The Avatar's Flames (Through the Fire Book 1)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Here we are!” Essryl said brightly, glancing at Lissa. The young woman was pale-faced and breathing hard, her hands on her knees and having just dropped her bag to the floor of the teleportation chamber. Sighing, Essryl asked, “Oh, come now. It wasn’t that bad, was it? You took to the shadow plane so poorly that I changed to using teleportation nodes, which are nowhere near as efficient.”

  “I… I feel like I’m going to… to vomit,” Lissa gasped, shivering and shaking her head. “How do you not… not notice?”

  “Oh, you mean the jolt of teleporting? You get used to it after a few times,” Essryl replied, realizing what the elf was talking about after a moment. She’d almost forgotten about the sensation until Lissa had said something. “Still, you do seem to have a weaker stomach than I expected.”

  “I’ve been kidnapped, I’m exhausted, and I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. My stomach has been upset ever since that… that slime thing tried to eat me,” Lissa retorted, slowly straightening. “How can you go through someplace like that? It’s horrible!”

  Essryl clicked her tongue in disapproval, looking at Lissa critically. “You do need some toughening up… still, My Lord isn’t putting me in charge of training you to his whims. Fortunate, really, since I think you’d break far too easily.”

  “What? B-break?” Lissa asked, her slight flush of anger turning to trepidation.

  “Mentally, girl. You don’t appear to have the mental fortitude to last terribly long,” Essryl replied, sighing heavily, then her voice grew firm as she continued. “Now, as for the shadow plane? Yes, it’s dangerous. Yes, it’s not terribly attractive… at least for most people. There are some interesting inhabitants, but I digress. However, it’s only frightening if you don’t have the power to defend yourself properly. You are weak and vulnerable. You cower and snivel at the first sign of danger. Me? I am Illisyr. I’ve made the pilgrimage to the World Tree, and compared to that? The shadow plane is nothing but a walk in a forest glade by comparison.”

  The elf looked about ready to faint, and Essryl sighed again, nodding toward the exit. “Come along, girl. We’re just a mile from the palace, and I’ll even let you room next to someone you might like meeting.”

  “Who might that be?” Lissa asked unsteadily, swallowing as she followed Essryl out of the small chamber.

  They didn’t have to go far before they reached the door blocking the exit of the teleportation chamber. Essryl pressed the hidden button to unlock it and pushed the heavy stone door open, then held it for Lissa before allowing it to close. The chamber looked like nothing more than a rocky outcropping on a hill from the outside, which Essryl thought was a good way to keep it from being noticed.

  In the near distance loomed the towering walls and spires of the Obsidian Palace atop a ridge, with the small supporting town near its base, simpler stone walls surround it, rather than the imposing black ones of the palace. Otherwise, the landscape looked much like that of Selwyn, Essryl thought, though with more farms scattered about. She did like the forests here, even if they were rather safe for her taste.

  “Her name is Anara. It just so happens that she lived in the same town as Ruethwyn, so at least you have an acquaintance in common,” Essryl replied at last, smiling again as she glanced at Lissa. “She’s been debating whether or not I was telling the truth about Ruethwyn attending the academy, so you’ll be able to give her a little information.”

  “Ruethwyn and Anara? I mean… she’s from Mellesyn?” Lissa asked, looking stunned.

  “That’s what I said, wasn’t it? I don’t think I misspoke,” Essryl replied, frowning at Lissa again.

  “Yes, but… why do you know anything about Ruethwyn? She’s smarter than me, and I just… why would you care?” Lissa said, swallowing visibly as she looked up at the palace in obvious dread.

  “Why should I explain myself to you, girl? You haven’t earned my respect. She has… at least to a minimal degree,” Essryl replied and smiled broadly. “Now, let’s go. You have lessons on magic to learn before I’ll risk you before My Lord. We want you to have the chance of carrying out his desires before meeting him. The goddesses know that I’d hate to have to track down and acquire a new summoner if you get yourself eaten.”

  The young woman paled yet again as she asked nervously, “Is that… that a real danger?”

