by Tom Mohan
Burke opened his mouth to fire back a retort, but then closed it again, unsure of what to say. He was beyond mad at this point. “Just go away, whatever you are. Get the hell out of my life!”
The look on the girl’s face should have broken Burke’s heart, but he had no mercy left. He wanted nothing to do with this ghost, her god, or his so-called purpose. He just wanted to be left alone. He turned his back on her and stormed away.
For the second time in twenty-four hours, Sara found herself in the private apartments of the Holy Father. Again, she wondered why she was here and not in his formal offices, but she knew not to question the Holy One’s decisions. She fought the urge to squirm as Father Caleb studied her, his soft gray eyes shaded as he considered her account of what had happened in the library. Not that she knew much, except for the fact that Master Casius—and no one else—had been in the room when she broke the door open. Father Caleb had questioned her at length on that point.
Are you certain no one else was in the room?
You say the door was locked from within?
You heard a loud noise before breaking the door in?
Casius was already injured when you entered the room?
You are certain you had nothing to do with his injuries?
The last question sent Sara’s heart pounding. How could the Holy Father think she had done such a thing to the kind old man? She wasn’t even sure how Master Casius could have been injured so, or how she could have done it. Finally, the Holy Father’s eyes turned to Joshua. The Bishop stood off to the side, listening to the exchange between Father Caleb and Sara.
“Why would anyone want to hurt Casius?” Father Caleb asked.
The Bishop remained silent for a moment, pondering the question. “Casius possessed certain knowledge.”
Father Caleb raised one bushy eyebrow. “Go on.”
Again, Bishop Joshua hesitated before speaking. “Casius has been in the library a very long time, but that was not always his post. I believe, sir, you are aware of the man’s former assignments.”
Father Caleb rose from his chair and began pacing the room. “Yes, of course. That was long ago, however.”
“What is time to those of the veil?”
Father Caleb stopped pacing and turned to Sara. “Young Sara, what do you know of your parents’ past?”
The question caught Sara off-guard. “I…” She stopped. What did she know of her parents’ past? She tried to remember whether or not they had ever discussed it, but her mind was almost blank on the subject. She knew neither of them had family. Most family had been killed in the wars, and of those who survived, few had gone on to produce families of their own.
“I’m guessing they talked little about it,” Father Caleb said. “That’s not surprising. Still, Bishop Joshua has a point. There could be some connection.”
Sara had not told the two men about the change that had come over Master Casius when she had been alone in the room with him, or what he had said to her. During the vision of her parents’ deaths, she had felt that her mom and Manasseh had some sort of connection. And now, the Holy Father himself was hinting at something in her parents’ past. Did she dare tell the Holy Father and Bishop Joshua about what had happened in Master Casius’s office? She already felt like she was being accused. She needed to talk to someone besides these two powerful men who intimidated her so much. Normally she would have gone to Master Casius, but that was not an option now. Master Eleazar? Possibly. Under his gruff fight master exterior, she knew he really cared about his students. But what if the Holy Father—or worse, Bishop Joshua—found out she had withheld information from them? They would be furious.
“The vision of your parents’ deaths was hard on you, was it not, young Sara?” The voice of the Holy Father brought her back to the discussion at hand.
“Yes,” she managed to say. “I was not expecting such a thing. I didn’t know what to expect, really.”
“No, they never do,” he said. “You have to go in completely unaware, or it might not work. You did take it well, though. I am aware of the manner in which your parents were killed. It was gruesome—yet you seem rather unscathed by the ordeal.”
The thought of never seeing her mom or dad again filled her with sadness beyond words. “I assure you, sir, I am anything but unscathed over the loss of my parents. However, I refuse to fall apart because of it. I will avenge them.”
“Tell me again, why did you go to Casius’s office? What did you expect him to tell you?”
