Where Serpents Strike (Children of the Falls Vol. 1) (41 page)

Still, she missed the dream of marrying one
day and starting a family of her own. She feared the rest of her
life would be spent preparing for a war she’d rather avoid.

Through the colonnade she saw Nairnah
Kholoch sitting on the grass sewing a pair of leggings. Dana walked
over and sat down next to her.

“Did Pick tear his pants again?” she
asked.

“No. Stoneman. Right down the bottom.” She
giggled.

“Kind of you to mend them for him,” Dana
said.

“I just like to help.”

Nairnah had a reputation of always lingering
where there was work to be done. She may not have been very
independent minded, but she could follow directions to the letter
and never had to be told twice. Nairnah had matured over the last
two years, emerging from her shy, nervous shell into a blossoming
young woman. Dana had even come to admire her, though the girl was
several years younger than she.

“You’re a good helper,” Dana said. “Others
have said so.”

The girl smiled in thanks, blue eyes
squinting above raised cheeks.

Dana watched Nairnah sew in silence for a
few moments, enjoying the late afternoon sun as it dressed the
garden in warm light.

“Is Brayden all right?” Nairnah asked.

Dana was well aware of the girl’s
long-standing affections for her brother. Nairnah was almost of
marrying age, by Edhen’s standards anyway, but Dana doubted
marriage would come very soon for any of them.

“Why wouldn’t he be all right?” Dana asked.
She wondered if Nairnah had overhead all that had just transpired
in the barn.

“A couple days ago I saw his lip was split,”
she said. “I don’t like those games they play.”

Dana didn’t disagree. The games Khalous put
them through often resulted in a mixed bag of cuts and scrapes. She
often reminded herself that it was all for a greater good, that
Khalous was preparing them to be warriors capable of astonishing
feats.

“My father used to say that soldiers were
made the same as swords,” Dana said. “The best swords are heated,
pounded, cooled, heated, folded and pounded again. It’s a long
process that takes time and strength. That’s how the best soldiers
are made, over time through strength and discipline.”

“Do you remember your father very well?”

“Yes.”

“What was he like?”

She thought for a moment, thinking of
Kingsley’s charming tawny brown eyes. He had tough workman’s hands
that were never anything to her but gentle.

“He was strong,” Dana said. “I remember his
hands, when he’d pick me up, there was something so secure about
them. He had a strong mind, too. He knew what was right and wrong,
and never wavered. His love for my mother was undying, even after…”
She stopped herself, recalling the pain of her mother’s
betrayal.

“After what?” Nairnah asked.

It occurred to Dana that such secrets didn’t
matter anymore, and so she continued. “I was about to say, even
after she conceived Broderick with another man.”

Nairnah gasped.

“My father kept it a secret to protect my
mother from public shame. I never knew what love was until I saw
the way he forgave her, embraced her, and welcomed her back into
the family. He had a fierce love for her, that much I know.”

Nairnah looked sad. “I don’t remember my
father. Or my mother.”

“Not at all?”

She scrunched her face as though the
admission had hurt her inside. “I remember what it was like to have
a mother and father, but, even though I try, I can’t remember them
specifically.” Dana watched a single tear slide down her cheek. “I
don’t know why.”

“What were their names?” Dana asked.

“Edward and Nora.”

“What did your father do?”

“He was a carpenter. He built wagons and
sold them all throughout the kingdom.”

“And your mother?”

“She was a seamstress. Her legs didn’t
always work, so I would help her. I’d fetch fabric from the attic,
or buy new cloth from the market.” Nairnah smiled as she spoke, her
eyes lost in fond recollection. “My mother used to say that she
could hold her needles and her fabric, hold up a new shirt or a
vest, but she could never hold her children. She liked it when I
worked with her, I think. It gave us something to do together.”

The dinner bell rang.

“I think you remember your parents quite
well actually,” Dana said.

Nairnah’s eyes blinked as though realizing
the memory she had just relived. “Yes, I suppose I do.”

The two girls left the grassy garden to join
the others in the dining room.

