The Child Guard

by Lorcan Montgomery

  “This garden is a shortcut to the Academy,” Kallistrate explained, again addressing Kane as though Cahaya did not exist. “There is a ceremonial entrance, of course, but the Academy backs onto the palace and there is a gate between them, it is easier than walking all the way around.”

  They were led on a winding path of white pebbles until they came to a gated archway set into the thick walls. Kallistrate drew a key from a chain around her neck, and unlocked the gate. It swung open, noiselessly, and they stepped through.

  There was no lush garden on the other side; the courtyard they entered was barren and empty, pale stone and white pebbles. They crossed the yard and entered the building through a plain wooden door, devoid of any of the decorative carvings or filigree Kane had come to expect. The corridors of the Academy seemed largely empty, although once or twice Kane thought he saw a scurrying student or professor disappearing around the corner in a swish of black robes.

  A bell rang, somewhere in the distance, and suddenly the hall was crowded full of people, all men and boys from what Kane could tell in the chaos, ranging from children who looked about as old as Sampson did, to stooped and bearded old men who barged younger men out of the way with a swipe of their walking canes.

  The crowds parted around Kallistrate; it seemed the young men who shoved each other without a second thought were well aware of the palace liaison and carefully moved out of her way. Cahaya inspired similar looks from some of the students, of various ages, as she had from the prince, but the rest of the squad were battered about in the eddies of the melee. After a few minutes, the corridors were suddenly empty again, and they continued on their way without further interruption.

  Kallistrate stopped before a plain door, the same as all the others Kane had seen, and knocked firmly.

  “Go away,” a voice came from within, reedy and bellicose.

  She opened the door anyway, and the stench of chemicals, sweat and rotting food rolled out in a wave. Choking a little, Kane and Cahaya followed her in, the others kept back by a gesture from Kallistrate.

  The study made Eachann and Tomas' office look like a bastion of cleanliness and organisation. The desk was no longer visible under a mound of books, papers, strange mutated things in jars and makeshift paperweights including rocks, taxidermied body parts, crystals and what looked like the remains of a week-old lunch. Kane could hear the wood creaking softly under the stress. The floor was in a similar state, and they had to weave between stacks of precariously-balanced books to approach.

  In a high-backed chair, behind the groaning desk, a small man with a trailing grey beard squinted at them, scrutinising each of their faces in turn, before he recognised Kallistrate and his face lit up.

  “Kalla, you should have said it was you! It's been a long time since you've been to visit me in my sanctum!”

  “I should think it's been a long time since anyone's been in your sanctum, Zaman. I can barely see the floor for dust and debris.”

  “I need a woman's touch around here,” the old man grinned, showing several missing teeth. “I don't suppose you'd consider moving to this side of the gate? I'd still let you visit your gardens from time to time.”

  “Once again, Zaman, the prince pays too well for me to even consider it,” Kallistrate laughed.

  “He does, rather, doesn't he?” Zaman nodded. “So who are these young pups you bring to my domain? Not students, surely, not in those blasted uniforms.”

  “They have brought you a specimen,” Kallistrate said, motioning for Kane to bring Cahaya forward.

  “I am pleased to meet you, Master Zaman,” Cahaya said politely.

  Zaman eyed her for what Kane considered an overly long time. “Are you sure she's not a maid or something for one of the other professors? She hardly looks like my specialisation.”

  “You should take a look at this, these are the notes that Aqil and Baqir took when they examined her,” Kallistrate handed him the scroll the two academics had scribbled excitedly on. Zaman read them for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth across the scroll.

  “But that's impossible,” he said, flatly. “To be that saturated with Sidhe magic she should be dead, or a Changeling at the least. Nobody can be hexed that much and live.”

  “And yet, here she is.”

  “Indeed,” Zaman's eyes flickered with greedy interest. “Let it never be said I'd pass up the opportunity to expand my knowledge. Very well, I will accept Fahim's gift, just this once. I'm not a soft touch.”

