Soulbound (35 page)

The Graplars screeched as they continued their assault, their voracious appetites refusing to cease. A particularly large beast bit into a girl as it crossed the cobblestone of the courtyard, carrying off a snack for
later. A still-screaming, still-very-much-alive snack. But who knew for how long? Horrified, I moved forward to engage the beast, but Darius stopped me with his fingers on my shoulder. When I looked at him, his eyes had narrowed, his mood darkened. “Stop. This one’s mine.”

An angry heat filled me. Once more I was being told what not to do. Once more I was being pushed to the side. I gripped the katana in my hand and ran forward, toward the beast.

Darius had broken into a run two seconds before I had, and he was already engaging the Graplar. He slashed at its front legs, and it reared up in response, growling, but refusing to release its prey. The poor girl screamed, her blood running freely into the creature’s mouth, drizzling onto the cobblestone below. As the Graplar whipped its head to the side, she fell back, her eyes wide with terror. For a moment, our eyes connected, and then the beast moved its head once more, shaking her like a lifeless doll.

I couldn’t see the girl’s face at that moment. All I could see were things my imagination had conjured up about the night my life had changed forever. Avery’s terrified eyes, Avery’s screaming mouth, Avery’s blood spattering onto my father’s shirt as the Graplar tore her to bits.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I’d jumped up, bringing my sword down on the Graplar’s neck. Its head flopped forward, still connected to its body by just a thin layer of tissue. The jaws opened and the girl was
free. She lay on the ground, sobbing. I stood in front of the monster that had almost taken her life and watched as its body staggered to the left before landing in a lifeless heap. I flicked its blood from my blade just as Darius came to stand beside me. “In case you didn’t hear me, I said that this one was mine.”

My jaw ached from being clenched so tightly. “After today, I never want to see you again, Darius.”

He paused, but only briefly. “Why?”

Glaring at him, I said, “Because bringing Trayton in to spar with me was wrong. Because you endangered my parents’ lives with your stupid move. Why him? Why Trayton? Why not any other Barron?”

“Because you care about him. If you can stand against even an ally, that means your training has reached a certain admirable level. Plus, he distracts you. And we both know that you struggle with distractions.” He eyed me for a moment before continuing. His tone was even, almost completely devoid of emotion. In the background, the girl’s sobs were quieting, but slowly. Her injuries were terrible, maybe deadly. I didn’t know.

Darius shrugged. “But you did well. The lesson went better than I’d hoped. So what’s the problem?”

A Barron that I didn’t recognize ran by, and I stopped him with a hand to his chest. “Wait. Take this girl to the hospital wing.”

With a nod, he scooped her into his arms as gently
as possible and ran off, without argument. I turned back to Darius.

“The problem is that you risked my parents’ lives with that stunt. And you did it without consulting me at all.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, still very angry, but not wanting to lose my temper. “I want an apology. Strike that. I deserve an apology.”

He was silent for the longest time, as if taking everything that I had said into consideration and mulling it over. A chorus of death surrounded us. Then he parted his lips and said, “No.”

“What?” My eyes flashed with fury “What do you mean
no
?”

He turned from me then and began making his way out of the courtyard. I moved quickly, quietly, on the balls of my feet, lifting my katana as silently as I was able. At the last moment, he freed his weapon and spun around, our blades meeting in midair. The clang of metal rang through my ears. “You owe me an apology, Darius.”

He pushed back with his blade, but I dug my heel into the ground, gritting my teeth against his strength. To my surprise, my stance held for longer than I thought it would, but then Darius reached the end of his patience and shoved me back. I stumbled backward, but when I recovered my footing, I swept his left leg and Darius lost his balance. Bringing my katana around fast, I counted on his Barron reflexes to deliver and they
did. He jumped back, straight into the fountain, and I stopped my blade against his throat. He swallowed and the metal nicked him, blood drawing a thin line down his neck. Holding my weapon steady, I leaned closer and said, “I said I want an apology. You owe me at least that much. I have kept your secret, after all. Despite what you’ve done. The least that you can do is apologize.”

His gaze, full of surprise at my skill, softened then and fell to my blade, then rose to my mouth. As the words passed over his lips in a whisper, a chill tickled up my spine, and he raised his eyes to meet mine. “I’m sorry, Kaya.”

