Finding Refuge: The Marked Ones

by Cathi Shaw

She looked away and leaned back into the headboard behind her. To her horror tears filled her eyes again. And then Arion was kneeling by the bed.

  “Don't cry.” The pain in his voice was raw. “When I found you in that alley today,” he closed his eyes to the memory. “Mina, I lost control. If anything had happened to you …”

  She stared at him in surprise, hardly believing that he called her by her nickname.

  “I’m sorry.” She reached up and cupped his cheek until he opened his eyes. “I was not hurt.” It was true. The ruffians had scared her but she was unharmed.

  He shook his head. “But you could have been. And it is my responsibility to ensure your safety.”

  Mina felt as if he had slapped her with the word responsibility. Clearly she was just a burden to him.

  “But I wasn’t hurt,” she said coldly.

  He watched her for a few silent moments then seemed to come to a decision. He stood and held out his hand to her.

  She looked at it questioningly.

  “I think it’s time you learned to fend for yourself.”

  Mina narrowed her eyes, wondering what he meant.

  “Princess, you need to commence your training. Training that should have been done years ago.”

  Mina looked at Arion’s strong hand extended toward her. Training? She couldn’t begin to understand what he meant but a tingle of excitement started to course through her.

  And then, suddenly feeling almost as if she were discovering her destiny, Mina put her hand in Arion’s ready to face her future head on.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “I can’t believe that you haven’t had any kind of defensive training at all. If you’d been in Séreméla, the training would have been part of your education. I’m surprised Meldiron didn’t start you on it while you were with the Elders.”

  Mina shrugged as she followed him down the stairs. Arion had given her a pair of pale green tight fitting trousers and a loose tunic to wear. He was wearing similar clothes. How he had come to have such items in precisely her size Mina couldn’t say.

  “I was still recovering while I was in Séreméla,” she reminded him, “I don’t think physical training would have been possible then.”

  Arion nodded. “Well, it needs to start now. There are just too many possible dangers that you could run into and if something happened to me, you’d be completely defenseless.”

  Mina had to admit that he was right. But they were trying to keep a low profile while in Bermgarten. “Won’t it draw attention if we start sparring in the stable yard?”

  Arion laughed and Mina couldn’t help noticing how the light danced in his pale eyes when he did so. For a moment she was distracted by just how attractive he was but then she noticed that he didn’t stop laughing at her.

  “What is so funny?”

  He sobered at her words. “Well, sparring in the stable yard,” here a chuckle escaped. Mina scowled at him. “I’m sorry. But that kind of training would draw attention, yes. Is that how they did it at the Inn?” he teased. “It is different in other parts of the Five Corners.”

  Mina shook her head in confusion. Kiara had always trained in the stableyard. She didn’t understand why it was so amusing to Arion.

  He held out his hand. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

  Mina put her hand in his and let him pull her toward the street. He released her as soon as they were on their way but Mina could still feel the warmth from his brief touch.

  “Where are we going?” she asked as he led her into the busy street. She tried to ignore how her hand still tingled from his touch.

  “You’ll see,” he told her vaguely.

  Arion led her through the winding streets of Bermgarten as if it were his hometown. She was continually amazed at how easily he’d oriented himself to the new city.

  Finally he stopped in front of a building that was atypical for Bermgarten. The city was so condensed that most buildings were tall, narrow stone structures with their entrances opening to the street. But the building Arion was standing in front of now had a small gate that opened to a garden path and led to a small one storied building that was made entirely of wood and glass.

  He turned and smiled at her as he opened the door. Mina followed him inside and then gasped. The inside of the building was a large open room that was filled with people sparring.

  “What is this?” Mina asked softly.

  “A training house,” Arion explained.

  Mina looked around the room. There were Bermgartians from all walks of life in various forms of combat. She saw an elderly woman with white hair flip a young man almost as tall as Arion onto the mat. Across the room a small girl was sparring with a larger boy, he seemed to be instructing her.

