Land of Evil

Five - The Introduction

"Rahda!"

She heard a crack in her neck from spinning her neck so hard, but she refused to feel it. It wasn't her name being called that had gotten her to pay attention, but the caller. And the tone of his voice. She had a feeling that something had happened. And it wasn't a good type of something.

She lifted herself to her feet, watching her Master approach her. He was immaculate as always, but there was a slight urgency she sensed from him. Also, this was the first time in ages he had actually walked towards anyone instead of just appearing in front of them.

The members had stopped their training and turned to him. They must have felt the change in the sound of his voice too. But it was a bad idea to forget their vanishing training partners.

A whip went to the back of the dark girl's neck. Rahda could see the blood that splattered from the painful impact. The girl fell to the floor, screaming in pain. The other bloody and tired boy and the girl who had started limping turned around, their minds immediately back in the training.

Rahda bowed as Alahfaq reached her. "Master."

"Problem," he said.

She stared at him. "What kind of problem?"

He didn't answer immediately, but turned to the Training Ground and snapped a finger. Large wisps of smoke erupted, then disappeared into the tense air. The boy collapsed to the floor at about the same time as the other girl, thankful to have been freed from their training at a much earlier time today.

Rahda frowned, turning to Alahfaq. But he didn't look at her. He clapped, making the members turn their heads weakly towards him. "Rise and get yourself prepared for the Introduction."

There were grunts and moans of agreement.

Rahda blinked, her eyebrows rising. "New member?"

"Obviously," Alahfaq retorted.

"Since when did you start to resent a new addition to your group?" She asked, confused.

"Since that new addition to my group happens to be the one who got an upper hand on you with the Vajas diamond." Alahfaq's glare was fiery.

Rahda's heart picked up rate. "What?"

"In 10 minutes," he said, raising a hand to silence her further questions. He turned and he was gone from the room. He had vanished just like all of Rahda's hopes and dreams. Just like all of her hard work. Everything was gone.

She stood, her heart squeezing into itself.

She heard the shuffling of her other members off the Training Ground. They would clean themselves up and get ready to welcome the new member. The same boy who had deprived her of her diamond. He would be here...to be a member of The Lions. He would be in the same Frat as her; an equal to her.

Impossible.

*~*

Kaizer walked with heavy shoulders through the street. This was his life now. He would forever have this heavy emptiness with him. It would never leave.

He has somehow thought that everything would be fine again. That he would be okay and that he would have any problems in his life. Even as he had thought it, he had known it was stupid. His eyes moistened with tears but he blinked them away, inhaling deeply.

From this day forward, he would be nothing but a slave. He would have no life of his own. He would only exist to serve all the Masters on the side of the world he was walking into.

As he stood, waiting for a procession to pass along, he felt a pang in his heart. He noticed what the procession was: a celebration of new life. It was done in Rovaque to celebrate birth.