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The School Master opened his eyes to the noise of footsteps echoing down the hallway just outside. The broken door squeaked as someone entered. He watched without lifting his head as the legs of a business suit stepped over a shattered bookshelf and kicked aside scattered books.
"Master!" A heavy voice cried.
The School Master strained to lift his head as the Zoen in the suit knelt beside him. Something about the man seemed familiar.
"How badly are you injured?” the man asked, as he pulled debris off the School Master's body.
"Valance?" The School Master asked, not believing his eyes. The man looked like his former student, but so many years had passed. This man was far too young.
"I can't begin to apologize... They were supposed to provide security for my visit. I don't know why they attacked.”
The School Master’s mind flooded with a sudden burst of memories; every conversation he'd had with this man when he was still a student, everything that led up to their conflict. "I knew you'd be back someday... I didn't think I'd be this old when you finally came."
Lord Valance's two men clanked into the room. The School Master shifted his weight to look at them.
"Barnus and Whitting? The three of you stuck together all of these years?" They looked just as impossibly young as Valance.
"We didn't come for revenge, Master,” Lord Valance explained.
The School Master paused to study their faces.
"I will do everything in my power to stop you from taking it. You must know that,” he told them with as much strength as he could gather. He struggled to push himself up enough to rest on his elbows.
"Master, please. You assume the worst of us. That's not why we're here."
"Then what do you want from me?”
"I'm no longer the angry young boy that left here so many years ago. I've come to regret, rather deeply, the way I ended our relationship. The memories are... an embarrassment.”
"You went where you were not invited and took what you were not given!" the School Master whispered with labored breath.
"Yes, yes I did,” Lord Valance admitted.
It wasn't enough that the young Valance had followed him to the temple, the School Master thought. The boy was seen hours later, returning to the school grounds with a sack of weapons and armaments he stole from the temple.
The School Master looked up at Lord Valance. "I follow the same rules I asked you to follow. I go nowhere unless invited and take nothing that is not given. It is their decision. And to you, they did not give."
"I've come to ask forgiveness." Lord Valance pleaded.
The School Master regarded him for a moment then took the Lord's hand. He pulled back the strong fingers to reveal the center of his palm. A black mark appeared, as if the fancy engraving from the hilt of a sword had been branded onto his skin.
The School Master let out a sigh of disappointment. "As I feared."
Lord Valance stared at his own palm, stunned.
"Forgiveness? You still have the mark of a weapon on your hand. How long has it been since you've used it? A day? Two?”
The School Master dropped Valance's hand. The mark disappeared.
"I..."
Valance looked up at his old Master then back at Whitting, bewildered. He regained his composure.
"We had no idea what it was that we took. Their power... It was more than we anticipated. We came back to ask... we need... help."
The School Master leaned towards him. "Bring me the swords!"
"If only it was that easy." Lord Valance shifted his weight. "As you said. I can’t seem to be apart from them for more than one or two days.”
"What you've done cannot be undone with a wave of the hand. Bring me the swords and I will help you endure the pain that separation will bring. The suffering will pass, I promise you. It will be but a short moment, and in return you will have, for the first time since you took them, peace.”
"I understood there was another way."
The School Master shook his head. "The Token cannot help you now. To use it to find the Reds would only seal the damage you’ve done.”
"But the writings say..."
"Valance," Lord Whiting interrupted.
Lord Valance turned. Lord Whiting pulled open the false door in the back of the room, revealing the passageway.
Several sets of footprints marked a trail in the light blanket of dust covering the stone floor.
Lord Valance jumped to his feet and rushed to the back of the room, knocking over a shattered table in his haste. He stopped himself with the stone wall surrounding the passageway and turned back to the School Master.
"What is this?"
Lord Barnus stepped into the room. "Valance, the Soldiers reported a botan man running from the outer wall."
"There is one way and one way only. Bring back the swords!" The School Master shouted.
Valance eyed his old master, then turned to Barnus.
"Bind his wounds. Keep the soldiers here. Whiting and I will go after the botan.”
He motioned for Whiting to follow him as he charged down the passageway.
Lord Barnus climbed through the debris to the injured old man. A smile crept across Barnus’ face as he stood over him.
"Lets just say, I don't share Valance's affection for the past."
He pulled his overcoat back over the hilt of his sword and drew the dark blade.
Red Leaves and the Living Token - Book 1 - Part 1 Page 2
