“Quiet down!” Master Renata entered, her blue robes swishing about her legs like a frothy sea, her silver hair tied into a tight bun at the back of her head. As she studied the room, her face became drawn and angry.
The room was hot and stuffy with as many bodies piled into the room in close proximity. Delilah considered giving up her chance at the test would be worth the comfort of the relatively cool breeze outside.
Master Renata scanned the assembled students. “Where is Novice Delilah? Come down here.”
A murmur circulated the room. For a moment, Delilah remained still. The last thing she expected was to be called first. The instructors never called on her first. Katka pushed on her arm.
Delilah stood and worked her way through the seats to the aisle and then descended to the stage. “Yes, Master Renata?”
The conjuration master waited until Delilah joined her on the stage. “Now then, I have heard rumors aplenty that you are a prodigy. A student so gifted you put all these others”—Master Renata gestured to the room above them—“to shame. What say you?”
Delilah felt her mouth become dry, like she’d eaten a dozen cotton balls. “I am not a prodigy. I have decades of experience.”
“Exactly!” Master Renata spoke more to the room than to Delilah. “Experience! This student”—she gestured to Delilah—“is here because of the capricious whims of the archmage, not because she’s innately superior to you. As an experienced wizard, she could probably teach this class.”
Another murmur raced through the room. Delilah felt a knot form in her stomach. She licked her lips with a tongue so dry it felt like sand.
“So”—Master Renata faced Delilah—“you are excused from this test and from further instruction in the basics of conjuration.”
Delilah fought to keep from staggering backward. It was almost an open defiance of the archmage’s instructions. She bowed to Master Renata.
“However, you are still my student during this time, so you will work for this leniency. Go to the library.” Master Renata leaned in close and lowered her voice. “Study the Rose Concordat, Novice. You will find answers there you are unaware you seek.”
The university library was a place in which Delilah wanted to spend time but had yet been given the opportunity. She bit her lip to keep a smile from her face and bowed again, even though in her heart, she felt she could jump up and fly from the room. She bowed a third time and climbed the stairs of the aisle, nodding to a beaming Katka as she passed.
“Now then, let us continue with today’s tests. Novice Aleks, please come down here.”
Master Renata’s apprentice, a young woman with whom Delilah was not acquainted, though she’d seen the woman within the university, stopped the drak sorceress before she left the hall. “You’ll need this”—she handed Delilah a small scroll—“in case anyone asks why you’re not in your designated class.”
Delilah unrolled the paper. It was a note penned in the precise hand of Master Renata explaining that Novice Delilah was conducting research for her and should be allowed full access to the library and university grounds.
The drak sorceress grinned and nodded in gratitude to the apprentice. Things are looking up, Deli-girl!
Chapter 16
Warmer days didn’t make riding in the rain any better. Gisella was glad for the rain pinging off her helmet and armor, making it almost impossible to hear Edric’s complaints about being wet. Distant thunder added to the cacophony.
The rain did little to dampen Qaliah’s spirits, but Edric’s grumbling and his ignoring her jibes did. The fiendling rode next to Gisella, both of them following Pancras and Edric. Where bare earth was visible, it became redder and redder the farther east they traveled. Soon, they would approach Curton, a town once famous for its copper mines, now barely known for its red-clay mud and pottery.
A spur off the road led to Curton. Gisella considered diverting there to spend a few days in a proper inn and to give Edric and Qaliah a chance to leave the party. A week’s journey would complete the final push from Curton to Cliffport, and once there, she and Pancras planned to board the first ship to Vlorey.
With luck, they would arrive in Vlorey before the Dusk of Autumn Festival.
“This damned rain.” Qaliah gazed toward the sky and shook her fist at the heavens. “Damn you, Nethuns! You’re supposed to keep your water in the oceans and rivers.”
“Once we’re on the sea heading toward Vlorey, you’d best keep a tight rein on your blasphemies.” Gisella chuckled as Qaliah wiped the rainwater out of her eyes.
