Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)(36)

“In our apartment, even though there’s hardly any space. There are only two rooms, and it’s cluttered. But Papa doesn’t care. He says it’s more realistic since I have to move around objects. I’ve learned to use my environment to my advantage. My father is always rearranging furniture to keep it interesting.”

Anders took a sip of water from the pouch. “My training was very similar to yours. Only, instead of a loving father, a master assassin taught me.”

“Was he at least kind to you?” Probably not, since he’d bought Anders and only intended to use him to kill.

Anders leaned back against a tree trunk and closed his eyes. “Working for him was better than being a slave. But I was never … happy.”

“What about your family?”

Anders shrugged, keeping his eyes closed. His cheek twitched, haunted by some memory.

“Did you live with the assassin?”

“Yes,” he said. “His house was high in the mountains. There was no one around for miles.”

“This is the first time I’ve been outside the capital.”

“I’m surprised your father kept you so close to the king’s castle. Wasn’t he afraid someone would discover you’re a Kriger?”

“No, because I hadn’t come into my power yet.” Although, now that I thought about it, he rarely allowed me to leave our apartment.

“Still, I’m surprised your father risked being in the capital.”

“Have you ever come face-to-face with Morlet?” I asked.

His eyes darkened, and he glanced away. “Our paths have crossed several times. When Morlet first took the throne, he personally hunted down the Krigers. He’d kill them, drag their bodies back to the castle, and put their heads on spikes at the front gates. That was before he realized that when one Kriger died, a new one was born in his place. Once Morlet understood the only way to defeat the Krigers is to kill them when their powers are linked together, he’s been putting them in prison.”

A thought occurred to me. “Can Morlet kill us if I don’t have my bo staff?”

“No, because your power can’t link with the others without your weapon. But once you have it, and all twelve of you link together, he can kill the Krigers. No more will ever be born.”

“I thought you two were training!” Vidar called out as he approached, his eyes darting between the two of us.

I jumped to my feet. “We were just taking a break,” I said, brushing the pine needles and dirt from my pants.

“Well the break is over,” he said with a roguish smile. “You both need to go and pack. We depart tomorrow at daybreak.” Vidar started to leave.

“Why are the two of you cursed?” I asked, crossing my arms and waiting for him to answer.

Vidar raised an eyebrow. “I think we’d all like to know why. Now hurry up. There’s a lot to be done before we leave.” He turned and strolled away.

***

We set out early the next morning, each of us carrying a sack with food, water, and blankets. Anders led the way, followed by me, and then Vidar. I pulled my knit cap over my ears, trying to stay warm in the crisp, cool air. Walking in silence, we made our way through the forest.

After a few hours, we reached a narrow path that skirted alongside a steep hill. I needed a moment to myself. Stepping off the path, I allowed Vidar to pass by. “I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”

“We stay together,” Anders insisted, stopping to wait for me.

There was no way we were doing this together. “Then wait here,” I said. “And face the hill.” Suddenly realizing what I was about to do, Anders’s face reddened, and both men quickly turned their backs, giving me privacy.

I went down the slope, wanting to go far enough so they couldn’t see me relieve myself. I stopped, about to loosen my pants, when something jumped off a nearby tree, startling me. My feet slipped on the steep incline littered with pine needles. The stupid squirrel darted away as I tumbled down the hill, unable to stop myself. Up ahead, the ground suddenly dropped off revealing treetops below. This wasn’t good.

I flew off the edge and into the air, squeezing my eyes shut, afraid I’d be impaled by a tree. My body violently jerked, and I screamed, dangling midair. My sack had gotten stuck on a branch, and it was the only thing keeping me from plunging to the ground. I wondered if I should yell out to Anders and Vidar for help, but decided against it. If they saw me like this, they’d never let me go on my own again. I had a couple of minutes before they came looking for me. My only option was to disengage myself from the sack and drop down. It appeared to be about fifteen feet. Taking a deep breath, I squirmed free and fell, rolling when I landed to avoid injury.

There weren’t any low branches on the tree, so there was no way I could climb back up to retrieve my sack. Luckily, there were several large rocks and bushes along the cliff, which allowed me to easily scale it to where I’d fallen from. Then I retraced my steps back to the path where Anders and Vidar stood waiting for me.

When I reemerged, Vidar burst out laughing. “What happened to you?” he asked. “You’re covered with leaves and twigs.”

I plopped on the ground, trying to catch my breath. “Nothing,” I said, realizing I still had to relieve myself.