Mercury Mind (The Downfall Saga Book 1)

by Chris Mccready

  “You’d better wipe that smirk off your face before I have one of the boys do it for you.”

  “Like how they wipe your backside after you take a crap. I’m sure that’s the highlight of your day. The five of them crowding around your naked—”

  “Enough. I was going to give you a chance to beg for forgiveness, but you’ve squandered that opportunity. Do you have anything else to say?”

  “Plenty, but you won’t listen to any of it. Can you instruct your toadies to let go of me for a moment? I don’t want to get my new cloak dirty.”

  “So you want me to give you a fighting chance?”

  “Heavens forbid. I don’t want to soil my hands either.”

  Caddaric gave a small nod and Donovan’s arms were released. He carefully removed his cloak, folded it up and tossed it on the ground behind him. The evening was cold, and he had to stifle a shiver before he turned back to Caddaric. “I know that you can beat me, I don’t doubt it at all,” said Donovan with feigned bravado, looking Caddaric in the eyes, “but I will take every opportunity to tear you down and show the world what a little man you are, until all your toadies hop away and you’re all alone, frightened, waiting for my retribution.”

  Caddaric just stood there, hands clasped behind his back, as if he was inspecting a group of soldiers on parade. With a slight nod, it began.

  Their tactics were invariably foul. Tam and Clyde held his arms while Brutus kneed Donovan in the groin. Doubling over, he didn’t resist.

  Brutus pulled Donovan’s head up by the hair, and raising a meaty fist, he began hammering away.

  With a raise of his hand, Caddaric called them off. Donovan lifted his head defiantly, blood dripping down his face.

  “Don’t make this any harder,” said Caddaric. “All that I need is an apology and for you to admit that I’m better than you in every way.”

  “What a benevolent prince you’ll become,” croaked Donovan, spitting blood onto the ground.

  They threw Donovan to the ground, boots stomping mercilessly, waves of nausea cramping his stomach. No blow too cruel, no technique too crude. Tam grabbed the collar of his shirt. Yanking, it tore with a rasping sound, revealing the blood red symbol carved into Donovan’s chest. Despite the time that had passed, the cuts looked fresh enough they could have been done mere moments ago. Everyone backed away in alarm.

  When they stopped, Donovan rolled onto his back and stared into the darkening sky. A scant few hours ago he was on top of the world, free. A grin surfaced beneath the blood pouring down his face. He struggled to his feet, blood pouring from his nose. Picking up his discarded cloak, he walked over to Caddaric. “You can’t do anything to me that someone hasn’t already done better,” he said. Stumbling past Caddaric, he headed to the dorm.

  He’d made it most of the way up the stairs, torn sleeve from his shirt pressed against his bloody nose, when he heard footsteps coming up behind him.

  “Hey Donavan, hold up,” said Caddaric. “I wanted to—”

  “Not now,” said Donovan.

  Leaving the stairwell, they headed to their room. The door stood open. A glance inside told them that something was amiss. Kort sat at the table, straight-backed, brow covered in sweat.

  Donovan took a moment to make sure that his cloak hid the symbol on his chest, before entering the room. Ravyn sat on the other side of the table talking to a rather pretty woman.

  “What happened to you?” asked Ravyn when she got a look at Donovan’s purple, bloody face that was swelling by the minute.

  “Are you okay, dear?” said the woman, rising from her seat. Caddaric stepped through the door behind him and she walked straight to him. “My baby boy.” She grabbed Caddaric by the cheeks and gave him a kiss before embracing him in a lingering hug.

  “Hello, Mother,” said Caddaric. “Why are you here?”

  “I just had to come and see you.”

  “But ... you’re not supposed to—”

  “The Headmaster could never refuse the Queen from seeing her son.”

  Donovan tried to escape to his bed, but she reached out an arm as he stepped past.

  “You must be Donovan,” she said. “Your friends have told me all about you. You look awful. What ever happened to you?”

