by C S Vass
“Enough,” the Duke said at last. “You’ve made your point, Geoff. Command of the city defenses is in your capable hands. I trust that you will do your duty.” He turned to his daughter. “As I would have expected you to have done yours, Sandra.”
Sandra Redfire tensed, but met her father’s eyes. “I was alerted to the chaos well after it started. I didn’t know if these were protesters or open rebels coming for your head. In fact, it seems to me we still don’t know that.”
“You are my daughter,” the Duke grumbled. “It is unseemly to have you mucking about with a sword in your hand like some unnatural creature.”
“That’s not fair!” Fiona shouted. The words had left her before she realized she had spoken, and the silence that followed with deafening. Resolving not to back down, Fiona stepped forward despite the dozens of eyes on her. “Sandra saved us, and she fought honorably. You should not chastise her for defending her own city.”
The Duke looked her up and down and Fiona felt a shiver down her spine. “Why the gods seek to plague me with roaring girls I will never know.” To her great relief, he said no more to her. “I will convene a council meeting with those worthy of being here on the morrow, and we will handle the growing threat.” With a glance at Shifter he added, “It is my opinion that these rioters may be connected to the more sophisticated hooligans who are snatching my people, but we will discuss all of that when I have rested. Now leave me.”
Fiona did not need to be told twice. Moving away from the Duke she ran towards Sasha and gave her friend a hug. Sasha gently put her arms around Fiona and then stepped away. “You are really going to get us in trouble,” Sasha whispered to her, before turning her heel.
That hurt, but she had no time to dwell on it. Instead, she moved to Downcastle. The Master Soundmage wore a deep purple cloth-of-gold tunic that was ripped in several places from the fighting he had done in the sewers.
“Lord Downcastle,” Fiona said as politely as she could. This was no time to risk his displeasure. “I’m Fiona Sacrosin, Rodrick’s younger sister. There is an attendant of yours I wish to speak to. His name is Juaro. Is he here?”
Lawrence Downcastle eyed her suspiciously and stroked his thick beard. “Why would you speak to my servant?”
She did not hesitate; the lie had already been well-rehearsed in her head. “Forgive me if I intrude,” she said, softly, “I know that Juaro was close with my brother, and well, it would just be so good to speak with someone who knows him well.”
Downcastle’s expression softened somewhat. “Aye, I know what it’s like to lose a loved one child. Fear not, we’ll find my Reggie and your Rodrick in time. When we do, I’ll tie the knaves who took them to the strongest steeds in Haygarden and see how far true evil can stretch. As for Juaro,” he sighed, “a good lad. Dead unfortunately. He lay in the sewers now. I will send someone for the body.”
Fiona felt as though she had swallowed a rock. So much for that.
While Downcastle took his leave Fiona saw Professor Thrushling. She briefly made eye contact and started to move towards him. To her surprise the Professor quickly turned his heel and walked away. What was that about, she wondered. Feeling cautious and uneasy she quietly thought over her options. Every trail she had followed seemed to take her on journey straight into a brick wall. What was she to do?
“I think it’s time we spoke,” a voice said. Fiona turned and looked into Shifter’s shadowed face. The voice that spoke was that of a child, but the exposed hands looked wrinkled and could not possibly belong to someone younger than sixty, and probably much older. Fiona noticed the strange pattern of tattoos swirled around Shifter’s arms like drifting clouds, moving with some strange magic she had never seen before.
“What…” she almost asked what are you, in her surprise, but changed the question to, “What do you want from me?”
Shifter didn’t respond to that, but Fiona could have sworn that she could feel the secret-keeper smirking under that purple hood. She had a strange urge to lift it up and see what kind of face could be found underneath it.
Without another word Shifter turned and disappeared through one of the doorways. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Fiona quickly hurried along to see what would await her.
* * *
Fiona followed Shifter through a series of stone tunnels that became more curved and circular until she felt as though she were traveling through the innards of a giant snake. At last they came to a plain wooden door in a naked stone hallway, so undistinguishable that she was positive that she would have walked right past it had the secret-keeper not stopped. When Shifter pushed on the door, it swung inwardly with a loud creak to reveal the most ordinary looking quarters Fiona had seen since she had lived inside of Haygarden.
There were few items in the room: a pile of straw in the corner that must have served as a place to sleep, a simple wooden table and chair, and a single book. A torch burned brightly on the wall opposite the straw bed. The room smelled of cloves.
“Welcome to my home!” Shifter said in a strangely cheery voice before throwing two hands into the air and leaping onto the straw bed, laughing.
Fiona felt a strange sense of welcome that she wasn’t expecting as soon as the words were spoken. An overwhelming sense of curiosity with regard to what the book might contain seized her and she walked over to the table and picked it up. The tome was bound in plain black leather with no words on the front or spine, and when she opened it she was shocked to see that there were no words written inside of it either.
“Only for those who know how to read,” Shifter laughed. A strange change in attitude and demeanor had taken over Haygarden’s secret-keeper. Before Shifter was all hoarse whispers and a rather cryptic presence, but now that had changed to something absolutely child-like.
