Trial by Obsidian

by Naomi Kelly

  The heavy chain around my wrist clattered off the ceramic mug and splashed the steaming liquid onto the floor.

  "Sorry," I winced as I tried to wipe up the spill, "I don't know how I forget I have these on when they weigh a ton," I offered and rattled them lightly.

  "Your wrists must be getting raw under the heavy irons. I doubt the men took your size into consideration when fitting them." He hauled up the weight of chain onto the table, and reached into his pocket for a key, "May I look at them?"

  I sat still as he removed the steel bracelets and peered at the flesh underneath. It resembled the type of graze you get as a child when you fall and skin your knee. Reddened flesh with strands of scuffed-up skin that I would find hard not to pull at. Upon seeing the cuts, Teriam started assembling various supplies.

  "That green gooey one is the numbing agent, right?" I asked.

  "Yes, although I don't refer to it as 'green goo'. It is called the Soothe Salve," he explained warmly as he took his seat and started applying the cold paste.

  "What's are the other "goo's" for?" I joked. My mood slightly lifted by the Delta absence and the instant relief the Soothing Salve brought.

  "Well, the white one is to reduce flu symptoms such as headaches and fever. And you've had the navy one before, that's the Truth Serum. Those are the most commonly used, but I also make special ones for burn wounds, pregnancy, all sorts," he expounded proudly.

  "What does that one do?" I had tried to point but both wrists were firmly in his grip, "The dark red one with the gold flecks?" There was a glass tube rack holding six syringes worth on the far side of the table. Sunlight bounced off the mixture causing light reflections to flicker like flames on the stone surroundings.

  "That's a special order that doesn't concern you." He said abruptly, dropped my wrists and pushed his stool back. He placed the mugs back on the tray and walked out of the room. "I best get you back before the town square gets too busy," he called out from the kitchen as he filled the sink with water.

  I felt the sting of his reaction bring heat to my cheeks. I shouldn't have pushed my luck by wanting to know more than what he offered. Even Teriam's kindness would only stretch so far to a magician, although that shouldn't matter to me.

  I didn't need them to like me. They were just biding their time until they could kill me in a spectacle for their guests. I too had been biding my time, but it was a resource I was quickly running out of. I had merely two days left before I would hang and looking down at my shackle-free self this seemed like the opportunity I had been waiting for.

  "Okay," I responded shakily as I slowly stood up and reached for the syringe on the metal tray. My pulse throbbed behind my ears as adrenaline surged through my veins. Teriam pulled the plug in the sink and the light gurgling noises from the drain thankfully masked any rustles I made as I edged my way towards him.

  Before I had time to back out, I took a deep breath, curled my fingers around the large pan he had just washed. Water dripped from the damp handle down my sleeve and soaked my elbow, but I barely noticed. I took two steps to close the space between us.

  I shut my eyes as my right hand swung the flat side of the pan into the side of his head. He crumpled to the ground with a thud but remained semi-conscious.

  Good.

  Before he regained enough strength to move, I flipped him onto his stomach and slid the syringe into his neck. I pressed the plunger all the way until every drop of the inky blue liquid was in his system.

  Four

  It took him a few minutes to fully wrap his wise mind around what was happening. I looked down at his slumped body, restrained to his own table via my shackles and felt genuine remorse.

  "I'm sorry Teriam. I don't want to hurt you," I said as a thin trail of his blood dripped from his forehead and soaked into the cluster of suds left from the impact with the pan. The faint fizzle from the bubbles dissolving was the only sound in the room.

  "You know I don't want to hurt you, right?" I asked.

  He stared out from under his grey furrowed brow, but replied, "Yes." He immediately looked betrayed by his own words. The Truth Serum, his own creation, was now in charge of his thoughts.

  "Good. What's the most discreet way to leave the Chambers?" I asked, trying to steady my voice so at least I sounded less scared than I was.

