Kayden felt her world shattering into irreparable pieces.
“Then I don’t want it.” She dropped the dagger and instead picked up the stylis. It felt wrong in her hands compared to the dagger but she didn’t care as long as it meant she could remain in the Academy.
Dex shook his head. “You have already chosen, or should I say it has chosen you. It is no simple thing to remove a focus from one’s aura once it has been attuned. It requires one to change their very nature. Your allegiance has already been determined.”
“No, this isn’t fair.” She shook her head in disbelief. Anger like nothing she had ever felt, welled up within. “What about all that talk about the Academy fulfilling its duties toward me.”
Headmaster Winslow laid his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Unfortunately, the Academy has no duties toward those like yourself. If you had chosen any other focus, we could have worked with you, but this institution will not be associated with criminals of any kind.”
“But I’m not a criminal.” Kayden felt like she was arguing with the hangman even as the noose tightened around her throat.
“This indicates otherwise.” He pointed at the dagger. “Whether you admit it to yourself or not, you are headed down a dark path. That dagger has made that quite clear. Unlike many of my associates here at the Academy, I believed in giving you a chance even with the natural manipulation of your aura being geared towards combat. I myself am not unfamiliar with overcoming the prejudices associated with one's blood and upbringing. However, you have proven that those prejudices were well founded. I can not express how much that disappoints me.”
“You’re going to throw me out just because I chose a knife.”
“Not just any knife,” Dex said informatively as if this were a simple discussion and not Kayden’s execution. “A knife can fulfill many purposes such as in wood carving and even in medical fields. That is a dagger, a dagger is good for nothing other than killing. Even that cudgel would have been a better choice. It is utilized for subduing rather than bringing overdue harm. It is the weapon of our police force, a symbol of justice. We could have spun that as you desiring to defend the people rather than follow in the footsteps of your father, but there is no way for us to spin a shadow dagger favorably.”
“That dagger has no place in this school,” Winslow said. “This is not Xieses where killing is considered a pastime. We do not participate in such vulgar activities, and we expect our students to act accordingly. Otherwise, we have failed in our duty of upholding the principles of logic and reason that have created this flourishing city.”
“That’s not me,” Kayden argued. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I want to work in the Palace of Commerce, under Judge Ragwort.”
“Judge Ragwort would never accept one who wields a shadow dagger under his tutelage. I do not say this to hurt you but to give you the simple truth. There is no honest person in the Civil District who would employ one such as yourself.”
He didn’t add that there was only one place where a shadow dagger belonged, Cliffside. This was basically a pronouncement of banishment. Go back to where you belong, was what he was really saying. She couldn’t believe that she had thought of him as fair.
“You don’t seem to understand the significance of your choice, so I will explain,” Dex said. “Like I mentioned before, focuses are objects of intent. Not their intent, but yours. Why do you think the Gifting Ceremony is such a monumental step within the Academy, because it reveals to the whole world what you intend to do with the things you have learned here. By choosing that dagger, you have sided with everything we at the Academy stand against. It is for that reason why you can no longer remain here. It is about more than protecting our name, it is about preventing the knowledge we have accumulated from ever entering into the hands of those that might abuse it.”
Headmaster Winslow held up a hand and Dex ended his lecture. He spoke softly to the crushed Kayden, but nonetheless his words were still hard. “I think you believe it when you say you harbor no such ill will, and that you plan on contributing to society, but we can not ignore the evidence that is right in front of us. Sometimes, no matter how much you may want otherwise, you can not change your nature, and you have displayed your nature quite clearly. I am sorry Kayden, there is nothing we can do for you here anymore.”
“You’re hypocrites,” she said mostly to herself. She laughed bitterly as she came to the realization of how thoroughly she had been led astray by their false promises.
“Now,” Winslow said, ignoring her comment. “The Academy will not leave you completely on your own. The apartment we have rented out for you will be available until the end of the year, we have prepared a letter of recommendation from several of your teachers, and you will still have access to our extensive career finding resources. Even with your history and unsavory focus, I am sure you will be able to find a job easily enough.”
