by Ian Gregoire
“Surely you’re not implying we have a Saharbashi here at Antaris?” The incredulity in Elsa’s tone was also present on her face. “It’s inconceivable that one of them would be stupid enough to attempt to hide in plain sight among us”
If not for the seriousness of the situation Fay would have laughed at the idea of a Saharbashi residing on campus. Both the Order, and the Sisterhood were mortal enemies to those who chose the path of the Saharbashi. Throughout the Nine Kingdoms the practice of Zarantar Najist—the ‘impure arts’ as the Sisterhood called it—was forbidden, and carried the death penalty. Standing orders from the ruling body of the Order mandated the killing on sight of each and every Saharbashi found to be living anywhere in the Nine Kingdoms. No trial, no appeals for clemency, no pardon… just a swift death.
“You are correct, Sister,” agreed Fay, “there are no Saharbashi here at Antaris.” She paused for a moment, shifting her gaze to the two-storey dormitory ahead. “But… someone, somewhere felt sufficiently threatened by somebody in that building to task twenty men with hand-delivering a reaper stone. Once the dormitory has been evacuated I’m going to find out who.”
She ambled forward, entering the barrier sphere as though it wasn’t there, prompting awed gasps from many of the campus staff members gathered at the scene. The reaction was a reminder—since Fay occasionally forgot—that she was capable of feats that almost no other Sanatsai was able to emulate, and she had just demonstrated such an ability by defying an accepted truth. The invocation of Inkansaylar created barriers that were impenetrable; nothing could breach them. By default, only light, sound and air could pass through the Zarantar-induced translucent bubble, though it was possible to block these things as well. By walking through the barrier sphere confining the last surviving intruder, Fay had done something that should have been impossible. Not even the invocation of Naymutandushay, making the body intangible, would be enough to allow someone to pass through a barrier sphere.
With hand outstretched, Fay casually invoked Yuksaydan and instantly the ‘unseen hand’ seized hold of the blood-red reaper stone, sending it floating swiftly into her waiting grasp. She turned around to face Elsa, still standing outside the barrier sphere.
“I assume that little thing is considerably more dangerous than it looks,” said Elsa, pointing at the red ball in Fay’s hand, “and that’s why you’ve contained it within a barrier sphere.”
“Actually,” she began, “it’s completely harmless… to everyone but the person it’s been created to kill.” Her brow furrowed as she glimpsed down at the ball in her hand. “It’s very odd that someone felt it necessary to task twenty people to deliver it.” She looked back up at Elsa. “Stranger still that having been guided here by the reaper stone they would risk entering campus grounds. They could have simply released it from outside the grounds, or even several miles away—it would have sought out and killed its target just the same.” Fay fell silent, peering back over her shoulder to catch sight of the first of the female apprentices being ushered out of the women’s dormitory. They wore night clothing, casting concerned glances at the scene of the attack as they proceeded south towards the communal hall. She muttered, more to herself than to Elsa, “Whoever’s behind this really wanted the intended target dead, and wasn’t leaving anything to chance.”
She tore her eyes away from the dormitory entrance to look back down at the reaper stone in her hand. It hadn’t reacted at all to the nearby presence of any of the apprentices leaving the building, though it was close enough to be in range. The deadly manifestation of Zarantar Najist only had to come within approximately a dozen yards of its target to become fully active, bringing an unpleasant demise to the unfortunate victim. But as long as it remained inside the barrier sphere with her, Fay wouldn’t allow it to fulfil its function.
Outside the translucent, impenetrable bubble, Fay finally observed the first of the Sanatsai reinforcements she had requested. The uniformed men and women were pouring out of the campus armoury where, unbeknown to the apprentices, there was a secret passageway leading down to the vast cavern beneath that housed not only several hundred Sanatsai but also the portal connecting Antaris to scores of other locations throughout the Nine Kingdoms, and further afield.
