Knowledge is Deadly: Book 1: The Azuran Series

Chapter 4

"So that time wasn't as bad on your part." Kilin said.
It had been three days since the library. Since then they have practiced everyday and Katelyn wasn't getting any better.
"I dropped my sword twice! Why is it taking me so long to learn?"
"It takes a while, Katelyn." She sighed.
"I'm not a very patient person when it comes to learning things. Did you see my dad's face today?" She shook her head.
"Yeah.." she said looking down.
She opened the door to the room. Katelyn didn't bother to acknowledge Aspen or Blake and flopped onto her bed with a groan. Kilin crawled into her own bed, pulling the covers up to her face.
Katelyn stared at the ceiling until her eyelids drooped and then she fell asleep quickly.

•~•~•~•~•~•

She slept great until she was being violently shaken.
"Katelyn! Wake up now!" Kilin yelled in her face. She jolted awake and sat up quickly.
"What?! What's going on?" The alarms were blaring in her ears and she noticed Blake and Aspen positioned inside the room, looking out the door with their swords drawn.
"The castle is under attack." Kilin said and walked to her bed.
She pulled out two daggers from under her bed mattress. She twisted one in her hand and looked back at Katelyn.
She was pale in the face and her eyes were wide. "Terrorists?" She asked, terrified.
"We think so." Blake said and eyed Kilin's daggers. "Ah.. how- why- you.. ah." He said
"shut up. I can use them." She said and looked back at Katelyn.
"We need to get out of the castle." She said.
Katelyn slid out of bed and stood up, favoring her ankle as she flitted about the room. She pulled on her boots, slung her backpack on, and turned back to Kilin.
"But where will we go?" She asked.
"There is a safe place just outside the castle. We have to take you there." Aspen said looking at Katelyn.
"Let's go before they find us!" Kilin snapped walking out the room. Blake huffed following her.
Katelyn went into the hallway after them. Her heart was beating quickly and she felt panicked as the alarms continued to sound.
"What are they wearing?" Blake asked looking over at Aspen.
A man turned the corner, holding a bloody sword. Kilin threw a dagger threw the air, it hit the man's chest and he fell to the ground, lifeless.
"That." She said. Kilin walked over to him and pulled out, the now blood-covered, dagger from his chest.
Katelyn froze as memories flooded her mind.
"I recognize them.." she mumbled. "They're the ones that killed my-" she stopped and stared at the dead man.
"You just.." Blake stammered. Kilin rolled her eyes.
"Oh my gosh, I killed someone." She said sarcastically.
"Exactly.." Blake said.
"You should let us handle it." Aspen said.
"It's fine." She said.
Katelyn kept her eyes on the man, and she clenched her fists. "Come on guys. We have to keep going." She said, tearing her eyes away.
Aspen started walking with Blake. They turned a corner. Three men stood over two dead guards. Blake clenched his fist and held his sword out. The men looked at them and started towards them.
"Two behind us." Kilin said looking at the two other men behind them. "I'll take them." She said glaring at them.
"But-"
"I can handle it." She said cutting Aspen off.
Katelyn didn't know what to do. She didn't have a weapon, so she just stood off to the side uselessly.
Kilin met swords with them rather quickly. Aspen and Blake took on the three men as well. One went down and both of Kilin's did.
Kilin stood beside Katelyn now. Aspen and Blake then took the last two out with ease. They looked back at them.
"Let's go this way." Aspen said walking down the hallway. His arm was bleeding slightly.
"I'll help you with that later." Katelyn told him, and started to walk beside him.
"It's just a scratch." He countered. Kilin eyed Katelyn's foot. She was still favoring it.
Two men turned the corner, one with a bow the other with a sword.
"Bow!" Kilin yelled instinctively.
The bow-man pulled back his bow and shot it down the hall. It hit Aspen's shoulder and he stumbled back with a yell.
Kilin threw her dagger at the bow-man, who fell to the floor. Blake met swords with the other man.
Katelyn stood beside Aspen instinctively.
"Don't tell me this is just a scratch." She said, and led him towards the wall out of the way, still limping.
Blake took out the man easily.
Katelyn whipped bandages out of her bag and stepped towards Aspen to wrap his shoulder.
