“Why not just kill her?” the scout said. “Surely she will tell the others what she saw?”
“Not if it means letting on that she tried to escape. Besides, I don't believe anyone would believe her after the stunt she pulled at the ball tonight.”
“I heard about that. Did she really refuse Prince Casimir in front of all those people?”
“She did indeed. If a girl like that is willing to defy to royalty, there's no telling what she's capable of. Do not underestimate her. I prefer her alive, but if she must be killed to move forward, so be it.”
“Yes Sir, I will alert the others immediately.”
The scout disappeared into the dark, and Azemar turned back just as Kaina made her way to the bottom of the hill and near the last few buildings.
Kaina found the nearest area encased in shadow, which happened to be an alley between two houses. She ducked behind a barrel when she heard a guard passing by. When she didn't hear anything else, she glanced out onto the road. The only living soul she could see in the dark was the guard from behind just a few feet ahead. She waited until she was sure that he wouldn't hear her and darted across the road to the next alley.
Kaina heaved a sigh of relief when she made it to the alley, but as soon as she failed to watch where she was going, her foot hit something hard and crashed into a pile of nearby crates, causing them to tumble to the ground. Kaina's hands covered her mouth in shock, and a second later she heard someone say, “Who goes there?”
Kaina frantically ducked behind the nearest wall just as the guard turned the corner to search where she had been. She heard the hiss and yelp of a cat and saw a dark shape run out from the alley just as this happened. It was fortunate for Kaina that the cat had been there, for she then heard the guard say, “Damn strays...”
She allowed herself to breathe when she heard his receding footsteps, but as soon as she tried to leave her protective cover, she felt a hand grab her arm. Before she could scream, another hand fell over her mouth and muffled any sound that came out. She feared this to be another guard, but she soon discovered that it was someone far worse.
“Well, well, what have we here?”
A group of men dressed in dark robes, some long and some short like tunics, and hoods emerged from various hiding places, some from behind barrels, some from behind carts, and one even dropped down from the rooftop. All stared at Kaina with seething hatred and she knew at that moment that there intentions were nothing to look forward to.
Whoever had his hand over his mouth chuckled and said, “She must be the Haventhorn girl.”
A man with a red patch of hair on top of his head and abnormally yellow teeth approached her and said, “She's the one all right.”
“What should we do with her, Nilas?” one of the others said.
The red head, whom Kaina assumed was Nilas, said, “The boss says he wants her brought home alive.”
Kaina felt sick at the thought of being delivered back to her family after all the trouble she went through to get out. She struggled to break free from her captor's grip, and she took pride in the fact that he had a hard time keeping hold of her. A few of the other men came to his help, and soon Kaina couldn't move at all. The man named Nilas drew a dagger that had been on his belt and held it to Kaina's throat.
Nilas stared at Kaina like a wolf about to feast upon a lamb. He bared his stained teeth at her and brushed the flat of his dagger along her exposed skin and said, “Now you be a good girl and come along with us, or I'll have to cut that pretty neck of yours.”
Kaina shut her eyes, waiting for the knife to slice her flesh, when a voice pierced the dark and caught everyone off guard.
“What's going on here?”
Kaina's heart stopped when she realized whose voice she had just heard. She opened her eyes and looked out the corner of them to see none other than Aldis standing several feet away. All the men who surrounded her looked to the old, harmless scholar as he adjusted his spectacles to the darkness. He looked dead at her, and even out of the corner of her eye she could see the color drain from his face.
“Kaina, what are you doing out here?” Aldis said. He marched towards the men and said, “Unhand her this instant.”
The men bellowed with laughter. Nilas removed the dagger from Kaina's throat and casually walked towards Aldis with the knife twirling in his gloved fingers. The men who kept their hold on Kaina turned her around to face Aldis, hoping to intimidate him.
“This doesn't concern you, old man,” he said. “Walk away and pretend you saw nothing.”
“I will not,” Aldis said, much to Kaina's horror. Though he was an intelligent man, there was no way he could fight off all those thugs.
Nilas sneered at Aldis and said, “You've been warned.”
Kaina held her breath as Nilas charged Aldis with his knife ready, and she saw something that she would never forget.
Aldis whipped his hand after drawing something out of his sleeve. Kaina saw a red light, first from whatever it was that Aldis drew from his sleeve and then on the knife. The red light send the dagger tumbling in the air out of the wielder's hand and it tumbled into the air and landed straight into the dirt a few feet behind him. When the dagger stuck in the ground, the light remained for a second or two before it finally faded.
That was when Kaina saw the red light in Aldis' hand. It pulsed from his fingertips and faded not long after the dagger's light did. He stared straight forward at the now stunned Nilas, who stared at his hand, then back at Aldis.
“He's...he's a wizard!” one of the men shouted.
A wizard.
Kaina remembered when Aldis spoke that word only hours before, a word that before then she had never heard of it before. Never in her wildest imagination could she have thought that Aldis himself would be one of them.
“Let her go,” Aldis repeated. “Now.”
Kaina was almost certain that they would comply, but to her surprise Nilas said, “Not a chance, old man. We're on a mission here, and no one, not even a wizard, is going to stop us.”