“As a waitress in a tavern,” she said, looking down at her hands. She could already see the trajectory her life was headed. Endless hours for little pay, the humiliation of constantly being hounded by drunken men. She wouldn’t do it. She couldn’t.
She abruptly stood, cutting off whatever Winslow had been in the process of saying, and without a further word she stormed out of the room before she began balling in front of them.
Don’t let them see you cry. Don’t let them see you cry.
Winslow called out something behind her but she was already out the door. She left behind the headmaster, the ignorant teumessian, and the cursed dagger. She didn’t care anymore. She didn’t care if they expelled her, if they threw her out into the streets, if they arrested her. She didn’t care about anything.
The tears still trapped in her eyes dried up and instead turned into a hotbed of anger that seethed and roiled. It felt good to finally release it after keeping it tightly contained over the past month and a half.
She didn’t need the Academy. She didn’t need anyone’s help. She would rise to the top despite all of the obstacles in her path, and nobody was going to stop her. Then they would see how great she was. She gritted her teeth and let her anger feed into her determination.
On her way toward the courtyard she saw the familiar figure of Bellina. It was kind of hard to miss her, what with her being basically a lumbering hill giant dressed in lace. Her and her posse had surrounded their latest victim. Kayden couldn’t see who it was because they were blocking her sight.
Spurred on by her rage, and ignoring the cautionary voice in her head, Kayden changed her course to go towards them. When she was right behind Bellina she tapped on her shoulder. When Bellina turned, she saw that the person they were bullying was Rya.
“Oh, look wh--”
Bellina’s words were abruptly cut off as Kayden’s fist slammed into her face. She had infused her fist with some added durability but it still stinged nonetheless. Bellina went sprawling to the ground, her hand clutching where Kayden had punched her.
“You dare hit me!” she yelled, then grinned viciously. “You’ve done it now. The Academy will get rid of you after this.”
Two of her friends helped her to her feet. Kayden would have laughed at the way they struggled against Bellina’s weight, but she wasn’t in a laughing mood. It occurred to her that by doing this, she was proving what everyone said about her, but she wasn’t listening to the rational side of herself right now.
“Didn’t you hear,” Kayden snarled back. “They’ve already done it.”
The group of girls were surrounding her with Bellina taking up the front, Kayden didn’t care. This was exactly what she wanted, a fight. She hadn’t fought back since the day she entered the Academy, but now that she had nothing left to lose, there was nothing keeping her at bay. These girls were about to find out exactly what it meant to be the daughter of a criminal.
Bellina charged, but Kayden was ready for it, she stepped out of the way at the last second and Bellina slammed into one of her friends, taking them both out for the moment.
There were three others. These girls did not have Bellina’s considerable size advantage, and were nowhere near as aggressive. They obviously didn’t know what to do, none of their victims had ever fought back before.
Kayden took advantage of their uncertainty. With aura strengthened fists she took out one of the girls with a punch to the face. The girl didn’t keep her composure like Bellina and fell to the ground crying in pain.
The other two girls tried a concerted charge from opposite sides of Kayden but Kayden dodged and grabbed one of the girls by the arm, using her momentum to send her tripping over the girl that had fallen. They ended up in a tangle of limbs.
Bellina was back on her feet, looking grim with anger. The two remaining girls flanked her. Their fight was attracting attention but Kayden hardly noticed. All of her attention was on Bellina, waiting for her next move.
“I’m going to make you pay for that.” From her pocket, Bellina pulled out a long piece of wood engraved with runes and pointed it at Kayden.
Kayden’s eyes widened and shocked shouts echoed from those spectating. It was a wand. A type of perishable focus that concentrated the user's aura in a specific way. They were expensive, but Bellina had vast resources at her disposal, so it wasn’t a shock that she could afford one.
However, they were heavily regulated and notoriously difficult to use. There was a reason the Academy only handed out focuses after the third year, and those were focuses that were specifically attuned to the individual. Wands could be used by anyone who dared to wield them, and in the hands of someone inexperienced they were just as deadly to the user as they were to their target.
