I could tell Moab was hesitant. He wore the charcoal robe of a Mannite acolyte, and his master would be angry if he came home and found him gone.
I didn’t answer Kea. Instead I said, “Moab, what Robe are you training for?”
“Red. I’m good with a bow.”
I carried metal; he would have wood. By what I’d understood, it was good to have a variety of weapons when facing Elementals. Not to mention magic. “Kea, did you learn any spells?”
Kea made a dismissive noise. “Not here. Shandon just dumped me, after everything I did for you both.”
Moab said, “At least we got to be friends.”
Kea smiled, but it lacked warmth. “My studies are important.”
Moab rolled his eyes. “You are so Wood. Ambition should be your middle name.”
“You are so Earth.” Kea mock-punched his friend’s paunch. “Too much bread and sweets, my friend.”
I heard a noise in the bushes and my fingers stole to my sword. Kea noticed. “Why are you carrying a weapon, Berin?” he asked, using my nickname. “It will draw attention. The Chosen are still looking for you.”
“A man died right outside the farm.” I explained to them about the Red’s strange manner of death, and Georsi’s claim that an Earth Elemental had killed him. I ended by describing the slumber that seized the revelers and my fight to save Georsi’s book from the flames.
Kea scratched his head, pondering. In the ensuing silence Moab offered to make us tea, and I accepted the mug of lemon balm.
“The man’s death was sudden, then?” Kea asked.
“Yes. Everyone was talking about it.”
“I still don’t understand why you left. If there’s an Elemental about, it’s dangerous for you to wander off on your own.”
Of course I hadn’t told them that the Demon singled me out, and that I thought the Elemental pursued me. Shandon had asked me to keep it a secret. Shandon knew, and he suffered, as my family suffered. All those close to me were in danger.
Not that I cared about Kea. He was a flirt.
I shifted uncomfortably. “We should all be with Shandon. I’m sure there’s a reason he chose us.”
“Yassin is a five-day journey, and the way is hidden. You ought to have asked the Council members what to do,” Kea said.
“Maybe you’re right. I bet Oberin would have helped me. It’s plain that your concerns are firmly centered around…your nether regions.”
Moab hid a smile, and Kea arched an eyebrow at me. “You’re too young to understand.”
Moab shook his head. “Enough, you two. Kea’s been talking about you ever since he got here. Of course we’ll help you get to Yassin safely. Kea just doesn’t want to admit he doesn’t know the way. But if we reach the town of Dale, maybe we can find some clues.”
* * *
We arrived at the border town of Dale, between the states of Nuya and Ewanye, three days later. The northeastern route, which we planned to take, led along a range of hills toward the Crystal Mountains, which formed the border of Trea. The hidden turnoff for the trail to Yassin, our Mannite stronghold, was on the way, right after Dale.
The autumn sun shone distant and cool as we neared the city gates, keeping to a narrow, muddy lane on the other side of the hawthorn planted along the Priest-King’s road. Pennants for the states of Ewanye and Nuya flew from the bastion of the guard tower, whipped by the stiff wind. The top of the roof was crowned with the national flag of Trea, displaying Amur’s white pig against an ocher background. The gold embroidery of the motto, “In the Goddess’s name,” glinted in the sun.
Kea checked the sky. “It might rain tonight. We should enter the town. We could stay at an inn and sleep comfortably.” We’d been sleeping under hedgerows and in barns, using our cloaks as pillows. Despite the autumn chill, I’d waved away Kea’s offer to lie next to him for warmth, reminding myself I’d found him with a girl.
“I’d rather not stay in town. It’s too dangerous.”
“Are you going to keep me cozy tonight?” Kea grinned.
“Certainly not.” When we’d passed a buxom brunette earlier, Kea made a pretext of asking for directions so he could flirt with her. The girl’s fresh linen blouse and neatly braided hair made me feel dirty and ragged, and I still smarted at the way he’d smiled at her.
