by Andrew Rowe
I frowned at her absence, but forced myself to focus.
“Please, forgive us for this intrusion, Archduke Wolff.” Anthony bowed. “I believe you’ve already been appraised of the situation?”
“Yes, yes. This is more than a bit ridiculous, but let’s get it over with. You may question my retainers.”
“…And you?” I asked.
“You’ve got some stones if you want to question me, boy.” He scowled. “But yes, of course, I will happily cooperate for the sake of my dear fellow archduke.”
I cycled through his retainers quickly, asking only the most basic of questions. As I expected, none of them gave any hint of involvement.
Then we reached the archduke. I questioned him a bit harder, but he answered the questions easily and without any sign of guilt.
Could he be resistant to the ring? As a Citrine who was aware of the function in advance, maybe he could have prepared a defense.
Before I could inquire on that subject, however, Sera chose to make her own play.
“Archduke Wolff,” Sera smiled sweetly, “Where is your daughter?”
“Maria?” He blinked, seemingly startled. “I have no idea.”
I turned toward Anthony to ask him which room Maria had been assigned to, but when I spun to ask I found something utterly predictable—
He was already gone.
I smiled brightly at the archduke. “Thank you for your cooperation, Archduke Wolff. That concludes our questioning.”
I bowed, retrieved my ring from him, and left him perplexed as I retreated from the room.
…Then, once outside, Patrick, Sera, and I broke into a run.
***
We rushed toward the building entrance. Sera shouted, “Clearance Four,” to the guards as we approached and they stepped out of the way. I had no idea what that meant, but I didn’t have time to ask.
When we got outside, Sera whispered a few words into the air, then spun and headed around the side of the building. Patrick and I followed her at first, then I rushed ahead the moment I saw the flash of distant lightning flicker from the sky.
By the time I’d reached the site of the battle, it was over.
Vanniv was pinning Anthony to the ground with his full weight, laughing uproariously.
And Maria Wolff was floating in mid-air, held in place by both a cage of wind and chains seemingly formed from solid lightning. Meltlake hovered nearby, her cane outstretched in Wolff’s direction. Meltlake turned as we approached, gave Sera a wordless nod, then turned back to face Wolff and continue to hold her in place.
I halted not far from Meltlake, processing the scene, then waited for Sera and Patrick to catch up.
“You can drop her, professor. We’ll take it from here,” Sera began.
Meltlake shook her head. “No, I think she’ll escape too easily. Patrick, get the archduke.”
“Yes, Professor.” Patrick spun and rushed off without delay.
I turned to Sera as Patrick moved back toward the house. “You knew they’d try to escape.”
“Obviously. As soon as we got downstairs, I sent Vanniv outside to watch the area from the skies. When I realized who was likely involved, I asked Meltlake to go outside to help.”
“I could have handled this one,” Vanniv laughed, “But that archduke’s daughter was quite impressive. I appreciate the assistance.”
“You are quite welcome,” Meltlake smiled. “Excellent deductive work, Sera.”
“We are not done here,” Anthony hissed. “We will have our—”
Vanniv flicked him, sending an electrical jolt through Anthony’s body. The butler twitched, spasmed, then went silent. Not dead, mind you, he just quieted down.
“Was…that necessary?” I asked.
“Probably not, but I don’t like it when people sound overconfident.”
I stared at Vanniv. If he caught me judging his blatant hypocrisy, he gave no sign. He just turned to Sera, tilting his head to the side. “So, after this, can we get something to eat? All this justice is making me hungry.”
***
Patrick returned a few minutes later with the archduke and a small entourage. Mara remained missing, presumably continuing to protect the archduke’s daughters.
“Anthony.” The archduke stomped closer, the stone below him cracking with each step. “Is it true?”
“Hmpf. If you mean to ask me if I assisted Miss Wolff, yes, absolutely. I have no regrets. Your tolerance of those abominations has always disgusted—”
A flash of movement, almost too fast for me to follow. Then Vanniv scrambled backward from the body he’d been pinning down in shock and disgust.
