The Lost Tower

by Eric Martinez

  With his darkly stained robes, his questionable luggage, and his dominion over the dead, Francisco had a somewhat spooky air to him, but he wore a cheerful, almost childlike grin on his face as they traveled. He stared fondly up at the sky and at their surroundings, taking it all in like a breath of fresh spring air.

  “Does anyone here have a sweet tooth?” he asked suddenly.

  Echo perked up at the question. “I could go for something sugary.”

  Francisco clapped his hands together in excitement. “Then I have just the thing.”

  He dug into one of the many pouches strewn along his belt. Sephi sat up straighter to get a better look. She expected some sort of ghastly candy, but he pulled out a shiny golden sphere about the size of a cherry.

  “What is it?” Echo asked.

  “A honey ginger drop,” he said. “Homemade, of course. You’ll be the first person on Esper, other than myself, to taste one.”

  Echo took the drop and nodded respectfully. “I’m honored.”

  He shrugged sheepishly. “Well, taste it first before you say that.”

  She popped it into her mouth, and after a moment, she closed her eyes and groaned with delight. “It’s fantastic.”

  Francisco beamed with joy. “Thank you. I’m so glad you like it.”

  “You make your own candy?” Sephi asked.

  He nodded. “Living out in the middle of nowhere, if I want something, I have to make it myself. I built a little apiary just past the cow pasture for the honey, and I found some ginger root in the woods. Nothing much to it, really.”

  “I take it you don’t get many visitors out in the woods,” Echo said.

  Francisco shook his head. “Not so much. I’m a man who enjoys solitude, but after the first fifty years or so, it got a little lonely.”

  No wonder he’s having fun, Sephi thought. This is the most company he’s had in decades.

  “We’re glad to have you on the team,” she said.

  “I’m glad to be here,” he said. “I know it took some convincing, but when you stay in one place for as long as I did, you plant firm roots in the soil. It wasn’t easy to leave, even just for the duration of this mission.” He paused. “Speaking of which, care to fill me in on what we’re doing?”

  “We’re off to find the Zekarian Whispers,” Sephi said.

  Francisco burst out laughing. “Can you imagine?”

  He continued to crack up, and when his laughter faded to mild chuckling, he asked, “But seriously, what are we doing?”

  “I am serious,” Sephi said.

  Francisco turned around in the seat to look at her. “No, you’re not.” When Sephi just shrugged, he turned to Echo. “She’s kidding, right?” Echo shook her head. He let out a low whistle. “Well, shit.”

  Sephi slid up to sit directly behind the wagon seat. “Now you know why I didn’t tell you to begin with.”

  He shook his head, looking dazed. “I mean, I knew the Council wouldn’t have asked for my help for something mundane, but the Whispers? That’s like something out of a story that parents tell their children around the hearth.”

  “So are you, Night Brother,” Sephi said, emphasizing his nickname. “And yet, here we are.”

  He frowned. “Please tell me I’m not some kind of boogeyman used to make kids eat their vegetables.”

  Echo shook her head. “No, not at all. But you are something of a mythical figure. People aren’t sure you really existed. Or exist, I guess.”

  “I guess that’s better than the alternative,” he said with a sigh. “So you’re really going to find the Whispers.”

  “No,” Sephi said. “We’re going to find the Whispers. If you want to come along, that is. Once we get the information we need from the heretic, you’re free to go home. I won’t force you to stick around.”

  Francisco seemed to consider it. Then he shook his head. “No, I’d quite like to see this through to the end if I can. It might help the Cradle remember that I’m a real person. Besides, I promised Magnus I would help him save his bride-to-be.”

  Echo’s mouth dropped open. “His what?”

  Sephi cleared her throat and shot a glance at Magnus, whose eyes were still closed. “Maybe we should talk about that later.”

  “No,” Echo said, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. “If there’s something you’re not telling me, Sephi, I want to know.”

  “It’s not like that,” Sephi said.

