Nocturne

by Natalya Capello

  Lorelei shook her head. No, she had to do this. After she’d passed her Trials, she’d find a way to visit Arryn during his training and make things up to him.

  “All right,” Lorelei said. “Give me a few hours to gather supplies.”

  “Meet me in the commons at midnight,” Ilia said.

  Lorelei checked the clock hanging above her small bed and adjusted her leather skirt. It hung heavy, ending at mid-calf, but was loose enough to maneuver in during their exploration of the citadel. She’d matched it with a loose linen blouse and leather vest. The silks and soft linens of her other dresses wouldn’t work for the climbing she would probably be doing. She fastened a belt with a sword sheath and picked up her rapier from her bed.

  The sword had been a gift from her father when she’d first became an initiate. Her mother had disapproved of course. She’d love the prestige of the Aimsir, but felt that Freya and Lorelei were better off staying in the school than going on dangerous quests. The magic was all for status in her mother’s mind. Their father had thought differently. Not that it mattered. Freya had excelled without any outside experience while Lorelei had floundered. But tonight would change that.

  With a sigh, she glanced up at the clock again as she sheathed her rapier. It was a few minutes to midnight. It was time to go. She grabbed a small knapsack from the chair in the corner, flung it over her shoulder, and opened the door. The hall was empty, dimly lit with pale orange magelights. She inhaled, calming her rapidly beating heart. Even if they hadn’t officially gotten approval, she was going on an outing with the guidance of a First Circle Initiate. The Aimsir would forgive them when they came back successful. Even in the middle of the night, with only a few letters to let her loved ones know she’d left.

  Her chest tightened. Arryn would forgive her.

  She straightened her shoulders and stepped into the hall. She crept down to the brass spiral staircase that led to the common room.

  Ilia was waiting for her with her arms crossed, dressed in tight leather pants and a chain mail shirt over a tunic. She stood over two large backpacks that appeared stuffed full. Beside her, Arryn stood with his arms crossed. He had a backpack of his own and a sheathed sword on his belt. He leveled a glare at Lorelei as she stepped in the room. Lorelei’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Arryn…” she said. “What are you doing here?”

  “Did you think you could leave without telling me?” His brow furrowed deeper. “I know you better than that. I could tell you were up to something.”

  “How did you?” Lorelei glanced between him and Ilia.

  Ilia raised her hands. “He cornered me. Sorry.”

  “She’s not the one who should be sorry,” Arryn said. “You were just going to leave me here alone, when I came to see you.”

  Lorelei hung her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have much of an option.”

  “You could talk to someone, get help,” Arryn said.

  Lorelei’s head shot up and she scowled. “I don’t need that kind of help. I’m not crazy.”

  Ilia glanced to the side with raised eyebrows and muttered something under her breath.

  “What was that?” Lorelei asked.

  “Nothing,” Ilia said and headed for the exit. “I’m going to step outside and let the two of you handle this.”

  Lorelei waited for the door to shut before turning back to Arryn. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have much time.”

  “You should have planned this way before now,” Arryn said.

  Lorelei looked down at the floor and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I’m never good a planning ahead. You know that.”

  “I do.” He sighed. “And you’re going to need someone to look after you. That’s why I’m going with you.”

  Lorelei stared at him with wide eyes. “I…but…your deployment.”

  “It’s not for another week. Even if I’m a little late, my father has connections.” He stepped close to her and took her hand. “I’m here for you.”

  Warmth suffused her and she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a deep kiss. The touch of his lips heated the warmth to a fire that spread through her arms and legs. They stayed in that embrace for several minutes until someone cleared her throat. Lorelei pulled away. Ilia stood in the door with her arms folded.

  “Just checking in to see if we are leaving any time soon.”

  Lorelei nodded as she took Arryn’s hand. “We’re ready.”

  “Good,” Ilia said. “Well, let’s go. We need to get to the laboratory in Rhesior Hall. My friend is there waiting to open a portal.”

  “What route are we taking?”

  “The garden should be fine.” Ilia picked up one of the bags and held it out the Lorelei. “This is for you. It should have everything you need for delving into the citadel.”

