The Legacy

By the time Kain walked into her room, she could barely keep her eyes open. She collapsed onto the soft matrass of her four-poster bed. The posts and bed frame made from the darkest brown wood. The softness of her feather mattress welcoming her tired body. She would have fallen asleep right there and then if it weren’t for the strange crinkling sound she heard coming from inside her pocket. Confused, Kain shifted to her side, propping herself up by her elbow and digging her other hand into her cloak.

She pulled out a plastic bag, she had almost forgotten about. Straightening the edges of the plastic bag, Kain stared down at the pieces of skin inside. Her brows began to furrow with the same strange familiarity she felt the first time she saw the symbol. Kain closed her eyes, mentally trying to shake the swirling thoughts away. She was too tired to try and figure out what the symbol meant and why it seemed so familiar to her. It was too exhausting to even consider understanding. Shoving the plastic bag into her bedside drawer and underneath all the other junk she kept in there, Kain turned around and closed her eyes once more. Her head sinking heavily into her soft pillows.

Kain woke up a few hours later, unable to sleep any further. She walked towards her window and saw that the sun hadn’t risen much since she went to bed. it had felt like she was sleeping for hours. Instead, it was only a few minutes. With an exhausted yawn ripping through her mouth, Kain stretched her arms out above her and pulled them backwards until she couldn’t pull them back any further. She scratched the back of her head then ruffled her untidy hair as she opened the tap to her bathtub. While she waited for her bathtub to fill up with warm, steaming water, Kain leaned over the marble sink. Her hands gripped its edges and her eyes focused on the reflection looking back at her. The eyes staring back at her had always been startling. Especially with the strange golden specs scattered across her pale grey eyes. Some of the older hunters of the Academy accused her of being fae once and a few other times. Until Abbadon threatened them. Why would he hire and take in a fae when it’s the Academy’s sole purpose to dispose of them, he asked them. He accused them of questioning him and of course no one would be caught dead questioning Abbadon. Kain didn’t blame them. She would have accused herself of being fae if she didn’t know any better. The only thing that keeps her convinced that she’s not, it the fact that she doesn’t have magic.

That’s not why she was staring at her reflection. It was the dark circles beneath her eyes that focused her attention. Her dreams had been filled with nightmares of dead bodies, covered with the menacing familiar symbol of evil. Red eyes were staring hungrily at her with black marble teeth and rotting flesh. glittered metallic blood dripping from their snarling mouths. Flames had decorated the background in heaps of burning bodies. The smell of death everywhere. She still smelled the stench from her nightmare from where she stood over the sink. The smell of Rose essence didn’t keep her from forgetting the dead. It’s like the nightmare had followed her to the world of the awakened. Still haunting her as she tried to forget about it.

Turning back towards her filling tub, Kain added two balls of lavender bombs to the steaming water before closing the tap. Hoping that the lavender added to the rose scents would help remove the stench from her mind. She let the cold water run for a moment before stripping of her clothes from yesterday and climbing into the tub. The still steaming water, instantly reddened her skin which is exactly how she loved her water. The heat burning away the horrors from her sleep and the essence of a new day burning into her skin. She slipped in deeper until her head was barely above water. She closed her eyes against the scents that rose from the surface among the steam. She breathed in deeply, allowing the scent of lavender to seep into her muscles while the scent f rose clung to her skin like it was supposed to be part of her. She breathed in again, filling her lungs with the scent and allowed it to wash the negativity out of her system until she could feel herself relaxing. She sagged into the water as her breaths began to steady into slow, relaxed breaths.

Her tension melted away, flooding out of her, and floating to the ceiling with the rising steam. Kain stayed like that until the hot water became luke. She dipped her head into the water, washing her long, velvet red hair. By the time she had climbed out of the tub, the water had lost the last of its steaming tendrils. The sun finally seeped into her room, basking the floor with its warm yellow light. Feeling refreshed and lighter, Kain dressed for the day and left her worries behind as she closed her chamber doors.

