by Guy Antibes
“Tomorrow we will deflect moving objects. I know I can do that,” Siria said. “Both Kela and I can kill a chicken by cutting off the blood supply to their brain, anyway.”
Ricky just nodded and watched the two females leave the courtyard. He took a bucket close by and doused the fire. He looked at the cook, who looked disappointed.
“Can I learn to do that?” she said.
“Are you a sorceress?”
“Been tested a couple of times,” she said shaking her head with a sad expression on her face. “I have a second cousin who can light a candle, though.”
“Not enough. Sorry,” Ricky said.
He caught up with Kela and Siria.
Mistress Lonsi looked at him sideways. “There aren’t a lot of sorcerers in Paranty who can visualize and pick up songs as well as you.”
“There must be,” Ricky said. “What about Duteria?”
Siria barked out a laugh. “Duterian sorcery is on a whole different level. I still think you’d do well to spend time in Duteria after you learn more spells.”
“My voice hasn’t changed yet. We’ll see once I get over that crisis,” Ricky said.
“That is due anytime,” Siria said. “The crisis will come and go. It rarely disqualifies.”
“Do they have performance sorcery in Duteria?”
Siria laughed again. “Why would they? Few of the Hessilian city-states look upon performance sorcerers as the pinnacle. Fisttia and Paranty are the only ones who have turned sorcery into their culture’s highest art form.”
“Are we Parantians so insular, then?”
She nodded. “Few who go to Duteria return to go into the theater. Mirano is a healer; I went into battle sorcery—”
“Baron Mansali of Tossa is a merchant.”
“You know Mansali? He has the reputation of a traitor in Duteria.”
Ricky doubted that. It was probably all about jealousy. He learned what he needed to and left.
“How many sorcerers go to Duteria?”
“None unless they are invited. They have a sorcerer’s guild that is very strict about who they let in from other countries…even from the other Hessilian city-states.”
Ricky didn’t mention what Bespa told him about seeking him out to go to Duteria. That was a strange conversation, anyway.
“You are free for lunch. Exercising so much sorcery has probably made you both tired.”
~~~
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
~
R ICKY WENT DOWN TO THE LIBRARY AFTER LUNCH. Henni was putting a few items in a box.
“I’m sorry, this is our last day here,” Henni said. “They are closing down the library.”
“I wondered why they had it opened in the first place,” Ricky said. “I’m sad to see it go. Where will I get books for Kela to read?”
“The warden said they’ll be opening up a reading room on the second floor of this building. It won’t be a library, though, and none of these books are moving, just being locked up. The Home is letting me go. She said it wasn’t her decision.”
“Antino Pacci?” Ricky asked.
Henni nodded knowingly. “He’s up to something, but then we knew that. I wish I could give you a key. I’ll let you keep the key to the practice room you never used.”
“Thanks. One never knows when you have to lock yourself up in a private cell,” Ricky said. “I’m expecting a letter from Saganet, my guardian.”
“Oh! It came yesterday. I wasn’t about to bother you with Kela crying and all.” He fished it out of the box and presented it to Ricky.
“When are you locking the place up?”
“Just before you leave for dinner. I expect you and Kela are going to say your goodbyes to the library.”
Ricky nodded. He’d miss Henni. “Are you moving from your current place?”
Henni nodded. “I don’t want to be around all the guards, but I’m paid up until after Winter’s Day. If you get out before then…” He wrote out his address and gave it to Ricky. “I don’t suppose it will happen, but if you need anything.”
“I understand,” Ricky said. He wandered around looking at the books. The library looked a lot more like a library now than when he had arrived a few months earlier. He suspected it wouldn’t take too long to look like it did before, caked with dust and spider webs.
Ricky couldn’t help but sigh. He sat in the back of the library by the hidden room. He rummaged around for his two keys. The one to the bare cell, he placed in a book on the bottom row of the shelf that hid the secret library. His room key opened every door he had ever tried in the Juvenile Home.
