by Guy Antibes
Jack shrugged. “If that is all you are, then I guess you will accompany us to Maltina and behave when we seek out a guide who knows the way to Ullori.”
After Helen questioned the innkeeper, she penciled in the villages and resting spots that her map didn’t have. Farms and livestock producers filled the southwest part of Passoran, giving them plenty of places to stop until they would reach Maltina. From the town, they would ride into the hills, where the monastery was supposed to be. The terrain was supposed to be rocky, hilly, and sparsely populated.
They set out on a pleasant summer morning. Clouds dotted the sky, and Jack noticed that everyone’s spirits were amiable. Ferrio rode with Jack, as he said he would, leaving Helen leading the group with Penny at her side.
The day wore on. They entered a little valley. Three villages popped up along the road, and Helen chose the middle one to stop since the innkeeper where they started the journey insisted the little inn was famous for its food. Lunch was a brief affair, but the inn served hot sausages and fresh bread for lunch. Penny complained about the spicy flavor, but Jack, Helen, and Ferrio enjoyed the meal.
“Are you finished?” the server, a tall, pimply boy about Jack’s ages asked.
“I can do with some more fruit juice,” Penny said.
“We can do that.”
He was about to fetch Penny’s drink when a thought popped into Jack’s head. “Did a woman priestess come through here in the last few days?”
“Heading for Ullori?” the boy asked.
“That is what we were told. She is in her thirties, but her hair is already going gray,” Jack said.
“She must be a popular person. Two eagle-sect priests escorted the woman. When they left, two men asked about her. They bought food, but took it with them.”
Penny described the two men, like she had done before.
“That’s them. They looked and talked like they came from Corand. Did they?”
Jack nodded. “She is headed for Ullori for contemplation.”
The boy laughed. “When priests come through here escorted like she was, it is always for a bit of reeducation at the monastery.”
“Do they ever return?” Ferrio asked.
“We get them coming and going, at least the ones who wear their robes. I don’t pay attention to regular folks unless they are armored up like the three of you,” He looked at Jack and Helen. “The two men are with the woman?”
“Accomplices,” Helen said. “I don’t think they have broken any Passoranian laws, but they were bandits in Corand with the woman.”
“Then watch the road. You’ll be heading into the mountains where there are opportunities for evil deeds,” The boy said with a smile.
“Do you do evil deeds?” Helen asked.
“Not with a sword, but my Ma says I have been evil enough in my life.” He laughed as he left them.
“Another bad patch of road like the jumbles?” Ferrio said. “I’m not particularly adept with spells, but I can toss a wizard bolt if the target isn’t too far away.”
“Then be prepared,” Jack said. “Do you think Myra wants saving or not?”
“It depends if she now has her mind set on getting a feather and taking it to Fasher to sell,” Helen said.
“She would do such a thing?” Penny asked.
“Who knows what Myra is capable of?” Jack looked at Ferrio. “Do you know how to use a sword?”
“Me? I’m a priest.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Jack said. “I have an extra sword. I can let you wear it if you wish.”
“I guess it might be better than my wizard bolt if there is a need to defend myself,” Ferrio said.
The priest looked too uncertain to give Jack any confidence in relying on Ferrio to do anything but get in the way. Jack could relate. Before weeks of practice, he couldn’t do much other than wave his sword. Even now, he was better using his sword as an object of power.
The boy returned with Penny’s juice, but he was called away to another table, and it was time to get back on their way. Jack unwrapped his Lajian sword and his knife and strapped them on. He was glad to have them at his side again.
He gave the belt and sword to Ferrio. “The least you can do is fend them off a bit. Helen or Penny can evaluate your swordsmanship. Mine isn’t that good, I’ll admit.”
Ferrio put the sword on before he mounted, and they proceeded out of the valley, passing the last village and then rising over the hills in the afternoon sun. Jack liked the area, except he would have preferred more trees. The rolling green hills were dotted with sheep and goats grazing or clustering under one of the spreading trees, taking shelter from the heat.
The landscape repeated itself during the afternoon until Jack noticed the land beginning to rise. They finally spotted Maltina up ahead. It spread on a hillside straddling a small river that continued east.
Ferrio had never been to the town, but he pointed out the eagle-sect church’s spire rising above the rooftops. There wasn’t another spire that Jack could see. Perhaps the hawks had a more modest house of worship in Maltina.
The town didn’t have a wall like the villages they had ridden through during the afternoon. That indicated the land around Maltina hadn’t seen many conflicts. They crossed a bridge before heading to the taller buildings.
Two inns were facing each other in front of the large market square. Maltina’s chief importance was that of the crossroads that turned their market into a regional attraction. The eagle-sect church was on the square, but the hawk-sect church was a few streets away so said the stable boys who took their horses.
They chose the smaller of the two establishments. Jack liked the rustic decor. It reminded him of his favorite pub in Raker Falls. He decided to sit on one of the rocking chairs that were lined up in a row outside facing the market.
Penny walked out of the inn and spotted him. She took a chair next to him.