  Donovan looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with Caddaric. He held his gaze until he saw Caddaric begin to squirm, before pulling the bloody sleeve away from his face and looking at the Queen. “My apologies,” he said giving her a polite bow. “I must look an absolute mess. I had a climbing accident.”

  “It’s inexcusable that none of the wizards here have healed you. Students cannot be treated this way. I’m going to talk to the Headmaster before I leave.”

  Caddaric’s eyes grew wide, afraid that the Headmaster would learn what had happened.

  “Please do not trouble yourself,” said Donovan. “I’ve already refused their assistance. It’s nothing serious and I don’t want to become dependent on magic while I’m here.”

  “If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  “That means so much coming from you.”

  “And you,” she said turning back to Caddaric. “I’d better not hear about you doing anything dangerous. I know people and they will tell me everything that you are doing.”

  “Yes, mother,” said a subdued Caddaric. “I trust Ravyn and Kort have shown you our room.”

  “Yes, yes. It’s absolutely dreadful. All of these people cramped in such a tiny space, and the decor is so pedestrian.”

  “We actually have much more room here than the students in the regular dormitories.”

  “Of course, dear. You can take me for a walk and fill me in on how things are going.”

  “Yes, mother.”

  “I can’t believe that you’ve been gone for so long and I won’t see you again until the winter break. Speaking of the winter break, all of you will join us for a meal, right?”

  “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” said Ravyn, “but I’m heading home to Chaylse to see my family.”

  “That’s too bad, dear. The rest of you will be coming.”

  She said it with such conviction that they didn’t have any choice but to agree, despite the looks which Caddaric gave them from behind the Queen’s back.

  “Excellent. I’ll let my son know when we’re doing it, and he’ll pass it along. Now come along dear.” She held out her arm, and waited for Caddaric to take it before disappearing out of the room.

  Donovan waited for their steps to fade down the hallway before shutting the door. “What was that about?” he asked.

  “She just showed up,” said Ravyn, “I didn’t know what to do.”

  “I don’t want to go to a fancy dinner,” said Kort. “Why couldn’t my family live closer, so I had an excuse not to go.”

  “I don’t want to go any more than you do, but we can’t disappoint the Queen,” said Donovan.

  “I’ve never been away from them for so long. I wish they could come see me.”

  Silence hung in the air as they all thought about their families, or in Donovan’s case, wished that he’d be able to find them.

  “Now what happened to you?” asked Ravyn, “and don’t tell me that it was a climbing mishap because there is no way that Osmont would have left you looking like that.”

  “Like what?” asked Donovan innocently.

  “Like something that a cat would leave on the doorstep.”

  Donovan weighed everything in his mind. He’d withheld much information from them and debated whether he should come clean. Now that Caddaric and his cronies had seen the Blood magic, he knew that stories would have spread around school before morning.

  “I have much to tell you, but let me get cleaned up first,” said Donovan. Donovan collected a change of clothes and headed out to wash off the dried blood from his body, and to buy time to collect his thoughts.

  Returning to his room, Donovan gratefully sat down in a chair and waited for Caddaric to return. Ravyn and Ko
rt continued to ask him questions, but he refused to answer anything until Caddaric was there, hoping that he would be able to reign in the stories that his cronies were surely spreading.

  When Caddaric returned, he was more agitated than they had ever seen him. Gathering everybody around the table, and even Delaney poked her head around the curtain, Donovan began to fill them in. He told them about showing up at the gates with no knowledge of who he is, and how he had got there. He told them about the Blood magic, and showing them the symbol carved over his heart, told them that Osmont believed it was blocking access to his memories. They discussed the Clachwards and how the one had carried him off into the woods. Caddaric was the only one who had heard of them before, and even he found it odd that one would act that way. He ended by telling them about the mountain climb, and how it had felt like the world shifted around him and he could move up a vertical surface with the greatest of ease. Donovan did his best to answer all of their questions and didn’t hold anything back except for the note from Eamon written in the Shem language. After everything that he’d heard about the Shem, he still didn’t dare admit any connection to them, to the others or to himself.

