“I’ve got one, too,” Tess said.
“Good,” Greystone said. “Now expand them. Make them large enough to rim this clearing.
Both of them went deadly silent. In a few short seconds, Tess’ eyes went normal again and Calvin collapsed to the ground, chest heaving.
“I couldn’t do it,” he panted. “Too hard to hold them together.”
Greystone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him to his feet. “You’re staining yourself on the grass,” he admonished. “And you should not have expected to master this intricate skill in the span of a few seconds. Wizards of my talents take months learning how to weave the tiniest of curtains, scarcely large enough for an individual. Even with your Realm Keepers’ powers, you may expect to take weeks learning how to do it properly.”
“Oh, fantastic,” said Calvin, rubbing the back of his neck ruefully. “I’m so looking forward to that.”
We all puttered around the camp for another half hour before Greystone broke out the sleeping potions. I waved mine away. I was exhausted enough from our long day on the road to fall asleep easily without needing my potion. I drifted off with my head on my pack and wrapped in a blanket, the trees’ eaves lit from beneath by the glowing light of our coals, the stars shining in the sky above.
BLADE
ANOTHER UNEVENTFUL DAY PASSED AT Roosevelt, another night spent on Calvin’s floor, and the next Midrealm day we reached Faya.
Samuel hadn’t been lying when he’d said it was more of a fortress than a city. It was nestled in between the sloping ridges of two mountains that drew close in front of its wall’s front edges like curtains, jealously trying to block them from the view of outsiders. The wall was low, wide, and thick, with a tower at either corner. Far behind the wall, you could just see the tops of the keep poking above the edge. The keep’s towers were just tall enough to lend archer fire to the walls in case of any attack. Only a single path led up to the city’s front gate. The gate was narrow and short, barely big enough for two men on horseback to ride through side-by-side.
From behind Faya’s walls poured an unending stream of black, roiling smoke. It spiraled up and into the air only to be replaced with more. The worst smokestacks I’d ever seen on Earth couldn’t begin to compare.
“What’s with the smoke?” asked Miles as we stood there, fives miles away, studying the walls.
“The foundries and smelteries of Faya,” said Greystone. “Tirelessly do their smiths and workshops toil to craft weapons and armor. They possess neither the strength of Dwarven iron, nor the quality of Elvish make, but it is said that Faya could outfit a legion in a day if they were pressed to it.”
“They look pressed to it now,” said Barius solemnly.
“So what are we waiting for?” I asked, picking a bit of breakfast from my teeth. “They have to let us in, right?”
“We’re not in Athorn any more,” Sarah said. “Not everyone feels the same way about the Realm Keepers as the people of Morrowdust. Nothing’s changed here. We still need to keep our heads down until we know what Faya’s stance on the war is.”
“They seem to have made it perfectly clear,” said Melaine, a seething anger in her voice. “It wasn’t a day after the betrayal that they ceased all trade with Athorn.”
“The reason for that is uncertain,” countered Greystone. “And until it is clarified, it would be a grave mistake to assume their attitude toward us — friend or foe.”
“There are other rumors,” Melaine said darkly. “Rumors of their collusion with Chaos. They say that Shadows walk freely within the city.”
“And rumors claim that I fart lightning bolts,” Greystone snapped. “Do you believe them?”
Melaine scowled, but she held her peace.
“So how do we get in?” Calvin asked. “Are we gonna fly? Turn ourselves invisible? Create a distraction while we slip over the walls unnoticed?”
Greystone’s lip curled. “We are walking in the front gate.”
Calvin retreated. “Oh. Right. Of course,” he mumbled.
“Does anyone else think that’s a terrible idea?” I said. “What if it turns out they’re hostile to us? Don’t you think they’ll have descriptions of us or something?”
“If they are, then yes they will,” said Greystone. He began rummaging around in his horse’s pack. “Which is why you will be wearing these.”
