Magic Below Paris Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 8): Trading Into Shadow, Trading Into Darkness, Trading Close to Light, Trading By Firelight, Trading by Shroomlight, plus 3 more

by C. M. Simpson

  “I will if you don’t let Roeglin show me what happened.”

  Marsh watched Aisha think it over and saw when the little girl made her choice.

  “I show.”

  She turned to Roeglin.

  “How?”

  “Just remember,” he told her, and Aisha’s eyes filled with tears. The shadow mage hurried to reassure her. “I will be here. I won’t let anything hurt you.”

  “Promise?”

  Roeglin dipped his chin.

  “Promise. I don’t want Tamlin cross with me.”

  His words brought a small smile to Aisha’s lips.

  “Okay.”

  14

  The Founder of Ruins Hall

  As Marsh watched, Aisha sighed and closed her eyes. Beside her, Scruffknuckle gave an anxious whimper and leaned into her. Marsh saw the girl’s hand tighten in the puppy’s fur. She caught Tamlin’s worried look and raised a finger to her lips, gesturing to where Roeglin had laid a hand against Aisha’s face. With his other hand, he gestured in the direction of the gathered guards, and they all shuffled back to clear a space between them.

  Roeglin looked at Aisha’s face, his eyes burning silver even as white mist drifted from his open hand and shadows slid across the floor to mingle with it. After a couple of heartbeats, Aisha sat on the floor and Roeglin stood, both hands moving as the mist drifted into pictures and a miniature Aisha appeared. She had ducked down behind some rocks beside the path, and Marsh recalled being appalled that her parents would allow her to wander beyond the glows.

  She had been relieved a few moments later when Tamlin had gone in search of her.

  “Aisha!” he had said. “Come back! You’re not supposed to—”

  That had been as far as he’d gotten when the glows had gone out on the trail ahead. The sudden darkness had been accompanied by screams, and Aisha had looked out from behind her rock to see the shadows move and hear claws scrape on rock. With a shriek, she had run to her brother.

  “Aysh!” he had called. “Aysh!”

  Aisha had squealed again as the shadows roared, and she’d been snatched off the ground and tucked under a woman’s arm. Now she was screaming because she’d been grabbed by a stranger, and her momma and poppa had told her never to talk to strangers.

  “Hey! You let her go!”

  Oh. Marsh remembered that. Aisha had seen it too because the rock Tamlin had thrown arced overhead as the stranger grabbed him by the arm.

  “I’m trying to save you, stupid!” sounded strange coming from Roeglin’s mouth when Marsh remembered saying it. “Now get on the bloody mule!”

  Mist-Aisha ended up on the mule in front of a mist-formed Tamlin and Marchant could only stare as she saw herself grabbing the mule’s reins and trying to tow it up the tunnel. She blushed as Roeglin reproduced her curses with more accuracy than she’d have given anyone credit for, and then the memory took on a faintly green glow as Aisha rested her hand on the mule’s neck.

  Oh. Well, that explained it. Horvin had been the most stubborn creature in all the tunnels and Marsh had never expected him to run so easily at her heels, as he had during the attack. She’d thought it had been because of the shadow monsters farther down the trail, but… Well, damn.

  The sudden darkness and sweep of claws had the guards gasping even as mist-Aisha was pulled off the falling mule with her brother and carried into the darkness. The memory faded, and Marsh remembered that this was when the little girl had become dead weight in her arms.

  The mist faded and Roeglin swayed.

  Aisha opened her eyes and buried her face in Scruffknuckle’s fur, the puppy licking her arm as if he could fix whatever had gone wrong. When Aisha kept crying, he whined and looked up at Tamlin. The boy was already responding. He knelt beside them, wrapping his arms around his sister and the pup and pulling them close.

  “I’m here,” he murmured. “I’m here. You’re safe now. Safe.”

