Shade's First Rule

by A F Kay

  Ruwen opened his mouth, realized he hadn’t slept since his Cultivation incident, and his simple lie evaporated. Instead, he wondered if maybe he’d broken his brain Cultivating and he would soon die of sleep deprivation. He felt fine, though. Although –

  Ky flicked Ruwen in the forehead. “Ugh, what did I do to deserve you two?”

  “You only have yourself to bla…” Sift said and then trailed off as Ky glared at him.

  Ky rubbed her face. “Always end with a question to force the focus away from yourself. Shade’s first rule: the best lies are unspoken. Understand?”

  Ruwen and Sift nodded.

  Ky continued. “Deepwell has been alive all night. The Council tried to reject Big D’s outing because of the attack yesterday. They claimed it wasn’t safe. She argued there were no exemptions for safety in the original agreement and that if they didn’t enforce the law, she would organize a recall based on the Council not doing its job.”

  “Who is Big D?” Sift asked.

  “A formidable woman and not one we should cross lightly. Big D wants a better life for her Workers, and this trip is a way to destabilize the current power structure,” Ky said.

  “At my expense,” Ruwen whispered.

  “Everything is always at someone else’s expense. Big D’s point is that’s usually a Worker,” Ky said.

  Which only made Ruwen feel worse. Guilt for looking down at Workers his whole life swirled with his depression at being one. His chest tightened, and his throat constricted.

  Ky flicked him in the forehead again. “Feel sorry for yourself later, this dagger has left the sheath. It actually might work in our favor. You’ll be in plain sight, but also the lynchpin for hundreds of people. We can use you as bait to find those trying to kill you.”

  “Wait, what do you mean hundreds of people? The last two months couldn’t have had more than a hundred people Ascend,” Ruwen said.

  Ky nodded. “Because of the attack, all the Academies are sending extra instructors to protect their students. The Council is making the best of a bad situation and sending at least fifty Enforcement Soldiers along as a show of how much they care. Then you have all the rich kids who will have extra protection in addition to their normal servants. It will be a circus.”

  “I agree with Ruwen. I don’t understand why all this is necessary,” Sift said.

  “If you wanted to change my direction, which would be easier? Chasing Crickets or Gentle Rain?” Ky asked.

  Sift replied immediately. “Chasing Crickets.”

  “Why?” Ky asked.

  “Because you’re already moving,” Sift said.

  “Exactly. That is what Big D is doing. She is getting things moving to make a change later easier.”

  Ruwen’s map pulsed.

  “Both of you open your maps,” Ky said.

  Ruwen opened his map and saw a new marker had appeared. It was an address not too far from the Workers’ Lodge.

  “Hamma is there,” Ky said. “I don’t want to leave her in Deepwell when you depart, so I’ve arranged for her to be part of the Order Class contingent. It was mostly Enforcement Officers, but they needed a few Priests in case anyone got injured. I made sure her name was included.”

  Ruwen’s heart beat faster, and his cheeks flushed. “Thanks, Ky. That was nice of you.”

  “Nothing nice about it, kid. If we left her here, she’d be easier to capture and used as leverage against us. I don’t want to risk it.”

  “Oh, well, I’m glad she’s coming,” Ruwen said.

  “Really? You hide it so well,” Ky said.

  Sift laughed, and Ruwen glared at him.

  “Pick her up on your way to meet Big D,” Ky said.

  “You’re not coming with us?” Ruwen asked, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

  “I’m still working on mobilizing my people, and you’ll be safe anyway. Guardians are still circling above the town. Naktos’s followers will keep their distance until things settle back down. If we’re lucky, they won’t even realize you left, and you’ll have a relaxing camping trip,” Ky said.

  “I’m excited to try camping,” Sift said.

  “You’re sure it’s safe?” Ruwen asked and then held up his hands. “I know there is no safety. But do you think we’ll be fine on our own?”

