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’m next.”

  Gustav didn’t argue, and the four of them kept on. After the first hour, the Master of Stone dropped into a walk. That lasted for twenty paces, then she broke into a jog, again. Marsh suppressed a groan but was ready when the pace went from jog to walk after another twenty paces. She wondered where the woman had learned it and added it to the list of questions she wanted to ask.

  The jolting pace continued until the monastery walls came into view. When they were within a half mile, the Master of Stone slowed them to a walk and let them slowly regain their breath, so they arrived at the gates looking as though they hadn’t done any running at all.

  Marsh watched as Aisha slid from Henri’s shoulders and wrapped her arms around Scruffknuckle and the kit. The pup had had no trouble keeping up, trotting briskly at the heels of whoever was carrying his little mistress, the hoshkat kit running by his side. Somewhere over the journey, the two of them had worked out a truce and now ran easily together.

  Aisha pulled both critters close.

  “Good puppy. Good kit.”

  “We have an audience with the Master of Shadows,” the Master of Stone announced when asked her business.

  As she did so, the hoshkat grumbled from behind the group and Marsh walked back to where it hovered uncertainly at the edge of the path. She looked into Marsh’s eyes, and she met the kat’s mind without hesitation.

  That she was afraid to enter the humans’ stone lair was understandable. Hoshkats and humans had a long history of not getting along. The kats hunted the humans’ livestock and anyone foolish enough to enter their territory, and humans had long prized the hoshkats’ teeth, claws, and pelts as trophies.

  It’s time to make a pact, Marsh told her, picturing the Master of Shadows in her mind and making his position in her hierarchy clear.

  He was the most powerful beast in the cavern. He was the one who could keep her in the fortress or let her hunt for those who had stolen the hoshkat’s kits. It would be better if the two of them faced him together. Marsh pictured the kat and her kits by her side, not minding that Aisha appeared there as well, with one kit closer to her than either Marsh or its mother.

  That was just the way it was going to be.

  The hoshkat stepped closer and Marsh knelt before her, registering an alarmed shout from the walls. She ignored it, pressing her forehead against the kat’s, and rested there as the kat agreed to trust her, then their minds separated. As she pushed herself to her feet, Marsh became aware of the hush that had fallen over the group and her heart skipped a beat. What had she missed?

  Looking toward the gates, she noticed that the Masters of Stone and Beasts had returned to the group and that they were not alone. The Master of Shadows stood between them, his head cocked to one side as he observed her and the kat. Slightly to one side of the trio stood Roeglin, his hands on Aisha’s and Tamlin’s shoulders and a look of concern on his face.

  “I beg your pardon, Masters,” Marsh began. “I did not mean to delay you.”

  The Master of Shadows stepped forward.

  “You did not delay us,” he said. “You frightened the guards on the walls, who were sure you were about to be eaten.”

  Marsh looked down at the hoshkat, and laid a hand on her shoulders, stroking her fur as she stared at this chief of humans. The kat glanced up at her in response and the contact between them flared. This time Marsh did not need to hold her gaze as she turned back to the head of the shadow mages.

  “She will not eat me. We have a pact.”

  “What about the rest of us?”

  Again Marsh glanced at the kat.

  “Her pact is with all who would help her retrieve her kits.”

  “Her kits?”

  “The raiders took them.”

  The cat hissed softly, and the mages drew back.

  “Indeed,” the Shadow Master said, stepping toward them—and causing a flurry of movement as six armored mages ran forward to array themselves alongside him.

  Marsh sensed the kat’s sudden apprehension and sent her soothing thoughts, reassuring Mordanlenoowar that she was safe and promising she would summon a shield and defend her if it came to battle.

  “This is the Master of Shadows. Making a pact with him makes a pact with this pride of shadow wielders,” she whispered, and the cat’s head came up, her ears cocked forward.