  Lorelei took ahold of one of the straps and almost dropped it as Ilia let go. Even loaded as it was, it had not appeared to be so heavy. She adjusted her knapsack and hoisted the backpack onto her back.

  She and Arryn followed Ilia through the silent halls and out the back door to the large gardens that connected the halls of the school to each other. Ilia chose the hedge maze with its tall shrubs towering over the both of them. The scent of flowers filled the cool night air as they scurried through the twist and turns. They stepped out into a small courtyard.

  Rhesior Hall stood a six-story tower of brass and ivory with large curved windows dotting the walls. Ilia walked to the heavy wooden door and pulled it open.

  She glanced back at Lorelei and Arryn and whispered, “The laboratory is in the basement. My friend will meet us there.”

  “It’s a little ironic that my first adventure starts in the basement,” Lorelei murmured as she trailed inside behind Ilia. “I always imagined sailing on a ship or riding on horses down a road to reach my destination.”

  “You’re in the premier university of magic. Nothing is even as you imagine it to be,” Ilia said, picking up her pace.

  Lorelei grabbed Arryn’s hand and quickened her pace to match Ilia’s march down the hall. Ilia paused at a heavy oak door and pushed it open. Stone steps descended into shadows with only a dim green light beckoning from below. Lorelei padded down the steps behind Ilia, pulling Arryn along.

  Tables filled with bottles, open books, and candles were pressed against the walls of the basement. The center of the room was open with a pixie girl hovering over a large circle drawn on the floor in chalk. If standing on the floor, the pixie girl would have come to Lorelei’s knee. Her butter yellow hair flew in wild directions around her pink face though it looked more of a pale rust color in the light. Her translucent pink, insect wings fluttered in a blur as she darted around the circle, a piece of chalk in hand.

  Lorelei blinked and let a grin play over her face. The Aimsir rarely had any of the other races of the faerie in its ranks. Most couldn’t afford the high tuition price. However, those gifted enough had patrons who paid in return for a pledge to the patron House. This pixie was probably one of them. Pixie’s themselves often showed an affinity for magic. Though, she’d never met one in the Lyrist branch of the university.

  Ilia cleared her throat and the pixie shot up into the air about a foot. The pixie flew strait at Ilia and stopped just a few inches in front of her with her hands on her hips.

  “Don’t scare me like that.” The Pixie’s voice came out high and fast, like a flute. “If I messed up the inscription, we could all blow up in a big ball of Aether.”

  “Sorry.” Ilia motioned to Lorelei and Arryn. “This is Lorelei ap Moura and Arryn ap Nemain. They’re the ones I told you about. Everyone, this is Daeira ap Lugus.”

  “A pleasure, my lord and lady.” Daeira bobbed slightly in the air with a curtsey and accompanied it with a wink.

  “No need for the honorifics,” Lorelei said, still smiling. “After all, we’re going into possible grave danger. You can call me Lorelei.”

  “Great,” Daeira said. “You can call me Dae.”

&nbs
p; Arryn tilted his chin, looking down his nose at her. “Lord Arryn.”

  Dae blinked at him for a moment then bobbed again. “Of course, my lord. If you will excuse me, I need to finish the circle so we can head out.”

  Lorelei elbowed Arryn in the ribs as Dae returned to inscribing sigils on the outside of the circle.

  He stared at her wide-eyed and mouthed, “what?”

  “Do you have to be so formal?” Lorelei whispered.

  He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? She is a commoner.”

  “I don’t think that matters where we are going.”

  “It does and will once we are finished with this…” Arryn waved his hand around. “It is important for the common races of the faerie to know their place. You should know yours as well. You are sidhe, Lorelei, and you should act like it.”

  Lorelei crossed her arms with a sigh and turned back to the center of the room. Ilia had moved to the outside of the circle and was inspecting it while speaking softly with Dae. With a nod, Ilia stepped back and adjusted a holster on her belt that held a flintlock pistol. The mechanical weapon was all the rage among the Great Houses lately as they allowed warfare from a distance. Lorelei preferred swords as she liked to get up close. Dae drew one last line around the circle and landed just outside of it.

