Velyn laughed but Cera frowned at me. “I think shapeshifting is a powerful skill, Reshi. I doubt any of our other siblings can do it.”
“They can’t,” Velyn confirmed. “At least, not according to their bounties.”
“What do they know about us?” I asked. “Aside from our names and where we were sent.”
“Next to nothing is known about Reina, the eldest, except for the name of her adoptive family and the schools she attended before she went into hiding. Eagan has been a bit more visible; he’s beaten at least ten hunters so far, so they know about his fire magic. Then there are the twins.”
“Kila and Laki,” Cera put in. “Everyone knows about Kila. She’s been killing hunters since the bounties came out, but they still don’t know her power.”
“Right, but they do know Laki’s.” Velyn rolled his eyes. “Supposedly he’s a real softie, total opposite of Kila. He’s never killed a hunter but he’s strong enough to keep them away. His power is listed as ‘life to the lifeless.’”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Velyn shrugged. “No idea. I’ve never met him. Cera, they have a description of you, probably from the performers you traveled with. They have your powers listed as ‘psychic.’”
Cera shook her head sadly. “I wish I was powerful enough to consider myself psychic. No hunters have come for me yet, though, so I suppose I’m well hidden here.”
Velyn nodded. “It’s a nice secluded spot. Doesn’t your sight help protect you?”
“Sometimes I’ll get a premonition.” Cera shrugged. “It doesn’t happen often, though.”
“Maybe your magic only warns you when you need it,” I suggested. Cera gave me a quick smile before staring into her empty bowl again. “What does it say about me?”
“Nothing.” Velyn smirked at me. “Let’s kill this hunter of yours so it stays that way.”
“What about you?” Cera asked. “Do they know about your magic?”
“They describe it as ‘wind magic.’ A few people from my village remembered me enough to report it, but I haven’t let any hunters get away with anything more specific.” Velyn passed his bowl over to Cera. “That lamb isn’t burning, right?”
Our sister cried out and ran to the kitchen.
Velyn chuckled softly.
“That’s all of us, isn’t it?” I said, more to myself than to Velyn. “I remember hearing their names the day the bounties were posted, but I’d forgotten them.”
“Wasn’t it strange, finding out you’re half-royalty?” Velyn asked, a strange smile on his face. I felt my shoulders stiffen in surprise.
“I never even considered that.” I shook my head. “Laurana was only a mistress; none of us have any claim to the throne. The heir is a true son of the king and queen.”
“Right, but haven’t you heard?” Those strange-colored eyes seemed to flash. “He’s sickly, just like the queen. Imagine it, Reshi. The queen can have no more children and the heir might not be long for this world. Who stands to inherit?”
I couldn’t help myself; I laughed. “I’m the youngest of seven bastards with a bounty on my head, which was placed by my own father. No, I don’t think I stand to inherit one thin copper, Velyn. I’m a lot more concerned with keeping my skin intact than the succession of the throne.”
Velyn shrugged easily. “It was just an idle thought, brother. I’m not about to go strutting into the throne room and demanding to be recognized as an heir. If they locked Mother away, I’m sure they would do the same to me. Or worse.”
Cera came back into the room with plates of sliced mutton and fresh rolls slathered in jam. Once again, we lapsed into silence as we ate. I only got halfway through my meal before that nagging fatigue swept over me. Cera must not have fallen asleep against me last night, or else I would have restored at least a little of my magic. Maybe I would try sleeping against her tonight after she fell asleep. The thought filled me with shame, taking advantage of such a kind person, but at the same time I felt naked and vulnerable without my power.
“Cera, can you see the hunter coming for Reshi?” Velyn asked as he mopped up his plate with his roll.
“Not clearly,” Cera replied. She shook her head back and stared up at the ceiling. After a moment, her eyes went blank. “I have no connection to the hunter, so I can’t see his face. I can see he is drawing closer to us, but he is still far away. He wears a cloak of ice and purpose. He looks like freshly minted steel and moves like a predatory beast. He’s . . . he’s dangerous.” Cera shook her head, surfacing from her trance. “But he’s only human. We’ll have a plan ready for him when he arrives.”