He pulled forth six white masks. They were relatively plain, covering the whole face with a wide gap for the eyes. They fell down to provide a sort of miniature cloak that covered just past our shoulders.
“What are those?” asked Raven.
“These hoods will mark you as the Order of Physic,” explained Greystone. “They are a lower order of healer, one that uses no magic. They move across the land, tending to the sick and disposing of corpses. Rumor has it that Faya has recently had an outbreak of flu.”
“Rumors also say that you fart lightning bolts,” I said brightly. “Is that true?”
Greystone ignored me. “Faya’s true healers tended to it as quickly as possible, but there are still some number of bodies to do away with.”
“Cheerful,” said Miles.
“They are also silent except in their places of work,” continued Greystone. “This should prevent people from questioning you as we enter the city, which would certainly give you away. The magic that allows you to understand and be understood in Midrealm does not change that the words you are actually saying are those of True Earth. For many, the difference will be negligible. They will only have a faint sense that something about your speech is odd, almost as if it were a dialect. But if someone is on alert for it, they can detect that what their eyes see and their ears hear do not match what their mind tells them. You would do well to remember this when you are on your own out in the world.”
“Why don’t you guys have to wear the masks?” asked Raven, looking about as thrilled as I felt to put on the stuffy-looking things and keep her mouth shut.
“Because every word from our mouths will not give us away,” snapped Greystone. “And besides, someone of wit and intelligence will need to navigate our way past the city guard, and I have nominated myself, being the single person among you possessing those qualifications.”
Raven’s glare was a burning ember. I caught Samuel’s gaze and rolled my eyes. He kept a straight face, but his eyes were smiling.
“Unless there are any more pointless questions?” Greystone growled.
Sarah stepped forward first, grabbing one of the masks and donning it quickly. One by one, we put them on. When it was done we looked around at each other uncertainly. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought we looked like a pack of idiots.
Tess was standing off to the side. Her face was mostly covered by the mask, further accentuating the hidden look that her one hair-covered eye gave her. The left eye and an inch of skin around was all I could see, but she looked worried all the same.
“How you doing?” I asked, too quietly for the others to hear.
A shrug. “Okay, I guess,” she answered, just as quiet. “I just wish I could turn us all invisible or something. Even with the masks, I feel super exposed just walking in there.”
I nodded. “I hear you. But if Greystone came up with the plan, it’s probably a good one. He’s never led us wrong before.”
Her eye crinkled. I could imagine her lips curling in a soft smile beneath the mask. “I thought you hated him.”
I grinned. “Are you kidding? Just because he’s senile and has to wear diapers? That old guy knows what he’s talking about. If it wasn’t for him, we’d all be toast. It’s just easy to get a rise out of him.”
Tess giggled softly. It was adorable. I wanted to reach out, to give her a little hug or something. I wanted to whisper to her that everything was going to be okay, that I’d have her back whatever happened.
But, just like every other time I’d wanted to do that, I didn’t. Instead, my hand just twitched with the impulse, and then I shrugg
ed it off.
It took us another hour to finally reach Faya’s main gate. Once there, the Runegard loomed around us, glaring threateningly at anyone who strayed too close. The Order of Physic were famous for carrying around gold, as they used their own members to transport their funding from location to location. As a consequence, they were frequently robbed on the road and so always hired bodyguards. It was the perfect cover for Samuel and the others, whose job it was to guard us anyway.
The guard at the gate gave us an uneasy look as we approached. Samuel had said before we left that the Order wasn’t very well-liked. Superstitious folks were afraid they brought disease with them, rather than cured it. He turned his gaze on Greystone instead, his eyes narrowing.
“Business?”
“What does it look like?” Greystone growled. “I am Barnabus Middlewood, bookkeeper for the Order. I bring these acolytes to deal with the aftermath of the flu.”
The guard spat on the street. “Day late and a mark short. The bodies have been buried a’ready.”
