“Something must have happened since we left. It seems like there is a curfew in effect. Those were not the normal guards,” Kael warned.
Joss was tense and on alert the whole way as well—even up to the white stone guard towers on either side of the silver gate of the Citadel.
Kael sat stiff in the saddle and kept a blade hidden by his leg while the guard at the gate questioned us.
The astonished guard called out. “What are you doing out? It’s past curfew! If you’re caught, you could end up in prison.”
“Well then, open the gate and so we can avoid the cold cells. I for one would like a warm place to sleep tonight,” Kael answered back. “You can tell the adepts that SwordBrother Kael has returned.
The guard rushed over and immediately began to unlock the gate.
“Wait!” he called to him. “Are you daft enough to open the gate because you recognize a name? Did you even bring over a light to verify my identity, to check or to ask who else is with me? For all you know, I’m being held at knifepoint and the young woman here is an assassin using me to get into the school.”
I chuckled silently at that thought.
Even though Kael was no longer training the Citadel’s guard he still felt it necessary to drill in the ideas he had tried to teach them. Apparently they hadn’t sunk in yet.
“Uh, no, sir. I mean, yes sir.” And the young guard brought over a lantern and inspected our whole party thoroughly before demanding our names.
“Thalia Valdyrstal.” I spoke up proudly, grinning when the young guard did a double take and eyed me again.
“Well, I’ll be. It is you?” He sat there, wide eyed and kept looking back and forth between us.
He went over and spent quite a few minutes looking over Hemi. I could tell he didn’t really trust the size and brute strength of my clansman, but he relaxed again when he saw Joss.
“So are you going to let us in now?” I asked impatiently.
The guard looked to Kael for approval and Kael nodded, giving him permission to open the gate. I dropped my head and had to snicker softly into Kael’s back. I was glad that I had decided to switch and ride behind him. I was getting too many looks affectionate looks from him throughout the day, making my cheeks burn in embarrassment. This way I couldn’t see what he was thinking.
“It’s not funny!” Kael growled. “It’s as if they’ve forgotten everything I’ve taught them within a few months. I could have walked right in and killed them all. The fool. I’m going to have to speak with the Commander on this one.”
“Aw, Kael, take it easy on him. Obviously your reputation still has an effect on people.” I laughed again.
Stable Master Grese greeted us warmly and took Faraway into the stable, promising him plenty of his favorite cookies.
Once Faraway was settled, we turned to look at the Citadel’s towers. I scanned the various parapets looking for the flags that signaled which members of the Adept Council were in residence. Even though it was still dark, I could make out five flags twisting in the breeze. All of the adepts were here.
Where do I go? What do I do first? I didn’t know whether to summon the adepts in the middle of the night or to retire to my old room. I also needed to inquire whether Darren and Fanny had returned yet.
My thoughts were spinning and heading nowhere of consequence. Kael took my elbow and led me to the main hall doors. I hadn’t even realized I had stopped walking in the middle of the courtyard.
A few months ago, Kael—in the guise of a student—had entered through these same doors during a training exercise and had fake-assassinated half of the students and guard. That same night, one of the Septori had genuinely tried to kill me. My mind was dwelling on that horrible thought when someone stepped out of the shadows of the darkened main hall right in front of me.
“EEEeeep!” I jumped. A moment later, I recognized the dark skin and shaved head of the fiercest of the Adept Council, the five who ran the Citadel—Pax Baton. His black uniform and skin helped him blend into the shadows with the ease and ability of a SwordBrother. He had one gold stud in his ear, his only show of decoration.
“Did Darren and Fanny return?” I spoke up, searching the main hall for any sign of them.
“I’m sorry, Thalia. They haven’t arrived yet.” Adept Pax looked at me sadly.
“Then how did you know we were coming? How did you know to meet us here?” I challenged.
“I saw the four of you.” Adept Pax touched his forehead. “Here. And I have heavy news to bear. A lot has happened in the last few weeks.”
“We saw that there are troops patrolling the city for curfew.” Kael said.
“Haven’t you heard?” Pax asked and gestured to Joss. “Hasn’t he told you yet?”
“No, we’ve been traveling. We just found each other last night,” I gave out a lame excuse to cover for Joss.
“More Denai have gone missing, this time in the city. And now they’ve taken them from our own school.”
“What?” Kael shouted. “When? How?” Kael was immediately in protective mode, his mind spinning and strategizing.
“They disappeared in the middle of the night. Their beds were slept in, and all of their belongings were still in their room. But the students are just gone,” Pax said in a forlorn voice.
“Show me the rooms of the missing students,” Kael demanded.
“We’ve already searched them for clues. We found no foul play. The windows, doors and locks weren’t tampered with,” Pax added.
“Then that leaves us with one alternative,” Kael’s eyes turned dark. “It seems that our enemy walks among us.”
“You’re thinking an inside job? Impossible. All our staff are loyal to both school and crown.”
“Oh they may be loyal, but loyal to a heavy pocket of gold. Don’t worry, Pax, this doesn’t have to go any farther than our group. But I do need a list of everyone who was on duty, on staff, and present at the Citadel when the students went missing.”
Pax nodded. “This way. I started gathering the information already.” He motioned for Kael to follow him, but paused to address Joss, Hemi and me. “Thalia, your room is still available for you if you want to rest. Joss will see that your friend gets situated, won’t you Joss?”
“Of course, Adept Pax,” Joss said before turning to me and giving me a small smile. “It might take a bit of waking servants and poor Tearsa and Forrest to try and accommodate Hemi. I fear we may have to actually push some beds together.”
“Why you little…” Hemi made a fake grab for Joss’s head as if to box his ears.
I tried to smile, but it felt hollow. Was I in danger? Would they come back for me? I looked over to Kael and felt a little bit of relief. He wouldn’t let them take me. But I couldn’t stop imagining the students in the same predicament that I was in, and the thought made me sick. “I’ll meet up with you both for breakfast,” I called out to their disappearing backs as they turned to head down the hall. The catch in my throat was evidence that I was coming to breaking down and crying.
So I turned and swiftly walked back into the main hall. Not sure where I was heading, I kept walking. I wandered wherever my feet led me and ended up heading toward Adept Kambel’s office.
