by Chris Cannon
“There’s a package for Zane by the steps,” Miss Enid called after them.
Bryn led them back to the trap door in the floor, which stood open. A long package wrapped in brown paper lay next to the steps. Zane grabbed it and ripped off the paper, uncovering a sword in a scabbard.
Zane drew the sword. Light glinted off frozen flames etched into the blade. “Looks sharp enough.” He returned the sword to the scabbard and buckled it around his waist.
Jaxon peered down the stairwell. “It’s only big enough for us to go single file. Zane, they asked for you. Why don’t you go first? I’ll follow. Bryn can follow me, and Valmont can keep watch from behind, so no one sneaks up on us.”
Zane drew his sword and headed down the stairs.
Bryn grabbed Jaxon’s shirt so he didn’t follow right away.
“Go slow,” Bryn said as she activated her elemental sword, turning it on quickly and then releasing it to turn it off just as fast so Jaxon would be aware of her weapon. “I don’t want you bumping into Zane. It’s a long way down.”
Jaxon’s eyes went wide, but he nodded. “Good to know.”
Bryn followed behind him. Valmont kept close on her heels and whispered, “You didn’t want Zane to see?”
Bryn glanced back at her knight. “He seems like a good guy, but we don’t really know him.”
Valmont frowned but didn’t comment. When all four of them reached the landing at the base of the stairs, Bryn was surprised to find the two Reds guards bound and gagged. Their eyes were closed, but from the way their chests moved up and down she could tell they were still breathing.
“We’re here,” Jaxon called out. “Let me see Rhianna.”
A man with blond hair and a pale ivory complexion emerged from the room with Rhianna in his arms. She was bound and gagged. Her eyes were shut. A sheen of sweat covered her skin.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“What did you do to her?” Jaxon roared.
“She is merely resting.” The man grinned. “As long as Zane plays his part, we will return her to you unharmed.”
“We only need her to bleed a little,” a man behind him with black hair and golden tan skin said.
If Bryn hadn’t guessed what type of hybrid these two men were at first, her suspicions had been confirmed.
“You’re Blue and Black?” Jaxon blinked like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“What? You thought only the lower classes mingled?” The man holding Rhianna laughed. “You have no idea of the extent of the hybrid population.”
“Let her go,” Bryn said. “Valmont and I can do whatever you need.”
“Actually, little hybrid, you can’t.” The second man stated. “I need a Blue knight to retrieve my treasure. If your friends play nicely, we can all walk away from this unharmed. All I want is what is rightfully mine. Zane, this is where you come in.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“It’s not your turn yet. First I need Bryn and Valmont to open the door to the hidden room.”
There should be a guard stationed in the room. Maybe he could help. “How do you know about the room?” Bryn asked as she moved toward it.
“We have eyes and ears everywhere.”
“Did you attack Dragon’s Bluff?” Valmont asked.
“Me, personally? No. Several of my friends gave their lives that night to prove to the Directorate they were no longer in control of this situation.”
Valmont drew his sword but didn’t move toward the door. “What if I show you that you are not in control of this situation?”
“We did not come alone. If we are not seen exiting the library at the appointed time, a contingency of our friends will destroy the dining hall, killing everyone at the dance. Now open the door.”
Bryn could see the internal war that raged in Valmont’s eyes as he joined her at the door. He placed the sword against the stone. She touched it, slicing her finger on it and watched as the drops rolled down the blade, hitting the stone. The door appeared.
Bryn put her hand on the doorknob.
“Tell the guard inside to stand down,” the second man said.
Crap. Bryn pulled the door open. The Red guard looked at her in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“Please do as these men say and don’t try to fight.” Bryn stepped into the room.
The man holding Rhianna entered the room and set her down in a chair at the table. “Why don’t you wait outside until we complete our task?”
The guard looked at Jaxon. “What do you want me to do?”
“Wait outside,” Jaxon said. “We’ll take care of this.”
“I don’t like this.” The Red stepped outside, and the second man closed the door so anyone on the outside would be unable to open it.
The man who had been carrying Rhianna pulled a vial of clear liquid from his shirt pocket. “We dosed Rhianna with a slow-acting poison. Left untreated she will die by morning. Zane when you give her this antidote she’ll recover. Since you will have saved her life, you’ll become her knight.”
Jaxon growled. “You better pray she makes a full recovery.”
Zane stalked forward. “Give me that.” He opened the vial and held the contents to Rhianna’s lips, slowly pouring the antidote into her mouth.
“How will we know if she is okay?” Valmont asked.
Rhianna sucked in a breath, and her eyes flew open. She blinked in confusion and then coughed until she doubled over.
Jaxon pushed forward to wrap his arms around Rhianna. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”
“What happened?” Rhianna gasped, like she was fighting to catch her breath.
“You were poisoned, on purpose, so Zane would save you and become your knight,” Jaxon said.
Zane kneeled down in front of Rhianna. “I am so sorry they did this to you. Are you all right?”
Rhianna stared at Zane for a moment. “Who are you?”
“I’m your knight.” Zane spoke the words with such sincerity Bryn knew it was true. Forcing Zane to save Rhianna had activated the latent spell in his blood, turning him into her knight.
