“Thank you, Palanon.”
“Ye are most welcome, lad. Now get yer hide out of my way. The ale will no’ pur itself.” He slipped back into the strange, uneducated speech.
Gondrial set his tankard down hard. “Well, then pour it.”
Chapter 11: Adept
As the first light of day crept across the horizon, Shey roused awake. The flat plains of the Obsidian Steppes, with a few trees scattered here and there, offered little shade from the morning light. She turned over to her opposite side, trying to find a position to go back to sleep. After a moment, she felt like she was being watched, so she opened one eye. Rikard’s wide, friendly grin from his pallet nearby greeted her, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him, and then she realized how she must look.
“Stop looking at me. I’m sure I look dreadful first thing in the morning.”
He moved his pallet and scooted closer to her. “On the contrary, you are glowing, bathed in the golden light of the morning sun.”
“Ugh, why don’t you two shut up. It’s too early!” Marella groused.
Ramzi sat up in one quick motion. “What is it? Who’s there?”
“It’s no one, you great fool. Go back to sleep!” Marella told him.
Ramzi stretched and yawned. “It’s morning. Time to get up and around. The plains can get just as hot as the desert if you let the sun get too high. We need to take advantage of the morning hours.” He slapped Marella on the rump through her covers. “Get up!” Her face went red with anger, and her eyes popped open and then narrowed.
“I bet she’s awake now,” Shey whispered to Rikard.
Marella sprang up from her pallet to retaliate, but Ramzi had already set off for the nearby creek, whistling. “Don’t you walk away!” she said, chasing after him. He feigned a dumbfounded expression when Marella caught up to him.
Shey glanced around for Gondrial, but his pallet was empty. He must have already gotten up and gone to the creek to wash up, she postulated.
“I wonder if we will reach Shezuris today?” Shey said, trying to make small talk while smoothing down her wild morning hair. Rikard was making her a little uncomfortable being in such close proximity and grinning so mischievously. What is he up to? she thought.
“I doubt it. Sanmir said it was at least another day away. We might reach the city by tomorrow eve.”
“It’s that far? I didn’t think it would be more than a day’s journey, according to Sanmir.” She looked around for Sanmir but found he must have already been up and around too. She met Rikard’s gaze again. “Well, I had better get up.” She hoped he would get the hint, but he didn’t move. “I said it’s time for me to get up,” she repeated a little more forcibly.
“Oh, you want some privacy. Forgive me.”
Shey nodded. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
Rikard stood up from his pallet and rolled it up. He grabbed his tin cup and a sharp knife, smiled at Shey, and walked the same direction Marella and Ramzi had gone.
Shey got up from her pallet and rolled it up. As much as she liked Rikard, she couldn’t deny to herself she had some kind of fascination with Gondrial. It was even more obvious to her now that Rikard showed signs of being interested in her. She shook her head. I can’t worry about such things. I will never reach master wielder if I have such distractions. She took out her mirror and cringed when she saw her hair sticking out in all directions despite her trying to smooth it down earlier. She glanced left and then right, making sure she was not being watched, before she drew in a small amount of essence and released it. She looked in the mirror again, and her hair was cleaned and managed perfectly. Thank you, Marella Arden. I love that spell! She put her mirror away and got her pack together. She was about to choose her clothes for the day and head for the creek when she heard a twig snap behind her. Was Rikard watching her again? She turned to address him and stood face to face with the slimy corpse of the captain of the riverboat. Emaciated as he was, she still recognized him. She instinctively screamed and pushed the captain back. The decaying slime from his body got all over her hands. She slung them down to her side to get the slime off. Behind the captain rambled the rest of his crew and some other skeletons. Not again, she thought. When will our bad luck end? Surely the masters had not thought their apprentices would have a Lich and his minions to contend with? A Lich seems more like a passage between adept and master! Stop complaining and deal with it! She began to draw in essence as she heard her companions rushing back from the creek.
