by K. M. Shea
How on earth is that boat balancing so perfectly on the rock? I don’t feel any magic, and the rock has a distinct pointy top to it, so it’s not like it’s just settled in place. I wonder what would happen if I tried to climb into it?
Quinn bumped Angelique’s shoulders with hers. “He seems like an interesting person.”
“Mmmhmm.”
Odette, standing at the base of the rock the row boat was perched upon, clutched the hood of her cloak as she turned around to face in their direction. “Quinn, Angel.” She made a beckoning motion.
Angelique straightened up and exchanged glances with Quinn, falling in step behind her when the soldier trudged through the shin-deep snow and made her way to the rock/boat.
Once they reached her side, Odette turned back to her informant. “Could you tell them what you just told me, Dodge?”
“Course!” Dodge fluffed his beard as he peered over the side of the boat. “Don’t know nothin’ about no mirrors,” he started, immediately shredding Angelique’s hopes. “But strange stuff is goin’ on round Mullberg.”
“Such as…” Odette prodded.
“Monster attacks, mostly,” Dodge said. “But the odd thing is none of ‘em are happening in these parts.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Quinn asked.
“Nope,” Dodge said. “Since the queen and princess live in Juwel—which hasn’t seen even a hair of monsters ‘n other nasties—no one’s taking the monster attacks seriously.”
“Which means the lack of attacks is probably on purpose,” Quinn murmured.
“Right you are!” Dodge thrust a gnarled finger at Quinn. “It’s especially suspicious with what’s going on at the palace!”
Chapter 15
Angelique linked her hands behind her back and peered up at the old man. “Oh?”
“My daughter works in the palace,” the old man continued. “She says Queen Faina is havin’ some health issues. Seems a mite suspicious given how young she is.”
“Isn’t she in her forties or so?” Odette asked.
“Just a babe!” Dodge barked. “And she was plenty healthy before.”
“Do you know what her health issues are?” Angelique asked.
Dodge shrugged. “Nasty headaches—that’s all my daughter said, anyway.”
“Headaches…and a city that is remarkably free of monster attacks,” Angelique mused.
“Nobles can’t seem to do anything about the monsters—whenever they send troops, they arrive too late to see ‘em with their own eyeballs.” Dodge leaned back in his row boat and folded his arms behind his head. “Thankfully, there’s a few skilled hunters out there who are takin’ care of them! But we worry about our Queen.” A frown twitched across Dodge’s face, his expression turning serious. “We like her—and Princess Snow White, too. But these ‘orrible headaches of hers….” Dodge shook his head. “Don’t like it. Not one bit. None of it feels natural—it’s all too tidy for coincidence!”
He’s right. This reeks of the Chosen. It seems their slovenly workers are boils across the country because all their best ones are around and in Juwel.
“Thank you, Dodge, for the information,” Quinn said.
“Course! You need information, just come see ol’ Dodge! I’m sharp—like my name.”
Angelique tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing can hit me!” he boasted. “I dodge it all! Go ahead—throw something at me!”
Angelique hunched her shoulders. “No, I believe you.”
“I insist! Odette, you’ve got the cold heart to do it! Throw something at me!” Dodge leaned over the side of the boat—which visibly tilted.
“Dodge, I’m not going to throw something at you,” Odette said in a tired voice that likely meant they’d had this conversation numerous times before.
“Humph. You can’t fool me—you could do it!” Dodge said. “That’s why those sneaky Verglas assassins approve of you!” He calmly scratched his beard as the boat shifted on top of the rock. “Speaking of which, you ask them about mirrors, too?”
“No,” Odette said. “I want to talk to them as little as possible because they’re assassins!”
“Well-organized assassins,” Dodge said. “Got a guild an everything. How about I send them a note—”
“Fine!” Odette bent over and scooped up a fistful of snow, squeezing it into a misshapen snowball. “I’ll throw this at you—will that suffice?”
