by Andrew Rowe
Cecily let out a gleeful laugh. “You’re the first person who understood that just by looking at it. Professor Vellum told me no one would ever—”
I laughed. “Vellum says a lot of things.”
“She certainly does.” Cecily ran her finger over my own sigil. “Fascinating. Building regeneration into a shielding device for an all-purpose defensive item. I can see that. And then, this is, what? A defensive rune for the sigil itself, tied to some kind of storage rune? I’m afraid I’m not familiar with it.”
“The two runes together prevent anyone with different mana from my own from tampering with the enchantments. Just a precautionary measure. It’d probably never be necessary.”
Cecily shook her head. “No, I think it’s quite intelligent. I’m not much of a fighter, but I’ve been experimenting with ideas for making items that are designed to remotely interact with other items. An enchantment like that would make it much more difficult, if not impossible.”
That’s...very similar to what I was thinking about doing with my mana threads. But making items for it would probably be easier, if a little less flexible.
I’d stopped talking for a moment, just thinking while I turned her shield sigil over in my hands.
“...You think that’s a terrible idea, don’t you?” Cecily asked.
“Hm?” I shook my head, remembering what I’d been talking with her about. “Oh, no. It was just extremely similar to one of my own ideas. Also, you reminded me about a time I detonated someone’s shield sigil.”
“Detonated? Wouldn’t that be terribly dangerous?”
“That was kind of the point,” I admitted, chagrinned. “But that’s a long story. I suppose you may know bits of it, if you know about the book.”
“Oh! Right. The book. Tristan. Yes. I need to give you a message. Very important.”
I nodded at her. “What’s the message?”
“Uh, well, it’s to make sure you listen to the last thing he sent to you.”
I considered that. “I don’t think I’ve seen that message yet. I’ll take a look later.”
“You should really take a look soon. Like, maybe right now?” She sounded hopeful.
I glanced from side to side. There was no one else in this part of the maze.
Just Cecily Lambert and me.
How many times had we been alone like this when we’d been young, chatting and laughing about other books?
I reached into the bag at my side, then hesitated. “First, let’s trade these back before we forget.” I handed her the broach.
“Oh, right. Of course.” She returned my sigil. “I didn’t mean... I hope I didn’t offend....”
“You’re fine, Cecily. But before I confirm if I have the book with me, I need to know how you know about it in the first place. How involved are you in all this?”
Cecily winced. “Not very?” She glanced from side to side, much like I had moments before. “I’m sorry. I don’t know much about all this. I just heard recently that your brother was alive. And I was so glad. I know how much he meant to Yunika...and, to you, of course.”
I nodded. “Did he approach you somehow? In the spire?”
“Him? No. I haven’t seen Tristan. Have you?”
I shook my head. “No, not in person.”
“I think Yunika has.” Cecily shook her head. “Maybe. She won’t tell me much. She just told me that I needed to get you to read the book, and to heed his warning.”
“Warning?”
Cecily gave me a sad look. “Can we...just leave the party? Then you can read the book, and we can just catch up on all this. Come home with me?”
I shook my head. “I need to know more about what’s going on before I can make any decisions about that.”
“Then...” She glanced downward toward my bag.
It occurred to me that there was a possibility, however slight, that this was some sort of attempt by an outside party to determine if I really had the book.
Or, perhaps, even to steal it.
But with what Cecily had demonstrated she already knew?
And Yunika...Cecily’s sister?
She’d been Tristan’s fiancée, before he disappeared.
We’d talked as children about marrying the two sisters together. It was the same story that Tristan had sent to me to verify who he was.
Had that been a hint that he’d been talking to Yunika?
I made a decision on instinct. It was a careless one, far from my usual style.
I chose to trust someone.
I reached into my bag and flipped open the lid of the Jaden Box.
“Retrieve: Trials of Judgment.”
The book appeared.
Cecily stared. “W...wow. What is that? I’ve seen storage items, but something that can recall something specific? Is it linked to some kind of—”
“That’s a discussion for another time, Cecily. Sorry. Let me take a look at this.”
Cecily nodded. “Can I see?”
I paused, then shrugged.
You know what? If I’m in halfway, might as well go the rest.
“Yeah, come closer.”
She took a couple steps closer, then turned so she could read with me.
I flipped the book open, all the way to the last thing I’d sent to Tristan, then past it.
I found a new reply.
Corin,
Do not, under any circumstances, attend the winter ball.
If for some reason you find yourself at the ball, leave as soon as possible without making a scene.
Certain matters have gotten beyond my control. I would advise you to head to Dalenos as quickly as possible. There’s someone you need to talk to there. By now, I suspect you know who I mean.
I’ll say this one last time: Do not attend the winter ball. You will be in extreme danger if you are present.
Do not attempt to warn others.
You cannot stop what is coming.
Neither could I.
I am sorry.
-Tristan Cadence
I glanced at Cecily.