  “You are enabling all this, and plenty of people want you dead. But none of them know what you look like and they can’t locate you by name anymore. By the time people discover those things, you’ll be too surrounded for them to kill you. Can you think of anyone from Deepwell that wants to kill you?” Ky asked.

  “No,” Ruwen said.

  “Then you shouldn’t worry,” Ky said. “Fade will protect you unless someone already knows you and is specifically searching for you.”

  Tremine walked into the room and smiled at Ruwen. “You survived!”

  Ruwen returned the smile. “Barely.”

  But that reminded Ruwen that he’d reentered Uru’s Protection area and his progress would have synched to the goddess now. Relief flooded him.

  “Who’s your friend?” Tremine asked.

  “Servant,” Ruwen said.

  “Cousin,” Sift said at the same time.

  Ruwen and Sift looked at each other and then turned back to Tremine.

  “Cousin from a village,” Ruwen said.

  “I’m a servant,” Sift said at the same time.

  Ruwen and Sift looked at each other again.

  “Hopeless,” Ky said, shaking her head. “This is Padda and Madda’s boy. He calls himself Sift.”

  Tremine bowed to Sift. “It is an honor to meet you, Sift. My name is Tremine, and I’m the librarian here. Your parents are special people.”

  “You know my parents?” Sift asked.

  “Yes, we worked together in my younger days. What a special day to meet their son,” Tremine said.

  “Enough jabbering, Tremine. At your age, you don’t have much time left. You ready?” Ky asked.

  Tremine bowed to Ky. “I am at your disposal, Mistress.”

  “You two idiots know what to do?” Ky asked.

  “Pick up Hamma on our way to meet Big D at the Lodge,” Ruwen said.

  Ky nodded and then turned to Tremine. “Let’s go old man.”

  Tremine waved at them as he and Ky left.

  “I can’t believe I’m actually here,” Sift said.

  Ruwen smiled, and some of his worries disappeared.

  They left the library and headed toward Hamma. Sunrise was over an hour away, and they kept to the main roads where there was more light. The streets weren’t busy, but there were far more people awake than usual. Occasionally, Ruwen heard the sound of a Guardian passing above them. It took them almost an hour, but they arrived at the address Ky had given them.

  Ruwen knocked softly on the door, not wanting to wake up anyone in the neighboring houses. He was about to knock again when the door opened a crack, and Hamma peeked through. The door flew open, and Hamma stepped forward.

  “I’m so glad –” Ruwen started.

  Hamma slapped him.

  “You can’t just disappear!” Hamma shouted. “Do you know how worried I was? I came back, and everyone was gone. I thought you’d died!”

  Ruwen stood speechless as his cheek burned. Hamma hugged him, but before he could hug her back, she stepped away.

  “Is this what you meant by a warm welcome?” Sift asked.

  Hamma put her hands on her hips and glared at Sift. “Who are you?”

  “My cousin,” Ruwen said.

  “A servant,” Sift said at the same time.

  Ruwen and Sift looked at each other.

  Hamma raised her eyebrows. “You two better work on that.”

  Hamma stepped out of the house and closed the door. She wore boots, pants, and the long white shirt of the Order Class priestess.

  “Ky said to be ready to go,” Hamma said. “Nice haircut by the way. You should try a barber who can see next time.”

  Ruw
en’s cheeks warmed, and he ran a hand over the hair he’d cut himself. He couldn’t tell her about the Rod Spiders and their blood that turned hard as a rock. “I know.”

  Hamma smiled. “It’s kind of cute.”

  Ruwen thought his face might burst into flames. He checked his map and marked the Workers’ Lodge. It would be a fifteen-minute walk. That would put them there around 6:45, fifteen minutes earlier than Big D had told him. They started toward the Lodge, with Hamma between Ruwen and Sift.

  “I’m sorry you thought I’d died,” Ruwen said. “I would have told you sooner if I’d been able.”

  “Well, why didn’t you? Ky had to do it,” Hamma said.

  Ruwen bit his lip. “Ky kind of stuck me in a safe house, too. I couldn’t get out.”

