Alridge paused and stared at the floor, as if seeking the right words. After a moment, she looked up and spoke.
“What you might know of as Enchanting, is technically termed Infusion. This is because it involves the process of permanently infusing a Chaos augmentation into something. Why so secret? Because when the process is applied to a living thing, the consequences are dire.
“Very few people know the true nature of banshees. Chaos is infused into these monsters, giving them their massive size and powering their screams with debilitating fear. You see, at one point, each banshee was just a man. When augmentations of Enlarge and Fear were given to these men, they infused the augmentations for a reduced, but permanent affect. The intent was to create an army unlike any other. The truth was far worse.
“You see, to perform Infusion, one must use Order to trap and contain the Chaos used in the augmentation. Since living things are made of Order, it leaves the required boundary unstable. Eventually, the Chaos breaks free and corrupts the host, driving them insane. As a result, the men who were turned to banshees are wild, mindless creatures, so demented that they will eat humans, dead or alive.
“This is why we must maintain our secret. If the ability to Infuse got into the wrong hands, we might face another army like The Horde, or something even worse. This is why it is strictly forbidden to perform Infusion on a living thing. Anyone caught doing so will be executed by ICON, for it is among our core tenets.” She paused and swept the room with a grim glare. “Executed.”
The room fell silent, the mood somber. The woman’s glare slowly swept around the room, her dark eyes meeting each student’s before moving to the next. Finally, she nodded.
“Now that you have been warned, we can begin.” She turned and strolled toward the black slate wall with a chunk of glowstone in hand. “Infusion begins with a Chaos augmentation, but requires the use of Order to seal it. How does this work? Imagine you hold a piece of metal that you wish to make lighter.” She sketched a rune they all recognized. “When a Chaos augmentation is applied to a Reduce Gravity rune, the arcanist must immediately switch roles and become an ecclesiast. Once he or she finds their center, they will begin coaxing the Order that surrounds them to bind the Chaos into place. Only when the Chaos is fully captured by order can it be made permanent and not allowed to dissipate.” Alridge sketched a circle around the rune, marking the circle with the word ORDER. She then turned back toward the room. “Since Order is connected to living beings, this is very challenging and requires far more time than if you were to attempt the same task on a human or an animal. While a skilled ecclesiast might trap the Chaos in twenty or thirty minutes, it often takes an hour or more to complete the process, leaving the person drained and exhausted.
“Also note that the effect of a permanent augmentation is typically around one fifth as effective as a temporary one. This is because the Order required to trap Chaos in place dulls the effect. We have also learned that…”
Suddenly, Alridge’s voice faded and Ivy’s voice replaced it.
“Everson!” She nudged him. “Are you listening to me?”
The memory of the classroom faded and he found himself in the Forge. He looked at Ivy and saw frustration on her face.
“What?” He blinked. “I’m sorry. I was thinking about Infusion and how we can utilize it.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “While I understand your fascination with Infusion, it can be frustrating when you don’t listen to me. I don’t enjoy repeating myself.”
In spite of his attempt to resist, Everson grinned. “I like to see that fire within you.”
Ivy’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I know that there is more to you than your shy exterior might portray. This fire, this attitude…you should show it more often.”
Ivy’s frown shifted into a smile. “You really think so?”
“You’re a smart girl, Ivy. Beyond that, you have more to offer than you think. You should be more confident in yourself and always be willing to express your ideas…and your feelings.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “I believe in you.”
Her eyes lowered toward the floor. “Thank you, Everson.”
“Now, what was it you said before?”
“Oh. The trigger mechanism is ready. Now that the first one has been tooled and assembled, it should be fairly easy to create others.”
He smiled. “That’s wonderful. Can you bring it to my workbench? I can begin assembling it while Jonah finishes his enchantment.”
Whirring from Everson’s legs and the tapping of his boot heels echoed in the otherwise quiet corridor. Everson gripped his prize invention in one hand and gazed upon it. The bronze reflected the blue glow from the beams above him. A bellow from ahead claimed his attention. The door to Brandt and Wyck’s room burst open and Brandt ran past Everson at a sprint.
Wyck stopped outside the door, his face twisted in fury. “Get back here, you twerp!”
Brandt laughed aloud as he reached the stairwell. The sound of footsteps followed, fading as he made his descent.
“What happened?” Everson asked as he neared Wyck.
With deep breaths that puffed his barrel chest and flared his nostrils, Wyck glared down the hallway in the direction Brandt had fled. After a moment, he pointed into the room.
“That brat did something to my chair. It was magic, I think.”
Everson peered past Wyck and found bits of shattered wood covering the tiles near the table. A bowl lay upside down with spilled soup and a spoon beside it.
“Looks like he used a Brittle rune.”
Wyck frowned. “What does it do?”
Everson swallowed his urge to chuckle when he saw the anger on Wyck’s face. “It makes things brittle, causing them to shatter with little effort.”
With a nod, Wyck looked back into the room. “That was it, then. This is the third prank he has played on me. Just wait until he comes back. He’ll need his sister for healing when I’m through with him.”
