“That could be a problem for us,” Gavin said. “When will the next patrol arrive?”
“Not for another two weeks, I’m afraid. Travel is very much restricted now.” Zambini looked worried. “This could be bad for the inn’s business.”
Ruskin eyed him slyly. “It’s a good thing your stores and cellar were stocked full before the attack. How is it again that you happened to be so well-prepared?” He leaned forward emphasizing his point.
Zambini bent back. “My old friend, you wound me. Fortune smiled upon Zambini. I chanced upon a wagonload of goods at slightly below merchant costs a few days before these unfortunate events began. I simply could not pass it up.” He smiled, raising his hands.
“Goods that you’re now selling at triple normal prices to your own townsfolk.” Ruskin jerked his head toward the inn’s guests.
“I’m only doing what’s naturally good for business. It would be a shame for me to not enjoy some small profit from my good fortune. And I assure you, I’m only charging the absolute minimum to provide for my family.”
“Where will the patrol go once it leaves Falderon?” Braxton interjected.
Zambini turned toward him, still smiling from his exchange with the dwarf. “This one will go to Dynekee, stopping a few days in each town before returning to Amberdeen. It is most unfortunate, my friends, but you’ll not be allowed to leave the column before the next town. I do not know how you’re going to travel east.”
“We first need to join them,” Gavin clarified. “We’ll then figure out how to leave them. Any ideas?”
“I’ve taken care of that for you.” Their host reached into his doublet pocket and produced a small folded parchment. “These are papers identifying you as merchants traveling to Montressa.” He handed them to Ruskin. “They should pass the captain’s eye.”
“Thank you,” Braxton replied. “You’ve been so very helpful and generous. I only wish I could repay your kindness.”
Ruskin rolled his eyes. “Oh please, don’t play into this old pirate’s feigned sympathy. Besides, he owes me one, don’t you, Zambini?”
“That I do my friend. But all the same, it’s a pleasure to help those in need. Now, I must get back to my other guests.” He got up, smiled at them, then walked over to a nearby table and started up a conversation.
“Well, that was nice of him.” Gavin turned to Ruskin. “What do the papers say?”
The dwarf unfolded the parchment and began reading, mumbling to himself, his chin buried in his beard.
Braxton rubbed his aching muscles. He glanced around the warm, smoky, and very noisy room, seeing Zambini’s guests enjoying the fruits of his well-timed purchase. Sleep tugged at him, and after a few minutes of fighting the feeling, he began to drift.
The presence of someone leaning right over him suddenly brought Brax fully awake, alerting his senses, and a cold, almost spiteful shiver ran down his spine. Startled by the intrusive sensation, he looked back, expecting to find someone standing right behind him. But there was no one there.
“You all right?” Gavin asked.
“Yeah, I . . . I’m just tired.” But he continued to search the room.
In your mind, Serene said, surprising him. The high-pitched ringing returned to his ears as all other sounds faded away.
What? What’s in my mind? Then he felt it, the sensation of being watched, and that same cold feeling invaded his consciousness.
Someone is entering your thoughts, Serene said calmly. Take a breath and quiet your mind, child. I will hold them.
Braxton’s mind raced at the idea of another person entering his thoughts. But he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the scent of the crowded room, exhaling fully, and trying to calm his emotions.
Focus on awakening the spirit magic. Summon it to your call. Feel it radiate throughout your body.
Not quite understanding what she meant, Brax tried remembering what it felt like to connect with Serene, calling the energy to him, willing it to return. It responded, pulsating inside of him and spreading out to fill his body, bringing with it that same uplifting feeling. Then he felt it, a foreign presence on the right side of his awareness—as though someone, or something, were pressing just behind his ear. Panicking, he pushed at it with his will, trying to force it away. Instantly the energy faded and the pressure on his head intensified. They were getting through.
Chapter 10
Calm yourself, child, Serene said. I will not let them harm you, but you must focus your mind. Do not allow fear to take hold, or it will weaken you.
Braxton took another breath, trying to banish his fear, giving himself over completely to the energy.
Good, Serene encouraged. Now see yourself within a great sphere of light, like that of your midday sun, and join it with the energy.
He concentrated as best he could, envisioning himself standing in a ball of brilliant sunlight, engulfed in its radiance, remembering what it felt like to have the sun’s warmth on his face. He could sense Serene moving in closer and focused on combining the energy and the light together. Then his mind illuminated, as though a great and vibrant beacon had been lit, and his thoughts became clear and calm. A flowing energy band was attached to the right side of his head, like a small, transparent tube, connected to his consciousness, moving back and forth in a rhythmic motion caught in a magical wind.
Take hold of that band, child, and push the light deep into its opening.
Following her guidance, he sent the energy toward the tendril, imagining a great hand reaching out to grab the rope-like connection, its grip clamping down upon it. A sudden and forceful pull came back in response. The presence on the other side was trying to pull free.
Do not let go, child. Send the light into the connection.
Excited now, Brax sent the combined light and energy into the opening, a feeling of exhilaration rushing through him. The struggle from the opposite end intensified, but he continued extending the brightness farther and farther into the connection. Slowly, he started moving toward it, being drawn into the enlarging tendril, and he felt himself begin to leave his body.