  Donovan went to bed early that night and woke late on Sunday morning. Stiff and sore, his face purple and swollen, he stayed in his room all day. By the start of class on Monday, his face had nearly healed, much to the shock of his classmates who had undoubtedly heard a variety of stories about Saturday from Caddaric’s toadies. He couldn’t explain why it was healing so quickly, but he was grateful nonetheless.

  Things became more civilized between them. Donovan revealing his secrets had formed a bond between them, and by not ratting out Caddaric’s misdeeds to the Queen he had shown that he was trustworthy.

  Donovan continued his lessons with Ravyn and she slowly improved in her arithmetic class. Caddaric and Ravyn continued their feud about who was the best student in their year, although in a friendlier manner, while Donovan remained near the bottom of the class in Arcana and Martial training.

  As the winter break approached, Kort became more and more nervous about the upcoming dinner with Caddaric’s family. Caddaric attempted to teach him the finer points about how the meal would proceed, and what was expected of him, but Kort proved to be an awful student and couldn’t remember even the simplest things, like the differences between all of the forks.

  Before they knew it, the winter break was upon them. A handful of students who lived in Kendra were leaving to visit their families, as well as some of the more well-off families, like Ravyn’s, who could afford transport to travel through the thick snow. Kort had been talking about going home to see his family to get out of the dinner at the keep, but even he had to admit that it would take him the entire break to wade home through the snow, only to immediately turn around and head back to Haven.

  Caddaric and Donovan left Haven early in the morning to head to Kendra, while Kort was waiting until the last possible moment to head to the dinner at the keep, secretly hoping that a storm would spring up to give him an excuse for missing it.

  Donovan and Caddaric had a pleasant trip down to the capital. The sky was cloudy, and the temperature brisk, but they were both glad to leave the confines of Haven. Travelling in single file, with Donovan going first to break a path through the knee deep snow. They talked little, which only enhanced their enjoyment of the trip.

  Once they reached the city, Donovan let Caddaric take the lead as they headed up to the keep. Climbing the steep hill to its high gates they were both tired and sweating. Caddaric exchanged a few quick words with the guard at the gate who clearly knew him, and they were allowed inside.

  Pausing in the courtyard, Donovan was about to leave to go and find the music shop called Jaslynns, when a voice shouted to Caddaric.

  “The son finally returns to the nest,” said Jerel, house wizard and tutor to Caddaric. Jerel was plainly dressed and had a spring in his step as he hurried over to see them.

  “Jerel, it’s good to see you,” said Caddaric, clasping Jerel’s hand. “This is Donovan.”

  “So you’re the one who Osmont was talking about,” said Jerel, clasping Donovan’s hand with a steel grip.

  “It’s good to meet you too,” said Donovan, “although I’m not exactly sure who you are.”

  “I am a house wizard in the employ of the Kelvin family. I also used to tutor Caddaric and his older brothers.”

  “I’d love to stay,” said Caddaric, “but mother has surely heard of my arrival and I must hurry to greet her or she’ll never let me forget my transgression.” Caddaric hurried off.

  “And you?” asked Jerel. “Do you have any urgent plans?”

  “No, I suppose not,” said Donovan.

  “Excellent. Come, I hate standing around talking when I could be doing something.” Jerel headed over to the wooden rack, sitting under an overhang by the wall, while Donovan followed. The rack held a variety of practice weapons, with no sharp edges and rounded points. Picking up a staff he gently tossed it to Donovan. “Care for a sparring session while we talk? I feel out of practice since Caddaric left.”

  “I hate to disappoint you, but I’m one of the worst in my class. I’ve never felt comfortable using a staff. It feels like I’m holding a snake.” He leaned the staff back against the rack. Picking up one of the practice swords, a long sword with a simple cross-guard.

  Stepping back a few paces, he started one of the stretching routines that Osmont had shown him. The balance was off with the sword in his hands, so he had to practice modifying the movements for a few minutes before he found a new balance in the movements.

