Chapter 2
Kanen woke with a start. He sat up quickly, and then, wishing he hadn’t, sank against the wall. Pain stabbed at him from all over, as if every muscle in his body was screaming out in protest. Kanen had gone to see Mistress Helen in the Healer’s Tower. She’d patched up his cuts, but that had done nothing to quiet his pain. She had wanted him to sleep in the Tower overnight, but Hopefuls weren’t allowed to stay in the castle.
Kanen looked around at the familiar streets that he’d lived on for thirteen years. It was still dark out, and the moon shone brightly overhead, casting an eerie glow on the gray walls. The air was crisp and chilly. He was in the stone alley he’d fallen asleep in. Walls stood on either side of him. Trash littered most of the cobblestone ground, grouped together in piles several feet high.
Kanen had been living on the streets for as long as he could remember. He had become a Hopeful looking for a way out of this life, but lack of energy from starvation was giving him a disadvantage. He had hardly been able to stay on his feet today. It was doubtful he’d be admitted.
Kanen quickly shut away that thought. I have to become an Assassin. I have to! It was all he had left. No one in the entire city was looking to take on a street rat as an apprentice, so, if he was to survive, he had to be admitted into the Order.
Guardians, I hate these streets, he thought. But in reality, he hated his life. He was always on his own, always having to struggle just to survive. He could only barely remember his parents, but the fire that had claimed their lives had been scarred in his memory. He had been only two at the time. Why it had started was unknown, but it had, and with a great hunger. The fire consumed his families’ home, along with everyone else’s on the street. No one knew how he’d managed to survive. No one cared.
A sharp, metallic sound broke the silence of the night, follow quickly by another. He listened, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. The entrance to the alley. Walking slowly forward, Kanen peered into the darkness. A man, dressed in what only could be described as Court clothing, and elegant blue dress robe with silver trimming, was locked in combat with a hooded man. His assailant was wearing all black, so as to look like a member of the Order, but the flame insignia on his shoulder said otherwise.
The two men fought with longswords, slicing and parrying back and forth. The hooded one seemed to have the upper hand, striking faster and stronger than the old man. The noble was hard pressed just to block. Their swords clashed in a volley of strikes. The man in black’s sword sliced downward, cutting a long gash into the noble’s leg. The man dropped to the ground a cry bursting from his lips. The hooded man went to finish him off.
Not knowing what possessed him to do so, Kanen pulled his knife from his belt, the knife he used for protection on the streets, and rushed the hooded man, the pain that had captured all his thoughts a moment ago forgotten. The man was surprised, but only for a second. The man blocked Kanen’s thrust, stabbing the boy on his right side. Kanen fell, a searing pain engulfing him, sending to tears to his eyes. He screamed in agony. The hooded man turned, running down the dark alley and disappearing into shadows. The last thing Kanen saw before falling into darkness was Master Dracon dashing into the alley in pursuit, of the man. Then seeing the two injured on the ground, he stopped. Then all went black.
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