The Apprentice In The Master’s Shadow

by Ian Gregoire

  An imminent Zarantar strike brought her to an abrupt halt, and prompted her to spin around sharply. The unleashed orb struck her before she could react, felling her like a tree.

  Just before her world faded to black, she heard a familiar voice.

  “I told you she couldn’t be trusted.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The Bound Captive

  In the shade of a tree, holding a wooden bowl of water in her hands, Fay was preoccupied while Shadow drank from the vessel. There could be a few reasons why Kayden’s presence was no longer detectable anywhere in southern Anzarmenia, but Fay struggled to look beyond the most likely: her apprentice was dead. Unwilling to accept it, Fay cast out her senses for a fifth time in quick succession. Again, nothing. Nevertheless, it didn’t definitively confirm that the apprentice was dead, so Fay held on to the hope that she would see her young friend again.

  Shadow nudged Fay’s shoulder, snapping her out of her ruminations. Looking down at the empty bowl, she saw that the trusty grey mare had drunk her fill. Fay let out a sigh then packed away the bowl in her saddlebag. The half-hour rest she had intended to take beneath the ash tree was no more than a third of the way through, but she decided she wanted to be on the move again, without delay.

  “I’m sorry, girl,” she said, stroking Shadow’s neck, “I wanted to give you a longer break, but we need to get going right now. I’ll make it up to you at our next stop.”

  Fay clambered up into the saddle and took hold of the reins. Glancing up at the sky, she saw that conditions still looked good so she had no concerns about the weather slowing her progress. She kicked her heels into Shadow’s flanks, urging the mare into a canter, and they quickly departed. In no time at all, Fay was back on the road to Nagornorak. Whether her journey was still a search and rescue mission, or a revenge quest to avenge Kayden’s death, only time would tell, but she was determined to reach the cult of Yosarian no later than Firstday next week.

  Every minute that passed, Fay had to fight the urge to cast out her senses one more time, despite the knowledge that the outcome would be no different than the previous occasions.

  “She’s still alive,” she murmured under her breath, holding on to a glimmer of hope. “She’s still alive.”

  The prospect of losing Kayden had finally brought home to Fay just how much the young woman meant to her. If her hope proved to be futile, she now had the consolation of knowing that it would solidify her feelings about coming face-to-face with Master Yosarian. Any concerns she harboured about whether she could kill her former mentor would evaporate if he was responsible for Kayden’s death. He would pay the ultimate price, and no power in the world would save him. For now, she would continue her journey with the assumption that Kayden had not been killed.

  “She’s still alive. She’s still alive. She’s still alive.”

  The sensation of being doused with freezing water shocked Kayden into consciousness. With a gasp, her eyes flashed open and she sputtered noisily. Through the fog of confusion, she realised she was upright but not standing on her own feet; her legs were limp. In front of her stood Vartan, bucket in hand. He stepped to one side, and behind him stood Josario, the Usurper King. For the briefest of moments, Kayden thought she was dreaming, then the recollection of having dinner in a bungalow, and being struck by a concussion orb brought her back to reality.

  It was immediately apparent that she was no longer in the bungalow. If not for the weak glow permeating her surroundings, she would swear she was in someone’s poorly-lit basement. But the dark walls of the compact rectangular room brought to mind the possibility that she was in some kind of dungeon.

  “Welcome back, my pretty.” Josario’s voice was laced with menace.

  Kayden’s arms ached. Peering up, she saw that her wrists were manacled by iron chains hanging from a low ceiling, keeping her upright. Glancing down, she saw that her ankles were likewise manacled. She set her feet flat on the ground to take her weight and relieve the stress on her arms. Her legs and feet tingled, causing her to grimace. She must have been thus suspended for a lengthy period.

  A large, wrinkled hand seized her by the jaw, forcing her head upward.

  “Before you die,” said Josario, “you and I need to have a long chat.”

