Mathieu (White Flame Trilogy) - By Paula Flumerfelt Page 0,113
cut through the din of the others.
Zanika shrugged one shoulder and motioned for the girl to lead on. “Let’s go, Mathieu.”
~*~
Mathieu flopped down in the grass, covered in sweat and dust. “Holy cow. Those aren’t kids, they’re monsters.”
Zanika sat beside him and handed him a bottle of water. “They’re good kids. I like them and we get along.”
“Do you play every day with them?”
“I try to. We play different games, or we go visit other areas. Most of the parents enjoy the fact that I get the kids out of their hair for a while and I like their company.”
“I hear you normally have good company. Darcia and Kiev have lived with your guys, right?”
She bobbed her head. “Man, Kiev…” she said, lying back as well. “That is one tough girl.”
“Yeah, she’s quite the fighter.”
“Oh, I don’t just mean that. She had a really bad childhood.” Zanika looked at him. “I’m not surprised you don’t know. Most people don’t and those that do keep it hush-hush.”
Mathieu raised his brows, silently inviting her to continue.
She closed her eyes and was quiet for a long time. “Alright, I’m going to tell you what I know. Not because I expect anything in return, mind you, but just because someone close to her needs to know.” Zanika chugged the rest of her water. “So, as you might know, Kiev was born in Vaten, Unith to two normal parents: Arabella and Tero. The first time she showed signed of a power was when she was six and she was getting picked on by some neighborhood bullies. Her mother saw the fight, and Arabella realized what had happened. She knew that she needed to get Kiev out of Unith; it was near the time when there were mass killings of those with gifts. I’m sure you’ve heard of those?”
Mathieu had. It was a darker time in Unith’s , when the Users who hadn’t run away to Korinth were rounded up and executed to ‘make the people safer’. If one thing that going to school with Avian had taught him, it was the great historical tragedies.
Zanika rubbed the space between her eyebrows. “You see, Arabella planned to take Kiev to the border and sneak her passed the officer’s outposts to help her get to safety. She thought Kiev would be safe in Korinth with people like her. But the men on watch had been tipped off and knew her planned route; they waited to ambush them. Right before the attack, Arabella must have been able to tell that something was wrong. She told Kiev to run and not look back. Kiev did it, and I’m pretty sure she still has nightmares about her mom screaming.
“But I digress. So, she made it successfully over the border into the no-man’s land; however, an unprotected, young girl alone in a land of thieves was bound to attract attention, and not of the positive kind. I don’t know the exact details, but she ended up being held captive by a group of thugs. They did…unspeakable things to her for years. By the time she ended up at our doorstep, she was like a zombie. It took a while, but she snapped out of it with some help. When she did, though, she was angry; Kiev was really violent in the beginning.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Well, she’s twenty-two, so she moved out about six years ago, I’d say.” Zanika stretched. “We should get back before Zerieve sends out a search party for us. Are you two spending the night?”
Mathieu shrugged. “Probably, if you guys will have us. It’s a long drive. And I don’t know exactly when the meeting is, so if you guys let us stay, you can come back with us.”
She hopped up and pulled him to his feet, her energy already returned. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter
Sixteen
“Zerieve, we’re back, you selfish dictator!” Zanika slammed the door behind her, kicking her shoes off again. It had started to rain on their way back, so the dust they’d both been coated in had turned to mud.
Zerieve rolled into the chair she was sitting on into the main hall, and gave them a snobby look. “Clean up before you make a mess. Darcia and Mathieu are staying the night.”
“I already knew they were spending the night, bimbella.” Zanika grumbled, trying to ease out of her muddy shirt without getting it on her hair. She put it back down after she realized that she couldn’t get it off without a huge mess.