“You are weak and I am strong,” she said, choosing her words carefully. She needed to make sure her message was clear. “Say it.” When Brunwal hesitated Wren marched up to him and slapped him hard across the face, leaving a red handprint on his cheek. “Say it,” she repeated.
“You are strong,” said Brunwal, but she knew it wasn’t enough. Beating him wasn’t enough. Shaming him wasn’t enough. She needed to render him powerless and that meant taking away their fear of him.
“And?” she pressed, holding up her hand again.
“I am weak,” he whispered. In the silence of the room every student heard him. And with those words something changed. The air of menace around him evaporated. He was no longer a terrifying thought that plagued her mind. He was just a stupid boy. Wren released him and Brunwal fell to the ground, sobbing quietly.
Looking at the crowd she noticed his friends had disappeared, returning to their beds as if they’d never been part of this.
When she looked at the faces of the other students she was startled to see fear in their eyes, but not of Brunwal. He had been the strongest and scariest student in the dormitory but he was broken. Wren had beaten and embarrassed him.
Now they had someone else to fear. They were scared of her and what she might do to them.
CHAPTER 9
“Don’t struggle,” said the woman holding a hand over Munroe’s mouth. “Or the sentry will hear us.”
If her arms hadn’t been pinned to her sides Munroe would have stabbed her assailant with a dagger. Instead she started reaching for the Source when the woman’s words finally penetrated her panic.
“To the right,” whispered the woman.
The sentry was difficult to see but eventually Munroe picked him out. He was standing in the shadows at the end of the row of houses. She’d come from the other direction but now she wondered if this had been a trap. If she tried to retrace her steps, would she find they were boxed in on both sides?
“Don’t scream,” said the woman, slowly easing her hands away from Munroe’s mouth and body. In the gloom she couldn’t make out much about the other woman except that she was tall and freakishly strong. “There’s another guard behind us,” said the woman. “Can you distract the one in front?”
“Who are you?”
“Tammy Baker. Balfruss sent me to keep an eye on you.”
“He did what?” hissed Munroe. “Why?”
“Do you really want to talk about this now? Here?” said Tammy. Munroe hated to admit it, but she had a point. “Can you distract the sentry?”
Munroe swallowed her irritation and embraced the Source. Power flooded her body and her senses became more acute. She couldn’t see in the dark, that Talent was beyond her abilities, but the shadows had peeled back a little. Now the sentry was more than just an inky outline. She could make out that he wore armour of some kind and carried a sword on his belt. Although he looked relaxed, she noticed he was constantly scanning the area for trouble, his head turning this way and that.
Focusing on the roof above the sentry’s head, Munroe extended her senses towards the tiles, looking for imperfections. She felt moss, rotting leaves, bird shit and scattered seeds before finding what she was after. There was a dull crack and three tiles slid off the roof. The sentry moved away from the edge of the building and lifted his head in time for the first tile to hit him in the face, breaking his nose. The second hit him on the crown of his head and the third on his left temple. He dropped to the ground in a silent heap, bleeding but alive.
“Let’s go,” said Munroe, not waiting to see if Tammy followed. She crept past the window and then scuttled along more quickly. Once they were back on the main street she let go of the Source and there was a distinct dulling of her senses.
She was tempted to run, putting some distance between her and the unconscious man, but knew that would look suspicious. Instead the two of them casually walked back to Munroe’s tavern as if they’d been out for a midnight stroll.
“Can you climb up?” said Munroe, gesturing at her first-floor window. The front door of the tavern would be locked by now, so this was the only way in without drawing attention. The rest of the windows were dark so they had to do this quietly.
“You go first, I’ll follow,” said Tammy, keeping an eye on the street.
Retracing her route and digging her fingers into the pitted stone, Munroe scampered up the wall like a squirrel. Once inside her room she lay on the floor for a minute, listening to the rest of the building for any sounds of movement. There was nothing, just the occasional snore and squeaky fart from neighbouring rooms.
With a couple of grunts of effort Tammy climbed up the building and through the window. Once the window was closed and the curtains drawn, Munroe lit a lantern and got her first real look at her large new friend.
“Have we met before?” asked Munroe, eyeing up the other woman. There was something familiar about her, but she couldn’t place it.
“I’m a Guardian of the Peace. I used to live in Perizzi.”
Munroe grunted. That made sense. She might have seen her around the city at some point over the years. She would be hard to forget, being nearly as tall as Choss but not quite as wide. Tammy had the pale skin of someone from Yerskania but the height of a Seve, indicating a mixed heritage. Almost immediately Munroe noticed the scarring on her hands and sunken knuckles, also just like her husband. Others might find it peculiar, that a fighter had become a Guardian, but Munroe had seen far stranger things in her life. A Guardian who could talk to the dead. A mage who could transform his flesh and absorb someone else’s memories. A hole torn in the fabric of the world to another place she still couldn’t fathom.
Who would have thought that she, as someone who had once worked for one of the crime Families of Perizzi, would end up a mage at the Red Tower.