“Sure will!” Dodge puffed up his chest. “Now go on, give me your best shot!”
Odette shook her head, then tossed the snowball up at him, nailing him in the chest and spattering snow inside his row boat.
“Aha!” Dodge laughed. “You see! Nothing touches me!”
Angelique stared at the snow sticking to his cloak. “Uh-huh.”
“I see, sir,” Quinn said with a gentle sort of respect.
“That’s enough fun time, Dodge. We’ve got to go. Thank you for your insight,” Odette said.
Dodge saluted her. “Of course, Swan Queen! Good luck lookin’ for mirrors!”
When he dug a fishing reel out of the bottom of his boat, Odette latched a hand around Angelique’s elbow and dragged her off, heading back into the trees where Fluffy and Pegasus waited.
“Eccentric people seem to have a great deal of fun in life,” Angelique observed.
“I’d say that’s a true observation,” Quinn agreed.
“Dodge does things his own way,” Odette agreed. “But don’t be fooled. He’s my best informant in Mullberg, and he used to be a part of the Verglas Assassin’s Guild—it’s why he likes to tease me about them.”
Quinn whistled. “You have my respect, Odette, for your cleverness.”
“Thanks.” Odette stopped when they reached Pegasus and let go of Angelique.
Pegasus deemed to lower his front end to the ground, making it easy for Angelique to scramble onto his back. “Are you going to take off now?”
“No—I’ll leave this afternoon.” Odette bowed to Pegasus, then climbed up behind Angelique.
They waited for Quinn to easily hop onto Fluffy’s back, then started the trek down what little bit of the mountain they’d climbed.
“Then shall we return to our rooms in Hurra?” Quinn asked.
“Yes. I’d like to investigate the area for a while before we head directly into Juwel,” Angelique said. “We still have some Chosen dens to find.”
“Do you think the monsters are the mirror’s doing?” Odette asked.
“It’s difficult to say,” Angelique said. “There’s not really much going on in Mullberg for a magical artifact of the mirror’s power. Greater evils have taken place in the likes of Arcainia and Farset. It seems strange that so little is happening here if both Evariste’s and the Snow Queen’s mirrors are in Mullberg.”
“Indeed. Mullberg is a fine country, but it’s not known for its military excellence, so it seems unlikely they are secretly warding the Chosen off,” Quinn said.
“Hmmm,” Odette said.
Quinn glanced at Angelique. “If we are going to do some investigating in cities and towns, it seems that now would be the ideal time to practice the drills Master Puss entrusted to me as long as we are so far from civilization.”
Angelique grimaced. “Yeah, you’re probably right—that means we won’t be able to travel at anything faster than a walk or trot, though.”
She glanced down at Pegasus, who tucked his muzzle into his chest, making the muscles of his neck bulge as a shooting star raced across his shoulder. He pranced a few steps—eliciting a mewl of distress from Odette—then settled back into a fast walk that melted snow as he charged through drifts.
“If a slower pace is necessary, so be it.” Quinn untied a small pouch from her belt. “Master Puss was emphatic that you need to practice daily. I think he’d be quite impressed with how far you’ve come.” She opened the pouch and tossed the contents into the air.
“Maybe, but he’d never tell me that.” Using
her magic, Angelique snatched the contents—the push pins she’d used so much that some of them had lost the gobs of wax that marked them off in different shades of white, gray, and black—midair.
Her sharp magic flowed through her so easily now, it was almost second nature as she set about the first few movements in Puss’s detailed practices.
She made a sphere with the pins and set it rotating, then shifted them into a picture of Puss, then tossed them high in the sky and cut off her magic. The pins tumbled back toward the ground, and when they were a mere hand’s width above the snow, Angelique scooped them up with her magic, raising them back into the sky.
“Your response time is much faster,” Quinn noted.
“My magic seems more stable these days,” Angelique said.
Odette snorted. “I’ve been around Odile during enough of her lessons to know that’s not possible—you’ve just gotten steadier at handling it.”
