by B. T. Narro
I tensed when I saw a capital guard about to cross by the dteria user the other way. They looked at each other long enough for me to realize they recognized each other, but they didn’t speak. They just crossed by.
I kept my gaze fixed on the ground as the guard passed me farther down the street. When he was behind me, I found the dteria user again and hurried up a bit to make sure I wouldn’t lose him as he turned onto another street.
I followed him for just a little while before he entered one of the larger inns I had seen in the city called The Pearl. I watched him through the doorway of The Pearl as I stood on the other side of the street and tried not to look conspicuous.
He went up to the reception counter and handed the worker a small pouch he’d pulled out from the inside of his cloak. It didn’t look like anything was spoken between them as the worker walked off out of my view. The cloaked man started to turn around. I pretended like I was walking down the street.
When I had gone too far for him to see me anymore, I stopped and turned back. Looking into The Pearl again, I watched as the worker was handing the pouch back to the cloaked man.
I started down the street the other way as the cloaked man turned to leave. After enough time, I looked back to see him walking the opposite way. I had a choice. I could follow him to see what he did with what I assumed to be coins, or I could question the worker at The Pearl about the exchange.
Seeing as how I didn’t want to make it known that I was involved with the law, as per my agreement with the king, I came to realize there was a third option. I could do nothing.
Doing nothing had always been a difficult thing for me. I decided to walk into The Pearl to better judge who was dealing with this dteria user and whether they may be innocent or guilty of a crime.
I wished Leon had taken the time to explain why dteria was illegal. The king had mentioned that dteria sorcerers—I was just beginning to realize there was probably a name for these sorcerers just like the way dvinia sorcerers were called wizards—were trying to spread “corruption” across the kingdom. But that was all he’d said about it. Did dteria change something about a caster’s appearance? It did seem to change their personality, because why else would the king describe it as a corruption?
That explained the confident aggression of the cloaked man. It was a start. I could look for the same thing in the worker’s demeanor.
“Hello,” I said to the older man working at the reception of the inn.
“Good evening, young sir. Are you looking for a place to stay?”
It seemed plainly obvious this person was not corrupted by dteria. I gave him a serious look as I leaned closer. He raised an eyebrow as he leaned in as well.
“I don’t want to say who I am.” I spoke quietly. “But I might be able to help you with your problem.”
He leaned back. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.” However, his tone said otherwise.
“The man who came in here just before me. He bumped into me earlier. I know what he is.”
“That was a valued client. You should not speak about him as if he was some criminal.”
I looked behind me thinking someone might be watching, but no, we were alone. This man really seemed scared of revealing the truth about the dteria sorcerer. Or perhaps he was putting me on and he was part of it, but that seemed unlikely. If they were to conduct nefarious business, for example, if this worker was paying the dteria user for a service, it would be at night when people couldn’t see. The cloaked man had entered with hubris, barely caring to look around before accepting money from the worker of this inn. This exchange of money was something probably many people had witnessed before, but no one had done a thing about it.
“You seem like you don’t want to be involved in…whatever’s happening.” I spoke somewhat sarcastically, as if I knew exactly what was going on. “I understand you’re scared of them. That’s why there are some people…other people who are trying to stop them. People like me. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
He looked around at the empty reception. I seemed to be scaring him as he shook his head nervously.
“Just tell me one thing,” I said. “I know he’s here on someone’s behalf. Who? Give me a name.”
“I can’t,” the worker whispered.
“You can trust me. I want to help.”
“Why?”
“Because some of us actually care about this city. And we need some proof, dammit.” I relayed my frustration as if I had been at this for months, as I figured this man could’ve been suffering that long.
Finally, I seemed to get through to him as his eyes became glossy. He nodded.
“He claims it’s a protective tax. We pay each week.”
“What’s his name?”
“He never told me.”
“Who did he say he’s working for?”
“I don’t know if it’s true.”
“That’s all right.”
He didn’t speak as he checked around again.
I didn’t understand the worker’s reluctance. “Just tell me whatever he told you.”
He leaned in and whispered, “When he first came in, I told him I would report him to the guard for threatening us. That’s when he laughed. I will never forget the look in his eyes.” He gazed past me as if recalling the event. The older man then swallowed and looked at me again. “He told me it was the captain of the guard who had sent him and if I told anyone except for the manager here, then I would be killed. Please, young sir. Please tell me I’m not making a mistake telling you.”
“You have done the right thing. I’m going to do everything I can, but I’ll make sure they won’t know you were involved in any way.”
“Thank you,” he whispered with tears burgeoning. “Thank you, young sir.”
I nodded and left.
I felt pity for the man, who was clearly terrified. The captain of the guard working with dteria sorcerers seemed unlikely to me…at first. However, the more I recalled Nykal speaking about corruption within his own kingdom, the more I was inclined to believe it. God, Nykal might’ve even heard about the captain of Newhaven’s guard falling to corruption before. He seemed like the type of king who wanted to know everything he could. I would be more surprised if he hadn’t heard anything.
