Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1)

by Kayleigh Nicol

  “So, the fire-starter has Laki’s life-magic?” Kila asked.

  “Yes, but from what we saw, he was having trouble using it.” Kestral seemed happy to fill Kila in on the details, so I just let him talk. The musicians were beginning to ramp up their tune and I scanned the room for possible dance partners. “Velyn also seemed to be having some trouble with far-sight.”

  “Serves him right, going after little Cera.” Kila slammed her empty ale tankard down, summoning the wench with a refill. I tried to catch her eye to see if she was interested in a dance later, but she seemed too busy to notice. “Cera was a weakling, but she didn’t deserve to go like that.”

  “I would like to hear your strategy for fighting your brothers when they arrive,” Kestral said, pausing for a sip of his ale. “Both may have grown stronger since the last time we faced them.”

  Kila nodded and leaned forward on her elbows. She and Kestral drew on the table, using the condensation from their mugs to indicate patterns of attack and positions. I tuned it out as the music swelled, drawing dancers out onto the floor.

  “Reshi.”

  “Hm?” I was half out of my seat when Kestral called me.

  He glanced towards the dancers, then back at me. “Stay alert for assassins.”

  “Isn’t that what I keep you around for?” I winked at him. Before he could stop me, I was on my feet, weaving and swaying with the other dancers in the corner near the musicians. It wasn’t long before I had a new mug of ale in my hand and a lovely on my arm. When the room continued spinning longer than I did, I paused, considering going back to sit with Kestral and Kila. As I looked back towards the table, Kestral threw his head back in one of his rare fits of laughter. He smiled at Kila before they banged their mugs together and drank deeply. My mood soured instantly; they barely knew each other. How could Kila draw that laughter from him so easily when I had to work so hard for it? I called for another mug of ale and found a new pretty girl to dance with. Forget Kila. Forget Kestral. The music was good and so was the ale. I didn’t need them right now.

  Hours later, the room tilted around me instead of just spinning. It really had been far too long since I had had a proper drink. Someone laughed shrilly and a small hand on my arm dragged me up the stairs. I was trying to follow but the stairs twisted and turned, making footing treacherous. I tried a step and stumbled. It took me a minute to realize I hadn’t fallen because a strong arm had me around the shoulders. There was a conversation full of giggles and a steady monotone voice that I couldn’t follow, and then I was being towed up the stairs into a mercifully dark room.

  I wrapped my arms around broad shoulders, closing my eyes and willing the world to stop spinning. When it did, I blinked up into ice blue eyes.

  “Of course it’s you.” I pushed away from Kestral, staggering towards the bed. “Couldn’t let me have one night of fun, could you?”

  “From the look of it, you had plenty of fun.” Kestral stayed near the door, watching me make my way across the room.

  “Would have been nice to dust up with a sweet armful,” I muttered, flopping onto the bed. I had to grip the blankets as it tried to buck me off. When it finally settled down, I fumbled with the lacings on my boots. “What did she say that was so funny?”

  “That girl? She was drunk. She thought everything was funny.” Kestral crossed his arms, leaning back against the door.

  “Not her. Kila. My sister.” How had these laces become so knotted?

  “Nothing. We were talking strategy for your brothers.”

  “Liar,” I accused, thumping my heel against the floor. Could I just pull the dust-ridden boots off? “I saw you laughing with her.”

  Kestral was quiet a moment. “Oh, that. It wasn’t really that funny.”

  “Liar,” I repeated. I wasn’t all that witty when I was drunk. I fought with my boot again but suddenly large tan hands were there, untying the laces and pulling the boot free. Without a word, Kestral unlaced the other boot. I fell still, watching him. “What did she say, Kestral?”

  “You’ll see tomorrow.” Kestral rocked back on his heels to look up at me. “Can you shift?”

  I grumbled about how I wouldn’t have to shift if I was dusting up in another room. Kestral only watched me silently, waiting. It took a bit longer than usual to make the shift from human to cat. When I did I was unsteady on four feet instead of two. Kestral moved me to the middle of the bed before undressing and climbing in after me. I’d never admit it, but his arm made me feel safer as the bed continued to spin and tilt beneath me as I drifted off.

