by Holly Evans
The cougars hadn’t been any help when I’d asked them what we were supposed to be looking for. It wasn’t as though there was going to be a big sign saying ‘criminal activities and connections here’. Tala had tried to convince Keirn to take his place, but his muse had been very much awake and ready to work, meaning he wouldn’t be leaving his art room all day. So, it was me and the little wolf making our way through the noisy crowds to somewhere a little more familiar.
Finally, the crowd broke, and we made our way to a collection of booths covered in inks and needles. Tattoo animals lounged out behind the table and Kyra clawed at my shoulder, wailing to be let free to play. I ignored her and allowed Aris out to drape himself over my shoulders. An older woman with an eagle perched on the edge of her table watched as Aris settled himself. I looked over her selection of needles and inks, pleased to see none of them were bone, but surely no one would be that stupid? Slowly we wandered, and Tala grew impatient again. He clearly wasn’t made for that situation, not that I was faring much better. I swore that someone had been watching us, but every time I looked in reflective surfaces I didn’t see anyone of note. I was getting paranoid.
Tala whined when we found ourselves in the hedgewitch portion of the space. The witches lounged back in their vine-made chairs, looking over the ornate bottles and boxes of herbs and potions. Familiars sat near them with jeweled collars, some in human form, some in animal form, all of them with dull eyes and looks of deep resignation on their faces. I put my hand in the middle of Tala’s back to try and offer him some support. I’d never let that happen to him. I knew the familiars were a normal and longstanding part of hedgewitch life, but I still made a mental note to speak to Fein about it. Perhaps something could be done to help the treatment of the poor creatures.
We stepped outside into a small courtyard to breathe after a couple of hours. Tala took a deep breath and walked around the perimeter, inspecting the high walls made of large blocks of stone. We were alone. The air was crisp and fresh, making me think we were no longer in the city. That meant that a series of very talented weavers had formed a gateway to another plane. I dreaded to think how much such a working must have cost. All for an expensive magicians’ gathering.
“You’re an ambassador, aren’t you?” a woman’s voice asked.
Aris tensed and Tala froze, staring at the doorway behind me. I turned slowly and put a charming smile on my face, trying to relax against the fear that flooded my system.
“An ambassador?” I asked.
She was leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed and a confident smile on her face. Her long blood-red hair fell over one eye and tumbled down her back in stark contrast to her well-fitted white shirt.
“That’s what my network says we are: ambassadors,” she said, taking a step closer to me.
The trio of delicate silver knives on her right hip caught the soft sunlight and marked her as a blood magician.
I raised an eyebrow.
“You speak to your magic network?” I said with a hint of mockery.
Fuck. Was she sent to try and trap me? Was she really like me? I had no idea what to do, but my instincts told me to grab Tala and run.
Her mouth spread into a sharp smile.
“Don’t play coy with me. I can feel it,” she said as she stepped closer.
I couldn’t deny there was something different about her. It tugged at the edge of my mind. There was a feeling of familiarity rolling off her, the sense that, somehow, she was a half-sister or something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. The space we’d been standing in felt as though it were slowly shrinking and closing in around us. She would make a very dangerous enemy. Blood magicians weren’t something you screwed around with.
Tala stood at my side, teeth bared, eyes hard and amber. The woman smiled sweetly at him and extended her hand to me.
“I’m Leona, ambassador to the blood network, and you are?”
How could she possibly be so bold as to introduce herself that way? I searched her face for some clue about a trap or a trick. She remained where she was, the genuine smile on her full red lips. I calmed myself. She could have attacked by now. At the very least she could have slashed my palm with one of those wicked silver knives and used a truth spell on me. Fucking blood magicians loved those.
“Dacian, tier-two tattoo magician,” I finally ground out.
She laughed, a full-bodied laugh that bubbled up and filled the space around us with joy. Her head tilted back and her hands went to her hips as she laughed like she’d never heard something so hilarious before.
“‘Tier two’ my ass! You’re the first one like me I’ve met, how about you stop with the bullshit and we talk frankly about this? Surely, you want to compare notes?” she said, the challenge dancing in her eyes.
It would be good to see how her network treated her, and maybe she had more information on how this was all supposed to work. Assuming she was as she said, that was. Keirn was understanding and sweet, but this Leona could really understand my situation. A pang of loneliness formed in my chest.
“Why don’t we go somewhere private? I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk such things where others can overhear,” I said cautiously.
“Lead the way,” she said, gesturing inside.
I had no idea where to take her. We couldn’t go home; I still wasn’t sure that she was safe or trustworthy. That, and I didn’t know if I could trust Tala with my secret.
“After you,” I said with a smile.
The glint in her eyes matched that of her silver knives, and I hoped I hadn’t just made a horrible mistake.