“What you need is a goodwife cap. It would cover up that sumptuous red hair. I’ll play at being your husband, and you can be meek and demure. That way no one will see your eyes.” Kea gave me a friendly punch.
It was risky, but we were tired of dried meat and berries, and my feet were blistered.
“How much would a new cap cost?” I said. “And a bed at an inn?” I had taken the sword, but I was no thief. I’d left the farm with only the coins Shandon had given me.
“I’d be happy to take care of it in return for a decent night’s sleep,” Kea said. “You best give me that sword and belt too. You’ll look odd walking into town with a goodwife’s cap and a weapon.”
* * *
The first thing I did when we got to the Inn of the Pink Apple was to order Kea out of our marital room while I had a basin and some hot water brought up. I didn’t care what Kea thought of my appearance, but Father had brought us up to look our best. Moab, who had the room next door, offered to go to the market to see if drawings of my face had been chalked on the buildings.
Moab knocked just as I had pinned my still wet hair under the damn cap. Wisps of it threatened to escape. I noticed the worried expression on his face when I opened the door.
“The drawing is up, and there’s a reward for you or Shandon. The Chosen made a likeness of him as well, but yours is better.”
“I shouldn’t have let myself be talked into coming here,” I muttered.
“We can stay in our rooms. I’ll bring supper up, and we can all eat together before I go sleep in my room.”
“You could sleep in here with Kea. It’s a nice big bed. I’ll take your room.”
“You’re supposed to be his wife, remember?” Moab sighed. “Kea’s sweet-tempered, maybe a bit of a cock-on-the heap sort, but underneath, he means well. He grew up as the apple of his mother’s eye, and his girl cousins adore him. He likes to explain things. He means no harm.”
I wondered what he might be explaining right now. Perhaps it was best to get him upstairs, now that I’d bathed.
* * *
We found Kea in the common room. He had two rosy-cheeked young women in matching embroidered muslin dresses with him, one seated on either side. They leaned in close as he said, “Yellow Robes can make enchantment. For instance, this cup of tea you hold in your hand?” The girl on his left gazed down at the cup in stupefied awe, as if she had never seen it before. “A Yellow Robe could make you believe it was that sweet kitten you were telling me about. I might be able to do it. Would you like me to try?”
My heart pounded. Kea was blurting out our secrets. I strode over to the table, head held high, and said, “It might be better if we left town now.”
Although he smiled, there was an edge to his voice. “I’m not leaving. I’m enjoying myself.”
“Who is this?” the girl with the tea cooed.
“This,” stuttered Kea. “She is...just a friend of my teacher’s.”
My mouth fell open. As I struggled to control myself, Moab said, “Come upstairs with us, Kea.” There was a new note in his voice, calm and confident.
“I’m having a drink.”
“You can have a drink with your wife.”
* * *
A good early supper had taken the edge off my anger. I pulled the tender meat off the last bit of bone, dipping it in the gravy, and sighed with pleasure. Kea’s coin had brought us a good piece of roast, along with turnips, squash, and tankards of sweet dark beer. The damn goodwife cap lay discarded next to my pack, and the bed, with its fresh linen, beckoned. If I slept in all my clothes, surely I would be fine next to Kea.
“Berona?” There was a cajoling note in Kea’s
voice. What now?
“The book you took. I’ve wanted to see it. You said it was magic.”
It was the first evening we’d been in a dry, clean place, where we could take it out. I felt reluctant, though. It was bound up in the memory of the sleeping bodies, too much like corpses, and the old man’s talk of the Elementals.
“Berona,” came Kea’s voice. “We risked a lot for you. I’d like to least know more about that strange old man you assaulted. He’s Biruac’s great-great uncle.”
Moab said, “Great uncle times ten. He’s rumored to be six hundred years old.”
“That’s obviously not possible. But even though he has a bad reputation, he is still an elder. And you stole something from him,” Kea pointed out. “Let me see it.”
I slowly removed the book from my carrying bag. I had a bad feeling about this, but maybe it was time we took a look.
