by Ben Hale
"Iris?" she asked, but her friend was asleep as well. She jerked awake as her name was called.
"Stivering sandiborts!" she blurted and lurched to a sitting position. Her purple-streaked hair was in wild disarray as she stared at Tess.
"What does that mean?" Tess asked as her yawn turned into a laugh.
"What does what mean?" Iris stretched. "Shower? Or breakfast first?"
"Shower," Tess said after a moment’s thought. She hoped it would ease the soreness from her body.
Iris jerked as if she had been slapped, and her eyes narrowed at the wall. Then she began a prolific chewing out of someone for waking her. Tess grinned and assumed that meant she got the first shower.
She was about to ask where to find one, but held her tongue when she noticed a small side door. She climbed to her feet and strode to it. To her surprise, it led to a private bathroom. She blinked at the amenity, and fleetingly wondered how the underground castle had been built.
Then she realized that she had no clothes. Nearly everything she owned was in ashes with her house. She turned to Iris, interrupting her.
"Mind if I borrow some things?" she asked.
Iris waved a hand at the pile of clothes next to her bed. Tess flashed a grateful smile and selected a pair of jeans and a shirt. Then she released an explosive breath. First order of business was to restock her closet.
The surge of sadness at the loss of her home was unexpected. She reminded herself that they had survived, and that was what mattered. Suppressing her guilt, she stepped into the steaming water. For a long time she let the heat strike her, willing it to wash away her fatigue and confusion. Long after she was clean she reluctantly stepped out. Shivering at the temperature, she got dressed in the unfamiliar clothing.
"Your turn, Iris," she said as she entered the room.
"Took you long enough," Iris said and skipped into the bathroom. Tess waited for her to finish and then they both went in search of food. As they stepped into the hall Tess was once again struck by how ancient the corridor felt.
The stone floor had been worn smooth by centuries of passing feet, and the walls were grey with age. Wrought iron brackets held the white flame torches, and were shaped in elegant arches that spoke of another time. The doors they passed matched the hallway, their wood wrapped with burnished metal and thick studs.
"Where did this place come from?" Tess asked.
Iris cut off her conversation with Keisha to answer. "I'm not sure," she said. The annoyance in her voice caused Tess to grin.
"Haven't cracked the Guild archives yet?"
"I can't even find them," Iris growled.
Tess frowned at that. Iris had never responded that she'd found a barrier. "Hawk might not want his information found," Tess said.
Iris fell into incoherent bursts of angry comments, and Tess didn't interrupt. Five minutes later they were entering the meal hall, a vaulted, cavernous space with enormous windows dominating the walls. The view out one side was of a sloped hill descending to a river. Fishing boats cruised on its surface while men cast their nets.
The opposite side looked down onto the castle courtyard. Sentries strolled on the battlements while a man worked with a horse below. Above the courtyard the blue sky stretched away, broken by lonely clouds.
The view was distinctly medieval, as if someone's memory of the hall had been enchanted into the windows before the castle was buried. Tess was struck with the same question, where had the Guildhall come from?
A handful of people sat at the various tables. Engrossed in their quiet conversation, few noticed Tess and Iris as they moved to collect their food. Tess joined them and scanned the group to see if Alice was among them. She wasn't. Tess wasn't sure if she was relieved or not. She did hope there would be another chance to talk to her. Countless questions floated through her mind as she followed Iris to the large, steaming cauldrons.
Built with a slit in both sides, the cooking cauldrons resembled the ones at Tryton's, only much older. Tess gathered several cubes and balls of distilled food onto a plate. Placing it into the slit, she sent it through. A blast of steam burst out of the top and a moment later her plate clattered out the opposite side. Now full of eggs, toast, bacon, and cereal, it looked and smelled delicious.
Iris argued into thin air as they strode to an enormous oak table and sat. From her comments it sounded like she was trying to get information from someone. Famished, Tess ate in earnest, but stopped when she heard a pair of voices call her name.
