Rise (28 page)

We ran deeper into the mines. When the ground flattened, we came to a circular area with half a dozen tunnels that jetted out. Anders picked one to the left and I followed, wondering if he knew where he was going since we didn’t have Askel to guide us.

Torches hung every thirty feet, providing light. The last time we were in the mines, the tunnels had been pitch-black. The sound of boots faintly echoed around me. After a minute, the sound intensified. There weren’t any places to hide.

Anders glanced at me. “Be prepared,” he mouthed.

I nodded and clutched the bo staff with my sweaty hands, ready to face the
soldats
. Shadows of men carrying swords danced on the stone walls, growing larger the closer they came. Channeling the power from the core of my body, I forced it down my arms and to my weapon. It responded, humming with power. I envisioned a cup of water, planning to slowly pour a little bit out. If I could control the amount of power I unleashed, these men wouldn’t die.

Lifting my bo staff, I held it before me, ready.

Six
soldats
came into view. The first dropped to the ground. The remaining men scrambled to unsheathe their swords. Four more collapsed. The last man standing turned to run. He couldn’t be allowed to alert others. I was about to zap him when he, too, fell.

Anders lowered his blow dart. Each one of them had a dart sticking out of his neck. He squatted and retrieved his darts.

Six men lay unmoving on the ground. “Did you kill them?”

Anders paused a moment before answering, “Yes.”

“How can you kill so many without remorse?” I tried to keep my voice low so others wouldn’t hear me. “I was going to knock them out, but you didn’t even let me try. Do you always go around killing for no reason?”

His face reddened, and his eyes narrowed making him look dark and furious. I took a step back, away from him, dropping my bo staff. He swiftly grabbed my neck, jerking me toward him. I shoved his chest, but his grip tightened. He lowered his forehead to mine, our noses brushing, the heat of his breath caressing my face.

“Let me go,” I demanded.

“Not until you stop acting ridiculous.”

“Did it ever occur to you that these men have families? They’re doing what they have to in order to survive. They probably hate Morlet as much as you do.”

“I know,” Anders said. “You forget I’ve been around a lot longer than you have.”

Our foreheads were still touching, and his skin was hot against mine. He infuriated me, and I wanted to clobber him.

“Is this what you think of me? That I’m a cold-hearted killer?” he demanded. “Is that why you agreed to marry Vidar?”

“What does Vidar have to do with this?”

He chuckled, the sound harsh. His lips moved to my ear. “I had to kill those
soldats
to protect you. If I didn’t, when they woke up, they’d hunt you down,” he whispered. “If you knew me, understood me, you’d know I detest killing.” Anders released me and stormed away.

I ran after him. After several silent and uncomfortable moments, I asked, “Couldn’t you have given them a stronger dose of medicine so they’d sleep longer? Allowing us to escape?”

“No,” he replied in a clipped voice.

“Why?”

“The sleeping medicine only lasts an hour at most,” he said. “That isn’t enough time for us to rescue the Krigers and flee the castle.” He sighed. “I don’t kill for the fun of it. There is always a calculated reason.”

I had tried numerous times to get him to open up to me, but he was always so withdrawn.

“This is war,” he continued. “People—on both sides—are going to die tonight.”

That was true—deaths were inevitable in war. However, I wished he didn’t kill as a first line of defense. Yet, he hadn’t killed out of hate or spite. He’d killed to protect me. Although I didn’t like Anders’s methods, we both wanted the same thing—to end Morlet’s reign.

We came to another circular area where six tunnels jetted off. Anders motioned for me to follow him, and we headed into one of the dark ones where I bumped into him. His hands gripped my arms.

“Something is wrong,” he whispered in my ear. We stood only five feet or so from the tunnel’s entrance.

“What do you mean?”

“The tunnel we need to take to reach the dungeon is the only one lit. Morlet must know we’re here.”

“Do you want me to try and contact him?” I didn’t want to speak to Morlet, but I would do it to ensure our safety.

Anders’s hands tightened. “No,” he said. “That’s not necessary.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to take the tunnel we need to. Stay behind me and be prepared to fight. I’ll do my best to protect you.”