  Mina looked at Arion. “So we won’t draw attention?”

  “Not in Bermgarten.”

  #

  Arion and Mina began training for several hours every morning. Mina quickly grew to love the training house and the routine and she knew she was getting better at defending herself. Arion had explained that in Bermgarten it was important for everyone to be able to defend themselves as raiders from the mountains were common. Early on in the city’s history, the training houses had been constructed and all citizens were encouraged to use them.

  Mina noticed that the training house they went to was almost always full. Clearly the citizens of Bermgarten took their training seriously.

  A few weeks into their new routine, they were walking home a different route from the training house. Mina was once again utterly lost.

  “We are going to need to teach you how to navigate, Mina,” Arion observed as she peered hopelessly around the city streets, completely lost yet again. She smiled at his use of her nickname. Arion hadn’t called her Princess or Minathrial in days now. She liked the familiarity and he seemed to have adjusted to the informality.

  “Do you think that’s possible?” she asked with a laugh.

  “Anything is possible,” Arion told her confidently.

  After that they began to wander the city streets at all times of the day and night. Arion would lead her along a new route and force her to find their way back. At first, Mina couldn’t do it. She would just get them more and more lost. But then Arion taught her the trick of noting landmarks that would help her to remember the path back to the inn. In the beginning Mina would get turned around but then Arion reminded her that she needed to turn opposite from the turns they took on the way out. Soon she had become so good at navigating that Arion would blindfold her on the way out and have her lead them back.

  One night when he removed the blindfold, Mina saw they were in an unfamiliar part of the city. She looked around but didn’t recognize anything. She scanned the skyline for familiar buildings but everything was new. Arion had taught her to avoid wandering aimlessly from the beginning.

  Mina wrinkled her nose at a loss for what to do. “Okay, Arion, you got me this time. I have no idea which was to go.”

  He smiled at her. “Progress! At least you aren’t going off on a wild foray through the streets at night. You are learning, Mina!”

  Mina nodded but then frowned. “But what do I do if I find myself in this kind of dilemma? I can’t stand on the street forever.”

  Arion came and stood behind her. Mina swallowed trying to ignore the close proximity of him. Despite the fact that their relationship stayed professional, Mina couldn’t deny that Arion had an affect on her. She noticed that he appeared immune to her presence and she tried to attain the same level of indifference as he had. But she feared that she wasn’t as successful as he. He grasped her shoulders and pointed to the sky. “You need to learn to read the stars.”

  Mina turned to look at him, suddenly realizing how close they were. Her heart began to pound. Arion stepped back.

  Wanting to cut the sudden tension, Mina focused on his words and asked weakly, “Read the stars?”

  Arion nodded. “The night sky doesn’t change. It can guide you when you are lost.” />
  Mina looked back up at the stars intrigued. “How?” she asked.

  “I will teach you.”

  #

  Once Mina had learned to find her way through the city, Arion relaxed a bit about her wandering on her own. To be honest, Mina thought he was a bit relieved. She knew he only went to the art exhibits because he was worried something would happen to her. He had no interest in them and didn’t try to hide his boredom. It was a sign of her progress when he first let her go alone. They came to an agreement that she could explore on her own with the caveat that she would not go anywhere new without Arion. The first time she went to a new place, Arion would accompany her. After he was satisfied it was safe, she could go by herself. He often would just accompany her for the first quarter of an hour and then he would go his own way once he was satisfied that there was no threat to her. Where he went, she didn’t know but Mina was happy to have some independence again. And to be honest, she thought Arion probably enjoyed his time away from her as well.

  But it was because of his one stipulation that Mina found herself dragging Arion out in the early hours one day.

  “It looks like a shop of novelties,” Mina told him, her excitement bubbling over. She’d found the shop on her way home from the Bermgarten Library the previous day. She’d been tempted to go inside but she knew Arion would not approve of that.

  “Novelties?” he asked, confusion tingeing his words.

