Harmonic Magic Series Boxed Set

by P. E. Padilla

  “This,” Sam started, “is Ix.” He pointed to her. “This is Nalia Wroun, and I’m Sam Sharp.”

  “The Sam Sharp?” the miray asked, and Sam began to dread what she would say next.

  “Yes,” he sighed, “the only Sam Sharp I know of.”

  “And he said your name was Nalia Wroun?” she asked Nalia, whose mouth had become a tight line.

  “That is correct,” Nalia said briskly.

  “Nalia Wroun, the Faceless Sapsyr? Nalia Wroun, veteran of not one but two battles against the Gray Man? Nalia Wroun, who is reputedly so ugly that she spent almost three decades of her life wearing a mask to hide it but then bravely decided to show her face so all could see? That Nalia Wroun?”

  Sam saw Nalia’s mouth drop open. For a moment, it seemed as if she had completely forgotten her anger. “Yes, that Nalia Wroun,” she whispered.

  The miray leaned over her desk and took one of Nalia’s hands. She brought it to her lips and kissed it repeatedly. “I have always wanted to meet you, since the first time I heard of you and your exploits. I can’t begin to tell you how much you have affected my life. Everything I have done, I have patterned after your example. It is my great pleasure to meet you. My dream, really.”

  Realizing she was still holding Nalia’s hand—the Sapsyr was so surprised, she hadn’t even pulled it back—the miray patted it and released it. Sam realized his own mouth had dropped open and could see Ix’s small smile out of the corner of his eye.

  “I…uh…it is my pleasure to meet you as well, Miray Slayth,” Nalia was able to get out.

  “No, no, you must call me Shiran. I could never be addressed so formally by you. Not you. Please.”

  “Very well,” Nalia said, regaining a bit of her composure. “Shiran.”

  The smile that grew on the miray’s face made Sam feel warm inside. It wasn’t just a smile from this beautiful woman—which would have warmed anyone from his world—but it was that, finally, some of the credit for great deeds was going where it belonged. To Nalia.

  “I helped, too,” Ix threw in. “She beat me up.”

  The miray looked askance at Ix.

  “Forget I mentioned it,” the assassin said.

  “Oh,” Shiran Slayth said, “I’m shaking. I’m so excited to meet you. But I must be professional. What is it I can do for you, the Heroes of Gythe?”

  Sam looked to Nalia, hoping she’d understand that he was asking her to speak. She shook her head and began. “It is what we can do for you, Shiran. There is an army coming your way, traveling the road from the west. They will be here within a day or two. They brought trouble in Somas, causing a loss of life and property. We wanted to warn you so that you may make preparations.”

  “I see,” the miray said. “Is this a large army?”

  “It is,” Nalia answered, “several hundred soldiers, possibly a thousand.”

  “Oh, that’s too big for us to resist if they attack us.”

  “We don’t think they’ll attack you,” Sam said. “They’re heading east on a mission and don’t want delays. In Somas, it was just the tail end of the force that caused trouble as they were passing through. If you talk to the leader, Ayim Rasaad, and cooperate with her, maybe you can prevent such a thing from happening.”

  The miray looked thoughtful. “Yes, I could see to that. Your notice will help us to prepare. We have a city guard, but they are not large enough to resist an army like that. Between my negotiations and their presence, we should be able to find a way to keep the peace. I’ll get to work on it right away. I can’t think of how to repay you for your help. You may single-handedly prevent deaths from occurring here. Will you stay to help us?”

  “Sadly, we cannot,” Nalia said. “We are on a mission of our own. As for repayment, we require none. It is our honor and obligation to aid those in need.”

  That radiant smile graced the miray’s face again. Sam wondered at her misfortune in being in Gythe where she was considered so ugly when she would be renowned for her beauty in Telani.

  “See,” she said. “That’s why I have patterned my life after you. Have I mentioned how great an honor it is to have met you, Nalia Wroun?”

