Rise (12 page)

A noise came from up ahead. I started shuffling my feet faster, hoping there was an opening and that sound was rain. Gradually, the floor and rocky walls became defined, a soft gray light filtering in from somewhere. I went around a bend and entered a large circular area in the cavern approximately fifty feet wide and thirty feet tall. An opening directly above illuminated the pool before me. A waterfall cascaded down from a cave twenty feet above the pool. Sun sparkled on the beautiful greenish-blue water. Kneeling, I stuck my hand in. The water was hot. Shivering from my wet clothes, I stripped and climbed in, basking in the water’s warmth.

After rinsing the dirt and grime from my body, I floated on my back with my eyes closed, trying to relax. Anders’s angry face appeared before me, shaking his head as if I’d done something wrong. His face melted away and was replaced with Vidar’s handsome one, smiling sardonically as if he knew a secret I didn’t. His face dissolved and Morlet appeared in his bedchamber, standing in front of a tall mirror, lacing up his shirt.

“Kaia?” Morlet asked, his voice hesitant.

Shock rolled through me—were we somehow linked together? How was that possible since I wasn’t asleep?

“You’re cape isn’t on,” I lamely said, noticing it draped over a nearby chair. The mirror reflected his beautiful face, tousled black hair, and penetrating blue eyes. There was something dark and sinister yet alluring about this man.

“I can hear you,” he softly replied. “But I can’t see you. Where are you, my Kaia?” He turned away from the mirror, searching for me.

Remembering that I was swimming naked, my concentration faltered and our connection severed. Did I just invade Morlet’s thoughts? Swimming to the edge, I swiftly climbed out of the water and put my heavy, wet clothes back on, trying to mask my feeling of vulnerability.

Before I could think about my power, how to control it, and what just happened, I needed to find a way out of the cavern. Looking at the opening far above me, I searched for a way to climb up there. It didn’t appear possible. Maybe if Vidar threw a rope down, but even that seemed sketchy.

My father taught me to be resourceful and to use the environment to help me. I focused on the details of the cavern. The waterfall came from somewhere, filtered into this pool, and then what? Was this where it ended? If so, why wasn’t the water filling up more? There had to be an outlet. I observed the pool’s movements. The waterfall came down, swirled around, and then headed toward the right. I went over to that area, looking for additional clues. The water flowed below the surface where I stood. There had to be a way out through there.

Keeping my clothes on, I took a huge breath, jumped into the water, and let the current carry me below. It was stronger than I anticipated, and my clothes weighed me down. Panic filled me, but Papa always said that panicking only made things worse. There was nothing I could do except allow the water to take me where it wanted. It carried me into a narrow tunnel. If my lungs didn’t get air soon, I’d drown.

As I was jostled forward, I kept my legs together and my hands on my head, protecting myself from the rocky wall. Suddenly, I fell in a gush of water, gasping for air. My arms flailed about in the darkness. My body hit water again. This pool was much colder than the previous one. The current carried me along. When I felt it pulling me down, I took a big breath and went under. The water pressure was so strong, it shoved me right along.

The tunnel spit me out, and my body fell a short distance to a small pool bathed in sunlight. Gasping for air, squinting, I stared at the open sky with a huge sense of relief. I was out of the cavern and the rain had stopped. The water kept shoving me forward, too deep to gain my footing, as the edge of the pool neared. The sound of roaring water was the only indication of what lay ahead. There was nothing I could do to stop myself from going over the edge of a steep cliff.

My stomach gave out as I fell with an enormous surge of water.

After falling a good thirty feet, I slammed into another pool of water. My body twisted every which way as water continued to crash on top of me. I tried swimming to the surface, but the force from the water was too strong. I sank lower and lower.

Desperately needing air, I let instinct take over and swam sideways, away from the waterfall. Kicking furiously, I finally broke the surface, gasping for air. My chest felt like it was being crushed. Heaving deep breaths, my arms and legs spent, I could barely keep my head above water. Angling straight toward the closest bank, I forced myself to swim until my feet touched bottom. I trudged out of the water, crawled onto one of the boulders that surrounded the lake, and collapsed.