"Tess!" Derek and Rox yelled in unison. Stepping through the room, they hurried to join their table. Tess rose to embrace them.
"Glad you made it," Derek said. "Give us a moment and we'll join you." They collected their own breakfast and returned. Then they plopped into seats across from Tess and dug in.
"I heard what happened at your house," Rox said.
Tess's lips thinned at the memory and she nodded. "Iris warned me in time."
Iris didn't appear to notice the comment, but Derek flashed an appreciative grin toward her. Derek was Iris's brother, and a talented stone mage. His hair was brown and unruly, but fit him well. His eyes were equally as brown, and were typically bright with humor. His smile bore a hint of mischief, and was his best feature.
Rox was different in many ways. With shining red hair Rox was stunningly beautiful, yet never seemed to be aware of it. Confident to a fault, she had been Tess’s friend since their first water class together. She had also taught Tess how to surf—by enchanting the water into a board.
Tess continued sourly, "They didn't leave much behind."
Rox blinked and looked her up and down. "Are you wearing Iris's clothes?"
"Not much choice."
"Then we have to go shopping. Her clothes don't really work for you." The disapproval in her voice caused Tess to smile.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Iris demanded.
Rox laughed. "It means purple is more your color, Iris."
Iris's scowl eased and she turned away, muttering under her breath. Her eyes glazed as she started talking to one of the students she tutored. From her words it sounded like the girl was in India.
Tess turned to Rox, "When did you get here?"
"Last night after Iris," Rox replied. "Derek spotted me in the hall and said you guys were probably eating." She grinned. "Glad to see Iris is back to normal."
Derek laughed. "It's Iris." Then his brow furrowed and he turned to Rox. "What brought you here anyway? I thought your dad wanted you at home over the break. He seemed overprotective after . . . what happened."
Tess thought that was an understatement. Rox's father was Breaker, a highly skilled battlemage that worked for the Magtherian. He'd also been kidnapped by the Harbingers, tortured, and then used as bate to try and kill Hawk. After his rescue Rox had described him as "justifiably paranoid."
Rox made a sour face. "He didn't want me to leave, but Hawk asked him to keep an eye on Tess's parents. I guess he didn't think I would be safe at home, because he hid my mom and little brothers somewhere in South America."
"Don't worry about them," Iris said distractedly. "Brazil is nice this time of year."
Rox issued a deep sigh. "I wish I knew how she does that."
"It's Iris," Derek and Tess said in unison, and all three of them laughed.
"But seriously," Derek said once the humor subsided, "Any word on the Harbingers? They have the Sword of Elseerian, but what now? They can't use it for four months."
Tess shook her head. "I don't know. All I know is that the Guild is trying to get the Sword back before they can open the portal again."
Rox frowned. "Anyone ever feel like Hawk knows a lot more than he lets on?"
"Of course he does," Derek said. "He's been alive for a long, long time."
"True," Tess agreed. "But more importantly, do you think he knows anything more about Ducalik?"
Rox shuddered, "Like how he can make darkness stronger than light?"
Tess thought back to t
he portal that Ranson had opened, and the fiends that had come out of it. She and her friends had been victorious in battle against them—but only because they had been lucky. She felt a chill as she recalled how Ducalik had exited the portal, and had summoned the Dark. One by one it had subverted the will of those present, taking their minds and controlling their flesh. Tess could still hear the bodies thudding to the ground as their own allies slew them.
She felt a flash of gratitude that Derek had knocked him back through the portal—right after Tess had kissed him in order to get him to focus. She flushed at the memory, and wondered if Derek thought about that moment. Then she had a thought that caused her to twitch.
"Wait," Tess said. "What if the Harbingers don't know about Ducalik?"
"How could they not know?" Derek asked. "They opened the portal."
"Ranson, Drake, and the Thin Man left before the fiends came out," Rox said, using their nickname for the Harbinger techno mage. Her eyes widened as she realized what Tess was saying. "And no other Harbingers survived the battle."