  “You never are, Master Zaman,” Kallistrate said, with a knowing smile.

  “You, boy,” Zaman gestured to Kane, who stepped forward. “You have brought a rare treasure to my office today, in spite of your lamentable allegiances you have my gratitude. Science may never be able to repay you.”

  “If you please, sir,” Kane spoke, and Kallistrate flashed him a brief look of alarm. “May I ask a favour of you?”

  “It rather depends on the favour,” Zaman said, sucking on his remaining teeth. “But for a specimen such as this, go ahead.”

  “I should like to visit Miss Cahaya, once she is settled in the Academy, and see the tests you intend to perform for myself.”

  “Visit a specimen? The very idea,” Zaman said. “However, if it's the tests you're interested in, by all means you may come and see our work, perhaps you can learn something, or at least broaden your horizons beyond the doors of your precious temple. Speak with Baqir, I am sure he will not mind another student for a couple of hours a day. And I'm sure there are rooms somewhere that students have graduated out of. Kalla here knows the right people to talk to.”

  “Thank you very much, Master Zaman,” Kane bowed stiffly from the waist, remembering at the last moment not to instinctively salute.

  “We will leave you to your newest study,” Kallistrate said, and escorted Kane out of the room.

  As the door closed, the last thing Kane saw was Cahaya looking over her shoulder, her white eyes meeting his, and her expression afraid.

  23. Just Rewards

  “Observations on Subject 215 of the Aurian Academy: Subject has considerable magic encapsulated in the blood, more than any of the Changelings we have thus far studied, however the subject does not manifest external appearance of Sidhe sorcery. Suggest extraction of blood and separation in centrifuge to observe changes in structure or composition.”

  Laboratory notes of Professor Aqil, Aurian Academy

  The rooms that were found for them were plain but comfortable compared to the ones back in the garrison. Rather than dormitories of ten, these were compact cells containing a pair of beds and a pair of desks apiece. Kane and Eder settled in one, Davena and Sampson in the next, and Terrell was left on his own in the room at the end of the hall. Food was brought for them, from the Academy kitchens, and they ate together in Sampson and Davena's room. It was mainly a silent process, as all of them were deeply absorbed with their various thoughts, mulling over the events of the day.

  “I do not wish to linger here too long,” Sampson said, breaking the contemplative silence. “It is a godless place. I would sooner stay in the garrison and from there set off on our return to the Citadel.”

  “I want to make sure Cahaya is going to be fine, see what kind of tests they have in mind for her,” Kane said. “Then we can go back home.”

  “You have delivered her to her destination, Brother-Corporal,” Sampson replied, curtly. “I understand it is natural to become attached when living in such close quarters but you must remember that she is not one of us.”

  “She is my friend and I want to be sure she is okay,” Kane said, more firmly.

  “I am sure she is in capable hands. This place is welcoming enough.”

  “Then why do you want to get out of here so fast?”

  Sampson opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again.

  “You've seen how they talk about her, like she's not a person, just a thing to be studied and dissected. I'm going to make sure she doesn't end up pickled in a j
ar in pieces.”

  “You are disobeying your orders, Brother-Corporal,” Sampson said.

  “I've been carrying those orders around for a long time, Sampson, and I know exactly what they say. I've delivered her to the Academy in Auris, there was nothing forbidding me from sticking around to make sure they treat her adequately. In fact, there's nothing in there about us returning to the Citadel at all. So we will stay here until I deem it appropriate to return, is that understood?”

  “I doubt Commander Rayner will see it the same way.”

  “Well you can go and ask him and come back and let me know what he says,” Kane said. It was petty and stupid but now the mission was over he had mentally resigned himself to leaving anyway; and the heat and the uncomfortable atmosphere in the Academy and the presence, still, of Terrell, festering like an untreated sore, had worn away his patience to a nub.

  “I’m with you,” Eder said, quietly. “I wouldn't want to be alone in a place like this with nobody to look out for me. We look after each other.”

  “I trust Private Terrell is not so easily beguiled?”

