Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1)

by Kayleigh Nicol

  “Ah.” I turned the gauntlet over in my hands, looking from the runes up to Kestral. Why did he look so uneasy? The answer occurred to me a moment later. “Could you make a rune against my magic?”

  Kestral nodded again, turning the gauntlet over and over in his hands. “I could, but your magic is complicated. It’s not typical battle-magic, so the only rune I think might work would be an anti-nature rune. It would only block your connection to animals, though. I don’t think it would work on your shapeshifting.”

  “Huh. Well, I guess that’s the advantage of having weak magic.” I shrugged as I set the gauntlet aside.

  Kestral locked his eyes on mine. “I haven’t etched a rune against your magic. And I don’t plan to. So, don’t go running away.”

  I laughed, pushing myself off the floor. “How can I run away when you bring me ale?”

  “Are you going to help me clean this mess up?” Kestral asked.

  I cocked an eyebrow at him. “How are you going to make me?”

  Kestral’s smile was just a tiny bit devilish.

  The mess and the ale remained forgotten the rest of the night.

  Kestral kept us to a schedule, which allowed for a stop at an inn once every two weeks of travel. This kept Kila in full wineskins so she didn’t murder us in our sleep and gave Kestral and me a little privacy. It gave me something to look forward to after long days of travel. Seriously, how big was this kingdom? It hadn’t felt so large back in my caravan days. The one thing I missed, even at our inn stops, was contact with people other than Kila and Kestral. While they got to drink and carouse with the locals, I was stuck in the room alone. One night when Kestral was particularly late in coming up to the room, I made friends with an owl roosting outside my window. I found myself wondering how owls could see at night when almost no other bird could. Even after Kestral came back to the room and distracted me, I found myself wondering about animal night-eyes and how they differed from day-creatures. It became a common distraction for me to muse over while waiting for Kestral to come to bed.

  It didn’t take long for my scholarly musings to bore me and I once again began petitioning that Kestral allow me to socialize at an inn. I argued that since no one had recognized Kila and she was by far the more recognizable of the two of us, I should be able to go about incognito as well. Kestral crushed this argument beneath his heel, saying having Kila in the open was risky enough; having two people with unusually colored eyes in our party would have every mage hunter within a three-village radius descending upon us.

  I hated admitting it, but at the next village stop he was proven right.

  “What’s with all the black lace in the windows?” Kila asked, riding her gelding side-saddle and trying to keep her head down even as she looked up and down the village street.

  I stuck my head out of her apron pocket to see it for myself. Every window, signpost and shop flew a bit of black lace. The villagers we passed all wore a bit of black tied at their wrist, ankle, or neck as a scarf. They spoke softly to each other in small groups, glancing up as we passed on our way to an inn.

  “Probably the death of a noble,” Kestral replied, glancing around. “Take care here . . . Darling.”

  Kila and I both grimaced at his monotone use of the term of endearment. She dropped her eyes, if only to make a face at me. I squeaked a laugh before crouching low inside her pocket. Kestral took care to help Kila down from her saddle and tied both horses up outside the inn. Inside Kila stood back, eyes down, while Kestral negotiated rooms for the night.

  “We’ve been on the road a while,” Kestral told the innkeeper. “Has one of this region’s nobles just passed?”

  The innkeeper’s eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “Not one of our nobles, no. Our good queen has passed on. Stars light her way.” The innkeeper bowed her head reverently. Luckily, she missed Kila’s eyes flashing up as she gasped in surprise. Kestral mimicked the innkeeper’s posture, shooting a look back at Kila. She quickly dropped her head.

  “How long ago did our queen pass into the Canvas?” Kestral asked when the innkeeper raised her head again.

  “Oh, we only got the news here a few days ago. Runners have been visiting all the villages, so it’s not surprising you didn’t hear.” The innkeeper rustled some papers beneath the bar. “Here’s the original announcement. It appears she died about a month ago. The capital is in full mourning. If that’s where you’re headed, you should buy yourself some mourning lace.”

