Shadows and Embers

by Lindsey Richardson

  “Why?” I asked, holding Nicia’s face in my hands.

  “After Rahela died everyone became distant. I had no one to turn to. I panicked…” she whispered through tears.

  “You have dishonored us,” Esmour said, though the anger was building up in his tone.

  Suddenly the candles were knocked over by a gust of wind and flew across the room in various directions. I grabbed onto Nicia, holding her against my body and covering her face. I whispered a counter spell until the candles dropped to the floor.

  “Stop this!” I shouted.

  Esmour stepped forward. “If I were you, I would move,” he warned.

  “Never!” I rocked back and forth with Nicia, but I was looking at the windows to think of an escape plan.

  “Don’t you see?” Esmour said, taking another step. “She left us for the White magicians. She’s becoming one of them, the people who killed your father and Rahela.”

  I shook my head. All I had to do was focus on the windows. If Nicia and I escaped we could seek refuge at Alaire’s, and if that wasn’t safe we’d keep running. Esmour was a loose cannon, and I didn’t trust him right now to make the right decision.

  “One day,” he continued, “you’ll be married to a beautiful woman and have a daughter, and then Nicia could appear out of nowhere to kill you just like they did to your father.”

  “No!” I screamed, releasing Nicia and jumping up. I ran toward him, but he dodged the attack and I landed on the floor.

  Nicia started crawling backward, pleading for Esmour to reconsider.

  “Did you think I would never find out? That I would be oblivious to what was happening under my nose?” he asked, extending his arm out.

  Groaning, I tried to sit up, but Esmour turned and cast a spell. It forced me down, making it impossible to stand up. Nicia stared at me with wide eyes, but all I could do was look at her and mouth the words “I’m sorry.” I conquered a spell to lift Esmour’s power, but his magic was more powerful than mine. The only advantage I could rely on was that he was more focused on Nicia than me. I struggled for a few moments, mouthing the spell, and then at last I was free.

  “I hope you like the dark because you’ll be sitting in it for a very long time,” Esmour said now with both hands extended to Nicia. He started chanting while at the same time I stood up.

  Whispering, I cast a spell and black fog covered the floor. It disappeared within seconds, and I didn’t understand what went wrong. The room became entirely dark and cold, but it was not my magic at work. The only sound was Esmour’s chanting.

  “Fretar lidem,” he said, and then all was silent.

  “Nicia?” I asked, stepping forward. There was a bloodcurdling scream that escaped her lips, echoing off the walls.

  Esmour cackled. “Rest easy, Nicia; no one can hear your scream.”

  A spark of ember illuminated Esmour’s face. I ran to him, attempting to tackle him down. Every bone in my body ached; I wanted to destroy him. Nicia’s scream stopped, he couldn’t expect me to forgive him.

  “What did you do to her?” I hissed, hitting his chest with my fist. I was convinced now that he had no heart.

  Pushing me away, he replied, “I stripped her of any magic. Now she is nothing but a traitor and an outsider to both the magical and human world.”

  With another shove, he walked past me and left, slamming the door on his way out. I dropped to my knees, and even though it was too dark to see, I crawled to where I thought Nicia would be. Touching her arm, I moved my hand up until I could feel her face. Her skin was hot like she had a fever.

  “Can you feel anything?”

  Choking, Nicia muttered, “Emptiness.”

  I lowered my head against hers and listened to her quick and short breaths. Reaching over with my other hand, I turned her head to face mine. My fingertips traced over the outline of her lips, and then I pulled her close and kissed her. It lasted for a moment, but during that short period it felt like everything was in place. I felt more alive than I ever had before as if she had awoken me.

  Nicia turned her head and whispered, “This was not a decision I favored.”

  Releasing her, I wrapped my arms around my knees. All of the anger from earlier was banging against my head, pleading to be released. It wasn’t just Esmour I hated; it was Nicia and everyone else too. My mind reasoned it was the spell that was causing me to feel this, but it was taking all of my strength to bottle it up.

