The Boy in the Field (19 page)

“What happened to Landia? How did you even survive? You ran
off and I couldn’t find you.”

“I was gone for a minute and I was trying to protect you!” He
banged his palm down onto the table. “I went to get father’s sword and when I
came back, you were gone. Ethan too.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Sorry won’t change what happened. It won’t bring
them back.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t stop me wanting to kill you both for
what you did!”

“Is that what you’re going to do, Noah? Are you going to kill
us?” You smiled. “Have you got it in you to kill your own family?”

“I don’t need to kill you.” He moved towards you, backing you
into a corner of the room. “I only need to make you suffer and I have the law
on my side when it comes to that. I have the whole of the Serloran Empire at my
back.” He took a knife from his belt and handed it to you. “Are you going to
run or are you going to fight?”

Choice:
137. Evade
or
138. Attack
or
139. Neither

You sat in the cemetery, tracing the letters on the
gravestones with your finger, the big one first and then the small, lingering
on the tail of the letter R. It didn’t matter that you had waited until you
thought Noah had gone to call out; he stationed guards at your door. As soon as
you shouted, they silenced you. They took everything you had left. Now your
boys could never be separated, buried side by side.

“This is what I felt when you left me,” a voice said behind
you.

“Piss off, Noah.”

“My name is Vapasi.”

You stood up and turned around to face him. Noah Senior –
Vapasi, as he liked to be called – stood behind you, smiling.

“I’m glad you changed your name,” you said, moving towards him.
“I would hate to be associated with you.”

“And I you.”

You smiled and laughed, moving close enough to him to feel his
breath on your face. “You know, for the first time, I’m not sad that my son
will never know his father.” You grabbed the collar of his shirt, keeping him
close. “And I wish that I hadn’t spent all these years just hoping I might see
you again.”

You reached for the knife tucked beneath your belt. The blade
had cut into your leg as you had walked, but you had ignored the pain,
confident that Vapasi would show his face. You smiled as you pushed it through
the flimsy protection of his clothing, driving it as deep as you could into his
gut.

“I don’t care if you live or die. I don’t care if they catch
me. I just want you to know what happens to people who hurt my family.”

Vapasi said nothing as you released him, only put his hand out
to support himself against the gravestone beside him. He wrapped his hand
around the hilt of the knife. You turned your back and walked away.

The End
(Back to start)

You did exactly as you were told, making no sound after they
left. If doing what he asked would keep your son alive, then you would do what
he asked. And if you could just imagine that he was upstairs, asleep, then it
didn’t feel so bad. You sang, keeping your voice low so that the neighbours
wouldn’t hear.

A key turning in the lock made you look up, the sound piecing
the silence of the room. You waited, still making no sound. Ethan appeared in
the doorway, his finger held to his lips. He bent down behind the chair and
untied the ropes.

“He doesn’t know I escaped,” he whispered. “We need to get
somewhere safe. Can you walk?”

You nodded. “I’m fine. He’s got Noah.”

“Noah’s fine. He’s with friends.” He held out his hand to you.
“We have to go. Come on.”

Instruction:
144. Defence

You watched him leave. Something wasn’t right; you just
couldn’t put your finger on what it was. You moved to sit beside Noah, putting
your arm around his shoulders. He only knew Ethan lived there. He wanted
revenge and if he hadn’t hurt you or Little Noah, there was only one other
person for him to chase.

“Stay here, sweetie,” you said, leaping to your feet. “Scream
if anyone else comes in, okay? As loud as you can. Even if it’s Ethan.”

Before he had a chance to answer, you ran out of the door,
locking it behind you. Noah Senior was a little further up the street. You
sprinted to catch up with him.

“Don't do it,” you panted, grabbing his arm. “I know what
you’re going to do. Please, don’t.”

Noah turned, his eyes wide. “How did you guess?”

“Kinda obvious.” Your breathed deeply. “You wanted to hurt us
to get back at him, but we’re not just strangers, so you couldn’t. So that
means you have to go after him directly.”

