by Mark Albany
I perked up when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching the cell I was being held in. The sight of flickering torchlight made me hope there might be someone that could let me out, or at least get me some water, but instead, it was Vis. He had the same crazed, flustered look about him, though it seemed to be more under control at the moment.
Keys jangled in the lock, quickly opening it as Vis pushed inside, closing the door behind him.
“Listen to me,” Vis said, his voice a low growl, kind of like the low rumble that slowly built into thunder. “Listen carefully, as I detest repeating myself. I need you to tell me what happened that night at Pollock’s house. I need you to be thorough, and entirely honest. Any discrepancy in what you tell me will be punished severely. Do you understand?”
I ground my teeth and nodded. I wasn’t sure I trusted Vis not to turn me in to the Official to save his own skin, and therefore had no intention of telling him the full story willingly. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be able to drag it out me unwillingly, but this time I was going to make him work for it. I wasn’t some lamb to be fed to a lion as sacrifice.
“I broke into the noble’s house, as you ordered,” I started. “I found the parchment you wanted me to bring back, but when I picked it up off the pedestal it was on, I must have triggered some kind of ward, since there were guards on me seconds later. I managed to evade them, but more started coming as I made my way out. I was slowed down by some sort of protection field that was trying to keep the parchment from leaving the property. I started running into the woods behind the mansion. The guards were hot on my trail, of course, but I found some ruins inside the woods, and by navigating them, I was able to elude my would-be captors and make my way here. I didn’t want to be seen entering the premises under suspicious circumstances, so I snuck in and climbed up through my window, which I left open, just in case.”
I’d delivered the whole of the story in a firm monotone, keeping my eyes glued to the ground as a good servant would while talking to his master. There was a lot to hide in my story, but I’d become something of an accomplished liar over the years. I only hoped those skills weren’t failing me now.
Vis gripped the sides of my head with both hands, lifting my head to look him in the eyes. There was a mask of calm, but I could see the crazed fear in his eyes as he looked deep. I knew what was coming next. He was going to push his mind into mine to dig to the truth of the matter. My lies would be for nothing. Well, not nothing. I was certainly going to be punished worse for trying to hide the truth. I steeled my nerves. I knew the possible consequences of my actions, and I wasn’t going to back away from them just under the threat of pain and death.
Not yet, anyway.
Finally, Vis looked away, pushing me back down onto the cot with a low growl of frustration. He didn’t say anything, and again, left me with more questions than answers as he locked the door behind him.
I took a few seconds to calm myself down and to let my hands stop shaking before I reached into my pocket and withdrew the ring. I rubbed at the bronze surface in jerky motions.
“What happened?” Aliana asked, popping into reality out of thin air, as usual. Annoyingly, I was starting to get used to it, though there was still a bile taste in the back of my mouth when she did.
“Vis was asking me questions about what happened that night,” I said softly, gripping my hands together. I had been afraid, and as the adrenaline of looking into a future of pain and death faded, there were a variety of signs. Hands sweating and shaking, a sick feeling in my stomach. I gritted my teeth.
“The night we met?” Aliana asked.
I nodded. “I told him more or less what happened, leaving out some crucial details about how I was caught and how I met a djinn. Avoiding anything about how much you helped me was pretty much the idea. I’m not sure if he believed me.”
“Well, there are always ways to find out,” Aliana said with a small smile. She took me by the hand, guiding me over to the far wall and placed her free hand on it, closing her eyes. There was a warbling sound in my ear for a moment before the sound of Vis’ voice could be heard.
“I don’t know what to do with him,” Vis was saying. “I thought killing his parents might help with bringing the power I know to be in him out to the surface, but nothing. It’s like he’s actively hiding it from me. I’ve never seen the like.”
“You could always send him to the tower,” said a second voice, which sounded like Pollock’s. “They know how to handle the difficult cases.”
“I am considering it,” Vis admitted. “I don’t know what else to do with him. Either selling him off to the Tower, or maybe even just killing him. I need to clear any association to what happened. With all the deaths starting to pop up, the farther I am from all this, the better.”
“Stop,” I said, softly, closing my eyes. “Just stop.”
Aliana pulled her hand away from the wall. I shut my eyes, trying to process everything that had just been revealed. Vis had killed my parents, and now wasn’t going to bother with keeping me around anymore either. The fact that I had felt any kind of loyalty to the man was making me feel sicker than any trip through a portal.
“What do you want to do?” Aliana asked in a gentle voice.
“Just get me the fuck out of here,” I said, trying to keep any sign of emotion from my voice. She nodded, smiling as she squeezed my hand again. I closed my eyes, feeling that tug and twist, dragging my body through like I was in a whirlpool, twisting me around until we dropped down hard on a solid surface. As I looked around, I realized we hadn’t actually moved too far away. We were on top of the manor, with a clear view of the rest of the moonlight-bathed countryside.
I had no eye for the beauty of it, I realized, dropping onto the roof and pulling my knees up to my chest.
“You couldn’t have gotten us further away?” I asked, looking at Aliana as she dropped to a spot next to me.
