by Ben Hale
"I've never eaten there," Katsuo said. "What else did they have?"
Sophia launched into a description of the various enchanted sweets and desserts from the shop. The others joined in the conversation, and Tess noticed it served to relax and distract them as they made their way toward the Magtherian. She smiled and nodded, but her tension did not ease.
Sentre felt disturbingly devoid of life. They saw a few mages, but their paths were hurried and they barely spared their group a glance. Each steered well clear of the Voidlings. Tess felt a wave of relief when they finally reached the courtyard that wrapped around the base of the Spirus.
" . . . but the secret is how they roast it with a candle charm," Katsuo was saying.
The others hesitated as they walked into the open, but Tess asked, "What else did the Brokins school do well?"
"As you would expect, Brokins served a lot of Chinese and Japanese cuisine," he said. "My family is from Tokyo, and my mother was a chef at the school."
Tess spotted the trio of Voidlings at the entrance to the Recollection. Resisting the urge to glance at them, she took courage from the fact that the enchanted walls had not been lowered. Surely if Alice didn't allow visitors to the Recollection she would have closed them. Swallowing at the knot of apprehension, Tess and Iris led the others past the Voidlings and into the display areas.
At least this time you are entering the Recollection during the day, Iris said into her mind.
Tess smothered a smile. The last time she'd entered the Recollection they had done so at night in order to search for the Oracle's Crest. They had been successful in their effort, but had inadvertently activated an ancient steel entity that had demolished the area in its pursuit of them.
Let's hope it doesn't end the same, Tess replied.
She heard a mental grunt of agreement from Iris. Tess took that to mean she was busy. A few steps later they drifted apart. Iris strode to a gravity lift and disappeared from view. Tess watched her go, her stomach tight. Derek had voiced his concern about her being able to monitor them while talking to her mom, and she'd nearly shocked him into unconsciousness.
Tess walked away and pretended to examine a set of glowing spears. If challenged they were supposed to pretend they were graduated students. As far as she could tell there were only a couple of people in the museum, so she considered a challenge unlikely. Just in case, she practiced the lie in her mind so it wouldn't sound untrue.
All clear, Iris said. I'm entering my mom's room now. You'll only have fifteen minutes, so make them count.
Tess wound her way to a small display on the balcony of the Recollection. Hidden behind an ancient dwarven shield, the small object probably went unnoticed by most. The display had previously held a nondescript gold ring. As of that morning the ring had been replaced with a white ethereal dagger.
"Iris, you did it," Tess breathed.
Have I ever let you down? Iris sounded annoyed.
Not yet.
Tess bent to examine the display case. All she had to do was remove it from the display without activating the alarm curses. Iris interrupted her with a message.
Sophia says you have about ten minutes before someone wanders over to you. And my army has blinded the monitoring motes, for now.
Tess nodded and set to work. Threads of energy materialized to her vision as she delved into her magesight. She sent a mental note of gratitude to Professor Nicholas for teaching her the countercharm to a nightshriek curse. Caressing the magic, she cast the requisite throatstop spell. Holding her breath, she brushed her hand against the thread of magic that activated the curse. It released a tiny squeak, but went off without shattering her eardrums.
With a little help from Iris she disarmed the obvious spark hex, leaving only the anti-magic shroud. Invisible without the right magesight, the shroud would appear in the presence of flesh—and shackle the offender's hand with unbreakable bonds. There was just one problem . . . she had no idea how to get past it.
The seconds ticked away as she sought desperately for a method to get the dagger. If she failed now they would not get another chance. The loophole that Iris had exploited had already been discovered, and it was only a matter of time before they transferred the blade back into the battlemage headquarters.
Katsuo tried to distract her, but that woman is headed your way. Looks like she recognized you.
Tess ground her teeth together. Running out of time, she had an idea. Casting a speed charm on her body, she reached in and caught the hilt. The anti-magi shroud closed with an audible snap—grazing her hand as she withdrew.