We went back to the mouth of the tunnel and stayed there for a moment, watching the open area. Once Anders was certain it was safe, we headed into the only lit tunnel.

There was a rumble, and then dust floated from behind us. Anders jumped on top of me, pinning me to the ground. We stayed that way until the dirt settled.

“Was that an explosion?” I asked.

“They just blocked one of the ends to this tunnel.”

The idea of being buried alive or trapped underground scared me more than facing Morlet did. “So we can’t go back that way?”

He shook his head. “Which means we’re walking into a trap.” Anders rolled off me and pulled me to my feet. “We’re going to have to fight for our lives,” he said, still holding my hand.

Which meant I was going to have to kill.

“It’s never an easy choice to make,” Anders said, squeezing my hand and releasing it. “But you can do it.”

My stomach felt queasy, and my arms shook. The bo staff warmed, sending a wave of soothing calmness through me.

Anders led the way and we continued on, listening for sounds of an ambush. When we came to an intersection, he pushed me against the wall while he peered at the three other tunnels. “If someone is going to attack us, it’ll be here. I’ll go first. Once I make it to the tunnel directly across, you go.”

I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and lifted my weapon, preparing to protect Anders when he made his way across to the other tunnel.

“Kaia,” he said, his voice soft. “If anything happens to me, do whatever you can to save yourself.”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” I insisted.

He stepped closer to me, almost touching. “I wish things were different,” he whispered. “If only you weren’t engaged to Vidar.”

I was about to question him when he abruptly stepped back, unsheathed a pair of daggers, and exited the tunnel. Two arrows sailed directly toward his torso. He jumped to the side, and the arrows narrowly missed him. A dozen
soldats
stormed into the intersection with their swords drawn.

I raised my bo staff and released a sliver of power, hitting one of them in his stomach. He dropped to the ground. Leaping over him, I swung at another one, striking his head and knocking him out. Spinning my weapon on the palm of my hand above my head, I unleashed a bit of power, hitting several men at once. They fell to the ground. Anders threw his daggers into his two opponents’ chests. They toppled over. Every single
soldat
lay unconscious or dead.

“Are you hurt?” Anders asked.

“No,” I answered, gasping for air. My weapon warmed, and my breathing evened out as my strength replenished.

The corners of his mouth rose into a devious smile as he surveyed the damage. “You’re a lethal little warrior.”

During the fight, I hadn’t even hesitated once; it was as if the bo staff and the power inside of me had guided me through it.

Voices echoed from one of the tunnels.

“Which way do we need to go?” I whispered.

Anders pointed to the tunnel that the voices were coming from. My heart sank. We were going to have to fight more men. The sound of marching resounded from the other tunnel. We were trapped.

“Ready yourself,” Anders said as he raised his bloody daggers before him. “I’ll need you to release enough power to strike down as many as you can right away—otherwise we won’t stand a chance.”

I lifted my weapon, pointing the end toward the tunnel with the voices. It hummed, ready to be used.

My father stormed out of the tunnel, his eyes wild. “Run!” he yelled. “The King’s Army is down here searching for you. They have orders to kill anyone you’re with and to take you alive.” He coughed, blood splattering on the ground. “There are six men pursing me.”

Anders wrapped his arm around my father, pulling him back into the dark tunnel. I ran over to help, but Papa shoved me away.

“Get out of there,” he said, wheezing.

“We can’t leave him,” I cried as Anders dragged me to the intersection.

“The only way to save him is to fight.” He clasped my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “Killing blows.”

I nodded, and he released me.

Six
soldats
ran out of a tunnel. Anders turned and slashed one across the chest with his knife while throwing his second knife at another. I aimed my bo staff and unleashed a chunk of power, killing the remaining four at once. My arms started shaking.

Papa crawled into the intersection. “Kaia,” he wheezed. “Get out of here. Don’t risk your life for me.”

“I can’t leave you here,” I cried, dropping to my knees and hugging him.

“Please,” my father begged. “You are the only one who can end this. Rescue the Krigers, kill Morlet, and save Nelebek. Do it for me.”

