The Black Necromancer-Book 4

Chapter 19

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Chapter 19

                Kayla, Troy and Dahlia walked down to the barracks. Actually stumbled was a better word. Dahlia was so tired that she was practically sleepwalking. If Troy had not been there to catch her every time she stumbled, she might actually have fallen down the stairs because she fell asleep at the top of them.

                “I want to go to bed and sleep through the day of funerals,” Troy grumbled behind a humongous yawn.

                “Tell me about it,” Dahlia mumbled. “My brain hurts so much.”

                Kayla could sympathize. Memories that were implanted always took a while to settle in and Dahlia had not experienced it before. No doubt all of their dreams when they went to sleep would be about Sapphire and Jared’s memories. The more they tried to recall those implanted memories, the more their heads would ache.

                “Well,” Troy said, rubbing his gritty eyes vigorously. “We’ve still got quite a way to walk, so to keep me awake, tell me this Kayla: when did you first kill someone?”

                Kayla grimaced. “Why ask that so randomly and why such a morbid question?”

                “It’ll keep me awake,” Troy replied sleepily.

                “Far enough,” Kayla said, blinking furiously as they staggered down the corridor. “Uh… it was a while after I’d left you and Helen in the human world. This one magician who just wanted a place to hide from the human world found me. But Varmer had been hunting for me for a while; he had offered a reward. The other magician wanted to turn me in. I killed him while we were fighting; he drew his weapon first. I didn’t have any choice.”

                “Surely you couldn’t have known that he would’ve betrayed you?” Dahlia protested. “You didn’t have to kill him.”

                “Yes, I did,” Kayla said flatly. “Do you think I like killing, Dahlia? If I had had an alternative, I would have taken it. You grew up completely ignorant about magic. My world was completely different. I have done whatever it takes to keep my friends alive. Before I came to the Elemental Academy, I always went to sleep not knowing whether I would die where I was. I am not a cold-blooded killer, contrary to what you seem to think.”

                Kayla bit her tongue before she could continue her tirade since she didn’t want to reduce Dahlia and Troy to tears which she had been known to do to Verne and August. All the same, Dahlia looked very shaken and Troy was glaring at his sister. Presuming she had been just a little too harsh, Kayla pretended not to notice the expressions on Troy and Dahlia’s faces.

                “How did you find Verne and August?” Troy asked, not caring what her response was, just the change in subject.

                A scowl darkened Kayla’s face. She didn’t really want to tell them about her history with the twins even though it probably wouldn’t do any damage to talk about them. She just wasn’t very used to opening up about her personal life to other people.

                “They saved my life,” Kayla said flatly.

                “How?” Troy asked. “I can barely imagine you ever needing help.”