Traitors Heart

Shit, shit, shit. We’re late!

“Nyte, hurry up baby we got to go!” I call out up the stairs as I grab my key ring and wallet from the kitchen counter.

“I’m coming, Momma!” He yelled back and a minute later was bouncing down the steps with a sheepish smile on his face.

“You should have woken me up, Nyte. Now we will both be late and today was supposed to be your first day at your new school.” I reminded him while grabbing a light gray hoodie for him to wear and a similar one for myself from the hooks I had installed by the front door.

His usually happy, green eyes moved to the floor when I looked down at him to hand him his sweater. His little shoulders were slumped and I could tell instantly something was wrong. I sighed, knowing we really didn’t have time for this but It had been months since he had acted like this and I wanted to know why.

I kneeled down to his level and pulled him into a hug and asked, “Why wrong, Bug? Why don’t you want to go today?”

He buried his face in my shoulder and mumbled something unintelligible as I felt warm tears hitting my skin.

“Sweetie, I can’t understand you. You have to talk to me or I won’t know how to help. I promise to help you if you can calm down and tell me what’s wrong.” I offered while rubbing his back.

It took a minute for him to pull away and he still wouldn’t meet my eyes but he whispered, “What if it’s like the first school?”

My insides instantly burned with fury as the memories from a few months ago came flooding back. Nyte curled up on the school’s path with a bruised face and a busted lip because some of the other kids decided to bully him for being from Merkarthia, the enemy lands.

We had both been born and raised in Merkarthia. It had been our home, but because my brother fell in love with someone unacceptable in the king’s eyes he had them slaughtered. I had barely escaped with Nyte in my arms and had managed to find us passage to the neighboring lands. If I hadn’t been watching him that night I’d have lost everyone I love and for that I’d never forgive the piece of shit that sat on the throne. I’d do everything in my power to watch his whole kingdom burn. Vengeance would have to wait though.

I pulled back a bit and cupped his face in my hands. I waited for him to finally look up at me with his watery green eyes and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Nyte, things will be hard here for us but we will make a way. If it’s like your old school you tell me. If the teachers mistreat you, you have to tell me. If the kids are mean or hurt you you have to tell me, okay? I don’t want to find you hurting like I did last time. I want you to talk to me and tell me. I won’t be upset with you. I could never be mad for something you cannot control, Little Love.You just have to be strong for me okay? This is a big change for both of us and we have to work together.” I reassured him and wiped away the tears that had spilled down his flushed cheeks.

The worry in his eyes was replaced with understanding and a spark of stubbornness I had seen one too many times growing up with his father. It made me swallow a lump in my throat and pull him in for another hug before standing up and handing him his hoodie.

“We are both going to be unbelievably late young man.” I saw and wince, realizing what it means for me and a lower ranked warrior.

We both threw on our hoods and left the house, a simple stone and whooped structure with a sometimes leaky, shingled roof. The walk from the house to his school was somewhat quick as long as we walked fast and stayed on the cobbled paths that lined most of the town. The town seemed unusually quiet, few people out milling around, all of them sending chilling glares in our direction. It took only a few minutes but we had arrived. I pulled Nyte along behind me as I approached the door to the school and gave three soft knocks on the large wooden doors.

A few seconds later a short plump woman with wild curly red hair and green eyes opened the door and smiled.

“Can I help you?,” she asked, looking between the two of us, her eyes widening slightly when they landed on me. I was used to it by now, getting that reaction often for being around six feet tall and having my build while being female. It wasn’t an uncommon back home but there weren’t many tiger shifters in these lands. At least that’s what I had gathered in my time here over the last few months.

“I’m sorry we’re late. This is my son Nyte. He is meant to start here today.” I said, offering her what I hoped was a sheepish smile.

“Oh, yes! I was wondering….Oh, well! Welcome dear. Class has started but we will get you settled right in!” She smiled down at Nyte and offered him a hand.

Nyte looked up at me with worried eyes and I gave him a smile and said, “ Go on, baby. Have fun and tell me if anything happens okay? I’ll be here. I’ll always be here.”

He nodded and took the teacher’s hand who led him inside, shutting the door behind them. I sighed, feeling a little uneasy about leaving him with these strangers but I didn’t really have a choice.

