by Guy Antibes
Jack called out. “Myra is coming out,” he said. “Let her go.”
He opened the doors. Myra galloped out, but as she turned down the road, a knife sprouted from her back. She fell to the ground. Helen walked over to her and yanked out the knife and rolled her over.
Myra’s eyes were filled with tears of pain. She glared at Jack, fighting for breath. “You said you wouldn’t kill me.”
Jack looked at Helen. “I didn’t kill you. She did.”
The woman’s eyes lost focus. Jack took a deep breath. Her death was the end of the Black Fingers in Raker Falls.
~
“ You really would have let her go?” Tanner asked.
They all sat in Jack’s favorite pub. The village came back to life once word of the intruders’ demise spread.
Fasher and Corina sat next to each other, smiling at each other, barely touching their drinks. Torlo had left as soon as he could for Passoran carrying Grishel’s Feather after Helen, Penny, and Jack joined him for a last visit to Rucco’s grave. Tanner even had his arm around Helen’s shoulder.
Jack took a deep draught. It was so good to drink the familiar ale of home. “I would have let her go. A promise is a promise,” Jack said. “But ask me if I feel bad that Myra won’t betray anyone again?”
“Will you feel bad that Myra won’t betray anyone again?” Penny asked. Her face was bright with relief her ordeal was over as well as from drinking too much ale.
“No,” Jack said. “Five betrayals were enough. I think it was five.” He laughed.
“I don’t feel bad either. She was a very evil lady,” Penny said. “She threatened me right to the end, but I’m not sorry you got her out of the house, and I’m glad you didn’t have to kill her after she killed me.” She grinned, leaned over, and said, “My hero.” She gave Jack a slobbery, ale-laced kiss on the cheek.
The End
Character List
The Serpent’s Orb
Jack Winder – Our hero and the wizard’s helper
Penneta Ephram – A girl in Jack’s village
Fasher Tempest – The village wizard
Tanner Simple – A wandering mercenary
Helen Rafter – A wandering mercenary
Ozzie Quist – A burnt-out wizard
Aramore Gant – Patriarch of the church of Alderach
Derr Mason – Wizard in possession of the Serpent’s Orb
Simara Khotes – Lajian wizardess in Dorkansee
Henry Oppen – Simara’s companion
Heros Soffez – A leader among the Soffez Family
Igar Khotes – Simara’s father
Grigar Soffez – Wizard relative of Heros
Amara Soffez – Wizardess
~
The Warded Box
Lark Handercraft – Tesorian wizard
Ralinn Bonarin – Lark’s apprentice
Eldora – Goddess of Water
Amee Newbright – Leader of the Morakans
Jim Lessikan – A Morakan
Pakara Jimaroon – Priestess of Eldora
Corina Bell – Former priestess of Eldora
Baron Overvale – Tesorian noble and leader of an army
Whelham Waterford – Wizard and brother of the King Kaleen
King Kaleen – King of Tesoria
Jorey Balcon – Grand Wizard of Tesoria
Wessa Fanstrong – Archpriestess of Eldora
Harida Maltwill – Noble and sister to the late Queen
Norris Everlight – Leader of Tesoria’s criminal underworld
Ran Maltwill – Chancellor and brother of Harida and the late Queen
Panderites – A Tesorian insurgent faction
Sparrows – A Tesorian insurgent faction
~
Grishel’s Feather
Myra Pulini - Passoranian wizardess
Harria Wovenbottom – Furniture maker in mid-Corand.
Ferrio Lorina - Priest of Grishel
Barria Torito - Torito sibling
Carlo Torito - Torito sibling
Sammo Torito – Torito sibling
Addio Barumi - Claustral Prior of Ullori
Bracco - A monk
Tunno - A monk
Rucco Simmia - Black Finger member
Torlo Arroca - Monk and Rucco’s friend
Head Garolla - Leader of the Black Fingers
Excerpt from Battlebone
Chapter One
~
“C ome into my office,” Fasher Tempest said.
