Mind Over Matter Ch. 01

Kai was a good liar.

"I'm a terrible liar," he mused to himself. Although he was not opposed to the use of killing, he felt deception was more effective when getting past men wielding large broadswords.

Grunts hired by the Church to defend these lower security operations where never quick-minded. This was a beneficial trait for both the Church and Kai; their employers would never have to speak about what was being guarded, and Kai had an easier time getting by them.

Kai had plenty of time to reflect on this notion as he quickly walked down the stone hall after being directed by the guard. At the same time, he considered how long he had to get to the door he needed. Another guard pacing down the hallway passed him an inquisitive look, slightly suspicious of the new face. Kai gave the man a subtle nod in response, and continued walking.

He had fifteen seconds before the two guards met. Eight seconds while they exchanged words about him. Probably a long five seconds before they realized he shouldn't be there. This left him with twenty eight seconds to get through the door ahead, which was roughly a thirty second walk away. Kai took to a jog for a few steps to compensate, turning left toward his goal.

***

Down the corridor, the two sentries conversed.

"Who was that?"

"Magic engineer. You remember the wards that were damaged a week ago? We're finally getting it repaired. I just pointed him in the direction of the Pillar."

"Oh."

A long pause followed, until the smarter of the two pointed out that the wards had been fixed two days ago. When they turned their heads down the hall, Kai was already gone.

*****

The "magic engineer" smiled to himself as he made his way to center of the complex where his objective would be held. He guessed by now the guards would have called support to the Pillar room to apprehend him, diverting personnel from the vault where he was instead heading.

Kai, in all his intuition, had no closer idea of what might have been being kept the vault than those fools protecting it. It didn't matter to him. If it was in the possession of the Church, than he would liberate it from their grasp. The most common treasures were items of magical significance, which he could take, then sell. In a unique case he had found prisoners accused of crimes of blasphemy or other, leaving him to believe that the Church would use these keeps to hold just about anything.

Although still confident in his calculated itinerary, Kai lengthen his stride down the hall to gain a few extra seconds. A good half-minute to fall back on was never a bad thing.

Eventually he reached an enchanted door, carefully inscribed with runes of protection.

Looking over his shoulder as a precaution, he removed an amethyst dagger from his dark cloak. From the edge of the blade emanated a faint purple glow, signifying its magic saturation.

The dagger whistled through the air as Kai slashed once at the door. A metallic noise much louder than that of an ordinary collision between the two materials rang out. The moment the objects touched the runes on the door flashed brightly and vanished. The blade shattered, leaving purple shards across the stone corridor. Kai discarded the hilt, and quickly made his way through the unlocked door.

*****

A few of the armored men took on a puzzled expression at the sudden, sharp sound that had travelled through the building.

"He's probably not in the Pillar room, huh?"

*****

Through the disabled door, Kai stepped into a familiarly circular room. Along the white stone walls were various runes of sealing, wards, and other kinds of magical protection. The center of the room held a large platform similar to a stage in an amphitheater. It was this that Kai was most interested in, so he strode directly to it.

The magical barrier that surrounded the platform obscured his view of the prize behind the wall of light. Caught off guard by the intensity of this keep's shield, Kai quickly calculated the costs and benefits of continuing his mission here.

He had only brought three daggers; two was all he usually needed. For some reason this room was given more resources to protect than the other facilities he had been to, and his spare daggers would not be enough to break the seal. He could just hack at it with the one he left unenchanted, but it would take another hour at least.

The power of decision was taken from him as guards burst through the door. Kai dove behind the wall of light just to avoid being immediately spotted. In such an open room, there would be no question that one of these idiots would at least have the sensibility to check beyond their current line of sight. He simply wanted the extra seconds.

Kai closed his eyes. He was quite shaken by the disruption of his plan, but was not unready to think on his toes. Inhaling deeply, he played out potential scenarios in his head.

*****

The man standing in the front of the pack slowly crept around the corner. He stood in a defensive stance, broadsword readied to parry another sword slash. He was unprepared for the small blade which sang through the air towards his neck.