  “Well, I guess that makes sense. I was just worried, and I hate being worried,” Hamma said.

  “It’s good to see you,” Ruwen said. “I’m glad you’re coming along.”

  While many lights were on in the houses around them, there were very few people on the street. They encountered a young kid who immediately ran off when they saw him and a drunk looking for his house. In the distance, they could hear the activity at the Workers’ Lodge, and the city grew brighter in that direction.

  They were five minutes from the Workers’ Lodge when Ruwen’s Keen Senses triggered. He stopped his two friends. They were still in a residential area, and the street was decently lit, but the small courtyards and alleys around them provided plenty of darkness to hide.

  “Something’s wrong,” Ruwen said.

  “It is hard to sift in the open like this,” Sift said.

  “What’s wrong?” Hamma asked.

  Half a figure emerged from an alley thirty feet down the street. Ruwen activated Magnify and saw a grey vest on a light blue dress. He couldn’t see the woman’s face, but she raised her arm and pointed directly at Ruwen. She had a ring on every finger, each with a small glass bulb. Ruwen could see movement in the glass, and his stomach clenched.

  Ruwen turned off Magnify and faced Sift. “We should turn around.”

  They all turned around but found three people pointing crossbows at them. Their faces, as well as their names, were hidden, but Ruwen’s perception worked well enough to get the basics. They were all Fighters, with levels ranging from fourteen to eighteen. There was no way they could survive a fight with them.

  They turned back around. The woman in the dress was gone, but three more Fighters stood in her place, crossbows raised. They had their faces covered as well. The one in front was level twenty and held a black crossbow. Ruwen assumed it was the leader.

  The leader spoke. “It isn’t personal, son. It’s just now isn’t a safe time to leave the city. It would be better for everyone if you took a nap at the temple.”

  Hamma stepped forward and shouted. “I command you, in the name of Uru, and by the power invested in me as a servant of Order, to put down your weapons.”

  “Lower your voice, girl. We’re only here for the Worker. There’s no reason for anyone else to meet any harm. Just step away from him,” the leader said.

  “Sift, I’m going to deafen them, you get Hamma out of here,” Ruwen whispered.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Hamma said.

  Hamma pointed to the sky and a beam of light shot from her finger. It reached a hundred feet into the air before arcing back down like a gigantic weeping willow. The entire area became brightly lit.

  “She signaled Enforcement!” yelled a Fighter from behind them.

  “Now,” the leader shouted.

  Three quick thuds struck Ruwen in the back, pushing him forward and making him stumble. His cloak’s shield had triggered and blocked the bolts’ damage. The three Fighters in front of him had fired as well, and before Ruwen could even react, Sift had dived in front of him.

  Sift and Ruwen hit the ground together, and Ruwen looked down to see blood covering his chest. But it wasn’t his. Sift had three crossbow bolts sticking out his chest. Ruwen got to his knees and laid Sift flat on the ground.

  “We need to work on your reflexes. You are terribly slow,” Sift mumbled.

  “We will, we will,” Ruwen said.

  Hamma knelt across from Ruwen and laid her hands on Sift.

  “How bad is it?” Ruwen asked.

  Ruwen looked around, but the street was empty. The Fighters must have assumed him dead when he collapsed. Hamma’s signal didn’t give them the chance to confirm it.

  Sift looked at Ruwen. “Tell Lylan I…even though…doesn’t…remember”

  Hamma looked up. “Something’s not right. He has far more Health than his stats show. But it still won’t be enough.”

  Ruwen didn’t want to explain that right now. “Is it bad?”

  Hamma nodded. “I just spent all my Mana healing him, but the bleeding will still kill him. I think those arrows were poisoned. He’ll be in the temple basement soon.”

  But Sift wouldn’t go to the temple basement to be reformed and given life again. He would be dead. Forever.

  The End of Divine Apostasy Book 1

  Epilogue

  Uru sat in the grass, listening to the waves crash against the rocks below. Dark clouds ripped themselves from the horizon’s grasp, and she wondered if it might rain. An emotion she hadn’t felt in over a thousand years crawled through her chest.

