Excerpt: The Crystal Orb

Chapter Nine: Eton Glassell

They spent that night in the woods, moving only as far away from the carcasses of the minotaur as they dared. Tallyn claimed he felt fine, better than fine, but they did not want to test out just how well it would last. As it was, Tallyn collapsed into his tent and did not waken until long after the morning dawned. When he finally did emerge, Eton thought he looked rather pale and shaky.

“You okay?” he asked, approaching the assassin warily.

Tallyn nodded. “I’ll be fine, just a reaction to the healing, is all.” He stood and gingerly stretched, shaking his hands afterwards to get the feeling back into them. He inspected his nails for a moment, as Eton watched. “What?”

Eton jumped as Tallyn looked at him. “Oh, um, nothing.” He quickly ran over to his own tent and clambered inside it for a moment. He emerged a few seconds later, carrying the sword. “I never gave this back.”

Tallyn grimaced at the blade that was sheathed. “You didn’t happen to clean the blade off before sheathing it, did you?”

Eton looked down at the sword and shook his head. “No. Why?”

Tallyn sighed. “Bring it over here.” They went over to the small fire that Claisen was tending. She had been up for a good while and had made breakfast while Tallyn slept. “Now draw it.”

Eton pulled the blade out, but halfway it jammed. He struggled before giving up. “I can’t.”

Tallyn nodded. “That’s why you always clean a blade before putting it back into the sheath. Hand it to me.”

Eton did, watching attentively. “What are you going to do?”

Tallyn concentrated on the sheath for a few moments before finally drawing the blade out. It slid out smoothly, but the blade was disgusting. It hadn’t been cleaned and the smell was ripe with the dark warmth of the tent. Tallyn made a face and handed the blade back to Eton who took it with considerably less enthusiasm than before. “Go get a rag and clean it off as best you can. Don’t use water, but if you need something to clean it, use a cloth or something that you can dispose of.”

Eton nodded and went to get one of the strips that Claisen had made up for Tallyn’s injury before he had been healed. He came back with a small handful and began to clean off the sword. It was a long, arduous task that stunk to the heavens. By the time he was done with cleaning it, Eton vowed never again to sheath a dirty sword.

Tallyn watched him out of the corner of his eye while Claisen brought him breakfast. He ate slowly, looking as though the food was nothing more than wood. Eton had the same earlier and it had been good, so he could not understand why Tallyn did not like it.

Finally Eton had cleaned the sword, but Tallyn halted him from sheathing it. “Now you get the fun job—cleaning out the sheath. I recommend using a stick and putting a cloth on one end. Again, no water.”

Eton sighed and nodded, watching as Tallyn stood up and stepped away from the fire. Claisen started to rise, but Tallyn motioned for her to stay.
“I’ll be back in a few,” he said. “If I’m not…then come looking for me.” He gave a small smile and then vanished in the darkness, his cloak pulled tightly over his shoulders.

Eton looked over at Claisen. “Is he okay?”

Claisen looked troubled. “I don’t know. I’ve never known him to have such an issue with healing before. But there’s a lot I don’t know about him for all that he’s my brother.” She sighed. “He won’t talk to me anymore.”

Eton blinked. “He seems to talk to you a lot.”

Claisen looked over at him. “Not like before.” She glanced down at her hands that wrung themselves together anxiously. “It’s just that since I told you about the curse and everything, he’s been more distant. Almost like he’s afraid he’ll catch it too. But he can’t. He won’t.” She lowered her voice. “And I’m pretty much useless without my ability to kill.”

Eton didn’t know what to say to that. He nodded and went to sit beside her, dragging the sheath and sword with him. Claisen moved over to give him room.
“It’s like once I became like this,” she gestured at her unarmed person, “he refuses to see me as anything more than a woman…a girl. I don’t try to get into trouble. I was doing well, doing my own thing, carrying out orders, when I got attacked by this curse.”

“But Tallyn said you stopped and talked to the guy that cursed you.” Eton pointed out.

Claisen nodded. “Technically we’re supposed to kill our targets without any actual exchange of words, for that reason too, probably. But…I didn’t.”

Eton nodded and turned his attention to scrubbing the scabbard. Claisen sighed again, causing him to look over at her.

“Eton, do you ever feel…” she hesitated and then shook her head. “Forget it. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

Eton paused and slowly extracted the stick with its gooey mess of Minotaur blood on the end. He made a face and set it down. “I feel sometimes that I’m bad luck,” he said suddenly. Claisen looked at him in surprise.

