Squire of War

by M. H. Johnson

  Even as her mind was frozen in utter horror, Jess somehow sensed what was wrong.

  For all that Abe's feverish eyes beheld the shimmering tower with sufficient passion that he had been compelled to dive headfirst into the stormy seas that lay between reality and dream, he did not possess the dark resiliency needed to survive the journey. Unthinking, he had leaped forward into a realm he couldn't possibly understand. Far worse, his soul couldn't fully lift itself from the fierce grip of mundus. The realm of the living held him tight.

  So great was the terrible pressure now upon him, physical and arcane, that Abe's body had begun to twist and buck against the very laws of nature, torn and distorted by the inconceivable pressures of the ethereal sea of dreams and possibility that Jess somehow sensed lay all around them at this, the bleeding edge of reality and dream. And just as endless heaps of fish entrails thrown by a careless fisherman back out to the sea would rope, twist, and spool outwards before eventually being pulled under the sea's grasp, such was also the fate of Abe. His body began roping out hundreds of yards in a twisted agony of a living flesh; entrails unwinding, body unspooling and shaking, the very cords of his soul lashing out wildly.

  Abe’s shrieks were equal parts horror and pain. Terrible cries that tore through Jess no less for being silent, she feared her eardrums would rupture as the very ether began to writhe and buck with the pain of Abe's tormented screams.

  Every organ of his body unspooled in a hideous mockery of living flesh as he was stretched impossibly in directions Jess could barely fathom before imploding upon himself, rupturing with a silent roar that rocked through Jess's soul. She sobbed, tormented with the awful knowledge that Abe had been aware of every unspeakable moment of agony before his body and soul were lost forever.

  Jess shook as she felt the terrible weight of Abe's screams rip through her yet again, before realizing that they were her own.

  “Move, Jess!” Twilight’s sharp reprimand cut through her state of horrific disbelief. “This is not a place to dally, on the border between dream and reality. You dare not risk slipping through the cracks of your world, lest the realm entire fall to your folly!”

  Jess gasped, blinking, gazing at her cat. Tail lashing, his fierce sapphire eyes met her own stunned gaze. “Move!” he curtly demanded, and Jess could feel the misty ground start to steam away from the terrible weight of her awareness.

  Jess, however, was still frozen by the unspeakable horror of what had occurred, realizing at last just how dangerous was this game she played. She felt an insistent tug on her arm, looking upwards into the concerned gaze of her brother-in-arms. "Um, Jess, is that the invisible familiar you keep telling us about that none of us can hear or see? Shimmering coat of fur like the midnight sky, eyes sparkling like sapphires?"

  “Yes.” Jess shuddered. “That’s him.”

  “Yeah, um… I can see him.”

  “I gathered.”

  “He thinks we should get moving, doesn’t he?”

  “Abe just died, Malek! He just… oh by the gods…” Jess sobbed, gripping Malek’s hand tightly, trying desperately to hold it together. Knees weak, she wanted little more than to collapse in a ball and grieve.

  Malek’s gaze was heavy with grief and terror both. “Yes, I know. He was a silly fool, and he didn't deserve for that horror to befall him. But we have to focus, Jess! If what your cat said is right, that same fate will befall us if we don't get a move on. There will be time enough for us to grieve, but only if we survive to remember him."

  Jess clenched fiercely upon her grief, forcing herself to move, to go forward. No matter how heavy her heart was, no matter how much she wanted to scream her fury at the uncaring Void, she knew she had to be strong. She had to force her will, sharp as an arrow, upon the shimmering tower before them, and push through the misty fluctuating fog with all her might, one step at a time, no matter how heavy her heart.

  Gripping her friend's hand firmly, terrified that he too might somehow slide away, Jess strode forth through the awful mist even as the shadowy ground sucked at her feet like some terrible bog of liquid blackness and nightmare, one grimly placed step at a time. For now, the exhilaration of having actually found the midnight sea of dreams had metamorphosed into terror at the ruthless storms that could sink any unwary traveler who dared to physically enter realms of living myth and legend.