  “Did someone force you through Kinhlr? Did they hold you down while cutting into your back? Of course not because it’s voluntary!” I shouted.

  She whimpered. “This isn’t like you. The darkness stripped my powers, and how it’s harnessing yours.”

  Though I could see her lips moving, the words were meaningless when all I could hear was the beating of my heart. Each beat came slower than the last, but Nicia continued talking and was fully unaware that I couldn’t hear her.

  “I love you. I may spend my days running after Malin, but it’s only because you and I are never meant to be. He is a good man, but he will never share the connection we do,” she said.

  I started choking, and I wondered what Nicia was saying. Didn’t she feel the lack of oxygen? Standing, I bolted for the door and opened it. The sun beamed in, and within seconds the darkness was gone. Nicia sat in the same place I left her, but for some reason I could not recall anything she had said.

  “Are you okay? I thought I was dying; I couldn’t hear what you were saying,” I admitted, though still out of breath.

  Sighing, she said, “I was… apologizing.”

  “I need to speak with Esmour. Will you be all right?”

  “A powerless magician doomed to die as a human? Of course,” she answered with a shaky voice.

  Storming out of Nicia’s house and into the streets, I suddenly stopped at the sound of people. Locals were out in the street, carrying on with their lives without a worry in the world. I had to find out about the spell Esmour used on Nicia. Stripping someone of their powers wasn’t something any Dark magician could do. It was a part of the old magical world; a spell so evil and inhumane that the Council outlawed it. However, just as I stepped onto Esmour’s yard Alaire approached me.

  “Oh thank god I found you!” Alaire wheezed.

  “I’m busy,” I replied. I had to tell Esmour about the baby, and more importantly I needed to find out why he had been so cruel to Nicia.

  “Something isn’t right. Jacquette has been acting strange these past few days, and when I offered to help with wedding preparations she said she has other plans,” he explained.

  Crossing my arms, I said, “She is a lucky lady to have you, and everyone knows it. Have some faith in her, and if you’re worried talk to her about it.”

  He nodded, and with that I assumed I could carry on. I could hear him following after me, but when I reached the door and stepped inside he remained in the yard. Esmour was once again at the table writing in a journal as quick as possible. He paid no attention to me, and with the way he was writing I considered he might not have heard me at all. I advanced to the table, but now the memories of Nicia were flashing in my head. There were too few of us in Destin now, and Nicia would be yet another loss.

  “How did you take Nicia’s magic?” I asked.

  Esmour made no effort to glance up. Nonchalantly, he said, “The spell is an ancient one passed down from our ancestors. I have used it on rare occasions, but believe me when I say it’s powerful.”

  “Why? Why did you do it when she had already chosen her fate?”

  He glanced up and replied, “Because whether you like it or not, I am your leader. I did it because Ewan would have done the same to protect you. You should be thanking me. Now you never have to choose between Nicia and your own life.”

  There it was again; the mentioning of my father. He had nothing to do with Nicia.

  “My father could have done whatever he pleased because I’m his son. You have no justification for what you did.” I counte
red.

  He grumbled, and then he returned to his work. It was wrong of me to question his judgment, but by stripping Nicia of any magic she seemed distant from us. I started to turn around, but abruptly my throat felt constrained. My lungs were collapsing as I held onto my neck. In the corner of my eye I could see Esmour’s hand was raised.

  “This is my organization, and it’s time you start respecting the rules. Do not challenge me again until you know what it’s like to defend your people while losing one of them in the process,” Esmour said.

  He lowered his hand and returned the journal. I fell to the floor, gasping as the air filled back into my lungs. It was too dangerous to ask further more about Nicia, but oddly enough I still felt obligated to tell him about Enric’s dilemma.

  “While you’ve been destroying Destin from the inside, we have other issues to handle. Alainne is conceiving a child, and she’s claiming it will be a Dark magician,” I said, rubbing my sore neck with my hand.