“Back up, Shey!” It was Gondrial shouting to her from the field to her right. He was already cutting down the minions, followed closely by Sanmir. She took a few steps backward. Ramzi rushed to her.
“Stand back,” he said. Ramzi lifted his arms wide and closed them together. Shey felt the rush of air come in from both sides, crushing the captain and two others in a cascade of solidified air.
Marella reached her and put her hand on her shoulder. “Don’t move. We are temporarily invisible to them now.”
At first, Shey didn’t understand, but then she noticed the Lich. It was hovering in the distance. Dark clouds began to form above it and roll in. A mist snaked along through the prairie grass. Hundreds of the Lich’s minions ambled along the plains. Rikard walked deliberately up to the camp. Shey realized he couldn’t see her either due to Marella’s mindspell. He wasn’t doing anything to stop the Lich or its minions. He was holding on to something through his shirt. She broke from Marella’s touch, and the startled Rikard let go of the thing beneath his shirt.
“What are you doing, Rikard?” she said with suspicion.
“I was praying and waiting for the creatures to get closer so I could repel them again.”
“What do you have under your shirt?”
“My amulet of Loracia. It’s my strength through the goddess of life, of course. You broke my concentration. Now I have to start again. What’s wrong with you?”
Shey felt bad. “Nothing. I apologize.” She looked down at her bracelet in shame. The stone inlaid in silver caught one of the rays from the sun and sparkled before the dark clouds obscured the light. Shey excitedly lifted the bracelet closer to her face. “I am a fool! Thank you, Mother!”
“What are you going on about?” Marella asked.
“Get your staff ready!” Shey concentrated on the gem at the center of the bracelet and used her dragon magic enchantment skills. The gem lit up blue and then red. She held it up, and the dark clouds began to part. The Lich faltered and floated to the ground.
“The actual suppression gem!” Rikard said. “You have had it with you this whole time!”
Shey’s expression went from amazed to determined. “Aye, I did!” She strolled through the undead as easily as one would walk through a city garden. Each one she passed collapsed as the magic that animated it was removed or suppressed by the gem. She held her hand up above her head. The dark clouds above her disappeared with each of her steps. She channeled as much power as she could muster through the gem. It hungrily accepted her enchantments, and she knew it could handle much stronger magic than she could currently feed it.
Gondrial, Ramzi, and Sanmir stopped fighting when she passed, because the corpses they were engaged with halted. She walked right up to the Lich Daethel Rast. She drew in essence as the Lich fell to the ground, unable to use its magic.
“No, this cannot be! What magic is this?”
“It’s my magic!” She released the essence and closed her fist. The Lich imploded with a sickening crunching sound. She released her fist, and the Lich exploded to dust. The rest of the minions fell where they stood. “Maybe now you will stop chasing us!”
Shey heard Rikard cry out in pain behind her, and she turned to see him. He was on the ground. Marella was helping him get back on his feet.
“He’s okay!” Marella shouted back.
“What? How? That . . .” Gondrial wavered.
Shey held up her arm with the bracelet. “The suppression gem, Mother’s gift. Sh
e gave me the gem before we traveled here. I didn’t notice it until the sun played off it. I saw a tinge of red when the light hit it.”
“It contains that much power?” Sanmir pointed. He was referring to the destruction of the Lich. Shey was a bit embarrassed. “Uh, no, that was all me. I guess I was just fed up with it coming after us again.”
“The stone amplified your magic?” He couldn’t seem to believe in Shey’s abilities.
“No, it takes away the ability to use magic. When I got the gem close enough, the Lich had no power over magic at all. It didn’t take much to destroy him after his magic was gone.” There was a slight bit of agitation in her voice.
“How did you use your magic, then, if it takes the ability away?” Gondrial asked. “I felt you draw essence.”
“Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that. Apparently, the wielder is immune to its effects. I did have to use my enchantment abilities to activate it, though. The essence was only for the destruction spell.”
“That stone is extremely dangerous, then!” Sanmir said. “Such power is not meant for one person.”