  “Then what is it like?” Echo asked, glaring at her. “Because it sounds like all of you know something I don’t, including the damn Night Brother.”

  “Hey,” Francisco said.

  “No offense or whatever,” Echo said.

  “Some taken,” he muttered.

  The Green ignored him. “I thought we were a team. Hell, I thought we were friends.”

  Francisco glanced from Echo to Sephi. “I fear I’ve spoken out of turn,” he said.

  The Red warrior’s eyes flickered open. “You did not. I planned on telling you all eventually. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, I suppose I should explain.”

  “You don’t have to,” Sephi said. If anyone understood wanting to keep things private, it was her.

  Magnus shook his head. “It’s fine. All of you have a right to know since our fates are interlocked. Myrina Violet, my fiancée, was kidnapped a month ago.”

  Echo turned in the seat to look back at Magnus while he spoke. Her eyes were wide with shock, although Sephi wasn’t sure if her friend was shocked by the kidnapping or the fact that Magnus was engaged to be married.

  Magnus leaned his head back against the wooden box board, like the mere idea of recounting this tale exhausted him. “All three of you are out of the loop when it comes to recent Council business, but our magical brothers and sisters have been going missing in the last few months.”

  “I heard something about that,” Sephi said.

  Magnus frowned. “That is surprising. The Council has kept these disappearances a closely guarded secret.”

  “The Council keeping secrets?” Francisco muttered. “Say it isn’t so.”

  Sephi shot him a grin, appreciating his opinion of the Council. Still, now wasn’t the best time to gripe about the Citadel’s leaders, not while Magnus was opening up about his secret.

  “It was only a rumor I heard,” Sephi said. “I had no idea it was connected to our mission to get the Whispers.”

  “Because that’s an even bigger secret,” Magnus said. “The Council had no idea who or what was behind the missing mages. The first several who went missing were out in the hinterlands, and their disappearances were chalked up to unfortunate encounters with some of the less friendly beings in Esper. And then mages started disappearing closer to the Citadel.”

  “How is that possible?” Echo asked. “The city has all kinds of wards worked into its very stonework. Not to mention that the only ways in and out of the Citadel are the alabaster lifts.”

  Magnus spread his hands impotently. “No one knows. Which was how Myrina got involved. As an Inquisitor, she was sent out of the Cradle to gather intelligence. She missed three meetings with her contact at the Eastern Pass, and we were forced to assume the worst.”

  “Wait,” Sephi said. “How do you know she was kidnapped? Anything can happen out in the world. Maybe she just got, you know, sidetracked.”

  It was her attempt to comfort him. She wasn’t the hugging type, so offering a more hopeful alternative was the best she could do.

  “Do you remember at the Council meeting, when the Trinity spoke of discovering an Occultum spy in our midst?” Magnus asked.

  Sephi shuddered. “How could I forget?”

  “Do not pity the dark ones,” Magnus said with a scowl. “He chose the left-hand path. I assure you, the blood he used for his sinister arts was not given willingly. Whatever pain he suffered at the Inquisitors’ hands, he earned.”

  She raised her palms up in surrender, even though she didn’t agree. Fighting evil with matching br
utality made her own people just as bad as the warlocks. But now wasn’t the time to have that argument.

  Magnus continued. “In that interrogation, the dark mage revealed the Occultum was close to locating the Whispers. Or his thoughts revealed it, anyway. He couldn’t say much through the screams.”

  “You were there?” Sephi asked. She remembered Minerva saying the Inquisitors had “shattered” the dark mage’s sanity to get the information, and the Red General had not seemed comfortable with the Violets’ interrogation methods.

  He nodded. “A special dispensation from Myrina’s family. They knew I would lead the effort to find her. Because I will do anything it takes to get her back. And during that interrogation, the Violets discovered the Occultum’s plan to locate the Heretic of Viscayne, a plan they were close to enacting. Which is why we have to get to him first.”

  Sephi frowned. “I didn’t know they were after the Heretic too. How do we know they haven’t already gotten to him?”

