No answer.
He proceeded to relate the story of his detention for Brinon’s murder and subsequent interrogation by the overzealous Reginold, though he glossed over the details of the latter. Perimos had ridden in shortly before and had been near the western gate purely by chance as the arrest was taking place. Even now, no one seemed to know where the captain had gotten his information or his evidence.
There was an appalled silence when he’d finished. As angry as she was, Vasi couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity. Not even the cheeky popinjay deserved such treatment.
* * *
She is mesmerized by the light as it shimmers off lines on the floor, lines that cast reflections as she slowly tilts her head from side-to-side. The Other had told her not to move, but the flickering, sparkling diamond shape is so pretty, she can’t help it.
Fingers dance across the pages of the big book, pages that slowly turn to the cadence of the steady chanting. It makes her ears itch. She rubs her hands on her swollen, naked belly and feels little kicks flutter against her palms. The Other had made her take off her dress and now she’s getting cold kneeling here in the dark corner, and her knees are starting to hurt.
Then the man appears, and all discomfort is forgotten. He is lovely and terrifying all at once.
Her eyes are seized by the beautiful lights on his armor. They speak, the Other and He, but she doesn’t understand the words. Her head feels heavy, fuzzy, like someone stuffed cotton in it, and her mouth tastes bad. Did her tongue have fur on it? She hoped not. The men wouldn’t kiss her anymore if her tongue was furry and she liked the kissing. But then, that’s what got her full of a baby and now that she’s big, only a few of them want to kiss her anymore. She’s thirsty again, too, and wonders if the Other will give her more of the sweet golden stuff to drink.
The Other turns toward her. In the pretty eyes, she can see reflections of the candle flames, but they’re green, not yellow like fire should be. A hand beckons and she shuffles forward on her knees, bowing her head to watch as her passage scuffs the nice lines, wondering if she’ll be slapped for making a mess. Cook slapped her sometimes, when she was clumsy or dropped things. But the Other didn’t hit her and she was glad. Fingers, cool against her suddenly hot skin, grasp her chin and lift her face. Was the Other going to kiss her? The men that kissed her touched her face like that. She keeps her eyes downcast. She knows she isn’t to meet the eyes of her betters when she serves them.
Something shines in the Other’s hand and she is captivated.
A line of heat is drawn across her belly.
Pain. Terrible, burning, awful pain in her head. She smells something nasty, like an overfull chamber pot.
Then there is only the dark.
* * *
“Nani? Nani!”
Someone shook her shoulder roughly and she jerked upright, panting in terror and trembling. Her hands flew to her belly, only to find it flat and whole as it should be, and she nearly cried in relief. Strong arms slid around her, pulling her close, and she could hear a fast pounding under her ear.
Jex.
It was Jex who woke her and he sounded almost as afraid as she felt. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep in his room and rather than wake her, it appeared that he’d simply put a blanket over her and let her remain where she was.
He’d want to know about the dreams now.
“Was,” he licked his lips and tried again, “was that yours or mine?”
It took her a moment to make sense of the question, but then she remembered; they didn’t need to touch anymore for the link to work. Just being in close proximity to one another would do and the space of the bed was apparently close enough.
Then it occurred to her that she didn’t actually know whose dream it had been, and the more she thought about it, the more uncertain she became. With the exception of that first time, she’d been touching Jex in some way every other time she’d seen the violent and gruesome visions. So, were they hers? Or were they his? Did it even matter?
He seemed to come to the same conclusion.
Throwing aside the bedclothes, he got up and began hunting for a tunic and boots. Enari winced when she caught sight of his back. The entire upper portion was a mass of black and purple bruises, but thank the Goddess none of his ribs were broken.
After the two men had retired, Enari waited until she was certain her Sura was sound asleep before creeping out of her room and going to Jex. She’d found him asleep in the bath, head tilted back against the rim and breathing with his mouth open. He hadn’t stirred when she closed the door, which was unusual. Only when she touched him did he startle awake.