My stomach flip-flopped. What if they didn’t let us in? But Greystone didn’t even blink. “I suppose I should just go back and tell my masters that it’s all taken care of? I’ll tell them I heard it from the best authority: a gate guard who’s never learned so much as how to tie a tourniquet.”
The guard spat again. “Plague take you all. Go on through, and may you be flayed for arriving late.”
“Charmed,” said Greystone. He turned and nodded to the rest of us. The guard watched us file through the gate with ugly, uneasy eyes.
“Well, that went smoothly,” I whispered to Tess, who rode beside me.
She nodded. “Maybe this won’t be so bad,” she whispered back.
I was just about to answer when I saw it. A mass of shifting blackness, standing there ten feet away clad in armor that was black with bronzed edges. A wide mouth that concealed terrible, rotting fangs, and burning eyes that stared unblinking. It stood too still, its chest not even rising and falling with breath.
A Shadow.
On instinct I raised a hand, ready to summon a bolt of fire and blast it to oblivion. But before I could so much as formulate the thought, a hand snatched my wrist. I looked up in shock to see Samuel’s eyes looking into mine. He pushed my hand down quickly, shaking his head ever so slightly.
I looked around at the rest of the group. They all looked as shocked as I felt, but the Runegard were carefully putting themselves in between us and the Shadow, stopping anyone who looked like they were about to use their magic against it.
And as I looked around, I saw more and more Shadows throughout the city. Some stood in small groups on the wall. Some simply stood guard on street corners, near gates or near heavily-plated doors. The townspeople walking by glanced at them uneasily, but nobody said anything. No guards came rushing to the attack. And for their part, the Shadows simply stood there. Waiting.
Watching.
Chaos was in Faya, and Faya was in its sway.
“Feel free to fart a lightning bolt any time,” I heard Melaine grumble to Greystone.
Greystone led us carefully through the streets, trying to avoid the Shadows wherever possible. When we couldn’t move without passing one, we did it on the other side of the street. But the Shadows didn’t so much as glance in our direction.
Finally we found an alley where no one could see us, and we stopped. I started to remove my mask.
“What are you doing?” Calvin hissed. “We need those more than ever now!”
I yanked it the rest of the way off and took a deep breath. “I don’t care. I’m taking a break. I can barely breathe.”
Greystone looked at me carefully, but he didn’t argue.
One by one, the others began pulling their masks off. Finally Calvin gave a disgusted grunt and did the same.
“Okay, so we get out of here, right?” asked Raven.
“We can’t,” Calvin said. “We’ve got to find the tomb.”
“Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this place is completely infested!” said Raven. “I’m not sticking around just to get spotted and eaten by Shadows.”
I scoffed. “They don’t eat people, Raven.” Suddenly a thought occurred to me. I turned to Samuel. “They don’t, do they?”
He looked at me seriously. I shuddered. Then his face broke into a mocking grin. I punched him in the arm.
“I’m not happy about it, but I’m with Raven,” Miles said slowly. “I agree we need to get into the tomb, but how are we supposed to do that here? With Chaos practically looking over our shoulders? I say we fall back, regroup, and come back when we know more.”
“No way,” Calvin said. “You guys know what’s at stake here. We leave now, what makes you think things are going to get better? Even more Shadows could arrive while we’re gone.”
“Sure, but obviously they don’t know the tomb is here,” Raven pointed out. “Or if they do, they’ve already raided the tomb and the artifact is gone. Either way, Shadows means danger. We’ve got to go.”
Calvin balked, apparently not having an answer.
I stepped forward. “That’s a good point. Either they don’t know the tomb is here, or they’ve got it already. But if they’ve got it already, we need to know that. And if they don’t, we need to know that, too. Because if they don’t know the tomb is here yet, they’ll find out. Whether now or later, they’ll find out. And when they do, Faya’s going to be even more infested with Chaos. How are we going to come back here then and get into the tomb? We’d need an army, and Athorn doesn’t have one to spare.”
