Page 46 of Take No Prisoners
Fragments of a memory washed over Niall, cutting him with sharp, half-remembered barbs.
"I'm tired of running,"his father had said."What's the worst he can do? He can't kill us with his element."
"If we're dead, he can protect our boy. If we fight, she'll use us, and Niall, against Aquarion."
Coryn hadn't taken Niall, thanks to Vadim. And he'd been protected from her seekers by his grandfather's magic.
"How did Grandfather's magic wear off?"
"You lost his protection when he died," his grandmother said.
"You left me," Niall whispered. "You left me at the orphanage."
"I had to," Vadim said. "I knew it was only a matter of time before she tried to use you against your grandmother, mundane or not."
Niall took another gulp of water to drown the warring emotions in his gut. Vadim had caused his worst pain, it was true, but he'd also saved him and his parents from untold suffering at the hands of General Coryn.
"Will I be stuck here until I learn all facets of my magic?" he asked to change the subject.
Niall's grandmother shook her head. "We don't have time for that now. You will train with me each morning, and then I want you and Vadim to train with Elder Martiz every afternoon until his bond with Klaus can be broken."
"You've got to be kidding." Vadim scoffed.
"Perhaps you will understand what balance looks like when you see it in action," Martiz said.
"Don't speak to me of balance."
Niall's grandmother placed her hand over Vadim's, and something passed between them. Niall was grateful he couldn't hear Vadim's wrathful thoughts in his head.
"I've never killed anyone," Niall said. "I don't want to kill anyone."
"Good." Vadim grinned at him. "It's all about consent. You can try to kill me all you want, but I won't consent."
"After that," his grandmother said, "we will need to find someone to train you in fire and ice. The rest are accounted for on Efren's ship."
"My ship?" Efren sounded surprised.
"Niall has asked to sail with your crew," his grandmother said. "I agree, it's a good fit. As soon as I know he won't light your ship on fire or plummet it beneath the waves, I'll give him leave to go with you."
"Thank you," Niall said.
"That's fantastic!" Hannah whooped, and Olivia and Codger Tim joined in. Beside Efren, Stan and Tovey were locked in a staring match neither seemed to want to break. Niall wasn't even sure they'd heard the news.
"It's settled, then. You begin training tomorrow, both of you. Vadim, we will discuss your trial after we've severed your bond with the seeker."
The death weaver nodded, but Klaus's head snapped up with a look of abject terror. "You won't kill me so you can leave, will you?"
"I don't plan on leaving without a ship," Vadim said. "Nor without you. You're the only seeker I've found with the ability to tell one weaver from another by their strength. If Coryn has moved Hugo, you can pick him out of a crowd."
Klaus nodded. "I can, but—"
"I'm not going to kill you, not if I can help it."
Klaus nodded, and though he still looked scared, he also looked relieved. "When were we going to tell them about the anomaly on the Equis Islands?"
"Gods, I'd completely forgotten," Efren said. "We searched the islands for weavers, since we had a seeker with us. He saw something else instead."
"Well, tell us, then." Niall's grandmother nodded to Klaus.
