Tomes Apprentice

by Honor Raconteur

  “Fortunately,” Mei Li observed deadpan, “I have the Master of All Dragons with me. I don’t think a demonic sword can best him.”

  “Mmm, that’s true.” Teoh exchanged another look with her sister before leaning in, staring hard at Mei Li. “Lady Mei Li. No offense, but you’re not a Master Tomes. You were an apprentice still when you were lost. How much do you actually know?”

  “I only read about half the records,” Mei Li answered. She did understand the question, logically, but it smarted. Mei Li was well aware of her own shortcomings in facing the oncoming danger. The question was a painful dig in a weak spot. It took effort for her to keep her voice steady as she responded. “I remember everything I read, so if it’s something I’ve previously studied, I know how to combat it. I’ll read as many additional records as I can while we’re traveling. I won’t pretend I know everything, but I promise you, I’ll catch up as quickly as I can.”

  Leah broke out into a grin. “Good enough for me. I hate know-it-alls. After we get out, we’ll help you write those talismans, eh?”

  “And teach you how to properly dress for the winter,” Teoh tacked on. She stabbed a finger at Mei Li in admonishment. “You need more layers if we’re going to be racing about the countryside. You need some furs.”

  Mei Li strangely felt like she’d just been accepted by these two. Shrugging, she agreed, “I’m open to suggestions. It really is cold out there. Will we have the time to shop for something?”

  “For this? You’d better find a moment, or you’ll freeze.”

  Shunlei tapped on her half-open door before poking his head inside. “Before everyone gets started on the talismans, do you want to do some shopping?”

  Considering everyone needed more winter clothes, her especially, Mei Li nodded instantly. She snatched her coat up as she moved. “Do you know where to go? I’ve only been in Tanguay once, I don’t really know the city.”

  “Yes, there’s a shopping district not far from here. I’ve a carriage waiting on us.”

  She followed him down through the dining room, noting that people were still eating dinner or going for hot baths. A quick hour trip in and out would be fine, it seemed.

  They loaded into the carriage, Mei Li shivering at the cool interior. No magical brazier in here, it seemed. But there was a lap blanket, and Shunlei was quick to sit next to her and slide underneath it. The narrow confines of the carriage forced their thighs together, but Mei Li didn’t mind that, either. It was warmer to sit close.

  Mei Li was glad for the shopping but she was in an irritable mood now. Her conversation with Leah and Teoh in the baths had crossed different topics, and most of them had only increased her agitation as she learned of other things she’d have to deal with soon. She wasn’t sure if she was mad about the situation in general, if it was the stress of having to somehow come up with solutions to problems she hadn’t studied, or if she was angry with Shunlei for not properly handling this situation. She knew very well he’d been there, at the beginning of the Tomes. He was a sensible and cautious man, and he’d admitted he thought they should have always had two sets of the records, but he’d never put his foot down. Never did anything about it.

  “You’re angry with me.”

  And of course all that showed on her face. Still looking straight ahead, she answered tautly, “I am. I think. I’m mad at the situation in general because it’s worrying me half to death, but I think I’m mad at you because you could have prevented it. If you’d told the previous Tomes to make duplicate records, they would have.”

  “I did, in fact, tell them that,” he rebutted mildly.

  She cranked her head around and gave him a scorching glare. “Shunlei the Black, don’t you give me that lip. Kings and councilors take your advice, and you’re telling me that generations of Tomes chose not to listen to you?”

  Something that might have been a smile played out over his mouth. “I’m not a dictator, Mei Li.”

  Her glare intensified. Now he was just pussy-footing.

  “At first, there was every reason to not have a duplicate copy,” Shunlei said, tone sliding a bit towards reminiscence. “There was only a hundred or so problems, and everyone in the group remembered what to do, so why bother? And we were constantly on the move then, little different than nomads, so we really didn’t need or want the additional weight to lug about. Even by the third generation of Tomes, this remained the case. They were on the move nearly constantly and still didn’t have enough events to strain the human memory. I believe it was nearly the tenth generation of Tomes when they found some stability. By that point, they had a house in Overlook, a place to store the records. And, of course, by that point human magic was beginning to change. Evocation was becoming more and more the staple of magic.”

