"I want Eve."
Both of us turned our heads to face the boy we had been fighting over. We had forgotten about him.
"I want Eve too," another girl from Alchemy spoke up. "I want to change my vote."
"Both of you are wasting our time. I vote for Eve as well."
Before my eyes, I watched as the rest of the mentors turned against Darren and I with the exception of Priscilla, Ella, Ray, and Alex, who loyally kept their votes. When it was all said and done, Eve beat out Darren and I for the second year in a row.
Eve walked over to the both of us. "I don't want the two of you distracting everyone else from what needs to be done. Both of you can scout the grounds below the wall. When you are done, I want you both to report to me and we will station two of our third-years as sentries in whatever location you deem best. This way we'll be warned before the mentees arrive and I won't have the two of you hindering the rest of our planning."
My face fell. "How will we know what to do during the battle if we spend the whole time before it scouting?"
"Yes, Eve, how will I know my role if I'm out counting trees?" Darren's tone was incredulous. "I'm one of the most valuable people you have!"
"You should have thought about that before you decided to stage a fight during the middle of our vote." Eve frowned. "You two will be stationed next to me during the actual battle. But until then you scout. Understand?"
****
"Have you heard anything yet?"
I glared at Darren. "I thought you were keeping track of the bell tower."
"I was," he snapped, "but you kept bringing us further into the forest and I can't see it anymore… I was hoping we'd be able to hear it but-"
I threw down the charcoal I had been using to map our location. "But what?"
"I think we are too far out."
"You couldn't have mentioned this sooner? How many tolls do we have left?"
"Just the ten minute warning bell before it begins."
I stood up with a start. "Darren, we are twenty minutes away from the wall!"
"That was when we didn't know where we were going." Darren's tone was anything but helpful. "Now we do. If we run we should be fine."
A bloodcurdling scream shot out, echoing across the clearing. I whirled around to stare into the woods behind us. "What was that?" I kept my voice low. "Did the battle already start?" Leave it to Darren to lose track of our time!
"I'm not sure." Darren was staring in the same direction as me. He seemed puzzled. "Only it doesn't make sense. All of the other mentors are at the keep, so why would a mentee attack one of their own?"
"Maybe they know we are out here? It could be a trick."
Darren rolled his eyes. "But why would they think we would help?"
There was a loud boom and the ground beneath us shook violently. That same second, a chorus of men's shouting rang out just north of us.
"I don't think it's the mentees trying to trick us." I reached for my scabbard at the same time that Darren cast out three bolts of lightning into the sky, one by one. They flashed directly above us.
My lips parted in surprise. "What was that for?"
Darren grabbed my arm and started to run, dragging me behind him. "A distress call."
I stumbled along behind him, trying to keep up. "Caltothians?"
Darren released me and pointed to the same path we had taken from the keep. It was at least fifteen minutes from the fortress.
I started to walk toward it and then froze. Darren wasn't following. "Darren," I whispered loudly, "what are you doing?"
"I'm going to find out what is happening."
I stared at him. "Are you mad? What am I saying, of course you are! Darren, you can't - who knows how many of them there are!"
"Ryiah, this is not a request. I am ordering you back to the keep. Warn the others!" His garnet eyes flashed. "I am a prince; you are my subject. Now is not the time to question me!"
I ignored him. "Darren, you can't do this on your own! You need me."
"I need you to do what I…" He gave up when he caught my expression. "Fine," the boy snapped, "but Ryiah, no heroics. I will not have your blood on my hands."
"So kind of you to care." I couldn't keep the sarcasm from my words.
"I mean it, Ryiah."
"Are we going or not?"
****
I followed Darren, darting from one tree trunk to the next and peering out into the dark forest beyond. It was hard to see - the sun was almost completely blocked out by the towering pines crowding the sky… but what I did see through narrow shafts of light was alarming.
Five knights, four men and one woman, were tied and bound in a circle on the ground. Scattered nearby were three bodies with blood pooled around their necks. With a sickening realization I noticed their heads were severed, with just a small patch of skin connecting the neck to the body. I recognized one of them as a soldier from the keep's regular patrol. The young man had escorted me on my weekly visits with Derrick.