“It is time to talk about who makes the decisions for the rest of our trip,” she said. “I’ve been content to stand behind Helen and you, but now that we are close to the feather, it’s time for me to take my true place.”
Jack pressed his lips together. “And what is your true place?” Did the girl want to take over the errand? This is the girl who wanted to take a day or two to bathe in the hot springs?
“I am an equal voice in every decision.”
“Have Helen, and I ignored you?” Jack asked.
“Actually, Helen suggested it since you need me to use the feather, and I will have to touch you to do that.” Penny made a face when she said ‘touch you.’
“If I am not pressed, I agree,” Jack said.
“Not pressed?”
“If there is an emergency, I might not wait for your concurrence.”
“But what about Helen?”
“She would never wait for my permission,” Jack said. “She didn’t ask you for permission to stay at this inn, did she?”
“No,” Penny said.
“She didn’t need my permission. I trust her.”
“I don’t trust you.” Penny folded her arms.
“I trust you, well enough. So what are you going to do if Helen and I overrule your desires?”
“What?” Penny furrowed her brows.
“An equal voice doesn’t mean you can veto anything the two of us decide.”
Penny thought for a moment. “But then you can’t veto anything Helen, and I want.”
“As I said, I trust Helen.”
“But that diminishes my position.”
“Which is?”
“An equal partner.”
“And how does it do that? If you and I agree on something, which is highly unlikely, Helen will have to agree to abide by our decision. Will that happen?”
“She didn’t talk about that.”
“Before you sit there and demand, ask her if she will agree to anything you and I decide.” Jack knew the answer would be that Helen would agree, but he would make Penny pay a
little more for her demand.
She got up and marched back inside the inn. Jack smiled and rocked back and forth, looking at the people walk past him.
In a few minutes, Helen walked out and took the same seat Penny had used. She broke out laughing.
“You are merciless. Why didn’t you just agree? Having her be a partner in what happens from here on out wouldn’t cost you anything. It won’t change what we do.”
Jack gave Helen a smirk. “Wouldn’t it be a little odd if I just gave in? I’ve spent a long time battling Penny over the silliest things. Did she ask you to agree to any decision Penny and I make?”
Helen shrugged. “Basically.”
“And you would agree to anything Penny and I come up with?”
“Hot springs,” Jack said.
“A good example.” Helen sat back and joined Jack people watching. “She was happy. I said yes.”
“And is there an example when you have taken into account our wishes?” Jack asked.
“No, and I don’t foresee you two agreeing on anything.”
Jack nodded. “You have that right.”
Penny emerged from the inn and sat on the other side of Jack.
“Hey, I’m surrounded. Do you two have a command?”
Helen narrowed her eyes. “We do. You should test Penny to see if she can use any of your objects of power.”
Penny lifted her chin at the mention of her name and looked at the market and nodded when Helen had finished with their demand.
“And if you two decided that I shouldn’t wear any clothes for the rest of the trip?” Jack asked.
Penny gasped. “You will not do such a thing!”
Helen smiled. “I wouldn’t be so hasty, Penny.”
Fasher’s apprentice folded her arms and turned her head away from both of them.
“Sometimes, you two are disgusting.”
“And you aren’t?” Jack said.
“I have my pride to keep me from doing something stupid,” Penny said.
“Even if Helen and I agree?” Jack said, nearly ready to pounce.
“That isn’t part of the agreement.”
“For any of us? We can’t be forced to do something against our will?”
“Reasonableness must be taken into account,” Penny said.
“I’m all for that. So no capricious decisions?”
Penny looked at Jack and then at Helen. “No capricious decisions.”
“Okay, partner.” Jack extended his hand, and Penny shook it. She looked like she sucked a sour lemon.
“Let’s get this over. Come up to my room,” Jack said.
Penny’s eyes grew wide.
“Helen will come with us since she is a partner too.”
Jack walked up the stairs, letting the two women follow him. He opened the door to a dozing Ferrio.
“What are you three up to?” the priest said, looking a little uncertain.
“Why don’t you saunter over to the market for half an hour or so. We three have something to discuss.”
Ferrio blinked the sleep from his eyes. “If you insist.”
“We do,” Helen said.
Jack laid his sword, knife, and wand on the bed and looked them over. “Let’s see if I can teach you wizard bolts. I will have to try to rekey the wand, but you can wear the wand.”
“I don’t want a cast-off.”
Jack couldn’t believe that Penny would pout when getting her way. “This is Fasher’s object of power. It stores power to make wizard bolts go farther. He let me take it with me.”
Penny looked thoughtful for a few moments. “We can start with that.”
Jack nodded. “This will be the easiest of the objects to use, I think.”
He talked to Penny about what he did to learn how to use it. “I will need to take your hand to key it to you. That is what Fasher does to me.”
“He does?”
Jack sighed. “What do you think we do when he closes the door to his office when I’m about to go on an errand?”
“Oh,” she said.
She winced when Jack grabbed her hand. He held the wand in the other. Jack didn’t really know what he was doing, but he thought he could duplicate what Fasher did. It worked with imbuing objects, and this should be easier than that.
