Brosk shook his head as he approached Edmath on his crutch.
“I’d expect no less than jest from you, Edmath.”
“Really Brosk?” Edmath raised his hand and scratched the back of his head. “I thought my aura was one of my best qualities.”
“Oh, it is.” Brosk laughed. “Your overall appearance is, less so, however.”
Edmath shrugged. He knew Brosk’s jibes were just the front for the issues of the day. Beliu on Dreamwater still needed to be investigated. In case anyone was watching, as they easily could be in these gardens, they would only see three friends leaving to relax for the day.
Edmath’s stomach rumbled. They had breakfast plans at the nearby Oyster Tribe restaurant, where they were to begin the discussion of plans in earnest. Back at Lexine Park, they would have done this before any major examination or trial of skills and spells. Now the issues were real, not mere test. Lives could be lost or saved if they planned this wrongly or rightly. Edmath shivered.
“Shall we go see?”
“As you like, Ed.” Chelka sheathed her stethian and started down the path toward the gate. Brosk and Edmath followed her, staying in the shade of the trees as the sun rose higher behind them.
They left through the west gate and made their way toward the restaurant. Serpents slithered through the channels in the street, carrying early morning messages. Birds chattered on the rooftops. The smell of the sea wafted up from down the slope of the hill.
At the restaurant, they ordered their food from a man who stood at a desk just within the open door. The three of them went up the stairs to the second floor of the building, where they had requested a private balcony. The restaurant was empty so early. Edmath wondered if their secrecy was so necessary after all, but both Chelka and Brosk knew the ways of duplicity better than he, having grown up in royal courts.
Chelka and Brosk sat in chairs opposite each other on the balcony, while Edmath paced back and forth beside their square table. He frowned at the city below, at the docks where levoths and greater sea creatures floated.
Brosk glanced at him.
“What say you to beginning our discussion?”
“I say we must inform Chelka of what we know so far. I may have missed something as well, following my summer of troubles.”
Chelka nodded.
“Ed, why didn’t you let me know that you were attacked on your way to the city by letter?”
“My dear, I could not be sure what it meant. And we all made it here safely.”
“But not the boy who attacked us.” Brosk sighed. “Dreamwater is far to the south, where the Worm Country can grow truly cold and snowy. I fear traveling there will soon be difficult with winter’s approach.”
Edmath nodded. In Diar, the winter never hit heavily and snow was all but unknown. The southern lands were different and presented challenges to travel for much of the year.
“What can we do to uncover what really happened then? Clearly, the former Worm King was involved as well.”
Brosk scowled.
“Kassel Onoi commanded villagers from Beliu in his and Roshi’s combined attempt on the High Emperor’s life, this is true. But why would they follow someone who sold them out to the Roshi’s corruption? The boy, Yot, was clearly a victim of torture. Could it be the Roshi were more behind the coups attempt than the Worm King?”
“Possible, I suppose,” said Chelka. “But the Worm King tried to take the sphere of humanity from his Grace.”
Edmath stopped pacing. He folded his arms.
“Indeed. We both saw him there.”
“If he had taken that sphere for his own, we might all be forced to call him High Emperor at this moment.” Brosk grimaced. “He was obviously complicit in the Beliu atrocity.”
“Why Beliu?” asked Chelka.
Brosk shrugged.
“The place is far to the south, near the border. Perhaps he thought it would never be missed?”
“Of course, that begs a different question. How did the High Emperor with his clairvoyance and powers miss the action to the south?”
“To hear you two tell it, this raid took place over two decades ago. Perhaps, at that time, his gaze was directed elsewhere?”
“Chelka, my dear. That may be the most vital clue thus far, along with the presence of my father at Beliu, who was Kassel Onoi’s personal Saale.”
“Shame we didn’t think of it months ago,” said Brosk.
Chelka flushed but shook her head.
“Enough flattery, you two. What was happening twenty years ago to distract his Grace?”