Kayden didn’t waste any time leaping out of the way as Bellina opened her mouth to activate it with its keyword.
“Blast!”
The area where Kayden had been standing a second before was blown to pieces. She was actually trying to kill Kayden! This was no longer a game, or a way to blow off steam, Kayden was fighting for her life.
“Blast!”
Kayden jumped out of the way again, narrowly missing it, but this time she leapt toward Bellina.
“Bla--”
Kayden grabbed the wand.
“--st!”
She redirected Bellina’s aim and the explosive fireball shot into the air to explode where it wouldn’t hurt anyone. The courtyard had descended into chaos, even Bellina’s posse had fallen back, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
Even with the added strength that her aura provided her arms, Kayden wasn’t able to wrench the wand from Bellina’s meaty grip, so she did the only thing she could and bit her. Bellina screamed and let go. Kayden followed it up with a punch to her gut, and Bellina went sprawling to the ground, gasping for breath like a very obese fish.
Her friends came to support her but Kayden held out the wand threateningly and they shrunk away even though Kayden had no idea how to use it.
The increasing chaos of the courtyard and the explosive sounds--although explosions weren’t that unique of an occurrence here--were beginning to draw more attention, and if Kayden didn’t want to be caught in the aftermath, she better get out while she could.
She couldn’t help savoring the moment, though, as she stood threateningly over Bellina who stared up at her with fearful eyes. Kayden held the power now, and if she wanted to she could end Bellina’s miserable existence on the spot. Well, that is if she actually knew how to use the wand, not that she would even if she could. She wasn’t as crazy as Bellina was even if the girl deserved it.
With a scoff, she turned her back on Bellina. At least with her expulsion this was the last time she would have to interact with the unbearable girl.
Rya stood off to the side, which caused Kayden to pause. She had almost forgotten about her friend's presence. They met each other’s eyes.
She didn’t know what she expected, a thank you maybe for her stepping in to stop Bellina’s abuse--although that hadn’t exactly been Kayden’s intention in coming over here, but Rya didn’t know that--or perhaps an apology for the way Rya had been ignoring her after everything that had happened.
For a moment that is what Kayden thought was going to happen. Rya was looking at her with a mixture of thanks and regret, and she opened her mouth to say something, but at the last moment decided against it and broke her gaze from Kayden’s.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
This final betrayal hurt more than all the rest and the tears that Kayden had kept at bay all this time finally began to spill free.
Don’t let them see you cry.
She forcibly wiped them away and walked past Rya, as she did, she slammed her shoulder into the other girl’s. It was rougher than she intended and Rya, who was very small, slammed into the ground with a cry of pain. Kayden didn’t apologize and didn’t look back.
Her heart was still thumping wildly in her chest from the fight. It was a euphoric feeling letting loose after trying so hard to be the perfect student for so long when she knew everyone around her disapproved of her presence here.
A group of officers in charge of campus security rushed past Kayden toward the scene of the disturbance she had just fled. She wondered if the Academy would drop even the small amount of aid they offered her once her involvement in the fight came out. She didn’t doubt that Bellina would spin the story in her favor, and even Rya would probably do nothing to contest Bellina’s version of events. Still, Kayden didn’t regret her actions for an instant.
Before Kayden left academy grounds, she stopped by the financial office. She discovered that they hadn’t yet removed her small stipend. She didn’t know if that was part of the benefits they were extending past her expulsion, or if they just hadn’t gotten around to removing it yet, regardless it was probably smart to abuse it for as long as possible. She walked out of the office with a pocket full of scripts.
She took the long way home to help calm her nerves, and walking through the Tower District would only aggravate her more, seeing all those happy people going about their lives without a care in the world in the place she used to call home, just thinking about it made Kayden’s anger return.
Avoiding Tower District consisted of taking a secret route through Civil District that Kayden had found after her father’s disappearance. She had taken to wandering the streets on her way home from school. She hated being cooped up in that small room above the butcher’s shop and Griff and Deaik always waiting for her around like a couple of predators. Technically, she was required by law to be escorted everywhere by them, even back from school, but after a while they had given up on that when they could never find her. Instead they just waited at her apartment. Her disobedience didn’t cause problems as long as she didn’t take too long, otherwise they would suspect her of going off to a secret meeting with her father.
