The Killing Grounds Page 16

  “Well it seems that our assumption about her being in league with the Affiliation is true,” Black said, breaking the silence.

  “Not so.”

  “Oh! And why do you say that?”

  “That was a senior assassin in that barn, and even though I don’t know him I do know that Sable was calling the shots. If anything, the Affiliation is either working with her or for her. She also used the word “we” when she stated that she didn’t know where Manak was, that means that there are other decision makers and not just her. If the Affiliation is working for them that means we have more than one mystery to solve. But whatever the case is, they know who we are and it won’t be long before they make their move.”

  “Are you ever wrong Du Preeze?”

  She raised her eyebrows, “Does that mean you agree with my theory?”

  “Indeed.”

  “Well there is some good news.”

  “Oh, and what’s that?”

  “There’s only twenty-three others that can kill us according to Guild rules, and whoever comes after us will be part of the Affiliation.”

  “That’s a small consolation prize. We know who the six Affiliate lords on the Council are, but there are probably hundreds of minor lords below them and they will all be after our heads.”

  “If we are going to find Lord Osari and take the Affiliation down we need to be in the top five at year end, and that means retiring their minions, so let them come,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Oh! So we're taking down the Affiliation. That’s the plan?”

  “Well, what did you expect?” she said and broke into a jog. “Do keep up Black.”

  She ignored the tirade of swearing coming from behind her and headed back to the barracks and the warmth of her cot.

  Fifteen:

  A week passed and the apprentices still numbered twenty-five. The Quartermaster had promised the group that the Guild Council would take action if the apprentices failed to do so, but that hadn't happened yet, and Alara was wary that something nasty could be on the horizon. Her strength and blade throwing skills were improving by the day. She studied every night and using her Artistry to help remember facts, and she was catching up with her academics faster than ever. She had climbed two places up the rankings and was up to fourteen overall, two ahead of Lucinda, who snarled at her at every given opportunity. Why the girl hated her was a mystery to Alara, perhaps because she had retired her friends, but Alara doubted it. Given enough time Lucinda herself would have had to have taken them out at some stage. Alara surmised that Lucinda’s Lord was a part of the Affiliation, but Black had pointed out that Lucinda's parents had paid for her to be there and she had no Lord to report to. Alara had tried to ignore the girl and put it down to Lucinda being jealous of her success, but something kept bugging her about the girl.

  As the week went by the uneasy feeling in her stomach became stronger. Black had taken it upon himself to train Alara in the gym every night. For the first five nights Gideon had made sure that he had been present for the training session, but they had kept it very formal and Black pushed her hard. By Saturday night Gideon had lost interest and Alara and Black were left alone to train in peace and quiet. Every time another boy tried to use the gym either Alara or Black would challenge them and scare them off, and by the end of the week no one bothered them.

  Some of the boys had jested about Black and Alara having a lover’s tryst; she smiled at them but never replied. “Let them think whatever they want,” she said to Black when he asked her if it bothered her.

  Sunday was never a day of rest at the barracks and as Alara and the rest of her class returned to the gym from their morning run, they found that the Quartermaster was waiting for them and instructed them to be in the mess in five. Alara dived through a shower, dressed quickly and was first in the mess hall. She took to her seat and watched the Quartermaster pace around the room as the rest of the class settled into position.

  “Report A1.”

  “One self-retirement during the night, Bean was found hanging in the bathroom, Quartermaster,” he went on to report the climbers and fallers in the ranks as the Quartermaster nodded and grunted at the news.

  “So basically my request for more retirements hasn’t been met.”

  “No Quartermaster.”

  The old man sighed, “Then I have no choice in the matter.” He looked around the room. “Listen up class. The Council have called for a tournament to get your numbers under control. Each one of you will face retirement. Should you prove to be found wanting you will be resurrected and sent to the mines. The tournament will start at eight am sharp tomorrow morning. Normal tournament rules will apply. Any questions?”

  Alara held up her hand, she had no idea what the tournament rules were.

  “I’m sure that A2 will fill you in Fourteen,” the Quartermaster said. A few of the boys sniggered. “So you think it’s funny do you?” he screamed at them. The boys fell silent as the Quartermaster tore into them. “This is no fucking joke! Take a look at the faces around you because the next time you see one of them, it may well be the last thing you ever see. And if I was you, I wouldn’t want to see her face,” he pointed at Alara. “The draw will be conducted by the Council and the results posted on the notice board this evening. Classes have been postponed for the day to allow you some preparation time, and I suggest you use it wisely! Class dismissed!”

  Alara stayed in her chair, waiting for everyone else to leave, hoping to catch the Quartermaster alone, but he stormed out of the room. She looked up into Black’s eyes. “Gym, now!” he said and left.

  Alara was on her feet in a second, she dropped her bag of books into her locker and let her hand rest on Lord Osari’s death stone for a moment, it pulsed once in acknowledgment of the unasked question. She reset the spell of protection and ran to the gym before anyone else could come and spoil the meeting with Black.

  “So this is it,” he said as she stood limbering up next to him, “are you ready?”

