A Warden's Purpose (Wardens of Issalia Book 1)

by Jeffrey L. Kohanek

  “You’re right. Snow is piling up elsewhere, but not around the rock.” Jonah led Everson into the quarry again and stopped beside the rock, staring at it in amazement. As Everson neared his friend, he heard the sound of zapping, as if a swarm of bees were blinking in and out of existence. He then noticed the flakes striking the rock were disappearing in a tiny flash of red, accompanied by the zapping sound.

  “It’s been hours, yet it still retains magic,” Jonah said.

  “You’re right. We were out here right after lunch and now it’s nearly sunset.”

  Everson lowered his pack and handed it to Jonah.

  “Take the pick out and hit the rock.”

  “What? Why me?”

  Everson sighed. “Do you really need to ask? Don’t worry. I think you’ll be fine as long as you don’t touch it.”

  Jonah frowned. “You think? That doesn’t exactly instill confidence.”

  Despite his reluctance, the boy opened the pack and removed the pick. He held it up, glanced toward Everson, and smashed it into the rock. The clang it made as it bounced off the rock echoed throughout their little corner of the valley. With a grimace, Jonah raised the pick again and slammed it down, breaking off a chunk that struck the metal brace on Everson’s leg before falling into the snow. Sizzling sounded from the spot where it fell as steam filled the air. Within moments, the area surrounding the shard was free of snow, leaving the chunk of black rock visible in a bowl with white sides and an earthen bottom.

  “Now grab the plate and use the pick to slide the broken chunk onto it.”

  “Is that safe?”

  “Again, I can’t be sure, but I suspect that the plate will insulate you from the energy, as the pick handle does.”

  Jonah rolled his eyes and dug in the pack. “What does that even mean?”

  “It means that you should be fine.”

  With the plate in one hand and the pick in another, Jonah crouched beside the rock, glanced up at Everson, and his lips formed a line of determination. The end of the pick dug beneath the shard of blackened stone and flipped it onto the saucer. Jonah then lifted the small plate up to show Everson their prize.

  A grin spread across Everson’s face as the pieces came together in his head.

  “Great. Slip the pick back into the pack, and I’ll carry it while you carry the plate and rock piece to the Foundry.”

  “What are you going to do with it?” Jonah said as he handed Everson the pack.

  The grin on Everson’s face widened. “I hope to change the world.”

  27

  A Murderer Among Us

  Quinn paused her story as she relived the frustration of being trapped in a situation beyond her control. That moment had felt even worse than the one she was in now – kidnapped, tied up, and under interrogation.

  “I understood why Sergeant Jasmine suspected me of Darnya’s murder.” Quinn grimaced. “Everyone knew that she and I had a contentious relationship. Despite my insistence that I would never actually kill her, I had no way to prove my innocence.” She closed her eyes and recalled the gloom that had fallen over her heart while locked in that dark cell. Squeezing her eyelids tight, she dammed back tears that longed to break free. “Hope is a funny thing. It was something I had always possessed, forever believing that things would turn out fine as long as I put in the effort. Jailed and presumed guilty, my thoughts drifted toward despair – turning as dark as my surroundings. For the first time in my life, hope was beyond my grasp, lost beyond the veil of melancholy draped over me. That lack of hope left a gaping hole inside me – a chasm I had no way to cross.”

  She swallowed and looked up toward the light. “The next day, I had my first encounter with an arcanist – an encounter that changed everything.”

  Noise within the Infirmary woke Quinn. She sat up, looked toward the small window in the door, and found the light of a glowlamp moving about the room outside her cell. Footsteps outside the door were accompanied by an odd rhythmic tapping and hushed conversation. Moments later, keys jingled, joined by the click of a lock disengaging. The door opened, and Russel appeared, holding a lamp in one hand and a cudgel in the other.

  “Remain on your bed. If you get up, you’ll regret it.”

  Quinn nodded in silent response.

