“I don’t recall doing anything to anger all of you to this degree. Someone mind telling me what this is all about?” she asked.
“Ah, well. One of our recruits here has gone to great trouble to rile up the gang against you, y’see. He’s a cute kid, so we just couldn’t say no. C’mon, Camas. Why don’t you say hi to your pretty girlfriend?”
Camas? Do I know anyone by that… Maiya froze as a black-haired boy emerged from the crowd of thugs.
It’s him. It’s really him!
“Camas?” Maiya said in disbelief. Standing before her was none other than Akros’ son. Brij’s resident bully. The one most directly responsible for ruining Vir’s life in the village.
“What are you doing here?” Maiya asked, instantly regaining her composure.
“Hi, Maiya,” Camas said with a malice-filled smile. “Doing quite well for yourself, aren’t you? You’ve become quite pretty.”
Maiya scoffed. “Gotta say, I never expected you, of all people. What wrecked your life so much that you ended up here?”
“Well, after you and Vir left, the village became a different place, y’know? Stifling. Some kid calling himself the Guardian of the Ash started making life a little miserable for the rest of us. Just so happened the Children came calling, and I said yes.”
Oh, Yuma… He’s as hopeless as ever, Maiya thought, shaking her head.
“Don’t you dare look at me like that!” Camas yelled. “Look at you! You’ve had it all ever since you were born! Seric spoon, this one.” Camas gestured with his head, addressing the crowd as much as he was speaking to her. “Never once known hardship in her life! Well, look at her now. Here, like the rest of us. No better.”
Oh, Camas. If only you knew. If he’d been subjected to the torturous training Riyan and Ira had put her through, he’d have cracked long ago.
“Tell you what,” Camas said, sticking his hands in his pockets as he paced in front of his posse. “I’ll make you a deal.”
A few more years and Maiya could see him taking over this ragtag gang; he always had a knack for leadership.
Too bad it’s so utterly wasted.
“Oh? What are you proposing?” Maiya asked, knowing fully well the ‘deal’ he was about to ‘offer.’
“Come with us. With me. I’ll take you under my wing. I’ll even protect you. Lots of bad people in this group. I can keep you safe.”
“Oh, wow. Is that right?” Maiya asked, mustering every ounce of concentration she had not to break out into a fit of giggles. “And, pray tell, what would you like in return?”
Camas licked his lips, eyeing her. “Oh, not much. Even under that shabby robe, I can tell you’ve gotten trim, eh? None of that fat you used to lug around.”
“Fat?” Maiya blurted. “Excuse me? I was never fat.”
Camas raised his hands placatingly. “Just meant to say, you’re quite the beauty now, aren’t you? You can be my girlfriend. So, what do you say? It’s a good deal, isn’t it?”
Maiya kept quiet for a moment, then smiled angelically. “That sounds amenable,” Maiya said, causing Camas’ face to light up in glee. “I just… have one small request to make first. If that’s okay, I mean.”
“Oh, uh. Sure? Don’t usually let people talk back to me, but, well. It’s you. We go way back, yeah? What do you want?”
“Way back,” Maiya echoed. “It’s nothing, really. Just, you remember Neel, don’t you? The bandy? He was a good boy.”
“Er, yes? Do you want to bring him with you? That’s—”
“Oh, Yuma, no! Just that, you’ll be so lucky! You’ll get to be a good boy, just like him! All of you will, actually! You’ll be my little minions! And, being good little boys, you’ll do everything I say. Because I’ll be the leader of this pathetic little gang. You’ll not speak unless spoken to. You’ll jump when I say jump and you’ll bark when I order you to. And in return? I promise not to slaughter all of you right now.”
A droplet of water fell from the sky, and everyone heard it. The alleyway went deathly silent, and Camas had turned as red as Maiya’s hair.
Oh, gods. Oh, gods! Yamal internally panicked. I have to get help!
He’d only just finished his Trial of Knowledge. He thought he’d done pretty well. All thanks to Maiya’s coaching, of course. He couldn’t wait to tell her the good news. He walked the ancient alley with a skip in his step, not even minding the stench of sewage that pervaded most of the abandoned town.
His spirits were simply too high for such a triviality to bring him down.
Will she think well of me?
And then, just as he thought nothing could ruin his mood, it’d come crumbling down as he’d spied a hostile gang surrounding Maiya.
Somebody! Anybody! She’s all alone!
His first instinct was to burst onto the scene like some hero, but Yamal wiped the delusion from his mind. He was useless in a fight. No, he had to get the Silent One. Only that giant could handle this.
Yamal backed away, then sprinted. He searched every alley. He knocked on every door. His desperation grew with each failure.
I really am worthless. I can’t fight. I can’t even find one man, even when he’s the easiest person to spot in the whole town!
And then he saw him. The man who stood a head and a half taller than everyone else.
“Quick!” Yamal shouted, pushing past the other Initiates and grabbing his hand. “Maiya! She’s in danger!”
Yamal turned and ran, and the Silent One followed.
It was only when they arrived at the scene that Yamal breathed easily.
Thank goodness! The fight hasn’t started yet. We made it in time!
His relief lasted right up to the moment Maiya’s lips parted and she spoke.
“You’ll not speak unless spoken to.”
Huh? Yamal swore his misheard.
“You’ll jump when I say jump and you’ll bark when I order you to.”
What is she saying! Is she mad? At this rate, they’ll…
Yamal exchanged a look with the Silent One. The big man stared at Maiya, a look of intrigue on his face.
“We need to go!” Yamal hissed. “We have to help!”
“And in return?” Maiya said, “I promise not to slaughter all of you right now.”
Yamal’s heart threatened to jump out of his throat as he saw the goons brandish their talwars, maces, daggers, and spikes.
“On second thought,” a dark-haired boy at the front snarled. “I think I’m just going to kill you instead.”
The gang rushed forth… and then Maiya disappeared.
One moment she was there, and the next? Gone.
Yamal had never seen anyone move so quickly in his life. It wasn’t human. It was as if Vera herself had possessed the girl, blessing her with divine agility.
He only found her by the scream of a man who was sent stumbling. His head hit a brick wall, and he slumped over. Whether dead or merely unconscious, Yamal couldn’t say.
Another soon followed. Then another. Through it all, Maiya was nowhere to be seen.
When Yamal finally found her, he found twin daggers in her hands, which she wielded like a master seamstress did her sewing needles.
Maiya poked, slashed, and cut with such finesse and speed that Yamal almost mistook her movements for a well-practiced dance.
He couldn’t even tell when and where her strikes landed—her motions so fluid that it all just looked like a whirlwind to him.