Fate Dark Side of Betrayer

"You believe them? Caius muttered, his voice low but stinging with incredulity. "Because I don't."

 I tightened my hold on my sword, staring across the trio of strangers seated just outside the tree line. Their weapons sheathed, but their presence anything but benign; they had come from the shadows like ghosts. Rising forward, the tall woman with sharp features and eyes like steel moved with palms raised in a sign of peace.

 "We mean you no damage," she continued, her voice calm but firm. I cannot guarantee the same in return, though, if you lift that blade any higher.

 Between us, Caius moved, his dagger glistening in the weak light. "You're not exactly in a position to be threatening.

"And neither are you," the cool-headed woman shot back. "We will defend ourselves should you mandate us to be enemies; we are not your enemies."

"Stand down," I ordered, my voice slicing over the tension like a razor. " both of you."

Caius grimaced at me, but he stayed still. I stepped forward, squarely facing the woman. "who are you?" And for what reason are you tracking us? {

The woman hesitated, her face unreadable, then she said at last. I am Elara. Kade and Thorne here are my friends. You have been under our observation.

"See us? "Caius laughed dismissingly. That is comforting.

Ignoring him, Elara whispered, "You're marked," her eyes darting to the insignia on my wrist. Her whole attention was mine. "Just as we do."

I blinked, my heart skipping a pulse. " What?"

She drew back her tunic's sleeve to find a mark much like mine flickering weakly in the low light. "We have been looking for others like us," she stated. And now we have discovered you.

Her comments seemed like a thunderclap, the weight of their suggestion falling over me. I looked at Caius, who was equally shocked, but he soon covered it with his typical frown.

"Why ought we to believe you? "He asked." For all we know, you deal with the Circle.

"You would already be dead if we were working with the Circle," Elara replied sharply. "We will go though if you do not want our assistance. Simply said, you cannot exist without allies very long.

I hesitated; my head was racing. Everything about this seemed too timely, too handy. But a part of me—a desperate, hopeful part—wanted to trust her; her wrist had a clear mark.

Against my better sense, I nodded. "Fine," I responded. "We're going to hear you out.

Though he mumbled something under his breath, Caius refrained from arguing. Elara signalled for her friends to forward, and when they did, I observed how silently and purposefully they moved—like animals pursuing their prey.

Elara said, after we were sat around the campfire: "We're not here by accident." "The marks we bear tie us to something ancient, something the Circle has been trying to regulate for centuries."

And more precisely what is that? "I enquired," said

"Fate," she answered simply. " The actual strands of it. Everybody is a conduit; a live representation of the decisions we make that help to define the planet. That is why the Circle seeks us. They think they can modify fate to suit them with us.

Her words fell over me like a shroud, and I found myself staring at Caius, who was very quiet. His jaw was tight, his eyes locked on the fire, and I sensed he was battling the same emotional tempest I was.

"What then is your intended strategy? He asked at last, his voice tinged with doubt. "You will need a miracle if you are hoping to take three people and a campfire on the Circle."

Elara nodded slightly. "We have no need of a miracle. We rely on you.

"Why us? "My voice just above a whisper, I asked.

"Your mark is different," she replied. Stronger. You are a nexus not only a conduit. The decisions you choose not only determine your personal destiny but also affect the fate of everyone in close vicinity. The Circle is therefore tracking you. And for this reason we must guard you.

Her justifications made my spine shingle. I glanced at my wrist, the sigil flickering weakly, and felt her words weight down firmly in my chest. That explained why the Circle had singled me out. Was that the reason my life had been split?

A low growl from the shadows interrupted my reply. Hands reaching to weapons, everyone halted as a figure emerged from the firelight.

This man had a hood-shadowed face and was tall and broad-shouldered. He moved with the assurance of someone who neither dreaded nor possibly welcomed death.

"Elara," he replied with a low rumbling in his voice. "You waste your time."

She stiffened, her palm closing around her sword. She spoke softly, "Thorne." "Take a stand down."

"They're liabilities," he remarked, looking broadly at Caius and myself. "They'll kill us.

And you believe you would thrive on your own? Elara answered back. "We absolutely need them, Thorne." Whether or not you find appealing.

She was clearly tense, and I could feel Caius bristling next to me. "We're right here, you know," he remarked sarcastically. "No need to discuss us like we are not."

Thorne's eyes shot to Caius, and for a moment I believed he may attack. Then he grinned, a slow, threatening look that made my tummy churn around.

"You have fire," he remarked. "I will forward that to you. But when the Circle arrives, fire is useless.

"Neither will running away," I shot back, startling even myself. "So keep quiet unless you have something useful to say."

Thorne withdrew to the outside of the camp, his evil attitude casting a shadow over the gathering, so ending the stalemate. But the night drew on and I couldn't get rid of the impression that something else lurked in the darkness besides his presence.

I spotted Elara staring at me, her face contemplative, as the fire went out. "Arden, you're stronger than you know," she whispered softly. And whether you believe it or not, the decisions you make will determine how this conflict turns out.

Long after the others had passed out, her words kept returning to me. Her expectations were almost too much, and her trust weighed as well.

The scream, shrill and instantaneous, broke the serenity of the night, then the unmistakable sound of steel contacting flesh. My pulse pounding, I ran straight forward as the camp descended into anarchy.

"They have located us," Elara remarked, her voice calm but austere. Also not here to chat are they.