Everson turned to look at the boy, who stood a half head taller and weighed twice what Everson weighed. Although he had never said it aloud, Everson believed that Henrick didn’t enjoy deferring to Everson. Rather than kick the beehive, Everson sought to ease the situation with a little honey.
“Yes, of course. Once this flyer is finished, you both can have a few weeks to work on your own projects. While I have other ideas in the works, they can wait. I would rather that you have time to express your own creativity and see what you might dream up.”
Henrick’s eyes narrowed toward Everson as he swept his blond bangs aside. “What have you been working on over there, anyway?”
Everson grinned. “Something of a lark, but one that will be wonderful if it works.”
Henrick raised a brow. “If it works?”
Rising to stand upright, Everson said, “The invention is based on a theory. And like any theory, it is nothing more until proven.”
Henrick returned his attention to the bolt he was tightening. “Well, I’ve seen your theories come to fruition before, despite their outlandish nature.”
“Would you like to see how this one works out yourself?”
He looked up and shrugged. “Sure. When?”
“Now,” Everson said. “I could use some help.”
“Me, too?” Ivy asked.
He laughed. “Of course.”
Everson returned to his workbench with Ivy and Henrick following close behind. Upon reaching it, he gripped a handful of thin metal rods, each four feet in length, and lifted them with a grunt. The metal felt cold in his grip, the weight solid despite each rod being no more than half an inch in diameter. He held the rods toward Henrick.
“Carry these, please.”
Henrick accepted the rods and stepped back. Everson grabbed a handful of metal sleeves and a pair of pliers before handing them to Ivy. With those items addressed, he scooped up his creation, cradling it in one hand as he turned from the workbench. Walking in the lead, Everson observed his surroundings as he headed toward the exit.
Two fellow engineers were using a pair of clamps while applying heat to a pole as they began to bend it. Beyond them, an arcanist sat before a metal plate marked with a Heat rune. The metal glowed with a crimson hue as the woman worked on her enchantment. As usual, Everson found himself staring in wonder, wishing he understood the process.
After passing the inlet pipes that routed steam to the various machines in the building, the trio reached the door at the far end. Everson opened it, entered the corridor, and held the door open for Ivy and Henrick. They then made their way toward the rear of the building, turning at the next bend to exit through a pair of thick wooden doors, stained black.
Everson paused when he emerged and found himself squinting in the afternoon sunlight. The stable stood to his right, the south wall to his left – the same wall that divided the Ward from the Fallbrandt Academy of Magic and Engineering. The solid black gate in the wall swung open, held in place by an armed guard. A horse walked through the opening, a Tantarri chestnut mare with a shock of white on its chest, ridden by a girl Everson knew.
Chuli sat in the saddle with obvious ease, guiding her horse without a bridle, as was the way of her people. Three males on foot trailed behind her. Everson’s brow furrowed at the sight as dark-skinned Thiron led them, the man wearing a green tunic rather than his usual brown leather jerkin. A step behind was Wyck, who appeared almost barbaric without a shirt, his tanned and heavily muscled body glistening. Oddly, the man’s leather bracers remained on his forearms as the only item of clothing above his waist. Trailing the group was Everson’s roommate, appearing worn and ragged as his footsteps dragged, scraping the gravel and stirring up a cloud of dust with each step.
“What happened to your horses?” Everson asked, his voice fighting with the clopping hooves.
Already possessing tanned skin, black hair, and angled eyes that marked her as Tantarri, Chuli’s face darkened further and she frowned at Everson. Without answering him, she rode Rhychue through the open stable door and disappeared into the shadowed interior.
“What did I say?” Everson muttered.
Wyck approached, “Step aside, twerps. I’m starving.”
Everson shifted to the side, and Wyck walked past him to enter the building with Thiron a step behind.
Jonah stopped before Everson and wiped his brow. “It’s hot. Are you hot? I’m hot.”
Everson noted, “It is a tad warm, but we just stepped outside.”