“Sorry,” Aliana said, sounding genuinely apologetic. “But there is a limit to even my powers. Creating portals through which two can travel is a heavy drain. I will be able to get us further away in a moment. I just need some rest.”
I nodded, not really in the mood to talk. Besides the fact that my head was once again aching, it seemed like there was so much to say, but I wanted to be angry. As much as I wanted to lash out at something, I didn’t want her to be the target. Not only did I fully expect to be the loser if that happened, but none of this was her fault. All of it was on me and my trusting nature, accepting that Vis had taken me in out of the kindness of his heart after I had been recently orphaned. And the fact that he’d done it because he thought there was some kind of power inside me and not because he felt any kind of guilt over what he’d done just made it worse somehow. I wasn’t sure why, but it did.
I looked at Aliana. It seemed like she was in a similarly low mood. I reached over to gently rub her shoulder, squeezing and stroking slowly. She smiled, dropping her head to press her cheek onto my hand.
“I’m sorry for reacting that way about how you handled Kruger and his goons,” I said softly. “You saved my life, and all I offered in return was unwarranted judgement. You did what you had to do, and saved my life in the bargain. It was unfair of me. I shouldn’t have acted that way.”
“You reacted rather better than most in similar situations, I imagine.” She pressed her lips to my hand. “All is forgiven, Grant, I assure you.”
I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off by the sound of horses galloping into the courtyard below. I drew as close to the edge of the flat roof as I could without skylining myself, looking down to see three men in the telltale Lancer armor riding up to the door. They didn’t wait for any servants to arrive, simply climbed down. One was wearing the long, red cloak that indicated he was a high-ranking official.
“What’s happening?” I asked, turning to Aliana. I could see she already had her hand on the roof, then heard their voices. “The temporal scars they leave behind when creating p
ortals are difficult to miss, as are the spikes in power when they make them. There is no other explanation. Leave your men here, just in case, but I want this message delivered to the Official right now.”
“As you wish, my lord,” the Lancer replied.
Aliana pulled us away from the conversation. For the first time since I’d met her, she looked rather terrified.
“Fuck,” she spat. “Shit.”
“What’s the matter? Hey!” I shouted when she didn’t answer, just gripped my wrist. We were instantly twisted and twirling through one of her portals again. The pain in my head was only getting worse. When we pulled free from the portal, I couldn’t make anything out as the pain worsened to the point that my eyes were clouded with inadvertent tears.
I brushed them away roughly and shook my head to clear it before looking around. We were in what looked like a cave. The mouth opened up to a forest—the forest, unless I missed my guess—and… well, I couldn’t make anything out from the back. The ground was firm, though, and while I could hear the sound of trickling water, I saw no evidence of where it was coming from.
I turned to Aliana, who wasn’t on her feet as I’d imagined. She was looking at the wall opposite her with a haunted expression on her face, like she couldn’t believe what had just happened.
I had questions, but I assumed that now was not the time. We could figure the details out later.
I dropped next to her, draping my arm around her shoulders and drawing her close. The feeling of her wings pressing into my arm was a little unsettling, but I could move past it. I stroked her hair tenderly as I pulled her closer. She smiled, leaning into me. One of her hands moved around my back, but instead of pulling me closer in turn, she slipped it into the pocket that I still had her ring in. She pulled it out, drawing it back up to her eye as she pulled the orb out as well. I had absolutely no idea where from.
She was staring deeply into the orb as her fingers rubbed incessantly at the ring as we cuddled close together. I couldn’t see anything changing in the orb myself, but she clearly did, as after almost a half hour, she turned and looked up at me.
“It’s high time for you to be the rogue mage you were always meant to be, Grant,” she whispered, handing me the ring back.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked with a small, confused smile.
“You’ll see,” she whispered, craning up to press a light kiss on my cheek before settling in for the night.
10
I shouldn’t have felt as tired as I did. It had been a nice long sleep, deep and without any dreams that I could remember. I should have woken up refreshed, or at least less tired, anyway. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually woken up refreshed, no matter how long or pleasant a night of sleep I’d had.
But the lack of shutters in the cave slowly brought me to consciousness by letting the sun right into my eyes. After coming out of the deeper sleep, I found myself unable to plunge back in as sleeping on a hard rock made for an ache in my lower back that plagued me until I eventually groaned and pushed myself over, blinking angrily at the sun that was slowly starting to rise.
On the bright side, the damned headache was gone. I took a small comfort in that, at least.
I pushed myself to my feet, groaning softly as I stretched. It had been a long couple of days, I supposed, so it was no surprise that I was more tired than usual. Besides, all the magic that was being forced on me had to be taking some kind of toll, though the actual effects were a bit more difficult to discern.
I looked down at my clothes, realizing that I hadn’t changed them since the day before, when I’d been sweating, and had blood soak in. I shook my head, looking around and realizing for the first time that I was alone in the cave.
Where had Aliana disappeared to?
One problem at a time, I mused, moving out of the cave, blinking and yawning. There was the sound of running water nearby. Maybe it was deep enough to fully submerge myself. If not, a quick wash would have to suffice. I moved through the woods toward the sound, surprised as it intensified. Then I realized I was approaching a small waterfall.