“What? No way!”

Eton nodded, fiddling with the sword. “It’s true. It almost...happened again. My sister and her group were killed together, only I was left alive. I don’t know who did it. Or why.” He shrugged. “And then, when we were being attacked by Minotaur, I thought that Tallyn would die…”

Claisen watched him. “You can’t keep beating yourself up about what happened. It wasn’t anything you did.”

Eton shook his head. “If I had woken earlier. If I hadn’t gone to bed so early. If I had only just known,” the anguish was clear in his voice.

“Eton!” Claisen yelled to get his attention. He flinched and looked at her. “The thing is, what happened has happened. It’s not going to get easier, but you can learn to deal with it. You just need to give yourself time.”

Eton nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. “That’s easy for you to say.”

Claisen blinked at him. “Say what?”

“You’re an assassin. You kill people every day. I’m not. I don’t deal with-” he cut himself off. He had to deal with death sooner or later. His entire life, his family, his sister, they were gone, leaving him alone.

An arm embraced his shoulder. “It’s okay to feel sad. You can grieve for her, for them. But things will get better. Someday you’ll look back at all this and wonder what you were so worried about.” Claisen’s voice had an edge to it that he wasn’t sure what to make of.

“How do you know?”

Claisen gave him a little hug. “Because, I’ve gone through a similar thing in the past. Not like what you’re going through, but I do know that it will get better. You just have to ride out the low points of your life and balance them with the highs. I know that I will get rid of this curse and that I’ll look back on all this and wince, but also laugh at how caught up I was at the moment.”

Eton swallowed and looked back at her. “How are you going to break the curse?”

Claisen shrugged. “I don’t know yet, but things could be worse. I could still be wandering alone in the woods, with four Minotaur chasing after me. I could be unable to kill anyone. I could have been struck with a mute curse instead of a non-killing one. The list is endless. At least you found me and came to my rescue. I think that helped Tallyn a little.”

Eton looked away at the mention of Tallyn. “He doesn’t like me.”

“Why? Because he made you clean out the scabbard?”

Eton shook his head. “No. He just doesn’t.”

Claisen sighed. “He just takes a while to warm up to people, that’s all.” Eton shrugged noncommittally and returned to cleaning out the scabbard. He finally finished, getting as much out of it as he could before setting it down. Claisen clucked at him, but he hesitated.

“Should I just slide the sword in?” He asked, not wanting to get into trouble again.

Claisen nodded. “You never leave a sword just lying out in the bare elements.”
Eton sheathed the sword and propped it up against the logs they were using for seats. He stood up.

“Where are you going?” Claisen asked.

“Tallyn’s been a while. We should probably look for him.”

Claisen surged to her feet. “You’re right. Let’s go. Bring the sword just in case.”
Eton nodded and reached down to grab the sword, hauling it with him as they went in the direction that Tallyn had gone.

“How far do you think he went?” Claisen asked.

Eton shrugged. “You know him better than I do.”

Claisen nodded. “Then he could be anywhere. But I’m hoping he didn’t venture too far because of the healing. Tallyn?”

“I’m fine, just over here.” Came his response surprisingly close by.

Eton peered through the trees to make out a shadow not much darker than the rest. Tallyn sat perched on a tree long, looking not so much like he had been resting, but thinking.

“Tallyn, are you okay?” Claisen went over while Eton hung back a little, still clutching the sword.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Do either of you know who healed me?”

“Why? Are you feeling still sick?” Claisen pressed.

Tallyn shook his head. “No, he reminded me of someone I met once or twice.” He frowned as though trying to recall the name with the face.

Claisen shrugged. “You were pretty out of it when he finally arrived.”

“I know, but after he healed me I know I recognized him. I know I did.”

“Okay, maybe you did. But you shouldn’t hurt yourself trying to push yourself so hard.” Tallyn shot her a glare making her wince. “I’m just trying to help.”

Tallyn bit back an angry reply and looked away. “I know.”

“Are you going to just stay out here then?”

Tallyn sighed and stood up. “I’m coming.” Under his breath he muttered, “didn’t mean to worry you.”

Eton caught it and found it amusing that Tallyn was apologizing to his sister. He earned a glare from Tallyn, but it was worth it he decided. He started to pass Tallyn, but stopped when Tallyn motioned him over. He stepped closer, wondering what Tallyn was going to say.

