Aveena: The City of Gold (The Black Knight duology Book 1)

by Destiny Hawkins

  Lavier raised his hand to calm Michael down. He could see that the human was fuming and oddly worried about his niece. Their relationship was moving a lot faster than he expected.

  “Now, now, calm yourself Michael. You must still remember that you are speaking with the Prince.”

  Avon grinned.

  “No matter how immature he can be,” Lavier raised a brow and Avon looked away. “You shouldn’t be so worried about the Princess though. She tends to go missing from the Palace from time to time. Most likely, she is in the city doing Ralu knows what.”

  Michael sighed. Oddly, he felt a little relief from Lavier’s words. Aveena could just be running around the city again, just like he had caught her doing twice already before he became her Knight.

  “Do I have permission to go looking for her outside the Gem quarter?”

  “Of course,” Lavier offered a smile. “You can search for her. It’s your duty to make sure that the girl is safe. Please, you may search for her wherever you wish.”

  Michael nodded, “Thank you my King.”

  Lavier rested his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “I can tell that you care for my niece. I really do appreciate how you show such kindness to her.” That was a lie, but Michael accepted it.

  Avon frowned at Lavier’s hand on Michael. A wave of jealousy took over and he walked away. Lavier had yet to show him any kind of affection. Yes, his uncle was more kind to him than he was to Aveena, but he still never treated Avon like family. Like a son. Maybe at one time he did, but after Xavier died, Lavier had changed.

  “Please excuse Avon. He’s very protective over his sister, and he seems to believe that you had something to do with her attack, and the prisoner’s escape.”

  They both locked eyes for a moment.

  Michael’s heart started pounding, “I’m not very sure where he got that idea. Aveena openly admitted that she helped the prisoner escape.”

  “I tried to tell him that, but he’s still not convinced. Well, I have to get going, but you go ahead and search for Aveena. Report to me once you know that she is safe.”

  Michael bowed his head and walked away. He made his way through the Gem and Zyla gates that led to the city area, then searched for Aveena on his air board.

  Being in the city felt foreign to Michael after being away for so long, almost nostalgic. It had only been barely two weeks and he already missed the smelly, busy people. He had been cramped up in the peaceful Gem Quarter where there was no fighting, no drinking, and no fun. What he really missed was the bar and how at this very time, he would be arguing with Lennie and joking around with Clay. Ty’ere would just keep to himself, nonchalant, and watch them with a grin on his face, then Tayen would tell them to calm down, and by the end of the night they had to meet up for a mission.

  Michael sighed. He really did miss all of that.

  The black Knight grew tired by sunset. He only had a drink of water after breakfast this morning, and still hadn’t found Aveena. By the time the sun was almost down, his anxiousness had kicked back in. Where in the hell did she go?

  He stopped in the middle of the road. His heart was beating so hard in his chest that it started to hurt. If Aveena wasn’t in the city, then she must’ve went there. She wasn’t in the Palace this morning, so that meant that she left last night and never returned.

  Michael zoomed off down a back alley. He remembered exactly how to get back to the Zext Quarter, where he was sure Aveena had run off to. Why in the world didn’t she come and get him if she wanted to go back there? She always had to do things on her own, but now she had Michael as her Knight. She could have asked him! Oh, right, he left her crying in her room last night. Of course she wouldn’t have come to him for help.

  Michael was close to the alley with the entrance to the Zext tunnel hole. He was almost there when three figures blocked his path. It was darker in this alley because of the buildings that were blocking the moonlight, and he couldn’t tell if the three people in front of him were other Knights, or-

  “Didn’t you hear us calling you?” That was Clay’s voice. “I mean sheesh! First we chased you, but you were going too fast, then when I noticed where you were going we had to come and cut you off.”

  Michael took a deep breath. He was happy that his friends were here, but he didn’t have time for this. Aveena had been in the Zext Quarter too long already.

