“Like here,” Bai responded in understanding. “You can’t release the Walls and start from the ground up without destroying the city.”
“You now understand our dilemma.”
He nodded, still staring at the Walls. Then he turned to her and asked seriously, “Master Shunlei gave me a general idea of what dangers we’ll need to face, but do you mind if I ask questions, get a better feel for things?”
“Not at all. Here, pull up a pier.” Mei Li settled into explaining. After a moment Shunlei left, likely to attend to all the other things that needed doing. She let him go without a word and enjoyed having some company with Bai while she supervised.
That night they had a large dinner gathering so everyone could meet the newcomers. The mages mingled with the dragons, the dragons accidentally got the mages drunk—it was notoriously difficult to get dragons drunk for the most part—and poor Huan somehow got stuck with the duty of pouring the drunkards into their beds. It made for hungover, whimpering people the next morning, but Mei Li had no mercy on them. They were out and back to work after breakfast, downing any hangover cure thrust in their direction without question. There were many, many warming charms made and shared during those cold days. The dragons especially loved them.
By her third day in the city, the Walls of Tanguay were up and solid once more. They shone resplendent in the weak winter sunlight, shining like metal but with the thick opacity of concentrated sea water. She asked Shunlei what he thought of them. He would know from experience what the Walls should look like, and he assured her they looked perfect.
Mei Li agreed and declared the job done. She then gathered up several volumes from Judge Elora’s safe, sending everyone else to pack as well. Mei Li had never been one to let moss grow under her feet. Especially in times like now, she vibrated with the urgency to get things done. That had probably been the hardest part of being lost in that thrice-forsaken village, actually—the enforced inactivity. Just sitting in that hut, mending fishing nets, day in, day out. She’d nearly gone mad. If they hadn’t given her something to occupy her time, she might well have.
Judge Elora tried to delay her, just a day, to sit and discuss what to do. Mei Li shrugged her off—politely of course—but without heeding the request. They didn’t have time to delay. It had already taken a day to assemble everyone together, with all their supplies, and organize leaving Tanguay. There were people to rescue from Lost Souls Bridge, demon couples to re-seal, and a Below City to somehow deal with—to mention only a few. Shunlei agreed with her wholeheartedly and backed her, not that Mei Li needed it.
It was still strange to her that she was a power to be reckoned with. Mei Li had always been given deference as a Tomes Apprentice. She’d grown up understanding that one day she’d have the same authority as kings or queens. But actually having that power now, without any transition, sat ill on her shoulders. She could only hope she’d get used to it. Although part of her really didn’t want to. She’d much prefer to have her master back instead.
Early in the morning on their fourth day in Tanguay, Mei Li gave the marching orders and they all loaded up. This time, they had more or less enough room for each person to go per dragon. The twin mages chose to share a compartment, as did Dolan and Mei Li, so she had someone to confer with on the upcoming problem. Shunlei didn’t mind the additional weight—in fact, he was one of the few aside from Bai who could carry multiple passengers over long distances—so didn’t complain. Gen took their luggage to help equal out the distribution.
With this many dragons, they took off in twos, staggered so that they weren’t all flying on top of each other. She heard them call to each other, forming a V in the air so they could keep an eye on each other. Mei Li could feel the shivers wracking Shunlei as he lifted off, heading west. The air would only get colder as they approached the North Wind Mountain Range. She hoped that within an hour, exertion would warm him enough that he wouldn’t feel like an icicle.
Fortunately, it wouldn’t be too long of a flight. They were backtracking the way they’d come, passing over most of the same geography, just more south of Dragon’s Peak. Lost Souls Bridge crossed over Crimson Lake, which was nestled between the North Wind and South Wind Mountain Ranges. It wasn’t far enough south to be any warmer, unfortunately, but at least the next few tasks would take them further south.