“Did Claisen make you carry that?” He pointed at the sword.

Eton shrugged. “Yeah.”

Tallyn sighed and shook his head. “It’s not important.” Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, his head lifted and his eyes unseeing. “Gilded hilts be alchemized,” he breathed. “That was who he was!”

Claisen and Eton both turned to look at him, somewhat startled. “What? Who?”

Tallyn punched his hand forward, pointing in a direction somewhat vaguely in front of him. “The guy that healed me. It was him!”

Claisen and Eton exchanged a look, clearly confused if not at a loss for words.

“Him, it was him. The Prince!” Tallyn finally got out. “Oh my god, it was the prince.” His face flushed. “What was he even doing out here in the first place?” He resumed his pace, speeding it up quicker. “Eton! Where did you find him? Where was he going?”

Eton shrugged, still confused. “I found him on a path, but I don’t know where he was going. I didn’t ask.” He hadn’t even realized it was the prince and he cringed suddenly. He had actually touched him!

Tallyn did not seem to notice, he was too caught up. “We’re packing this instant and setting out after him. If nothing else, to find out what he’s doing out here.”

Eton frowned. “Well, he was alone when I met him…”

“Alone?” Tallyn turned to look at Eton, who nodded.

“There was nobody around. And he didn’t act like a prince. He wasn’t dressed like one either,” Eton pointed out.

Claisen clapped hand to her mouth. “Oh! So wouldn’t he have recognized us?”

They came to their camp and began to collect their things.

Tallyn nodded. “He recognized me, I think. That’s why he left in such a hurry.” Although he wasn’t so sure since that part was a little hazy.

“But that still leaves us wondering why he was wandering on his own,” Claisen spoke up from dismantling the tent. “I mean, why go alone when it’s dangerous out here? Minotaur notwithstanding.”

Eton spoke before he thought about what he was saying. “Maybe he didn’t want to be found out?”

Tallyn and Claisen exchanged a look, though it was Tallyn who spoke. “Meaning that the heir to the throne is now wandering around in the woods, looking for a way to escape his palatial duties?”

Claisen sighed. “It would be our duty then to escort him regardless of where he goes.”

Tallyn nodded. At Eton’s confused look however Claisen continued, “We’re the royal assassins, but we also double as body guards for anyone in the royal family. That being said, we’ve done a bit of body guarding for the princes when they were younger.”

Eton only blinked. “But…you must have been young then.”

Claisen and Tallyn nodded. “We were,” Claisen continued, “but it worked out well because we were trained and blended in with the princes’ age group. They would never have expected it.”

Tallyn interjected with his own explanation. “We’re trained to kill whoever is a threat by the age of fifteen. We can be lethal at the age of 10 or 11, however, if necessity demands. Anyway, we need to find him and make sure nothing happens to him.”

Eton felt his hands tremble and he looked down at them. He reached into his pocket to pull out the crystal orb again. “Is the Prince safe?” He asked softly.

UNCLEAR, came the result.

Eton swiftly packed, for once beating Tallyn and Claisen. They glanced at him.
“Is everything alright?” Claisen asked, stuffing one last thing into her pack.

“The crystal doesn’t know if he is or not…” Eton said after some hesitation.

“Great,” Tallyn muttered. “Just what we needed. A prince on the run, a crystal ball with no clear answers, and an assassin unable to kill. Which deity did we piss off this month?”

“All of them?” Claisen offered sourly. “It’s not like I wanted to get this particular ability, you know. I can’t even hold a weapon to save my life.”

“Not even a dagger?”

Claisen shook her head. “I had to discard my entire set after he cursed me. At least I got some gold out of it, but still…” she trailed off seeing Tallyn’s expression.
Eton, who had only been paying sparse attention, noticed and looked over. He was tempted to take a step away, despite being several feet away from Tallyn.

“You got rid of your kit?”

Claisen took a step back, her face flushed. “I couldn’t do anything with it anyway!” She started to yell back. “It hurt to carry it, okay? Physically hurt!”

Eton wished he could close his ears to the sound of them yelling. He had been used to them being soft spoken, and preferred that to what he was hearing now.

“Then maybe you should have paid attention to your lessons!” Tallyn yelled back.
Claisen went silent then, a thing which Eton should have been glad for since it meant that the yelling had stopped. But his eyes betrayed him to look to see why she had gone silent. Claisen glared daggers at Tallyn, and if her ability to kill had been extended to her eyes, he would have been a corpse.