She searched for Gavin in the Rec-hall and through the corridors until she eventually found him on the training grounds. His shirt laying in a heap beside a target post. His tanned skin glistened with sweat in the late morning rays. He must have been at it for a while already, Kain thought. The way his skin glistened with sweat told her that he didn’t go to bed like she did. She watched him for a while as he continued to train, oblivious to his audience. Watching as his arms flexed and his abs constricted with every movement he made. He was about to draw another arrow when he caught sight of her staring at him. The wolfish smile he shot her, made her own lips crawl into a cornered smile. She knew he liked the attention he received from the swooning girls, but she also knew he liked it especially more when that swooning, gawking girl was her. It all came with the ego of being the best. To most ego is a negative aspect of a person but to Abbadon it was an excellent asset. According to Abbadon ego meant you only care for yourself. That means you are less likely to care about others and less likely to be merciful. Gavin’s ego, although, allowed him to fall in love with Kain.

“Like what you see, don’t you?” he called from over the yard, purposefully flexing his arms, chest, and stomach in the same notion. Kain pretended to swoon, placing the back of her hand on her forehead, and bending her knees as if she was about to fall in a faint. She broke out in a giggle when she heard Gavin muttered a ‘Ha-Ha’ while looking up at the sky. Gavin grinned wolfishly as he made his way towards her. She laid a hand on his sweaty chest, stopping him from giving her a wet hug. “I don’t think so! You’re all sweaty and I had just taken bath.” she said with a disgusted grin.

Gavin cocked his head, pretending to think about it before pushing against her palm. Kain laughed as she tried to duck out of his surrounding arms. It was no use. She was too late, too slow. He wrapped his hands around her and pressed her against him. He rubbed his sweaty face against her cheek as she failed at her attempts of getting away. She shoved him away, laughing hard. “You are disgusting!” she muttered as she wiped at her cheek with the back of her hand.

“Have you guys seen Collins?” someone asked miserably from beside them. Kain turned around, looking back at a slender girl with short blonde hair. Kain shook her head, “no, sorry Sophia.” she answered.

“I think I saw him heading to Abbadon’s office a few minutes ago,” Gavin said with a shrug, looking towards the stained-glass windows of Abbadon’s office. Sophia gave an exasperated sigh, “he keeps on disappearing on me,” she said, throwing her hands up into the air as she walked back towards the academy.

“What do you suppose that was?” Kain asked returning her gaze towards Gavin as soon as Sophia was out of ear shot. Gavin shook his head, “I don’t know,” he mumbled. He breathed out a cheek full of breath then bent down and planted a kiss on her forehead. He took a step back, “I almost forgot. I have to run to the lab and check on the results of that substance you found on the bodies.” He breathed, pulling his shirt back on which began to cling against his wet skin. Kain sighed, picking up Gavin’s bow from where he dropped it in his attempts to hug her. “See you later?” she asked with a sly smile. He gave her a smirk. “Of course,” he answered before walking away from her and heading towards the Academy.

Kain turned towards the target, taking an arrow from the quiver, and placing it on top of her fingers. She adjusted her fingers then pulled the arrow back until the feathers was well past her shoulder before letting go. She watched as the arrow took a hit in the centre of a target post. The arrow hit dead centre. She had always preferred the bow above all the other weapons. Her daggers came first of course but the bow was a tightly chosen second weapon. She loved the way it was both graceful and deadly at the same time. If you knew your bow well then it was easy to take out a target from miles away and if you were especially good, then you could do it without being detected. She loved how it demanded both patience and stillness.

Letting out a slow breath through her mouth, Kain pulled back a second arrow and released it on the second breath. She felt the vivid kiss of the feathers as the arrow flew past her ear. She heard the satisfying thud, as the arrow hit a different target a few paces back.

Something past the second target caught her eye. Kain squinted her eyes, looking past the target and into the shadows of the woods. She squinted harder, taking a step forward. She couldn’t entirely make out what she saw but she could swear that there were two large yellow eyes staring back at her. it was hard to make out because the rest of the thing was hidden in the greenery. Either it was part of the greenery or camouflaged but everything inside of her told her that someone was out there watching her. Kain took a few more steps forward and blinked. The two large yellow eyes blinked as well. Startled, Kian looked around, making sure no one was watching then started walking towards the target. When she reached the target, she saw nothing. Whoever or whatever was watching her was gone. Kain pulled the arrow from the target and frowned. Maybe she just imagined it. Maybe it was her sleeplessness catching up to her.