“The war would have been over for about five or six years,” said Edmath. He felt cold as he considered the stethians Kassel Onoi had given him and Chelka for their wedding. “My mother and father both fought in that, though I know little about either of them. Jurgat, my father was a worm royal and my mother a swan royal, so either of them would know.”
“Too bad they aren’t here.” Brosk folded his burly arms. “They could enlighten us as to the events in that region.”
“We could look for anyone who lived there twenty years ago to get a similar source,” said Chelka.
“True, but that was not my point.” Edmath walked to the railing of the balcony, then turned to face Chelka and Brosk. “I think my father at least participated in the raid. In my vision at the sphere of fire, I saw a man with his name. If he was there, that was a year or two after my birth and I was already living at a hesiatic temple. But you see, the monks told me my father died among them, shortly after the two of us arrived.”
“Edmath.” Chelka met his eyes. “Do you doubt what the monks told you?”
“I trusted them. Why would they lie? Unless my father instructed them to do so.”
“You are missing another possibility,” said Brosk. “Your father was a worm royal, correct? If so, both your vision and the monks’ memories could be telling the truth.”
Edmath frowned.
“How is that possible?”
“You forget your royal lore, I see. Ed, anyone with a greater worm tosh can divide themselves into pieces because they have more than one heart when in that shape. The copies are not perfect, but a Saale could fix that with the right magic. Those copies have a limited lifespan but are quite clever. How else do you think Kassel Onoi fooled the High Emperor into thinking he was still at Niniar when the battle began?”
Edmath’s eyes widened.
“A copy could have delivered me to the monks, then perished. My real father could easily have lived to be present at the raid on Beliu.” He shuddered. “This is terrible knowledge, Brosk.” He turned his back on them, and hung his head, feeling tears in his eyes.
Chelka rose and put her arm around Edmath’s shoulder. He smelled her hair and felt it brush his neck. She pressed herself to his side.
“We do not know everything, Ed. But we will find out all we can.”
He turned to face her and swallowed. She wiped away his tears with her fingertips.
His dream the previous night came back to him in a disturbing flash. Crimson gore and white worm-flesh torn apart by razor-sharp grasses and blackened bones floated in his minds’ eye. If he had seen anything like that in the waking world, he might have been sick.
“I fear that what Brosk says is all too likely,” he said.
Chelka led him back to the table, hand on his shoulder. He sat down in the chair along the side of the table that faced the balcony, between Brosk and Chelka.
The sun rose higher, accompanied by greater moths carrying the councilors from distant villages through the sky toward the palace. They would be seeking aid from the emperors for the difficulties of the coming winter.
“Our first season as full Saales is at an end.” Brosk shielded his eyes with a hand and traced the patterns of the moving moths with an outstretched finger. “All too eventful, wasn’t it?”
Edmath glanced at him, blinking in the bright glare of the dawn.
“Of course, it could have been better.” He put his hands down on the table. “War and death are not auspicious omens.”
“A career goes where the need is.” Chelka shrugged her shoulders, then reach out and touched Edmath’s hand with hers.
He realized his fingers had been trembling. He grew uneasy at his own mention of war, not to mention the revelation of his father’s true nature. He had not realized how the conflicts of the past could hurt him, before this summer.
“Indeed.” Brosk looked up as footsteps came from the stairs. The sounds of sandals on stone broke through the quiet of the morning. “Ah, that seems to be the meal.”
“They are quick.” Chelka folded her hands over her chest and leaned back in her chair. Her eyes flicked to the waiter as the man approached the table.
“Thank you, sir.” Edmath gave a long look at the food before him.
He had nearly starved, spending so long in the trance after the battle in Niniar and the journey back. The oysters looked delicious, almost so much they could be illusory. The smell was no illusion though. He found, with his first bite, the taste was true as well.