Angelique shot the pins out in a multitude of directions, then halted their process before dragging them back into a tight—and sharp—metallic ball. “I suppose that’s true. I was relatively skilled at handling my magic when I was younger. It wasn’t until I understood the magnitude of what I could do that it started to become unsteady.”
Quinn frowned, the setting of her mouth steely as a flash of anger brightened her eyes. “I’m certain your instructors consistently accusing you of being dangerous didn’t help.”
Angelique looked away from the pins so she could peer at Quinn with surprise. “How do you know about that?”
“Puss.”
Angelique growled. “For all of his charms, he has such a big mouth on him.”
“Are you going to practice that lightning strike attack of yours?” Odette switched which arm she twined around Angelique’s waist.
“You mean where I flood the area with all the powers I can muster for an instant?” Angelique asked.
“Yes! I like that one,” Odette’s voice was loaded with unbridled glee. “I can’t wait to see you use it on a Chosen mage.”
“This would be an ideal time to practice it,” Quinn noted. “The closer we travel to a city, the more likely it is that your magic would be felt.”
“Very well,” Angelique agreed. “I need to perfect that skill, too.”
“What would you use it for?” Quinn asked.
Angelique clenched her jaw so tightly her teeth ached. “To stop the next high-leveled Chosen Mage I can find and make them tell me where Evariste is.”
“Would have been dead useful against the likes of Carabosso or Sorceress Suzu,” Odette agreed.
“Yes,” Angelique said, unable to keep all of the irritation out of her voice—the Veneno Conclave’s incompetence in holding Carabosso was still a sore spot.
“Very well, then shall you perform the move, let’s say…five times?” Quinn suggested.
“Certainly,” Angelique said.
“Ah—however!” Quinn stuck a finger up in the air. “This time, I think with each successive strike, you should expand the area your magic fills.”
Angelique shifted on Pegasus’ back, but settled when she felt the muscles of his back flex. “That will make it more difficult.”
“Isn’t that what you need?”
“Yes.” Angelique said. “I just hope my control is up to it.”
“You’ll do fine,” Quinn assured her. “But isn’t that another reason for practicing now, away from townsfolk?”
“Yes. And I still need to practice using greater amounts of my magic—particularly since I assume I’ll be facing down Chosen goblin armies sooner or later, and I’d prefer not to fall into a retching mess every time I do it.” Angelique sighed, then pushed her shoulders back and sat up straight.
Pegasus tensed beneath her, but he kept walking—picking his way down the last stretch of mountain slope before ambling up one of the foothills at the base of the mountain.
Fluffy followed behind them, quiet but solid, and a few winter birds chirped from their nests in evergreens.
Angelique exhaled, then tossed the pins into the air. She cut off contact with her core magic for a few long seconds as the pins started to fall down, then pulled hard on her magic.
As eager as always, her core magic flooded her senses, and Angelique could feel each pin now suspended in the air, the daggers that hung from Odette’s thigh bandolier and Quinn’s sword and her crossbow bolts that were meticulously organized in her belt pouch.
Her magic flooded the gully between the mountain slope and the foothill, and Angelique could feel a few icicles that had jagged tips and sharpened shards of rock buried beneath the snow.
Angelique held on to the sensation just long enough to stabilize her magic and create firm boundaries, then abruptly cut her magic off again.
Cutting ties with her magic created a sort of suction-like sensation that pulled on Angelique’s belly, but she held off for two breaths before she again flooded the area with her magic.
As Quinn suggested, she expanded her boundaries—her magic rushing from her like rapids in a river as she twitched it into position.
Odette’s daggers, Quinn’s sword and arrows, the pins, ice, rock, a buckle with a pointed prong that must have fallen off something years ago since it feels like it’s under dirt…
As her magic swept farther, it lingered over anything sharp, adding a glimmer of knowledge to Angelique’s consciousness.
