To Kill a Wizard: Rose's Story (The Protectors of Tarak Book 1) (30 page)

“This will work,” I whispered to myself, turning away from her, and away from the crowd, to the girls who stood eagerly waiting. Then, I took a deep breath and stood up straighter.
Make them believe you’re one of The Great Protectors they’ve dreamed of for so long.
I forced my words to come out loud, but tried to capture the mysteriousness of Blair’s, “In the days before written histories, it’s said the goddesses wanted to reward special humans…” I tried to recite the speech Blair gave, but my nerves made it so I barely heard the words leaving my mouth. This speech, no doubt, wouldn’t be the stuff of legends, but I hoped it’d be enough to make this day special for these girls who had waited their whole lives for it.

I trailed off as I ran out of things to say and let my gaze run over the girls. “Now, I’m going to need your hands. Through my touch, I’ll be able to decide if you are meant to be a Protector.”

The first girl was pretty, blonde, tall, and wearing a gown that probably cost more than my father had ever seen in his life. I reached out and took her by the wrist. She trembled beneath my touch, but didn’t pull away.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on “searching” the girl, but for a long time, I felt nothing. And then, something tore free from me and poured into her. It was a red substance that oozed, filling every cavity of her until it encircled a silver flicker of light. It was an awful feeling, like prying into a person’s deepest secrets.

I pulled away and opened my eyes. The girl stared at me expectantly. I moved to the next girl, trying my best to give nothing away in my expression. These girls saw joining The Order as privilege, but I knew better. Still, what could I do?

I searched five more girls, all with silver flickers, before I found a small gold flame. Opening my eyes, a young girl, who reminded me of Yara, stood waiting. Her expression was filled with both innocence and fear. If given the choice, would she actually want to join The Protectors?

By the time I reached the last girl, I’d found three golden flickers, and no infernos. None of these girls would past the test. All would be turned into flowers, and I would be the one to blame for their pain.

I took a deep breath. “None of you passed the test!”

Some of the girls gasped, others broke into tears, and the crowd began to murmur. I tried to climb down the stairs, but Clarissa was suddenly in front of me.

“
What
are you doing?” she growled, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.

“I can’t do this,” I said.

She swore. “Why you little—”

“People of Ponya, calm down, there has been a mistake.”

I turned to see a young girl weaving through the crowd. She wore a skirt made from multicolored strips of silk, and a golden chemise.

“I believe this girl,” she continued, pointing to me. “Is new in The Order, so I shall complete the ceremony.”

I glared at her, but she was staring out at the crowd.

“These three girls are The Chosen,” she said, pointing to the three girls, “my apologies to the rest.”

The three girls she indicated stepped forward, and the crowd erupted in cheers. A couple men stood tall and silent. A vision of my father flashed in my mind, before I turned back to the stage. The rest of the girls left the platform.

“I am Sura.” The girl in gold said, smiling. “And don’t worry, it gets easier. The first time is always the hardest.”

A woman, taller than any woman I’d seen before, joined the girls on the stage.

“Talsa, take them to their new home,” Sura ordered the ridiculously tall girl.

Talsa opened the portal and stepped through into the wintery lands.

The young girls followed.

The cheering swelled. An explosion of sound. Celebratory music blended with the voices of the people, and dancing broke out in the streets.

My stomach clenched. I didn’t know what I should do, but I couldn’t just let them go. “We need to stop this.”

Clarissa’s face was a mask of anger. “And what? Let all of Tarak fall?”

I yanked my shoulder free of Clarissa and squared off with Sura, who stood blocking me from the portal. “I won’t
ever
do what you do. Now, get out of my way.”

Sura’s smile faltered, and she exchanged a glance with Clarissa before looking back at me. “Let’s just get you to your home for the night.”

The portal closed behind the girls, sealing their fate.

Knowing I couldn’t follow them, I turned my gaze to Sura. I wanted to tell her to go straight to the Underworld, but my anger fled when faced with her pitying expression.

A sudden weariness struck. This was a battle I couldn’t win. But with Asher’s help, perhaps I could win the war.

My shoulders sagged. If I could convince him to help.

Right and wrong seemed to blend together until everything was neither and both. Saving the girls was right. Saving Tarak was right. But both couldn’t be done.

So I made the only choice that seemed simple. I followed Sura and Clarissa through the crowd of celebrating people. Most wore masks of the goddesses’ faces. Their shockingly wild dancing and fast-paced music, stood at such odds with my unhappiness, I could barely stand to look at them.

“Why aren’t we just going back to The Glass Castle?” My words came out less curious and more exhausted.

Clarissa’s expression held regret as she glanced back at me. “I told you, Blair wants to test you. Which means we stay here until we’re done.”

My temples pounded. “But doesn’t it matter that I already failed the first test?”

Clarissa smirked. “Do you really think Blair thought you’d go through with it? Forgot The Choosing, focus on your next test.”

After letting those girls get taken, I wasn’t sure what more Blair could put me through.

Regret made my feet drag and our journey long and joyless. Even the many extraordinary temples failed to create even the smallest spark of interest inside of me. Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes when we finally stepped through a gate and into a small courtyard, just off a quiet street.

A unique building loomed over us, looking strangely misshapen. It was as if each floor had been built upon the last, without much concern for whether they matched up. She led us up the steps and inside, to a cozy main room, and then back, to a small dining room. As soon as we sat down, Sura herself brought a dish for each of us, overflowing with tender meat and spicy potatoes.