  “Well, you know, odds and ends and other stuff. I thought I saw a painting like the one in the gallery I went to last week hidden behind some old junk. But it was too hard to tell looking through the window. I want to go in.” Arion rolled his eyes. “If you don’t want to come with me I’ll go on my own,” Mina offered innocently, knowing there was no way he would agree to that.

  “Absolutely not,” he said firmly as he stood up and followed her out of the inn.

  Mina smiled to herself. She knew he’d never approve of her going on her own and if she was honest she’d admit that she wanted to get his feedback on the variety of things she saw in the shop. She thought she’d caught a glimpse of some scripts with the Elder language on them but it was too dusty on the outer windows to tell for sure.

  They stepped inside the dingy store and the greasy proprietor came forward. “Welcome,” he said in a slippery tone, his eyes lingered for a bit too long on Mina’s hair. Arion suddenly slipped his arm around her.

  “What did you want to look at, love?” he asked her in a doting tone. Mina was so shocked by his sudden playacting that she couldn’t answer for a moment. She had no idea he was so gifted at acting.

  She looked around the shop but the art she thought she’d seen from the street was nowhere in sight. Still there was a pile of scrolls and books scattered on a large table.

  She slipped out from under Arion’s arm and moved toward the table. Another table, one in the Séreméla library, that had been scattered with a similar mess came to mind painfully.

  “Mina? What’s wrong?” Arion whispered so the proprietor wouldn’t hear him.

  Mina shook her head, trying to get the image of Eöl Ar-Feiniel’s lifeless body out of her head. She shifted the scrolls on the table around. They were piles of business documents long forgotten, there was a book on Bermgarten’s history that looked interesting and then a scroll in ancient Elder script caught her attention. She unrolled it and gasped. The words of the Prophecy jumped off the page at her.

  “Oh that just arrived. It is genuine Elder history,” the shopkeeper said quickly as he saw her interest. “Very rare. Very precious.”

  Arion was at Mina’s side in an instant. He looked over the scroll and then shook his head dismissively.

  “That’s not genuine,” he scoffed.

  Mina stared hard at him. The scroll was very clearly at least part of the Prophecy if not a complete copy.

  The slimy little man raised his eyebrows. “I assure you it is.”

  Arion glared at him. “Do you think you know a genuine Elder scroll better than I do?” he asked, his voice filled with distain.

  The man looked uncertain, his beady eyes shifting from side to side. “It came from a good source,” he insisted but his words sounded doubtful.

  “Well, your source seems to have sold you a fake,” Arion told him. “See this and this,” he pointed to the edging of the scroll. “Not Elder at all. This scroll is worthless. You’d better not let anyone see you trying to sell a fake in Bermgarten.”

  The man’s widened his dark eyes in fear.

  “Darling, if you want the history book I’ll buy it for you. There’s nothing else of worth here,” Arion told Mina his eyes flashing at warning at her.

  Mina schooled her features trying to decipher what kind of game Arion was playing. They both knew the scroll was not a fake. What was he doing? How could he suggest they leave it there?

  “Wait!” the proprietor said suddenly, “Can you take the scroll – just so it’s out of here? If I dispose of it people will be suspicious.”

  Arion looked at it and wrinkled his nose. “What would I want with it?”

  “I don’t know but please – you know Elder paper is not burnable and if I throw it in the bin someone is bound to find it and trace it back to me.”

  Mina spoke up, “We could take it, what harm would there be in that?”

  Reluctantly Arion nodded. And fifteen minutes later they walked out of the shop with what appeared to be a full copy of the Lost Prophecy.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Kiara stood in the room staring at the body of Deanna after they’d taken Teague away.

  “I should have seen this coming,” Bellasiel said quietly behind her.

  Kiara turned, startled. She hadn’t realized that Bellasiel was still in the room.

