Chapter 6:

  Sonya held her blade at arm’s length, the tip wavering ever so slightly. She didn’t start her day with the aim of running someone through, so she hoped the edge she brandished was enough to get the job done. It wasn’t though, and Thomas stood unmoving and defiant, his eyes stabbing up at her like daggers and the muscles in his arms flexed and tensed.

  Is this the same bumbling guy from the other day? Where’d he get this fresh set of balls? Sonya asked herself, made uneasy by Thomas’s hidden resolve. She had no idea he had any fight in him, but here he was, protecting someone with the possibility of death inches away. She only admired him more now. Why are all the good ones taken?

  Sonya sighed. Thomas had called her bluff. Every second she held him at knifepoint now was a second wasted. She sheathed her weapon and hopped down from her horse, Thomas instinctively held Aimee back with a guarding arm as Sonya moved closer.

  “That’s close enough.” Thomas’s stare was commanding.

  “We don’t have time for this crap.” Sonya leveled a finger at the pin in Aimee’s hair. “That pin was stolen from a carriage bound for the Holy Capitol. A group of knights rides this way looking for it and its thieves.” She was very plain with them. Without using force, the truth was the quickest option.

  “Then we’ll give it back to them,” Thomas said, relaxing a little at getting some answers. His eyes remained locked on Sonya, though.

  “Not an option. They’re out for blood on this one. If they find it, they’ll turn this town inside out. No one would be safe.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Aimee chimed in. The Holy Knights protect the people. They would never hurt anyone.”

  Sonya raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

  “Aimee. Now offer me yours.”

  “My name is far from important. What is important is this situation. Do you believe that crap you’re spouting? That the Holy Knights protect people?”

  The woman stood up straight and grew sure of her words. “Yes, I do. The Holy Knights serve the gracious Royal Family and spread the will of Ovaro. They’re kind and just. Why would I have any reason to believe otherwise?”

  Sonya wanted to vomit in her mouth. She tasted bile, so she might have already. “It’s obvious you’ve been getting your information from the Church. I can’t blame you though. This monarchy of this country has been twisting the minds of the people for generations.” She claimed, and before either could voice a retort, she continued. “Have you ever met a Holy Knight?” She asked.

  “No, but I…” Aimee began, but Sonya cut her off.

  “Well, I have. They’re mean, they’re tough, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done. Right now, that job is finding a thief. Believe me when I say I’ve seen them do some pretty fucked up shit.” Her expression grew dark.

  “Forgive me if I find it hard to dismiss my long-held beliefs,” Aimee said, defensively.

  “Look…” Sonya shook her head in her hand. “I’m trying to help you here. If you won’t give up the stupid thing, will you at least hide and pray they leave? That’s your best shot.” She was almost pleading. “There’s no harm in that.”

  Thomas was still staring into her, seeming to size her up, read her. Then he asked the one question Sonya didn’t want to answer. “What is all this to you?”

  “Move now, and I’ll tell you!” She thought it a fair compromise. “We don’t have time!” As if to emphasize this point, Sonya caught sight of a dust cloud rising from the road in the distance. Her eyes flooded with fear. “Go now!” She yelled.

  Thomas grabbed Aimee’s hand, eye’s still on Sonya. “Alright, but you’re coming with us. Better you’re not out causing trouble if this happens to be a trick of some sort.”

  Sonya relaxed. “Fine by me. Let’s get the hell out of here!” She grabbed the reins of her horse. “Where to?”

  Thomas led them to his house, which wasn’t far. As they ran up to it on the road, Thomas called back. “There’s a stable around back!” He was getting worked up, adrenaline seeping into his system. “Follow me!”

  Sonya’s horse was led into a spare stall and the gate shut tight behind it. All three headed back to the front door. Thomas threw it open with little care and the group piled into the house.

  “What if we just hide the hairpin?” Aimee suggested, almost half-heartedly. She still didn’t believe there was cause for alarm.

  “No good.” Replied Sonya. “We know something, and my bet is the knights will sniff that out. We need to disappear.”

