The scene was one of chaos. Three swordsmen in yellow and black tunics were rushing forward while a wizard in a yellow robe was preparing another spell. Lizor was swinging his bar at the first swordsman and Ebudae saw the object hit the man in the shoulder, breaking bones underneath from the force.
Frank was on the ground, bleeding from a fatal wound. A swordsman standing over him had blood all over his blade. Juggles was climbing over crates to the side of Lizor in the hopes of getting to the wizard. The third swordsman was attacking Aphry and Glav who were standing over Karla who was covering Jovias with her body. Pelya leapt forward to help them while Ebudae cast a fast nullification spell on the wizard.
It was an advanced spell she had learned from a series of ancient tomes on wizard-to-wizard fighting and she had always wanted to test her skills against someone else. One of the biggest disadvantages of her solitude was that it prevented her from interaction with other wizards.
The wizard was shocked when his energy evaporated into the air around him. He frantically looked around before his eyes rested on Ebudae who had already begun the next spell. He stared open-mouthed when he should have been trying to prepare another spell.
Ebudae was depending on Pelya to keep her safe from the swordsmen while she cast. It was frightening, but they had always looked out for each other that way. While concentrating on the wizard, she didn’t see the sword pierce Aphry’s stomach just before Pelya arrived. Nor did she see the man who had killed Frank swing his sword at Lizor. The big man parried with his bar and the weapons hit each other with such force that it broke the swordsman’s wrist. He screamed in pain and grabbed the wrist with the other hand as the sword clattered to the ground.
The wizard pulled something out of a pouch, suddenly realizing that he needed to defend himself. It was too late. Ebudae released the spell, thrilling at the force of the wind slamming into her back and blowing her hair forward. A small orb of purple and black energy sparkled with lightning as it flew from her hand into the wizard’s mouth just when he took a breath.
The effect was horrifying as it expanded into his head, causing it to explode with a crackling effect that sent bits of skull and grey matter onto the ceiling and wall behind him. The body fell to the ground, convulsed for a moment, and then lay there twitching.
Ebudae looked for the next target to aim her magic at. Lizor swung his bar into the head of the guard with the broken hand, crushing the man’s skull. The swordsman whose shoulder had been broken was dead from Juggles’ knife.
Aphry was lying on the ground in shock while clutching the wound with blood-covered hands. Ebudae saw Pelya disarm the last swordsman with a deft move. Then she put her sword at the man’s neck.
“I yield!” The man put his hands in the air.
Pelya took a step back, holding sword at the ready. “I accept.”
Then Glav stabbed the man in the side of the neck.
“NO!” Pelya screamed. “He yielded! You just murdered him!”
Glav was startled and let go of the knife as the swordsman desperately grabbed at it, gurgling blood as he fell. Pelya lifted her sword as though to kill Glav.
She restrained herself as Glav held up his hands defensively. Pelya settled for moving forward and punching him in the face with both fists wrapped around the hilt. Glav’s nose caved under the blow and he fell to the ground, crying from pain and surprise. “You murdered him!” Pelya screamed again.
There was no one left for Ebudae to fight, so she moved to Aphry and leaned over to look at the wound. Pelya and the others joined her, except for Glav who was busy holding his broken nose while sobbing. Karla stayed with Jovias who was leaning against a crate.
“It is a fatal blow,” Juggles said from over Ebudae’s shoulder.
Tears streamed down Aphry’s face and a trickle of blood appeared from the corner of her mouth. Pelya looked at Ebudae expectantly. The one magic Ebudae was terrible at was anything related to healing. However, her grandmother had given her vials of healing salve. They were expensive and the condition was that Ebudae would have to tell her grandmother the truth about why it was used. “Ebudae . . .” Pelya looked at her and gestured to the hurt woman.
The only reason Ebudae took the vial of healing salve out of its secret place was because Pelya was suffering from the deaths around her and the anguish covered her features. The stopper on the vial came out easily. Ebudae removed the woman’s hands and poured the glowing, blue liquid onto the open wound.
