Soul of Ice

Chapter Six

The screaming noise of silver whistles sounded in the night. Astra stumbled out of her bed, kicking the coarse blanket to the ground, and lurched toward the door of the barrack. By the sounds of thumping footsteps, she was followed by the five female wraiths she was sharing the room with. Outside, the hallways were dark, save for the torches placed at intermittent intervals.

"Emergency," one of the wraiths explained grimly to her unanswered question. Her voice carried over the sounds of the screaming whistle noise. She and the others had their hands covered over their ears, but they seemed less affected by the whistle. If Astra wasn't so focused on trying not to break down from the noise, she might've asked if they'd gotten used to the sound after being in the army for so long.

Astra fell back as they walked, letting the other wraiths to lead the way. They led her to the rest of wraiths, where they congregated in another huge room. It was similar to that huge sitting room she'd seen that first day, though this one had no decorations.

Long minutes passed as groups of wraiths trickled in. Astra crushed her hands to her ears and stood standing, if only because she didn't want to sully herself on the dirty ground after she'd taken a bath just hours earlier. Through the blurry confusion, she noticed that some of the other wraiths rocked back and forth on the ground until finally the whistle sound faded and cut off. Slowly, Astra lowered her hands from her ears. It took several long seconds for her to realize they were shaking.

"On your knees!" someone barked. Dutifully, the group of wraiths all obeyed. One by one, they got carefully down to their knees, lacing and interlocking their fingers behind their heads, until she was the only one left standing.

Without the mass of people blocking her view, Astra could see countless number of guards entering from the three doorways in the room. Some stood guard against the walls or near the doors, perhaps to ensure no one escaped. The cluster of guards was most dense near the doorway she and all the wraiths were facing.

"Get down!" A guard barked. Something long and hard slammed into the back of her knees, sending her sprawling onto the ground as her legs gave out. Her knees barked in pain as they slammed into the hard ground. Astra reined in her anger, letting the ice soothe her hands that had already curled into fists. This was not the training room, or even the road where she had killed and then been caught. Survival here meant watching, and listening, and waiting.

Through the spaces left between the other wraiths in front of her, Astra saw Pascal move out of the ranks of the guards, his right arm back as if pulling on something. That something turned out to be a young girl with long, unruly blonde hair. Maybe a little younger than her. She would've guessed fourteen years old, fifteen at most.

There were rolling murmurs in the crowd she was in as the blonde girl was brought forward. "Fifty-two minutes longer than last time," a male wraith next to her whispered to his companion.

"Wonder how many years she's been set back now," another muttered. The whispers continued for a few more seconds before one of the guards yelled for them to be silent.

Pascal dragged the girl out in front of him by her long, blonde hair. When he let go, strands of it fell on the concrete ground.

"My good friends," the Captain declared. Astra couldn't withhold the snort that blew out from her. "It is my duty to remind you all that His Majesty is just and fair. Those who are obedient and loyal are to be rewarded. That is what the military of our country is built on. Obedience and loyalty. When you follow the rules and stay faithful, we reward you. That is why we give you good food and drink. That is why we give you warm beds and leisures. That is why, in a few weeks, I will pick five of you to attend the annual Firelight Ball His Majesty hosts in honor of Auxerre's Liberation Day during the Firelight Festival based upon the recommendations of my guards." He paused there, allowing the wraiths to murmur excitedly to each other. This was news to everyone, it seemed. Astra knew about the yearly Firelight Ball that the King of Auxerre hosted every year. A few of her fellow agents had even infiltrated it for various assignments in the past, though she herself had never attended one. Xernes had thought the Crown Prince might recognize her, and she would end up leaving Varaly behind forever. How curious the latter ended up happening anyway.