She looked up from the page, frowning. “...Well, that’s foreboding.”
I nodded slowly. “No one told you what it was going to say?”
“No. Yunika just told me to find you and give you that message. She...” Cecily frowned. “...implied that I should leave right afterward.”
I closed the book and set it inside the box. “Store: Trials of Judgment.” The book vanished.
“That’s amazing! Can I see...”
I shook my head. “Not right this minute. Maybe later.”
Cecily frowned. “I suppose you’re right. After reading that? We really should be leaving.”
I raised a hand to my chin. “He was tremendously vague about what was going on. Do you have any idea about why he would be so concerned?”
“No. Yunika was clear that they had enemies, though. She said someone very dangerous was looking for Tristan, but she wouldn’t tell me why.”
“I might be able to share something about that later.”
A loud voice interrupted us, sounding like it was coming from everywhere at once. “All guests, please proceed to the main ballroom. The chancellor’s speech is about to begin.”
I glanced at Cecily. “If there’s going to be something happening, that sounds like it could be a good time.”
She reached out and grabbed my hand. “We should leave, Corin. Your brother’s note was abundantly clear. It’s not safe to stay.”
I nodded. “You’re right. But it wasn’t clear on if it was just dangerous for me, or if it’s something that could hurt everyone else.”
“Corin. ‘You cannot stop what’s coming’,” Cecily quoted from the book.
I shrugged a shoulder. “He’s been wrong before.” I started to head back toward the main ballroom, still holding Cecily’s hand.
She followed. “This is a mistake, Corin. We should be leaving.”
“At least let me warn Sera and Patrick. They can l
eave with us. We don’t have any indication of what this threat is. If it’s an individual that may be looking to attack me, I’m already here, and having numbers with us may help.”
Cecily stopped walking, pulling her hand free from mine. “You’re going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you?”
I turned my head toward her. “Yep.” She didn’t look like she was reaching for a weapon or anything, at least.
She just looked sad.
Cecily shook her head. “Fine. I’m going with you to warn the others. But we are leaving after that, even if it’s as a group.”
A second announcement went out, mirroring the first. The speech would be happening in a few moments.
That gave me just a precious few moments to consider. “Okay. We’ll get our friends, then leave. Deal.”
Cecily’s expression hardened to one of resolve. “Good.”
She took my hand again, and together, we made our way back to the ballroom.
I felt like someone was watching us as we walked back in, but as soon as my mind noted it, the thought seemed to fade away.
It wasn’t important.
We headed toward the table with Sera and the others.
The chancellor was standing in the center of the room, a handful of officials and a few professors standing with her.
Behind us, guards closed the doors to the room.
Cecily’s hand tightened around mine.
We continued to the table, sitting down just as the chancellor began her speech.
“Today, I am proud to greet the graduating class of four-twelve!”
Students cheered, while the faculty clapped politely.
“I’d also like to congratulate all of our students who just finished their first year. When we first began this year, I told you...” the chancellor began.
I ignored her, leaning toward Sera to whisper. “We need to leave as soon as this speech is over.”
Sera blinked at me. “What, why?”
“Message indicated that we are in significant danger.”
“Like, right now? What sort of danger?”
“Don’t know, but it sounded bad. Like, we can’t deal with it bad. We need to get the others and go.”
Someone at a table nearby told us to be quiet. We ignored them.
“Okay, sure. I’ll tell Marissa.” She leaned over to whisper to Marissa.
“...You should all be proud to have conquered your first year, but the greater challenges await...” the chancellor continued.
I was next to Patrick, so I relayed the message to him.
“What? Really? It was just getting good! And I haven’t, uh, had a chance to dance with anyone yet...”
“Patrick.” I narrowed my eyes, trying to look as serious as possible. “We. Are. Leaving.”
He nodded. “Got it. At least you finally got to see Cecily, eh?”
I didn’t have a response to that, so I just quieted to listen to the end of the speech.
“For everyone here that supported our graduating class — parents, professors, and our sponsors — I’d like to give you our sincerest thanks. You’ve helped ensure that our graduates will be the shield that protects this country for generations to come.”
“It’s funny that you talk about protecting your country,” came a voice from the student section. “When you stand with the very people who sold it out.”
The voice was loud enough that I could hear it clearly, likely amplified by magic like the chancellor’s own speech.
I didn’t see the speaker until she stepped out from the tables and onto the floor in the center of the room, facing the chancellor.
The woman with long purple hair.
I had a very bad feeling about where this was going.
“Change of plans. Leaving immediately. Everyone grab onto me.” I said it just loud enough that the people at my table to could hear.
And apparently the table behind us, because they complained about the noise again.
I stuck my hand toward the center of the table.
Cecily grabbed my hand immediately. The others leaned forward a moment later, including Vanniv.
The chancellor turned toward the woman. “Who are you, and what are you talking about, young lady?”