  Mei Li’s ire died down a little. “And they were so busy re-training the mages who helped them with problems that the suggestion of writing a duplicate copy of the records fell far down on the priority list.”

  “Yes, quite so.” He lifted one of her hands under the blanket and chaffed it, trying to warm her skin, his eyes cast downwards towards their laps. “My wife predicted this very predicament. I’ve mixed feelings about her being right.”

  Mixed feelings about covered it. Mei Li had another question on the tip of her tongue, to ask about the wedding ring he still wore, but the carriage stopped at that moment.

  “You’re here, sir, miss!”

  Shunlei brought them out, paying the driver, and gave her a hand down. They were quick to duck into the shop’s warmth.

  It was a fine shop, warm with detailed woodwork and a merry fire going on in the corner. The shop owner sat behind the counter, working on tallying the receipts of the day, no doubt in preparation for closing up. She still gave them a smile of welcome, however, so she didn’t mind the late business. Mei Li didn’t see a wide assortment, so this shop wouldn’t have all she needed, but there was a viable selection of women’s clothing. She went through the winter cloaks hanging in neat rows with a frown. These were fine, although some were a bit short for her.

  “Mei Li.”

  Turning at the hail, she found Shunlei displaying a rich ermine coat with a suede red leather exterior. “It has pockets,” he explained, displaying one on either side. “And the ties allow you to close it down to the waist in front.”

  “Oh. That would be handy.” She reached out, examined it herself, and found that he’d picked out the perfect winter cloak for her. “Excellent find. I’ll take that one. Did you see gloves to match?”

  “I did, and boots. Come try them, I’m not sure of the fit.”

  She followed him to the other side of the square room, and saw an array of boots on display, most of them plain but some with embroidery of flowers trailing up the sides. Sitting down, she reached for one pair, only for his hands to beat her to them. Without a word, Shunlei knelt and pulled off her shoe, slipping her foot into the new one. Mei Li was so flabbergasted by this aid that she couldn’t manage a response.

  When the Master of All Dragons said he was personally invested in you, he apparently had no limits on that feeling.

  Checking the toe, he frowned, an expression more thoughtful than anything. “I think that’s fine, but how does it feel?”

  Mentally yanking her brain back into action, Mei Li managed, “Let me stand and walk a bit.”

  “Of course.” He moved aside and watched as she walked a short distance to and fro.

  The shoe did fit as if it had been made for her. (Seriously, how good were his eyes?) “Yes, these are fine.”

  “Excellent. Anything else catch your eye?”

  “No, not really. I wanted to pick up something for Rone as well, and a thicker wrap for the baby.”

  “Ah. Then let us purchase these and change stores.”

  They did so, Mei Li wearing her new cloak and gloves out, as it was far superior to what she had on. They found what they needed at the next store, and Mei Li made o
nly one other stop—at a stationary store to buy a great quantity of black ink, a bolt of canvas, and two reels of twine. Satisfied she had enough materials, they retreated back to the inn.

  Leah, Teoh, and Dolan were still gathered around one of the dining room tables and Leah turned as they entered. “Ah, there they are. Where have you two been?”

  “Shopping,” Mei Li answered, hefting the bundle in her hands in illustration. “We needed materials to make the talismans, and Shunlei thoughtfully bought me stouter winter gear.”

  “Good,” Teo said, eyeing the bundles. “We did wonder what we were going to use, material wise, to make those talismans you described.”

  “Wonder no more.”

  Shunlei leaned into her side and murmured, “I’ll drop these off with Rone and come back and help you.”

  Mei Li blinked up at him in surprise. “You plan to help?”

  “Of course. I can’t write the talismans, but I can cut the cloth and tie it to the bricks once you’re done.”