The decision to drastically increase security in and around the campus wouldn’t expose the existence of the cavern beneath Antaris, but it was a given that the apprentices would wonder how so many Sanatsai from the Order managed to arrive so quickly in the wake of the attack. Nonetheless, it couldn’t be helped. Fay had no way of knowing with absolute certainty whether the danger had passed yet; she had no choice but to take every precaution.
She watched as most of the cohort jogged briskly towards the north entrance where a dozen of them would take up sentry duty, while the rest would establish perimeter patrols. The same thing would be occurring at the southern end of the campus. As for the small number of Sanatsai who weren’t advancing towards the entrance, they would remain within the campus to initiate two-man roaming patrols.
Moments later, the reappearance of Solen Basanta, who she had sent to open the doors of the communal hall, informed Fay that this was now done. Solen had jogged into view to stand to attention beside Elsa, and was now looking a little confused by Fay’s confinement inside her barrier sphere with the still unconscious captive. In response to his raised eyebrows, she said to him, “Tonight’s attack was targeted at a specific individual inside the women’s dormitory. Once the building has been fully evacuated I’ll be able to identify who that is.” Shifting her gaze to Elsa, she continued, “While I’m inside, you will take care of binding the Zarantar of our uninvited guest before he regains consciousness, and…”
Elsa was nodding her head in agreement when Fay trailed off; the sight of Darrian returning to the scene after his brief stint guarding the south entrance being the cause.
“Darrian! Good, you’re back,” noted Fay. “As I was just explaining, tonight’s attack appears to have been an assassination attempt targeting one of the apprentices. Once Elsa, Daria and Alina have bound his Zarantar, Solen will take charge of securing the prisoner below ground.” Turning her attention to Solen, she said, “I want him kept in solitary confinement in a holding room where he is to be restrained at all times. I don’t want him attempting to take his own life before I’ve had a chance to interrogate him. I have questions that require answers. Until then, no one is to speak to him.”
Briselda emerged from the dormitory, trailing in the wake of the last of the female apprentices. She called out to Fay, announcing that the building was now empty, then escorted her charges towards the communal hall with her two Sanatsai colleagues. The reaper stone hadn’t reacted at all to the presence of any of the apprentices who vacated the dormitory, yet Fay could feel it continuing to try to pull free from her grasp, determined to reach the entrance to the building. The obvious conclusion to be drawn from the observation was that the target was still somewhere inside. She was at a loss to say who that someone was, but she was eager to go inside to solve the mystery as quickly as possible.
“When Isko gets here,” she said, addressing Darrian, “the two of you will accompany me inside the dormitory.” To her Jaymidari counterpart, she added, “Sister Elsa, as soon as the prisoner’s Zarantar is bound I will need you to go to my office and send a message to Temis Rulan. The Council has to be informed of this attack, and I recommend that they get in touch with the other eight campuses. Although I have no reason to believe that the threat extends beyond Antaris, it would be prudent for the other administrators to increase security in and around their campuses.”
With a nod, Elsa acknowledged the instruction.
Before she could speak again, Fay caught sight of Isko marching hurriedly back to the scene. She waited for him to arrive and join the others standing outside her barrier sphere.
“Your security arrangements have been implemented,” he said, standing to attention. “Anyone attempting to enter Antaris without permission
won’t succeed. You should also know we have detained someone at the north entrance—a civilian with a horse-drawn cart who claims he unwittingly assisted the intruders. I took the liberty of raiding his memories to confirm his account, but he wasn’t being entirely truthful. He accepted payment to ride here and ask for directions, thereby distracting the sentries, but he wasn’t lying about having no knowledge of the raid. While I’m satisfied he isn’t part of the group, I haven’t released him yet as I thought you might want to question him yourself.”
Finally, Fay ceased her invocation of Inkansaylar, bringing down her barrier sphere. “Thank you, Isko. Now, I’d like for you and Darrian to accompany me inside the dormitory. I have reason to believe that our friend here,”—she looked down at the unconscious Sanatsai intruder—“was sent here to kill someone.”