Dana let Nairnah go on ahead when she
noticed Khalous and Ariella standing in a corner of the cloister
talking with Prior Gravis. Rather, it looked like Gravis was doing
most of the talking. Judging by the look on Khalous’ face his words
were not being well received.

Dana stepped back behind one of the pillars
of the colonnade to listen.

“I’ve found a blacksmith in Pelnon looking
for an apprentice,” Gravis said, “and I know of several carpenters
and scholars in Arys looking for boys to mentor. Some of our older
orphan boys will be taken away to—”

“This world does not need carpenters and
scholars,” Khalous said. “It needs warriors.” He faced Gravis
squarely, his broad shoulders and chest draped in a confident navy
shirt with a high collar, covered over in patches of leather armor,
well worn and scarred.

“Of course, but we are not talking about
soldiers. We’re talking about children. Warfare is the work of men,
not—”

“Tell me, Gravis, how old were you when you
began your studies here?”

Gravis interlocked his hands under the long
maroon sleeves of his belted robe. After taking a brief moment to
think, he said, “I was a young boy.”

Khalous folded his arms. “The mind of a
child is a fascinating thing. It absorbs so much more than the mind
of a grown man. Children who begin learning at a young age quickly
become masters of their craft.” He stepped toward Gravis, letting
his powerful chest and shoulders crowd the prior just a bit. “I’m
training these children not just to make them soldiers, but to make
them the best soldiers the world has ever seen. A fact you will
undoubtedly be grateful for if the high king of Edhen ever decides
to invade this land you call home.”

Gravis drew a deep, slow breath. He
straightened his back and clenched his jaw as though struggling to
hold back a flurry of protests. It was no secret that he didn’t
like the violence of Khalous’ training on the monastery grounds. He
tolerated it only out of respect for the abbot who was far more
understanding.

Gravis walked away.

Khalous leaned back against the stone wall
of the dining hall. He looked pale and forlorn.

Ariella stepped up to him. Though she was
well beyond middle age, she was still plenty lovely. Her hair had
grown long again after enduring the shame of having it cut by the
abbot when she left the sisterhood. It was now braided down her
back, brown and white, lovely against the green of her simple
dress.

“Don’t lose heart,” Ariella said. “Just
because some don’t understand what you’re doing, doesn’t mean it’s
wrong.”

Her hand went to Khalous’ cheek. Dana
wondered what the abbot would say if he saw them so close together.
The abbey had strict rules about the physical contact allowed
between unmarried men and women.

“I know, but they’re not ready,” Khalous
said. “Complacency has settled upon them. They’re becoming too
comfortable here. Too content.”

“It is not your responsibility to save
Edhen. You have given your life to the Falls, to your kingdom.
Perhaps it’s time to rest.”

“I made a promise, Ariella. I promised Lord
Kingsley that I…” Khalous’ voice trailed off.

Kingsley.

Dana tensed, taking a renewed interest in
the conversation. All this time she had believed that they were on
Efferous to hide, to train in secret with Khalous to one day strike
back at the Black King. Now she wondered if there wasn’t another
reason they were here, something to do with her father perhaps. The
thought made her pulse quicken.

“Promised what?” Ariella asked.

Khalous paced back and fourth.

“We need to finish this,” he said. “I must
fulfill Lord Kingsley’s wish.”

“What wish?”

Khalous stared at the floor, not
answering.

“Very well,” Ariella said with a stiff upper
lip. “Do what you must to honor your king, just be sure you aren’t
holding onto these children for your own purposes.”

“What do you mean?”

Ariella cupped his cheeks in both her hands.
“I love you,” she said, her manner softening. “I know you are a man
of honor, loyal to the traditions and family of Aberdour, but your
purpose is with me now, and to our family, should the Allgod bless
us with one. You don’t need any more purpose than that.”

Khalous fell silent, and Dana wondered if
she saw a tear trickle down into his beard. He kissed Ariella on
the cheek.

She smiled. “Where will you be taking
them?”

“To meet a friend.”

Khalous walked off into the dining room with
Ariella in tow.