Serene, help me! he called out frantically, holding onto the edges of the growing energy tunnel that he could see now clearly in his mind, not wanting to get pulled in.
I am here, she said. Go with the light, child. I am with you.
Her voice calmed his fear. He held on for a moment longer, then let go, giving himself over to the pulling sensation that was drawing him into this strange connection, trusting completely in Serene. He floated around the room, above the people in the tavern, weightless and detached. Blurry images of the inn’s patrons drifted by, as though Braxton were looking at them through water or distorted glass, all the while moving farther down the energy tube.
It ended as quickly as it had started. He stood in a circular room made of smooth stone walls, the opening to the tunnel from which he’d just emerged behind him, large enough now for someone to stand in, but still of the same flowing energy. Unsure what to do, he looked around. His end was filled with the brightness from the light he’d created, and it warmed and comforted him, boosting his confidence. It stopped, however, at the center of the chamber, where a deep, dense blackness hid the rest of the room. It seemed unnatural, this dark, like some unimaginable void that prevented the light from extending.
“Send the light into the darkness,” he heard Serene say out loud. Turning, he saw her standing there.
“Serene!” He rushed over and wrapped his arms around her long, graceful white neck.
She moved her head up and down, allowing him to enjoy the warmth of her presence. “Send the light into the darkness, child,” she repeated.
He stared at her blankly. “What is this place? What’s happening?”
“You will see in a moment, but you must do as I say. There is danger here. Send the light into the blackness, and banish its presence.”
Concentrating as best he could, he summoned the energy into a great ball, com
bining it with the light. Taking a moment to ensure the two were inseparably joined, he turned toward the middle of the room and pushed outward. A burst of visible light flowed from within him, extending into the room and dispersing the void. There, standing before him, was a man, previously hidden by the darkness. Taller than Braxton, he was well-groomed, in his midthirties, with straight black hair and a closely cut beard and mustache that covered his chin, connecting at the corners of his mouth. He looked slightly nervous as he stared at Braxton, apparently unaware of Serene’s presence.
“Well, you’re younger than I’d thought,” he said, in a deep, calm voice. Then, before Brax could respond, he moved his arm in an arcing motion, and the darkness enveloped him again, like a black curtain falling between them.
Instinctively, Braxton sent out the light, peeling back the dark cover like a wind whipping clothes up on a line. But this time, the man was ready for him and he pulled back his covering, hiding himself once more. For a few moments, they engaged back and forth in a mental battle, one trying to illuminate the darkness, the other trying to hide within it.
“Focus your mind, child. You are stronger than him,” Serene said.
Stopping, he felt his opponent’s sense of success as the dark lay between them. Braxton pulled from deep within himself, summoning the energy and light back in a great rush of combined spirit magic. And it came. Stronger and with a renewed sense of purpose. Focusing on its blending, he took a slow, deep breath and calmly released it, concentrating more on illuminating the room than trying to disperse the dark. Instantly the blackness vanished, and the entire room was bathed in the brilliant light of the magical energy. The man on the other side, stripped of his cover, looked very nervous. He turned left, then right, his small, dark eyes looking for a place to hide or a corner of the room from which to draw his veil. But there were none. The light was complete. Realizing he was beaten, he stopped and looked at Braxton.
An image appeared to the man’s left, as though the right wall of their room had become partially transparent and Brax was looking through it into a dark dungeon. The man moved about anxiously, and Braxton could feel him tugging at his mind, attempting to get free, trying to break their connection.
The dungeon-like picture became clearer, and this same man was standing in a cell in front of the barmaid Kalendra. She was kneeling on the stone floor, her dress torn, her right shoulder exposed. Crying. Her long hair hung loosely down and across the side of her face.
“Tell me about the boy!” the man yelled, smacking her with the back of his hand.
Slowly she looked up, and through sobs of pain and fear, retold of the previous day’s event. How she’d walked in on Brax taking a bath at Zambini’s and had seen his naked chest and the two interlocking circles.
When she’d finished, the man stared at her, then walked over to the door of the cell, stopping by another much bigger man.
“When you’re finished with her,” he said quietly, “kill her.” The big man smiled an evil grin, exposing awful yellowed teeth. The well-groomed man glanced back at Kalendra before exiting the prison, closing the door behind him. He stood there for a minute, deep in thought, then turned and walked down a short hallway to a flight of stairs. Ascending rapidly, he emerged through a concealed door behind an enormous barrel in a wine cellar. Making sure he was alone, he left the room and entered the cathedral. He crossed the main worship hall, stepping over some commoners sleeping on the floor and shaking his head in disgust, before ascending another flight of steps to a small library. There he seated himself behind an elaborately carved wooden desk, laid out some parchment, and wrote:
Your Grace,
I may have discovered a Wielder, hidden in a farm boy come out of the west! He arrived in Falderon two days back.
Will report once confirmed.
Your faithful servant,
Zacharias.
Pouring hot wax from a nearby candle onto the parchment next to his name, he took the ring off his right hand and pressed it into the wax. He let it dry for a moment, rolled up the parchment, and left the room.
