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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
Everything Begins Chapter 56
“What is your name, little one?”“Nayna, sir,” she whispered, her eyes wide with fright.“And these two? What are their names?”“Wamil and Heena, sir.” Her voice was a whisper as she pointed to them.“How old are you three, Nayna?”“I just had my fifth naming-day a moon ago, sir, Wamil is four, and Heena’s fourth naming-day is next moon.”“Are you all from the same town?”“We are from the same village, sir. It is called Lalon, but we cannot go back there.”“Why not?” Frank wanted to keep her talking even though he knew the answer to his question.A tear ran down Nayna’s cheek as she dropped her head and mumbled, “Because our families are all dead.”“How do you know that? Did you see them?”“Yes, sir.” She pointed a tiny finger toward the Asabya whose head was no longer attached to his body. “That man made sure that we saw our babas and mamas and brothers and sisters dead before he took us from Lalon.” She caught her breath and let out a small sob. “He told us on the way here that we w
Everything Begins Chapter 57
“Each time a Sainika is born into the world, he has the abilities that are necessary for whatever Sayatan has sent. The abilities I have witnessed before are translation, physically feeling emotions, seeing thoughts, second sight, and remarkable fighting ability among others. You, however, seem to have all these abilities. This has never happened before.”Frowning, Frank drew his sword and looked at it. “That does not sound good.” He glanced up at Telantes. “Does not that mean this time things will be worse? That Sayatan is sending everything he is got?”“I suppose that is a possibility, but I also know that Yisu always gives His Sainika what he needs to overcome Sayatan and his underlings. I do not want you to get discouraged or to doubt yourself.”“Discouraged? No, it is not that, and I do not doubt anything.”“What is it, then?”Frank sighed again and twirled his sword until it was a blur in front of him. “I am tired, Telantes.”“Physically?”“No. Emotionally, mentally, spiritually
Everything Begins Chapter 58
Captain Johnson !”He vaguely recognized Mathi’s voice, but he could not move. He heard the boy’s footsteps approach, and then he felt hands running over his body.“Are you all right, sir?”“I am fine, Mathi. Just a little tired.” He looked at the boy and smiled. “Do not worry. I will not die from this. Blades cannot kill me anymore.”“Maybe not,” the boy said, “but you are still hurt, and you are still bleeding. Come on, Zahin, let’s get him inside the walls.”Frank felt two sets of hands haul him to his feel, but he could not put any pressure on his right leg, so he leaned heavily on Mathi as the two boys helped him back to the town. He looked down at the person on his left side and was surprised to see the same boy who had shot Padmal and the other Asabya. The boy who had been possessed by the Azazil.“Zahin is your name?”“Yes, sir,” the boy mumbled.“Well, Zahin, I am in your debt. Padmal was about to cut off my head when you shot him.”“I know, sir. I could not let him kill you