  He kept murmuring even when Lennie suddenly lunged forward to steady Roeglin before he could fall. Another of the guards grabbed a chair and brought it over as Marsh heard quick footsteps behind her. She stepped to one side, and the cook bustled past carrying a tray filled with cups. The strong, sweet scent of hot chocolate tugged at Marsh’s nostrils, and she looked down at the children.

  Aisha’s sobs were growing softer, but Scruffknuckle caught sight of Marsh and wagged his tail at her, anxiety in every line. Tamlin followed the pup’s gaze, and Marsh winced at the pain in the boy’s face.

  “Thank you,” he said, and Marsh shrugged.

  “Let me get you—”

  “To the table,” the cook snapped, cutting Marsh off. “You all need a drink after a shock like that. You too, Lennie. Sit yourself down.”

  The caravan guard looked at the woman, and Marsh thought she was going to argue. So did the cook.

  “Don’t make me put your pregnant butt in the chair, girl. I know you’re not made of porcelain.”

  Lennie sat, and Marsh did her best not to laugh at the look of consternation on the guard’s face—a task that became easy when she realized she was going to have to sit at the same table. Tamlin tried to pull his sister to her feet, but Aisha was determined not to let go of the pup and refused to move an inch.

  In the end, Marsh scooped both dog and child up and sat next to Roeglin, balancing the pair on her lap. Lennie gave her an apologetic grimace.

  “You okay?”

  Marsh figured that passed for an apology, and decided, given the circumstances, she’d accept it.

  “Fine.”

  Lennie’s lips tightened, but she didn’t say anything more. Marsh didn’t blame her. Beating the stuffing out of someone for something they didn’t do rated pretty high on the stupid scale, and there wasn’t really anything you could do to make it better except apologize and move on.

  Speaking of moving on…

  “I need an escort,” she said, looking at Lennie. “You up for it?”

  Lennie blushed and gestured toward the cook.

  “You heard the chef. I’m pregnant. Might not be any good to you on the trail.”

  That drew a variety of snorts from the other guards in the room, but Marsh couldn’t pick out which had made them. The man that had come to support Lennie when she’d demanded Marsh be brought from the kitchen stepped forward.

  “Don’t you believe it. Unless you’re chasing shadow monsters, Lennie’s still one of the best for the trail.”

  That earned him a look of gratitude, then Lennie turned to Marsh.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “Shadow mage monastery.”

  Fury crossed Lennie’s features.

  “Did he put you up to this?” she demanded, pushing back her chair. “Did he?”

  Marsh shook her head.

  “Nope.” She indicated the two children. “Their parents wanted them taking lessons in magic and the monastery was the place. They had a farm near there.”

  “Treigon’s old place?” Another of the guards stepped forward. “I know it.”

  “You for hire?”

  The guard looked around at the others.

  “Girl, we’re all for hire. Ain’t no caravans since the glows went down on the road to Kerrenin’s Ledge. Hasn’t been one from Dimanche for over a week, and no one’s sure if there’s one due from Ariella’s. Can’t remember when the last one came.”

  That couldn’t be good.

  Marsh watched the same thought cross the faces of those she could see and imagined it had occurred to everyone in the room. This wasn’t the first time she had wished there was some kind of local law enforcement, but the guards here were the closest anyone came to that—them and the private security people who served the wealthy. There weren’t too many of those, though, and Marsh couldn’t think of any outfits that consisted of more than a half dozen men and women.

  Nope. Not a one.

  “We are so very screwed,” she muttered, and Lennie gave her a sharp glance.

  “
What did you say?”

  Marsh shrugged and tried to wave it away.

  “It’s no—” she started, but Lennie slammed a fist on the table.

  “Like the Deeps it isn’t!” she snapped. “Now, spill it. No more secrets.”

  Like there had been any secrets in the first place, what with Roeglin and his memory-thieving magic. Roeglin stirred weakly beside her.

  “Hey!”

  “If the boot fits,” Marsh snapped. “Stay outta my head.”

  “And drink your chocolate,” the cook added, returning with a large bowl of cookies. “Table first, and then everyone’s welcome. Looks like we got things to discuss.”

