Acclayne Book 1: The Game Begins
Chapter 28

He was late. They hadn't arranged to meet, but then, they never did.Nevertheless she was becoming impatient; time was of the essence.

“Where is she?”

“Helloto you too.” Finally.

“Where. Is. She?”

“Somemanners wouldn't go amiss. 'Hey, how's things? Remember that time Ipushed you off that roof? Good times.' I mean, after all we've beenthrough.” She put her small, pearlescent hand on his shoulder andcircled him; a cougar eyeing up her next meal. He was even moredelicious than she remembered – despite missing an eye. She felthim tense beneath her touch and she was struck with a pang of need.That he still held her interest after all this time was highlydisconcerting, not to mention distracting.

“If anything hashappened to her I swear-”

“Oh calm downAlistair... there's still time.”

“Shit! Do you notunderstand? We need her! This whole forsaken place needs her!”

“So you say.” Shequirked a dark eyebrow at him, “Anyway; I've done my bit: I got herthe Twin-Blade. Cough up.”

“I do not think so.”

“Adeal is a deal Alistair – even with the likes of me.” Sheshrugged, “But I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangementthat will suit us both.” She licked her lips hungrily.

“You took what youneeded from the girl; I can feel that you have it with you.”

“Hedgingmy bets I guess, I had a feeling that you might not be asco-operative asI would have liked.” She placed her hand on a patch of his exposedskin.

“Your patheticattempts at trickery no longer work on me Cholden. I am older andwiser than when last we met.” His eye narrowed as he fixed her witha stare. The young boy she had once manipulated so easily was gone;broken by one too many sorrows. “Where. Is. She?”

She sighed, she'dwondered how long it would take for someone strong willed enough toshow up and brush her off, of course it would have to be him. Howinconvenient.

“You don't need her,she is weak.”

“If you believe thatto be so Cholden then it is you who is truly weak. Now Where isshe?!”

“At the palace...”

He growled and smackedher hard across the face. Juney pursed her lips before spitting themetallic taste of blood from her mouth.

“Oh don't tease me;you know I like it rough.” She said with a smile as she brought herhand up to nurse her cheek.

“Cholden, do us botha favour and fuck off before I decide to kill you.”

“You used to be suchfun.” with that she was gone; sure that his threat was not an emptyone.

***

“Bored.” Kaylaerlay on her back, upside-down on her chosen bed. “Bo-ored. Sobored.” Malcolm was sat across the room from her on his own bed;reading a book.

“Youcan borrow one of my books if you like,” he said without lookingup, “I brought a couple.”

Kaylaer turned overonto her side to look at him. “You know it wouldn't kill you to dosomething fun for a change.”

He didn't answer for amoment; not until he'd finished whatever sentence it was he wasreading. “ Reading is fun.” He said matter-of-factly. “You'remissing out.” He looked over at her in time to catch her pulling aface at him. Under ordinary circumstances he wouldn't have saidanything - in case whatever he said was grounds for getting a smackin the face - but this was hardly an ordinary circumstance; “It'slike I get to be on an adventure even when I'm just sitting around athome. All the experience, none of the peril.”

Kaylaer thought aboutthis for a moment; “But wouldn't you rather be out on a realadventure? I mean, a bit of peril is good once in a while.”

“Well,”He said placing the open book on top of his crossed legs,“technically we areon an adventure and we've still ended up being sat in our bedroom.”

Kaylaer rolled backonto her back. “Touché.” Malcolm smiled to himself. “Pass usover something full of blood and guts then will you? I don't wantanything even remotely educational.” She asked, “And you betternot tell anyone.”

The two of them passeda few hours like this; reading, sharing the odd comment and laughingto themselves about nothing in particular. The hustle and bustle ofthe building around them reminding them that they were not alone. Nomatter how late it got it seemed that people never stopped coming andgoing; busying themselves with their own lives. The one person thatdidn't seem to go anywhere was the woman next door, and it appearedto the two children that she never shut up either.

“You think she has anoff switch?” Kaylaer giggled. “They couldn't hear what she wassaying but she certainly wasn't in a good mood about it.

“It's the poor guystuck in there with her I feel sorry for.” Malcolm laughed.

“Assuming it's aguy!” Kaylaer laughed, “I've barely heard him say two words.”

“I know, I can'tbelieve someone can talk so much.”

“Yeah, apart fromAlaina obviously.”

“Obviously!” Thetwo of them looked at each other which fuelled their laughter; untilan unexpected noise caught their attention. A short distance away thedoor at the end of the hall slammed shut. An eerie silence followed,punctuated only by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Then,nothing.

“What-”Kaylaer was interrupted by a loud knock. “Shit!” she sat up, “wasthat ourdoor?” The knock came again; quick and sharp. Kaylaer, who was onthe bed closest to the door launched herself across the room and ontoMalcolm's bed. Not that he would be much use but there was safety innumbers- so she told herself.

“Definitely ourdoor.” He gulped. Methyn had expressly told them that they wereunder no circumstances to open the door. Nobody knew that they werethere alone and that was how it was to stay until he fetched them thefollowing morning.

The knocking stopped.

“You think they'vegone?” Malcolm whispered, but before Kaylaer could answer theknocking was replaced by a heavy and violent thumping; as someone inthe corridor tried desperately to kick down the door to their room.