by Lisa Cassidy
“Exactly,” Alyx said.
“Surprised?” Dashan waggled his eyebrows as he correctly read the surprise in her tone. “I do have a half a brain, you know.”
“A very lonely half.” The response was automatic, her thoughts drawn helplessly back into the remembered terror of the night before. Her mind was still raw from the pain of it, of that voice whispering through the darkness. It left her moody, on edge. The continued discussion about it wasn’t helping.
“Howell is the council’s head librarian,” Tarrick pointed out, oblivious to her unease. “I’m sure he’s read every book they own, including the ones about Shakar. Maybe one of Shakar’s powers was the ability to create bad dreams? It could be an application of telepathic magic, right?”
“That’s plausible,” Finn admitted. “Perhaps Alyx’s description of her nightmares caused Howell to remember something he’d read about Shakar.”
“Which would mean he’s thinking there’s a mage out there, not at DarkSkull, who has the same ability?” Dawn hazarded.
“I think we should read up more on Shakar,” Finn said. “The library at DarkSkull will help with that. Maybe Dawn’s right and Howell was thinking about Shakar more as a metaphor for something or someone else.”
“A what for something else?” Dashan asked.
“Try looking it up in a book,” Alyx muttered, unaccountably irritated by the question. “Oh that’s right, reading isn’t one of your strong points, is it?”
“You’re in fine form tonight, mage-girl,” Dashan snapped. “At least I can manage not to drop my staff in a fight.”
“I’d rather be smart and knowledgeable than a brainless soldier any day,” she fired back, her dark mood finding a convenient target in Dashan.
“Brainless, is it? You’re really flinging about the insults tonight.” His jaw tightened. “At least I’m not cruel.”
At that, he rose from the table and stalked off to the bar. Alyx turned to see the rest of them staring at her.
“What?”
Dawn gave her a look. “That was nasty.”
Damn. Dawn was right. Guilt uncurled, sweeping through her in an uncomfortable wave. “It was, I know. I’m sorry, I haven’t got a good hold on my temper tonight. These nightmares really have me on edge, and being back at DarkSkull doesn’t help my mood any.”
“I think you’ll find he knows very well what a metaphor is,” Finn said with a slight smile.
More irritation. “Then why did he ask?”
“He was playing dumb. I’ve noticed he does it a lot, especially when you’re around.” Finn’s smile widened. “It’s a very effective technique he uses to irritate you. From what I’ve seen, it works every time.”
“And you wonder why I was being nasty?” Alyx looked incredulously at Dawn.
Finn gave her a sympathetic look. “I suspect Dashan is used to being thought of as useless, a wastrel, so he plays the part. It lowers peoples’ expectations and that way it’s less likely he’ll disappoint them.”
Just like the mask of charm he put on to deflect attention from his pain. She was beginning to wonder if she’d ever truly known Dashan at all, despite having grown up with him in her life. And for Finn to have deduced all this so easily after such a comparatively shorter period of friendship—Alyx despaired sometimes of being the better person she wanted to be.
“We were having an important discussion,” Tarrick interrupted, voice laced with irritation. “Something about an evil mage? It escapes me.”
Dawn smiled. “And back to the point, which is, the more we know about Shakar the more likely we are to understand what—or who—is behind Alyx’s nightmares.”
“If anything,” Finn pointed out. “Howell was right that they could just be really bad nightmares.”
Dashan reappeared with another mug of ale. “Even the brainless soldier can see that would be possible.”
“I’m sorry, Dashan,” she said quietly, touching his arm. “I don’t think you’re brainless.”
“You could have fooled me,” he retorted.
Alyx glanced up as the door to the inn opened and swore under her breath when it revealed Galien, along with Fengel and Oscar. She hated how he could still make her afraid even from across a crowded room. Her hope he wouldn’t notice them proved vain when his idle glance caught on her watching gaze. Without hesitation, he moved towards them.
