Facing the Gray

by Carol Beth Anderson

  Tullen was the first to speak up, and though Tavi wasn’t looking at him, she could hear his smile. “Tavi, I know you’d have preferred to walk home alone, but what if someone were to attack us? We’re depending on you to pick up our attackers and hurl them to the ground.”

  Tavi’s rebellious mouth insisted on smiling at that image. She glanced at Tullen. “I might not be as easy on them as I was on you.”

  That broke the tension, and all four of them laughed. Tavi tried to hold onto her frustration, but it fled like a bird freed from its cage. As she took a deep breath of the mild summer air, she realized she was still smiling. It’s too nice of a day to stew over my lack of independence.

  Tavi would have loved the freedom of walking home alone, probably would have danced the whole way. But this was life, at least for now. She grasped Tullen’s hand, linking her fingers in his, and they continued to walk down the dusty road.

  Chapter Two

  MESSENGER: It’s snowing, General Relin. A proper blizzard!

  RELIN: Put on your boots, young man, and take the message. An hour could make all the difference.

  -From Relin: A Play in Three Acts by Hestina Arlo

  Evitt Forning waited in the kitchen of the midwife house. He was alone, and he was tempted to pilfer one of the fresh pastries on the countertop. But he watched his mother make pastry often enough; he knew the effort required. He kept his hands in his pockets.

  The back door opened, and Pala Rinner entered. She walked straight to the pastries and picked up two, handing one to Evitt. “You have more self-control than most sixteen-year-old boys,” she said, before biting into her own confection. Evitt followed suit. It was warm and flaky, with a filling of spiced apples. It had been worth waiting for.

  He swallowed before asking, “Do you have any work for me, Pala?”

  “Yes. One of our expectant mothers sent over a note; you may bring her my reply.” Pala stepped closer though they were still the only two in the room. She had to look up to meet his gaze. “More importantly,” she asked, her voice hushed, “do you have anything for me?”

  “I don’t, ma’am, not yet. I’m sorry.”

  Pala’s brows knit together. “Konner Burrell has done terrible things, Evitt. I haven’t told you the half of it. And he hasn’t had to answer for his trespasses. Powerful men like him find ways to get away with things. Sometimes it’s up to ordinary people like us to stop them.”

  Evitt nodded. “I’m headed there this afternoon to do some gardening. I’d like to sneak in the house if I can. Maybe I can learn something.”

  Pala’s face lost its customary sternness, breaking into a smile. “I’ll be waiting on the edge of my seat.” She patted his cheek.

  Five minutes later, note in hand, Evitt left the midwife house. The address Pala had given him was a mile and a half away, and he was in no hurry. As he walked, he considered the austere midwife and her interest in his other employer, Konner Burrell.

  Evitt was grateful to have been hired as an errand boy for the midwife house. His family could use a few extra chips each week. A few weeks after his job had begun, Pala had cornered him in the stuffy kitchen of the midwife house and told him a strange story about Konner.

  According to Pala, Konner was not only a rich banker with a fancy garden (tended by Evitt); he also led a group of Blessed who had discovered something called gray magic. When Pala had explained that this new magic could be used in any way without fear of resistance, Evitt had suspected she was a bit addled. Pala was educated and intelligent; maybe she had read one too many books and lost touch with the real world of flesh, stone, and limited magic.

  But Evitt had been intrigued if not convinced. He’d agreed when Pala had asked him to keep a close eye on Konner. For the first time, he’d given thought to the rich man’s good friend Ash, who was often at the house. When Konner and Ash had conversations outside and Evitt approached, they lowered their voices or stopped talking altogether. Were they hiding something?

  Evitt had also observed Pala. The midwife didn’t seem inclined to give credence to any of the other conspiracy theories that floated around the capital city of Savala. In fact, she scoffed at anything illogical. So why this interest in gray magic, unless she had good reason to believe it existed?

  After dropping off the note, Evitt turned north, toward Konner’s house. It was time to find out the truth for himself.