“The gods aren’t going to listen to me.” Qaliah pulled her hood up and slumped in her saddle. “We’re all thieves and liars, don’t you know?”
Gisella was well aware of the reputation fiendlings suffered, particularly in the south. The fewer of them there were in an area, the less people thought of them. Most of the fiendlings Gisella encountered were thieves out of necessity; stealing was preferable to dying of starvation because no one would hire them.
“You’re only saying that because you’re wet and miserable.” Diverting to Curton sounded better and better the more she thought about it.
“And you’re not?” Qaliah’s sidelong glance at Gisella revealed her opinion on the matter.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t. It’s coloring your perceptions.” Gisella saw hope in the distance, a break in the clouds. Even where they stood, the sky was lighter than it had been all morning. The sun threatened to break through and end the miserable rain.
“My per… ceptions are the same damn color they’ve been since you kicked my naked ass out of bed back in Rock Ridge.”
Gisella cringed. Until now, Qaliah kept any resentment she had about that particular situation well-hidden. “I wish we could move beyond that. While I acknowledge you’re very attractive, I prefer more masculine company.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Qaliah slowed her horse and allowed Edric and Pancras to increase their lead. She maneuvered Comet closer to Moonsilver and reached over to touch Gisella’s arm. “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize.” Gisella squeezed Qaliah’s hand. “You didn’t know my preferences until you asked. It was unfortunate everything turned out so awkward.”
“Not about that.” Qaliah shook her head and moved their horses apart when Moonsilver nipped at Comet. “The outburst. I’m in a bad mood because Edric is so grumpy. There’s no hard feelings. You like men? Fine, me too. I have no problem with that. My mouth runs, you know. I’m sorry.”
A crack of thunder drowned out Gisella’s reply. She waited until the reverberations faded. “Quite all right. Perhaps we’ll divert to Curton for a day or two to dry out and enjoy real beds. We should be only a few days out now.”
“A bed? What’s that?” Qaliah grinned and spurred Comet to catch up to Edric and Pancras. “Hey, this crazy woman is talking about roofs over our head and beds. Do either of you have any idea what she’s talking about?”
Gisella laughed and shook her head. If nothing else, this motley collection of travelers was entertaining.
* * *
Kale realized something was amiss when he and Kali returned from their ride around the city. The street their home was on was usually deserted, but somehow, it seemed even more so. He drew his daggers as he approached the door and cursed himself for not cleaning the front window better. The encrusted dirt created a diffuse light inside but made viewing what was beyond the glass, in either direction, impossible.
“All right, killer. Put the pig-stickers away, I didn’t break into your house.”
The drak spun toward the voice. A minotaur stepped out of the shadowed alleyway where Kale and Kali confronted the drak earlier in the day. The sunlight made his black fur appear streaked with grey in spots, and the light reflected off his metallic right hand.
“I’m not a burglar.”
“You must be Boss Steelhand.” Kale neither lowered his daggers nor relaxed his stance. The minotaur stood at least twice as tall as he, but he wouldn
’t be the first minotaur Kale fought and beat.
“And you really have stripes. Huh.” Boss Steelhand sniffed and nodded in appreciation. “I figured it was war paint or something when they told me. No wonder everyone is up in arms.”
“What do you and your thugs want?” Kali stepped across the street, brandishing her dagger. She was careful to not cross directly in front of Kale. If the minotaur decided to attack, he’d have to make a choice.
“Right now? I just want to talk.” The minotaur gestured toward Kale and Kali’s home. “Why don’t we step out of the street and have a civilized conversation, huh? I can see you two aren’t stupid, and you’ve obviously fought at each other’s sides before. But I’m not stupid either. You don’t think I came alone?”
Kale felt a shiver run down his spine. He saw no one accompanying the minotaur and assumed he actually did come alone. He lowered his weapons. “Fine. You can come in, but just you.”
Boss Steelhand held up his hands. “That suits me.”
Kali kept her blade at the ready. “Don’t get any funny ideas.”
“I hear you got a sister, but this one”—Boss Steelhand jerked his head toward Kali—“don’t have any stripes, so I’m guessing she’s your mate?”