Fiona eyed her host curiously. “Why did you bring me here?”
“To get to know you,” Shifter responded. “It’s obvious to me by now that you’re going to make sure that you’re a part of things here. So tell me, Fiona, why have you come to Sun Circle?”
“Why? Why do you think? I was summoned. It’s not like a had a choice.”
Shifter did not respond immediately, and Fiona once more found herself wishing she could see whatever face lay underneath the hood.
“Why don’t you let me see you?” Fiona asked. “It would make things feel a little more equal.”
“But that’s not the only reason you’re here,” Shifter said, avoiding her question.
She sighed. “Of course not. I’m going to find my brother. Speaking of, you led me to Juaro, but now he’s dead. What do you know? Why would you send me to him?”
“An unfortunate turn of events,” Shifter replied. For a split second Fiona thought she even detected a real note of sadness in Shifter’s voice, as if tears might soon follow. “But it matters not now. Tell me, Fiona, why do you want to be in the Brightbows?”
“What? Why would you ask me that?” She felt her heart thumping in her chest, though she could not have said why. When Shifter didn’t respond she said, “Because I deserve it. I’m an obvious choice for the Brightbows. I’m talented like Rodrick is, and what else would I do?”
“It’s understandable you would wish to follow your brother.”
She clenched her jaw. Everyone thought that she was just following in Rodrick’s footsteps, but it wasn’t her fault the gods had seen fit to give them similar talents! “I wish to follow my brother straight to whoever kidnapped him so that I can rip their throats out,” she breathed. “Clearly you know things, Shifter, so I need you to tell me. Are you a friend or foe? Are you trying to help, or are you just another enemy?”
Shifter rose from the bed of straw and moved to the corner of the room where they placed their head against the wall like a child in time-out. “Not everything is as clear to me as people think it is,” Shifter said after a long pause. “Am I your friend or foe? I’m not sure, Fiona.” The child-like aspect of Shifter’s voice seemed to intensify, be
coming more high pitched and whiny. “What I do know is that wolves are moving in to devour us from all sides. Laquath worries me. The Vaentysh Boys worry me more. The incompetence of our leadership frightens me most of all.”
“So what do you know about the kidnappings?” Fiona pressed. “Are the Vaentysh Boys plotting some kind of coup and trying to get rid of powerful government officials first? Is Laquath pulling the strings so they can invade? Tell me what you know and we can work together to defend Haygarden!”
“I know a little,” Shifter admitted. “It stays between us.” The last sentence was said in a strong melodic voice, and Fiona was certain that there was a power to it that would magically enforce her silence. A small price to pay for information, she decided. “Whoever is responsible for the missing people, the Vaentysh Boys are planning something much bigger than what we saw earlier today.”
“What are they planning?”
“To put their people in power.”
“Then we have to stop them. I saw what they really want when they rioted in Sun Circle’s market. They’re going to hurt people, especially people from Laquath.”
“They would certainly cause some problems,” Shifter said with a nod of the head. “Rounding up the Laquathi in Haygarden, closing our gates to those from the Lordless Lands, those are obvious steps. What their bigger goals are, well that’s what really worries me.”
“I don’t understand,” Fiona said. “I thought the Vaentysh Boys were more of an idea than a group of a people.”
“Oh no,” Shifter said. “The Vaentysh Boys are much more organized than most people accept. It’s an unpleasant truth our current lords would rather close their eyes to.”
Fiona frowned. If there really was a hostile group of people inside of Sun Circle, how could the Duke allow them to operate when his lead informant knew about it?
As if reading the question on her face Shifter said, “They’re very manipulative, Fiona. Make no mistake, these people are very smart. In fact, I’m almost certain that the real leadership of the Vaentysh Boys are outraged by today’s events. It doesn’t suit their style of operating in the shadows.”
Fiona bit her lip. If the Vaentysh Boys were more than just an abstraction, if they were a true group of people trying to consolidate power, then it would make sense that they would have something to do with the disappearances. That meant that Kevin Lovewood might need to be questioned in a much more aggressive manner than she had done already. But would someone as dumb as Lovewood even know anything important?
“Who else do you know is in the group?”
“Lawrence Downcastle.”
The words nearly knocked her from her feet. “That’s not right,” she said. Did Shifter know as much as it seemed after all? Or could this be some other type of game, one where she couldn’t even see her real opponent?
“Oh but it is,” Shifter said in a voice that made Fiona take a step back. She eyed the secret-keeper as their voice grew much rougher and older. What had sounded like a small boy now became more like a tough old woman.
“Then the Vaentysh Boys can’t be behind the kidnappings!” she snapped. “Reggie Downcastle was taken! Why would he take his own son?”
“I never said he did,” Shifter responded. “But all the same, if you even glance at the history books you’ll find that parents do terrible things to their children all the time.”
“Like the Duke and Sandra?” Fiona blurted out.
Shifter laughed, and it sounded like tree branches snapping under a boot. “That is outside the territory of what you should concern yourself with.”