Dashan frowned at their expressions. “What’s going on?”
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t DarkSkull’s finest.” Galien’s mocking voice made Alyx wince. “You should know better than to be out and about at night alone. Bad things could happen.”
“That sounds suspiciously like a threat.” Dashan was standing before Alyx could react. He was as tall as Galien, but broader in the shoulders and chest. And he wasn’t afraid.
“Who is this?” Galien’s eyes narrowed. “A man of the blood consorting with Rionnan filth.”
The reference to his Shiven blood predictably made Dashan’s face darken. Spotting Dashan’s curling fists, Tarrick stood to catch Galien’s attention. “We’re just having a drink,” he said. “Leave us alone, and we’ll leave you alone.”
Galien laughed. “And who are you to tell me what to do?”
“Why don’t you back off?” Dashan challenged him, ignoring Tarrick’s attempt to defuse the situation. Recognising the signs of his growing temper, Alyx stood, placing a calming hand on Dashan’s forearm. He shook it off and looked at her. “Who is this guy?”
“Someone we don’t want to mess with, Dash. Leave it. Please.”
“Why don’t we go?” Dawn said. “It’s getting late anyway. Galien, you can have our table.”
“I’ll leave when this piece of filth apologises for his attitude.” Galien pointed a finger at Dashan.
“How about you apologise!” Dashan’s fist caught Galien by surprise, taking him square in the jaw and sending him stumbling backwards. Galien snarled in fury and lashed out just as quickly, his fist connecting with a sharp crack. Dashan staggered back into the wall, dark eyes snapping with fury. Flames sparked along Galien’s forearms and he pressed his advantage, lunging towards Dashan.
Stunned by how quickly things had developed, Alyx froze, but Tarrick reacted instantly. He leaped up onto a table between Galien and Dashan, the mother-of-pearl glow of his concussive mage power illuminating his hands and forearms.
“Stop.” He raised a glowing hand in warning.
A few drinkers shouted in alarm as they caught sight of what was happening, and people began scrambling away from the scene.
While the two young men stared each other down—Galien clearly considering how far he was willing to take things—Alyx shook herself out of her momentary shock and jumped up onto the table beside Tarrick. She didn’t know what she’d do if Galien attacked, but there was no way she was leaving Tarrick alone to face him, especially when Dashan was under threat. A quick glance showed her Finn had edged around the table to ensure Dashan was all right, and Dawn was positioning herself behind Tarran and Fengel, discreetly drawing her staff.
Alyx turned back when her peripheral vision caught Dashan attempting to lunge forward, but Finn held him back, murmuring furiously in the angry Bluecoat’s ear.
“I could destroy you.” Galien’s voice was ice-cold.
“Maybe,” Tarrick responded. “But you’d destroy this inn in the process, and what do you think that would do to Romas’s tolerance for having you at DarkSkull? Not to mention the privilege of apprentices being allowed off grounds?”
The flames along Galien’s arm sparked up and Alyx tensed in readiness, but all at once they died down and he stepped back. “There’ll come a time when there isn’t any inn in the way. You know it’s inevitable.”
“I do.” Tarrick allowed his power to fade as well, and Alyx relaxed her grip on the staff. “But that’s for another day.”
“Ouch, that really hurt.” Dashan winced as Alyx dabbed at the bleeding gash on his cheekbone. “Who is th
at guy?”
“He’s a final year apprentice and a mage of the higher order. Not a particularly good choice of someone to hit.”
“A mage like you?”
“Yes, except he can use his magic when he wants to, and he’s very powerful.”
“And he hates you?” Dashan prompted.
“Yes. He spent much of last year trying to kill us, well, me in particular, and on one or two occasions almost succeeded.”
Dashan’s eyes darkened. “You never told anyone. Why?”
She shrugged. “Once I got safely home, I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I figured if I could forget, everything would go back to the way it had been before I left.”