“Mother must have given it to me because she knew I was about to travel to Darovan. She must have trusted me to hand it over to the grand pryus at Shezuris.”
“It’s great pryus,” Sanmir corrected her. “We need to get that stone to him as fast as our feet can carry us! This stone gives one who can wield magic a great advantage over another magic wielder.”
Shey sighed. “Relax. It isn’t any different than a wielder having magic over someone who can’t wield.”
“Aye, but people who cannot wield usually have some other means of defense and offense, such as sword skill. Another wielder is truly helpless.”
“I understand your point, Sanmir, I do, but if this gem was used on me, for example, essence is not my only means of magical ability. Look at Marella. She can wield essence and mindwield.”
“I still think it’s dangerous.”
Gondrial stepped up. “Aye, it’s dangerous. Let’s get it to the pryer.”
“Great pryus,” Sanmir said.
“Whatever. Let’s get going.”
Marella helped Rikard move up to join them.
“Are you all right, Rikard?” Gondrial asked. “Can you travel?”
“Aye. My spell backfired with the destruction of the Lich is all. I lost my concentration.”
Sanmir pointed to Shey’s wrist. “If you can turn that thing off, Ramzi and I have work to do.”
Shey examined the bracelet. “It’s not doing anything right now. What work do you have?”
“Look around you. We can’t leave the dead to rot out in the sun like this.” He and Ramzi began to use their nature magic to swallow up the corpses into the ground.
Shey froze when she heard mournful cries and howls coming from the distance. “The Unseen. Are they still tied to the fate of the Lich?”
Gondrial listened to the cries. “They are living creatures, pets of the Lich. They must have felt their master’s demise. It seems we are not yet out of danger. They will likely show up.”
“Why would they?” Shey asked. “Will they realize what has happened to their master?”
Gondrial shrugged. “I have no idea, but I do know they are still out there and now they have no guidance.”
“Maybe without guidance, they will starve or die off,” Marella suggested.
“What do Unseen eat?” Gondrial wondered.
Ramzi rubbed his forehead. “Is this important? We are getting away from our true purpose here.”
Gondrial smirked. “Humor me.”
Ramzi capitulated. “Let’s see. I think, according to our legends, they feed off death, or the energy of death, or something like that. I don’t think anyone is sure. Lichs aren’t just running about giving away their secrets.”
“Clever,” Gondrial said. “I’m trying to speculate whether or not they will come after us.”
“I can answer that,” Sanmir said. “The legends say the Unseen are extremely loyal. They will likely hunt and avenge the destruction of their master.”
“Of course they will,” Gondrial said. “They can’t just die out or anything. That would be too simple.” He pulled his pack up and slung it over his shoulder. “If you two are done, I think we need to get moving if we want to stay ahead of them and reach the safety of Shezuris. The city can’t be that far away.”
“We could go to ground,” Sanmir suggested. “We could be there in no time.”
“No!” Shey, Gondrial, and Marella said in unison.
“We will only do that again as a last resort!” Gondrial said.
The hours of the day passed quickly as they made haste to get across the Obsidian Steppes. Ramzi was correct, the sun of the plains beat down on them every bit as hard as it had in the desert.
When the sun was positioned at mid evening, Shey wondered how many hours of travel they had left. She watched the back of Rikard’s head most of the way across the steppes. A forbidding feeling washed over her as the group recovered their equipment after a quick evening meal and resumed their trek to Shezuris. Something nagged at her, and her careful scrutiny of Rikard revealed him to be in pain. Shey wondered how a cleric, who could heal himself, could be in so much pain, but every time he met her gaze, he smiled as if nothing was wrong. Shey met Marella’s gaze once, and she tried to be as expressive as she could about her thoughts, hoping her friend could read her somehow. Marella pointed to her temple, and Shey nodded.
You want me to talk to your mind, right? Shey heard Marella’s voice in her head. She almost went down to her knees. She wasn’t expecting Marella’s mind to project so intensely.
Shey nodded.