Kale grunted a non-committal reply as he unlocked the door and ushered everyone inside. Boss Steelhand hunched over to avoid gouging the low ceiling with his horns. Kale checked the alley and street, but he did not notice anyone else who appeared to be interested in the events unfolding in their shop. The only person he saw was the potato-pushing minotaur at the far end of the street.
He shut the door behind them and locked it. The storefront still didn’t have any furniture, just bare walls, the shop counter, empty shelves, and the hallway leading back to the living quarters. Kali positioned herself between Boss Steelhand and the back of the building.
Boss Steelhand leaned against the counter. “Cleaning this place up must have been a lot of work. I’m impressed.”
Kale sheathed one dagger, but he continued to hold the other one. “My mate asked you a question. Time to answer.”
“Folks think I run the undercity.” Boss Steelhand picked his fingernails. “It’s not true. The undercity is part of Muncifer, and the Council of Lords run Muncifer. They make the laws, they control the guards. But, most minotaurs and draks were pushed down here years ago, and someone has to watch out for them.”
Kali scoffed. “I suppose that’s you?”
“Sometimes.” Boss Steelhand shrugged. “I gotta earn a living, you know? I hear about someone setting up shop, claiming to be the savior of the draks, the one who will deliver them, from what? I don’t know. I need to check it out.”
“I’m not here to deliver anyone from anything!”
“If you’re here to set up shop, you gotta give me my due. Plus, a lot of the merchants down here pay good money to make sure they’re the only game in town.” The minotaur looked around and chuckled. “It looks like you’re just selling air though, which any fool can get for free.”
Kale paced the floor as the minotaur ranted. “I’m killing time until my sister finishes her business with the Arcane University. Then we’re leaving. Probably going back home to Drak-Anor.” Kale didn’t feel it necessary to go into all the details about Pancras and possibly going to Vlorey instead of Drak-Anor.
“Your sister, yeah.” Boss Steelhand stroked his chin with his flesh hand. “The one who’s been going through the undercity handing out blessings like candy. Telling everyone she’s this great and powerful sorceress.”
A glare flashed across Kali’s face, but she masked it before Boss Steelhand noticed. Kale rubbed his snout. “She is a sorceress. She brags. We have stripes, so what? Prophecies aren’t real.” Kale wanted to throttle his sister. In her absence, he settled for grabbing one of the brooms and throwing it to the floor.
“Everything was going real smooth until you two showed up.” Boss Steelhand pointed at Kale. “Now you, I hear you’ve been trying to lay low. I can appreciate that. Your sister needs to stop riling up the draks. They don’t need the agitation.”
“Can you blame them?” Kali put her hands on her hips. “Being forced to live down here where all the scum from the upper city washes down whenever it rains.”
Boss Steelhand spun on Kali. “You don’t know anything about it, sister. The fact is, the draks are down here for their own protection. Out of sight, out of mind and all that.”
Kale rubbed his temple. “What are you talking about? Protection from who? You?”
“Ha!” The minotaur threw back his head and laughed. “No. Don’t get involved in city politics, little draks. You’ll be happier. You just tell your sister to stop stirring the pot.”
Kale threw up his hands. “I can’t! I can’t enter the Arcane University to tell her, and I don’t know when she’s able to come out for a visit. By the time she’s here, she’s already given out hundreds of her ‘blessings.’ I don’t get what the big deal is; she’s just talking. It’s not like she’s using magic charms”
“Can’t get in, eh?” Boss Steelhand stroked his chin as he chewed on his lip. “All right. I believe you. Do you know why?” He didn’t wait for Kale to answer. “Because you’re going to do some work for me. I can get you in the Arcane University.”
Kale ignored Kali’s shaking head and sighed. “What do you want me to do?”
“It’s a simple job.” Boss Steelhand reached across the small room, put his hand on Kale’s shoulder, and pulled him close. The steel hand of the minotaur gripped like a vise. “You take a package and deliver it to the Arcane University. You’ll receive a pass to go in. Drop it off, and you take your time leaving again. They’re not going to worry about a courier wandering around as long as you don’t go poking your snout into every laboratory and library.”
