stomach.
Zeustrum and Bevras were standing so close to me that I could have poked them
with my staff. For the moment, they were too busy arguing with each other to
see me.
Bevras and Zeus braided their hair the same, wore the
same clothes, and carried identical swords. The only way to tell them apart was
by the scar Bevras had on his right cheek. They both looked like our father
except for their eyes, which were the same burgundy color that all Dracre had,
yet neither of them had my father’s ability to exert his dominance with a
single glare. That was just an excuse for them to use violence instead.
Zeustrum had a dangerous mixture of patience and vileness. He devised the most
ingenious, sinister plots and could wait years for them to fall into place.
Bevras, on the other hand, jumped headfirst into
every fight. It was said that the only reason Bevras was born second was
because he fought during the entire event. He tried to challenge our father and
that was why he had the scar. Our father humiliated Bevras in scarring him
because the twins were always distinguishable afterwards. Zeus never treated
his twin the same again.
I acted on instinct; I ran backwards until I hit a
solid wall. Then I turned slightly, keeping my eyes on them, and ran backwards again.
My back came up against a tent and since the wall was
cloth, I fell against it. Apparently, there was a flap there, because I landed
inside the tent. Something hard and pointy broke my fall, but part of the tent
collapsed on top of me. I struggled to climb to my feet. Right before I could
pick up my staff and decide on a direction to go in, I felt a knife press
against my back.
“Explain yourself.”
Chapter 5
“I’m just a spectator who
stumbled backwards into your tent. I’m sorry and I’ll pay for any damages.” It
was my opinion that the back was the worst place to have a dagger against, but
I didn’t dare move.
“You don’t fool me, sorcerer. Did another seer hire
you to sabotage me?” It was a harsh, angry, female voice.
“No, honestly, I don’t even know who you are.” If
only I could reach my staff .
I contemplated trying to make a grab for it, and
thought better of it. It didn’t matter how great or terrible I was in magic
when she had a dagger to my back and I didn’t have any magical weapons. While I
could technically do lesser magic without any tools, I never had much practice.
That was more of a wizard thing.
As if it knew my plight, the staff started trembling
like it was trying to muster up enough power to rise up. Come on. You can do
it. Please come to me . The dagger dug harder into my back and my staff went
still as panic set in. “Please don’t hurt me. I just want to walk out of here
alive.”
The dagger moved away slightly. “I have never heard a
sorcerer beg before.” There was a tense silence for a moment before the dagger
disappeared altogether. “Ayden?”
I turned and gaped. “Dessa?” The seer was as tall as
my mother, but pretty much the opposite of her in every other way. She had long
white hair and kind blue eyes. Her face, while symmetrical and pleasant, was
soft and pale. Even her lips were unpainted. She wore a simple, white dress
with see-through sleeves and silver slippers.
“I thought I told you to stop coming to these
events,” she said, trying and failing to sound harsh. I easily heard the
concern in her warm voice.
Dessa was one of the rare seers who took on
apprentices and that was the only reason she went to tournaments. She was a
true master of the art, but she didn’t fit into the stereotypes. When her eyes
turned solid white, I picked up my staff.
“Ayden,” she said softly, with even more concern.
I didn’t bother speaking back to her because she
wasn’t actually talking to me. While her sight was active, she was blind and
deaf to the mortal realm. She could see my soul, my past and future, but not
what I was doing at the time. This was what made her so unique; she could go
far
Zeustrum and Bevras were standing so close to me that I could have poked them
with my staff. For the moment, they were too busy arguing with each other to
see me.
Bevras and Zeus braided their hair the same, wore the
same clothes, and carried identical swords. The only way to tell them apart was
by the scar Bevras had on his right cheek. They both looked like our father
except for their eyes, which were the same burgundy color that all Dracre had,
yet neither of them had my father’s ability to exert his dominance with a
single glare. That was just an excuse for them to use violence instead.
Zeustrum had a dangerous mixture of patience and vileness. He devised the most
ingenious, sinister plots and could wait years for them to fall into place.
Bevras, on the other hand, jumped headfirst into
every fight. It was said that the only reason Bevras was born second was
because he fought during the entire event. He tried to challenge our father and
that was why he had the scar. Our father humiliated Bevras in scarring him
because the twins were always distinguishable afterwards. Zeus never treated
his twin the same again.
I acted on instinct; I ran backwards until I hit a
solid wall. Then I turned slightly, keeping my eyes on them, and ran backwards again.
My back came up against a tent and since the wall was
cloth, I fell against it. Apparently, there was a flap there, because I landed
inside the tent. Something hard and pointy broke my fall, but part of the tent
collapsed on top of me. I struggled to climb to my feet. Right before I could
pick up my staff and decide on a direction to go in, I felt a knife press
against my back.
“Explain yourself.”
Chapter 5
“I’m just a spectator who
stumbled backwards into your tent. I’m sorry and I’ll pay for any damages.” It
was my opinion that the back was the worst place to have a dagger against, but
I didn’t dare move.
“You don’t fool me, sorcerer. Did another seer hire
you to sabotage me?” It was a harsh, angry, female voice.
“No, honestly, I don’t even know who you are.” If
only I could reach my staff .
I contemplated trying to make a grab for it, and
thought better of it. It didn’t matter how great or terrible I was in magic
when she had a dagger to my back and I didn’t have any magical weapons. While I
could technically do lesser magic without any tools, I never had much practice.
That was more of a wizard thing.
As if it knew my plight, the staff started trembling
like it was trying to muster up enough power to rise up. Come on. You can do
it. Please come to me . The dagger dug harder into my back and my staff went
still as panic set in. “Please don’t hurt me. I just want to walk out of here
alive.”
The dagger moved away slightly. “I have never heard a
sorcerer beg before.” There was a tense silence for a moment before the dagger
disappeared altogether. “Ayden?”
I turned and gaped. “Dessa?” The seer was as tall as
my mother, but pretty much the opposite of her in every other way. She had long
white hair and kind blue eyes. Her face, while symmetrical and pleasant, was
soft and pale. Even her lips were unpainted. She wore a simple, white dress
with see-through sleeves and silver slippers.
“I thought I told you to stop coming to these
events,” she said, trying and failing to sound harsh. I easily heard the
concern in her warm voice.
Dessa was one of the rare seers who took on
apprentices and that was the only reason she went to tournaments. She was a
true master of the art, but she didn’t fit into the stereotypes. When her eyes
turned solid white, I picked up my staff.
“Ayden,” she said softly, with even more concern.
I didn’t bother speaking back to her because she
wasn’t actually talking to me. While her sight was active, she was blind and
deaf to the mortal realm. She could see my soul, my past and future, but not
what I was doing at the time. This was what made her so unique; she could go
far
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