“One moment, please.” Margaret reverted back to her efficient, usual self. Kayleigh was left on hold with only the dulcet tones of Bing Crosby to keep her company.
Really? Bing Cosby? Couldn’t they have chosen something a little more up to date? Sure, he was one of the greats, but his classic songs came out every single year without fail along with the trees that were decorated with tinsel and glitter covering the ground like snow. Well, that was how it had seemed back in her old life, anyway.
Kayleigh tapped her fingernails on the wall next to her impatiently. Sounds for Christmas was the very last thing she needed on her mind right now. It wasn’t even that close to Christmastime yet. What were the council thinking? They were getting as bad as the humans. The world seemed intent on starting the festive season way too early, trying to cash in as much as they could. Did the Matris really have to follow that tacky track?
What was worse was that she knew the song off by heart and was absentmindedly singing along to the old track. Oh my god, she thought to herself, kill me now.
Thankfully, Margaret returned to the line, interrupting Kayleigh’s annoying trip down memory lane.
“Kayleigh, dear?” she said in her new sickly sweet tone that gave Kayleigh a toothache. “We tried to pass a message on to the academy last night, but the lines were understandably jammed, what with everything that was happening there. Master Warrior Merion called ahead of his visit to advice that he wouldn’t be attending the council and that his presence was required at the academy. I must say that they weren’t very happy about it, but they fully understood the importance of his role among the warriors. We haven’t had any communication with him since there. Is everything okay?”
Kayleigh was momentarily shocked into silence.
So, where the hell had Merion disappeared to? He had been gone for hours already. He had left the academy, stating that he was going to the council, long before they even knew where Aisline was being held. He was supposed to represent the academy at the council. Well, he wasn’t at the academy and he wasn’t at the council offices. Where the hell was he?
Could what the old man had said really be true? What else could have happened to him if that wasn’t the case? There was no other reason for him to go AWOL at a time like this. The old man had to be right.
It was simply unthinkable. Everything in their world could be turned upside down with the betrayal of one man. If it truly had been Merion that told the Mortuorum of the location of the Matris leader, then what else could he have told them? As a trusted warrior, he was privy to all the sensitive information, information that the enemy could wreak havoc with.
If it was true, and all the facts were starting to point that way, how could he have broken his warrior oath like that? It was simply incomprehensible.
“Kayleigh? Are you still there?” Margaret said in a sing song voice, bringing Kayleigh back from her dark thoughts.
“Yes, sorry. Yes, I’m still here. Thank you so much for all your help, Margaret.” Kayleigh was now anxious to get off the phone and report what she had found out to Kelton. This was huge.
“It was such an unfortunate incident, what happened to that poor girl. The whole academy must have been in uproar.”
Where had this chatty Margaret come from? And, what bad timing this possible character turnaround had come at?
“Yes, it was a very difficult time for all involved. Look, Margaret –“
Margaret didn’t give Kayleigh a chance to cut her off, not when she was on a mission to find out some juicy gossip. “It was hectic here at the council offices, but to be at the heart of it? At the academy? With all of those huge, hulking warriors taking charge of things? It must have been amazing!” Margaret spoke in a breathless tone, genuinely sounding jealous and exhilarated.
“I’m not entirely sure that ‘amazing’ would be the word that I would use. Anyway –“
“Oh, but it really is amazing! Every single person in the place have a vital role to play in her survival, lives depending on your actions and the warriors out there in all their full glory? Simply wonderfully amazing!”
Okay. Enough was enough. Kayleigh really didn’t have time for idle gossip. She had to act on this information as quickly as possible. “Thank you, Margaret. You have been most helpful. Goodbye.” And Kayleigh hung up the phone before she could say anything, although she heard her mutter ‘Well, really! How rude!’
Never mind. Kayleigh really didn’t care. Pissing off the receptionist at the council was the least of her problems right now. Margaret would go back to being her snooty old self again now that she hadn’t managed to get any information out of Kayleigh, which was actually preferable to her being falsely friendly. It was off-putting. At least when Margaret was being an ice cold bitch, Kayleigh knew what to expect of her. They had bigger things to worry about at the academy now.
Rushing back through the corridors, Kayleigh threw open the door to Kelton’s office without even bothering to knock first. This was no time for politeness and niceties. She had to tell him what she learned so that they could act on it. She already knew that his response was not going to be pretty.
“Kayleigh? What the hell do you think you’re doing?” His voice clearly showed his displeasure at her abrupt entrance. Well, tough, she thought to herself. There was simply no time to waste. Also, she wasn’t one of his little minions who bowed and scraped to him. She was his goddamn partner who was doing her very best to help him out of a bad situation. If he couldn’t see that, then it was tough.
She tried to calm down her rapid breathing and avoided looking at him. Rising tempers wouldn’t be productive to either of them. Kayleigh could perfectly understand that he was having a hard time of it, but she refused to be treated like rubbish. If he snapped at her like that again, she was apt to snap back and the last thing they needed was a full blown argument on top of everything else. Kayleigh knew that she was going to have to be the calm one in this situation so that things didn’t get out of control.
