Roeglin groaned, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. He opened his eyes to see Aisha sitting beside him, the kat looking over her shoulder. There was a weight on his leg until Scruffknuckle lifted his head to look into his face.
Seeing he was awake, the pup gave him a happy grin and thumped his tail. Boots rattled on the stairs, and he winced. Master Envermet’s voice came from just out of view.
“We’re in here, Marsh.”
Roeglin tried to sit up, only to have one small hand and one very large paw push him back down.
“I’m okay,” he tried to protest, but Marsh dropped to her knees beside him.
“You are every kind of Deeps-be-damned fool imaginable!” she shouted, and he flinched.
That made her stop, but Roeglin regarded her warily nonetheless. Her lips quivered, and she pressed them together.
“I don’t know whether to kill you or kiss you,” she managed after she’d stared at him a few moments longer.
Roeglin wanted to suggest the latter, but he wasn’t sure he dared. She took a breath and was about to say something when Master Envermet intervened.
“Marchant, you need to see this.”
She fixed Roeglin with a fierce glare and poked him in the chest. “Don’t move.”
Roeglin closed his mouth and tried to nod, but his head hurt, so he closed his eyes instead. She was gone when he opened them again, but he heard her.
“What in all the Deeps is that?” The question was filled with a depth of loathing she hadn’t used before.
“I don’t know.”
Roeglin heard the scrape of metal and a sharp indrawn breath, followed by the sound of something being crushed by a hard and heavy object. The banging went on for some time after the cracking sounds turned squelchy.
“Ugh,” Marsh said, then added, “Are you sure you don’t know what that is?”
“It looks like some kind of tentacle bug.” Master Envermet sounded mystified.
There was a sudden banging and then silence. When he spoke next, the shadow captain sounded pained. “Did you have to?”
“Yes.” Marsh was unrepentant.
Master Envermet sighed. “I wonder how many more of these we’ll find.”
Roeglin cracked his eyelids in time to see Marsh get to her feet. She came and looked down at him, then glanced at the shadow captain. “I don’t know, but I think we should search everyone, just in case. I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t belong on a human.”
“Agreed.” Master Envermet’s tone was wry. “I’ll speak to Rocko.”
“Why not Liam?”
“Because Rocko is in charge of keeping the peace.” His mental voice was much clearer. Liam needs to keep a low profile, and we don’t want to draw attention to him.
“He needs to be checked before we send him to the caverns.”
“Agreed.”
“And his family.”
“Yes.”
“And everyone else.”
“Shadow Mage Leclerc!”
“Yes, Master Envermet?”
“What are you doing still here?”
Marsh went, and Roeglin relaxed with a soft sigh. He tensed again at the sound of Master Envermet’s boots coming nearer. When they stopped beside him, he looked up into the shadow captain’s face.
Master Envermet stretched out his hand. “You are a very lucky young man,” he said as Roeglin accepted his help to get to his feet. “Without the link between you, you’d have died.”
A chill washed over Roeglin’s skin and he shivered. He was still feeling slightly sick from the encounter.
“What did you find?” he asked, and Master Envermet indicated the crushed remains of some kind of bug.
“It looks like some sort of giant flea or tick. I found it attached to Macey’s spine.” He frowned. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it had sent tentacles up his spine and into his brain, but for what purpose, I don’t know.”
“You think it was controlling him?”
“I don’t know about controlling, but it was certainly protecting him.” He took a step and then paused, cocking his head toward Roeglin. “Controlling...” he mused. “That’s a terrible possibility.”
He draped Roeglin’s arm over his shoulder and steadied him down the stairs. “Come on, kat. Bring my apprentice.”
“No!” Aisha shrieked. “Bad Dan. Put me down!”
There was a soft thud and a shuffling sound as Aisha presumably hit the floor and got to her feet. A moment later, Roeglin heard her patting the big kat.
“Pick me up,” the child demanded, and Mordan grumbled. The patting got louder and Aisha repeated her request. “Up.”