“Let’s get started.” The first man studied the wall on the right. “It has to be here somewhere.” He went back to the threshold of the room and counted off five paces before staring at the blank wall.
“You.” He pointed at Zane. “Come put your sword point here.” He touched the wall at doorknob height.
“There’s another door?” Bryn asked.
“We are about to find out.” The second man pulled out a pocket knife and cut the restraints on Rhianna’s wrists, then pointed toward Zane. “Touch the sword.”
Rhianna rubbed her wrists and then Jaxon helped her stand.
“I don’t understand.” Rhianna swayed where she stood.
“Your blood will open the door the same way Bryn’s blood opened the box in Mr. Stanton’s room.” Jaxon helped steady her.
“You don’t need to come any closer.” The second man pointed at Jaxon. “She can walk on her own.”
“No,” Jaxon said.
“It’s okay.” Rhianna grabbed the table for support and stood tall. “I can do this.” Slowly, she made her way over to Zane. Never once did she let any discomfort show on her face.
Zane held his hand out to Rhianna. “The sooner we do this, the sooner it’ll be over.”
She reached for his hand and allowed him to place her pointer finger on the edge of the blade. In a quick motion she slid her finger down the blade. The blade glowed blue as red droplets of blood rolled down the blade to the wall. The outline of a wooden door appeared on the stone wall. The second man sucked in a breath and grasped the handle. The door creaked open on ancient hinges. He stuck his head inside, holding a ball of lightning out so he could see.
Light bounced around creating weird shadows. “This is it, cousin.”
“Zane, look at your dragon,” the first man ordered. “To keep anyone from following us, I need her to release you fr
om the bond.”
Rhianna growled. “I should blast you where you stand.”
Bryn edged closer, ready to bring her elemental sword to life.
“Release him.” The man put his hand on the back of Zane’s neck. “Or I fill him with enough lightning to fry him from the inside out.”
“How do I know you won’t kill him, anyway?” Rhianna asked.
“He has what he wanted,” Zane spoke to Rhianna. “Please release me.”
Rhianna frowned. “I release you.”
A shadow passed over Zane and then he looked at the dragon threatening to electrocute him. “It is done. And you can go to hell.” He twisted and swung his sword upward in an arc, slicing into the man’s stomach and up through his rib cage.
Stunned, the man growled and blasted Zane with enough electricity to make his body spasm before he dropped to the floor where he continued to twitch. The smell of burnt flesh filled the room.
“No.” Rhianna screamed and scrambled to the floor, reaching for Zane.
Jaxon blasted frozen flames, creating a protective barrier between Rhianna and the enemy. Valmont charged, sliding over the table with his sword extended. Bryn lunged forward, turning her elemental sword on as she went. Her fire and ice blade penetrated the man’s chest just as Valmont’s blade slashed into his carotid artery, sending a shower of blood spurting across the room painting the wall where the secret door had now closed.
“Rhianna,” Jaxon yelled.
Bryn performed the releasing motion to turn off her sword. Valmont tugged but his blade must have been stuck in the man’s spine. He put his boot on the man’s stomach, shoving him off of his sword and sending him crashing back into a bookshelf.
“Rhianna?” Bryn placed her hand on the ice barrier melting it with her flames. She sank to the floor where Rhianna cradled Zane’s head on her lap.
Jaxon had his arms around his girlfriend’s shoulders as he felt for a pulse on Zane’s neck. “I’m sorry. He’s gone.”
“Why did Zane do that?” Rhianna sobbed. “I released him.”
“Maybe,” Valmont said, “Zane didn’t believe the man would actually let us all go.”
There was a loud pounding in Bryn’s head.
“Do you hear that?” Valmont asked.
Okay, maybe the noise isn’t in my head. It was coming from the entrance to the room. It sounded like someone was pounding the wall with a battering ram. All she could see was a dead knight. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“We need to open the door,” Jaxon said, “without whoever is outside accidentally killing us.”
“A phone would be handy right now,” Bryn said.
Valmont walked back to the dead man’s body and searched his pockets, retrieving a cell phone.
“Give me that,” Jaxon said.
Valmont tossed the phone to Bryn who handed it to Jaxon. He dialed and spoke to his father. The battering on the door stopped.
“It’s safe to open now.” Jaxon looked at Bryn. “Do you mind?”
“I’ve got it.” Valmont went to the door and pushed it open. Ferrin, Bryn’s grandfather, and a half a dozen other people poured into the room.
“The traitor is over there.” Valmont pointed to the back corner.
Everyone started asking questions.
“We need a moment of silence,” Jaxon shouted loud enough to be heard above the din.
Amazingly, everyone quieted down. Ferrin and her grandfather approached. Ferrin squatted down and touched Jaxon’s shoulder. “Who was he?”
“His name was Zane,” Jaxon said, “and he came here to protect Rhianna’s life.”
“He was my knight.” Rhianna sounded sad and lost.
Ferrin appeared confused, but he didn’t make a rude comment like Bryn expected him to.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Bryn’s grandfather said, “but, we need to know what occurred here, and we need to know if anyone is still in danger.”
