Chương 4: Chapter 5: Moving

My knees still feel like they're on fire despite having applied ointment to them. The healing wound in my side smarts as I move contrary to my orders to rest. Urgent, purposeful footsteps scurry throughout the Enclave. The ground feels it all: the nervousness, the determination, and the very unusual fear. There's no time for rest, however. Those blood constructs are inconvenient creatures. Despite having won this fight, we must be ready for them should they return. We must know more about them.

Find out their agenda. Figure out their source of power. And destroy them. I scrape more of the blood samples we managed to get from members' armor into the sample dishes Lennick and I have lined up.

"Are you even listening to me?" Xan sounds plaintive and I glance briefly at them, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm trying to figure out how those blood constructs were created." I hear as Xan takes a seat at the end of the lab workbench, and feel the silent sigh that escapes them.

"Do you have to do that?" I look up from the delicate work I'm doing. Aarron was incensed by the attack. The entire Enclave is now packing up to move to a different location, a few years ahead of schedule. We needed answers yesterday.

"Do what?"

"You do everything by yourself. You never seem to need help." I blink and focus on Xan. They're in one of their moods.

"I'm good at this. I am much more adept at working with, breaking down, and defining any type of organic material. It's what I do. You can't help me with it, you barely passed your alchemical requirements." Xan laughs.

"True, I just wish I could help with this." They gesture vaguely at the entire lab.

"Well." I pause, though I keep an eye on the current extraction in the beakers in front of me.

"There's something you could do that would help me."

"What?" Xan perks up. They're practically sitting on the edge of their chair.

"You could go pack up my room so that it's completely done and I can focus more on this. Aarron wants answers." Which was putting it mildly. They look at me for a few seconds, so long that it begins to make me feel a little off about that much attention.

"You're a hard person to keep up with," Xan says finally, pushing themselves to stand. They brush off their uniform. I stop for a moment. Ah, that's what this was about. It may be conceited of me to agree, but they have a good point.

"Most people find it difficult to keep up with me."

"Especially if you keep running away," Xan quips, and it's only half in jest.

"You're being cryptic again, Xalin," I say, because they get like that sometimes, and I hate having to figure out what people mean.

"Would it kill you to call me Xan more often?"

"I call you it in my head. Does it really mean that much to you?"

"Yes, it does." A flash of pain crosses Xan's face.

"But you don't respect me when I ask you to stop calling me Ria," I say softly. Perhaps that's a little sensitive of me, but Ria is what my father called me. Since I haven't yet made his murderers pay, I don't feel like anyone else can call me that. Xan pauses.

"Ah, well, I didn't think of it that way." I watch them for a moment, before glancing back and adding another component to my test.

"Okay, then."

"Okay what?"

"I'll try to remember to call you Xan." Xan laughs.

"Try? With you there is no try; you remember everything. It's like a curse." I can't help grinning, even though I'm also trying to time the current test on our samples of the creatures. After a few moments, Xan sighs again.

"I didn't mean to insult you." I raise an eyebrow, my irritation growing. These tests already require multitasking. Right now, I feel like I'm about to drop all the balls I have in the air.

"For me to feel insulted, I'd have to deeply care what you think. Sorry. I'm busy and I do respect you enough to realize that we will not always share opinions." I reach over and pat them on the hand, realizing my words may have stung a little.

"There you go again." Xan flashes me a wan smile and turns to leave.

"Go again? What?" I push down on the annoyance that flares within me.

"Being yourself," they say before exiting the room. I have no idea if I'm supposed to feel insulted by this or not. Personally, I'm quite fond of being me, of the ordeals I've made it through. And how would I go about not being me? I shake my head, relegating that thought process to the back of my mind. I must get these results and get them to Aarron's office as soon as possible. There's no time to dwell on my friend-inflicted existential crisis. I don't think I've ever seen our Prefect in such a mood before.

This must take priority. I hope that Xan is packing for me. Otherwise, I'm just going to have to throw everything into a trunk and hope for the best. Nightshade changes its Enclave positions on a regular basis. Every eight-to-ten years. It maintains a rotation of several keeps that allow us to remain hidden. This attack means the Western Enclave location I've grown up in is likely now permanently out of that cycle.

When you're an assassination order, it's not conducive to the mystery if everyone knows how to find you. I bend my head back over my work, banishing all those unproductive thoughts. This blood is fascinating—a mixture of human and, animal, interspersed with specifics that are still escaping me. I'm so engrossed in my work, I don't even greet Lennick when he joins me again. And I'm only aware of his arrival because I feel him through the workspace. I lose track of how long we work in companionable silence.