  We? Marsh thought and wondered what she meant, which was when the crowd around them shifted and the heavy tramp of a dozen more boots announced the arrival of more folk from outside.

  “Tell us what you saw, girl,” the cook encouraged.

  She glanced at Roeglin.

  “We’ll have to do without the shadow mage,” the woman added, looking past Marsh to the newcomers. “He’s all played out.”

  Roeglin didn’t argue, but he reached over and snagged a handful of cookies, handing one to the pup and two more to each of the children before biting into his own. Nice to see a man who had his priorities straight, Marsh thought and was about to reach for one when the shadow mage snagged another two and tossed her one.

  “Come on, girl. We’re all waiting.”

  Lennie didn’t even wait for Marsh to take the first bite. Judging from the murmurs of agreement from around the table, she wasn’t alone. Marsh set her cookie down, took a sip of her chocolate, and told them what she’d found in the Leon’s Deep cavern.

  “Had a caravan due from there two days back,” said the man who’d said all the guards were for hire. “Explains what happened to it. Wonder if…”

  He was shushed by those around him, but Marsh guessed what he’d been pondering.

  “The glows were still lit when I brought Fabrice and her three out of there.”

  “You were the ones who went through with the moutons last night?”

  “Yeah. She’s gone to stay with friends.”

  Before she could add more, a new voice broke in.

  “So, girl, you for hire?”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “Are you for hire?” The new voice sounded impatient.

  Marsh looked toward it and pushed her seat back. The tall, narrowly-built man with his deep blue eyes and hawkish features was a well-known figure throughout the caverns, as the founder of any settlement and cavern community should be.

  “Monsieur Gravine, I…”

  “Sit down, girl. I mean after you have finished your duty to the children. Will you be for hire?”

  Marsh sat. She doubted that her duty to the children would ever be finished, but was hoping they might find a secure home with the shadow mages until she could find their parents. With the road to Kerrenin’s Ledge closed, she was going to need a new patron.

  “I… Once those duties are done, I will be available,” she answered.

  “Good. May I?”

  Not sure why he was asking her permission for anything, Marsh nodded, watching as he turned to the guards. Marsh realized he’d brought his own personal security force, a half-dozen hard-faced men and women.

  “I hear you are between contracts,” he began, addressing the gathered guards. “Is that true?”

  There were murmurs of assent around the room. The founder turned his attention to Roeglin.

  “And your people are not responsible for the glows going out?”

  “No, monsieur.”

  “Tell me, are the shadow mages recruiting for the monastery?”

  Roeglin frowned.

  “No, monsieur. Not yet. There will be a recruiting drive later in the season, but not yet.”

  “Good. Keep it that way. I am hearing tales of shadow mages traveling to the farms and mines and trying to recruit apprentices. They do not like to be told no.”

  Roeglin looked confused and then upset.

  “But we never force…”

  Gravine raised his hand, and Roeglin faltered to silence.

  “I know, but there have been incidents. Now that I know it was not your people, I can work toward repairing the damage that’s been done to the monastery’s reputation.”

  Marsh wanted to know why he would bother. What did it matter to him if the cavern folk were angry with the shadow mages? Her confusion must have shown on her face because the founder turned in her direction.

  “I came to these caverns to build a new home for our people. I will not have some outside force destroy us as the ancients were destroyed.” He looked the guards over, his gaze demanding and receiving their attention. “I need an army to meet the threat that is coming.”

  He cast another look at Marsh.

  “If she had not escaped the ambush on the road to Kerrenin’s Ledge and stumbled into Leon’s Deep, we’d have had no warning. Now we do, and I need your help. The caverns need your help.”

  Again he looked at Marsh.

  “This young lady needs…” He paused, and Marsh took the cue.

  “I need four guards so that I can get the children to the monastery.”