She used all of it because that’s the only way it would work properly. Divine enchantments, such as healing, required either complete faith or complete use for the Gods to impart their blessing.
The salve flowed into the wound, drawing the nearby blood with it. It took a few seconds for the injury to close and the blood to flow back into the corner of Aphry’s mouth. The woman looked at Ebudae in surprise as she took a deep breath and sat up straight.
“I have to explain that to Grandmother,” Ebudae accused, shaking the vial at Pelya while standing.
“I’m sorry,” Pelya said with tears in her eyes while also standing.
Ebudae softened. “Don’t be. You were right. I just hate . . .”
“I know.” Pelya drew her up in a hug. Then the warrior burst into tears and Ebudae comforted her.
“Will that work on Frank?” Juggles asked, squatting over the dead man.
“It was all I had,” Ebudae lied. “And if he’s dead, it wouldn’t work anyway.” That part was true.
Aphry stood, an expression of amazement on her face. “You saved my life. I know how expensive healing salve can be . . .”
Ebudae buried her face into Pelya’s shoulder, much as Pelya’s face was buried into hers. Going with Carnies was turning out to be a bad idea and she had no idea how they were going to get away with everything that had happened. There were dead bodies and witnesses left behind.
“How did you find me?” Jovias asked in a cracked voice.
“Joma told us that he sent you here,” Karla told him. We broke in and found a secret passage.” She looked around at everything. “Jovias? This is bad.”
“They brought me to this room and beat me until I signed over our stage. They kept beating me and then they . . .” A look of horror crossed his face and tears flowed from his eyes.
“I hate to interrupt, but I think I hear voices.” Juggles pointed at the secret passage back the way they had come. “We should go.”
“Yes. Let’s go.” Jovias stood. He wobbled, but Karla steadied him.
“What about Frank?” Lizor asked, pointing at the body.
“We don’t have time,” Juggles said. He stepped over the body of the wizard, doing his best to avoid looking at it, and then he closed the door. “We have to go now.”
“Lizor will carry our friend.” The big man reached over, picked up Frank and hefted him over his shoulder. Lizor glanced at the body of the swordsman he had killed and looked away. Ebudae could tell that he was shaken as well.
“We go out the other door and pray it takes us somewhere safe,” Aphry said, leading the way. Glav was glaring at Pelya while holding his bloody nose. When Aphry moved, he was right behind. Juggles gestured for Karla and Jovias to go and then Lizor. Then he followed Pelya and Ebudae, closing the door behind him.
Ebudae worried about the creature they had left in the cell, wondering if it would be able to escape.
Chapter 8
The passage led to more storerooms and other halls before reaching a large space filled with people imprisoned in cages. Ebudae stared in horror at the looks of hopelessness on their faces. Ragged clothing hung from their gaunt bodies.
“Slavers.” Jovias’s voice was coarse from his ordeal. “They were going to ship me out once the contract for the stage was registered with Carnival Administration.”
His voice drew the notice of some of the people in the cages. Most looked at them in fear, but one woman reached a bony arm through the bars. “Please . . . please.”
Pelya went to the cage, taking her picks out. She began using them on the lock. Aphry stepped forward. “We don’t have time for that. Let’s go.” Pelya looked over her shoulder with narrowed eyes. The young woman’s determination knocked Aphry back a step.
Aphry composed herself the best she could. “We’re not supposed to be here and I don’t even know where here is anymore. If we help these people, whoever has them trapped will probably find us and put us in the cages.” She wouldn’t look Pelya in the eye. “I’m sorry. I like you, but I’m scared.”
She walked toward a set of large double doors at the far end of the room. Karla, Jovias and Glav followed. Lizor guiltily looked over his shoulder then he followed them still carrying Frank’s body.
Pelya turned her back on them, opened the cage door and stood aside to let the prisoners out. Ebudae turned to Juggles. He looked at the backs of his departing companions and then at Ebudae. “I will stay until they are free,” he gestured at the prisoners, “And then I must go with them. A troupe stays together through danger.”