  “I have an idea,” said Thomas. He ran across the room to a little closet. He threw open the door and cleared some boots and other items out of the way, revealing a small handle embedded in the wood of the floorboards. He gave it a good heave upwards, and the trap door swung open on old, squeaky hinges.

  “You have a cellar?” Aimee asked.

  “Yeah, but we only ever use it for storage. You two get down there. I need to get my mother.” He left the hatch open and ran down the hall.

  Sonya didn’t waste any time. She hurried to the closet and made her way down the ladder. Aimee stood where she was, hesitant. “You coming?” Sonya questioned, peeking back up over the lip of the opening.

  “This is all such nonsense,” Aimee complained, arms crossed.

  “Look, I know you don’t trust me…” She was cut off.

  “No, I don’t.” Aimee was getting tired of this. She wanted so desperately to continue the day as it had been.

  Sonya sighed. “Do you trust Thomas?”

  Aimee paused, seeing herself caught in a trap. “With all my heart.”

  “And what did your dear fiancée ask you to do?”

  The frustrated woman paused further, hesitant still. She had faith in Thomas’s instincts, and he seemed worried about this, if only slightly. So why wasn’t she trusting him? This won her over and she casually made her way to the cellar, albeit with some reservation.

  “I expect some answers,” she said as she lowered herself down the ladder after the stranger.

  When she got to the bottom, Sonya was already seated on a crate in the corner, the light glow of an oil lamp she had lit gently bathing the little room in yellow. The shadows about her face made her seem more untrustworthy to Aimee than she already was.

  “Well, what do you want to know first?” The woman asked as Aimee sat across from her.

  “Who are you?” She wasted no time.

  “Sonya. Just your average scoundrel.” This wasn’t exactly accurate. Sonya was much more, but that wasn’t any of the woman’s business.

  “I want to know how you know my fiancée.” This topic seemed to get Aimee worked up a bit. Sonya could see it in her posture. She was stiff and her face showed her jealousy.

  “It’s really not a big deal. I made a pass at him, and he turned me down. End of story.” Sonya noticed Thomas’s continued absence and, as if on cue, he scurried down the ladder, the hatch shut tight behind him.

  “My mother’s not here,” he was more than worried. He scratched nervously at his arm

  “Does she know about the hairpin?" Sonya asked.

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  “No, she doesn’t.” The thought seemed to calm him down a little.

  “Then she’s safer than she would be otherwise. Sit.” Sonya pushed a little crate over his way with a heel. She was more than a bit anxious, and she hoped it didn’t show. What I wouldn’t give for a smoke.

  “What do we do?” Thomas asked.

  “We sit tight and wait. Hopefully, the knights won’t find out the damned hairpin is here, and they’ll move on.”

  “What’s the likelihood of that happening?” He questioned.

  Sonya seemed to think for a moment. “It depends on the resolve of whoever’s in command of this company of soldiers.”

  “What’s the best-case scenario?”

  She looked at him, a tinge of hope flooding her features. “Lieutenant Eton. If he’s leading them then there’s a chance things will be civil. He’s a killer, like the rest of them, but he knows mercy.”

  “And the worst?” This was from Aimee. She was becoming interested in the conversation, despite her misgivings about its necessity.

  Sonya flicked her eyes to the woman, a haunting look about them. “Captain Leon Groyce. If he’s here, which I doubt he is, then we’re all screwed. That man would torture a child just to hear the mother scream, and bathe in the sound like it was a hot soak after a month’s travel.”

  The description caused a chill to run down Thomas’s spine. “Well, from your experience, it looks like our odds are pretty good.”

  Sonya nodded. “I’d say.” Her feet were tapping about from a lack of tobacco, and she wished she had grabbed her pouch.

  Just then there came a heavy pounding on the door of the house, heard distantly by the group down in the cellar. Thomas and Sonya froze, and Aimee gave a slight jump at it. They all waited and listened intently, tension rising in them. It came again.

  “We should go talk to them,” Aimee suggested.