Lifting his water skin to his lips, Jonah took a long drink. He then wiped his lips dry, smacked them, and responded. “Chuli’s upset.”
“I’ve noticed,” Everson said, looking toward the stable. “Why was she the only one riding?”
“That’s why she’s upset.”
Everson blinked in confusion.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Henrick said.
Jonah glanced toward the stable. “She’s Tantarri, and she’s taking the horses deaths as if she lost family members…maybe worse.”
“Deaths? Your horses?” Everson said
“Yes. All three were slaughtered by the beast we were sent to hunt,” Jonah said. “Chuli’s mount wasn’t tethered, and it was able to escape. We found her mare waiting for us when we got back to Vallerton.”
“It sounds like your hunt was dangerous,” Everson noted.
“Just a bit,” Jonah snorted. “Wyck was attacked, torn up, and left unconscious. Thiron was even in worse shape, and he nearly died. Chuli stuck a quiver full of arrows into the thing, but it was massive and each shaft may as well been a thorn. I was scared out of my mind but was able to heal Wyck and give him an augmentation in time to save Thiron, who I also had to heal. After those close calls, we somehow survived, only to find our horses dead.”
“Well, I’m glad you made it back safely,” Everson gave his friend a smile of encouragement. “If you aren’t in a hurry, perhaps you would like to join us?”
Jonah gazed down at the device in Everson’s hands. “What crazy experiment are you doing this time?”
A grin spread across Everson’s face. “Come along and you’ll find out.”
Jonah stared at the door to the Ward, silent for a moment. As Chuli emerged from the stable, Jonah gave Everson a shrug. “I guess my meal and bath can wait a few more minutes.”
“Mine cannot,” Chuli said as she approached the group. “My stomach longs for a decent meal and my body needs a hot bath. Neither can come soon enough.”
Everson turned toward the tall Tantarri girl. “Hello, Chuli. I’m sorry about the horses…”
She paused briefly. “Greetings, Everson. Yes, I am saddened at their loss, even if they were not true Tantarri stock.” Chuli then slid past them and entered the building.
Everson waited for the door to close and then turned to his friends. “Come on. Let’s get to work.”
The other three followed, Jonah carrying his pack while Henrick and Ivy carried the components of Everson’s experiment. Circling behind the stables, Everson discovered the thick stump of an old oak tree. That should work, he thought as he led the group toward it.
He placed his invention atop the stump and reached into his tunic. When his hand emerged, a white sheet of cloth trailed it. Upon the cloth, was a rune drawn in black.
Henrick’s brow furrowed. “What’s with the rune?”
“Increase Gravity,” Jonah said.
Everson nodded. “Exactly. It should be a harmless rune…at least as harmless as Chaos can be.”
The mechanisms strapped to Everson’s legs whirred as he squatted and tacked the cloth to the side of the stump. He then stood and retrieved his prize creation.
“Let’s connect the poles together. Henrick, please press one end of the first pole against the rune. Then lay down the other poles and Ivy can add sleeves and clamps to each junction. When you’re finished, the poles will be thirty feet in length.”
Henrick stared at Everson for a moment before
he began laying out the poles as requested, the tip of the first pole poking into the rune on the cloth. Then Ivy slid the sleeves onto the pole ends and clamped the poles together into a single assembly. When finished, they reached the location where Everson waited with Jonah.
“Now, we will see if my theory proves true.”
“And, what theory would that be?” Jonah asked.
Everson grinned in response. His heart thumped in his chest as he knelt and placed the contraption in his hands on the ground. The stone under the glass at its core was so black that it drank every ray of sunlight, dull and non-reflective. He chewed on his lip and slowly moved the contraption toward the butt of the nearest pole. When the conductor sticking out from his machine contacted the pole, red energy sparked from the conductor. His eyes shifted toward the rune on the cloth and found it glowing hot. He pulled the charging unit backward, and the sparking ceased, the rune at the far end pulsing as it faded. The cloth suddenly tore away from the tacks and crumpled to the ground.