Without another word, Wyck walked into his room and slammed the door shut. Everson shook his head, I wouldn’t want to be Brandt right now.
He continued down the hallway and stopped at the second to the last door. The rap of Everson’s knuckles against the wood echoed in the corridor. The sound of footsteps came from within, drawing closer until the door opened to reveal a familiar face.
“Hello, Quinn.”
She leaned through the doorway and peered down the corridor. “Did I hear yelling just now?”
“Yes. Wyck is upset at Brandt over a prank.”
Quinn smirked. “Good. Wyck’s head is the only thing more overgrown than his muscles. Perhaps Brandt can poke a few holes and deflate that ego.”
“I’m not sure it will work. Wyck wants to punch a few holes in Brandt at the moment.”
She chuckled. “I wonder if Brandt considered that. Perhaps he will just hide until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes. Wyck is leaving on a mission.”
“Where is he going?”
Quinn shrugged. “He didn’t say, which doesn’t surprise me. We are in the business of secrets.”
“True.” He gestured toward her room. “May I come in?”
“Sure.” She moved aside, holding the door.
He walked past her and entered the room, his mechanical legs whirring and clanking. Rather than standing, he moved to the sitting area and sat in a chair. Quinn joined him, taking a seat on the sofa.
“I heard Delvin returned last night.”
“Yes.”
His eyes shifted toward the Ratio Bellicus board and found the pieces arranged in mid-match. “I also heard that…you are leaving.”
When he looked up, his eyes met hers and found them to be more blue than gray. There were times when the gray dominated. Those times should be a warning to anyone who knew her as he did.
“Yes, I’ve been assigned a mission.”
“When do you leave?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
“What about Mother and Father?”
“Delvin promised me one night with them, and then we leave before dawn the following morning.”
“Weren’t you going to tell me?” he allowed his tone to reflect the pain he felt inside.
Her eyes softened further. “Oh, Ev. I wasn’t going to leave without saying goodbye. Since Delvin told me last night, I’ve been busy preparing for the trip. I was going to come see you right after lunch.”
Everson sighed. “I know you wouldn’t leave without seeing me. I just…feel like I should have heard it from you, not from Jonah.”
She reached out and gripped his hand. “You’re right. I should have taken the time to come see you last night. Just remember, I’ll always be your sister, and you’ll always be my closest friend.”
He choked back tears, nodding rather than responding with words that might draw those tears out. After a moment, he recalled his other reason to visit her.
“I have something for you.”
She grinned. “Is it candy?”
He laughed. “Stolen candy?”
“Not lately.”
“I still can’t believe you weren’t caught.”
She took on a pained expression. “I do have skills, you know.”
“Fine.” He reached into his coat and withdrew something from his inside pocket. It made a faint metallic sound when he placed it on the table between them. The late-day sun coming through the open balcony doors shone off the embossed pattern in the bronze cover.
Quinn stared down at it. “You think I should wear powder? Is my complexion that bad?”
“I’ll not comment on your complexion.” Everson smiled. “However, that isn’t makeup. I only intended for it to appear like a powder case.”
Her brow furrowed and she picked it up, examining the metal case – an elliptical body four inches long, three inches wide, and an inch thick.
Everson pointed toward it. “The button on the front won’t depress unless you also squeeze the release on the bottom. Try it and see what happens.”
She put one thumb on the bottom release while the other went to the button on the front. When she squeezed, a narrow rod popped from the rear with an audible click.
Quinn blinked, eyeing it as she asked. “What does it do?”
Everson grinned, ready to share his secret. “This Chaos trap will enable you to perform an augmentation. Perhaps two if you limit how much you charge the first one.”
“What do you mean? I can’t do magic.”
“Exactly. That’s what makes this so useful.” Everson reached out and took the Chaos trap from her. “Inside this unit, is a shard of rock, charged with Chaos. I have discovered that a Chaos rune can be charged from Chaos Conduction by touching a conductor to the rune itself.” Everson pointed toward the thin rod sticking from the back of the unit. “It only takes a moment to achieve a result. The longer you hold the conductor to the rune, the stronger the augmentation. Note that this type of use will drain the Chaos crazy fast, and the capacity is limited by the size of the Chaos-charged rock involved. In this case, I can only use a thin shard, which cannot hold enough to equal a full augmentation.”
Everson spun the object in his hand. “I chose this form factor for convenience, making it easy for a warden to carry with them. In addition, it will appear innocuous to anyone else. They will think it a common case for face powder.”
“This is wonderful, Ev.” Quinn smiled while she stared at it. “How do I get the thingy back inside?”
Everson stood and walked to the balcony door. “Find something that won’t conduct Chaos. Glass is a good option.” Holding the open door with one hand, he pressed the metal rod against a glass pane. The rod slid into the unit with a click. He then showed Quinn the rear of the disk, the rod once again hidden from view.
When he sat back down, he placed the disk before her. “I wanted to make something that might save you one day. Be sure to save it until the need is great, because it will only support a single use.”
23
Departure
Quinn slung her pack over her shoulder, walked out of her bedroom, and found Chuli sitting at their small dining table. The Tantarri girl pushed her chair back and stood.