Sara knew the old Father was digging for something. She wished she knew what it was. “Like I said, sir, I wanted to find out if Master Casius knew of a relationship between my parents and Manasseh. They seemed to know each other, and he knew about me. He even mentioned me by name. I wanted to know why, and Master Casius has been here so long…”
“Yes, yes, and he spoils you young ones horribly. I have spoken to him before about being so friendly with the students…but, yes; I can understand why you might have thought he would be able to help you. Now, about the one claiming to be Manasseh. We had our suspicions, but we needed you to verify them by going to the scene. Only a direct blood relative can do that, you know.”
She hadn’t known, but it made sense, or at least as much sense as any of the recent events. Though she had been in the Keep nearly four years, Sara was quickly finding out just how little she knew about it. A trickle of sweat ran down her back. The room felt muggy, and the scrutiny of the two men only intensified the heat. She couldn’t shake the impression that she was like an insect beneath a microscope—tiny and exposed.
The Holy Father turned his attention back to the Bishop. “Well?”
Bishop Joshua’s face was like stone. “Whatever happened, our security has been breached. I do not believe anyone could have gotten inside without our knowledge, which means whoever attacked Casius already lives here. It has to be someone on the inside.”
Father Caleb nodded. “I agree, but that still leaves the mystery of the locked door. Young Sara insists she heard noise from inside before opening the door, but Casius was in no shape to have made that sound. Someone else must have been there when she arrived.”
“A portal?” the Bishop asked.
“The Keep is protected. No one could use a portal to enter.”
“From outside, no, but from within it would be possible. What if Casius’s attacker opened a portal to his office from somewhere within the Keep?”
Sara wanted to ask what a portal was, but she feared the consequences of interrupting the men. Was the sort of magic they hinted at possible? They were taught that Ash-Shaytan would provide miraculous answers to prayer. Could the dark god do the same?
“If that is the case, we might be able to trace it to the source.”
“Sir,” Sara said, startling even herself.
The Holy Father turned to her, looking annoyed. “Yes, girl, what is it?”
Sara almost backed out, but she had come too far. “Sir, I know it is not my place to ask, but why did Manasseh want my parents dead?” She saw a look pass between the two men and knew they were hiding something.
Father Caleb began pacing again. “First of all, I do not believe the person you saw kill you parents was, in fact, Manasseh. Manasseh is a legend or, at least, long dead.”
“But the Word says—”
“Do you intend to teach me what the Word says?” The Holy Father’s tone grew cold.
“No sir,” Sara stammered. “I just—I’m sorry, sir.” How could she be stupid enough to disrespect the Holy Father?
“Never mind,” Father Caleb said. He turned again to the Bishop. “Whatever is going on, it seems, at least in part, to center on this girl. We need to ensure she is protected.”
Bishop Joshua nodded. “I will put a guard on her.”
“Wait,” Sara said again before thinking, “I don’t need anyone guarding me.”
“Silence, girl!” the Holy Father snapped. “Do you never shut up?”
Sara
gulped and shrank back.
“That’s better.” Father Caleb straightened his robes and returned to his chair behind the modest desk. “Now, I don’t like any of this. Mark my words, young lady; we will get to the bottom of it. I don’t know how you are involved, but you are. Our enemies seem to have an interest in you, and I want to know just what it is they’re after.” With that, the Holy Father nodded to the Bishop and waved a hand, dismissing her.
Sara stood, bowed in the Holy Father’s direction, and headed for the door, biting her tongue the whole way.
“YOU DIDN’T TELL them about that? Weird eyes and personal threats might just be kind of important, don’t you think?” Dana whispered harshly.
Sara glanced at her guards standing a dozen paces away. Though they gave the impression of not paying her any attention, she knew they maintained keen awareness of everything going on around them. “Hush, Dana,” Sara hissed. “No. I mean, I wanted to, but they didn’t give me a chance.” She sighed. “Believe me, it’s very hard to concentrate when you’re alone in a room with the Holy Father and Bishop Joshua.”
