by Eric Vall
This time, there was a resounding salute, and the military men and women turned to go. They slung their rifles and swords away and started to chatter among themselves.
It was an oddly casual reaction to what was essentially a murder and a mutiny, but I supposed I shouldn’t be surprised. Miriam had rubbed every person she ever met the wrong way, and I was positive she’d made more than a few enemies among the soldiers.
Nobody would be sad to see her gone.
We’d actually gotten away with it.
“Well, that worked out … smoothly,” Almasy murmured.
“Understatement of the year,” Orenn added with a grin.
Beside me, Nia looked like she was about to cry. I felt the same way. We’d spent all this time worried about Sharpay and what she would do next. To have her simply eliminated for good was unreal, like a dream that I would wake up from any second now.
“Pinch me,” Layla breathed.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t sure Miriam’s death had really happened.
“Only if you pinch me back,” Erin chirped. Then she turned to the ashen-haired mage at my side. “Nia, your dad is insanely cool.”
Nia shook her head, but her wide grin and twinkling eyes seemed to say she agreed. She and her father had come a long way from their frosty relationship of a few months back. I’d been uncertain of the General’s loyalty to us for so long, but the more I got to know him, the more I could trust Nia’s father to do the right thing.
“Sir,” I called as I ran up to Gallahar. “Is there any news of Sleet?”
He turned to me with a troubled expression. “I have had no contact with Sleet in a long time,” he admitted. “He could be fine, or Miriam could have affected his recovery in some way.”
“Meriden would make sure to prevent that from happening,” I said to reassure us both. Despite my words, I wasn’t certain the plucky healer would be able to stop interference. She was a remarkably committed mage, but she alone couldn’t stop hired assassins.
“I’ve done all I can here,” the General said with a frown. “In some ways, Miriam was correct. There’s no council left. There isn’t anyone available to take charge after her death. I have to become that leader and restore whatever balance I can.” He shook his head. “My mind is much better suited to the battlefield than to politics. I’ll have my hands full here. Those ciphers are your responsibility now.”
“I’ll take care of them,” I agreed.
“You do that.” Gallahar leaned in to rumble quietly. “And there’s one last thing: take care of Nia.”
“You have nothing to worry about, sir,” I promised with a wink. “Nia is in safe hands with me.”
Gallahar shook his head. “You don’t understand. She’s a capable, talented mage, and the only reason she would ever fail a mission would be if her leader didn’t take care of her.” His icy gaze sharpened. “If you let one hair on her head come to harm, it will be the last thing you ever do on this earth or in any other plane of existence that may come after. I like you, Gryff. You have guts. But if one of your harebrained plans puts Nia in serious danger, you won’t get a second chance. You saw what I did to Miriam. Got it?”
He leaned in further, and I stumbled away.
The threat rang out into the space between us and froze my blood cold on the spot.
“Y-yes sir,” I stuttered, and he nodded in approval before he flashed me a sharp smile.
“Good,” he hummed. “I knew I could count on you.”
As the General turned to walk away, I gulped and rubbed at my throat.
Gallahar Kenefick was a powerful, unstoppable, kind-hearted, and incredibly dangerous man.
Thank the Maker he was on our side.
Chapter 6
I watched General Kenefick return to his soldiers as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He suddenly seemed a lot like the man who had pushed his daughter to excel at the top of her class and partake in twenty field missions. Maybe that method of hardening her talent was just another way for him to protect Nia.
Perhaps his threat to me was his blessing, in some manner.
Gallahar was one powerful, persuasive, and utterly terrifying man.
I turned to my expectant team, who all looked back at me in confusion.
“What did he say to you?” asked Varleth.
“Nothing important,” I replied hastily. Then I shook off my lingering nerves and gathered my thoughts. “Alright! I’ve got good news and bad news. For the time being, we’re essentially on our own. Sleet is out of action, Gallahar has his hands full, and we have a complete collection of ancient ciphers in a language we don’t understand.”