  “A wise suggestion. Thank you.” Kestral scanned the written announcement quickly. I noticed the paper crinkle in his clenched fist. “What is this part about Laurana’s mage-born? Has there been new information released about the seven?”

  “Five now, if you can believe it.” The innkeeper shook her head. “I don’t know all the details, but the outpost here received new postings with more portraits. I heard the bounties were doubled! Can you believe it?” She laughed nervously. “It almost makes you want to become a hunter, doesn’t it?”

  Kestral remained silent a moment longer, staring at the page. He finally set it down, smoothing it where he had wrinkled it. “Could you please send our dinners up to our rooms tonight?”

  “No trouble at all.” The innkeeper passed over a set of keys before calling stable-hands to bring the horses around back. Kestral ushered Kila ahead of him up the stairs to our rooms. After pulling the door shut and testing the lock on it, he held up a hand to indicate we should stay silent. Kestral crossed the room to close the shutters, then rolled up a drying cloth, placing it against the crack between the door and the floor. I climbed down Kila’s apron, shifting to human before fully reaching the floor. We both watched Kestral nervously as he made the room as soundproof as possible.

  Finally, he nodded and waved for us to sit down.

  “I am going to the military outpost,” he said, voice soft. “We need to know how accurate the new sketches are.”

  “Isn’t that reckless?” Kila asked. She had pulled her hair over her shoulder and was braiding it rapidly.

  “Yeah, Kestral, think about it.” I tried to keep the fear out of my voice, but it crept in anyway. “You fought alongside us against the southern army. They could have your description, too.”

  “It’s a risk, but I have to take it.” Kestral looked from me to Kila. “Can you tell where Reina is?”

  Kila scowled. “We’re not a couple of pigoblins, sniffing out fairies.” Regardless, we both shifted our eyes to the east.

  Kestral shook his head. “We’re getter closer and closer to the big cities. There will be more mage hunters with more advanced methods for finding mages. We need to know what they know so we can hide from them.”

  “But we’re not heading straight for the capital,” Kila protested. “That would be straight north from here. We’re heading somewhere east of there.”

  I shivered. Giltner was one of the eastern cities outside the capital.

  “We’re going to end up in one of the cities near the capital. That’s bad enough. It’s like walking into a dragon’s den with only wooden weapons. I need to see the new bounty information.”

  “What if I go instead?” The suggestion surprised me, even though I was the one who made it. Kila and Kestral gaped at me, clearly shocked. I gulped before continuing, “Even if they have my face, they can’t know my powers. No one would have seen me shifting, either in the town or at the battle. I can sneak in, see the bounties, then sneak out.”

  Kila looked to Kestral. “You know, they’ll have the bounties posted on the wall at the outpost. It’s not the worst idea.”

  “No.” Kestral’s eyes might as well have turned to ice chips. “You’re not going out alone.”

  “Why not?” I challenged, sounding more confident than I felt. “I’m used to sneaking through shadows and no one even knows to look for me.”

  Kestral narrowed his eyes dangerously. I knew he was trying to come up with a better plan, so I barreled on, “What happens if they do have your description,
Kestral? If they catch you, they’ll know Kila and I are here. We’d have to fight our way out and find Reina without you. That’s if Velyn and Eagan don’t catch us first.”

  “Reshi is right,” Kila insisted. “There isn’t anyone who knows about his forms who could have reported them. Even if they did, Reshi has the best chance of escaping capture and warning us if hunters come looking for us.”

  “How would he warn us?” Kestral asked.

  I laughed. “That’s easy. I’d have Shan kick down the barn. Would that be a clear enough signal for you?”

  Slowly, reluctantly, Kestral nodded. “If you’re not back in two hours, I’m coming after you.”

  “It won’t take that long.” I stood, tossing my cloak tight over my shoulders. “Just don’t forget to order an extra dinner for me.”

  Kestral opened a shutter for me and I fluttered outside, perching on the sill so I could look around for the military outpost.