  "There is only one point of access. The main gates. It's easier to manage security that way," he explained obediently. Crap. I didn't even know where the main gates where. I was in a dark wooden crate on the only occasion I'd passed through them.

  "I need to get Obsidian. How far away is Sleepy Hill?" I asked and began pacing the room.

  "It's about a three-day walk or one-and-a-half day’s horse ride. You'd be better off trying to retrieve your satchel," he explained looking more and more frustrated at his own voice.

  "My satchel? It's still in the Chambers? I assumed it had been destroyed by now!" I tried to slow my racing mind as renewed hope bubbled up.

  "Beta Reuben retrieved in from confiscation the morning of your trial. He told the soldier in charge it was needed as evidence against you. It's been in his possession ever since," he confessed.

  "How do you know that?"

  "He mentioned it the night he visited me to talk about how poorly you are being treated-"

  "I don't understand! None of this makes sense," I snapped and stopped pacing. The room fell into quietness. The Truth Serum mainly worked on questioning and Teriam wasn't talking to me of his own accord.

  "Fine," I continued, "Well, where would my satchel be now?"

  "In the Beta's room in the third turret of the Chambers. You will probably be killed before you can find it."

  "I'm dead either way."

  I reached for the metal tray once more. I slid two syringes of the Soothing Salve into my tunic pocket and snapped the top off the third one. I knelt beside him and began applying the paste to the source of the bleeding. I dug out an old blanket from under a pile of books and threw it over him as I prepared to leave.

  He watched as I gathered a metal canister for water and a short-handled knife from the kitchen. On my final check around the room for useful objects to loot, I found more Truth Serum and my gaze once again landed on the glittery ruby vials.

  "Last question and then I'll leave you be. What does the 'special order' do?" I asked. I noticed the struggle in his face immediately although he was trying his best to conceal it. His eyes welled up and jaw clamped as he tried to hold his breath. His reddened cheeks swelled as air built up. Seconds later he choked out coughing.

  "It's a memory blocker. It can muddle up events in the patient's head so they feel like it was a dream, or it can make them completely forget," he heaved for breath, winded from the inside out.

  "It seems hypocritical to kill me for being a magician when the Chambers conjurers up more potions than I do," I sighed and lifted the shackle key from the floor. I placed it between the pages of one of his many manuscripts, left it on the table and walked straight out the door before I had time to change my mind.

  It went against every fibre of my being to make my way towards the sound of crowds. The roads by Teriam's cottage were free of people and almost eerily easy to sneak through.

  The warm Autumn sunset had cast deep dark shadows for me to skip my way towards the town square which was a different world completely. Intricate tapestries displayed celebratory messages for the fifteenth anniversary of peace. Large tables lined the square and heaved under the weight of produce from the harvest. Acting as a centrepiece was the large doe they had hunted by Sleepy Hill.

  As I noticed the shiny red apple wedged between its rigid teeth and flowers draped over its back, a surge of anger built within me. The Chambers made a charade out of this innocent creature's death to show their strength, and they planned to do the same to me. I shook off a shiver and silently vowed to never eat venison ever again. I edged my way closer to the main building keeping my back against walls where possible.

  Once
closer to the steps I saw that the large wooden doors were wide open with no obvious guards on duty, and from what I could catch a glimpse of there was a large feast inside the hallway.

  Women in draping dresses swirled in circles with flowers in their pinned back hair, whilst men sat on the Chamber steps drinking and laughing. At the top table, sat the Alpha and Delta deeply listening to a tale of an old man. Moments later they erupted in laughter and ordered more drinks for everyone to toast with. Mara clinked glasses with her husband and kissed the back of his hand.

  It was unnerving to see them acting normal as if they were capable of love and were more than mere monsters. Even though the steps had seemed clear, I decided it was the last resort entrance. Instead, I flanked the building until I found an open side window. I pulled myself onto the ledge and checked that the other side was clear before I landed in the corridor. A sharp pain jerked my left knee. I was missing the support of my reliable leather boots.

