The Killing Grounds Page 26

  Alara ran from her room and headed toward the infirmary, knocking over a few stray apprentices as she went barrelling down the hallways. As she reached the infirmary a feeling of apprehension washed over her, maybe they want time on their own? Maybe she wasn’t even welcome? A nurse gave her a concerned stare and motioned for her to slow down. Alara nodded and took a deep breath before walking through the large double doors leading to the hospital ward. She checked each room one by one for any danger and by the time she reached the end of the corridor, Black was waiting with a grim look on his face. “How is she?”

  “She’s awake but weak; she won’t accept any pain medication and refuses any help from me. She doesn’t want to talk about it and her family has ordered her to return to Millhaven House when she is well enough to travel.”

  “If I know Lucinda she won’t go.”

  “Maybe, but she’s fallen into a deep depression so anything’s possible. I’m not even sure that she knows it’s me sitting by her bedside. She mumbles and cries out in her sleep.”

  Alara took his arm and squeezed it gently, “I’m sorry Black.”

  “Sorry for what? You did exactly what you were supposed to. I should be congratulating you, not looking for pity. What’s done is done and in the past,” he lowered his head and stared at his feet.

  “They had no right to discipline you like that,” she said firmly.

  “On the contrary, Guild laws specify that it was the exact punishment for protecting Lucinda. I should never have gotten involved in the first place.”

  She could feel her anger rising, “Black, you did nothing wrong. If anything the Guild rules are archaic!”

  He ignored her outburst and went back to looking at his shoes, “It is what it is, just let it go, we’ve caused enough trouble.”

  “Black listen to me, I need your help. Lord Osari has less than a few days to live. If we can find him we can stop the Affiliation from disbanding the Guild.”

  He looked up at her with an expression of concern. “I don’t know,” he started back into the hospital room where Lucinda tossed and turned in her bed, “I shouldn’t leave her now.”

  “Just hear me out and then make a decision okay?”

  “Fair enough.”

  Alara told Black of the meeting with Bastian and explained his version of what was happening.

  “I’m a little surprised you buy into this boy's story, Du Preeze. He’s a politician and a snake in the grass.”

  “I have no other choice. I’ve checked with the stone, but it’s just too weak to give me any help. I know our friendship has caused you pain but...”

  “The pain doesn’t bother me; I received much worse growing up in the kitchens. I’ll help Du Preeze, but I want you to know that I’m only doing this for the sake of the Guild. Once it’s done, we’re done, okay?”

  She looked into Black’s eyes and saw a deep sadness. “Fair enough,” she said. If all went to plan she could work on Black’s allegiance later. “Let’s go and sit with Lucinda for a while and I’ll tell you the plan.”

  They walked into the hospital room and settled by Lucinda’s bed. The girl was sleeping, but groaned in pain as she breathed. The few days she had been in the infirmary had allowed her hair to start growing in and it felt bristly against Alara’s palm as she stroked Lucinda’s head. “She still has a fever, we could stop that.”

  “She’ll know, I’ve already tried, but her shield is strong enough to block me out.”

  Alara tried anyway, but failed, she could push harder but she respected the girl’s wishes and pulled back. “Well I’ll take that as a good sign.”

  The two assassins sat back and watched as Lucinda fought for her life and her sanity.

  ***

  Alara sat on her bed, cleaning her blades carefully and thinking through her plan. She’d already been to the mess hall for breakfast and had been told that since she wasn’t an apprentice anymore, that she was to eat in the courtyard with the rest of the assassins, but the cook had been kind and let her have her fill for the last time.

  Daylight was seeping through the windows of the Killing Grounds as she made her way towards the Quartermaster's offices, and her mind wandered to the question of who the Senior Council would send to collect on the bounty given to Lord Osari. Whoever it was would be leaving tonight and she had a full day to get through before she had a chance to put her plan into action. Her first lesson with the apprentices loomed large and Alara shivered, she’d never been given such a responsibility before and the weight of the initiative hung heavily across her shoulders. She shook off the feeling; It’s still hours away, get a grip girl! Alara gritted her teeth, stood proud and tall, and made her way to the Quartermaster's offices where Gideon was already waiting in line.

  “You only finished fifty-two points behind me, that’s impressive Du Preeze. If you had been a little quicker you could have pipped me to A1. I suspect my brother was more than a bit surprised,” he raised an eyebrow at her. This was the first time Gideon had spoken of his relationship with Black and it piqued her interest.

  “Did you know Alex before you came to the Guild?”

  “It sounds strange for someone to actually use his name, no, I’d never met him before, my father has many little secrets,” he winked at Alara as the Quartermaster passed them and invited Gideon into his office.

  Alara listened at the door for any snippet of information that she could hear, but the room’s ward kept its silent vigil and Gideon left after a few minutes and nodded to Alara. She took a deep breath and walked purposefully into the room and stood to attention in front of the Quartermaster.

  “Something on your mind Du Preeze?”

  “I have a free morning Sir and I was wondering if there were any short-term bounties?”

