The Blood of Darkness

Chapter 14

Kye

I awaken just after sunrise and stumble to get dressed, pulling on black clothing just so I can piss Val off by matching her. Two days have passed, so today is the day Zyair and I will train with Val, and I don't really know what to expect, except for the fact that she does not want to be doing this.

Still, I'm heading down the steps minutes after awakening, eager to get the day started, although I would gladly go back to bed. I'm hoping that training with Val might improve my skills with the sword, for I haven't been doing very well with that lately. Zyair caught on quickly, and can already use a sword decently. And I....I've been struggling, to say the least. I can barely hold the damn thing right! It's been frustrating. And Zyair's observant comments haven't helped.

But hopefully Val's techniques are easier to learn, even though I'm sure they won't be. My only hope is that her teaching style will be more effective than Lake's. He mostly focused on telling me everything I was doing right, which I appreciated, for I know he just didn't want to hurt my feelings. What I need to know though, is what I'm doing wrong, and how to improve. And I don't doubt that Val will tell me what I'm doing wrong. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to.

So today, I'm motivated and ready to take criticism. I think.

My motivation starts to fade when I arrive downstairs, only to find Lake on the couch, studying Zyair's forgotten map. He looks up at me.

"Where are the others?" I ask, looking around. Nobody else was upstairs besides me.

"They went to check out the Gap, to see if it's abandoned like it should be," Lake explains.

"Oh," is all I can say. Val, Neve, and Zyair. An unlikely trio. "Why them?"

"Well, Zyair said something about not wanting to miss any action, Neve insisted on coming, and Val, obviously, had reason to come as well. I stayed here because I figured you wouldn't want to wake up alone."

Alone. I hate being alone. He remembered. Of course he remembered, you idiot. He used to be your only friend. You told him everything.

I meet Lake's hazel eyes gratefully. "Thank you."

He only nods, but it looks like he wants to say something.

"What is it?" I question.

He looks at me. "I just....I don't know. I feel like something is wrong, like something is happening."

I stiffen. "To Val?" My eyes widen, and I quickly continue. "And Neve and Zyair?"

Lake shakes his head. "No, not them. After everything that happened when Val and I arrived here, I have a feeling that the spies in the network will be using this time to contact the Dark King and devise a course of action, not hang out in the open."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I don't know," he says roughly. "I just have a bad feeling, that's all. I'm sure it's nothing." But his worried expression conveys the exact opposite of his words.

I sit across from him with a sigh, deciding to change the subject. "How long ago did they leave?"

Lake shrugs. "A bit before sunrise, maybe? When I came down, Val and Zyair were already down here. He was telling her about someone named Fay."

"His traitor ex-girlfriend," I tell him. "She left to serve the Dark King."

Lake pales slightly. "I remember when all those eager supporters arrived over the border. I remember wondering why anyone would willingly come to serve the Dark King."