Vigils, Sixth Day Before Kalends of May

Jack’s Private Chambers, Greghorn Castle (Anselm Family Residence), Tarrin, Drum

Logan Floyd stood at the foot of the bed. Jack Anselm was sleeping.

He Sensed the guard stationed in the floor below. According to Kate there would be a change of guards at any moment. Then that would the only guard that Logan would have to kill before leaving via the stairwell down to the stable, from where he could steal a horse and return to Bahim. But for now he had to wait for the change of guards.

Logan was uneasy. He was still unconvinced that Kate had hidden her schemes from Councillor Keys, whose Sensing of the Mind was unparalleled in Kaps. It was very possible that he had just entered into a trap. But there he was, trespassing, at the foot of the Anselm child’s bed. Doubts were not going to help him now.

And so Logan waited. Logan disliked waiting. He would always occupy himself with something, such as training his Connexion or sharpening his blade. He did not like the feeling of waiting, as waiting made him think about the meaningless horror of it all. But Logan waited, trying to push away these useless thoughts.

Once Logan had waited for a while and the change of guards had still not happened, Logan’s uneasiness grew threefold. And then when Jack Anselm made a whimpering sound and turned over in bed to face Logan, Logan simply could not take it any longer. He snatched the child up from his bed and pressed his palm to the child’s forehead to Transcend his Mind, bringing it to an unshakeable sleep. Then Logan went out of the room, down the stairs, and with a rapid charge forward, killed the guard. Only then did he sense a Body about the round the corner towards the corridor where Logan was standing. The change of guards! Logan threw his fauchard, which impaled the relieving guard as he rounded the corner.

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There was a cry. Jack Anselm had awoken as Logan’s Transcendence of his Mind loosened momentarily. Logan pressed a palm to Jack’s forehead but before he could Transcend his Mind again Jack let out another cry, louder this time, and began kicking. Logan looked down the corridor, where the dead man still stood impaled by his fauchard. He could Sense movement upstairs. Logan dropped the boy onto the ground and rushed to retrieve his fauchard. But as he reached out with his hand, a vine shot out from the wall and wrapped around his hand. Logan turned around and saw Jack, eyes closed, hands outstretched and violently shaking. It was then that he understood why he was to bring back Jack Anselm. Kate had told him that the boy’s Ritual had only been three months ago and his Transcendence was remarkable given his amount of training, but Logan had not expected this much from the boy. Logan grabbed his fauchard with his other hand and sliced the vine away, but now he found vines wrapping around his ankles. By now guards were making their way down the stairs. One saw Logan standing over the body of the dead guard and cried out. With one burst of electricity from an outstretched hand Logan killed the first three guards. He tore his legs away from the vines and lunged at Jack, tackling him to the floor. He could Sense more movement, all throughout the castle now. And then rang from the belfry a thunderous peal — the alarm had been raised.

Logan cursed. This was the one outcome that Hazel had urged him to avoid. Logan pressed his palm firmly against Jack’s forehead and once again put the boy to sleep. Then he stood up to meet the oncoming guards.

When morning came there was not a single soul alive in Greghorn Castle other than the agitated horses in the stable. One was, of course, missing.