"Connor!" he said. "What?"
Laila stopped. "We don't have much time. Manders..." She pointed back toward the fire, out of breath.
"By the five!" exclaimed Icarus. "What happened?"
"I don't know," said Connor. "They came from the tunnel. I didn't know they were following me."
Icarus thought for a moment. "I doubt they were." He then turned to Laila. "It would seem that your visions last night alerted others as well. Our enemies are more sensitive than I thought. We must leave, now!"
They hurried to the hut. Seeing Connor and Laila's injuries for the first time, Icarus hastily grabbed some cloth. Dipping the fabric in a jar of cold water from the lake and sprinkling a foul-smelling liquid on it from a jar on one of the many shelves around the hut, he quickly wrapped Laila's arm and Connor's hands. Laila winced as Icarus tightened the cloth around her arm, but she felt better having it wrapped. As Icarus helped Connor wrap his hands, Laila began to gather what she thought they would need. The fire was still too far away to threaten the hut, but if it continued to grow, it would reach them quickly.
Within minutes, the three of them had gathered what they needed. Enough food to get them through the mountains and back across the plains, clothes, and the treatises from Balon's library.
"We'll go to Balon first. It will be faster and more direct to Terus. I fear you were right, child," Icarus said, turning to Laila. "Things are moving much faster than I had hoped."
Despite the circumstances, Icarus still sounded confident. Laila took heart in that. At least one of them had an idea of what they were doing. She certainly did not.
They hurried out of the hut, making their way to the edge of the tree line, hoping to skirt the edge of the growing fire. As they walked, Laila saw Icarus turn back and gaze at the lake and the hut. This had been his home for a long time, certainly. And it was likely that they would not return. The fire might burn itself out before it reached the small hut, but there was no guarantee. And the attack had proven that they were no longer safe in Grimmere. Someone or something knew where they were.
Laila lowered her head at that thought. That awareness was because of her. Had she not been so eager for knowledge, they might have still been safe. Icarus had said it was her vision that led the Manders to Grimmere. The fire-wolves must have been in the foothills near the opposite side of the tunnel, searching for some trace of their path. Laila wanted to say something, express her sadness and fear to Icarus, but the words did not come.
The Magus stood a moment longer and then brushed past them, leading them upwards out of the valley of the lake. They reached the tree line after some time, the climb difficult as there was no clear path. As they cleared the trees, they could see the smoke rising over the site of Laila and Connor's battle. The smoke was thick and black and the flames reached all the way to the tips of the trees. Seeing the growing fire, Icarus hastened their pace, leading them on a high, narrow ridge above the trees, searching for the path out of the valley.
As the sun sank into the west, the three climbed onto the shelf leading to the tunnel. Icarus had not spoken since they had left Grimmere, only glancing back from time to time as the valley continued to burn. Standing on the shelf, they could see the extent of the fire clearly now. It had continued to burn, reaching toward the shores of the lake. The three of them stood and watched the fire rage as the sunlight faded.
"I'm sorry, Icarus." It was the only thing Laila could think to say.
He continued to stare into the valley. "I know. Somehow I knew this day would come. I knew I'd be forced from this place eventually. Now my path is your path. For good or ill, you are the Magusari." Laila flinched at his statement, still coming to terms with her position. "Let's move on. I no longer wish to watch my home burn."
Laila had no response. Icarus turned from the valley and headed into the tunnel leading back to the plains, Terus, and Torin.
Sixteen
Revelations
“So…” Laila began. “What happened in Ester?”
The trio sat at the northern mouth of the cave to Grimmere. It was midday on the day following their flight from the burning Grimmere. Icarus sat to one side, his face covered by his cowl, as he stared into the meager fire they had been able to put together. Connor sat with his back against one wall of the cave, staring into the rain.
“A lot… I think,” he answered. “I don’t know exactly what to make of it all, but maybe you’ll understand it better than me.”
Icarus sat up as Connor answered, leaning forward. The fire cast odd shadows within his cowl.
“The soldiers that we…uh…came across on our way here?” Connor said, looking at Laila. She nodded. “They were preparing to attack Ester. Apparently, Torin has started to move against the other cities of the Confederacy.
“The Guardians we came across were part of a much larger force stationed to the northeast of where we were. They were camped in the forest to the west of Ester. They were ready to attack, but Ester agreed to terms before there was any real bloodshed. Apparently Torin had called for the arrest of the Consulari of Ester.”
“Enid Floros?” Laila questioned.
Connor shrugged. “Perhaps. I didn’t catch her name. The city was in an uproar over it, but the combined forces of Balon and Terus had been enough to convince her to surrender.”
Laila’s eyes widened. Torin had arrested another Consulari. She had never heard of anything like that happening. His reach was getting longer, his realm of influence larger than any Consulari had the right to control. But to what end? She still did not understand what could possibly be motivating Torin to act this way. And she needed to know what he was doing to her family.
“Anything else?” asked Icarus.