“Which part is the good news?” Gawain muttered.
I rolled my eyes at the fire mage. “The good news is we get to finish our work today, rest up, and hand these ciphers off to people who can actually translate them.”
“Oh,” Gawain retorted. “So, it’s good news because we get to sit and wait.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Well, all of us except for Arwyn, but she likes reading old books anyway.”
Ashla snorted and elbowed the healer in the side. “Glad to hear you haven’t changed much.”
Arwyn ignored the jibe with a distracted wave of her hand. I could tell her mind was already off in another dimension as she considered the cipher translations.
“Alright team,” I ordered, “we’re close to our end goal now. Miriam is gone, and Sleet is relying on us to complete our mission. Let’s get to it.”
Advancing our mission was easier said than done. Sunset was less than two hours away, so we ended up spending the rest of the day working with the soldiers to finish repairing Ralor’s Stead.
It was a good thing we had the military’s help, since most of us were too much in shock to put our minds into the work.
I overheard Braden and Orenn as they simply narrated the events of the day to each other while they grinned and laughed. Reality was better than fiction, in this case.
Erin, Layla, Ashla, and Almasy didn’t do much better, since they took more lunch breaks than there were meals in a week.
Gawain retreated into his introspective state and stared at his nailing work blankly for over an hour. I could barely hear him as he muttered to himself and shook his head occasionally. I supposed that was just Gawain’s way of processing what had happened.
Varleth and Cyra were the only ones who still seemed to be fairly productive. Varleth’s neutral attitude persisted through the entire two hours, and Cyra’s unflagging optimism was contagious as she cheerfully worked beside me with her monsters.
Nia decided to spend some time with me as well, so the three of us worked as a team on top of Maron’s inn as we worked to retile the roof. Cyra seemed to be very productive while she somehow multitasked three different things simultaneously.
“Look, a hawk!” she called over to me.
I nearly dropped my tiles as I craned my neck around to try and catch a glimpse.
Nia snorted at me, but I noticed she also stared at the coppery-brown bird as it soared past us.
It was just a common red-tailed hawk you could see a dozen of any day of the week, but something about Cyra’s genuine joy forced me to look anyways.
Cyra pointed out a thousand different important things for us to look at that afternoon, and not a single one was remarkable. That didn’t stop Nia and I from rushing over to look anyway.
“She’s good at finding the joy in little things, huh,” Nia commented as we sat side by side on the roof to watch a dog scratch his ear with his hind leg.
“It is a nice dog,” I allowed, “but I don’t think I’d have asked you to come watch him.”
“Guys, guys!” Cyra yelled from across the roof. “You have to see this cloud!”
Nia and I laughed quietly together while we obligingly looked up to watch the sky.
Somehow, despite all of her excitement, Cyra was able to get twice as much work done as either Nia or me. I co
uld see why Maelor loved to do jobs with her, since she was an efficient worker as well as a genuine delight to be around. That gruff old heart of his must have melted under her charms instantly.
When it came time to eat dinner and end the day’s work, I visited Arwyn at her healer’s tent, where she had essentially run out of healing to do.
Instead, she spent her time with the cipher puzzles. I watched as she scribbled in her notebook furiously for a minute before she gazed at the sky with intense concentration.
“Arwyn?” I asked and waved a hand in front of her face.
She startled so badly she nearly fell out of her chair, and her quill fell from her hand onto the ground. “Oh! Gryff!”
“Time to eat dinner,” I told her as I bent down and retrieved her quill.
Arwyn gathered herself slightly. “I suppose I should. Thank you for coming to get me. I needed to get my mind off things, and I always find you to be perfectly distracting.” She winked flirtatiously.
“Happy to help,” I said with a lingering look at her deep-cut blouse. “Not making much progress?”
“I’m afraid not,” Arwyn sighed. “This may be something I have to tackle alongside peers. There are two many moving parts for one scholar alone.”
