Belvedor and the Four Corners (Belvedor Saga Book 1) (19 page)

In one quick movement, Solomon leapt down the stairs, the key dropping from his hand. He stood nose to nose with Sir Westing, his look just as menacing as when Arianna first laid eyes on him this night. His mood had not lifted.

“Sir Westing, if you improperly address me again, I will see to it that you’re buried alongside your fallen friends. You may be the right-hand of the general, but the general is the right-hand of me. Do you understand?” said Solomon. He emanated power in every way.

Sir Westing shrank before him like a child, and Arianna couldn’t help pity him in that moment. She knew that feeling.

Solomon continued, “I slayed many men for less, and I’ll not be belittled by the likes of you. My title has been granted to me by the King of the Olleb. I’m here by choice, unlike that of the general or you for that matter. If you forget your place again, I will set your soul free in the Tombs of Blancoren.”

Even Arianna shrank back at his words. She knew it was considered a horrible fate to be buried there. No slave, not anyone, wanted to lie under these mountains forever. There would be no freedom there.

Sir Westing stood his ground for only a moment of pride before he found his humility. He bowed on one knee in front of her trainer. “Please, forgive my offense, Master Bell, Wolf of the East and Great Warrior of Olleb-Yelfra. I humbly ask for your mercy.” His eyes never left the ground.

Arianna had never seen Solomon enforce his true power on anyone before. Moreover, she had never heard him called by so many titles in one sentence. She realized only now that he ranked higher than General Ivo.

How could she betray someone so influential? She prayed it was all just a dream, a nightmare she would soon wake from. At the same time, she reveled in the fact that this ‘Wolf of the East’ had chosen her to give his guidance and friendship. The best of the best had shown her the ways of the sword and of the world. Now, he even doubled as her rescuer. He had committed an act of treason on her behalf, a slave.

Solomon turned on his heel and walked away in the direction they had just fled. Sir Westing was still bent at his knee, his fists clenched at his side. He stood and Arianna saw him clutch the hilt of his sword as he began trotting behind Solomon. She watched and waited from the cover of the wooden stairs as they walked away, but Sir Westing never let go of the hilt.

Once they rounded the corner and out of view, she scampered up the steps and retrieved the key now covered in a thin layer of snow. She wiped it off with the sleeve of her cloak and undid the lock. A click sounded from the door as it creaked open.

She slipped inside and re-locked the latches. Clasping her hand over her mouth, she struggled to control the waterfall of tears threatening to cascade at any moment. Turning, she found a flickering fireplace in the wide room which lit the area. The gray stones of the outside walls formed the inside ones as well, and the soft color looked almost cheery. On the floor lay a huge, white, furry pelt. Arianna studied the animal and remembered reading of it in the Learning Center as her fingers skimmed the top of one of the long, ornate couches seated around a table.

Simple Solomon seemed to like a little splendor after all. On the wall above the fireplace hung a grand oil-painting full of color. Animals Arianna had never seen before filled the backdrop, and a river sparkled under a cerulean sky. She couldn’t help but smile at the peacefulness.

She saw the spacious house filled with various rooms jutting from the hall and a large kitchen area in the back. She didn’t explore but instead only stared at the painting. Thoughts of the recent events stirred in her mind as she settled on the soft rug beneath her feet, staring at the colorful portrait.

Kicking off her shoes, the soft fur tickled her toes. She curled into a ball and wrapped herself in the comfort of her robes.

This was all a mistake.

She wished for Liam, for someone to confide to. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she drifted into a deep sleep, into dreams and into the painting.

It came alive all around her, transporting her from her scarred reality to the serenity which hung on Solomon’s wall. The warm water lapped at her ankles and animals ran through long swaying grass as the sun tanned her face.

Was there ever a life such as this?

Her eyes flew open to find Solomon sitting on the couch, watching her, expressionless. He still wore his muddied boots.

Arianna sat up, crossing her legs. She waited for him to speak first. After what seemed like ages, his look changed into a somewhat sorrowful expression. “We need to talk,” he said, his voice quiet. He pulled something from his robes and laid the object on the glass-topped table between them. Arianna’s eyes widened as she looked upon the letter from Lessa Thur.

This letter caused her so much grief. She groaned, wishing she had discarded it earlier or set it on fire. Anything instead of carrying it around in her pocket.

“One of the Chapin twins found this in their scan of the area while waiting for the general,” said Solomon.

Arianna feared the rest of the story.

“Lucky for you, the incriminating part of the letter had been ripped. They don’t know who it was addressed to. But…” Solomon spoke softly, “a Lessa Thur is quite comprehensible as the sender.” He finished, crossing his arms at his chest.

Arianna had been so worried about herself, she hadn’t even considered the damage this could do to her new-found friend. She started rubbing at her temples, trying to relax her frantic mind.

“Arianna, this letter
was
meant for you, or am I mistaken?” asked Solomon.

She nodded and met his gaze. Her shoulders slumped, knowing it impossible for him to look more saddened or betrayed.

“How did you get it?” was all she could muster.

“I have my ways.” He suddenly turned cold as he leaned forward. “I’m going to need answers. Now. And don’t leave anything out.” She wouldn’t dare.

He leaned closer to peer down at her. The fire crackled behind her, licking at the tension between them. Arianna gave a single nod of her head.

“Good. Now, tell me. Where have you been hiding?”