It helps take the edge off the anxiety I don't want to admit to myself.

"Now that's not what I was expecting," Lennick mutters, watching the way my sample is bubbling over the beaker. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"You were expecting it. You were just hoping it wasn't the case," I respond, voicing what he's not saying. The skin around Lennick's eyes tightens and he sighs.

"Aarron isn't going to be happy about this." I cringe, even as my mentor speaks, because I felt the footsteps that came to rest outside of the alchemy lab several seconds before he spoke.

"What am I not going to be happy about?" Aarron's face reminds me of thunderclouds. His brows are furrowed, and the scowl on his face seems like a permanent fixture. His tall, lean frame fills the doorway as he crosses his arms. Luckily, Lennick is one of the only people in the Enclave who doesn't bow down to our leader. One of these days I'll figure out their dynamic. With a glance to the side that takes me in, evaluates my presence, and obviously decides it doesn't matter if I hear this, Lennick speaks.

"We surmised correctly. These are Blood Golems. It's the Blood Sect." A flash of something I can't identify flits across Aarron's expression. It's part annoyance, anger, and even surprise. But there's a whole lot more in there to unpack. I wish I could replay what went across his face and discern the reaction better. There'd been no information in our briefings as Novices and apprentices on the Blood Sect being a reality. As far as any child knows, the Blood Sect will get you if you break a tenet.

I stopped believing in them when I was orphaned. If this is an actual thing, why were we not taught it?

"No chance it's one of the court barons who opposes us?" Aarron's gaze is oddly intense as Lennick shakes his head. Those grey-blue eyes are focused on the bubbling goo in the beaker on the desk. Like maybe he could bore through it if he tried hard enough.

"Any other identifying markers?"

"Nothing yet," I pipe up, burning to know more about this real Blood Sect, and more about what court barons would dare oppose the Nightshade. Aarron blinks, as if he's only just seen me sitting there, and Lennick hurries to interject.

"So far we've defined at least one way to combat these creations."

"They're supposed to be myths, and stories aren't supposed to leave evidence of themselves," Aarron snaps, and then turns his focus back to me.

"You're better with alchemy than most of us. Use those samples and whatever it is you do to increase potency to find any type of hint about their origins." I nod, and pull out more testing liquids. Perhaps I can distinguish the type of soil they originated from, and thus pinpoint their original location. I listen intently as Aarron and Lennick bow their heads, speaking softly. Lucky for me, the lab is quiet except for the gently bubbling samples.

"We have four people still in interrogation," Aarron says, speaking through clenched teeth.

"What do you need?" I can hear the resigned tone in Lennick's words. He knows he's going to have to fork over some tinctures.

"Truth serum." Lennick clucks his tongue.

"You know how dangerous that is. The odds of them keeping their minds…brains melting, bleeding out their ears…"

"Do I look like I care?" Aarron snaps, and the truth of his words hits me hard.

"This attack took out two of our operatives. I will have answers."

"Very well." Lennick pushes himself away from the desk.

"You know how messy it gets. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I'm fully capable of cleaning up a mess. Just get me the damn potions." And then suddenly, as if Lennick isn't there, Aarron's focus falls to me again.

"You came up with the herb bombs, didn't you?" I nod, unsure about his reaction.

"Keep it up. Refine it if possible. We will need to add at least one of those to each of our travel packs from now on." Aarron pauses, inclining his head slightly, as if he is trying to hear something. His eyes remain on mine as he speaks, and I wish I could peel away the layers to find out what it is he's really thinking.

"The Two- and Three-Blade Initiate test has been pushed back two days to accommodate our move." I simply nod my acknowledgement, aware even more of the time crunch we're facing. Aarron briefly touches Lennick's shoulder and receives a nod for his trouble.

"Make haste. You'll need to pack up the lab for the move as soon as possible." He turns on his heel and leaves the room without another word. I scowl, but it's a fleeting one.

"Do we take the plants?" Lennick takes several seconds to respond.

"Three trimmings of each." Suppressing a groan, I push myself up from my seat.

"I'll get them ready, but I'm taking more than three of the ingredients we need for the herb bombs."