33
I'd sent Tala home, partly because I didn't want to risk him being hurt, and partly because I wasn't sure if I could trust him with the information about my being an ink magician. Leona strode through the conference like she owned it, and for all I knew, she could well have done. Tala snarled but headed home without comment, leaving me to follow the blood magician through the park to a small building that had seen better days.
The park wasn’t particularly busy. A few nymphs lazed out at the base of their trees and ignored the people that meandered down the well-worn path. Something about the space put me on edge, although that could well have been the blood magician and the situation I was walking into. We hadn’t seen anyone for a few minutes before we came to the building, not a soul to note what we were up to. The building looked as though it was at risk of falling down if someone so much as looked at it wrong.
"It used to be part of the college campus, back in the old days. People come here when they want a little privacy now," she said.
I looked around at the graffiti-covered walls with thick vines growing up them and the determined sapling that was pushing its way through the concrete floor in search of the sunlight pouring through the holes in the roof. It certainly didn’t offer much in the way of comfort, but I doubted people had much interest in the finer things in life when they went there.
"I didn't know that I was an ambassador, as the network calls it, until a couple of years ago. One minute I'm a normal blood magician trying to pay my bills, the next I'm an ambassador," she said.
I pulled on every shred of calm I could muster and gave her a calm smile.
"You seem very sure that I'm one of these ambassadors..." I said.
There was still a very real chance that this was a bizarre trap; there was a bounty on my head, after all. The blood magician had shown up out of nowhere. I couldn’t afford not to be suspicious.
Leona raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes at me.
"Stop bullshitting me, Dacian. We can both feel it. We're not the only ones, either. Word on the street is the ceremonials are trying to track down the ink magician, the blood worker, and the dream ambassador. I don't know about you, but I have no intentions of letting them get their filthy hands on me.”
I rolled my jaw, it was becoming harder and less reasonable to deny what I was. Perhaps she could offer some insight. The fact that
I wasn’t the only one was something of a relief, but the accompanying news of the ceremonials tracking down three of us sent a shiver down my spine. No good came from such things.
"Have you met any others?" I asked.
She smiled and leaned back against the corner support of the rickety building. Everything about her screamed confidence and comfort with her surroundings, and I found I envied that. I watched closely, almost surprised that the building withstood her weight against it.
"No, just you. I take it your wolf doesn't know what you are. Have you told anyone?"
I shrugged. There was no reason to give her more information than was absolutely necessary.
"A couple of people. I couldn't really hide it. I got pulled into a murder plot."
Her eyes lit up at that, her mouth spreading into an excited grin. "No way! Tell me about it."
"Someone was trying to steal magical tattoos in Wildrun. The network insisted that I stop them. I… I killed the thief. I had no choice," I said calmly.
The memory of his death, of his blood on my hands, still haunted me. I wasn’t a killer, or at least I wasn’t supposed to be. It seemed that was just another path I was being pushed down against my will. The possibility of my quiet life as a tattoo magician was shrinking by the moment, and the worst part was, I was becoming ok with that.
Her face scrunched with concern, although I’m not sure if that was because I’d killed someone or something else.
"I'm sorry, I should have been more considerate," she said quietly.
I didn’t want her sympathy. It felt wrong. I needed to change the topic.
"Do you know much of anything about how this ambassador thing works? My network is... stubborn and unhelpful," I said.
Smudges of grey blurred the edges of my vision as the network showed its dismay at my comment.
"Not really. My network said it’s my father, and it pushes me to stop people it feels are using it wrong. I've been dragged all across the city. Some guy was using blood magic to bring through children with blood magic and their own natural magic. It was a disaster. The kids couldn't handle the extra magic, so they broke."
She frowned and looked away, her fingers slipped over the hilts of her blades, where she ran her thumb over them in slow, soothing motions. For the first time since I’d met her, she looked fragile. Her confidence slipped, revealing a woman haunted by her past and possible future.
"I had to stop a pair of tattoo magicians who were using people like sleeper cells. They controlled them and used them to steal expensive objects," I said, hoping to bring her out of mind and away from the memories that clearly upset her.
It felt good to talk about these things. Keirn listened, but this Leona had a better understanding. The feeling of being pushed, pulled, and dragged to work for the network. It was hard to explain to someone that hadn’t experienced it firsthand. The corner of her mouth quirked up and her shoulders shifted back where her brazen confidence returned.
"Once my network decides on something, I can't go against it. It bugs me and infests my dreams until I cave and do what it wants. I... I fear that one day it'll drive me to do something I don't agree with," she said softly.
"I've been trying to push back against the ink network, to remind it that I'm not its puppet. It claimed it’s my mother and it only wants what's best for me. I don't really think that's true," I said with a small smile.
"The blood network said it's my father! Have you asked your parents about that? I mean, how does that even work?"
"I haven't found a way to ask my dad, my mom wasn't ever in my life. She vanished when I was a couple of weeks old."
"My dad pissed off when I was a couple of weeks old too! Do you think they somehow physically manifested as people? So they could make us?" she asked.
