by C S Vass
Maybe they just didn’t care. Jared was one of the few who would so cruelly try to tear at a person’s emotions, but practically everybody in Clearwater felt the same way. They all saw her for what she really was. An outsider, and therefore, a freak.
But no, she decided that the thought was unfair. It didn’t do justice to good folk like Professor Thrushling, or even Sasha of course. In any case one or two friends couldn’t make up for the fact that the rest of Clearwater felt threatened by her, hated her intensely at times. What did she ever do to deserve it?
More soundlights slowly flickered out with smokey pops and Fiona felt like screaming. She had come home and trained twice in every fashion imaginable to her, and still she was waiting. He might not even come back tonight. He might not even come back. The thought was deep and sinister to her, almost as if spoken by an alien voice. Without her older brother where would she be? Who would she be?
Finally when she started to think that she should retire for the night before losing too much rest Fiona heard a noise upstairs. The sound jolted her from a half-started dream, as the thumping crash of her front door and the quick-moving boots of a man moving with intent stirred her. In moments she was halfway up the stairs, and burst into the kitchen where he stood.
Rodrick turned his shoulder and looked back at her with a face that was strangled with emotion. The same forest green eyes she had seen earlier in her own reflection stared at her.
“Are you alright?” she asked at once, scanning him for any kind of injury.
“Yes, yes…please just a moment,” he said as he began furiously pacing. “I’m alright, I am alright, just…” he didn’t seem to have the energy to finish the thought. Fiona was about to fetch some water when he abruptly stopped. He took one large deep breath, and said, “I’m okay,” in a voice that relieved her.
“I don’t know what you heard,” he went on. “I’ve been out of the city for most of the day. Received a message from Yondril. He told me there was murder in the streets of Haygarden. Some madness with the Merchant’s Guild, and that we were to immediately give pursuit along the river to Laquath and capture anyone we found along the way.”
“And?” Fiona asked eagerly.
“There was a werewolf, Fiona!”
“No! Is everyone alright? Who was with you?” She couldn’t seem to get questions out fast enough.
“I was with Yondril, of course, don’t worry about those details, you know that I can’t tell you,” he said. “But I guess I can tell you that Hendrick was there too. He got scratched. He’s the worst off of us. But all the same by the time we dealt with the creature we had to turn back.”
Fiona grimaced. “Hendrick isn’t mutilated or anything though, right?”
“No, no,” Rodrick said quickly. “Gods, why am I still wearing this shit.” He immediately began kicking his boots off and pulling off a thick leather breastplate.
“Here, drink something,” she said as she pushed a cup of clean fountain water in front of him.
“Wine too,” he said, then abruptly, “No, never mind. Water. Water.” He took several more deep breaths.
“Well don’t stop telling me things!” Fiona said. “What else happened?”
He quickly ran a large palm through his thick brown hair. Rodrick had taken to styling it in the last year so that long braids of hair roped with golden thread fell past his broad shoulders. “Maybe you can tell me some things first,” he said. “What was your day like?”
“The alarm went off around midday,” she said quickly. “They took us inside, then separated Sasha and I from everyone else. I know that Reggie has been kidnapped.”
“And Sasha knows?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Well,” Rodrick’s forehead wrinkled. “Of course she does. She’s an adult and his betrothed.”
“What’s going on?” Fiona asked. “Rodrick do you know who’s behind these things? Is it Laquath? Is it the Tellosian Empire?”
“Fiona—”
“No,” she jumped in. “I’ll be joining you in three months, anyway. I have a right to know what’s going on in my own city. A right to know who kidnapped my best friend’s fiancé.”
“We’ve been over this so many times,” he said with a moan. “You might be joining me in the Brightbows. Do you know how many people think they get in and don’t? You can’t just assume that that will be your future.”
“But I am good enough,” she responded. “Don’t you think so?”
He gave her a look she could not quite decipher. “That doesn’t matter,” he said at last. “The bottom line is that you’re not a member now.” He rolled his eyes at the look she shot him, but then quickly said, “Listen, there’s a lot going on right now that you don’t know about. Sun Circle is a mess. Gods only know what the Duke makes of any of this, and there are some really shifty ambitious people doing things that I can’t even begin to understand. I know it doesn’t feel like it to you, but I’m still new to this world. I was a lot older than you when we first came to it. It’s a lot to take in. So trust me when I tell you to take the remainder of your education seriously and enter the world when you’re done with that task.”
Fiona bit her lip and wondered what else she could say to wrangle information out of him, but she knew it would be no good. At last she was just going to ask him what his next mission would be when he said, “I’m proud of you. If you want to join the Brightbows one day, then I have every confidence that you could if you really put yourself to the task. But I have just as much confidence in anything else you want to do.”
She grinned. “See you in three months then, Commander.”
He allowed himself a laugh at that.
Soon after Fiona found herself in bed with a tranquil mind. Things may not have been totally well, she reflected, but having Rodrick home was a relief beyond measure. It wasn’t long before the shadows on her wall began to move with the peaceful rhythms of her fireplace, and she proudly reflected on what an intense day of training she managed to push herself through. Fiona drifted off into a happy sleep…
The thunk reverberated through her house like cannon fire.