Tonight they’d have to find an inn somewhere, finish the trip tomorrow. These logistics were easy enough to arrange and manage, but it didn’t answer Mei Li’s burning question: after more than ten days of wandering around in that magical no man’s land, was anyone still alive?
It was a cold camp. Not by design, but by default. They had perhaps an hour of light left before the sun disappeared behind the horizon and truthfully, whatever warmth the sun had during the day was long gone now. If there had been any place to stop, any village or hut on offer, they’d have taken it. But in this stretch of empty grassland of Laborde’s northern region, only frozen ground and tenacious shrubs could be seen.
To no one’s surprise, Shunlei took charge as they landed. He gave orders in a crisp, carrying voice that pointed people in the right directions. “I need four people on tent duty. Anyone comfortable setting those up, please go. Leah, Teoh, Dolan, Bai, I see your hands? Good, go. Two on firewood duty, we’ll need a great deal of it.”
Tengfei shot his hand up. “Gen and I have it!”
“Good. Get the fires started as soon as you’re able. Any water on hand is likely frozen. Dolan, can we count on you to draw drinking water in?”
“Of course,” Dolan answered, one leg still in the carrier.
“Whoever can cook, start dinner. Hot meals will help all of us at the moment.”
They had a lot of mouths to feed. Mei Li almost went for the food supplies and cookware but changed her mind at the last second. Instead, she looked around for any mage not actively finding a camp chore. Three feet away stood their half-elf mage, Simeon. “Simeon?”
The mage turned at her hail, brow raised in a silent query.
She crossed the short distance to him, explaining as she went, “I want to craft something to keep us all warm. The fires aren’t going to really help much with nothing to trap the heat. I can draw up heating charms for people to stuff in their clothes. Any Evocation spells you can use for that?”
He shook his head. “Fire spirits have little to work with out here.”
That was true, there wasn’t much fuel to be had. They’d landed in a very flat place, and while that was wonderful for taking off/landing purposes, it didn’t help them much now. There were scraggly, short trees to forage for firewood and even that wasn’t much.
“If you can create heating talismans, I can create a temporary reinforcement on the tents?” Simeon offered. “I’ve done this multiple times before. It will keep the cold air and wind from blowing through the tent walls.”
“Yes, that sounds helpful. Please do that as the tents rise. I’ll start in on the talismans.” Was there a way for her to create something that would act as a brazier inside the tents? Mei Li didn’t know of a design to do that, but she thought she could change a flame talisman to do the job. A steady flame instead of a flare would be perfect.
As Simeon went to help with the tents, she retreated to her bags and dug out the necessary supplies. The ink kept trying to freeze, and she had to start there, putting a spell on the bottle and brush so she could actually write something. It was frustrating, attempting to do any of this out here, and she kicked herself for not thinking of it earlier. She could have been drawing these up in Tanguay in preparation.
It was a sign she was stressed and tired if she wasn’t thinking in advance.
As she wrote talismans, people passed her, firewood or tents or cookware in their hands. To anyone who passed, she snagged them and stuffed a talisman into a pocket and randomly into their clothes. Things were quickly set up, dragons and humans alike wasting no time in seeking out comfort.
S
cott came to sit next to her on the rock she’d claimed. There wasn’t much length to it, so she scooted over a few inches to give him room.
He leaned over to see better in the failing sunset light. “Heating talismans? I can help write some up.”
“If you’ll do the individual ones, I can tackle the bigger ones for the tents,” she offered, glad for the help. “Just copy this one, it’s complete.”
“That I can do.” He balanced a paper on his thigh and went to work.
People’s voices overlapped as they conferred with each other, and Mei Li let the voices flow over her, not paying much attention to any of it.
Scott took the first talisman he wrote and immediately applied it to his own body before writing the next.
This was the first time she had a chance to really sit and talk with either of the Wismer brothers, and she decided to take advantage of it. “Scott, I’m glad you and your brother came to help.”
