The Debt of the Unmarked

The hallways were empty. I could hear my heartbeat loud and clear in my ears. The light from the torch moved over the stone walls, making the shadows appear to twist and move. I took a step, and it sounded loud. I took a breath, and it felt like I was yelling.

The torchlight cast eerie shapes on the stone walls. Shadows danced everywhere, as if they were alive. The torchlight, the shadows, and the empty hallways all seemed to be trying to scare me.

I told myself to stay calm. I was holding the tray of water really tight. My knuckles were so tight they turned white. I did not want to spill a drop of water, from the tray.

The door, to Silas chambers opened before I even got to it.

Silas was standing there leaning against the window with his hands clasped behind his back. Silas seemed to fill the room and that was really something because Silas was blind.

The man said "You are late", without turning around to face the person he was talking to.

I tried to speak. The words did not come out. I was going to say something. My voice stopped working when he turned around to face me. The bond that I feel with him was beating strongly in my chest it was stronger than it has ever been before. The bond felt really strong.

He said "I do not tolerate excuses". The words he spoke were quiet. Each word felt very heavy like a big rock is being placed on you.

I said that I am ready. My hands were shaking really badly. I was trying to stop them from shaking. I wanted to appear calm so I took a breath and tried to steady my hands.

The thing that was making my hands shake was the fact that I was really nervous, about what was going to happen with the thing I was doing which was the thing that required me to say that I am ready.

He looked at me for a long time his lips were pressed together tightly. Then he pointed to the floor. Said "Sit".

I did what I was told. My knees were pressed against the stones and my fingers were touching the edge of the rug that was under me. The man with the cane walked around me slowly and I could hear the soft sound of the cane tapping on the floor.

Even though I could not see him I could feel that the man with the cane was there, with me and that was kind of scary.

The man told me that I am learning quickly. However he also said that learning quickly is not good enough. He said that I must be able to think about what's going to happen next, with the things I am learning which is anticipation of the art of learning itself the art of learning something new the learning process and the anticipation of the learning process.

I swallowed. I said to Alpha "I will try, Alpha."

He dropped down low fast getting so close that I could feel how warm his body was. "Do not try " he said. "Just. See what is happening.. When you see something you have to do something, about it before the danger gets to me to the person I am to me."

My chest felt really funny. The weight of our bond was very heavy on me. Every time I told him what I thought it made me feel tired. I did not want to stop. I could not let him get into trouble. Not when I knew I could help him avoid it. The bond, between us was important. I had to keep sharing my vision with him.

Tonight he said, standing up all the way you will come with me to the training yard. Just you. There is a message, for the training yard that we need to see.

I blinked, unsure. I said "Am I alone?"

"Yes" he said, "There are no guards and no witnesses so do not mess this up. Fail me. The person I am talking to must make sure that they do not fail me."

The training yard was really cold. The ground was slippery, with frost. There was a torch burning at the end. It was shining light on a person who was just standing there not moving. The training yard looked eerie in the torch light. My breath caught when I saw the figure standing alone in the training yard.

There was this man, tall and big and he had a dark mask, on his face. The knife he was holding caught the light from the torches. This made my stomach feel weird.

Silas told them to move. He said it quietly.

The bond flared up in my chest. The assassin had not moved,. I saw the assassin: the way the assassin tilted his shoulders the very slight weight shift of the assassins foot.

I helped Silas out. "Take two steps to the left " I said quietly. "The person we are talking about is standing near the east wall."

Silas moved quietly and got into position. The person, in the mask suddenly jumped at him. I yelled out "Behind you Silas!"

The bond really screamed through me. Silas spun around his blade slicing really clean through the air. The assassin fell to the ground.. Then another assassin emerged from the shadows. This one was faster and closer, with a dagger that was flashing in the light.

My heart was beating fast. I shouted "Another video game!" because I was so excited, about another video game.

Silas. Countered he was moving so fast it was like he was death itself. But I could see the danger it was really close. The dagger just missed him it was a few inches away, from Silas.

Then the third figure stepped out. I felt a chill run down my spine and my blood ran cold.

Something about him was... familiar.

"Who is he?" I whispered, really I was asking myself not talking to Silas.

Silas said to me "Watch".

The man was moving carefully like he wanted to hurt someone. Every time he swung at something every time he pretended to swing every step he took was thought out.. His movements seemed familiar like I had seen someone move like that before. It was not like Kian it was not like anyone I could think of. The mans movements were, like something I had seen before. I just could not remember who it was. My stomach was all tied up in knots.

The masked figure jumped at Silas. I yelled at him. "Move back! Go to your left!"

The bond was really strong. It pulsed with a lot of force. My vision connected with the bond and I could see everything that he saw every danger, every single thing that could hurt him the bond showed me every angle, every threat that was out there.

Silas spun around deflected the attack and the man in the mask stumbled backwards.. He did not back down. The man, in the mask stopped for a second he seemed to be thinking about what to do and that is when I saw a little bit of his face under the mask.

My heart just stopped beating for a moment. It was, like time stood still. I was completely shocked. My heart froze.

I knew this person.. The truth is, I did not really know him at all.

Silass blade moved fast and it was very sharp. The person it hit fell down. Rolled away into the dark. Silass blade had done its job.

I fell down my knees hit the ground and I was breathing really hard. "Who was that person?" I said in a quiet voice.

Silas stepped close, to me his voice was very quiet and calm. He said "Someone you will see again". And when you see this person again you will have to make a choice: you will have to trust Silas or you will have to destroy Silas.

My fingers were gripping the frost that was right beneath me. The connection between Silas and me was really strong. It felt like it was alive. It was beating like my heart. I had this question in my mind the time: Why did I know that face so well? The face felt so familiar to me. The bond, between Silas and me was still burning hot.

I was, in the dark. I felt something. Eyes were watching me. They were thinking about what to do. The eyes were waiting for something to happen with the darkness around. The eyes just kept watching me.

In that moment I knew the fight was not done yet. The fight was still going on. It was far, from over.