  “It's comfortable enough here, and I'm in no hurry to go back through the Borderlands again,” Terrell said, seeming to have forgotten all about Cahaya.

  “Davena?” Sampson appealed to her.

  The little girl had been looking increasingly uncomfortable as the conversation had progressed. Her eyes darted over to Sampson, who was watching her expectantly.

  “I’m sorry, Sampson,” she said, after an excruciating pause. “She’s like my little sister, I can’t just abandon her and go home now.”

  “All this,” Sampson said levelly, “will be going in the personal report I intend to deliver to the General.”

  “Nonetheless, I still have the majority,” Kane said. “And I am still the officer in charge of this squad. Make yourselves comfortable. We stay, unless someone higher up than me gives us an indication otherwise.”

  “For how long? How long will you watch over the shoulders of these learned men, how long will you hang back to police their conduct?”

  “As long as it takes,” Kane said.

  The tension in the room was shattered as a visitor knocked on the door. Kane got up and wrenched the door open. It was Kallistrate. She smiled winningly at Kane, who felt his bad mood dissolve in the face of her cheery demeanour.

  “I hope the food was to your liking,” she said. “The palace’s novice chefs train up here, so it’s usually good quality.”

  “It was most agreeable, thank you,” Kane said, then he noticed the two guards standing slightly to one side of the door. “Is there a problem?”

  Kallistrate looked puzzled, and looked over her shoulder as though only just seeing the men for the first time.

  “Oh, no no, they’re just assisting me! I came to bring your fee, but I couldn’t carry it all on my own and besides, I have to have witnesses that you’ve received it.”

  “What fee?” Kane asked, his eyes widening as the guard produced a bag of coin the size of his head.

  “The finders' fee for a new specimen for the Academy, of course. I know it's supposed to go back to the Citadel, and most of it has, but Master Zaman was very insistent that you get a bigger cut than usual, considering you’re to be staying to observe the procedures. I’m going to need you to sign for this,” Kallistrate said, taking a ledger from the other guard, and a quill pen. Kane signed a scribble, and she withdrew the book with another bright smile, stepping back to allow the guard to hand him the money.

  “Very good,” she said, and nodded, before sweeping off down the corridor.

  Kane shut the door with his foot, and turned back to the squad with the bag of coin held in both hands.

  “Apparently compensation for our troubles has been arranged,” he said.

  Sampson, still sour over losing the argument, merely nodded but the rest of the reactions were more enthusiastic. Kane sat down, and opened the bag, which turned out to contain five leather pouches. The biggest was labelled with smudged ink to read ‘Cpl’ and Kane handed out the other four unmarked pouches to the rest of the group.

  Terrell opened his, to count it, then quickly drew the string closed again, a strange expression on his face. Kane set his pouch in his lap and opened it.

  “There’s been some kind of mistake,” he said, after a long time looking at the gleaming coin. “I'm sure the finders' fee can't be this much.”

  “Well I’m not complaining,” Terrell said, scooping his purse of gold into his pocket. “Now if we are staying, I could do with a good long sleep that isn’t in a cell. Wake me if Sampson comes back with orders for us to move.”

  A wave of tiredness washed over Kane at the mere mention of sleep. He'd been up all night, too, first helping Rayner to adjudicate and then helping Avila and Caron to escape. It sounded like a good idea. He mumbled his excuses and left for his room. Sampson barged past him on his way, muttering something about being back with orders from Commander Rayner, but Kane let him mutter. He had faith in Rayner's desire for fairness, and if he turned out to be wrong, he would simply run away from the garrison sooner than he would leave the Academy.

  He was mildly surprised when Eder joined him in the room, untying his hair from its cord and lying down on the unoccupied bed. Kane wanted so very much to lie down beside him and slip into blissful slumber, but fell onto his own bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

  Sampson evidently did not get the answer he wanted from Rayner, and Kane awoke of his own accord a couple of hours later, having snoozed his way into the afternoon. Eder was still dozing, and Kane crept quietly by him and out into the corridor, shutting the door noiselessly behind him.