  Sonya looked at her like she was insane. “Are you stupid?”

  The insult made Aimee flush with anger. “You are a rude woman,” Aimee countered.

  “Rude or not, I’m a survivor.”

  “Aimee, maybe we should lean towards caution. If this woman is right, then she’s saving us. If not, then I seriously doubt the knights would condemn us for our suspicions.” He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as he said this. He felt her muscles loosen under his touch.

  “Alright, dear. You’re right.” She wasn’t happy about it though. She wanted to leave.

  Yet again, there came the pounding upstairs. “This is Avers with the Holy Knights. Under the command of the Holy Family, grant me entrance!”

  The group waited in silence, sweat forming on all brows, save for Aimee’s. She still didn’t see the need for worry.

  “Captain!” Shouted the man at the door. “Captain Groyce, Sir! No one answers, Sir!”

  Thomas turned to Sonya, and he could see just how pale she had grown, despite the low light. Her mouth was slightly ajar and a noise like a mouse squeak drifted from it. Her body quivered. She seemed soaked in terror.

  A powerful voice boomed in response to the knight at the door. “Disobedience is treason. You’re permitted forced entry. Kill all inside.”

  This was a life-changing thing for Aimee. Not only was she just invited to dance with death, but her belief system had collapsed with only a few words. She grew faint and leaned against Thomas, holding her head. “This…this is wrong. Something is wrong. We need to talk to them. This is obviously a misunderstanding.”

  “Shut up, you stupid bitch,” Sonya hissed under her breath, her voice shaking. “Or we’re all dead.”

  Without another bout of pounding, they heard the door upstairs being kicked in. It slammed against the wall as it swung its weight wide, the hinges squealing. It was followed by the long, slow scrape of a sword pulled from its scabbard. Heavy, cautious footsteps plated in steel sounded throughout the house as the knight walked from room to room.

  Sonya had her knees pulled up to her chest and she hugged them tightly. Memories flashed through her mind. Memories so horrible they brought tears to her eyes. For the briefest moment, she regretted not listening to Colt. She regretted coming here. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she repeated over and over to herself. The words were so close together it almost sounded like nonsense.

  The man above them walked past the closet. The group froze, their blood running cold, and the breath stilled in their lungs. No one made a sound. Aimee slipped her hand into Thomas’s and gripped it tight.

  After a thorough search, an agonizing few minutes that felt like an eternity, the knight walked to the door again. “Sir! There’s no one here! They must be in town!” With that, the sound of his clanking armor faded as he rejoined his company.

  “Oh fuck, oh fuck…” Sonya was rocking back and forth, her head in her hands. A single tear broke free and ran down her face.

  Thomas looked at her with concern. “We still have a chance for everything to be alright, don’t we?” He squeezed Aimee’s hand and she clutched his in response with an iron grip, her opinion on the situation changing the more time passed.

  Sonya didn’t hear him. She continued to mutter to herself and stare off into nothing at some unseen horror meant only for her. “I was so small…just a girl…just a girl…just a…” She felt a hand fall gingerly on her shoulder and it made her jump violently, yelping at the unexpectedness of it. Aimee stood near, concern on her face and in her touch.

  “Sonya?” Aimee ventured. “Are you alright?” She was worried too, but this woman seemed traumatized. “Who is this Captain?”

  Sonya stared up at her, wide-eyed. “The Ravager of Daro,” was her only response.

  “That murderer from Baldorum? What does he have to do with this?” Asked Thomas.

  Sonya laughed, despite her tears. “Yeah, Baldorum. Go on believing that.” Her voice cracked with another laugh that almost turned into a sob. “This shit goes so deep. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Besides, it’s none of your business.”

  “That man upstairs given permission to kill my mother and I just made this our business,” Thomas said, a little heated.

  Sonya looked at him, almost cross. “You keep surprising me, Thomas.” She wiped tears from her eyes. “Do you two know what happened in Daro?”

  They both nodded. “We heard the stories. Baldorian troops snuck in from the mountains to the east and raided it. They killed everyone…” Aimee trailed off.