I relaxed a bit. That probably meant the captain had already been investigated. It was probably a lie told by the dteria user. He was working with someone, though. At least some of the city guards were on his side.
It was time to return to the castle, but not before picking up my new clothes. There was so much to do and to learn. At least I wouldn’t look like a vagabond all the time now.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
When I was old enough to do so, I had helped my father prepare dinner for us every night. It was always an annoying chore for me as a child when I wanted to play outside instead, but I had gotten used to it as I aged. Now I missed it, as I did all the times I’d spent with my father before he’d fallen ill.
However, I had to admit that the feeling of entering the castle knowing a delicious meal was waiting for me in the great hall, along with the company of my friends, did a lot to alleviate my pain. I looked forward to hearing what had happened with their sword training after I’d left. I knew to wait until after we ate to speak with the king. He always ate with his family and looked as if he didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone.
The courtyard was empty when I arrived, save a few workers walking across. I figured everyone was in the great hall. With a mean appetite, I walked in and found three plates left on the table near the door. Today was a red meat I assumed to be wild boar with a thick sauce that smelled a little sweet. There was buttered squash on the side.
I was pleased that Reuben and Michael were seated together, but Charlie was nowhere in sight. I expected Leon to make a fuss that I had come back without Charlie, but I couldn’t find Leon in his usual corner or anywhere else in the large room. Even the king was not present this time
, his wife and daughter eating without him. It didn’t sit right with me, the empty seat between them. But at least they appeared to be talking as if nothing was wrong, from what I could tell from across the long dining hall.
I took my plate and sat beside Michael. He and Reuben glanced up at me for just a moment before both looked back down at their food. It didn’t appear that either had much of an appetite as they cut their meat without enthusiasm. I imagined something had happened after I left.
“Where’s Charlie?” Michael asked.
“We got separated.” I went on to describe his dismissal of me in the tiny bookshop and how I expected him to come back soon. Then I asked, “What happened while I was gone?”
Reuben let out his breath without looking up. If I wasn’t so concerned about what they were about to tell me, I probably would’ve been happier about Reuben sitting with us. Perhaps he had finally let go of his attitude.
I heard someone running into the great hall. We turned to see Charlie. He had a cloth sack in one hand. He grabbed his plate with the other and hurried over to Reuben’s side. He dropped the cloth sack on the table. It clinked and clattered as if many things were inside. Then he sat and started cutting into his meat in a mad rush as if he had but one minute to finish his meal.
“Uh, Charlie?” Michael prompted.
“What?” he said with a full mouth.
“Is there a fire somewhere we don’t know about?”
“What?” he asked again, more confused this time.
“Why are you eating so fast?” Michael specified.
“Loths tha do,” he said, his voice muffled by meat.
“Nox’s blade, close your mouth, Spayker!” Reuben complained. “You’re about to spit up on the dinner table!”
“Thorry.”
It was hard to take my eyes off of Charlie as he cut the meat and stuffed it into his mouth so fast I feared he would choke. He ignored the sauce spread along the side of the plate. He stabbed the squash and put the whole thing up to his already full mouth, swallowing just before he inserted half of it into his mouth and bit off a gigantic end.
“My lord,” Michael said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever before been this impressed and disgusted at the same time.”
“Before I forget,” I interrupted. “There’s a name for every type of sorcerer, right?”
“That is correct,” Reuben said.
“So what is a dteria sorcerer called?”
“A warlock,” Michael answered.
“That’s incorrect,” Reuben said. “A warlock specializes in dteria and vtalia, allowing them the ability to drain one life form for another.”
I froze. “That’s really true?”
“It is,” he said with certainty, but I wasn’t sure I believed him. Or perhaps I just didn’t want to.
“What’s a sorcerer who only uses dteria, then?” Michael asked.
“A coward. A weak man. A corrupt sorcerer. Or a dark mage, if you prefer.” Reuben spoke with obvious hatred.
Seeing as how Reuben had never been one who could hide his true emotions, I was beginning to believe he wasn’t the one working with the corrupt sorcerers.
“There are also witches,” Reuben added. “They only use dteria, like a dark mage, but they specialize in curses. Dteria is like ordia. Depending on how the sorcerer uses it, it changes how their class is defined.” He moved his fork around his plate. “Leon really should be teaching more about sorcery.”
“He should,” I said, glad to agree with Reuben for once. “What happened? Why isn’t he here?”
Reuben sighed again. “I was tired. I made one mistake, but his reaction was inappropriate. I have completely lost confidence in our instructor.” He spoke with such finality that I feared he might not ever change his mind.
“What did he do?”
Michael looked at me. “After you and Charlie left, I thought Leon was in a better mood. He told Reuben and me to duel. I don’t know a thing about sword fighting, and I knew Reuben did. So I thought I would just swing hard and hope for the best. Well, Reuben swung pretty hard too, right?”
“I made a mistake. I was hardly paying attention.”
