The Apprentice In The Master’s Shadow

by Ian Gregoire

  “Be quiet and follow me,” whispered Zarina, pulling away from Kayden.

  The turncoat Jaymidari crept slowly away, setting a course that would take them between two tents, one of which featured the pale blue glow of an illumination orb, and the faint sounds of intimacy. Kayden swiftly caught up with Zarina and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to a standstill. “Why don’t you just levitate us over the top of the camp?” she asked in a harsh whisper. “And why risk sneaking past a tent whose occupants are obviously awake? It’s almost as if you want me to be caught trying to escape.”

  Zarina shrugged off Kayden’s hand. “That way is north,” she whispered back. “And it’s Katya in that tent with Vartan. If she senses Zarantar floating over the campsite, she will obviously investigate. Now, be quiet.” She resumed her measured walk, gliding noiselessly across the grass, with Kayden following close on her heels.

  As they navigated cautiously between the two tents, Zarina kept them close to the quiet tent on their left, giving as wide a berth as possible to the tent on the right. The distance wasn’t nearly far enough for Kayden’s liking. She could hear Vartan’s enthusiastic grunts mingling with the sound of flesh slapping against flesh, and the intermittent squeals of a woman. The thought of him being intimate with anyone turned her stomach. What woman in her right mind would willingly lay down with such a repugnant dunderhead, she wondered. Clearly, this Katya woman in the tent was desperate.

  Without incident, Kayden was successfully led away from the camp and deeper into the woods by Zarina. They advanced several hundred yards through the trees, until the makeshift camp was out of sight, allowing Zarina to bring them to a halt.

  “It’s well after midnight. You’ll have five or six hours before anyone discovers your escape, so you have a good head start,” said Zarina, no longer needing to whisper. “Keep heading northward, and don’t stop. It’s up to you to ensure that you are found by your master before a search party can apprehend you. Once you’ve been reunited, both you and your master must leave Anzarmenia, never to return.”

  “I’m not leaving without my horse, Onyx,” Kayden protested. “Point me in the direction of the commune where he’s being kept so I can get him back.”

  An incredulous look appeared on Zarina’s face. “Don’t be a fool,” she said. “Forget about your horse, he’ll be well taken care of. Just get away from here while you still can.”

  “I guess I didn’t make myself clear,” said Kayden, glowering. “I’m not leaving Onyx behind. And if that means forgoing my escape, I will head back to the campsite and return to my underground prison.”

  Zarina let out a sigh of exasperation. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll help you get your horse back, but going to the commune is out of the question. You must make your escape, as planned, and once search parties have been dispatched to find you, I will recover your horse. I will then take him to my old seminary outside Nagornorak, and leave him in the care of the Sisters there. After that, you can reclaim him whenever you see fit.”

  The proposal wasn’t to Kayden’s liking, and she was about to express her objection, but Zarina cut her off before she could utter a word.

  “It’s the best I can do for you, Kayden, so you can spare me your objections and threats. Now get going while you still can.”

  Reluctantly, Kayden decided to trust that Zarina would be as good as her word. If nothing else, it was clear that the treacherous young woman’s willingness to release a prisoner who her master would not want to lose meant she had nothing to gain by reneging. Nonetheless, Kayden deemed it necessary to give the Jaymidari cultist some extra incentive to not stab her in the back.

  “All right, I’m leaving,” she said. “But if Onyx isn’t at that seminary by nightfall tomorrow…” Kayden didn’t finish the sentence. Far better to let Zarina imagine the worst possible scenario. She stepped away from the turncoat, and marched briskly northward through the trees. As much as she wanted to break into a steady jog, the collar around her neck prevented her from invoking an illumination orb to light her way, and the weak moonlight available was insufficient for her to be sure of her footing in the dark. But with a five-to-six-hour head start, as Zarina suggested, she could still put considerable distance between herself and potential pursuers just by walking.