  “Don’t blame yourself, Kiara, you couldn’t have known how far the Draíodóir had corrupted his mind. I’m sorry the girl was killed, I know you were fond of her.”

  Kiara dragged her eyes away from Deanna’s lifeless form and looked at Bellasiel uncomprehendingly. “You knew something like this could happen?” she asked, her voice raw with emotion, struggling to understand.

  Bellasiel sighed. “Omen and I suspected something like this might happen. Teague has been becoming more and more violent.”

  Kiara thought of how Teague had reacted to Omen’s presence the previous day. “Are you sure his violence is not because of what Omen is doing to his mind? Teague was terrified to be left alone with him when he came by yesterday.”

  Bellasiel shook her head. “Teague is delusional. You have my word that Omen only had his best interests in mind.”

  Kiara couldn’t help wondering what Bellasiel’s word was worth. Teague hadn’t been violent at all before Kiara left him that morning. If anything he had been as if he needed protecting. And then he suddenly killed an innocent girl the moment she was summoned away. Summoned unnecessarily, she remembered. It didn't make any sense. Rage suddenly infused her. Kiara did not like anyone to make her feel like the fool and that’s precisely what the Elder was doing. Did she think Kiara was stupid and couldn’t see what was going on here?

  “I don’t believe you,” Kiara stated flatly, looking Bellasiel in the eye. “Teague was fine when I left him.”

  Bellasiel met her eyes steadily. “I know you don’t want to think that your friend did this, Kiara. That’s understandable. I can have Omen come and speak to you if you want. He can explain what has happened to Teague.” She paused. “Unless you have a rational explanation for why Teague would do this?”

  Kiara looked down at Deanna’s lifeless form on the floor. Her anger suddenly dispersed. Regret filled her as she remembered how she’d told the girl to stay with Teague. She didn’t have an explanation for what had happened but she knew deep down that Omen was somehow behind it. Maybe if she could speak to the former Draíodóir herself she could start to figure out exactly what was going on here. She looked at Bellasiel.

  “Fine. I’ll speak to Omen. And I want to see Tea
gue later.”

  Bellasiel nodded. “Of course, my dear. You may see Teague whenever you wish,” she said soothingly, “Ah, here is Omen now.”

  The small weasel-like man had just arrived at the room and was looking at Deanna’s body on the floor with a satisfied expression. When he realized Kiara was watching him, he cleared his features of all emotion.

  Kiara didn’t need any more convincing. Red filled her vision as she looked at the one responsible for all of this. Before she could think she’d flown across the room and pinned him to the wall, her forearm tight against his throat. She felt her own stab of satisfaction when she heard the gurgling noises he was making

  “What did you do?” she screamed at him. “I know you’re responsible for this. What have you done to Teague’s mind?”

  But the man didn’t answer her, instead he was making gasping noises and his eyes were filled with panic as he realized he couldn’t pull any oxygen into his lungs.

  “I don’t think he can answer your questions since you’re crushing his vocal chords,” Bellasiel noted drily.

  The red anger clouding Kiara’s mind faded abruptly and she stepped back, dropping Omen to the ground where he lay wheezing and moaning for several minutes like the coward she was convinced he was. Kiara stood over him and waited.

  Finally he looked up. His earlier expression of satisfaction had been replaced with one of fear. She’d scared him. Good, he deserved to be scared.

  “What did you do to Teague?” she demanded again.

  He looked up at her, sadness filling his eyes. “I swear I did nothing to him,” he said his tone filled with insincere sorrow.

  “He was fine when I was conveniently lured away under false pretenses,” Kiara pointed out.

  “No, Kiara, you’re wrong. Teague wasn’t okay,” Omen said as he weakly climbed to his feet. “He’d been growing more and more unstable over the last few weeks. He was becoming paranoid, distrusting everyone.” He looked down at the dead child on the ground. “I never imagined his paranoia would elevate to this extreme.” Although he was clearly trying to sound sincere Kiara could hear the falsehoods under the pretense of caring.