That made sense. The linguist who had likely created the ciphers, Veld Schymir, was said to have been the best in his field by a long shot. All these decades later, it was no wonder even Arwyn couldn’t solve his puzzles by herself.
“You can try again tomorrow,” I said to comfort her. “Let’s eat and turn in for the day.”
She sighed and agreed, and we made our way back to Maron’s inn with our shoulders touching.
In a way, Arwyn and I were the two people most responsible for leading this team. We had to make all the decisions for the group, and it was a heavy burden that didn’t relent even with Miriam Sharpay dead.
Dinner consisted of rough-cut egg noodles with some kind of buttery sauce that smelled like rosemary. It was so addicting and delicious I nearly ate as much as Braden, who polished off three helpings.
I made sure to compliment Maron, who flushed and grumbled out a deflection before he went back to the kitchen to bring out dessert, which was a piping hot raspberry pie with churned cream on top. My mouth watered as the smell of sugar and baked berries wafted over to me on a cloud of steam.
Everybody stuffed themselves that night, apart from Gawain, who pushed around his food idly after the first few bites. He didn’t look overly upset, but he’d been too quiet for hours.
I wanted to say something to comfort Gawain about his father being in charge of the Academy, but the right opportunity never came up. Everybody was too cheery and raucous for me to get a quiet word in edgewise, and Gawain went up to bed early. I watched him go with concern, but there was nothing more I could do for now. I vowed to catch him in the morning.
Layla stuffed herself to the point of exhaustion during dinner, so I carried her up to her room myself.
“Thanks, Gryff,” she said quietly and leaned in to kiss me. Her lips were warm, and she tasted like sugared raspberry jam. We shared a few tender kisses that sent heat through my body.
“You seem like you’re in a good mood,” I observed with a slight smile.
“I’m just so relieved,” she whispered to me.
“You have every right to be,” I murmured back.
Layla had never been interested in fighting originally. In fact, she’d joined the summoner classes in order to stay far away from the action. The fact she’d grown into such a competent warrior was a testament to her strength and bravery.
I was happy she no longer had to worry about Miriam punishing her for doing the right thing.
Layla fell asleep with a smile on her lips, so I wished her a quiet goodnight and went back to my room with my soul at ease.
My girls were safe, my friends were all here, and we were only a few days of research away from unlocking the mysteries of the ciphers. All things considered, life couldn’t be better. I fell into a peaceful, dreamless slumber that night.
But in the morning, I awoke to chaos.
My door banged open as I jolted awake with a pounding heart.
“Get dressed,” Arwyn said from the doorway. “We have a serious problem.” Then she whirled away to run downstairs without another word.
I looked out the window briefly to see sunrise just beginning. Pink and orange rays streaked across the horizon, but the sun itself was hidden. It must have been around five in the morning.
Something was very wrong.
I got dressed with haste and pulled on the first shirt I happened upon along with my bandolier and important fighting supplies. As I stumbled into the hallway, I ran into Varleth and Braden, who looked as harried and rushed as I did.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We were hoping you could tell us,” Braden replied, and his large fingers fiddled nervously at the hem of his shirt.
Was that a good sign or a bad one? I didn’t think there was a rift nearby, but maybe I was wrong. I hoped Arwyn had a lot more information than we did.
I ran down into the dining area to see the healer mage already at the table with a map spread out in front of her. Most of the group was already there, but they’d left a spot for me next to Arwyn.
I sat in the remaining chair and prepared to ask a barrage of questions. It took all my willpower to wait for the rest of the group.
Erin and Ashla ran down shortly and stopped at the sight of us prepared in front of the map.
“We’ll wait for Gawain before we begin,” I informed them.
“I’m afraid we won’t,” Arwyn said grimly. “Gawain wasn’t in his room this morning. As far as I can tell, he isn’t anywhere in the village. He’s gone, and so are the books, the tablet, and the ciphers.”