Maria Wolff screamed.
The archduke waved his bloodstained saber in the air, dispersing only a fraction of Anthony’s blood that now marred the blade. Then he strode over to Maria, while she still floated, incapacitated.
“Cadence. The ring,” the archduke instructed.
“You can’t do this.” Maria insisted. “I am an archduke’s daughter.”
“So are Emery and Emma.” He reached up, his shroud flashing as his arm passed straight through the cage of wind around her. His hand wrapped around her neck and he yanked downward, tearing Maria straight through the cage and slamming her into the ground. “The ring, Cadence.”
I carefully tossed him the ring. I wasn’t getting in sword reach of an angry man who could move that fast. Maybe with Haste I could have kept up, but I couldn’t guarantee it.
He forced the ring onto Maria’s hand as she screamed again, tears flowing through her eyes. “Cadence, begin.”
“You will answer all questions from the archduke and my group honestly. You will not attempt to escape. You will not attempt to contact any of your allies.”
“My only ally is dead,” Maria spat. “You just killed him.”
“A good start,” the archduke responded, his jaw tightening. “Why? Was it about power? Did you think that killing my daughters would allow your house to take our place when I pass?”
“Hardly,” Maria glowered a him. “We were simply doing what you were too weak to manage. The goddess has no room in her world for freaks. You dishonored our glorious nation by allowing them to live, and by acknowledging them, you would have shamed Edria in the presence of the entire world.”
The archduke tore the ring back off her hand, tossed it to me, and then grabbed Maria by the hair. She screamed again.
“No, no!” She screamed and screamed as the archduke dragged her back toward the house. “Please! The goddess will punish us all if we fail here!”
Patrick looked a bit distraught, but Sera simply put a hand on his shoulder.
Sera’s single word reply was a whisper, but loud enough to bring silence to Maria’s screams. “No.”
***
After the archduke dragged Maria into the doors of his manor, we swiftly went to meet with Mara and the archduke’s daughters.
It was close to an hour before the archduke returned, opening his arms wide. His daughters rushed forward and hugged him tightly. He closed his eyes for a moment.
We gave them all some silence and room.
When their embrace was over, the archduke turned to us. “The ceremony will proceed as planned. You have done me a tremendous service by helping to protect my daughters.”
Emma leaned upward and whispered something to her father.
“An excellent idea.” The archduke nodded. “Sera Cadence. Marissa Callahan. My daughters would be honored if you would accompany them this evening for their debut.”
Sera and Mara exchanged glances. Mara blushed bright crimson. Sera grinned brightly. “We would be delighted.”
***
It took some time to gather the remainder of the party goers back into ballroom. There, the archduke himself made apologies for the interruption, thanked everyone for coming, and asked for the party goers to be seated.
Patrick, Vanniv, and I were seated at the head table in positions of honor, not far from the ar
chduke himself. So, we were in a great position to watch when the double doors to the ballroom opened.
Professor Meltlake stepped through, clapping her hands with a sound of thunder that silenced the entire room. In the aftermath of the shock, she spoke. “I now have the great honor to introduce the young ladies of House Verena — Emery and Emma Verena — and their escorts for the evening, Sera Cadence and Marissa Callahan.”
All eyes turned toward the doors as the four young ladies entered the room. Sera and Emma came through first, holding hands and laughing as they waved to the now-cheering crowd.
Emery and Mara came next, arm-in-arm. Emery leaned heavily on Mara’s arm, and Mara walked slowly forward, carefully helping to bear the frail woman’s weight.
While Emma’s eyes eagerly took in the crowd that stood to greet her, Emery only had eyes for the Guardian on her arm.
The ladies made their way to the table, and then with another clap of thunder, Meltlake spoke. “Let the festivities begin!”