  “Because they don’t know where he is,” Magnus said. “The Occultum spy had broken into the Council’s archives to find his location. Lucky for us, the Violets caught him before he could get away and report back to his masters.”

  Sephi shook her head. “Okay, all of this seems like information you should have shared earlier.”

  He shrugged. “Why? Our mission is exactly the same. How the Council discovered the Occultum’s plot changes nothing. I only tell you now because it relates to Myrina.”

  “Right,” Sephi said. “The kidnappings. How are they related to the Whispers?”

  “That was less clear,” he said. “The Inquisitors found fragmented memories about the kidnappings. He knew about them and that they were connected to finding the Whispers. Presumably, he wasn’t involved in that aspect of the Occultum’s operation.”

  “Well, that feels like a nebulous connection,” she said, drumming her fingers on her leg.

  “I agree that it’s less than ideal,” he said. “But considering the timing of the kidnappings, combined with the Occultum’s search for the Whispers being close to complete, there’s no doubt they’re connected. The only real question is why they’re kidnapping our people.”

  Sephi was sure she didn’t want to find out the answer to that question. She’d had enough nightmares to deal with recently. Then, another thought occurred to her. “Not to be a downer, but how does our mission help Myrina? I mean, we grab the Whispers, and then what? They just let her go?”

  “With the Whispers safely in hand, the Council will have the resources to devote to finding our lost brethren and returning them home.”

  “Oh, come on,” Sephi said. “That’s not much of an assurance.”

  The warrior’s expression darkened. “Minerva herself promised we would go after Myrina once this mission is complete.”

  Sephi clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palm to keep from grabbing Magnus by the armor and shaking some sense into him. She knew bullshit when she heard it, and this was a steaming pile of it.

  They were using Magnus’s personal tragedy to get him to do their bidding. He was just a tool to them, a convenient instrument to be forgotten when its purpose was complete. Just like Francisco. Hell, just like her.

  How could he be so blind?

  Then it occurred to her that he might be willing himself to believe in the Council’s fleeting promises. It was the only shred of hope he had, so he clung to it like a drowning man to driftwood. However improbable, the possibility of seeing Myrina again was the only thing keeping him going. Sephi would have to be a monster to take that away from him.

  Instead of dashing his illusions, she said, “Then I guess we better find these fucking Whispers.”

  Their mood was subdued for the rest of the day. Even when they set up camp at the base of a sandstone tower, none of them said much, as if all of them were too afraid to break the silence. Magnus’s missing bride had cast a pall over the mission. Joking around or having meaningless conversation felt wrong now that they knew what the Red was going through.

  The gloomy sky darkened as the sun began to set. Sephi started a fire using some of the wood they had brought with them. The desert landscape offered little in the way of kindling. Magnus informed her he was going to scout the perimeter. Echo watched him walk away with a stormy expression on her face.

  Sephi had the good sense to not call attention to her friend’s obvious distress. If Echo wanted to talk about it, she would. Instead, the Green sat nearby unloading her satchel and taking inventory of her enchanted supplies. Sephi knew from experience Echo found the process soothing, like bringing order to whatever chaos was swirling in her thoughts.

  Echo scowled as she laid out her carved wooden wands, each etched with intricate symbols. “Damn skeletons. I used up three wands in that fight. I’ve only got three left.”

  Francisco sat down on the ground beside her. “I sincerely apologize for that.”

  “Stuff your apologies,” she said. “Do you know how long it takes to charge one of those?”

  “I do not,” he said.

  She grabbed one of the thin rods and poked him in the chest. “Weeks. All that work wasted because of your paranoia.”

  Francisco’s shoulders slumped. “Perhaps I was overzealous in protecting my home.”

  Echo snorted and shoved the wand back in her bag. “You think?”

  “If there’s anything I can do to help, I am at your disposal,” he said.

  She shook her head. “No, I would only trust another enchanter to recharge my gear.”