Hearing footsteps behind her, she slid the dagger up her sleeve. She shivered as the cool vapor blade came in contact with flesh. Then she spun to face the new threat.
"I knew it was you," the woman said, her eyes widening. "Why are you here?"
Tess kept her body between the woman and the empty case. "You must have me confused with someone else."
The well-dressed woman shook her head. "You are the Oracle. I have wanted to meet you since I heard you had appeared."
The hope in her voice kept Tess from brushing past her. "Who are you?"
"Dalia. I used to be the caretaker of the Recollection until they took over. I come here every day to check on it."
Tess sensed a thread of integrity in her, prompting an honest answer. "I just came to retrieve something," Tess said, "But I can't be discovered here."
Dalia nodded firmly. "Only the battlemage resistance will hear of your presence. Be safe, Oracle. Know that many believe that you will return our freedom."
Her mouth dry, Tess said, "I hope I can live up to your hopes."
Dalia smiled. "You will." Then she turned and departed, her footfalls lighter than before.
Unsure of what to make of the encounter, Tess dropped from the balcony and angled her course back through the displays. Katsuo, Kyle, and Sophia had been keeping watch, but now they drifted toward Tess. She moved to join them, and forced herself to slow her pace.
Her hurried path took her past the center of the displays. In the midst of the enchanted weapons, artifacts, and images, the Second Draeken War monument represented a focal point to the massive chamber.
The first time she'd seen the black obelisk and enormous sword she hadn't understood what it stood for. Now as she passed it, her thoughts turned to Hawk, who had fought in the war ten thousand years ago. It was from him that she'd learned so much, and she wondered what he would think of their plan.
Tess. You need to get moving. I'm almost done.
Hang on, Tess responded. One of the artifacts to fight the Dark is Tryton's Sword.
She bent to examine the massive weapon. Wielded by King Tryton himself, the sword had been used to slay the mighty War. It remained embedded in the very rock it had fused to after killing the fiend general.
Even if you can pull it, what would you do? It's not going to fit in your pocket!
Iris sounded stressed, but Tess didn't respond. She only needed a moment. She reached out and touched the hilt, and her skin tingled. She delved into her magesight and scanned the blade, but was unable to identify the latent power still slumbering within it. She frowned, and tried a second time.
At over a foot in width, the troll greatsword was fashioned of steel and titanium, the modern name for dwarven mithral. Built to withstand enormous temperatures and blended by using forgotten dwarven techniques, it retained its edge in defiance of age. It also contained a glass core, granting the weapon an elegant and lighter look than most swords.
The hilt had been stopped by the War's breastplate, so it remained two feet off the ground. Siarra had said that removing the sword was the challenge, so Tess lowered her gaze to the rock underneath. Her magesight penetrated the stone, but to her dismay she saw that the material was fuzzy, indicating it had melted into the material around it.
Using the cleaving charm she'd learned from Derek, she attempted to separate the sword from the surrounding rock. The energy within the blade with
stood her efforts, so she switched to a different spell and tried again. At every turn the Sword refused to budge.
After several attempts she realized that the problem was twofold. The sword's own enchantments reinforced the bond, making it impossible to move unless one managed to scale them back for a few moments. At the same time, separating it from the stone required a different spell. Stiffened with dwarven smithing techniques and enchantments, the titanium and steel blade could not retake its shape without the same combination of spells—from an oracle.
I need a second pair of hands. The thought came to her with certainty, and she realized why no one had ever been able to pull the sword. Not one, but two oracles were needed. One to contain the swords enchantments, and the other to reform the metal.
Tess . . .? Iris spoke in a rising tone, the warning evident even through the mindspeak.
Tess stepped away from the sword and assumed a nonchalant pose before walking away. Then she saw it. Voidlings had appeared at all the exits, cutting off any thought of escape. Through the maze of walkways she saw her friends almost to her, their expressions worried.
"Iris," she whispered aloud. "What happened?"
I don't know, I think someone managed to get past our charms—Grant, get that shroud back up!—but the only person that could do that is . . .
