The Summoner and the Seer: Darklight Universe: Book 1

by C. Gold

  “Uncle Ekie says there’s always a peaceful solution to every problem.”

  “Given enough time and motivation, I’m sure. Come, let’s get breakfast.” And hopefully change the topic of conversation.

  Nalani followed as Radcliff picked his way around the sleeping animals. “How did the trees get inside?”

  “I rescued them and had nowhere else to put them.” He had to duck under a low hanging branch.

  “Will they live?” She fingered a leaf as she passed underneath.

  “For a little while.” He hadn’t really thought beyond the moment. If the corruption could be destroyed, he could always move them back. But even now he sensed the lifeless void closing in around them and even the very fabric of magic was weakening. It may already be too late to do something.

  Amira might know what to do. Let me use the body to speak to her.

  Radcliff took several long strides down the empty corridor before he responded to the annoying image in his head. No. I don’t trust you. You are too emotionally attached. If you’d been in control last night, we’d all be dead.

  The image shuddered and wrapped its arms around itself. Last night was a fluke. I promise to relinquish control if anything happens. When Radcliff remained silent, the image fumed and pointed an accusing finger at him. If Amira has any idea of how to stop this, she’ll confide in me, not you. Nalani said she was crying because of you.

  Radcliff stiffened in anger. The answer is still no.

  This isn’t over. Two burning eyes left their fiery imprint even after the image vanished.

  Radcliff shook it off. What did that pathetic piece of himself know anyway?

  “We’re here!” Nalani called out as she darted through a small side entrance. She stopped so abruptly that Radcliff had to leap around her. When he saw the tense confrontation ahead, he pushed her behind him and took up a defensive stance.

  The large room was filled with people who were silently watching the drama. Some were sitting at makeshift tables, their food going cold as they gawked. Others stood in a now-still serving line. The servers had also stopped to watch. Nobody dared make a sound, afraid the slightest provocation would result in full out conflict.

  The emperor had his back to Radcliff. His stiff shoulders and aggressive stance was a clear sign he meant business. Two imperial guards flanked him on either side with their hands on their weapons.

  The cause of the drama was a nondescript man. With his blue silks and fancy shoes, he was clearly a noble. He held an oversized bag with both hands and glared at the emperor, his beady eyes snapping with anger. His four personal guards on the other hand looked like they’d rather be anywhere else.

  The emperor’s voice boomed out across the large room. “You’ve been accused of hording food. All supplies are to be relinquished for proper rationing.”

  The man’s hands tightened around the bag protectively, like it was his long lost baby. “The food is mine. I paid for it, I should be allowed to keep it.”

  “I’m confiscating all food stores so we can ration our supplies.”

  “Why should I share anything with these dregs?” His eyes swept across the large number of norms in the room. A few growls could be heard before quickly hushing.

  The emperor’s voice got low and deadly. “If you don’t hand the supplies over now, I’ll toss you outside.” He turned a complete circle and swept the room with his intimidating gaze. “That goes for everyone here. All will be treated equally, norms and magic users, rich and poor. Anyone caught hording or disobeying laws will be turned out. This is for your own safety.”

  The man reluctantly dropped his bag at the emperor’s feet. “There, not that it will do much good. We aren’t safe.” Then his eyes latched onto Radcliff. The hate in his eyes intensified. “Especially with the Destroyer here.” The noble snapped out an angry order for his guards to follow and stalked to the main exit.

  Every eye in the dining hall followed his exit in silence before turning to stare at Radcliff. He could see the fear in each person’s eyes once they figured out who he was. Those who knew whispered to those who didn’t until the entire room was stirred up like a hornet’s nest.

  The emperor shouted over the din, “Everyone here is welcome. Anyone objecting knows where the exit is.” When the room fell silent, he ordered the guard on his right to take the bag of food to the storage room and told his other guard to remain behind to maintain order. Nobody dared so much as move while the emperor strode over to Radcliff. “Follow me,” he barked as he brushed past and entered the hall.

  Radcliff stared defiantly at his detractors before following the emperor. He kept Nalani close as they passed a crowd of people sitting in the hallway waiting their turn to enter the dining hall. While the corridor they passed through was large, the number of refugees waiting in line made it feel cramped. The smell of fear-sweat lingered, like overly ripe fruit.

  The emperor pushed a door open and led them into a nicely furnished room. A long table that could easily seat ten dominated the room. To the right, a roaring fire burned in the large fireplace, while at the left servers stood ready with trays of food. Radcliff’s stomach growled and reminded him he hadn’t eaten yet.

  “Please be seated.” The emperor waved to the chairs as he strode over to the fireplace. He sat at the head of the table. Radcliff and Nalani picked the seats closest to him on his left. While the servers placed dishes on the table, he spoke. “Squabbling over food is only going to worsen. People brought what they could carry and we only have enough livestock for a few days.”

  Radcliff waved his fork around before stabbing a piece of meat slathered in gravy. “I took care of that last night.”

  “Oh?”