As the three of them ate, they were mostly silent. When they finished, Brosk leaned forward and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“I’ve heard a few things in the Great Hearth,” he said. “Some good news for you two incidentally. His Excellency Emperor Benisar and his Grace have been talking about giving titles to a handful of Saales I know.”
Edmath lifted the last oyster from his plate and popped it into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully as Brosk went on. “You two are to be titled, among some others, myself included. How is that for an auspicious omen, Ed?”
Chelka cleaned her lips with her napkin and set it next to her only half-empty plate. Edmath gave a little chuckle and shrugged.
“It certainly isn’t a bad one.”
“Right.” Brosk put down his napkin and leaned back. “I’d say it’s a good sign that we will all have some plenty of job offers when our terms as Imperial Saales run out.”
The comfort of Brosk’s statement was not lost on Edmath. Despite the coming winter, the war with Roshi was surely only a matter of time now. If none of them had to fight they could still be trapped in the struggle if they weren’t careful. Roshi would be far more powerful using its main armies. The war could last a long time, and people both common and royal would suffer for it.
Chelka closed her eyes to block out the sunlight.
“I suppose you have some worse news to tell us? Is there more about Beliu you have not shared?”
“Yes, Chelka. You see, your stethian once belonged to Edmath’s mother just as you were told. She was once a War Saale. This type of weapon was a little more common twenty-five years ago when she first served. It uses a small sphere as the focus, though I was not able to tell of what matter that sphere is composed. It’s a bit puzzling that these devices seem to have disappeared from the world with few traces after the last war.”
Edmath got to his feet and looked down at Brosk.
“Very strange, of course. I suppose this means his Grace did not want these weapons known? He may have the ability, if he works at it, to suppress memories with his sphere of humanity. Is it possible the High Emperor knows about what happened to Beliu on Dreamwater?”
Brosk bowed his head.
“If the High Emperor knew, then may the creator and the ladies of Chesh help us all.”
Chelka touched Edmath’s hand and got to her feet.
“I don’t know how many of the powers attributed to the sphere of humanity by the three warlords are true and how many are simply superstition.” She and Edmath helped Brosk stand on his crutch and started for the stairs. “Your eyes trouble me, Ed. We should augury at the sphere of fire so we may find out what happened to cause this ailment.”
“I’m beginning to worry about that as well.” Edmath waited for Brosk at the top of the stairs. “You are right. We can go to the temple later today if you wish.”
“I think sooner is better.” Chelka stopped on the other side of the stairs from Edmath and Brosk passed between them. They followed him down the stairs to make sure he didn’t fall. When they reached the bottom they found a pair of cloaked figures in the doorway and no sign of the waiter or cook.
Edmath felt a twinge of trepidation in his throat as he stepped forward.
“Good morning. Have either of you seen the proprietors? We need to pay yet.”
“You are right,” a woman’s voice came from within the cloak. “You need to pay.”
A snicker of steel sounded and a sword appeared in her hand. The cloak fell back from her face, and the pale features of Tamina Roshi appeared.
Edmath’s eyes widened. He had killed her. He was sure of it. The death drain had hit him after he had made the sign. She looked paler than when he had first met her, but otherwise no less alive. Impossible, he had definitely killed someone or something with the spell he last used before falling unconscious. He furrowed his brow.
“How do you still live, Roshi?”
Chelka’s stethian flew into her hand and a double striker ring whirled around her other thumb. She leveled the stethian at Tamina along with a furious glare. She took a step forward.
“You. You won’t survive this time.”
A man’s voice came from the tall, still-cloaked figure behind Tamina, shaky with nerves.
“She is right, I’m afraid. In your state, and with my current weakness, we—”
“Shut up!” Tamina didn’t look at the man as he pulled the cowl from his face to reveal a broad, dark brown face and a hairless pate.
The man moved quickly, slipping in front of Tamina and pushing her sword-point gently down to the floor.