The pure white of the floor was immediately painted red. The six other men were initially shocked at the speed in which their comrade fell, and then the room exploded into a flurry of movement and shouting as they rushed to kill the man in the cloak.

Kai continually paced backwards, making it more difficult for the men to attack simultaneously.

The first man raised his sword high above his head. This telegraphed his strike and Kai side-stepped the swing and stabbed at the exposed neck.

Not wasting the velocity of his lunge, he left the blade in the neck of the corpse, and dove past the body for the sword that had been dropped. Unskilled with larger weapons, had had no intention of commencing a traditional fight using the cumbersome steel. Instead, he pivoted on his foot, twisted his body, and let the sword slip from his grasp. The momentum from the turn left the blade to spin dangerously through the air in the direction of the group of armored men. The sword's hilt glanced off a shoulder plate of one of the guards, dislocating the joint under its weight and speed.

What he lacked in traditional fighting experience was made up by his knowledge of the mind. He could predict an enemy's reaction to any situation. The distraction and fear induced by a large, spinning broadsword created enough time to kill two more men. This left one crippled guard and two men just opening their eyes after flinching from the flash of steel.

Jumping again to avoid any quick counterattack, Kai strafed back to the first kill and recollected his amethyst dagger. He very rarely liked to rely on luck, but he found no other option than the one he had planned. The two remaining foes had already seen his tricks, and the adrenaline pumping through their system would have enhanced their senses.

Letting magic flow down his arm to the blade, he felt energy drain from his body and his breath became ragged. The dagger glowed with the same light as the one that had broken the seal on the door, and Kai promptly used it on the barrier. The edge shattered, and the wall of light flashed, but did not dissipate. Seeing the effects of the initial strike confirmed his suspicion that the use of his last dagger would be futile. However, he did not intend to break the seal with his dagger alone.

Kai scowled, angry at himself that his plan had come to this. For the first time, his eyes leveled with those of the men advancing towards him. The gaze that the men were met with unnerved them greatly. Kai's purple eyes were tinted purple by the magic running through his being, though the color was faded after his impromptu dagger enchantment.

*****

Kai slowly opened his eyes, exhaling deeply.

The man standing in the front of the pack slowly crept around the corner. He stood in a defensive stance, broadsword readied to parry another sword slash. He was unprepared for the small blade which sang through the air towards his neck.

The events that followed played out almost identically to Kai's near-prophetic foresight. This left him with his back to the wall of light, facing the last two armored guards. Soon came the part the Kai could not predict.

He had anticipated one final event. The two guards were quite fed up with his tricks, and swung simultaneously at him. Their swords came from both directions, threatening to cut him as scissors would paper.

Summoning the rest of his energy, Kai responded instantly. Magic sparked from his left hand, jumping through the air and reaching the steel about to cleave him in half. Now Kai was stuck between an enchanted blade and cold steel in both in mid-swing.

Fighting against all his primal instincts to survive, he jumped straight for the blade to his left.

The very tip of the large broadsword illuminated in a purple aura collided with the magic barrier. This caused the sword to shatter just as Kai would have felt the sword rip through his midsection. He was still severely wounded by the steel shards that pierced his side, but it was nothing compared to the gruesome death he would have faced otherwise. The barrier did not survive, and disappeared in a flash of white.

Kai hit the ground hard, and was stunned for a moment. His left arm supported his weight as he reached across with his right to pull a fragment from his body. He had to get up to grab whatever prize was left exposed on the platform. The guard that was to his right had only been disoriented in the blinding light, and would be recovering his vision sooner than Kai would stop bleeding.

The prize was the final variable in Kai's plan. Optimally, it would be a weapon, and he would be able to kill the last guard. This would delay the command's notification of his infiltration, buying him time to vacate the city. More likely, it was a gold necklace he would take and leave with after escaping the guard. It was because of these probabilities that Kai was shocked at what this keep held hostage.

There on the platform laid the most beautiful woman Kai had ever seen.