Dana rubbed Sara’s back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scold. And I’m very sorry about your parents.” She shook her head. “What’s going on around here, anyway?”
Sara rubbed the sore spot on her chest. She lowered her voice. “I need to get back into Master Casius’s office. Father Caleb said whoever attacked Casius probably used some kind of portal. He also said a portal could be traced back to its origin.”
Ryan jumped into the conversation. “Just because the Holy Father or Bishop Joshua could trace it doesn’t mean you can. Do you have any idea what he’s even talking about?”
Sara shook her head. “That’s why I need to get back in there. Someone inside the Keep almost killed Master Casius, and now they may be after me, too. That same someone was involved in the murder of my parents. I won’t just let that go. The reason I went to Master Casius in the first place was because I thought he could help me. The attack might just prove I was right.”
“What about your new friends?” Dana asked, indicating the guards. “They aren’t going to let you waltz on up to the library. I heard they sealed off the upper floor anyway. There’s no way to get up there without being caught.”
Sara leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms. “I know. I’m still working on that part.”
Dana looked thoughtful. “You know, as long as they don’t assign a female to guard you, I think we can ditch the guards fairly easily. They won’t follow you into the bathroom. The trick is going to be getting into the library without being seen.”
“I think I can help with that.”
They all spun toward the sound of the new voice. There stood Battle Master Eleazar, arms crossed and hard eyes glaring at the students.
Sara gasped as her back slammed against the hard-packed dirt. She managed to roll out of the way and jump back to her feet a split second before Kyle’s foot slammed down on the spot she had just vacated. Tossing a stray strand of hair from her face, she resumed fight position and circled her opponent. Kyle smiled down at her, which annoyed her to no end.
“You’re off your game today, Sara.”
She shrugged, trying to look unconcerned as she fought to catch her breath. “Just letting you get overconfident.”
“Yeah, right.” His right hand lashed out at her, and she deflected it with her left. She spun, lashing out with one foot, but Kyle leapt over it. She had to duck low to complete the spin in order to avoid his return kick. “Not bad. I would have taken anyone else’s head off with that kick.”
“Is that a compliment?”
Kyle tipped his head. “Sure, you earned it.”
Sara knew she needed to keep her focus on her opponent. Practice or not, Kyle would not hesitate to hurt her just to prove he could. Still, she struggled to concentrate. Master Eleazar’s words rattled through her head.
I think I can help with that.
Sara had been certain Master Eleazar’s discovery of their plot would end it. But instead of punishing them, he had herded the three students into one of the weapons rooms and closed the door behind them. He had held up a hand for silence as he listened for any indication they might not be alone. Once satisfied, he’d turned his scarred face to them.
“What yer plannin’ is foolish, I’ll give ya that. But Casius and me, we go way back, and I don’t be likin’ what’s goin’ on around here of late.”
The intensity of the rugged man’s words was not lost on the teens. They held great respect for this man who had taught them so much, and all of them knew that if he was truly on their side, they had a chance.
When none of them spoke, he continued, “Something ain’t right, that’s for sure. What happened to Casius—that was dark magic it was.”
The sting of Kyle’s foot on her thigh brought Sara back to the training arena. That’s going to leave a bruise, she thought as she hobbled away from her opponent. She chided herself for letting her concentration slip, especially against someone like Kyle. Not only could he best her every time, but he seemed to get some sort of perverse thrill out of causing her pain. He was the best fighter among the students in the Keep, and he knew it. While she and Ryan were both close seconds, neither of them had ever beaten Kyle.
“You should have seen what I did to your boyfriend this morning,” Kyle said. The smirk on his face told Sara all she needed to know.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Sara said, trying not to let his taunts get to her. Feigning a step back, she lunged forward, catching Kyle by surprise. Her fist caught the tall young man square in the abdomen as her left leg swept around his and nearly toppled him. But Kyle was not so easily beaten. He blocked her next attack while dancing backward on one foot. Sara thought she still had a chance to take him down, but his arm shot out and the tips of his iron fingers hit her chest right in the middle of the burn. She grimaced and fell back, both hands covering the tender spot.