“I’m sorry to drag you both into this.” I set my plate aside and drew my knees up to rest my chin on them. “I couldn’t face him alone, but that’s no excuse to get you involved.”
“Don’t worry about it, Reshi.” Cera placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. “I’m grateful that it brought us together.”
“And since we are together, killing him will be no problem at all.” Velyn grinned darkly. “No one stands against the mistress’s mage-born.”
I felt a chill race along my spine. I had known, hadn’t I? That the only thing that would keep Kestral from collecting my bounty was death? I should want him dead. With him dead, I could return to my village and to Wix. My secret would be safe, and I could continue living a normal-ish life. So why did the thought of killing him turn my stomach sour?
“Reshi? Are you still not well?” Cera placed her cool hand against my face. “Do you need to sleep more?”
“No.” I grimaced. “Maybe. I feel terrible, just sleeping all the time.”
“You should rest. You’ll need your strength when the hunter comes.” Cera gathered up the plates and stood. “Velyn, I’ll set up a pallet for you after I clean up.”
“No need.” Velyn waved her off. “I have my own gear and I feel better sleeping outside anyway.”
“Well, if it gets cold or if it starts to rain—” Cera cut herself off with a giggle. “I suppose a little rain is nothing to you. Let me know if I can get you anything.”
“Thank you, sister.” Velyn gave me a small wave then walked outside.
Cera clattered about in the kitchen as I lay down. I would have to wake myself up tonight and curl up next to one of them. The only way I would get my energy back was to steal it.
I managed to rouse myself later that night and found myself alone in Cera’s cluttered room. If I had even a little magical energy stored up, I would have shifted to my cat form in order to see by the dim moonlight, but as weak as I was, I couldn’t chance it. I kicked off the blankets and made a quick circuit around the room, just to make sure I was really all alone. I hissed as I bumped into several haphazardly placed items. How could Cera live in this mess?
When I couldn’t find anyone, I opened the front door a crack and peeked out. Just enough light reflected off the lake to show me that a hammock had been strung from a tree just over the water. It swung low and heavy, giving the impression of a body inside it. I guessed that was Velyn, as I had never noticed the hammock before. After looking around a little more for Cera, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice called, “Up here, Reshi.”
With my heart beating out of my chest, I glanced up to see Cera sitting on the roof of her house, smiling down at me. She waved at me and directed me to the chimney around back, which was an easy climb. I sat down beside her, already tired from my brief excursion out of bed.
“You’re not regaining your magic, are you?” Cera asked bluntly.
“No,” I replied with a sigh. I didn’t really want to talk about it, but if she already knew, what was the harm? “How do you recover your magic, Cera?”
She looked up, a soft smile on her face. “Moonlight.”
“Moonlight?” I looked up as well. The moon was a mere sliver, a day away from being black. “You just sit in the moonlight and your well refills?”
“That’s right.” Cera leaned back on her hands,
staring up. “My power always waxes and wanes with the moon. When it’s full, I can see further and hear more clearly. I’ve even seen glimpses of the future on nights of the full moon. I’m filling my wellspring now, in case your hunter shows up while the moon is dark.”
I wrapped my arms around my knees, looking out over the lake. “That’s lucky for you. You can soak up as much magical energy as you need most nights without even trying.”
“How do you recover power, Reshi?”
I sighed. “I steal it. I have to draw it from a sleeping victim. It doesn’t hurt the person, it usually just makes them sleep a little longer. But I have to be close enough to touch them to do it.”
“Oh.” Cera tilted her head to look at me, her hair falling behind her like a silvery curtain. “That makes sense.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “How does that make sense?”
“It just does, doesn’t it?” Cera gave me a small smile. “It’s like how some animals hibernate. They sleep to save their strength for the spring. It’s like you’re taking a small piece of that stored strength. Isn’t it?”