Jack Winder sighed. What now, he thought? He couldn’t recall any mistakes he had made for the last three weeks. Penny Ephram, Fasher’s apprentice, sat in a chair with her hands folded in her lap after adjusting the drape of her dark-blue robe. She looked up at him and shrugged. At least that was better than a sneer. Jack stood to bear the news, whatever it was.
Since they fought off the Black Finger Society invaders at Raker Falls, there were a lot fewer sneers. Jack was almost finding Penny to be pleasant, at times. He didn’t know if it was him or if it was her.
“I have news for both of you.” Fasher turned to Penny. “You will be returning to Dorkansee, to the First Ring, and enrolling in the healing institute.”
Penny’s jaw dropped. “Me? Have I done something wrong?”
Fasher shook his head. “This is a very good thing for you, Penny. I thought I was going to have to bring you along slowly in my practice at Raker Falls since you lacked a bit of magical power. When Jack used you to heal Tanner, the result was an increase in your abilities. You weren’t ready for Dorkansee before, but you are now. I have already talked to your parents, and they want you to go.”
Penny looked at Jack with a fearful eye. “But by myself?”
Fasher smiled as he put his fingertips together. “You will find plenty of healing wizards at the same level as you. I have already arranged for transportation. Three days and you are gone.”
Jack raised his eyebrows at the surprising development. “How long will she be away?”
“Two or three years. It all depends on Penny.”
Jack rubbed his chin. The office wouldn’t be the same without them playing tricks on each other, although that had just about stopped as well.
“What about me?”
“An errand has popped up, of course. This one will take some time.”
Jack finally took a chair. “Kadellia?”
Fasher shook his head. “Farther. You will be going to Masukai on the other side of the Middle Sea.”
“It’s south of Lajia, I know.”
“There is another object that needs to be found and taken out of the country. I will tell you all about it after Penny leaves. You may take any objects of power that you wish, though. I won’t deny this errand may be the most dangerous yet. Masukai is not a kind country to foreigners.”
“Have you been there?”
Fasher didn’t respond, and that meant yes, but Fasher obviously didn’t want to talk about it.
Jack took a deep breath. “Then you have me for a little while. What do you want me to do?”
“Put everything in order.” Fasher’s eyes brushed past Penny. “You are an expert at that, just as you aren’t in too many other things.”
Penny glanced at Jack. He couldn’t tell how she felt about the abrupt change. For some reason, he wanted to have a private conversation with her to find out.
“Are you through with him?” Penny turned to look at Jack and then faced forward angrily peering into Fasher’s face.
Fasher looked up as Jack stood. “We will have time to talk.” Fasher smiled, but it was a little more like a grimace that came when you were about to do something you didn’t want to do.
Jack plopped down in his chair at his desk in the workroom. He didn’t really know how he felt about it all. He had been gone on errands as much as he had spent time in Raker Falls, but Penny was part of Fasher’s healing work, at least she was to Jack. He would miss her at some level. He was confused as to what level that really was.
H
e began to work on the chart he put together that recorded Fasher’s fees and expenses. Fasher must have a lot of money stashed somewhere because healing wasn’t profitable for him in Raker Falls.
One door slammed followed by another. Penny evidently didn’t appreciate the opportunity to learn to heal in Dorkansee. Jack had been to the building where the healers were trained when he checked on a Lajian wizardess during his Serpent’s Orb errand. It was a nice place. The First Ring was the best place in the best city in all of Corand.
Fasher walked into the workroom and took a chair. He sighed. Jack was familiar with sighing after many encounters with Penny.
“She didn’t take that as well as I had expected,” Fasher said.
“Isn’t it a promotion?” Jack asked.
“I tried that on her, but it didn’t work. I thought talking to you both would reduce her inflammatory behavior, but it didn’t,” Fasher said. “I’ll send Corina over in an hour or so. The thing is, everything I discussed with her is true.”