  Before Marsh could say anything, the big beast stalked forward, her eyes fixed firmly on the Shadow Master’s face. As she drew closer, she uttered the strange chirping call she used to summon her kits, and both of them bounded to her side.

  “Kitty!” Aisha’s cry of distress bounced off the cavern’s ceiling.

  It was swiftly followed by Roeglin’s shout of frustration as the child ducked beneath his hand and ran after her kit. She hit one of the shadow guards hard behind the knees, knocking him off balance as she pushed past, and there was a flurry of alarm.

  The Master of Shadows stilled it with an upraised hand and knelt before the kat.

  “Roeglin, if you would focus once more.”

  Marsh now understood how he could be so calm. Roeglin had been mindwalking again.

  “Marchant, if you would pass this on?” the master added.

  Pass what… Oh…

  Roeglin had connected them all, pulling the Master of Shadows’ promise of alliance and protection through to Marsh’s connection with the kat. Marsh stilled, letting the Master of Shadows and Mordanlenoowar get a sense of each other. When they were done, the kat walked back to her, one kit by her side as the other retreated with Aisha to where Tamlin was waiting.

  “Let’s go in.”

  It was more a command than an invitation, and the Master of Shadows didn’t wait for a reply. He merely turned and walked back through the assembled mages and guards, not even glancing over to where Roeglin had returned to the children. Marsh cast the mage an anxious look, knowing he must be tired after linking them all together.

  She angled toward him, both to make sure he was okay and to rejoin the children, this time with the hoshkat in tow. Roeglin waited until she’d reached him and offered her his arm, murmuring an explanation as he did so.

  “If you don’t take it, I’m going to fall over.”

  Marsh contemplated letting him fall on his ass for all of a second, then smiled and slipped her arm through his, taking some of his weight as he leaned on her.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “Where are we going?” Marsh wanted to know.

  “To see the Masters.”

  Marsh wondered if he’d make it up the stairs.

  “I’m not that far gone!”

  Marsh decided not to argue, but she was grateful when Gustav came alongside them and lifted Roeglin’s arm across his shoulders. Between them, they got the mind mage up the stairs and along the corridor in time to join the Masters of Stone and Beasts as they entered the Master of Shadow’s office. Other shadow mages ushered the rock mage guards away, showing them to their quarters and where the dining hall was, but the mages gave the hoshkats and the children a wide berth.

  In the end, only two of the green-clad and one of the bronze-clad mages remained alongside the children, the kats, and the pup. Marsh guessed the mages were assigned to the Masters’ protection and maneuvered Roeglin to one side to let them pass. She wasn’t entirely surprised when Gustav and Lennie followed them in, both guards keeping a close eye on the children. It looked like they were taking their promise to the cavern founder seriously.

  They joined the other guards standing around the edges of the room, and Marsh wondered how Lennie was handling the journey. It seemed a lot to ask someone who was also carrying a child. If it was, the surreptitious glance she shot the woman didn’t show it.

  Fortunately, Lennie didn’t notice. Marsh was sure that if she had, the two of them would be having words. Lennie didn’t take too well to being coddled. She turned her attention to what the Masters were discussing.

  They had started by acknowled
ging their duty to the Guardians for the safekeeping of the caverns, and now they turned to Roeglin, Marsh, and the two children.

  “We need to formalize your training,” began the Master of Shadows. He turned to the Master of Stone. “I believe you will agree that both the child and Marchant are in need of instruction from one of your beast speakers.”

  The Master of Stone gave a single dip of her chin.

  “I do.”

  “And the child is in need of instruction in stone.”

  This time the Master of Stone met the Shadow Master’s eye.

  “She showed no sign of stone speaking…” she began but stopped when Aisha interrupted.

  “Can so.”

  “Hush, Aysh,” Tamlin said, looping an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t be rude.”

  The Master of Stone didn’t seem to be worried about her rudeness.

  “Can not,” she taunted. “You didn’t speak to a single stone where I could see, not even a little one.”