“Preston was the one Dolan actually contacted. I was visiting when the sprite arrived. I have to say, Tomes normally don’t do anything in the winter.” He shot her a wry look. “But we understand your timing.”
“Well of course we don’t do anything in the winter. Travel is perilous and miserable. If there’s something due to be re-sealed in the winter, we tackle it in the fall.” Mei Li looked about at the frozen ground and grimaced. “Needless to say, we’ll be scrambling like this for a while.”
“Yes, we assumed so. But we knew going in that it wasn’t going to be pleasant. We decided to come for two reasons. One, the pay is fantastic.”
Mei Li snorted at that. “Of course it is. It has hazard pay included.”
Scott grinned, expression wry. “Quite. But our second reason is that we know you’re still technically an apprentice. This would be a bit much for even a master to tackle, yet here you are, without all the records you need, and you’re still taking the challenge up. Preston and I respect that kind of grit. We want to support that. We want to help you keep the world from spiraling apart.”
That was a very frank statement and Mei Li appreciated it, but it still put a finger on a sore spot. Because she was an apprentice, they felt like she needed more support, eh? They weren’t wrong. She was the acting Master of Tomes, with only part of the knowledge she should have, and all of the responsibilities of the position. The disconnect grated. It was likely why she didn’t take the reminder of her still being an apprentice well.
She grimaced a smile at him. “Yes, well, I’ll take all support offered. We’ll need it. And all the luck on offer as well.”
“Indeed.” He popped up, going to the cooks working around the campfire in front of them, and offered them three talismans before retreating back to the rock with her.
“After these are done, let’s start working on the necessary talismans for Lost Souls Bridge,” she requested. “We’ll need quite a few to do that job. Might as well start the preparation tonight. I want to go in immediately if we can, as soon as we land in front of the bridge.”
Scott nodded. “Yes, let’s get those poor people out as fast as possible.”
Shunlei approached. He’d switched to human form at some point, bundled up to his ears in furs and a cloak, and still she could see the shivers wracking his body. His eyes were narrowed with concern. “Mei Li, you’re sitting too far from the fire. Come in closer.”
“I’m fine, I have a heating talisman on,” she responded, reaching for him. “Come here, you’re the one shivering. Scott, let me have that talisman when you’re done.”
“You can move closer to the fire, too,” Shunlei insisted.
“There’s no place to sit over there.”
Giving her an exasperated look, Shunlei turned his head and called, “Dolan! Raise the earth around the fire, give people a place to sit.”
“Sir, yes sir!” Dolan called back.
“All you have to do is ask,” Shunlei chided her, tone affectionate. “I know you’re independent, but it’s fine to ask them for things. It’s what they’re here for.”
Preston stopped in front of them, hands tucked under his armpits. “Now wait a minute, Master Shunlei, you make it sound like we’re her entourage.”
Arching an eyebrow at him, Shunlei drawled, “You are.”
Preston sputtered indignantly.
“So, for that matter, am I,” Shunlei continued, tone still bland, although there was an undertone of challenge to it. “It is the Tomes who are the guardians of this world. Make no mistake of it, Mage.”
Mei Li looked up at him with a sort of stupefied wonder. “Then what do you think you are to us, the Tomes?”
“Your wings,” he answered simply.
Several things clicked for her all in that moment. Mei Li had never quite grasped why this man, this Master of All Dragons, treated her the way he did. She’d been welcomed as an equal from the moment she’d stepped foot outside of that carrier on Hui’s neck. Mei Li had never understood it, as kings bowed to this man.
But to him, the Tomes were his equal. No, they were superior to him. Shunlei respected their dedication to the world so much that he considered himself to be her support.
She should have realized it before. He had fought and sacrificed for five thousand years in order to bring peace to the world. Of course he would feel strongly towards the Tomes, as they did the exact same thing, in different ways from his own.
Unable to check the impulse, she stood, wrapping her free hand around his waist and hugging him tight for a moment. “You silly man. You’re more than just my wings. I consider everyone here to be a colleague. What could I possibly accomplish without all of you?”