“I’m here to tell you what I have found out about Merion. That is what I’m doing.” She said through gritted teeth, trying to keep her tone even and her glare to a minimum. “The council haven’t seen him at all. He never even went there. He hasn’t been seen by anyone since last night.”
Kelton started pacing around his small office, muttering fiercely under his breath. “So, he’s still out there somewhere? This is the last thing we need at the moment, another missing warrior. Anything could have happened to him out there.”
Kayleigh crossed over the space between them and gently placed a hand on his cheek, forcing him to stop moving and to look at her. She really needed him to listen to her, to really hear and take it all in. Bitching at one another wasn’t going to help the situation, neither would being blind to the facts. It was clear that his mind was working at break-neck speed and that she needed him to slow down so he could process what was happening. This was the only way she could think of doing that, getting up close and personal and making him really see what was going on.
“Kelton. Look at me. You really need to hear what I am saying to you.” She made sure that he was finally silent and focused, even if he was still seething with anger. “Merion didn’t go to the council. He never had any intention of going to the council. He’s gone. Marshall is right. Merion is the guilty one. He was the one that did this to us.”
Kelton froze. He could see Marshall in his peripheral vision. The old man was sat in the chair with his head bowed as silent tears dripped from his cheeks.
This couldn’t be true.
Not one of his warriors.
This couldn’t be happening.
“His room. I need to check his room.” Kelton said in a mechanical tone, moving Kayleigh to one side and storming out of the office before anyone could stop him.
He didn’t want to believe it. He wouldn’t believe it. How was it possible that Merion could have sold them out like that? Kelton truly didn’t want to believe that he had been the one
to set the ball rolling on this entire nightmare. He didn’t want to believe that a sworn warrior could have betrayed those that they had pledged to protect.
Kelton walked briskly, not waiting for Kayleigh to try and catch up with him. By the sound of his lone footsteps, she hadn’t tried to trail after him. That was a good thing. This was something that he had to do on his own. This was what he had to do to start to process the fact that he had been betrayed by a fellow warrior, and a friend.
Rushing through the corridors, he ignored anyone he came across, intent only on where he was heading. Kelton finally paused for a breath only when he was standing outside the room that Merion used. He didn’t life at the academy full time, but split his time between his duties as a warrior and his private life with his wife.
Without another thought, Kelton grasped hold of the door and tried to turn the knob. No luck. It was locked, as expected. Another obstacle, but one that was easily overcome.
There was no time to lose. He didn’t have the time, energy or patience to return to his office to retrieve the master key. With an almighty roar, Kelton brought up his leg and kicked right through the wooden door. It didn’t break and fall off its hinges as they do in the movies, but there was a huge crack through the centre of it. With another couple of kicks, he had splintered and shattered the door enough to drag a large portion out into the hall, allowing him enough room to enter the room.
Stepping through the frame, Kelton saw what he feared the most.
Nothing.
There were no personal affects. No clothing. No photos of his wife. No combat gear. No weapons box. No books. Nothing.
Empty.
Nothing.
Kelton quickly had to resign himself to the fact that they had their guy. The betrayal cut him deep. Before, he had refused to believe it, hoping that there was some other reason for Merion’s disappearance. He didn’t want to believe it. Kelton didn’t want to believe that someone he had held in such high esteem would have ever stooped so low.
Now, he had to believe.
Merion was the one that had done this to all of them.
Merion.
Chapter Five.
Kelton didn’t know how long he had been stood there for. He was staring at the shockingly stark emptiness of the room. He didn’t move. He just stood there, frozen to the spot. He was shocked to the core by the treachery.
He had never known or sensed such an intense betrayal. It was not only a betrayal of the race as a whole, but Kelton felt personally responsible. Merion was someone that he had counted on for decades, believing in him. He was someone that Kelton always thought would always have his back.
It wasn’t until he heard the sound of rushing footsteps in the hallway that he came back to the here and now. Turning around to see what the latest commotion was all about, he crashed directly into Professor Fieldman, nearly sending her crashing to the floor.
Jainey Fieldman was a mousey little thing, nervous at the best of times and this whole situation was playing on her nerves for the worst. Luckily, she didn’t know the half of it as Kelton feared the stress would have killed her. Kelton reached out to catch her, otherwise she would have landed in an ungainly, undignified heap on the floor.
“What’s wrong, Jainey? What’s going on now? Are you alright?” Kelton tried his best to keep a lid on his temper. Professor Fieldman wouldn’t respond well if he snapped at her. The situation was getting too much to handle and he was having a hell of a hard time keeping the anger inside.
Jainey straightened up and smoothed down her clothes nervously. Looking up at Kelton with fearful eyes, the words started to tumble out of her mouth so quickly that he had no idea what she was saying.
“Jainey, please calm down. You need to slow down. I can’t understand what you’re saying.” He cajoled. “Let’s start again. Can you tell me what’s wrong and who sent you to find me?” he asked as gently as he could. The woman was clearly shaken by the events of late and it wasn’t her fault that he was in a foul mood.
“Oh, Kelton. I couldn’t believe it when I saw Marshall.”
