Trial by Obsidian

by Naomi Kelly

  "So, you could help him kill me," I retorted and began scanning the room for my bag as a strong desire to be armed crept in.

  "So I could help you. Although it became evident, I was not needed. You really do take care of yourself, huh?" Reuben left the bed and moved to the window.

  "I don't understand any of this. The orders you gave Teriam, hiding my satchel, following me and then bringing me here? Why? Why are you doing this?" I ripped back the blanket but hesitated to stand. Foal-like legs seemed to be a regular problem of late.

  "Because I cannot just let them kill you, Juniper," he said flatly as if the answer were that simple, "I planned to free you the night before the hanging, but you had your own ideas. I panicked when you went unconscious in my arms, but I knew I had to get you away from Douward's body. This was the first place I thought of."

  "Didn't your parents expect you to join their hunt for me?" I asked more confused than ever.

  "Not really, they never do. I have a weakened heart, so I never venture far from the Chambers. Besides someone had to man the turrets in their absence. Edvan was more than willing to go in my place." He rolled his eyes at the mention of his overeager cousin.

  A weakened heart? Life at the Chambers rotated around honour and prestige, it never occurred to me that a mundane illness could exist here amongst the glamour. It seemed too…human.

  I sighed loudly but not loudly enough to drown out my rumbling stomach. I clutched my cramping abdomen.

  "I'd offer you the goat’s cheese from your bag, but it went rancid and stunk my entire turret. I almost hung you myself for the wretched odour," he said with a deadpan tone, but a mischievous glint sparked from his eyes and a subtle dimple teased an appearance.

  "Where are you going?" I asked, failing to conceal the worried tone. He was a Chamber member, a Sinlara man, and a stranger, but he was also the only person I could risk trusting.

  "I'm getting us breakfast...lunch...possibility dinner depending on what I can gather," he knelt on the bed and leaned in close. For a split second, I thought he was going to kiss me or punch me. At least if he punched me, I would know how to react.

  He slid his hand under the pillow beside me, drew out my bag and dropped it in my lap. It was apparently his go-to hiding place.

  "I removed the cheese, but I left the crystals and knives. Don't let anyone else in."

  His large stride had him at the door in four steps, and he left without looking back.

  I stayed still and waited to hear the ambush coming to get me. After minutes of silence, I braved the weight of standing and wobbled across the stone floor to the window. There wasn't a cannon directed at the turret and no archers with loaded bows.

  I carefully tip-toed to the bathroom, only to find it void of a waiting assassin. I filled the deep sink with warm water and foamed up the bar of soap to wash my hands, arms and face until the same citrus scent of Teriam's tea soaked into my skin.

  An oval mirror hanging over the sink showed me a ghostly version of myself. Gaunt cheekbones, dark shadows under my eyes and a large purple bruise with yellowing edges across my right cheek. I healed the bruise, but no amount of magic can make up for starvation and lack of sleep. Only time and rest could heal me of those ailments and unfortunately, both were always in short supply.

  I gathered my weapons and an old leather-bound book and returned to the bed. I told myself that it was because it had the best vantage point in the room, but I knew deep down it was the most comfortable place I had been in weeks.

  I became so deeply engrossed in reading about Sinlara history and politics I barely heard the footsteps approach the door an hour later.

  "I'm entering food first in-case you try to eat me or stab me." The Beta's attempt at whispering was futile. His deep voice wouldn't allow it, but it was reassuring to hear, and it prevented me from reaching for my blade.

  He entered carrying a heaving tray of harvest leftovers. He set it down on the bed. I could see warm pumpkin slices and cold meats surrounded by chunky slices of rustic bread and of course, goats’ cheese. I had been hungry before, even starving at times, but I had never felt such a ravenous need to eat.

  "This isn't venison is it?" I asked as I prised the meaty fibres apart.

  He gave me a confused look, but shook his head, "No, pheasant."