  “I see that Osmont has been showing you the Vanora,” said Jerel, selecting another sword from the rack.

  “Vanora? Is that what this is called?” said Donovan, growing more comfortable with the sword after a few minutes than he’d felt after months training with the staff.

  Jerel attacked without warning. Donovan spun away from the thrust and backed towards the middle of the courtyard.

  “Good reflexes,” said Jerel, stalking Donovan across the courtyard.

  After a quick feint, Jerel attacked in earnest, each movement gracefully blending into the next.

  Donovan dodged, parried and circled away from the onslaught, feeling like a mouse being played with by a cat.

  “I was afraid that your reflexes would be as poor as your magical abilities,” said Jerel, without pausing his attack.

  “What has Osmont told you about me?” asked Donovan, retreating to create separation between them.

  “Quite a lot, actually. He’s stopped by many times to see if I’d found anything new about Blood magic.” Seeing the fear in Donovan’s eyes, he slowed his attack for a moment. “We’ve known each other for years, so you can trust me as much as you trust him. He called in a favor at the start of the term, and since I had some free time with Caddaric heading to Haven, I agreed to help. If I knew how tedious it would be searching the library, I wouldn’t have agreed so quickly.”

  “He can be tricky, alright.”

  The attack resumed almost quicker than Donovan could react. A quick thrust caught the edge of his cloak as he barely dodged to the side. Dropping his sword, Donovan closed in and grabbed Jerel’s sword arm. Twisting, he flipped him onto his back, sword arm pinned between Donovan’s body and arm.

  “Very good,” said Jerel. “Caddaric was always too formal. If we were practicing with swords, he wouldn’t even think of using anything else. Now help me up.”

  Standing up, Donovan helped pull Jerel to his feet.

  “You’re raw,” continued Jerel, “but have good instincts. With the proper training you could be great.”

  “I’d be happy just to pass Professor Severn’s class.”

  “He isn’t so bad. He always picks someone to make an example of, but for everyone else, you’ll learn a lot if you listen.”

  “I think I volunteered to become the example.”

  Donovan told him all about his experiences wi
th Professor Severn as they put away the swords. Climbing the stone stairway in the corner of the courtyard, they walked along the top of the wall surrounding the keep.

  “I miss having younglings around to teach,” said Jerel wistfully. “If I hadn’t come here, I would’ve taught at Haven.”

  “Don’t you have Caddaric’s brothers to teach?” asked Donovan.

  “Not anymore. Worrell’s at the Cleft for a few years and David spends his days learning from his father. At least I have the research from Osmont to keep me busy, and the Clachwards, of course.”

  “Clachwards? I haven’t heard a thing since I was attacked at the start of the term.”

  “That’s surprising. There’ve been many sightings around the city. Farms have been trampled, animals scared off, but most of the injuries have been minor. That is, except during the Downfalls. They go berserk, rending everything around them. It takes a massive fire to deter them during the storm. Only a light, so intense that you can barely look at it, will bring them down. I spent the last Downfall walking the walls around the city, clearing them out before they damaged the walls in their frenzy.”

  Looking out over the wall, Donovan saw Kort dejectedly walking towards the keep. Waving to get his attention, they headed down to the gate to meet him.

  With Kort in tow, Jerel led them inside. He left them in a small antechamber, where an attendant would get them when it was time.

  “I can’t believe I came,” said Kort, banging his head gently against the wall.

  Donovan sat down on a small bench, covered in pink cushions, edged in lace. “Sit down and take a few deep breaths,” said Donovan calmly.

  “How can you be so calm? We’re about to have dinner with the Queen of Rourke and who knows how many other members of the Royal Family.”

  “You’ve been living side-by-side with Prince Caddaric for months,” said Donovan, emphasizing his title. “They’re not so different from you or me.”

  “Except that they can order your execution by raising an eyebrow.”

  “I doubt that somebody dies every time they raise an eyebrow. Just calm down, take your time, and follow what everyone else is doing.”