Her secret route took her through the grounds of the Palace of Commerce. The whole area around the place was walled off to prevent intruders, but Kayden had discovered a spot between two buildings that was sufficiently hidden from the street where she could climb over the wall.
She looked both ways to make sure no one noticed as she slipped into the alley. Then she climbed up the drain pipe of the building on the right until she reached the top. From there it was a simple leap from the top of the building over to the wall. Standing atop the wall was the riskiest part because the area was heavily watched over by the police so Kayden quickly leaped down to the other side. Luckily, there were several bushes and trees obscuring it from view.
Once the coast was clear, Kayden strode out and walked into the street like she belonged here. As long as she didn’t look suspicious, she found it was very easy to blend in. She might look a little young but she could very well be the daughter of some official visiting her father’s office from the Academy.
From the Palace of Commerce, Kayden made her way to Mansion District, where all of the Judges’ and wealthiest officials' homes were. The area consisted of many lavish mansions situated in large yards in a city where there wasn’t much room for such things.
Kayden had always enjoyed walking through this area, looking at all of the nice homes. She would imagine what it would be like to live in one, but now all they did was make her realize how impossible it would be for that to ever come true.
Instead of her walk working to calm her agitated nerves, it was doing the exact opposite. It wasn’t right that these people got to live in mansions such as these while Kayden wasn’t even sure whether she would have a home tomorrow.
Not many people walked here because they were all wealthy enough to afford automobiles, but there were still plenty of paths through the area for pedestrians. Occasionally, Kayden would pass a couple going for a leisurely stroll, but nobody stopped her, she was wearing her academy clothes, and many of the children here attended the place so it worked as a good disguise. Nobody realized that she didn’t belong.
She kept to the edge of Mansion District, skirting along some wealthy merchant’s yard. She imagined what it would be like to live here and to have all of the privileges associated with it, to not have the problems she had now. The daydream only worked to stoke her anger.
It didn’t take long to enter Merchant District from there. The area right outside of Mansion District was full of expensive shops, but as soon as she went a couple blocks, she was met with the usual sights of Merchant District. It was still relatively clean and upscale even though it wasn’t the richer area. Mitros prided itself on being a city of culture and wealth. Cliffside was the unsavory element that they preferred not to talk about.
Cliffside. Kayden’s thoughts kept going back to that place. Now that she had some time to think about the consequences of her expulsion, she realized she needed a plan. She had even less options then she did previously. She could either accept the limited aid the Academy still offered, and who knew if that would even still be available after her fight with Bellina, or she could abandon this place altogether, go in search of her dad, and finally get some answers. If nothing else, she could finally be able to give him a piece of her mind.
That is what she would do, she decided. She would finally go see this place that people kept associating her with, and see how bad it was for herself. With her mind made up, she renewed her pace home so that she could gather up some supplies. Griff and Deaik wouldn’t be there right now. She wasn’t supposed to be out of school for several more hours.
She reached her home and set about gathering up supplies. She had some more cash that she had been saving up for an emergency hidden under a loose floorboard and added that to the stack of scripts from her stipend. It was enough to survive for at least a month if she used it sparingly. She also grabbed some food, spare clothes, and some other loose odds and ends that she shoved into a bag.
Lastly, she grabbed a picture she had taken with her father last summer when they had taken a skyship cruise across the city. All of Mitros was splayed out below them with the endless Gelgine Wilderness stretching out into the distance. It was one of the only times that she felt like she could do anything. It was a lavish experience they usually couldn’t afford so they had gotten all dressed up for the occasion. They spent the evening listening to fine music and eating decadent meals. She and her father were laughing heartily at something he had said, and were glowing from the light of the city below.
The man who had snapped the picture charged her father an arm and a leg for it, but he had paid without even haggling and handed it over to Kayden.