  The Brother’s face brightened. “Actually, I have something you might find interesting.”

  The Night Brother took off his robe and laid it flat on the dusty soil. Now in just his sleeveless gray tunic, his arms were bare, and Sephi saw that his glowing focal lines reached down to his wrists. The complex geometry burned into his skin was like nothing she had ever seen. In fact, barely any skin showed through at all.

  The sight humbled her. Her own focal lines didn’t extend beyond her back, and the shapes they formed were simple. The labyrinthine configurations on his skin made her focal lines look crude in comparison. She had suspected his magic was strong, but he had to be as powerful as any of the mages on the Council.

  Francisco noticed her wide-eyed gaze. He glanced down at his arms and grinned sheepishly. “It’s been so long since I’ve been around other mages. I forgot it’s frowned upon to reveal our lines. But whatever, we’re all friends here.”

  Thankfully, Sephi thought. Better to have him as a friend than an enemy.

  He pulled a pouch off his belt, and something rattled inside it. Echo eyed the bag warily.

  He turned to look at her. “All I ask is that you promise not to laugh.”

  Echo glowered at him. “Don’t worry. I’m not in the laughing mood.”

  He nodded and untied the drawstring from the pouch. With a slight flourish, he dumped a pile of tiny bones on his outspread robe. His fingers gestured quickly, and the bones reassembled.

  “Oh, a dead bird,” Echo said in a deadpan voice. “That’s hilarious.”

  Francisco smiled. “Just watch.”

  The bird flapped its skeletal wings and took flight. Echo’s mouth dropped open.

  “That’s impossible,” she said, watching the bird circle around the campfire. “How did you get it to fly?”

  “That’s what I wanted to show you,” he said. With a twitch of his fingers, the bird landed in front of Echo and looked up at her with its eyeless sockets. “Her name is Lenore. She was one of my favorite ravens, and call me sentimental, but when she died, I wasn’t ready to let her go. Look closely.”

  Lenore spread her bone wings, and Echo peered closely at them. “You enchanted her?”

  Francisco nodded proudly. “I know it’s a bit crude, which is why I didn’t want you to laugh.”

  She shook her head. “But you’re a White. Carving those enchantments into her must have taken an eternity.”

  �
��More like twenty years,” he said. “But I had a lot of free time.”

  “I’ve never seen enchantments like these before. You didn’t find these in a book.”

  “No,” he said. “They’re runes of my own invention. It seemed silly to have a bird who couldn’t fly, dead or not.”

  Sephi thought it silly to have a dead bird around in the first place, but she stayed silent.

  “No one’s ever figured out how to enchant things with flight,” Echo said. “May I see them?”

  “Put out your hand,” he said.

  She did, and Lenore hopped merrily into her palm. Echo grinned as she brought the bird up to her face.

  Sephi thought the whole thing was creepy as hell, but seeing her friend in a better mood kept her from commenting.

  Echo examined the bird closely and then turned to Francisco. “If you’d like, I can make some improvements to Lenore. Build on what you’ve done.”

  “That sounds lovely,” he said. “Doesn’t it, Lenore?”

  The dead bird nodded, and Echo giggled like it was the funniest thing she’d ever seen.

  Sephi sighed and shook her head, wondering what new surprises tomorrow would bring.

  The next day’s only surprise was how uneventful it was. Echo and Francisco had become fast friends, and they chattered away all day about his unique method of enchanting. It was all academic and rather boring to Sephi.

  By the third day of their journey through the Valley of Lost Souls, she wished something interesting would happen to break up the monotony.

  She regretted that wish when she saw the dust cloud forming on the horizon to their right.

  Chapter 12

  Sephi stood up on the wagon’s seat to get a better look. “What in the hell is that?”

  The others turned to see what she was referring to.

  Echo narrowed her eyes as she stared into the distance. “A dust storm, maybe?”

  Magnus shook his head. “It’s too small for that. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s riders kicking up dust behind them. Which means they’re moving fast in our direction.”