Damn it. He didn’t want anyone else finding out about that yet. “Have you said anything to anyone?”
“No, of course not.”
“Good. We need to keep it that way.” He snapped, regretting his tone immediately.
She backed away a step. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Kayleigh needs you. She sent me to find you.”
Before she could utter another word, Kelton tore off in a mad sprint in the direction of his office. He would apologise to Jainey later. Something was wrong and Kayleigh needed him. It didn’t matter what it was, he would be at her side in a breath.
After all that had happened lately, it brought it all home to him how close he had come to living without Kayleigh in the beginning. There was no way that he would be able to survive without her now. She was everything to him. Sure, their relationship had started in the most unique way, but it was worth it for what they had.
Running through the corridors at a break-neck speed to get to her, all he could think was that she needed him. It suddenly hit him how he had been snapping at her all morning. It tore him apart to think about it. She was the last person on earth that he would ever want to hurt. He was going to have to make it up to her big style.
Crashing through the door to his office like a bull in a china shop, the first thing he noticed was Doctor Phillippe on bended knees in front of Marshall. Flicking his eyes to the old man, Kelton noticed that he was now wearing an oxygen mask, looking even older than before with his eyes closed.
Glancing up at Kelton’s abrupt entrance, the doctor frowned. Keeping sharp attention on her patient, she said, “Kayleigh asked Jainey to come and bring me. The shock of it all was getting to him and he was starting to feel breathless. I just need to get him a little more comfortable before I move him down to the medical suite. I’ll be able to watch him easier down there.”
Kelton nodded gravely. He was concerned about Marshall and the effect that this would all be having on him. Luckily, with Marion Phillippe, he was in good hands.
Right now he had to think about Kayleigh. She needed him. Glancing over to the other side of the room, he found her sitting behind his desk, swamped by its size. He met her gaze. Pain was evident in her eyes. Something else had happened in the short time he had been gone. Something more.
“Leigh? What is it?”
“Oh, Kelton. I just can’t believe it.” She broke down in sobs that shook her body and sent her slumping forward, head on her hands on the desk.
Kelton didn’t speak, he just held her close. He didn’t want to rush her into talking before she was ready and able. It was obvious that it was something pretty terrible, but they’d cross that bridge when they came to it. She needed to gather herself to speak. Kelton held her in strong arms, lending her his strength.
After a few more moments of silence between them, Kayleigh managed to catch her breath, still hiccupping sniffles. She looked up at Kelton, who gently reached down to wipe the tears from her cheek with the pad of this thumb.
“It’s true. Merion was the one.” She said slowly.
“I know. All of his stuff has gone. It was him.”
Dragging in another shuddering breath, she looked deeply into his eyes. “No. I didn’t want to believe it before, but we know that it was him because he phoned. I spoke to him myself. He was in bits. He couldn’t tell me why he had done it, just that he had. He was inconsolable.”
Kelton growled and pulled her in closer again. “I don’t give a flying shit about the state of his mental health. I only care that he was the one who betrayed us. That he betrayed Bartholomew.” He was firm in his resolve now that he finally believed. Merion had made one hell of a deadly enemy out of him.
“No, Kelton. You don’t understand. Merion deeply regrets what he’s done. He was the one that fed the Mortuorum the information about Bartholomew’s whereabouts. He was the one that set up Aisline’s abduction. But, he was
also the one that called in with the details of the location that she was being held at. He was trying to make things right. He tried.”
“He was responsible for what happened to Aisline?” Kelton roared before taking in a few deep breaths. He should have seen this coming. Hell, he had seen it coming as soon as he first heard of the betrayal, but hearing the full extent of the betrayal was a whole other thing. However, he didn’t want to blow up in a rage again. It wouldn’t get them anywhere. “Just because he feels guilty and called with that information, that doesn’t redeem him in my eyes.”
“Kelton, that’s not the worst of it.” She paused, looking at him as she gathered the courage to say the next bit. “He has revealed our location here. At the academy. The Mortuorum know where we are.”
Chapter Six
At least getting into action meant that Kelton didn’t have to think too much. Planning and executing, and keeping the warriors, trainees and civilians safe were his only thoughts. Keeping busy meant that he didn’t have to dwell on what Merion had done; he only had to fix it.
First things first, he gathered as many of the Master Warriors as he could in their largest conference room. He filled them in on everything that he had found out, trying to keep the facts and keeping his own emotions out of it. It wasn’t easy, though. The warriors shared his anger and didn’t hold back from expressing it. That made it a little more difficult for Kelton to keep it reigned in.
The mood in the room rose to one of bloody murderous intent and while still trying to explain rationally what had happened with regards to Merion, Kelton had to keep it cool. He knew that he had to lead by example. There was too much to do for him to lose his head. Sure, he would have loved to have joined in with the other warriors, giving them a blow by blow description of how he wanted to rip the traitor limb from limb, but he couldn’t. They had to sort out security, check on the civilians and get the entire building packed up and ready to move. It wasn’t going to be easy and he needed them to listen so they could get this show on the road.
Dawn of a New Age: A Sons of Satrina Novel Page 5