"Iris . . . ?" Tess asked. The Voidlings had hemmed them in and were beginning to glide into the Recollection. However they had done it, the Harbingers had figured out that the horrending blade had been taken.
. . . out of there! Iris's voice sounded full of static. I blurred your faces, but it's only a matter of time until . . . it's Keidon . . . and . . . shut us out! They are shackling me. I can't . . . Iris screamed in fury—and then silence.
The absence of the connection sounded loud in Tess's mind, and Tess knew that Iris was gone. Sophia, Kyle, and Katsuo closed the distance and reached her side. Before they could speak, she barked, "Winds out!"
It was a common order in Tempest, and indicated that the players should fly in the directions of the four winds to avoid danger. Taking her own advice she launched herself into the air and rocketed North. The others peeled off in the other three directions and streaked out of the Recollection.
Most of the Voidlings followed Tess, and the moment she was outside she cast a meteor charm. Bile rose in her throat from the magic required in the casting, but she forced herself to continue as she counted the seconds. The spell was one that Hawk had taught her, but he'd explicitly warned her not to use it unless it was an emergency. Above and behind her the heat collected into a massive, plummeting sphere of ignited oxygen. Thickening to the point of solid steel, it emitted a rising shriek before it struck.
Glass shattered and the courtyard stones disintegrated. A wave of heat washed over her and she looked back to see the Voidlings reforming inside the flames. It had slowed them, but not killed them. It was all she needed.
Pouring her power into her flight, she streaked into the trees and wove through the trunks. In seconds she'd left all pursuit behind. Once she was certain she was alone she angled her flight to the side of the city and dropped off the edge. Hugging the underbelly of Auroraq, she headed to Tryton's and slipped into the school. A few minutes later she caught the light building gate to Siarra's Refuge.
"Sophia made it," Derek said the moment she appeared. "But she went south." His face was rigid with concern. "We haven't heard from Iris."
"And the others?"
"Katsuo went east, and Iris's techno wall is tracking him. It looks like he lost his pursuers."
"Kyle?"
Derek gave a shake of his head, causing her gut to tighten. She strode to where a crowd of her friends were gathered around Iris's techno wall. Quad stood rigid in front of it, watching the memory of his brother.
"I . . . I'm not sure what happened," Quad said. "I don't know how Iris didn't see Keidon retake the motes. She managed to blur out your forms so no one knows it was you, but they still knew that someone had taken the horrending dagger."
"Derek," Tess said. "What happened to Kyle?"
Derek spoke into her ear. "He ran into a patrol of Harbingers on the way out."
"So he got caught too?"
Derek shook his head. "He fought back."
Tess read it in their eyes, and her heart stuttered to stop. "Please tell me that he . . ."
She couldn't say it. Her words sounded hollow, but her fears were confirmed when they shook their heads. Then she saw it happen on the memory wall. Battling with the intensity that Tess had seen in Tempest games, he blasted Harbingers while twin fire golems guarded his back. Three Harbingers fell, but a moment later he went down under a hail of curses.
He didn't rise again.
Horror filled Tess as she watched him die, numbing and piercing at the same time. Unable to quell the turmoil within her she turned on her heel and strode away. Anger, desperation, and guilt swept through her, causing her to ignore Derek's plea to her back.
Tess had gotten someone killed—and lost Iris. It had been her choice to go after the dagger, and it was her fault they hadn't made it back intact. For the first time she felt that the war had come to her. Others she'd known had been hurt, but none had lost their lives. Rage and guilt stabbed into her chest, hot and biting. How could she have been so blind? How could she have been so arrogant? She clenched her hands, her fury rising . . .
"You could have prevented it if you had practiced your farsight."
The voice came from Eleana. Invisible to everyone but her, the entity that Siarra had created had hardly spoken since Tess had begun bringing her friends into the refuge. Tess spun to face her, a hissing retort on her lips. It went unvoiced. Eleana was right. She had been so focused on getting to Alice she had neglected her own magic.