CHAPTER 20
Luca
Luca paused before entering, his head still spinning with Illenn’s machinations. This was his meeting, the one he’d wanted all along. No ministers (except his best friend) and no siblings. The people waiting for him had been companions since childhood, but since his elevation to Prime, they were mindful of his stature.
At least until they consumed a couple of bottles of Vendrisi grape brandy. Then they would tell him what they really thought. Tonight, all of them had been able to accept his invitation, and he’d opted for his favorite entertaining room, the intimate dining chamber adjoining his private suite on the top floor of the palace.
Luca sighed and summoned up his best smile. Illenn, that devious bitch, might corral him, but that day of reckoning was in the future. He opened the door, stepped in, and let Mak press a glass of grape brandy in his hand. Everyone was here.
Revel, his old fencing master, was nearly fifty, but his mustache and dark hair gleamed, and his trim form was graceful. He had his newest sword out, displaying it to the twins. Aeran and Danilo were the sons of an important merchant, and two of the best fighters in the military. Revel had trained them alongside Luca. Aeran was a master of the broadsword, while Danilo preferred the two-handed axe. Next to their brawn, Luca looked like a stripling, but he’d bested each of them once or twice. He knew they’d never have let him win. The twins were as hardheaded as they were loyal.
The only one not interested in the sword was the island’s most famous sorcerer, Yuvio. He happened to be Vulla’s nephew, and he had the same serious air of abstraction. While Vulla dealt with magic in all its aspects, Yuvio was consumed with the study of botany and mycology. His fame lay in the discovery of a lichen that cured the flesh-rotting disease, which had made him one of the wealthiest men on the island. From his hesitant speech, gentle voice, and muted garments, one wouldn’t have guessed it. Like Mak, he was content to stay in the background. His dark eyes were piercing and intense. Though Luca didn’t know him as well as the others, he judged Yuvio to be a man of strong feeling and firm convictions. Mak had approached him after learning about the soul snares, which seemed to have similarities to mushroom patches in the way they were linked.
Luca clapped his hands, and his servant brought olives and thin slices of cured ham. It would make his friends thirstier, and they would drink more. If anyone had reservations about joining his expedition, he wanted to hear about it tonight, not on the ship bound for the Heartland.
* * *
The moon had risen, floating like a peach in the swath of sky visible from the window. Voices were loud. Aeran and Danilo were engaged in a semi-serious exchange of insults. The brothers loved each other, but they often fought. Mak had been surreptitiously reading the notes Luca took after visiting King Gale. He sighed again at a new burst of uproarious laughter. Luca took note and cleared his throat.
“My friends.”
“Hear, hear,” shouted Danilo.
“Quiet, you great oaf. Prime is speaking,” Aeran pointed out.
“My friends,” Luca said again. “You must all have heard about the Demon.”
Revel nodded. “It’s in the wind.”
They fell quiet. Magic in the Vendrisi Islands consisted of a few cave sylphs who sang mournful dirges in the night and Vulla’s small clan of magicians, who passed down the same weather spells generation after generation. Elementals and Demons were creatures of the Heartland, a continent most of them had never visited.
“She’s a frightful thing,” Revel conceded. “I’ve heard the history. Many could die.”
“And do you think the men and women of the Heartland should be abandoned by us, to be preyed upon by this hideous creature and her cohort of Elementals?”
Revel cleared his throat. “There’s been talk, Prime, among the fighters. Some wish we were sending help. This creature, though. I’ve heard she can’t be killed.”
Yuvio’s eyes gleamed. “Not through conventional weapons. There are other ways perhaps. Spores. Poisons.”
Revel said, “You’ve been plotting, Luca. I reckon you have something to tell us.”
Luca nodded. “I’ve been awaiting an update from our allies, the Mannites. In the meantime, Leyla and Vulla gained access to the Shadow Plain, where the essences of men can mingle with those of ghosts and supernatural creatures. I traveled there myself, despite being no sorcerer. I received a summons from an Ethereal who calls himself King Gale. He claims to be our ally. He asks that I meet him in the Western Wilderness of the Heartland. He is well informed about the Demon, more so than the Mannites, who seem to be floundering. She’s built a new weapon, and I think we could find a way to destroy it.”