That made Raven and Miles pause. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Greystone nodding in approval.
Sarah finally spoke up. “We need the tomb. That’s what we’ve come all the way here for. We can’t back out now, especially since like Blade said, it’s only going to get worse.”
Like Blade said. I won’t lie, I liked the sound of that.
“So first priority is finding where the tomb is,” Sarah said. “But we can’t exactly go wandering around the streets in white hoods. We’ll just draw attention if we’re wandering around, not tending to the sick like we’re supposed to. So we go with regular cloaks, and we split up.”
“Split up?” Calvin said in shock.
Sarah nodded. “If they do know what we look like, they’ll be looking for six kids. If we’re in two groups of three, we’ll draw less attention and cover more ground at the same time.”
She turned to me. “Blade, I want you to be in charge of the other group.”
I froze. Then my mouth tugged into a half smile. “Hilarious. You got me.”
“I’m dead serious,” Sarah said, no trace of a smile on her face. “Think you can handle it?”
I let out a brief snort. “Of course I can handle it, but no way you’re for real. Me? The guy half a step away from dropping out? The bad boy?”
Sarah shook her head. “Maybe that’s true in high school. Not over here. Here, you’re the best one with a sword out of any of us. We’ve all got to keep magic to a minimum, or we might as well light a beacon telling Chaos where we are. So if you get into trouble, I need you to make sure Calvin and Raven are safe.”
“What?” Raven snapped. “You’re putting him in charge of me?” She rolled her eyes. “I can take care of myself. I don’t need some big strong man to protect me.”
“I don’t doubt it,” said Sarah, “but nevertheless, Blade’s in charge. How many fights have you been in in your life? Real, honest fights against another person?”
Raven didn’t answer.
“Right,” said Sarah. She looked at me. “And correct me if I’m wrong, Blade, but you’ve been in a few, right?”
“Just a couple of days ago, actually,” Calvin piped up. “He knocked Chuck into the mud. It was a beautiful thing.”
Sarah nodded again. “Right. So there you have it. Blade calls the shots.”
Raven was still glowering. “Hey, she doesn’t want to come, that’s fine,” I sai
d, trying to keep my voice impartial. “Give me Tess instead.” I saw Tess smile shyly at my words, but it was hidden from the others by her hair.
But Sarah shook her head. “No. We need one curtain on each team, in case we need to check an area out. You’re taking Calvin, so we need Tess.”
Calvin and Tess both started, each of them talking at once.
“Whoah, we’re not ready for — ”
“Sarah, I don’t think I can — ”
Sarah cut them off with a wave of her hand. “I’m not expecting you to block off a mile or something. Just to hold the mouth of an alleyway if we need you to.”
I sighed. “Okay, so me, Calvin and Raven. You, Miles and Tess. And what are we looking for exactly?”
Sarah shrugged. “You’ve seen the tombs of Ella and Malus. Neither one of them looked like each other at all. So the bottom line is, I have no idea. But you should take the South end of town, and we’ll hit the North. If you find anything, play it by ear. If you think it can wait, come find us. If you’ve got a window of opportunity, go in alone.” She looked me in the eye. “I’m leaving it up to you.”
I’m a big guy. I stand at six foot two. I’ve got a bench press in my garage, and I use it a lot. I weigh about two-twenty, and almost none of it’s fat. But suddenly, the look in Sarah’s eye had my stomach turning knots. I wanted to ask her to pick someone else. I wanted to be in her group. I wanted us to stick together, so she could be the one calling all the shots. I didn’t want to have to lead around a couple of other kids who could wind up dead because of what I did or didn’t tell them to do.
But of course, I have a rep to maintain. So instead I smirked, nodded, and said, “Cool. No sweat.”
We headed for the South end of town. Just before we left, Greystone pulled me aside and looked at me seriously.
“I trust Sarah in many things,” he said. “Perhaps even in this. Do you?”
I shrugged. “No sweat, gramps. I’ll take care of them.”
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