to either of us. She’d finally relaxed a little, and she sometimes ate with us by choice, or joked around a bit, but she was a serious, somber woman for the most part, and she seemed to constantly be suffering from something. I would have liked to have known more about her, but she was a closed book. We didn’t even know how she’d gotten her tattoo, though by now we’d both talked about the situations around our own rather thoroughly.
It wasn’t a matter of bragging. We were both very ashamed of the things that had brought us here, but we also wanted to make amends, to be better than we had been when we arrived. It was strange that we were both so intent upon becoming Wardens now. We’d just wanted to survive at first, after months of training, we wanted this as badly as any of the others, maybe more.
A part of me was vaguely aware that this had to do with the nature of the training. They’d taken undisciplined, angry youths and shaped us into something firmer and more resolute. We saw the changes. They’d broken us down and built up something better, and we wanted more of that. One could look at it as a strange desire to experience more pain, or as a logical desire to make ourselves better. Either way, we were committed now. The Warden training was our life, and we were prepared to do what we had to in order to succeed.
Things were going so well that when the golems came for us we weren’t even the least bit prepared. They woke us from sleep and dragged us from our beds screaming. There were two of them, and how they’d gotten into our rooms unheard I couldn’t guess, but we could do nothing as they dragged us through the halls and towards the Rift door.
It took me a bit to realize that there had only been two of them. One had taken me, and the other had taken Zark. Ori had been left in her bed, watching in shock and fear as we’d been dragged away. She didn't know what was happening, and it was clear we didn’t know.
We reached the Rift door and there was a Warden there.
“What’s happening?!” I growled, my voice full of anger and more than a little fear.
The warden didn’t respond. He opened the smaller sub-door on the Rift gate and a moment later Zark was being dragged through by the golem that had a hold of him. I thought I’d be going in after, that this was a group event even though we weren’t really due for one yet. At least I didn’t think we were. It was difficult to keep track of time, but it seemed we’d had one recently. Then the door was pulled shut, and I realized we weren’t being sent to the same place.
“Where did you take Zarkov?” I asked, trying to make the Warden answer me, but he didn’t even look in my direction. A moment later the door opened again, and this time I was dragged through the gate and into a tent, a large pavilion style tent, and the room was full of Wardens. I’d never seen so many of them before in one place. There had to be at least a dozen of them. Beyond the tent I could hear the sound of horses and people moving around, but the tent was entirely closed. The golem let me go and turned to stand next to the entrance. The door I’d come through was gone.
I righted myself and stood up. I was wearing nothing but my underthings and I hadn’t gone to sleep with my chest binding on. I’d long given up being shy around Zark. It was more comfortable to sleep without the pressure there. I’d also long ago given up on being embarrassed about my naked body. A warrior didn’t have time for embarrassment. Still, there were twelve people staring at me with those cold, dead-looking eyes. I could definitely feel the vulnerability of my lack of clothing. I wasn’t embarrassed, but I did feel keenly weakened.
“You have been accused of sexual acts with a fellow student of the academy.” One of the Wardens said. “As these are serious charges, we have assembled a jury to hear you out. We have testimony from several students that say you’re closer to the student Zarkov than you have any right to be, and we have statements from five students saying that you bragged about having sexual encounters with him . . . “
“I have never!” I snapped, voice angry and indignant.
A powerful force of Will knocked me back onto my ass.
“I wasn’t finished. Hold your tongue until you’re asked to speak.” The man’s angry voice admonished, face impassive even as his powers pressed me roughly to the floor for a moment. “We have the testament of two students that say they walked in on you and Zarkov engaged in sexual intercourse. Be aware that we have sworn statements from each of these witnesses. How do you answer these charges?”
“I have never so much as kissed Zarkov.” I said, voice a growl, though my cheeks turned bright red. I was happy that at least one of them would be hidden by the skull tattoo. “He is my partner in group activities. That is as far as our friendship goes.”
“So you’re accusing almost half a dozen of your fellow students of lying?” Another of the Warden’s asked, a female.
Anger burned up inside me and it filled the tone of reply. “Yes, I am. Was one of these students Kiiava?” I asked bitterly, my mind already piecing together the events leading me to this point. It wasn’t difficult to guess what was happening. I’d known that things had been peaceful for too long.
“You don’t get to know your accusers. They have the right to accuse privately without fear of reprisal from you.” Another of the wardens snapped. “Abuse of our tenants will not be tolerated.”
“You can force the truth from me.” I said darkly. “Do it. Use your Will on me and make me speak the truth. You’ll hear that I have not ever done anything against the rules with Zark.”