“Remember this night, Kay,” he had said as they were leaning over the railing, looking at the picture and city.
His burly hands were covered in scars, and the wind carried his scent to Kayden’s nose, it reminded of her when she was a child and would be wrapped up in his arms without a care in the world.
“It isn’t often you get to see the world from this perspective. It reveals how small everything really is, how insignificant.” His eyes suddenly grew distant, weighed down by something.
Kayden grabbed his hand, feeling his scars against her own soft skin. He smiled gently at her, the sadness that briefly passed over his face gone in an instant.
“One day, I’ll buy you your own skyship and we can sail anywhere we want to. Maybe we’ll go to Northcore to see the gladiators, or swim in the Euquin Sea. The whole world will be ours to discover.”
Kayden let the memory fade and pushed the picture into her backpack.
She had to know why her father had done the things that he had done. She had to find him.
When she walked out of her home, she saw Griff and Deaik waiting for her. She had taken too long and they had found her.
“We heard about what you did at the Academy,” Griff said as she walked down the stairs. “The commissioner wants to see you.”
It was as she feared. Bellina had twisted the story so that Kayden was to blame for everything, and nobody would take her word over Bellina’s, especially since Kayden had stupidly kept the wand that caused the destruction. It was in her pocket and was as good as a confession.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs Griff grabbed her hand and pulled out his cuffs. He observed her stuffed backpack.
“Planning on going somewhere?”
She met his eyes defiantly and saw surprise flash across his face. She had gone along with all of his mistreatment, meekly bowing her head and trying to be as obedient as possible, but not anymore. She had no reason to pretend.
Griff's smug look vanished and he attempted to close the cuffs around her wrist, but in a single motion Kayden broke free of him and rammed her shoulder into his stomach so that he stumbled away. Before he could regain his composure and before Deaik could step in to stop her, she took off down the street at a dead sprint.
“Stop her!”
She looked back and saw Deaik hot on her trail with his stun cudgel deployed, crackling with electricity. Griff was a few feet back, struggling to pull his own stun cudgel from his belt.
Kayden couldn’t keep a slight smirk from stretching across her face. It wasn’t that she didn’t realize how much trouble she was in. It was the exact opposite--he would probably be sent to prison after this, not to mention the beating Griff and Deaik were sure to give her beforehand--but it was somewhat of a relief to finally know where she stood, and a little bit exhilarating to be chased.
The wind whipped at her hair as she ran, and she broke out of the small street where her apartment was located onto the busy street of the main thoroughfare. She dodged around confused pedestrians as they took notice of her and her pursuers.
Kayden was fast but Deaik was young and athletic with the advantage of longer legs. She glanced back and felt her gut wrench in fright as she saw he was bearing down on her. He swung his cudgel at her head.
Kayden ducked at the last instant, feeling the electric tingle of the weapon as it grazed past her hair. She abruptly took a ninety degree turn. Deaik was unable to slow his charge and barreled straight into a street vendor’s cart, fruit went flying everywhere. She couldn’t help but laugh at him, but she wasn’t out of danger yet. Griff had taken his place and he had murder in his eyes.
She headed toward the docks. That was an area full of warehouses and alleys where it would be easier to lose Griff. He wasn’t as fast as Deaik, but there was no way that Kayden was going to outrun him.
Dockside was the side of Mitros that hosted all of the sky merchant vessels which made Mitros function. Mitros might be a hub of education and invention, but that was only able to exist because of the business the merchants brought in through their skyships. Dockside was where all of these ships ported. Because of Mitros’ unique location atop an elevated plateau within the Gelgine Wilderness, an expansive forest which usually couldn’t be traveled across by skyships because they frequently needed to refuel, Mitros had become the largest port of skyships in the world. The main thoroughfare in Merchant District led straight into Dockside.
Other police officers patrolling the area--Dockside was heavily guarded because of the importance it held to the prosperity of the city--saw Kayden fleeing from their fellow officer and stepped in to help, and the further Kayden got into Dockside, the worse it would get. Two other guards had already joined Griff in his pursuit and Kayden could see two ahead who had already taken notice of her and were preparing to intercept. She had to get away now.