  Kayden’s steady progress was uneventful, but it wasn’t long before she noticed the crisp chill in the air. Though it was by no means an unbearably cold night, it was certainly nippy enough for her to regret that she had been stripped of her hooded siphon cloak. Nevertheless, she did have cause to be grateful that it was still only mid-autumn, and it wasn’t raining. As long as she remained on the move, and the weather conditions stayed the same, she had little reason to fear dying of exposure. The one concern Kayden did harbour was her lack of vigour. Having been denied food and water for almost three days, as well as having to endure several bouts of torture, her Anzarmenian misadventure was starting to take a physical toll.

  The passage of time soon doubled Kayden’s concerns. In the distance the howling of wolves brought into sharp focus just how vulnerable she was. She couldn’t risk the use of Zarantar to protect herself while Josario’s collar remained around her neck, and she was also unarmed, having been deprived of her sword and daggers. As she walked, she kept her eyes on the woodland floor, hoping to spy something she could use as a weapon. Eventually, a fallen branch caught her eye. She stopped to pick it up, and hurriedly tore off all the superfluous, leafy appendages. Satisfied that the bare branch was sufficiently large enough to keep any nocturnal predators at bay, Kayden gripped it tightly and executed some practice swings before resuming her walk.

  With no way to tell the time, Kayden could only estimate that maybe an hour and a half had elapsed in the time it had taken for her to walk clear of the woodland, cross a grassy, rolling plain, and enter a second woodland. When the sound of running water reached her ears she slowed to a halt, confused. To the best of her knowledge there were no rivers in this part of southern Anzarmenia. In all likelihood the sound was coming from a nearby woodland stream that wasn’t significant enough to warrant being marked on a map, but could provide her with cool water to drink.

  Kayden resumed her march, altering her course to head westward towards the sound of running water. It was a minor detour to make, she reasoned, one that shouldn’t cost too much time.

  In a matter of minutes, Kayden came upon the water source. As expected, it was a shallow stream, barely four feet in width. She hurriedly made her way to the edge of the slow flowing water and squatted down on her haunches. The weak moonlight was insufficient to view the colour of the water, but Kayden put down the tree branch she was holding and cupped her hands together to scoop up a handful. Taking a moment to sniff the content of her hands, she detected no unpleasant odours and decided that the risk of an upset stomach was a price worth paying for her first mouthful of water in almost three days. She raised her hands to her lips and gratefully gulped down the cold, refreshing water. With a contented smile, she scooped up a second handful of water and drank it just as eagerly.

  Before Kayden could raise a third handful of water to her lips, she sensed the nearby presence of Zarantar. She peered back over her shoulder, staring in the direction from which she had arrived. In the distance she saw a pale blue glow moving through the trees. There was no doubt in her mind that the light was coming from the illumination orb of a Sanatsai, and whomever it was seemed to be approaching the stream.

  Oh, drat!

  She had taken for granted the notion that she’d have a significant head start by the time her escape was discovered. Clearly that had been misplaced. Relinquishing the water, she retrieved her big stick from the muddy ground then stood upright, contemplating her next move. Without the option to use her own Zarantar, Kayden knew it would be foolhardy to initiate a head-on confrontation with her pursuers; and attempting to run through the woods in the dark of night was a bad idea, too. Instead, she needed to go to ground. Find somewhere to lay low
and hide until the search party passed by.

  Scanning her surroundings, Kayden caught sight of what appeared to be a cluster of bushes several yards away, up the shallow incline on the other side of the stream. It was potentially a good spot to hide, but only if she avoided leaving tell-tale footprints in the ground for her pursuers to follow. Immediately, she jumped into the middle of the stream. The slow flowing water barely reached halfway up her shins, but that wasn’t a problem. While she remained in the water she wouldn’t leave a trail.

  Kayden hurriedly made her way downstream, mildly annoyed that she’d been forced to get her feet wet. Once she was far enough away from her entry spot, she exited on the other side and scampered away, up the inclining ground. She quickly charted a semi-circular course back towards the bushes she identified earlier. As soon as she reached those bushes, she hunkered down in the leafy foliage to resume her surveillance of the pale blue glow moving through the woods, towards the stream.