“You’re going to boil yourself,” she admonished.
He passed a hand over the water’s surface, using a touch of magic to heat it further. “I like it this hot. Feels nice on sore bits and pieces, and boiling yourself is something you only accidentally do once. There’s room in here for two, if you’d like to join me.”
Enari folded her arms and scowled. “Oh no you don’t. You’re going to get out of there and let me look at you.”
“You’re awfully bossy.”
It had taken quite a bit of sweet-talking, and he refused to actually leave the hot water, but he’d finally let her look at his back and shoulder.
She’d been horrified at what she saw and angry that anyone could be so cruel as to inflict such injuries on purpose.
“Vasi says they’ll heal on their own, remember?” he groused, climbing stiffly from the tub at last. Enari averted her eyes until he’d donned trousers.
When he tried to pull a clean shirt over his head, he found himself unable to raise his arms enough to do so. She’d taken it from him and made him lay down on the bed on his stomach. Knowing how suspicious he could be, she held the little vial of oil she’d brought with her in front of his face to let him have a good look before breaking the seal. He took an experimental sniff and seemed satisfied. Craning his neck, he watched her climb onto the bed and straddle the back of his thighs.
“Where did you get that?”
“Babirye sent it up for you.”
“Ah, rumor certainly travels quickly. What are you—ohhhhhhhh. That’s lovely.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “Mmm, a little harder if you don’t mind, but watch the shoulder.”
She’d complied, leaning her weight into the motion of her hands as she’d seen Babirye do for Gaylan once after an especially rough go in the practice yard. He made noises of contentment as she worked, sounding like nothing so much as a cat being petted to its satisfaction.
“I do not sound like a cat,” he mumbled into the pillow, “and I swear, if you try and scratch me under the chin, I might just bite you.”
In moments, he’d been asleep again, but she continued to rub and knead at his back and shoulders, trying not to hurt him as she worked the healing oil into his contusions. Babirye had said that it wouldn’t achieve full potency unless it was completely absorbed, which took longer than she’d anticipated. He was snoring soundly by the time she finally finished.
Careful not to wake him, she moved onto the bed and curled up against his side. She should have returned to her own room rather than risk more of Vasi’s wrath, but after the night’s events, she couldn’t bear to sleep alone.
It seemed her ministrations had helped.
As he dressed now, she observed no stiffness in his movements and he seemed to have forgotten about his injuries altogether. His shoulder didn’t even look swollen anymore.
“We need to see Eryk.”
She glanced pointedly at the darkness beyond the window, but he shook his head and beckoned to her. “I don’t think this can wait.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
It took some searching, but they finally found them.
The mother was unconscious, her tongue removed and her belly slit open from breastbone to groin, and it was very unlikely she would survive or even wake before she passed. Her baby, a boy, lay beside her. Though his skin was still warm to the touch, he w
as gone.
It all moved quickly from there. The High Mage sent Enari back to her own room while he, Jex, Antilles, and Perimos examined the bodies. Perimos requested to see the rooms where the other bodies had been found, and in the order they’d been discovered.
“So this is where the boy was found?” he asked the High Mage.
Antilles walked slowly around the tiny room, eyes wide and unfocused as he used his Second Sight. He’d been a little slow to start, having been drug from his bed by a very insistent Jex less than half an hour ago.
“Yes.”
“What did he look like?”
“Does it matter?”
Antilles spoke up then, back turned to the door. “It might, Eryk. A lot of ritual sacrifices must resemble the target to some extent or have a connection to them in some way. Tell us everything you remember. I’ve heard it already, but Peri needs to know, and maybe you’ll remember something new.”
“He was ten, his mother said. Black hair, green eyes, pale complexion. She said he never stopped talking and was always getting into mischief. He was about to begin training to be a smith.”
Antilles shared a glance with Perimos. “Remind you of anyone we know?”