  “Clay, Lennie, Ty’ere,” Michael called. The other two responded to let him know it was them.

  “What’s going on Michael?” Ty’ere asked, noticing the seriousness in Michael’s tone.

  “Aveena went missing. I can’t find her anywhere.” Michael glided passed them and they followed.

  “You think she went back there?” Clay asked.

  “Yeah. She wasn’t in her room this morning, so she must have went last night and never came back,” Michael answered. They turned down the alley with the tunnel hole.

  “Where is there?” Lennie asked. “And why are you visiting her room in the morning?”

  “This isn’t the time,” Ty’ere said. He was right. This really wasn’t the time for jokes.

  “The Zext Quarter,” Michael answered.

  They were back under the moonlight.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. How did she even get down there?” Lennie asked.

  Michael stopped in front of the dark tunnel, “Through here. I’m going back to get her.”

  “Are you sure that’s where she is?” Clay asked, hovering next to Michael.

  “Yeah, she isn’t anywhere else to be found. Not even the servants have seen her today,” Michael answered.

  “Wait, you’re serious about going to the Zext Quarter?” Lennie asked. “You know people don’t come back from there.”

  “They do, but only if they want to,” Michael explained. “Look I’ll explain everything another time. Right now, I need to go and get Aveena.”

  Clay gave a long sigh, “Looks like I have to come with you. You are my partner and all.”

  If Michael wasn’t so worried, he would have cracked a smile.

  “Maybe we should go and get Tayen,” Lennie suggested. He clearly wasn’t comfortable with the thought of going into the slave quarter.

  Ty’ere glided next to Michael, “That won’t be necessary.”

  “Wait. Why not?” Lennie asked.

  Michael grunted with frustration and shot into the tunnel. Clay and Ty’ere were right behind him, and after a few seconds, so was Lennie. The four of them followed the tunnel all the way through to the exit. They glided straight to the opening in the ground that led to the Zext Quarter, then up into the basement that Aveena had led them through before. Each of them stepped off of their air boards and snapped them against their backs, then they held their weapons ready in case anyone were to jump out at them.

  Lennie looked around with wide eyes. “She better be here Michael, and we better get out of here alive.”

  Michael didn’t respond. He just went up the creaky steps and searched the building that they were in. They each split up and looked for her, and when they didn’t find her they decided to search outside.

  The Zext Quarter was as gloomy as the night they’d first visited. Nothing had changed about its appearance, including the few people that roamed with vacant expressions.

  The four of them kept close together with Michael and Clay in the front, and Lennie and Ty’ere in the back. The first place that they checked was the building that Aveena had led them to before. They didn’t find her, but they did find an empty bag with breadcrumbs in it on the floor.

  “She was here,” Michael said holding up the bag.

  Lennie squinted at the bag. “How do you know?”

  Clay walked up to Michael and examined the bag. “It’s just like the one before, but where’s the girl?”

  “She might be with her,” Michael answered.

  “Let’s keep looking then,” Ty’ere said.

  “So, no one’s going to answer my question? I mean what? You guys
deaf?” Lennie asked. No one answered him once again. They just walked passed him and exited the old building.

  “Maybe we should split up?” Clay suggested as they walked in the middle of the road.

  “No,” Ty’ere shook his head. “There are high ranking Knights in this quarter. We need to be able to at least take one down if we’re to run into any. Let’s stick together.” Ty’ere had already taken the lead without question. Something he picked up off of Tayen over the years.

  All three of them nodded.

  “Now, let’s find the Princess and get out of here. I’d rather avoid fighting one of those Knights,” Ty’ere walked ahead of them, and they followed behind.

  They avoided making any kind of contact with the vacant people at all costs. No eye contact, no touching, and no speaking. Michael had informed them that the people here sometimes would randomly attack others like Aveena said. While doing that, they searched every building that they came across. They were almost completely down the street when little Drea came running out of the last broken down building.

