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Silas snapped awake to the sound of armoured footfall. The bandage was blood-soaked. Led them straight to me. He wriggled on his trousers and climbed the log pile. Teeth gritted and trying not to scream, he rolled onto his back at the top. Fuck, it hurts.
He composed himself and listened. Only two sets of footsteps, one on either side of the pile. One following the blood, the other in position to catch me on the run.
“We know you’re in here, cunt,” a guard shouted.
Silas rolled over and crawled toward the door. The helmet of a guard leaned through. Fuck, could be at least two out there. Probably sent the young one off to fetch others.
The guard’s armour clinked softly as they moved slowly beneath him. Once past, Silas slid down behind the guard on the opposite side to the door, crept up, and slashed his throat. The guard gargled as he crashed to the floor.
“Brown, what the fuck is that?” the door side guard shouted.
Silas climbed back up to the top of the pile. Only biting down on his own fist stopped him from crying out in agony.
The guard from outside stepped in. “Found him?”
“Brown, where the fuck are you?” The armour rattled as the guard upped his pace. “Get in here, keep that other cunt on the door.”
The guard from outside drew his sword and hurried along the pile. The face of the young guard appeared in the doorway.
Silas took in a deep breath. This is going to hurt.
He jumped down in front of the young guard, leg buckling as he hit the floor, the pain horrendous but keeping him focused. The young guard’s eyes widened. Silas pounced toward him with his good leg and drove his blade into the guard’s neck. They hit the ground outside with a crash, the guard coughing a spray of blood into Silas’s face. Screamed commands from inside echoed as Silas got to his feet and ran.
“Stop,” a Shadow said.
Mara stood to attention. Number three knelt at Mara’s feet, gasping for air, arms across his belly. Mara had felt his fist go deep into number three’s stomach when he’d hit him. The noise number three had made was a weird squeak, like a high-pitched dog yelp. Mara hadn’t heard anything like it before. Number three fell sideways.
A Shadow approached. “Against the wall, twelve.”
Mara lined up with the other boys.
“Get up,” the Shadow said.
Number three gasped fast, his face turning purple.
The Shadow pointed at three and flicked his hand away. Two Shadows approached and dragged the boy out of the courtyard by the arms.
Mara had used the Slow again, and he hadn’t had to wait long for it to come. He’d used it against every boy now, usually after getting a beating, but this time it had come before. He imagined things slowing down as they faced each other before the fight began. Then it did. He saw every punch and kick and dodged them easily. He felt good. He felt strong. He looked at his cracked, scabby knuckles and tensed his bruised forearms. None of them can beat me, and now I won’t even have to get hit.
Three Shadows stood in a huddle in the middle of the courtyard, then turned to face the line of boys. “Twelve,” one of them said.
Mara returned to the middle of the yard while two of the Shadows walked away. He hoped he’d get to fight number two, the slowest of all the boys.
“Begin,” a Shadow from the side said.
Mara froze. What? The Shadows had taught him everything he now knew about fighting. How and where to punch, elbow, knee, kick and head butt. Where to bite, poke, grab, bend, twist, and squeeze. He wasn’t good enough at any of it to fight a Shadow.
The warm, strong feeling had disappeared. He felt small and weak. All the aches and pains in his body he’d forgotten about only a few minutes ago all came back at once.
Mara slowly slid one foot back to get in stance. The Shadow copied. Mara stepped back, and the Shadow did the same.
He didn’t want to fight. He couldn’t. He didn’t want to get hurt. He wanted to go back to his bed. He stepped to the side, so did the Shadow. They circled until Mara faced the other boys, who watched on with wide eyes. What am I supposed to do? If I try anything, it’ll block me and hit me down, just like they do when they show us stuff. Slow down, please slow down.
“Enough,” a Shadow from the side shouted.
The Shadow opposite kicked, Mara felt it brush past him. He stepped back, dodging the next three kicks as they came. The Shadow stayed on him, kicking again and again as it chased. Mara stumbled, fell over backwards, and curled into a ball. He clenched his teeth and screwed his eyes shut, ready to take the kick. But it didn’t come. He opened his eyes to see the Shadow stood above him, then walk back to the middle of the yard.
“Get up,” a Shadow from the side said.
