FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (96 page)

     “No, I wasn’t
!
I was looking out for Dawn’s attack. Sure you’re not daydreaming of Hay Collart
?
” replied Dart.

     “Anyone or anything that Flutter Pitten wants, I wouldn’t want
!
I resent the fact that you’d think that I’ve the same taste as that egotistical girl
!
” insisted Joy.

     “Doesn’t matter what you or Flutter want or don’t want
!
You’re both dead
!
Were this a real attack, I’d have to bury the both of you. And The Lair would’ve been breached by the enemy. Most of our family members would’ve been… Ouch
!
” said Dawn as something struck her at the back of the head.

     It was a wooden Airblade
!

     Flutter Pitten came out laughing from behind a shadow-covered bush.

     “If this was a real attack, all three of you would be dead
!
And I’d be rid of three pains in the arse
!
You three are an embarrassment to the…,” said Flutter before she had to raise her wooden sword to block Dawn’s Right Horizontal Strike.

     Dawn eyed Flutter with a rage like that of a volcano. Flutter returned Dawn’s stare with one as cold as ice. Both girls raised their sword to the middle guard position.

     “That’s enough
!
” shouted Hay Collart.

     Both girls lowered their swords and their heads as well. Hay walked briskly towards them.

     “Quit playing around
!
This is training. It’s not a game
!
Joy and Dart, you two need to be more alert
!
Dawn, the same goes for you
!
Just because you’re attacking somebody does not mean that you wouldn’t be attacked from behind
!
And Flutter, who the hell asked you to come out of the shadows
?
Did you check to see if somebody is creeping up on you from behind
?
Now, all of you get back to your positions and do it all over again
!
” instructed Hay.

     Dawn and her batchmates nodded their heads and did as they were instructed. Hay walked away to monitor another group of trainees.

    Dawn crawls through the bushes. She sees Joy and Dart. But now she knows that Flutter is somewhere in the area. Joy and Dart are not her priority. Flutter is. Dawn knows that there is no point in attacking Joy and Dart unless Flutter is neutralised. So where is she
?

     Dawn looks around. She tries to look hard at the shadowy areas. It must always be in the shadows
!
Otherwise, they would not have called themselves the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan. Then she sees it, the slight shaking of the bushes. A form slightly darker than the darkness round it. It must be Flutter
!
Dawn prepares to throw her Airblade. But then again, why waste the Airblade
?
No, there is a better way. Dawn keeps her Airblade and then crawls on the grass and manoeuvres around to sneak up on Flutter from behind. It is a slow manoeuvre. But she has enough patience for it.

     Dawn creeps up to Flutter from behind. She transfers her wooden sword onto her right hand and holds it in a reverse grip, keeping the sword tightly to her right side. She holds her breath to maintain her stealth as she gets closer. Then she dives and lets her body fall right on top of Flutter’s back. Her left hand cups Flutter’s mouth and her right hand brings her blade to slice the back of Flutter’s neck.

     “You’re dead, Flutter
!
” says Dawn in a soft whisper.

     “Mmmpffff
!
” replied Flutter.

     Dawn crawls in the shadows yet again. She manoeuvres patiently to attack Dart and Joy. She was about to throw her Airblade when suddenly, an Airblade flew out of nowhere and hit Joy at the back of her head. Dart draws out his sword and turns around, looking desperately to find the source of the Airblade. Dawn throws her Airblade accurately, and hits Dart at the back of his head.

     Joy and Dart are out of the picture. But who threw the mysterious Airblade
?
More importantly, where is he or she
?
Then she begins to hear a loud whisper of ‘Shadow Deathmerchant Clan, Shadow Deathmerchant Clan’.

     Dawn stands up. Then she sees someone coming towards her. It is none other than Stack Clerren.

     “Wheat
!
” challenges Dawn.

     “Flour
!
” replies Stack.

     Dawn’s heart skips a beat. It is the wrong password. Dawn relaxes her body, removes her mask and smiles. As Stack gets closer, Dawn pretends to cough violently and turns her body away a little, just enough for her to reach into her shirt and pull out a small packet of pepper powder. Then she crushes the paper packet and throws the pepper at Stack, who is at the moment just three paces away. The pepper powder stings Stack’s eyes.

     “Damn it, Dawn
!
” curses Stack as he turns away in pain.

     Dawn’s blade comes slicing diagonally downwards, and ‘ends’ Stack’s life. Stack, totally ignoring what Dawn is doing, pulls out a water container and begins washing his eyes. Hay Collart steps out of the shadows.

     “Exercise complete
!
This is enough for today
!
” he says.

     Everyone bowed to Hay. He reciprocated their bows and then they walked back towards The Lair.

     “Damn it, Dawn. My eyes still hurt
!
Why must you go and use the pepper packet
!?
” complained Stack.