The kat rumbled again, but Aisha sounded content when she spoke again.
“Thanks, Dan.”
Roeglin turned his head to see, and a wave of dizziness almost sent him to his knees. He stopped and let Master Envermet support him. Henri was waiting at the bottom.
“She’s got them all lined up in the street,” he reported, and Roeglin didn’t need to ask who.
Master Envermet ducked out from under Roeglin’s hand and pushed him at Henri. “Here. Take this.”
Henri caught Roeglin at the last minute and gave him a curious look. “What did you do to yourself?”
“Nearly got killed inside someone else’s head.”
Henri snorted. “Well, that explains the mood, then. She’s in a real stinker of a temper.”
Again, Roeglin didn’t need to ask who he meant. Marsh hadn’t looked very happy when she’d walked past him upstairs. It figured she wasn’t happy now.
“Did you get it done?”
“What?” Roeglin asked, his voice like old paper.
“Whatever it was you went up there to do,” Henri explained. “I take it there was a reason.”
Roeglin almost managed a smile. “Yes,” he rasped. “We got it done.”
Henri rolled his eyes. “Keep your secrets,” he said, disgusted, and helped Roeglin outside. The shadow mage raised his eyebrows when Aisha rode past on Mordan. So that was what that was all about.
“Yup.” Aisha sounded smug. The kat twitched her ears, her expression daring him to comment.
Roeglin decided silence was the better part of valor.
The townsfolk were not impressed, but Marsh was adamant. She went over each of them, running her hand down their spines and up under their hairline to make sure there were no more creatures attached.
Master Envermet transmitted the image of what he’d seen to every mind and they all waited to be declared clear, their horror lapping at the edges of Roeglin’s awareness. None of them wanted such a thing anywhere near them.
When she was done, Marsh dismissed the villagers and looked at Master Envermet. “Shadow Captain?”
He quirked an eyebrow at her, as though amused she would hand his command back.
“Yes, Shadow Mage?”
She scowled. “What would you like us to do next?”
“We need to sleep,” he told her, and Rocko stepped forward.
“The campgrounds are empty,” he offered, but Master Envermet shook his head.
“Thank you,” he told the man, “but we have imposed on your hospitality long enough.”
He glanced at the sky. “Dawn is not far away. We’ll travel until we find a safe campsite and rest early.”
Rocko bowed his head. “As you wish.” He glanced at Macey’s house. “How much of a mess is there to clean up?”
Master Envermet followed his glance. “He’s dead,” he answered shortly.
One of the other villagers stepped forward. “You’re welcome to stay here,” the man told them. “There are no raiders due for a week.”
Master Envermet studied his face and then smiled. “No, thank you, Master Olderman. We would hate to impose.”
He stopped and looked at the man. “Unless you think you’ll need our protection?”
He indicated the bodies in the street. “Will there be reprisals?”
&n
bsp; The man followed his gesture and paled. “Not if we clean up well enough,” he replied. “These men were never here.”
He stopped and cocked his head, a small smile creasing his lips. “Besides, if there are, we’ll be a lot happier knowing you and yours are coming to rescue us.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, you are looking for the raiders, are you not?”
Master Envermet nodded, and the man continued, “Then you will always be coming for us since everyone goes to the same place.”
Master Envermet nodded. “We will not let you down,” he promised and swung into his saddle.
Henri helped Roeglin mount, then transferred Aisha from Mordan’s back to the saddle in front of Brigitte. When he went to help Tamlin, the boy froze.
“I’ll lift you onto your mule,” Henri told him, “and we’ll get your sister to take another look at your wrist in the morning.”
Tamlin regarded him for a long moment, then let Henri help him into the saddle. Izmay came alongside him.
“In case you slip,” she told him, her expression daring him to argue. The boy cast a glance at Henri, but the big guard waved at Roeglin.