Aldis peered at the men over his spectacles and said, “If that's the way you want it, so be it.”
Aldis waved his arm again just as the men began to charge at him, but to their shock, he vanished. The men stopped in their tracks and searched for him, and a moment later he appeared again on the other side of them, right next to where Kaina was being held. In a flash, Aldis waved his arms and drew a gust of wind that sent all the men flying several feet away. Her mentor then turned to the thug holding her captive, drawing the thugs attention.
Kaina seized the opportunity and bit down on her captor's exposed hand. She could taste the dirt left on his fingers that soon contained hints of blood under her bite, and the assailant howled with pain as he retracted both his hands to deal with the wound. Kaina spit into the dirt to get the disgusting taste out of her mouth, and that was when she realized that her satchel had spilled open.
And everyone froze when they saw the book.
The men stared at it, and in the split second before they ran to grab it, Kaina snatched it up, leaving the rest of her supplies in the dirt. She wasn't sure why she saved the book instead of her belongings, but something in the look in their eyes told her that their intentions for that book were less than friendly, and something within her told her to get it before they did.
The men stopped and Nilas held out his hand and said, “Give me that book, girl.”
Kaina held the book closer to her chest. “No.”
“Don't be a fool,” Nilas said, “you don't know what you're dealing with.”
“I have a hunch that you don't either,” Kaina remarked.
“Kaina,” Aldis suddenly said, “grab onto me.”
Kaina obeyed, and the last thing she saw before being surrounded by a cloud of mist was the angry faces of the men as they rushed towards her.
Chapter 5
“What do you mean, Kaina is gone?” Roland hissed, the vein in his forehead threatening to
burst.
The men of the Haventhorn family crowded around Elias' desk in his study. Hugo, who had traded his armor for a casual doublet, marched back and forth from one end of the room to the next in an effort to contain his fury. Hamelin simply stared at the floor, shaking his head, and Devon stood next to him with his arms folded. Gabriel sat in a nearby chair with a bored expression and bags under his dark eyes.
“I sent a maid up to check on her,” Elias explained, “and she returned a short time later to say that she found the room empty and the window wide open.”
“This is an outrage!” Hamelin said. “Prince Casimir will never forgive this.”
“She couldn't have gotten far,” Devon said. “We should send the guards to look for her.”
“No,” Elias said. “We cannot draw unwanted attention to this. If the prince finds out that she ran away, even if we do manage to bring her back, the result will still be the same.”
Hugo stopped pacing and placed his hands on the desk. “Let us go after her. Gabriel, Devon, and I could avoid attention.”
“I doubt it,” Devon said. “We're too well known in Eboncrest.”
“Devon is right,” Elias said. “We cannot draw attention to ourselves by running out into the night to find her. If she truly has run off, we will have to think of a way to keep the prince from finding out until we can locate her.”
“What do you plan to do, Father?” Roland said. “If we don't find her soon, there's no telling where she might end up.”
“I'll think of something. For now, return to your chambers. I've already instructed the maid to keep silent about this until morning,” Elias said.
“Very well,” Hugo said, “I trust that you will what is best to avoid the fall of our family.”
Gabriel was the first out the door, followed by Devon, and then Hugo. Hugo turned one last time to look at Elias, who locked eyes with him. Neither said a word as he finally left the room, leaving his elders behind him.
“Can you believe Kaina?” Gabriel said once they were on the staircase leading down to the second floor. “I know I've said this hundreds of times and even though Mother and Father deny it, I know that Kaina was left on our doorstep as an infant. There is no way she's a real Haventhorn.”
“Don't be a fool,” Hugo said. “We all remember your mother being pregnant before Kaina got here.”
Gabriel scoffed and retorted, “Well obviously mother's real baby died and that whelp was dropped on their doorstep on the same night, so out of grief they replaced the baby they lost with the one they found. Biggest mistake of their lives, if you ask me.”
Devon and Hugo exchanged glances and decided it was best not to argue with his delusions, and instead they both continued their descent.
Hugo was about to turn off from the stairs onto the third floor, but he stopped. He spun around, marched past his cousins, and descended the stairs at a much faster pace.
“Where are you going?” he heard Devon say.
“I'm going to look for Kaina,” Hugo said. “There's no way I'm allowing her to ruin this family.”
“Hugo, you heard what Grandfather said,” Devon said. “If you go into town, you'll be seen for sure.”
“Well I can't just sit here while she could be getting away,” Hugo said.
Hugo continued down the stairs and he soon heard Devon say, “I hope you know what you're doing.”
As the mist finally vanished, Kaina's knees buckled and she fell to the ground. She quickly tried to correct herself, but she soon realized that she and Aldis were now in a small bedroom.
Before Kaina could unload the multitude of questions she had, Aldis grabbed her by the arms and said, “Kaina, where did you get that book?”
Kaina was about to answer when Aldis shook his head and said, “Never mind, the less I know the better. Now that the enemy knows you have it, you are in serious danger.”
“Danger? Enemy? Aldis, what is going on? Who were those men, and why did they call you a wizard?”
