What troubles you, little one? Fionn asked. He was close, probably loitering somewhere directly behind the Chateaus.
“Aeron, and my father,” Kaleo said aloud. Fionn could still hear him, still respond. They were not bothered by distance. “He’s not who I thought he was, Fionn.”
Does that change anything? The large chimera replied. Kaleo sighed, leaning on the banister. He felt much better now that he was clean and better still in clothes that were not covered in stains.
“I suppose not,” he said, glancing up to the stars above. His mouth dropped as he saw an orange-blue speck flying high in the sky. “It can’t be…”
He stumbled off the porch and out into the yard, eyes glued to the sky. He ran right into the iron gate, only barely remembering to pull it open before continuing on. The bird above had distinct coloring. There was more blue than orange, a color so electric and bright that it stood out against the night sky.
“Azure,” he breathed out. His steps increased in speed as the bird’s speed increased. He ran all the way up the hill and around corners, barreling into people with barely an uttered apology until reaching the outskirts of the city where the Port Circle was. Only then did he lose sight of Azure, his father’s audeas. “No. Where did he go? Azure!”
What’s wrong, little one?
Azure was here! Just now!
Kaleo looked around, frantic for another clue, another hint. There were only the guards and the poor fool saddled with operating the Port Circle. Any trained alchemist or arcanist could operate one but it rarely paid well from what Kaleo understood. He was the only one outside, the guards and operator looking at him questioningly.
“Has anyone gone through the Circle recently?” Kaleo blurted. The men at their stations merely glanced at him, then at each other. “Anyone?”
“Oui,” the operator replied finally, sounding as if he’d just been told he was a piss-poor operator or worse. He sniffed down his bold nose at Kaleo and looked away.
“Where did they go?” Kaleo demanded, stepping closer. It made his head hurt. Traveling by Port Circle was an interesting event when one held as much Power as Kaleo did. He imagined it was the same for any arcanist, like magnets of the same polarity. “Please. I need to know. Where did they go?”
“Mahala,” the guard scoffed, drawing Kaleo’s attention there. “Where thieves belong.”
Kaleo’s heart sank and soared at the same time. Mahala had many Port Circles and many more questionable cities. However, it was, at the very least, a solid direction. Kaleo breathed deeply for a few moments, trying to prevent himself from hyperventilating before smiling and running all the way back to the Chateaus as if he’d just won the war against evil.
Chapter Nine
Jaysen sat in the Poppy Fields with his eyes closed. He felt the tall grass around him, the way it tickled his bare toes. Tanis sat beside him, her breathing a steady rhythm that soothed him. He waited in the Fields for Kaleo; waited and hoped that the avian boy would not show up. Jaysen felt strong enough to find his friend in the Sea, but also knew that he was being watched. Going directly to Kaleo would lead Madhavi there as well, so, he waited. When he opened his eyes again, the Fields remained empty. A flittering movement caught his attention as he watched a pair of tiny wings fly up from the grass just ahead of him. Butterflies, Tanis called them. They flew around his head, tickling his pointed ears or caressing his cheeks with their excited motions. One even landed on his hand, making him smile.
“You have Yira’s blessing when they do that,” Kaleo said, startling Jaysen. The butterfly flew away toward where Kaleo stood then flew on past him to join its partner. Jaysen frowned and stood up.
“I told you not to come back,” he said.
“I know,” Kaleo replied. “I don’t listen very well. Are you alright?”
“Am I- -” Jaysen’s frown deepened. “You worry too much about others. It isn’t safe for you here anymore.”
“But it’s safe for you?” Kaleo countered. Jaysen opened his mouth to reply but found that he had no answer. Madhavi’s creatures sought Power. They did not discriminate on the kind or where it came from. He was in as much danger as Kaleo was, perhaps more. Fell magic radiated differently than standard magic, drew more attention from the very things he was trying to avoid. Jaysen merely sighed and turned a frustrated pout on his friend.