“I’m sorry, Tamina, but I don’t want to die.” He turned his back on her and faced Edmath and the others. “Forgive her, my lords and lady. She is all but mad with thoughts of revenge.” He wore no rega, and his features were clearly not any of the Zelian Tribes, yet Edmath guessed from his bearing that whatever tribe he did belong to, he was a royal. The man dipped his head in a shallow bow. “My name is Ordin Yabar, a Dawkun of the Crab Tribe.”
“I heard of you and your title.” Chelka raised her striker and passed it in front of her face. “They call you the Living Nightmare of Roshi. You were one of the royal Dawkuns at Niniar.”
“I was.” Ordin grunted and glanced to his left.
Tamina strode past him, sword only half-sheathed. She glared at Chelka.
“Don’t pay any attention to him. After what happened to him in that battle he has lost his faith. We traveled here together, but if he won’t fight now I’ll just kill you myself.” Her eyes were hard and her face taut with hatred.
Amid his confusion and fear, Edmath felt a touch of pity. This woman had survived against the odds and her mirache, a creature that had likely been as much a friend to her as Orpus Lengbyoi was to him, had not. Her glare moved from Chelka and over Brosk to Edmath.
“Lord Benisar dies first.” Her sword emerged from its sheath again but she staggered as she stepped forward.
Ordin put a hand on her shoulder and put his head beside her ear.
“Abandon this, Tamina.”
“Please listen to him.” Edmath stepped forward, shaking his head. The entire situation felt ridiculous and was only growing more so. “If you wish revenge for your fallen steed I’m afraid I cannot let you take it, but if not, our two nations are not at war yet. No one is forcing you to do this, true?”
Tamina gave an agonized cry and dropped the point of her sword. She glared at Edmath, eyes wet.
“Don’t do this.” Ordin took her arm gently. He looked up from her shoulder at Edmath. “I wish for a truce with your people. I am not of high standing in my homeland, but the two of us will require safe passage to return home.”
Chelka lowered her stethian and walked sideways over to the counter. Edmath looked in her direction as she leaned over it.
“You can come out. There won’t be a fight.”
The waiter and the manager peeked out from behind the counter looking intensely relieved. Chelka turned back to Tamina and Ordin.
“The two of you should come back to the palace with us. If you answer a few questions we’ll persuade one of the lower emperors to help you. But do not consider betraying our trust.”
“Thank you, Lady Benisar.” Ordin bowed his bald head. “This kindness will not soon be forgotten.”
“Of course.” Edmath stepped aside to allow Brosk to crutch past the two Roshi mages to the door.
Brosk gave them a glance as they reached the door and went outside.
“I guess Chelka’s paying.”
Edmath shrugged.
“We share the same funds now.” He walked out, followed by Ordin and Tamina and then Chelka. “Married, you know.”
Brosk rolled his eyes and kept walking, putting some distance between himself and the Roshis. Edmath kept up with him despite the fact that Brosk had become quite adept with his crutches in the month since he had been injured.
“Do you think this means Ursar Kiet is still hanging around too?” he asked. His face displayed a sour frown.
Edmath shrugged.
“I doubt it. He wasn’t at Niniar, from what I understand. Why? Do you want to repay him?”
Knowing Brosk, Edmath guessed it was just that, but he hoped the question would make him think better of the idea. Not only was he a Dawkun, but Ursar Kiet was also a professional duelist. He fought for his living. Hardly any Saales could fight a man like him and be victorious.
Brosk’s face fell and he didn’t say a word. His stride quickened and he left Edmath behind. Edmath dropped back to walk with Chelka and the two from Roshi. Ordin gave a cautious glance in his direction. The bald man’s eyes passed over the orb of the stethian at Edmath’s belt. Before he could say anything, Ordin raised his hand, palm open.
“That is no ordinary Saale tool,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Consider yourself lucky.” Edmath adjusted his cracked glasses.
Ordin shrugged.
“I’m only curious.”
Winter Mage Page 3