“It’s not that simple. You’ve been trained partially now, and you’d be speaking to save your own life. You might be able to lie to us even when pushed by the Will. I’m guessing you know that.” The angry warden who’d told me I wasn’t allowed to know my accusers said.
My heart started to hammer in my chest as I realized that this could be the end of me. I’d worked so damn hard and for nothing. I’d avoided acting on what I wanted for all this time and now I was going to die for the very thing I’d denied myself. They didn’t want to give me a fair hearing. They were convinced I was guilty.
“If you’ve already decided I’m guilty, then why bother bringing me here?” I asked, trying to force myself to be calm. Death had always been likely. Maybe it was time to face that I’d had a good run. I was furious that a lie was going to kill me. Had it been my own failure I would have accepted what was coming, but this was wrong.
“We haven’t made that decision yet.” A voice I recognized said. I looked at her and saw it was the woman who had been so nice to me when we’d exited the Rift after Kiiava’s betrayal. “Despite what some of us may be implying, we are here to discuss these rumors and understand from where they spring.”
“Ella, you really believe this many students lied?” Another of the wardens asked her incredulously.
“I believe the deadies are often targeted, and this is especially true when they’re exceeding expectations at the school. This team has come out ahead in every single group event they’ve faced, with the exception of the first, which they also performed admirably in. We would be remiss not to take that into consideration as we look at this. I have also seen the list of accusers, and I know for a fact certain parties on that list have reason to hold a vendetta.” Ella answered. “How well do you know any of these students involved, Harvok?” She asked the o
ther man in return.
The one identified as Harvok shrugged. “How well do I need to know them? Do you really think deadies are worth our time? They’ll never be Wardens anyway.”
“They are both at the academy for murder of an innocent.” Another woman pointed out. “I think you give them too much credit.” She said to Ella.
“Ask my roommate, Ori. I’ve never been with Zark.” I said, trying to get someone to listen. “We share a bed, but we’re not intimate.”
“You’re not even wearing a bra. We just pulled you mostly naked from the bed you share with this boy and you expect us to believe you two haven’t engaged sexually? Who is Ori?” This Warden was speaking for the first time. His eyes were strangely black, his skin heavily laced with dark lines.
“I’m not going to sleep every night wearing a binder. They’re painful and I need my rest.” I explained, my tone still heated by my anger at the situation. “Ori is . . . “
“Ori is another deadie. Her word has no value.” The woman who’d sided with Harvok interrupted. “She probably should be at one of these hearings as well. I doubt she hasn’t fucked the boy.”
“You’re a vile bitch!” I snarled, the words slipping off my tongue before I could even stop them. The force of Will that hit me a second later slammed me flat to the ground, the pressure building until I felt one of my ribs snap beneath the raw force of the woman’s power. I gasped in pain.
“You should have learned by now not to talk to your betters that way.” The woman said, walking up to me, a grim smile on her face.
“Enough!” Someone else called. She stood up, a group of papers in one hand. “Have all of your read these accusations?”
Everyone nodded confidently. The pressure on my body eased up and my rib popped again, sending sparks of bright light across my vision.
“Good, then let’s get down to the business at hand. We have to determine guilt of the accused party, and since everyone is aware of the evidence, I believe we can do this quickly enough.” She slammed the papers down on a nearby desk. “No two accounts are identical. Each one differs in key details. They all have the same major points highlighted, but when we asked for detailed accounts, all of the stories fall apart. I don’t believe any of these reports.” She shuffled through the papers and drew out two. “These two are the preliminary accusations that these students had witnessed Zarkov and Lillin engaged in sexual intercourse. They describe the exact same time and place of the encounter.” She picked up another two sheets of paper. “These are the detailed investigations that I requested. This one says that they were discovered engaged in sexual congress in the lover’s position on the bed, and this one.” She held up the other. “Says that they were engaged against the wall next to the door. These two witnesses stated that they were together at the time they witnessed this.”
“They could have seen things from different angles and . . . “
“Stop trying to justify your own prejudices.” The other woman interrupted, and there was an air of command to her voice. “All of the detailed accounts are different. A few of the general accounts are the same, but they don’t point to anything inappropriate. That’s why we request detailed accounts, because a general accusation tells us nothing. I don’t believe even half of you actually read the detailed reports. This is a sham. The only thing we have evidence of here is that Zarkov and Lillin get along very well and spend time together outside of training. This isn’t against any of our rules.”
Relief was washing through me, despite the pain I was feeling. I dragged myself to my feet, though it hurt very badly to stand up.
