CHAPTER 8 – KYLE
“Slow your roll, cowgirl, this is close enough,” Kyle said, peering through the trees. Just a half a mile left to get to the Castle, she’d be fine. Girl was tough as leather. She’d be okay without an amulet for that long. Still, a strange feeling danced in his chest, one he couldn’t place. Felt like it was an undertrained, amateur boxer, hopping from foot to foot, burning through his energy too quick… refusing to land anywhere solid. Kyle’s head spun thinking about the emotional footwork.
He hadn’t slept much the night before, not with the way she’d fallen asleep right next to him. He’d bedded over a hundred women, easy, but he’d never slept next to one. Half the night he’d stayed up watching her, wondering what kind of dreams might be spinning in that pretty head of hers. Might have been something beautiful, like that yoga flower she’d carved. Or maybe something dark, like whatever demon had pushed her to commit arson. There had to be more to that story.
Kyle turned and stared down into those big, hazel eyes. There had to be more to all her stories. And in a matter of minutes, he’d lose his chance to hear any of them, ever.
“Why don’t you join us then?”
Kyle and Angeline both whipped around simultaneously at the soft, wispy voice behind them.
A cloaked figure stepped out from behind a tree and lowered her hood. A thin, sickly woman stared back at them, her black amulet resting on top a bony chest poking out through the collar of her baggy dress. Her skin was dark, yet she somehow looked pale, and a little green. Kyle guessed she was maybe 40, but the streak of white in her poofy hair made her look much older.
“Joyous returns to the Castle, Captain Quintana,” the woman said, gliding towards them with an eerie grace and a small smile. “And welcome anew, Mr. Kallen. I shall grant you immunity for transgressions past, if you come now willingly.”
The frail woman brushed past them, shooting a quick glance at Kyle.
Her eyes made him shiver, glossed over like film on a pond in the middle of summer. Blind or close to it, yet it felt like she’d looked straight through him. He got this tingly feeling in his gut that told him he should probably do as she said.
She continued down the hill, not even looking back to see if they followed.
“That’s Arch-Master Pallas, the Diviner,” Angeline whispered.
Kyle blinked. That was one of the three most powerful wizards in The Realm?! Well, the most powerful, actually, if she really was the Arch-Master. She looked damn near ready to keel over. Then again, Diviners didn’t need any measure of stamina or physical strength, so long as they stayed in the Towers and Castles. Pallas definitely didn’t look like a Field Diviner. And how had she known his name? Even the strongest Diviners he’d met didn’t See that kind of detail. Plus, the way she’d first asked him to join them… felt almost like she’d known what he was thinking right that minute, about how he wanted more time with Angeline.
“So are you coming, or not?” Angeline said, glancing between him and the Castle.
“Suppose I have to,” he said, shrugging. “Don’t want to piss off the Arch-Master.”
“I’ve never seen Master Pallas so much as frown,” she said. “It’s impossible to piss her off. Merlena on the other hand. You’ll see.”
“She a Master too?”
“Yeah, the Mage,” she said.
“Does the Master Salamander live here too?”
“No,” Angeline shrugged, “I’ve never met her. I guess she travels undercover a lot, alone.”
“I like her already,” he said, staring at the Castle below. He really did not want to go inside.
Angeline nudged Kyle’s arm with her elbow as if she knew he was having second thoughts. “Let’s go, wouldn’t want to piss off the Masters. We have a lot of intel to download.”
Kyle turned and followed Angeline down the hill, swallowing the lump in his throat. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, setting foot in the Castle of all places. He also couldn’t believe how much he didn’t want to leave the Captain. A CAPTAIN. How in the world had he befriended a Captain?
Easy, she wasn’t just a Captain. She was an artist, a Mage, a Salamander, a beer-drinker, a dog-lover… an arsonist. She was all that and so much more that he had yet to even learn, and even though his world had been turned upside down, he’d let himself have the next 10 minutes, just walking next to her. Just 10 damn minutes pretending like nothing else mattered, like everything was okay.
10 minutes was all he got. The second the heavy doors had shut behind them, a shrill, beastly screech echoed from somewhere inside the Castle.
He turned to Angeline for a clue. The wince on her face said it all. That must have been the great Master Merlena she’d warned him about.
Merlena’s thunderous, clomping footsteps appeared well before she did, but when she finally did emerge, it was no surprise to Kyle that the rest of her looked just like that screech sounded. Master Merlena towered over him. Without shoes on, they would probably be around the same height (6’3”, thank you), but her 6-inch heels boosted her up nearly as high as a doorframe. She had a Viking warrior build and even wore a breastplate to complete the look. Never mind the fact that the heels would render her completely useless on a muddy battlefield.
She stomped over to Angeline, whipping her long, blue ponytail as violently as possible. “Pallas said you LOST your amulet?!”
“Broke. Not lost,” Angeline said, straightening her shoulders, bracing herself against under the gargantuan woman’s rage.
“Do you think we just have spares lying around?” Merlena bellowed.
“No,” Angeline said, “but I know I’m not the only one to ever break an amulet either.”
