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Everything Begins Chapter 48
Next to the door was a chest of drawers with similar carvings as the bedposts. A crystal pitcher that actually had steam coming from the spout and a matching basin sat on top. Next to these were soap and a comb. He quietly filled the basin and washed his face and hands before running the comb through his hair. Someone had cleaned him the day before, for when he had collapsed onto the cobblestones, he had already been covered with his own blood and that of the Asabya. He was sure it had only gotten worse when they pulled the arrow from his body considering the path it had taken.He stuffed his feet into his boots, noticing that they had been polished recently, and walked to the window. He pulled the curtain aside and was surprised to see that the room was not on the ground floor. From the window, he was able to see down into the square. In the gray of first light, he noticed that the cobblestones were cleaned of blood, and there were no bodies to be seen. The window faced the west, so
Everything Begins Chapter 49
“One like him, yes.”“Well, thank you. He was about to kill us when you showed up.”“He was going to do more than that. He was going to claim your souls for Sayatan.”Dinton and Tero both frowned even as Mathi and Nikale gasped.“How do you know that, Frank?” Tero asked.“Because I understood what he was saying. That seems to be another lovely ability of mine—being able to understand the language of evil.”Nikale looked as if she were going to say something, but instead, she pointed to an open door. “First meal is ready. Enjoy your spoils, Captain Mistri.”“What do you mean?”The old woman gestured around the room. “This was all Dahaka’s. Now it is yours as the one who defeated him.” She turned to walk out the front door but stopped with her hand on the handle. “And thank you, Captain. Dahaka was the worst of them all, and now I know why. Would you be amenable to talking later on?”“Of course, but right now I need to eat before I faint.”She smiled and left the house.“Come on, Tero,
Everything Begins Chapter 50
“Do I?” he said, standing up slowly. “I suppose I had better get moving, then, Nikale. Thank you for the talk.”“We have much more to discuss, Captain Mistri. And do not forget there are still at least four raiding parties out there. You had better be ready for them. You are the only one who can protect us now.”“I know.” He took Sophyra’s arm. “Come on. Show me these students.”As they walked to the square, he asked, “How much did you hear?”“Not much,” she said, “but I do not understand why you are so willing to talk to a woman you just met and not to me.”He stopped, startled. “What are you talking about?”She turned to him, and her eyes were glistening. “You have been talking to Nikale for over two hours, Frank. I heard enough to know you told her about your life after Desa. You have not told me much at all.”Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. When he opened them, his eyes were blazing, and he pulled her into a hug. “I am sorry, Sophyra. I did not mean to hurt you. I will te
Everything Begins Chapter 51
An hour later, Frank was back in the square giving a similar lesson to the second group of thirty students. They were all women except for Mathi and two others. Sophyra told him this was because male slaves rarely lived past the age of thirteen in Grama. Since thirteen-year-old Asabya were considered men, so were thirteen-year-old slaves, and one of the favorite spectacles of the Feast of Yud’dha was when the male slaves were herded into the clearing where Frank and his friends had placed the dead bodies. Once there, they were used as fodder while being subjected to torture and torment and death at the hands of their masters. Those lucky enough to survive two sennights of this were spared the horror for two years by law. Mathi had survived his first trip to the clearing when he was thirteen, but he had been scheduled to return this year. Frank had saved him from having to go through that again, and that helped bolster the Anmah’s mood more than anything except Sophyra’s forgiveness.I
Everything Begins Chapter 52
He looked up at her, his eyes wide. His brow then furrowed as he searched his feelings and his mind for any trace of the obsession that had engulfed him earlier. “No,” he said, wonder in his voice. He scowled and stood up, his hand going to his sword. “Someone was manipulating me,” he fumed. “I swear to Yisu, when I find out who it is, they will pay dearly.”He started to stride toward the town, his fury growing by the second, but Sophyra grabbed his sleeve, and he stopped.“What?” he snarled.She stood in front of him, raised herself up on her toes, and kissed him. “I love you, Frank Mistri, and I always will. Never forget that.”He pulled her close and kissed her back. “Never. I love you, too, no matter what happens. Will you do something for me?”“Anything.”“When we get back to the town, find Dinton, Tero, and Mathi and stay with them. I do not know how long it will take to find whoever did this to me, and I do not want you hurt.”She smiled. “Even though I will heal?”“Pain is st
Everything Begins Chapter 53
“Let them go!” he roared. “Whatever you are, let them go!”“He cannot, Captain Mistri. He is just a boy again. Come to me now; I need you.”Frank’s head snapped up as he heard Nikale’s clear, strong voice, and he expected to see her standing right next to him, but she was kneeling on the ground, one hand on each of his friends’ foreheads. They were both still thrashing around violently, and he took one glance at the small body at his feet and ran across the square, his sword still in his hand. When he reached Nikale, she glared at it.“Put that away. It will do you no good here. Now, hold her down until I can help her.”He sheathed the sword and knelt beside Sophyra who was screaming and trying to claw at her arms and legs. He grabbed her wrists and held onto them tightly.“What is happening to them?” he gasped, astounded at Sophyra’s strength.“Do not talk,” Nikale said in a tight voice. “Just hold her down. Do not let her hurt herself.” She muttered something else he did not quite h
Everything Begins Chapter 54
“They can only control the weak or the willing, Captain,” Nikale said, causing Frank to snap his head back toward her. She smiled slightly. “No, I cannot read your thoughts, but I can read your face. The boy was weak, and I would guess that the man in Difeld was willing. And they cannot control those who stay true to Yisu. The Creator protects his own.”“He did not protect Sophyra,” Frank said, a bite to his words. “She was violated and murdered. And now this.”“In a way, he did,” the old woman answered. “If she had not been made Anmah, or if she had died today, she would have been with him in the afterlife. That is not a bad thing, Captain.”“Not for her, perhaps, but it would have been very bad for me.” The bite remained. “I was about to damn the world to Hell it was so bad.”“And Yisu did not let you. He always knows best, Captain Mistri. Never forget that. You caused him to change his plans, but that is not necessarily bad, either. Apparently, your life was more important in his p
Everything Begins Chapter 55
Frank bent down and pulled off his boots. “You and everyone else in my life, Nikale,” he said with a sigh, and she gave him a small smile and left the room. He pulled the covers back and climbed into the bed next to Sophyra before pulling her into his arms. She shifted her position and draped one arm over him as she laid her head on his chest. He kissed her hair and tried to rest, but there were too many things racing through his mind—the Daitya, the Azazil, Nikale, the twenty-seven men he would kill before last light. He was still wide awake when Mathi stuck his head into the room to tell him that last meal was ready. It was only then that he wondered where the boy had been all this time. When he asked, Mathi smiled.“Hiding. When something can control the captains like that, I hide. Perhaps someday I will not have that instinct, but until then, I have no shame in it.”“Nor should you,” Frank said, sliding out of bed and tugging on his boots. “You will have reason to hide again after