  She really had to remember that while he didn’t understand human magic, he fully understood how to be helpful and supportive in the process of tackling magical problems. “The assembly of it, eh? Yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you.”

  He flashed her a small, pleased smile, barely a line of white in the dark of his skin before he was up the stairs.

  The mages at the table helped her haul things about, moving another table nearby so they could create a miniature assembly line. Through some trial and error, they found the right size to cut both cloth and rope. While she’d been gone, someone had carted in the two wheelbarrows of bricks, so those were standing by.

  She set one cut cloth and rope off to the side to be their standard and then they distributed ink and brushes. She wrote the first talisman as an example, set it in the middle of the group, and watched with eagle eyes to see if they could copy it perfectly. Everyone thankfully could and she was able to sit and write one herself without worry.

  Shunlei came down and stood behind her for a moment, taking them in. His hands reached out, gathering up her hair with gentle fingers. Mei Li was startled enough by this her hands stilled. What was he doing?

  “Your hair is trying to sneak into the ink.”

  “Ah. Can you tie it back for me?”

  Producing a ribbon from somewhere, he promptly did so. That ribbon made her wonder, had he borrowed something from Rone, anticipating this?

  He didn’t explain, but picked up scissors, tackling the rope first. He handled the task with such simple efficiency it was clear he’d done this many times before.

  “Remember that you can’t wrap the rope around the brick in front,” she instructed.

  “Because anything covering the talisman design interferes with it. I have to poke holes in the cloth and weave it together on the back,” he finished for her aloud and winked at her. “I know.”

  Mei Li eyed him sideways. “You keep telling me you don’t really understand human magic, and then you say things like that.”

  “I don’t understand human magic. But I understand the rules for how to not be an interference.”

  “He’s got eons of experience helping Tomes, of course he’d know things like this,” Dolan pointed out. “And I’m grateful he’s handling the assembly. That will speed things up. How many of these things do we need again, Mei Li?”

  “Forty-eight,” she answered, craning her head around Leah and Teoh to see him. “But do fifty-five or so. I want extras on hand, just in case.”

  Shunlei harrumphed as if in affront. “Excuse you, I can drop the talismans into the ocean precisely where you want them.”

  Rolling her eyes, Mei Li sassed back, “Did I name you? I meant in case something goes wrong while we’re setting up. We’re a makeshift band of mages, oh Master of All Dragons. I don’t expect everything to go perfectly on the first try.”

  He grinned back at her. For some reason, he adored it when she got sassy with him. Mei Li suspected it was because very few people in the world were comfortable enough with him to tease. “My apologies, oh Great Tomes.”

  Sniffing, she mock turned her nose up in the air. “That’s better.”

  A soft laugh rumbled through him.

  Leah looked at them askance, as if she couldn’t quite believe her eyes. For the first time, she addressed Shunlei directly. “Were you here when the Wall was built the first time?”

  “I was, in fact. I dropped the talismans into the water that time, too. It was very much an experiment at the time, but we had to do something. The water was steadily leaving the harbor as the land shifted and changed. Within fifty years, this harbor would have been unusable, and Tanguay would have died a slow death after that. Kelda—the Tomes of the time—had the brilliant solution of creating artificial harbor Walls. None of us were sure if it would work or not, but we were game to try.”

  With this candid response, Leah lost some of her tension with him and pressed, “Has the design of the Wall changed at all over the years?”

  Shunlei’s hands paused in tying the first talisman around a brick, head canted as he thought. “Yes and no. The first time we renewed it, no. The second time, there was a bit of an adjustment, as the land had changed again. We had to extend the Wall over land to accommodate it.”

  This opened a question and answer session that slid into an open sharing of stories and anecdotes. Mei Li listened more than spoke, learning more about the Walls of Tanguay from Shunlei than in any of the records she’d read for it. It connected him better to the other mages at the table as well, as they discovered that for all his reputation, he was just a man who wanted to keep the world safe.

  And if that meant tying talismans and twine around bricks, then that’s what he would do.