  The Quartermaster shuffled some papers on his desk, “Don’t you have enough on your plate at the moment?”

  “Yes Sir, but I need to stay sharp, and as you know practice makes perfect.”

  “Indeed.” He handed her an envelope, “You’ll need a spotter, take one of the apprentices.”

  “Yes sir,” she said, left the office and headed toward the dorm where the apprentices were readying themselves for the day.

  “Lady on deck!” James shouted.

  Alara let the title mistake slip, the girl probably hadn’t known to call her Miss and not Lady. No one made Lord or Lady until their third year as a Guild member. “I need a spotter, any volunteers?” Several hands flew into the air and she searched the room for a suitable candidate. All five A’s waved frantically at her, but Alara wanted to make sure she took one that would aide her if necessary. She opened the envelope and read the bounty. “Le Saux front and centre.” The boy shuffled forwards. “With me please.”

  Alara led the boy from the barracks and slipped out the side door of the Killing Grounds. They walked east at a fast pace and followed the coastline for an hour before heading back into the suburbs of the city. Alara had been in deep thought as they walked, but as they neared their destination she realised that she wasn’t the only one. “Not interested in knowing where we’re going Le Saux?”

  “Yes Miss Du Preeze, but I was waiting for your instructions.”

  “Will you still be waiting for my instructions when I lie bleeding on the floor?”

  “You intend to bleed on the floor?” he replied deadpan.

  She stopped and looked angrily at the boy, “Sarcasm to a Guild member won’t make life any easier on you Le Saux!”

  He cocked his head and nodded at her, “I wasn’t being sarcastic, I responded to your question…”

  “With another question,” she said harshly. “That may work with your dorm mates but don’t pull that bullshit on me ever again, understand?”

  “Yes Miss,” he said coming to attention, “please carry on.”

  She tossed him the bounty, “School teacher, male, age thirty-four, likes to offer after school classes to the young girls. School starts in fifteen minutes and we need to be
back at the Killing Grounds by lunchtime. Suggestions?”

  He thought for a moment, “We retire him during the break period when the children are playing outside.”

  “No, teachers are required by law to be in the playground over that time, this is a private school and have much stricter rules than a city run school,” she replied.

  “We cause a diversion during class and hit him in the confusion?”

  “No, there is a strict regime of safety for the students, the rich parents insist on discipline and he would be escorting the children to safety if we tried to cause a diversion that interrupted the normal activities.”

  He looked at her, “Toilet break?”

  She shook her head. “Really, that’s the best you have to offer?”

  He shrugged, the boy had a lot to learn, but that’s why she had brought him. She’d sensed the power of his Artistic skills and they were strong but underdeveloped. “Sometimes it is best to do this sort of thing head on,” she started to jog down the pathway toward a large park that acted as the school's grounds, with Le Saux following closely behind. The two guards that manned the gates eyed them suspiciously, but didn’t stop them entering. “Normally stealth would be required here Le Saux, so why do I chose to walk in the open?”

  “You want to make a point of letting everyone know you’re here Miss.”

  “Correct, and why would that be?” she asked as they jogged up the main path leading to the school gates.

  “Obviously you want people to know you’re here so I am guessing it’s a show for the girls that have been abused by this scumbag.”

  “Guessing will get you retired quicker than you could imagine Le Saux, either know or don’t know. With regard to the girls you are correct, but what other reason would I have?”

  “You want to make it clear to the other teachers in case he isn’t the only one with his hand in the cookie jar.”

  “Precisely.” She opened the large double doors to the school and entered the welcoming hall. A nervous-looking secretary stopped typing as the two assassins stood in front of her. “Headmaster's office?” she asked the girl who pointed upstairs. Le Saux headed toward the stairs, but Alara stopped him in his tracks. “Maybe a tour of the school would be a good idea?” she said to the boy who nodded. Alara looked at a map of the building that was pinned to the wall behind the secretary. “Come with me,” she said to the secretary.

  “I’m not allowed to leave my desk.”

  Alara frowned at the girl and placed her hand at her hip and onto the handle of her blade. The girl looked at Alara’s face and then down to her hand.

  “But in this instance I’m sure that I can make an exception” the secretary stood nervously and invited them to join her as she led the way to the first classroom in the corridor, “May I ask who we are looking for?”

  “No,” Alara said sternly. “Where are the students now?”

  “In the assembly hall, Lady?”

  “It’s Miss not Lady, and my name has no relevance as to why we are here. Take me to the assembly hall,” they carried on walking past empty classrooms and crossed a small quad that made up the centre of the school layout. A groundskeeper looked up from tending to the grass and quickly scuttled away in the opposite direction. The secretary stopped in front of a set of double doors and Alara could hear the children singing their school song from inside the room. “That will be all,” she said to the girl, who almost ran away from them. She turned to Le Saux, “Why did I bring the girl?”

  “So she will go and tell all the other people working here that wouldn’t normally be at the assembly hall.”

