“You heard me correctly.”
The one time I needed to be alone in order to sort through my encounter with Morlet, and Anders wanted to talk. I could scream. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I patiently waited for him to speak.
He slouched forward, resting his arms on his knees, his focus on the ground. “I’d like to apologize for my behavior.” His words caught me off guard. “I’m still getting used to the idea of the final Kriger being a young, attractive girl.” He peered into my eyes.
He thought I was attractive? No, most likely he needed something from me. “Why the sudden change?” I folded my arms across my chest, trying to appear aloof.
Anders came over and sat next to me on the bed, the medallion resting on the palm of his hand. “I spoke with your father,” he softly said. “Working underground in the mines, even as a guard, can damage one’s lungs.”
Without Papa, I’d be all alone. Tears filled my eyes. I tried holding them back, not wanting to show any weakness in front of Anders. “He’ll improve with medicine.”
He placed the medallion around my neck. “I promised your father I’d look after you.”
Papa must have taken to Anders to ask such a thing—he never would have done so unless he trusted him. I could see Papa liking him since they were both private, stubborn, and intelligent. My breath caught, and I focused on my hands, not wanting to look at Anders. Not able to look at him.
“He’s a good man,” Anders whispered.
I needed to change the subject. “I thought Vidar had to wear the medallion.”
“He does. But for now, I want it around your neck.”
This was the first time he’d ever opened up to me. Perhaps he would be willing to share more about his past. “How did you become involved with the Krigers?”
Anders sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“I guess you could say I deserve this fate … a fate worse than death.”
His words froze my insides. “You don’t want to help the Krigers?” Then why was he here?
“I’m an assassin,” he said. “I took an assignment I shouldn’t have. I was greedy and only concerned with making money, not the consequences of my actions. Now, I’m paying for it.” He stood and went to the window, gazing outside at the forest.
Sensing his hesitation to continue, I asked, “How did you become an assassin?”
“It was a long time ago, and I don’t remember much.”
It couldn’t have been that long ago—he didn’t look older than twenty. Although, neither did Morlet, and somehow he’d managed not to age for over a hundred years.
“How old are you?”
He glanced over his shoulder at me, smiling. “Eighteen.” Looking back outside, Anders continued talking, “I was born into slavery in Hoverek—the kingdom to the north of us. At the age of ten, my owner sold me to a man who trained assassins. He taught me to fight and kill. At fifteen, I started going on assignments.”
“How did you enter Nelebek?” Our borders had been closed by a magical barrier for over a hundred years. “And how did you become friends with Vidar?”
He sat next to me on the bed, searching my face for something. I flushed. His brown eyes revealed painful memories, danger, and a depth of emotions I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
“Vidar and I share a common goal.”
“To defeat Morlet.”
“Yes. In order to do that, we need you. I’d like to start your training.”
If I was going to be here for a while and Morlet was hunting my father, I needed to figure something out to ensure his safety. “Can my father join us here?” I asked. “Morlet threatened him.”
“You need to trust me when I say he’s safe where he is. There’s no way the king will be able to find him. I promise.” The confidence with which he spoke made me believe him.
“Then let’s get started.”
“Are you feeling well enough?”
My leg was sore and my chest tight. Yet, I was eager to do something physical to get my mind off Papa. “I’d like to get this over with.”
Anders raised his eyebrows. “Am I that awful to be around?”
Yes. “That’s not what I meant. The sooner we defeat Morlet, the sooner I can return to my father and my life.”
His forehead creased. “Didn’t you say you worked as a laundress?” I nodded. “You’re eager to return to that?”
“I miss my home,” I said, turning away as embarrassment consumed me. There was nothing for me to go back to except Papa; yet, it was all I knew and was familiar with. Perhaps once we defeated Morlet, things would change, and I’d have an opportunity to do something else—something better and more exciting with my life than wash people’s clothes.
***
Standing on the forest floor beneath the towering pines, I could hear birds singing all around me. In the capital, I never heard birds chirping or wind tossing the leaves of trees. Instead, the sound of soldats beating citizens, children screaming, and people crying in pain echoed everywhere.
Anders and Vidar stood off to the side, speaking in hushed whispers. While I waited for them to finish, warring thoughts about the king entered my mind. Growing up, I’d always been told Morlet ruled the kingdom with his vicious army. He tortured citizens and kept us all in poverty. Now that I’d met him, there was more to it than that. Yes, he was evil, but there was also good in him—I was certain of it.
Vidar laughed, recapturing my attention. He wrapped an arm around Anders’s shoulders, and they walked over to me. I removed the medallion and handed it to him.
“Anders is going to teach you some basic fighting techniques, and I’ll show you how to wield your power while using your weapon.” He put the necklace on.
A buzzing sensation radiated through my body. “My bo staff?” I eagerly asked.
They exchanged confused looks.
“How do you know that’s your weapon?” Anders questioned me.
“When I saw a picture of one in Morlet’s bedchamber, it called to me.” Even now, my hands tingled, wanting to hold it.