“Thank you, Juggles,” Ebudae said gratefully. “I’m going to place wards on this last door. It should buy us some time.”
Pelya rushed over. “Let me try to relock it. I can’t believe they’re just leaving like that after everything we did for them,” she muttered under her breath, clearly angry.
The prisoners struggled out of the open cage, pushing each other in desperation. Juggles went over to help one that had fallen and to keep them from hurting each other. Ebudae took a brush and flask of magically enhanced ink out of her largest pouch. She drew two runic symbols on either side of the door. A click sounded from the lock and Pelya dashed to the next cage. Her skills under pressure impressed Ebudae even more.
It took a minute to draw the symbols. When she was done, Ebudae put the ink away and covered the brush in a small cloth. She should clean it, but didn’t have time. Three more ingredients were required. She took them out of a pouch and began the casting. It lasted for another full minute and she concentrated the entire time, even though she was afraid that their followers might break through the door before she was done.
When she looked back, Juggles was helping people out of a third cage along with the help of a couple of braver captives. The others were running or staggering out of the wooden doors as fast as they could. Pelya was working on the fourth cage with two more to go.
Ebudae took a step and swayed for a moment. She had used quite a bit of magic by that point and hunger was eating at her belly. She could sense tiredness too. Then she felt her back becoming warm and a burst of energy heat her bones.
She knew what it was even though she couldn’t concentrate on it. When she and Pelya were eleven, they had saved a mother dragon’s child. The dragon had pinned them to the ground and marked them painfully. Something about the mark prevented either from ever talking about it and the memory faded from their minds most of the time. It also became invisible until something activated it.
However, Ebudae had come to realize that hers allowed her to cast greater magics while protecting her from their harmful effects. Magic was only supposed to be used after maturity was reached, the later the better for an individual’s health. Ebudae had begun at the age of seven. It should have killed her years ago, but the mark had removed the negative effects and kept her strong and healthy. It was protecting her now, when she was in danger and had already used substantial power.
The worst part of it was that the mark covered her entire back like wings and it was bound to her bones. When the mark activated, it caused a burning sensation in skin and bones. If she used too much of it, the heat would be severe.
Ebudae chewed on another energy bar and looked around. Pelya finished the fourth cage and moved onto the fifth while Juggles helped the people out. There were smaller cages with animals of various sorts on shelves around the room. Most of the creatures were supernatural to a greater or lesser degree. Some were dead, showing how little the slavers cared about them.
The inhumane treatment of people and animals disgusted Ebudae and tore at her heart. The more she was away from home, the more she wished she could go back. Books were a much better way to experience life than actually experiencing it.
Ebudae felt a burst of pleasant sadness. It settled into her heart and mind, bringing a smile to her face. Ebudae liked being sad, but there was something causing it. She looked at the nearby cages and found it. “Ohhh, you’re so cute!”
Staring at her miserably from a rusted cage was a black bunny with droopy ears and the most sorrowful eyes in the world. Ebudae shoved the last of the energy bar in her mouth and opened the cage.
She pulled the bunny out of the cage and held it to her chest. Its fur was dirty, but Ebudae put her cheek against it while petting the fragile creature. “I always wanted an emo bunny!” Emo bunnies had the ability to cause emotions of melancholy and gloom in creatures they considered dangerous. Those creatures became apathetic and lost the will to attack the emo bunny. A group of bunnies would create overpowering emotions in a predator and could even cause it to run off a cliff in an act of suicide. The effect didn’t bother Ebudae because she tended towards melancholy and gloom most days anyway.
Ebudae checked him. “You’re so skinny, you poor thing. They’ve starved you, haven’t they?” She looked around and saw a bale of hay along the side of the wall. “Here we go.” She went over to it and grabbed a handful, placing it on her chest for the bunny to eat. “I’ll call you Shade. It’s a good name for emo bunnies, I think.”