  His face was inches from hers as he stared into her eyes, and she wilted in the glare of his simmering gaze. But her anger at being manhandled and threatened by the man she had failed to kill provoked a reflexive attempt to lash out with the ‘unseen hand’. To her surprise, the invocation of Yuksaydan did not work. That surprise quickly turned to shock, then fear, as realisation set in. Her Zarantar was gone. She was completely powerless.

  “Yes, my pretty. Your Zarantar has been bound,” said Josario, reading the alarm on her face.

  Heart racing, Kayden yanked her head free of Josario’s grasp then frantically started pulling at her restraints.

  “Don’t waste your time trying to break free. You will not escape your fate.” Something in Josario’s voice emitted the irresistible certainty of doom. “The only reason you aren’t already dead is because, somehow, you managed to pull the wool over my eyes and get me to lower my guard with an image of my beloved in your mind. Not only does that mean you have seen her with your own eyes—as there’s no other way you could know what she looks like—it also means she is still alive, being held captive by the Order.” He grabbed Kayden’s face once more. “You are now going to tell me where to find her. In exchange, I will make your death quick and painless.”

  Kayden pulled her head free of his grasp. “Go stroke yourself, old man,” she sneered defiantly. “I’m not telling you a damn thing.”

  Looking amused, a cold half-smile appeared on Josario’s face. He chuckled without mirth. “Oh, my pretty. I have ways of making even the most intransigent person talk,” he said. “But be assured, you do not want me to resort to those means. You would suffer, greatly.”

  “Do your worst.”

  The defiant retort conveyed a resolute bravery that Kayden wasn’t feeling. Without her Zarantar she was fearful of her predicament. She watched nervously as Josario turned his back on her and ambled away. He walked as far as the boundary of the room, a mere ten paces, then turned around with his right hand raised in front of him. Kayden’s eyes widened at the sight of miniature lightning dancing between his fingers, crackling audibly. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but there was every reason to believe it would be unpleasant.

  “Tell me what I want to know,” said Josario.

  As her heart continued to race, Kayden felt an urgent need to tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: that she had embarked upon an unauthorised mission to capture him in order to gain the respect she deserved, and step out of the shadow of his beloved, who was now a high-ranking member of the Order, and currently the administrator of the Antaris campus. Somehow, the certainty that she would be killed seemed to help her overcome the urge, allowing her to hold her tongue.

  A prolonged silence ensued, and Kayden briefly suspected she’d successfully called Josario’s bluff. She was mistaken. He thrust out his right hand, unleashing a continuous stream of lightning bolts that struck her chest. Instantly, her body became rigid as every muscle seemed to spasm at the lightning strikes. Gritting her teeth against the onslaught, Kayden found that the more she resisted the pain, the more it hurt. Just as she thought her mind would shatter, relief came when the attack ended abruptly, and her body went limp with the cessation of the Zarantar-induced lightning. She was saved from falling flat on her face only by her metal restraints.

  “That was but a minor taste of the suffering I can inflict upon you, my pretty,” said Josario. “Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?”

  Kayden caught sight of Vartan standing off to one side. The look on his face showed that he took perverse delight in watching her being tortured, and it infuriated her. It also galvanised her spirit of defiance. “If that’s all you’ve got, you so
n of a bitch,” she snarled at Josario, “I won’t be answering your question any time soon. I promise you that.”

  Again, multiple streams of lightning lanced across the room from Josario’s hand, striking Kayden in the chest. Powerless, her body became rigid under the renewed assault as her muscles continued to spasm. The pain was worse this time, and her mouth opened in a silent scream. She was granted respite more quickly than before, however, and again her body went limp. Breathing hard, Kayden thought she saw thin wisps of smoke wafting from her clothing, not that it mattered. If she was on fire she was in no condition to do anything about it.

  “I’m going to give you some time to reconsider your stance,” said Josario, ambling back towards her. “I will return later tonight to ask you the same question.” He stopped in front of Kayden and held her gaze. “If you continue to defy me, know that I will increase your suffering, and it will get that much worse each time you refuse to answer.”

