The Killing Grounds Page 11

  The thought jerked her out of her daydreams, three weeks ago the thought of killing anyone would have repulsed her, but the more time she spent within the Guild, the more she learned and grew as a person, and it was abundantly clear to her now that retirements were a necessary part of life in the new world. If she were to be an assassin she would make sure that she was the best assassin possible, and that would mean catching Gideon's score and beating him and Black before the year end. Her first target would be to collect some of the remaining five bounties, that way she would be only a few hundred points from the middle of the pack.

  There was still a week and a half to make that happen, but she knew that others in the class were probably planning the same strategy. She’d forced the issue with her actions and there would be boys that hadn’t retired anyone yet chomping at the bit to rectify that. The A’s would surely be planning to take a few out in order to solidify their places so Alara would have to act quickly and decisively. She would need to find a way to get the last five out of the building and dispatch them immediately. The morning run would be the most obvious place to retire them, but Ponytail had proven that she could run and Alara would need to alleviate that problem. The end of the pencil splintered in her mouth and she spat the wood into the fire place as a plan started to materialise in her mind, and once it solidified she lay back and drifted off into sleep.

  ***

  Alara slipped quietly into the mess hall and ate a quick breakfast before hitting the showers and preparing herself for the morning gym sessions. Lord Osari still hadn’t returned to his chambers, but she’d stocked and built up the fire. It was still early in the morning and winter was playing havoc with the weather and she didn’t want him coming home to cold rooms. She quickly scanned the notice board for any news and found that the Quartermaster had left a note for the class to meet back in the mess after the morning lesson. A thousand butterflies took flight in her stomach and a feeling of dread settled over her, she could sense that this meeting was going to bring bad news.

  She was one of the first in the gym and spent the time waiting by warming up her body in anticipation of the rope climbs while the others trickled into the room. Black and Gideon were the only ones that had beaten her there and she nodded to both. Neither returned her greeting as they stretched readying themselves for their daily competition. She’d seen them race up and down the ropes many times now, and there was never a clear winner. Lord Sirap was right in commenting that their personal battle of strength was becoming tedious.

  Lord Sirap entered the gym, gave his usual instructions, called out A1 and quarter and the battles commenced. She finished third in her climb, but made sure that she saved some energy to put her plan into action. Black had called out his challenge to Gideon who accepted as normal and the race was drawn. Lord Sirap started to give instructions for the morning run when Alara said, "Personal challenge Sir?”

  Lord Sirap stopped in his tracks. “Only A’s can ask for a personal challenge Twenty-four.” He hesitated. “But given the fact that this class needs to become smaller I will allow it. Who are you challenging Du Preeze?”

  “Twenty-five to Twenty-eight please Lord Sirap,” she said, taking a step forward.

  Lord Sirap examined her, “Another precedent? What is it with you girl?” He sighed, “So be it. Step forward Twenty-five to Twenty-eight.”

  Alara spelled a force field to protect her from any prying minds and took the rope, readying herself for the climb. She knew that she couldn’t beat Black Hair or Ponytail, but winning wasn’t the point. The others joined her at the ropes and waited for Lord Sirap to start the race.

  “Five climbs,” he announced. “Ready, go.”

  Alara climbed with all her might. She needed to keep up with Ponytail to the last descent to put her plan into action, and she nearly lost her grip more than once trying to climb and watch her prey that was two ropes away. Her arms burned with the effort, but she wasn’t going to set the trap and not spring it. They reached the top of the last climb and Alara slowed a little, giving Ponytail a slight edge in the race. She looked over to the girl who was staring back with a snarl on her face, but a slight smile played on the girl’s lips as she realised that she had Alara beaten. Alara smiled back, dropped her force field and sent a wave of invisible energy at Ponytail, knocking her from the rope. The girl collapsed onto the floor and rolled around holding her ankle. Alara threw up a force field and finished her climb. Black Hair had won the race and stood triumphant.

  Lord Sirap instructed them to step back into line and crossed to where Ponytail was sitting massaging her ankle, “Infirmary girl!”

  Alara blanched; if Ponytail went to the infirmary her plan would be nullified.

  “I’m fine Lord Sirap,” she said and hobbled back into line.

  Alara’s plan had worked! Lord Sirap handed out the credits for the climb after he chastised Ponytail for being clumsy and deducted thirty credits from her. Black Hair had moved in front of Alara on points again which put her in danger of retirement, but she wasn’t worried. Scruffy Redhead had moved above Ponytail, who stood in line with her head hung down in embarrassment.

  “Five laps of the common, class,” Lord Sirap instructed. Alara made certain she was last out of the gym and jogged gently along for the first lap, ensuring that her body was warm and limber before making her move. The snow cascaded from the heavens and visibility was only a few metres as she passed the Killing Grounds for the first time. She heard footfalls behind her and couldn’t help but taking a look to see who was chasing her. She recognised the outline of Black who was on her heels and catching up quickly. He would have had to sprint full out to lap her so quickly, but he seemed neither out of breath nor tired as he fell into step beside her.