  I tucked in but became frustrated at how much chewing the meat required. I turned my attention to the softer bread I could swallow whole. If he thought my snake-like eating repulsive he did a good job of hiding it. He ate in a civilized manner and explained how he had smuggled me in here.

  He had carried my limp body to the perimeter wall and hid me beneath his cloak and dried leaves. His cries for help alerted the guards who whisked the Alpha and Mara to safety whilst Douward's men took off to track me down. The Beta's men had wanted to stay with him, but he dismissed them to join the hunt, and once alone he carried me to his turret.

  After the funeral, his parents led half of the soldiers west towards Sleepy hill and Edvan took the rest east along the old trade routes.

  "The Delta has wanted to kill me from the second he saw me. I'm sure he's delighted to be leading a lynch mob after me," I said wryly.

  "I don't agree with his views, but the new Gamma has a reason for his hatred of your kind," he corrected me, "It was his father's death that ignited the War."

  Little of the Sinlara family or Chambers was known past the border so I had been unaware as to what tales they taught their children of the war. I was the monster in their history lesson, and they were the villains in ours.

  We spent the rest of the evening telling our versions of the same saga until we had compiled a narrative that encompassed the truths of both. It was a well-known fact that decades ago magicians were free to live this far north, and many came here for employment at the Chambers. The Beta insisted that they were paid well and free to leave if desired but in my history that was far from the case. Poverty stricken magicians would seek employment by the Alpha but end up a subservient slave with little money and even fewer rights. They were forbidden to marry or have children in order to control their population as if they were vermin. Maybe that's where the nickname “rat” stemmed from. They were rarely used for their crystal talents such as healing or fire and more often used as a party piece during Chamber meetings.

  Although he wanted to defend his home, after seeing how I was treated he knew it wasn't a far stretch of the imagination.

  Our stories aligned with the night that sparked the uprising. Lullalke, an Onyx clan magician, had the capability of manipulating the air and making things to levitate. He was a crowd favourite for serving floating glasses of wine and had won over many a reserved Chamber man. Kole, Karnes' older brother and acting Alpha had discovered a secret relationship between him and a magician woman. Rumours of elopement and pregnancy swirled.

  On the night in question, Kole kept Lullalke busy for hours as soldiers found his love and hung her from the town gates as a symbol of their control. Chamber rules were never to be broken.

  Upon finding her body the Onyx magician raided the Chambers. In his fury, he killed dozens of guards by lifting their bodies and slamming them into walls. Once he made his way into the long hallway, he used his power to levitate a knife upwards and sent it flying straight into the heart of Kole's wife in retaliation. Kole launched forward in attack as young Edvan tried to wake his mother. Kole met the same fate as his wife seconds later. Edvan survived only because Douward slayed the magician’s arm, severing the connection with the crystal.

  I heard the story a hundred times, but a lot of the names had been lost through the years in Deshure. Their deep hatred towards me made more sense now. Karnes had lost his older brother. Edvan watched both his parents murdered and Douward got his first taste of magician blood.

  I almost felt bad for ruining their momentous anniversary hanging. Almost.

  "I think you've had enough Sinlara stories for today." He moved the old book I borrowed from the pillow beside
me. I nodded and fought to keep my drooping eyelids open.

  How was I possibly tired?

  He pulled the wooden chair in front of the door and lit an ornate lamp. The sun had dipped below the horizon long ago, but we had barely noticed.

  "What's your plan? You can't keep me locked up here forever." I yawned.

  "You are not locked up. I'm sitting here to keep them out, not trap you in. I'll tell you my master-plan in the morning."

  "Huh. That gives you all night to actually think of one."

  "Goodnight Juniper,” he laughed lightly and flashed a smile that made me feel awake all over again.

  "Goodnight Beta," I replied as I tried to ignore the explosion of butterflies in my core.

  I awoke with the same floating feeling as the day before but with less confusion. I sat up to see the Beta curled up asleep in an awkward angle on the chair. I studied his face in the dawn light to find his dark hair was more a deep shade of brown than black. He looked as if he could have stayed asleep for years and kept his jaded appearance.

