The Last Refuge

by L. A. Blackburn

  “Yes,” she agreed.

  “Be wary of him,” Agabus said. “Danger appears to follow him, but in spite of that, I’m interested in keeping an eye on him.”

  “What are you saying?” she said.

  “I will pay you a hundred gold pieces to keep watch on him for me,” said Agabus. His request stunned her for a moment.

  “That’s a lot of coin. Why are you giving me a second chance?” she asked as her instincts began taking over.

  “I don’t like the feel of the latest events. It may be best for you all to leave in the morning but Nathan should be watched closely,” Agabus said.

  “Why is that?” asked Isha.

  “Seers see much, perhaps too much, so it’s important he keep moving for now,” said Agabus. “If it’s too much of a challenge, I could easily have Elhan do it for nothing.”

  “I’ll do it,” she said.

  “Excellent. Now if you will excuse me, I have many things to attend to before morning,” he said as he vanished down the hallway. Why did she agree to watch him? In truth, they were about the same age. She thought at first about the money but also about the fact that he’d freed her from her demon curse. Things were so confusing now that she didn’t know how to react. She returned to check on Nathan once more. By this time, the others were there also, watching him in his anguish. Tossing and turning spasmodically, he grasped at his covers, sweat pouring down his face soaking his clothing and after a few more minutes, the spasms subsided as he fell quiet. Slowly, his eyes opened.

  “What’s going on?” he asked as he sat up in bed.

  “You were dreaming and yelling like a madman. Do you remember what your dream was about?” Isha asked.

  “No,” Nathan lied.

  In truth, what he remembered made him sick to his stomach. Visions of people running and screaming from unseen attackers raced through his head. Nathan wiped the sweat from his face and began to get angry from embarrassment.

  “It’s nothing. I might as well get ready for morning,” Nathan began to shut his door but found that Agabus had put his foot in the way.

  “Young man, I would consider it a personal favor if you would leave the city as soon as you can,” said Agabus, whose request gave Nathan a bit of a shock.

  “Fine,” said Nathan with a snap.

  Within the hour, Nathan and Isha were on their way out the door. For a moment, he stopped at a corner store and watched the people going home for the night while Isha wondered why they should leave so soon. Then, something caught his eye in a nearby store. He felt mysteriously drawn to the doorway and entered a shop filled with books and scrolls of all shapes. The smell of aging pages mingled with the scent of glue and leather filled the air and there were rows of empty pages, leather pieces and bindings. A small man wearing a leather apron emerged from behind a curtain.

  “Come in, young master, come in. I’m just closing up but how can I be of service?” said the owner. He held out his hand giving Nathan a hearty handshake. “My name is Jerkin and I’m always glad to be of service to the tomewrights. But I must say, I can‘t tell what division you‘re from.”

  “I’m not tomewright,” said Nathan.

  “Well, you have the bearing of one, and I mean that only in the best sense,” said the shopkeeper. “Perhaps your friend could use some assistance.”

  Isha, who was near the door of the shop, shot a cold look at the storekeeper from under her hood and shook her head.

  “Another time then, please feel free to look around as I finish up,” Jerkin said as he returned too his work. Nathan had never seen so many books outside of a Scriptorum.

  “He’s right you know,” Isha said.

  “About what?”

  “You have the look of a tomewright.”

  “I wish people would stop saying that. Where I’m from, they would never allowed me to handle books much less make them,” he said.

  “It’s more than that,” she said.

  “Can we just drop it?”

  “No,” she insisted. “Do you see these books lining the shelves? The lettering fades after each use.”

  “Is it the same as the tracts Dodie uses to make light?” said Nathan.

  “Similar,” Isha said. “Dodie is a Tractmaster and tracts are one or two use only. This is a Codex store for bound books only. Anyone can use a tome but only a tomewright can make the text and bind it.”

  “Pick up that book over there,” she instructed. She pointed at a leather-bound book with frayed pages. He retrieved the book, opened it and the writing was so faded he couldn’t make out the letters. “This is a tome that must be re-bound.”