“That was an excellent shot!” a flat, raspy voice complimented from where she had aimed. Kain turned towards Edrick, surprised to see him out and about when one would usually find him bound to the training arena. He had made her jump and now she’s praying that he didn’t notice. “Thank you, sir.” Kain said hesitantly. Edrick was looking at her shot a moment longer. At least she hoped it was the shot he was looking at and not the woods behind her. Not that there was anything to see anymore, but the idea was still there. It was enough to raise suspicions. He bobbed his head and clasped his bony hands together behind his back. The grey of his beard made him look even older in the sharp light of the morning sun. He nodded his head again, his expression seeming a little grave as his eyes focused on her. He stepped closer to her. His eyes very aware of their surroundings.

Edrick leaned in closer towards her as soon as he reached her. He started speaking quickly, avoiding her gaze as his eyes constantly scanned the field. “Listen quick!” he hissed quietly. Kain frowned at the old man, but she dared not interrupt him. “You did not hear this from me!” he gave her a quick sideways glare before returning his eyes back to the field. “It’s no secret that you’re not my favourite but I can’t deny that you are my brightest. For what it’s worth I also don’t deny that your heart is at the right place. Therefore, I’m telling you what I’m about to tell you!” he was talking faster now. As if he was frightened that he had little time to say what he wanted to say.

It took all Kain’s concentration not to miss a single word he muttered. It was strange how he talked. It was strange that he talked to her at all. why was he saying these things to her? He was right, she had never been one of his favourites. Was this joke he was paying with her? Kain scowled as she listened further to what he had to say. “Dark times are ahead Kain! Things aren’t what they seem. They never were!” Kain’s frown deepened as his head jerked violently over his shoulder. “There are eyes watching everywhere! Always watching! And ears always listening! You should keep a sharp wit about you and an ever-watchful eye over your shoulder!” Then he suddenly grabbed hold of her shoulders. “Trust no one! Whatever you do Kain and whatever happens, trust your gut! Never let yourself be deceived again!” Edrick whispered hoarsely, then rushed of towards the Academy. Kain stared at his back, bewilderment clouding her thoughts. “Wait! What do you mean again?” she shouted after him, but he didn’t turn around to answer. He either didn’t hear her, or he decided to ignore her. She watched Edrick disappear through the Academy doors before turning back towards the target posts.

What did he mean? Who was deceiving her? it didn’t make any sense. Shaking her head in attempt to clear away the fog, Kain pulled back a third arrow. She let loose, watching it fly through the air and hit the centre of the farthest target, which was fastened against a tree, a few feet back. The target was so far away that it looked the size of a full-grown apple. It was where she saw-where she thought she saw-the two large yellow eyes.

She hooked the bow beside the others and made her way back to the Academy. She couldn’t tell what had pulled her attention up towards the Academy windows. Maybe it was the sense of someone watching her or maybe it was the haunting warning from Edrick but when she did look up, she found Abbadon staring down at her from his office window. Kain wavered a moment, watching the curtains fall back over his window. Has he been watching the whole time? She wondered if he saw Edrick talking to her. Did he see what she saw hiding in the woods? What did she see? Kain continued walking with her head held down until she walked through the academy doors. She had the feeling of foreboding follow her past the threshold, and it kept following her towards the Rec-hall.

Kain had intended to grab lunch, but she couldn’t seem to get herself to eat anything so instead she walked towards the library where she grabbed a couple of books and made herself comfortable on the bay-window. She stared through the window and down at the training fields, thinking about what Edrick had said to her. With a frustrated breath, Kain closed her eyes for a moment then turned towards her books. Clenching her jaws, Kain picked up a heavy volume about deception and began to leaf through the pages. She remained in the library well past the evening hours. Eventually she decided to head back to her chambers and do some more thinking in the quiet, private confinements of her room.

Ever since she woke in the morning, there had been something that bothered her. she didn’t know what it was or why. She had hoped that the remainder of the day would sort it out, but it only made it worse. She hadn’t seen Gavin the whole day either. She hoped to talk to him about it. The warning Edrick gave her rang in her ears. He had warned not to trust anyone. Did that include Gavin? Edrick had said she had been deceived. He warned her not to let it happen again. she had no idea what he meant. She thought about everything she had done and everything that happened. There was no point in her memory that gave any indication that she had been deceived. Was he talking about the incident she kept secret? No, that can’t be possible. No one knew about that.