  A light tap on the door followed by Elden poking his head in interrupted the discussion. “Excuse me Your Excellency, your other guest has arrived.”

  The emperor wiped his mouth and smiled. “Good. Send her in.”

  Elden’s head vanished and Amira walked in.

  “Your arrival is timely, we were just starting. Come in and take a seat.” He pointed to the chair on his right. Amira looked a bit flustered as she walked around the emperor and sat down.

  If the emperor noticed, he gave no indication. He had already turned back to Radcliff. “Now, you were saying you fixed our food supply problem?”

  Radcliff nodded and finished swallowing. “A second, larger cavern is completely filled.”

  “Well, that’s good news at least.” The emperor closed his eyes and appeared to be savoring his food. The room fell silent as each person dug in.

  After several minutes of serious food shoveling, Radcliff mopped up the last of the gravy with a piece of fresh bread and sat back, replete.

  The emperor waved off a servant who tried to offer him seconds. He looked at Radcliff with troubled eyes. “I looked outside and even the stone was melted. What did you do?”

  The question caught Radcliff off guard and his eyes automatically darted to Amira but she was focused on her plate, toying with a few last bits of food. He felt an annoying twinge of emotion.

  That’s guilt by the way. Radcliff’s image stood there, hands crossed and looking smug.

  He ignored the image and the unwanted emotion, instead focusing on the question. “I summoned a pocket of super-heated liquid.”

  The emperor sat back and sighed. “So we have a way to eliminate the threat.”

  “No.” Radcliff wished that would work. “That pocket refills too slowly to be of any use.”

  The emperor nodded for the servant to remove his plate and leaned forward. His intense eyes fixated on Radcliff’s face. “Could you use other means?”

  The man’s intent stare brought back long forgotten memories of strategy meetings where they’d discussed possible solutions until late into the night. Radcliff shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He wasn’t sure he was ready to trust the man before him just yet, but he deserved to know the extent of the truth. “I might be able to do some things but
it won’t bring back life.”

  The emperor nodded. “We have enough seeds in storage to bring back what we need. I need you to work out a way to rid us of—”

  “Also,” Radcliff interrupted, “whatever is draining the life is also taking away the magic. There may not be enough magic left to remove the threat completely.”

  Amira’s dropped fork banged against the side of her plate. She blushed and muttered sorry.

  The dissonant sound matched the monarch’s grim expression. His piercing gaze swiveled to focus on Amira. “What about your seer talent? Any new visions?”

  Amira shook her head. She was still eyeing her plate rather than meet anyone’s eyes. “I haven’t had any recently.”

  “Yet, you’re sure Radcliff is the key?”

  She looked up at the implied accusation and stared down the emperor. “I wouldn’t have intervened at the time if I didn’t think he was.” Amira’s eyes widened, and she looked at Radcliff with a mortified expression. Her mouth opened and shut several times before she shook her head and looked back at her plate.

  Your girlfriend shows her true colors. Radcliff goaded his image.

  She didn’t mean it. Not the way you think.

  Of course she did. My mind is in this mess because of her need for revenge.

  Well, she doesn’t feel that way now.

  Towards you perhaps. And don’t beg to differ. I can feel your doubt. You don’t think she could like me either that’s why you keep insisting on talking to her yourself. Radcliff shook his head. Feeling victorious over an argument with himself… clearly he was insane.

  The emperor stood. “Very well. Radcliff, I’m placing you in charge of organizing a way to repel these invaders. Do whatever it takes. And take Amira with you in case she gets another vision.”

  He gave Radcliff a look that spoke volumes and brought back old memories and unwanted feelings. Once, long ago, he’d have done anything this man ordered without question and with absolute obedience and adoration. This time, he was making his own choice to save his own skin. If it also helped the emperor, well lucky for him.

  The image snorted. You are just lying to yourself with that thought. I know you like the old man more than you let on.

  He betrayed me.

  How did he do that when he didn’t know you were still alive?

  He didn’t look hard enough.

  The image just shook its head and threw up its arms in exasperation.

  “Well, if you two have nothing further to add, I need to get back to my people and quell their fears.” The emperor’s hand went to clasp Radcliff on the back like old times but froze when Radcliff leaned away and stood on the other side of the chair. He gave the emperor a curt nod of marginal respect and tried not to feel anything at the flash of hurt in the old man’s eyes.

  You really need to reconcile with him.

  No. A single word of flat refusal. He wasn’t ready to forgive anyone. Even now, the anger was a boiling mass trying to explode and only his strong will kept it contained.

  Were you always this stubborn?

  Radcliff watched in silence as the emperor left the room.

  The image just sighed.

  “Can I be excused?” Nalani asked. She too had gotten up and was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

  “Where are you going?” Radcliff wasn’t sure why he asked, but thinking of her running into a mob of angry people made him uneasy.

  Growing soft towards her. His irritating image was smirking.

  Nalani twirled around. “I want to explore some more.”

  “Well, be careful. Fear can make people do things they otherwise wouldn’t think of doing.” Shut up, he told his image before it could say more dumb stuff about how he cared. It was just logical to keep his allies safe. The image rolled its eyes but stayed quiet.