Boss Steelhand’s job did sound easy. How bad can carrying a package be? Courier work was one of the jobs he’d discussed with Kali earlier.
“He’s not going to smuggle your stolen goods for you!” Kali pulled Kale away from the minotaur. Her dagger was still free of its sheath but not quite pointed at the minotaur.
The minotaur placed his hand on his chest and took a step back. “I have legitimate business with some of the guild mages. We don’t smuggle anything into there they don’t want.”
Kale noticed it was not a refutation of the smuggling claim. He glanced at Kali. Her eyes smoldered. He didn’t have much of a choice. He didn’t want trouble with Boss Steelhand or his thugs, he didn’t want to pay protection money for any reason, and he needed to meet with his sister and convince her to stop her grandstanding.
The drak slumped his shoulders and nodded. “Fine. I’ll deliver your package.”
* * *
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have classes?” Seneschal Lyov looked up from the tome he was examining.
Delilah handed him the note. “I’m doing a special project for Master Renata.”
He glanced at the note and returned it to Delilah. “Fine. Do you see this?” He held up the book sitting on the table in front of him. “This means ‘do not disturb.’ Understand?”
“Yes.” Delilah left him to his studies and gazed in wonder at the floor-to-ceiling shelving filled with books, codices, and scrolls. The ceilings were twice as tall as Pancras, and each row of shelves had a rolling ladder on rails to aid wizards in reaching books on the upper shelves.
The library was arranged in sections, each in its own room. Texts dedicated to natural sciences like biology, anatomy, and geology were organized into their own section, as were metaphysical texts like those concerned with alternate planes of reality, portals to the fae realm, or treatises on the gods. History books, law books, and tomes on magical theory were all organized in separate sections. Delilah even noticed books of poetry and lore.
Where would the Rose Concordat be? Delilah started with the law section. The Rose Concordat contained the rules by which the Mage’s Guild was organized, but she knew
little of what else might be contained therein. She almost stepped onto a man flipping through a publication while seated on the floor.
Novice Ludek glowered for a moment as she stumbled but reached out to steady her. “I see you passed your Initiate Trials, Drak.”
“Weeks ago.” She smoothed out her robes. Delilah still didn’t like wearing them, but at least the new ones didn’t irritate her scales.
He pointed toward the shelf behind where he was seated. “Need something from here?”
“I don’t know. I’m looking for the Rose Concordat.”
“Go back out.” Ludek pointed to the main hall. “It’s on a pedestal in the center of the room. Don’t remove it from the pedestal, understand? You’ll probably need to stand on a chair to reach it. Sorry.”
Delilah thanked Ludek and followed his directions. The pedestal towered over her. No wonder I didn’t see it. The drak sorceress searched for a chair to drag over. The screeching the chair made as she dragged it turned heads and made her cringe. She cursed herself and left it before tiptoeing back to the pedestal.
She pointed her staff at the chair. Time to put those classes to work, Deli-girl. “Ehpipléon soe’ma.” Delilah hissed the incantation through clenched teeth, careful not to raise her voice in the somber confines of the library. She drew on her conjuration skills to do the heavy lifting. Levitation was not a skill she mastered easily. Master Valyrian compared her style to that of a hammer, admitting that sometimes a hammer was the proper tool for a job but also noted that often a fine set of watchmaker’s tools was more appropriate. Delilah gritted her teeth, and though the chair wobbled and nearly slammed into the pedestal, she set it down in a spot close enough for her to climb up and view the codex.
As she climbed into the chair, she heard soft applause behind her. Seneschal Lyov clapped and bowed his head in deference. Delilah chuckled and turned to the Rose Concordat. Its binding was thick, rough, primitive even. The codex, bound between two leather-covered planks of wood, predated The Sundering, written in the Age of Legend.
Lament (Scars of the Sundering Book 2) Page 24