“Did you find him yet?” he asked, altering the topic of conversation. Kaleo smirked.
“Nearly,” he answered. “I know where he’s gone.”
Jaysen nodded, opting to remain silent. Things did not used to be this way between them. They would sit for long periods of time talking about their dreams and desires or see how many different things they could conjure in the Fields. It was not like that anymore. Their time together was always short and tense like it was now.
“I should go, I guess,” Kaleo said softly. “I wanted to make sure you were all right. Take care of Tanis.”
Jaysen frowned and looked at his audeas. “Tanis?”
“She didn’t growl at me,” Kaleo said with a grin. “She must be sick.”
Jaysen grinned, looking at the chimera again. “Kaleo, be careful.”
“You too,” the avian said, vanishing from the Fields.
Jaysen woke shortly thereafter to the sound of something akin to rock striking rock. He frowned, rolling up onto his elbow in the direction of the sound. His heart felt heavy. Somehow he knew he would not see Kaleo again. He knew it was for the best, but that did not make it easier. Neither did the continued sound ringing in his ears.
“Roth,” he hissed, intuitively knowing it was the Corrupted Speaker that made the noise. It stopped. “What are you doing?”
“Slaying the rocks, Moppet. Go back to sleep. I won’t let them assassinate you.”
Jaysen blinked, eyebrows bunching in wonder. Roth had a pet name for everyone. ‘Moppet’ was what he called Jaysen, though the young olve did not know what it meant or why it was given to him. He also could not fathom why rocks needed to be slain. They were rocks.
Jaysen laid back down, listening to the sound pick up again with whispered muttering about the filthy heathen army of granite. He merely shook his head and rolled in the opposite direction. Sleep would not return, however. Eventually the noise ceased, replaced by soft snoring. Jaysen waited several long, baited breaths before rising to his feet and leaving the camp they’d made for the night. They were still some distance away from Kormaine and, while he was now feeling much better and able to Travel, he kept that bit of knowledge to himself to prolong the inevitable. He did not particularly care what happened to the Vessel. A new one would be Claimed, eventually. However, the Corruption destroyed the Node, twisted it into something ugly and made their songs hateful and vile. It hurt to listen to them, made Jaysen’s heart ache. But that was his purpose, his reason for drawing breath. Daemodan liked to remind Jaysen of his place. His purpose among the monsters was finding others so that more monsters could be made.
He kept walking, listening to the sound of running water somewhere nearby. Xandrix mentioned a river earlier in their journey. That was what they followed instead of taking roads or anything normal. Roth was too much of a liability to go near anything populated. He’d already set fire to several things
and summoned something that probably still had no classification. Demon? Devil? Something else? Jaysen was not sure, but the creature smelled awful and attacked everything. Xandrix killed it before it could kill Jaysen. The sound of the water was soothing even as it picked up speed. He continued his steps, even when Tanis fell behind and whined at him. He clamored over a few rocks and fallen logs, listening to the rush of the river beneath him. They were above it, on a cliff, perhaps. It was not terribly high up as he felt the spray of the rapids beneath him on his face. He shut his eyes and listened, gasping when he felt something grab his arm and tug.
“Careful, Moppet,” Roth whispered, holding Jaysen close to his chest. “You’ll take a nasty tumble if you go any
further. Then where would I be? You’re all I have. And Phier. You and Phier. And Evie. You and Phier and Evie.”
Jaysen stopped himself from wilting, his heart slamming against his chest. Roth was the only being in all of creation that Jaysen could not hear. It was as if he were a spectre roaming the land. It was not generally a problem as the blasted man never shut up. However, when he was silent…
Jaysen made a vexed noise just as something crunched from above him. Roth was very tall from what Jaysen could gather which was saying something. He was tall himself, for a tywyll, equal in height to Xandrix yet he only stood at chest height to Roth. The Corrupted Speaker still held him lightly, arm draped over Jaysen’s shoulder almost protectively. If Jaysen didn’t know better, he might actually believe Roth cared what happened to him.