  “All right,” she said with a huff. “Get ready. Once I finish the incantation, the portal will open. It’s hard to keep it open so you need to run through. I’ll go last.”

  Ilia stepped back and glanced at Lorelei. “You ready for this?”

  Lorelei lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders. “I’m a Moura. We aren’t afraid.”

  Ilia chuckled. “I’ve heard.”

  She nodded to Dae.

  Dae rose into the air and held her hands out with the palms facing the circle. She began chanting in a quick cadence of short syllable words in a language that Lorelei didn’t know. A spiral of mist formed in the air in the center of the circle. It continued to grow until it was three times Lorelei’s height and touched the edges of the circle. The mist flashed a pale blue light.

  “Now,” Ilia shouted and sprinted into the portal.

  Lorelei sucked in a breath, grabbed onto the straps of her bag, and rushed through after Ilia.

  3

  Cool wind brushed against Lorelei’s skin as she stepped onto the other side of the portal. Darkness surrounded her, lessened only by the soft glow of the portal and the moon and stars in the sky. The air was thin and cold, carrying a scent of dust. She moved to the side as Arryn came rushing behind her. Dae flew through the portal and it closed behind her with a soft pop, plunging them into near darkness.

  A few feet away, Ilia shuffled with something in her backpack. The scratch and hiss of a match sounded followed by a flare of orange light. Ilia lit a lantern she was holding and held it up as she scanned their surroundings.

  They stood on a rocky path. It could have once been a road, but it had seen years of disuse. Brambles grew out of the ground, stretching their thin branches along the ground. Several feet behind Ilia, a broken pillar loomed half in the darkness and half in her lantern light. Blacker shadows stood behind it, possibly more pillars.

  “We’re not going to get far tonight,” Ilia said. “The citadel sits in a ravine and climbing down now would be suicidal. Let’s setup a camp and get a little sleep.”

  “Pardon me,” Arryn said, “but your light isn’t going to be much help in setting up tents.”

  “You have lanterns as well. Besides, we won’t be setting up tents.” Ilia set the lantern down, slung her backpack from her shoulder to the ground, and knelt to rummage through it. “We’ll just do the bare minimum.”

  Arryn stared at her with raised eyebrows. With a grumble, he knelt and pulled his pack off. Lorelei gave his hand a squeeze and pulled her own backpack off to start sifting through it. Along with the lantern, she found a bedroll and blanket, a large canteen of water, a sack filled with dried meat, nuts, and a hard bread, a small bundle of sticks, rope, and an assortment of other smaller items. Ilia had certainly prepared them.

  With a raised eyebrow she poked at the bedroll which was as large as the bag should have been. “How did you fit all of this in here?”

  Ilia glanced up from where she was setting up a campfire from a bundle of sticks similar to the one in Lorelei’s bag. “They’re spelled to be larger on the inside.”

  “The work of yours truly.” Dae tapped her chest with the palm of her hand. “Being a small person, it’s hard to carry the stuff I need to. So, I found a spell to help me. Naturally, I shared with Ilia.”

  Dae landed beside Ilia and pulled a bedroll half the size of Lorelei’s from her purse. She grinned at Lorelei. Arryn had turned his back from the group as he pulled various items from his own bag.

  “Have you two known each other for a while?” Lorelei asked Dae and Ilia.

  “We grew up together,” Ilia said.

  “My mom works as a personal magus for Ilia’s parents, Luckily, I inherited her talent and good looks.” Dae tossed back a lock of her hair.

  Arryn laid out his bedroll, sat on it, and pulled the blanket over his shoulders. “How much longer for that fire?”

  “Just a few moments,” Ilia said.

  She lit kindling with a soft, low verse of song and began to nurse the fire. After a couple of minutes, the campfire was roaring.

  Lorelei rolled out her own bedroll next to Arryn’s, unbuckled her sword, and lay it next to her pack. She sat and held her hands close to the fire, enjoying the heat that wafted from it. A shiver passed through her. She hadn’t noticed at first, but the night air had cooled in the short time they had been there. Dae sat with her legs tucked under her, munching on a handful of nuts.