  “Reshi.” I turned back, meeting Kestral’s eyes. Was he concerned? Scared? His eyes betrayed nothing. “Be careful.”

  I gave him a bird’s jerky nod before taking wing. I circled the village once, noting the outpost near the road that would take a traveler towards the capital. I landed on its roof and spent a handful of minutes observing the people who entered and exited the building. Most were simple workers—post carriers, peace keepers, a stable-hand. I followed the stable-hand around the back of the building, sneaking into the military’s stable behind him as a rat. At least two of the horses stabled here appeared to be mage hunter horses, or possibly soldiers on leave. Either could prove problematic if I ran into them. I climbed to the hay loft above the barn, shifted back to crow, then flew around to the front of the building. When I judged that the outpost was mostly empty and possibly closing up for the day, I shifted to cat form, sneaking around the side and leaping through an open window.

  Luckily, almost all military outposts followed the same layout. A long counter was set up between the waiting area and the business area, so I was able to slink beneath the counter unseen. The bounty board was on the far side of the door, blanketed with pages and pages of sketches. After looking around carefully and noting that this side of the room was empty, I took a long, hard look at the bounty board.

  My own face jumped out at me first. It was just a black-and-white sketch, the kind meant to be churned out rapidly rather than precisely, so it wasn’t a perfect picture. It was close enough, however, that my human form would certainly be recognized. I memorized the bounty number, though it meant nothing to me. I had long since forgotten exactly how much my head was worth. It took me longer to puzzle out the words beneath my portrait. They had no information on my magic but detailed that I fought with daggers. That was an unfortunate note.

  I found Kila’s picture next, along with portraits of Velyn and Eagan. My tail lashed as I tried recalling all the numbers beneath the faces. Velyn, Eagan and I shared the same number, Kila’s was a bit higher. Probably owing to the number of mage hunters she had slain previously. There was also an announcement proclaiming Cera and Laki officially deceased.

  I couldn’t find a portrait of Kestral anywhere on the board. After a bit of searching, I noted a page that said an ex-soldier might be traveling with the mage-born, but it didn’t say who he was traveling with, nor did it mention him by name. A warm feeling of relief filled my chest; they didn’t know about Kestral yet.

  I heard voices and cowered in my dark corner. The door in the middle of the counter swung open and a pair of heavily booted feet tromped out, stopping to lock the front door as they left for the day. I hadn’t noticed the clerks closing up windows and dousing lanterns. How long had I been here? Hopefully Kestral hadn’t gotten up to anything stupid. I slunk across the room to the window where I had entered. The shutters were closed too tightly for a cat to fit, but a rat could squeeze right through. Once outside, I shifted again, flying back to our room at the inn.

  The shutter to the room was open a crack. I flapped awkwardly outside the window as I tapped my beak against the closed one. The cracked shutter flew open so quickly it nearly hit me. Kila stretched out her arm, letting me land on it so she could bring me inside.

  “I told you he would be back soon,” Kila told Kestral as I shifted back to my human form. Kestral was near the room’s door, stuffing the drying cloth under it once again.

  “Aw, did you miss me, Kestral?” I winked at him. “Or were you just afraid some other hunter would get my bounty?”

  Kestral ignored my questions. “What did you find?”

  I reported on the bounties and sketches as I uncovered my dinner plate. A thick fish stew with buttered rolls and vegetables. Not one of our better dinners, but the stew was good.

  “But they don’t have a sketch of you, Kestral,” I finished, sipping from a mug of ale. Ugh, it was Kila’s pale ale. Better than nothing, I guess. “One report mentions a former soldier, but no description.”

  “It was probably the gauntlets that gave you away,” Kila said, grabbing her ale away from me. “They didn’t have time to properly identify you while you were grounding all their spells.”

  “Probably,” Kestral admitted. He leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, deep in thought. “Reshi, you said you think there are mage hunters in town?”

  “Or soldiers on leave.” I shrugged. “I only saw their mounts.”

