The Unknown Thief

Part 24

Chapter 24

Her eyes widened in attempt to keep the tears at bay.  Nodding, she looked down at the hands that covered her shoulders.  She agreed to let them come along, but they were going to speak about a few things before taking part on this journey.  After they knew each other’s secrets, then, they would decide whether they would come along with her.  Trust was a necessary component in all groups.  Without trust, they would never be able to believe they would protect one another.

Grabbing Nathaniel’s hand, she gently pulled it from her shoulder before doing the same with the other.  Her hand waved absentmindedly at the ground, and chairs emerged made from the earth.  Plopping down in one, she motioned towards the other four that sat in a circle with hers.  “We need to talk, to explain things to one another before we continue.”

Ainsely was the first to nod and sit down. Next Nathaniel set in his chair.  Standing there, Alin and Luther regarded their seats.  They knew that once they sat, there was nothing they could do to deter the questions that would be thrown their way.  If their secrets affected the group, if they could cause them harm, they had to surface.

Alin’s eyes connected with hers, and she knew that with him, if he sat in the chair, the secret he had kept from everyone except her would be revealed.  Letting out a sigh, he sat down.  “If it were anyone else,” he mumbled, “I would have left.”

She nodded in acceptance before turning her eyes to Luther.  The man shrugged.  “They are family secrets, but seeing as at least two of you already know, I see no reason in not sharing it with the others.”

“Then why did you stand?” Ainsely asked with narrowed eyes.

Luther’s smile turned cold.  “You do not sit until those around you sit first.  The first to sit is always the weakest.”

Ainsely sat up in his chair, ready to pounce at Luther, but Aubrey interrupted his movement.  “Then I guess I am the weakest.”

“Aubrey,” Luther said with regret, “you know that is not what I meant.”

“Sit down, Luther,” she snapped with narrowed eyes.  “If all you are going to do is antagonize my brother, I do not need that kind of help.”  Ainsely chuckled, but as she turned her eyes to him, the noise halted.  “The same goes to you, Ainsely.  If you two do not stop, Nathaniel, Daisy, Alin, and I will leave while you are indisposed.”

Seeing Luther’s eyes study her and Ainsely’s narrow, she knew they were contemplating how serious she truly was.  “I never tell a lie,” she reminded, making Ainsely sit back in his chair and Luther to sit down into his.

“I shall start,” she mumbled.  “I met him on a trip to your lands,” she said to Nathaniel.  “I was younger than I am now, not as wise, and instead of taking the guard with me, I decided to sneak and leave them behind.  Sleeping in the middle of a jungle with no protection may not have been the wisest idea either, but it was what I had done.  Just as I allowed myself to close my eyes, I heard them.”

“The swinging blades,” Luther said with a smile on his face.  “It was his specialty.  His foe knew who the person to kill them would be because seconds before their death, they would hear the swinging blades.”

“The swinging blades,” she echoed with a reminiscent smile.  “I heard them clear as if they had been in my ear.  As soon as I opened my eyes, I knew I was doomed.  Either this man was going to kill me, or he was going to allow me to live.  I knew either way, my father would not be happy.  One-way, I would be dead, gone from his life forever, and in another, I would stay with this man forever.  He was everything I wanted in a man, and as soon as I set my sights on him, I knew I would love him.”