  Without another word, Josario stepped past her and disappeared from her field of view, Vartan trailing in his wake. For a moment she hung limply where she was, held upright by the chains. Once she had recovered from the shock of the Zarantar strike, Kayden clenched her jaw as she set her feet flat on the ground again to take her full weight, easing the strain on her arms. Alone, she was able to take a better look at her surroundings, and she quickly wished that she hadn’t. Her initial assumption that she was in a dungeon was mistaken. Even in the wan glow illuminating the place, it was now clear that the dark walls encircling her appeared to be made of earth rather than bricks or stone. The floor, likewise, had the same earthy appearance, as did the low ceiling, and it was impossible to ignore the damp smell in the air.

  Realisation suddenly set in, and Kayden’s heart began to race. She was underground, in what had to be a man-made cavity. Closing her eyes, she fought to keep her growing panic at bay. I haven’t been buried alive, she mentally reassured herself. Josario and Vartan were down here with me moments ago, that means there is a way in and out. Though she hadn’t heard the opening or closing of a door when they departed, the cool draught she could feel at her back persuaded her that there had to be an entrance behind her. Nevertheless, she didn’t dare open her eyes and peer back over her shoulder to confirm or deny its existence. She was afraid of what she might see.

  Minutes passed, or so it seemed, and Kayden finally opened her eyes again. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so helpless. But worse than that, never before had she felt like half a person, as she did now. Somehow, having her Zarantar bound felt like being stripped of her essence, and though it had only been a part of her being for seven years, without her powers she knew she had no hope of escaping her predicament. Josario had promised he would return, and when he did he was going to torture her again, until she told him Fay’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, while answering the question would bring an end to the torture, it would also mean an end to her life so it was a lose-lose situation. The only hope Kayden had was to hold on to the knowledge of the Order’s mission against Josario’s cult. All she had to do was survive long enough to be rescued.

  Remembering the excruciating pain of the brief torture to which she had been subjected, Kayden wondered if she could hold out until the arrival of the Order. It was still Fourthday, assuming she’d been unconscious for only an hour, so she would be waiting a minimum of four days if the pending mission was conducted on Firstday, next week. Any later than that increased the likelihood of her being dead by the time she was found.

  Kayden closed her eyes and tried to forget the aching in her arms. She recalled her encounter with the assassin, Sorsha, in Nagornorak. She remembered how the muscular woman retained her ability to utilise the Zarantar of the Sisterhood despite Kayden having bound the Zarantar Shayd that made her a Sanatsai also. Though her own knowledge pertaining to the art of the Jaymidari was not extensive enough to make an escape possible, Kayden realised she could reduce the physical pain she would endure in captivity. She cleared her thoughts then called to mind the glyph of pain relief and the glyph of invocation, willing the nearest ley line to manifest her application of Zarantar Jist. Sensing the ley line’s acceptance of her invocation, she felt relieved. Now all she had to do was wait, while not knowing how much time she had left.

  “Wake up, you slanty-eyed bitch!”

  The voice sounded far away, but there was no mistaking its disdain.

  “I said, wake up!”

  Something struck Kayden, causing her eyes to flash open. She was startled by the hostile face right in front of her, and she instinctively tried to back away, but found herself unable to move. Awareness quickly returned, and she realised that she must have fallen asleep only to be awoken by the snarling dunderhead, Vartan.

  “I have some good news to share with you, bitch,” he said. “When Master Yosarian has extracted the information he wants, he’s not going to kill you,” A cruel smile curled his lips. “He has promised to turn you over to me, and you know what that means, don’t you?”

  Unable to stomach the triumph she saw in his eyes, Kayden glanced to her left, pointedly refusing to look at Vartan or give him the satisfaction of an answer.

  “Let me refresh your memory,” he continued. “The last time we met, I told you that someday I was going to kill you. I promised that you would die screaming.” He snickered in amusement. “I’m sure you thought that day would never come, but it’s almost here. As soon as Master Yosarian is finished with you, you’re all mine. How does it feel to know that you will die a slow, painful death at my hand?” There was a brief silence before he added, “But only after I’ve shown you a good time.”

