An Assassin's Vow | A Beloved Novel

Chapter 6

He was seven when the league found him. Tal had only been training as a knight alongside Devan and Chesed for a few months. Part of that training involved a survival course. And everyone took it once a year to keep their skills from growing too rusty. When the time came for the survival course, Tal went with a group of full-fledged knights and other trainees. Devan and Chesed would stay at the castle.

The training course would take place in the forest separating Castlecairn from the seven villages within Tredia's borders. The forest was notorious for housing various dangers that would put knights to the test. So it served as the perfect place to train future knights. There were enough experienced ones present to protect those who were still learning. But that didn't mean that things weren't bound to go wrong.

When Tal was taken in for his training experience, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Their party was attacked not long after entering the forest, which was highly unusual since the dangers that were said to plague the woods never ventured close to the main road. Chaos ensued. Trainees scattered into the forest or ran back down the road toward Castlecairn. Tal was not lucky enough to run back to the castle.

The horses reared up, and the wagon he was standing beside toppled toward him. Tal barely had enough time to dive out of the way. He coughed, spitting out dirt as the chaos around him continued. A horrible cackling sound erupted from the throat of someone racing past him, and Tal dared to lift his eyes to find the source of the noise.

A woman of exquisite beauty and clothed in a tattered black dress and cloak stood over a trainee who had not been able to escape. The trainee begged and pleaded to be allowed to go. But the woman only crouched down beside him, smirking. Something in her hand flashed against the sunlight, and Tal realized too late what it was. The knife sank into the trainee's throat. The sound that followed would haunt Tal for the rest of his life.

A horrible gurgling in the trainee's chest reached Tal's ears. Blood, thick red blood, bubbled up from the wound, soaking the front of the trainee's shirt and he jerked for a minute or two before finally going still. His lips and chin were stained that awful red color. And Tal could never forget that terrifying crunch as the bones in his neck shattered. The woman lifted her head to Tal, a horrific grin splitting her face. She pounced on Tal, pinning him to the ground. The scent of death, so sickly sweet, invaded his senses, threatening to have his breakfast on the forest floor in only a few moments. She dragged that wicked knife stained red down his cheek.

"You..." she murmured, her voice holding a sultry lure, the false promise of peace, of security, of comfort stirring his mind. He felt it for a moment, a tug on his thoughts.

Give in, it seemed to say, lilting and calming; predatory.

Sleep. For eternity.

Tal fought it, knowing what it meant. To sleep for eternity.

"I like you..." the woman purred, a hungry glint in her dark eyes. Eyes the color of an endless void; endless and deadly. "So strong... so promising... so angry..." That knife, cold and warm at the same time, trailed down his cheek, across his throat, and rested over his heart. She tapped the tip over his shirt. "It would be such a shame to waste all this potential. All this anger, The rage. The hate. But it would be so delicious, too." She licked her lips, the action bringing a horrifying chill up Tal's spine. The fear that crawled into his heart and slithered through his veins did more to paralyze him than her hold against his shoulder. She cocked her head to the side, tearing her gaze away as if she could hear what Tal could not. She hissed, the sound making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up straight. Then she was off of him, but not before she drove the knife into his shoulder, pushing it through skin, bone, muscle, and nerves, keeping him pinned there on the ground.