  A short while later a floating illumination orb emerged from the trees, followed closely by a lone, stocky figure. It was Vartan.

  Son of a bitch! thought Kayden. Why does it have to be him? She was all too aware that the absence of any other cultists meant Vartan would be less inclined to want to capture her alive. He’d almost certainly try to kill her if he caught sight of her, and she’d be powerless to protect herself from a Zarantar strike. Observing him come to a halt at the edge of the stream, she gripped her tree branch tightly. She watched him examine the footprints she’d left in the mud before he peered both ways along the stream. It was clear he had correctly deduced that she hadn’t simply crossed to the other side, but had rather stepped into the slow flowing, shallow water, using it as a walkway to conceal which direction she had gone in.

  Still as a statue, in her hiding place, Kayden willed the stupid dunderhead to hurry up and leave so she could continue her escape. Vartan only had a choice of two directions: left or right. There was no need to take so long deciding which way to go. Finally, he set off along the edge of the stream, marching briskly in the opposite direction Kayden had gone in. Letting out an imperceptible sigh, she watched him depart, thankful to have avoided a confrontation she had little hope of winning. She didn’t have to wait long for Vartan to disappear from view, along with the pale blue glow of the illumination orb lighting his way, and with the danger passed she was ready to make her own departure.

  Pushing her way out of the bushes, Kayden took a couple of paces back towards the stream then stopped abruptly in her tracks. It suddenly dawned on her how suspicious it was for Vartan to be searching for her alone. While it was certainly plausible that he’d decided to pursue her on his own, it was more likely he was with a search party. Slowly, Kayden knelt down on one knee, staring intently at the line of trees Vartan had emerged from. What if Vartan’s brief appearance was intended to flush her out? she wondered. What if the rest of the search party was lying in wait to ambush her the moment she showed herself? She pursed her lips, straining to see or hear anything that might give away the presence of Vartan’s collaborators in the trees. If it wasn’t for the damned collar Josario had placed around her neck she could have cast out her senses to find out for certain.

  Two or three minutes elapsed. Kayden eventually decided she was probably being paranoid; there was no sign of any cultists lurking in the trees, under cover of darkness. Standing upright, she continued her cautious advance back towards the stream. The sound of footsteps bounding across the grass prompted her to spin around sharply. Vartan collided into her at full pelt, bringing them both to the ground. The momentum of the collision caused Kayden to roll several times over the grass, preventing her assailant from pinning her down. Winded, she scrambled swiftly back onto her feet. She had lost hold of her tree branch, and there was no time to retrieve it. Vartan was rising to his feet. She promptly charged towards him, knowing she had to kill him quickly.

  Kayden leapt off the ground, leading with her right knee. She connected with Vartan’s chest, causing him to stagger backwards, but he managed to stay on his feet. Oh, shit! she thought. His failure to hit the deck meant she had no chance of going for the kill. He was only half a dozen paces from her, but she wouldn’t be able to cross that distance before he killed her with a Zarantar strike. Making a futile dash forward, Kayden attempted to prove herself wrong. Halfway to her target she skidded to a halt, eyes widening as Vartan raised his hands. Rooted to the spot, she knew it was over. There was nothing she could do to prevent the inevitable.

  Much to Kayden’s surprise, the lethal Zarantar strike she was anticipating didn’t materialise. Vartan had assumed a fighting stance, hatred written all over his face as he glowered at her with clenched fists.

  “We have unfinished business, you slanty-eyed bitch,” he uttered in a venomous tone. “You’re going to die screaming, just like I promised.”

  Kayden bristled at the ethnic slur, but retained her composure. If the hateful dunderhead wanted to kill her with his bare hands, then the odds of her surviving the encounter had shifted decisively in her favour. Two years had elapsed since their only previous hand-to-hand confrontation had taken place at Antaris campus, and she had inflicted on him a humiliating defeat, breaking his nose and dislocating his shoulder in the process. In a fair fight, she had little doubt that she still had the measure of him. But it was a given that this wouldn’t be a fair fight. As soon as Vartan realised he was going to lose again, he would resort to using Zarantar, so she couldn’t afford to toy with him this time. It was imperative that she killed him quickly, and her experiences in Anzarmenia had more or less confirmed that she had it in her to take a life.