“What did you do?” Henrick asked in a hushed voice.
“Can’t you see, Henrick?” Ivy smiled, her eyes alight. “Everson charged that rune with Chaos.”
“It can’t work that way, can it?” Jonah asked.
Everson stood and stared at the cloth while butterflies flitted about his stomach. “I’m not sure. I hope so, but there is only one way to find out. Can someone please retrieve the cloth for me?”
Henrick glowered at Everson before stomping over to the stump. Hesitating for a moment, he bent over and gripped the cloth. With obvious effort, he grunted and lifted it, the free ends sagging heartily, as if they were soaking wet. He turned around and shook his head.
“It feels as if it’s now made of lead.” Henrick’s tone carried a sense of awe.
He let it drop and the cloth thumped the gravel hard enough to stir up a cloud of dust.
A wide smile spread across Everson’s face. He had done it. With his theory proven, anyone possessing his new invention and knowledge of runes could perform magic. Anyone.
13
Wardens
Cassilyn emerged from the carriage, stepped on the gravel road, and stared at the lonely building before her. Although not as tall, the Fallbrandt Academy of Magic and Engineering was longer than her father’s castle in Kantar. Blocky and consisting of numerous interconnected buildings, there was a sense of age to the academy – as if the building itself had absorbed centuries of knowledge. Her focus shifted up, toward the daunting tower behind the school – a tall, rectangular monolith that thrust toward the sky. Odd, she thought, there aren’t any windows.
Squinting in the late morning sun, Brandt climbed out of the carriage and stood beside her. As he gazed upon the building, he sent thoughts toward her. Why would anyone build something like this in the middle of nowhere?
Perhaps they desired less distraction. Cassie felt the solitude of the valley, the buildings before her signs of mankind surrounded by nature. She turned toward the south and saw the distant Torreco Academy of Combat and Tactics, a building they had passed ten minutes earlier. Clearly of newer construction, the combat academy stood two miles south of the school of magic and engineering. In between the two institutions was an open lawn, interrupted by a tree-lined road down the middle.
South of the field, the road cut through a mile of thick forest before entering the town of Fallbrandt. Nestled beside a lake of the same name, Cassie had found Fallbrandt to be a modest place compared to Kantar, lacking the bustling streets and busy harbor of her home city. Even worse was Sarville. A full day’s ride south of Fallbrandt, Sarville was a minor village beside the Alitus River, consisting of two dozen buildings and little else. During their journey through the Greenway Valley, she had seen no other hints of civilization.
She then stared at the tall mountains that defined the surrounding horizon. Despite it being the heart of summer, snow still clung to the north side of the higher peaks. She wondered how cold it must be up at that height. Even on the valley floor, the mid-summer sun felt comfortable. A cool mountain breeze and the lack of humidity certainly helped.
Brandt spoke aloud, interrupting her musing. “We should grab our stuff so the driver can head back.”
Cassie joined him at the back of the carriage, where he opened a compartment and handed her a pack. She took it with a frown, recalling the items she had been forced to leave behind.
You’ll have no time for dressing up or playing games, her mother had told her. Bring only the items you need and make them fit in this pack. The woman then handed the pack to Cassie, who had stared at it and wondered how anyone could fit the things needed into such a small space.
A sigh slipped out as Cassie recalled all the wonderful shoes she had left behind…and her dresses, her jewelry, her books, her figurines, her bed…
Brandt circled to the front of the wagon and waved at the driver. “Thanks, Vilroy. Have a good trip back to Kantar.”
“Very well, Prince Brandt.” The man tipped his cap. “May Issal watch over you and Princess Cassilyn.”
With a snap of the reins, the carriage lurched into motion, following the workhorses as they circled around and headed down the southbound road to Fallbrandt. A rune on the rear of the carriage began to glow the bright red of Chaos, pulsing in the sunlight before fading.
When did you draw that rune? Cassie asked in her head.
Before we left The Quiet Woman this morning.
