The Traitor by A. Lombardo (novels for beginners txt) 📗

but from this distance, it was too dark to tell what. Kai took a hopeful breath, closed his eyes, and with one last prayer, he gleaned the tunnel. The spark of a Half-Light burst in his mind. Focused on the form, he saw her face—Riome. He had found her. In an instant, he scaled the side of the building by sliding down the steal drainpipe.

Frantic to get to her, he dropped to the ground with a thud. Hidden in the shadows, he detected her shallow breathing and weak pulse. Once the guards passed his hiding spot, Kai dashed across the darkness. The iron grate was cold against his hands. “Little sister!” he called to her quietly. “Are you awake?”

A moan came from the tunnel. Kai pulled open the gate, hopped inside, and closed it behind himself. Riome lay in a heap. Her clothing was ratty and damp, and she smelled of farm animals. Her hand was clammy, her face feverish.

“Can you move?” he whispered, seeing her injuries.

Riome did not answer. He ran his hands around her boy-short hair. There was a partially healed gash on her head and a deep cut across her eyebrow. There were bruises everywhere, all in various shades from black to yellow. The jagged gash on her leg concerned him; an infected wound by the look of it.

Gently, Kai pressed on her abdomen. She twitched as he pushed her ribs. “Riome, we can’t stay here. You are in the tunnel leading to the dungeons. We need to get to the next one to access the armory tower. Can you move?”

He shook her lightly. Riome opened her eyes and closed them again. Moving her with broken ribs worried him. If she could not walk, he would have to carry her. The last thing they needed was to attract unwanted attention or hurting her more. “Riome, can you walk?”

He wrapped one hand around her waist, and she put her arm over his shoulder. She groaned as he brought her to her feet. Her legs stiffened. “I can.” She grabbed his arm. “Wait. Where is it?” She pointed, “Is it there? Find the blade.”

Kai searched the entrance, where he found a silver blade, which he figured was the glint of steel he saw three stories up. He stuffed the knife into his coat pocket and waited for the guard to pass. Kai opened the grate and helped Riome down the narrow street. Back into the shadows, he weaved them through the darkness. Closer and closer to the next access point.

Closed shops gave them the empty streets they needed to move undetected. Three blocks later, they hid in the shadows as two guards walked down the street on patrol. Their opportunity to cross was coming. Two new guards met, spoke briefly, and parted. Patiently Kai waited, but he could feel the weight of Riome sag next to him. She was finding it harder to stand. “Hang on. We are almost there.” He hoisted her against his hip.

One step into the street, Riome stumbled. On the second step, she fell; Riome was unconscious. Kai scooped her into his arms and ran to the third access point leading to the tower. The gate hinge creaked; he could only hope nobody heard them as he climbed inside and pulled it closed. The gate rang out in proclamation as he closed it behind them.

His boots sloshed in the water as he crept farther into the shadows. Voices converged on their location, and Kai backed deeper into the dark tunnel. They had been too loud. There would be no explaining to the guards what they were doing in the tunnel; the men would arrest them. Riome hung limp in his arms, then her labored breathing stopped. Kai shook her, and she gasped.

While he understood the concept of invisibility, the gift had eluded him with every attempt. He prayed to Alenga. “Hide us, please,” he begged, recalling his grandfather Benmar’s instructions—to become invisible, you absorb light.

Seeking the wisdom carved into his lineage, Kai thought about his two grandfathers' abilities—invisibility and the power of a Lumen to bend light and distort the truth. Both manipulated light. Desperate to hide them, Kai pulled at the light around them. The patrolling guard stopped. Kai held his breath. The man shook the metal grate; it popped open. A rat scurried over Kai’s foot, but he did not move.

Another guard peeked into the darkness. After a few mumbles, they glared again into the tunnel. One man entered. His form blocked the outside light. “Hand me a torch,” the man demanded. “I can’t see anything in here.”

Kai focused—gleaning his own light, he drew it into his core and he felt the heat building. He pulled on the energy he saw around Riome’s collapsed body in his arms and again he noticed an increase of heat. His gift of gleaning revealed the flow of energy that he absorbed into his core. Light from the guard’s torch washed down the tunnel. Kai felt the warmth of it pass through his body.

Holding on to the light, his muscles began to shake, just a moment more, please, he begged.

“Empty.” The guard shouted as a rat scurried over his boot. “Rats. Filthy vermin. Let’s go; there’s nothing here.” The man backed out and closed the gate.

Letting go of the light, Kai collapsed to his knees. Heat poured out of Kai’s skin, and his heart and lungs felt cold without it. Heart pounding, he held Riome tight against his chest, protecting her head from the stone as he slumped against the wall. There was nothing in the tunnel to replenish his magic. The flow of water within the pipes had little to give, and the hard stone gave even less.

Knowing he was Riome’s only hope he collected his strength and rose to his feet and continued down the tunnel. The old armory was cold and dark. Their old training