“You are all packed?” Chuli asked.
“Yes. I’m to meet Delvin in the Atrium.”
“You still don’t know where you’re going?”
“No.” Quinn shook her head. “He insists on maintaining secrecy to the very last. I don’t know where I am headed, what I am to do when I get there, or when I will be back.”
Chuli circled the table and looked Quinn in the eye. “You’ll be fine. You are the strongest person I know.”
Quinn smiled. “Thank you.”
Without another word, Chuli hugged Quinn. They held each other for a long moment before stepping back.
Quinn walked to the apartment door and opened it, pausing to look back. “Take care, Chuli. Continue training hard. Your next mission could come at any time.” She gave her friend a smile. “Until next time.”
Chuli nodded. “Until next time.”
When Quinn stepped into the corridor, she paused before heading toward the room next door. Her knock echoed in the empty hallway, and she heard footsteps from inside the room. The door opened to Jonah’s grinning face.
“Did you miss me, Doll?”
Quinn winced. “Not you, too. You sound like Wyck.”
Jonah chuckled. “I know. Pretty solid impression, wouldn’t you say?”
“Too good.” Quinn peered past him. “Is my brother here?”
Jonah shook his head. “He’s already down in the Forge. He didn’t want to see you.”
“What?” Quinn frowned.
A familiar whirring sound preceded her brother emerging from his bedroom. “Careful, Jonah. Cross her, and she might hurt you.” Everson grinned.
Jonah puffed his cheeks, blowing air out before replying. “Trust me. I remember.”
“I did apologize for that,” Quinn noted.
“I see you’re packed.” Everson said as he crossed the room. “I’ll walk you downstairs.”
She stepped back into the corridor as he followed, pulling the door behind him. The two siblings then walked down the hallway, shoulder-to-shoulder, in silence. Down the stairs, they went. Not a word was said until they reached the Atrium.
As Quinn expected, Delvin was already waiting, in discussion with Master Firellus and Master Hedgewick. What Quinn didn’t expect was to find Brandt and Cassilyn there, the two sitting in a corner with their eyes closed in meditation. Quinn stared at the brother and sister while she and Everson crossed the floor to meet Delvin.
“Ah. My star student has arrived,” Delvin said with a grin. “Are you ready to graduate?”
“Graduate?” Quinn asked.
“A mission – going undercover. This is the true test, Quinn.” He glanced at Everson. “It will be dangerous.”
Quinn smiled. “All things considered, I’d rather be dangerous than boring.”
Delvin chuckled and patted Elias on the shoulder, causing the man to wince. “See Elias. Possessing skills will help her, but the attitude is not something I can teach.”
“Yes, Delvin. Just be sure she understands her mission objectives. We don’t need any international incidents.”
Quinn noted Everson’s grimace. He’s going to worry about me, now, she thought. She then corrected herself. He was always going to worry about me. Now, he feels he has just cause.
“Are you ready, Quinn?” Delvin asked. “We have an appointment to keep, so we should get going.”
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
The man nodded toward Everson. “I’ll give you a minute to say goodbye to your brother. Meet me in the stables.”
Delvin spun on his heel and walked away.
Master Hedgewick patted Quinn on the shoulder. “You will do fine, Quinn. Just know that ICON is behind you, and we hav
e resources at your disposal should the need arise.”
Hedgewick and Firellus then moved away, the latter leaning on his cane as he hobbled toward the lift. When the lift began to rise, Everson turned toward her.
“We had best get it over with, since we only have a minute.”
“Take care of yourself, Ev.”
He shook his head. “No. Not this time, Quinn. You don’t get to be concerned about me.” The look in his eyes grew serious. “You heard what they said. This is real and will be dangerous. Remember your training and mission objectives, but please don’t take unnecessary risks.”
“I know, I know.”
“Send word when you can. I’ll be here when you get back.”
His arms wrapped about her and squeezed, but not nearly as hard as she squeezed him. Everson groaned from the pressure, but didn’t say a word. Quinn released her embrace, gave him a final nod, and turned away. The walk toward the stairwell at the far end of the room seemed to take an eternity. Beyond that stairwell was an unknown future, one for which she had prepared but knew nothing of what to expect.
Her path brought her close to Brandt and Cassie. The siblings’ eyes were both now open, and they watched her approach. Brandt rose to his feet and stared at Quinn, their eyes locking – his green and intense and intriguing. A mixture of feelings stirred inside Quinn. She slowed to say something, but the words would not come. When Brandt’s mouth opened, her stomach wrenched in a mixture of anxiety and anticipation. Before he could say anything, his sister interjected.
“Take care, Quinn,” Cassie said. “We’ll see you soon.”
Quinn replied, but her gaze never left Brandt. “Thank you, Cassie.”
Brandt stared in return, but the words – whatever they might be - remained unsaid. Unable to say goodbye to him, Quinn turned toward the stairwell and pushed thoughts of Brandt aside. Down the stairs, she went to meet her destiny.
24
The Arcane Ward Page 16