The Apprentice In The Master’s Shadow

by Ian Gregoire

  The faint sound of voices prompted Kayden to hurriedly approach and ascend the stairs, to better hear what was being said on the other side of the door.

  “The treasonous rebellion is being led by a foreign assassin, as a prelude to invasion.” Kayden recognised Baldassian’s voice. “Before he was struck down and killed by this woman, Kazdaranian released me and instructed me to flee to the capital to warn Her Majesty. I’m counting on you to delay her long enough so that I may escape Sevdanor. If she comes through that door kill her on sight.”

  Kayden had heard enough of his bullshit. It was time to apprehend the Saharbashi deceiver. She grabbed the doorknob, only to discover that the door was locked when she attempted to open it.

  “That’s her!” yelled Baldassian on the other side of the door.

  A crossbow bolt pierced the wooden door, protruding halfway through, just short of Kayden’s face, and was instantly followed by a further five bolts. Startled, she back-pedalled and fell backwards down the stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom.

  Shit! Shit! Shit! Kayden grimaced, rubbing the back of her head.

  Prone on the basement floor, she heard someone turning a key in a lock before the door above was flung open. A uniformed man wielding a sword rushed through the doorway and entered the basement, descending the stairs with two identically attired and armed comrades behind him. It took Kayden a split second to realise she must be inside a Guard station, and she was amazed that the Local Guard was still on active duty in the bandit occupied provincial capital. However, the three approaching men had just been given orders to kill her so she had to defend herself, even though she couldn’t justify killing them; they were just doing their job.

  She thrust out a hand, invoking Yuksaydan. The trio of armed Guard were lifted off their feet, and thrown sideways from the stairs like rag dolls. They collided into shelving lining the basement wall, while Kayden scrambled to her feet as another Guardsman appeared in the doorway armed with a crossbow. Before he could take aim, she invoked Turmiraydan, unleashing a concussion orb that hurtled up the stairs and struck him in the chest. Rendered unconscious, he tumbled head first down the stairs, landing at her feet. Knowing there were at least five more people armed with crossbows in the room beyond the open doorway, Kayden invoked Kiraydan to let loose a couple of lightning flash orbs into the room. She shut her eyes until the tell-tale flash of twin silent detonations showed through her eyelids, letting her know that whomever was in the room had just been temporarily blinded.

  Opening her eyes, Kayden’s attention was drawn to the three Guardsmen she’d floored moments earlier, retrieving their swords as they scrambled back onto their feet. She nonchalantly waved a hand, invoking Turmiraydan for a second time, unleashing three concussion orbs. Each man was struck and rendered unconscious in quick succession, crumpling to the ground.

  Kayden didn’t dither to admire her efficient handiwork. Invoking Makfayshulat, she levitated up the stairs, through the open doorway, and into the large room beyond. There were over a dozen uniformed Local Guard present, all of them squinting and rubbing their eyes, but there was no sign of Governor Baldassian.

  “Where is Baldassian?” she barked at no one in particular.

  “You’re too late,” retorted one of the men defiantly. “He’s already escaped, and soon reinforcements will arrive to thwart your invasion.”

  Oh, for crying out loud, thought Kayden. They actually believed that bullshit Baldassian fed them? Not only had he usurped an entire province for ten months, and convinced the population that another man was responsible for turning it into a bandit ridden fiefdom, he was now persuading people that a local uprising against the tyranny was actually the prelude to a foreign invasion. But Kayden had no time to waste trying to reveal the truth; she had to intercept the real traitor to the Queen of Anzarmenia before he was able to flee Sevdanor. Fortunately, the defiant Guardsman had just volunteered his services to lead her quickly out of the building so she could resume her pursuit.

  Kayden kicked the sword he was holding out of his hand, then grabbed him by the collar. “If you value your life, guide me out of the building, right now,” she ordered, affecting a threatening tone. “The rest of you stay here. Anyone who attempts to follow me will die a slow, agonising death.”