***
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. I wasn’t much for balls or social events, but nevertheless I found myself relaxing as the night progressed. With no obvious further threats, I found myself enjoying just listening to Vanniv joking with the archduke and the musicians playing in a distant corner of the room.
“I can’t believe it was the butler,” Sera whispered to me later in the evening. “Who would have suspected the butler, of all people?”
I laughed. “I suspected him, but…good work.”
She grinned. “You, too. This would have been infinitely harder without the ring.”
“Thanks. Think we need to do anything else?”
Sera shook her head. “Talked to Meltlake. Thinks we’ll be done as soon as the party ends. Might as well enjoy ourselves.”
“Sounds good. Any suggestions?”
She laughed. “Well, the ladies are accounted for the evening, but I’ve noticed a certain Dalen that won’t stop looking at you.”
“Sera…”
“What?” She grinned. “He looks just like a certain someone, and he seems like the type of guy that might own a unicorn.”
I glanced at Dalen Mitsurugi, caught the danger in his eyes for an intense moment, then glanced back to Sera.
“Hard pass.”
Chapter XV – Iron Jaws
As the party wrapped up, we were led to a set of three adjacent guest rooms for the evening. Most of us spent the night in those rooms.
…I didn’t see Mara again until breakfast the next morning.
The archduke himself came down to bid us goodbye, both of his daughters accompanying him. Emery’s eyes were bright red. She clutched her sister’s hand tightly as we made our way toward the door.
Mara’s might have been a bit reddened, too.
As the house guards opened the doors to offer us passage back outside, I took one last look at the people of House Verena.
They’re not real, I reminded myself. Just simulacra, created for the spire’s test.
But as Mara froze at the doorway, turning back toward Emery Verena to whisper something into the air, I felt doubt cut deeply into my heart.
When we walked through those doors, would those people of House Verena cease to exist? If so, what did that mean?
“Come on, Corin.” Sera urged me forward. “No gawking.”
I frowned, shook my head, and followed Sera through the open door.
When Mara finally followed us several moments later, I could tell that she’d left something precious behind.
***
The moment we passed through the doors, we found ourselves elsewhere. I was grateful for the smooth transition out of the scenario. If we had to walk further beyond the manor grounds, I think I might have had some tears of my own.
We found ourselves in a long stone hallway without ornamentation. There was no visible light source, but nevertheless the area was as bright as day. A moment of inspection after I oriented myself showed no obvious traps in the floors or walls — there was just a straight walk to a pair of double doors.
The fifth floor. This is it. Just have to survive this one.
I have to do this. Can’t let Tristan down.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself.
“Mara, you up for leading the way?” Sera asked.
“I…yeah, ‘course I am.” Mara gave one last glance toward the blank wall behind us, as if willing it to contain something it couldn’t, then turned toward the hall and strode down it without any further hesitation. No traps triggered in her wake. She reached the doors, punched one in a demonstration of Keras’ signature trap finding method, and found no sign of danger.
We caught up to her a moment later. “Ready?” Mara asked.
“Ready,” we confirmed.
Mara pushed the doors wide, revealing a small circular chamber that was easy enough to recognize. There were double doors on the opposite side and in the center stood a fountain containing pure blue fluid.
A mana fountain. This floor, it seemed, would be straightforward.
In spite of the simple design, we still proceeded cautiously. Mana fountain rooms were always safe, as far as I knew, but fake mana fountains did exist.
A quick check showed the room to be safe and the mana water to be real. We didn’t really need our mana restored — we’d just rested for the evening — but I removed a half-dozen empty flasks from the Jaden Box and filled them with mana water for later. Mana water didn’t restore mana instantly like one of the hyper-expensive mana potions that high level climbers sometimes used, but if we got into a pinch, it would be better than nothing.
“So, this is it, everyone.” Sera waved us over and we gathered in a half-circle near the fountain to listen to her. “Last floor we’re doing. Last fight. Stay cautious and focused. We can handle this.”
