Rune Stealer

Golden Rune

The creak of the cell doors woke me from my dreamless slumber. Blinking in a dim light of a torch, I looked up and saw Kian standing in from of me. He wore a stone-cold glare that looked more menacing in the fire light. His black tunic was tight around his shoulders and his tan leather breeches were fitted. His feet were stuffed in brown working boots and he had a belt around his waist that held a sheathed sword. Dark blue eyes looked almost black in the muted gleam of the torch.

"Get up," he growled as emotionless as a pile of dirt.

I stood slowly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "If I must." My mouth opened wide to yawn, my eyes closing against the strain. When I opened them, Kian was halfway down the dark corridor of the dungeons and I had to sprint to catch up.

It was only after we emerged from the dungeon that I realized what an opportunity I had. Kian was walking in front of me, with his back turned to me. I could easily turn and run.

Before I gave it a second thought, I whirled on my heels and began to sprint down the hall. I hardly took two steps before I was yanked back by my hair. Yelping loudly, I crashed to the stone floor. Kian leaned over me and scowled.

"Did you forget that we hold your parents' runes?" Kian reminded me. "Not to mention that you have no idea how to get out of the Palace."

I rubbed the back of my head and grumbled, "I would have figured out what to do." Once I stood up, I pulled my hand away from my head to find several black strands plastered to my palm. "You pulled out my hair," I howled, infuriated.

Kian turned around and began to walk down the hall and sent a wave of his hand over his shoulder, coldly dismissing me. "It will grow back." Rage burst from inside me and with my fists clenched I brandished them wildly as if to punch Kian over and over again. With most of my frustration gone I followed him resentfully.

"Your ability to be completely and utterly infuriating is astonishing," I snarled. He said nothing back, but I swear I saw his shoulders shake from a laugh.

From then on, I narrowed my eyes at the back of his head. I began to search that wall in Kian's mind, trying to find a crack. I tuned out the repetitive clomp of our shoes hitting the stone floors and focused on finding a hole. Just a small sliver would allow me to pass through and access his mind, thoughts, and influence his actions. Minutes passed by and I have searched the entire wall. I've groped every inch on that wall to the point where I practically mentally raped him, and I couldn't even find a soft spot. There was no crack, no sliver, no way for me to access his mind. How was this possible?

With my frustration over its pinnacle, I gave up and I bashed into the wall on Kian's mind with all the mental strength I had in me. And as expected, Kian let out a loud cry. He doubled over and held his head in his hands, face twisted in torment. In that moment, a roar of laughter exploded from my throat. I fell on the ground, clutching my stomach howling madly.

A large, calloused hand tightly gripped my neck and before I knew it I was dangling in the air, the toes of my shoes brushing the gray floors. Kian's hand gripped my throat and his eyes full of venom.

"I'd appreciate it if you stayed out of my mind," hissed Kian, his voice matching the venom in his eyes. Even with my windpipes constricted, I was laughing hysterically. Kian's dark blue eyes narrowed at me, his face was covered in absolute disgust for me. That only made me laugh harder. But his rune caught my attention and I flicked my eyes to it. Something about it was off. Kian still held my throat tightly and my breath came in shallow wheezes, but I brought my hand up to touch the curious rune. Although, Kian didn't give me time to.

He discarded me quickly and I flopped onto the floor with a loud thud. I gasped in breath and rubbed my neck as if it will help my breathing return to normal. "You mind telling me how you knew I was going to try to run away, probably even before I did," I wheezed. "Why don't we start with you telling me what kind of sight rune that is?"