He could feel the illusion of control that he had built up during his stay evaporate. With Henni gone, he lost his tenuous link with Saganet and the outside. With the library closed, he would find it difficult to come up with an excuse to continue to mine the secret treasures behind the hidden door.
Warden Sarini had probably lost most of her power when Baco Poppi and Nemo Mattia started training boys for their juvenile army.
“Lunch time!” Henni called.
The guard shrugged when Ricky passed. That reminded him that he hadn’t opened Saganet’s letter yet. He’d save that for after lunch.
~
Kela fought back tears when Henni told her of the library’s closure. “I have loved coming here.”
Henni looked at Ricky and back at Kela. “I feel the same. Ricky has my address, but I’m not sure any communication will make it out of the Home right now. Warden Sarini is not in full control. I’ve talked to Ricky about it.”
She nodded. “We will continue to see each other in our sorcery class.”
Ricky walked to the back and perused the history he had been reading.
“I do not like change in this place. It is never for the better,” Kela said.
After standing up, Ricky pulled out his key. “Don’t fear. I have a key to the library. I keep it in a safe place.” He put it back in his pocket.
“Where is that?”
“Don’t worry. We can still come down here, but we have to be discreet about it,” Ricky said. He pulled out Saganet’s letter. “My last and only link to the outside,” Ricky said.
He pulled out the message from a wrinkled envelope and read.
Dear Ricky,
Nothing much has changed since my last letter. Loria is as enamored with her new beau as much now as when I wrote you last. Merry, Mina, and Karian send you their best. Even Dari Calasay inquired about you.
I asked Loria to get the name of her father’s contact, but she never came through. I’ve written down the name and address of one of my contacts who didn’t move. I suggest you memorize it and then burn this letter and the address.
Rumors are abounding in Paranty about a revolt, but I assure you, nothing unusual is happening in Tossa. But you must take care because I have some alarming news. Kela Torris was taken back to Fisttia with relatives after her parents died. Whoever says she is Kela, the girl is lying. Watch yourself. Our Applia trip is still on, and we still intend to visit on Winter’s Day even if we have to scale the walls to see you.
Your guardian,
Saganet
Ricky re-read Saganet’s letter and committed the address to memory. He burned the letter before forcing a smile at Kela or whatever her name was. What was her purpose at the Home?
His stomach felt like a huge hollow ball.
“Is your guardian still coming for Winter’s Day?”
Ricky nodded. “He’ll be in Applia. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see him. Everything is so strange in the Home, and it’s getting stranger.”
He felt sick just talking to this girl. She was quite an actress. Kela had fooled Ricky with her performance. He wondered how strong her power was. Did Siria know Kela wasn’t Kela? Why was she even in the Home in the first place?
Henni walked back to join them. “Do you want to take a book with you?” he shrugged.
Ricky shook his head. “We will be punished if we’r
e found with one. You won’t be here to say we checked it out.”
Henni scratched his head. “There is that. What will you do about the hidden books?”
“Leave them where they are for now,” Ricky said.
‘Kela’ knew of the hidden library. Who would she tell? Questions ran through his head. He wanted to leave the library and curl up on his bed and worry about what was to come, but Henni sat, grinning.
“Don’t worry. You have each other to gripe about the place. It’s still too bad about the old books, though. Maybe the warden will re-open the library when Mattia is done with whatever he’s doing. I’m sure the books will still be there, just dustier,” Henni said.
Ricky wasn’t so sure about anything, anymore. “It may be years,” Ricky said. “I’ll be out of here in six months.” Or sooner, he thought. “You’ve got me upset,” Ricky said. He got up from his seat. “I’ll say my goodbye’s now and find you once I’m let out.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Henni said. “I’ll miss you both.” Henni took Ricky into his thick arms and gave him a crushing hug. “You take care of Kela and yourself.”