  “Rude!” Aisha said and slipped out of her brother’s hold.

  Tamlin made to grab her, but Roeglin stopped him, and the boy subsided with a groan.

  “See?” Aisha said, moving to stand beside the wall and promptly disappearing into it.

  “See? Can so!” she said, reappearing and flouncing back to take her place beside her brother.

  Tamlin was staring at her in open-mouthed surprise. When he caught the smug look on her face, he closed his mouth with a snap and leaned close to her.

  “You little cheater,” he grumbled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

  “You talk to the shadows!” she snapped back. “Dat’s cheating, too.”

  “Is not!”

  “Is too!”

  “Is—”

  “If you don’t mind!”

  The Master of Shadows was not impressed with their bickering. Judging from the look on her face, the Master of Stone was very impressed.

  “I’ll be her teacher,” she said, but Aisha was having none of it.

  “Will not!”

  The Master of Stone leaned back in her chair and eyed the little girl.

  “Why is that?”

  “You’re mean!”

  The master’s face colored but she didn’t argue, and even Marsh had to admit the girl had a point. After a moment, the master stood and moved to an open space just beyond the chairs.

  “I might be mean,” she said, “but I can show you how to do this.”

  She moved her hand, pulling stone from the wall and reshaping it into a rocking horse. Aisha eyed it carefully and then folded her arms across her chest.

  “So?” she asked, doing her best to sound unimpressed.

  The Master of Stone frowned.

  “And this…”

  Aisha refused to turn around, but Marsh watched in wide-eyed amazement. She had to admit, the woman deserved the title of master. Stone clicked and clattered as small squares of it detached from the walls and floor, stacking one on top of the other to create the shape of a bird, its huge tail spread behind it. Aisha resisted the clacking for several heartbeats before she peeked cautiously under her arm and saw the bird.

  Once she knew the little girl was looking, the Stone Master waggled her fingers, making the bird shake from side to side. Marsh saw a sly grin cross Aisha’s face.

  Uh oh.

  At her thought, Roeglin turned his head to watch the child, and they were both in time to see when she raised her small hands and focused. Darkness engulfed the blue of her eyes, and she curled her fingers. Across the room, the bird’s tail started to curl as well, the stone tiles clattering down the length of each feather to rearrange themselves.

  From the look on the Stone Master’s face, this was unexpected. She frowned, flicking her fingers to return a tile to the wall, and Aisha made a snatching motion with her hand, stopping the piece in mid-air. The girl bounced excitedly.

  “Yes!” She skittered the piece back to where she’d placed it.

  “Oh, really?” the master challenged, and let all the tiles collapse to the floor.

  “No fair!” The girl picking them all up and continued building her picture.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” the stone master told her and made a sweeping motion with her hand.

  Aisha wailed as the pieces scattered to their points of origin and blended back into the stone. She glared at the master.

  “Dat was mean!”

  “Want to play tomorrow?”

  The kid considered the offer and finally managed a nonchalant shrug.

  “Sure,” she said. “If I’m not busy.”

  “You bring the cookies, and I’ll bring the milk,” the stone master said, but Aisha shook her head.

  “Nope. You bring the cookies.”

  The stone master shook her head.

  “Nope. It’s your turn.”

  “But…” Aisha glanced over at Brigitte, who gave the child a nod. “Fine.”

  The Master of Stone returned to her seat.

  “Now that that’s settled,” she said and looked at Marsh, “you might want to—”

  Tamlin had already moved to catch his sister as she slid sideways, and Roeglin was at his side to scoop the little girl into his arms. The Master of Stone turned to the Master of Shadows.

  “I’ll instruct her. That much power is…impressive.”

  “But she doesn’t like you,” Tamlin protested. “She’s going to make things difficult.”

  “We’ll come to an understanding,” the master reassured him and turned away. She glanced at one of the shadow guards standing behind the Master of Shadows. “I have some experience with difficult students.”

