4. Nightfall-1
2031 Words
Chaos kicked through the dusty brown leaves as he wandered around the barracks on the outskirts of Nazaki. It was the afternoon following the elixir ceremony and his disastrous meeting with Callista. He"d had no choice but to attend an intensive training session with his grandfather in the morning and every part of him now ached. He wallowed in his own misery, pacing in the gardens aimlessly.
Chaos kicked throughHe could hardly believe Callista had the cheek to position him on the eastern border. He was the highest-ranking third-generation member of the entire Children of Light. And he was the leader of his own faction although Callista gave Nightfall no assignments and no freedom. What was the point in an elite task force that did no fighting?
Thinking of Nightfall reminded Chaos that he should deliver the disappointing news. He was tempted to go to the aviary and send a dryll to deliver his message for him, but he knew the disappointing news would sound better coming from him rather than a bird. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He knew his soldiers would not be happy with their assignment and he couldn"t blame them, but once Callista made a decision, it was final.
He trudged towards the barracks at the rear of Nazaki Palace, and his headquarters came into view, the proud emblem of Nightfall blowing in the wind: A silver dagger with spiked hilts, resting against a deep purple background. The building was squat and rounded like a temple, with sculptures and carvings adorning the walls. He presumed it had been a religious building in the First Age, but it had stood cold and empty for years until Chaos and his team had taken it over. It was not as grand or decorative as the palace itself, but that didn"t matter to Chaos. He knew that the truly remarkable thing about their HQ was what happened inside. It was where he trained and mentored his carefully selected warriors—the ten third generation members whom he selected as the most talented and ambitious.
Chaos was the youngest of Raven and Estella Lennox"s children and easily the most talented. His brothers and sisters, the ones he had trained and chosen for Nightfall, were all older than him, some by fifteen years, but they accepted his tuition because he had been born with a natural gift.
Chaos stormed through the stone building and entered the meeting hall, where he was immediately met by his brother Mercury.
“What did they give us? Where are we to be assigned?”
Chaos gave him an exasperated glare and slumped down in a chair at the head of an old stone table. His shadowy eyes and tanned skin looked drawn and tired, and his anger and frustration added another layer of darkness to his expression. Mercury stared at Chaos, demanding information. Mercury"s twin, Syfer, came to stand by their brother. They were practically identical; it was only when they spoke that their differences became apparent. Mercury was Syfer"s restraint, reining in his impulsive and quick-tempered brother.
“I take it you bring bad news…again,” Syfer said in a voice tinged with bitterness.
Chaos ignored the question again. “Where"s Dana? I need to talk to her.”
“Just tell us where Callista stationed us!” Syfer demanded.
Mercury placed a hand on his brother"s chest to hold him back. “Don"t worry. He"ll tell us. Won"t you?” he asked calmly. Chaos saw a flash of darkness behind Mercury"s eyes and knew he"d have to tread carefully to avoid a fight. The far door swung open. A young woman with flowing amber hair strode confidently into the room. A long sabre was strapped to a belt tied around her slender waist.
“Well?” Dana Thialdor asked calmly, her hands resting on her hips.
Chaos was reluctant to break the bad news. “We"ve been assigned to the far eastern border, right down at the edge of Karinam—about as far away from the civilised world as you can get.”
“What?” Syfer"s voice erupted. “That"s ridiculous! There"s no threat there. We wouldn"t see any action at all!”
“Did Callista imply she wanted to expand our borders in that direction?” Dana asked, frowning.
“No. They just want us to babysit the border to keep us out of the way.”
Dana thought for a moment. “It means she still doesn"t trust us.”
“Why the hell not?” Mercury scoffed. “Surely we"ve proven our worth by now?”
“I don"t know,” Chaos replied, frustrated. “But to add insult to injury I received a dryll this morning informing me that she"s sending somebody to watch over us.”
“What? Why would we need somebody to watch over us?” Syfer snapped. “We"re not kids. Who is it? Father?”
Chaos huffed angrily. “If only. I don"t know yet, but she said we would need to work alongside whoever comes.”
Mercury rolled his dark eyes. “This is ridiculous. When will we know who it is?”
“When the palace dryll arrives I suppose.”
None of them were very happy with sitting around their headquarters, just waiting to see who would be babysitting then when they moved over to Eresteid, but there was little else to do.
Time dragged for Chaos and he tried to keep his mind busy by making small talk with his siblings and deliberately starting arguments with Dana. They were both so engrossed in winding each other up that they barely noticed when the violet-feathered bird of prey streaked through the window and landed on the table in the centre of the room.
Proudly ruffling its stunning plumage, it cawed loudly and shook its talons, as if commanding Chaos to hurry up and take the message tied to it. With a surge of adrenaline that could have been from nerves or excitement, Chaos leapt from his chair and approached the dryll too quickly. It gave an aggressive hiss and ruffled its feathers, making it appear twice the size. Intense, piercing yellow eyes fixed Chaos in a deadly stare.