“I have to keep him in the saddle,” he explained, then jerked a thumb at Marsh. “And her. They’re both nearly dead on their feet.”
“They both nearly died,” Tamlin retorted, and Marsh wondered how much of the battle the boy had seen.
Marsh slumped in the saddle and wondered if they wouldn’t be better off returning to the campsite.
That’s where we’re going, Master Envermet told her, but we won’t be telling them that.
His words were accompanied by an image of the too-curious villagers peering at them from behind their shutters, and Marsh nodded. She slumped in the saddle, letting Henri guide the mules where they needed to go.
12
Hot Pursuit
Marsh fell asleep and woke in her sleeping roll on the ground. She was stretched out beside Roeglin, who was breathing quietly beside her.
They were in another ruin, but not the campsite Master Envermet had said they were returning to. Marsh studied the straight walls, knowing they were ancient even though they were overgrown with creepers and chunks of them were missing. Across the chamber from her, the mules snorted, shifting restlessly in the dark.
She sat up and looked around. The dull glow of a fire threw orange flickers against one wall, and the shadows of those gathered at its edges rippled and shuddered like fleshless giants in silhouette. Marsh shivered, her body aching.
One of the figures stood up and crossed quickly to where she sat.
“Ssshhh,” he told her. “It’s not time for you to wake.”
Marsh blinked at him. “Jakob? Where’s Master Envermet?”
“He’ll be back soon. He took Brigitte and Tamlin with him. Aisha is upset, but we needed her to stay here with you.”
Judging from the way he said it, the little wretch was in earshot and listening to every word. Marsh indicated Roeglin. “How is he?”
Jakob got the hint. “Aisha got him through the worst. Like you, he just needs to rest.”
“How is she?”
Jakob’s mouth twisted. “She’s her usual grouchy self.”
“Not grouchy,” the child argued, sounding exactly that.
“Yes, grouchy.” Master Envermet had returned, but they hadn’t heard him arrive. Aisha shot the man a dark look.
“Needs bells,” she muttered, her little voice full of rebellion.
Master Envermet’s eyebrows rose, and he looked at Marsh. “That is your responsibility,” he told her, and Marsh noted how Jakob kept his head turned away to hid the smirk on his face.
Master Envermet noticed anyway. “It is no laughing matter,” he added, and Jakob snickered.
Marsh shook her head and regretted it. Pain lanced through her skull, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, Master Envermet had pursed his lips. “You overdid it,” he told her, “and you need to sleep.”
Marsh was about to say she needed to do something else when he indicated a corner of the cave. “Latrines are that way.”
His hand moved to point to another corner, “And there is a pool for bathing over there. It is downstream from the spring.”
There was a spring?
“There is a spring,” Master Envermet confirmed, “but it flows down from another level, so we collect our drinking water from above the pool.”
Henri arrived carrying a bowl of soup and a shroom roll. “I shouldn’t be making you dinner,” he told her, “but it was my turn.”
“Merci,” Marsh replied, taking the food and setting it carefully on a rock. “I will be back for it.”
She did not explain where she was going and he sighed, looking down at Roeglin. “I don’t suppose I should wake him?”
“Not yet.” Master Envermet’s tone was firm. “He needs to sleep.”
Henri stared at him, stung by the vehemence in his tone. “What did he do?”
“Almost got himself killed by a...” Master Envermet paused, obviously struggling for words, “mind bug.”
“Mind bug?”
Roeglin groaned and Master Envermet glared. “Quiet, Henri.”
“Sir, yessir,” Henri muttered and stomped back to the fire.
“Ask a man a question,” he grumbled as he went.
Izmay punched him in the shoulder and handed him another shroom roll. “He’s worried.”
Henri cast a dark look at the corner, where Master Envermet had settled himself on a rock beside the sleeping mage. His look lightened, and he frowned. “So I see.”
He handed the roll back to Izmay. “Has he eaten yet?”