  Kestral was up the next morning before me, as usual. I heard him moving around the room, but as no sunlight was yet filtering through the window, I hooked a claw through the blanket and pulled it up over my head. My magic helped me avoid the worst of a hangover, but it had still been a late night after an intense day, and I intended to sleep in. An unexpected knock at the door had me growling and tucking my face beneath a paw.

  Boots crossed the floor and soon I heard my sister’s voice. The tones were low, so I figured the matter couldn’t be too important. I tried to fall towards sleep again when the blanket was rudely pulled off me.

  “Aw, is that my baby brother?” Kila vigorously ruffled my fur, brushing it backwards and causing my skin to ripple and itch. I hissed in irritation. “Aren’t you just the cutest little meal on four feet? A little skinny though.” A finger prodded my midsection. I swiped at it, but she quickly withdrew her finger.

  “Are you ready to warm up?” Kila asked, addressing Kestral. I sat up and tried to smooth my fur without shifting back to human shape. I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep so long as Kila remained in the room.

  Kestral nodded as he finished tying his sword onto his belt. “Let me warn you, Reshi drew from me last night so I’m feeling tired this morning.”

  “Not to worry. They have black tea here.” Kila’s eyes fluttered shut and she shivered with delight. “It’ll wake you right up.”

  “Southern black tea?” Kestral’s voice held a note of interest. That was odd; nothing ever seemed to interest him. “I haven’t had any in over a year.”

  “The army stockpiles it, so the inns here can serve it.” Kila scooped me up despite my yowl of protest. I struggled to free myself, but my sister’s arms were like iron, especially while encased in her leather-wrapped-steel armguards. With a grumble, I settled back against her chest, letting her carry me down to the common room. Why couldn’t she just leave me in bed? And just what the dust is black tea?

  Kila set me down on the bar in the common room and placed an order for two black teas. I blinked sleepily at the room. Were we the only fools awake at this hour? Why were we awake at this hour? It felt as if I had only gone to bed an hour ago. Was this punishment for having fun last night? My tail lashed as I eyed Kestral. He chuckled at me before inhaling deeply over a steaming mug.

  Kila cradled her own mug of black tea lovingly, sipping slowly despite the torrent of steam pouring off of it. I wandered over and stuck my nose over the rim. Kila swatted at me but I was already backing away. The aroma was thick and heady, searing sleep from my mind as cleanly as fog wiped from glass. It might taste good on a human palate, but it was overwhelming to my cat sensibilities. Kestral actually smiled into his mug as he drank. For some reason, that irked me more.

  “Kila.” A chastising voice came from the kitchen doorway. “A cat on the bar? Really?”

  “Oh, right.” Kila turned to me. “Do you need milk or something? Do cats drink tea? Or do you hunt?”

  I flicked an irritated ear at her.

  Kila looked up at the bar mistress. “A saucer of milk, I think. Thanks, Laryssa.”

  “That wasn’t what I…oh, fine.” Laryssa threw her hands up and went to fetch a bowl of milk for me. She set it down with a clack, refusing to acknowledge my adorable meow for affection. “Do you know what inn you will choose tonight? I can have your belongings sent ahead of you.”

  “I haven’t decided yet,” K
ila replied, stretching her arms over her head. She wore studded leather armor with her hair once again coiled around the top of her head. “Do you mind if we use the inn’s back courtyard for training?”

  Laryssa made a face. “Are you going to damage anything?”

  Kila shrugged. “Not intentionally.”

  Laryssa rolled her eyes. “Do whatever you need to do, just know you’ll pay for anything you break.”

  Kila shrugged, setting her empty mug down with a sigh. “Ready?”

  Kestral nodded. This time he picked me up, slinging me over his shoulder and ignoring my cry of protest.

  You could always shift, came Kestral’s mental voice. I chose to ignore it. As soon as I could, I would bound back to our room to sleep.

