The Sentient Fire (The Seven Signs)

by D. W. Hawkins

  Always know what is around you, he’d told her once during one of her lessons, the smart wizard doesn’t use any more magic than is necessary, and everything has magic in it. Remember that.

  It was as if he were standing right there, telling her what to do. Bethany smiled a little and wiped her nose from where she’d been crying earlier. Everything had magic in it. So, she just had to find something around her that she could use. She pushed her senses outward, feeling around her with her Kai just like he’d taught her.

  Surprisingly, the cool metal under her fingers was pulsing with a slow magical tone, reacting with the song of her Kai. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? It was a quiet thing, and she guessed that if she weren’t listening for it, she could miss it.

  But what could she do with that?

  When they’d all been on the boat coming here, D’Jenn and Dormael had done something with the storm, calling it forth somehow with a song. She’d been listening to them with her magic, and she’d sensed on some level what they were doing, even if she didn’t truly understand it. The metal had a song to it, a note that was ringing lowly in her magic. She could feel a subtle vibration, like the two songs were too far apart to be played together. It sounded wrong somehow, like someone singing a tune that didn’t know how to sing. It was a funny thought, but she felt that it was right somehow, so she changed the note her Kai was making to the one that the metal was singing.

  As she did, she felt her Kai sing in tune with the metal, and suddenly it began to shine, pushing the darkness away with soft, yellow light. Bethany felt the smile spread on her face and she clapped her hands together in excitement, jumping up and down a little in triumph. She’d done it!

  The metal was shining all the way down the hallway, banishing the darkness to reveal the corridor around her. It was dusty and old, and she’d be willing to bet that no one had been down here in a while. The swirling designs that the brass made along the wall were beautiful now that they were shining, and Bethany took in the scene with a smile and a gasp of awe. This was better than what she’d done earlier. She’d used her magic the right way and had done something that she’d meant to do! Bethany couldn’t wait to tell Dormael. He’d be so proud of her.

  Now, she just had to find her way out. That would be easier now that she could see. She walked down the hall, searching for another set of stairs.

  The old underground halls weren’t so scary now that she had made the metal shine. She quickly realized that there were no goblins down here, and she used her magic to feel around corners and quest out before her, to see if she could sense that other man’s song. She never felt it, and she doubted that he would come after her again, anyway. He’d been hurt pretty badly, and for all Bethany knew he might be dead.

  She didn’t really like the thought of having killed someone, but she didn’t know that he was dead, and after all, he’d tried to take her away. She still didn’t know what he’d wanted, but he had obviously been a bad guy. She just hoped that she didn’t get in trouble for hurting him. That thought sobered her a little.

  She walked for what seemed like hours, searching the halls for a way out. She passed more of those wooden doors, and even pushed a few of them open to see what was inside. It wasn’t furniture, but it was never anything very interesting, either. Some of the rooms looked like old libraries, full of scrolls and old books, but she still couldn’t read very well and there wasn’t any point in trying to. She was hungry and ready to lie down for a little while, and she missed her friends.

  She soon abandoned her efforts to investigate anything in the rooms that she found, and began looking solely for a way out. She passed two or three staircases that led down, but what she needed was a staircase that led up. She couldn’t believe how big this place was, how many tunnels crossed each other. Even with the light shining serenely from the metal, she was still hopelessly lost.

  She came to another stairway, and as she got near to it she realized with a small surge of hope that it ran upwards. She rushed over to it, but stopped suddenly as she got close to it.

  There were footprints in the dust of the staircase, and new ones, too. There were two sets, one large and one a little smaller than the other set, but still larger than hers. They led down the stairs, onto a lower level of the tunnels. She felt pretty certain that they didn’t belong to the other man, the one that had tried to hurt her. He’d been alone, and if there had been anyone near him when he’d tried to take Bethany, they would have at least come to see what all the noise was during their fight. She’d made a lot of noise.

  She wanted desperately to take the stairs leading up, but that could mean getting lost again on the upper levels and continuing her search for a way out for even longer. She supposed that she could follow the footprints back to where they’d come from, but what if they didn’t come from the Conclave Proper? What if they just ended, or got too mixed up in the dust of the floor for her to follow?

  On the other hand, if she followed them downward, maybe she could find whoever had made them, and ask for a way out. She’d have to be careful, though. If they were also looking for her the way that the other man had been, then she could end up walking right into another trap. She didn’t think that they were, though. If they’d been looking for her, then why would they just pass this current level up and head further underground, when they could search this level for her?

  The more she thought about it, the more she felt certain that her only option was to follow the footprints and take a chance that they would help her. She took a deep breath, coming to her decision, and stepped foot out onto the stairs, following the footprints deeper into the tunnels under the Conclave. She hoped it was the right decision.

  ****

  “What do you mean, she’s gone?” Dormael asked Shawna, his tone angry and dangerous.