  Evitt approached Silverstone Avenue, where Konner’s massive house sat. Before turning on the street, he found a tree with plenty of low-hanging foliage, shading a patch of thick, tall weeds. Perfect. Evitt didn’t think anyone was watching him, but caution was always warranted. He stepped into the vegetation, closed his eyes, and held his breath.

  Magic, warm and peaceful, filled his scalp, and he grinned broadly. He stepped out of his hiding spot and entered Konner’s street. As always, a safety officer patrolled it. Evitt knew the man; they would usually have greeted each other by name. But as Evitt passed, the officer didn’t acknowledge him. Evitt smiled in satisfaction.

  When he looked down at himself, Evitt appeared normal. Under his fingernails were small flecks of soil, stubborn bits that evaded the harshest nailbrush. His booted feet, thick pants, and practical shirt were all visible—to him.

  But Evitt’s mind gift convinced the safety officer that the street was empty. As long as he kept his footsteps quiet, Evitt was undetectable. Invisible.

  He didn’t know how it worked. In fact, he didn’t know much about magic at all. When his gift had first awakened three years earlier, Evitt’s mother had panicked. She had always been suspicious of magic, one of the few mothers who had not wanted to birth a sun-blessed babe. He supposed she thought she had enough to deal with, parenting him all alone with no man to help. And when thirteen-year-old Evitt’s head had lit up like a star and he had disappeared from his mother’s sight, she had reacted with pure fear.

  She’d refused to let Evitt get training at the local midwife house. “No one will trust you. They’ll reject you.” She’d gone so far as to declare that he might be imprisoned. “No one wants to think someone’s secretly watching them,” she’d said.

  Evitt had laughed at his mother with the carefree arrogance of a sun-blessed youth. He hadn’t minded missing out on magical training. Thanks to good instincts, he’d quickly gotten the hang of activating and releasing his gift. Then he’d wanted to prove that his mother’s fears were mere paranoia, so he’d shown off his new gift to his classmates. Sure enough, they had been impressed. At first.

  Eventually, however, some of his friends had started avoiding him. Many adults, too, had eyed him with suspicion. Everyone held a few secrets, and no one wanted some invisible kid spying on their most private moments.

  Evitt’s mother had been right. No, not about the imprisonment; that part was ridiculous. But rejection? Yes, he had felt that. No matter how much he’d insisted he wouldn’t misuse his gift, that Sava wouldn’t even allow it, many of his friends had become nervous around him. Some had stopped spending time with him at all.

  Evitt’s pride and confidence had morphed into shame. He’d always admired the Blessed and had looked forward to the recognition his awakened gift would bring him. But he didn’t fit with the other gifted people in his town. His gifts brought him attention, but it was the wrong kind. He’d stopped using his magic entirely, but it had been a fruitless gesture. People still suspected he was watching them.

  And so, two years after his awakening, Evitt and his mother had moved to the big city of Savala, where no one knew he was gifted. He had assured his mother he would keep his gift secret and that he wouldn’t even use it.

  Soon after their relocation, Evitt’s mother had gotten a job in Konner Burrell’s kitchen. Savalan school was easy for Evitt, compared to the rigorous instruction at his hometown school. He had tested to finish school three years early, and his mother had helped him get the job as Konner’s gardener.

  Then Evitt’s mother had married and become pregnant, so
she quit working. She’d met Pala at a midwife appointment, and Evitt had soon found himself with a second job. Now he was helping support his family and growing a nest egg for himself. It wasn’t a bad place to be at sixteen years old.

  Now Evitt was breaking part of his promise to his mother by using his magic for the first time in over a year. His mother didn’t have to know that, though. In fact, no one had to know anything about his gift. After being ostracized for so long, Evitt was normal again. He would never give that up by revealing he was sun-blessed.

  Evitt reached Konner’s house. Even with the safety officer’s back turned, Evitt didn’t dare open the squeaky gate. Instead, he pulled himself over the iron fence and dropped to the soft soil on the other side.