“I’m at the top of my list,” Ricky said, unwittingly. “Kela is next.” He smiled at her. “Goodbye, Henni.”
He quickly escaped and fled to his room to wait for the dinner bell. He looked out his barred window as the daylight ended quickly. Only weeks to Winter’s Day, and now an utter disaster. Ricky couldn’t feel more isolated. He plopped his head on the pillow and put his hands behind his head, watching the ceiling go darker and darker, just like his mood.
Ricky knew he could escape anytime, and wondered with the current events if circumstances had changed enough to force him to flee. He would have to think, and think hard about what he could do. He felt committed to seeing Saganet when he returned.
~
Ricky woke to someone banging on his door. He heard the morning bell go off just as he put his key into the lock. The door banged again. Maybe someone wanted to see him. He opened the door. Master Pisan pushed him back into his room.
“What is this?”
“A new dawn, a new warden.”
“New warden?”
Pisan sneered in Ricky’s face. “Nania Sarini is out of a job, and you have lost your protector.” Pisan pushed Ricky again.
“Warden Sarini isn’t my protector.”
Pisan pushed Ricky onto his bed. He cracked his neck a few times. “I’ll teach you proper respect,” the floor supervisor said.
This wouldn’t do. Ricky wouldn’t let this sniveling little coward push him around. He hummed and used his will to push Pisan away. The supervisor’s eyes grew wide.
“I’m training to be a battle sorcerer. You are aware of that, aren’t you?” Ricky said.
Pisan’s face turned white.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’ll obey your commands, Master Pisan,” Ricky said, “but you will not touch me or push me. If you try to kill me, I will defend myself. Ask Mistress Lonsi what I did in the courtyard yesterday to a chicken. I am my own protector, Master Pisan,” Ricky said.
Pisan’s face darkened into some unreadable expression. “Get up and get to your breakfast. You’ll find your life changes today.” Pisan quickly exited Ricky’s room.
The little man didn’t know that Ricky’s life changed yesterday. He already knew that Antino Pacci ruled the Home, and he had had enough brushes with the man to know the Home was about to become the very place Ricky feared when he first knew he’d be sent to Applia.
~
Ricky walked into the dining hall. He saw Kela talking to her roommates as usual. Ricky found a spot next to Gil Bisacci.
“Did Master Pisan wake you up this morning?” Ricky asked.
Gil raised his eyebrows and shook his head, signifying nothing like that happened.
Ricky didn’t like the extra attention. He had just about finished his breakfast when Antino Pacci strutted in with three new guards. They looked like real soldiers more than typical guards who had patrolled the Home.
Pacci wore gloves and carried a switch. He whipped the switch across his palm.
“Attention, prisoners!” one of the new guards yelled out.
Prisoners? Not inmates?
Antino tapped the switch across his palm a few times before speaking.
He gave them all a greasy smile. “I replace former Warden Sarini as of today. Things will be run a bit differently. Classes will be held for prisoners under the age of fourteen. They are canceled for those fourteen and older. I am responsible for a certain event on Winter’s Day, and the older prisoners are all required to attend. We will be performing.”
Pacci used the word performing, but the way he said the word indicated he substituted it for something else. Ricky doubted the inmates would be performing but rather doing some real fighting. Winter’s Day? Saganet would be in Applia. Ricky had no way of warning him.
Who would the inmates fight? Ricky didn’t know but might have to find out. He looked at Pacci strutting in front of the ‘prisoners.'
“Life will change for many of you.” He smiled, but Ricky could see the man’s breathing begin to increase. “You will be my army!” He raised his hand. “The Duke’s army! You will follow Nemo Mattia’s commands and become heroes of Applia!”
Did this person believe what he said? Ricky knew the capabilities of the inmates. Even with their improved swagger, they were no match for trained adults. He pushed the rest of his breakfast away to watch Pacci’s performance.