“You were in his bedchamber?” Anders’s face remained expressionless, but his voice was laced with a lethal fury that made my skin prickle.
“Yes,” I answered.
His foot kicked a rock, sending it flying. “I can’t believe he had you in such an intimate place. Why not his sitting room? Why his bedchamber?”
Vidar let out an odd noise—something between a laugh and a sound of disgust. “You don’t know him like I do,” he said, shaking his head. “Morlet always gets what he wants. And if he’s trying to lure Kaia to him, he’ll use whatever means necessary to do so.”
“You know you can’t trust him, don’t you?” Anders asked me, his hands on his hips.
I looked between them. “Honestly? I don’t know what to believe. Neither of you has told me about yourself nor how you’re involved in all of this. You’ve both been vague when I ask you questions. Right now, Morlet is at least talking to me.”
Vidar’s face turned red. “He lies to get what he wants,” he fumed. “And he wants you.” His hands shook as anger overwhelmed him. “When I get my hands on him, I’ll kill him.” Vidar stormed away.
I watched him leave, wondering why he was so mad. He knew the king had been visiting me and that he’d tried more than once to lure me to the castle.
“So,” Anders mused, “you have questions. I’ll make you a deal. How about you train with me for a few hours, then I’ll answer anything you want.”
“Why can’t we talk now?”
“Because we have a lot of work to do.” Swinging his arms, loosening them up, he continued, “Most Krigers don’t come into their power until they’re eighteen. Since you’re different, Vidar is worried you won’t pass your trials. Now that Morlet knows who you are, he’ll be hunting you. We don’t have a lot of time.”
“Trials?” No one had mentioned anything about any sort of trials.
“In order to enter the cavern where your bo staff is, you must pass a series of challenges.” He slid a dagger out from his sleeve, laying it on top of a nearby boulder.
“Who gives them? And what sort of trials are they?”
Anders reached down and removed two knives from beneath his trousers, laying them on the boulder next to the dagger. “Grei Heks put a spell on the cavern to make sure only those who truly are Krigers, and worthy of the title, enter to retrieve their weapons. Neither Vidar nor I will be able to assist you. I don’t know how you’ll be challenged because everyone faces something different.” Reaching behind him, he removed a short sword from under his shirt and placed it on the boulder next to the other weapons.
“Have the others passed?”
“Over the years, a few have failed. They were forced to return years later to try again. No one has failed a second time, though.”
“How do you know this?”
“I’m always there, waiting in the cave outside the cavern whenever a Kriger faces the trials.” Anders removed several pocketknives hidden within the folds of his clothing, tossing them onto the boulder alongside the others.
“How is that possible? You’re only eighteen.”
He bitterly laughed, shaking his head. “You keep asking how I’m tied to all of this. Well, I’m frozen in the body of an eighteen-year-old,” he revealed. “I’m cursed. I assumed you knew. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to touch the medallion.”
I couldn’t believe what he just revealed. The forest went still, all life hidden within vanished, and all that existed were Anders and I, standing there, facing one another.
“When Morlet is defeated,” he said, “I’ll finally be free. I’ll be able to age and live my life, no longer bound to Vidar.”
“Bound how?” I whispered, taking a step closer to him.
His brown eyes seemed far away, lost in thought. I gently touched his arm, and he blinked several times. “Enough talking,” he said. “We have work to do. Once you have your weapon, you’ll be able to control the power within you. After you do that, you can save the Krigers.” He took a step away from me, and my hand dropped to my side.
Was Vidar cursed as well? Was he stuck in a body that never aged? All this time, I thought Anders wanted to save the people in Nelebek, but he really just wanted to save himself.
The wind rustled the leaves above me, and I remembered what I was here for. “Let’s get started.”
Anders swung his arm, and I ducked. “Excellent reflexes,” he said, surprised. Staying light on his feet, he bounced around, taunting me. “The first thing you must learn is basic combat techniques.”
“Oh?” I raised my arms, prepared to block or strike as needed.
His eyes sparkled with amusement. “When we go into the dungeon to rescue the Krigers, we’ll be in a small, confined space. We’ll need to incapacitate the soldats quickly, before the alarm is raised.”
“What do you mean, we?” I kept a close eye on him as he circled me.
“You and me.” He kicked his leg and knocked me to the ground.
I jumped up, mad I didn’t see that one coming. “I’m not going in alone?” He kicked again, and this time I swung my arm, hitting his leg before it could strike me.
“No,” he said as he came closer. “I’m going with you. You don’t know your way around the castle, and you don’t have enough experience.”
“What about Vidar?”
He swung his fist toward my face. I ducked and then countered by kicking his leg.
“He has other duties to attend to.” Anders sidestepped to avoid being hit. He spun around and came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. Instinct and years of my father’s training kicked in. I stomped on his right foot. When he hunched slightly forward, I rolled my body to the side and swung my right arm, hitting him in the groin. His grip loosened, and I threw my elbow up, knocking his chin. He fell to the ground.