“Would you like some?” Roth asked in tones that lilted with insanity once more, shoving something that smelled of blood and dirt into Jaysen’s face.
“Ugh, what is that?” Jaysen replied, pushing Roth’s hand away.
“I’m not sure, but it has a delightful crunch and zing when I bite into it. You’re not sleeping.”
“Neither are you,” Jaysen grumbled, slipping away from Roth’s grasp toward Tanis once more. Roth followed.
“I don’t generally,” Roth answered, making one last crunch before tossing the rest of whatever he’d found to eat into the verdure around them. Jaysen heard it land, then felt Roth appear at his shoulder and flinched. “The things I see when I close my eyes bother me. I can’t tell if they’re real. Are they real, Moppet?”
“No,” Jaysen answered flatly.
“Oh good, I would hate it if they were. So terrifying. Tiny flying little beasties that torment me so with their colorful little wings and tickling ways.”
Jaysen paused, aware that Roth continued to move forward only because he growled at something ahead of them. The description of these terrifying things made Jaysen frown in thought. “Butterflies?”
“WHERE?” Roth shouted, running back to Jaysen’s side to hold the young olve close. “I’ll protect you! Where are they?!”
“Get off!” Jaysen growled, shoving at Roth.
“How should I know? I can’t see.”
“Of course you can, your eyes are right there,” Roth said. Jaysen said nothing, fighting the need to send a bolt of lightning in Roth’s general direction. Instead, he continued on back toward the direction of the camp. “I think we’re safe now!”
Jaysen ignored him, tripping once before reaching his bed roll. He plopped down onto the soft blankets and sat with arms folded, even ignoring a curious push from Tanis.
“Well,” Xandrix said directly across from Jaysen. “If we’re all going to be up, might as well continue moving.”
“On the road again!” Roth hollered. He’d made up the little tune and sang it horribly the second they left the manse in Joricho City. Jaysen only groaned, pulling his pillow over his head and wishing someone would be merciful enough to send him to meet his maker.
***
Kaleo stared up at the sky along the shore of Nopales. Mama tried to give him more coin, but Kaleo refused it. He would not take handouts. He still found two new coin purses in his bag when he purchased travel from Grolly to Nopales. It was the cheapest destination in Mahala and still took a large chunk of the money he had. The shore was comforting, reminding him of Paladia. He found a small cove where Fionn could join him. The giant beast fished. Kaleo’s leg hurt, burning and throbbing in time with his heartbeat. He winced, flexing his toes inside his boot with little effect. Despite the pain in his leg, his thoughts were on Jaysen or Aeron. Knowing where the other boy was and the danger he was in or worrying over Jaysen’s rather ominous warnings did not set well with the young amatti. He winced again, however, bringing his knee up to his chest.
You are not well, little one.
“I’m fine, Fionn,” he lied. “Who hunts in the dream world?”
Many things hunt Yira’s Realm. Why?
“Something Jaysen said. He warned me to stay away from the Fields and the Sea of Stars. Said ‘they’ were hunting but he wouldn’t say what or who ‘they’ were.”
Difficult to say. There are dangers in the dream world that are unmatched in any other Realm.
“Fun,” Kaleo sighed. He groaned, rolling on his side hoping the new position might ease some of the pain he felt in his leg. It only made the pain worse. So much for a healed wound.
Kaleo…
“I’m fine,” he insisted. “Just tired. Worried. Hungry.”
You can help fish instead of lying there. I’m not a cat.
Kaleo laughed, sitting up and scooting over
to the cool water. The salt made the wound on his leg burn more but he hid it by splashing in the water some, shoving his arms in elbow deep to find a fish. It didn’t work. He had no idea how to fish without a pole.
What worries you? Fionn persisted, pawing at some of the fat fish that swam around in their little cove. Kaleo didn’t even know if the fish were edible but they looked like they might be and the fisherman at the docks were pulling up net fulls.