  The four companions were in Dormael’s rooms, Dormael seated next to Shawna on a padded bench in the sitting room that served as a buffer between the halls and his sleeping quarters. Allen and D’Jenn stood above them, arms crossed and expressions grave, their fears playing across their faces as they looked at each other. When they’d returned and Dormael had discovered Bethany was missing, he’d become incredibly angry. It was hard not to lash out at Shawna, who he felt should have been watching her. It was hard not to hate himself for leaving the Conclave to head into the city for a drink, of all the stupid damned things. He felt irresponsible and angry with everyone, and it took serious effort not to summon his Kai and break something in his room just to vent his frustration.

  “I can’t find her anywhere,” Shawna replied, her cheeks going red with indignation and embarrassment, “One second she was sitting near the Bruising Stretch watching me spar and the next she was just gone. She wasn’t in the kitchens, she wasn’t in our room, and no one had seen her near either of yours.”

  Dormael’s face grew dark as a thundercloud, and Shawna scooted back from him. D’Jenn put a restraining hand on his cousin’s shoulder, and Dormael looked at the floor, rubbing his eyes in frustration. He was suddenly terribly afraid. What if she’d been taken?

  The thought of his little girl going through the same torture he’d been subject to made him sick and incredibly angry. He realized that his hands were shaking, and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. It didn’t help.

  “There are only so many places she would go, coz,” D’Jenn said, trying to comfort Dormael.

  “Maybe she’s just playing with some of the other students here,” Allen put in hopefully, “You know how younglings are, Dormael. She’s probably just fine.”

  “Did you two forget that I was just abducted on the very streets of Ishamael? And the entire way home, D’Jenn, you were telling me how you thought Kendall could be a spy, and there was definitely someone in the Conclave working against us! Don’t tell me that ‘she’s probably just fine’ when you know Gods damned well that she could be in danger!” Dormael said. His voice was shaking along with his hands, and everyone in the room loo
ked at their feet, sullenly embarrassed.

  “I’ve got runners searching for her,” Shawna said quietly, laying a comforting hand on Dormael’s shoulder, “I’ve been walking the hallways of this entire compound looking for her. We’ll find her, Dormael, I promise.”

  Dormael looked up at her, wanting to snap at the girl and accuse her of negligence, but instead he took a deep breath and just nodded his head. This wasn’t Shawna’s fault. They were all supposed to be safe here. This was everyone’s fault. Allen broke the silence.

  “I’ll head over to the student’s quarters, ask around a bit. That would be where I would go, were I her. She was probably just bored and wanted someone to play with.” He strode quickly from Dormael’s rooms and out into the hallway, walking quickly. Dormael’s door swung slowly shut behind him.

  “You know,” D’Jenn said, snapping his fingers as if he just remembered something, “before I headed into the city to find you, Victus stopped me in the hall and asked about her.”

  “He asked about Bethany? What did he want with her?” Dormael asked, feeling a little possessive. He didn’t like the thought of other wizards constantly asking after her. He didn’t want her to become some sort of attraction, or to be treated as such.

  “He wanted you to place her solely in his care while we’re absent. He made a good case, saying that he would protect her from the scrutiny of every Blessed who wanted to come get a look at her and run this test or that experiment,” D’Jenn replied, “Maybe he found her and wanted to talk to her, or something. I’ll go look for him and see if he’s seen her, or if she’s with him.”

  Dormael nodded, “I’m going to search this place top to bottom with my Kai, and see if I can catch her song somewhere on the Conclave’s grounds.”

  “You told her never to use her magic while she was alone, Dormael.”

  “She’s a ten year old girl,” Dormael replied, “Did we ever do what we were told when we were younglings?”

  “Good point,” D’Jenn smiled, “Bethany is pretty well-behaved, though. A silver mark says she’s done exactly what she’s supposed to.”

  “I hope not. If she’s going to be any daughter of mine, I hope I’ve rubbed off on her more than that,” Dormael said, smiling in spite of the situation. D’Jenn just nodded in reply, having summoned all the mirth he could. He left quietly, closing the door behind him.

  That left Dormael and Shawna alone.

  “Are you alright?” she asked, putting a slender arm around his shoulder tentatively. Dormael didn’t shrug her off, he just let his shoulders slump and relax in her comforting embrace. It felt good to be touched that way, with tenderness and worry. He felt suddenly thankful for Shawna’s presence, and he reached up and touched her hand, squeezing it.

  “No. But I’ll be better when we find Bethany.”

  “Alright,” she said, nodding. She squeezed his hand back, clutching it and smiling at him, “Is there anything I can do? Where do you want me to look?”

  Dormael sighed, and shook his head, “You’ve already looked high and low, and didn’t turn anything up. I’m going to try and seek her out with my magic. Can you…can you stay here? Watch over me while I’m doing it? Answer the door if D’Jenn, Allen or any of those runners come back with word about her?” He instantly hated himself for the weak tone in his voice, and realized that he just wanted her to stay because her presence made him feel better. He grimaced, and almost took it back, but Shawna squeezed his hand and smiled at him, nodding.

  “We will find her, Dormael. If we have to tear the whole city apart looking for her, we will.”