  “Correct,” she opened the doors leading to the hall and strode in. The singing stopped as all the faces turned toward Alara and Le Saux. “Shield please Le Saux,” he threw up a fairly weak shield around them both, “You really should work on that.”

  “Yes Miss.”

  The headmaster was walking quickly towards her with a look of nervous panic on his face. He turned to the pianist and asked her to carry on playing.

  Alara left the assembly with Le Saux in tow and waited for the headmaster in the reception area outside of the hall. “Good morning headmaster,” she said as the nervous academic joined them. “I wish to address your colleagues after the assembly if you don’t mind."

  “Of course, my Lady.”

  She was fed up with correcting people about her title and let it slip, “We’ll wait here for the children to leave,” she shooed the headmaster away.

  “Do not make eye contact with any pupil,” she could feel Le Saux starting to get nervous and she needed him calm, “remember this is a business transaction and not personal, no matter what you may think of the target.”

  “Yes Miss Du Preeze.”

  The school children piled out of the assembly hall, most gave the assassins a wide berth, but some just stood and stared in awe of them. She lowered her eyes to the group. “Leave now,” she instructed them. She sensed many of the junior Artists in the room as they tried to scan her, she reinforced Le Saux's shaky shield in case there was one strong enough to breach his defences. As the last child ran passed, Alara led Le Saux into the assembly hall and strode down the aisle toward the front. The teachers were seated in the first row. All of their faces were turned to the two assassins except for one who was sat nearest the side entrance to the hall.

  “Talk to the headmaster, but make sure that you face me,” she whispered to Le Saux, who nodded and continued toward the row of teachers. When he reached the front he addressed the headmaster and stood to his side, so that the headmaster had to turn sideways to have the conversation. Le Saux watched Alara with one eye as she made her way to the side of the hall through an aisle between the chairs. By the time Alara was in position behind the row of teachers where the mark sat Le Saux had run out of things to say, and Alara grimaced as she heard him falter. She took up a position behind a teacher three seats down from her target, nodded at Le Saux and violently kicked a chair over. The teachers in front of her jumped up in surprise, but her mark leapt from his seat and headed for the side entrance of the hall. Alara drew a blade and sent it silently through the air and into the back of the man’s neck. As he reached the freedom of the door, he dropped to his knees paralysed, and Alara administered the coup de grâce within a second to save the mark as much pain as possible. His crimes repulsed her, but that was no reason for her to drop to his standards of humanity.

  “Thank you for your time headmaster,” she motioned for Le Saux to join her.

  The headmaster looked on horrified. Alara glanced at each teacher one at a time with a menacing look, “This man molested children and I’m betting some of you turned a blind eye, never do that again, or it will be your blood that stains the floors of this school.” She didn't wait for a response and walked out of the hall into the grey winter’s morning.

  “That was amazing,” Le Saux said enthusiastically as they made their way back to the Killing Grounds.

  “No, that’s just business, make sure you do the paperwork before you hand the bounty back to the Quartermaster. Unfortunately there are no credits for spotting, but you did adequately well. When did you discover your talent for the Arts?”

  “A week before I joined the Guild, Miss Du Preeze.”

  That made sense, when she had first sensed him his shield was stronger and more controlled, but under pressure it was much weaker. He needed to practice a lot if he were to survive. “You need to work hard on your skills Le Saux, your shield was weak and even some of those children were stronger than you. You have to concentrate and stop letting emotions get in the way.”

  He nodded at her, looking dismayed.

  “Has anyone spent any time developing your skills?”

  “No Miss, we were visited by a Guild Lord when my uncle was retired for bad business practices and the Lord recognised my talents and brought me to the Guild.”

  So the boy was sponsored, and she knew better than to ask who his Lord was. “Fair enough L
e Saux. Make sure you work your butt off to strengthen your mind, you’ll need it, trust me!”

  ***

  It was twenty minutes before her first class was to start, she dismissed Le Saux as they got back to the Guild and headed to the gym to prepare for her class. She could have used a classroom or the mess, but she wanted space for the thirty-two Artists to work in. Black was leaving as she entered the gym, he had a towel wrapped around his neck and he was sweating profusely. “Le Saux dropped to nine.”

  Damn! She wasn’t supposed to interfere in the credit system, but her actions had cost him points. She hoped that the experience of the kill offset any bad feelings the boy might have at dropping out of the A’s. “Are we all set for tonight?” he nodded “Good, we only have one shot at this.”

  Black exited the hall and left Alara alone. The retirement had kept her mind off of what was in front of them and she’d tested Le Saux's current capabilities, but there was a knot in her stomach, and as the day wore on it became tighter and tighter.

  ***

  Alara was mentally exhausted by the time the claxon sounded and the class left. She lay on the gym floor and slowly worked out the kinks in her back. Le Saux had performed well enough to score adequate points to make up his deficit from the morning, and had left the gym as A5 without any help from her at all. Alara had been particularly hard on the boy, but he had stood up to her constant berating and proven himself to the rest of the class. He was still a long way off from being adept, but she could feel his potential. One day he would be a powerful Artist, if he could control the energy and stay alive long enough.