And Kyle and Iris had paid the price.
Chapter 39: Farsight
By the next morning the news that Kyle had been killed had spread throughout Auroraq. Stunned disbelief reflected from the students and professors at Tryton's. Because of his role on the Tempest team, most of the students had at least known who he was. The fact that he had died at the hands of Harbingers caused the shock to give way to anger.
By nightfall a group of parents and former battlemages attempted an assault on the Magtherian. Rather than Harbingers, Voidlings met them and left them all darkened on the ground, but alive. Apparently in an attempt to ease the sudden tension, Alice released a statement to the news that his death had been because he failed to submit to authorities, and that he'd participated in a theft in the Spirus.
Tess vacillated between rage and misery. Her classes that weren't cancelled were a blur as she struggled to come to terms with his loss, and Iris's absence. It was no consolation that the Harbingers still did not know the identity of Kyle's companions. Her friends had trusted her.
She had failed them.
At some point during the sleepless night her sadness hardened into a cold resolve. She had lost one friend to Alice, and did not know if another was alive. She would not lose another. Now that she had someone to train her in farsight, it was high time she took advantage of it.
"I'm going to spend tonight in the refuge," Tess said to Derek at breakfast.
She didn't say that the previous night's silence had been torture. She hadn't realized how much she'd gotten used to Iris's late night chattering. The quiet had been excruciating.
Derek nodded, his eyes blank as he woodenly ate his dinner. His expression made it clear that Tess wasn't the only one dealing with the guilt, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She left and didn’t see him the rest of the day. As dusk fell she left Stel in her room and strode to the plant practicum rooms. She vastly preferred the Ironguard at the fire school, but she didn't want to draw too much attention to her entering and leaving there.
Much like the dorms, the plant school was made up of a collection of gigantic trees. Large open-air classrooms were nestled in the interlocking branches, and smaller branches formed
spiral staircases around the trunk. Enchanted vines hung to the ground, allowing students to be lifted up or down if they desired.
Forty-eight classrooms were spread between nine trees. Beneath the canopy a garden flourished. Plants of every type imaginable grew in abundance. She detoured around the clinging nettle, not in the mood for the viney hugs it was named for. She did slow when she walked through the white luzeyls. With a fragrance of roses and jasmine, the flowers blossomed at dawn and closed at dusk.
"Tess." She turned to find Drake leaning against a tree, a Voidling at his side. "Why was Kyle on Sentre?"
His tone was soft, as if he didn't care about the answer, but his eyes glowed with anger.
"Don't act like you care," Tess replied evenly.
His expression darkened. "Don't forget that he was my friend too."
"You were never his friend," Tess said. "Or you would have protected him."
He regarded her through hate-filled eyes. "You got him killed, didn't you?"
Yes. "Why are you here, Drake?"
"I wanted to warn you." He pushed off the tree and drifted closer. "The Master gave them a chance to surrender—gave everyone a chance to join her. Now that they have refused, she has authorized us to deal greater punishments. Anyone caught helping Hawk will have their magic stripped, and be cast down to live with the dying aurens." His lips pulled into a vindictive smirk. "Even students will be subject."
Tess had to tighten her fists not to blast him. "They're just kids."
"The line has been drawn," Drake said coldly. "Age doesn't matter anymore. We all serve the Master. Those that don't have no place with the mages."
Tess felt sick. Turning on her heel, she strode away before she got herself into trouble. She didn't turn when he called to her.
"I'm going to enjoy taking your magic, Tess."
Not if I take yours first.
She kept walking, and he didn't try to stop her. A moment later she descended the roots to the underground practicum chambers. All of them were empty, so she chose one at random and stepped into the root entombed space. Plants, mushrooms, and other vegetation grew in a ring around the alcove. Smaller roots wove across the opening behind her, closing the door. Then the plant entity appeared on the opposite side of the room. Shaped in a recessed oval, the grain of the wood shifted to form the features of a beautiful woman.