  Ty’ere and Lennie tensed when the little girl ran up to them. Once they realized that she wasn’t a threat, they simply stared at the mark on her forehead.

  Clay crouched down in front of Drea, “What’s wrong little one?”

  Drea was panting. As skinny as she was, it had to take a lot of energy out of her just to run that short distance to them. “Aveena. Hurt”

  Michael’s eyes widened, “Where is she?”

  Drea pointed back to the building that she ran out of, then Michael sprinted off, and Ty’ere ran after him.

  “What happened?” Clay asked.

  “She came to bring me some food,” Drea took in a deep breath. “Mama’s Z-qoin had run out and she was back to normal. She took my piece of bread and then went after Aveena. Chased her all the way down here and then Mama hit her in the head with a rock like this,” Drea reenacted her mama coming down overhead with an imaginary rock.

  Clay nodded, “Thanks Drea.” He stood tall and looked worriedly at Lennie. Lennie had the same expression. The three of them walked into the building.

  Michael ran to the back of the building where he saw Aveena laying on her side. The moonlight from both broken windows shined in on her unconscious body in the middle of the dusty floor.

  “Aveena!” He rushed over to her. Ty’ere couched down on her other side.

  Aveena only looked like she was sleeping. Her breathing was steady, but something about her wasn’t right. She should have woken up after Michael yelled her name, but she didn’t.

  Michael’s eyes searched all over her for any signs of a punctured wound or bruise, but there was nothing. He gently rolled her over to her back and her arm slid across her body and hit the dirt floor with a thud. She was out cold. He cupped her face to examine her, then gave a light pat to her cheek. Nothing.

  “Her head,” Ty’ere stated, finally finding her wound.

  “Huh?”

  Clay, Lennie, and Drea entered the room.

  “Will she be okay?” Drea asked. She ran to Aveena and slid onto her knees next to her.

  Michael shook his head, “This is my fault.” He looked up at Ty’ere who was looking over the gash on her temple. It was blocked by her dark hair before, but after they moved her, it slipped off, revealing a skin deep gash on the side of her head.

  “You shouldn’t worry Michael,” Clay said confidently. “Aveena can’t be killed, remember?”

  Michael lifted his head. Clay was right; he had nothing to worry about because Aveena couldn’t be killed. Now if only it prevented her from being knocked out, he would have nothing to worry about.

  “She’ll be okay,” Ty’ere gave Michael a reassuring smile.

  Lennie sighed, “That’s great. Now can we go?”

  Ty’ere stood tall and dusted himself off. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

  Michael gently lifted Aveena and cradled her close to his chest. He was more than relieved that she was safe. No wonder no one at the Palace was as worried about her as he was. They already had it in the back of their minds that she couldn’t die.

  “You sure?” Drea asked.

  Ty’ere gave a slight smile, “I’m sure little one.”

  “Good,” Drea nodded. “Because she’s the only one that I ever have to talk to.”

  The four men looked down at her with desolate expressions.

  “Do we have to leave her here?” Clay asked Ty’ere.

  “I don’t want to, but taking her out with that symbol is too great a risk. She would be safer here until we free the Zext people.”

  Clay sighed and shook his head, “She might starve to death before that happens.”

  “I won’t starve. I have Aveena to come and bring me food. The Knights sometimes brings me food too,” Drea beamed.

  Clay gave a slight smile, but had no words for her.

  Ty’ere motioned for the exit. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Michael was still busy staring down at Aveena until they called his name again. He followed them out and went back to the tunnel hole. Once they glided through, they got back to the Ponz Quarter with ease, then air boarded back to the bar.

  Michael gave a faint smile to his three friends, “Thank you...”

  None of them wanted Michael to leave just yet, and he didn’t want to leave either.

  “Why don’t you rest here for the night? Take Aveena back when she is well and presentable. That way the King doesn’t think she got into anything serious,” Ty’ere suggested.

  Michael was quick to take the offer. He really wanted to sleep in his own bed for once, and after the day he’d just had, gliding back to the Palace half sleep might not have been the best idea.