  “How can I know I’m ready when I don’t know the rules yet?” she said playfully.

  He shook his head. “As you’ve probably gathered it’s a one-on-one fight to the death. No ranks are taken into consideration and if we have more enemies than friends we could be pitted against each other. Even though I doubt that will happen.”

  “Oh, why not?”

  “Why take one of us out when they could take both of us out? It makes sense that they will try to eliminate both of us at the same time.”

  “I tend to agree, but that could mean that you and Gideon will be teamed up. He is probably the only one that has a chance against you.”

  “No, they will want to embarrass me and I highly doubt if my Lord will allow the pairing.”

  “Why? Surely the easiest way would be to put you up against your brother?” she said innocently.

  “Let it go Du Preeze, my business is my own.” She nodded. “It doesn’t matter who we are pitted against, what matters is that we both survive!”

  “So what do I need to know?”

  “The tournament starts at eight sharp; your target will be given to you beforehand. There’s an eight hour timeframe, if either side fails then both apprentices are retired by the Council. All retirements have to be completed within the grounds, if you step one foot out of bounds you forfeit and are retired. Senior Artists are tasked with tracking the progress of the pairings so there is no need for spotters. Just get it done as quickly and cleanly as possible. By the end of the day there will only be a maximum of twelve of us left.”

  “Seems simple enough,” she replied, even though her stomach was churning in knots. “Now it just depends on who I am paired with.”

  “No! The point is that you have to play to your strengths and fight whoever it is on your grounds, and not his or hers. Statistically speaking there is a greater advantage to the hunted rather than the hunter. You won’t be pitted against a lower number, that you can bank on. But if you understand that person
’s weaknesses you will do better. You will also be pitted against another Artist, I have no doubt about that either. The best advantage will be the strategy you choose.”

  “I understand, thank you Black,” she said and placed her hand on his arm. “I’ll be fine, we have work to do remember?” she smiled at him but her nerves were on edge and the smile was weak.

  They spent the next few hours training and throwing blades, but her nerves were getting the better of her and her aim was poor. She missed more than she hit and she could see that it was annoying him.

  “Let’s call it a day Black,” she said. “We’ll need to rest and try to sleep between now and morning.”

  She turned to leave the gym, but Black stopped her, “Just for the record and in case one of us doesn’t make it to twelve…” he said but faltered at the thought.

  She sniffed, “Spit it out Black.”

  “Alex…my name's Alex.”

  ***

  Early evening came around quickly and the tension in the room was palpable when Gideon strolled into the dorm, “The list is up people!”

  The room erupted in a cacophony of noise and the boys and Lucinda knocked each other out of the way trying to get through the door to the notice board in the corridor. Only Alara, Gideon and Black remained. “In case you’re thinking of invading my privacy A2, I have been matched with Six. I was looking forward to pitting my skills against yours, but the Council seems to want us to continue fighting it out. I didn’t check on either of you,” Gideon said, and went back to his bunk.

  Alara had no need to go and check the list. Whoever’s name was next to hers would become evident by their actions when they returned. Black seemed to have the same opinion, and lay back on his cot tossing a blade end over end.

  When the boys and the remaining girl filed back into the room the mood had changed from excitement to dread as the finality of the situation sunk in, and each returned to their bunks in a grave procession. No longer were there groups of boys sitting chit chatting around the room, those days had come to an end. The secret draw had taken care of that. Alara let her mind flow over the room looking for any sign of her combatant, but found nothing. The other five Artists all had shields up around themselves with at least one boy protecting their anonymity from Alara. When she got to Twenty-four she was shocked to find that he had been pitted against Black. The boy was mentally a wreck and on the verge of collapse. She gently entered his mind to try and calm him, but he was such a mess inside that Alara found the task impossible and left him to himself.

  She looked at Black, but his gaze was firmly stuck on Twenty-four’s bunk. She hadn’t sensed his presence in or around the boy, but his constant gaze was sending the boy into a panic on its own. Alara opened her eyes to find A4 looking directly at her from across the room. She had found her target and he was trying the same mind game as Black was playing on Twenty-four. It wouldn’t work on her! She smiled sweetly at the boy, showed him her middle finger and silently mouthed an obscenity.

  “So be it,” she said quietly and left for the gym, where she worked her body until it was sore and she was exhausted enough to sleep.

  ***

  The claxon sounded and Alara made her way to the mess for breakfast. There were still five hours to go before the tournament started and she wanted a full stomach and a workout before hitting the shower and dressing for the day. She took no notice of A4 and refused to match his stares. He had tried to invade her head three times during the night, but her shield had pushed him back every time before he finally gave up and left her alone. She spent a few hours going over what she knew about the boy, he was a solid all-rounder and no matter how many scenarios she dreamed up to retire him, she knew that he could counter each one easily. Maybe Black was right, maybe she should wait for him to make a move, but then he would be in control and that didn’t sit well with her. She would be the hunter in this battle and make her own destiny, not leave it to the likes of him.

  The dorm clock ticked as it reached five minutes before the start of the tournament when Lord Sirap matched into the barracks.