Dashan nodded and was silent for a moment. Alyx went to the door of the room—Dawn and Tarrick were still trying to talk the innkeeper out of reporting the incident to Master Romas. Finn was in the kitchens looking for ointment for Dashan’s face.
“You were really brave out there.”
Alyx turned at Dashan’s soft words and re-entered the room. “I don’t know what I would have actually done if Galien had attacked.”
“Neither do I.” His grin returned. “I’ve seen your skill with the staff.”
She chuckled. “I could have thrown it at him, that might have worked.”
“You need to be careful. That guy wasn’t kidding. His desire to hurt you all was clear as day.”
“And you now too, most likely,” she said jokingly, then, “we’ve already survived a year of Galien, we’ll be fine.”
Comfortable silence filled the space between them, their earlier fight forgotten for the moment.
“It must have been hard, coming back here,” he ventured into the silence.
“It was,” she said simply.
“Oh, I forgot!” Dashan straightened suddenly in his chair, a hand reaching up to dig inside his jacket pocket. “I’ve got a letter for you.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Ladan responded already?”
“No, it’s from Cayr.” Dashan passed her a bulky envelope. “I promised him before I left that I’d pass on anything he wrote to you. It was a way for him to get around the no letters rule at DarkSkull.”
“Oh.” Alyx stared at the smudged writing on the front of the small package, pleasure warming her. “Thank you.”
“I thought it would involve sneaking in and out of the grounds in the middle of the night and climbing a tower to your bedroom to give them to you, which is why I agreed to do it.” Dashan grinned. “It’s all a bit too easy now, though.”
Alyx said nothing, her fingers tracing over the letters of her name written in Cayr’s spidery handwriting. Delight and anticipation bubbled in equal measure inside her, and she had to fight an internal war not to rip it open straight away.
“I can send letters back to him too, if you like,” Dashan said softly into the silence.
“I appreciate that.” She looked up, giving him a wide, genuine smile.
“Anytime, mage-girl.”
“All right. Fresh chamomile tea and a clean bandage coming right up,” Finn said cheerfully as he entered. “No ointment, I’m afraid, but the tea should help relax your soreness.”
Placing the tea down, Finn busied himself inspecting Alyx’s cleaning job on Dashan’s gash before efficiently applying the bandage.
“Make sure you clean that out regularly, at least once a day,” he said once he was done. “If it opens up again, apply pressure to stop the bleeding. There’s no damage to your cheekbone that I can tell, but your face will be pretty stiff and sore for a day or two.”
“That’s nothing new. Thanks, Finn.”
“No problem. We should head off now, though, or we’ll miss curfew. At least the others have managed to prevent the innkeeper from reporting us, which is probably the only good thing to happen this evening.”
“Okay.” Alyx stood and rubbed tired eyes. “Take it easy for at least a day, Dash, and we’ll see you soon.”
“Sparring lessons in two days, I haven’t forgotten,” he sing-songed at her.
“Good night.” She rolled her eyes and went to leave, but paused in the doorway. “I really don’t think you’re brainless.”
“I know.” His face was sombre as he peered up at her. “That’s what scares me.”
Alyx read Cayr’s letter as soon as they got back to their dormitory, straining her eyes in the dim light of the moon coming through their window.
Dearest Alyx,
It’s been nearly a month since you left, and I think I lasted about half a day before missing you terribly. My whole life, as far back as I can remember, you’ve been there. I still haven’t adjusted to that not being the case anymore, even though we went through it last year too.
I didn’t tell you before you left, I was still processing all of it, but Alyx—I’m so proud of what you’re doing. I need you to know that I respect the choice you’ve made, and I think it was the right one for so many reasons. I will never not want a future with you. And the idea of a queen who stands at my side as a powerful woman in her own right... it makes me smile every time I think about it.
Not a lot of note has happened here since you left. I see your father a lot—he seems tired, but well. He misses you as much as I do, though. He works tirelessly at my father’s side, and I hope one day to have the same support from my senior lords.
