Fear's Union

Chapter Fifteen

-Xen-

Three things were haunting Xen. The first was the memory of shadowy death-hunters stalking her on their demonic horses. That would not leave her any time soon. The experience plagued her dreams.

The second was the persistent ache of her injuries, which were not getting better quickly. What she needed was some proper rest, but there wasn't much danger of that. Not with Anejo as a friend.

And the third was the heavy weight of uncertainty. That one was the worst.

Every time she closed her eyes, she could see one of those things. This time it was her injuries that filled her subconscious.

The sun was only just peeking over the high walls of the Academy courtyard, but the exercises had already been long. There was an odour of sweat and cooking fires in the open space, but rather than stir a rumble in her belly, the aromas made her retch. She recalled the roasting smell of man-flesh before the gates of Altunia too, and shivered. It had been a busy few days.

She screwed up her nose and rolled her shoulders, loosening the joints. Her uniform was already filthy, and her bath was still a day of exercise away. Her injuries marched all over her and she grimaced. This was not the life for her.

"Look!"

It was Aran who interrupted her. She usually hung around the initiate when Anejo was absent, mainly out of pity. Why Anejo insisted that they attached themselves to him she did not know, but she bowed to her friend in this as with so many things. It could hardly be called an arduous task, but it was a chore of sorts. There was certainly little pleasure in Aran's company, for he had little enough to say.

The sight of what Aran pointed at eased her aches and buoyed her mood. Anejo had arrived, and so therefore had Keles.

Her lover marched straight past without even a gesture in her direction, but it didn't faze her. It was part of their code of discretion. What did confuse her was the small man striding alongside. She'd expected, and perhaps hoped, never to see Kato again. The man bred trouble.

"Thank the Father that I'm back."

Anejo had peeled off and came straight to her side, and the two embraced like long departed companions should. Anejo turned to greet Aran, and she looked back in Keles's direction. She watched him, strolling through the courtyard; her man. He was the third source of her haunting, and the appearance of Kato only heightened her unease.

"I thought that you two practised subtlety?"

"Shh ..." She whipped to Anejo, a finger at her lips, but her friend only smiled back. "Keep your voice down. We don't want people hearing."

She looked at Aran, checking what he'd heard, but the initiate was idly gazing into space. She had reiterated to Aran on numerous occasions when he was not entitled to an ear in a conversation, and to be fair to him, he'd learned that lesson.

"Come now Xen, you were giving away more with your ogling than I ever could with words. Anyway, how are things between you two? I gather your little adventure was interrupted."

She straightened, and there was a sharp scratch at her lower back where a scab unstitched itself. Anejo had lowered her voice to a whisper, but she was still prickly. She ushered her friend to the periphery of the courtyard with a hand, and leaned right into Anejo's ear.

"Dusk was upon us. It was terrifying." She shuddered and swallowed back a lump in her throat. It seemed weak, but it was justified. Dusk was terrifying.

They walked together and her friend stroked her back, which was nice. Not that it erased the memory. She shivered, even despite the warmth of the sun. The image of those malicious shadows stalked her subconscious, and there was no unseeing what she'd seen. To witness Dusk was to witness the gates of hell, and from what Aleña was saying, the end of the world too. This was not the life for her.