  “Don't worry, Jess." Twilight's voice was almost melancholy. "Soon you will forget why your heart fills you with such sorrow, as do all those who dare to embrace living story. Mystery and wonder await those brave souls, yet there is a terrible price to be paid. For those who enter the realms of Dream and Shadow will themselves become a part of that legend which they seek to explore. Should they die here, they will be forgotten, as if they never were; their very life but a distant memory, a forgotten dream."

  Jess shook her head, still throbbing with an unnamed sorrow, her head aching and filled with a fuzzy blur. "I thought this would be such an incredible journey. But now Abe is gone, his very soul torn free of this world. Damn it, Twilight, this was supposed to be our grand adventure. No one was supposed to die!"

  “Jess!” Malek’s grip vibrated with excitement. “Don’t give up. I see it, up ahead. I think we’re going to make it, I think we’re almost through!”

  "By the angels above, I think you're right, Malek," Jess whispered with reverence and a bone-weary sense of relief, even as the shimmering tower that had appeared stubbornly distant, never growing closer despite their efforts to traverse the endless bog they had found themselves within, had at last coalesced crisp and clear before them. The pair of them lurched gratefully into the grassy clearing before the magnificent tower they faced, the grand structure standing bright and visceral against the midnight sky, as solid and corporeal as anything Jess had ever seen.

  Jess whooped with delight and laughter, feeling such exhilaration and excitement as she had never felt before.

  50

  They had done it. They had traveled through the mist-laden paths of Shadow, and now found themselves within living dream. All the melancholy and sorrow that had dogged Jess during that brief but terrible journey popped like a bubble.

  She breathed deeply, refreshed by the wonder before her as the last echoes of dread left her as if they had never been. And she could tell with a single glance that Malek felt the same. He looked a bit drawn, but his face mirrored the very ebullience coursing through her.

  Jess shook her head with a happy grin. “Angels above, Malek! I had so hoped, so prayed that we could do this. I had so feared that we were fooling ourselves. I was afraid that we would never even be able to see the pathway, let alone have it within us to make the journey without it fading to mist. But here we are. We’ve done it!”

  Malek laughed in triumph "Indeed we have, dearest Jess. Free from our families and their thinly veiled contempt for our differences. Standing high above our skeptical friends who probably thought we'd be stumbling in the dark like a couple of children chasing mad fancies! We can live life on our own terms now, shieldsister. Adventure and mystery await us; power, glory, and freedom."

  Jess and Malek laughed so hard their eyes streamed tears of exhilaration and joy, so great was the sweetness of their relief. The darkest nightmare of their journey Jess could already feel fading to farthest memory, like a dream itself. There was only this moment of glory and triumph. The past irrelevant, the future uncertain. All that mattered was savoring every second of the present, living life as vitally and vibrantly as they could.

  Jess savored that sweet wine of triumph, having hoped so hard they could succeed as Delvers, to inspire legends of their own in the tales of bards one day; the awe and wonder of finding their dreams made manifest, the tower just as she and Malek had imagined it to be, bold and real as life itself.

  But they would succeed only if they had the courage to face what challenges lay before them. She gazed carefully at the imposing tower, its vast walls inlaid with massive sheets of mother-of-pearl veined with
gold, sparkling like a priceless jewel in the brilliant moonlight dappling the gently waving grasses a silvery hue.

  Beautiful it was, utterly like her dream of it. Yet Jess held still, gazing carefully at the grand structure before her. She could feel energies shimmering all about it. Old enchantments entwined their essences about this place, filled with the magic and memories of ancient feats of spellcraft lost to the mists of time.

  The ebullience that had filled her with such euphoric relief faded quickly, Jess instantly sober to the potential for danger that lay ahead. She could sense something about this place. Something brooding. Something deadly. An alien presence that flickered in and out of the corner of her mind’s eye. She could not place it, but it troubled her.

  A now calm and focused Jess gently let go of her companion’s warm grip to assure a smooth draw with her blade hilt, her sword loose and ready in its sheath, should it be needed. Sabers left behind, they had dared to bring only one blade of steel apiece into this strange land of dreams.