  “And here is a tome that is freshly bound,” She pointed at another book that had a new cover and firm edges. He opened the book and the lettering was bold, clear and brilliant.

  Suddenly, a commotion began outside. People were running up and down the street. It was hard for Nathan to tell the source of the excitement. Isha went to the window but crowds were blocking her view.

  A man poked his head through the doorway and stammered, “Another refuge guard has been found dead in the street.”

  Eleven

  “Straightening the Boards…”

  Isha ran outside and pushed her way through the crowd with Nathan struggling to follow. People gathered around the fallen man, whispering and glaring as she knelt beside the body. Suddenly, Isha glimpsed a white-clad figure standing alone in a distant shadow, their eyes connected for a brief moment sending fingers of ice running down her spine. A menacing smile crossed his tanned face as he ran slender fingers through his blue-black beard. Something unsettling surrounded him. She maneuvered herself in to get a better look, but the crowd hindered her view. By the time she moved close enough, he’d vanished into the shadows. She carefully made her way back to the body and found Nathan standing over it with a sickened look on his face.

  “He died from a single strike to the back of the neck delivered with no small amount of skill. I doubt the victim even knew what happened,” she said after a quick inspection of the body.

  “Is that a Venger?” someone shouted in the crowd.

  “Can’t be, they’re not allowed in the city,” said another.

  Isha and Nathan backed away as the crowd around the body suddenly began closing in. Someone caught her by the cloak, pulling it open.

  “It’s a bestial Formorian from Kedemoth! She attacked a guard. Quick, kill her before she attacks again,” someone shouted.

  A stone flew threw the air, hitting Isha a glancing blow on the forehead sending blood running down her face and into her eyes.

  “Monster! Look at her, she’s a beast,” cried a nearby woman as she rushed backward, tumbling over anyone in the way.

  “Kill the demon,” another called.

  Abruptly Isha’s face took on the look of a trapped animal – vicious, dangerous and deadly. She slapped the man who took her cloak and took it back, quickly pulling it back around her and searched for her weapons only to come up empty.

  “Blast it,” she whispered to herself, remembering she was unarmed.

  Another stone struck in the back causing her to yell in anger and pain. The faces in the crowd grew frightened, threatening and angry. And that becomes a bad combination for any group, especially jumpy townspeople just after a murder.

  “She’s under the protection of Warden Elhan,” Nathan shouted as he hovered over her, trying to shield her from the flying rubble while another stone struck her in the side.

  “What good is Elhan if he can’t even protect the guards in the city,” someone shouted from the other side of the crowd as a rather large rock sailed through the air striking Nathan in the stomach, doubling him over like a sack of oats. Abruptly, Elhan appears, standing between the wounded duo and the hostile crowd.

  “The next stone that falls will have a head rolling next to it,” Elhan announced as he backed the crowd away. “A guard is dead. Anyone still here in the next few minutes will be held for questioning.”
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  “She’s a killer,” said someone in the crowd.

  “That is for the council to decide. Now go to your homes or be arrested,” said Elhan. One-by-one the crowd disbursed, dropping stones on the ground as they skulked away. The crowd still held the look of frightened children but soon the street cleared enough for Elhan to check on Isha and Nathan.

  “Is it bad?” he asked.

  “Nothing I can’t manage,” said Isha.

  “Is this how the townspeople usually act in a city of refuge?” Nathan asked as he gasped air in erratic puffs.

  “No, but they are fearful and suspicious,” said Elhan as he examined the body of the dead guard.

  “I saw something,” said Isha.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” said Elhan. “This guard. I think it’s Chief Onel’s son. Let’s get back to Eldar Hall. You’re not safe in the streets anymore.”

  When they arrived, council was already in special session with Chief Onel personally guarding the door. Elhan approached Onel with a stricken expression on his face.

  “Another guard is dead. They are bringing him in now. I think its Jehu,” Elhan said.

  “It can’t be. He just went off duty an hour ago,” said Onel.

  “I’m sorry,” said Elhan.