Brandt began to laugh when the carriage lifted off the ground, eliciting a cry of surprise from Vilroy. It bounced back down, wobbled and floated back up as Vilroy screamed. Spooked by the man’s screams and the odd behavior of their load, the horses burst into a gallop. The man pulled the reins and wailed for them to stop, but they fled in terror as the carriage raced down the road behind them, bobbing up into the air again and again.
In spite of herself, Cassie laughed, joining Brandt as the carriage quickly faded into the distance. The laughter then subsided, and Brandt finally clapped her on the shoulder.
“Come on,” he turned and headed toward the academy.
Cassie followed him up the stairs and paused while he opened one of the oversized doors. A creak came from the hinges as he moved aside and waved her through.
The hall inside was spacious, empty, and quiet. Light from high windows lit the room, revealing a ceiling three stories above, held up by two rows of stone columns. Doors lined the walls to the left and right on all three levels, the top two visible past railing-lined terraces.
The distant tapping of heels on the tiled floor arose, the sound growing louder until a man emerged from a corridor at the far end of the room. He strode toward them with an air of confidence, dressed in black boots, gray trousers and tunic, and a silver-paneled coat. The man was tall, thin, and middle-aged with groomed brown hair and a trimmed beard to match.
He stopped two strides from them and shared a squinty-eyed smile. “Brandt and Cassilyn, right on time. Welcome.”
Cassie frowned, unused to strangers addressing her in such a relaxed manner and without using her title.
“Come along. I will walk you to the Ward so you can get started.”
He turned and began walking across the room. Cassie sent, Who is this guy?
Brandt shrugged and moved to follow. Let’s find out. “You seem to know our names, but we don’t know who you are.”
“Oh, yes. Sorry about that,” the man said over his shoulder as he continued across the hall, “My name is Abraham Ackerson. I’m Headmaster of the school.”
Brandt glanced at Cassie and shrugged again. “Where is everyone?”
Ackerson paused for a moment as they caught up. “The school session ended yesterday. The students are now away, either graduated or back home for the summer. They return in six weeks.”
Cassie’s brow furrowed. “Why are we here, then? Shouldn’t we have come later, when school is about to begin?”
Ackerson chuckled. “Not you two. Your work begins now. We have a
special session planned for you and the other new recruits.”
They entered a windowless corridor, lit by sporadically spaced glowing floor tiles, their blue light reminding Cassie of Glowridge Pass. Before their trip from Kantar, she had known about the legendary glowstone formations that lit the pass, but seeing it was an entirely different thing – beautiful and eerie at the same time.
At the second intersection, Ackerson turned right and led them down a corridor that ended with a set of black doors. The plaque above the doors read Forbidden. Cassie caught Brandt staring at the plaque and smiled. I could think of no word they could have put there that would be more enticing to you, she sent to him.
Brandt chuckled as Ackerson reached the door. You know me too well, sister.
The heavy doors opened out to a shadow-covered courtyard. The teens stopped to stare.
An ominous structure loomed before them, huge and imposing – a building that seemed threatening by its mere presence. While there was a merlon-lined terrace three stories up, the top of the tower stood much higher – twelve stories or more. The building was hundreds of feet wide and seemed just as deep. Its lack of windows added to the menacing nature, an oddity that conveyed a sense of danger and dark secrets.
Ackerson pointed toward the tower. “Amazing, isn’t it?”
“What…what is it?” Cassie asked.
The man grinned. “This is the Arcane Ward…your new home.”
Cassie looked at Brandt, their eyes meeting for a moment, but their thoughts remained unsaid – verbally or telepathically. Somehow, Cassie knew that their days of childish pranks were over. Whatever it meant, life in the Ward was sure to be of a more serious nature.
Ackerson began crossing the courtyard, his heels tapping on the cobblestones and echoing from the surrounding walls. To the left, there was a three-story wall with a black gate and a guard posted outside. The wall ran behind the school and connected to the Ward. Cassie turned to the right and found a large building a few hundred feet away with a road that ran between it and the Ward.
The Arcane Ward Page 8