“I figured that was enough. There’s already been enough trouble with Torin. I know you saw something in the lake, Laila, but do you really think it’s the best idea to go back to Terus?”
“I have to.”
“Really?”
“What if it were Custos that was being threatened? What if you had seen your family in danger? Wouldn’t you be doing everything in your power to help them?”
Connor lowered his head. “Aye. I would.”
“The Magusari has made her decision,” Icarus said quietly.
Connor glanced back and forth between Laila and the old Magus. He looked like he was going to speak for a moment. Then, with an exaggerated sigh, he let out his breath and hunched forward, reaching his hands out toward the fire.
“So be it,” he said quietly.
The journey back across the plains took another week. They were careful to stay to the south, hoping to avoid crossing paths with any remnants of the Guardian force from Terus and Balon. They had made their way to the eastern side of the river city. The clouds of early winter were gathering, hanging over the city by the river, reminding Laila, uncomfortably, of her trek up Mount Obrussa.
The city was quiet as they made their way toward the city center to find accommodations. Connor and Icarus walked side by side in front of Laila, Connor especially keeping a wary eye out. The attack at Grimmere had shaken his confidence, and he had spent much of his time during the evenings of their return journey calling up the Sword and practicing what he could. Icarus seemed flustered as well. Having seen the vision from Grimmere and following the attack, he too seemed unsure, as though he could no longer gauge where events were headed.
Laila, on the other hand, felt more confident every day. She could still feel her fear lingering, the uncertainty, but her ordeal on the mountain had done much to establish her confidence. She grasped her staff tightly as they continued through the streets of Balon, drawing a small ebb of power through it, letting it course through her, reaffirming her connection to the earth and her own capability.
They eventually found a small inn near the city center, similar to the one they had stayed in during their first time in Balon. Laila dropped onto the small pallet in her room, sighing contentedly.
"It'll
be nice to sleep on a real bed, finally," she said, smiling at Connor.
Connor nodded, taking a seat on his own bed. He attempted to smile back, but the awkward contortion of his face failed to convey anything but uncertainty.
"What's wrong?" asked Laila.
"Nothing," he answered, turning away from her, fiddling in his pack.
Icarus came in before she could push the issue any further. He sat down next to Connor and they both turned to Laila expectantly. Laila was caught off guard. She had seen both of their uncertainty on the way to Balon, but she did not expect them, especially Icarus, to be looking to her for direction.
"I need to get back to the library, Icarus," she said, finally coming to a decision.
"The library? Very well, but why?" he responded.
"I'm...I'm not actually sure, but I want to see if I can find any answers there. You did."
Icarus nodded. "I knew what I was looking for, though." Before Laila could protest, he continued. "But I will not stop you. I also don't need to be with you. You have the power to find it yourself now." He pointedly looked at the staff across her knees. "As long as you can remember where it was, your power will guide you now."
Laila looked down at the staff on her knees. She had figured that Icarus had used magic to find the library before, the way he had studied the walls of the city. She thought back and believed she could find the part of the city they had been in that day. She felt a tinge of nervousness when she thought about going by herself.
"You won't come with me?" she asked.
"No. I don't need to. And if your instinct is telling you that is where you need to be, then I am more likely to get in the way than help." He half-smiled at her. "Connor and I will secure passage to Terus. The road may be watched. A ship can take us there in a little more than a day."
Laila nodded, a surge of excitement welling up. She had always loved the ships that had sailed in and out of Terus, but she had never had the opportunity to travel on one. She turned and looked out the window, noticing that the clouds had finally opened up and that rain drizzled down the small window. She pulled her robes around her, anticipating the wet walk she would have through the city.
"I'd like to go with you," Connor said, looking at Laila, "if that's alright?"
Laila could see the worry etched across the young man's face. She knew that he felt responsible for the attack at Grimmere, regardless of what Icarus had said.
Icarus glanced at him. "You would be as distracting as myself, if not more so."
Laila could see Connor gather his courage to respond, defying Icarus. "But I am the Warden. Is it not my place to protect her?"
"It is, but—" Icarus began.
"But nothing. I apologize, Magus," Connor cut in, bowing his head. Laila was surprised at the formality in his voice. This was something he had been contemplating for a long time. "You have spent much of our time together helping Laila fulfill her role as Magusari. I am the Warden, or at least, you think I am. Let me prove it. Let me protect her."
The conviction in his voice rose with every word, and Laila felt her own emotions respond in kind. She had spent so much of her time confused and unsure of her place. She still felt many of those things, but she had never once thought about how Connor felt. He had seemed so accepting of their predicament. His faith in Icarus unwavering. He had been shaken more than she thought by the events at Grimmere.
Icarus started to protest again, but Laila interjected. "I would like Connor to come with me."
Icarus turned to her and opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it. "Very well." He smiled, this time with his whole face, and his heavy brows seemed to lighten just a bit.