A loud screech jolted me, and before I realized, I’d dropped my sword to waist height in distracted fear. In seconds, Darius had his katana poised, ready for action. I whipped my head around, searching the immediate area for any sign of a Graplar. I saw nothing near us, but the sounds of the beasts moving through academy grounds filled my ears. Then I heard another sound. The voice of Instructor Baak in the distance, her words accompanied by mad laughter. “Kill them all! Kill them all!”

Darius took off, pausing briefly to throw a wordless glance over his shoulder at me. I broke into a run. We had to get to Instructor Baak, had to get that amulet away from her and stop this attack before any more people died.

She was standing at the center of the Barrons’ training
area, arms raised, eyes so wide that there was no questioning her sanity level anymore. Her arm had been tightly bandaged, but I was still shocked to see her conscious. She’d lost so much blood. Maybe, I wondered, she knew something about herbs that Instructor Harnett hadn’t taught me.

As Graplars clashed with students all around her, she twirled in slow circles to the music in her head. I’d never thought anything would frighten me more than a Graplar. But seeing Instructor Baak lose her mind completely, watching as her madness took over any ounce of reason that she’d once had…it terrified me.

Darius ran at her, but just before he could make contact, a Graplar dove into him, knocking him to the side. Instructor Baak cackled with glee. Fury ignited my movement—fury that a crazy, selfish woman like Instructor Baak was standing here laughing, alive, while poor, giving Trayton was lying in the hospital wing, dying. I moved carefully around the edges of the training area, my eyes on the amulet—the cause of this whole mess.

The training area was filled with Barrons, Healers, and Graplars, with Instructor Baak reigning over the chaos from the center. Her eyes were alight with madness, and though several of the creatures nearly hit her as they ran by, she seemed completely oblivious to the danger she was in. It was as if she were in another time, another place, one where she and her beloved Katelyn
were at peace. I crept around the perimeter of the area until I could see Instructor Baak’s back clearly. But between us stood three Graplars, and a handful of Barrons who would only prove to be in my way.

Breaking into a run, my heart slamming in my chest, I jumped up and planted my foot onto the first Graplar’s head as it bent down. Pushing off, I jumped toward the second, but slipped on its scaly skin and fell to the ground. My ankle twisted some, but I hurried to stand before the beast could lunge at me, snapping its shimmering teeth in a bite. One of the Barrons engaged the beast and I hurried behind its massive form, using it as a hiding place as I crept toward Instructor Baak.

The amulet glimmered from its place on the thin chain around her neck, beckoning to me. Taunting me.

Another Barron stepped in front of me in a protective stance, katana raised at the Graplar between Instructor Baak and me. “Get out of here. It’s not safe!”

But I couldn’t leave, couldn’t run. I was the only one who had any idea how to stop this horror, and I wasn’t about to stop until I grasped that amulet in my hand. I shoved the Barron to the side. The movement caught the Graplar’s attention and it dove after the Barron, but there was no time for me to assist him.

I crept up on Instructor Baak and stretched my hand out, grasping for the chain on her neck.

Instructor Baak whipped around, clawing at me with her remaining hand. Her shrieks filled the air. Her fingernails
dug into my face and hands. I pulled back, my katana falling to the ground. The silver chain strained, then snapped free. The amulet glowed brightly in my hand. The howl of a madwoman filled my ears.

Free of the Graplar who’d tossed him to the side, Darius grabbed Instructor Baak and pulled her back, holding her away from me as gently as he could. It amazed me to see that kindness in him, and I wondered what she had been like before Katelyn had been killed. I held the amulet up, hoping that it would work for me the way it had for her. “Graplars, cease your attack, gather the rest of your kind, use the gates to get outside the wall, and stay there.”

At first, the two hulking beasts nearest to us simply snorted. Then, slowly, the one on the right turned and ran toward the more populated area of the school. I only hoped that it was actually leaving. The beast on the left toed the ground, as if it were too stupid or stubborn to comply. I was about to repeat my command, when Instructor Baak elbowed Darius hard and spun away. He reached out for her, but missed and she grabbed the amulet from my hand. She held the amulet up, cackling wildly. “Take me to my daughter! Take me to Katelyn!”