She lay unconscious on the cold stone, jet black hair billowing over her shoulder. She was dress in the common white robes of the Church, and the thin fabric flowed over her form, accentuating her perfect curves. This could have not have been less helpful to Kai, but for just this moment he was stopped in his tracks entranced by the lithe figure before him.

The second man in the room was just coming back from his temporary blindness. The first thing he saw as vision returned to him was of the cloaked man kneeling to pick up a woman lying where the barrier had been. A dark stain was gradually painting the left of his cloak red.

Kai turned to look at this final obstacle. "Look at what you hold here! Would you still fight for your Church?" He waited for an answer as he slipped his arms under the woman's knees and neck.

The man had never asked questions. Following orders was his duty, but the sight before him still troubled him greatly. Unsure of what else to do, he raised his sword defensively and shouted back, "It doesn't matter what the Church chooses to hold. All I have to do is protect it."

This was the response Kai expected and he grimaced in disgust anyway. "Then you are nothing but sheep. You follow your shepherd blindly, without reason. You kept this woman here and you can't feel uncertain of your duties?"

The guard was very uncertain of himself. The only way he could assure himself his allegiance was by looking to the bodies of his murdered comrades. "You deserve to die for what you have done here," he finally decided.

"And the Church deserves to burn for all their crimes as well." Kai could not get past this man to the door behind him; at least not while carrying the woman in his arms. Furthermore, there was no longer any weapon between him and the guard.

He would have to leave her to escape. Very few instances in Kai's short life had left him so conflicted, especially when his rational mind screamed at him to drop the girl and run. For some reason, he could not bring himself to leave without her. He was stunned he could be so indecisive.

He was truly shocked when she opened her eyes.

This girl was bad for him. He found it hard to concentrate on much of anything else with her in his arms, and now he felt himself entranced by her gorgeous eyes. The color of the blue ocean shone as two discs peering right at him, locking his gaze in place.

There was no way for Kai to expect what happened next. Reaching a slender arm up around Kai's neck, she pulled herself up and drew him in for a kiss.

Kai was not in the state of mind to disagree, and he lost himself in the kiss. As their lips met, his mind clouded into a pleasant haze that addled his senses but washed away the pain of his wound.

Time stood still for a moment as the strangers kissed. When they finally pulled away, Kai instantly felt weak in the knees. Then he felt weak all over and collapsed on the ground.

As his mind slipped out of consciousness his final thoughts were not of his sudden weakness, but of the heart-stopping feel of her lips on his.

*****

Kai awoke on a bed. That was about all he could take in at the moment. As sharp as he was, clarity was not coming quickly to his mind, and even slower to his eyes.

Then next thing he noticed was the color of the ceiling above him, and then her.

She was sitting on a simple wooden chair with a mug in her hands sipping water tentatively. Her eyes looked past him, lost in thought. When she realized he was conscious, she acknowledged out loud, "You're up."

A long silence held the room captive.

Kai had come from the haze enough to realize this was his room in the inn. As he was taking in his surroundings mentally, his eyes were transfixed in the woman drinking from his cup.

She really was beautiful. Her long tresses of hair perfectly framed her kind features, which were now carrying an anxious expression. She was still dressed in the Church's simple white garb, but this did not detract from her appeal in the least. Kai quickly found her much more interesting than the room.

A torrent of questions came as he was reminded of the events before his waking here. Forcing himself to ask a single question at a time, he managed, "Who...?"

Her complexion eased a little after hearing him speak, and she answered with the same directness as the question, "Claire."

"What happened?" That seems like the most logical way to continue. She had such a pretty name.

"Where do you want me to start?"

Kai considering this for a moment, and the last thing he could remember was..."After our...After I hit the floor." It came to him at this time that she was responsible for his sleep. He immediately straightened his back against the bed post, alert now.

"We both fell to the floor. I evaded the guard and found your inn key in your pockets while looking for a weapon. It's been about an hour after we arrived here."