  Shunlei dropped the brick-wrapped talismans where Mei Li designated, flying low to be as accurate as possible. It meant flying right through the Walls, aiding their destruction, but they were barely opaque as it was. His flight did nothing another three days of sea tides wouldn’t have.

  The canvas talismans plopped into the ocean one at a time, and Mei Li watched him with eagle eyes as he flew. He was a magnificent figure against the cloudy sky, something straight out of a fairy tale. But she felt bad about sending him up there. Even from this distance, she could practically see him shivering. It truly was unbearable out here. Dragons were meant for heat and sunny rocks. They weren’t really built for this cold. Dragons were of the firm opinion that winters should be slept through. If not for the dire straits of the world, that’s probably what Shunlei and Rone would be doing—hibernating.

  With the last brick resting on the ocean floor, he flapped hard and came around to land near Mei Li. She kept one eye on him even as she directed the waiting mages on what needed to be done and how. It meant some of them had to climb into a row boat and position at the corner of the Wall, linking the talismans Shunlei had just laid in order to build the foundation of the Wall first. They’d stay out there for several hours, taking a break every four hours to eat and rest before continuing. It sounded arduous, but not a single mage voiced a complaint. They were too relieved to finally have direction on how to repair the failing Walls.

  Each Wall was actually a layer of spells: a spell to connect to the ocean and land, a spell to draw out the metal of the ocean water, another spell to form it into a cohesive form, and yet another spell to maintain all the others. When that last spell faltered and lost the ability to power the rest, that’s when the Walls started decaying.

  It was more complicated in magical theory, but that was the best way for Mei Li to explain it in layman’s terms.

  Shunlei found a clear enough spot on the docks to land and switched into human form. The docks, for once, were mostly clear. Everyone had unanimously done their best to clear the harbor to give the mages space to work in. Mei Li was grateful for the effort, especially since she’d needed to send Shunlei up. He had to have a clear area to land in, too. It made it e
asier on him, as well, with all the flying back and forth he’d need to do.

  As he approached, the twin mages launched out into dinghies, rowing toward the end of the wall. Mei Li spoke with Dolan, her hands gesturing as she illustrated her point. “It should be fine to get one wall up. Nothing about the record suggested this had to be done in tandem. Do you think we can steal the time and track down Acala’s Flute?”

  “I certainly want to try. Let me go track it down, make sure my information’s still good.”

  “Thanks, Dolan.” Turning her head, Mei Li waved Shunlei in closer. “Shunlei, everyone seems to be clear on what to do here. I need to catch up with that auction and reseal Acala’s Flute.”

  “Are you leaving now?”

  “Not just yet. I want to watch them for a while and make sure everyone’s fine here before leaving.”

  “That’s fine. Dolan, do you know where the auction is taking place?”

  “No, I’ve got people searching for it. I want to go check in with them. I’ll meet you back here in an hour? Hopefully with an answer.” This last bit was said to Mei Li more than Shunlei.

  She nodded encouragement. “We’ll wait.”

  Dolan strode off, leaving the two of them standing at the edge of the dock. Mei Li tugged her new, thick, fur-lined cloak tighter to her. Even under its protection, she was cold, her skin unpleasantly chilled from the biting wind. Without the heating talismans in her cloak, she’d be a human icicle by now. Shunlei shifted so that he stood as a wind breaker for her.

  Mei Li took a half step in closer to him. “Thank you. The wind is brutal today. Is a storm coming in?”

  “It smells like it.” He lifted his head and drew in a lungful. “I’d say later tonight. If we’re lucky, it will blow through overnight and not impede our progress on the Walls.”

  “I don’t feel all that lucky.”

  He snorted. “I never do. Acala’s Flute—how troublesome do you expect that to be?”

  “Troublesome,” Mei Li answered while making a sour face. “Part of the seal for it was the pedestal it sat on. By removing it, they’ve broken the seal. The instant someone plays it, or even if the wind hits it at the right angle, we’re in trouble. It will put everyone within a certain radius to sleep.”