He closed his eyes and imagined mixing Jack’s keyed object with Penny’s will. He felt something stretch and then break. The wand clattered to the floor and released Penny’s hand.
“What have you done!” Penny screamed.
Her voice actually was loud enough to hurt. Jack clapped his hand on his ears and closed his eyes.
“Tell me! What have you done?”
Jack’s eyes popped open. I think I keyed the wand to her, Jack thought.
“I feel odd. I don’t think you keyed it to me.” This time Penny’s voice was muffled.
“You heard my thoughts,” Jack said.
“What?” Helen said.
Jack watched Penny as tears welled into her eyes. “I can hear what you think?” she said.
“I guess so. I have no idea what I just did.”
“You shouldn’t have overextended your abilities,” Helen said. “I should have warned you, but my—”
“Penny has that effect on people,” Jack said.
“I do not!”
“More than you think,” Jack thought back.
“This is awful. What are we going to do?”
Jack ran his hands through his hair. “Anything I try at this point might make this worse. Perhaps it will wear off. Magic generally does. Use power and the effect degrades.”
“But you said you were a helper who generates power.”
“I don’t generate it like Eldora’s box.
“What is Eldora’s box?” Penny thought.
Jack closed his eyes. “We will have to talk out loud as much as possible,” he said. “Maybe if we do that, whatever I did will wear down quicker.”
“Or it may extend it because the telepathy thing isn’t being used,” Penny said vocally.
“This is a Fourth Manipulation, then,” Jack said. “Fasher and the Grand Wizard of Tesoria could send messages. I know they weren’t in each other’s head like this.”
Penny was crying. Jack tried to ignore the babblings coming from her. He found that he could muffle her words if he tried.
“If we don’t want to pay attention to one another, it works to not listen.”
“You’ve always been good at that. Haven’t you, Jack Winder?” Penny said.
Jack leaned over and picked up the wand. The power felt a little different. He shot out a very weak wizard bolt across the room that barely hit the other side.
“I can still use it.”
“You can,” Penny thought.
“The spell word is ‘zap’,” Jack said. “You have to practice to find out how powerful a wizard bolt you can deliver.”
Penny pointed the wand at Jack, who gasped. “Not at me. That thing can kill!”
“It can?” she said astonished. She pointed it at the wall. “Zap!”
A bolt emerged and splashed against the wood, leaving a dark splotch. Penny walked over and ran her finger across the scorch mark and pulled it away. It’s still hot!”
“And if that was a person?”
She covered her mouth. “They might be on fire! I’m a wizard healer. I can’t use magic to kill a person.” She dropped it on the floor.
Jack had expected to see a rush of fearful emotions from Penny, but all he could do so far was hear her words. That was a small relief. They would have to learn how to keep their thoughts to themselves, and that would take practice.
“I’ve done all the damage I’m about to do today. You have a belt knife? I’ll try to imbue it with invisibility, but not key it.”
“I won’t let you do that again!” Penny thought.
“I agree.”
Penny removed her knife and dropped it on the bed and left the room.
“Can you still hear me?” s
he asked.
“As if you were next to me,” Jack thought.
“You made a mess of that,” Helen said.
Jack could only nod. He tried to keep his mind blank. “I hope I can get invisibility into this,” he said, picking up her knife. “I can do that on my own. This was all a mistake.”
“It sure was!” Penny thought.
Jack groaned, for real.
Chapter Fifteen
~
B y the time morning came, Jack and Penny found that ignoring each other’s words worked to an extent. Idle thoughts didn’t come through clearly, and spoken words seemed to act differently depending on whom the words were spoken to and what the subject was.
Jack hadn’t unlocked the key, but Penny was sharing her discoveries. The effect of the spell hadn’t worn off a bit, Jack felt. He gave the imbued knife to Penny. Putting the spell into the knife as carefully as he could taxed him enough to put him to sleep.
“You can use ‘vanish’ or try some other spell word that is similar to effect the spell. It should work. But then what do I know after last night?” Jack said.
She grudgingly took her knife and shut her eyes tight. “Vanish!”
Nothing happened. She tried again and again, but her efforts didn’t work.
Jack suggested her trying different words after breakfast before they ventured to find the patroller’s cousin. The two of them sat in the rocking chairs outside as Penny tried different words.
“Shadow!” she said, disappearing on the spot.
Jack sat up and looked around until the walking traffic diminished. “Concentrate on stopping the spell,” he said.
“What?”
“You are invisible.”
She popped into view. “I did it? I could see myself the whole time.”
Jack couldn’t help but smile. “That is why I am here. If I am invisible, I don’t notice anything. The key word for you is ‘shadow’. That is a good word since it reminds you that you aren’t totally invisible. You still will make a shadow, and anything you sit or stand on will show your presence.”
“We should go inside and experiment!” She jumped up. “Your room,” she said.
Jack opened the door for her and patiently looked on as Penny practiced. Finally, he timed her spell. She could stay invisible for about five minutes holding the knife and forty counts if she didn’t use the object of power.