  Once outside, Kestral set me down on the packed earth. He secured the door to the inn behind him, giving me a glance to make sure I understood that if I wanted to open it, I would have to be human. I turned my tail on him and trotted to the stacked hay bales near the barn. I leapt to the top of the stack, turned a circle, then curled up into a tight ball. I didn’t have to sleep in a bed, after all. Kestral shrugged at me then stretched his arms and back. Nearby, Kila did the same.

  Is that what she meant by “warm up?” Were they going to spar? They both stretched before moving to a few strength exercises. I drifted off but came to abruptly at the hiss of steel being unsheathed.

  “Two out of three bouts?” Kila asked, wiping imaginary dirt from the blade of her slender sword.

  “One sword only,” Kestral added, eyeing the other weapons on Kila’s belt. “Three touches. No head strikes.”

  I tried to make a quip, but it came out as a meow. Dust it, if I shifted they would rope me into training somehow.

  Kestral brought his sword up into a guard position. Kila held hers back behind her, balancing in a long stance. Her lips curled up in a secretive smile; Kestral’s face held no expression at all. For a long moment, no one moved. I nearly jumped when both swordsmen burst into motion, flying at each other in a fury of sword strikes.

  It was over before I could blink. Kestral’s armor was scored across his leather glove and his side. Kila’s was marked along her shoulder, sleeve and hip. She bowed her head briefly, acknowledging Kestral’s win, then fell back into a defensive stance. The bout began all over again.

  Kestral won two of the three bouts, to which Kila protested the use of a single sword. If allowed her normal range of weapons, she never would have lost. Kestral agreed with her as they shared a waterskin. My tail lashed. I was in a foul mood which I decided to blame on my lack of sleep.

  “Come down, Reshi,” Kila called. “It’s your turn.”

  I shook my head, fluffing up the fur around my neck and shoulders.

  “You need proper training,” Kestral added. “Unconventional tactics will only get you so far.”

  I turned around, lashing my tail at both of them.

  Kila sighed dramatically. “Well, Kestral, I think we’ll just have to split that flask of Goldwater between the two of us.”

  I turned back to peek over my shoulder.

  “That could make this a nice evening,” Kestral said, leaning back against the inn’s barn, wiping down his sword with a cloth. “Exchanging war stories over good whiskey.”

  “It’s good and aged, too,” Kila added. “The soldier I won it from swears he got it from a cask stored over twenty years.”

  “I see what you’re doing,” I called down from the hay bale. At least Kila jumped at my sudden shift. Kestral merely eyed me coolly.

  “Come down and train, Reshi.” Kestral sheathed his sword. “Kila says she’ll share the flask.”

  I narrowed my eyes at my sister. “Has it really aged twenty years?”

  “At least.” Kila shrugged. “Could be longer. I only had a taste of it; nearly knocked me straight over.”

  “You’re small so that’s not saying much.”

  Kila narrowed her eyes at me. “Come down here and say that, skinny blade.”

  Kestral set a hand on Kila’s elbow as if to hold her back. “We’ll just go over stances and a few movements. No sparring today.”

  I groaned, then slid carefully down the stacked hay. I had never particularly enjoyed training. It was boring and often it hurt. The Goldwater Whiskey had better be worth it. Kestral dropped my boots in front of me and I tied them on, refusing to ask when he had gotten them. I didn’t have my throwing knives on me, but my fae daggers were in their usual hidden sheaths.

  “We just want to make sure you survive the fight with our brothers,” Kila said. “This is all useless to me if you die and I end up getting all five powers.”

  “We could accomplish the same thing if I just hide and you two kill Velyn and Eagan,” I pointed out. “Since you’ve both decided I’m useless in a fight.”

  “Not useless,” Kestral said. “You’re impressive for someone without formal training. Kila and I just want to give you an edge.”

  I grumbled, but I allowed Kestral to show me several stances, most of which I had thought I knew already. He ran me through a few drills, which involved getting knocked out of stance and recovering it. That got boring fast. Afterwards, Kila drew two daggers about the size of mine and showed me several different paths of attack, only a few of which were new to me. At least with Kila’s training there was a real possibility of getting hurt, as she didn’t seem to care whether she cut me or not. Dodging her strikes held my attention, if nothing else.