“Many of you have worked in the training hall beneath the Second Building. From this day on, you will expand your work into the central courtyard. I will have both male and female prisoners trained to fight in three weeks when Winter’s Day blesses us.”
Ricky noticed Mattia and two more soldiers enter the dining hall. They held papers in their hands. Lists of the conscripted inmates divided into groups, most likely. He wished Henni could have stayed one more day so he could get a letter to Saganet, but now it looked like his departure was by design.
Mattia raised his hands to quiet the crowd. All the girls looked upset. Ricky didn’t blame them. Most were unsuited to fighting with swords, he suspected.
“We will post your unit assignments on the wall opposite these doors. You will note your name and go to the place designated. We will conduct roll calls every hour. Don’t even think about being anywhere else.”
“Your cell locks are being modified. You will no longer be able to lock them from inside. We will lock you up each night.”
Ricky looked at Gil. “Life changes, eh?” Ricky said as nonchalantly as he could.
“I like the training more than the bookwork,” Gil said. He brightened. “Maybe we are assigned to the same unit.”
“I have no idea,” Ricky said.
“Dismissed. Get out of here!” Pacci said, strutting out of the dining hall.
“I can’t say much about the new warden, though,” Gil said.
“You’d better keep that to yourself. I don’t think Antino Pacci is a tolerant man.”
Ricky followed the crowd to see where he’d be spending his remaining days in the Home. If the inmates were to fight on Winter’s Day, few would be returning.
He finally stood in front of Mattia’s list. His name was listed right at the top. Prisoner Commander Hendrico Valian. What was this? Did someone make him an officer? Didn’t officers lead the charge? They did in most novels Ricky had read at the academy. He noted a small section at the bottom that announced the units’ battle sorcerers, Siria Lonsi, Kela Torris, and at the bottom, Hendrico Valian. They’d be training in the basement. At least he wouldn’t freeze to death in the outside training venues.
He turned around to look at Mattia leaning against the opposite wall between two sets of double doors leading into the dining hall, his arms folded.
“Valian, we have a few things to discuss while our unit assembles.”
“I’m an officer? There are inmates four years older and much heavier
than I am.”
“Do officers fight in the front?” He threw out his hand to discount his statement. “That’s for storybooks. With Baco gone, I need a trainer, and an ex-royal guard has trained you. Your efforts for the past week in the hall are what I need to get my troops into shape.”
“Troops,” Ricky said, not expecting an answer.
“You are smart enough to know what’s going on.” Mattia grinned. “So tell me, what is going on?”
“Revolution, it begins on Winter’s Day. The units from the Home will serve as a distraction for real troops. I don’t know what side you are on or who you are fighting, but it will be in Applia, and most of the ‘prisoners’ will die on the streets. With Pacci as the warden, I suspect Applia will revolt against Paranty.” Ricky almost felt weak as the audacity of the plan materialized in his mind. “You are going to attack something of the King of Paranty’s in the city, aren’t you? It would likely be the Royal Barracks. If that is the case, the Juvenile Home troops will attack from the front, and the Duke’s army will attack from the back or side or something while they are slaughtering those you are training.”
“Are we that transparent?” Mattia said, laughing. “I suppose we are, to you. It makes sense, but you are the only one among all of these,” Mattia pointed to the remaining inmates trying to see where they would end up, “who has a decent grasp of strategy.”
“I can see it because I am inside,” Ricky said.
“Inside and nowhere to go. You can save your skin by cooperating, or I can put you on the front line where you will be gobbled up by the enemy. Make your own choice. We are both under orders to make the Duke of Applia’s plans succeed.”
“There isn’t much of a choice to make. What about me on the battle sorcerer list?”
“You’re on the list, just like it says. You’ll be expected to perform a few extra duties. Kela Torris is not as ready as you are. Siria Lonsi finds out today that she will be fighting alongside you. The other inmates don’t have what it takes. Three out of over three hundred. I suppose the percentage of real sorcerers in the population of Paranty is even lower.”