As Kai listened he took inventory of the various assassination tools he always kept around the room. They were always to be in reach in case of a break in, or one of the Church's bounty hunter found him again. "You evaded the guard AND carried me out of the keep with you? You were out when I found you."

"I recover quickly," she said, looking down into the mug.

"A sorceress then? Did the Church detain you for crimes?"

"I-I don't know."

"That's not an answer." It will take one second to get to the dagger under the dresser. It would then take a half-second to aim and an instant after that to travel through the air and pierce her heart. "You stole my energy."

"I saved us both with it," she confessed. She was right, but not telling the truth during her story had broken Kai's trust.

"Then what really happened?"

"The guard is dead."

"So now explain yourself," Kai pressed.

She didn't look at him when she responded, "I'm a sorceress."

Reading her, "I don't believe you."

"It shouldn't matter," she avoided. Seeing the pace that this was escalating, she rose up out of her seat to leave.

Kai rolled over the side of the bed in a flash, snatching the hidden dagger from its housing under the drawer. In an instant the blade would be through her heart.

*****

Claire sat on a simple wooden chair with a mug in her hands sipping water tentatively.

She was uncomfortable with how that scenario had played out.

"You're up," she said.

"Who...?"

"Claire."

"What happened?"

She nervously gave the same answer as she had in her head. At this, he smiled and shook his head. "I suppose you don't owe me the truth. There's no need to lie to me either though."

The girl was visibly relieved by his response. She woke in that white room, with dead men and red blood everywhere. Kai surmised she probably could not immediately see him as a good person, just a killer.

Kai got up off his back, and shifted so he sat on the side of the bed adjacent to her. Thinking back to before his waking, he asked, "Do you greet everyone you meet like that?" He still felt the ghost of her lips on his, and the memory of its touch was the only thing that truly shone through the fogginess of his memory.

"No, it's just...I really wanted to kiss you."

"Now you're lying to both of us," he responded, exasperated.

Kai's head was filtering through the possible types of mages that would take energy from the contact. There was no way for her to have escaped with him in tow without the use of magic. However, he didn't want to linger for too long in the inn after his infiltration of the keep and he decided to leave the past for the future. He at least had no reason to distrust her for now. She was being held captive by the Church, and she had saved him after he had saved her. Exactly how she did would have to be found out later.

Rising to his feet he said, "I need to leave here. What will you do?"

She glanced down into the cup as she considered the question. "I have no place to go."

"Have you been to Daervik?" When she shook her head he continued, "Would you like to see it?"

*****

The interpretation of morality had changed since the Church had grown in power. There were very few people now who would follow every law instituted by the lords and kings, and the breaking of laws were also not as often frowned upon. So now while vandalism was still met with much objection, the robbing of a wealthy bishop was not. Crimes against the Church were vehemently persecuted, but were usually seen as disagreeable to the public. Money stolen from men like that was just a form of much needed financial redistribution.

As she walked down the dirt path, this was how Claire decided to justify travelling with this cloaked man. She probably should not have been keeping pace with the person responsible for the killing of several Church guards, but she had nothing else to do.

She was intrigued by his lifestyle, but also by Kai himself. He was extremely intelligent; that much was obvious. His cognitive ability was superhuman. The rate at which his mind processed information was incredible, and allowed him to determine things in advance in such a way that others would liken to a prophet. He was extremely observant, and also exceptionally logical. In less than a day she was convinced he was the most sensible person she would ever meet. But above all else, he was kind to her. She would have expected more of a callous nature from someone so rational, and she was deeply appreciative of his kindness.

Kai's thoughts were equally occupied by his new companion. She was smart as well, though not to the extent of Kai's foresight. He had originally offered for her to come with her so that he could found out what exactly happened that night. On the outside, he tried to be as friendly as possible to this stunning girl that had so abruptly entered his life. He wanted to keep her close for as long as it was convenient so there would be no loose ends from his visit to the keep last night. Kai found that his pleasant demeanor felt more natural than he had intended, and this unsettled him slightly.