  The man moved aside and another man hobbled past him, leaning heavily on a cane and reminding her of Everson. A throb of loneliness wracked Quinn. She missed her brother fiercely and wished they were both back in Cinti Mor, safe and together…if Cinti Mor were even safe any longer.

  “Good day.” The man gave her a nod.

  He was old – easily sixty summers, perhaps older than that. His long, graying black hair was tied back in a tail and he wore all black, from his clothes to his cloak. Despite his advancing age, the man had no rune upon his forehead.

  “My name is Elias. I’m here to prove your innocence…or your guilt. Whichever holds true.”

  Another man entered the cell, a man Quinn knew but had never seen this close.

  “Captain Goren,” she said, not realizing the words had escaped her lips. She attempted to stand and salute, but stopped when Russel raised his cudgel.

  “At ease, Cadet.” Goren gave her a nod. “We are not here for proprieties. We seek the truth, so I ask that you drop all pretense and protocol. Just give us straight answers.”

  Quinn grimaced. “Everything I’ve been saying is the truth. I didn’t kill anyone.”

  Goren nodded. “If that is true, then all will be well.”

  Elias dug in his pocket and fished out a chunk of glowstone. With obvious pain, accompanied by a low grunt, the man knelt with one knee on the tiled floor. He then began to draw a rune, one Quinn had never seen before. When he finished, a deeper grunt emitted as he stood. The man closed his eyes with Russel and Goren watching in anticipation.

  Quinn flinched when the man’s eyes flashed open, red energy crackling inside them. The symbol on the floor bloomed with a crimson glow, mixing with the glowlamp to bathe the room in purple light. With the glow in the man’s eyes gone, the rune pulsed and began to fade as well. Elias sagged against his cane, clearly struggling to stand.

  “I’ll get you a chair.” Russel blurted before running out the door. When he returned, he placed the chair behind Elias and stood back as the arcanist took a seat.

  “Ahh. That’s better.” Elias swept sweat from his forehead and then ran his fingers down his face, as if wiping his weariness away. “Getting old is a difficult thing, my dear. And I happen to be far older than I look. In fact, it’s safe to say that you’ll never meet anyone who is quite so long in the tooth.”

  Quinn felt confused by his statement, thinking that she had met numerous others who were older, some beyond eighty summers. Despite the odd declaration, there was an earnestness about it that was undeniable, a rightness that she could not quite pin point.

  “Now, let’s get down to business.” Elias glanced at Goren, who gave a small nod. “The rune you see here is…special. You see, the rune represents Truth. Any lies told inside this room will cause a high degree of discomfort. Truth, on the other hand, will feel pleasant and quite convincing.”

  Again, the benevolence in his words carried a conviction she could not deny.

  “Just to ensure that you understand what I mean, I ask that you tell us a lie. It matters not how significant, so long as it is an untruth.”

  Quinn frowned at Goren, his expression stern as he stared, waiting.

  “Most people don’t know it, but I can spit gold.”

  As the words came out, the room dimmed as a wrongness enveloped her. The taste it left made her gag, the lie impossible to swallow. Revulsion reflected on the faces of Russel and Goren, but Elias remained stoic until a small grin appeared.

  “Interesting choice of a lie,” he noted. “I believe you now know what truth and falsehoods feel like in the presence of this rune. I suggest that your answers remain honest and as close to candor as possible. Ambiguity will do you no good,
so say it plain and straight so we can get to the bottom of this quickly.”

  Quinn nodded in silence. Afraid to speak, should the revolting feeling return.

  “State your name.”

  “My name is Qui…Jacquinn. Jacquinn Gulagas.”

  A feeling of goodness filled the room and Elias gave a slow nod. “Good. Where did you go yesterday, Jacquinn?”

  “I was with my squad. We set off on a ranger outing, into the mountains to the east, but returned here by nightfall.”

  “Why did you return early?”

  “I was assigned hunting duty with two fellow cadets. While we were searching for game, the two girls with me were shot and killed. Their deaths prompted Sergeant Jasmine to change our plans and return to the academy.”