“What else can I do?” He looked down at the clock again. “I’m
running out of time.”

“Come back with us.” You took his hand. “Talk to Ethan. Meet
Noah.” You tipped your head to one side. “Tell me about your life.”

“How does...” He looked down and pulled his hands away. “Oh.”

“What?”

“This isn't about revenge,
parahi
. This is something
bigger.”

“What's bigger?”

“My country.”

“Noah, I don't-”

“I'm going to be late. I have to go”

CHOICE:
156. Follow Him
or
157. Let
Him Walk Away

“Noah, wait.” You stood up and caught his arm. “Please don’t
go.”

“That was the last thing you said to me.” He stopped. “Every
day, I wish I had listened.”

“So listen this time,” you replied. “Tell them your son was
sick. Go later and apologise. Just… Stay here a little longer. I don’t want you
to disappear again.”

“Do you know how long I’ve trained? Do you know how hard I
worked to get where I am?” He turned around. “And somehow, I still can’t help
but let you get me into trouble.”

“I’m sorry.” You let go of him. “But… I’ve missed you. And Noah
never got to meet you. I ran away last time, so I won’t blame you if you do the
same now.” You wiped your eyes on your sleeve.

“Don’t cry.” He put his arm around your shoulder. “You know
I’ll be defenceless if you cry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologising. Please. You don’t need to.” He pulled you to
his chest, just like he used to in Landia. “Do you know where my brother is?”

“I'm not sure. He left-”

“He's in the council chambers. He was brought back for the
treaty signing.”

“So what-”

“I'm supposed to be there too.”

“I don’t understand.” You pulled away from him. “What’s going
on?”

He looked at the clock again. “I’ve made a lot of bad
decisions. And I think it’s too late to fix what I’ve done.”

You smiled. “Are you going to let that stop you trying?”

He shook his head. “But I need your help. The Serlorans are
going to start looking for me soon. I need you to hide me.”

Choice:
140. Help Him Hide
or
141.
Question Him

You accepted his help and rose to your feet. “Okay. But if I
help you, you make sure Ethan lives too.”

He smiled. “I’ll make sure he lives.” He held on to your hand.
“Deal?”

“Deal.” You shook.

“I’m going to need some names.”

“My supervisor’s name is Vasoa Nusra. He works for Onda Lutra
and I frequently see him talking to a man in magister’s armour, but I’ve never
seen his face.”

Noah shook his head and sighed. “Yeah. That’s me. They’re my
informants. They ratted on you.”

“I had my suspicions when you said you arranged a hit on
yourself.” You smiled. “I doubt that I know anything they don’t.”

“But won’t it be a good excuse to meet up about once a week.”
He took a card from his pocket and handed it to you. It had the address of an
inn with a room number scrawled in the corner.

* * *

Every week, you would sneak out of the house to meet Noah in a
room in an inn at the other side of the town. When Ethan asked you where you
were going, you told him you had missions of your own to complete. If he was
happy to keep secrets from you, you could do the same.

Whenever you got to Noah’s room, he would spend five minutes
trying to convince you to give him information about your team or missions you
had been asked to complete. Mostly, you told him nothing, giving him only
information that he already knew. After that, the subject would change and
you’d find yourself back in his arms as if you had never been apart. Every
time, it got more difficult to leave.

Then, one time, you arrived early to find the door of the room
ajar. You pushed it open, worried something had happened to him. A quick look
told you that there was no one in the room, no signs of a struggle and nothing
to suggest anything was wrong. You cast your eye over some papers on the table.

A name caught your eye: Ethan Wicker. You picked up the
document and read it. It was a handwritten statement, listing the names of
people you knew who were involved in the Liberation. It was in Ethan’s
handwriting. Your name was three from the top, beneath the other two members of
the team. The door clicked shut behind you and you turned to see Noah, his eyes
fixed on you.

“Found something interesting?” he asked.

You held up the document. “He’s been talking to you the whole
time.”

Noah nodded. “Longer than you have.”

“Does he know about me?”