  “Okay,” He walked into the bar behind Lennie and Clay. Ty’ere went back to his home nearby.

  The bar was busy, but no one paid them any mind. Tayen spotted them right away and followed them up the stairs. Lennie branched off to go to his own room.

  Once they were inside the bedroom, Michael carefully laid Aveena down on his bed and turned to Tayen.

  “Is she alright?” Tayen asked.

  “She’s fine. She went back to the Zext Quarter and was attacked. Ty’ere, Lennie, and Clay helped me find her,” Michael explained.

  Tayen’s green eyes brightened when she looked passed Michael at Aveena. “I can see why you like her so much. She’s beautiful.”

  Michael felt the heat rising to his face. How could Tayen read him so well? It couldn’t be that obvious that he had feelings for Aveena. “She is.”

  “So,” Clay plopped down on his bed across the room. “Care to close that door so we can get some shut eye? I’m exhausted.”

  Tayen chuckled, “Alright. I’ll talk to you guys in the morning. Hopefully, she wakes up tomorrow so I can meet her too.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.

  Michael swallowed. He didn’t know why he was so nervous about Tayen meeting Aveena, but he was. Whatever. Sleep for now. He slipped off his shirt and climbed into the small bed next to Aveena.

  Clay chuckled, “Getting all sexy for the lady.”

  “Shut up, Clay,” Michael grunted.

  Clay laughed again and turned to face the wall.

  Michael lay on the very edge of the bed so that Aveena could have more space. She slept on her back with her face tilted in his direction. Her lips were dangerously close to his, but he held back from kissing her for now. Control. He had to have control and patience.

  Chapter 14

  Aveena woke up the next day in a bright room. It looked more like it was just getting ready for sunset by the orange and red colors illuminating from the sun. She stayed on her back and gazed at the chipping white cieling while pondering where she was. The last thing that she remembered was being hit in the head with something hard by Drea’s crazed mother. She was obviously going through some type of withdrawal and was searching for anything that may have made her feel better. Like food. Something she p
robably hadn’t had in days.

  Aveena sat up on the creaky bed and took a look around. The room she was in was small, about a quarter the size of her bedroom, and surprisingly clean. This definitely couldn’t have been the Zext Quarter, right? She touched the spot that she was hit on her head and didn’t feel any gashes or lumps. She’d healed already.

  There was a loud thump below that startled her. She stared at the door, afraid of who might be out there, then sighed. It couldn’t have been anyone dangerous. If it was, why would they help her? Who did help her anyways?

  She slid out of the bed, then looked down at herself and saw that her black pants, or her brothers, were covered in dust. Avon knew just how adventurous that she could get and had given her all of his old pants. She was thankful that they fit her perfectly. When she examined her black and gold top, she noticed that it was also covered in dust.

  There was another loud thump below her. What in Raluza was going on down there?

  Aveena walked to the door and pulled it open. She reached into her pocket and pulled out one of her own staff balls, then shifted it into a silver staff. She had little experience with using one, but would use it to defend herself if she had to. Her staff only brought back memories of the wonderful man who left it for her, which is why she usually didn’t carry it around, but for trips down to the Zext Quarter she made sure that she tucked it away somewhere. Too bad she had forgotten about it last night.

  As soon as the door was wide open, laughter and talking filled her ears. She couldn’t distinguish if there was a party or a fight going on below her. She slowly walked down the flights of stairs until she reached the bottom. Once there, she looked to her left and peeked into what looked like a bar. It was a bar! And one that Michael was clearly having a good time in.

  Michael was sitting on a stool laughing with Clay. Another man with sand colored curls and light skin slapped his hand down on Michael’s shoulder, clearly feeling the alcohol. The light skinned man walked over to a table and stumbled down into a seat across from a pale-looking guy with long black hair that hung over his shoulders and back. Michael had some pretty good looking friends.