Excitement made her stand taller and pushed the concern from her eyes. I can’t say I was particularly excited at the prospect, but I much preferred her confidence over her quiet, withdrawn state.
"Maybe, but if they can do that, why not just act as the ambassadors themselves? Why make us?" I asked.
It was something I’d wondered in the dark hours of night. Of course, the network refused to answer any questions like that. It was very single minded and frustrating.
"Well, maybe they can only be physical for a year or something? We need to find out more about this. I've heard there are books devoted to the network ambassadors. We need to find them," she said, pushing off from the wall.
The entire building shuddered and creaked. I stepped outside, not wanting to be buried under the rubble. I certainly did like the idea of finding out more about myself, my heritage. My place in the world.
34
Leona was a far more enthusiastic personality type than I’d grown used to. She’d grabbed onto my hand and grinned at me. I fought back the instinct to recoil and smiled politely.
“It feels so good to have someone to share this shit with! Have you looked for books on this before? I’ve spent days looking online and found nothing of us. My gods, the amount of drivel and bullshit on there!”
I smiled and freed my hand from her grip.
“An old professor gave me a couple of books that talk around the subject of ink magicians, the philosophy and some mythology, but nothing concrete,” I said.
She calmed herself and smoothed down her shirt. I hadn’t meant to be rude or cold, but her boisterousness was entirely out of my comfort zone.
“My apologies, I just feel like I’ve been alone for this journey for so long. It feels good to be able to talk to someone.”
I tucked my hands into the pockets of my jeans. How was I supposed to reply to that? I’d never been much good at the feelings thing, especially with complete strangers.
“So where do we start? I don’t know most of this city. I’ve been in hiding, with the bounty on my head and all.”
“Do they know that’s you?” she said, taking a step back, her eyes widening.
“I don’t think so. I’ve had some people try and cover my tracks, but I’ve still not dared really explore the city.”
I hadn’t realised how trapped that had made me feel. Constantly looking over my shoulder, putting off potential nights out in favour of movie nights in. I’d always had the run of the city in Wildrun. I missed that.
“I’ve tried the libraries. Well, there’s the temple to the god of knowledge. There could be something in the archives there, but that would require pulling some strings.”
“They keep books there?” I asked.
I didn’t think I’d ever visited a temple or church, I’d assumed they were spaces purely for worship. She laughed, an effervescent sound that rippled through her entire body and made her eyes sparkle and dance.
“Yes, they do. They collect only the most interesting and unusual knowledge. I was planning on heading over there tomorrow, why don’t we go together now?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
My voice came out flatter than I’d intended. Of course, I wanted to know more, but the paranoia was eating at the back of my mind. I smiled and gestured for her to lead the way. I wasn’t going to live my life hidden away, scared of what could be.
Leona walked with absolute confidence, her head held high and her hair catching the gentle breeze around her face. She looked like a woman that faced the world with the assurance she could handle everything it threw at her, and she’d do it with a smile on her face. I envied that. I’d always been cautious, careful to keep my secret hidden. I hadn’t realised just how lonely and miserable that had made me until I’d grown closer to Keirn and the others. Having my elf and my friends around me brightened my life and lifted me up out of the darkness I hadn’t even been aware of forming. I didn’t think I’d ever be quite like Leona, with her bold attitude and willingness to do what she felt was necessary, but I hoped I could stop hiding and really live life.
We took two trams across the city and made our way through the streets of New Town before Leona brought us to a stop outs
ide of the small temple. The building sat snugly between two ornate gilt buildings with pristine white walls and elaborate wall decorations. Celestials cavorted and glared at those below, judging. The celestials had never sat well with me, being from another, supposedly higher plane of existence. They were tied into the gods, but just how had been debated for centuries. The ceremonials loved them, as they were so much easier to contact and work with than the gods themselves. The celestials were much more likely to grant them a little power or favour in return for whatever the ceremonials were offering.
The temple, however, was simple, with clean edges and writing in far more languages than I recognised etched into the pale grey marble. Leona paused on the shallow steps up to the heavy wooden doors. Her mouth tugged downwards into a gentle frown before she put her shoulders back and marched inside. The space inside was as simple and clean as it had been outside, with high walls covered in texts and a broad hallway before it. Leona smiled sweetly at the nervous young priest sweeping the entranceway and strode through into the main space as if she were the knowledge god himself. I followed behind her, unable to stop myself from smiling. There was something about her confidence that was contagious.
An older priestess in pale cream trousers and tunic approached Leona with a thin notebook in her hands. The priestess’ eyes were small, round, pale lilac beads. Her hair had been scraped back into a harsh bun, and her mouth was a narrow line that sat a little too far down her face.
“What brings you here, child?” she asked Leona.
Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, yet there was an edge there.
Leona grinned at her.
“We’re here looking for information about ambassadors,” she said.