“All right, all right, I"m sorry.” Chaos made his voice as calm and quiet as possible, and crouched down to the floor to make himself appear smaller.
After two or three minutes of the dryll hopping anxiously from foot to foot and looking at Chaos like it was going to rip his throat out, it eventually calmed down, allowing its feathers to flatten back against its body.
When he was sure he wasn"t going to lose a finger, Chaos slowly reached out to the dryll. Even though its glare was still fierce, it allowed Chaos to untie the message, but as soon as the string was detached it gave Chaos an angry hiss, flapped its powerful wings and shot out through the open window.
Dana sniggered. “I don"t think he liked you. You nearly got your eyes pecked out.”
“Damn things,” Chaos said as he rose to his feet with the message in his hand. “I don"t know why we don"t just use pigeons.”
“Because we don"t want it to take two weeks for a message to arrive. Oh, and drylls don"t get eaten. Nothing would dare.”
“Well I still hate the horrible things.”
Dana nodded in acknowledgement. “They"re pretty nasty, but they are the fastest and cleverest birds in Alcherys. Think what life would be like without them. Eresteid is fourteen hours from Nazaki. Without drylls to carry messages to and from the capital we"d be totally cut off.”
Her comment about Eresteid dragged Chaos"s attention back to the letter in his hand, and with a pounding in his chest, Chaos opened it. His eyes quickly scanned over the letter, and then he let out a frustrated groan.
“I don"t believe it…Ridiculous…,” Chaos groaned, more to himself than anybody else.
“What? Who is she sending?” Dana asked, trying to take the letter from Chaos, but he snatched it away.
“It makes no sense. As if we need him looking after us.”
Dana stepped around the back of Chaos and yanked the letter from his hand before he had time to object. As the other members of Nightfall gathered around to hear the verdict, Dana"s eyes widened with surprise.
She read aloud, ignoring Chaos"s annoyed grumblings. “ "Chaos, esteemed members of Nightfall, I am sending Mikhail to accompany you at Eresteid. He shall be there in an advisory capacity, as a trusted member of the Children of Light. He is not to fight alongside you unless absolutely necessary. His unique ability should only be utilised in an emergency. Despite this, please treat him as one of your own and afford him the respect he deserves. Sincerely, Callista." ”
“Mikhail?” Mercury and Syfer gasped at the same time.
“What"s the problem? That"s good isn"t it?” Dana said in surprise. “We need all the help we can get and he"s a good person to have around.”
Syfer scoffed and shook his head. “No, he"s not! Whether he wants it or not, he always takes all the glory! With him around, how will we even get near the enemy?”
“Well, Callista said he"s not going to be fighting most of the time. He"s just there as backup, insurance, I suppose,” Dana said.
“Yes, but he"s not exactly fun to be around, is he? The man"s got no social skills. He can hardly string a sentence together.”
“I think he"s sweet,” Dana smirked.
“Strange is what you mean,” Mercury corrected.
Chaos shuddered. “And that "ability" of his—it sends shivers down my spine. I"m always on edge around him. He makes me uncomfortable.”
Dana raised her eyebrows. “He"s your uncle—all you guys—he"s part of our family.”
Chaos was quick to jump in. “He is NOT my uncle. Tiger is my aunt. Mikhail"s just the i***t she married.”
“Whatever,” Dana said, rolling her eyes. “Mikhail and his ability have gotten us out of trouble time and time again. I think he"ll be good to have around,” she said firmly, her eyebrows raised, challenging Chaos to argue further.
Chaos grumbled to himself and refused to engage in conversation any more, throwing angry glances at anybody who tried to talk to him. He needed to get away, to think about things clearly. With a half-hearted farewell, he rose to his feet and left the barracks to find somewhere he could be alone.
* * *
Chaos sulked back to his chambers and threw himself into bed, not wanting to be disturbed by anybody. He lay in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling for hours, his mind in turmoil, before sleep finally overcame him. When he awoke in the early hours of the morning, it was with a new determination burning inside of him. There was a knot of bitterness in the pit of his stomach when he thought of Callista"s decision to send Mikhail with him, but he knew it would do no good to sulk about it. He had to do something about it, take some drastic action to prove himself. Dragging himself out of bed, he gathered together a pack of essentials and took one last look around. He"d have to move to his new encampment at Eresteid today and wouldn"t see his familiar chambers for a long time. He disliked having to move but could have accepted it for a decent mission.
Chaos left the Nazaki barracks and headed down into the city, where the tradesmen were beginning to set up their stalls and markets for the day ahead. Chaos weaved through the streets, nodding an occasional greeting to various shop owners. He came to the end of the markets and stepped through the stone walls which encircled the city.
- Writer
