by P B Hughes
“A Chimaroo time bomb?” Jude asked.
“Precisely,” Bubbs replied. “Justice for the cave-dwelling king.”
“You mean to use us to assassinate Korophant?” Jelani exclaimed, aghast.
Bubbs scowled. “Only if he has joined Greavus. Otherwise, he’ll just receive a pretty trophy.” He pulled the key out of the torch, silencing the ticking sound. “You’ll have two hours to get out of the blast radius after activation.” He placed it and the key into the box and then handed them to Sir Weston. “I have given Sir Weston more detailed instructions. He is the only one to handle the torch. Understood?”
Daniel looked worriedly at Gregory, who appeared deeply unsettled. For his sake, Daniel hoped the bomb would never have to be used.
Sir Weston was the only who nodded in response to Bubbs.
“One more thing I forgot to mention,” Bubbs continued. “After last night’s attack, it seems it would be unwise to send either party without a healer, so I’m sending one with those heading north as well.”
Daniel and Gregory exchanged curious looks.
“Hello, all!” cried a distant voice.
A grin formed on Gregory’s face as they beheld Martha, dressed in a white cloak with blue trim, riding toward them. A man rode beside her outfitted in armor similar to Sir Weston’s.
Since Mordecai had become headmaster of Brightcastle Hall, the entire school of Littleton had been relocated to a small village a few miles from the Imperial City. While their visits were still few and far between, much to Gregory’s joy, they saw more of Martha than they ever would have otherwise.
“She comes highly recommended by Mordecai. She’s young, but she knows you all and I think it wise to send her along. I’ve also decided to send a swordsman with those of you traveling south—someone more fit for hand-to-hand combat in case you all become incapable of using your powers.”
“And who would that be?” asked Jude, staring at the knight who rode beside Martha.
“Ah, that is another young man who comes at the recommendation of Sir Weston. Marcus Kincaid. He’s the top cadet in his class and should prove to be a fine addition.”
Daniel’s ears reddened at the sight of the boy. Admittedly, he looked rather impressive with his broad shoulders, gleaming armor, and heavy spear with a fluttering blue flag tied beneath its head.
“Hello, Captain,” said Marcus to Sir Weston. “Headmaster, Chancellor.”
“Greetings, Marcus,” replied Sir Weston. “I trust you will lay down your life to protect these jewels of the Empire?”
Daniel noticed a frown curl down at the edge of Marcus’ mouth. “Upon my honor, I shall protect them with every fiber of my being.” He then locked eyes with Daniel.
“Marcus,” said Daniel with a nod.
“Miraclist,” Marcus replied.
“One last thing before you go,” said Mordecai, climbing down from his horse and reaching into his pocket. “You will need these.” He pulled out two silver compasses and held them in the light by their shimmering chains. “A bit of my handiwork; accurate as can be.” He gave one to Sir Weston and the other to Jude. “They’ll get you where you need to go.”
“They’re beautiful,” said Sir Weston, opening the clasp and admiring the inside. “Treasures.”
“Amber Miraclists build the best compasses,” said Daniel proudly. “They’re able to pinpoint magnetic fields with keen precision. And Mordecai, he makes the best in the Empire.”
“Thank you, Daniel,” said Mordecai. “They’re nothing, really.” His countenance grew serious. “Be safe all of you. The road is dangerous, especially with Cythes about.”
Bubbs dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Like I said before: for a Miraclist, danger is everywhere—on the road or at school. But do not fear; these young Guardians have proven they can take care of themselves. Now, they must take care of the Empire. Enough speeches. Shove off before the sun gets too high—go on! For Orsidia!”
With that, they parted ways—Daniel, Jude, Ari, Marcus and Ambassador Sweeny to the south; Nera, Jelani, Gregory, Martha, and Sir Weston to the north.
Chapter 9
The troupe heading south traversed over tumbling green hills bound by barricades of sweet-scented pine and across clear streams that fed into the sea beyond. The chill of late autumn hung over Orsidia, and the mornings were brisk and foggy.
The first two days, Daniel had taken to riding Shade alongside Ari until afternoon arrived. Then, he and Shade would take to the sky to scout the terrain ahead. However, as soon as Daniel was in the sky, Marcus pulled his horse next to Ari and the two of them would begin chatting gaily.
On the third day, Daniel and Ari began their morning ritual side by side. Only this time, Marcus did not wait for Daniel to head into the sky to begin his intrusion.
“By the way, Ari,” Marcus said, bringing his horse alongside Ari and interrupting Daniel mid-sentence. “While I’m not interested in working with your father directly, I really do think he should meet my friend Rolf. With Rolf’s acumen and your father’s trade knowledge, it could be a match made in heaven.”
Ari turned and gave Marcus her full attention. The two of them went on and on about their fathers’ businesses; the dealings of the wealthy. As soon as the topic grew tired, Marcus quickly changed it to their mutual classes together. Before long, it was the afternoon, and Daniel had to get ready to fly.
