Chapter 3 #2
“Then how do you know anything about him?” I passed the canteen back.
“Nighthaven Academy teaches about assassins, but it’s fairly vague.
We know they play a huge role in protecting the city.
They complete secret missions, none of us know much about it, but if a high-level vampire needs to be taken out, you call in the assassins, not the warriors.
The warriors defend the city and fight in larger-scale battles. ”
“High-level?” The term didn’t make sense to me. Were they not just feral beasts?
Celine glanced at Taewyn with a sardonic smile.
“She’s like a child.” With another inhale she blew out more smoke and turned to me.
My stomach roiled at the way she thought of me.
There was too much I didn’t know. But how would we know?
The ducai didn’t talk to us. The only communication I knew of was when warriors came with wagons to collect goods like wheat or cattle, but Neverglade wasn’t large enough to produce much for the city.
And we in Lothleton obviously didn’t talk to the vampires either.
“The vampires in Nocturnus have levels of rank like we do, although most of them are stupid and ruled by their lust for blood. Assassins go after the important ones.”
For fear of being judged, I didn’t ask more about it. But them being stupid and ruled by blood, I knew well.
Taewyn added, “Even if assassins keep to themselves, they still talk when they get drunk at the pubs. And the professors sometimes report on an assassin’s high numbers of vampire kills. Everyone has heard of ‘Viper’, but they use codenames so none of us really knows their true identity.”
“Everyone still tries to guess.” Celine took a pull on her tobacco. “Some people say he’s Quinn Heraldson from Nighthaven-South, but I don’t think so. I remember Quinn, he wasn’t that tall. But the new girl gets to find out who he is first, lucky dog.”
His real name wouldn’t mean anything to me. I didn’t know any names here besides the royal family.
“I can’t wait to see the guild,” Taewyn said, so excited he almost shook. “It’s veiled by magic and only the assassins know where it is.”
The sun dipped behind Dragonback Mountain, and I stood. My skin felt like it was buzzing. The ringing in my ears came back. I waited for the screams. I searched the shadows, the doorways, anywhere a vampire might be able to slip inside.
“Where are our quarters?” I breathed. My heart started racing. I pressed my hand to my chest, hoping it would help.
Celine stood up with me and shrugged. “We don’t know. Are you alright? Why are you breathing so fast?”
“The vampires come out at night,” I whispered.
“Yeah.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “They can’t scale the walls. Relax.”
Taewyn stepped in front of me and dropped his bloody towel to his side. “Vampires can’t get into Nighthaven. That’s why we call it Nighthaven. You’re safe here.”
I slammed my eyes shut. They didn’t understand what my life was like in Lothleton.
They didn’t understand why I was terrified of the night.
If they’d never been outside the walls, they’d never experienced firsthand what vampires did to us.
The disappearances of neighbors, the talk of ravaged bodies found in the woods, they were sheltered from that.
My grandmother’s scream echoed in my mind.
“It’s not her fault! She’s a child!” my father shouted.
“My mother is dead! She’s dead, Havar! Aesira knows not to go outside after dark!” My mother cried back.
“Let’s go.”
The deep voice jolted my eyes open.
Viper stood before the three of us. He only looked at me briefly, then started walking away. “Go,” Taewyn murmured. Celine stared at me wide-eyed, waiting for me to react.
I pushed off the wall and winced. My battered ribs reminded me not to twist my torso.
I hissed and cringed at the aches all over my body, but I caught up to him.
He turned and we went back out the archway under the tapestry to the now empty arena.
Night sounded so different here. Crickets chirped, music drifted through the air and even laughter—not screams.
Viper started in the opposite direction of the way I’d come in with my father, and I paused.
“Viper,” I said, softly. “Can I see if my father is here? To say goodbye. I don’t know when I’ll see him again since.
.. he’s from out there.” I gulped. “Will I ever be allowed to see my family again?” I knew how the guilds worked.
They didn’t like to associate with people outside.
My Grandma Thora’s own parents disowned her for not being ducai.
I wouldn’t ever be that way.
He stopped and turned to face me. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or annoyed, but his eyes narrowed. “Where is he?”
“If he’s still here, he’s where we parked our wagon.” I pointed. I remembered the location was closest to the mage statue. “Back that way.”