  Nalani darted over, gave him a quick hug, and dashed out the door.

  When Amira began apologizing, Radcliff cut her off. “Enough of that, we don’t have time. Tell me exactly why you believe I’m going to fix this.” His tightened grip on the top of the chair mirrored his supreme irritation at being somehow responsible for something outside his control.

  You should let me talk to her, his image pressed.

  I don’t have time for your emotional displays. Radcliff’s head was beginning to throb as the anger wore through his iron control. He shoved it back down but it was still close to exploding.

  I bet you never had time for Janine either, did you? His image taunted.

  Leave Janine out of this. Radcliff’s hands balled into fists. The throbbing grew worse.

  I bet you just used her to slake your needs.

  I never used her! I loved her! An image of Radcliff appeared in his own mind and stalked towards his twin. His face was ugly with rage.

  You never once asked how her day was or inquired about what she did when you weren’t there. You just expected her to be there whenever you wanted her, and absent otherwise. That’s not love.

  What would you know about it? Radcliff lost control for a brief second but it was long enough for the ball of pent up emotions to blow through the crack in his iron will. Like a tempest it stormed over him and no matter how hard he fought to get it under control, he was engulfed. Anger, hate, and every other black emotion boiled around what was left of his consciousness, ignoring his feeble attempt at reasserting control. It asserted control of his mental projection and charged his image, fully intent on murder.

  With a smirk, the image stepped aside at the last second and the murderous ball that was Radcliff went hurling into an open doorway to a hidden room. The door slammed shut and bands of steel wrapped around the entire structure. As the image looked over its handiwork, it spoke. I told you this wasn’t over. With the resistance temporarily dealt with, the image took over the body.

  It felt good to be more than just a ghostly memory. Radcliff walked over to Amira who looked like she was going to cry. It nearly broke his heart when she stood and backpedaled away from him. This was his doing. “Hey, it’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you.” He slowly walked forward and wiped a tear from her cheek. Through the link he could feel her confusion and hesitation.

  She frowned up at him. “Radcliff?”

  “Yes, it’s me. I’m back for now.”

  “What’s going on?” Her voice wavered as she studied his face.

  The surge of hope and longing from her was too much. Radcliff broke down and pulled her into his arms. She began sobbing and gripped him like he’d vanish any second. While he made soothing sounds, he rubbed her back and buried his face in her hair, absorbing her comforting scent. He wished the moment could last forever but even now he felt the anger of the older Radcliff burning a hole through the box he was imprisoned in.

  The sound of ceramic clinking drew his attention to a couple of servers who were gathering the remaining dishes from the table while giving the pair furtive glances. Once Amira’s sobs slowed, he asked, “Is there someplace we can talk in private?”

  She nodded, sniffed, and pulled back. “I thought you were gone. I couldn’t feel you until now.”

  Her happiness flowed through their bond filling Radcliff with warmth. Placing a hand on her back, he escorted her from the dining room. They held hands as they walked down one of the more decorated corridors. Mage lights were placed strategically to light the outdoor scenes carved into the obsidian walls. Colored gems reflected the light and made the scenes come alive.

  Amira stopped at an ornately decorated door. The image of delicate vines and flowers continued the image of a waterfall carved into the wall on the left. While the door artwork was impressive, Radcliff had no words to describe the wall carving. The azure stone embedded in the grooves shimmered in such a way to make it look like actual water running down the wall. “Now that’s impressive.” Radcliff ran a finger along the stone just to verify it wasn’t wet.

  Amira nodded her agreement. “It’s one of my favorites. I swear it must use magic to get the shimmering
effect.” They both stared at it a few seconds longer before Amira opened the door. “This is where I’m staying.”

  Radcliff followed her inside a noble’s guest suite. Ornate wooden furniture with silk embroidered cushions rested atop thick carpets. More intricate carvings of animals decorated the walls. If Radcliff had to name this room, he’d call it the blue room since everything in it had a splash of azure blue with gold trim. An opened door in the back offered hints of a small library beyond. Amira led him through that door and dragged him to a sofa.

  As she cuddled next to him, Amira asked, “Ok, tell me what’s going on.”

  Radcliff sighed. Where to begin? “Before the spell activated, Radcliff split me off to deal with the memory problem while he remained with the locked off memories to try and break the spell from the inside.” Did this even sound plausible? Amira still looked interested, so he went on. “After the spell was lifted, I was still around, but in the shadows of his mind, while he controlled the body. I managed to trick him to get this time with you.”

  “How long do you have?”

  “I don’t know.” Judging by the frenetic activity in the locked box, he’d say maybe a couple of hours at best.

  Amira took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand about the bond.”

  Radcliff brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. “You should have trusted me. I’d do anything for you.”

  “I know. I saw what happened if we didn’t bond in a vision. I couldn’t risk it.”

  “I forgive you.”

  “If this is our last night together, stay with me?”

  Radcliff smiled at her use of his words the last time they were together and sealed the deal with a kiss.