  Maintaining her grip on the collar of his uniform, Kayden followed the Guardsman through the building as he reluctantly guided her to the front entrance, despite his still impaired vision. She instructed him to stay inside, while she stepped outside alone. Wandering into the middle of the street outside, she glanced this way and that way, hoping to catch sight of Baldassian. The street was deserted but for a young couple hurriedly walking by with three infant children in tow on the opposite side of the street.

  “Excuse me!” she called out to them.

  The couple slowed to a stop, holding the children close as they all stared nervously at her.

  “Yes, I’m a foreigner,” she uttered with an impatient sigh. “Did you see a tall grey-haired man come out of the Guard station?”

  Saying nothing, the two adults vigorously shook their heads, but one of the children pointed her finger. Kayden’s eyes followed its direction; the little girl appeared to be pointing towards the second right-hand turn further along the street. Flashing a smile at the child, Kayden turned on her heels and darted down the road. Moments later she jogged around the corner into another street, where she caught sight of the unmistakeable form of Governor Baldassian in the distance, boarding a horse-drawn cart.

  “Baldassian!” yelled Kayden as she turned her sedate jog into a flat-out sprint.

  She had almost halved the distance between herself and her target when the body of the cart driver was hurled onto the road. Baldassian now held the reins of the horse-drawn cart, and was frantically urging the horse forward. The cart finally began to roll forward, picking up speed, and Baldassian peered back over his shoulder. Kayden sensed the imminent Zarantar strike and tried to slow her sprint, not knowing what to expect. As she slowed down, a thick plume of fire lanced through the air from the cart towards her. Reacting instinctively, she jumped up and invoked Makfayshulat to evade the attack. She levitated off the cobble stone road just in time for the snake like form of the flames to pass beneath her, surprising her with the intensity of its searing heat.

  Gaining height to pursue her adversary from above, Kayden had no time to be grateful that she hadn’t been engulfed in flame. The plume of fire altered course, turning back and rising into the air to home in on her, as though it was sentient.

  The speed with which the thirty-foot-long plume of flames lanced through the air was faster than Kayden could drift. She realised instantly that she couldn’t outrun the unfamiliar manifestation of Zarantar Najist, and she had no doubt that it would continue to pursue her until she was burnt to a crisp. Invoking Yuksaydan, she hoped the attack could be neutralised just like an incendiary orb, otherwise she would have to drop like a stone to evade it. The plume of flame didn’t immediately blink out of existence as she wanted, but it did rapidly decrease in length until it was finally gone.

  Returning her gaze to the street below, Kayden saw Baldassian steering the horse-drawn cart around a corner into another street. Again, she invoked Yuksaydan, reaching out with the ‘unseen hand’ to flip the cart over and tear its harness to the horse. Taken by surprise, Baldassian was thrown clear of the cart as it fell onto its side, skidding to a halt, while the panicked horse—now free of its burden—bolted down the street, leaving the hapless governor with no means of escape.

  Kayden drifted towards the prone man grimacing on the side of the road, descending steadily until she alighted on the cobblestones just as Baldassian was rising gingerly to his feet. The anger and fear on his face was of no consequence. All that mattered to Kayden was his immediate surrender without a fight, though that didn’t seem likely yet. She sensed an imminent Zarantar strike, and then the overturned cart was hurtling through the air towards her. Reflexively, she inv
oked Yuksaydan to divert the path of the damaged cart, sending it careening into the wall of a nearby building, shattering it beyond repair.

  The eyes of her adversary locked on her. It appeared to Kayden that Baldassian was determined to fight to the death if it meant avoiding capture. Such a confrontation had the potential to cause significant structural damage to the vicinity in a short span of time, not to mention that killing Baldassian might make it difficult, if not impossible, to exonerate Kazdaranian. Thinking on what little knowledge she had about defeating a Saharbashi opponent, she knew that the surest, quickest way to overcome Baldassian without killing him was to dispossess him of his blood amulets, rendering him powerless.