  He didn't bother to knock on Terrell's door, just shoved it open and barged in. Terrell lay in the bed, relaxing, toying with a gold coin between his fingers.

  “Afternoon, Kane,” he said, lazily. “Come to catch me unprepared again, give me a bit of a beating while I'm defenceless in bed? Tut tut, not very chivalrous.”

  “I want you gone, Terrell. I want you packed up and as far away from here as you can be by morning.”

  “You can whistle,” Terrell said, still studying the coin. “If you get to hang around and wait for Cahaya, I do too. We'll see who she chooses when she gets out.”

  “What are you-”

  “I saw the way you looked at her today. You want her for yourself, don't you? Eder not good enough for you any more?”

  “This isn't about Cahaya.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “It's about last night, you pulling a knife on a girl because she wouldn't take her clothes off for you, you threatening Eder with a charge, does all this mean so little to you that you don't remember?” Kane was shouting now, exasperated by Terrell's nonchalance.

  “Oh. That,” Terrell said, but there was a smirk playing about his face.

  “Just get out, Terrell. I won't even send the guard after you, I just don't want to see your smirking face again.”

  Terrell levered his legs out of bed, reluctantly. He paused, for a moment, and then in one sudden movement, rose to his feet and swung for Kane.

  Kane dodged the blow by a fraction of an inch and drove his elbow into Terrell's side by way of answer. The boy grunted in pain but it didn't stop him from coming back fighting.

  This was like and yet unlike the sparring they'd done on the road. Then, they had been competitive, using their fights as a release from tension but still aware not to damage each other too much. This time, Terrell was not holding back, and Kane felt the bruises forming as he took glancing blows or deflected them away. He was still not quite Terrell's equal in strength, and he instinctively knew if he took one of those punches full on he wouldn't get back up for a long while.

  And then there was a knife in Terrell's hand.

  Kane saw it, and felt a hollow place open within him. If Terrell had left it would have been over and done, quietly, with a minimum of further betrayal. But to draw a knife on him, aft
er having Kane's back for years; the reaction in his gut was almost as bad as taking one of those hammer-punches.

  Terrell lunged for him with the knife, and Kane slapped his arm away, dodging around him. Terrell spun, and lost his balance as he tried to face Kane. He fell, relinquishing his hold on the knife and trying to put his arm out to catch himself. There was a sickening crack as his arm connected with the stone floor.

  Kane stood back, breathing heavily from the fight, ready for Terrell to spring up and re-start the brawl.

  Terrell didn't get up, instead sitting forward, cradling his injured left arm. It looked to be sitting at an uncomfortable angle. He was breathing heavily, and a low, guttural noise seemed to be fighting to come out from between clenched teeth. Kane could only imagine the pain from such a bad break, keeping from screaming must be using all of Terrell’s willpower and then some.

  “Fine,” Terrell eventually said, his chest still heaving and his lips twisted from the effort of keeping his voice level. “If you want me gone so badly I'll go.”

  “Are you-” Kane began, hesitantly, but the question died on his lips. “Davena can fix a broken arm.”

  “Wouldn't want to inflict myself on you a moment longer than I need to,” Terrell spat, bitterly. “Just leave me, I'll sort myself out.”

  Just a week ago, Kane wouldn't have heard of it, he'd have hauled Terrell to his feet and taken him to Davena to have his arm set. But then, just a week ago, they wouldn't have been having this fight. A week ago, Terrell wouldn’t have pulled a knife on him.

  He left Terrell sitting on the floor, looking as stunned as Kane felt.

  Kane spent the afternoon alternately reflecting on what he'd done and pacing about the small room. Several times he went to the door, determined to go to Terrell's room, take him to be healed, perhaps talk to him and set everything right again. Then, with his hand on the door handle, he would remember all the things Terrell had done, and something cruel would twist within him and he would decide to leave Terrell to suffer, or to leave, or whatever he intended to do with himself.