“That sounds very interesting,” Revel said.
“Yuvio, Mak, and I are studying her weapon. As soon as we develop countermeasures, we’ll set sail and present them to the Ally. In return, if he is pleased, he will share the gift of calling up the trade wind. Yuvio might be able to perform the spell.”
“You’ll set sail, but not just the three of you?” Revel said.
“You need good guards,” Danilo added, looking like a puppy eyeing a bone.
“Yes. That’s why…” Luca didn’t have a chance to say more. The door was flung open. His two older brothers marched in, faces dark. Leyla trailed in behind, flustered.
* * *
He didn’t even have a chance to say anything. While Calio’s look of disappointment was calculated to make Luca feel guilty, Vasio jumped right in.
“I can’t believe you would do this without consulting us.”
Leyla said, “Stop trying to protect him. He’s not a little boy anymore. He’s a man.”
“He can be a man with Princess Zaida. She pants after him. To propose to Princess Illenn without even asking our advice!” Vasio exclaimed.
Luca wondered, not for the first time, if the monthly earnings from various spymasters that his servants received didn’t exceed their yearly salary for service in the palace. He’d only proposed an hour ago.
“I think we have a different problem here.” Calio eyed the room suspiciously. “Luca hasn’t assembled his old friends from the military to discuss a wedding.”
Luca took a sip of cordial, letting the bitterness trickle down his throat. Vasio looked furious. He’d tackle him first.
“As you say, Vasio. Princess Zaida may be disappointed when she hears of my proposal to Illenn. Until the wedding actually takes place, though, she will continue to hold out hope. A betrothal is annulled easily enough.”
“So you don’t actually plan to marry that calculating vixen?” Vasio let out a sigh. “You had me worried.”
“I think you’ll want me to marry her once you hear what Illenn offers. First of all, she’s expecting my child.” Luca didn’t see any need to mention that Zaida also claimed to be expecting his baby. “As a wedding present, Illenn offers fire powder with which to rule the seas. Once the land has been made safe again.”
“We’re safe,” Vasio said.
“Not our land. The Heartland. The Mannites could not stop the release of the Elementals. Eve
n worse, the Demon has a new weapon. While the Elementals bring down natural disaster upon the world, she will prey on the souls of men. Those caught will never incarnate again. Their essence will be dissolved.”
Calio and Vasio turned to look at Leyla. “Is this true?” Calio said.
She nodded.
“How did you come to this information?” Calio asked, a muscle on his cheek flickering.
Luca knew the spies could find out quickly. There was no use in lying. He answered for Leyla, to spare her the brunt of Calio’s anger. “I’ve been on the Shadow Plain. Leyla and Vulla showed me the way. There’s a whole world out there, Calio. We live snug on our lovely island, thinking we’re well informed because we buy goods from the four corners of the world. We know nothing! But I will change that. I will go down in history as the discoverer.”
Vasio cringed as Calio exploded. His great arm came down and smashed one of the pretty little cordial glasses. “By the Goddess Ilha. How many years have I spent preparing you for this seat? You can’t endanger yourself. You’re Prime. You have no fifth—no heir. You die, we set upon each other.”
Vasio gave him an angry look. “Speak for yourself. I don’t covet being Prime.”
“Some do.” Calio looked at Leyla meaningfully. “You talked Luca into this.”
He turned to Luca. “The damage can still be contained. This marriage proposal with Princess Illenn may have some merit, if we can get the treaty signed with Farzia quickly. You’ll have to give Princess Zaida some hope. Maybe take her to your bed again.”
Vasio smirked, and that smirk, more than anything, tilted Luca.
“You’re not my father. My father is dead,” Luca shouted. “Dead, you hear?” The room went quiet. Leyla teared up. Calio quivered with rage.
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