"Thank you," said Jenevi once she had the map in her hand.
"Where are you headed?" asked the jewelry stall owner.
"Strongwill City," replied the Magus. "Where can we get horses to get there? We would like to travel there as soon as possible."
The merchant and stall owner looked at each other with their brows knitted in confusion.
"Strongwill City? Like the Strongwill Kingdom?" questioned the salesman as he glanced down at Jenevi. "That's odd. Haven't heard anyone call it that in a while."
"Well what else would we call it?" asked Simon. "That's its name. All towns, including this one, are part of the Strongwill Kingdom. I'm sorry if you weren't up to date with that."
"It sounds as though you aren't up to date," started the stall owner. "They changed the name to Procella. We are of the Procella Kingdom now. Where have you three been?"
"How long ago was it changed?" asked Jenevi, confused.
"Two years ago," replied the merchant. "After King Caden's brother revealed himself as an Ignis Magus. It's still unbelievable they actually exist. King Zander was devastated about the whole thing."
"Two years?" exclaimed Mace.
Simon and Jenevi looked at each other worriedly.
"You don't think..." started Simon. "You don't believe we were in that place for two years, were we? How is that even possible?"
Jenevi peered downwards. "I don't know...but it seems as though that's the case."
Mace started hyperventilating. He looked around his surrounding like a madman as he backed up. He had many things to say but was at a loss for words. Sweat started coming out of his pores. His body shook in fear. When he thought about his father back at the Shining City, he started to panic. He dropped to the stone ground and clutched his head as he rocked back and forth.
"Mace?" questioned Simon as he jogged over to the blacksmith. He kneeled next to him and gently placed his hand on the young man's back.
Mace jumped up suddenly, causing himself to stumble a bit. When he regained his posture, he looked over at Jenevi and said, "I need to go back. I need to make sure my father is okay! I promised him I would send him a Lulu bird!"
"Calm down, boy," ordered Jenevi. "We're not going back. Not anytime soon, at least. You can send him a Lulu bird when we get to a city, okay?"
The jewelry stall owner crossed his arms and looked at them sternly. "Please leave," he started. "Your outbursts are bad for my business."
"In a minute," said Jenevi, giving the dark skinned man an evil glance. She turned to the merchant and asked, "What happened two years ago?"
"It was very strange," started the merchant. "Things started going downhill after the murder of King Caden-"
"Murdered?" questioned Mace, who was able to calm down but felt his blood pumping once again. "I didn't know he was killed! By who?"
"Let him finish the story, boy!" snapped Jenevi.
The purpled cladded old man cleared his throat awkwardly before continuing. "Well, apparently the Captain of the Guard from the Shining City had a vendetta against the king and stabbed him. One of the knights, of course, shot Verdin."
Mace felt his knees grew weak as he thought about Pia. He has met her father many times in the past and has been one of the nicest and bravest men that he knew. He didn't understand.
"Well," continued the merchant, "the prince was on a trip with his mother's brother, Harold. When he came back, he was appointed as king. Things were fine for a while, but King Zander discovered his uncle's secret. He was an Ignis Magus. Everyone believed Magus were myths! Well, he set the castle on fire and then ran off. The reasoning isn't so clear, but Zander was stabbed by his uncle, and then Harold was killed by one of the guards."
Jenevi recalled meeting Zander and Harold after the incident with the strange old woman from the Forest of Despair. She remembered how suspicious Harold was of her and was relieved she got out of there as soon as she could. But she was surprised that Zander's uncle betrayed him like that, for they did seem to be close.
"What became of Zander?" questioned Simon. "You mentioned earlier that he is king, so I take it that he's still alive."
"He survived the knife," started the stall owner, arms still crossed. "His personality changed after he fully recovered, and he is keeping an eye out for Gaelen. He use to be a really nice guy, but he turned cold. I don't blame him, though."