Angelique held on to her magic just long enough to toss the pins high into the air, and then cut off contact with her magic. She performed this exercise again and again, and by the fifth time she, had found a rhythm and easily expanded the reach of her magic.
She hadn’t realized just how far or fast her magic was traveling until she felt a prickle in her mind that marked the sharpened hook of Dodge’s fishing pole, the morning star—a metal, club-like weapon topped with sharp metal spikes designed for puncture attacks—he had hidden in the bench of his boat, and the three throwing axes secured in the cracks between the rocks his boat was perched upon.
Angelique struggled, briefly, to stop her magic’s unrelenting progress and get it back under control.
It was a little like wrestling with a waterfall. Briefly, her magic gushed and churned against her will. But when she pulled hard, it slowly stopped.
It’s always so eager to be used.
As soon as she stabilized her magic so she could actually feel just how far she’d spread it, Angelique muttered an oath.
“A problem?” Quinn asked.
“A little—just an issue with my control.” Angelique cut off her magic, which collapsed, disconnecting her conscious from the sharp-edged weapons it had encircled.
“Did you go farther than you meant to?” Odette insightfully asked.
“Unfortunately. My magic reached about halfway up the mountain.” Angelique turned awkwardly around so she could scowl at the immense edifice—as if it was the mountain’s fault her magic was dangerously eager to be used.
“Do you feel at all ill?” Quinn asked.
“No.” Angelique blinked in surprise and faced forward again as Pegasus reached the bottom of the foothill and started to pick his way across a snow-covered hay field. “I feel fine.”
“It seems that as you become more familiar with your magic, you don’t trigger your price as often,” Quinn said.
Angelique was silent for several of Pegasus’ sharp steps.
Maybe? Is it because I’m growing more familiar with my magic or because I’ve been working on handling larger amounts of it?
“I agree,” Angelique slowly said.
“I think so, too,” Odette said. “And that’s just from what I’ve seen. I thought you said taking care of the wyvern put you out for a while, right? You’ve barely gotten queasy during your practice sessions.”
“Apprentice Angelique?”
Angelique swiveled her head so fast to see who was approaching them, she nearly slipped off Pegasus’ side.
Two riders on shaggy mount
ain ponies approached from the north. Although both were bundled up, one shape looked more masculine—broader through the shoulders—and the other figure was far slighter.
It wasn’t until the man pushed his knitted cap up high enough to reveal blue eyebrows that Angelique recognized him as Rein—which meant the other rider had to be his partner, Blanche.
Blanche and Rein were master weather mages who were frequently sent out on missions together. Angelique had run into them before. They had come with the war mages the Veneno Conclave had sent to capture Carabosso.
Pegasus must have known the pair was nearby. Unlike Angelique, he hadn’t startled, nor did he stop even as the mages directed their ponies in their direction.
“Master weather mages Rein—and Blanche, I assume?” Angelique tugged on Pegasus’ reins, bringing him to a reluctant halt.
Blanche loosened the red scarf so she could push it down her neck and speak. “Apprentice Angelique.” She wore a bright red cloak with embroidered storm clouds and drops of rain stitched around the lapels, and she clutched a fur muff with a trembling hand.
Angelique forced a smile as she studied the pair. Just how sociable do I need to pretend to be? Should I introduce Quinn and Odette? I don’t really want to—I don’t care much for them. Nor them for me.
The pair was rather scared of her. They’d made it clear before that they didn’t want her help, and they especially didn’t want to travel with her because they feared her magic.
But today, Rein was puffed up like an angry hedgehog while Blanche practically quivered in the saddle.
I wonder what has them so frightened?
Concluding she needed to act with at least minimum social niceties, Angelique opened her mouth to introduce the pair, when Rein spared her the trouble.
“You were using your core magic!” He shot Angelique a look—as if he had found her fraternizing with a Chosen mage instead of using magic…as a mage.
Oh, bother. Of course, they felt it when I was practicing my drills.
“Indeed I was,” Angelique said. “Did you need something?”