Daniel knew what Marcus was up to. The cadet was shrewd, bullying his way into Daniel’s time with Ari and steering the conversation to subjects Daniel did not understand. And though Daniel could see Marcus’ strategy unfold, he was ill-equipped to combat it. On the third morning, when Marcus took a place next to Ari, Daniel tried to think quickly:
“Ari,” he said, “I’ve been thinking about starting a business of my own.”
Ari looked at him, intrigued. “Oh? I didn’t know you were interested in business. What kind?”
“Well,” said Daniel, drawing the word out in an effort to stall. “Maybe I could sell baked goods.”
“Baked goods?” Ari repeated, frowning. “And who would bake them?”
“I would.”
“You don’t know how to bake.”
Marcus smirked.
“True,” Daniel admitted, wishing he was faster on his feet. “But I could learn. I could sell them on street corners.”
“I really don’t see much profit in that.”
“Ari,” inserted Marcus. “Have you ever talked to Mordecai about commercializing his compasses? I studied the one he gave Jude, and it truly is superb. I think he’d make a fortune selling them in the local stores.”
“You know,” said Ari, her expression brightening as she engaged with Marcus, “that sounds like a marvelous idea. I’ll discuss it with Mordecai upon our return.”
Daniel wilted, chiding himself: Baked goods? Really? You dolt—why did you say baked goods?
Again, he had been made to look like a fool, and spent the rest of the morning listening to a conversation he had no way of joining.
Daniel’s frustration grew when they stopped for the evening. He struggled to set up his tent, for the wind blew with malice. After wrestling with it for fifteen minutes, Daniel finally raised the left side of his canvas. As he stepped back, the canvas ballooned like a sail and collapsed on top of him.
“Now, don’t lose your temper, Miraclist,” Marcus sang from the opening of his own tent. “Sparring with cloth can prove challenging. But once the wind dies I’m sure you’ll get the better of it.”
The next night, when Daniel took a scoop of beans for dinner, he turned and immediately tripped over the wash bucket.
“You really should watch where you’re going,” Marcus said with a grin as he picked up the bucket. “Some people are rather careless, leaving things lying around.” He sat down on top of it and took a bite of his meal. “If you’re not careful, you might trip.”
Marcus was the one who put the bucket behind Daniel, of that he was certain. But
he knew the cadet wanted to start a fight and he would not take the bait. He refused to look like a fool in front of Ari again.
The next morning, Daniel didn’t even try to spend time with Ari. After breakfast, he immediately flew Shade into the sky. He supposed he could have ridden next to Jude, but the boy made it clear from the way he held his book to his nose that he wanted to be left alone. Besides, Daniel wanted to get as far away from Marcus and Ari as possible.
But being aloft did nothing but give Daniel a quiet place to stew. Despite the frigid altitude, Daniel’s skin burned with anger. Ari had rejected him. To make matters worse, she was cozying up to Marcus. And why shouldn’t she? the logical side of his brain lambasted. He’s rich, smart, and he’ll likely be a general in the army one day. They’re a perfect match, plain and simple.
Daniel stared out across the horizon, feeling as if he’d been punched in the gut. He knew he didn’t have a right to be angry. He wished he could be unfeeling like Jude, or laissez-faire like Gregory. But try as he might, he could not cool his emotions.
As the sun dipped west, the terrain began to level, sloping into flatlands that stretched for miles of withered grass. Daniel knew he couldn’t stay in the sky forever. Shade was getting grumpy, having skipped lunch. So he circled back around toward the caravan. He noticed Marcus and Ari still riding together.
“You know,” said Daniel to Shade, “I could make it rain on him. Just a little.”
Shade’s long, cat-like ears twitched the way they did when she knew Daniel was addressing her.
“Or you could give him a little nip next time he’s nearby; there’s no way he could be mad at me for that.”
Shade ruffled her feathers and turned her head ever so slightly, peering up at Daniel with sparkling, jet-black eyes.
Daniel’s eyebrows creased. “Don’t look at me like that. He has it coming.”
Daniel strained his neck over his shoulder. They were quite high, but even at that distance he heard Ari laugh at one of Marcus’ witty remarks. Daniel gave a swift tug on Shade’s reins. She tucked her wings to her side and they dropped from the sky like a stone. Fifty feet from the ground, Daniel pulled up. Shade unfurled her wings and caught the air. They bobbed for a moment, and then leveled out, gliding around to make a pass over the heads of the party. Daniel strained his hearing to pick up their conversation.
“I would like to have seen the look on your father’s face when you told him,” said Ari.
Marcus shook his head. “He wasn’t too happy. Told me I was a good-for-nothing vagabond that would never amount to anything.”
“Well,” said Ari, “I think you’ve already amounted to quite a lot.”
Shade beat her wings to stay adrift and let out a squawk, catching Ari’s attention as they passed by. She looked up and smiled at them.
“Oh, hello you two!” she called. “About time to set up camp, is it?”
Daniel and Shade circled and landed in front of the four riders.
Daniel climbed off Shade and shielded his eyes as he judged the position of the sun. “This isn’t the best place to set up camp. There’s not enough cover here to get a fire going in this wind. Fortunately, I spotted a grove of trees a few miles ahead that looks all right.” He glanced at Marcus, who had his horse a little too close to Ari for comfort. “The temperature’s dropping and it’s getting rather cold up there so I think we’ll ride alongside all of you.”