  “Only if you’re disrespectful or try to steal from him,” Essryl told her, raising an eyebrow as she asked, “You aren’t going to do that, are you?”

  “No!” Lissa said quickly, her eyes going wide. “Who would do something like that to a dragon?”

  “A fool like your predecessor. Come along, I’d like to get you settled so I can get back to work,” Essryl said, starting down a small path toward the town.

  Lissa followed her quickly, causing a slight nod of approval from Essryl. They should be back soon, and she could focus on things that were important to her. And if Lissa was missed… well, it wouldn’t be any different than with the girls from Mellesyn. It wasn’t as though Selwyn would dare do anything.

  Chapter 35

  “Let’s see… if I use a bit of earth magic here… maybe a hardening sigil?” Ruethwyn murmured, chewing on the end of her ink pen speculatively and looking at the symbols she’d sketched out, then at the shimmering cloth she was planning to use for her dress. The silk-like material was beautiful and mana-rich, which meant she could easily enchant it. The problem was with coming up with defensive properties that worked with robes. After a moment, she shook her head. “No, that’d keep me from being able to move while it was defending me. Crap… I need something that will link into the other enchantments well…”

  A sudden knock at the door interrupted Ruethwyn’s chain of thought, and she scowled as she looked up. She’d been getting interrupted with increasing frequency lately, and the usual suspects were Korima or Sella, though Tadrick had occasionally invited her down as well. He usually didn’t unless he needed help figuring out a question on magical theory, though, and she wasn’t in the mood to help with that at the moment.

  “Rue? Are you there?” Korima’s voice was muffled, causing Ruethwyn’s tension to relax slightly.

  “I am,” Ruethwyn replied, sighing as she sat back, glancing over at the door. “What is it this time?”

  “Sorry, did I interrupt something?” Korima asked, sounding unusually contrite. “I just wanted to talk to you in private about something.”

  “Well, you did, but I was having trouble figuring the problem out to begin with,” Ruethwyn replied, unable to hold her annoyance at Korima for long. Shifting around, she set down the ink pen and added, “I’ll be there in a moment.”

  “Alright, that’s fine!” Korima replied happily, causing Ruethwyn to shake her head as she stood up.

  Walking over to the door, Ruethwyn glanced around. Her room wasn’t perfectly clean, with the sheets somewhat rumpled, but it wasn’t too bad. Korima had seen worse, so Ruethwyn opened the door.

  “So, what did you want to talk about…” Ruethwyn began, and her voice trailed off as she saw another woman next to Korima.

  The elf had a calm expression, and her hands were folded in front of her. The odd thing was that while the brunette was wearing the clothing of a common messenger or the like, something about her expression felt… off. She seemed too calm as she looked back at Ruethwyn.

  “Can we come in? This shouldn’t take long,” Korima said, the kitsune’s ears twitching as she glanced around the hall. There were a couple of servants around, Ruethwyn realized belatedly.

  “Sure,” Ruethwyn said, stepping to the side, then watching as Korima let the other woman enter first. Once the door was shut, she asked, “What’s this about, Korima? And who’s this?”

  “She brought me here at my request. My apologies for the deception, Ruethwyn, but I believed caution was in order,” the woman replied in a familiar, smooth voice, and as she spoke, her body shifted slightly and ears appeared atop her head. Moments later, Rithara was lookin
g back at Ruethwyn with a slight smile as the young woman gaped at her.

  “L-Lady Rithara? What are you doing here?” Ruethwyn stammered, somewhat stunned.

  It’d been a couple of weeks since she’d attended the performance and helped to rescue Korima’s mother, and things had settled down. The guard had kept the details of what had happened quiet, though everyone knew that someone had attempted to kidnap Rithara. Most of the public panic about the possibility of Rithara being injured had been calmed by the kitsune going on to perform at each of the scheduled performances as though nothing had happened. As their role in her rescue had been almost forgotten, aside from a small sum of money from the prince as thanks, Ruethwyn had assumed that nothing more was going to come of it.

  “You seem particularly surprised to see me, Ruethwyn… though I suppose I shouldn’t be too startled. Tadrick took my visit with the most grace, while Sella almost fainted,” Rithara replied softly, her lips curving into a gentle smile. “Is my visit truly unwelcome?”