  “Jess, what’s wrong?” Malek asked, his own cheer instantly replaced with wary caution as he sensed Jess's suddenly sober mood, checking his blade as well. “Well, we are off school grounds, that’s for damn sure."

  Jess took a steadying breath. “Old magics. Flickering. Paths to power thought long forgotten. Still living on in the echoes and nightmares of eons past. Somehow given unnatural life. And I taste the bitterness, the coldness of winter.” She flashed a bleak smile at Malek's troubled gaze, realizing how oddly monotone her voice must have sounded, gazing at the ancient fortress almost as if she had been in a trance. “Sounds like I’m rambling, right? I don’t know, Malek, something just feels very troubling.”

  Malek nodded solemnly. “You don’t have to be a master wizard to sense that this place reeks of power. I know I’ll never match Alex’s mastery of the arts, but even I can feel that something is very off about this place as well.”

  Jess nodded her agreement. “All right then, best we be as careful as we can. Let's treat this expedition as if we were entering enemy territory. If you have any wards you wish to cast upon yourself, now would be the ideal time.”

  Malek grinned. “Already done, shieldsister. If any elemental magic comes at us, I’ll hopefully be able to ground at least the first couple of castings.” Malek chuckled ruefully. "Since I seriously doubt that Rens will be taking on expelled students as apprentice enchanters, protective wards and leading coteries of battlemages in warfare is pretty much all I'm good for. Gods above know how hard we trained for just that role under Master Eloquin's tutelage.”

  Jess nodded. “You taking the lead and I always by your side during those sessions, protecting our charges from arrow and spear while you whipped those tongue-tied apprentice mages into some sort of fighting force that could ride a pony, take an order, and if we were really lucky, manage to focus enough to fling light globes at whatever straw dummies were being used as enemy targets that day." Jess smirked in remembrance. "I think Eloquin got a certain amount of satisfaction, foisting their training entirely upon our laps, and our comrades didn't help either, joking that they could use the time we were stuck babysitting to polish their skills enough to finally take us on."

  Malek nodded. “Not that we would ever ask them to blacken their daggers and join us on the High Hunt."

  Jess took a careful look at the great slab of oak that served as the door before them. She approached slowly, her eyes never leaving the brooding gaze of the twisted dwarf etched with such loving detail into the center of the door. So exquisitely and painstakingly carved was the bas-relief that it looked utterly lifelike. Jess could almost imagine terrible magics being used to sever a man’s living face from his body, only to bind it through darkest arts to the brooding oaken door before her.

  Her hand clenched the hilt of her longsword as she made out the brilliant carving’s very pores. She found herself tingling, almost expecting the carving's eyes to gaze at her with brilliant animation, springing to unholy life. Yet the intricate relief stayed just that. The eyes, of course, never moved, lifelike as they appeared. The great silver knocker crudely thrust in its otherwise exquisitely carved nose stayed utterly still.

  Jess turned her head to gaze at her oldest companion. “What do you think, Twilight?”

  Twilight flicked his tail, glancing at the door but a moment before fixing Jess in place with his enigmatic gaze. “This is your story, Jess. Your adventure. I think you know as well as I do the nature of that door. It is for you to decide what next you must do.”

  Jess nodded. “You’re right, Twilight. This is on me now.” She turned back to face the door, allowing her eyes to unfocus, carefully looking beyond the gently shimmering haze of power, that incredibly fine matrix of fluxing waves of arcane energy that permeated every inch of the great tower before her. Satisfied by what she had sensed, she turned to a stunned looking Malek. “It’s all right. There are no active wards on this door. Nothing to prevent us from going through. It’s just locked.”

  Jess blinked, taking in her companion's shocked expression. “Malek, what’s wrong?”

  “Your cat! Angels above, Jess, it talked!” Malek’s voice was strained, and he was gazing back and forth between Jess and Twilight with a mixture of disbelief and apprehension.