“What are you doing?” Pelya asked, coming toward her. “We have the prisoners freed and Juggles is getting the last of them out. What in the world is that?” She pointed at the furry object in Ebudae’s arms.
“This is Shade. Shade, this is Pelya, my best friend.” Ebudae introduced them. “Shade is an emo bunny they were starving like the rest of these poor creatures. I’m saving her.”
Pelya stared at her incredulously.
“Let’s go. We can’t just stand here,” Ebudae said as though it was obvious and she wasn’t the reason they hadn’t left yet. She ducked past her friend and walked toward the exit.
“Really?” Pelya asked after her with arms out to the side. “Really?” She began talking to herself while following. “I’m picking locks and saving people destined for slavery. Meanwhile, she’s saving an emo bunny and naming it Shade. Really?!”
A booming sound from the door interrupted Ebudae’s dialogue. Her wards sizzled and dust came from underneath. “If you’re done talking to yourself, we should go, Pelya.” Ebudae grinned back at her friend who glowered at the playful accusation. Then the wizardess wisely chose to run.
They dashed through the double doors, each grabbing one to close. There wasn’t enough time to lock them or cast a spell, but hopefully it would make the followers pause. Ebudae held Shade with one hand while pulling the door with the other. Pelya looked around and found a broken cage to her left. She grabbed a bar from it and slid it through the handles.
“We’re in the ancient city,” Ebudae said. There was no sky above. Instead, a ceiling consisting of stone braced by magically enhanced ribbing was about two hundred feet above their heads. It was difficult to make out details from where they were, but the girls had found tall buildings in their adventures where they were able to get a closer look at it.
Little dots of light were scattered over the ceiling, ground and crumbling buildings. They were plants that glowed with liquid luminescence flowing through their translucent leaves. It was said that they grew thick in the depths of the world, but that was further than the girls had ever dared to go.
A breeze flowed through the air, filled with a putrefying odor. “That bridge has scummy water under it,” Pelya said, pointing at a long canal with stagnant water. A low, arched bridge spanned its width. Dim lanterns with green light were at the end of waist-high rails on both sides. The last couple of slaves were staggering over it, holding onto each other desperately.
A muffled blast sounded from the room behind. They gave each other worried glances. “We need to go,” Ebudae suggested. She began walking toward the bridge.
“How are we going to rescue all of them?” Pelya asked with a gesture at the stragglers while walking beside the wizardess. “There’s no way they can run.”
Ebudae felt guilty. “I don’t think we can save them.” Her friend had a strong sense of honor that interfered with her sense of preservation at times.
“I’ll die trying,” Pelya vowed. “We gave them their freedom. They have hope. Letting them get captured again would be cruel beyond all tolerance.”
Ebudae looked back as they crested the bridge. She knew they would fight to save the slaves and tried to figure out how to do it without being killed in the process. Ebudae and Pelya were capable beyond their years, but they were still young and there were only the two of them. She reached into another secret pocket in her dress and pulled out a pouch.
They reached the other side of the bridge and caught up to the stumbling slaves. Ebudae thrust the emo bunny at Pelya. “Take Shade and get further away. I have an idea.”
Pelya opened her mouth to protest, but then took the bunny, knowing the wizardess had a plan and arguing would just waste time. She looked at it in displeasure, but held it against her chest. “Come on,” she told the two former slaves. They sped up as much as possible, but they were old and malnourished, so it wasn’t a large improvement.
Ebudae opened the pouch in her hand and took out a runeball. Magic could be stored on multi-faceted balls by carving runes into them while uttering words of magic. They were hard to make and required a precise hand. Different materials created different effects of varying power and the tools used for the carving contributed as did liquids one could pour into the carvings. It was a coveted skill because the runeballs created could hold a great deal of power and be used without draining magic of the user. More valuable was the fact that people who didn’t normally wield magic could even use them, although it was more dangerous in the hands of the untrained.
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