  Now was the real test. How would he get in the house? Evitt walked down the front path, then began a circuit of the mansion, keeping his footsteps light. The glass windows were open, but some sort of fancy, louvered shutter blocked each opening. Evitt tried to push one of the shutters open, but it was locked from the inside. Protection against intruders like him, he supposed.

  He walked around to the back of the house, finding no way in. While he waited for a brilliant idea, he took his boots off, tying the laces together and hanging them around his neck. If he were to get inside, his footsteps would need to be quiet. Evitt watched the house, hands on his hips.

  A voice floated through the windows. “The stupid deliveryman dropped these oats in the kitchen instead of the stable. Get over here and hold the door open.” The voice was low and gruff. It could only belong to Veylen, that hulking bear of a woman who ordered around every member of the household staff, including Evitt.

  Well, if Veylen couldn’t see him, she wouldn’t yell at him. Evitt ran up the steps leading to the back porch, wincing when he stepped on a squeaky board. A few seconds later, a fresh-faced maid came through the door.

  The maid held the door open by standing against it, and Evitt was about to walk through when Veylen suddenly filled the doorway. And fill it she did. The crown of her head came perilously close to the top of the door frame, and her hips, rendered wider by the oats propped on one side, required her to turn to make it past the threshold. Her heavy steps took her onto the porch.

  Evitt didn’t hesitate. He slipped into the house behind Veylen, his socked feet padding into the kitchen. The maid was close behind him, and Evitt dashed through the kitchen and into a hallway. He took a moment to listen. The house was quiet.

  Evitt walked through the downstairs hallways. When he heard muffled voices in a closed room, he stopped. He placed his ear on the thick, wooden door, but he could only decipher occasional words and phrases.

  Knowing his gift only lasted half an hour or so, Evitt soon gave up on listening. The venture wasn’t wasted, however. He found an unused bedroom, unlocked the window shutters from the inside, and when he was sure no one was watching, he opened them and climbed out. He pulled them shut, hoping no one would notice the open latch.

  For the next five days, Evitt returned, gift activated, and entered the house through the same open window. On the first, third, and fourth days, he didn’t see or hear Konner or Ash. On the second day, the men again met in the study, and Evitt sneaked in when one of the men opened the door. He hid behind a chair in a corner, where he didn’t have to worry as much about his magic wearing off. But the men were talking about expenses and supplies, and Evitt didn’t know enough of the context to discern if it was important.

  On the fifth day, Evitt again heard the men in the study and crept in when Ash left the room. From his place behind the chair, he listened and watched. Konner was fumbling around at his desk. After a few minutes, Ash reentered the room, closing the door behind him.

  The banker spoke first. “I’d like to show you something.”

  Evitt pushed himself up to get a better view, but all he saw was a thick notebook of some sort in the banker’s hand. And then Evitt realized the warmth of his magic had worn off, and he ducked so quickly he was lucky he didn’t topple into a loud heap. The men didn’t seem to have seen him—but he’d cut it far too close. He urged himself to slow down his breathing and returned his attention to the two men.

  Konner was speaking again. “I think you’ll appreciate an update on my recent efforts to gather information. I’ve gathered sensitive information on over half the group. I’m confident several of them will gladly become Grays when I confront them with what I know about them and present them with the opportunity to join us.”

  “But right now, we only have five,” Ash countered. “Five out of twenty-seven is trivial. And we don’t know how many of the ones you’ve mentioned will actually be willing. What does Camalyn think?”

  “Camalyn is confident, just as I am, that within months at least seven more will have joined us,” Konner snapped. “That will bring us up to twelve, and our goal is fifteen. We are close.”

  They continued to talk about the list, but they didn’t use names, and Evitt didn’t know who the subjects of discussion were. But Ash had referred to twenty-seven people. Why did that number sound familiar?

  “I assure you, the council will be under our control before the year is out,” Konner said.