I turned on my heel and started walking in the direction of the training grounds. It was a slightly longer walk from the school to where I needed to be. The training grounds were just outside of the main town but still had a mostly cobbled path that led to it. The path only turned to dirt where the combat training and development facility met the outside combat training area. We needed both an inside and outside area because most of the warriors here were shifters of some sort and confining our animals to an indoor arena often didn’t turn out good. Some didn’t even fit inside, at least that’s what I had heard. Rumors of a dragons shifter had circulated but I’d been here for months and had not seen hide nor hair of one.

Most of the buildings I passed looked much like my own home. There were a few that were obviously a little nicer, with their beautiful front gardens and white washed walls but there weren’t many of those. The town was composed mostly of warriors and their families with a few civilians who ran the local businesses that kept the town supplied.

I had just passed the bakery and turned toward the path that led straight to the training grounds when I heard a familiar voice yell, “Heart! Hey Heart! Damnit Alyra, wait up!”

I smiled as I stopped and turned to look at my one and only friend in this place who was jogging up to me with a goofy crooked smile on his stupid, perfect face. He was one of the only people I had met here who could match up to me height wise.

“Hey Sammy, What can I do for you?” I asked, using my nickname for him, one that he hated but I knew he secretly loved. He scowled at me but joined my side and we continued on our way.

“Nothing, babe. Looks like we’re both running a little late.” He snickered before his normally warm brown eyes met mine and I could see something was on his mind.

“What’s up? “ I asked, nudging him with my shoulder and giving him a small smile.

“It’s nothing. Just work stuff. Boss man is riding me harder than a professional bull rider.” He sighed and shook his head then continued, “ We’re both just a little stressed. Nothing we can’t handle.”

I had never met the “boss man” as Sammy called him. Sammy was as far up the ladder as I had met. He was second commander of Arrythmys’s army and he was the only person here who had welcomed me with open arms. I had proven myself to be a valuable weapon in their defenses and the war against Merkarthia. I had betrayed my king and turned myself over to the enemy, revealing everything I knew about Markarthia’s defenses and strategies. Still, no one trusted me. I understood though. To them I am still the enemy.

It had taken a solid month for Nyte and I being under supervision before I was trusted enough to get my own home and was enlisted at the lowest rank possible in their army. WE were doing better now after a few months of dark looks and the problems with Nyte’s last school. Things were finally looking up. At least I hoped they were.

“I’m always here if you need me.” I offered, patting his back. Just before we hit the entrance to the grounds.

As soon as we entered I stepped back and cast my eyes to the ground, a way of respecting my superior officer. Here in this place we were not just friends but commander and soldier. Sammy never complained about me being informal but I felt that if I wanted to earn the respect of my fellow warriors I’d need to be treated just the same as them. I need to be one of them.

Though technically I am a warrior I am also a weapons specialist and my current project was up for testing today. I glanced at my wrist to the device strapped to it and realized I’d have less than thirty minutes to prepare. The nerves crept up my spine as a knot settled in my stomach. This would be my first weapon I had made for this army. The first of man, I hoped.

Sammy led the way to the weapons lab where a few of the other warriors who worked alongside me were waiting. Sammy paused outside of the large steel door and motioned for me to unlock it. I blushed as I felt the eyes of the others on me but kept my shoulder square and my head held as high as was respectful. I pulled my key ring from my pocket and found the large silver key with the magnetic signature I had designed so that the lock would be impossible to pick and inserted it into the lock. There was a light click and I pushed the door open revealing my lab.

Sammy entered first and the others filed in behind him. I entered last, pulling the door closed behind me. In this room I held slightly more authority, though Sammy was still my superior officer no matter where we were, I was in charge of the weapons development team. None of them liked it but they respected it enough that we worked efficiently together.

Everyone got to work on their individual projects at their stations in the large room. This was one of the few places in the kingdom that held such advances in technology as the kingdom preferred to live a simpler life. One free of the pollutants and crime that came from advancing. We did however use more advanced weapons and armor to improve our defenses and arm our forces.

I headed for the center work station where I normally worked on my projects, so I was easily accessible for everyone, should they need help.

