Death Flag

  Alright. Not what I expected my first lesson to be, but time to figure out how to control some magic.

  He glanced out the window and realized that it was already night. It had been late afternoon when he went into the room, and he was a bit afraid to guess at what time it actually was. I wonder if I’ve been in there for a full day again? Did I miss all the hubbub with this envoy arriving?

  Realizing he didn’t actually care, he set off down the hallway intent on making his way to the infirmary. He had been fairly successful earlier when he was searching for Ryder, and he had been able to find the dormitory when he tried as a test run, but for some reason, he couldn’t quite focus. Everything he had picked up from the last day kept flitting through his mind. There was so much he had to remember, and so much that he had to learn, he was basically being overwhelmed with information at every turn.

  Whatever the reason was, he promptly got lost in all the twists and turns as the building kept sending him in seemingly-random directions. He was apparently too scatterbrained to focus properly, or the building’s magic wanted to just keep screwing with him; so, eventually he just gave up and decided to go at it the old-fashioned way. The old adage of finding your way out of a maze said to either pick left or right and keep with it, and though it took a while, it eventually proved true. Rather than exiting the building where he had hoped he would, however, he came out somewhere completely different. He stepped out into the cool predawn night air and was greeted by the earthy smell of nature. He had expected to exit out into the now-familiar, quad-like field, but instead, he found himself leaving the building through a small side door facing a wooded grove.

  He quickly scanned his memory, but he couldn’t recall seeing this before. He had taken note of several forested areas when he first entered the valley, and if he was guessing correctly, he was probably on the opposite side of the main building. He was about as far away from where he wanted to be as was possible, but that also explained why he hadn’t discovered this area yet and why he wouldn’t have seen it the day before because it would have been blocked off by the building itself. It definitely wasn’t where he wanted to be, but this was an opportunity in itself for him to do a bit of exploring.

  He reached down and tentatively touched his ribs, suddenly remembering what had happened last night when he had decided to set off and do some sightseeing. He should have been hurt. He had practically limped his way into the training room on accident, but for some reason, it felt as if his injuries had started healing of their own accord. He hadn’t even realized it until now, but the dull, nagging ache in his eyes had disappeared as well.

  Well, in for a pound . . . He carefully made his way into the trees, constantly remaining cautious of where he was going. Unlike everywhere else he had been since entering the compound, it seemed as if these trees were actually allowed to grow naturally. There was no well-manicured lawn surrounding them and no stone pathway to guide him. The tall deciduous trees matched those from the forest outside, though they were much smaller than the ones he remembered there, but they still reached high into the night sky, blanking out the moon and stars with their leafy canopy.

  He went from tree to tree, slowly making his way long for what he guessed was about two-hundred yards before he heard the sound of running water. Before long, he was standing on a large rock, looking out over a deep pool of water that was about ten feet below him. The sound he had heard was a stream rushing over the rocks before becoming a waterfall that tumbled down over the edge and into the deep pool below. The canopy of trees failed to completely cover the small pond, and a small amount of moonlight filtered in from above, covering everything with a pale white light and allowing him to take in everything.

  He sat down on the ledge and let his legs dangle off. The scene in front of him was idyllic. In fact, it was almost too good to be true. After all the chaos he had been through, he just wasn’t willing to accept that any place could be so peaceful or so quiet. Everywhere he went was covered with people. He hadn’t heard an official number from anyone yet, but he had to assume that there were at least over a thousand people within the compound, and while it was actually a sizeable area, everything they used seemed to be crammed together. He had been in constant contact with one person or another almost the entire time since he arrived, and while it wasn’t exactly a problem for him, it didn’t leave a person with a lot of time to himself either.

  Despite being awake for as long as he had, he didn’t really feel any fatigue. He still had no clue what time it was, or even on what day, but he figured he might as well take advantage of the time alone while he could. He sat and closed his eyes, relaxed his body and focused on his breathing.

  He wasn’t exactly a fan of meditation, though he had taken a class that taught it in college, but he had learned from studying late at night that taking a bit of time and doing nothing was actually therapeutic. It helped calm him down and gave his brain a chance to cool off. He wasn’t exactly in the middle of a cram session like he had been back then, but it was still a trick he used from time to time when he felt like he needed a break so that his thoughts would come together.

  Taking in one slow, deep breath after another, he pushed everything out of his mind and let himself stop thinking. He stopped worrying about what the grand scheme of things was, about who was going to jump him next, about any of the crazy people he had met since coming there, or his need to focus on revenge and finding a way back home. He centered himself in the present and let his mind drift into nothingness. He let all of the worry and stress slough off until it was nothing more than the distant memory from of a taxing day. He didn’t push the thoughts away, and he didn’t forget them, he simply stopped worrying about them for a while.

  There was a faint chill to the air, hinting at the fact that it was almost dawn. After being in the freezing cold inside the training room, it was actually warm in its own way, clinging to his skin and filling his lungs with every deep breath he took. The water babbled over the rocks, falling to the pond below in a steady, unceasing wave of noise. That was his existence.