  “And I need an emissary to the shadow mages,” Gravine added, directing his next few words to Marsh. “This will fit with the duties you already hold. Will you and Roeglin be my representatives? I will need mages to assist in protecting the caverns and a way to ask the rock mages for their help.”

  Rock mages? It was the first Marsh had heard of them. Aisha squirmed in her lap, having heard the founder’s words. Checking in with the rock mages might not be a bad idea for her, either. In the meantime, she hoped Aisha would keep quiet—but the founder wanted his answer, and he didn’t like to be kept waiting.

  “Well? Will you be my emissaries?”

  “I’ll go,” Roeglin said, and Marsh nodded.

  “Happy to,” she said.

  The founder dipped his chin in acknowledgment.

  “Thank you,” he said. “Your service is appreciated.”

  Marsh wanted to ask him what he was paying, but he had already moved on to the caravan guards.

  “I am happy to pay for the hire of my emissaries’ escort team, and I’d like to start signing on any of you interested in helping me found the Ruins Hall Protectors.”

  He gestured in the direction of the door, where one of the tables had been pulled up parallel to one side. Behind it sat a woman with a quill and a heavy ledger. Just behind her at a second table stood two men with a heavy chest and a box of small leather pouches between them.

  “My clerk is waiting, and I have the tailor reserved for uniforms.”

  Marsh raised her eyebrows. That sort of organization spoke of more time for preparation than her arrival in town the evening before afforded. She stared at the founder. For a moment his eyes rested on her face and his expression stilled, then he let his attention rove over the guards again.

  “Anyone interested?”

  “What are your terms?” Lennie asked, and the guards stopped moving, their expressions attentive as they waited for his reply.

  The man named a price for a year’s service that most guards wouldn’t see for ten trips, and Marsh held her jaw closed as he added that it was for the lowest rank, with increments for specializations and increases in rank and responsibility.

  “You’re already trained in fighting and guarding,” he said, “but I will need you trained to fight in formations and coherent groups.”

  He indicated his men.

  “My men can teach you that if you’re not afraid to learn it.”

  This brought a growl of protest from the room, and Marsh caught the satisfied twitch of the man’s lips. It made her wonder where Gravine had come from. She searched her memory but didn’t recall anything that said he’d been born locally, which only meant he had come from somewhere else. Come to think of it, she hadn’t heard where he’d recruited his men,
either.

  As far as she knew he’d always had them, and he’d arrived shortly after Kerrenin’s Ledge was established. That made him very old, a lot older than he looked. She frowned and didn’t realize she’d been staring until Gravine spoke.

  “Something displeases you, Seeker?”

  Seek… How had he known that?

  Marsh shook her head, shaking the question to one side.

  “No, Monsieur. I was just wondering how you were going to select those who would accompany me.”

  He gave her an easy smile that said he didn’t believe a word of it but was willing to let it slide. He gestured to one of the men at his side.

  “Gustav will be the first—”

  “And I will be the second,” Lennie cut in before he could say any more.

  Instead of protesting, Gravine dipped his head.

  “Then I shall place you and Gustav in charge of who accompanies you.” He paused, then continued. “You are pregnant, are you not?”

  “That will not prevent me from carrying out my duties.”

  “No. I did not think it would, but I would like you and Gustav to ask the shadow mages if they could recommend a safe place for the children and families of my soldiers. I believe their holding is the only real fortress in the area.”

  Roeglin frowned, and Marsh wondered what he thought of Gravine’s unspoken expectation that the monastery would provide refuge for his force’s loved ones. Whatever it was, he didn’t voice it, and Lennie didn’t protest that the task wasn’t what she’d signed up for. From the expression on the woman’s face, she was turning over the idea.

  Marsh had to admit that it did have possibilities.

  15

  Alternatives

  As Marsh contemplated the idea that Monsieur Gravine would provide protection for the Ruins Hall cavern complex and that the shadow mages might be convinced to work with him, the caravan guards filed over to the table where the founder’s clerk sat, each signing their name and accepting the equivalent of a week’s wages as a retainer.