  To my left was the hallway containing what I hoped was the entire Sinlara Chamber family. To my right were three separate stony stairs that should lead to their private quarters.

  I followed Teriam's orders and took the steps to the third turret and prayed I had chosen correctly. The worn steps wound in a spiral with narrow stained-glass windows illuminating the way. I reached the corridor at the top and spotted a single doorway to my right. I untied the knife from my leg and clicked open the door. After no initial attack, I edged my way inside and closed the door behind me.

  The suite was large but quite bare. It housed a simple bathroom, a large wooden bed, chest of drawers and a chair beside a wide bookcase but not much in the way of personal belongings. Careful not to disturb too much, I began looking through the drawers, but my search yielded no result. Next, I tried the bookcase although the thin layer of dust told me it wasn't touched too often. My eyes did manage to spot something familiar in the search. Up high on the top shelf lay a metal tray full of vials containing the same 'special order' serum as earlier.

  Is that how people dealt with problems in Sinlara, either hang the person or wipe their memory?

  I patted the bed to ensure there were no traps before letting the soft blankets take my weight whilst I gathered my thoughts. What if this wasn't even the right room? I pondered.

  I glanced at the pillows beside me, something seemed off. They were so perfectly positioned yet one was higher than the other.

  Upon lifting the pillow, I was immediately met with the scent of home. In this place of cold stone everything had a damp, earth essence but now a warm, firewood and cinnamon fragrance enveloped me.

  "Hello old friend," I whispered as I pulled out my bag from beneath the blanket and hugged it close. Each mark that scarred the worn leather was perfection in my eyes as it meant this really was my satchel. A small ember of hope sparked within.

  I opened it up, added the supplies I had raided from Terriam's, and retrieved what I really needed. I rifled through all my crystals until I found the largest chunk. I thumbed the crevices of the Obsidian to find it still held earth from Sleepy Hill.

  Cupping my hands around the crystal and I felt the coldness it held seep into my palm. My hands started to tingle and pulsate as my magic reawakened within me. My core grew warm and my lungs expanded to take deep, healing breathes. Magic rushed through me like a wildfire as if it knew my tired body needed mending. I commanded the energy towards my raw wrists, stitched up shoulder and the tendons in my knee until they pulsed with a black glow as Obsidian put me back to together again.

  After a few minutes, the black glow faded, and pulsing ceased. I looked to my shoulder and saw the stitches knit closing together, develop a silver scar and then disappear fully as it if never was.

  I felt whole. Strong. Ready.

  I placed the pillow back and walked to the window to use the turrets vantage point to my own advantage. I did not have a clear view of the main gates, but a line of tall trees that veered left seemed like the path to follow. I swung my satchel over my healed shoulder and made haste, retracing the route I entered.

  At the bottom of the stairs were two men guarding the long hallway, but they seemed too hypnotised watching the girls twirl in circles to notice me slip out the window once more.

  Once my feet landed on the ground, I broke into a sprint towards the treeline.

  I tried to shake off flashbacks of Sleepy Hill. I braced myself to hear the shouting of men, the clamouring of boots chasing me, but nothing except faint chuckling echoed behind me.

  In the dim light of the twilight hour, I could see the grey perimeter wall come into view.

  I could almost taste sweet freedom. I was almost at the main gates.

  Almost.

  Until a whiskey-sodden hand covered my mouth and a raspy voice whispered, "Hello again little rat."

  The voice sent an uncontrollable shiver down my spine.

  "You just cannot stay where you belong, can you?" the Gamma slurred.

  Years of wielding a sword left him with calloused mounds that were so rough they spilt my lip on impact. I bit down until his knuckle was firmly lodged in-between my incisors. Douward howled and swung his compact fist at my face. It made hard contact with my right cheek. I relinquished my hold and spat out the taste of his salty blood.

  I circled him and charged at his abdomen, knocking him off balance. He stumbled backward and landed in a heap on his left-hand side. I turned to run towards the gate but a sharp kick in the ankle sent me colliding head-first with the ground.