“Has her power really increased?” Jack asked.
Fasher nodded. “It worked with you,” he said.
“Me?” Jack said. He could feel his face warming up. This was something Fasher had never talked about.
“To bring Penny around, I had to put a great deal of power through you, but you were already a helper when we met, you just didn’t know it. I turned you into something more than a helper, a fact that I’m sure you have learned.”
Jack nodded. How could Fasher have that much power in him, though?
The wizard continued. “The overload expanded her ability to gather magic. That is what defines a wizard’s power.”
“So you were right when you just had to bleed it out, and she would wake.”
Fasher narrowed his eyes. “Of course, I was right. I knew what you had done, using Penny as a conduit for your power. Grishel’s Feather is a complicated object. It is better used as an object of curiosity in that Grishelian abbey.”
“If it is so dangerous—”
“Desperate times call for desperate solutions. That is all I will say about that. Let’s talk about your errand now that Penny isn’t here.”
“Is it a secret errand?”
Fasher snorted. “I wish it were. You, Tanner, and Helen will stick out in Masukai. They are darker and shorter than Corandians. Don’t let their stature fool you. They are smarter than your average Corandian and have their own ways of fighting. You will have to deal with a culture that is anti-foreigner. It is an obsession. Say the wrong thing, and you may have violated one of their many taboos. Some of their penalties are fatal.”
“Then why send me?”
Fasher smiled sadly. “Because you are you. As clumsy and stupid and idiotic as you are, you get things done. As a wizard, few have your power. I want you to protect yourself and your friends with all you have at your disposal. It could be very dangerous, that is why I have no restrictions on objects of power.”
Jack nodded his head. He didn’t see much difference between the warnings Fasher gave him and how his errands actually turned out. He also noticed that Fasher didn’t give him an option to go or stay in Raker Falls. Jack guessed both of them knew he would travel to Masukai.
“What am I finding?”
Fasher toyed with the edge of the worktable. “It is called the Battlebone.”
“I already have a bone,” Jack said, thinking of the fishbone in Eldora’s box.
“This is larger. It once was someone’s or something’s collarbone. It is about this size.” Fasher spread out his hand. “From the tip of my thumb to the tip of my little finger, but its importance isn’t in the bone, but what it does. The person who holds the bone can see in the dark.”
“I can light a flame and do that,” Jack said.
“For a hundred miles? I don’t think so. It puts a picture in the holder’s head that shows everyone and everything on the world’s surface. A general can see where the enemy is massed and what all the formations look like. If the holder wants to see a soldier’s face, all it takes is concentration, and the picture enlarges to whatever the holder wishes to see. He can even see if a soldier’s boots are on. Imagine what kind of advantage that would give an army.”
“Does it require a wizard to hold it?” Jack asked.
Fasher smiled again. “Good question. It can only be used by a very powerful wizard. Penny couldn’t wield it, for example, at least not at present, but you can. There is an organization in Masukai called the Red Herons. Their leader is such a person, but we don’t think he has it. We think the Red Herons are looking for the battlebone and will use it in an attempt to take over the western continent. That includes Lajia, so there is a person who has spent some time, successfully, I might add, in Masukai. You already know him.”
Jack tried to think of whom he knew in Lajia. He could only think of the Soffez who were friendly. “Grigar Soffez?”
“Good guess. He will meet you in the Tesorian port closest to Raker Falls. The Masukaians are not currently trading with us,” Fasher said.
“Will we be passing through Underville?” Jack asked.
“Probably,” Fasher said, rising to his feet. “We will talk later. For now, I must find Corina and get her over to the Ephrams.”
“Good. I need to get my sword repaired in Underville,” Jack said. “I have one more question. Who is the ‘we’ that you speak of?”
Fasher flashed a quick smile and left the room without answering.
