Faults

Chapter 34: Marshall

I'm waiting by the line of trees next to the cemetery right where Christian talked to me three days ago. It's just about the same time as when we first spoke when the sound of footsteps come from behind me.

"Are you ready?" Christian's voice comes.

I spin around on my heel to face him. There's another person with him. That must be the partner he talked about. "For what?" I ask.

"To get a little bit of revenge," he laughs.

My jaw drops. "Right now? I thought we were going to your hideout first so I could meet your partner."

"Well, he's here, isn't he? I figured I might as well bring him along and make things more efficient for all of us," Christian says, heading for the village.

The other man follows behind him and I quickly catch up. Christian looks back at me over his shoulder and points to the other guy. "This is Taylor. He's going to be doing the most damage."

Taylor holds out a hand and a small fire lights in his palm. He grins and then closes his hand, the fire disappearing. He looks strangely familiar. It's like I've seen him before. I give him a nod, acknowledging him. He does the same to me but with a detective look on his face. I ignore it and focus on the path.

We walk into the village and Christian leads us to the schoolhouse. Heading to the back of the building, Taylor and Christian look around for anyone that may try to stop us. "What are we doing here?" I ask.

"Our first bit of revenge. This is Mr. Mellish's fault. He always favored the students that got their abilities sooner than others. Never taught us anything anyway. I learned more on my own," Christian explains.

Taylor lights his hand and presses it to the outer wall of the schoolhouse. The structure is old and mainly made of wood, making this a simple task for us. Once the fire spreads across the back of the building, he steps back and crosses his arms over his chest. "I've always hated school," he snickers.

Christian turns to me. "Can you fight?"

"If I need to," I reply.

"Good. Now, let's head back to our cabin before anyone spots us. This went much smoother than I was expecting. Looks like you'll be seeing the hideout afterall, rookie," he returns, walking in the direction of the forest.

As we walk away, I keep looking back. The glow of the flames is grabbing my attention and I can't tear my eyes away for long. The fire is consuming the building, people are screaming and yelling, guards are rushing around. People are grabbing buckets and filling them with water from the well. For some reason, though, I don't feel any pity on them, nor do I feel remorse for being there when the crime was committed. Granted, I didn't do it myself, but it feels like I helped. Finally, the trees are starting to block my view of the schoolhouse, giving me a chance to regain attention on the "alliance" I just joined.

"Where is this cabin?" I ask.

"A ways away. Maybe two hours of walking–it's well hidden amongst the trees," Taylor responds.

I nod and follow them as we go deeper into the endless, dark span of forestry. Every once in a while, I steal a glance at Taylor and try to figure out where I've seen him.

Then it clicks.

At the Lifeblood ritual, he was standing with the King. But I distinctly remember him having a lot of scars. Perhaps I'll ask. "What happened to your scars?" I question Taylor, pointing to my left cheek.

He arches an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You had a lot of scars the last time I saw you. Three huge slash marks on your face and what looked like a burn on your neck. You were with the King at the Honing. Your hair was also much longer, did you cut it?"

Taylor grimaces. "You're talking about my brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Unfortunately. He's my twin. He's the next person we're getting revenge on," he replies, rolling his eyes. "He's a shifty bastard. Even though he's beyond weak, we still can't seem to get him."

"When are we, uh, getting revenge on your brother?" I inquire.

Christian turns around, continuing walking but backwards. "Tomorrow. Prepare yourself, his boyfriend has gotten much stronger."

"Who's his boyfriend?"

Christian rolls his eyes. "The King. We're taking him out after Aydin."

"Oh, God..."

I assume Aydin is Taylor's brother, but I can't figure out why they would want to kill him or the King. It's starting to feel like this alliance is more for the gains of Christian and Taylor, and I'm going to be following along.

I suppose I'd be getting revenge on the Kingdom by killing the King, though...

What have I gotten roped into?