Tainted Plans

by Jenn Vakey

  I didn’t let my eyes linger, pretending that I hadn’t even noticed him as I turned my attention back to the children. He was still there, though. In the corner of my eye. And it was hard not to look back to meet his gaze.

  That struggle quickly disappeared when Melenia came walking back, struggling as she carried the youngest of the group toward me. A little boy, his sandy blonde hair blowing gently in the breeze as he buried his face in her neck.

  “Beckam fell down,” she said, heaving him onto my lap when she reached me.

  “Hey,” I said gently, brushing the tears from his reddened cheeks. I dipped my head down to meet his pale green eyes that were filled with tears. The fact that he didn’t know me didn’t seem to matter at all in that moment. He dropped his head down heavily on my chest, a soft sob drowning out whatever words he was trying to say. “You’re okay,” I said, cradling him when I was satisfied there was no blood or any real cause for alarm.

  His discomfort started to slow as I gently rocked him, holding him tightly against me. Still, I could see Rhydian standing off to the side in my periphery. Leaning against the schoolhouse now, arms folded up across his chest. It made me a little nervous, but I was determined not to let him know that I knew he was there. I could deal with the awkwardness of it. The important thing was that the plan seemed to be working.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Despite my lingering sore muscles, I was actually looking forward to my next training session. It wasn’t even solely because it gave me time alone with Rhydian. I hadn’t been lying to him when I told him that I never wanted to feel helpless again. I wasn’t naive. There was no doubt in my mind that the danger to my sister and me wouldn’t end when Adler gave her back. He was a royal from Eden. Part of the very system that had no problem going after Tainted and their families. He wasn’t a man that I was going to trust not to turn around and try to take us again. That was why I wanted Lillith to be there when I gave him Rhydian. So I could take her and run as far away from him and his Sentry as I could. To do that, I needed to be able to defend myself. Defend her.

  Rhydian was already waiting for me when I walked out onto the training field. Seeing him there sent a wave of excitement through me, which I quickly pushed down. I needed to focus here. I couldn’t allow myself to get distracted. I might not understand exactly what those feelings were, but I knew they weren’t good. Not for me. Not for Lillith.

  “How are you feeling today?” he asked, stretching out his arms as he watched me near.

  I shrugged, which only served as a reminder to how sore I still was. “Like I hate you a little bit.”

  The smile he gave me surprised me. It wasn’t a careful smirk hidden behind his hardened exterior. It was an actual smile, one that sent a fluttering feeling through my chest.

  “It will be better tomorrow,” he told me.

  I narrowed my eyes toward him, that all too familiar realization coming with his words. “Are you going to feel the need to interrogate me if I call you out for lying again?”

  That only caused his smile to broaden as he rolled his eyes.

  After getting stretched, we started again on the same defensive moves we had done the day before. We didn’t talk, other than the instructions that he gave me. I did notice that the moves weren’t quite as clumsy and uncomfortable as they had been. There were even times that my body just seemed to react, knowing what to do before I could even really think about it. They were nothing more than ways to evade an attacker, but it was better than nothing.

  After half an hour, he gave me an approving nod and stepped back. “Now that you have the basics of those down, we can work on your punches and kicks again.”

  My eyes shifted to the punching bag before returning to him. “Can we do something else? Something more offensive?”

  He studied me for a moment, the reflexive desire to decline slowly draining from his expression. Then his eyes moved around, looking at the equipment around us. “Okay,” he said, shifting his weight as he turned and walked toward the rack that held various weapons. Nothing with a sharp edge, but there wasn’t anything on it that I had a desire to be hit with. Reaching out, he pulled down a straight wooden stick a little over two feet long. It was smooth and painted black, an inch in diameter. He looked down at it for a moment, silently working through something in his head, then he held it out for me to take.

  “This is a baston,” he said. “You can fight with one or two.”

  I looked down at it, feeling its weight in my hand. It almost reminded me of the batons used by Sentry in the city, although it was thinner and a little heavier.