* * *
Fiona leapt out of bed in a heartbeat, then paused. Nothing. She strained her ears against the thick silence before hearing three swift thunks that made her scramble for her demon-pommel sword. More muffled bangs echoed through the lightless black as she leapt into the hallway in her nightgown. She heard a sudden fumbling at the front door, and as she ran downstairs just managed to catch a glimpse of Rodrick’s head bobbing in the moonlight, a tight piece of cloth tied between his teeth.
She flung herself down the stairs landing gracefully as a cat in the night. No emotion was inside her as she ran trancelike towards the door. She peered outside and spotted a carriage led by two destriers rolling away. Wasting no time, she sprinted to the stable around the side of her manor and leapt onto her mare, Leona. In an instant she strapped the full quiver and bow that were prepared next to her horse and raced into the predawn darkness.
A quick turn, then another, and she saw the carriage up ahead. It was the same carriage, of course, wasn’t it? But it wasn’t moving. How odd. The rear was a plain wooden box that had no obvious openings. She cautiously trotted up to it and moved towards the driver’s seat with one hand on the hilt of her blade.
She approached to find a sleepy-looking young man wearing a cap.
“Don’t you move,” she said in a voice that tried to command authority.
He smirked. “I’ll stay right here with yeh all night if yeh like, miss.”
She placed a hand on the boy when he whistled two quick notes, and there was an explosion of sound that split Fiona’s head and sent her horse rearing. “Lord Questian sends his regards!” the boy laughed as he snapped his own horses into a full gallop. While Fiona barely managed to hang on to Leona the carriage quickly sped off.
It took her precious seconds to soothe Leona enough to get her under control, and even longer to
get her going again. The magic in the lad’s whistle was surprisingly powerful, but it seemed to be over as soon as it had started. If he was a full on soundmage though…It didn’t matter. Rodrick was in there, and she didn’t intend to see him become the next disappearance.
Fiona raced past empty streets, heading in the direction the carriage had moved towards. In the Stone District there would have been plenty of folk scattered about from taverns, brothels, and whatever other mischief went on at that hour, but here there was no one. She suspected that the boy or someone else in the carriage was using sound magic to give the horses some extra speed. Leona was a strong mare in her prime, she should have been able to overtake that bulky contraption much faster.
Her heart rose as she saw the carriage off in the distance, and willed Leona forward. They were gaining ground quickly when the wooden slots in the back of the carriage abruptly slid open to reveal a window. Two men in black clothing wore masks with animal faces: one a bear, the other a wolf. Without warning the bear tossed something abruptly out of the window.
Fiona shifted left at the last possible moment just as something the size of a cup flew by her head. Leona kept pace but as Fiona focused her eyes she saw that the kidnapper was throwing bricks! She fell back to where she felt confident she could dodge, and was immediately put to the test as one, then another, whirred past her shoulders.
Swearing under her breath she nocked an arrow and relying on instinct more than aim let it fly. It pierced the bear in the lower left quadrant of his torso, and he fell back. Not yet satisfied, she let a second arrow fly, and took the wolf in the neck. Wasting no time to see his reaction she spurred Leona along until she was in the back left corner of the carriage.
She was close enough now to hear the driver’s magic whistling. It did nothing to her, but she could feel Leona speed herself onward with power now that they were within range. Good, she thought. He must not know how to control it perfectly. Maybe he’s young and inexperienced. Looking forward she saw them approaching the small swift river that led from the Leaf District into the Stone District by way of a bridge. It was odd that in all this time they had not encountered any city guards.
Fiona didn’t like the thought of pursuing them outside of the Leaf District if she could help it. The Stone District was much more cramped and would be difficult for the abductors to navigate their clunky contraption, but at the same time it might also be easier for them to slip away unseen into some small crevice of the city if she allowed it.
Whether it was inexperience, or a mistake made through desperation, something went wrong with the carriage. The horses were perhaps pushed too hard by the magical booster and crashed as they hit the bridge that led to the Stone District. The wheels slammed into the ground so hard that the whole carriage teeter-tottered and Fiona was scared Rodrick might have been injured inside.
She approached with swift caution, her bow aimed right at the young man’s head as she approached. He was injured, with the left side of his face smeared in blood from a cut to his forehead, but still wore a sleazy smirk.
“Not one move now,” Fiona said. This time she knew she sounded dangerous, and she saw no problem with thumping an arrow between the slime’s ugly eyes.
“Offer still stands to spend the night with yeh,” he croaked. She quickly dismounted and approached him.
“You should offer me a reason I shouldn’t put this arrow through your heart,” she said with disgust. The wind picked up and she could feel her long braid of hair sway. She slowly edged away from him to make her way towards the carriage rear when the high sharp note of a violin broke the silence of the evening like a rock tossed into the waters of a crystal clear pond.