Arianna closed her eyes and started from the beginning. She explained about the little blonde boy who broke her pride and the cave of wonders which had rejuvenated it. She told of the ghost girl from the Healer’s District who cornered her with a bow and of her encounter with the moon-eyed monster in Talis’ home.

Every secret she held spilled from her like rain from a broken sky. Only in her honesty did she realize she had kept so much hidden. When she finished, her mouth hung dry with nothing left to say. Solomon said nothing as he stared past her at the painting. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A week passed since Arianna’s confession to Solomon. It was another Sunday night. Arianna paced in the confinement of her secret caves as the waterfall thundered down behind her, filling the silence as she waited.

“Arianna?” said a shy voice. This was it.

Arianna whipped around to find Lessa Thur standing just a few feet away at the mouth of her tunnel. “Hi…” She gave a wave of her hand, not knowing how else to react. It had been two months since their first meeting, two months since the day her world began to spiral. In just that short amount of time, Arianna’s life had been turned upside down. Or was it right-side up? She still didn’t have the answer, but change it had. And in two months, she saw Lessa had changed as well.  

Her hair looked much longer, waving down past her shoulders in golden streaks, and she wore a cloak of pure white lined with sapphire blues and lush fur trimmed down the sides. It seemed too big on her, or did she look thinner than before? And then she saw it, the most curious addition of all. What she thought to be the hood of her cloak turned out to be a small, white-furred animal with big, orange eyes perched on her shoulder.
Those eyes…
Arianna stared awestricken at a creature she had only ever seen in books at school, a monkey.

It curled its long tail around Lessa’s neck as it scanned the new surroundings. She remembered those eyes. Arianna stepped back in caution, but Lessa inched closer, stroking its tail. “Don’t be frightened of him. This is Sano. He found me in the trees,” she said with a thoughtful smile.

Arianna opened her mouth to speak, to scream, to question… really anything, but nothing came out. Before she could find the words to say or the emotions to feel, another surprise came stalking out from the tunnel.

“Talis!” She felt both shocked and happy as she ran to hug him. “I’m so sorry, Talis—” He put a finger to her lips. 

“Hush girl,” he said. “Fate is fate, and your little adventure was just the beginning. You can’t argue with destiny.” He strode past the girls, towards the edge of the cliff. “I believe you taught me that. Right, Solomon?”

Solomon slunk out of the shadows and put an arm around Talis’ shoulders, leading him to the edge of the waters. “What an enchanted place they’ve found here,” said Talis. His eyes searched the glimmering caverns, the twinkle of the firebugs reflecting in his eyes. Solomon gave a slight nod, but Arianna noticed something more, like some untold secret lingered between them as they scanned her utopia.

Talis ran his fingers along the wall of the cave, caressing the jutting, jade stones in his palm. “Ouch,” he said, tearing his hand away as a stone pierced his skin. The two masters stood only feet from the girls, so Arianna could detect the blood trickling down his pale hand as she strained to see what happened.

Solomon grabbed Talis’ wrist to observe the wound. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, I’ll be fine.”

Trying to hold back a laugh, Solomon grinned as he let Talis’ hand drop back to his side. Disbelief coursed through Arianna’s mind as she saw the tiniest hint of a light emanate from his palm and the blood trickling from the gash cease.
Where is the wound?
She stood on her tiptoes to try and get a better view but saw nothing but wrinkled skin.

“What are you looking at?” said Lessa, turning her head in the same direction.

“It’s nothing. I just… I swear my mind is always playing tricks on me in these caves.” Arianna’s voice trailed. Shaking her head, she turned to face Lessa who stood waiting, looking bewildered and just as nervous as she felt.

Arianna prepared her next words as Lessa fidgeted with her robes. She had wanted to say them for so long, and nothing, not the strange animal on her shoulders or her vivid imagination, could put them off any longer.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t more careful. You’re in this situation because of me,” she said, bowing her head. The caves quieted as everyone waited for Lessa’s reaction. Even the firebugs seemed to stop humming until her voice finally filled the quietness.

“When Talis told me the regulators were coming after me because of the letter, because of you… I was angry at first,” she said, “But Talis is right. Fate is fate, and this ours.”

Lessa pulled a parchment from her own robes, and Arianna recognized the letter she wrote to her in the Healer’s District. She felt her body relax as the guilt she had been carrying began to disappear little by little.

“Besides, I was getting bored stiff anyways,” she said, smiling. “This old man had me training day and night after the accident until Solomon sent the news. Now, I’ve wriggled my way out of participating in the Free Falls.” Talis scowled.

“But you haven’t wriggled your way out of the Four Corners. Have some humility. You’re not out of this yet,” he said, shaking his head as he came to stand nearer.

Lessa rolled her eyes and continued on. “In fact, maybe I should be thanking you, Arianna!” She laughed as Talis grumbled in the corner, trying not to smile. She winked at him, breaking his wavering frown.

Solomon joined in with his own roaring laughter that always made Arianna’s heart leap. She was glad as the mood shifted to somehow jovial as the four began to get to know each other a little better.

“Lessa, meet Solomon,” said Talis. “He’s an old friend of mine and Arianna’s master as you well know. The universe has played an interesting card by introducing both of our apprentices after so many years, but I know this is the safest choice. He’ll take good care of you until we figure out how to handle this.”