Noah shook his head and stepped towards you. He took the paper
from your hand and put it down on the desk before lacing his fingers through
yours.

“I didn’t think he would turn you in. Unless you give me more,
I can’t help you.”

Choice:
142. Give Noah What He Wants
or
143.
Let Ethan Turn on You

“This is your country too,” you said, refusing his hand and
climbing to your feet by yourself. “You should be ashamed of what you’re doing
to it.”

“This country abandoned me and my mother when we needed help.
Ethigos took me in. Serlora helped me. They fed me and gave me work and paid me
and I’ve never looked back. What has Kinel done for you?”

“It’s my home.”

Noah sighed. “Don’t say I didn’t try to help you. I tried to
save you. What happens next is on you.”

He raised his hand to touch your shoulder. Your eyes grew
heavy. The lights in the room began to fade. Your limbs stopped responding. You
couldn’t stop yourself falling.

Instruction:
178. Verata

You tipped back the visor on his helmet and took a wad of
fabric from your pouch. Before you moved, he stopped screaming and gritted his
teeth instead.

“You!”

Your jaw dropped and for a moment you didn’t know what to do.
The man laying on the ground in front of you was your father. You laughed.

“I have been dreaming of this day ever since I was a little
girl,” you said. “It’s just a shame it will be over so quickly.”

He pushed your shoulder, but the injury to his knee stopped him
moving. “Come on then, you little bitch.”

You didn’t need to be asked twice. The knife slid easily into the
flesh of his throat, the only exposed part of him guaranteed to kill. Blood
coated your hands as you retrieved your blade and his eyes widened. He gargled
and choked but didn’t get up. You ran.

The money for the kill was enough for you to retire. You told
Ethan about the contracts and the last encounter with your father.

“I don’t have to look over my shoulder anymore,” you said. “I
know
he’s not coming back.”

“That must have been hard though. I mean, he is still your
father.”

You shook your head. “This is the best thing that could have
happened. I’m free and he’s gone and I don’t ever have to work again.”

Ethan nodded. “As long as you’re okay. That’s all I care
about.”

“Okay? I’m more than okay.” You smiled. “I get my life back.”

The End
(Back to start)

You forced the blade of your knife into the gap between his
helmet and the armour covering his chest. He grabbed your arm and tried to
speak, but the damage was done and all that came out was an incoherent gurgle.
Blood trickled off the surface of the armour, gathering in the grooves and
pooling beneath his head. You removed your knife and fled, climbing a wall and
racing away across the rooftops.

Ethan showed you the report in the next day’s newssheet. The
man’s name was listed as
Magister Vapasi
, a name which bore more
significance to Ethan than to you.

“Who would attack a magister?” he asked. “That’s just…” He
shook his head. “I need to find out more about this.”

“Why?” You frowned. “Did you know him?”

Ethan shrugged. “Maybe.
Vapasi
was my mother’s maiden
name. He could be a relative of mine.”

“Oh. You never told me.”

“You never asked.” He smiled. “I’ll be back soon.”

You swallowed, your throat suddenly dry. “Would you like me to
come with you?”

* * *

The body of the magister was laid out on a stone table in the
basement of the city medicium. Without his armour, he looked less foreboding,
less threatening and more like Ethan. A lot like Ethan.

“That’s my brother,” Ethan said, when he saw the man’s face.
“That’s Noah.”

“And he’s the man that was killed last night?” you asked,
desperate for the doctor to do something other than nod. He didn’t.

That night, you laid in bed awake, reliving the final moments
of Noah’s life. He had reached out to you. He had tried to speak. He had
recognised you, but you were too intent on ending his life to notice. You were
only thinking of the money.

It haunted you. It was the last thing you could think of as you
took the small, ridged bottle from the pouch on your belt. You tipped the contents
into your mouth, fighting the urge to gag at the foul taste of the poison. It
wouldn’t be long before it took effect. You began to write a note, but your
vision blurred and the pen wouldn’t stay in your hand. Ink streaked the page,
formed a puddle, sucking you in to its indigo depths. You didn’t resist.

The End
(Back to start)