  Again he stopped writing to look at me.

  “It’s impossible. The first chance you have, sought her out and settle it. We can’t have the locals knowing about the Dark magic that flows through this town,” he said calmly.

  Though still not fully convinced, I asked, “Is this what the stranger meant when he spoke to you? Is this our downfall?”

  He chuckled. “If there was ever such a thing, I’d be the first to know about it. A downfall will never happen so long as we stay united.”

  His words were of no comfort, especially seeing as Destin had already lost two magicians within a month. He had his list of who was alive or dead, but the real question was what he planned to do with it.

  When I reached the door, Esmour called out, “You won’t be assigned to another mission until you can control your rage.”

  Rage was not anything close to what I was feeling. Fate was being set in motion, meaning it would either strengthen us or destroy us. When I stepped outside I didn’t waste time telling Alaire because by now we were all placing together the pieces.

  “I had a dream like this once. You walked out here with all of the light gone from your eyes. I was hoping I’d never see this day,” he whispered.

  I motioned for Alaire to join me as I walked. Part of me was trying to decide if I should check on Nicia, but now Alainne was in danger. If people heard she would be parenting a Dark magician there would be friction. I decided to visit Malin first and ask him to watch over Nicia. With her living directly next to Esmour, I wasn’t comfortable with the idea that he could walk into her house at any given time.

  Malin’s hut was on the outskirts of town. He lived there on his own, and when he came into town it was for Destin or necessities. While he claimed he had everything he needed, I wondered what he thought about Nicia. Her fascination with him wasn’t something new. She had adored him since she joined Destin. Now that she had betrayed us, Malin might not think anything at all. I could not blame him; my head wasn’t clear enough to determine my own feelings toward the fact.

  After several minutes we reached the hut. I tapped on the door, but when no one answered I panicked. Alaire called his name and then proceeded to peer through a window. Upon seeing no sign of him, Alaire nodded for me to open the door. We stepped inside, and everything was neatly organized as usual. Food was set out on the table, but Malin was nowhere in sight. There were dirt tracks on the floor, leading to Malin’s bed. The tracks brought back memories of my father’s death.

  “Come look at this,” Alaire said.

  Stepping over a chair, I rushed to his side. There was a piece of paper in his hand.

  No, not Malin too… I thought, remembering the day of my father’s death. I had discovered his note before I found him. Nonetheless, Alaire handed me the paper, and I took it with shaking hands.

  I have left town. Will return when it’s safe. Don’t come looking for me.

  -M

  “I hadn’t seen him for several days. This note could be old,” Alaire remarked.

  I stared at the last sentence, thinking there had to be more to it than what he wrote. Either way, Malin wasn’t the kind of man who would run from danger. What had scared him enough to leave without any warning? While Alaire searched around for any other clues, I accidentally dropped the note. It flipped backwards, revealing one last sentence we had not seen before.

  Tell Nicia that I love her and I’m sorry.

  Chapter Twelve

  To the End

  No one was prepared for the news, especially not Esmour. We had run back to house after discovering Malin’s note. He leaned against a wall, appearing flustered. Alaire and I waited, hoping he had some kind of explanation. We couldn’t lose Nicia and Malin on the same day. However, the longer Esmour remained silent, the more convinced I became that Malin had left town without warning anyone.

  Esmour’s brows drew together, and then he slammed his fist against the wall. Wincing, he said, “What good are spies if they miss important information?”

  “Maybe Nicia could help,” I offered.

  His glare spoke for more than what he could say.

  Alaire’s eyes lit up the way they always did when he had an idea. “I can bring her here.”

  “You didn’t tell him?” Esmour asked, looking directly at me.

  During all of the commotion I had forgotten to mention the most horrific part of my day. Then a thought occurred to me. Was it a coincidence that Malin disappeared on the same day Nicia lost her magic? I wanted it to be a sick joke, and at any minute Malin would walk out and laugh at us. Even as I explained the events from this morning, my eyes darted around the room in anticipation.