  “No more talking,” she replied, assuming her fighting stance. “Let’s end this once and for all.”

  Slowly, she and her opponent began to circle each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Moving ever closer to the stream, Kayden caught sight of her big stick lying discarded at the water’s edge. Instantly, she knew how Vartan was going to die. Once she put him on the ground, she would swiftly recover the discarded tree branch to smash his head in.

  Initiating hostilities, Vartan lurched forward on the offensive, unleashing a three-punch combination followed by a waist high kick. Back-pedalling, Kayden evaded the flying fists then raised her left leg to block the kick. She retaliated immediately with a laboured jab to Vartan’s chin, but the weak blow provided an unwelcome reminder that she wasn’t in the best physical condition to win a fight.

  The sneering smile that appeared on Vartan’s face suggested his awareness that she was more than a little worse for wear. “Is that all you’ve got?” he taunted her, as if to confirm that impression.

  “There’s more where that came from,” Kayden retorted. “Come and get it.” She raised both hands, beckoning Vartan forward with her fingers while she slowly backed away from him towards the edge of the stream. If she could get to the water’s edge before his next attack, her fallen tree branch would be within easy reach when she dropped him to the ground. Then she would retrieve it and do what needed to be done.

  Without warning, Vartan lowered his head, and charged at Kayden like an angry bull. He seized her around the midriff, forcing her backward before lifting her off her feet and slamming her ferociously to the ground. Winded by the harsh impact, Kayden was unable to prevent him from pinning her down on her back, nor could she defend herself when he smashed his forearm into her face. The blow dazed her, but she managed to raise her hands in an effort to fend off the subsequent flurry of punches rained down at her head. It proved to be a futile gesture. Most of the savage blows found their target.

  Moments later, struggling to hold on to consciousness, Kayden was unable to make even a token gesture of self-defence. Only now, with his victim beaten into submission, did Vartan end his brutal assault. Rising to his feet, he stared down contemptuously at her. Face bloodied and bruised, Kayden saw the hatred burning in his eyes and wondered what he was going to do next as he stood over her.

>   “You ruined my life, bitch!” Vartan viciously stamped on Kayden’s belly, causing her to reflexively wrap her arms around her abdomen, and curl up into the foetal position. “Being an apprentice of the Order was my chance to make something of my life.” He kicked her in the back and ribs. “To be somebody respected by even the nobility.” He kicked her again. “But you took that away from me. Now you have to pay the price.”

  The sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath didn’t divert Kayden’s gaze from what was right in front of her eyes. Laying on the grass beside her was the tree branch she’d acquired to protect herself from wolves while she travelled through the woodlands.

  “It’s time to die screaming,” Vartan intoned.

  Expending whatever reserves of energy she had left, Kayden swiftly grabbed hold of the tree branch and reared up to swing it as hard as she could. The makeshift weapon struck the side of Vartan’s knee, making him drop to one knee alongside her. Before he could wield the drawn dagger in his hand, she swung the big stick again, hitting Vartan full in the face. Kayden heard and felt something break with the impact. As Vartan collapsed in a crumpled heap on top of her legs, with his hands pressed to his face, muffling the agonised noises he was making, she realised that the tree branch had snapped, leaving the two halves hanging together precariously by fibrous threads.

  The opportunity to turn defeat into victory was within Kayden’s grasp. Knowing there wasn’t much time, she exerted as much strength as she could muster to pull her legs out from under the weight of Vartan’s writhing body. Once they were free, she moved into an upright kneeling position beside her implacable enemy. Pulling the two halves of the snapped tree branch apart, she tossed aside the branch in her left hand then pressed the free hand down on Vartan’s chest to hold him still. She raised the branch in her right hand high above her head, readying to plunge it into her adversary’s exposed throat.