The trio looked at each other in surprise, suddenly remembering the whole point of why they were on their trip. They almost forgot that Gaelen was of royal blood.
"Did you just say Gaelen?" inquired Jenevi hastily.
"Yeah," responded the dark-skinned man. "The late king's brother."
"You said he ran off. Are there any clues to his whereabouts?"
The man shrugged. "No one knows."
"Those nasty Magus appear to be popping up," started the merchant. "After the incident, Magus from all over the kingdom began to come out of hiding. They're mainly feared, but I hear a lot of them do party tricks for money. Just last month I watched a young man transform into an owl! Can you believe that?"
All of a sudden, Jenevi grabbed the man by his clothes and snarled. "Where did you see this man?" she growled, eyes narrowed in anger.
The stall owner backed away, not wanting to be involved in a fight. The merchant started to sweat as he stared into Jenevi's menacing dull green eyes.
"I-I was in Alte! A two-week journey from here by a horse!"
The Magus let him go, turned on her heels, and headed for the tavern. Her trail to Gaelen was once again cold, but at least she now knew he was also a Magus. She still couldn't recall anything, but she discovered something useful to get her back on track. Wilson.
Anger and confusion stirred around in Jenevi's body. She didn't understand how Gaelen was connected to her. King Zander's uncle, of all people.
Simon and Mace tried to calm the young woman down as she paced back and forth. The sky was getting progressively dark, and the two men were worried that Jenevi may do something she would regret.
Someone started pounding on the other side of the wall, causing some dust to fall off of the old ceiling. "Shut it!" Came a gruff voice.
Jenevi's pacing made the floorboards creak loudly, though she didn't stop. After a few moments, the pounding came back, louder this time. The woman's eyebrow twitched. She stomped over to the wall and smashed her fist through the thin wood. She felt some pain flowing through her fist, but it was nothing unbearable. She could tell without looking at it that there were cuts.
"What in Slarin's fucking name?" cried the patron in surprise. The large bearded man stared at the fist that burst through the wall, too stunned to say anything more. When Jenevi finally pulled away, he stammered, "s-sorry," before getting into bed.
Simon and Mace looked at Jenevi in astonishment.
"The old lady is going to make us pay for that," stated Mace, glancing over at the decent sized hole in the wall.
"We're leaving," started Jenevi as she pulled her black sash out of her pack. She tied it over her eyes and said, "I hope you boys are decent thieves."
Mace opened his mouth, but Simon silenced him by shaking his head.
"Do as you're told," said the former knight.
Mace and Simon gathered their things while Jenevi stayed where she was, waiting for it to become completely dark so she could see without her eyes.
Finally, the Magus felt the familiar surge of power rush through her. Without seeing anything, she already knew what was around her better than she did during the day. "Mace, grab supplies. Simon, grab money. I'll grab the horses," she ordered before walking out with the men on her heels.
The bearded man in the other room stared up at the ceiling, debating whether or not to tell the landlady about what schemes they were planing. Recalling the woman's fist through the wall, he decided to leave it alone.
The three separated after exiting the tavern. Jenevi sneaked over to the stables, skillfu
lly hiding from the towns people's view. When she was in front of the stables, she felt the presence of several horses. She took one step forward, but she wasn't in front of the stables anymore.
She stood a couple miles outside of the town.
"What in Slarin's name?" she questioned softly as she took her blindfold off and stared at the buildings in the distance. She looked towards the sky and then down at her hands. She felt something strange inside of her, but it also felt familiar. "Is this...part of my power?" She took another step, but nothing happened.
Jenevi sat cross-legged on the ground and placed her hands on her knees. She breathed in deeply and thought about the stables.
She did end up teleporting once again, only she was just a little bit closer to the town. Jenevi stood up with a sigh. She had no time to practice her new skill, so she just decided to walk back. The Magus tied her sash back on and went on her way. Once she took her fourth step, she was in the air with her back towards the ground.
Below her was a trapping pit.