Immediately Fiona felt as if her muscles were made of jelly and her eyelids were made of iron. Another note penetrated the quiet night. She looked around desperately hoping to find the source of it before it overpowered her. She could feel her arms lag to her side as the song began in earnest. It was so peaceful, as if a cloud floated up to her and filled her nose and eyes until she were drowning in its ethereal mist.
Her muscles screamed with protest while she tried to put a foot forward and continue towards the carriage, but it was hopeless. Her body might as well have weighed a thousand tons. She fell to her knees while the smell of muddy river lilies filled her nose. She couldn’t give up now, not when she was so close! But her thoughts started to hold weight too, and as the violin lulled her into a magic sleep she realized that she would only have another moment of consciousness.
Summoning the last of her strength for one final attack, she lifted her arms in one great heaving motion and fired an arrow blindly in the direction of the violin. Immediately she collapsed, and her shot was met with menacing laughter as she slid into an involuntary slumber.
Chapter Four
Fiona awoke to the chirping of birds and fresh sunlight shining on her face. She had the most terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach but for the life of her she could not remember why. Slowly, memories from the night before crept into her head like unwelcome visitors until she recalled Rodrick’s abduction and shot up straight. Confused, she looked around the room and realized she was in Professor Thrushling’s chamber at Clearwater.
Thrushling himself was sitting at an oak desk scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. “Professor,” she said.
He jumped up as quickly as if a bolt of lightning had shocked him and ran over to her. “I did not expect you to be awake so soon after your ordeal,” he said. “You should certainly not be up.” His plump face was flushed red. “Here, this will help.” He reached for his flute and began playing a soft circular melody that made her lose consciousness before she could protest.
Some time later she awoke. She guessed by now it was close to evening. The sun cast an oily red light along the walls of Thrushling’s chamber. Fiona glanced around at the piles of books, musical notation, staff paper, quills, and general clutter. The Professor was nowhere to be seen. She wondered how in the world she had gotten there. Fiona looked down and realized she was still wearing her nightgown from the night before.
She rose, but there was no sign of anyone. A pair of her own plain brown breeches and her bright green tunic were neatly folded on a chair. She quickly changed and sat down on the bed wondering if she should get up and go find somebody.
A hollow place began to grow inside of her as she sat and reflected on the night’s events. She had failed Rodrick. A small voice in the back of her head said that he might have gotten away somehow…perhaps the violin magic that had put her to sleep was actually from a friend who was trying to rescue Rodrick. But deep down she knew that was simply not the case. How could she have thought herself worthy of joining the Brightbows when she couldn’t even protect her own brother?
The door swung open with a thwack and in burst Headmaster Fiercewind who appeared to be in an argument with Thrushling. “I’ll not fight my own faculty while fighting Sun Circle, Harigold, and that’s final!” she bellowed.
“Headmaster, for pity’s sake the girl is asleep,” Thrushling hissed back as he cleaned his circular spectacles on his white shirt.
“I’m not,” said Fiona. Her voice sounded sad and small.
Fiercewind noticed her and immediately her scowl transformed into a look of anxious worry. “I’m glad you’re alright, Fiona,” she said.
“Where’s Rodrick?” Fiona asked at once.
“It appears he’s been abducted,” Fiercewind said. “I’m sorry, Fiona. It was very brave of you to give pursuit, though I wish you wouldn’t have.”
“Do we know why they took him?” Fiona asked.
Fiercewind’s brow furrowed.
“There was a note,” Thrushling said. “It was simple. Disappointingly so. It read, ‘Rodrick is ours, as is Haygarden.’ Nothing else.”
Fiercewind looked like she was about to order Thrushling to clean out every chamber pot in Clearwater. “Harigold, the girl needs rest.”
“Fiona needs to prepare
herself,” Thrushling responded. “Whoever did this could come for her next.”
“It was Laquath,” Fiona said at once.
“What?” Fiercewind said. “How could you know that?”
“Let’s hear the girl out, Helena,” Thrushling said in a pacifying tone.
“I pursued them all over the bloody Leaf District last night,” Fiona said. She was eager to waste no time. There was no way to know the value of potentially precious seconds now. “When I approached the carriage before it took off the boy riding it said, ‘Lord Questian sends his regards.’ Lord Questian rules in Laquath. It has to be them.”
Fiercewind looked at her like she had lost her mind. “You are almost an adult, Fiona,” she said. “Think about your words before you speak. Why would the Lord of Laquath order his subordinates to shout out his own name while they’re committing crimes on foreign soil?”
“I don’t know!” Fiona said. She was so tired of everyone questioning her judgement all the time. “Maybe he was just being cocky. Maybe he was planning on someone killing me by the end of the night. But it was Laquath! Rodrick had been pursuing the ones who kidnapped Reggie there until they encountered a werewolf along the river and had to turn back.” What would she have to do to convince them that she knew what she was talking about?
Fiercewind looked mad enough to scream. “Gods, the brother is just as bad! Does nobody in this city know how to handle classified information? Fiona, you are absolutely not to spread whatever your suspicions are around school.”
“School?” she asked, shocked. “What do you mean school? I’m not going back to school.”