He nodded, half smiling. “You won’t be able to divulge LOA secrets even under duress. Only a very skilled mage like the archmage or the Avakki could overpower the magic, because they created it, or an exceptionally gifted mind reader mightbe able to see through it. Although I’ve never heard of a mind reader that can do it.”
“I didn’t know mind readers existed. They can hear the thoughts of others?”
“Among the scholars. It’s extremely rare, and there hasn’t been a mind reader who can listen to thoughts or rifle through memories born in over seventy years now, and as for the last one, she’s dead.”
I half wondered if the assassins secretly killed anyone known with that ability because they thought it was too dangerous.
While he explained all this, he corrected my movement when I was too loud. He showed me how to hide myself so I could pounce for an attack.
One day, we climbed a tree and sat in the branches for most of the day without speaking or making a sound. He said I had to get used to being able to sit in silence in one spot for a long time. I practiced tying knots and tossing a small axe at a tree. It stuck but was rarely on target. A moving target seemed impossible.
On the fifteenth day of rope-climbing the wall, I finally made it completely on my own without a single slip and without fear. I wasn’t quick by any means, but getting up on my own was something I was proud of.
We always came in too late for supper and left too early to eat breakfast in the main courtyard with everyone else. I hadn’t seen Celine or Taewyn, so when we came in from outside the wall earlier than the previous evenings, I was surprised.
“Go ahead and eat with your friends,” he said as he went to join the table with Falcon and a handful of other assassins.
Taewyn was already waving me down, so I quickly hurried to his table. With a grin, he scooted over to make room for me. “Where have you been? We haven’t seen you.”
“We’ve been outside the wall from sunup to sundown.” I slowly smiled. “We went to the edge of Nocturnus and I killed avampire. Viper did all the work to capture her, but I stabbed her in the heart.”
“What? Lucky,” Taewyn balked wide-eyed as he slurped on his potato soup. “I haven’t gone outside yet. My trainer has me running laps around the edge of the city wall and lifting and tossing heavy sacks of flour. I also have to punch and kick a straw dummy at least two hours a day. He says I need to get stronger. I’ve never been so sore in my life.”
I turned to our blonde friend. “What’s your training been like, Celine?”
She finished taking a sip out of her goblet. “I can’t believe the new girl got to kill a vampire before me. Oh, and it’s Smoke now,” she said with a mischievous grin. “Falcon said I complained about not being able to smoke so often that it was officially my codename. And I’ve climbed that damned wall rope about a hundred times, and knife fighting, hand to hand.” She pulled back her left sleeve to reveal several thin red slices across her forearm. “I thought I was a decent fighter but turns out I was wrong. I’ve been training with a sword and bow most of my life. I can hit a target from a hundred yards, but grappling and knife-fighting Falcon is pure embarrassment on my end. It’s so much different than the sword.”
“Those must hurt, but I like your name, Smoke.” I turned to Taewyn. “Do you have a codename yet?”
“Yeah, Rebel.” He pointed at the name on the collar of his top. “Since I’m the first in my family to be an assassin and not a scholar.” The big goofy grin on his face was tell enough that he loved it. I wondered what his parents thought of him being an assassin. “What’s yours?”
I dished myself a bowl of soup and cleared my throat. “I don’t have one yet.” I found Vander sitting several tables down smiling and talking to a woman with long brunette hair tumbling down her back. He didn’t smile at me like that. Was this the woman hesometimes snuck out at night to see? And why hadn’t he given me a codename?
He glanced at me as if he felt me watching him. The woman turned her head and made eye contact with me. She was beautiful, creamy skin with a splash of freckles, and full lips. When she turned back around, I couldn’t help but feel they were talking about me.
The other apprentices at our table had codenames on their collars: Rocky, Nighthawk, Storm, Draken. I felt like an outsider yet again.
“You will soon enough,” Celine said. “You’re not the only one who doesn’t have a codename yet. Morrow’s friend doesn’t.”
“Are you still talking to him?” Taewyn sneered at her.
“No, I just happened to notice he doesn’t have a name on his collar.” She threw her hand toward their table. Morrow, or should I say Beast, winked at us then leaned back in his chair with his hands folded behind his head.
“We’re giving him satisfaction by talking about him at all,” I mumbled. “We should pretend like he doesn’t exist. That will piss him off.”
“It’s hard when he keeps staring at me and making hand gestures to go meet him after this,” Celine whispered.
“Please tell me you’re not going to,” I groaned.
“No. Falcon said she hates Dred so therefore I have to hate him too and stay away from his apprentice, and I wouldn’t anyway.”
I could almost feel that lie. She completely would go see him. What was it that she found appealing in the man? “Why do FalconandViper hate Dred?”
“She didn’t say anything other than he’s an asshole.”
“That’s reason enough. Same reason I hateBeast.” Taewyn fake-gagged. “It’s such a stupid codename, too.Beast,” he repeated indignantly.
Once everyone finished eating, and the stars started to wink in the indigo sky, groups of trainers gathered their apprentices. Vander talked with the brunette woman until more than half the apprentices were gone. The torches along the stone walls were lit, and I sat alone at my table, picking at my nails by the time he came to get me.