  “No, of course not, I just… I didn’t expect you to visit. I thought the troupe left today,” Ruethwyn replied, shifting from one foot to another as she walked over to her bed, suddenly wishing she’d taken the time to straighten it properly.

  “The troupe did, and most people likely will assume that I’m with them. I’m going to be playing the part of a simple royal messenger to catch up, and I have a few unobtrusive guards to ensure that those who might see through the disguise leave me be,” Rithara explained, her smile widening slightly. “It also allowed me to come see the four of you with comparatively lower risk of people noticing. Believe me, there have been an enormous number of people watching me like a hawk over the last couple of weeks.”

  “I can see that happening,” Ruethwyn said, trying to subtly tweak one of the bed’s worst rumples to smooth it out, then turned to face Korima’s mother. “Still… why are you here? I don’t mean to be rude, mind you, I’m just confused.”

  “I’m here because I didn’t have time to properly thank you for what you did,” Rithara said gently, her gaze intense enough that Ruethwyn looked to the side. “The guard swept me away quickly so that my testimony wouldn’t be tainted by your explanations, and after that, it simply wasn’t safe for me to visit. It would either garner far too much attention that could be dangerous for you, or would put me at risk. This was the first chance I had, truthfully.”

  Ruethwyn felt her cheeks heat, and she shook her head. “Oh, I… well, my apologies, Lady Rithara, but I don’t think I deserve your thanks. It was Sir Whisperblade who found you, not me, and my help was relatively minor.”

  “That’s not true! If you hadn’t known that he could track her down, they might have been able to ward her against tracking magic before we had a chance to find her,” Korima objected, frowning as she wrung her hands. “You helped me when I buried the cultist, too.”

  “Korima’s right. While you may not think you did much, it was important to me,” Rithara agreed, smiling gently at Ruethwyn. “So I wanted to sincerely thank you, Ruethwyn.”

  “Well, I… I suppose if you insist on it, there isn’t anything I can do,” Ruethwyn replied, glancing to the side as she felt her cheeks grow even warmer. “I’m glad I was able to help, however small my own part might have been.”

  “I wouldn’t call it small. However, I did decide I’d offer you this, Ruethwyn,” Rithara told her, pulling a thin silver chain from the pouch on her belt, an amulet hanging from it.

  As the kitsune presented the chain, Ruethwyn looked at the amulet closely. It was finely made but simple, a ring of silver with a five-pointed star within, the star etched with small runes that she could barely see. After a moment, she took it hesitantly, turning over the heavy amulet for a moment before looking up at Rithara.

  “Thank you, Lady Rithara. Does it have any meaning?” Ruethwyn asked, running a finger over a row of runes. She didn’t know the particular language, but they didn’t look like they were magical.

  “The Lightweaver clan gives out these amulets rarely, and only to those who we believe to be friends,” Rithara explained. “That means no copying it, hmm? But it also means that if you show it to a clan member and identify yourself, most of the time you’ll be given a warm welcome and what help we can offer. Perhaps it isn’t much, considering how few of us there are, but it’s what I can offer you.”

  “That’s… that’s very generous of you. Thank you very much,” Ruethwyn replied, almost feeling like she had a lump in her throat, and she swallowed hard.

  “You’re welcome,” Rithara replied, then glanced over at Ruethwyn’s desk and raised her eyebrows. “It appears you’re making another dress? It’s beautiful fabric, and from what I saw before, you’re rather skilled.”

  “Ah, yes. I already have a dress designed, I was just trying to figure out what enchantments I wanted to weave into it,” Ruethwyn replied, steadying herself as she glanced at the fabric laying on the table. “As to my skill… I think I’m modest, no more. Plenty of seamstresses and tailors could do as well or better than me, and I have magic to help keep my stitches straight.”

  “Perhaps so, but you still did it, which is better than those who never try,” Rithara said, smiling and nodding in approval. “You impress me, Ruethwyn. Too many would have given up or stopped moving forward in their lives after going through what you have, yet you’ve refused to do so. I deeply respect that.”