Life was fucking weird.
“How do you know Balfruss?”
Tammy sighed and touched the sword on her belt. “We worked together in the past.”
“That’s nice and vague.”
“It was in Voechenka. It’s a city in Shael. He gave me this,” said Tammy, resting a hand on her sword again.
“I’ve heard the name before,” admitted Munroe, “but Balfruss won’t talk about it, at all. But I know something important happened there.”
There were a lot of rumours but Balfruss wouldn’t even admit he’d been there when she’d asked him about it. Voechenka had been destroyed during the war, but that was not why it had a reputation. Balfruss, and apparently Tammy, had been sent there a few years ago to deal with something lurking in the shadowy ruins.
“What happened there is better forgotten,” said Tammy. “It was a dark time.”
“So why are you following me?” said Munroe, crossing her arms. She was trying her best not to get annoyed, but was struggling. She didn’t like the fact that, despite having lived at the Red Tower for years and spoken to Balfruss almost every day, Tammy seemed to know more about him than she did.
“Balfruss told me this was your first mission for the Red Tower. He also said you’re not very subtle.”
Munroe wanted to argue but really she couldn’t disagree with that assessment. Still, she didn’t like being kept in the dark. “Did he tell you anything else?”
“Only that a Seeker had gone missing and that you’re a powerful mage.”
Munroe wasn’t sure if Balfruss had really said that or Tammy was attempting to pay her a compliment but she let it go for now.
“So what do you think has happened to the Seeker?”
“I heard part of Burelle’s conversation. It ties in with what I’ve seen.”
“Which is what?” asked Munroe.
“Guilt.”
Munroe agreed. It seemed as if her worst fear had come true. She’d arrived too late and the Seeker was already dead. “From what Burelle and the others were saying, it sounds like they killed her and hid the body. They were confident we’d never find it.”
“T
hen it’s time to leave,” said Tammy, gesturing at the room. “Pack up your belongings.”
“Leave? Burelle and the others need to be punished. Preferably with an axe to the head, or a sharp knife in the groin.”
“Munroe.”
“I thought you were a Guardian?”
“I am, and justice will be served. But if we don’t leave now, we could also end up buried in unmarked graves. Then no one will ever know what happened to the Seeker and they’ll never find our bodies either.”
“I can take care of myself,” said Munroe, willing someone to come through the door. She could kill them all with a glance before they took two steps towards her.
“So can I against a few, but not a whole town. You’ve spent the day here. Tell me what you’ve seen.”
Munroe thought about how the locals had reacted to her presence. Everything appeared normal on the surface and yet she’d felt on edge. Her new friend Murray had been willing to talk to her right up to the moment she’d mentioned the Seeker.
“They’re scared. But I can’t believe the whole town was involved in murdering the Seeker.”
Tammy shook her head. “I think some of them were there when it happened and the rest were told to mind their own business. Some may even have known what was going on, but they did nothing to stop it. Guilt is keeping them quiet. You’ve seen how Burelle runs this town. I think he’s threatened everyone if they talk.”
“How could someone just stand there and do nothing?” asked Munroe, struggling to understand. Morheaton was a small town and the people who lived in such places were not like those in the city. She wasn’t naïve. She’d lived in Perizzi and seen people inflict horrible cruelties upon one another. But in a place like this with a small community, where everyone knew each other, it seemed impossible. “We can’t let them get away with this.”
“What would you suggest?” asked Tammy.
“I don’t know.”
“If no one will talk, how do we prove that anyone was murdered? Can you raise the Seeker’s spirit like Guardian Fray?”
Three times a year Fray came to the Red Tower to study. He also let the Grey Council watch him as he used his rare Talent which allowed him to speak with the dead. They had been trying to unravel it for over six years and were only just starting to understand it.
“No, I can’t do that.”
“Then do you want me to just arrest Burelle and wait for him to confess? They’d never let us leave town with him.”
“I can stop anyone who gets in the way,” insisted Munroe, confident in the strength of her magic. She could hold off dozens of people if necessary with a solid wall of force.
“I’m sure you can. As long as you see them coming. I also know that eventually you’ll need to sleep.”
Munroe didn’t need her to spell out the rest. Even if they somehow managed to grab Burelle and make it out of town his friends would follow them at a distance. At some point she would fall asleep and, as competent as she thought Tammy was, not even she could hold off a dozen armed thugs.
She hated it. Hated it deep down in her guts, but she knew there was only one choice.
Moving quickly around the room Munroe shoved her belongings into her saddlebags. She was angry at the people of Morheaton. She was angry at Burelle and his friends for getting away with murder. And she was angry at herself that, despite having powerful magic, there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t even find the body so that the Seeker’s family had a sense of closure.
“I asked a few merchants some questions about other towns in the area,” said Tammy, glancing out of the window at the street. “Someone has been riling the locals. Preaching to them about the dangers of magic and that all Seekers are evil.”
“Then this wasn’t just about Morheaton.”
