by NAK Baldron
"This was old man Jarin's place," Mitaire said. "He passed away yesterday, and his son inherited his home, but he is off soldiering at a far outpost. We can use the house for the night and nobody will know."
"Are you sure?" Abaze asked. "We won't get caught?"
"We won't get caught, I promise," Mitaire said.
The two pushed open one of the windows and snuck into the dark house. They scanned around to make sure there wasn't anyone already in the house, but they only found a house filled with things left behind by Jarin.
They embraced, kissing one another with such passion. Abaze caressed Mitaire in his arms. He'd felt close to her before, but as they kissed, waves of euphoria washed over him.
I'd rather not hear your thoughts while you're having sex, Adaku transmitted. Abaze instantly stopped kissing Mitaire looking around for his sister, but she wasn't anywhere in sight. You know father would be so angry if he found out what you are doing.
But father won't find out, right? Abaze transmitted.
"Is everything okay?" Mitaire asked, and Abaze thought for a brief moment to tell her of his ability to send thoughts back and forth to his sister.
"It's nothing," Abaze said. "I just thought I heard something."
"I told you we're alone," Mitaire said.
Later, Abaze snuck back into the castle. When he reached his room, he expected to see his sister in the common room, but she was nowhere to be found. When he woke the next morning, again, he didn't see her, so he searched the castle for her. After walking the entire castle and grounds twice and not finding her, Abaze grew angry. The thought of his sister telling somebody about his time with Mitaire weighed on his thoughts.
I'm not going to tell anyone, Adaku transmitted. Mother and I went into the city.
Will you stop listening to my thoughts? Abaze transmitted. I didn't think we could do this so far away.
Neither did I, Adaku transmitted.
We need to start training with Kelechi, Abaze transmitted.
He went with one of the advisors, Adaku transmitted. They road out early this morning, but they rode with a small group, so I'm sure they'll be back shortly.
Abaze spent his day in the garden chatting with the guards he felt most comfortable with. They told him stories of their time as soldiers, before being posted on guard duty.
As the evening approached, a servant found Abaze. "Your mother and sister are waiting for you for dinner."
Abaze nodded and followed the servant to the dining hall. Several people had gathered within, but his mother and sister sat alone at the head table. He took a seat next to them and his mother smiled at him while Adaku only gave him a curled lip. Moments later their food was brought forth.
"Have you had a nice day today?" his mother asked.
"I did," Abaze said.
I'm surprised that you didn't sneak out to see Mitaire, Adaku transmitted.
Abaze glanced at her without a response. As he started eating, he began asking himself why he hadn't gone to see her. He started thinking more about her. Started replaying the night before in his head again. Remembered the feel of her skin.
Can you keep those thoughts out of my head? Adaku transmitted.
"Will you stop?" Abaze said with anger at his sister.
"No, I can't," Adaku said, her own expression turning to anger. "You know I can't."
"What has gotten into you two?" Rayowa said.
"Adaku is just getting on my nerves," Abaze spat.
Rayowa looked between her two children, her face scrunching up with dismay. "You two will stop this right now."
The dining hall had gone quiet as everyone looked at the head table to see what the cause of the commotion was. Adaku and Abaze only appeared to be glaring at one another.
We're going to start our training with Kelechi, Abaze transmitted, and the first thing that I'm going to ask him is how to keep you out of my head.
Maybe if you stopped pining away over sex, you wouldn't have this problem, Adaku transmitted with all the venom she could muster.
"You two," Rayowa said, "go to your rooms now and don't speak to each other until it is out of love. Now!"
Their mother had never yelled at them in anger before.
The twins pushed themselves away from the table, then rose and walked away. Walking down the hall together, Abaze rounded a corner and headed off in a different direction.
Where are you going? Adaku transmitted.
That's for me to know, Abaze transmitted.
Adaku vanished into their common room as Abaze followed his secret route out of the castle. He rushed to Mitaire's house—not bothering to hide in the shadows as before—and she came out to meet him. The two embraced again, but Abaze was distracted from trying to keep his sister's thoughts out. No words of rebuke from his sister slipped into his mind.
"I have the perfect place for us to go tonight," Abaze said.
"Lead the way," Mitaire said.
Abaze grabbed her hand and started walking through the alleys. After a few moments, they came out by the large fountain in the center of the city. A few people milled around, but it was mostly clear. The two stood staring at the water, which reflected the light from the oil lantern nearby.
"This place is so beautiful at night," Mitaire said.
"Almost as beautiful as you," Abaze said, continuing to concentrate on keeping Adaku out.
Abaze took Mitaire's hand once more and led her down a dark alleyway. The two found a nook where they slid into and started to kiss one another while removing parts of their clothing.
Adaku sat in her room trying to read from a tome when her brother's thoughts came flooding in like a waterfall that had been unfrozen in the blink of an eye. Though it wasn't in the form of words, she could only make out the sound of water and sounds of Mitaire's heavy breathing. She slammed her book closed and grabbed a black cloak from her wardrobe.