Aldis bowed his head and answered, “Because I am a wizard.” He picked his head up again and continued, “I belong to a group of people dedicated to keeping the magic arts alive and well in Ilesia. We select few have been practicing magic in secret ever since Roric took the throne.”
Kaina stared at him in confusion. “Aldis, who are those men? What is this book? Why are they after it?”
Aldis shook his head and answered, “All I can tell you is that those men belong to a group known as the Disciples. I don't know muh about them, only that they formed about four hundred years ago and have been the sworn enemy of wizards ever since I noticed them prowling outside of my window a little while ago, so I went to investigate. That was when I found them...and you...”
Aldis darted across the room to grab his satchel. “Here, yours is too damaged and you lost all your supplies in that encounter. This should have everything you need to make it to Eldercliff.”
“Eldercliff?” Kaina said, “Why do I need to go there?”
“Because there is someone there who can help you,” Aldis said, “Someone who saw Roric with his own eyes.”
Kaina stood her ground, even as Aldis tried to pull her forward. “Aldis, I am not moving until you tell me what this book is and why those people are after it.”
Aldis sighed. “The Disciples are after that book because it will lead them to the Lost Library.”
Aldis led Kaina through the town to the stables, and along the way he explained as much as he knew as quietly as he could.
“That book is one of the last pieces of magic left in Ilesia,” Aldis said. “It is said to contain the means to find the Lost Library.”
They ducked behind a stack of crates when they heard a guard approaching.
“Why didn't you tell me you were a wizard?” Kaina whispered.
“Until this morning, you knew nothing of wizards, The Disciples, or the Lost Library. You never would have believed me if I simply told you, and I couldn't risk your safety by demonstrating a spell. When you get to Eldercliff, however, Melchior will teach you everything you need to know.”
They darted across the road when the guard had his back turned.
“Who is Melchior? How do you know he will teach me?”
Aldis checked to make sure no one was coming before tugging her arm and leading her to the stables. “Because he taught it to me.”
“I don't understand,” Kaina said. “The book made it sound like wizards were evil.”
“Of course it did,” Aldis said. “Roric made sure they all did.”
They finally reached the stables, and Aldis brought Kaina into one of the stalls where they found a chestnut colored horse with a saddle and bridle already attached.
“This is my horse, Duchess,” Aldis explained. “You'll need her to get to Eldercliff faster.”
“I can't just take your horse,” Kaina said. “What about you?”
Aldis turned to her and said, “You won't be able to leave Eboncrest without the Disciples seeing you, so I have to distract them.”
Kaina's jaw dropped. “What? Aldis, I can't let you do that...”
Aldis pulled Kaina within inches from his face and said, “Kaina, I'm sorry I can't explain more, but there are forces at work here and there's far more to this story than meets the eye. No matter what, do not let anyone get this book. When you get to Eldercliff, don't speak to anyone, don't trust anyone. Just go to the pigeon coup in the town square and send out three white doves with blank slips of paper on them. Wait in the town square for a sign. If anyone approaches you claiming to be Melchior, do not follow. He will not seek you out in public, and you must not look for him yourself.”
“But if I can't seek him out and he won't come looking for me, how will I know when I see him?”
“You will,” Aldis said. “Just follow my instructions exactly and do not go anywhere alone. As long as you stay in public, you will be safe. Understood?”
Kaina hesitated, but ultimately nodded.
&n
bsp; “All right, the bag is ready and attached to the saddle. Take this,” Aldis said. He handed her a leather belt with a large pouch attached to the side. “Put the book in the pouch and wrap the belt around your waist.”
Kaina accepted the belt and wrapped it around her dress. Once she fastened the metal clasp, she said, “All right, I'm ready.”
Aldis turned around and for the first time, he embraced her. “You be careful out there, and whatever you do, don't let your guard down.”
“I won't,” Kaina said, fighting back tears in her eyes.
Aldis released her and helped her climb onto the horse. He led her around the stable to the western entrance of Eboncrest. He turned back to Kaina just as they heard shouts in the distance.
“Good luck, Kaina,” Aldis said. “Until we meet again.”
Kaina stared back at him with tears forming in her eyes, and with a heavy heart, she whipped Duchess' reins and sent her galloping forward into the night.
Hugo gripped the hilt of his sword as he darted down the steps in front of the manor and past the gate into town. His eyes scanned the dark for any sign of his cousin, but all he could see as he marched through the gates into Eboncrest was the guards moving about on their patrol. Upon closer inspection, however, he realized that they were not simply on regular patrol duty.
As Hugo approached, one of the guards near the entrance stood straight and brought his balled fist to his chest, the Ilesian military salute. “Lord Hugo, I am surprised to see you this evening, but you have impeccable timing.”
“Why is that?” Hugo asked.
“One of the other guards spotted hooded assailants in Eboncrest, Milord. We don't know what they are up to, and they resisted when we tried to get more information.”
Hugo frowned. This was not what he needed to deal with. “I would help, but I fear I have more pressing matters at the moment. Surely the town guard can handle a few petty criminals without me?”
Kaina's Dawn (Kaina Saga Book 1) Page 6