  “It’s a hardened wood with a narrow metal rod inside for stability,” he said. “It will break bone before it breaks. Not that you’ll be hitting with enough force to do that most of the time.”

  He moved beside me, maneuvering my hand to correct my grip. Then he motioned me over to a wooden dummy several feet away. It was the height of a man, with several different sticks protruding out of it. Not an unfamiliar sight. Although it was a little more primitive, as hardly anything in Eden was made of wood, it was similar to the training dummies Sentry used.

  “For now, I want you to get use to the feel of it,” he said, stepping behind me and placing his hand over mine. He directed my arm back, then swung it at the dummy. It impacted with the clank of wood on wood, vibrating slightly in my grip. “Then we can move on to the double baston.”

  Rhydian showed me how to strike it, then stepped back and watched. Punching the bag was nothing compared to this. For the first time in my life, I felt truly powerful. That’s not to say that I was really good at it. Even I knew my moves were sloppy at best. But the more I hit that wooden dummy, the more I felt that pent up anger inside pushing out. Flowing out through my hand and into the baston. It made me feel alive, like I had it in me to fight back against anyone that ever tried to hurt someone I cared about again. There was a little regret there too. I liked being able to help people as a Healer, but it made me wish I had chosen Sentry instead. Then maybe I would have been able to stop those men from taking Lillith in the first place.

  “Easy, tiger,” he said after what felt like no more than a few minutes. “Our time’s up.”

  I lowered the baston, turning to face him. I was breathing heavily, struggling to catch my breath. My shirt clung to my back, the cool breeze hitting it and sending a chill through me. I didn’t care. I didn’t even care that we had spent the entire hour saying nothing beyond things that related to training. Adler’s plan was sitting at the back of my mind in that moment. This. This was what I wanted to be doing. Learning how to fight back, how never to feel helpless again.

  Rhydian opened his mouth to say something, but a loud noise filled the air and cut him off. It pulled his attention away from what we were doing, his eyes sweeping frantically around. As if on reflex, he stepped closer to me, his hand brushing against mine as he searched the yard.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, all of that elation leaving me at the sight of his newly acquired tenseness.

  “Something tripped the sensors,” he said, not looking back at me. He didn’t step away, though, maintaining his almost protective stance. I couldn’t even consider what that could have meant, because his next words sent a wave of panic through me. “The perimeter alarms.” Then his voice rose, an authoritative ring in it as he yelled out, “Get the children inside!”

  I turned, my eyes finding the tree line behind us, darting around as I looked for any sign of danger. I wanted to turn and run, to get as far away from it as I could. Feeling him there beside me rooted me, though. Made me feel safer than anywhere else I could have been.

  “It was probably just an animal,” he said, though his unease didn’t leave him. Probably because he didn’t actually believe that himself. It was nothing more than an attempt to put my worries at ease.

  If it wasn’t an animal, or if that wasn’t what he thought it was, then what was it? The wards were supposed to keep anyone not welcome from reac
hing Alkwin. Could a Sentry have gotten through?

  Before I could ask him what he really thought was going on, a female voice yelled out from between the buildings. I turned toward it, looking around him to see Evanly looking in our direction. All of that carefreeness she normally had was gone as she looked to Rhydian and called out, “One of the kids is missing. We were playing hide and seek. I can’t find him.”

  Rhydian huffed out a breath, his hand grazing against mine once again as he shook his head and said, “That’s probably what tripped the sensors.” Without waiting for me to respond, he left my side, moving quickly toward Evanly. They were joined by several other people, each looking around in a desperate attempt to locate the absent child. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I watched as he started pointing out in different directions. People started to nod, then scattered.

  His explanation should have been enough to cause the pounding in my chest to ease, but it didn’t. I turned back around, once again searching the woods around the now empty training field. I could hear people shouting behind me, but I couldn’t stop looking for danger.