The image suddenly disappeared as Zacharias pulled against their connection with such force that Braxton stumbled forward. Zacharias dropped to his knees, his face down. When he looked up, Brax could see blood streaming from Zacharias’ nose and the corners of his mouth, leaking into his beard.
The ground began to shake.
“Time to go, child,” Serene said, and Braxton felt himself being pulled back toward the tunnel’s opening.
“Wait, I have to save Kalendra!” He turned toward Zacharias.
“No, child,” came Serene’s stern reply. “You must go, now. You cannot save her here, but there is another way.”
A moment later he was in the tunnel, floating around Zambini’s inn. He emerged back in his body, the tendril detaching and disappearing.
Braxton opened his eyes, lifting his head from the table, seemingly having fallen asleep.
“Finally awake, are we?” Ruskin commented.
He stood up, ignoring the dwarf, and looked around. His head spun from the motion. A man stumbled toward the door, blood pouring from his nose and mouth. Brax rushed to cut him off, but Zacharias shoved a young barmaid into him. They crashed backward over a nearby table, ale and stew spilling everywhere. When Braxton looked up, Zacharias was gone.
Chapter 11
Shaken by the experience at the inn, Braxton left Zambini’s as soon as he’d cleaned himself off and felt it possible to get away without attracting too much more attention. He knew the others would follow, knowing they couldn’t discuss the experience in the crowded tavern. He crossed the courtyard to the cottage and paced back and forth in his little room.
Who was that man? he asked Serene.
Someone who has lost his way, came her quiet reply.
Tell me more; I want to know where he is.
The one you call Zambini can tell you of him. For now, calm your mind and clear your energy of the experience.
Not quite sure what she meant, he took a deep breath and filled himself with the vision of the light he’d summoned. He washed his face in a basin of cool water Brennah had set up on the nightstand, and then reached out again.
What was that image I saw?
A recent memory, Serene answered. You entered his mind, child, and in so doing saw the thoughts closest to his consciousness. Ones he had recently experienced or considered. In this case, of events earlier in your day.
And Kalendra, where is she now? How can I help save her?
It will be all right, child. Tell the others of your experience, but do not reveal me, for they know not of our connection, and you should keep my presence quiet for now. Be guarded, beloved one, and keep the sword that is my extension close, for he will come for you again, this one who has lost his way.
She stepped back from him then and wouldn’t respond to any more of his questions. Braxton returned to pacing, playing over and over in his mind all that had occurred, focusing on every detail, trying to understand what it all meant. He felt a wave of excitement at realizing he’d stood his ground against Zacharias, defeating his attempts to hide in the veiled darkness. The wondrous energy still flowed through him. How far could the spirit magic be extended, he wondered, and what other experiences awaited him? Panicking, he realized Ruskin was right. For better or worse, he’d stepped onto a much larger path, into events he didn’t understand and couldn’t explain, and he knew it was changing him.
Gavin knocked and opened the door.
“They want to talk to you,” he said.
They returned to the main room of the cottage. Ruskin sat by the fire lighting his pipe. Bear was curled up asleep on the rug, and Zambini stood at the hearth, his hand on the mantel.
Brennah got up from the table as they entered. “Can I get you something, dear?” She handed Kudu the small basket of skins they were working on.
“Some water, if you have it.” Braxton sat opposite the dwarf and Gavin joined Bendwhalie
threading beads near his brother.
Ruskin puffed a few times on his pipe, watching Brax intently. “What happened at the inn?” he asked. “And don’t leave anything out.” He eyed him suspiciously.
Brax took a long drink from the cup Brennah handed him. The cool water quenched his parched throat and cleared his mind. Then, slowly, he began retelling the event with Zacharias, saying that he must have used dark magic to enter Brax’s thoughts. He skipped over mentioning the energy tube and his own use of the spirit magic, focusing on seeing Zacharias’ memory, careful not to disclose his connection with Serene. He stopped to take another drink and to monitor their reactions, giving himself pause before continuing. The others listened quietly, allowing him to retell the full experience uninterrupted. When he finished, nobody spoke.
“I know this one,” Zambini said, breaking the silence and walking over to sit by his wife. “I met him once, many years back. He is, I am sure, the captain of the Scarlet Brotherhood here in Falderon.”
“Who are they?” Gavin asked.
“A spy network with military ties, which I’ve long suspected serves the bishop. Now it’s confirmed.” He shook his head sadly.
“Why would the bishop have a secret spy or military network?” Braxton looked at Zambini and then at the dwarf. “And what’s that got to do with me?”
“Understand, my friends, that the bishop is a powerful man. He is the direct spiritual advisor to the king and overseer of all the worship halls throughout the Empire. While he openly supports the Wielders”—Braxton looked down at that moment to avoid Zambini’s gaze—“he secretly works to usurp their power. The King’s Squires, like the bishop, answer to no one but the king, and that threatens the bishop’s power. They alone have the authority to challenge him on spiritual matters. The king is young and easily swayed. Without the Wielders to guide him, the bishop would have ultimate control over our ruler and thus the Empire itself.”
Cathadeus_Book One of the Walking Gates Page 7