The World Walkers: Konoran: Clio: Running (part 3)

[k_a_webb]

Part 1
Part 2

Getting to the room she needed was a relief. Clio, as silently as she could, started making her way down the ladder, hoping that there was no one down there. If there was… she pushed the thought away. After spending so much time crawling along those pathways she wanted to believe she was safe, even though she had no idea if she’d ever be safe again. The castle was meant to be her sanctuary, somewhere they wouldn’t find her, and yet there they were, having killed all of the people she had come to care about. She blinked away tears, focusing on what her next step was going to be. When her feet touched the ground she allowed herself a moment to come to terms with what had happened and that was when a hand covered her mouth.

“It’s me.” The tension left her body as Quinn took his hand away from her mouth. “Sorry, I couldn’t have you screaming, and after everything that’s happened I wouldn’t have blamed you for reacting that way.”
“How did you survive?”

“Once we realised who it was I was sent here to wait for you. This was always going to be the door you came to, because that was what you were taught to do, so they did everything they could to get me here safely and protect you at the same time.”

“Everyone else…”

“Don’t think about it, Clio. We all knew this was a possibility, although we hoped it would never happen, and we were prepared to die for you. You are special.” She opened her mouth. “Saying that you don’t want to be isn’t going to change what you are.” Quinn took hold of her hand. “I was sent here because you don’t know where to go once you’re out of this door. Had we been able to teach you before I wouldn’t be here, but getting you to safety has become my job.”

“Sorry.”

“Not your fault.” As Quinn opened the door she couldn’t stop herself from looking over her shoulder, certain that someone must have caught up with her, but fortunately they’d had no idea where she was going, so they’d be searching the pathways one at a time. If they could get out of the door before anyone found them there was a chance they wouldn’t be followed, as they’d hopefully still think she was in the castle somewhere. “There’s a route that we need to follow that will take us from one hideaway to another. You should be able to see them, because of what you are, but I won’t, so all I can do is take you to where it’s supposed to be. At the end we should find another place like this, one that was created centuries ago by mages who actually knew what they were doing, so hopefully we’ll be able to find some books that will teach you how to use your abilities.”

“Why didn’t I go there first?”

“Part of the magic they used means that it can’t be found unless the mage hunting for it is in danger. As far as I’m concerned this is being in danger, so you should be able to find it now, and if you can’t…” He sighed. “We’re going to have to think of something else, but right now that’s not something I’m going to think about.”

Clio nodded. “Come on then.”

Needing to be out of castle that was no longer her sanctuary she tugged Quinn out of the door with her and stopped to let him shut it behind them, as that should make it harder for their attackers to find it. Then she let him lead her in the direction they needed to be going in, because she had no other choice, and all she could do was hope that he really was helping her. Maybe he’d decided that he wanted her to be his mage, for whatever reason, so he was helping her for selfish reasons, but she couldn’t believe that of him. She didn’t want to. He’d become her friend in the time they’d been in the castle and she wanted to trust him, even though she was certain the only way the invaders could have known where she was was if they’d been told by someone.

“There she is!”

Without thinking Clio started running and Quinn did the same. “If we get separated aim for the river. From what I read you should be able to feel the magic.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll go to your father and tell him what happened. The hideaway should hold everything you need.”

Clio tightened her grip on Quinn’s hand. “We’re not getting separated.”

One of the things she’d been trained to do was run for hours without getting tired, just in case, and as they kept going she was grateful for it. A couple of times she felt like she was going to trip over something, but his grip on her stopped that from happening. If it hadn’t been for him they would have caught her long before she started to feel the magic she’d been told was there. Three times they’d had to change direction slightly, first taking them away from the magic, then towards, and then away again. Finally she realised that she needed to start leading Quinn, otherwise they were going to miss the hideaway entirely, even though that did mean getting closer to the people who were chasing them. He tried to stop her, until she shook her head.

“We have to go that way.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Training was so much simpler.”

Clio had to stop herself from laughing at that as they slowed to a jog. “I know.”

Every step they took towards the hideaway was terrifying. She couldn’t stop thinking that they were going to be caught, that he was going to end up dead and she would be in the hands of someone who probably wanted to use her for their own nefarious purposes, even though she couldn’t use her magic. Just as she was starting to feel safe there was a sound behind them, but neither of them turned to see what might have made it.

“Stop.” They kept going. “I have an arrow aimed at his heart, Clio.”

“Go,” Quinn said.

She shook her head, before turning. Her eyes met with those of the one person she didn’t think would be hunting for her and as they stared at each other she felt Quinn turn too. “What do you want with her?”

“Nothing more than she’s willing to give.”

“You’ve already taken more than I’m willing to give,” Clio said, surprised at how calm her voice was. “The people you killed…”

“Casualties of a war that should never have happened. It wouldn’t if your father had kept his word, but then he found out that you had magic and hid you away in a castle that I didn’t even know existed.” He shook his head. “He made the decision that led to their deaths, not me, although I admit that I didn’t have to come after you – I just believe that when you make a promise you should keep it.”

“What promise?”

“On your eighteenth birthday you were to be handfasted to my son. That birthday is long past now.”

For a moment she couldn’t say anything. “You killed all those people because you wanted me to handfast your son?” Even though Clio did her best to seem calm it was easy to hear the fury in her voice. “It’s not going to happen.”

“There is no way you can stop it.”

“I’m already handfasted.”

Silence followed her announcement and she could feel two sets of eyes on her, but she didn’t take her eyes off the man who seemed to think she was going to handfast his son. “To who?”

“As if I’m going to tell you that.” She smiled. “I made the decision without my father’s blessing because I knew he would never have accepted it. Fortunately I am of age, so no one could stop me from doing what I wanted to, and it was consummated. Only death can bring an end to it now.”

“Do you really think I’m bothered by the thought of killing one more person?”

“Honestly, no. You come up with excuses as to why you’ve made the choice to kill everyone in the castle when really it was you decision, even though you seem to believe it was my father’s, because you could have walked away. This isn’t something that needed to happen.”

“Your father owes me, Clio.”

“I don’t. Whatever issues are between the two of you are just that – between you. They have nothing to do with me, even though you seem to think they do, and finding out that he sold me, for whatever reason, just makes me even more certain that I’m better off without him.”

The arrow flew, before bouncing off the shield that Clio had managed to create around the two of them. She hadn’t been certain it was going to work until she had, but she didn’t show how relieved she was, and knowing that it did work meant that she could get to the hideaway without having to worry too much, even though she couldn’t be certain how long it was going to last. As she took hold of his hand she started walking backwards. Just three paces more and they would have been behind the wards. Three paces more and she wouldn’t have learnt why he was after her or about the choices that her father had made without consulting her.

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.