Weather Control

Chapter 14

Gust sheathed his sword and sat on the ground. He motioned for me to do the same.

"Where should I start?" he asked me softly.

He had been happy to come here again, but he had figured out what I wanted from this visit: information about what happened after I left. I decided not to answer him.

He started to tell the story. "After you were sent to your death, Matt tried to strangle a guard and Spike drew a knife- your knife. They both went to jail for a month. Caleb quit the guard a week later and let us know the king changed his mind and you were only to be banished. His father kick him out for being a disgrace to his family and he went to live with his mother. His father apologized eventually and Caleb moved back. 

"Spike and Matt went the whole month thinking you were dead -we weren't allowed to visit- and there was definitely a change in him. When the Frostickers came, Spike was expecting them. It was almost like he hoped they would come. He went willingly enough that they didn't hurt anyone else. Drew cried even though he had no idea what was going on. We explained it to him later.

"Mom closed the tavern for a week after that and Dad stayed home from work. It almost cost him his job. Matt is courting a girl named Joseipha and Drew has a very pretty female friend."

Gust smiled slightly as he said that last one part. 

"Matt is courting somebody?" I asked, shocked. I had assumed every part to be true already besides his last sentence.  

He laughed and nodded. I was proud of my self for helping in changing his mood to a better one. 

"I'll have to approve of this girl first," I said more to myself than Gust.

"You and me both. I haven't met her yet either," said Gust, who was still laughing.

"You haven't?" I said, grinning slightly. "Then I guess we have a mission." 

Gust's face was turning red from laughter. "Ah, I missed you, Thorne."

I laughed and hugged him. "Missed you too."

His laughter died off. "Is that all you needed to know, Thorne?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. But could you do something else?" At his encouraging nod, I continued. "Teach me to sword fight. To really fight though. Please?"

He chuckled and squeezed my shoulder. "Yes, Thorne. I can teach you to fight."

He showed me how to hold the sword properly before he would teach me the basics. When we were finished, I felt I had learned a lot. We embraced and exited through separate doors. 

The tunnel was much the same as it was when I came through it almost an hour ago. The only difference was I had to backtrack to find my way several times. I exited the room from which I came and ghosted back down the corridor. I cursed the stairs with every step I took. They were such a liability. They weren't even spiral staircases. They just went down.

When I got off of the stairs and could walk close to the wall again, I breathed easier. The path back to the kitchen was much easier than the previous part of my trip. I continued to walk. Then I heard the voices, and I cursed myself for ever becoming a thief. Maybe I would've done better being not... me.

"The kitchen door was found unlocked." It was the same two voices from last time.

"Take your problem to someone else. If people are trying to assassinate me, we will have many more problems than just my death. It means the Frostickers are preparing for war." 

"It may not be the Frostickers," the first voice muttered.

I was frozen in my place. I was hardly breathing. The door to the dining room was meters away and I would be caught this time. There was no doubt. I could hardly move. The two men were walking down the hallway. Any movement would alert them to my presence. And, oh gods, the king looked straight at me.

My breathing, as silent as it was, was coming faster and faster. My heart was going to break my chest apart. I was dead, dead, dead. He was going to kill me and laugh. All the while, Sunshine would lose points from that awful game and Spike would rot away in a prison and Jace would only cling to his hope I was still alive for only a few years. All while I died.

But the king's eyes left my own, and he simply walked away. His conversation with his advisor did not pause and I was not dead. So what happened?

The king kept walking up the stairs with his advisor. Just before he became out of sight, he turned and smirked at me. It tool all of my effort not to run away but instead creep along the walls in case of someone less merciful happened to walk by. 

My breathing was still heavy when I came to the kitchen. I stopped short. Guards were every where in the kitchen. I swore. It would be only a matter of time before the Commander checked to make sure all of us were in our beds. And I was not in my bed.

I leaned back in defeat against the wall. I needed to stop taking risks. This is exactly how many of my friends had died. But I couldn't give up yet. I had to be quick.

I sprinted away from the guards back down the tunnel. I prayed to the gods for luck, but they had stopped caring long ago. My hand felt along the wall until I found what I was looking for. I pulled the door open. Unless someone knew it was there, it would be impossible to find. I slammed it shut behind me and ran. 

The tunnel let out maybe a minute away from the entrance of the training building. I pushed the trap door open and leapt out. I was in an abandoned building. I was shocked it hadn't fallen down by now. I tried the door, but it was locked from the outside. I needed to get back, and I didn't feel bad when I slammed the butt of my sword into the window. 

The streets were empty, and it was all too easy to cut corners as short as possible. The door to the training building was unlocked and I lost my faith in the people trying to protect the king. I shoved my picks underneath my wings and used them to clamp the picks to my body. I did the same with the Jace's dagger and I returned the sword to the weapon room. If I got caught, I had to be able to remove all suspicion.

I walked up the stairs to the beds and tried to calm my breathing. I tried to open the door. I tried again. The door was locked. I reached for my picks. 

"You," the commander said.

I jumped and drew my hand away from my shirt. I knew all about getting caught. 

"Sir," I said, "the door is locked."

He ignored me. "Why were you out of the room?" He growled.

I shrugged. "I couldn't sleep, so I was wandering around. You never said we couldn't."

He frowned as if he hadn't thought of that. I hoped he thought I was dumb. Counting on it, in fact. If he thought I was too dumb to lie, too dumb to pick locks, then I was fine.

"Someone entered this building and went in the direction of the king. Until this is resolved, you will be sent to the prison." He looked like he was sorry to say it.

"What?" I flinched slightly at the prospect of going to that awful place.

His gaze hardened though, and his decision was final. 

I leaned against the wall of the hall. I was lucky. For now at least.