Tess shook her head. "So unless they stuck around to watch . . ."
"They might not know about him," Derek finished. "Iris, do you know if they stayed, or had any way of seeing what happened? Iris?" He grunted in annoyance and bumped her.
"What?" Iris asked. "What did I miss?"
Derek repeated the question, to which Iris snorted derisively. "Of course they did. The Thin Man left a few monitoring motes behind, but they were destroyed in Hawk's fire."
"So do you think they know about Ducalik?" Tess prompted.
Iris blinked and her gaze focused. "I . . . don't think so—Malik, not now. Go stuff a chicken or something. I need to go. Benson, you too. I'll get back to you later—So you think the Harbingers don't know about him?"
The rapid-fire shifts in her speech would have been hard to keep up with if Tess wasn't so used to it. "What if they don't know?" Tess lowered her voice. "What would that mean?"
Derek let out a slow breath. "If we don't get the Sword of Elseerian back in time, then Ducalik will be the first thing out of the portal. I can imagine only one scenario if that happens. Ducalik kills the Harbingers and releases the Dark."
"I don't know . . ." Iris said, her eyes distant. "I get the feeling that whoever this mysterious Master of the Harbingers is, he has planned for everything."
"Even my escaping?" Tess demanded. "You think he meant for me to escape with my parents?"
"We thought they were trying to kill you last term, but it turned out they just wanted the public to know about you," Rox's voice was somber.
Tess flushed. "They meant to kill me this time. There's no way they intended for me to escape."
"But what if they had a plan in case you did?" Derek said. "What if they have planned every contingency?"
"How can someone do that?" Rox asked.
"It's like Stratos, or chess," Derek said, his brow furrowed in thought. "Whenever I play I start by imagining the board, and then plan what I will do based on what my opponent does. It's something I learned from my roommate and his Braon Orb."
"You can't beat Commander Braon," Rox said. "No one has—not when he was alive, and not when they put his mind into a Stratos memory orb. Everyone knows that."
"Hold on," Tess said. "Are you saying that the Master has planned for everything we are doing? If that's true then it won't matter what we do." She hated the cold knot that had formed in her gut. Was it possible he had prepared for her to escape the trap at her home?
"But how could you plan for Ducalik?" Rox scoffed. "No one has even heard of him—and even Iris can't find anything about him." Iris frowned at that, but Rox gestured to Tess. "Preparing for an unknown disciple of Draeken is different. It's not like making plans based on what you can see."
In that moment Tess realized she had never called her parents the previous night. She uttered a pained sound. "My mom is going to kill me. I need to call her."
"But she's here . . . " Iris said.
"Not that one," Tess growled in exasperation. "My mom. For now Alice is just a person I don't know." Then she realized that her omni-glasses had been in her house when it had exploded. She groaned. "How am I supposed to call them? My glasses are gone."
"I have a second pair you can have," Derek said, and rose to his feet. "They're in my room."
Iris shook her head and pulled her beanie from her pocket. "He can give you the glasses later. For now you can use my hat." She said it with a distracted grunt and tossed it to her. "Just think what you want it to do and it will take care of it."
Tess threw a grateful glance at Derek. "Can I use yours for school?"
He grinned and nodded as she left the dining hall. As she stepped into the hall she placed the black beanie on her head. Assuming it would be like her omni-glasses, Tess focused on the numbers that would call her mom. She jerked when it was answered on the first ring.
"Hello? Tess?"
The voice sounded odd, as if it was being inserted into her head rather than speaking in an audible format. Still, it was a relief to hear her mother's voice.
"Mom? Can you hear me?"
"Why didn't you call before?" she demanded. "We were worried."
"Sorry," Tess cringed. "I fell asleep. It was a long day."
There was an explosive release of air, and then her mom replied in a calmer voice. "Are you safe?"
"Of course, Mom," Tess said. "Are you?"
There was a moment's hesitation. "I think so."
Tess noticed the pause and pounced. "What does that mean?"