He pushed her away and forced himself up.
"Not here. We have to keep going." He said.
Kilin took her dagger back and looked at him.
"Take the arrow out. It will feel better." She said.
"But-"
"just do it or I will." She snapped.
Katelyn held the arrow at the base with one hand and held Aspen's shoulder with the other.
"This will hurt." She said, and tugged the arrow out of its spot.
He yelled out and held his shoulder. He cursed under his breath.
"Now we really have to go. Someone would have heard that." Kilin said looking down the hallway.
"Well aware." Aspen grumbled.
Katelyn gave him an apologetic look before tossing the arrow to the ground and pressing on with the others.
After a minute of walking Kilin stopped.
"Let me go Look ahead. We don't need another arrow to the shoulder." She said looking at them. Katelyn nodded and stopped, leaning against the wall for support.
"Let me go." Blake said.
"Your to loud." Kilin said starting down the hall.
"I am not.." he grumbled.
Aspen leaned against the wall, his teeth clenched and eyes closed.
Kilin disappeared around a corner up ahead.
Katelyn put all of her weight on her right foot and looked over at Aspen.
"I guess my dad was right about... a lot." She said, trying to make conversation to distract him from the pain. She could only hope that the tip of the arrow wasn't poisoned.
"Yeah." He mumbled. An arrow hit the wall where the hallway was.
Kilin came running.
"six. Two bows." She said.
There were hurried footsteps in the hall. Aspen pushed off the wall.
"I can take one." He said.
"I'll get the bows." Kilin said.
"I'll take three." Blake said.
"And I'll.." Katelyn began, but sighed and shook her head. She got off of the wall and followed the others, wishing she could help.
"Stay out the way." Kilin suggested.
"Fine. You guys just go ahead. I'll watch the back." She said in an annoyed tone.
The six people turned the corner.
Kilin threw a dagger taking out one of the bow-men already. Aspen swung at one and Blake tried to hold off three.
Kilin kicked the bow out of the man's hand. She was met with a swift punch to the face. She grunted and swung her dagger at him.
Katelyn saw a man sneaking up behind Blake, but before she could call out a warning, she was grabbed from behind by someone.
She yelled but the person put their hand over her mouth and dragged her into a room quickly. She didn't think anyone had seen where she had gone.
She turned to challenge the man once he released her, but realized he was one of their own guards. He was injured badly but was keeping it hidden.
He looked at the ground, where Katelyn saw her father laying, bloody from a serious wound to the chest.
"Dad!" She cried and knelt beside him.
She pulled out bandages from her pack and started to work on his wound quickly, trying to stay calm.
"How did this happen?" She said, tears starting to well in her eyes when she realized how bad the wound was.
Her dad grabbed her hands and looked at her.
"That doesn't matter. Listen to me. Take this-" He pulled out a locket from his pocket and closed her fingers around it.
"It was your mother's. You have to get out of here-" He said, his voice choked up with pain.
"No dad. We have to get out of here." She protested. He shook his head slowly.
"No. It's too late for me. Katelyn, my brave little girl." His eyes moistened, and Katelyn let a few tears of her tears fall.
"I love you. I want you to know that even if I-" Katelyn interrupted him.
"Shh, dad. It's ok." He squeezed her hand with the locket in it and glanced towards the wall.
"You know where to go. Get out of here."
"You're coming with m-" she was cut off by a banging sound on the door.
The guard that had dragged her in the room was holding it shut.
"Miss, you should listen to your father. We don't have any more time." He said remaining calm. Years of training helped with that. Her dad nodded and pointed at the door.
"Go." He said weakly.
Katelyn used all of her willpower to stand up with the locket in hand and walk away from her dying father.
She felt along the wall for a loose brick and removed it, revealing a lever. She tugged on it and the wall opened up, creating a hole just large enough for her to crawl through.
She replaced the brick, looked back at her dad one last time, and entered the secret tunnel.
She closed it behind her quickly and ran away, not daring to stop and think.