She now harboured some doubts about the assertion, but wasn’t yet ready to give voice to them. Certainly, the reaper stone had failed to react to the presence of any of the young women who had just vacated the building, but it was still homing in on a target inside the dormitory. Regardless of that, there still remained the possibility she was simply mistaken about the motive for the attack. She found it hard enough to countenance the idea that any Saharbashi would feel threatened by an apprentice of the Order, and the sending of twenty fully-fledged Sanatsai to ensure a successful kill was even harder to believe.
“Solen, while we’re inside,” continued Fay, addressing the campus armourer, “could you delegate the recovery of the remains of our fallen comrades.” Her Sanatsai colleague glanced at the carnage. He grimaced, then replied affirmatively. Fay added, soberly, “First thing in the morning I want them repatriated to Temis Rulan for burial.”
Turning quickly on her heels, Fay advanced towards the entrance to the women’s dormitory, while Isko and Darrian both fell into step behind her. For each step taking her closer to the building, Fay could feel the increasing strength of the reaper stone’s intent to pull free of her grasp as it homed in on its target. She initially took it for confirmation that whoever the blood-red globe had been invoked to kill was still somewhere inside, but as she crossed the threshold into the dormitory, casting out her senses to pinpoint the location of that person, Fay felt nothing. The building was completely empty.
She briefly halted in her tracks. “Stay alert,” she intoned without looking back at her two colleagues. “The dormitory is empty, but the weapon the intruders brought with them indicates otherwise.” She could feel the pull of the reaper stone growing ever stronger, as if sensing the proximity of its prey.
Allowing the small, glowing ball to guide her steps, Fay resumed her cautious advance further into the building, eager to get to the bottom of the mystery. It wasn’t long before she and her subordinates were walking through the central corridor on the top floor of the building. The glow emitted by the reaper stone had intensified, and Fay found herself needing to tighten her grip as it tried to escape her grasp. Evidently, its intended victim was close at hand, in spite of her certainty that no one was in the building. But if she was wrong, and someone was lurking in the dormitory, no harm would come to that person. She wouldn’t allow the reaper stone to fulfil its deadly function; it would be neutralised the moment such action became necessary.
Fay halted in the open doorway of the dorm room used by the seven young women who had progressed to level ten apprentice status. She was suddenly aware of something nagging away at her subconscious, but was unable to apply the requisite concentration needed to allow whatever it was to coalesce into a coherent thought—thanks to the blood-red sphere in her hand frenziedly trying to flee from her tight grip. As she cast her gaze throughout the empty room, she was at a loss to explain the excited state of the reaper stone. If there was a wielder of Zarantar present, invoking Raytandushay to remain invisible, she would know about it. Such a scenario could not escape her senses, and in the highly unlikely event there was someone on campus, other than herself, who had mastered the ability to mask their use of Zarantar from the senses of others, then it wouldn’t be possible for a reaper stone to home in on that person’s presence.
Over her right shoulder, Isko inquired, “Is there something we should know?” His stilted undertone betrayed his concern.
“Maybe,” she replied. “Let us see!” She relinquished her grip on the reaper stone, and instantly the glowing red sphere flew out of her hand. It moved rapidly through the air then came to an abrupt halt, hovering above one of the ten beds in the room. The bed clearly hadn’t been slept in, but a depression at the edge of the mattress, coupled with the wrinkling of the bedsheets, indicated that someone had been perched there not long ago. The observation caused Fay to realise that only six of the beds had been fully occupied when she gave the order for the dormitory to be evacuated.
With the fiercely glowing blood-red ball now circling haphazardly over the bed, it suddenly all made sense to Fay as she advanced into the dorm room towards the bed. Though the ten minutes of chaos outside hadn’t caused the absconding Kayden to completely slip her mind, it had made her lose sight of the fact that no other apprentice at Antaris could feasibly be the target of the assassination attempt.
“What is that thing doing?” asked Darrian, trailing behind her. “There’s no one in the bed.”