She brought the amulet down, smashing it on a rock. I didn’t know why—maybe because that’s what King Darrek would have wanted her to do, maybe because doing so would prevent us from controlling Graplars in the future. I had no idea what her motives might have
been. I simply watched in shock as bits of amber flew through the air, catching on her clothes.

The remaining Graplar obliged her final order and lunged forward, biting into her throat. It dragged her off toward the rose gardens and sounds reached my ears that I hoped I would soon forget, but knew that I never would. Biting sounds. Chewing sounds. Instructor Baak was dead. Reunited at last with her beloved Katelyn.

Darius turned his head away the moment the Graplar had bitten into Instructor Baak, his features paling. My breaths came quick and shallow. I didn’t know what to say. After a moment, he picked up my katana and handed it to me before turning toward the south gate. The weapon felt strangely heavy in my hand. “Where are you going?”

“You sent them outside.” He looked over his shoulder at me, his expression blank. I wondered if that was because watching Instructor Baak perish had been painful for him. “But they won’t go without taking food with them.”

With a deep breath, I chased him through campus and out the gate. I might not have been able to save Trayton, but I refused to let any more people die. As I ran after Darius, Trayton filled my thoughts. He’d hate what I was doing, that I was running willingly out onto the battlefield again. But I had to do it. Had to do what I could to help those in need.

Darius was fast, but I was vigilant and didn’t fall
behind once. We ran through the forest, jumping over rocks and fallen branches, dodging trees and prickly undergrowth. The sound of the battle hit my ears long before I could see it. The smell came shortly after. It smelled like fear. It smelled like blood.

Once we’d crested another hill, a strange electricity was in the air. Dozens of Barrons were outside the gate, in the forest, katanas in hand. Beyond them were dozens more, deeply entrenched in battle with over fifty Graplars. The beasts lunged and bit. Screams and squeals from both sides echoed throughout the forest, shooting through me.

With a glance at me, Darius withdrew his katana and bolted down the hill. As he descended on the battle, he leaped into the air, bringing his blade down on one of the beasts’ necks. The Graplar howled, tossing him back. But Darius recovered quickly and spun around, slashing at its legs, bringing the monster down. As it fell, he pulled his sword up sharply, slicing its head clean off. Blood spurted from its headless neck as it fell forward and landed in a heap on the leaf-covered ground.

To my amazement, Darius sheathed his sword. Then, jumping up once more, he grabbed onto the corner of another Graplar’s mouth with his hands, swinging himself around the beast’s head. Using his weight, he pulled the Graplar’s head down, smashing it on a large, pointed boulder. The monster’s neck hit hard and the stone acted as a blade, slicing its skull from its body. Darius paused
once it was dead and looked back at me with a grin, as if to say that that was how he’d killed the beast with the fountain. But he didn’t pause for long. I watched, mesmerized, as Darius ran farther into the battleground. He was a machine, with one distinct purpose: kill them all.

Reaching back, I drew my katana and moved down the hill, my heart racing. Something large and heavy slammed into my side as I descended the hill and I went flying, landing in leaves moist with blood. My grip tightened on my katana as I fell. I scrambled to stand, and came eye to eye with a hungry Graplar, its mouth foaming, its gaze intent. Fighting the urge to bolt, I eyed it down, waiting for it to make the first move. It snorted, as if to say that it knew what I was thinking, and for a moment, I wondered if it did.

It leaped into the air and descended on me. In a moment of panic, I hesitated and the beast took me down, standing over me as I lay on the forest floor. It lunged forward, its mouth open, its horrible teeth shining with drool. Regaining my senses, I brought my sword around, catching the metal inside the thing’s mouth. It bit down and the razor-sharp blade sliced into its jaws. Yelping, it scrambled backward, freeing me. I stood and ran at it, jumping into the air and onto its back. Its scaly skin felt smooth on my hands as I straddled its neck. I’d expected the beast to feel cold to the touch, but it was warm, almost hot. Reaching around its head as it tried to fling
me away, I gripped the handle of my katana and pulled, yanking the blade hard toward me. The blade slid easily through the Graplar’s mouth, through its skull, slicing most of its head off. Its impulses hadn’t told the Graplar that it was dead, because the thing lurched forward in a spasm, tossing me from its shoulders. The mostly headless beast staggered, and finally fell to the forest floor.