“Oh, good,” said Ari. “We missed you this morning.”
Daniel’s ears turned red. “Yes,” he said, “well I just wanted to get an early start before it got too cold. I’m not sure how Shade will fair in these temperatures.” (Shade flew fine in cold weather.)
“The cold isn’t an issue for me,” Marcus remarked. “We cadets did cold weather training last month. I lasted over an hour in an all but frozen pond.”
“Only an hour?” Daniel said, drawing Shade abreast. “That’s funny. We Sapphire Miraclists can withstand subzero temperatures for days.”
Marcus’ expression withered with annoyance. “Next time we’re by a river you can jump in and stay a few days to prove it.”
Daniel opened his mouth to respond, but Ari cut him off.
“Yes, well, I don’t think any of us likes the cold,” she said loudly, glaring at Daniel with warning. “Shall we get a move on?”
“Stop!” Sweeny exclaimed, spurring his horse in front of them.
Daniel stared at the man with surprise. For most of the trip, he had remained silent and pouty. It seemed the fellow could bear it no more. He wore a heavy frown as he examined the young lot with contempt, nose tilted smugly upward.
“What’s this all about?” queried Marcus.
“The time has come,” Sweeny said, his syrupy voice shaking. “I have an announcement to make.” He paused, nervously wrapping the reins around his hand.
Daniel exchanged a confused look with Jude.
Sweeny muttered under his breath. For a moment, Daniel could barely hear him. Slowly, his voice raised several decibels, growing more adamant with each word. “I’ve never been so humiliated in all my days! I’ve been the ambassador to Irachnia for eleven long years. I have maintained peace with those hooligans. All the while I’ve created a name for myself.” He pointed at Jude. “And I’ll not have…I’ll not have some snot-nosed child ruin it for me.”
“Get to the point,” said Marcus.
Sweeny’s frown deepened. “I refuse to take orders from anyone who lacks credentials. I refuse. I am the leader of this troupe, and you will follow my list of rules!”
Marcus chuckled and shifted in his saddle, looking disinterested.
Sweeny waited for an objection, but none came. Seeming pleased, he raised a solitary finger. “Number one, I am in charge.” He raised another finger with each subsequent rule. “Two, I lead the way. Three, I do the talking. And four, no one does anything without my permission. Now, I know Chancellor Bubbs has his own thoughts about how this should be handled, but he doesn’t understand that I have the most experience with these people. Thus,” he gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, “it’s time you all pledged your allegiance to me.”
Jude remained a statue on his horse. Only his eyebrow rose as he studied Sweeny with amusement. He waited so long to reply, the man began to fidget in his saddle.
Finally, Jude spoke: “You mean to tout your ambassadorship to Irachnia as a badge of honor?”
“Of course,” said Sweeny, indignant.
“You mean to tout your ambassadorship to the most unstable, underprivileged, starved state in the Empire?”
Sweeny blinked as if a puff of dust had flown in his face. “I—I wouldn’t go so far as to call it—”
“Then you’re a fool,” clipped Jude. “You’re easily the worst ambassador in the Empire. The neglect, mistreatment, and exploitation of the Irachnians is common knowledge. You have done your job so poorly, it has created crisis after crisis, including one that nearly resulted in a massacre.”
Sweeny’s whole body began to quiver.
“So no, I will not pledge my allegiance to you. And no, I will not do as you say for fear it may result in catastrophe. In fact, you will do as I say, you little worm. Or else,” Jude’s eyes began to glow emerald green, “I’ll strangle the life out of you.”
The man gasped.
“Now,” continued Jude, “lead the way, Ambassador.”
Sweeny gaped at Jude, unable to speak from shock, outrage, and fear.
Marcus looked at Jude out of the corner of his eye with a smirk.
Finally, Sweeny acquiesced, turned his horse around and continued leading them south.
Daniel couldn’t believe Sweeny’s audacity. His demand was a clear breach in protocol. But Jude’s response was equally shocking. Daniel knew Jude had a talent for shredding people to ribbons with his words, but he had never heard him speak that way to a person of authority. It made him uneasy. If Jude felt comfortable chastising an ambassador, who else might he rebuke?
Still, Daniel felt a strange sense of satisfaction seeing Jude’s sharp tongue pierce a man who deserved it.
It appears Jude is stepping into his role as Alpha, Daniel thought with quiet satisfaction.
Daniel’s thoughts soon turned to practical matters. Screaming winds tore across the plains that bit with stinging cold. Just as the first stars of twilight came out of hiding, they arrived at a welcome sight—a thick island of trees in the middle of the plains. They dismounted and pushed their way through the brush until they came upon a clearing. At the center of the wood, the wind could not find them. The area was frequented by travelers, logs placed around a fire pit, a rusted pot left behind. And so they pitched their camp.
“Blasted wind—blasted cold,” complained Ambassador Sweeny as he warmed his hands by the fire. He was clad in turquoise pajamas and furry nightcap. “In all my years, never have I been expected to travel in such barbaric fashion.”
“And how do you normally travel?” asked Daniel, propped against the back of a fallen log beside Ari.