“Huh.” I leaned back on my hands, staring up at the sky. “When you put it like that, it does kind of make sense.”
“The moon has always been a source of magical energy for seers,” Cera explained, looking back up at the sliver of the moon. “Even weak ones, like me.”
“What about him?” I asked, pointing to the hammock near the lake.
Cera shrugged. “Maybe the wind. He was telling me that he grew up on ships and boats in the seas up north. That’s where he learned to control his magic.”
I nodded. “Cera, can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure, Reshi.”
I hesitated. “Could I sleep next to you tonight? I know it’s asking a lot, but I really need to get my magic back.”
Cera shook her head sadly. “I would if it could help you, but it won’t. You can’t siphon magic from a mage. Our bodies protect our magic until we decide to use it.”
“Really?” How could there be this much that I didn’t know about my own magic? “Well, I guess I’ll have to visit a village or something.”
“Reshi, that would be dangerous.” Cera’s silver eyes went wide. “What if your hunter visits the same village? What if he updated your bounty information and someone recognizes you?”
I laughed softly. “The best part about being a shapeshifter is that no one recognizes me. Don’t worry, Cera. I’ll be careful.”
Cera bit her lip, turning to look out over the forest. “It’s not just your hunter, Reshi. There are bandits in these woods. My sight keeps me safe from them, but anyone taking the roads in these woods has to bring trained guards along with them for safety.”
I felt my eyebrows climb to the top of my head. “Is that so?”
It turns out that finding bandits isn’t that difficult, especially using Cera’s sight to cheat a little. It’s just that sane people don’t often go looking for bandit camps.
I never claimed to be a sane person.
Following Cera’s directions, I found the bandit encampment only a few hours from her cottage. I traveled there as a human to save time, but once there I used the last vestiges of my magic to transform into my favorite all-purpose form: a rat. Not the most loveable of creatures but fitting for invading a bandit den. These bandits were fairly well set up, which meant they had robbed a lot of innocent travelers. There were three permanent buildings set up for housing and storage as well as tents or half-huts set up as shops, almost like a tiny village. I whisked around the settlement unnoticed, looking for anything worth stealing before sneaking into the main dormitory.
Even though I arrived at midday, a few of the bandits were fast asleep. Maybe these men had been guarding the camp overnight, or maybe they had been up late drinking, who could say? But it was the perfect opportunity to top off my wellspring. Hopefully, I could leave these louts too tired to attack any travelers for a day or two. I scrambled up a hanging blanket and tucked myself against the leg of a sleeping bandit, quickly drawing as much as I could. When he shifted about uncomfortably, I moved on to my next victim. As men drifted into and out of the barracks throughout the day, I continued filling my magic at a gluttonous pace. I had never drawn on so many so quickly before; the fear of discovery had made me cautious. Even if these men discovered a rat in their bedroom, I doubted they would associate their lethargy with me. It also helped that I felt a strong sense of justice, stealing from those who stole from helpless travelers.
An hour or so past midnight, my wellspring was full to bursting. Outside the barracks a few men were still awake in the camp, drinking around a blazing fire in the center of the settlement. I gave them a wide berth and snuck into the armory. The door was locked with three different-sized locks, but the gap beneath the door was just wide enough for a determined rat to squeeze through. While it was true that I felt vulnerable without my magic, I also felt naked without my daggers—like a cat without his claws. Luckily, there was no shortage of daggers here. It took me a while to find what I was looking for—a pair of heavy but thin daggers with sheaths designed to be tucked beneath a waistband. With a bit more work, I found a few leather bracers of throwing knives with flat sheaths that could be strapped to wrists or ankles. A sour taste filled my mouth as I noticed the crafting mark beneath the leather wrappings—these knives had come from a shop in my hometown.