Tamlin stepped out of the shadows beside him. “No, and neither have I.” He looked at the fire and sniffed plaintively. “Is there enough for me?”
Henri regarded the boy with a mixture of consternation, outrage, and amusement. “Sit your Deeps-forsaken ass down and we’ll feed you...and tell that shadow mistress to get her ass over here, too.”
Tamlin drew himself to his full height and answered with as much dignity as he could muster. “She will be here soon. She has to check on Aisha.”
“Does not,” the child snapped, arriving beside Brigitte.
“Does too,” Henri retorted. “You need to eat.”
“Do n—” Aisha stopped. “Do so too,” she finished, and Henri grinned.
“Gotcha,” he said.
Aisha stamped her foot. “Did not.”
Henri snickered and took the bowl from her hand. “Lots or a little bit?”
“Lots!” she told him, bouncing on the spot, and he dribbled a tiny amount into the bottom of the bowl.
She looked at it and scowled. “That’s not lots...”
Henri peered into the bowl. “What do you mean? That’s plenty for a tiny person like you.”
Aisha’s scowl got darker. “I’m not tiny. I’m big.” She pointed to the bowl. “More.”
Brigitte cleared her throat and nudged the child.
Aisha sighed. “S’il play.”
The way she said it was less “please” and more of an order, but Henri smiled at her anyway. “Fine.” He added a large spoonful to her bowl, and then a tiny bit more. “Because you asked so nicely.”
He passed her the bowl, and Aisha beamed. “Merci.”
Brigitte handed Henri her own bowl and then ushered Aisha to a seat by the fire. Henri followed her with her bowl and two rolls, then turned to fill two more.
“Merci,” Tamlin told him when Henri handed them over, and he carried them to where Master Envermet was sitting.
The shadow captain accepted his with gratitude and the boy sat opposite him.
“How’s your wrist?” Master Envermet asked as Marsh arrived.
“Aisha healed it this morning,” Tamlin told him and indicated the bowl and the roll. “That’s yours.”
“And you’re eating it in bed,” Master Envermet added when she stooped to pick it up.
Marsh was too tired to argue. She just nodded, ignoring the exchange of raised eyebrows when she sat on top of her bedroll and lifted her first spoonful.
“You okay?” Tamlin managed after watching her eat the first few mouthfuls.
Marsh nodded. “Just tired.”
She proved the point by finishing her bowl and settling into a dreamless slumber moments later. When she woke a second time, Roeglin was no longer beside her, and the fire no longer burned. She rolled her bedding and stowed it in her pack.
When she was almost finished, Roeglin returned. He handed her a breakfast roll, which she ate as she checked the campsite. Master Envermet dropped by.
“We ride when you’re ready,” he told her. “Make sure you’re prepared for a long day’s ride.”
Marsh nodded and set about finalizing her preparations. It didn’t take long, and she took her place beside the shadow captain as they led their mules toward a thick screen of vines. When they arrived, Aisha nudged her mule forward and stretched a hand toward the vine, her eyes glowing a brilliant green.
The vegetation lifted, coiling out of their way so they could ride beneath it and down a narrow passage to the cavern entrance.
“The Deeps know why so much of this is still standing,” Roeglin told her, “but we’re grateful.”
“I thought we were going to circle back to the old campsite,” Marsh replied.
Master Envermet answered, “I decided against it. We’d have had to swing too wide to avoid being seen from the town. It was easier to stick to the trail and find somewhere along the way.”
“And how did you find this?” Marsh wanted to know, thinking of the concealed inner cavern and the long corridor to reach it.
“Little bird,” Aisha piped succinctly.
“Quite literally,” Master Envermet added by way of explanation, and Marsh supposed that explained it all.
She rode a little farther before wondering, “How far behind are we?”
“A day,” Master Envermet replied, and panic sent nausea rolling through her. He ignored it. “We’d have been no use to anyone, the state we were in.”
And by “we,” Marsh understood he meant her and Roeglin.
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 Page 127