  He sat like that for a long time, simply listening to the sound of the water and focusing on his breathing and not thinking, until his legs turned stiff. When that happened, he couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up and stretched, twisting from side to side as he cracked his back up and down his spine. He smiled to himself. Nothing had changed. His problems were all still there, nagging at the back of his consciousness, but he felt better.

  Madison glanced down at the water below him, and a sly smile crossed his face. Well, I’m here, after all. Who could possibly pass up such an opportunity? You should always take advantage of things when they’re presented to you, right?

  He stripped off the tattered clothes he was wearing, shucked his boots off, and carefully unwrapped his left forearm. He was quickly losing track of the number of trips he had made to the infirmary, and he wanted to avoid another one for as long as possible, even if it was just to pick up another roll of gauze. When he was finished, he dove down into the pool of water stark naked. He had no way of knowing whether or not it was actually deep enough to be safe, but he didn’t stop to think about it either. He sank into the cold water with a small slash and then held himself under the surface for as long as he could. The water was cold, refreshing, and felt amazing. He sucked in a deep breath of air as soon as he was back on the surface and then leaned back, letting the water hold him up as he floated on his back. He stayed that way for a long time, simply staring up at the small bit of the night sky he could see and the canopy of leaves above him.

  He washed himself off as best he could without the use of any soap or a cloth, and by the time he trudged his way out and onto the rocky shore, he was beginning to feel like he was almost human again. It had been so long since he’d properly washed off that he didn’t even want to think about it. He carefully made his way over the rough, slippery stones, and began thinking about how he was going to get back to where he had left his cl
othes. He glanced up at the small cliff as he weighed the possibility of climbing back up it. The rocks would be slippery, but it wasn’t too high, so he might actually be able to manage it. He glanced back toward the woods, hoping to find an easier way around, but his eyes caught sight of something else instead, and he realized he wasn’t alone.

  There was a young woman standing a few feet away from him at the edge of the woods, quietly watching him with a rather sly smile that was somewhere between shock and amusement. He didn’t make any move to cover himself up or show any modesty. If she’d been there for very long, she would have seen everything anyway, so there wasn’t any point, but he wasn’t even thinking about that. The only thing he was thinking about at that moment was the beautiful, young woman in front of him.

  The first thing he noticed was her eyes. She had bright, frosty-blue eyes that stood out even in the murky darkness that couldn’t possibly be natural. She had long, silvery-white hair that hung down to just below her shoulders, and she was almost as tall as he was. She was wearing a pair of simple, brown pants, a pair of sturdy, brown boots that looked like they had seen a lot of use, and a thin, white blouse that looked like it might have been made out of silk. Her clothes weren’t exactly skin-tight, but they weren’t very baggy either. They left a little bit to his imagination, yet he was still able to make out that she had an athletic build with curves in all the right places.

  She gazed back at him, obviously taking in as much as he was if not more, and her expression shifted to curiosity. “Please, don’t let me interrupt,” she said in a smooth, melodious voice. She had a slight accent to her voice, one that he hadn’t heard around here before.

  “I was just finishing, actually,” Madison replied quietly. “Were you waiting for your turn? Or just enjoying the show?”

  She broke into a full smile and laughed. “Yes. Something like that,” she answered, not bothering to specify which. “I didn’t realize anyone would be out here this early in the morning. I understood that these woods were off limits to most of the residents, so I assumed I would be alone.”

  Madison shrugged. “I guess they forgot to fill me in on that bit of information. That’s the downfall of being the new guy without a proper tour guide or guidebook—I’m left to figure out my way around on my own.”

  She looked at him quizzically again, a subtle shift in her expression. “Do you have any clothes?” she asked. “Or do you typically trounce around in the woods at night completely naked?”

  “Ah . . .” Madison actually turned slightly red at finally being called out for his nudity. “Yes. I mean, no,” he corrected quickly. Realizing the trap that he was caught in, he just smiled broadly and tilted his head toward the top of the small cliff. “They’re up there.”

  “I know,” she replied. “It really was a good show.”

  So, she’s been watching me for that long? How long has she been standing there, anyway? Did she come up while I was meditating, or has she been there the entire time? I really must be losing it. I didn’t even have a clue.

  “Alright, well . . .” If he was going to make it to his clothes, he was either going to have to go past her or waste the time and energy it took trying to climb up that cliff—and there was no way he was going to risk looking like an idiot by taking the long way up the cliff just because he didn’t want to walk by a beautiful, young woman while naked.

  Bracing himself, he took one step forward toward her, stepping from one rock to the next. When she didn’t even so much as flinch, he took another and then a third, and then he was right beside her. The wind shifted at just that moment, and he caught a strange smell on the wind. The forest was damp and earthy, filled with the smells of leaves and trees and dirt. It was the natural smell of an ancient hardwood forest. What he picked up on, however, wasn’t any of those things at all. It was crisp, cold, hard and clean, with just a touch of wood smoke. If he hadn’t left the training room only a short time ago, he never would have recognized it for what it was.