She let out a cry as gravity pulled her down into the hole decorated with spikes. The spikes weren't long, but they still stuck up out of the ground menacingly.
Once Jenevi hit bottom, she immediately felt pain on her right side where she cut herself trying to break free of the blue scaled monster's hold, and on her left leg. The Magus could sense a spike right next to her head. Once more inch and she would have been dead.
She couldn't move. She felt like a wild animal that was just caught. It would only be a matter of time before someone would find her and more than likely uncover her sash, revealing who she truly was.
Jenevi couldn't lay there any longer with all the blood she was losing. She called for help, deciding she'll take her chances rather than bleeding to death in a pit.
Mace had a hefty sack of supplies and Simon had a significant amount of money in his coin pouch. They were amazed at how easy it was to snag things that weren't theirs, though Mace knew he wouldn't be able to sleep well for a long time.
The blacksmith approached the former knight at the side of the tavern. He shook his head and said, "I don't know about you, but I feel horrible. Please don't let me do that ever again."
Simon chuckled. "Are you kidding me? Look how much shit you've got! You should be doing this more often, boy!"
Mace sighed heavily. "Let's just hope that Jenevi was just as lucky. Horses aren't exactly the easiest thing to hide."
"As long as she grabs them without the stable boy noticing, we'll be in the clear temporarily before anyone notices that three horses are gone."
Five minutes turned into ten, ten into thirty, and the two men were growing more and more concerned.
"She should have been back by now," said Mace as he paced back and forth. "Something must be wrong. We need to find her. We should first head to the stables."
Simon nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, something doesn't feel right. It's not like her to be gone from a task this long."
They headed for the stables. The town's nightlife wasn't very busy, but they steered clear of people nonetheless. When they got to their destination, they looked around for Jenevi. The area was dimly lit by oil lamps.
"I don't see any trace of her," stated Mace. "What if she left?"
Simon looked down. In front of him in the dirt were small footprints that all of a sudden vanished. He looked at the ground around him, making sure he saw things right.
"What's wrong?" inquired Mace, looking at the ground as well. "What are we looking at?"
"I'm not entirely sure," replied Simon as he kneeled down. "But I have a feeling that this has something to do with with Jenevi."
"What does?"
Before Mace could join Simon on the ground, their ears perked up at the sound of a horse's footsteps. They hid behind some crates and peeked out.
On a brown horse was a dark skinned woman with her black hair tied up in a bun. The men couldn't see her facial features very well in the dark, but they could clearly see the long, bright white dress. Hanging from the butt of the horse was a body that seemed to be dead.
"It's Jenevi!" whispered Mace once he squinted hard enough to see her long, black hair swishing back and forth. "What happened to her?"
Simon left cover and started to follow the woman on the horse. Mace followed closely.
The woman stopped at a small house. She got off her horse, and without looking back asked, "Well? Are you two going to introduce yourselves or not?"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"My name is Traila," said the dark-skinned woman. Her eyes were as hazel as Mace's. "I'm this town's healer."
She had Simon carry Jenevi into the house. He and Mace sat close to the body as they watched the healer work her magic.
"I'm Mace, and this is Simon," said the young blacksmith. "So what exactly happened to our friend? Was she attacked? Will she be okay?"
The woman paused for a moment to look at Mace with a small smile. "She'll be all right, my dear. Your woman will be just fine."
Mace's cheeks tinted pink almost instantly. Simon let out a laugh as he slapped his leg in amusement.
"As for what happened to her..." Traila continued. She started to undo Jenevi's clothes so she would be able to wrap up the wounds. Mace turned away, and then hit Simon's shoulder so he could do so as well.
"I was out collecting herbs. As I was making my way back home, I heard a woman's voice weakly calling out for help. I searched for a while until I found her inside one of the trapping pits outside of town. There was a spike through her leg and her side. She was unconscious by the time I got a couple of men to help me get her out. I don't understand why, but I found it odd that she had a black sash covering her eyes, which is probably why she fell into the pit in the first place."