My mouth fell open as an awful silence dominated the room.
“You’re sure he’s gone?” I asked, but I knew the answer already.
“Along with everything he owns and everything we needed for our research,” Arwyn confirmed in a dark tone.
The facts were all there, and Gawain had been acting oddly all day yesterday. I thought it was just because of what happened to Miriam and the news about his father.
But when I thought about it some more. I realized he’d been acting oddly even before that, and now he and the ciphers had gone missing simultaneously.
The explanation was obvious.
“He’s gone,” Arwyn said softly. “I’m sorry, Gryff, but I think we need to consider the reality that with Miriam dead, the only culprit who could’ve stolen the ciphers is Gawain.”
“I knew we shouldn’t have trusted him,” Varleth growled.
I shook my head at the gypsy. “I know things were rocky between you two, and Gawain was more than in the wrong. But I just don’t see why he would’ve done this.”
“He’s an asshole,” Varleth pointed out, “and he’s jealous of you and Nia. That’s more than enough of a reason.”
“I’m not entirely sure he even wants me anymore,” Nia disagreed. “He knows Gryff and I are together.”
“Gawain said he was on Sleet’s side, and Sleet trusted him,” Layla added.
Braden shook his head. “Sleet isn’t all-knowing. He got injured, after all, so we know he makes mistakes.”
“Gawain was never happy,” Cyra declared. “That rich boy definitely rubbed me the wrong way.”
Voices overlapped one another, and the room quickly descended into bickering and arguing. I tried to get their attention, but my voice was lost in the noise.
Finally, I stood up and slammed my hands down on the table.
The arguing froze as everybody looked up at me.
I could feel the map under my left hand, and I lifted up my fist to jab a finger at it.
“Listen,” I ordered. “We don’t know for certain if Gawain did it or whether he was acting for himself, but we do need to get those ciphers back. For now, he’s our best lead.”
<
br /> “There’s no way to know where he’s gone,” Orenn pointed out while he ran one hand along his neck uncomfortably. “How long can we be expected to chase a trail that doesn’t exist? Maybe we should go home.”
I was a little startled to hear that from the happy-go-lucky metallogue, but he had a point.
“I … I can’t expect all of you to help with this,” I said slowly. “I understand you all have lives. Some of you are just students who didn’t even sign up for the monster response squad.”
Braden nodded with a guilty look in his eyes, but he said nothing. It made me glad Orenn spoke up.
“Almasy and Ashla,” I decided, “I need you two to return to the Wild Reds to ask them for help. If they agree, go back with them to Varle. I realize they’re mercenaries, but we need all the help we can get. ”
It really was a dire situation. Because Miriam Sharpay had hired animandu bounty hunters to steal the ciphers, henchmen invaded the school. Petyr was killed, Sleet was critically injured, and the Headmaster’s office had been blown up. The lifts were destroyed, the furniture was in pieces, and there was nobody competent left to run the Academy or the Enclave itself.
To put it bluntly, Varle was in dire need of help.
Almasy nodded cooly, and Ashla agreed with a furrowed brow.
I realized she probably felt some attachment to our group of eleven, but I needed her connection to the Wild Reds more.
I also didn’t want any member of my group to go off alone. With Gawain gone so mysteriously and volatile rifts appearing everywhere, I was much more comfortable if my friends traveled in pairs.
With that settled, I asked, “Who wants to go with me to hunt down Gawain? Please only volunteer once you’ve considered the consequences. You have to be absolutely certain.”
Varleth, Erin, Cyra, Nia, and Layla all raised their hands immediately.
“Arwyn?” I asked in surprise when she kept her hand down.
Arwyn sighed regretfully. “I want to help as much as possible, Gryff. However, I’m also a teacher, and the Academy is in shambles. Besides that, Sleet’s condition is uncertain, and my skills as a healer may be needed. I think I should go back to Varle Enclave.”