I opened a side drawer and pulled out the handling gloves and put them on. I pulled my keys out, finding the one that unlocked the large security case below my table and unlocked it. I pulled out the long blade I’d been working on for months, developing it further and further until this point. The handle was a simple black stained silver and leather grip with sharp points to use in the event of close combat. The long silver blade shone under the artificial lights, small clear canisters along the blade’s edge willed with a toxin that also coated the blade. A toxin that could prove lethal to any shifter should it pierces their skin.

The toxin, though lethal, could also be used for torture purposes as it caused immense pain and if the person who was injected with it was not given the antidote fast enough they would die. I had designed the toxin to be able to be administered and treated over and over with no ill effects to the person’s physical health as long as they were given the antidote on time. Sammy had been particularly interested in that information, saying that it would make interrogating the prisoners a hell of a lot easier as long as it worked.

“So this is it?” Sammy asked, approaching the table but keeping his hands clasped behind his back as I hard warned him to do when in this room, never knowing what he could come in contact with should he touch something he shouldn’t. This was a lab after all and some of the weapons we were working on were particularly nasty.

“Yes, this is it. There are gloves in that drawer,” I indicated by nodding in its direction and continued, “If you want to handle this before it’s tested and approved you’d better wear them.”

He shook his head and answered, “No, that’s okay, Warrior Heart. Are you ready to present the blade today?”

“Yes Commander, Leon. It is as ready as I can get it before final testing.” I answered, using Sammy’s proper rank before setting the blade into a transportation case I had prepared the previous day. The case itself was steel with a lock similar to the door to this room. A lock only I held the key for. All weapons that left this room were transported in similar cases to avoid prying eyes. After all, we wouldn’t want any information to be leaked to our enemies.

He nodded, “Very good. I’ll let everyone know. Meet us in Hall three in ten minutes.” He turned and walked away, briefly glancing at the other stations as he passed and exited the room.

I closed the case and locked it, securing the blade inside. Papers were scattered about my desk, evidence of my late night I had spent preparing for today. I had left Nyte with Sammy for a few hours. It initially had not set right with me to have him babysit for me but Sammy had assured me it was fine and insisted because he knew how important this project was. So I caved and allowed Nyte to have a boys night with “Uncle Sam” just this once. I cleaned up the papers and locked them away in a secure drawer before opening a file I had prepared and gathered the information sheets for the Warriors I’d be presenting to.

Sam hadn’t told me exactly who would be at the meeting but I knew it would be a few of the more senior warriors and a small medical team should the testing go wrong. I didn’t like that last part but I couldn’t blame them for their nervousness. For all they knew I had developed something to use against them. They didn’t realize how badly I wanted to see Merkarthia burn.

With the papers and case in hand I left the room and headed straight down the hall, exiting the building and making my way across a small courtyard to the meeting hall. I felt eyes on my back as I moved but ignored it as I pushed the doors open and made my way reading the signs and I went.

Hall three was the largest of the three meeting halls. It was usually reserved for war campaign meetings, or so I was told. That little bit of information made me nervous but it was nothing I hadn’t done before. I wouldn’t let them scare me off or make me fumble when this could very well help in cementing a place for myself and Nyte in this kingdom.

I approached the door, took a deep breath and knocked twice.

“Come in.” An unfamiliar voice called, deep and clear, making it sound like a command which it probably was.

I kept my eyes lowered respectfully as I entered. I paused my steps in the center front of the room, clutching the papers to my chest and my other arm straight down by my side holding the case. Normally I’d stand with my hands clasped behind me but it really wasn’t possible here. I gave a slight bow and returned to a straight stance, awaiting instructions.

“Warrior Heart, welcome. You may begin when you are ready.” Sam said, signaling for me to look up and begin.

I looked up and my eyes met the familiar faces of the head warriors for each regiment, all of them looking at me expectantly. All but a couple who I did not recognize. One of them, a man, probably a few inches taller than my own six feet, who was standing in the back corner of the room, not at the table as the rest of them were. His eyes, a beautiful blue color I had never seen before, were focused on me though he wore a bored expression which irked me somewhat and I didn’t quite understand why. The man’s skin looked sun kissed and I could see a small scar next to one of his eyes that curved just slightly around the top of his cheek bone. It was barely visible but I had noticed it. His hair, unlike the well kept short or combed back looks of the other men in the room, was slightly unruly and red in color. When I met his eyes he raised an eyebrow in question which confused me and caused me to do the same.