I know you cannot talk back to me. This is an old mindwielder ability. I also know it’s going to cause you one massive headache later. Sorry, Marella said in her head.
Shey nodded to her again.
I see from your face that you are wondering about Rikard. Am I correct? Are you wondering what happened when you defeated the Lich? You want me to tell you what I saw.
Shey nodded to her again. Marella is a very perceptive girl. Perhaps she wondered the same thing as me.
All right, he clutched something under his shirt next to his chest. When you defeated the Lich, it almost looked like something under his chest fractured. I mean, his chest heaved, and he doubled over, screeching in pain.
Shey reached up to her nose; blood trickled onto her finger.
Oh, that’s all I can tell you right now. It looks like my projection to your mind is hurting you.
Shey’s nose began to gush blood. She used a handkerchief to catch the blood and to keep it off her clothes. Rikard went to her immediately, and she pushed him back. He forced himself back to her and signaled Gondrial. “Stop. Shey is getting a serious nosebleed!”
Shey went down on one knee. She felt dizzy.
Gondrial whistled ahead to Sanmir and Ramzi, who turned back to see what was going on.
Rikard also went down to one knee and cupped his hands over Shey’s nose. He closed his eyes. Shey expected golden light to bathe her face, but instead, it was a purplish color. Her nose stopped bleeding, and her headache subsided.
“What was that?” she asked. “That wasn’t the golden light of Loracia.”
“No, I healed you with a different spell,” he answered.
“Why? What happened to your abilities from Loracia?”
“Nothing. I just used a different spell. You are healed. Be grateful and stop worrying about it.”
“I am grateful. Thank you.”
Marella was looking over his shoulder at her, and from her expression, Shey knew she needed to speak with her in private as soon as possible.
Rikard helped Shey up. As she stood, she searched for the bloody handkerchief, but it was gone.
“Where is my handkerchief?” she asked, looking around for it on the ground.
“I didn’t see one,” Rikard said.
“I didn’t see one either,”
Gondrial confirmed.
Shey began to doubt herself. She looked at her hands, which were covered in blood. “Did you see my handkerchief?” she asked Marella.
“I didn’t notice,” her friend said. Marella pulled out her waterskin and a cloth. She doused the cloth with water and began to clean off Shey’s bloodied hands. As she cleaned, she leaned in close so she could whisper in Shey’s ear.
“I saw under his shirt when he leaned down to help you,” she whispered. She gazed around to make sure no one was hearing her. “He wears an amulet, and his chest beneath it is blackened like it has been burned.”
“Help me keep an eye on him,” Shey whispered back. Marella nodded.
“Good news,” Sanmir said. “I think Shezuris is just over that distant hill.” He pointed to a rounded mound of grass in the distance. “We are only a few miles away.”
“Can you travel now?” Gondrial asked Shey.
Shey nodded, and the group resumed walking in the direction of the grassy mound.
Rikard stayed annoyingly close to Shey and Marella as they topped the hill. The city of Shezuris shimmered in the hot sun, a jewel shining on the grassy plains of the Obsidian Steppes.
“I have been meaning to ask. Why do they call these plains the Obsidian Steppes?” Gondrial asked.
Ramzi pulled a knife with a black blade from his pack. “There was once a volcano somewhere around here. Obsidian is abundant on the plains and is made into everything from arrowheads to knives to eating utensils. This region is famous for it, hence the Obsidian Steppes.”
“Where is the obsidian found?” Marella asked.
“I’m not sure. There is a mountain on the plains covered with it somewhere, I think,” Ramzi said.
The gates of the city were busy thoroughfares as people trading in goods and services came to and fro. Ominous-looking guards stood watch over all that came through, but didn’t seem to be stopping anyone or inspecting their wares or wagons. Waiting at the gates of Shezuris, pacing back and forth, was Ianthill. As soon as he saw them, he rushed to meet them.
Wielder: Adept: Book 2 of Lady Shey's Story (The Wielder Cycle) Page 9