The Darkman
Seasons passed before the topics of the Darkman and the lost children were brought up again. KiNa hardly noticed the passage of time, except for the snows that came and went, giving way to spring rains and summer sun. He had so much to do between training with Hunt and learning mind magery that he was never bored.
KiNa looked at his reflection in the slick glass window with a sense of awe. If he didn’t know who he was looking at, he’d never have guessed it was himself. Master SoYa did an amazing job of disguising him as someone completely different.
It’s kinda suspicious how good he is at all these secret things.
The first order of the morning was to deal with his instructions and quick “training” session. This wasn’t too difficult because KiNa knew exactly what the Darkman wanted from the boys under his command. They were there to scout, steal and forage for whatever they could find. Sometimes, some boys landed more specialized jobs, but that was only for the ones the Darkman trusted to do the job well.
“So you almost got caught?” Master SoYa chuckled the next day at their morning meeting. It was a relief that he wasn’t angry about it.
“No way,” the boy argued. “I had it all under control. She didn’t tell on me, anyway.”
Getting the kids to the secret rendezvous point was a lot easier than keeping them there. Once the excitement of the escape wore off, KiNa had a group of groggy, cranky and whining children on his hands. Some of them were plain out scared and wanted nothing more than to put as much distance between them and the Darkman’s cellar. He tried to explain over and over again that they needed to wait for Master SoYa to get there before going anywhere else.
The doors to the great Manor Council room burst inward, admitting two hooded figures amid barking protest of the useless door guards. All proceedings came to an abrupt stop as attention shifted from the center of the room to the invading presence.
Zemus gave a sharp frown as his speech trailed off into the curious silence that swept through the room, more unhappy than his peers at the interruption. Once he gathered his wits, he quickly snapped, “Who dares approach the High Council of the Manor unannounced?”