  "You resemble your mother, yet you fight like your father." he taunted as he climbed on top of me, using his heavier stature to pin me down. A snarl escaped my throat at the mention of my family, but this only seemed to delight him further.

  "I thought your parents were going to be the last gypsies I ever disposed of. I was returning to Sinlara after years of hunting when I came across them. The last of the Obsidians. It seems fit that I should finally finish the job by ending you." The whites of his eyes looked crazed in the dim light.

  A rapturous round of applause erupted from the town square and broke his concentration. The first night of the Harvest Festival was drawing to a close and soon the streets and paths would be flooded with citizens and guards.

  I crawled my hand deep inside of my satchel until I felt the uneven edges of Obsidian and focused my mind on the bleeding teeth marks on his hand. Using his blood, I channelled my magic through his arteries. My power started to retreat once his hand healed but I kept pushing. I compelled the fire-like-ball of energy to advance upwards through his arteries which forced the blood to reverse its route and return to his heart.

  Douward looked down to see his forearm pulsating with the black glow of my power. His face drained as he scrambled to get off me. He deliriously rubbed the luminous flesh and traced his darkening veins and arteries as if he were polishing silverware.

  I could feel his panic course through me as the chambers of his heart flooded with his own blood. His heartbeat quickened as his body drowned from the inside. He crumpled onto his side and clutched at his chest.

  "Juniper. Stop." A deep voice called out from behind, but I was too hypnotised by the ever-quickening thumps that clouded in my mind to cease.

  It was impossible to hear individual beats anymore in this stampede of sound. It was as if a petrified hummingbird was trapped in my skull. Large arms wrapped around me and snapped me from my trance. My magic rushed back to me and I fell heavily into the arms behind me. The frenzied beating turned to ringing in my ears.

  Then silence.

  Five

  My body felt weightless. I was unsure if I was alive or dead, but I knew I was not chained in the dungeon anymore that was for sure. The brightness of daylight forced me to open my eyes and survey my surroundings.

  "Good afternoon."

  The deep yet refined voice resonated toward me. I pulled myself upright to see the Beta seated at the foot of his bed with an open book in hand.

  "Afternoon?" I as
ked hoarsely and pulled the blanket up closer to my chest. I looked around the room and realised just how far wrong my plan had gone. I was still on the wrong side of the border, still in the Chambers, only now a hostage in one of the Sinlara family member's bed.

  "Yes, afternoon. The first afternoon you have been conscious for in the past three days," he explained and gestured towards my metal canister of water beside me. I discreetly sniffed for poison before drinking its entire contents.

  "Three days? But what about the Harvest Festival and my....my trial outcome." Even with my throat less dry, I struggled to say the word ‘hanging’.

  He shut his book and turned on the bed to face me. The same golden shaft of light that had awoken me shone off his face revealing his pastel blue eyes that vastly differed from his cousin Edvan's murky brown ones.

  "It was hard for them to hang you when they don't know where you are," he said in a matter of fact fashion, "They think that you have fled the Chambers and assume that you're on route back to Deshure. My men left the night you tried to escape, and the rest of the cavalry set off yesterday after the funeral-"

  "Funeral?"

  "Gamma Douward..." His voice trailed off. Flashbacks overwhelmed me as I remembered hearing his heartbeat stop.

  "I never meant for it to end like that," I whispered as if afraid of my own voice. Or maybe I was just more afraid of myself.

  "Well between him dying at your hands and a guard finding Teriam chained to his table, you've given the Chambers even more reasons to hate magicians," he explained.

  As if they ever needed encouragement or an excuse.

  I cleared my throat, "How is Teriam?"

  "Other than a bruised ego he seems fine."

  "How did you know where I was?"

  "Your bag was there before the feast, so I knew you had not gotten far. I caught a glimpse of Douward heading towards the main gates from this window and followed suit."