I shook my head, unable to leave him. The sound of boots marching down one of the tunnels was so loud, it was hard to hear my father speak.

“They’re almost here,” Anders said, his hands clutching his knives. “There’s only one tunnel that’s clear right now.”

I stood, prepared to fight to save my father. We weren’t leaving without him.

“I love you, Kaia,” Papa said. “Know that I am doing this for you.” He pulled out a dagger and plunged it into his chest.

“No!” Everything around me spun, and the air was knocked out of me. I collapsed on the ground.

Anders’s strong hands grabbed my shoulders, steadying me.

My father looked at him. “Get my daughter out of here,” he mumbled, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. “Promise me you’ll take care of her.”

“I promise,” Anders responded, his voice gruff. My father’s eyes fluttered closed as the life drained from his body.

“Papa!” I shook him. He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t. “I love you. Please don’t leave me here all alone. I need you.”

Anders wrapped his arms around me, dragging me from my father’s lifeless body and down the only empty tunnel. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But we need to go.”

Soldats
stormed into the tunnel behind us in close pursuit.

“Please, Kaia,” Anders said. “I need your help.”

A dagger flew past my head, narrowly missing me. The man aimed a second knife. I lifted my bo staff, striking him with my power. There were at least a dozen men behind him. I wouldn’t let them kill Anders. Raising my weapon at the ceiling, I released a bit of magic, hitting the rock and collapsing the tunnel between us and the
soldats
. Anders and I ran, trying to escape the dust and rubble.

When we were far enough away, I fell to the ground, unable to continue. The image of my father’s dead body was seared into my mind. Anders knelt by my side, looking me over for injuries. Not finding any, he sat and gently rubbed my back.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know how you feel, but I need you to get up. Those men will dig through the rubble in a matter of minutes. Don’t let your father’s sacrifice be for nothing.”

The tears wouldn’t stop. I felt as if someone had reached inside my chest and torn out my heart.

“You feel like you have nothing left,” he continued. “That your life is over; that you’ll never recover from this loss.”

“How could you possibly know what this feels like?” I sobbed.

“When I was sold to the assassin, I didn’t want to leave my family. So he bought them, lined them up, and one by one, slit their throats right in front of me, while I watched, tied to a post, unable to stop it from happening.” His voice caught. “I live with the pain every day.”

Anders’s teary eyes revealed incomprehensible grief. Reaching up, I placed my hand on his cheek. The two of us were connected in a way I couldn’t explain or understand, but I felt it in the depth of my soul. His strength radiated from him, pouring into me. He was right; my father’s sacrifice couldn’t be in vain. I had to shove the pain away. Once we defeated Morlet, I would allow myself to grieve. But for now, I had to be strong.

I stood.

“Are you ready?”

“I am. Thank you for everything.”

“Of course,” he said. “We need to put as much distance between them and us as possible.”

We ran for a solid mile before stopping. Anders pulled me to the side and put my hand on the rungs of a ladder. I climbed to the top where I felt around for a latch and threw the door open, entering a dimly lit room, Anders right behind me.

We stood staring at one another, both breathing hard and covered with dirt. This man, who had once seemed cold and hard to me, now appeared steadfast, compassionate, and a piece of me was reflected in his eyes.

“What are we going to do now?” I asked, ignoring the desire to kiss him. My father’s death was making me confused. It was making me feel things I shouldn’t be feeling.

“I have a backup plan if you’re up for it. Or, we can call this off and regroup.”

Morlet was the reason Papa was dead. I wasn’t going to sit around crying. It was time to end this. “I want to tear the king apart.” Anger was easier to deal with than pain.

“In order to do that, you must free the Krigers. The edge of the capital is three blocks from here. We’ll need to make our way there so I can observe the castle grounds to determine the state of things.”

“Then let’s get to it.” If I saw Morlet tonight, I’d kill him. Gripping my bo staff, I was ready to face my destiny.

I hid in the shadows while Anders easily scaled the building. When he reached the top, he laid on the roof, observing the castle. After several minutes, he came back down and joined me.

“There are
soldats
on patrol,” he whispered. “Fewer than usual. The grounds are dark, so it’s feasible to avoid them.”