  “Lord on deck,” Black announced as the class stood to attention.

  “At ease ladies and gentlemen. I have good news and bad. First the good, Twenty-four retired himself during the night; it seems that he would rather take his own life than face you A2. Any comments?”

  “Nothing to add Lord Sirap.”

  “That means no credits for you Black, and by the rules of the tournament your ranking could be heavily devalued should others do well.”

  Black nodded but didn’t say anything. Alara knew that this was the Affiliation's way of getting their way with Black; they intended to knock him down in rank and out of the A’s.

  “Now the bad news,” Sirap continued, “well bad for some and good for others I suppose. Any one of you that retires an apprentice with a higher ranking will automatically take on that rank. So let’s take a look at an example. Should Six retire A1 he will become the A1. How does that sound Six?”

  “Sounds good to me Lord Sirap,” the boy said as he squared his body up to match Gideon’s stance. Gideon offered him one of his friendly smiles and wished him good luck.

  “When the claxon sounds it’s game on. I suggest you use the rest of the time to take up whatever positions you had in mind. Class dismissed and to half of you… Au Revoir!”

  Apprentices ran for the exit in a bid to take up positions somewhere on the property and Alara was pleased to see that A4 was one of them, she wanted to be the hunter. Gideon and Six remained standing staring at each other without speaking. Alara found herself feeling proud that Six could be this brave, and was more than happy to sit and watch the matchup. Lucinda was still lying in her cot seemingly oblivious to what was going on around her, and Black had returned to his blades.

  As the clock ticked slowly toward eight am, Six was getting nervous and was now sweating profusely. Alara saw him look at the clock but Gideon held his stare. The claxon sounded to start the tournament and Gideon turned away from Six and sat back down on his cot. Six took a moment to judge what Gideon was doing and took a drink from his water container that was strapped to his belt. Alara watched Gideon’s face but he showed no emotion and she couldn’t help but admire his cool. Her attention was ripped away when she heard the boy drop the water bottle and cough violently. Alara watched the boy's face turn red and a look of agony crossed his face as he dropped to his knees with white foam bubbling from the corner of his mouth. Gideon stood and walked over to the dying boy, he bent down and stared into the eyes of his victim and watched him die. The claxon sounded twice signifying the boy’s retirement.

  Alara was grateful that she hadn’t been paired with Gideon, he was ruthless and drew pleasure from the boy’s death, she probed him and found nothing but satisfaction. “Six was weak and suckled on that bottle just like he did on his rich mommy’s teat. Shouldn’t you be doing something else Fourteen?”

  “The day's still young A1 and A4 isn’t going anywhere fast,” she replied looking away.

  He grunted and went back to his cot. The cleaning crew came into the dorm and took the dead boy away on a gurney along with his bunk and locker without acknowledging anyone in the room. As the gurney passed Alara she couldn’t help but take a look at the boy's face. The dead eyes stared back at her and even though she knew that he would be resurrected, the look of painful surprise on his face shocked Alara. He must have thought that he had a chance to beat Gideon right up until he took a swig from the poisoned bottle that was now lying on his chest.

  The claxon sounded twice, another boy had been retired. A3 came back into the room and sat down on the bed next to Gideon, “The poor sap tried hiding in the gym behind the mats; he didn’t even put up a fight as I wrung his neck. They only matched me against Twenty, can you believe that? What a fucking insult! I didn’t even catch up with you Black.” Black ignored the boy and carried on juggling his favourite blade.

  Alara wanted to talk with Black, but sh
e would have to drop her shield and that would allow A4 to track her whereabouts. She needed more time to think and examine where her prey might be hiding in the Killing Grounds. He obviously wanted to trap her somewhere she would be uncomfortable but where? Where would the one place be that Alara would be put off guard? She knew the answer instantly; the bastard would wait for her in Lord Osari’s old rooms. They had been boarded up, but anywhere on the grounds was safe under these circumstances. She smiled to herself and relaxed back onto her bed; if he was waiting for her there then he would have to wait a long time! She took her books out of her locker and lost herself in her studies.

  Alara listened as the claxon sounded time after time until there were only two matches left. She had let A4 stew in Lord Osari’s rooms for over six hours where doubt and frustration would have played with his mind. As she left the dorm Black caught her eye and mouthed left hand. Alara didn’t know what he meant, she knew that A4 was right-handed but he was also proficient with his left. Alara, on the other hand, lacked any expertise with her left, and A4 would know that and use it to his advantage. She pondered Black's message as she slowly made her way up to the landing that housed Lord Osari’s rooms, and waited patiently for the claxon to sound for the penultimate retirement. She thought she had the advantage, but A4 was still hiding within the rooms shielded from her probes. She had a plan, but it was flimsy to say the least and she would be putting her life on the line if it didn’t pan out exactly. She walked to Lord Osari’s door and knocked, but there was no answer. She dropped her shield to scan the room and found the boy shielded.

  “Let’s not play games A4. You know it’s me so let’s do this face to face like men,” she goaded him.