  The rightness of her words rang within the room.

  “Is it true that you considered one of those girls your enemy?”

  Quinn hesitated a moment before responding. “Yes. Darnya. She and I have had issues since I arrived at the school.”

  “Did you hate her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you kill her?”

  “No.”

  Like a warm blanket, the truth of her words felt right, but the men frowned.

  “If you didn’t kill her, who did?”

  Quinn shrugged. “I…I don’t know.”

  “Was there another attacker? What happened?”

  “Yes. It was someone else, hiding among a copse of pines. They shot Darnya, killed Simone, and then fired an arrow at me.”

  “You didn’t see this attacker?”

  Quinn shook her head. “No.”

  “How did you respond to the attack?”

  “I…I tried to locate the archer and was prepared to fire an arrow back at them, but I panicked and ran.” Shame twisted inside Quinn, despite the soothing stroke of the truth she told. She hated admitting that she had run in fear rather than facing her enemy.

  Goren said, “That was the best response, given your situation. Your fellow soldiers were dead. If you had died as well, it would have amounted to nothing, and we would be faced with more questions than we have now.” He glanced toward Elias. “We’ve determined that Quinn is not guilty. Thus, we must expand our search. Let’s begin with the other girls and see where that leads. We must find the truth, for a murderer lurks among us.”

  When Quinn entered the mess hall, she found it filled with boys. The girls had already eaten and were likely in the Arena, where she was to join them after her meal.

  The smell of roasted pork filled the air, making her mouth water and causing her stomach to growl at having missed breakfast. As she headed toward the kitchen, she noticed boys turning toward her, many pointing. The heat of their glares carried silent condemnation. She knew they suspected her guilty although she had been freed from her cell.

  After passing through the kitchen without speaking a word to those who filled her plate, she emerged to find Iko approaching, relief apparent on his face.

  “I’m so glad they set you free. How are you feeling?”

  She slid past him and walked to a table with him following. “I’m fine. Just hungry.”

  He sat down across from her. “I told them you would never do what they claimed.”

  Quinn shrugged and took a bite of the steamed cabbage. As she chewed, she glanced about the room and found numerous cadets looking her direction.

  “They’re staring at me like I’m diseased or something.”

  Iko grabbed her hand and held it. “Don’t worry about them. What happened is fresh news, something that buzzed through our barracks just this morning. They’ll forget about it after a few days.” He frowned. “How did you prove your innocence, anyway?”

  Quinn swallowed and looked up at him, meeting his amber eyes. “They sent in an arcanist.” Iko’s eyes widened and he visibly recoiled. “The man used some sort of magic that ferrets out truth.” She grimaced as she recalled the feeling. “There can be no doubt when it’s used. It caused truth to feel like a loving embrace, so right and compelling that you know it for fact. Lies, on the other hand…” She shuddered.

  Iko grimaced. “That sounds…awful.”

  She shrugged. “It wasn’t so bad. I’m actually quite thankful. I knew how bad it appeared. Anyone would have thought me guilty, and I had no way to prove the truth until the man showed up.”

  He shook his head. “Not me. I knew you were innocent.”

  She smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Did they say what they plan to do? You know, about the murder of those two girls?”

  Swallowing her bite of pork, she nodded. “It looks like they will continue to investigate, starting with the other girls. My guess is that they will use that same magic and sort through everyone until they find the guilty party. Regardless, they are convinced that the killer came from the school since academy arrows killed those girls.”

  Iko stared at Quinn for a long moment, not saying a word. She ate as the two sat in silence, filling her stomach as he contemplated something. Realizing that the conversation had only been about her, Quinn posed a question.

  “How did your duel go?”

  “What?” Iko blinked.

  “Your duel yesterday….how did it go?”

  “Oh, that.” He frowned and shifted his eyes again.

  “Well, aren’t you going to tell me?”

  “I…didn’t duel.” He shook his head. “Percy and I both woke up sick yesterday. I think it was from the cheese he and I ate last night…something he had been saving. ”

  “That’s too bad. How did the others fare?”

