The Buried Symbol (The Ruins of Issalia Book 1) (40 page)

CHAPTER 63

With the catapult under Cameron
’
s watch, Brock hastened to the dining hall. It was late afternoon, and he hadn
’
t eaten since sun up. Shirley, as friendly as ever, heated some leftovers from lunch for him. He stayed and listened to her chatting as he scarfed down the meal, chasing it with a glass of milk. When he was finished, he thanked the kind old woman before leaving.

Brock went in search of Ashland, beginning at her room. He knocked at the door, but there was no response, so he descended the stairs and headed outside.

Squinting in the late afternoon sun, he scanned the lawn from the top of the stone stairs. Students were scattered in small clusters throughout the wide space. After a bit of searching, he became anxious. He desperately wanted to see her.

His heart leapt when he spotted her rounding the bend on the road that looped around the back of the complex. Descending the stairs, he cut across the lawn to intercept her. She smiled when she saw him, quickening her step.

Just before meeting, they both stopped, looking into each other
’
s eyes. Ashland
’
s smile ignited a sense of joy inside of him.

“
I
’
m glad I found you. I was beginning to worry,
”
Brock said.

“
Sorry. I decided to take a walk, so I made the loop around the backside,
”
Ashland replied as she glanced down at her hands clasped with his.
When did that happen
?

Her eyes flipped back up, their gazes locking.
“
I happened to see Cameron when I passed the Engineering outbuilding. He told me that you had left to get food. I was hoping you
’
d be out here by the time I circled around.
”

“
Really?
”
he said, smiling.
“
You were hoping I
’
d be here. I find that interesting.
”

“
Are you mocking me?
”

He pulled her close, her eyes drifting closed when their lips intertwined. Brock
’
s head spun in the rush of the kiss. His body reacted to the passion building up inside, causing his pulse to race. Reluctantly, he pulled away, still holding her with his hands on the small of her back.

“
I
’
m happy to see you too.
”
He gazed into her eyes.

She smiled and pulled away, grabbing his hand in hers.

“
Let
’
s go for a walk.
”
She pulled him along.

They walked hand-in-hand down the road that led to Fallbrandt. The leaf trees they passed were bare other than a few rogue leaves, refusing to give in.

“
I
’
m sorry that I haven
’
t spent much time with you recently,
”
he said.
“
It just took so much time to construct our catapult.
”

“
Don
’
t worry. I understand.
”
She leaned over, hugging his arm close.
“
Remember that I was in your shoes a year ago, working with a team to build one of our own.
”

“
Oh yeah. I forget about that,
”
he said.
“
So, how did you do?
”

“
We did okay, ending up third.
”
She then turned and smiled.
“
They kept our catapult though. They keep the top three each year and tear down the rest for parts. Who knows, maybe they
’
ll use it for something important someday.
”

He smiled back.
“
That
’
s pretty amazing.
”

They walked in quiet for a while, just enjoying each other
’
s company until Ashland finally broke the silence.

“
Brock, I don
’
t really know much about you. I like you and I like who I see in you, but I don
’
t know anything about you.
”

He thought about what to tell her.
“
I
’
m from a port city in Kantaria, on the Indigo Ocean. I had
…
a difficult childhood. I was close to my mother, but she died during my fifth summer.
”

Ashland stopped and put a hand on his cheek.
“
I
’
m sorry, Brock. I can
’
t imagine how difficult it must have been to lose her when you were so young.
”

Feeling vulnerable around this girl, he shed a tear at his mother
’
s loss for the first time in years. She wiped his tear away and leaned in for a kiss. Her lips tenderly brushed his before pulling away. She flashed a smile, and he immediately felt better.

As they resumed walking, he continued his story.
“
Prior to my mother
’
s death, my father seemed to love me a lot. After she died, he changed. In the years after, he became cold and distant. It
’
s as if he forgot how to find joy in life. Luckily, I had my mother
’
s sister to take care of me until she got sick this past spring. She died a few weeks later. I
…
I tried to save her. I was so close...
”

Ashland stopped again, meeting his eyes.
“
Wasn
’
t there a master healer at the city temple?
”

“
Yeah. But he wouldn
’
t come to heal her.
”
Brock
’
s frustration at the situation resurfaced.
“
I couldn
’
t even get a medicus to help. When I finally convinced one, the price was quite steep, and then it was too late.
”

Ashland was confused.
“
I don
’
t understand.
”

He took a breath and answered.
“
My aunt was Unchosen.
”

Ashland stared at him for a moment and then nodded.
“
I understand.
”

She leaned in for a deep, long kiss. When the kiss ended, she gazed into his eyes as if searching for something within.