He hugged her back, and his thrum at her was deep and reverberating, speaking of affection. “I do not doubt you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to.”
“Yes, but it doesn’t mean that I want to do it alone.” She pulled back a foot, letting her arm drop, but her smile stayed as she looked up at him. “And you don’t want me to either.”
“No,” he agreed softly, eyes studying her face as if he was seeing it again for the first time. “That has always been true.”
Dolan cleared his throat awkwardly, as if he felt he was interrupting some moment. “Ah…I’ve got stone benches up for everyone if you want to move closer?”
Shunlei startled, as if he were bringing himself back into the present. “Thank you, Dolan. Let me help you shift over, Mei Li.”
“Yes, thank you.” She focused on the papers and inks and bottles and picked up two that were done to hand to him. “Put these inside the tents that are up first. Let’s get those heated so people can sleep tonight.”
He took them with both hands. “After you’re done with these, I can help create the talismans you’ll need for tomorrow?”
Since he’d proven he could cut straight and accurately, she had no qualms with this. “Yes, please. We have a lot of flags and ropes that need to be created. In fact, for this, I think everyone’s going to have to pitch in.”
They arrived at the outskirts of Crimson Lake without fanfare. Mei Li looked about, getting her bearings, wrapping a fur-lined cloak around her as she did so. It was brutal out here, the lake air making it feel even colder. The poor dragons shivered visibly, even with the exertion of flying.
Lost Souls Bridge had a guard house set outside of it, the tall red torii pillars at the edge of the bridge serving as both warning and marker of where the bridge started. The guardhouse looked haunted and mostly abandoned except for the spark of a brazier from inside. A head poked out of the door as they dismounted from the carriers. It was hard to see under that bushy black beard, but there might have been a bright smile.
“Master Shunlei!” the guardsman greeted, waving a hand over his head before trotting over. “And magical experts, I assume? I’m Wightkin, Sherriff of Crimson Lake Township. I got your message earlier yesterday, chose to wait up here for you today. Tell me what you need, I have volunteers at the ready, just
itching for orders.”
Well, that was a very nice attitude to be greeted with. Mei Li felt like hugging the man.
“Well met, Sherriff,” Shunlei rumbled in his low, gravelly tone. “It is a relief to hear you’ve laid groundwork for us. It should make it all go more smoothly, or so I can hope. The lady standing with me is Mei Li of Tomes.”
Wightkin gave her a bow immediately, bouncing up with that irrepressible smile on his face. He looked forty but acted as if he were a teenager on sugar. “Tomes. It’s a relief to meet you.”
“Well met, Sherriff,” she returned, not sure what else to say. “I have a specific plan for fetching people back out, but it’ll mean support on this side. Everyone inside there has been subsisting on whatever food they brought in with them, so I’m sure there’s more than a few on the brink of starvation. There’s no source of water or food on Lost Souls Bridge.”
Blanching, Wightkin gave a nervous glance at the bridge. The fog of the morning had not burned off, lingering over the still water of the lake. It wrapped the low stone bridge up in a shroud that was impenetrable after more than a few feet, looking ominous and eerie. In this case, appearance was not deceiving.
“Nothing at all? But they’re over a lake.”
Having already corrected this preconception with the others, Mei Li strove to be patient as she shook her head. “No. Lost Souls Bridge is not connected to the land it sits on. It’s a dimension of its own. It was meant originally to guide those wandering spirits into the realm of the dead, but its purpose was corrupted some hundred years after its creation. It now takes everything—living or dead—and draws it into a no-man’s land. There’s nothing there but emptiness.”
“We can get them out,” Dolan assured the man, who looked quite worried now. “But they’ll be in a bad situation once we do. We need volunteers on hand with soup, rice, water, and places for them to rest. No one will be able to leave for a few weeks afterwards.”
Tomes Apprentice Page 17