“Kaia,” Morlet frantically whispered. “Are you all right?”

I was lying on Morlet’s bed, soaking wet. He sat next to me, his hand pulling wet strands of hair off my face. I must have fallen asleep on the boulder. “I’m fine,” I croaked, my throat sore. I nuzzled the silk blankets, the roaring fire warming me.

“Earlier, you found me.” He drew his eyebrows together.

“I have no idea how that happened,” I mumbled. His hand reached out, cradling my face. The intimate gesture shocked me. We stayed that way for several minutes, neither of us moving.

Morlet’s face was rarely uncovered, so I used the opportunity to study him. His dark hair and thick eyebrows accentuated his bright blue eyes. “How old are you?” I asked. He looked nineteen years old, but he’d been ruling over Nelebek for at least a century.

Instead of answering, he asked, “What do you know about being a Kriger?” His hand dropped from my face.

I pushed myself into a sitting position. “Very little.” Would Morlet be willing to share his knowledge about magic with me? Would he teach me how to use my power? However, this was the man the Krigers were supposed to defeat. He couldn’t be trusted. “I don’t understand my role as a Kriger. Frankly, it makes me feel very lonely.”

“You don’t have to be alone,” he gently replied. “I’m here. You can come to me.” He took my hand, tracing small circles on my palm.

“So you can kill me?” I asked. Or was there more to it than that?

Morlet abruptly stood and went to the fireplace, his back to me. “Yes,” he finally admitted.

“Then you know I can’t come to you.”

“It’s the only way to end the curse,” he said. “I have to eliminate all the Krigers.”

“Why?” Vidar’s warning not to trust Morlet came back to me. However, right now, it seemed like he was being honest with me.

Morlet turned around, and his face hardened, making him look malicious. “I won’t live another hundred years like this,” he sneered, the gentleness and concern from earlier gone. “I hear you’re close to your father. If you don’t come to me, I’ll hunt him down and kill him.”

My heart pounded, and terror filled me. I couldn’t allow Papa to suffer because of me.

Morlet’s head tilted to the side. “Who’s with you?” he demanded. “I can feel something severing our connection.” He grabbed my upper arms, squeezing hard. “I can’t lose you!” he yelled, his face turning an angry shade of red.

A surge of magic coursed through me, hot like fire. I screamed in pain.

“Kaia,” Vidar cried. My eyes flew open. Vidar hovered over me on the rock, the medallion hanging around his neck. “What happened?”

My body ached from everything I’d been through, and I was shaking from the frigid air, my clothing and hair still dripping wet. Vidar patiently waited for me to answer, but I didn’t even know where to begin. Tears filled my eyes. Morlet had threatened my father.

Vidar scooped me up. I didn’t have the energy to argue with him to put me down. As he carried me in his arms, I drifted off to a peaceful sleep, my hand clutching the medallion.

***

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up, still wearing the same clothes from earlier. Although now dry, they were stiff from the water. My boots and socks had been removed and were on the ground next to the bed.

A blazing fire roared in the small hearth, making my bedchamber hot and stuffy. Something moved in the corner of the room, and I twisted around to see Anders sitting on a wooden chair, staring at me, the medallion dangling from his hands.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He watched me with hooded eyes. “I want to make sure you’re okay,” he said, his voice barely audible.

He only cared about me because I was a Kriger. My life was precious and valuable. He didn’t actually care about
me
.

“And I want you near the medallion,” he added, glancing away.

“I’m all right. You don’t need to watch over me.” Morlet’s haunting words replayed in my mind. Was he honestly going to search for my father? If so, I had to find a way to protect Papa.

“I was hoping we could … talk.” Anders fiddled with the medallion’s chain, not looking at me.

I laughed. “Sorry, it sounded like you said you wanted to talk.”

“You heard me correctly.”

The one time I needed to be alone in order to sort through my encounter with Morlet, and Anders wanted to talk. I could scream. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I patiently waited for him to speak.

He slouched forward, resting his arms on his knees, his focus on the ground. “I’d like to apologize for my behavior.” His words caught me off guard. “I’m still getting used to the idea of the final Kriger being a young, attractive girl.” He peered into my eyes.