“Young.” The purple-haired woman laughed. “That’s a faulty assumption, but nowhere near as large of a mistake as the ones that led you to this day. You should ask the councilors next to you about the deal that they just made.”
An older woman — the owner of the estate, Archduchess Lanoy, I realized — stepped forward next to Chancellor Wallace. “You will be silent, young lady. How dare you speak to us this way? The chancellor was in the middle of a—”
The purple-haired woman waved a hand.
Archduchess Lanoy collapsed unceremoniously to the floor.
At the distance, I couldn’t see what had happened. I just heard the screams.
I didn’t wait a moment longer. “Return.”
The circlet on my head flashed.
Nothing else happened.
“Anti-teleport runes,” Cecily said, releasing her grip. “They’re all over the walls.”
Resh, I saw those earlier.
And so did the purple-haired woman.
“What have you done?” A man’s voice demanded.
I couldn’t see him over the crowd of people that were starting to stand up.
My friends let go of me, turning to move. Sera began to mutter the words of a spell.
There was a crash, followed by a burst of light, then more screaming.
“Now,” came the purple-haired woman’s voice again, “You will all sit still and be silent.”
I felt the weight of her words slam down on my mind like a hammer.
I shuddered. Grips on my arm tightened.
All around me, hundreds of panicked students were sitting down.
Once everyone was seated, it was easier to see what had happened.
The purple-haired woman was standing in the center of the room.
She was the only one still standing in that area.
Most of the others, including Chancellor Wallace, were lying flat on the ground. I couldn’t see clearly, but they looked to be covered with burns.
Councilor Lanoy was sitting, rather than lying on the floor, and he was visibly trembling with effort. I remembered that he had been powerful — he was one of the people who had confronted Keras, along with my mother.
But, as much as he was clearly struggling, he failed to force himself to stand.
There were a handful of others who were still seated on the central stage, rather than lying prone.
With a moment of shock, I realized that one of them was Lord Teft.
I need to move.
I started to convert my mana into mental mana, cycling it to try to rid my body of the spell’s effect. But this was powerful mind magic. It was probably a hair weaker than what Saffron had hit me with, but it wasn’t just working on one person — it had hit everyone in the room. Thousands of people.
And even slightly weaker than Saffron’s magic was still far stronger than anything I could manage.
I’d stored the Ring of Derek Controlling in the Jaden Box. If I could have reached it, I might have been able to use it to free myself. Unfortunately, the purple-haired woman’s command was stricter than what Saffron had used, and it prevented me from moving at all. I couldn’t reach for the box or speak to retrieve items.
The purple-haired woman walked over to the podium where Chancellor Wallace had once stood, kicked Chancellor Wallace’s body off the stage, and leaned forward.
“That’s better.” She grinned brightly.
It was hard to tell from a distance, but it looked almost like she had fangs.
“I’d like to welcome the final graduating class of Lorian Heights University.” She clapped her hands together. “Isn’t that exciting? To be one of the very last?” She sighed dramatically. “I suppose it would be more exciting if you had a few minutes left to
celebrate. But alas, that’s not to be.”
One of the people on the stage — an older man in a military uniform — managed to struggle to his feet. “You will cease this at once.”
The purple-haired woman turned. “My, that was quick. You’re a strong one, for a human. Be a wise man as well and sit down, will you?”
The older man took a step forward. “You will not intimidate me, young lady. I’ve faced worse—”
“I sincerely doubt that.” The woman waved a hand again.
The older man dropped to his knees, clutching his throat.
The purple-haired woman turned back to the podium. “Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I’d like you all to understand that this is not your fault. Referring to the students, that is. This is their fault.” She pointed a hand backward, toward the people struggling on the stage. “For compromising everything this nation once stood for.”
I glanced toward the guest section. There were a handful of people who looked like they were beginning to break free from the spell and whisper to one another, but they weren’t standing. They probably didn’t want to draw this woman’s attention.
“You see,” the woman continued, “I don’t get out much. Out of the spire, that is. And when I do? It’s usually because someone did something terribly wrong. A few noblemen who need to be taught a lesson in Edria. A handful of conspirators working to research forbidden magic. The nation of Lavia, preparing to invade a spire. That sort of thing.”
She smiled again. “You see, when I’m sent out here, it means that someone has made a mistake of such a magnitude that no one is going to forget it for generations. And in this case, that mistake was selling Valia out to the Tyrant in Gold.”
I heard a few gasps from the crowd. Apparently, the inability to speak hadn’t sealed off our ability to vocalize entirely.
Maybe I would have tried to use that if I wasn’t too terrified.
Move, damn you.
Her command was even worse than what Saffron had used. “Sit still” prevented me from moving at all, otherwise I would have tried to move my hand to my forehead to transfer my mana.
“Now, not everyone here can be equally blamed, of course.” The woman continued. “When Tenjin disappeared, your council was quick to seek another benefactor. Perhaps it was obvious that they would turn toward the most powerful option they could think of.”