It wasn’t much of a speech, but it didn’t really need to be. “Everyone ready?” I asked.
I got a round of confirmations. Then Sera turned to Meltlake. “I think you should come inside for this one, just in case things go badly.”
The professor nodded. “I concur. In spite of your considerable skills for your age, a spire guardian at this level may be too much for you. I am very proud of you for reaching this point on your own, however, and you should not think poorly of yourselves if I need to intercede.”
“Don’t think it’ll come up.” Mara rolled up her sleeves. “In fact, if you’re willin’ to let me, I think I’ve got this one.”
The group blinked at her.
“Mara, that’s…” Sera winced. “I know Patrick handled one solo on the first floor, but this will be much more challenging. The first floor is built for Carnelians. We’re getting into Sunstone-level territory, and that’s for groups of Sunstones. Even with all of us, this would be a serious risk without Meltlake.”
“I know. Been up here before, remember?”
“Be that as it may, Miss Callahan, I will be accompanying you inside.” Professor Meltlake’s tone brooked no argument.
“Sure, s’long as you don’t step in unless I need it.”
“We’ll all come in,” Sera noted, “But we’ll wait near the door.”
“Wait.” I stepped closer to Mara. “You sure you’ve got this?”
“Can never be sure, Corin. But that’s what makes it fun, yeah?” She grinned, then walked to the spire guardian room doors. “Wish me luck.”
With that, she shoved the doors wide.
The chamber ahead of us was a huge rectangle, hundreds of feet across. The floor was the most obviously trapped space I’d ever seen, a grid of color-coded squares with gleaming runes on the center of each.
On the opposite side of the chamber was a titanic tiger made of solid steel.
Aside from being about fifteen feet tall and made of metal, it looked pretty much like an ordinary tiger, if a tiger also had huge sword-like spikes protruding from its back. Oh, the eyes flickering with electrical current were probably a pretty strong distin
ction, too. And the smoke that it exhaled from its nose and mouth.
So, pretty different from a normal tiger, in retrospect.
Beyond the tiger was another set of double doors, but they were shut. Presumably, we’d have to defeat the tiger to proceed further into the spire.
The tiger turned its head to the side, letting out a low growl, but waited in place on the opposite side of the room.
Patrick turned to Mara. “Hey, do you want me to levitate you across those—”
Mara shot forward, jumping across the first set of tiles, hitting one, and then jumping again as a field of spikes erupted beneath her.
“Aaand she’s gone.” Patrick finished with a sigh. “Float.” He waved at himself, lifting off the ground. “The rest of you?”
Meltlake had already levitated herself inside. Sera and I waited for Patrick to cast the spell on us, then together, we floated in.
By the time I’d gotten inside, Mara had crossed half the room. She was moving fast, even by her usual standards. Either she’d picked up a new technique without telling us, or maybe she just really needed an outlet for some tension.
Each time she landed on one of the tiles, a trap triggered beneath her, but she was long gone before they had time to connect. Vines of shadow shot from the ground when she hit black tiles. Red tiles caused flashes of fire. Whatever happened when she hit a white tile was so subtle I couldn’t even notice it, perhaps nothing happened at all.
There was always the same delay between Mara landing and the trap triggering: just under half a second. Someone without speed like Mara’s might have struggled to make it to the next tile safely, but her lightning-quick movements took her across the room without the slightest bit of harm.
The door slammed shut behind us when Mara got about fifty feet from the tiger. At the same time, the tiger turned toward her, voltaic eyes flickering as it fixed its gaze on her.
I began to slowly float forward, just in case, but Sera put an arm in front of me. “Don’t. She needs this.”
“She needs to not die.” I replied, floating around her outstretched arm.
“Your lack of confidence could get her hurt, too. And don’t worry.” Sera jerked a thumb toward the professor. “She’s got this.”