  By midday I had worked up a sweat, which I despised. I could often get away with only washing my clothes out every once in awhile, thanks to Wix’s cloak and my shapeshifting. Today would be a different story entirely, especially if I wanted to dance again later tonight. Would my clothes even dry in time for that? Maybe Kestral had been right and I should have a second set of clothes. I took a long draught from a waterskin, finishing in time to see Kila accept a tray of food from the bar mistress. It was a plate of cold foods, pieces of bread, thinly sliced lamb from the night before and slabs of cheese. It seemed a small feast, considering I had only had a little milk for breakfast.

  “You looked like a better fighter yesterday,” Kila commented, layering lamb and cheese on top of a slice of bread. She topped it with a smear of jam before biting into it. “Everything you did today was wrong.”

  “Told you I’m not much for training,” I replied, rolling slices of lamb up inside a piece of cheese. “I can fight to the death, no problem. Training is just boring.”

  “You should be trying harder,” Kestral admonished, folding a piece of bread in half over slices of lamb. “Drills are what train you to react when you get distracted in the middle of a fight.”

  “You never see a nightblack cat get distracted in the middle of a hunt,” I replied with a shrug. “Or stags forget why they’re jousting each other. Animals don’t train and neither do I.”

  Kestral looked over at Kila. “There’s a little truth to that.”

  Kila rolled her eyes. “Nightblack cats also don’t stay up all night drinking ale and tripping over bar stools. If nothing else, training will make you stronger, Reshi.”

  “She’s right,” Kestral said, assembling another folded-bread meal from the tray.

  “You’re awfully agreeable today,” I commented, snatching the last piece of cheese. I felt like I could eat another whole tray of food. “Did you get to kick the dust off your boots last night while I wasn’t looking?”

  Kila laughed. “He never took his eyes off you, Reshi. Stars, it was like he expected the flutist to blow a dart at you, or every serving wench to slip poison in your drink. I thought he was going to flip the table over when you tried to dust up with that drunk girl.”

  Kestral looked away sharply, almost as if embarrassed, but before I could tease him, several uniformed soldiers rounded the inn, calling out to Kila.

  “Hey, Killer!” The lead soldier called out. “Commander said you weren’t in the field today, but I didn’t believe it.”

 
; “Yeah, I’m taking a few days to get to know my little brother.” Kila grinned at the soldier, but her hand went to her hilt. “Don’t get any ideas, now.”

  The soldiers laughed nervously. “Not as long as you’re with him, anyway,” another soldier said. “We wanted to ask where you’re staying tonight. You owe us a dice game.”

  I noticed a smaller hooded and robed figure standing behind the soldiers. I couldn’t see the face beneath the hood, but by its height I judged the figure to be female. She hovered behind the soldiers, saying nothing, face turned down. The robe she wore looked old and had been frequently patched. Was she a villager who had taken a liking to one of the soldiers? Maybe a message runner of some sort? She flinched each time one of the soldiers made a broad gesture as they chatted with Kila. I couldn’t say why, but something about her held my attention.

  “Just look for me somewhere along the broad street,” Kila said, waving off the soldiers. “I won’t decide where I’m staying until later.”

  “Not even a hint, Kila?” one of the soldiers whined.

  “If you ask me again, ask with steel.” Kila gave him a feral grin. The soldiers laughed, some with an edge of nerves, before they waved and departed. They were well out of sight before Kila released her hilt. “They were probably just here to size you up, Reshi. Rust, those bonded mages give me the shivers.”

  “Is that what the girl was?” I asked, turning back to Kestral and Kila. “What is a bonded mage? Are they captured mages from Viaparaiso?”

  Kila’s jaw dropped. It seemed I could surprise my siblings as much as they surprised me. She turned to Kestral who looked away, refusing to meet her eyes. “How does he not know? I thought . . .” She looked at me, eyes wide in shock. “You really don’t know?”

  “I asked you yesterday,” I reminded her.

  “Yes, but . . .” She shook her head slowly before rounding on Kestral. “How could you not have told him?”

  “He’s been a flight risk since day one,” Kestral replied shortly. “I thought knowing would scare him off.”