She broke away from the main thoroughfare and entered into a warehouse where they were in the process of unloading the cargo from a skyship. They stopped in their activity as they were interrupted by Kayden’s entrance and the officers chasing after her.
She looked left and right, but could see no way out. She had cornered herself.
But then she saw her window of escape, a passing skyship. Dockside was an extremely busy and packed port, therefore there was constant traffic, still it was extremely fortunate that a skyship would be passing at this moment. For once fate was on Kayden’s side.
Looking back revealed that her pursuers were almost upon her. She ran toward the docked skyship and jumped over the rail onto its deck. Workers shouted at her to stop, but she paid them no attention. She ran to the other side of the deck where the distance to the passing ship was narrowest but paused, making the mistake of looking down.
Dockside was on the very edge of the city where the skyships could pull in with little effort, but that meant if Kayden didn’t make this jump, she would be falling hundreds of feet to the forest below. The leap really wasn’t that far, but she couldn’t help a feeling of vertigo overcoming her.
“Stop!” Griff screamed behind her.
The ship was already pulling out of Kayden’s reach.
She took a deep breath and jumped.
Time slowed and the world went silent. For an instant Kayden was suspended in the air like a bird without wings.
Then she slammed down onto the deck of the passing ship, rolling to break her fall, then standing back up.
Her blood was racing through her veins like lightning. She felt more alive in that instant then she ever had before. From the other ship, she saw Griff and the other officers piled against the railing of the docked ship, Deaik had rejoined them somewhere along the way. They were only a few feet apart but the distance kept growing. They couldn’t reach her now.
But Kayden wasn’t out of trouble yet. For one she was on an unfamiliar skyship, going who knew where, and for another this ship appeared to have employed its own menacing looking guards who were now approaching her. These men were the type of dockworkers with shoulders the size of anvils.
Kayden had no desire to test how well her aura infused fists handled these brutes so she ran away from them and jumped onto the bowsprit where her small size gave her a distinct advantage on balancing upon the narrow rail. The two guards called out to her, and one even looked like he was attempting to follow, so Kayden continued to inch along the rail until the end. Empty space extended out before her.
She didn’t often come to Dockside, she didn’t have much business out here. For the most part, Kayden was landlocked within the center of the city around Civil District because that was where the Academy was, but whenever she came out to the edge of the city, it always took her breath away to see the view of the Gelgine Wilderness extending out below. It was hard to believe it was such a deadly place from up here. That is why she supposed they had made this city here atop the plateau where it couldn’t be touched by those untamable forces.
However, now was not the time to be admiring the view as Kayden found herself in a very precarious position. This vessel didn’t seem to be leaving the docks but entering it, and therefore they were pulling up to another dock. As soon as the dock was within reach Kayden jumped across the gap and landed onto it. The guard that was brave enough to come onto the bowsprit tried to grab her before she jumped but he was still out of reach so he grasped at nothing but air.
Kayden came up from her roll onto the dock in a run, dodging--and in one case punching--dock workers who tried to get in her way. She lost herself in the crowds beyond the dock. The whole area was crawling with police at this point, looking for her, so she disappeared into the alleys to avoid their detection and to wait for everything to cool down.
She was crouched behind a crate, waiting in the shadows beside one of the docks when she overheard a conversation between a passing merchant and some type of foreman.
“I’m telling you,” the foreman was saying. “Whoever told you to dock here got it all wrong. This shipment was supposed to go to the Cliffside docks, not come here. Pack everything back up and go there. I will not take responsibility for this shipment no matter what you say.”
The merchant cursed. “I better be compensated for this inconvenience.”
“Take it up with the dockmaster when you deliver the shipment. It’s his responsibility. But for now, tell your men to stop unloading. I want you out of my dock in an hour. My itinerary is already completely held up because of you.”
The merchant grumbled something unintelligible in response.
Looks like Kayden found out how she was getting out of here, and what’s more, it would be taking her right where she needed to go.