“Anyway,” Michael continued. “Our swords hit, and we both lost them. I thought it was kind of funny, so I laughed. But Leon wasn’t amused. He applauded us sarcastically and said he was impressed, because never had he witnessed two people fight so badly that they both lost their weapons at the same time. Then he just walked out of the castle.” Michael wasn’t smiling as he usually did. “It didn’t happen too long after you and Charlie left. I thought you might’ve seen him.”
“No. He hasn’t come back?”
“He did not long ago,” Michael said. “He stank of ale and marched right into the keep.”
“Jon, after supper will you show me the disarm trick you used?” Reuben asked me formally, or maybe it was just his lilt that made everything he said seem formal.
“I would be happy to, but I have to speak with the king about something I saw in town. There was a sorcerer with dteria. I could feel it on him, but I didn’t know if it was an essence or his mana.”
“There are many of them,” Reuben said. “The king knows. You shouldn’t bother him with something small like that.”
I didn’t want to divulge the rest. I did trust everyone here, but I figured I should be cautious just in case. “Well, I’d still like to bring it up with him, but I can show you the technique later.”
“Very well.”
Charlie finished the last bite from his plate and dropped his fork. It struck the plate loudly, causing us to look over.
He dug into the cloth sack on the table and pulled out a thin square of metal. It was silver with a hint of gold, as if it couldn’t decide which metal it wanted to be.
“What are you doing with birlabright?” Reuben asked him.
Birlabright, I had heard that before. It was the metal used in a vibmtaer because it changed color depending on the frequency of the mana nearby. Barrett had told me this during the test of my mana’s range. I assumed it was expensive.
“Don’t ask me any questions,” Charlie said.
Coming from anyone else’s mouth, these words might’ve sounded mean, but I had a feeling that Charlie was incapable of insulting someone on purpose.
Charlie put his right hand over the square of birlabright. It melted right there on the table, to my astonishment. That wasn’t to say that it turned to liquid; he just softened it so that it was in the state between solid and liquid, no doubt to make it malleable. I had never seen anything like it. Then he pulled it apart into two pieces and quickly started to shape one into what appeared to be a ring.
He finished quickly, clearly having done something like this before. Then he worked the other into the same shape of a ring.
“Give me your hand, Jon.”
“Why?”
“So I can shape the ring to fit your finger.”
I asked again. “Why?”
“Because I need to!” He grabbed my hand in frustration.
I felt uneasy about the whole thing, but causing him a fit would be even worse. I went along.
He slid the ring onto my middle finger. Using his thumbs and first fingers, he pinched and wiggled the ring until it seemed to be the right size. It was more than a little awkward having him hold my hand for this long of a time, especially when I glanced over to see Kataleya smirking at me from where she ate with the other girls. At least Remi was with them now. I grinned back and gave a subtle shrug.
Eventually, Charlie finished. He dropped my hand. “Hold it up,” he demanded.
I lifted it in front of him. He cupped his right hand and moved it in the air over my hand. The metal hardened on my finger. Then he grabbed the ring and started to pull.
“Ouch,” I complained as it caught on my knuckle.
“Make sure you can take it off,” he said as he started on the next ring.
I slid it off and tried to hand it to him, but he pushed it bac
k toward me without looking up. “Keep it.”
Michael asked in a flirtatious voice, “Who’s the next ring for, hmm? Is it for you, Charlie?”
“Yes,” Charlie answered. “No questions. I need to…” He didn’t finish his sentence as he started fitting the other ring on his finger.
I went back to eating and had finished my meal by the time he was done. I was glad, especially considering what he pulled out of the sack next.
With his bare hand, Charlie lifted a dead bat out of the bag and set it on the table.
The three of us had quite a reaction. I couldn’t make out what Reuben or Michael yelled, for I was too busy yelling as well.
“What the hell, Charlie?”
Charlie leaned over the bat. He squinted as if trying to see something. Then he picked it up again and held it in front of his eyes.
The little thing stank. I wanted it away from me.
He got up and started walking around the table until he was on the side with Michael and me. I figured he was going to show us something about the bat, both of us leaning away as he approached. But he just continued on…toward the girls’ side of the long table.
“Oh god,” I muttered.
“Charlie!” Reuben said. “Don’t show them that!”
Charlie ignored him.
“Michael, stop him!” Reuben demanded.
“Oh no,” Michael said as he reached out for Charlie but purposefully missed. “Too late. I guess we’ll have to watch.”
We all fell silent. It was like witnessing two carriages about to collide. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
Aliana was the first to notice Charlie, but she didn’t seem to realize exactly what he was holding until he was about a yard from her. She jumped back from the table with an expression of utter shock.
Kataleya, on the other side of the table, screamed, “Charlie! Get that away from here!”
But Charlie kept going, stopping in front of Eden, who was sitting next to Aliana. Eden was leaning away with a face of disgust. Charlie said something and presented the bat to her. She got up and backed away as she put out her hands. It was like watching a cat proudly present a dead rat to its owner.