Moving an entire Enclave is even more difficult than it sounds. Considering stealth is our forte, we divide our trips up between groups so as not to arouse too much attention. While we could have done the whole thing undercover of the forest around the mountains, it isn't the best footing for the horses. And there is no way I'm leaving Jax behind. Standing in my room, I glance around, making sure I haven't forgotten anything. The stone walls are bare once again, not that I've ever been big on decorating.

But the only things remaining are the coarse rug that stays on the floor and the furniture that includes the bed with its mattress. Everything else has been packed. I've only been an Initiate for a year, passing through One- and Two-Blades to become a Three-Blade Initiate so far. I've only been in this room for a short while. It's probably easier for me to make the move than for many others. Besides, dwellings are never permanent.

I still remember the way the flames licked at the beams of my family home, creating embers first, and then ash that blew away in the wind. Our entire lives, gone, up in smoke. My home after that was a shack at the edge of my father's best friend's property. Considering the way the entire town treated me back then? I was lucky to have had that much. My trunk closes with a finality I find satisfying.

Xalin, Minx, Farin, Mavin, Keliar—all those people I began as a Novice with, they left for the new Enclave immediately. Keliar and Mavin were fortunate to be away on a contract when the attack went down. I haven't seen them for a while. Lennick and I remained behind to finish off the research. Each footstep echoes through the entire Enclave now that the stone halls are largely bare. Even the underlying hum of activity is absent.

One more trip out to my beautiful herb garden and I stand for a few moments, watching over the side of the mountain and into the forest where the setting sun has already spread fingers of red and pink through the trees.

"You're dawdling. I thought I taught you better than that." Lennick tries to be gruff, but he's a congenial sort of person. It's never once fooled me.

"I'm not dawdling. I'm inscribing it to memory." He sighs next to me, and for a few glorious moments it's peaceful as can be with the background noise of one of the waterfalls close to us.

"Tell me what the Blood Sect is," I demand softly, determination behind my words because lacking knowledge in this instance could lead to mistakes. It could lead to more deaths. Well, ones we weren't paid for, anyway. Lennick hesitates a moment and then runs a hand through his dark brown hair. A soft chuckle escapes him and for just a moment as his shoulders sag with resignation, I realize he's probably old enough to be my dad. Technically. He's not a replacement, but I'm okay with that.

There are very few Nightshade members with offspring, so mentorships are sort of all we have. I wonder how Lareny, his partner, feels about that.

"Centuries ago, when there was magic, the Blood Sect didn't exist. It's said that with the absence of true magic, desperation gave rise to a wave of people seizing power through any means necessary. Blood magic is one of those ways. It's an always-whispered thing, hush-hush, sort of like us. It's never discussed, but there's always the possibility of it truly existing. Like a myth, perhaps even a dark fairy tale."

His voice sounds tired, and I reach over and pat him on the shoulder in much the same way I saw Aarron do a couple of days ago.

"Is there little evidence, then?" I ask, pushing my luck. This time Lennick pauses, and I don't believe he's trying to avoid my question, but I do think he's making sure he phrases things the right way. I am known for being pedantic, after all.

"There's as much evidence for the Nightshade as there is for the Blood Sect. Only they don't recruit children, and tithing to them, if the stories are true, means a whole different level of servitude." Lennick pulls himself away from the view and turns to me.

"There have been whisperings the last few years. About coercion and subjugation, but this is the first direct contact I know of that could prove their existence." I follow Lennick to where our horses wait with the last wagon of belongings, mulling over his words. I'll have to search through the library when we get settled. There's a lot more to this; I can feel it. Jax whinnies in my direction, but it's a softer sound than normal, like he realizes we're extra somber today.

His saddle is comfortable, and the silence is welcome as we make our way out toward the path a few miles away. It'll allow us to circumvent the city to the eastern side of Korrien, where the cliffs that encase our Eastern Enclave overlook the capital.

"Thank you for staying on with me to sort out the alchemy lab. It moved much faster with both of us." Lennick smiles from where he's perched on his own mount.

"You know I love the lab."

"Rest up during the ride as much as you can. I have it on good faith that Dougrant will be running your group test tomorrow morning." I nod, and the silence that falls between us is companionable. If only my mind could stop with the vivid recreations of the recent battle. My thoughts swirl with blood constructs, and just what their creators do to embrace such supposed magic. What is it they channel, and how do they build such creatures?

Even now, the obvious answer makes my skin crawl, and I know with a strange clarity that the days of them being considered a myth are over.