“Aeron,” he answered, feeling a fin slip through his fingers. “We need a net.”
No, we need a fire.
Kaleo looked up to see two giant fish in Fionn’s maw. The young avian smiled, shaking his head. He would be dead without the chimera. He was happy to pull his legs and arms out of the water, however and set a fire for the fish. The meal was only a small distraction. Fionn noticed, nosing him in his middle when they’d finished the two fish.
“What?” Kaleo chuckled. “I told you, I’m worried about Aeron. He’s somewhere in Kormaine and… I don’t know. Whatever happened that night didn’t feel right, Fionn. It… it hurt. I feel like it’s related. Maybe after I find my father I’ll go find Aeron.”
Do you really think that’s wise, little one?
“When have I ever done anything wise?” Kaleo threw back with a smirk as he resettled himself on his back. “A problem for another day. Gods what I wouldn’t give for a bed.”
I should probably not mention the city behind us, then?
“Good night, Fionn.”
***
Nadya watched her nephew closely as they traversed the catacombs of Kormaine. Sapphire City was long behind them, but she still watched him. He said nothing about what happened as they left the city, of why he cried out in pain and fell ill for several days. Carrying him had slowed them down considerably, but they managed. To call him her nephew was still awkward as he was only two years her senior. There was fifteen years between she and Mikhael, and another eight between he and Josephine, Demyan’s mother. She’d gone missing shortly after Demyan’s birth and the story he told of what followed was too outrageous to believe. Yet, she watched the reality of it daily. He knew nothing of Kormaine, not even the language. While he was learning, it was painful to listen to. His grasp of the Trade Cant was worse. Watching him communicate with his wife was equally painful. Part of Nadya wanted to intervene, the other part took some perverse joy in his discomfort.
He was the reason Mikhael was gone. Without Demyan, Mikhael would have remained in the city as King rather than leading soldiers to fight in the Pass. She knew it was unfair of her to lay blame at Demyan’s feet, but she had to lay it somewhere.
“You can’t glare him into oblivion, you know.” Nadya jumped, the words whispered in
Kormandi with a touch of humor laced through them. She glanced over her shoulder to see the fallen prince of the Phoenix Empire and quickly looked away, her fair cheeks flushing until she thought they would ignite in flames. He was quite handsome, despite being tirsai. All of Kormaine had strong feelings against the tirsai, Nadya especially. The only hateful thing Mikhael had ever done was to barter her off like chattel to them, in hopes that it would end the animosity between the two nations. Discussions of marrying her off to the former Speaker had been in the works when the tirsai nation fell. She did not care for the Speaker. He wa
s crude, arrogant, and thought very little of women in general. While she mourned his loss, she was glad that the union never came to fruition. Aeron, however, was giving her second thoughts about her sour opinion of the tirsai.
“I am not glaring, fallen prince,” she replied in her native tongue. He chortled but let it be. “Your Speaker, he was never found, was he?”
The change in subject surprised the prince, she could tell by the way he looked at her. He was older than Demyan, but did not appear so as was normal for the olve. She looked at him, into his lavender-colored eyes and waited.
“No, he wasn’t,” he finally answered. “We think he was taken.”
“Like Mikhael,” she finished. Aeron merely nodded. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Nothing good, that’s for sure. Azure said there was something wrong with Sofia…er… Danyel’s Node.”
“Azure?” Nadya asked, as it was a name she was not familiar with.
“My uncle’s audeas.”
She paused and looked at him while the others continued walking. He paused along with her, studying her face. This time, she did not flush, but frowned at him. “Gannon was a Speaker?”
Aeron grinned. “My uncle had a lot of secrets, highness.”
Nadya sniffed and walked in silence for a few steps, glancing back at the fallen prince a few times. He watched her like she watched Demyan. It was a little unsettling.
“Is that why you hate him?” Aeron continued after some moments of observation. “Demyan. Do you hate him because my uncle brought him home? It sort of threw things upside down, didn’t it?”
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