The room was strangely quiet as most of the Warden’s refused to meet the eyes of the woman who’d spoken. Only Ella’s head was up confidently.
“So you’re saying you have no feelings for Zarkov at all.” Harkov said suddenly, a small smile on his lips. “You’re not attracted to him?”
I tried to stand up straight but it hurt. “I love Zarkov.” I said clearly, which resulted in defeated faces turning to triumphant ones. I wasn’t going to lie to these people. “I don’t know how he feels about me, but I think he cares about me, but there is no rule against loving someone in the school. I love him, but I have never so much as kissed him, and I never will. Kissing him would be the same as killing him, as would anything else. I won’t do it. He is my brother, my team, and nothing more.”
Harkov frowned, and several of the others who had seen a gleam of victory also looked disappointed. The woman who had spoken out against me several times still looked pleased with herself. “Sleeping in the same bed as a man you love, and we are to believe that you have never done anything amiss? That seems very unlikely.”
“It doesn’t matter what it seems to you. It only matters what there is evidence of. There is no evidence of wrongdoing. You all know there is important business that needs doing, and this is a foolish matter that has been brought before us. It’s time to vote. We’re voting on guilt here, and we will base it on the evidence, of which there is none. If you vote to kick out this promising student, then I expect you to provide a good explanation of why you’ve voted for that.” The woman with the papers said, voice cold and calm.
“Show of hands, how many vote her guilty?” She asked, and for a moment it looked like Harkov might raise his hand, but he didn’t. No one did. “Good, then this matter is over. Take this woman to the healers, and then back to her room. She has a busy day in the morning. I want these students, particularly the two witnesses to the carnal acts, brought to me. This is attempted murder of another student, and it’s premeditated. We will deal with this matter.”
“Now see here, you can hardly pass a . . .”
Before anything else could be said, or I could hear anymore, I was being dragged out of the tent by the golem again. It easily pulled me out through the door that I hadn’t even known was back, across the threshold into the school, and then through the hallway to the healers. It was quiet since it was the middle of the night. There was a single woman on duty. The golem dumped me in front of her and then left.
She approached me. “Hurt yourself in your sleep?” She asked, a somewhat viperous grin on her face, and a twisted light in her gaze.
“I had a meeting with the Wardens. One of them didn’t like me.” I answered as she drew close, her eyes slipping over my body in a strangely thorough way that made me remember I was quite less than fully dressed.
“Do you often have meetings with the Wardens while not wearing your clothes?” She asked, her teasing tone a bit malicious as well.
“I was taken in my sleep.” I replied, in a considerable amount of pain and just wanting this process to be done with.
She put a hand on my chest between my breasts and then slid it a bit lower, nearer where my broken rib was. “You know, there are no rules against sexual encounters with people who are not students of the school.” She said, her voice still teasing, still cruel, but also tinged with arousal in a way I hadn’t expected at all from one of her kind. She stepped nearer to me, her lips coming close to mine, and her breath was warm across my skin. My nipples hardened at her touch, a momentary confusion passing over me at the sensation that buzzed in my lower stomach. “I could make this healing less painful, give you something to take your mind off the bone snapping back into place . . . “
I hadn’t ever considered a relationship with a woman for myself. It wasn’t that I thought they were ugly, or that I was disgusted by the thought, but I’d never considered an attraction to them, and certainly not with one of the Fel Clerics. I remembered all too well what they were, how they crawled with parasites just beneath the surface. Also, for some reason, Zarkov momentarily danced through my mind, bringing color to my cheeks.
I shook my head “No, please, just heal me. It has been a bad night.”
A streak of anger flashed through the woman’s eyes, but then an almost sad resignation followed. “Of course, my apologies.” Her grip switched to the place where my ribs were cracked. There was
a terrible surge of blinding agony that outweighed the pain of the initial fracture, and then the pain began to subside. I didn’t call out as the bone repaired itself, but my vision swam for a moment and I was breathing a bit hard as the sensation passed.
“If you change your mind, I am Iyavi. I’m here every Willsburn night. I promise there will be no pain.” She said, another of her dark, teasing smiles, and then she was back to work on something else.
I got up and made my way back to my room, not sure of what to make of any of that. In a way I was flattered. She’d been attracted to me. That wasn’t something I encountered so often that it had lost its appeal. At the same time I wasn’t even remotely interested in something like that, and it had come at a very bad time, just after having been accused of the same thing with someone I actually wanted. I felt a general sense of shame over it. When I reached the room Zark wasn’t back yet, but Ori was up when I arrived.
“Are you alright?” She asked, voice actually filled with concern as I dressed and crawled into bed. I didn’t want to be naked anymore.