A minute must have passed because I heard a throat clearing, drawing my attention away from Sam who was looking at me with an amused expression.

“Pardon me.” I said looking down again realizing I was probably disrespecting a senior warrior.

I set the case on the table and pulled out the magnetic key, unlocking the case. I flipped it open and pulled out the blade with one hand while sliding the file of information over to Sam with the other. I didn’t bother with gloves this time, since this was the final test, one of many I had already performed.

“This is the blade we have been developing. It’s a silver blade and handle with a leather grip for ease of handling. The blade itself is pure silver aside from these parts,” I said indicating the parts that held the toxin, “Each of these holds a toxic mixture I have been developing to weaponize against shifters. It can send a fully grown shifter to their knees and in mere minutes, end their life if an antidote is not administered.”

“The workings of the blade, how is the toxin administered, Warrior Heart? How is this supposed to work? It just looks like a normal sword to me, albeit a shiny one.” One of the head warriors asked, an older man with graying hair I recognized as Jamison Hanson, A man who made no secret of his dislike of me. I could tell he was trying to irk me. The smirk on his disgusting face said it all.

“The blade is coated in the toxin through small holes. It’s slow releasing and even the smallest amount is fatal. This is unlike any other weapon in our arsenal to date. I’ve been personally working on it for months. It’s lethal, trust me.”

The others turned to one another and began to murmur slowly before suddenly going silent. It didn’t escape my notice that the man in the back of the room had not taken his eyes off of me and had not spoken a word as the others mumbled.

“You ask us to trust you, Warrior heart. You say this weapon, this toxin of yours, is lethal. That it can render a fully grown shifter useless. How do we know this for sure?” Warrior Hanson asked again.

I smiled and shook my head, looking away from Hanson to meet Sam’s eyes that were glaring at me like he knew what was coming next.

I had expected this particular question to come up. I knew my choice of words would be brought into question and so I set the sword down for a moment and opened a compartment in the holding case, releasing a syringe of deep purple liquid. I lifted it so they could see and set it on the table. I pulled the hoodie over my head, fixing my shirt that had lifted slightly before reaching down and picking up the blade again. Everyone in the room tensed aside from the red haired stranger and Sam who was still glaring at me, telling me not to do it.

I held out my arm and before anyone could make a move, sliced a large cut down it. The pain was immediate, nearly sending me to my knees. I would have fallen if it weren’t for the table I used to support myself. I gasped, losing my vision for a moment. I blinked to clear it and sucked in a sharp breath as blood dripped down my arm, spilling onto the table. Within seconds even the table couldn’t keep my up as my knees buckled beneath me

“How long before it’s fatal?” Hanson asked, directing the question at me, smiling wickedly like he was enjoying this. They probably all were. The sick fucks probably loved watching me bleed.

“Less than two minutes now.” I answered, counting my own heart beats now as my vision began to swim and blur again slightly from the pain but mostly as a result from the toxin.

“That’s enough.” The voice that spoke was clear though I couldn’t see who spoke now. It was the same voice that had told me to enter the room.

A second later I felt a prick on my arm and three heart beats after my vision cleared and I regained control. I took a few deep breaths and righted myself with a little help from Sam who was at my side holding the empty syringe. I climbed back to my feet but kept a steadying hand on the table. I could already feel the cut on my arm healing itself as the antidote worked its magic.

“Thank you, for that…demonstration, Warrior Heart. If you’ll excuse us, we will discuss the matter now. You may return to work.” Sam spoke, dismissing me. His voice told me I’d be catching an ear full later but for now I was free. I glanced at the red haired man again whose eyes seemed to be focused on my arm with an eerie glow. He must have felt me looking because his eyes met mine before he looked away. I shrugged it off and moved to do as I was told.

I packed up the blade but left the information sheets for them to look over. I glanced back at the stranger and noticed he was looking at me still with an odd look on his face before I turned around and headed out the door and back to my lab where I’d probably be a nervous wreck for the rest of the day.