“Just as I suspected,” he said. “You have some basic training. That will save me a lot of time. We just need to practice and make sure your stamina is up. Ready for another round?”
I nodded, excited to be able to spar so easily with him.
Chapter Nine
My stomach growled from having spent several hours working with Anders and not once stopping to eat. We entered the sitting room and found Vidar sprawled on the couch, reading a book.
“About time,” he said, not bothering to look up.
Heading into the kitchen, we saw two plates piled high with bread, cheese, and some sort of meat.
“Duck,” Anders said, answering my unvoiced question. He picked up his plate and took a bite of the bread. “I’m going to get cleaned up.”
“You promised you’d answer my questions.”
“Ask Vidar. He enjoys talking nearly as much as you do.” At the doorway, he glanced back. “Make sure you’re near the medallion at all times so Morlet can’t contact you.” He left, taking his plate with him.
Not wanting to eat alone, I went back into the sitting room and plopped down next to Vidar. “What are you reading?”
“A book about the history of Nelebek,” he answered, swinging his legs off the couch and propping himself up.
“So just some light reading for fun,” I teased.
He smiled and closed the book. “I have it memorized from beginning to end. But I read it once in a while to remind myself what we’re fighting for.” He put the book down, giving me his full attention.
“What are you fighting for?” I asked. “The kingdom? To end the curse?” What motivated him to keep going, even after all the years of failure?
“As much as I’d love to end the curse, I fight for the people of Nelebek. We must kill Morlet so people can once again be free and live in peace.”
“Was it peaceful before Morlet took over?”
He nodded, his eyes revealing a great sadness.
I longed for a kingdom where soldats didn’t watch our every move, where people weren’t executed for helping one another, and the ruler actually cared about his subjects. I finished my food and put my plate on the nearby table.
“Kaia,” Vidar said, fidgeting with his hands. “Grei Heks … well … she told me something you should know.” His eyes darted to my face and then quickly away.
“What is it?”
“That you and I … well …” He ran his hands through his hair, nervous about whatever it was he had to say. “We … uh, just that we need to retrieve your weapon as soon as possible. I’d like to leave in two days.”
Vidar was hiding something from me. Before I could ask him what it was, he said, “Anders told me you have questions about being a Kriger, and I should answer whatever you ask. So now is your chance. What do you want to know?”
One question had been nagging me since I first discovered I was a Kriger. “When the twelve of us link our powers together and go up against Morlet, will we all survive?”
After staring at me for several uncomfortable minutes, he finally answered, “No. Most of you will not.”
My fear was confirmed. I was going to fight to save a kingdom I most likely would never see liberated.
“Don’t look so sad,” he pleaded. “There’s a chance you’ll live.”
“You and I both know I probably won’t make it out of this alive.”
He reached out and gingerly touched my cheek. “I think that’s why Anders is so upset that the last Kriger is a girl.”
“It doesn’t matter whether I’m a girl or a boy,” I said. “I’m a person. And the death of any person is a tragedy.” I stood to go. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go to bed.”
“Uh,” Vidar stammered. “I need to sleep close by so the medallion can protect you.”
I’d forgotten about that.
“We don’t have to sleep in the same bed,” he continued. “The same room should suf
fice.”
“Fine, but I’m sleeping on the bed. You can sleep anywhere you like on the floor.” I turned and left, not waiting to see if he followed.
***
After tossing and turning for several hours, I finally gave up trying to sleep. Vidar lay lightly snoring on the ground next to my bed, a pillow under his head, and a blanket strewn between his legs. I slipped off the mattress, careful not to wake him. My head tingled. Morlet must be trying to find me. Thankfully, the medallion blocked his ability to do so. I lit a candle, placed it on the bedside table, and picked up The Order of the Krigers. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, I started reading, hoping to understand more about being a Kriger.
One chapter went into detail about each of the twelve weapons, so I skimmed over it, wanting to read about the Order itself or the life of previous Krigers. The following chapter was entitled “Journals,” and there were several loose sheets of paper wedged in the book. I started reading them:
I am writing this account to serve as a warning to other Krigers. It’s easier now, looking back over my life, to see all the mistakes I made. When I first learned I was a Kriger, I felt empowered. I thought I could save Nelebek by destroying Morlet. I was naive and had no idea what I was up against. The king is more powerful and far more sinister than I ever expected.
Morlet claimed he was searching for the Heks power source and needed more diggers in the mines. In an attempt to gain a larger workforce, he killed the eldest child in each family if they refused to send one able-bodied worker. All I could think about was retribution for the innocent lives taken. P. Vidar ordered us not to attack, but we didn’t listen. That was our first mistake. We should have done as he said, but we didn’t know or truly understand.
There were only four Krigers at the time. Together, we went to the capital. We had our weapons and knew how to fight using our powers. We easily fought off the soldats stationed throughout the castle.
When we arrived at the Throne Room, Morlet sat alone waiting for us. He removed his cape, and I saw he had not aged a single day in the twenty-two years I’d been a Kriger.
Rise Page 10