After stockpiling the weapons, I investigated a few clothing chests that had been left inside the armory. Most held armor, either leather or studded, but one held the sleek black clothing sneak-thieves used to break into homes at night. After a bit of digging, I found a set of sneak-thief clothes in my size, much better than the ragged cast-offs I had been wearing. Even better, these clothes were designed to hide daggers. At the bottom of the chest I found a pair of boots that were a thief’s dream—low ankle support for running, padded soles for sneaking and grips for climbing. They could even hide small knives or a lockpick set in hidden pockets.
So now the real question: how to get away with all this loot?
The heavy daggers would never fit under the door, and the thin knives risked reflecting fire light. The windows were boarded up tightly to prevent theft. Something about honor and thieves, I’m sure. I circled the room again, poking my nose behind chests and into corners, searching for a way out. My lucky star must have been at its zenith, for I found a floorboard that had all but rotted away unseen behind a chest of armor. With a little quick digging, I widened the gap between the floor and the back wall, creating just enough space to shove the daggers and rolled-up clothing through. Unfortunately, the hole was just a bit too small for the boots to fit. I started widening the hole with my little rat paws, peeking through occasionally to watch for the sunrise.
This is going to take forever, I realized. If only I had bigger paws, then I could . . . With an internal sigh, I shifted to my cat form, using my bigger paws to widen the hole quicker. Once deep enough, I seized one boot by the laces and dragged it outside, then returned to repeat the process for the other boot. Still in my cat form, I continued dragging the boot until I could conceal it the forest behind the shed. Piece by piece, I dragged my stolen treasure deep into the woods, not daring to shift back to my human form until I was too far from the bandit camp to smell their fire. By then the sun was fully up, and I suddenly realized how tired I was. My well was full, but my mind was fuzzy from lack of sleep and my body ached from all the digging and carrying.
A little nap, I promised myself, finding space between tree roots to hide my precious treasures. I’d get back to Cera before nightfall. With a yawn, I tucked my nose beneath a paw and fell asleep.
Hours later I awoke, more out of hunger than anything else. The nearby bandit camp was quiet, so either they had not yet discovered the robbery, or more likely, they were all still sleeping off the effects of my magical draining. As it would be impossible for me to drag all the clothing and weapons back to Cera’s in an animal form, I shifted to m
y human self and dressed in my new favorite outfit. The sneak-thief’s clothes were a near-perfect fit and had just the right drape to hide my daggers in the waistband, as well as the throwing knives on my wrists. I twirled the heavy daggers around, getting used to the feel of them. The hilts were shaped differently from my last set and they felt slightly off-balance. I would get used to them in time, but I missed my old daggers.
I began the long walk back to Cera’s, wondering how long it would be before Kestral caught up to me. Did we have to wait for him to come to us? What if we left Cera’s cottage and joined the next closest sibling? Kestral would eventually become outmatched and leave us alone, right?
No, more likely he would come back with an army. I sighed. I had been lucky to escape him once; the only way to be free of him would be to kill him. Even though he would have killed me without a second thought, I was having trouble wishing the same for him. But why? He had nearly killed me with a crossbow bolt; shouldn’t I be angry and vengeful against him? So why didn’t I feel that way?
It was a long walk back to Cera’s cottage, so I took some time to consider the question. In the end, the only thought that kept popping up was that I had been expecting someone to come after me eventually, ever since the bounty had been posted. I had been able to enjoy a few quiet years so far, which was more than some of my siblings could say, so perhaps this attempt on my life was somehow justified. I couldn’t really be upset with Kestral for doing his job, it just wasn’t fair that I had to be his target.
With a mental shrug, I pushed back a branch and revealed Cera’s cottage and the lake beyond it. Dark clouds had gathered over the lake, giving the setting a look of twilight, though it was only late afternoon. Despite the ominous look to the sky, I could see Velyn and Cera speaking near the edge of the lake. Velyn’s boat rocked, pulling at its anchor. I couldn’t feel a breeze but perhaps there was wind over the water. Velyn was facing away from me but Cera saw me, her silver eyes lighting up. She waved cheerfully, and I waved back with a smile. So, this was what it was like to come home to family.
Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1) Page 7