  Kayden felt a hand pat her between the legs. Reflexively, she turned her head sharply to glower at Vartan. “In your dreams, you dickless dunderhead,” she snapped in a harsh undertone. “You wouldn’t know what to do with a woman even if I drew you a diagram.”

  Visibly affronted, Vartan backed away. “Why don’t we just see about that.” His hands moved down to his waist to unbuckle his belt.

  Eyes wide and heart racing, Kayden tugged on the chains keeping her arms elevated. “Don’t embarrass yourself,” she said. “I already know you aren’t half the man Lazar is.”

  Vartan froze, the malice etched upon his face replaced by uncertainty. The mention of Lazar’s name had to be why his trousers weren’t around his ankles. This was an opportunity Kayden could exploit.

  “That’s right, dunderhead,” she drawled. “Your old friend, Lazar, and I have been lovers for months. He’s done things to me you can only fantasise about, and he’s never had to force himself on me to get what he wants.”

  Vartan looked disgusted by her taunts. “I should have known you were a good-for-nothing slut,” he said with bitterness in his voice as his hands fell away from his belt. “I’ve heard all the stories about you slanty-eyed whores.” He stepped forward and spat in her face.

  An audible gasp resounded through the underground pit. Kayden’s initial shock at the blatant disrespect quickly gave way to a heated anger. “You son of a bitch!” she blurted. “I’m going to kill you!” She yanked furiously at her restraints and her voice rose until she was shouting. “You hear me? I will kill you! I will kill you! I will kill you!”

  A burst of black vapour appeared in the air and instantly coalesced into a physical form. It was Josario. He stood behind Vartan, looking displeased. “Mr. Pazarian,” he said, startling his disciple. “What is going on down here?”

  Spinning around, Vartan replied, “Nothing, Master. I was just awaiting your arrival.” He shuffled to one side, giving Josario an unobstructed view of the prisoner.

  “That’s quite a pair of lungs you have, my pretty. You could wake the dead with all that shrieking.” Josario stepped forward to close the gap between himself and Kayden. “But now I see what it is that has upset you.” He yanked down the sleeve of his dark blue shirt then wiped the saliva from her face. “A vile, disgusting habit,” he mused, before glancing sideways to glar
e at Vartan. Looking back at Kayden, he said, “I hope some time alone has convinced you to give me the answer I seek. If not, I’ll be forced to give you a real reason to scream.” He raised a hand in front of her face, and miniature lightning sparks danced between his fingers.

  Kayden said nothing. Her eyes darted to Vartan, watching her like a hawk with a half-smile on his face. It was clear he was gleefully anticipating the chance to witness her being tortured again, all the while hoping she would eventually spill her guts to Josario. If that happened, she would be at his mercy, powerless to prevent him from making good on his threats to rape and kill her. But the sight of his face merely stiffened her resolve, increasing her determination to endure whatever mistreatment she was subjected to until she was rescued.

  “This is your last chance,” said Josario, drawing Kayden’s attention back to him. “Tell me where the Order is holding my beloved captive.”

  Staring up into his dark eyes, Kayden refused to say anything. She watched Josario sigh then turn his back on her as he ambled towards the wall of the underground prison. Her heart raced. She knew what was coming when he turned back to face her. Pursing her lips, she braced herself for the pain. Slowly, Josario turned around and thrust out his hand. Multiple streams of lightning lanced from his fingers, striking Kayden’s chest instantly. Her body became rigid as the Zarantar-induced lightning crawled all over her, causing her muscles to spasm furiously. She felt minimal pain this time and realised she was still benefiting from the Jaymidari pain relief she had utilised after her first bout of torture.

  The torture ceased abruptly and Josario looked bemused. “It seems I’m going too easy on you, my pretty,” he said. “Let’s see what we can do about that, shall we?”