  Kestral nodded, deep in thought. Kila tried to snatch a roll of my plate. I planted my spoon on the back of her hand, pinning it before it could escape with the prize. We sparred silently for a moment. I had to bite her before she released the roll. She made a threatening gesture with her sword. I merely tipped my head towards Kestral with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and leaned back, losing interest in the fight. Sometimes having a sister was kind of fun. If I was honest, though, having a Kestral was a lot more fun.

  Kestral straightened. “There’s no way to avoid taking some chances, but at least in the cities it should be easier to blend in as long as we avoid running into any mage hunters. Do either of you know where Velyn and Eagan are?”

  I shrugged, even as I turned towards the south. Kila, scowling, faced the same way as I did.

  “Are they close?”

  “We’re not scent hounds, Kestral,” Kila snapped.

  “And they know my forms, so I can’t spy on them,” I added.

  “We have to assume that they’re also trying to find Reina. With Velyn’s far-sight, it’s really only a matter of time before they locate her.” Kestral paused, watching me.

  At the mention of Reina’s name, I stared vaguely eastward. Kestral reached into a nearby satchel and drew out a map. He smoothed it out on the floor and placed a marker over our current village. He then traced a line with his finger northeast, ending up in one of the great inland seas. “Reina should be somewhere along this line. Let’s make some guesses.”

  “She was noble, right? Like Eagan?” Kila asked.

  “Yes, and kept in the capital until the prince was born.”

  “You said she was educated, right?” I shivered. The line Kestral had traced passed right through Giltner. “Like, schools and academies?”

  “Yes.” Kestral tapped several cities known for their schools. “But she would be recognized at any university she previously attended.”

  “We can’t assume that,” Kila pointed out. “We don’t know anything about her magic. She could be an illusionist, or even a shapeshifter like Reshi.”

  “Why would she go back to school, though?” I asked. “Aren’t noble ladies raised to get married, keep household accounts and have babies?”

  “Right.” Kila rolled her eyes. “That’s what all women want from life, to raise babies.”

  “No, Kila, I just meant—”

  “Wait.” Kestral held up a hand. “You’re both right. There are only a few acceptable paths for noble women to take. Marriage, the Order, a queen’s attendant, or teaching.”

  “Teaching?” Kila and I echoed.

 
Kestral’s finger rested over the city of Emlenton, home to the most notable tower of learning in the country.

  “Let’s bet on that.” Kestral tapped his map. “We’ll take some risks and travel the main road rather than the backwoods. That means we’ll be passing through cities, not these little towns. Reshi—”

  “I know, I know,” I groaned. “I’m going to live in my animal forms.”

  Kestral nodded. He took a breath before turning to Kila. “How do you feel about cutting and dyeing your hair?”

  “I don’t know,” Kila mused. “How do you feel about cutting your throat and dying?”

  “We don’t have to cut it,” I said, trying to avoid actual violence. “You need to wear some black lace, right? If you can find a black lace hairnet, we can tie it up, so it looks shorter. And Kila, there are powders that can darken your hair and then wash right out. That’s not so bad, right?”

  Kestral gave me an evaluating look while Kila considered the compromise. After a beat, Kila agreed, but she wasn’t pleased about it.

  “I can get the hairnet tomorrow when I get my own black lace,” Kestral told me. “But where do you get powdered hair dye?”

  I grimaced and tapped a spot on the map. “We’re passing right by here, right? I know a shop. I can get new knives, too.”

  Kestral eyed the city then looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.

  I shrugged. “Home sweet home, right?”

  Giltner was exactly how I remembered it. The same decrepit buildings, the same fetid odor, the same feeling of despair. I flew overhead, marking the familiar buildings below me. My orphanage had burned down at some point. If I could smile, I would have.

  Kestral had refused to let us stay inside the city limits, insisting our throats would be slit merely because we were outsiders. For once, I completely agreed with him, though Kila protested she was more than a match for a city of thieves and assassins. She only relented when I pled with her, saying it was hard enough facing my past alone. It would break me to see pity in her eyes, or worse, in Kestral’s. She and Kestral set up our campsite while I went ahead into the city.