  The man’s face flushed and his jaw worked, but he said nothing. Marsh figured that was a story she’d have to discover at another time. With Aisha’s training settled, the Master of Shadows turned to Marsh. He indicated Roeglin.

  “Master Roeglin will be your instructor for shadow magic,” he told her and turned back to the Master of Stone. “I need an instructor in beast magic.”

  “That will be me,” the Master of Beasts replied before his fellow master could utter a word. “With the masters’ permission, I will stay at the fortress and begin in the morning.”

  He glanced at Marsh.

  “I think there is much we can teach each other.” He glanced over at where Aisha was sleeping in Roeglin’s arms. “I’ll teach the little one as well.”

  The Master of Shadows nodded and looked at Marsh.

  “Are we agreed?”

  “And Tamlin?”

  “Brigitte and Roeglin will share the responsibility. I think the boy will need the extra challenge.”

  “The boy is right here, you know,” Tamlin muttered, glowering at the master.

  “Then he knows who his first teachers are, doesn’t he?” the Master of Shadows retorted. “Your first round of testing will happen seven cycles from now. Do either of you have any questions?”

  Stunned beyond words at the early testing date, Marsh shook her head. The master studied her for a moment and then nodded.

  “Now there is the matter of the attacks.” He raised his head and looked at the Master of Stone. “How many have you suffered in the last month?”

  “One a week, two in the week just gone,” she answered, glancing at Roeglin and Marsh. “We’d have lost a patrol if your envoys hadn’t intervened.”

  “Do we know where they’re coming from?”

  “We’ve identified two points of entry and closed both. There is at least one more.”

  “They use portals,” Marsh said. “I saw them open one to let the shadow monsters in. They escaped through it too.”

  “But we can’t tell if they use those to enter or open them once they’ve arrived,” Roeglin added, and Marsh knew he was right.

  From the looks on the masters’ faces, it was not welcome news.

  “We need to find the source.”

  That comment came from the Master of Beasts, and the Master of Shadows sighed
.

  “And to do that we need to hold the caverns long enough to discover where they’re taking the people they steal.”

  All eyes turned to Marsh as they realized this was exactly the plan she’d mentioned before.

  “How did you know?”

  At the Shadow Master’s question, her skin turned cold and the color drained from her face.

  “I didn’t,” she said, then repeated herself in the face of the disbelief in their expressions. “It was the only thing I could think of in order to get our people back.”

  “And you really think that’s possible?”

  “I have to try.” Even Marsh could hear the stubbornness in her voice.

  She wasn’t going to consider what would happen if she discovered there was no way to follow the raiders back to their source. She wasn’t even going to consider that it was an impossibility. After all, the ones they’d already encountered had seemed human enough—and if they were human, they had to have somewhere to call home. All they had to do was discover where that was.

  She was just about to say as much when she heard the sound of running footsteps from outside the Shadow Master’s office. Seconds later, someone was pounding on the door.

  “Entré!”

  The soldier who stepped into the room spared a startled glance for the Shadow Master’s company before focusing on the monastery’s head.

  “The road…” he said, breathing hard. “The glows…”

  The Master of Shadows was out of his seat and moving toward the messenger.

  “Show us,” he ordered. “Quickly, now!”

  And the man gave him one startled look and then ran out the door. To Marsh’s surprise, the master didn’t protest the pace but broke into a run to keep up, the other masters racing in his wake as they took the stairs at the end of the corridor. Marsh followed, and before long they had reached the top of a tower overlooking the road leading to the trade route that passed the cavern’s entrance.

  It was marked by a long line of glows, the trail branch barely visible at its end. The soldier stopped and pointed to the road.

  “We had a rider,” he gasped, indicating the trail before turning to face the Master of Shadows. “Man said the trail started going dark. Said he heard screams from the back of his caravan and then everyone ran. He was riding point. When he went back, the caravan master told him to bring word. Master, we have to help them.”