"I'm joining your father at work. We are going to try to discover the Harbingers plans from this side."
The statement caught her off guard. Her parents were joining the fight? But they weren't mages. She felt a tremor of foreboding at the idea of her parents being discovered. She forcibly drove the thought aside before it could linger.
"Please don't tell me you are going to fight them, Mom."
"Of course not," Kate replied. "You father gathers intelligence. That's what he does—and what he's doing now. I will be helping in a . . . different capacity. We should be fine."
It didn't sound like they were going to be fine at all. "Promise me you will be careful," she said.
"That's my job to demand of you," her mom said with a tight laugh.
"Then let's promise each other—"
"I've got to go, honey," she said in a rush. "I have to qualify on the thousand yard range. Call me tonight, would you? I love you. Bye!"
The line went dead before Tess could respond, but just before it did she'd heard a gruff voice barking, "Oliver, get back in line. We don't have time for you to be chatting on your phone."
Tess felt a chill blow through her despite the glowing fire. Were her parents going to be killed because of her? Before she could consider it further Alice appeared at her side. Tess nodded to her, "Er . . . do you want to join me and my friends?"
"I'd like that," Alice replied.
Tess forced a smile and walked with her back into the hall. She introduced Alice to Derek and Rox, and then tried to keep the conversation going. The effort was complicated in that her mind kept returning to the same question.
What were her parents up to?
Chapter 8: Undercurrents
"Be safe at school," Alice said to Tess.
They stood on the threshold of the Guild hall, and were departing to Tryton's for the new term. Most of the last few days had been spent rebuilding Tess's stash of personal belongings. Not for the first time, Tess felt a rush of gratitude for Hawk's generosity in covering the expense. It did make her wonder, though, where he'd earned it.
Iris had come with them out of courtesy, but Tess found shopping tedious. At least Rox had enjoyed it. By the time school was about to start Tess had a decent set of things to work with. But she would have taken shopping over saying goodbye to Alice.
The moment was awkward, and Alice shifted uncomfortably, as if she wanted to give Tess a hug but wasn'
t sure how the motion would be received. Tess pretended not to notice. A couple of conversations with her hadn't been sufficient for Tess to embrace her as part of her life. She already had good parents; she wasn’t sure if she wanted more.
"I'll be careful, Alice," Tess replied awkwardly, and then turned to Hawk. "Are you still going to tutor me?"
"Of course," he said. "But I won't be your only tutor this semester. I have also convinced the school to make an exception in the standard class limits."
"What sort of exception?" Tess asked.
"As you learned last term, the school allows three magic courses and three non-magical courses, like History of Magic. I have petitioned the school to allow you six magic classes. At first they were reluctant, but I convinced them that in your case, it was necessary."
He gave a wry smile. "I'm afraid that you will still have to take History of Magic, though. The school directors apparently didn't want the oracle to be lacking in historical knowledge."
"What classes did you sign me up for?" Tess asked.
"You can find out through your glasses. I don't want to risk you being late. Your class schedule isn't the only thing changing at the school this term."
Tess was taken aback but Hawk wouldn't say any more. Alice shot him a surprised look, so at least Tess wasn't the only one in the dark. Resigned, Tess said her goodbyes and departed with her friends. She waited until they had exited to the street before turning to Iris.
"What did he mean, changing?" she asked.
"How should I know?" Iris asked.
The annoyance in her friend's voice was unmistakable, but Rox didn't seem to hear it.
"How can you not know?" Rox demanded. "Last term you hacked into the private director’s messages for fun."
"Well I can't this term, alright?" Iris said, and lapsed into muttering under her breath.
Tess looked to Derek with a questioning look. He merely shrugged, but there was a tightness to his eyebrows that suggested a deeper concern. The silence prevailed as she fell to pondering.
When had Iris not been able to do something? How often had she even used the word can't? From the moment they had met Iris had demonstrated a blatant disregard for rules and regulations, but now she seemed frustrated and confused. What had happened?