  “Someone is going to need to keep watch for any monsters while the others sleep,” Ilia said. “I’ll take the first few hours. Any volunteers for the next?”

  Arryn shook his head and lay back, wrapping the blanket tighter around him.

  “I will,” Lorelei said. “I should carry my weight in this.”

  “Good,” Ilia smiled. “You should get some sleep. I’ll wake you up in a few hours. Then you should only have about two or three until dawn.”

  Lorelei scooted her bedroll closer to Arryn’s and lay on her side facing him. His back was to her with his shoulders stiff. He hadn’t fallen asleep yet. She rested her hand between his shoulders. Was he still angry at her?

  After a moment, he rolled onto his back and took her hand in his.

  “This is like that time we snuck out to look for spirits in the Hy-Breasail gardens,” Lorelei murmured.

  He gave a soft chuckle. “You had me there all night because you swore one lived in the fountain. I think the ground was softer there.”

  “Arryn.” Lorelei bit her lip. “This may be dangerous. You know that right?”

  “I’m joining the Imperial Navy,” he said. “I can handle a little danger.”

  “Mmm, my brave love.” Lorelei gave him a sleepy smile.

  She closed her eyes and drifted off.

  She floats in a sea of darkness, but it is warm. Hot, blazing even. Suddenly, she plunges downward. The sound of howling wind surrounds her as she falls faster and faster. A million tiny points of light appear below her, growing larger at an alarming rate. She’s going to crash into the world below her.

  Someone yelled, jerking her awake. A growl reverberated in the surrounding air. She sat up.

  Ilia stood with her back to the fire and her flintlock pistol in her hand.

  Three sets of yellow eyes stared back. Wolf eyes. Except they were at the height of a pony. The wolves, triple the size of normal ones, padded into the light. The leader, a gray wolf, snarled with its gaze trained on Ilia.

  “Get up!” Ilia shouted. “They want an easy meal and I don’t plan to give it to them.”

  Excitement thrummed through Lorelei as she grabbed her sword from where she had laid it near her pack and hopped to her feet. Arryn threw off his bl
anket and pushed to standing as well.

  Dae flew up into the air, holding a small white crystal wand. She pointed the wand as the leader and whispered a word. Sigils flared in a blue-white light along the wand. A cone of frigid wind and ice burst from the tip. It slammed into the side of the wolf. He stumbled back with a whimper. Then, he leapt at Dae. Lorelei cringed, ready to draw her rapier. The wolf seemed to pass through Dae, landing on the ground. He spun around in search of his prey. The image of Dae shuddered and disappeared and she appeared two feet higher than it had been. Lorelei grinned. Illusions.

  Ilia’s voice rose over the growl of the wolves in the cadence of a slow melody as she raised one hand to the black wolf on her left. The bristling fur on its back lowered and it padded forward a few steps with its tail between its legs.

  Arryn leapt forward with a long thin sword in hand and slashed into the wolf on the right. The blade cut through its black fur along its shoulder. The wolf gave a yelp followed by a snarl as it snapped its jaws at Arryn. Lorelei lunged forward and jabbed the wolf in the side. Her sword sank deeply in its flank. A growl rumbled through the wolf’s chest. It spun her direction and lunged at her. Lorelei leapt to the side and rammed her rapier through the wolf’s neck. The wolf gargled and dropped to the ground.

  Dae tucked the wand in her belt and began chanting in the same language she’d used when creating the portal. Her hands came together with her fingers forming a diamond, her index finger pointing towards the ground and thumbs pointing up. She flipped her hands so that her index fingers pointed up with her palms toward the gray wolf. Her voice rose to a fever pitch and the wolf vanished.

  Lorelei let out a gasp and glanced around. Surely, Dae didn’t make the wolf invisible. “What did you do?”

  Dae smirked. “I sent it for a trip into the ravine…the short way.”

  “Can you do the same for this one?” Ilia waved to the remaining wolf who lay on its belly at her feet. “My control over it won’t last long.”

  Arryn wiped his blade with a cloth. “What did you do exactly?”