  According to what Kayden had been taught on campus, every Saharbashi possessed two or more blood amulets that they kept on their person at all times, usually in the form of jewellery. Created via a blood letting ritual, the amulets were the means by which men could wield their corrupted branch of Zarantar, by channelling the power of ley lines that were naturally the preserve of women. If a Saharbashi’s blood amulets were to be taken from him, or be destroyed, he would no longer be able to wield Zarantar Najist until he replaced what he’d lost.

  “Don’t force me to kill you,” said Kayden, raising her voice. “Relinquish your blood amulets, and you have my word that I will let you live to stand trial for your crimes.”

  Baldassian’s right hand stroked his left wrist in an absent-minded fashion, perhaps giving away the presence of a blood amulet set in a bracelet beneath his sleeve, while certainly drawing attention to the ring on his right index finger. The ring held a blood red gemstone that had to be a blood amulet. Kayden also noted a chain around Baldassian’s neck, and though it wasn’t visible, she had no doubt that below the neckline of his shirt hung a third blood amulet.

  The expression on Baldassian’s face suggested he was considering Kayden’s ultimatum, but all of a sudden she sensed an imminent Zarantar strike. Several cobblestones were uprooted from the road and hurtled towards her. With a wave of the hand, she invoked Yuksaydan to simultaneously obliterate the improvised projectiles, causing them to burst into clouds of grit and dust. Capitalising on Baldassian’s surprise, Kayden retaliated to deny him a second opportunity to attack. Her invocation of Inkansaylar instantly trapped her opponent within a barrier sphere, and she had no intention of releasing him until he complied with her terms of surrender.

  Inside the confines of the translucent bubble, Baldassian took a couple of steps forward and placed a hand against the impenetrable barrier imprisoning him. Kayden felt her invocation start to weaken, and knew it was the governor attempting to neutralise the barrier sphere. Increasing the strength of her invocation, Kayden hoped Baldassian would continue trying to free himself until he drained his blood amulets, because she was confident in her ability to maintain the barrier sphere long enough for that outcome to occur. As the seconds elapsed, she ambled towards her Saharbashi captive until she stood just outside the radius of the translucent bubble, silently taunting the man with the close proximity of her presence.

  After a few minutes, a small crowd of people had gathered in the vicinity, lining the sides of the road, and speaking in hushed tones. Kayden pointedly ignored the growing spectacle. As long as nobody tried to interfere, she could maintain her focus on the ongoing confrontation with Governor Baldassian. She saw the look of resignation on his face long before she finally felt the cessation of the assault on her invocation of Inkansaylar, and she couldn’t help but smile wryly as Baldassian punched the inside of the barrier sphere in frustration.

  “Governor, you know what you have to do if you want me to release you.”

  There was a notable shift in Baldassian’s expression that Kayden couldn’t ignore. The defiance had left him, and she knew he had given up the ghost at last. Reluctantly, he removed the ring from his right index finger and dropped it at his feet, then pulled his left sleeve up to remove the bracelet from his wrist. When it fell to the ground, he stepped backwards with both hands outstretched to the side.

  “There,” he said. “Now you can let me out.”

  Kayden backed several paces away from the barrier sphere then invoked Balatlaydan. A dozen incendiary orbs materialised in the air, and she made them orbit haphazardly around the translucent bubble like flies.

  “And the rest!” she said pointedly. Hopefully, Baldassian would take the hint.

  Appearing to sigh, the governor reached behind his neck to unclasp the chain he was wearing. He removed it, grudgingly, revealing the blood amulet that had been concealed below the neckline of his shirt. After he dropped it at his feet, Kayden was surprised when Baldassian proceeded to reach into the right pocket of his trousers to pull out a second ring with a blood amulet set in. Then he reached into the left pocket and pulled out a pendant, before reaching into a shirt pocket to remove an unadorned blood amulet.

  Satisfied that the discarded blood amulets were the full extent of Baldassian’s collection, Kayden ended her invocation of Inkansaylar, bringing down the barrier sphere. The twelve orbiting incendiary orbs stopped circling, but moved in closer to the grey-haired Saharbashi.