“She’s not,” Kyle cut in, “that’s why I’ve come to speak with you.”
“And who the shit might you be?” Merlena said, eyes bulging.
“Mr. Kallen is a rogue warrior, fighting to protect The Realm on his own,” Pallas said, emerging behind them.
Kyle blinked, surprised at the Arch-Master’s choice of words.
“He and the Captain have much to tell us,” she continued. “We shall have a new amulet made for the dear Captain, and no further discussion on the topic.”
Merlena crumpled her brow but remained silent.
“Come,” Pallas said, “I’d like to hear the news from your lips, my Sight is dimmer these days. I must know more about this green amulet and the news you bring from your camp.”
“Green amulet?” Merlena said, rolling her eyes. “You are getting old.”
“Indeed, I am,” Pallas agreed, nodding calmly. How the hell did these two opposites deal with each other?
“What you Saw is correct,” Angeline said, extracting the amulet from her pack. She handed it over to Master Pallas. Or at least she tried to, until Olga the Obnoxious snatched it away.
“Where did you find this?” Merlena demanded.
“About 20 miles South of here,” Angeline said, “we found a body, a Salamander, her amulet was gone but we saw scorch marks from her fire. There was a fight. Elf left a trail of blood, but we think it probably made it out alive.”
“So the Elf took her amulet?” Merlena said, eyeing the green one in her fist.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Kyle said, “And this isn’t the first either. Couple days before I ran into the Captain, I caught the aftermath of a fight with a Diviner. I was too late, but I saw the Elves take his amulet. I followed them and took it back, but it got damaged.” He pulled the broken amulet from his pack and handed it over.
“Did you ‘damage’ the Captain’s amulet as well?” Merlena said, raising a pencil-thin eyebrow suspiciously.
Kyle and Angeline eyed each other for a second.
“Speaking of Diviners,” Angeline said, standing up a little taller. “I have critical information from mine.”
“What did Ms. Clearwater See?” Pallas said, default-smile fading for the first time. “I See darkness.”
“She’s been having visions, hordes larger than we’ve ever seen,” Angeline said.
“We knowww,” Merlena said haughtily. “You already passed that information down the Tower network. I personally dealt with the horde at Buck’s Lake.”
“Yes, I’m sure you ‘personally’ dealt with it,” Angeline said before turning back to Pallas. “But she had another, right before I left. A horde twice that size, destination unknown.”
“I’ll alert my Diviners,” Pallas said solemnly.
Angeline nodded and exhaled. “We also discovered a traitor in our midst. One of my own soldiers was working for the Elves. He’s dead now.”
“Of course it’d be one of your soldiers,” Merlena said, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
Kyle’s jaw twitched. Normally he’d let his tongue fly. The only reason he was making an exception was because the gigantic Master could probably obliterate him on the spot if she felt like it. Or, even worse. She might take it out on Angeline.
“We have reason to believe this wasn’t an isolated incident,” Angeline said. “Clearwater faced an Elven horde. They tried to recruit her as well.”
“You need to control your brats better,” Merlena said. “I’ve been considering demoting you as is, but this news only serves to back that conclusion.”
“Demote me?” Angeline said, voice strained. “I just crossed the entire 2nd quadrant to bring you this news. I know how important it is to the cause. How many Captains do you know who would do that?”
“And you lost your amulet in the process,” Merlena said, placing her hands on her hips.
“Again, I broke my amulet,” Angeline said, gesturing at the shattered one in Merlena’s hand. “Clearly it’s not that difficult to do.”
“Only those who have no regard for property,” Merlena sneered. “Shall we revisit how you came across The Veil, again?”
“That was a mistake,” Angeline said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, what’s that? You lost control, you little pyromaniac?” Merlena taunted.
Angeline balled her fists, knuckles white. Kyle watched as Angeline bent her knees slightly, dropping subtly into a fighter’s stance. “You—“
“The journey was long and tiring, no doubt,” Pallas said, swooping between the two Mages. Her small smile returned to her lips. “Captain Quintana, you must be exhausted. You and Mr. Kallen may retire to the North wing. There are plenty of open rooms there and you may take whatever you’d like from the kitchens. Master Merlena and I need to review this information. We shall discuss matters further with you in the morning.”
Angeline’s mouth dropped open. “But I—“
“Come on, Captain,” Kyle said, grabbing her arm. “You heard the Master.”
“Funny,” Merlena sneered. “The Rogue has more discipline than you.”
Kyle saw the flash in Angeline’s eye, the now familiar one that meant she was about to snap back. He swooped around in front of Angeline and blocked her view of the Master.
“Angeline,” Kyle whispered, eyes pleading, “Let’s go. Don’t waste your hellfire on this hag. Save it for the Elves.”
Angeline bit her bottom lip and nodded slowly.
Kyle gently grabbed her arm and led her towards the hall.
Just as they were about to round the corner, Merlena got in one last dig. “Better teach her to keep her flames tamed, Salamander, seeing as how she’s worthless as a Mage.”