  Ruethwyn found herself speechless for several long moments, then she shook her head and sighed. “No, I haven’t. I’ve nearly lost hope several times… it’s hard, but I’ve managed to keep going. If I can find a way to even have a chance of rescuing those who I’ve lost, though, everything will be worth it.”

  “Believe what you will, Ruethwyn. I’d love to stay and talk a bit more, but I’m afraid that I don’t have time for that,” Rithara said, sighing regretfully. Her body shimmered as she changed back to looking like a messenger and smiled. “I hope your efforts come to fruition, and that you have a long, happy life.”

  “Of course. Thank you again, Lady Rithara,” Ruethwyn replied, nodding in return.

  Rithara approached the door, then paused, her hand on the handle as she glanced back and added, “Oh, and if I might add? Would you try to keep an eye on Korima and keep her out of trouble? She gets overly enthusiastic at times.”

  “Mother!” Korima protested, flushing in embarrassment.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Ruethwyn replied, her smile feeling almost natural.

  “Good,” Rithara said.

  The door closed behind the two women, and Ruethwyn let out a breath of relief, looking down at the amulet she’d been given. After a moment, she murmured, “I supposed I’d best secure this… I don’t want to lose it.”

  She put the amulet into the chest under the bed, sighing as she did so. While the visit had been unexpectedly pleasant, it certainly hadn’t helped her come up with a better way of enchanting her dress.

  Chapter 36

  Reading the report, Essryl scowled in annoyance.

  Ivrad hadn’t been able to get all the information about the events of the night she’d acquired Lissa, but what the woman had found out was annoying, to say the least. Essryl had hoped that Lissa’s abduction would be relatively unnoticed, but a noble attempting to kidnap a famous actress hadn’t been part of her plans, and it had heightened suspicion of Lissa’s disappearance.

  Now there were a number of magi trolling the city, trying to find the missing summoner, and that wasn’t something inclined to improve Essryl’s mood. They’d figure out what had happened to her eventually, and if it happened quickly, Resvarygrath would be annoyed. Likely not annoyed enough to attempt to eat Essryl, but the dragon’s temper was unpredictable.

  More interesting was that she’d heard that Ruethwyn had been involved in the rescue attempt, unless there was another one-armed mage in Tyrness Academy. There wasn’t much else that Ivrad had been able to glean, aside from a prisoner being taken and some chimeras
. The latter made Essryl snort in derision, though. She’d never seen the point of chimeras, when she could simply improve herself.

  “Nothing to be done for it, I suppose,” Essryl said, setting the report aside with a sigh. “I do wish I had tasks that were more fun.”

  Standing, Essryl adjusted her corset and held her holy symbol, murmuring a prayer to the Queen for patience, then headed for the door. She had to teach Lissa more about summoning, and it was difficult with how much time the young woman spent cringing away from her.

  At least Anara and the others were taking to their lessons well. It was amazing what the tiniest thread of hope did for them.

  Time seemed to be going by relatively quietly after the excitement of the Starlight Troupe’s visit, Ruethwyn found. It was a relief, since it allowed her to continue her studies relatively easily, especially as the academy quieted down as the winter snows began falling.

  There were the occasional, quiet clashes with Madeline, but eventually the noblewoman seemed to decide that Ruethwyn wasn’t worth her time, which was a distinct relief. The class had essentially split into two study groups, in fact. One was composed of Korima, Sella, Tadrick, and Ruethwyn, and the other group everyone else. While there were still interactions between the two groups, primarily Barthel, Delvin, and Tadrick getting together for games and going out into town, they tended to stick to themselves for the most part.

  Ruethwyn had finished her dresses, and was slowly building up a stockpile of items that she hoped would help in attempting a rescue of Anara, but she wasn’t certain they would be enough. She’d ended up selling off the bracelet and ring with the shielding spells, as neither seemed to work quite right, and bought new jewelry to try other approaches with. Her biggest issue was how often she was getting interrupted by the others, which cut into her ability to do research properly. While she was fond of them, it was occasionally irritating.