Bryn’s head snapped up. “The dance. The man who escaped said they would attack the dance if their people didn’t see them leaving when they were supposed to.”
Ferrin grabbed his phone and started giving orders.
“Bryn, who escaped where?” her grandfather asked.
“A Blue-Black hybrid made Rhianna’s knight open a secret door only Blue knights can access. He went through there.” She pointed at the wall splattered with blood. “And the door shut behind him.”
“Can you open it?” her grandfather asked.
“We can try.” Valmont placed his sword on the wall. Bryn sliced her finger on the blade not feeling a thing. A faint outline of a door glimmered and then disappeared.
“At least we know where it is.” Her grandfather frowned. “Maybe we can find a volunteer to open it for us.”
“I’ll do it,” Rhianna said.
Jaxon opened his mouth to speak and Rhianna cut him off. “I don’t want his death to be in vain.”
“Whoever left by that door is probably long gone,” her grandfather said. “Tonight we’ll concentrate on keeping the other students safe. Tomorrow or the day after, Rhianna, we may ask for your help.”
“Can we go back to the dance to check on our friends?” Bryn asked.
“Ferrin will have deployed our guards. I’d like you to come with me and give a more detailed description of the events.” Her grandfather glanced down at Zane and then back up at Valmont. “Can you help us make the necessary arrangements?”
Valmont nodded.
…
Bryn followed her grandfather up to his office on the top floor of the library. Valmont sat beside her, quietly holding her hand. She could feel rage coming off of his body. Any answers he gave were brief. What was he feeling? Guilt? Anger? Fear?
She filled her grandfather in on the tragic events of the evening.
“We need to find someone to open that door,” Valmont said. “That man could still be in there.”
“The vaults were here long before the library, which currently sits on top of them. There is a series of tunnels connecting them to each other and to access points on and probably off campus. I’m sure he’s made his way back to his friends by now.”
Speaking of friends. “Since I’m not hearing any loud explosions, can I assume the dance was not attacked?”
“We found traces of a few small groups of the enemy across campus, but they appear to be gone now.”
“Except for the traitors living among us,” Valmont said. “Someone at the dance must have watched and waited for Rhianna to go someplace by herself so they could kidnap her.”
“That is a disturbing thought.” Her grandfather steepled his fingers under his chin. “Do you think they targeted her in particular, or do you think they would have kidnapped any Blue they had access to?”
Bryn rubbed her temples trying to make her brain process all this bizarre information. “They must have known we were close to Rhianna and that we’d understand why they wanted someone from Dragon’s Bluff. They mentioned Zane by name.”
“I mean no disrespect toward the young man in question, but do you think he could have been a willing participant in tonight’s treachery?”
“At first, that thought went through my head, too.” And it made her feel like crap. “But he didn’t seem to know about the blood magic. And he’d never met Rhianna.”
“Valmont, how well did you know him?” her grandfather asked.
“Not at all. He started working at Fonzoli’s after I moved here. My father told me good things about him over the phone. He’s a new hire.”
“So you didn’t know him.” Her grandfather mused. “It wouldn’t do to start asking questions right after his death. In a few days, maybe you could ask your parents how his family is doing.”
“I hate doubting him,” Valmont said. “I’d rather do it now, so I know the truth.”
Her grandfather pointed toward a phone on a side table. “As you wish.”
Valmont dialed, and Bryn listened to his end of the conver
sation. When he got off the phone, he was shaking. “My father was surprised I’d heard of Zane’s death so quickly since they only found his body half an hour ago.”
“What?” That didn’t make any sense.
“Zane was scheduled to work tonight. He loaded up the catering truck at the restaurant and left on schedule. Somewhere between Dragon’s Bluff and the school, someone must have hijacked the truck. They found the real Zane dead in a ditch with a bullet in the back of his head.”
Bryn’s brain spun in circles trying to put the information together. “So that wasn’t Zane who became Rhianna’s knight and gave up his life for her?”
“No.” Valmont paced the office. “Who kills a man so he can impersonate him and then gets himself killed? Who does that?”
“Someone who is insane or desperate,” her grandfather stated in a cold tone.
“Will there be an autopsy to identify the body?” Bryn asked. “Because how can we be sure he wasn’t a dragon? He said he became Rhianna’s knight, but we don’t know if that’s true.”
“If he wasn’t a knight, I don’t think the blood magic would have worked,” Valmont said.
“Right.” She hadn’t thought about that.
“We won’t solve any more mysteries tonight.” Her grandfather stood. “Before you return to your dorm, I do have one bit of good news. The Directorate agreed to appoint you and Jaxon as Student Directorate Council.”
“What does that mean?” Bryn asked.
“Students can come to you with concerns. If their concerns are valid, you can contact me or Ferrin to discuss the issue. That way the students have a more direct line of communication to the Directorate which should help eliminate some of the unrest on campus.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
He escorted them to the door of his office. “Both of you performed admirably this evening under difficult circumstances. Bryn, I know your grandmother would prefer it if you weren’t in the thick of battle, if at all possible.” He sounded like he was sort of making a joke.
“I try to stay out of the chaos, but weird stuff seems to happen around me.”