  I had waited for the survival voice in my head to wake up from its slumber and take over.

  It was an easy opportunity. The entire day of sunlight was ahead of me. I was fed, rested and healed. I had crystals and weapons.

  Why wasn't my adrenaline surging like when I was at Teriam's cottage? My knife was an arm span away. If I stabbed the Beta in his sleep, I could slip my way past his six foot of muscle for a feasible escape. No, I thought, he trusted me enough to let me keep my weapons and that trust deserved respect.

  Respect? A twinge of treachery grew in my core. No matter how amiable he was to me, he was still one of them. Killing him would be an act of retribution, so why could I not even begin to reach for my blade?

  I launched myself out of bed, weapon-less, and walked to the chair before I had time to compose my thoughts.

  "Is this a trick?" I asked as I shook his shoulder roughly. He jolted awake but upon seeing my face closed his eyes again.

  "Good morning to you too," he rasped and smacked his lips.

  "Is this your master-plan? To lure me into a false sense of security and wait for your family to return?" I half shouted half whispered and fully regretted not grabbing my knife. I knew it was irrational, but his placid demeanour vexed me.

  "Do you really think so little of me? If I wanted to be the hero of the Sinlara, do you really think I'd be sacrificing my spine whilst you slept in lap of luxury?" He unfolded himself and stretched which led to a symphony of creaks and cracks.

  The Beta reached down to touch his toes and on his way back up, pulled his black shirt off over-head in one smooth motion, "Aren't you a little young to have such a pessimistic view of everyone?"

  I knew I had been blocking the path to his wardrobe, but I was unable to move. He was more muscular and filled out than the slight and malnourished men of Deshure. His smooth chest flowed into toned abdominal muscles that I mentally traced until the hem of his charcoal pants interrupted my wandering gaze.

  "I think pessimism is natural given my circumstances," I stammered, and forced myself to stop staring at his hips, "Besides I'm only two years your junior."

  "Almost four years actually," he corrected, and placed a hand on each side of me, "But I have not had as arduous a life as you, so I'll let you have your suspicious ways. Just try to keep your temper in check."

  He lifted me by my hips, turned in a circle and gently placed me where he had been standing. I was glad he moved away in time to not see my reddened cheeks but annoyed at how he made me feel like a chastised child.

  "You were right in a sense about me waiting for my family to return. It will be safer to release you when I know exactly where they are. When I receive news of them returning then I'll get you out of here on a different path." he spoke into the wardrobe and chose another crisp, black shirt to wear.

  I mulled over the idea and agreed, even if it meant having to stay here.

  With him.

  Until I figured something else out it was the best course of action. He closed the wardrobe doors and looked at my wrinkled grey tunic.

  "That's my overall plan, but today's plan is to get you fresh clothes...and probably more cheese."

  "One can never have enough cheese," I joked. My ability to speak had finally resumed now that he was fully dressed

  He glided across the room and to my horror, reached for the metal tray on the top shelf of his bookcase.

  "What are you doing?" I backed up as he lay the sparkling syringes on top of the chest of drawers. The rush of adrenaline I had been waiting for had arrived. I jumped over the bed and grabbed the large Obsidian crystal from my bag.

  I raised an open palm in his direction but held back the flow of magic. A swirling mass of black energy glowed impatiently.

  "This isn't Truth Serum again, Jun-"

  "Oh, I know what it is," I snapped angrily and allowed the dark ball of magic to edge towards him. He remained still but his mouth fell slack.

  No words escaped.

  "You can't just wipe my memory and make me some parlour trick slave like Lullalke," I shouted as the blood rushed through my ears. Tears blurred my vision as I failed to blink them away fast enough.

  He clamped his jaw shut and moved towards me. He visibly braced as he walked directly into the thundercloud of my magic. I scrambled to re-absorb the energy, but it was too late.