  “I know. I just hope that she’s alright when we do find her. After today…well, I’m afraid for her.”

  Shawna smiled at him and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead. For once, it didn’t make him feel uncomfortable or bring unbidden thoughts of her naked body to his mind. It just felt good. After a brief silent moment, Dormael sat straight against the bench and closed his eyes.

  “I’ll be comatose for a while,” he said, “If word comes back while I’m searching, just tell me. I’ll be able to hear you, there’s no need to shake me or anything like that.”

  “Alright,” Shawna replied. He felt her arm leave his shoulders as she stood and began to pace a little around his sitting room. Dormael pushed his worry and fear away, took a deep breath, and pushed his awareness out from his body.

  What he was doing was similar to Mind Flight, though not as difficult or rewarding. With Mind Flight, a wizard could experience the world around him in a tangible way, and even use magic at a distance if he or she was strong enough to manage it. What he was doing now was simply using his Kai to sense impressions of things. He could sense the tangible things of the world through his Kai, but he could not touch them or affect them in any way. The advantage was that the range of this type of working was greatly increased, and a wizard could sense magical energies moving through the world, or the residue of old spells.

  He quested out with his Kai, moving through all the normal places he thought Bethany might be. He checked the kitchens, the student’s quarters, the Bruising Stretch, and even moved through the wizard’s quarters looking for her. He found nothing.

  He couldn’t sense her song anywhere, either. Where in the Six Hells had the girl gone off to? He imagined that boredom could have overtaken the girl, as she was obviously left to her own devices whilst the rest of the companions were off sparring or rescuing Dormael from a madwoman. Dormael suppressed a shudder at the thought of the day’s events. He had to focus on finding his daughter.

  The question he had to ask himself was where, if she hadn’t been abducted, would the girl have gone? Bethany was a well-behaved child, just as D’Jenn had said, but the truth was that the girl was so quiet most of the time that Dormael had no idea what her motivations might be, or what she would do if left to her own devices. Since they’d been together she’d always been close by one of the companions, and had never given them a clue as to her past or even the things she liked to do. Dormael had never really pressed her on the matter, and Bethany had seemed comfortable with that, so he had chosen not to pry.

  The good thing was that Bethany was mostly mistrustful of other people. He imagined that it had something to do with where they’d found her, and what had possibly been done to her. That was another thing Dormael hadn’t asked her, he just didn’t have the heart to find out and know for sure. The way things were, he could pretend that the damage to her had been minimal, and he didn’t want to bring it up to Bethany, for fear that talking about it may dredge up those feelings again.

  So she wouldn’t have just traipsed off with someone she didn’t know, and that was definitely a good thing. On the other hand, it also didn’t bode well that she was missing. If she’d been taken, it would have had to have been done by force.

  Dormael’s awareness floated through the Conclave, searching in every place he could possibly imagine that she might be, but he found nothing. He didn’t even find the slightest trace of her passing. He wouldn’t have, though, unless she’d been using magic. He began to grow frustrated as his search quickly became more and more futile, but then he floated down to the Common Hall, and was met with a curious situation.

  There was a buzz, an excited, dreadful quality to the energy in the room that caught his attention. It whipped through the air in the hall like ghostly lightning, originating from somewhere just past the common areas, toward the official chambers where petitioners came to plead their cases. Dormael sent his awareness toward the confusion, following it to its source.

  There were people rushing back and forth, excited and worried, their own energies causing the air around them to crackle with tension. In this area of the lower floor of the Conclave Proper, there were different rooms set aside for official reasons; the public liaisons of the different Disciplines all had offices in order to meet with the public, except for the Warlocks of course, and there were storerooms and other chambers used for organization and records k
eeping and such things.

  There were also stairways and little used passages, created so that students and servants could make their way around the Conclave without clogging the major hallways and thoroughfares throughout the compound. Different passages were scattered around the ground floor of the Conclave Proper, and around one such passage there was a mass of milling people, all trying to get a better look at what lay beyond. Dormael floated through them, trying his best not to let their excitement and dread rub off on his Kai, though it was a hard thing to keep their feelings at bay.

  They were all quite worried about something. Dormael felt a dreadful coldness creep up his spine that had nothing to do with the feelings of the people in the room. He sent his mind closer to the source, trying to get a better look.

  There were two wizards guarding the entrance to one of the staircases that led down into the storage tunnels. They stood, arms crossed, and gave anyone who got too close a warning glance that caused them to back off a little. Floating closer, Dormael saw that the entrance to the staircase was warded from magical intrusion as well, with a swirling wall of energy that would trap his mind if he tried to penetrate it. He could not scry past it.

  He withdrew his senses back into his own body and rose quickly.

  “Did you find her?” Shawna asked, rising with him and looking at him hopefully.

  “No,” Dormael said, shaking his head, “But I found something. It may or may not have something to do with her, but it’s the only lead we have right now. Come on, we’re going down to the Common Hall. Bring your swords.”

  Shawna nodded, and the two of them left his rooms and stepped out into the hallway, rushing to find a staircase.

  ****