“The food isn’t quite as good as it is at The Glass Castle, but it’s better than what I’ve eaten most of my life,” Sura explained, nibbling on a thick chunk of beef.

Clarissa gobbled up her food, belched, and stood up. “Can you baby-sit the girl for a little while? I’ve got things to attend to.” She cracked her neck, grinning. “You two should talk. You’d be surprised how much you have in common.”

She didn’t wait for a response. A minute later, she was gone, leaving me alone with the strange girl.

Sura ran a hand through her shoulder-length brown hair. “So—So,” she stuttered. “How long have you been a Protector?”

I took another bite of my food, chewed it slowly, and swallowed before answering. “Not long. You?”

“I was Chosen when I was thirteen,” she said, her brows wrinkling in thought, “so almost a year.”

With food in my belly, and out of the chaos of the streets, I felt better. More in control of myself and my situation. My anger surged back to life.

“And when did you become so heartless?

She laid her fork on her half-eaten plate of food. “It took me some time to accept my fate, but when I did, I was able to make the best of my situation. Now, I’m actually able to do some good here.”

“And, you couldn’t do good without sacrificing those girls?” I stabbed my fork through another piece of meat.

She reached across the table, and much to my surprise, patted my hand. “I do more good here than I ever did in Wintercarve.”

My shoulders tensed. “You’re from Wintercarve?”

Sura smiled. “You’ve heard of it?”

I ignored her question. “Did you know a boy named Asher?”

Her lips pulled into a tight line, and she rose from her chair. “What do you know of him?”

My pulse quickened. “Are you his little sister?”

Sura’s dark eyes bulged. Her arms thickened unnaturally as she pressed her hands into the tabletop. “What do you know of
my
brother?”

I escaped my chair and stumbled back.

Dark wings sprouted from her back as her skin turned an oily black. Talons sprouted where her hands had once been, and she quadrupled in size. All in the blink of an eye.

I ran for the door.

She blocked my escape.

Turning towards the double doors leading to the kitchen, I made it almost a step before she shoved me into the wall.

I was trapped.

Her hot breath stung my face. Her talons tore into the wall on either side of my head. “
What
do you know of my brother?” Her voice was low and harsh, like the grumbling of an animal.

I spoke without thinking. “I—I love him.”

Her eyes were black and unreadable, but the tension in her body eased. “You love him?” She formed the words awkwardly, her sharp teeth jetting out over her top lip.

“Yes,” I said, searching my mind for a goddess’ name, just in case my acknowledgement made her even angrier. “And I think he might love me too.”

She released me, but didn’t move. “How did you come to know my brother?”

“I met him when I tried to escape from The Protectors.”

Sura’s skin began to pale back to her normal coloring. “Did he mention me?”

I inched to my left. “Several times. He still searches for you.”

Her pupils decreased in size, allowing the brown of her irises to show once more. “That sounds like my brother.”

I inched away from her a little more. “He
hates
The Protectors for taking you.”

She folded her wings onto her back. Between one second and the next, she’d returned entirely back to normal. With the exception of her dress, which hung in tatters. “Then, how did he fall in love with a Protector?”

“He doesn’t know I’ve become a Protector… yet.”

One of Sura’s brows rose, and she walked to the table, sitting back in her chair. “Sorry, I thought I’d learned to control my powers better than that, but I guess I still have more training to do.” She smiled shyly. “Please, sit with me again.”

I looked at the kitchen doors, wondering if there was more than one way to escape her home, and then, back at the table. Sura might have important information about Asher, and I might never have another opportunity like this one. Plus, Asher needed to know if she was okay, and maybe I could give him that.

Crossing the room, I eased into my chair.

Sura smiled reassuringly, leaving her palms up and open on the table, in the universal sign of peace. “I don’t know whether to be happy my brother has found you or sad he’s fallen for a Protector.”

“I’m not sure how to feel either.” I reached an unsteady hand for my glass of water, blurting out the truth. “I’m in love with someone who
hates
what I am.”

A look of sympathy crossed her face. “May I tell you a little about my brother? It might help.”

I nodded and took a sip of my drink.

“My brother is the most amazing person in this world. When my father died, he worked hard to take care of me and my mother. There were many men, twice my brother’s age, who couldn’t provide for their families, but Asher always made sure we were fed and clothed.”

Imagining Asher as a small child, left to provide for his entire family, reminded me of my own father’s helpless. A tingle of annoyance ran through me, an echo of the anger I’d seen on Asher’s face when he’d comforted me in the snow about my family. Why had my situation bothered him, when he’d experienced a similar one?

“Your mother was the parent. Shouldn’t she have been providing for both of you?”

Sura shrugged. “Before mother married my father, Asher had been the man of the house. He already knew how to take care of her.”

An image of Asher’s mother, brown hair and brown eyes in a fragile face, appeared in my mind. She looked so much like Sura, and yet, too young to have a nineteen or twenty year old son.

“She
is
pretty young… and she doesn’t look much like Asher,” I said, hoping Sura might confirm my suspicions.

“She’s not his mother by blood,” Sura replied, calmly.

I knew it!

“Does Asher know that?”

“Of course.” She met my gaze with a frank one of her own. ”But she’s the only mother he knows. And he loves her.”

My head spun. This new information was interesting, but something else occurred to me. Asher was a wizard, which meant his father was a wizard. His blood-mother didn’t really matter, but his father, that was a different story.

I hesitated, taking a deep breath. “How did your father die?”