He thought I was attractive? No, most likely he needed something from me. “Why the sudden change?” I folded my arms across my chest, trying to appear aloof.

Anders came over and sat next to me on the bed, the medallion resting on the palm of his hand. “I spoke with your father,” he softly said. “Working underground in the mines, even as a guard, can damage one’s lungs.”

Without Papa, I’d be all alone. Tears filled my eyes. I tried holding them back, not wanting to show any weakness in front of Anders. “He’ll improve with medicine.”

He placed the medallion around my neck. “I promised your father I’d look after you.”

Papa must have taken to Anders to ask such a thing—he never would have done so unless he trusted him. I could see Papa liking him since they were both private, stubborn, and intelligent. My breath caught, and I focused on my hands, not wanting to look at Anders. Not able to look at him.

“He’s a good man,” Anders whispered.

I needed to change the subject. “I thought Vidar had to wear the medallion.”

“He does. But for now, I want it around your neck.”

This was the first time he’d ever opened up to me. Perhaps he would be willing to share more about his past. “How did you become involved with the Krigers?”

Anders sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a long story.”

“I have time.”

“I guess you could say I deserve this fate … a fate worse than death.”

His words froze my insides. “You don’t want to help the Krigers?” Then why was he here?

“I’m an assassin,” he said. “I took an assignment I shouldn’t have. I was greedy and only concerned with making money, not the consequences of my actions. Now, I’m paying for it.” He stood and went to the window, gazing outside at the forest.

Sensing his hesitation to continue, I asked, “How did you become an assassin?”

“It was a long time ago, and I don’t remember much.”

It couldn’t have been that long ago—he didn’t look older than twenty. Although, neither did Morlet, and somehow he’d managed not to age for over a hundred years.

“How old are you?”

He glanced over his shoulder at me, smiling. “Eighteen.” Looking back outside, Anders continued talking, “I was born into slavery in Hoverek—the kingdom to the north of us. At the age of ten, my owner sold me to a man who trained assassins. He taught me to fight and kill. At fifteen, I started going on assignments.”

“How did you enter Nelebek?” Our borders had been closed by a magical barrier for over a hundred years. “And how did you become friends with Vidar?”

He sat next to me on the bed, searching my face for something. I flushed. His brown eyes revealed painful memories, danger, and a depth of emotions I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

“Vidar and I share a common goal.”

“To defeat Morlet.”

“Yes. In order to do that, we need you. I’d like to start your training.”

If I was going to be here for a while and Morlet was hunting my father, I needed to figure something out to ensure his safety. “Can my father join us here?” I asked. “Morlet threatened him.”

“You need to trust me when I say he’s safe where he is. There’s no way the king will be able to find him. I promise.” The confidence with which he spoke made me believe him.

“Then let’s get started.”

“Are you feeling well enough?”

My leg was sore and my chest tight. Yet, I was eager to do something physical to get my mind off Papa. “I’d like to get this over with.”

Anders raised his eyebrows. “Am I that awful to be around?”

Yes.
“That’s not what I meant. The sooner we defeat Morlet, the sooner I can return to my father and my life.”

His forehead creased. “Didn’t you say you worked as a laundress?” I nodded. “You’re eager to return to that?”

“I miss my home,” I said, turning away as embarrassment consumed me. There was nothing for me to go back to except Papa; yet, it was all I knew and was familiar with. Perhaps once we defeated Morlet, things would change, and I’d have an opportunity to do something else—something better and more exciting with my life than wash people’s clothes.

***

Standing on the forest floor beneath the towering pines, I could hear birds singing all around me. In the capital, I never heard birds chirping or wind tossing the leaves of trees. Instead, the sound of
soldats
beating citizens, children screaming, and people crying in pain echoed everywhere.

Anders and Vidar stood off to the side, speaking in hushed whispers. While I waited for them to finish, warring thoughts about the king entered my mind. Growing up, I’d always been told Morlet ruled the kingdom with his vicious army. He tortured citizens and kept us all in poverty. Now that I’d met him, there was more to it than that. Yes, he was evil, but there was also good in him—I was certain of it.