  “Smart move on the ropes.” She remained silent, but picked up the pace. “If my guess serves me correctly you are going to need a spotter.”

  “Indeed,” she said, choosing to use his method of answering. It was time to go to work and even though she was pleased to see Black at her side, she didn’t show it. They were now sprinting and the snow was making it hard for her to see. She reached out with her mind and sensed a boy five metres ahead of her. A quick delve into the boy's mind confirmed that it was Spotty. She looked to Black and winked, he nodded to her as she veered off from the path and into the snow.

  Black continued along the path and came close to tripping over the body of the Spotty boy that lay on the path, bleeding profusely from a clean cut to his jugular vein. He leapt over the boy and pushed on harder and caught up to Alara as she reached the middle point of the second lap. “Nice and clean.”

  “Indeed.”

  “That makes you Twenty-four again and safe.”

  "Why, were you thinking of retiring me?”

  He glanced over at her and ignored her question, “Maybe this would be a good time for you to practice your throwing techniques instead of just cutting throats?”

  “I thought that you might like to see me use the Arts again so you can report back to your master?” she asked breathing the cold air in deeply.

  “That’s an option I suppose, but be warned. One of the last four is an Artist and could prove … difficult.”

  She noted the warning with a nod. “Any chance you’d care to tell me which one?”

  “Nope, it’s good practice for you.”

  “Why are you helping me Black?”

  “Who says I’m helping you? I’m just here fulfilling a role and I like to keep an eye on the competition.”

  So he considers me competition, that’s a huge compliment!

  “Don’t get too ahead of yourself Du Preeze. I never said that you were the competition,” he retorted sensing her change of mood.

  “Sure,” she slipped off from the path again.

  Black smiled and continued at his pace around the track. It was a full thirty seconds before he vaulted over the body of the scruffy redheaded girl laying face down on the floor with Alara’s blade protruding fro
m the back of her neck. Curly was lying close by with another of Alara’s blades protruding from his eye socket. Black stopped and retrieved the two blades and sprinted to catch up with Alara.

  “You seem to have left these behind,” he said, handing her the blades.

  “I thought that you would need some sort of proof that the retirements were mine,” she said, taking the blades and putting them carefully back into her belt. “Maybe if you could keep up I wouldn’t need to?” she half-joked, wanting to see how far she could verbally push him.

  “Is that a challenge?”

  “No, just a simple request.” They had slowed down to talk, but Alara pushed on hard, there was still work to do.

  They ran two full laps and past several stragglers when Alara sensed a mental shield in front of her, she reached out with her mind to try to penetrate it, but was unable to. “It seems we have caught up with your Artist.”

  “Not my Artist.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Indeed. But I think that you may find this a little more challenging than you first anticipated.”

  Instead of ducking off the path to seek her prey she kept on running, she wanted to see what was ahead of her instead of using her mind. Two apprentices came into view jogging side by side. A quick scan found the force field surrounding both apprentices, but it was definitely Black Hair and Ponytail hiding behind the shield. She summoned a shock wave and hit the shield, but it stayed in place and the pair kept running. The problem was that she had no idea which one to focus on, one was mundane and no threat and one was an Artist that was obviously stronger than she. She'd scanned both apprentices earlier and neither showed signs of being an Artist, but either one of them could have been camouflaging their skills. It was time for a new plan. They followed the pair for a quarter of a lap as Alara worked on her plan. By now the two marks would have seen the two retired bodies on the path and guessed they were next on the list, but they would probably be thinking that it was Black collecting on the bounties and not her.

  “Would you mind playing along A2?” she asked, using his official title.

  “Of course Twenty-four, what would you like me to do?”

  “Pick one of those beautiful blades out of your belt and chase me.” They’d kept their distance from the pair and if she were lucky the Artist wouldn’t know they were close by. Keeping that force field up would take some effort of concentration, and her spell scent should be new enough for the girl not to recognise her. Black slowed down to let Alara get in front of him and then started chasing her. Alara sensed his movement and ran toward the two apprentices. “Help,” she cried out, “he’s killed the others and now he’s after me.” She made sure that there was enough panic in her voice to gain their sympathy. The two apprentices stopped and turned to see what was happening. Alara threw up her arms and pleaded for them to help her, Ponytail looked at Black Hair and nodded, and that was all the information Alara needed. She felt Black Hair drop the force field to let Alara in, she felt him raise it again as she stopped next to them panting with her hands on her knees, feigning exhaustion. She looked back to Black who stood outside of the force field smiling at Alara.

  “Touché!” Black cried out.