  Council. At once, the conversation made sense to Evitt. Twenty-seven was the number of people in the Cormina Council, the nation’s governing body. The council was based in Savala, not too far from Konner’s house.

  If Evitt was interpreting the conversation correctly, five of the twenty-seven councillors were Grays, and more would soon be added. Pala thought the Grays were a small, fringe group. This information would concern her.

  When the meeting between the two men broke up a few minutes later, Evitt’s magic had renewed enough for him to use it for a short time. He escaped via the bedroom window, then rushed through the backyard garden, hiding between two hedges. A moment later, his mind magic again dissipated.

  Evitt sauntered out of his hiding place and made his way to the front of the house. A moment after he stepped onto the path leading to the front gate, Veylen shoved open a set of shutters, pushing her round face through the space. “Evitt!” she shouted, her booming voice resonating through the garden. “The rose bushes look atrocious. Get to work.”

  “Sorry, Ms. Veylen,” Evitt replied, putting his hands on his abdomen. “I don’t feel too good.”

  Veylen barked several self-righteous statements about the value of hard work during adversity and decried Evitt’s “spongy liver, full of cowardice.” He wasn’t sure what cowardice had to do with his liver, but he shrugged off the words and kept walking.

  The safety officer did a double-take when he saw Evitt leaving the property, undoubtedly wondering when the young man had arrived. Evitt just smiled and waved.

  He strode toward the midwife house, planning how he’d explain his sudden success to Pala. He hated to lie to her when she’d been so good to him. But he didn’t have a choice; she couldn’t know about his magic. Evitt wouldn’t risk the freedom his fresh start had given him. Pala likes me. She has no reason to doubt me.

  He’d tell her how nervous he’d been as he’d entered Konner’s study and hidden behind a chair. That part would be true; she didn’t need to know the study had been occupied when he’d sneaked in. And once Pala heard what he had to say, it wouldn’t matter how he’d gotten the information. She’d be focused on what she could do to stop the Grays.

  Chapter Three

  What is there to say about my childhood? My father died when I was young, and our family lived in poverty thereafter. I don’t remember ever receiving gifts on holidays, and we were only given dessert twice a year. Our stomachs were often empty, but our house was full of love.

  -From Midwife Memoirs by Ellea Kariana

  “It’s obvious we’re in the forest; can’t you take the blindfold off?” After nearly tripping on a root protruding from the ground, Tavi’s patience was waning.

  “It’ll be worth it!” Narre assured her.

  “I promise not to let
you run into a tree,” Tullen said, patting her hand where it gripped his arm.

  “You’re too kind,” Tavi said.

  Misty’s voice rose from behind Tavi. “This is heavy. Can you carry it for a bit, Sall?”

  Tavi heard the clatter of something being handed from one person to another. “What’s heavy?” she asked. Nobody answered.

  At last, Tullen announced, “We’re here!”

  Tavi knew they were entering their clearing; she’d walked the path enough times to have memorized all its twists and turns. But when Tullen removed her blindfold, she let out a laugh of delight.

  Lanterns hung from bright blue ribbons in trees all around the clearing. They weren’t lit; the sun was still bright. But they looked beautiful. The same ribbon wound around several tree trunks. A large quilt lay on the grass, the corners weighed down by rocks. Four presents sat on it, each wrapped in bright paper and topped with a bow.

  “Happy birthday!” they all cried.

  Tavi covered her mouth with her hands. “It’s beautiful!”

  “Your mother packed food,” Sall said, holding up a large basket.

  “Of course she did.” Tavi laughed.

  After they’d stuffed themselves with apples, sausage, and cheese, Tavi opened her presents. From Sall, she received a book of myths she’d been eyeing in the local store. She promised to loan it to him when she was done reading it.

  Misty gave Tavi a journal. “I’ve always wished one of us had kept a journal during our trip to Savala,” Misty said. “I thought you might like to give it a try next time we have an adventure.” Tavi breathed in the earthy smell of the leather cover and thanked her sister.