  Nalia’s cheeks flushed, and Sam found himself wearing his own smile.

  “Shiran,” Nalia said, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence, “we would consider it a great favor to us, as well as the people of Gythe, if you would take part in the new government being set up by Dr. Walt and my father. Leaders local to what used to be the Gray Fortress are already taking part to make it a success, as is the mayor of Somas. Your attitude and abilities would be most welcome.”

  “It would be my honor and privilege to do so,” the miray said. “Once this crisis is averted, I will think on how best to do so, if by letter or personal travel. I promise you that I will do all I can.”

  “You have my thanks,” Nalia said. “Perhaps we will return in a few days’ time to discuss it with you. We may be able to simplify your decision considerably. For now, however, we must continue with our own mission. We thank you for listening to us and hope that our news will help your city.”

  Sam, Ix, and Nalia stood, as did the miray. Sam forced his eyes to meet hers as he thanked her for her hospitality.

  “Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Nalia Wroun. And thank you also Ix, Sam. Let me walk you out.”

  She wrapped her arm in Nalia’s and headed toward the door. Sam smiled at the scene. They looked like sisters or best friends gossiping or sharing some secret. The miray was animated in her speech and Nalia’s attention was rapt. Ix elbowed him as they went out the door and down the hall. Sam thought that maybe this chance occurrence was just the thing Nalia needed to shift her mood.

  Chapter 52

  Shiran Slayth told the three what she knew about the land beyond Kryzyq. She had heard of Iboghan but had never been there. It was to the northeast, though she couldn’t tell them much more than that. The road that went through Kryzyq split and went to the north and to the east. As far as the miray knew, there were no roads to the cave. There may have been one hundreds or thousands of years ago, but if so the shifting land and blowing sands had covered it over.

  Nalia seemed more like herself after the encounter with the miray. Sam teased her that he thought the woman was in love with the her, but Nalia just shrugged it off. Mostly. She had a gleam of pride in her eyes when they talked about it, that at least one person recognized that Nalia was carrying on the heritage of the Sapsyra Shin Elah. Sam kissed her and told her that she had always been his hero. That made her blush and smile and kiss him back with fervor.

  “Okay, okay,” Ix said. “Wait until we return to Whitehall and you can close a door before you go too much further.” She was smirking and for a change, Nalia didn’t snap back at her. She just kissed Sam one more time and then stepped away from him.

  For the rest of the day and the following day, Ix skimmed toward where they thought Iboghan should be. Sam could feel that they were getting closer, but figured it was his anticipation and not anything real he could sense. Their traveling was something like throwing a dart at a map while blind-folded and then taking off the obstruction to look at where they the point stuck.

  Ix was taking smaller jumps so they didn’t miss anything. She headed generally northeast based on the sun’s location, but as they covered mile after mile of sparse vegetation and hardy scrub brush, Sam began to fear they were off track. When he brought it up, Ix shrugged and said she was doing her best.

  Two days after leaving Kryzyq, Ix transported them near a road, the first one they’d seen since leaving the city. That in itself was a surprise, but not nearly so great as what they found on the trail itself. There was trash, animal droppings, and many tracks. A large force had passed by, and recently. Sam looked at Ix with the obvious question in his eyes.

  “I don’t know,” Ix said before he even asked it. “It doesn’t make sense to me. There’s no way Rasaad could have overtaken us, and we haven’t gone backwards
.” She scratched her head and surveyed the area. “Look, you can see the mountain we’ve been using at a landmark over the last few jumps. We’re still going northeast.”

  “Let’s look around,” Sam suggested. “Maybe we can find something that will tell us what’s going on.”

  They spent several hours walking the road, looking at tracks and items that had been discarded along the way. Nothing told them what they wanted to know. As they traveled further down the road, which seemed to be heading due east, the surrounding vegetation increased. They appeared to be leaving the desert area they had been traveling through the last several days. Sam didn’t know if that was good or bad.

