Heroine? Or Villain? That Is the Question.

Carcer was sitting on his bed thinking when Barsad came in the next morning. Barsad took one looke at him and said, "So Bane told you od our Shadow's history, did he?"

Carcer looked surprised. No one should be able to tell something like that from one look at him.

Barsad took in his look of surprise and chuckled. "No, I'm not a mind reader," he said. "I saw the dried blood outside your door and knew that only Bane would have killed someone trying to attack you, and he would have not been here had he not had a reason, so he was obviously coming to see you. I then assumed by the look on your face that you had found out something that you were thinking about. The only logical conclusion was that he decided to tell you of Shadow's past, so he came to collect you and take you to a place where you could speak privately, came across an assassination attempt, killed the man responsible, and then proceeded with his plan. It is simple deduction."

Carcer tried to take it all in, but Barsad had spoken quickly and his mind was getting hung up on one thing. "Someone tried to kill me?" he asked Barsad. "Why?"

Barsad looked at him for a moment. "Probably because they saw you as a threat," he said. "Some view you as a danger to all of us because your training requires the attention of the higher ups. They think it is making us loose our focus.This man was probably one of them. But do not worry. Now that Bane has made his dissent of you being harmed clear, there will most likely be no more attempts on your life from within the soldiers."

"Most likely," Carcer said. "That's comforting." He thought for a moment. Was he really takingso much attention away from their goals that he was putting them all in danger?

Barsad interrupter his train of thought. "Forgive me, I know you now have much to think about, but there is someone who requires your presence. Follow."

Carcer got up and followed Barsad, still lost in his thoughts. Who could possibly want to see him that would summon him in such a way. If it was Shadow or Bane, Barsad would have told him that it was then who wanted him. But he could not think of anyone else with the power to summon him in such a way that Barsad, Bane and Shadow's second in command, would come to escort him. This was very puzzling to him.

Barsad took a series of tunnels that Carcer had never seen before. It irritated him that there were still parts of his home that he didn't know his way around yet.

That thought pulled him up short. Did he really think of this place as him home? He thought about it and realized that he did. That was an odd thought. He had technically been kidnapped and was being held here against his will, but he really did think of it as his home. It wasn't really like he had anything to go back to anyway. He had just moved back to his childhood home when he had been taken and he hadn't had a chance to reconnect with anyone yet. His mother and he had moved away when he was 13. He had stayed with her until she died, two weeks before he had come back. After the funeral he decided it was time to come back. The first thing he did was go to the area where Shadow had lived when she was Myna and asked about her, which resulted in him being brought here. No one knew where he was and no one would really miss him. He supposed this was for the best.

This thought pattern brought up a question that he could not answer himself, so he asked Barsad. "How long have I been here?"

Barsad calculated for a moment then answered "Six months."

Carcer was shocked. He would have easily excepted three or four months, but six? It didn't seem real.

Before he could comment, Barsad stopped and turned to him. He spoke quietly and urgently. "I know I have said this to you before, but if you ever heed my advice, do so now. Do not speak past this point unless you are spoken to. The one who has summoned you is very powerful and will not tolerate insubordination in any way. Please brother, if you value yout life in any way, do not speak out of term."

This finished Barsad's speech and he turned to lead Carcer farther down the tunnels. Carcer's head was spinning from Barsad's speech. Both from the fact that he thought it was so important for him to not speak and the fact that he had called him brother. He had heard the soldies refer to each other as brother often, but he had never been extended the honor before. It was a new feeling.

Barsad stopped at a doorway and motioned for Carcer to continue. He did so and walked into a small room, no bigger than his cell.There were two people in the room already. One was Shadow, the other was a very small woman. She was petite in every sense of the word. Shewas a good 4 inches shorter than Shadow, who was no giant herself. She had hair that fell to just below her shoulder blades that was currently braided. She was, in all, a pretty woman. Carcer could see no reason to be as afraidof her as Barsad seemed to be, but because of his advice, he kept his mouth shut.

He figured if nothing else, Shadow would kill him on the woman's account.

The woman stepped forward. "Kneel," she told him.

Carcer thought it best to obey. and did so.

The woman circled him and then stood in front of him thoughtfully. She turned to Shadow. "It seems as though you were wrong," she said. "He seems yo be able to take orders well enough."

Carcer couldn't believe his ears. Someone other than Bane telling Shadow she was wrong? Did this woman have a death wish?

The woman bent down so that her face was even with his. She then spoke three words that would end up changing his life forever, although he would not realize it for a long time.

"I am Talia."