  Onel’s face went white, his spear fell from his hand, clanking and bouncing back-and-forth on the floor. Onel spent so much time preparing for the council meeting he failed to keep reports within the city itself. He pushed passed Elhan in a dead run. Once council starts, it’s against the bylaws of the refuge to interrupt, but on this occasion, Elhan opened the door.

  “Jehu is dead,” declared Elhan as he entered the council chamber with Isha and Nathan on his heels.

  His entrance startled the members and brought members Atimos, Barshak and Sered too their feet.

  “What is the meaning of this outrage?” shouted Mancer Atimos.

  He pounded the table with his fist, sending drinking cups jumping from the table to scatter onto stone floor.

  He wore the long extravagant black robes of a Rabdomancer of the Grand Clave. In return for allowing the refuges to stay independent city-states, Regent Mano demanded that an appointed mancer be allowed to have a seat on each refuge council. Elhan knew they were there to spy more than anything else.

  “How long ago?” asked Agabus.

  “Less than ten minutes,” returned Elhan.

  “Where is the Chief Onel? I demand he return to guard this room immediately,” said Atimos.

  “He would be happy to comply ‘Your Eminence’ but his son was just murdered and he’s busy at the moment,” retorted Elhan with contempt.

  “Don’t take that tone with me, barbarian,” sneered Atimos. “Wardens aren’t recognized by the Regency so I demand better protection, at once.”

  “The District Warden provides more than enough security for our needs,” said Agabus.

  Elhan tread across the floor, stopping in front of Atimos and stood with his hand resting on the hilt of his axe, glaring into Atimos’ defiant face. The balding mancer squinted as he nervously sucked his protruding front teeth trying to feign courage as the warden approached.

  “You’d better hope it’s me between you and whatever is killing people in open daylight, my good mancer,” quipped Elhan.

  Isha tried to enter the council chamber but Nathan’s hand on her shoulder kept her back. Agabus understood and excused himself long enough to meet with them outside.

  “Talk to me girl,” Agabus asked. “What do you know?”

  “I may be mistaken, but I thought I saw something, in an alleyway,” she said.

  “When did you notice?” asked the eldar.

  “After someone found the body,” she said.

  “Isha, confusion was everywhere after they found him. How can you be sure?” Nathan added.

  “Was it a mancer?” asked Agabus.

  “Maybe,” Isha said.

  Agabus eyed her with suspension for a moment, then nodded and returned to the council chamber.

  “I don’t understand, you had a clear view,” said Nathan.

  She immediately turned to him with wrath in her tone.

  “I can’t be sure,” she shot back.

  “I’ve never seen you unsure of anything,” Nathan said.

  “That’s all I have to say about it,” Isha snapped.

  “Fine,” Nathan said, throwing his hands in the air. “Just fine.”

  She knew exactly what she saw, but how could she tell them. Now that the townspeople knew about her presence, how would they react if she told them it’s possible a Venger did the killing inside the city. In truth, she didn’t know exactly what she saw. It appeared to resemble rumors of the “White Branch,” but that group remained totally shut off from the outside world. They never hired out their skills. Their killings were totally motivated by their own goals and no one ever knew what those were.

  Suddenly, Captain Onel returned with the body of his son cradled in this arm, tears running down his face as he openly wept with grief.

  “I knew you would want to see this for yourself,” said Onel as he gently placed his dead son on the floor. Agabus and the others were stricken by the sight but carefully looked at the wound in the young guards neck. Isha saw the wound for herself and knew it came from a Venger Branch.

  “Perhaps I can divine something about the murderer,” Atimos said.

  “Please, anything you can do to find who did this,” Onel growled with anger.

  Atimos took wooden rods from his cloak, dropped them next to the body on the floor and quickly began studying them intently with no small amount of humming and muttering. Nathan approached and knew he could at least say a silent prayer over the body so he knelt. Placing his hand on Jehu’s outstretched wrist, he took a brief moment and whispered a prayer under his breath. After a moment, Nathan took his hand away and immediately Jehu grabbed his wrist and sat upright with a wide-eyed expression. The others didn’t see Nathan’s panicked expression until the young guard sat up and began laughing. In shock, everyone fell away from Jehu in wide-eyed wonder except for Nathan, who yanked his wrist free from Jehu’s grip, and Councilman Atimos, who viewed the scene in terror.