"What was she doing outside of town?" inquired Mace silently to Simon. "And in a pit? I feel like she would sense something like that."
Simon shook his head and placed his finger to his mouth.
"Do you think she was trying to practice seeing in the dark?" questioned the healer. She completely undressed Jenevi and brought out her medicinal supplies.
"I-I don't know," stammered Mace.
The two men listened to the sound of the healer as she stirred up ingredients with her mortar and pestle. After a few moments, she did something that made Jenevi shake and cry out in pain.
The two men quickly turned around and watched as Jenevi's naked body started to writhe in agony. The healer was pouring a strange pink liquid that smelled like grass on the Magus's side wounds.
"Will one of you boys hold her down for me?" requested Traila.
Simon placed his hands on Jenevi's body and put pressure.
Mace started to sweat. He didn't understand how Simon stayed so calm.
Jenevi's cries started to die down as Traila got to the end of the medicine. "I'll have to make another batch for the hole on the other side and two more for her leg. This may take a while."
Mace and Simon sat patiently, both picking at their fingernails in anticipation.
After a few tense moments, Traila stood up. "Alright, I'm ready."
Again, the process repeated itself. The healer poured the liquid over the wound on Jenevi's leg while Simon held her down. Then once again, Mace and Simon waited for Traila to make another batch. Mace helped turn the Magus over so they could work on the last two wounds.
Once the last tear was complete, they turned her back around and sat down in exhaustion.
"She's waking up," stated Traila. "At least she didn't wake up while the process was happening, but she'll be in pain without a doubt.
Mace and Simon glanced at each other. They both knew what would happen when Jenevi opens her eyes. It wasn't even close to being light out yet.
Jenevi started to stir. She slowly opened her eyes, bringing light into the room.
Traila jumped back, accidentally pushing some of her herbs to the ground. "A-A Magus? You're a Magus?"
The Magus moaned in pain. "Shit," she hissed. "I can't believe I let that happen." She craned her head over at the healer. "Who in Slarin's name are you?"
"She's the woman who saved you life," said Simon sternly.
Jenevi sat up and looked down at her naked body. Seeing her embarrassment, Traila threw a blanket over her. "Thank you," said Jenevi.
"What type of Magus are you?" inquired Traila as she cautiously sat back down. "A lot of people fear them, but I haven't heard of many bad incidents regarding them, even though more are popping up."
"Tenebrae," responded Jenevi. "I gain my powers at night. And speaking of..." she turned her head so she was looking at her two traveling companions. "I teleported into the pit."
"Wait, are you serious?" inquired Mace. "How were you able to do that?"
Jenevi sighed. "I don't know. I first teleported when I got to the stables. I ended up outside of town, so I tried to teleport back. It didn't work, so when I was going to walk...well, you know the rest."
"Amazing..." whispered Traila.
Jenevi looked back at her and asked, "What did you use on my wounds?"
"Rosea Sanabi," Traila replied.
Mace spoke. "Hey, isn't that what you used to heal me?"
Jenevi nodded her head. "You must have used a lot."
The healer smiled. "Yes, and I also used something special to make it stronger since you had deep wounds. Not many people know about it."
Jenevi examined herself under the blanket. The wound on her side was now a dark scar. It was still stinging, but at least the holes had closed up.
"Florebit," said Jenevi, holding the cloth close to her. "You used florebit. That ugly brown flower that grows off of Aesker trees."
"How did you know?"
Jenevi didn't respond. She wished she knew, but of course, her memory still hasn't returned.
"Please don't tell anyone about Jenevi," pleaded Mace. "They might try to kill her."
Traila laughed. "Kill her? This town may be filled with sad and scary looking people, but I can assure you they are harmless. The majority of them have wanted to meet a Magus ever since they've found out that the stories were true!"
Darkness Falls (The Dark Series Book 1) Page 13