Following Abaze's escape route that he'd shone her before, she made her way out the castle. With her black cloak covering her, she wandered the streets trying to think of where they could be. The sound of running water continued to play in her head. Then she realized it was the sound of the large water fountain in the city. She raced to the fountain and when she got there, she looked all around it, but couldn't find them.
Once she noticed the dark alley, she slowly entered and peeked into the nook where she found Abaze and Mitaire. They both startled and pulled their shirts over themselves.
"Adaku?" Abaze asked. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to make sure you don't get yourself into any trouble," Adaku said as the two stepped out of the nook.
Adaku grabbed Mitaire by the arm and pulled her away from Abaze. "I'm sorry but I have to do this. I don't want Abaze getting himself into any trouble. Our father is already displeased with us."
"I understand," Mitaire said. "Goodbye, Abaze."
She turned and started making her way back to her house.
"I'll come see you again soon," Abaze said, then turned back to his sister.
It's time for us to go back, Adaku transmitted.
Kelechi better start training us soon, Abaze transmitted. So I can keep you out of my head.
Brother, I'm not trying to harm you, Adaku transmitted. I'm trying to look out for you.
I will never forgive you for this, Abaze transmitted, then concentrated on keeping her out of his thoughts. Else she would have overheard the plans of murder that flooded his mind.
* * *
The twins followed Kelechi up a long flight of stairs. They'd rarely spent time on the castle's highest level, but they knew that was where they were heading. The sorcerer had retrieved them early, so both twins yawned and tried to rub the tiredness out of their eyes. The source-light had yet to rise, which Kelechi wanted so that their chances of being seen or interrupted while training was limited.
Upon reaching the top floor, Kelechi pulled a key ring from his robe and unlocked the door with one of the multitude of keys he carried.
Their father must trust him implicitly because even the captain of the guards didn't carry that many keys.
The room was lit only by the glowing light from outside. It was nearly empty, except for a table covered with vials and a shelf next to it with odd ingredients.
"What is this place?" Abaze asked.
"This used to be my study," Kelechi said, "before I became the court sorcerer. I still use it for alchemy since most people don't like the smell that is created from the process, but we are going to use this as our room to practice. No one will come looking for you here."
"The first thing I need to learn is how to keep my sister out of my head," Abaze said. "I try to keep her out, but she can hear what I'm thinking even when we're not trying."
"Ah, yes, you must learn to close off your mind from others," Kelechi said. "We will work on mental exercises that will help strengthen your minds, and you'll be able to do such a thing."
"First, I want you children to take a seat," Kelechi said. "I want you to try clearing your minds and only concentrating on your own body. How it feels and how it's working. Feel your breath, but in your mind."
"That's it?" Adaku asked.
"That alone can be an arduous task to accomplish," Kelechi said. "Have you ever tried to keep your thoughts focused solely on one thing without other thoughts coming in?"
"Sounds incredibly easy," Abaze said.
"Yes, it sounds easy," Kelechi said, "but it's not. Some people take years to practice and still can't master the skill. But perhaps you'll be the exception Abaze son of Mobo. Maybe you will prove a natural master of the mind, and this training is a waste of both of our time."
"Years?" Adaku asked, trying to smooth over the sarcasm. Why her brother had to be such a dunce, she didn't know.
"I never said this was going to be quick and easy," Kelechi said. "You two have a special gift, but it's going to take a lot of time and effort until you fully have a grasp of it. Now, stop talking and concentrate."
The twins closed their eyes and tried to focus only on their bodies. It was a mere moment—the time it takes the water drop to leave the tree's leaf and hit the ground—before they both allowed their thoughts to wander.
For minutes, they kept their eyes closed, but they let their minds wander, thinking of all the other things besides their bodies.
"I can't see exactly what you two are thinking," Kelechi said. "But from the flurry of energy coming from your minds, I can tell that it is far more than focusing on your own body. Start over and try again."
The twins each took a deep breath and started thinking once again, or more precisely tried not thinking. This time seemed even harder. Their thoughts changed and Adaku could hear Abaze's thoughts about Mitaire.
"You're not thinking about your body," Adaku said.
Abaze glared at her and his cheeks flushed with anger, but Kelechi intervened. "No fighting, anger makes your mind much harder to control."
"It only seems to be getting harder, the longer we try," Adaku said.
"As I said," Kelechi said, "it won't be easy. It's not just something you learn in one morning. It's like reading, when you first start you can't read an entire book on the first try."
"Okay," Adaku said and continued practicing.
The source-light rose over the castle walls as they practiced.
They continued to practice, waiting for Kelechi to show them something else or give them some advice on how to achieve their goal, but he remained just as silent as the twins. They weren't sure how many hours had passed by when Kelechi finally stood and stretched his back.
"I believe that is all that we can do for today," Kelechi said. "I have other matters I must attend."
"But we didn't learn anything," Abaze said.
"You're learning to be conscious of how your mind works," Kelechi said. "Keep practicing this and we'll move onto the next stage when you're both ready. I know something is bothering you both, and I can only assume it's your naming day, which is arriving soon. Try not to focus on the future, or worry about the past, though that tends to plague adults."