“Not right now.” Fay stopped at the foot of the bed. “And given that the usual occupant of the bed isn’t here, it will take a few moments before the reaper stone is able to acquire the current whereabouts of its target.”
Before Darrian could offer any response to her explanation, Isko interjected. “Are you implying that whoever sleeps in this bed was the target of tonight’s attack?” He looked and sounded dubious. “Why would anyone go to so much trouble to assassinate a mere apprentice—a female one at that.”
“I’m not implying it, I’m telling you categorically that this is the case.” She invoked Yuksaydan to seize hold of the reaper stone once more—it offered little resistance as it was pulled swiftly into her waiting grasp. Turning to face Isko, she gave her trusted colleague a pointed look. “And is there some reason why a Saharbashi should not fear a gifted female apprentice?”
Isko winced under the weight of her glare. “I didn’t mean to suggest that one of the male apprentices would represent a greater threat,” he said apologetically. “But if you are correct, we had better identify the young lady who sleeps in this bed.”
“Unnecessary.” Fay already knew it was Kayden’s bed. She also understood why a Saharbashi would have cause to fear this ‘mere apprentice’. What was beyond her comprehension was how Kayden managed to come to the attention of whomever was responsible for ordering the raid on the campus. “This is Kayden Jayta’s bed.”
“Kayden?” exclaimed Darrian at Fay’s side. “I guess I’d better go to the communal hall and grab her, at once. We need to find out what in the world she’s been up to to get on the wrong side of a Saharbashi, and why we now have over two dozen dead bodies littering the grounds outside.”
Fay grabbed Darrian by the arm. “Don’t waste your time, Darrian,” she said. “You won’t find Kayden, she isn’t here any more.”
“What do you mean she isn’t here?”
“Kayden has broken curfew,” she replied, releasing her hold on his arm.
Once again, Isko interrupted before Darrian could respond—this time to ask an obvious question. “If Kayden isn’t on campus grounds, why did that… reaper stone seek her out in here?”
Fay glanced down at the blood-red globe in her hand, and intoned, “Kayden’s Zarantar is unusually strong.” She looked back up at Isko. “Consequently, her… presence will linger in a place for a little while after she has departed. The reaper stone was drawn to this room because this is where Kayden was a short while ago, waiting for the right moment to slip away. Unfortunately for the attackers, the fact that Kayden sleeps in this bed means her lingering presence will be stronger and persist longer here. That probably explains why the reaper stone didn’t discern h
er absconding from campus just as the raid was beginning; for the moment it’s still detecting her presence in the room.”
Observing the disquiet on Darrian’s face, prompted by the revelation about when Kayden had left the grounds, Fay knew exactly what he was thinking. But it was Isko who gave voice to the thought.
“The timing would suggest that Kayden had foreknowledge of the attack. Maybe she was involved in planning the raid.”
“Don’t be silly,” retorted Fay, though she accepted how the coincidental timing looked highly suspicious. “Like I said, Kayden was the intended target of the attack. If she hadn’t broken curfew she would have been in danger here; she might still be in danger for all I know.” Fay cast out her senses, extending her reach beyond Antaris campus via a ley line to pinpoint Kayden’s current whereabouts. She quickly detected the apprentice approaching the nearby town of Timaris. “I will head to Timaris immediately to bring her back.” Turning on her heels, she marched for the exit. “Follow me!”
Both Darrian and Isko promptly fell into step behind her, following her out of the dorm room.
“Isko, I’m leaving you in charge of affairs here on campus until I return,” she said, strolling towards the stairwell at the end of the corridor. “The apprentices can return to their dorms now, and I want you to arrange for twenty men to head out to Timaris after me. They are to be out of uniform and remain out of sight on the northern outskirts of the town until I approach them with further instructions.”
“Out of uniform?” queried Isko.
Fay was unsurprised by the concern she heard in her colleague’s query; she had just given him an order to break the law. Throughout the Nine Kingdoms it was illegal for any Sanatsai to be out of uniform when in public—wielders of Zarantar should be recognisable on sight, at all times.