“
Thank you, Brock. You just confirmed everything I thought I knew about you.
”

“
And what is it that you know about me?
”
he asked.

Ashland
’
s eyes lowered.
“
I know you
’
re a good person and that you have a good heart. I know you care about people and you
’
ll do anything to support your friends.
”
She paused, her eyes rising to meet his.
“
And now I know you see Unchosen as people who matter. You realize that they deserve to live full lives and have hopes and dreams like anyone else.
”

Not knowing what to say, Brock nodded silently. Something was happening. Somewhere along the way, something had changed. He now couldn
’
t imagine living without this girl. He considered telling her that he was Unchosen. Just as the words began to form on his lips, she spoke.

“
That
’
s where it happens.
”
She nodded toward the southeast.

He turned to look in the direction indicated. There was a half-circle mound near the base of the mountain, just north of the woods. Noting the horizontal lines crossing the mound, he realized it was seating. It was an outdoor arena.

“
That
’
s where the Catapult Challenge will be held tomorrow,
”
she said.

Brock glanced back toward the Academy.
“
I didn
’
t realize it would be so far from the school.
”

“
Yeah. You
’
ll have to push your catapult all the way down here in the morning.
”
She smiled.
“
That
’
s not the worst of it though. You have to push it all the way back after the competition.
”

He glanced back at the Academy again. It had to be two miles away and at least a hundred feet uphill.
“
Well, I
’
m glad we have Cam and Lars then.
”

Ashland laughed.
“
That will help.
”

He smiled, her laughter lightening his heart.
“
Will you come down to watch?
”

Her face twisted in a grin.
“
You
’
re silly to think I might miss it. It
’
s one of the biggest events of the year. Don
’
t you know that they close the school for the afternoon? Everyone will be there.
”

CHAPTER 64

Everyone was there. The rows of benches along the slopes of mound were filled with blue-cloaked students and scattered purple cloaks of academy masters. The hum of the spectators chatting filled the air as they waited for the event to begin.

An engineering assistant came around with water flasks, handing one to each team. Brock took a swig from the flask before handing it to Cameron, who took a big drink before passing it on to Parker. They were thirsty after an hour of pushing the catapult to the competition area.

Brock gazed across the Academy lawn. He was already dreading pushing the contraption back up to the school. He thanked Issal again that they had Cam and Lars.

He glanced toward Benny, who was rocking his shoulders while watching the last few competing catapults roll in. He had so much anxiety about the competition that he had relieved Cam shortly after sunset. When Brock opened the stall door in the morning, he found Benny sleeping under a blanket against a catapult wheel.

Brock did a quick count of the catapults lined along the side of the field. Including the ones now rolling in, he counted 29 machines. That meant one remained. He looked toward the main road, partially obstructed by the trees lining it. The last catapult slowly emerged, turning onto the narrow road that lead to the field where they waited.

“
Oh no,
”
Benny mumbled.

Seeing that Benny was staring at the last catapult, Brock looked harder at the contraption. Something about it seemed odd. After a moment, he realized how small the students pushing it appeared. The catapult was huge, easily twice the size as theirs. The launch arm of the machine wasn
’
t made of one timber like most, but of three timbers bolted together with the middle one offset so half of it extended beyond the other two. The basket on the launch arm bobbed high in the air as the machine rumbled along.

When the huge catapult came to a rest at the end of the line, the students who were pushing it began clapping each other on the back. That
’
s when Brock realized it was Corbin
’
s team. Led by Karl Jarlish, Corbin and his cronies had constructed a massive catapult.

A mixture of emotions stirred within as Brock watched Corbin and the others stroll to the judging tables for check in. Soon after, the lottery would take place to determine the launch order.

Headmaster Vandermark stepped onto the field to face the stands. Master Nindlerod and another master engineer joined him. Vandermark waved his hands to quiet the crowd. When the chatter subsided, he addressed the audience.

“
Students and colleagues, I welcome you to our annual Catapult Challenge. This is where our first-year students display their ingenuity and engineering prowess.
“

“
Since most of you are familiar with the rules, I
’
ll not dwell on them today. Instead, I urge you to cheer on the contestants and their amazing creations. If we
’
re lucky, one of these teams will surpass the long-standing record of 1087 feet.
”
He paused briefly.
“
Introducing one of the members of the record-holding team, please welcome Master Pherran Nindlerod.
”