  The party had stopped to rest, sitting on a discarded husk of a wagon that had been dragged off to the side of the road. It was late afternoon and they didn’t want to waste any more time looking for clues they were increasingly sure weren’t there.

  “We’re wasting our time,” Ix said. “Let’s keep going. Maybe if I take smaller jumps, we won’t miss anything. If there is anything to miss.”

  “I guess,” Sam said. He was tired but felt that they were missing something. “I have a feeling we’re off course somehow.”

  “Well, now,” a voice came out of the trees a few dozen feet away from them, “that depends on where you’re trying to go.”

  All three whirled and had weapons raised as a green-clothed man stepped out of the forest, a large bear at his side.

  “Emerius!” Sam said. “I’m glad to see you alive. What are you doing here?”

  The big hunter eyed Ix but didn’t comment on her presence. “I’ve been following Tingai’s force since we split up. I’ve almost caught up to him, judging from the age of these tracks. Just another day or two and I’ll have him in my sights. It’s been a long road filled with difficulties, but I’m close now. The question is, why are you here?”

  Sam explained to Emerius their method of travel, with Ix’s skimming and his own teleportation. The hunter looked at Ix as if inspecting her, but still didn’t say anything to her. When Sam was finished, Emerius laughed.

  “So, you’re blindly jumping around trying to find Iboghan, huh? I’d love to help you, but I haven’t seen it. All I’ve seen is the leavings of Tingai’s force. I have to take time out each day to hunt or forage so I can eat, but I am still making headway.”

  “What will you do when you catch him?” Sam asked. “I mean, you’re alone and there are hundreds of them. What is your plan?”

  Green eyes drilled into Sam’s face. “No plan. I figure I’ll sneak in and kill Tingai. Maybe I’ll be able to get out again, maybe not. I don’t really care at this point. I just want to put a stop to the man.” His voice was soft but dangerous.

  Sam recalled the Emerius of old. He was boisterous and arrogant and loud. It was nothing like this man, who was quiet and had the pall of death hanging over him.

  “I was thinking,” Sam said. “We could really use your help with what we’re doing. We—”

  “No, I have my own goals.”

  “Please, let me finish. We could use your help, and with what I can see, you can use ours. There is no way you’ll get to Tingai in the middle of his forces without being killed. You may be able to somehow kill him, but your life will be the cost.

  “If you help us to finish this thing, then we can help you with your quest. We’re almost to Iboghan, so it won’t be more than a few more days. Then, with Ix and myself able to transport us, we can catch Tingai and put an end to him. What do you say? We can help each other and by so doing increase the chance we’ll both succeed.”

  Emerius stared blankly at Sam. He seemed to be mulling it over.

  “Plus,” Sam said, “we’ll be able to go back to Whitehall and eat each night, not to mention sleeping in a bed.”

  “I have your word that we’ll take care of Tingai?” Emerius asked.

  “Absolutely. We want to stop him as well. Once we have the next artifact and have stopped Rasaad’s mission to collect them, we can attack Tingai’s forces.”

  The hunter nodded and turned to Ix. “I’m Emerius Dinn,” he said to her. “I guess we’ll be traveling together.”

  Sam smiled at Nalia, who gave him a firm nod.

  When they returned to Whitehall with Emerius and Oro in tow, Sam was beginning to feel better about the next day. With the remaining twin tracking for them, they would be able to find Iboghan more quickly. It didn’t make a difference to Sam that it wasn’t logical to think tracking ability would help in this. He knew he was grasping at straws, but accepted his buoyed mood.

  At dinner, Dr. Walt welcomed Emerius back and listened intently when the big man gave an account of his tracking of the army. Sam sat back and listened, but he also watched. Emerius seemed to have changed, to have matured. That was good, though the reason for it was not. He felt a pang of loss for Inoria and hoped they could end this before anyone else lost their life.

