Blade(Part 1): Dawn

Chapter 3: Dameon

Dameon fell asleep on his horse, but he woke up in a large, elegant bedroom. On his arms and legs, he wore soft, comfortable pajamas. He couldn't remember the last time he slept on a bed so soft. Dameon mostly remembered sleeping on a pile of hay in the barn of Lord Nouzari's farm. He must have been asleep for hours after riding with Silas. There was nothing Dameon would have loved more than to stay in the soft, warm bed, but Silas probably had some kind of purpose waiting for him. In fact, why Silas picked out Dameon and not one of the hundreds of other slaves being worked to death on Lord Nouzari's property was a wonder for him ever since he met him. He would rather be anywhere other than that damn farm, though, or any one of Nouzari's properties in Astros. Dameon stood from the bed and looked around. He never imagined himself in a place like this. The walls were bright, there was a long table at the end of a short hallway, and in the corner between two of the walls was a desk with a computer sitting on it. After one more long look around the room, he noticed a handle on the wall. There were no hinges anywhere near it, so it must not have been a hidden door, and there were no dark spaces around the handle, like there would be for a drawer. Maybe the handle was a door knocker, even though it was on a wall instead of a door. He had no idea where he was, but a knocker on a door couldn't do any harm. He lifted the handle and knocked it against the wall. Suddenly, the entire wall moved backward, then slid sideways. Dameon widened his eyes at what the sliding false panel revealed. There were hooks on the walls that held rifles, pistols, daggers, and short swords of all kinds hanging from them. A few more devices that he had never seen before were on a shelf on the bottom.

"What the hell?" Dameon gasped, stepping backward. He felt his heart racing at the sight of so many things that could kill him, or other people, so easily. The only time Dameon had ever seen a gun or a blade is when they were pointed at him. The sight of the weapons almost gave him a heart attack, and it would have if his door hadn't suddenly opened. It wasn't Silas, but the girl at the door wore a similar outfit to him, with the dark cuirass and hood. She must have been an assassin, too.

"You're awake!" she gasped, rushing in front of Dameon.

"Where the hell am I?" Dameon shuddered, stepping away from the girl. The assassin stepped backward, with her hands up.

"Just try and stay calm," she urged. Dameon looked again to the wall filled with weapons. She expected him to stay calm after waking up in a place he had never seen before, and finding weapons hidden in the wall?

"Trust me, I had the same look on my face," the assassin assured. "We'll both be using some of those soon enough."

"I will?" asked Dameon. "Who are you?"

"I'm a Blade of Midnight," the assassin answered. "And so are you, now." She turned to a refrigerator against the wall. Gods, Dameon had a refrigerator, now.

"You should drink something," she suggested, taking two bottles of water out, and handing one to Dameon. "When Silas found you, you were too dehydrated to be out in the sun any longer."

"Thanks," said Dameon, opening the bottle. He chugged the entire bottle down in a matter of seconds. It had been forever since he had that much at once. He had almost forgotten how refreshing clean water was, rather than the dirty water that was given to him for ten years straight.

"So, since you asked, you're in Midnight's Embrace," said the assassin. "And my name is Sentia."

"Dameon," Dameon greeted.

"Well, I know who you are," said Sentia.

"You do?" asked Dameon.

"I'll explain everything," Sentia promised. "But get dressed first."