Perimos snorted. “Other than the age.”
“Even the age some days,” the other joked, “although in all seriousness, I have a suspicion that it’s really the only thing that saved him. Lucky bastard.”
Eryk watched the discussion with a silent frown beetling his brows.
“What else?” Antilles prompted.
Eryk closed his eyes and began to speak slowly, “His mother told me that the last time she saw him, she’d set him out on the kitchen steps as a punishment.”
“For what?”
“For talking back to her when she’d asked him to do something.”
The two younger mages exchanged another meaningful look. Antilles came back to stand beside them, rubbing at his temples where the inevitable headache was beginning.
“How many times as a boy did Jex get punished for mouthing off or not following instructions?” He waved a hand as Eryk started to answer. “Sorry, rhetorical question. I’m not sure any of us can count that high. Anyway, I had a chat with him the night I arrived, after you’d told me how sick he’d been,”
Perimos snickered and the other man’s face reddened a little, but he continued, “I Looked at him, and I could see the stains.”
“Stains?” Eryk asked. Each mage gifted with the ability to See interpreted things differently and he’d never been entirely clear on how Antilles Saw. For some reason, he always thought of dirty laundry when he heard it described.
The dark-haired man grimaced, trying for the hundredth time to clarify his visions. “I See the touch of magic on another like a…well, a painting, I suppose. That’s closer than the pile of soiled clothes you seem to picture. Different colors for different practitioners, different brush strokes for different techniques, and different mediums depending on the intent. Someone with raw talent, but little practical experience in wielding it, touched Jex with black power and the only way I can explain it is that he looked like a canvas a child touched with greasy fingers. Then over the top of that, someone or something else—probably the demon he told you about—placed marks that indicated much more experience and finesse. They left psychic stains on him that manifested themselves as sores, scratches, and the like.”
“What about the others?” Eryk asked.
He’d thought there was something unnatural about Jex’s prolonged illness, and the way it resolved itself had been the most disturbing aspect of the entire odd affair. Though he’d been vague about the encounter, likely on purpose, Enari had been persuaded to provide more detail.
He still shuddered when he remembered the drawing she’d made of the foul thing and its mark. They’d burned the parchment immediately afterwards, just to be safe. She’d also shown him Pasusabael’s sigil in the Treatise Maldicta. He didn’t understand how the second Greater fit and Enari had been unable to tell him.
Unable rather than unwilling, he was fairly sure.
Perimos shrugged. “We can only go on what you and others tell us, as we arrived too late to inspect the bodies themselves. I would very much like to have examined the tor, for instance.”
“Wait!” Antilles snapped his fingers. “That girl, the one who cared for Jex, Goddess bless her patient heart. Enari, yes?”
“What about her?” Eryk could almost see the gears turning behind the man’s eyes.
“Did she see the other bodies?”
“Well, that depends on your definition, I suppose. I get the impression from Jex that she saw them in dreams or visions or something of the like.”
“No matter, this might still work. I’d like to speak with her, if I may.”
* * *
“Enari?”
She turned at the sound of her name to find the High Mage standing in the doorway to her bedroom. She caught sight of Antilles behind him and he winked knowingly back at her. Perimos simply inclined his head in greeting.
“Novice Namelum, may I speak with you?” Antilles asked.
When she nodded, he beckoned her out into the sitting room. Jex and Vasi were at opposite ends of the chamber, ostensibly ignoring one another. Eryk pulled out a chair and she sat, uncomfortable under the weight of so many eyes.
Antilles set a stack of parchment and a quill in front of her, then took a seat across the table, folding his hands before him and leaning towards her.
“I think you’ve seen— well, Seen— some things during your time here and perhaps before that as well.”
Vasi stiffened. “Adept Denier, I don’t think—”
He put up a hand, but his eyes never left Enari. She didn’t confirm or deny his suspicion, merely took up the quill and began to draw. The room remained silent until she sat back and pushed the paper in front of Antilles. He beckoned Perimos and together they studied the drawing.