Kyle recovered and resumed a defensive stance. “That was pretty good. Not good enough, but pretty good.” He stared at her for a moment. “What’s wrong with your chest? I didn’t hit you that hard. You aren’t turning wimp like those losers you hang out with, are you?”
Sara’s face contorted with pain and anger. Kyle thought he was so special. He treated the rest of the students in the Keep like servants he could boss around. Just because he was stronger and faster than the rest of them didn’t give him the right to treat them like dirt.
“You know,” he continued, “you need to ditch Ryan and come hang out with me. We’d make a great team. You know we would. No one could beat us.”
Sara was surprised by the sudden tenderness in his voice. He was serious! How could he ever think she would be interested in him after the way he had treated her and her friends? She shook her head. “Life isn’t about beating others. It’s not one big competition.”
“Really? And who told you that? You do know why we’re here, don’t you? There’s a war going on out there, in case you’d forgotten.” Kyle’s voice grew louder, more passionate. “People are dying. Every day more people are dying.” He stood panting, staring at her. “Your parents died out there. How can you of all people say it’s not a competition? That’s all it is.”
Sara waved a hand at him and turned away. She was in no mood to argue. “We’re too different. We think too differently. We’d probably kill each other within a week if we were alone together.”
“Yeah, well, it would be an unforgettable week. You could count on that.”
Sara scowled at the thought. Her chest stung from the burn and her thigh began to cramp as she made her way back to the changing room. Again, her mind wandered to Master Eleazar’s words.
“I can get ya into the library, that I can,” Master Eleazar had said. Still, Sara and her friends had remained frozen, afraid to say anything. “Well? Yer tongues be lame er what?”
Ryan spoke. “We were just tossing things out, Master,” he said. “We know th
e library is off-limits right now.”
“Oh, come now,” the master scoffed. “I heard enough to know what you was planning. And I can help ya get in. Like I was sayin’, there be some strange goings on around here, and I don’t like the feel of it. A master attacked within Keep walls? Ain’t never heard the like. The place should be up in arms. But the Holy Father’s got himself locked away, not saying nothing. Strange goings on.”
Sara wasn’t sure what to think. That one of the masters would risk serious punishment, perhaps even banishment from the Keep, to help her seemed like a preposterous idea. Still, she truly trusted Master Eleazar, and she didn’t trust many people. Could he really be willing to help her get into the library? Finally, she sighed and shrugged. He had already heard them talking, they might as well go all the way.
“Well, Battle Master. What’s your plan?”
SARA CREPT THROUGH the dark, her hands trailing along the walls on either side. She still didn’t understand why they couldn’t bring a lantern, but Master Eleazar had promised that, as long as they went slowly, they would come across nothing dangerous. “Besides,” the scarred man had muttered, “some things is better not seen.” Sara had chosen not to question him on that. She really didn’t think she wanted to know.
“Doesn’t the Bishop know about the tunnel? Won’t it be watched?”
“Course he does,” Master Eleazar had said. “But he’s got no reason to think anyone else does. The tunnel don’t come out close to Casius’s office, so I doubt they be thinking whoever attacked him came from there. They seem right sure it was a portal, so I’m guessing they ain’t even thought about the tunnel.”
Sara hoped the battle master was right. She felt the reassuring presence of Dana behind her, and she knew Ryan brought up the rear. Though she’d initially insisted on coming alone, she had to admit she was glad her friends had talked her into letting them come with her. Something tickled Sara’s face, and she wiped away yet another spiderweb. If nothing else, they knew that whoever had attacked Master Casius had not come through this tunnel. Judging by the webs, no one had used this passage in years. Sara was still trying to clear the web from her face when her foot struck something, nearly tripping her. Dana ran into her back, and this time Sara teetered forward. She managed to get her hands out in front of her and caught hold of something.