  My magic crashed full force into him and dragged me along with it. As the Obsidian gushed over him like a tidal wave, it pulled us into its undertow. The waves above us crashed chaotically as the crystal sought out injuries to heal, but we were deep below it. Deep down in this magic obis together, we were able to see each other’s pain project onto the waters.

  Visions of me tripping in a rabbit hole after running away from Adonis inked the sea around us. The throat ripping cries I gave when I learnt I was an orphan. The pain of hunger when I went without to ensure Adonis could eat.

  Every painful memory from my childhood right up until the recent memories of yanking the arrow from my shoulder and the guilt of killing Douward bombarded us.

  The scene changed to young Reuben landing with a thud from a runaway pony. He had broken a rib and it had left a thread-like scar across the bone as it had never healed properly.

  After that came fragmented memories and a lot of black spaces that were hard to follow.

  Suddenly, the burden he felt in the trial when I was sentenced to hang, the worry when I wouldn't wake for three days and all the anger since flashed one after another.

  The Beta in-front of me reached forward and grabbed my wrist. I dropped the crystal and my magic began to disintegrate.

  Too much of me had poured into too much of him.

  Even after the dark glow of my magic had disappeared, I felt completely entangled in him. Questions rushed to the tip of my tongue but none of them felt worthy enough to shatter the silence.

  We stayed still for some time mine. His hand remained clasped around mine.

  "I was just trying to calm you down, I never meant to..." He managed to stumble out half the sentence before his voice trailed off.

  "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I had no idea that was even possible."

  "It should be me apologizing.” He swallowed hard and shook his head, "I'm ashamed of the pain Sinlara has caused you. You lost your parents so young. And that boy? Was he your brother?"

  I dismissed the thought of lying as fast as it entered my head and simply nodded. I was tired of lies and this man had seen my entire soul. There was no hiding now.

  "Is he alive?" he pressed gently.

  "He was when I left. Adonis was exhausted and ill but recovering, but now there's a risk of the Chamber guards finding him in the hunt for me." I choked back tears.

  "I won't let that happen. I will get you out of here and bring you home to him."

  "I can't go home. I'll be endangering him. They are never going to stop hunting me so unless you have enough memory mixer-up-er for
everyone I suggest-"

  "Enough what?"

  "I don't know the real name." I pointed towards the deep red vials that started this whole mess.

  The Beta let go of my hand and reached for the metal tray, "What do you think these are?" he asked.

  "It's the memory muddling serums. Teriam said something about it confusing the receiver into thinking it was a dream or making them forget entirely," I explained.

  "Teriam?"

  I nodded, "When I asked him about it, he became cold and uttered how it was a "special order" that didn't concern me. I asked him again with Truth Serum in his blood and he was more obliging. When I saw you reach for it, I panicked."

  "You assumed I would use it against you?" he asked and ran his hands through his sleepy hair.

  "It would make sense." My brain was having a difficult time knocking off the hyper-survival switch.

  "It would," he agreed, "But you have to start trusting me. I would not hurt you."

  Even without his warm touch I still felt intertwined with him.

  "I believe you now Beta."

  "Call me Reuben," he insisted with an adamant look,

  "We have a problem. I have been injecting myself with those syringes every morning under Teriam's instructions to help strengthen my heart."

  "For how long?"

  "Since I was eleven. I was predominantly bed bound from the age of eleven to sixteen. He told me the strain of growing up was putting too much pressure on my heart. He visited twice a day to administer the injections until I demanded my independence and he agreed to let me do it myself."

  He buried his face into his hands and let out a sigh that turned into an indistinct grunt.

  "I saw you, all of you, with my magic. The Obsidian melted away the knots in your muscles and mended that old thin crack across your ribs from the fall of the horse. But none of my energy was pulled towards your heart because it isn't weak." I spoke softly to avoid angering him further, but the words were hard to hear no matter how they were delivered.

  "I believe you too. Wait here," he said as he has crossed the room in a few long strides. He swung the door open, and without looking back slammed it behind him.