  “Father, why aren’t you on duty?” said Jehu.

  The captain’s face went white but quickly turned red with tears of joy as he grabbed his son with both arms and pulled him to his chest.

  “How is this possible?” said Onel.

  “This is absurd. Obviously, the young man wasn’t dead,” said Atimos.

  “He was dead. I’d state my life on it,” said Barshak.

  “Then explain to me how this is possible?” said Elhan.

  “I can’t,” said Agabus.

  “We’ll obviously I brought him back,” said Atimos. “These are my most powerful rods and there is certainly enough energy in the room to do it.”

  “Father, I must return to duty,” Jehu said as his father tried to find the wound on his neck. Look as he may, he could find so sign of an injury whatsoever.

  “His wound is gone,” said Onel.

  “Of course,” said Atimos.

  “Thank you, Councilman. I’m in your debt,” said Onel.

  “If you’re in my debt then get these people out of here so we can finish the meeting,” said Atimos with disdain.

  “Of course,” said Onel as he motioned for everyone to leave the room.

  Agabus kept a watchful eye on Nathan. Never in all his long days had something like this happened right in front of his eyes. A breeze blew through the nearby window bringing the smell of coming rain and memories of the old tales. Mancers claimed to talk with the dead but never that they could raise one. In the past, before the mancers, dark magic was forbidden, but then came Mano. Behind locked doors, tomewrights understood that Mano owed a debt to the mancer in helping him gain the power he craved.

  “I think in light of these events we should adjourn for today,” said Councilman Barshak.

  “I agree,” sa
id Sered who made for the exit as quickly as possible. As she left, she took a fleeting glance at Nathan, pausing for a moment and whispering under her breath as though reciting something.

  “Your well being is my highest priority. Please return to your homes and don’t mention this to anyone until we can investigate thoroughly,” said Agabus noticing Sered’s odd behavior.

  Nathan slowly stood to his feet but before he could leave the strong slender hand of Agabus took him by the arm.

  “May I have a word with you,” said Eldar Agabus as he escorted Nathan to a smaller side chamber and closed the door behind them. “What are your thoughts on the events that just transpired?”

  “I don’t trust the Atimos,” said Nathan.

  “The feeling is mutual I’m sure, but that’s not what I’m talking about,” said Agabus. “What did you think of him raising the guard?”

  “It’s a miracle. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Nathan.

  “Miracles are from The Eternal and that is someone Atimos isn’t in touch with by his own admission,” said Agabus. “The fact that you are not from Akeldemah is apparent, but I suspect you are from further than even I can imagine. Why are you here?”

  “I have a promise to keep and that’s all,” said Nathan. “I don’t really know where I am and I thought coming here might help me somehow.”

  “Seems you’ve been running quite a bit lately,” said Agabus. “Is running getting you where you want to go?”

  “Doesn’t seem that way,” said Nathan.

  “Let me show you something,” said the eldar as he went to the back of the room, stopping in front of a raised platform containing a tall back chair half hidden in drapery. Pulling back a panel of drapes covering the chair, there, toward the top, a square piece of the chair’s cover was missing.

  “Please hand me the piece of cloth you carry,” asked Agabus.

  Slowly, Nathan took the cloth from his shirt and handed it to the old man. Slowly, Agabus held up the cloth, covering the missing area and there was no mistake - it matched perfectly. The moment seemed to freeze in time until Agabus broke the silence.

  “No one knows much about this chair. Its been here since long before me,” said Agabus with reverence. “They call it ‘The Prophet’s Place’ in one old language but ‘Seer’s Seat’ in another. Ancient records associate it with great evil, while others count it with great good. Some manuscripts say it held the symbol of the tomewrights who served the old empire in the days when Ariel stood tall while others say it was their laziness that brought the final ruin.”