I eventually found myself near a couple of deep pools. They were well concealed by bushes and trees which were all fed by a slow-running waterfall. It was a beautiful little nook in the woods, I realized as I smiled and turned my head this way and that, inspecting my surroundings with a great deal of appreciation.
There was a good deal more appreciation when I saw Aliana in one of the pools. Well, she was actually closer to the waterfall, standing on a rock and letting the water flow over her very, very naked body. I couldn’t take my eyes away from it caressing her flesh, the sunlight reflecting and glinting on her wet breasts.
My appreciation increased for a moment until I realized that, under the din of the falling water, she wouldn’t have been able to hear me approaching and was probably not aware that I was watching her.
That thought was shattered to pieces as she turned to me, smiling sweetly and indicating for me to join her in the water.
For some reason, I shook my head. I wasn’t sure why, but it made her laugh as she waded back out into the water, coming over to me. I suddenly realized that having her come closer might not be the best idea. Not for my dignity, anyway. She seemed like the type to point out and tease about the fact that my trousers were in the process of tenting. I quickly dropped to a seat on one of the nearby rocks, trying to cover the visible effects before she made her way out the water.
Amazingly, she seemed even less interested in covering herself as she stepped out and walked over to me. She eyed me curiously, as if wondering for a moment why I’d taken a seat. As she moved closer, her firm breasts glistening in the just-risen sunlight, she could see why.
I misjudged, thinking she would crack a joke about it, since a smile was all that was offered as she moved closer to me.
“What?” I asked as she came nearer, conflicted about whether I wanted her to approach or give me some space.
“My clothes are behind that log,” she said with a grin. “Though I would suggest that you take a bath yourself. The water feels amazing.”
I nodded, moving to the side but not getting up as she moved around me to reach her clothes. I noticed for the first time that there was a pair of bracelets on her arms. They looked oddly familiar, but I couldn’t really place them. I doubted I’d seen them before.
Then again, there was a lot of blood that wasn’t going to my brain at the moment, so I would have to readdress the issue once I was finished with my bath.
Yes. A bath. That was what I was going to do, I thought as she moved away, slowly putting her clothes on. Amazingly, they didn’t do much for my reaction, so I quickly stripped bare once she was out of sight, moving over to the water.
It was nice, and more importantly it was icy, causing me to splutter and shiver, all signs of my arousal disappearing as I slipped into the water.
A few minutes later, properly controlled, I managed to clean some of the blood, dirt, and grime from my clothes, and took up the new set as the first was laid out to dry in the sun. I doubted that clean clothes would be something I could rely on for a while, since it was very apparent that we weren’t going anywhere near civilization anytime soon, and yet I found myself wanting to cling to at least some kind of practice that showed we weren’t wild things.
When I got back to the cave, after only a few minutes lost in the woods, I started to wonder just where we were. The cave was solid rock, which meant we had to be close to the mountains somehow, and yet we were far enough away not to see them. Somewhere at the foot. The mind-wringing fact that somehow Aliana had managed the feat of opening a portal this far away from where we’d been would have to be put aside in light of the fact that we were hundreds of miles away from anything I had relied on for survival over my entire life. I didn’t know how to hunt or gather food. I had no idea how to set up a camp, or how to live out here. Sure, we needed to be far away from where the Lancers were, but dying
out in the woods wouldn’t be a better fate than dying in some dungeon. Well, for me, anyway. I couldn’t imagine what they would subject Aliana to if the Emperor got his hands on her.
Then again, she could take care of herself, I mused as I slipped into the cave, looking around, trying to make out just how close to the mountains we were.
“Hey,” I heard a voice from behind me.
“You’d think I would be used to you trying to startle me,” I said, trying to recover before she noticed.
“I’ll continue to do so until it is no longer fun,” Aliana said with a small smile as she came around to face me.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Far enough away from your home that it is unlikely our troubles will follow us,” she said. “I brought us here so that you might be able to focus on your training instead of the horde of thoughts that cloud your mind.”
“Oh gods, not this again,” I groaned, shaking my head. “What will it take to convince you people that I have no fucking power? Do you want me to explain it to you through interpretive dance or something?”
Aliana grinned. “As enjoyable as that might be, I have seen that spark in you. You wouldn’t have been able to use that parchment otherwise. There is something in you that keeps it from being displayed to others. It shows an inner nature you want to keep hidden. A roguishness, if you will.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked as she guided me out into the forest again.
“The nature of the rogue is to be elusive, a slippery bastard that will not be tamed, no matter what those about him would define as honorable or necessary,” she said with a small smile. “I’ve seen it before, but never quite as independent as yours.”
“Is that a compliment?” I asked with a chuckle.
“Not really,” she said with a shrug, not sharing my amusement. “Rogues are almost impossible to handle, very difficult to manipulate. It’s only possible if you find them young and mold them to one’s ways, as Vis did to you. But no matter what he tried, there was always a part of you that refused to submit. Even as you accepted and trusted the man, you found yourself keeping things from him, a part of your mind always stubbornly resisting his instruction.”