  Worry.

  A loud gong sounded, but Uru remained focused on the distant storm.

  Footsteps approached from behind her.

  “That’s new,” Uru said without turning.

  Blapy sat down next to Uru and crisscrossed her legs, resting the stuffed centipede in her lap.

  “The gong? A suggestion I liked from a new acquaintance,” Blapy said.

  Uru smiled. “Anyone I know?”

  Blapy laughed.

  They were quiet as they watched the grey clouds roil and climb into the sky.

  “Are you here on business? Did I break any rules?” Uru asked.

  Blapy placed her hands on the ground behind her and leaned back. “Not business. You kept the letter, if not the spirit, of all the rules.”

  “Good. The time for breaking them is fast approaching, but I must not be the first.”

  “So, this is it?” Blapy asked.

  Uru sighed. “Yes.”

  “I tried to kill him. Despite his terrible skills, he survived.”

  “He’s special. More than anyone knows.”

  Blapy leaned forward and brushed the dirt from her hands. “I never really believed you. But now, seeing how long you’ve planned. You were telling the truth.”

  Uru nodded.

  “I’m sorry. It’s not like your kind to be honest,” Blapy said.

  “I know. Which is why all of this is necessary.”

  They looked out at the ocean for a while. The clouds had formed a massive storm, and it raged above the horizon. Lightning arced across the sky, and a few seconds later, the thunder reached them.

  “I love this view,” Blapy said.

  “It’s worth dying for,” Uru whispered with a small smile.

  Blapy hugged her centipede. “They are worried. He came to see me.”

  For the first time, Uru looked at Blapy. “Already?”

  Blapy nodded. “They know your Champion entered the Pyramid, and they’ve all been watching me. The boy’s Harvesting prompted the visit. I tried to keep it contained, but he was too strong. His reach escaped my influence, and Izac noticed. I feel a little bad lying to the boy about his terrifying strength. Thankfully I’d pointed him in a direction without cities, and no one died.”

  Uru placed a hand on Blapy’s knee. “Thank you, Mira, that would have broken my heart.”

  “Of course, neither of us wants the innocent to suffer.”

  Uru nodded. “I should have anticipated that. There is always another detail.”

  The sea below turned from blue to grey as the clouds strangled the light.

  “Does he know it was the boy?” Uru
asked, her voice concerned.

  “I don’t think so. Everyone knows Harvesting is impossible for the Bonded. I told Izac I couldn’t explain what happened, which is the truth.”

  Uru tilted her head. “What if they ask you about the lights?”

  “What lights?” Blapy asked innocently.

  “When they look through your logs, they’ll see the anomaly in the library.”

  “No, not an anomaly, just a beginning. I turn off the lights, every night, at the exact same time now.”

  Uru raised her eyebrows.

  “I need energy for my newest level. Lights are a waste,” Blapy said.

  Uru smiled. “But you don’t play favorites.”

  “Certainly not. I hate you all, actually. Just some I hate a little less.”

  Uru nodded. “Well, it’s good to know you’re still following the rules. I’ll know things are serious when you break them.”

  “I’ll never break them,” Blaby said.

  Uru just nodded.

  They sat in silence as the storm moved toward the shore. The wind whipped the grass, and the tree behind them creaked.

  “It is good he found the book. I miscalculated his initial strength, and he’ll need guidance sooner than I thought,” Uru said.

  “It will be chaos when they discover what you’ve accomplished.”

  “Worse, it will unite them against me. Izac will be nearly unstoppable.”

  “Nearly?” Blapy asked.

  Uru smiled at the little girl. “Let’s hope he’s ready.”

  “Did you see the chickens?”

  They both laughed, and the thunder above them echoed their amusement.

  Uru wiped her eyes. “Well, he still has a little time.”

  Thank you so much for reading this book. I hope my love for this story made it onto the page. If you wish to stay informed about the future books in the Divine Apostasy series please join the newsletter:

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  Appendix