  Through the brush at the other end of the field I caught sight of something yellow moving around. My mind instantly went back to that morning, the different children that I had been watching. There had been a little boy in a yellow long sleeve shirt. One of the younger ones, maybe four or five. Without delay, I started jogging in that direction, moving faster the closer I got.

  I only had to move about ten feet through the tree line before I saw the little boy huddled down under a bush. He was frightened, gaze darting all around. His tiny hands were pulled up over his ears, terror in his eyes as the alarm still sounded. I was sure that they were all taught what that sound meant. Danger. And it was scaring him. I searched my memory, desperate for anything I could do to sooth him.

  “Jordi?” I asked, hoping that was the right name. His tear filled eyes looked up into mine as I crouched down, nodding just enough to be noticeable. “It’s okay, Jordi. I know it’s loud, but you’re safe. Come on, I’ll take you back to the school.”

  He looked at me as I spoke, but he didn’t move. I didn’t want to pull him out of there, knowing it would only scare him more. The easiest thing to do would be to go back and get someone else to help. Someone he knew and would trust enough to come out for. I didn’t want to leave him out here alone, though. The alarm still blaring had me on edge. It made me feel unsafe. I wasn’t about to leave the child’s side if there was even a possibility that there really was a risk of danger.

  “Do you remember me from this morning?” I asked gently. “I’m Leeya.”

  Jordi nodded again, but still he didn’t move. I was beginning to think that I didn’t have another option besides just grabbing him when I heard the sound of leaves crunching, twigs cracking. I knew there was a strong chance it was just someone from Alkwin coming to help me, but the hairs on the back of my neck still rose. A twinge of fear moving up my spine that caused me to grip the baston still in my hand even tighter.

  I turned, looking around for the source, slowly standing as I moved. I could still hear the shouts from Alkwin over the alarm, but I couldn’t see anyone around.

  “Come on, Jordi,” I said, holding my hand out behind me. “I need you to come out. We need to get back to the school.”

  His whimpers didn’t grow any closer. They did, however, grow louder. Right around the same time that I saw a man step into my sights. He wasn’t coming from the direction of Alkwin. He was coming out of the woods. A man I had never seen before.

  My hand felt tense as I held the baston, ready to use it if he took even one step closer. His eyes moved over me, his tongue pushing out just enough to wetten his lips. Everything about him seemed wrong. His brown hair was dirty and matted, something that seemed to carry through the rest of his body. Even his tattered clothes looked to have a thick layer of dirt on them. His eyes were dark, dangerous.

  Then, before I could even consider what I was supposed to do next, his gaze shifted down to Jordi cowering behind me. And I saw it. The way his brow raised slightly, eyes widening in a way that told me exactly what he was after.

  I shifted my body instinctively between them, turning his look to one of frustration.

  “Jordi, go now,” I commanded. “Run.”

  I couldn’t take my eyes off of the man to see if he was listening, but no sounds came from where he was. I considered grabbing him and running, but I knew I would never be fast enough. Not carrying a child. Attempting it would only put Jordi in the open, making it easier for him to take him. I wasn’t going to let that happen.

  Sensing my determination, the man charged toward me. I spread my feet slightly, pulling the baston as far as I could to the left. The moment he was close enough, I swung it out, striking him hard on the chest. Not hard enough.

  He dropped his shoulder down, slamming into me with enough force to throw me back several feet as I fell. He didn’t stop to turn his focus on me. He just kept moving toward Jordi.

  I managed to pull myself up just as he dropped down and reached in, wrapping his fist around Jordi’s shirt. My protective instinct kicked in, overriding everything else in my mind. I moved toward him quickly, striking out at him like I had with the dummy.

  He grunted as the baston struck his back, finally releasing his hold on the little boy when I swung it down onto his shoulder.

  “Jordi, run!” I yelled, and this time he did. He crawled out of his hiding spot, almost losing his footing as he stood and started running toward camp. To safety.