  She smiled back and took a bow, concealing the fact that she drew two blades out of her belt. As she stood she threw the knife at the boy, which hit him square in the throat, crushing his windpipe and embedding itself deep in the boy's neck. His eyes widened in realisation of his imminent retirement and he dropped to his knees, grabbing at the blade. She kicked at his hands and drove the knife deeper, ensuring that even his Artistic skills wouldn’t save him. He leant forward and fell face first into the path twitching violently, his body trying to fight the inevitable. Alara felt Ponytail make a run for it; she reached out with her mind and paralysed the girl, who immediately fell to the ground.

  Black was now at Alara’s side. “Impressive. What’s next?” he asked.

  “I think a mind game's in order,” she said, crossing to the girl lying face down on the path. Alara used her boot to roll the body over and addressed the girl, “You made twenty-fifth and you should be very proud, but it is time for you to go.” Alara reached further into the girl's mind and mentally squeezed it as hard as she could, she didn’t want the girl to suffer, but she had to make a good showing to Black. Blood poured from the girl's eyes, nose and mouth and Alara listened as Ponytail took her last breath. As the girl's dead eyes stared up to the grey skies Alara went back to the boy and retrieved her blade from his neck and turned to speak to Black, but he was gone. “You could at least finish our run together,” she jokingly called into the snow.

  “Indeed,” he shouted back, “another time perhaps.”

  She cleaned the blade on the boy’s fatigues. “Nothing personal guys, but it was you or me, and in that scenario it was always going to be you.” She headed back into the snow to finish the race alone.

  Ten:

  The mess hall was a buzz of noise as Alara settled into her normal seat at the back of the room. The extra chairs had been removed and she noticed that Lucinda sat alone and was looking slightly forlorn. Black was back in his normal seat next to Gideon and both boys sat silently staring at the front of the room, waiting patiently for the Quartermaster to arrive. Several of the other boys were looking at her as she scanned the room, and she offered a simple smile to all of them who quickly turned away. She had them worried now, and she could use that uncertainty to her advantage.

  The Quartermaster entered the room and greeted the class. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning Quartermaster,” they said in unison.

  He did a mental headcount, “Busy morning I see! Report A1.”

  “Five retirements all verified and in-line with the rules Quartermaster. Credits have been distributed accordingly.”

  “Very good A1 and am I right in saying that the retirements were the work of one apprentice?”

  "That is correct Quartermaster.”

  “And am I also right in saying that this wasn’t the work of any of the A’s?”

  “Correct sir.”

  “Maybe we have the wrong A’s then?” he said glaring at the front row.

  “Yes sir,” they shouted in unison.

  “A2 I hear that you verified each retirement?”

  “Yes Quartermaster.”

  “Aaaand boy?” the quartermaster said angrily.

  “And I was impressed with the efficiency and speed of the kills Quartermaster; Sixteen should be commended for her work sir.”

  Alara hadn’t done the math yet and she was quietly pleased that the retirements had pushed her so far up the rankings.

  “On your feet Sixteen,” he ordered. Alara sprung up and stood to attention, the Quartermaster studied her for a moment. “The Guild thanks you for your contribution.”

  “Thank you Quartermaster,” she said proudly.

  “Take a good look class, only the A’s out number Sixteen in retirements, which does not bode well for the rest of you.” Only Gideon’s and Black’s faces weren’t pointed toward Alara as the Quartermaster continued, “Since Sixteen tore the rest of the thirty-one day truce asunder and collected the bounties, I rule that it’s game on again and I expect the retirement rate to increase at a steady pace. Do I make myself clear class?”

  “Yes Quartermaster,” they chorused.

  “Sit down Du Preeze. Now class, before you hear gossip in the corridors and make the wrong conclusions I have some news to share.” He looked around the room as if to build suspense. “I am not going to sugar coat this and the subject will not be open to discussion, are we clear ladies and gentlemen?”

  “Yes Quartermaster.”

  “It seems that Lord Osari has been retired. There will now be a vote to see who will join the Council in his place.” There was silence in the room. Alara was shocked but managed to lift a hand, the Quartermaster ignored her. “Sixteen you have one hour to clear your things from Lord Osari’s rooms before they ar
e closed up permanently. I suggest you use the hour to say your goodbyes. Class dismissed.”

  Alara was the first out of the room, she could have stayed and tried to elicit some information from the Quartermaster, but instead chose to use every one of the sixty minutes of that hour to her advantage. She would take everything she could from Lord Osari’s room that she could cram into her footlocker, it wouldn’t hold much so she had to be certain that what she did take would add value to her studies.

  As she approached Lord Osari’s residence she saw that red and white tape had been stretched across the entrance from the top to the bottom to stop people from entering. She reached out with her mind and felt the ward on the door, but it wasn’t pushing her back. She reached out and removed the tape. Sixty minutes a voice pulsated in her mind. Damn! She could have stayed and chatted to the Quartermaster after all. The ward was a timer which she’d tripped.