Both the twins turned away from Kelechi's gaze, but the sorcerer stepped forward and placed his hands on their shoulders. "I understand that things are going to become stressful and that your father has very high expectations for you two, but everything is going to work out okay. You two are strong and if you keep practicing this, you'll both have strong minds. And trust me when I tell you that a strong mind is the core virtue of any ruler."
Both turned and nodded at the man who smiled down at them, before leading them out of the room.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Texas, Earth
Thursday, September 29th
Blake sent kandice a text.
Blake: We've got the passwords. I've checked, and I have full access. When can we meet?
Kandice: Be at Lance's in 45 minutes.
She sent Lance a text.
Kandice: On my way over. Blake will be there soon.
When she was locking up, her upstairs neighbor was sitting on the stairs. He didn't say a word. She looked at him when she got to the stairs—he stood up and walked back to his apartment.
Good.
She hoped he learned his lesson and wouldn't try that shit again on anyone else.
She sped along the back roads to get to Lance's house. There were always cops patrolling the main streets. But by staying inside the neighborhoods it was easier to speed without fear of being caught. Her new car was a beast. It was like it wasn't capable of doing the speed limit on any road. The slightest pressure on the gas pedal, and it took off.
When she arrived at Lance's, he had one laptop connected to the TV and another on the coffee table to take notes with. There was a pad of paper and pen waiting for Slava and Kandice. All they needed was Blake to show up with the passwords, and they would be in business.
After a few minutes, Kandice asked for a drink.
Lance poured a double into a glass. She thanked him and downed the drink in two large gulps.
Her body was starting to crave vodka. The thought of the clear liquor's slight burn made Kandice's mouth water. Turning into her father was her biggest fear, but with shifting being the reason it made it easier to keep the amount of alcohol consumed in check.
Slava said something in Russian to Lance and he walked to the front door before there was a knock. Kandice heard Blake and Lance greet each other, and then Blake walked into the living room with his laptop.
"I've got it all here," Blake said. "Email, calendar, storage drive, I've even got access to his personal phone number and voicemail."
"Here." Lance unplugged the HDMI cable from their laptop and handed it to Blake. "Show us what you've got."
Blake plugged the cable in, and all four of them sat down to take notes. This time around, they prioritized with the mayor's calendar and backed up all his emails. It took four hours to back up everything, including all the pictures and files the mayor had on his cloud storage drive.
Kandice stretched back in her seat, ready for bed. She wanted to get home and sleep before they started the next phase of surveillance with this new information. With the mayor's itinerary for the next night, she and Lance planned to track him down and see if they could get close.
Blake would keep reading through the mayor's emails to find anything else important.
Lance and Slava planned to stay up longer to comb through the files from the mayor's cloud storage.
Blake left with Kandice, clearly uncomfortable with the prospect of staying by himself with Lance and Slava. They accommodated his quirks and tried to make him feel welcome, but Kandice knew Blake was unnerved around people he didn't know well.
"Love the new car," Blake said. "When do I get to drive it?"
"Maybe in a couple weeks," she said. "I'm still getting used to it myself."
They drove to the end of the street together. It was well past 3:00 AM, and Kandice's bed called to her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
> Sapphire Nation, Fencura
"I Kaito-Tanken Shaya command you to step aside for my First Sworn." She stood before the hidden hallway prepared to fight. Her sword had been taken, but she was still deadly in hand to hand combat.
"You heard her," Akio said from behind the curtains in the hall.
Shaya pressed forward, but two guards stopped her with their own swords, creating a steel wall between her and the hall. She struck the left guard with an open palm against his visor and dodged the sword from the right.
Sliding back to regain her stance, she saw the left guard crumpled on the floor, while the right circled with his sword pointed at her chest.
"Shaya?" Akio called from the hall, and the sound of steel against steel echoed off the stone walls of the hall.
"Enough!" The guards sheathed their swords creating a thunder of muffled steel and Shaya turned to find Hekima had strolled into the room. "Let Akio pass!"
Akio ran past the curtains to Shaya and kneeled before her to beg forgiveness.
"There's nothing to forgive." Shaya gestured for him to stand. "I'm fine. In fact, I was in good hands." She gestured at Ren. "He kept me safe after the examination."
"The Emperor doesn't desire a conflict with the clans," Hekima said. "I apologize for the misunderstanding, but I couldn't allow the crowd to pass unchecked, or we'd have chaos."
Of course not. We wouldn't want a riot now, when we've been waiting for the right time to spill the Emperor's blood and rid Shinzo of his house forever.
No one spoke. Shaya and Akio looked at her with open disgust, while the others stood silent. No doubt still in shock from how close they came to a bloody battle.
"The examination is over." Hekima acted as if nothing was amiss. "You'll join the examiners back on stage, after the crowd has calmed down."
Why is the crowd unruly?
"Please rest for a few more minutes," Hekima continued. "A sorcerer will gather you when they're ready." She left the way she'd entered, while the guards took their original positions with no sign of nearly coming to blows a moment earlier.