  A roar of anger billowed from the man, and just as I was about to level a strike to his head, he swung back and sent me flying into a tree. With the air knocked out of me, I wasn’t fast enough to get back up. He grabbed me from behind and lifted me off of the ground with such ease that I knew it wasn’t normal. Then, without even a second to try and brace myself, he slammed me into another tree, pinning my chest against it.

  “Look what we have here,” he said, his rough fingers grazing over my shoulder as he pulled the collar of my shirt down in the back. I knew what he saw. My mark. The one that told him I wasn’t Tainted. That I wasn’t any real threat to him.

  His arm moved around me as he pulled me back and started moving deeper into the woods. I had cost him what he had been there for, and it was clear he found a substitute. Me.

  No, this couldn’t happen. I couldn’t let this happen. I had no idea why he wanted me, but I knew it wasn’t good. More than that, I wouldn’t be able to do anything for my sister if I couldn’t stop him.

  My mind raced, thinking back over everything Rhydian had taught me. Somehow I still had the baston in my hand, but I wouldn’t be able to do anything from this angle. So I grabbed ahold of his wrist and leaned down, then twisted and slammed my elbow into the side of his face. He hadn’t been expecting it, and didn’t dodge like Rhydian had.

  With a howl, his grip lessened and I dropped down and managed to slip free of his hold. His anger was fueling him, though. When I tried to get around him so I could get back to camp, he grabbed me by my left wrist, twisting it with such force that a blinding pain moved through me, clouding my thoughts and blacking out my vision. The sound of the bones breaking was like nothing I had ever heard before. I couldn’t even attempt to hold back my scream. I was so sure he was going to move in and finish me off after that. Seeing me as too much trouble to even attempt to take anymore. I knew I couldn’t fight it. He was too strong. Tainted strong.

  But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try.

  Pushing through the pain of the wrist that he still held, I shifted my body and delivered a kick down onto his knee. At the same time, I swung with all of my force, slamming the baston against his chin. It had just connected when I heard my name mixed with the sound of approaching footsteps. But I couldn't look back. I pulled my arm up again, bringing the baston down hard against the side of the man's head. In his dazed crouch, it was enough to knock him back to the ground.


  Then I heard it. The wet, sickening sound as his head landed hard on a large rock. And the echo of it in my ears took the last of the strength I had with it. I collapsed.

  People started surrounding me, but I couldn't look away from him. Waiting for him to get up and attack me again. He was so still. Too still.

  Someone dropped down next to him at the same time I felt a hand wrap around mine, the baston being pulled from my grip.

  Zaydan’s hand went to the guy's neck, then he looked toward me. His gaze lingered for just a moment before his eyes shifted up several feet above my head. He shook his head.

  A curse came from behind me that was just enough to snap me out of the state I was in so I could fully take in everything around me. Zaydan was standing over the man on the ground. His eyes were moving over me, more serious than I had seen them. There was almost a level of respect there. To my right stood Jaron and another man I hadn't seen. He looked familiar, though. It was the eyes that made me understand why. The same light brown eyes I had just been looking into. The more I looked, the more resemblance I could see. Jordi’s father. There were so many things on his face. Panic, gratitude.

  Then Rhydian crouched down beside where I still sat on the ground. He reached up and brushed the hair that had been pulled free of my ponytail out of my face. His fingers moved almost tenderly against my skin, his eyes making a quick pass to search for injuries before settling on mine. There was that worry again. The same one I could sense when the alarm first sounded.

  I pushed my hands down so I could get to my feet, but I was met with a sharp pain that made me cry out. Rhydian didn't wait, didn't ask what was hurting. He just slid one arm underneath me and the other around my back, lifting me off of the ground with little effort. I didn't fight him on it. Just dropped my head down against his chest as he turned and carried me back into camp.

  “I killed him,” I said, my voice low and gravelly. I knew it was true, but it still seemed so unreal. Impossible. Parts of my brain were warring with others, telling me that he should be getting back up. Death was so final. So wrong.