I hope things are going well for you at DarkSkull. I hope they’re better than they were for you last year. And if they’re not, well, I know you’ll face it down and come out the other side even stronger.
Write back if you can.
I love you,
Cayr
She re-read the note several times before folding it carefully away in her chest and climbing into bed. That night she fell asleep with a smile on her face and slept a deep, restful sleep, nightmare free.
Chapter 15
“Even I’m getting sick of the amount of homework Master Prajana gives us,” Finn grumbled.
Alyx nodded absently, pulling her cloak more tightly around her as she frowned over the book in her lap. Rain spattered against the windowpane she leaned on, while a small fire flickered in the grate of the circular tower room, providing both light and heat.
Their first assigned watchtower duty had so far proven uneventful. Alyx smiled at the memory of how eagerly Tarrick had sat in the assembly where Rothai had outlined what was required of them while on duty, back straight and eyes shining.
More strongly affected by their role in the last attack, especially given what had happened to Brynn, she and the twins were less enthused. She had no desire to be the first line of defence against an attack, but as with most things at DarkSkull, she had no choice in the matter.
The single advantage Alyx could see to being on guard duty was the fact they weren’t required to attend their usual classes during the time they were on shift. Of course, for each of the classes they missed, they were given notes to read and assignments to complete before their return.
This was their first night on duty—manning the south-eastern tower for a two-day stretch—and Alyx been cooped up in the tower room with Tarrick and the twins for most of the afternoon, completing their mapping and languages work. Cario had disappeared several hours earlier, claiming he would guard the front entrance to the tower.
Tarrick lay sprawled on the floor, book open in front of him, small concussion ball hovering over his head to give him extra light to read. It was something Howell had suggested as a method of practicing his control. Alyx stifled a laugh as, while she watched, the little ball exploded with a loud pop. Scowling, Tarrick jerked a finger and another one appeared over his head. She counted that as his seventh for the evening.
“Surely we’ll get some leeway?” Dawn said, coughing to hide her chuckle.
“Ha!” Alyx snorted. “You really think Prajana is going to care that we missed two days of classes when she gives us our test next Fifthday?”
“Guard duty is an honour,” Tarrick said so
berly.
“I’m glad you’re so excited by it,” Finn said. “I assume that means you’ll be the one staying awake all through the cold night so the rest of us can get some sleep?”
Tarrick turned and gave him a quick smile. “I don’t think I’m quite that excited.”
“Stop distracting me,” Alyx murmured absently. “I have two precious days to try and make some headway with Shiven verb pronunciation.”
“Still haven’t caught up yet?” Finn asked sympathetically.
“I’m getting there,” she said. “And I don’t intend to give up.” Despite how much time that meant she had to spend outside of classes studying instead of resting or relaxing with Tarrick and the twins. Maintaining her motivation was a struggle, particularly in subjects that didn’t interest her.
“You’re doing well in strategy class, though,” Dawn said. “Master Rogan was astonished the other day when you solved his puzzle before anyone else in the class.”
Alyx smiled as she remembered the glow of pride that she’d felt. “Strategy classes make more sense to me than the stupid Shiven language.”
“Here,” Finn slid a sheaf of papers across the floor towards her. “My notes from last class. See if that helps.”
“Thanks. You’re a gem.”
“This is where you Rionnans suffer from a poor education system,” Tarrick raised his head from his book. “It appals me how little you all know about things crucial to a mage’s life.”
“Rionn doesn’t really consider learning the Shiven language to be all that important,” Finn said.
“And you wonder why the Shiven army is beating down your door.”
“Tarrick, enough,” Alyx said wearily. “We’re trying to study.”
“I’m just trying to make a point. The Shiven and Tregayan languages are taught to children in Zandia, even those that don’t become mages. You Rionnans close yourselves off in a little bubble, as if there’s no wider world around your country.”
“Tarrick—” Dawn tried to speak, but he cut her off.