“Jex, High Mage Alycon, would you take a look at this please?” Perimos waved them over and the two joined him in a cluster around Antilles’ chair.
Jex reacted first.
After studying the page for only a few seconds, his eyes snapped up to Enari. “This is perfect, Nani.”
“How do you know?” Antilles asked.
Jex hesitated, glancing at Eryk uncertainly.
“Go ahead,” Vasi prompted, “Tell them how.” Her gaze was unwavering as she stared him down.
He squirmed a bit before finally answering. “I…she showed me.”
“Showed you?”
He tapped his temple.
Eryk whirled on him. “Jex, you know better! Using psychomancy is—”
“—forbidden,” he finished impatiently, “Yes, yes. Go ahead and punish me if you like, but it’s already done. She’s actually quite gifted.”
“We will discuss this later.” Eryk growled.
Perimos pursed his lips, choosing to ignore the moral squabble. He’d never understood the rationale behind the prohibition on psychomancy. It was in truth a rather practical skill, and one his people employed with great reverence. He himself had made use of it on occasion, although he’d never gotten caught.
“It is exactly what you saw in the cellar? There are no differences, discrepancies?” he asked.
They shook their heads, but then Jex reached down and picked up the parchment. He brought it closer to his eyes and then took it to the window, holding it up to let the light shine through.
“There is something different. What’s this in the corner?”
“Bring it back, dolt, and let us look,” Antilles held out a hand and made a come-hither gesture..
Jex returned to Enari’s side and tapped the drawing. “Here, this faint bit in the corner. I didn’t see anything here before.”
She sketched a mark on a fresh page and handed it to him. Three ovals overlaid one another at different angles, forming a sort of six-lobed flower with an infinity symbol where the center should b
e.
“Andehai?”
Enari nodded, then shook her head, looking frustrated..
“His soul,” Vasi explained after a brief glance, “Dusan is there to collect his soul.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” Perimos mused, chewing on his thumbnail as he considered. Eryk absently reached over and pulled his hand away before he could bite the nail to the quick.
“I’d like to try something else,” Antilles announced, rising to his feet. “Novice Namelum, will you draw the other bodies you’ve Seen for me please? I’ll be right back.”
He returned awhile later, carrying a box in one hand and a fistful of brushes.
“What are you doing, Antilles?” Jex moaned.
“Testing another theory,” he replied cheerfully, setting the box on the table in front of Enari and removing the lid to reveal a dozen small jars of paint.
Without hesitation, she dipped three fingers in an oily-looking black and pressed them lightly to a picture of Jex that none of them had seen her drawing. She smudged them in a very deliberate fashion and Antilles let out a low whistle.
“I—Goddess, Jex. That’s exactly how you seemed to me. Remarkable.”
Jex said nothing, but he looked a little nauseated. Turning away, he strode back to the window and stood looking out, saying nothing. Enari watched him with apprehension until Antilles touched her arm.
“Don’t mind him,” he murmured in her ear, “He’s not much of a morning person, as I’m sure you’ve discovered by now. Can you do the others as well?”
She went quickly, adding color to each drawing in turn. In the end, there were four sets lined up on the table. The picture of Jex was paired with the dark-haired little boy, both smudged with black fingerprints as Antilles had described. Councilors Porcus, Le’Quar, and Wastrel were grouped together, stained a sickly yellow-green, and Tor Brinon was placed next to Secretary Fin. They, too, were marked with black.
But it was the fourth set that garnered the most violent reactions.
A very pregnant Aelani was drawn in exquisite detail, down to the haunting sorrow in her tear-filled eyes. Her hands cupped her swollen belly protectively. Beside that was a drawing of the woman who’d been found eviscerated that very morning. The body of her infant son lay beside her.
Errant Spark (Elemental Trials Book 1) Page 28