  “It was worse than that! I was there!” The woman was losing herself. “I saw people dragged from their homes and killed in the streets! Some were even sealed inside and burned alive! Men, women, children! All dead!” Fresh tears blossomed from her wet eyes. “Yalum is dead, Thomas. Leon is an animal!"

  "How did you survive?" Thomas asked. Sonya only froze up, caught in another personal nightmare. She looked as though she were about to crack.

  Aimee had a blanket of realization settle over her. Here was a woman that lived through a horror, telling them their lives as they had known them were ending. “Maybe…maybe everything will be alright.” She didn’t sound like she believed her own words.

  “Leon was looking for someone in Daro…he didn’t even have proof the man was there, and he burned the town to the ground.” She had calmed a little, but only because she had slipped back into a memory. The recollection of it caused her to shake as she spoke. “History repeats itself. If he’s here, it’s for a reason.” She pointed to the pin in Aimee’s hair. “That reason.”

  Suddenly, Thomas and Aimee wanted to leave and find their parents. Find them and bring them back to safety. They both grew increasingly uneasy, constantly looking back to the ladder.

“What can we do?” Asked Thomas.

  Sonya shook her head. “Nothing. Right now, I bet soldiers are blocking any way in and out of town. Yalum is small enough, they can do it with no trouble.” She sniffled. “Anyone that seems like they have more than half a brain will be questioned. The rest will be sport. Women will be raped, men gutted, and children pulled apart.” She didn’t sprinkle sugar on her words. “They like it. Don’t you understand? They like it!”

  Thomas ignored her craze and looked her dead in the eyes. “I ask again. What can we do?”

  Sonya just stared back, hollow, empty, hopeless. New tears grew and fell down her face in streaks. Her lips trembled and she shook her head again. It made Thomas tense up. He was thinking of his mother. Where she could be and if there was any way to get her down here with them.

  Sonya could sense the panic in the room. Aimee had begun to nervously pace back and forth, little sobs of her own coming from under her cupped hand while Thomas seemed ready to spring from his little crate and fly up the ladder into the town. Neither of them was helping her mental state at all and Sonya felt the need to curl up into a ball.

  Their heads were flooded with so many terrible thoughts that neither Thomas nor Sonya noticed Aimee was already at the top of the ladder and halfway out the hatch. It was the sound of it slamming that alerted them to her departure.

  “Aimee?” Thomas looked around, then immediately put two and two together. “Aimee!” He shot up and started towards the exit in a mad dash, tripping over another small crate and clawing back up and to the ladder, all the while screaming her name. “Aimee!” His heart pounded so hard it hurt. He frantically climbed the ladder. Adrenaline pumped so fast through him he was dizzy with it.

  Thomas felt a tugging at his pant leg. He looked down, face ghostly white with panic, eyes nearly bloodshot. He almost wore a sneer over clenched teeth as he looked for what had stopped him. Sonya looked back up at him, her face contorted in an expression of horror and sorrow, moisture wetting her whole face.

  “Please…don’t leave me all alone. I don’t want to be alone…” She sobbed the words.

  Thomas didn’t even think about it. He ripped his leg free of her desperate grasp and with another slam of the hatch, he too was gone.

  Sonya went back to sit alone in the darkness with only a weak light for company. The companionship she longed for was Colts. He’d always been there. Ever since Daro. She wondered where the man was. Was he looking for her? What would he think of her right now?”

  You’d probably tell me to stop crying like a fucking child. The image of Colt scolding her with a look of distaste made her chuckle a few times through her sobs. It soon turned into semi-hysterical laughter, and she wiped away tears with her palms. Sonya found the courage to walk over and mount the ladder, fighting back another wave of sobs. Or was it laughter? She didn’t know. All she knew was that she must be crazy.

  Her last thought before breaching the hatch and leaving the house was how badly she wanted a cigarette. To feel calm and at ease. Her laughter was cut off from the small room when the hatch banged shut behind her.