  He stopped, only inches away from her, and looked into her frozen eyes. “You smell like snow,” he said plainly. It wasn’t an accusation or an ‘aha!’ It was just a simple statement of fact.

  Her smile finally broke, and she looked genuinely surprised for a moment before curiosity took over again. “How . . .?”

  He stepped past her then and began threading his way through the trees until he reached the top of the cliff. He redressed quickly, slipping on his clothes and his boots, but faltered when he saw the bandage lying where he had left it, neatly folded.

  Damn it. I’ve really got to stop forgetting this stupid thing. He wrapped it around his arm, covering up the mark there. Oh well. I doubt she was looking at my arm, anyway. Even if she did happen to see it, and even if she’s been watching for a while, it’s dark enough here that she probably couldn’t make out what it was even if she looked straight at it.

  When he was finished dressing, he made his way back down to her.

  “So, you said that you were here?” she asked. “How do you like it so far?”

  “Well, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure what to think about it so far. I think the people are going to be alright for the most part. There are a few who are shaping up to be real assholes, and some who are dangerously caught up in this ‘power is everything’ game they have going on, but I think most of the people here are just like the people everywhere else. They just want to be left alone while they go about their business. I’ve met a few of the Guardians, and they seem to be . . . Well, they’re on an entirely-different level. They’re driven and focused, but they’re also preoccupied with something else that they aren’t letting on to the rest of us. No one has been able to explain to me what exactly this massive fortress is even here for. It’s obvious that they’re training troops for something, but I don’t know what. I’ve heard this story and that story about history and corruption and all that good stuff, but I’m not exactly sure how much of it I’m willing to buy into. So . . . It’s not a bad place so far. The food’s good at least.”

  She listened to him intently, seemingly interested in everything he had to say. When he was finished, she nodded slightly and said, “I think most people just want to be left alone to live their lives. But no one is ever content to leave them be, are they? Lords want taxes from them; kings want armies. But, that’s the way of the world. Sometimes, I think the best you can hope for is to make it out of one day and into the next.”

  “That’s . . . a rather bleak view of things,” Madison noted. “The minute you stop wishing for something better is the minute you start dying.” She looked like she didn’t believe a word he said, so he held up his hands before she could say anything dismissive. “I know it sounds like philosophical crap, but just take it for what it is. They say that ‘the grass is always green in another pasture,’ but that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to be content with what you have. It means you’re supposed to find that pasture. I mean, come on. Look around us . . . This place is about as perfect as you can get. We’re surrounded on all sides by a military academy that is practically creating trained killers by the day, and this small spot is absolutely beautiful. You’d never know what you’re missing out on if you remained complacent with just keeping your head down, minding your own business, and living your life. You’d only ever miss out on the adventure if you weren’t willing to step out of bounds from time to time. If I hadn’t been, I never would have found this place, and I never would have met you.” Wow. Real smooth, you idiot.

  She raised an eyebrow and studied him for a moment. “How do you know that meeting me has been such a good thing? How do you know that I’m not going to turn and attack you at any moment?”

  “Ah . . . Well, you wouldn’t be the first woman to do that today, actually.” She looked even more curious, but he just grinned and shrugged it off with a dismissive shake of his head. “Honestly? I don’t. You could at any moment. But how do you know that you can beat me? Do you really want to attack someone withou
t knowing anything about them first?”

  Sweetly and teasingly she said, “I’ve already seen everything you have to offer. What more does a lady need to go on?”

  “Ouch!” Madison grabbed his heart as if he had been struck with a sword, hamming it up for dramatic effect. “How much rougher can you get?”

  She looked thoughtful for a moment and said, “A lot.”

  For some reason, Madison believed her. He also picked up on the thinly-veiled innuendo. “So, what were you doing out here if we’re not supposed to be here?”

  “The same as you, I think. I needed some time to myself to clear my head. I also wanted to see a bit of the scenery. There was nothing like this in my home, so it’s strange for me. I just can’t get used to the sight of so many trees . . . much less ones that are this large and so full of life.”

  Madison nodded. He suddenly felt bad for hanging around and talking to her. If she had come out here to be alone and think, he’d probably been messing that up for quite a while now. Still, she didn’t seem to mind his being there. She struck him as easy going and considerate—a refreshing change from basically everyone else he had met since arriving in this world.

  “Well, it’s early, and I had better be going,” she said wistfully. “It’s going to be a busy day.”

  “Ah . . . Yeah. Everyone is in a big tizzy about this envoy that’s supposed to arrive. That’s all I heard about for a solid hour once the news started to spread. I think the girls are caught up dreaming about being swept off their feet by a dashing prince and carried off to a life of luxury. And . . . Sorry about messing up your time alone.”