  “I don’t know. We were so sick, neither of us was able to attend.”

  “Where did you go? I was in the infirmary, and I didn’t see you there.”

  “No, we spent the day…in the jakes. I was so sick, I thought my insides would come out.”

  Quinn’s brow arched. “I see.”

  “Yeah. I’d rather not talk about it anymore.”

  “Fine.” She restrained her grin as she finished her meal.

  Rather than reflecting mirth, Iko’s face remained clouded.

  28

  Beneath the Stars

  The next day, Sergeant Jasmine and her assistants entered the room after breakfast. As they had done every day since their arrival, Quinn and her fellow cadets fell into line before their bunks. With straight backs, stiff arms at their sides, and heels pressed together, they waited as she strolled past. The examination had become routine, now lacking the stress of when they first began.

  Jasmine reached the end of the line, turned about and addressed them.

  “Death is a risk every soldier must accept, be it their own or that of a comrade. However, soldiers taken from us in the form of murder rather than in the line of duty is something this academy is unwilling to accept. The idea of a murderer hiding among us disgusts me and is something I wish to prove or disprove as soon as possible.”

  She continued to stride between the two rows of cadets, speaking as she walked. “We have arranged for each of you to undergo a private interrogation. Once complete and proven innocent, you are free to train as you wish for the day, and we will reconvene tomorrow morning.”

  “Chuli, we begin with you.” Jasmine gestured toward her assistants. “Vi and Lissa will escort you to your meeting with the arcanist. The rest of you are to remain here until called.”

  She turned toward Quinn. “Quinn, you are free to leave since you have already been proven innocent.”

  Quinn grabbed her training gear and left the barracks.

  Chuli lunged at Quinn with a kick. Twisting, Quinn avoided the taller girl’s foot and swung a backhand strike. Chuli blocked it with her shield, spun, and swiped at Quinn’s legs. After leaping over the girl’s sword, Quinn swung one sword at Chuli’s head, the other toward her waist. Able to block only one sword, the lower strike grazed Chuli’s stomach while the upper one bounced off her shield.

  With a grin, Quinn stepped back, breathing he
avily from the exertion.

  Chuli shrugged. “You got me. If it were a real sword, I’d be scrambling to keep my insides from spilling out right now.”

  “You certainly don’t want that,” Quinn agreed. “We have no healer today, so perhaps we should stop before one of us injures the other.”

  Quinn pulled her helmet off and shook her head vigorously, freeing the damp hair that clung to her head.

  “Agreed.” Chuli removed her helmet and wiped her brow.

  “I wonder if they found the killer today.”

  “If it were one of us, I’m sure they did. The magic they used will ferret out the truth one way or another.”

  Quinn waved toward the door. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up and grab some dinner.”

  They left the training room and traversed the hallway to the girls’ baths. After soaking for twenty minutes, they dressed and exited the changing room, where they found Iko waiting.

  He stepped forward, glanced at Chuli, and addressed Quinn. “I’d like you to join me for dinner.”

  Quinn’s gaze settled on the cloth-covered object in his arms.

  “What’s in the basket?”

  Iko gave a hopeful smile. “Dinner.”

  “Why did you bring it here?”

  He shrugged. “I thought we might have a picnic.”

  “There’s a foot of snow outside. You want to have a picnic in that?”

  “I have a plan.”

  She stared at him for a moment and then chuckled. “Fine.” She turned to Chuli, handing over her practice swords and sparring gear. “I’ll see you in the barracks later tonight.”

  Chuli nodded. “Be well. You two enjoy yourselves.”

  Iko watched Chuli as she walked away. Only after the girl turned the corner and was out of sight, did he turn back toward Quinn.

  “Take my arm.”

  Quinn glanced toward his elbow, shrugged, and grabbed ahold, allowing him to lead her down the corridor. They turned before the mess hall and took the south corridor to the academy stables. Curiosity gripped Quinn as he led her through the door.