“No,” said Tammy, “This isn’t an isolated incident. I think it’s the start of something.” She pulled the curtain closed and doused the lantern. “Someone is coming.”
“Who?”
“Four armed men. I think Burelle has decided not to wait. They’re coming for you.”
“I think it’s time for a little payback,” whispered Munroe.
“Can you do it subtly?” asked Tammy, moving to stand behind the door.
“Maybe.”
“Try not to kill them, or burn down the whole tavern.”
“How—”
“No time,” said Tammy.
Munroe ground her teeth and climbed into bed, fully clothed. Beneath the sheets she held a knife at the ready while Tammy pulled on a pair of leather gloves.
In the deep silence of the night, Munroe heard the rattling of the lock downstairs as the thugs forced open the front door. She tracked their progress through the building as the stairs creaked under their weight. There was a lull and silence briefly returned before the door flew open, nearly hitting Tammy in the face.
Two men came into the room carrying daggers. One of them held a lantern which he set down on the table. The men were burly and had the bearing of street thugs. That meant men who had plenty of muscle and were good at following orders. A glance at their faces told her they weren’t good at thinking. It probably wasn’t an important attribute for them.
“You need to pack your things and leave town,” said one of the men, looming over the bed and waving his dagger in a threatening manner.
“I’m all packed and ready to go,” said Munroe, gesturing at her saddlebags. The thug stared at them and seemed lost for words. Perhaps he’d been expecting her to argue rather than just agree so quickly. He was baffled and clearly hadn’t been given any instructions on what to do if Munroe complied. “I’m leaving in the morning.”
“Oh. That’s good then,” he said, putting away his dagger. “Thank you. That’s lovely. We’ll leave you to get some sleep.”
The bedroom door slammed shut. As one of the thugs turned around Tammy slugged him in the face. The thug went down and stayed there. Thinking Tammy was the greater threat the other turned towards her, just in time for Munroe to jump out of bed and smash the lantern into the back of his head. He dropped to the floor in a heap with a muffled grunt.
When the door flew open a second time Munroe was ready. She leaped onto the third man and started beating him about the face. From the cries of pain behind her she knew Tammy was taking care of the fourth thug. Screaming as Munroe gouged at his eyes the thug slammed her into the wall. She was tempted to use her magic, but right now Burelle had no reason to connect her directly with the Red Tower. Using magic would only add to their problems.
Releasing her grip she dropped to the ground and slammed an elbow into the man’s groin. He stopped struggling and stared at her for a few heartbeats, frozen in place. A moment later the pain hit him and he started to screech like a bird. As he started to curl up in pain Munroe punched him in the face, just as Choss had taught her. The jab was well timed but the thug didn’t fall. Instead he stumbled backwards, tripped and fell down the stairs, landing in a tangled heap at the bottom. The ruckus would have woken up half of the building and yet no one had opened their door to investigate. It seemed as if the locals were willing to look the other way for just about anything.
“Was that you trying to be subtle?” asked Tammy.
“It wasn’t my fault,” said Munroe, wondering how many times she’d said that in her life.
“Maybe we should take the backstairs,” suggested Tammy.
After collecting her belongings they went out the back and around the side of the building to the stables. Munroe expected to find more men lying in wait, but Burelle had underestimated her. They retrieved Tammy’s horse without any issues and rode out of town without seeing another person. At first she wondered if they’d just been lucky, but soon realised it was something else. Ignorance was bliss in Morheaton and the people thought they were safer not knowing and getting involved.
Seething with anger, Munroe rode away from the town and made a promise to herself. One day she would return to deal with Bu
relle and whoever else had been responsible for the Seeker’s murder. Then she’d show them what her magic could do.
CHAPTER 10
Choss’s attention was drawn away from the sparring pair of students as another laden wagon headed out of the main gates. That was the fifth he had seen in as many days. Normally they came into the Red Tower full of supplies and left empty with happy merchants. It took a lot to keep all the students fed, clothed and washed. As he’d learned over the last few years, magic could only do so much.
When he’d first arrived at the school it had been as Munroe’s husband and he’d sought work in the nearby town. In return for helping the town warden keep the peace, especially at night, he’d been given a room and his meals. After only a month he’d moved into the school and started teaching the students how to fight with their bare hands and weapons. He and two other members of staff were trying to teach the children how to protect themselves in all circumstances.
Balfruss came into the courtyard with Garvey. The two men were in mid-conversation and, despite being too far away to hear what was being said, Choss could see Balfruss wasn’t happy. He kept shaking his head and Garvey kept insisting on something, but the Sorcerer would not be moved. They were as stubborn as each other, like iron and granite. Neither would back down. If not for Eloise to act as a mediator the Grey Council would never make any decisions.
Occasionally Choss would sit with Balfruss and they’d drink and talk about their lives. Sometimes they’d tell stories, but they were not tall tales about Balfruss the Sorcerer, or what he and Munroe had done in Perizzi a few years ago. These were smaller stories about their family, their hopes and dreams.
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