  “Try not to do anything stupid,” said Kayden, “or I’ll introduce you to one of my friends.”

  Looking down at the scattered blood amulets, she invoked Yuksaydan to group them close together and lift them off the ground into her waiting, cupped hands. Though she was not yet a Sanatsai of the Order, she knew she had a duty to destroy the malignant contraband before leaving the scene with her prisoner. From what she had been taught on campus, blood amulets could only be destroyed by extreme heat. She took the six in her possession to one of the indentations in the road where a cobblestone had been ripped out, and squatted down to place them in the hole. Standing upright again, she backed away from the pothole before invoking Shakbarilsan. Instantly, the air around the blood amulets shimmered like a heat haze on a sweltering day. Within seconds the searing heat radiating from the pothole caused Kayden to take a couple of steps back, all the while keeping her eyes on the state of the blood amulets inside. A full minute had elapsed when the metal fixtures holding the red gemstones in place finally melted, and Kayden was astonished to see that the amulets themselves were unaffected. Staring wide-eyed, she increased the strength of her invocation, and the heat radiating from the pothole intensified.

  Beads of perspiration formed on Kayden’s brow, and she could feel her undergarments becoming damp. Just as she was about to take another step back from the searing heat, she heard popping sounds from the pothole: the six blood amulets had burst and been vaporised. Finally, they were destroyed. Kayden ceased her invocation, drew in a deep lungful of air, and slowly let it out.

  “Would someone bring a bucket of water,” she called out to no one in particular. “This spot on the road is extremely hot right now.” It probably wasn’t the best idea to pour cold water on the heated cobblestones, now that she thought about it, but a few cracked cobblestones was better than someone suffering severe burns to their feet.

  Kayden stepped away from the pothole and returned to Baldassian, still surrounded by her floating incendiary orbs. With a nonchalant wave of the hand, she neutralised the twelve orbs then snatched the dagger he wore at his hip, tossing it away with a flick of the wrist. She stood to one side, and gestured with her arm for him to walk ahead of her.

  The deposed governor stared at her, sullen-faced, and asked, “Who are you?”

  “I am the voice of the resistance,” she replied. “Now you and I are going to walk back to Mirazan Square so you can face whatever punishment the people wish to mete out. And while we’re on our way, you are going to tell me what your purpose was in doing what you did. I know there’s much more to your story than simply wanting scores of sex slaves.”

  Baldassian duly marched forward, and Kayden followed in his wake, with several locals looking on in wonderment.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Intervention

  Fay stood motionle
ss outside the double door entrance to the Council’s chamber, wherein a meeting of the Order’s ruling body was in session. One of the two sentries on duty had gone inside to inform the thirteen members of the Council of her arrival, and pass on her request to address them immediately. Any moment now he would return to admit her inside.

  The journey from Antaris campus to Temis Rulan had been completed in about an hour, and she’d spent most of that time contemplating how she would explain Kayden’s foolhardy decision to travel to Anzarmenia. There was no good way to impart the news that the apprentice was potentially going to scupper a mission the Order had spent so long in planning, but all Fay cared about was ensuring that Kayden was brought home, alive and in one piece.

  The left-hand door of the entrance opened, and out walked the Sanatsai sentry Fay was waiting on. He wore a neutral expression but said, “The Council will receive you right away, Danai Annis,” stepping aside to allow her into the chamber.

  Fay acknowledged him with a nod then marched through the open door. She heard the door close behind her as she advanced into the large, circular chamber towards the waiting Council members, her boots moving silently across the polished floor. Thirteen pairs of eyes watched her keenly: twelve men and women standing at rostrums spaced apart in a circle formation around Ari Shinadu, standing in the middle to chair the convened meeting. They were all bathed in sunlight streaming in through the skylight window above.

  Halting at the threshold of the circle, she waited for permission to step forward and address the Council.

  “There’s no need to stand on ceremony, old friend,” said Ari warmly. “Enter the circle and tell us of this urgent matter that brings you back to Temis Rulan.”