  Skitter came to join them late in the meal. Those kittens are running me ragged, he sent to Sam, but could not help but to have affection leak through in his sending. The hapaki had been spending a lot of time with the baby cats, allowing them to swarm him and attack him. Sam had heard about it from others as well as the hapaki himself, but now he could clearly sense in the hapaki’s mind how much he loved the little monsters. He was like a proud parent.

  They’ll do that. How are Stoker and Molly doing? Sam sent back. He saw his old cat rarely because he had been so busy with his traveling. It had been a few days since the cat scratched at his door to visit with him, being busy with his own tasks, stalking the keep and hunting rodents.

  They are fine.

  Sam laughed at the way Stoker had taken to Skitter. They were the best of friends. He was glad his cat had adjusted so well to his new life. With the litter of kittens, it would be no time until there were many families of domestic cats in Gythe.

  “Sam,” Rindu said, “I would like to accompany you from now on when you go out to look for Iboghan. I feel that there is some hidden danger in this and would like to be there if it should prove to be true.”

  “That would be great, Master Rindu.”

  I want to come, too, Skitter sent. I have been stuck here at the fortress for too long and would like to explore with you, if that’s okay. I miss our traveling together. I can still visit with the kittens each night.

  I’d love to have you come with us, Sam sent. It’ll be like old times.

  Chapter 53

  The larger party gathered in front of the stables and prepared to leave. Rindu was standing a dozen feet away, looking out across the courtyard toward one of the parks when he saw Ix approach Sam.

  “You know, with this many people, skimming will be tiring,” she said quietly, so softly that Rindu had to strain his ears to hear. “I won’t be good for more than maybe four or five jumps before I’m too tired to go on.”

  “I know, Ix,” Sam said. “I’m sorry about that. We’ll just have to do with shorter days. Let me know when you’re tired and we’ll call it a day. I’m with Rindu, it feels like we’re on the verge of something. I asked Lahim last night, but he hasn’t seen anything of use. He mainly sees the army and how big it’s getting. Still, there’s something…”

  “Okay. I just wanted you to know we’re sacrificing speed for increasing the size of our group.”

  Sam nodded. Rindu understood from what Sam had told him that Ix’s ability didn’t work quite the same way his teleportation did. She would become tired quickly with the extra people, even more so when they got closer to their destination and had to bring the mounts to search on foot. It was a tradeoff that was necessary, however. They were nearing the most dangerous part of their quest and he would be there beside Sam and his daughter.

  The Zouy looked about as everyone gathered around Sam. He had called them to him and sat down in his cross-legged meditation position. He was even now entering the khulim and he would soon transport them to the location at which they had ended the previous day’s trave
l. Rindu walked over to Nalia and put his hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him but didn’t say anything.

  In addition to Rindu and Nalia, Skitter was there, sitting on his haunches next to Sam. Ix was there, too, of course, looking as if she was shoring up her strength for a tiring day during which she would be doing all the work. Emerius Dinn was standing next to the assassin, his height in sharp contrast with the diminutive woman. Oro had been left to his own devices in one of the parks, much to his obvious disagreement. Six. It was not a large number of people if they found extraordinary trouble, but sufficient for most hazards, the Zouy thought.

  Rindu felt the familiar energy, a shifting, and then he was standing with the others on a narrow road. It was warmer than at Whitehall, but the wind whistling through the small groups of trees made it seem colder. He looked around. To the west, there were large stretches of land without an appreciable number of trees. To the east, the direction the others seemed to be orienting toward, copses of trees seemed to be getting progressively thicker and larger. The blue sky seemed to stretch on forever, with very few wispy clouds racing across it.

  “With the extra members of the party,” Sam said, “Ix will not be able to skim all day long. It’s too tiring. So, we need to be smart about where we go. I suggest we carefully decide into which direction we’ll go and how far. We could easily miss the opening to the cave completely.”

  The others nodded or looked around, but remained silent.

  “As close as I can tell, we’re far enough north, so we should concentrate on going east now,” Sam continued. “Emerius, do you agree? Have you seen anything while tracking Tingai that might indicate where we should go?”