Connor lowered his head, his fight won. Laila returned the smile, her own certainty still in question.
"We'll leave shortly then," she said.
Within an hour, as the rain continued to coat the city in a light mist, Laila and Connor stepped out of the inn and made their way into the damp streets. Laila knew the general direction they were headed as Balon was designed in a similar fashion as Terus, a great wheel with the city center at its middle. The library had been on the southwestern side, next to the river. This time they did not take the roundabout route that she and Icarus had traveled, electing to head straight for their destination.
Connor trudged along beside her, the hood of his own cloak pulled up over his head in an effort to keep dry. His breath steamed in the cool, wet air, and Laila could see him constantly readjusting his clothes, likely trying to keep warm.
"Colder than where you are from isn't it?" she asked.
"Aye. The forest stays pretty warm throughout the year. We only get a month, maybe two, of snow—if any. This cold air so early is...unusual for me." Laila could hear the mild shiver in his words.
"It's a little early for this kind of weather," Laila answered, glancing up at the sky. "But not unknown. We don't get much snow during the winter, either, but it can stay cold for a long while."
Connor nodded, rubbing his hands together as they continued through the city. The sun was still hanging above the horizon when they reached the road that Laila had been looking for, running along the inside of the western wall along the river. She was not sure exactly where the library entrance was, but she knew they were close.
She walked along the wall, brushing her staff along it as they walked. They had seen few people on their way here, most were likely finishing their business early under the threat of rain. Now the street was empty except for the two of them.
Icarus had said that her power would lead her back to the library, but she wasn’t certain how that might manifest. So much of what she did was simply on instinct. Perhaps that was what she needed to turn to now. She continued to brush her staff along the wall, reaching into the area with her senses, looking for something that might spark her instinct.
She was still amazed at how easily she was able to manifest her power through the staff. And the more she used it, the more the staff felt like an extension of herself, another limb almost, giving her a nearly constant connection to the earth. She still knew so little of her power, however, which is what she hoped she might be able to discover at the library, some instinctual knowledge perhaps.
After nearly a mile of walking along the wall, Laila felt something. A subtle change in the stone of the wall. She stopped and approached the spot. Looking up and down the road, she thought she recognized it as the location she and Icarus had come to previously. Standing face-to-face with the wall, she placed her hand against it. She could feel the emptiness behind it, an emptiness that was contradictory to the thickness of the wall elsewhere. Reaching into the wall with her senses, she could almost see the stone staircase that descended underneath the city streets and led into the library.
She laughed, turning back to Connor. "I found it!"
He returned her smile. "Great!" There was a brief pause. "Now what?"
"Watch," she said, turning back to the wall.
She placed her hand back on the wall. Calling up her power from her staff and reaching into the wall through her hand, she slowly became aware of how to open the door. A small stone lever was embedded in the door itself, a lever that was open to her manipulation. She willed the lever to move, inching slowly at first, and then, with a quick snap, it changed positions. The door-sized section of the wall slid backwards and then to the side, disappearing into the cleverly built recesses of the wall.
Laila spun to face Connor, a broad grin on her face. "See!"
Connor stood staring, surprised at the empty hole in the wall. "How... You know what, never mind."
Laila chuckled to herself and stepped through the doorway. Once Connor was inside, she placed her hand on the wall of the stairwell and moved the stone lever again, closing the hidden door and plunging the two of them into darkness. She quickly called up earthlight from her staff, lighting the way down the staircase and leading them into the ancient Magi library.
Laila sat at one of the
tables in the main library. Connor sat across from her, flipping absently through one of the books he had picked up. They had been in the library for two hours. Laila knew that the sun had already set above them, and she wondered if she would ever figure out what instinct had brought her back here. Connor stood and began pacing along the rows of books. She knew that he had no idea what to do; he was there to protect her, but he had no additional knowledge to impart.
Laila tossed the book she had been looking through onto the table. It had been a description of weather patterns around the Confederacy. She had chosen it mainly because it was one of the few she could actually read. So many of the other books were in languages she either knew nothing about or was only able to recognize. There were even a few that were written in the flowing script of the last Magusari's language. She finally reached into her pack and pulled out the treatise that Icarus had given her, placing it open on the table.
She stared at the words on the page, willing them to make sense... But nothing happened.
"Maybe I shouldn't have come back," she said, exasperated.
Connor continued his pacing. "Well, something made you want to come back. Any idea what that was?"
"Not really. I just thought, being back here, I might have some sort of realization. That was all it took on the mountain. I just had to reach the summit. Everything else kind of took care of itself," she answered, placing her hand on the staff briefly.
"Well, what happened last time you were here?" Connor asked.
"Not much. Icarus and I were looking for these books," she said, lifting up the one in front of her. "We spent several hours looking."
"Where did you find them?" he asked.
"In there," Laila said, indicating the small antechamber off the main room.
Connor walked over and looked inside, seeing the stands for each book. "That seems rather obvious, doesn't it?"
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