He sighed and trudged in that direction.
I smiled, and once we made it up the stairs out of the arena, it wasn’t far.
Most of the wagons were gone but my father was sitting on the bench in ours.
I didn’t care what Viper thought at the moment, tears slid down my cheeks.
I hurried as fast as I could manage. He hopped out of the wagon and wrapped me up.
I squeaked in pain from the gentle hug, and he immediately let go.
“What happened to you?” he asked quietly.
“You should see the other initiate. I got him good.” I sniffled and wiped my tears.
My father scrutinized Viper. They were about the same height, but my father was more brawn and barrel chested. “Did you do this to her?”
“No, sir,” he answered.
“Does this mean what I think it does?”
I nodded. “I’m an assassin apprentice. Once I took the drink, I—there wasn’t anything I could do. We had to fight the other initiates. They saw my speed.”
“I know. Don’t worry about that now.” He rubbed a hand over his beard and threw his chin toward Viper. “You her trainer then?”
“I am.” He sounded something between wary and bored that he had to have this conversation. I doubted he conversed with many humans. He stood straight with his hands behind his back. I was going to have to perfect that pose. They all did it.
“You make sure she is safe. Don’t let anyone hurt my daughter like this again.”
Viper’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. I got the feeling he didn’t like being told what to do by anyone, let alone an outsider. “Assassins protect their own,” Viper answered.
“Good. If I get a letter that she is killed, I’m coming for you, Viper.” He shoved his finger at him.
“Dad.” My stomach dropped. Viper could seriously hurt my father—kill him. Viper wasn’t even human. He was a legend in the League of Assassins, and my father was but a humble tradesman from a small village.
Viper tilted his head, and kept his hands behind his back, like my father posed not enough of a threat to even bother reacting, and didn’t respond.
I looked around to see if Kace was still here but didn’t find him. “How are you getting home?”
“I’ll leave at first light.”
“But Mom—”
“Will be fine. Kace said he’d tell her what’s happened. He’s on night watch again or he would have stayed, too.”
“Will you tell Kace... I would have said yes.” My heart broke a little. When would I see him again? I wanted to say goodbye and get the kiss I never had. Viper hadn’t answered my question about whether I’d be allowed to go and see my family.
“Don’t worry about Kace right now. Just do what you need to do.”
“And where will you sleep?”
“Anglor will keep me company.” He reached over and patted our old horse’s ruddy neck. He smelled like hay and home. “The wagon has a sleeping blanket under the seat.”
“We need to go,” Viper announced.
I threw my arms around him one more time, ignoring the pain in my side. “There’s a gold nugget in the nightstand drawer in my room. Sell it.”
His big hand patted my back. “Show them what Aesira the Bonecarver can do.”
I tried not to cry as I walked away, but my cheeks were wet and sticky. Viper silently guided us through the streets. And for the first time in my life, I looked up and was able to marvel at the stars.
We slipped into a dark alley and through an old door at the back of a rundown building with crumbling stones and holes here and there, down a set of twisting stairs and into a tunnel.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but I could see perfectly—all ducai could.
Another adaptation to fight vampires. Most people were scared of the dark because they couldn’t see, I was afraid of what I could see lurking in it.
I stuck close to Viper’s side. Probably too close.
He glanced down at me a few times and even put a little distance between us.
But where I was from, a vampire could be hiding anywhere.
There were so many turns in the tunnels, I wouldn’t be able to find my way back out.
I’d get lost in this maze. We went up more stairs and back outside through a door half covered in foliage into a thick grove of cedar, pine, and oak trees.
Moss and other vegetation hung off the branches, creating what looked like a curtain.
Our feet lightly crunched over the ground—well, I should say my feet did. He didn’t make a sound.
After walking for a while, we came to a break in the forest. I paused to examine the glittering night sky again and grinned. It was beautiful. Grandma Thora explained there were shapes in the stars. I tried to see the one she called The Archer, but everything looked scattered to me.
Viper had stopped several paces ahead. He was staring, annoyed. Even from the small gap in his mask, I could see it on his face. “Keep up.”
“Sorry, it’s just, I’ve never really seen the stars before.” I rushed to his side, and we marched on until he came to an abrupt halt.
“This is Drakthar, LOA headquarters. You never bring anyone who is not one of us here.”