     “Why must you be so stupid to fall for that trick
!?
Why didn’t you close your eyes and turn away
?
” countered Dawn.

     “Because I thought that I
had
you. I should’ve realised that Hay had given me the wrong password. What was the right password, anyway
?
” responded Hay.

     “Paradise
!
” said Dawn.

     “I should’ve known. Damn, my eyes hurt
!
” said Stack.

     Stack washed his eyes again.

     “Killing people
!
Stinging people’s eyes with pepper
!
All of this is crazy
!
” he said.

     “And you’re a stubborn idiot
!
So what
?
” said Flutter.

     “No, it’s you people who are the stubborn idiots
!
Don’t you know that trying to kill people, especially innocent people, is wrong
?
And of course, throwing pepper powder at people’s eyes is downright cruel
!
” said Stack.

     “We’re assassins, you idiot
!
Killing people is what we do
!
Wake up and smell the coffee, will you
?
” argued Flutter.

     “Oh yeah
!
Right
!
We are the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan
!
  We are the people of the Ten Betrayed Villages
!
Blah
!
Blah
!
Blah
!
” mocked Stack.

     “Yes
!
” said Flutter.

     “No
!
” said Stack.

     “Why are you people fighting
?
It’s such a beautiful day
!
” said Joy.

     “Yes
!
It’s a beautiful day to learn how to kill people
!
” said Flutter.

     “No
!
” said Stack.

     “Yes
!
” said Dawn.

     “No
!
” said Stack.

     “I don’t know,” said Dart.,

     “Good for you, Dart
!
” said Stack.

     “Yes... I mean no... I mean, auurgh
!
You’re wrong, Stack
!
We are the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan
!
We are assassins
!
We’re supposed to kill people
!
” said Dawn.

     “No
!
” said Stack.

     “Yes
!
”, “No
!
”, “Yes
!
”, “No
!
”...

     Back at The Lair, the trainees sat together at the ‘mess’ chamber. The mess chamber was an adjacent chamber that was carved out from the walls of the original cave, which was now designated as the ‘main’ chamber. The main chamber served as the gathering hall where all the clansmen gathered to socialise, trade or attend mission briefings if the mission involved the whole clan. The mess chamber was where the clan would normally have their meals. It was the only place where anyone was allowed to cook. Cooking elsewhere in The Lair was forbidden, due to poor ventilation. Clan members, however, were allowed to take food from the mess chamber back to their family chamber if they wished. The main chamber and the mess chamber both have a multitude of openings, which were connected to small tunnels which in turn led to a network of family chambers.

     “Yes
!
” insisted Dawn.

     “No
!
” argued Stack.

     “What’s this all about
?
” asked Grain Sillox.

     “Flutter and Dawn say that it is our duty to kill people and Stack disagrees,” explained Dart.

     “Oh
!
Well, my answer is ‘no’, too,” said Grain.

     All the trainees turned to look at Grain. Some had their jaws dropped in surprise. Others just shook their head. Joy was daydreaming of something. Stack was the only one who pat him on the back.

     “Why is everyone looking at me like that
?
I think that Stack is right
!
We shouldn’t…,” said Grain before he was rudely interrupted by Flutter.

     “Of course you’d say ‘no’. You’re a weakling
!
You cough and sneeze and stumble. So in order to disguise your weakness, you pretend to agree with Stack
!
” said Flutter.

     “That’s rubbish
!
You agree with Dawn not because you actually agreed with her, but because you have a thing for Hay Collart, and you’re just interested in getting his attention
!
” countered Grain.

     “Well said, Grain
!
” complimented Stack.

     “Nonsense
!
I mean, well, it’s true; I mean … auurgh
!
It happened again
!
” cursed Dawn.

     “Relax, Dawn. We know what you mean. You had meant to say that it’s nonsense what Grain had said about the clan but he is right about Flutter,” said Dart.

     “Thank you, Dart
!
” said Dawn.

     “You pathetic imbeciles
!
” said Flutter as she shook her head and stormed away.

     Several days later, the trainees were given an off day. Stack, Dart, Joy and Grain decided to follow Dawn and Rake on an outing. There was a smaller, gentler waterfall not too far from The Lair. Rake liked to fish there. Dawn had just wanted to get out and see the sun. Her batchmates had wanted to tag along to see the view. As children, they were not allowed outside The Lair very often, so any chance to get out was welcomed.

     The hike to their destination took over an hour. Once there, they set up a small camp with several tents and laid out their stuff. Rake went about trying to catch a fish. The boys took off their shirts and swam in the pool which was at the bottom of the waterfall. Dawn and Joy just sat by the river bank and enjoyed the cool breeze and the beautiful surroundings.

     “Ever wondered how it’s like to grow up in the city
?
Ever wondered how it’s like to grow up like normal children
?
” asked Joy.