~
Jack stood at the entrance to the Alderachean temple, waiting for Penny. She had sent her little sister to his house with the message. Penny was to leave tomorrow. The coach that would take her was already in Raker Falls at the village inn.
When Jack traveled to Dorkansee, Fasher put him on an onion cart. He smelled so bad when he reached his destination that Helen labeled him onion boy. Jack shook his head. It wasn’t that long ago, but it seemed like it was eons in the past.
Jack stood when he spotted Penny trudging down the lane. She wore a dress, for a change. As she got closer, Jack noticed that she even styled her hair. He guessed she was getting ready for her new life in Dorkansee.
“You look ready for the capital,” Jack said.
Penny frowned. “Are you trying to get rid of me, even before I leave?”
“No,” Jack said.
He was surprised that she even wore some cosmetics. Jack turned red when he realized she had made herself look nice for him. Jack had to admit she did look very pretty. He would have to tread carefully.
“Can we walk into the woods?” she asked.
Jack nodded.
Penny walked at his side, twisting her fingers and looking awkward. Jack was worried about what this walk was leading up to.
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” she said. She hit her fist on her thigh. “You know that!”
“The village knows that. Do you want to go?”
Penny nodded but said, “No.” She screwed her face up. “I don’t know.” She took a deep breath and took his hand.
Jack stopped. Startled as he looked into the fearful eyes of Penny Ephram as she said, “I’m going to miss you.” She pursed her lips and turned away, throwing his hand down. “I’m such a fool!”
Jack leaned down and took her hand. “No, you aren’t. I’ll miss you too. We were enemies for too long not to miss our little games.”
“Little games?” Penny said. Jack was expecting an eruption, but she giggled. “They were, weren’t they? I don’t think either of us got the upper hand.”
Jack would disagree if he wanted to be honest with Penny, but he nodded. “I’m sorry to see you go. I won’t be around to mope about it, though. Fasher is sending me on another errand.”
“A dangerous one. Uncle Fasher and Corina ate dinner with us last night. He said you are going to Masukai. Father knows it is a terrible place. He did business there for nearly ten years, but one of his people made a mistake, and the Masukaians evicted all the Corandian merchants. We
haven’t traded with them since.”
“We both know the danger, don’t we?” Jack said.
Penny smiled and nodded. This was a remarkably different Penny.
“Will you tell me how everything is going?” she said. “I’d feel a lot better if I knew you were alive.”
For a person who regularly had told him she wished he was dead, that was a change.
“I can do that. Fasher asked me to do the same with him. It will be strange communicating with him on this errand. He said it takes more power to communicate far distances. We will see.”
They reached the clearing where Penny had run into Jack’s sword during their duel.
“This where I wanted to go,” Penny said. She looked up at him. “I wanted to talk to you here about us.”
Jack swallowed. “Us?”
She nodded. “When I was drunk after we expelled the Black Fingers, I said you were my hero.” She paused and took his hand again. “I kissed you too. It was my first.”
Jack thought she was even cuter when blushing. “And?” he asked.
“I’d like to begin again. I don’t feel the hate anymore,” Penny said.
“I never did,” Jack said.
“Never?”
Jack shook his head. “Not hate.” Jack was generally angry, put out, or chagrined, but he really couldn’t call what he felt hate.
She took his other hand. “Is it a deal?”
Jack shrugged. “I don’t think we have to start anything over again. I don’t think relationships are like that.”
“Good,” she said. Penny closed her eyes and puckered her lips.
She waited and lifted one eye open. “Well?”
Jack leaned down and kissed Penny on the forehead, and then on the tip of her nose, and then he shook off her hands and put his arms around her and gave her a very good Jack Winder-style kiss.
Penny responded, but then Jack heard giggling in the trees. Penny’s sister emerged, pointing at them and laughing. Penny broke Jack’s embrace and took a deep breath. She fanned her face with her hands.
“I won,” she said to her sister. “I told you I could get him to kiss me.”