  “Nicia is no longer with us. She went through with Kinhlr,” I said. In the back of my mind, I thought Malin was already inside and waiting for the perfect moment to make his grand entrance.

  “No, that can’t be true. Why do we have spells to take away Dark magic, but none to bring it back? Esmour, say it’s not true,” Alaire responded, looking hopefully at our leader.

  Esmour lifted his head up and laughed.

  “We have had traitors in the past, and I assure you that Nicia is no different. She liked the feeling of Dark magic, but it was not enough to keep her at bay,” he said.

  The hairs on my arm raised, but now I was watching the kitchen. Why didn’t Malin come out? Would he not defend Nicia’s honor? I felt nauseous at the thought of Malin never returning. Then the door creaked open, and for that instant all of my doubts disappeared. I would be right; he had come after all.

  Turning, I realized it was Nicia. She stepped inside, and strangely enough she looked older. It was as if she had never smiled before, never loved, and never felt any happiness. I stared at her, but her scream from earlier reentered my thoughts. More than anything I desired to blame Esmour for everything that happened. He had stripped her of magic, and now she was becoming a stranger.

  “You’re not welcome here,” Esmour snarled.

  Nicia looked to me. “Something has happened?”

  Slowly, I advanced toward her and handed over the paper. Esmour attempted to snatch it, but I pushed him away. Though I stayed by Nicia’s side, I realized that if Esmour attacked I’d have to choose between Destin and Nicia.

  “Will you not search for him?” Nicia asked, though still focusing on the paper.

  “Yes, as soon as you leave,” Esmour replied.

  Turning over the note, Nicia gasped at the last sentence.

  “Please I have to find him,” she insisted.

  Esmour turned to Alaire and said, “You’re not close with Nicia like Leal is. You decide.”

  Nicia perked up, staring at Alaire. I hoped he would say no. She had too much of an emotional connection with Malin, and people in love do crazy things.

  Alaire sighed. “It’s too dangerous. Malin could have been attacked, and if we run into magicians you won’t have any way to defend yourself.”

  “If Jacquette left you’re telling me that you would let someone stop you from f
inding her?”

  Alaire’s head dropped. “I would go to the end of the world to find her.”

  ***

  The streets were filled with locals as we made our way to Malin’s house. We agreed to split up; Esmour and I would search the house while Nicia and Alaire searched the forest. Once the others departed I remained silent, thinking only about Malin. He had been the second person to join Destin, and despite his independence, I felt a strong connection to him. I wasn’t about to lose him too. I promised myself that when we found him I’d tell him everything. It was cruel for Alaire and me to be the only ones who knew about Esmour’s meeting with the stranger.

  “Leal?” Esmour called.

  I barely glanced back. “What?”

  “I’ve been calling your name repeatedly” he said.

  I stopped at the realization that we were in the front of the house. Nothing had changed since I had last been here. As I opened the door, I half expected for Malin to jump out with a grin on his face. The moment we were inside, though, it was empty. Esmour advanced to the table where the food was laid out and touched it.

  “Cold,” he remarked.

  For how long had Malin been gone? His house had remained untouched, but not even Alaire had worried after not seeing him for an extended period of time. No one thought to look for him until we needed him.

  “Is there any family we can contact?” I asked.

  Esmour tapped his fingers on the table. “No, the White magicians killed his family. We were all he had left.”

  “The note was brief and sounded urgent. Maybe he didn’t have time to explain because someone was after him,” I replied. It was the message left for Nicia that worried me the most. If a man truly loves a woman nothing should stop him from saying it in person. The only explanation was that he had been tracked down by someone who had bad intentions.

  “Malin wouldn’t run from danger. Did you even know the man?” Esmour snapped.

  That was the truth you didn’t realize until the person was gone. You start thinking about all of the important questions you could have asked, and then you realize you may never have the chance.