A nervous chill arose in Dana’s chest as she
pondered the idea of leaving Halus Gis. The monastery had just
begun to feel like home.

Dana waited until after dinner to share what
she had overheard with Brayden.

She went to find him in the barn where he
often was in the evening, tending to the horses, putting away tack
and other tools. She was surprised when she didn’t find him
there.

Voices outside behind the barn caught her
attention. She followed the sounds around back until she saw Clint
straddling the top of the monastery’s northern wall. He was staring
down at Broderick and Brayden who were engaged in a quiet, but
furious debate.

Clint rolled his eyes. “Great. Now she’s
here.”

Broderick sighed with annoyance and turned
his back on Brayden. He took hold of a rope hanging over the wall
and climbed to the top of the fifteen-foot-tall barrier.

“Broderick!” Dana said. “What do you think
you’re doing?”

“Shh!” he said. He stood atop the wall and
walked out of sight. A moment later she heard the weight of his
body drop down onto the grass on the other side.

“You should come with us, Miss Dana,” Clint
said. He winked at her. “Might have fun.” He disappeared over the
wall.

“Apparently they’ve done this before,”
Brayden said, throwing up his hands.

“Done what? Where are they going?”

“There’s a village about four leagues west.
They go there at night sometimes, and come back before dawn.”

“How long have you known about this? Why
didn’t you tell Khalous?” She hated how accusatory her voice
sounded, but she couldn’t deny her anger. “Can you imagine what
Prior Gravis would do if he found out the boys were sneaking
outside the monastery?”

“I’ve noticed them coming into the barn late
at night before, but I didn’t know why until just now.”

“Do they have any idea how dangerous that
is?” she said. “Black vipers—”

“Haven’t been seen for a long time,” Brayden
said.

“But Bendrosi and Gravis say there are still
wanted posters for refugees from Edhen all over Efferous.” She
pointed to the wall. “If they’re caught…” She stopped herself with
a huff and paced away from Brayden, trying to calm down. “Idiots,”
she muttered.

“I won’t argue with that,” Brayden said.
“Should I tell Khalous?”

Dana shook her head. “It won’t matter much
longer anyway.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She spent the next few moments relaying to
him the things she’d overheard Khalous telling Ariella. Brayden
listened with growing fascination, and when she got to the part
about Lord Kingsley his eyes widened.

“A promise to our father?” he repeated.
“What could that mean? Do you think that’s why he brought us
here?”

Dana just stood there, looking at him, her
mind filled with all the same questions.

“Did he say when we might leave?” Brayden
asked.

“No.” Dana turned and looked back at the
rope hanging over the wall. “But, for their sake, I hope it’s
sooner rather than later.”

From atop the ladder Brayden was able to look
beyond the walls of the monastery to the colorful autumn hills
beyond. In the last few weeks, the forest’s numerous shades of
green had given way to fiery tones of red, orange, and yellow. The
colors ignited like a spark to parchment in the late afternoon
sun.

Brayden remembered the mountains of Aberdour
and how beautiful they looked come fall, their rocky slopes dappled
with patches of vibrant trees. He missed his old life, but was glad
for the similarities he found on Efferous that reminded him of
home.

He turned his attention on the apple
branches hanging above him. The tree was one of many in several
long rows of fruit trees occupying a large swath of property east
of Halus Gis. He tugged off a few more apples and dropped them into
a wheeled cart next to the ladder beneath him.

Several trees down the row he watched Dana
climb up onto a ladder. The way her navy dress swished at her
ankles coupled with her posture as she reached up to grab an apple
reminded him of his mother.

Dana saw him staring and smiled. “Are you
all right?”

“You remind me more and more of her,” he
said.

Her smile faded and for a moment Brayden
wondered if perhaps he shouldn’t have brought it up. After a pause,
a hint of cheer returned to her face. “Broderick has her eyes. Did
you ever notice?”

He had.

Brayden’s ladder jerked suddenly. He dropped
an apple and grabbed onto the top step to keep from falling.

“Oops,” shouted Clint as he walked past. “I
didn’t see you there.”

“Piss off,” Brayden said.