Tallyn met her gaze squarely and for a long moment dangerous silence spread between them. To Eton’s surprise, Tallyn turned away first, stomping away to pack his things none-too-gently in his pack. Eton made sure to give them both extra space, just because he did not want to be caught in the middle of a feud. He was soon to find that that would be easier said than done.

Tallyn muttered something about being the only one able to protect and defend his companions before shrugging on his pack.

Claisen carefully ignored him, pulling on her own pack.

Eton watched them both without trying to be obvious about it, fiddling with his pack so that it would rest easy on him.

Claisen stood off to one side, her silent signal that Tallyn should take the lead. Eton fell into step behind him, and Claisen behind him. Eton wondered if maybe Claisen was staring right through him, since he could feel her gaze on him. It made him uncomfortable and acutely aware of the fact that he was caught in the middle of the feud, even though it wasn’t his fault.

The trip was quieter than usual and while they weren’t much for talking while they walked, there was usually some banter or words being exchanged periodically. This time there was none of that. A cloud seemed to hang over them, following their move and dampening their spirits.

When they paused for a short break, Tallyn literally dropped his pack and stormed off. Claisen gently set hers down, and turned to go in the other direct. Eton merely stood there, still wearing his pack and feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

You need to do something, a little voice in the back of his head said softly. Before they do something they’ll both regret. Eton hesitated and shook his head. He couldn’t, it wasn’t his fight to get involved in. They had to sort things out for themselves. But the little voice insisted and finally Eton plucked up his courage to go find Tallyn. He paused as Tallyn headed for him and then walked right past him, hardly acknowledging his presence.

Eton sighed and watched as Tallyn hefted his pack silently. Claisen did the same, waiting until Tallyn had taken the lead before actually setting her pack more comfortably on her back. She blinked at Eton, before turning her face away.
Eton sighed before hearing his name being called. He hurried to catch up to Tallyn, who had led the way only to stop.

“Which direction did you go to find the Prince? To town or away from it?”

Eton hesitated. “I don’t remember. I went until I could see the town but then I traveled left until I came to a pathway. I can try to retrace my route…?”

Tallyn nodded. “Do that, I’ll follow.”

Eton bit back a reply, nodding and taking the lead. He felt self-conscious and there
were several points when he wondered if he was even going the right direction, but before too long he found the city in the distance. He relaxed a little; it had only taken him so long now because they were walking—not running a frantic race against time.
He retraced his steps and soon enough he saw the fork in the road. He raced ahead before pausing and looking at the different routes before looking back at Tallyn and Claisen. Tallyn seemed to surmise the situation quickly.

“You don’t know which way he went, do you?”

Eton shook his head. “No. I know he came from that way…” he pointed at the obvious path that led to the town. “But other than that…” he shrugged and turned to look at the different paths. “Oh wait!” He pulled out the crystal orb to consult it, but Tallyn took it from him. “Hey! What are you doing? Give it back.”

Tallyn looked at the crystal orb. “Where did you say you got this from?”

Eton attempted to swipe it back, but Tallyn held it out of his reach. “I didn’t. I found it. Can I have it back please? It only works for me.”

Tallyn shook the crystal orb. “Which path did the Prince take?” He demanded of it. “Answer me!”

Eton held his hand out impatiently. “I told you it doesn’t work for you.”

Tallyn glared at him and handed the crystal orb back. “I don’t see why.”

The crystal orb was barely in his hand again before Eton stiffened. His eyes went wide and unseeing as he envisioned the prince being attacked and carried away. The vision only lasted a second, but it was long enough to take his breath away and make him stumble.

Tallyn reached out to steady him. “Eton? You okay? What happened?”

Eton shook his head, unable to talk with his gasping for breath. His heart raced and he felt like he had been running a marathon. “I’m fine.” He managed to get out, feeling light-headed. He started to lean away from Tallyn, losing his balance, but Tallyn had grabbed his arm and held him steady.

“Tell me what you saw.”

Eton blinked away the black spots before shrugging. “I…don’t really know. I think it was the guy from earlier getting attacked…”

Tallyn turned to Claisen who was standing behind him, concerned about Eton. “Stay here with him, I’ll take care of the rest.” With that, he dumped his pack, hand on his hilt, and sprinted in the direction towards town that he was sure the prince had taken.