  Jess tilted her head, peering at Malek quizzically. “Of course he did. It’s just Twilight. You know, the cat I talk to all the time, the one that lets us know routinely if we’re being spied upon or not with our Circle meetings? The cat that scouts for us near every time we blacken our daggers, save when Knight Commander Hyve decided to rush the last den of slavers we took out like a complete jackanapes?” Jess gave an exasperated shake of her head. “And my memory of that night fades, soon after. Anyway, you’ve known about Twilight for years, Malek. Why are you getting upset now?”

  “Because, Jess, this is the first time I’ve actually seen him, or heard him speaking to you!”

  Twilight gazed at Malek, appeared unimpressed, and yawned. "Actually, it's not, Malek. You heard me speak most recently only minutes before, upon the journey through the borderland mists of dream and nightmare that serve as the barrier between this realm and your own. Of course, you've already forgotten that, have you not? Just as you have everything associated with the poor young fool who had screamed his last, moments before slipping out of sight and mind forever."

  Malek frowned in sudden consternation. “What is he talking about, Jess?”

  Jess sighed. “No need to get snippy, Twilight. It’s not his fault, really.” She smiled encouragingly at her friend. “Relax, Malek. Of all the things we’re experiencing on this night, the fact that you can finally see my cat shouldn’t be that surprising. Twilight thinks it’s probably because we’re now resonating with this realm of Regio. This Dreamrealm, if you will. It seems that certain rules can be bent here, so now you can sense and see what is normally hidden from you. Whether you’ll be able to do so when we find our way back home? That I don’t know.”

  Malek closed his eyes, giving himself a firm shake. “You’re right, Jess. How odd should it be that you, with all your other talents, would have a familiar? What mage, after all, would be more likely to have a talking cat for a companion than a Druid?” Malek shrugged. “I guess, on some level, we thought you were, I don’t know…”

  Jess cracked a wry grin. “Making it up, you mean?”

  Malek sighed. “Not so much making it up, as it being just an eccentricity. A metaphor for talents you don’t like to acknowledge directly. Just a figure of speech for you. Really, Jess, we just saw it as part of who you are, and haven’t given it any thought for the longest time. Only now I see that Twilight’s, well, real.”

  “Real as blood and battle, Malek.” Jess smiled. “Come! Enough dallying. Let’s enter this bewitched tower and see what awaits us. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Right, my brother?”

  Malek nodded in agreement, then held up his hand. “I thought you said the door was locked? And how can you be s
ure it's not trapped?”

  Jess chuckled. “When has a door not opened for me?”

  Malek shook his head, bemused. “That’s right. Whether it's growing things, dodging spears, or coaxing a stubborn door to open, you’ve always had a way with wood. But are you sure your gifts will work in the Dreamrealms?"

  Jess blinked and frowned. "There's only one way to find out." Not daring to hesitate for even a moment, lest uncertainty spell her downfall, she placed her hand upon the door. A steely look of determination, a firm push, and all could hear a sharp twang as the great oaken door slowly opened to reveal a dark hallway, the brooding gloom broken by flickering balls of arcane light emanating from orbs of ancient etched glass interspersed along the corridor as far as they could see. Sword at the ready, Jess used her off hand to gently open the great door fully, the sound of the ruptured iron lock sliding across ancient stone slabs echoing through the grand hall.

  Checking his hilt, Malek entered just behind Jess, followed by Twilight, who quickly loped to the lead, eyes glancing back to catch Jess’s before he stepped further into the gloom.

  “Jess, what do you think?”

  Jess grinned at her shieldbrother. “Considering that we are well and truly on our own with no school to retreat to and no desire to become our families' playthings, I think we should explore this wonder from attic to cellar and claim whatever treasures we can find. Our first step towards a life of true independence and freedom, where we need accept no patron's largess, making our own bold way in the world.” She laughed softly. “Assuming we can find such things here, of course.”

  Malek nodded his emphatic agreement to that. “It's a good thing we brought sacks. And let’s keep an eye out for traps, magical or otherwise, as well as any less pleasant things we might encounter.”

  Of like mind, they proceeded, step by careful step, past the great stone foyer to the hallway beyond.