“I still know almost nothing about you,” Fiona pressed on. “Who are you? How did you come to serve the Duke? How long have you been here?”
“I’m afraid you will be disappointed if you ask those questions,” Shifter said. Fiona felt as though she now faced a crone of terrible power. Her heart thumped in her chest while she internally strengthened her resolve.
“I’ll tell you something else you may find valuable,” Shifter went on. “I doubt they teach you this at Clearwater, but tell me, what do you know of why the Duke gave up his duchy?”
“Why?” Fiona asked. That had been the last lesson she attended with Professor Musty before leaving Clearwater just a few days ago. So much had happened since then. “For independence from Tellos,” she said when Shifter didn’t answer. Fiona said it as if were the most obvious thing in the world, because, well it was.
“Child, do you know what lies underneath us. Underneath this sacred mountain that is home to Haygarden?”
Fiona furrowed her brow. “The rest of the commoners. The Leaf District, Stone District, eventually the outside of the city.”
“You misunderstand,” Shifter replied. “I mean straight down.”
“The sewers.”
“Below the sewers, child. All the way down.”
That Fiona had no answer to. She supposed scholars had their ideas on what kind of gods or monsters resided in the belly of the earth, but she did not.
“There are deep wells of magic beneath the city, Fiona. Powerful old magic. The source of sound magic. The source of all magic.”
“All magic?” Fiona asked. “What do you mean?”
A shadow seemed to descend over the room. The torch diminished to half its size and a sudden chill seized her. “Deep beneath the mountain, below the sewers, is the heart of Haygarden’s power. The Moonwood, more ancient than any other forest, contains the sacred trees the soundmages have their luthiers craft spells into. The Moonwood provides the magic that flows through Haygarden. Duke Redfire knows its value and has embarked on a task to tame the wild Moonwood. A fool’s errand.”
Fiona wrinkled her brow in disbelief. She couldn’t imagine that there was an entire secret forest below the city. It was bizarre. Impossible.
“The Moonwood is everything,” Shifter continued. “The Duke was willing to give up most of his duchy, all his peasants, all the lands, food, and tax that came with them, to make certain he had the consolidated strength necessary to guard the forest.”
“That’s crazy,” Fiona said. “They never taught us of a forest underneath the sewers. Besides, how could a whole woods survive without sunlight?”
“Where the waters of the Moonwood flow you will find that extraordinary things are possible.”
“If this is such a well-kept secret then why would you tell me?” Fiona asked.
“Because you need to know.”
Fiona waited for Shifter to elaborate, but was met with only silence.
“I have much to consider, but we will speak again soon, Fiona. You will tell no one what we discussed. In the meanwhile, be on your guard. I don’t know what comes next for Haygarden, but I do know that there will be pain and betrayal before it’s done.”
Chapter Ten
Sleep could not find Fiona that night. Thoughts of demons and monsters in a secret forest miles below the city ran through her head. When those left her she was plagued by visions of Rodrick, forced away against his will, struggling to no avail to free himself. When at last she thought her eyelids might be getting heavy she could hear birds chirping, and not long after that sunlight spilled into her room.
Feeling agitated but resigned, she pulled a black tunic laced with silver over her head, and grabbed the demon-pommel blade. Fiona took a moment to observe it. The white sheath laced with an ink-black pattern, the golden pommel with its goblin-like head, cavernous open mouth, and slitted eyes that seemed to peer right through to her soul.
It dawned on her that she had taken human life for the first time that week as sunlight faded beyond the mountain. What’s more she did it twice. I feel nothing, Fiona thought. The idea disturbed her. I didn’t even think of it. Is that normal?
Hoping that some fresh air might have a positive impact on her she walked through the carpeted hallways until she found her way outside and stepped onto the rampart. As the rising sun transformed the sky from orange to blue, Fiona found Sasha staring over t
he Sun Circle gardens at the soundmages who wandered its paths setting the flowers to bloom. Fiona met Sasha’s freckle-spattered face and sad hazel eyes, before her friend looked beyond the castle wall.
“Good morning,” Fiona said, feeling oddly formal.
Sasha’s blue dress and auburn hair fluttered in the strong breeze. “Good morning.”
“I’m glad you’re ok,” Fiona said quickly. “I mean, anything could have happened with those rioters.”
“Yes,” Sasha said. “Thankfully Kevin Lovewood was there to protect us.”
“Protect us?” Fiona said, incredulous.
Sasha turned. Her, eyes narrowed. “Well, protect me. I never had anyone show me how to swing a sword or charge through a battle. Doubtless you would have made it out fine no matter what.”
“What are you saying?” Fiona asked.
Sasha merely scoffed and declined to comment further. Why did she have to be so difficult?
“We’re supposed to be friends,” Fiona said. Her throat felt sore and her hand was clenched in anger. ‘We’re supposed to be in this together.” But even as she said the words she could tell they did not have her desired effect.
“In this together,” Sasha said. “Yes, just two strangers in the Duke’s court who could rely on each other to navigate the confusion of our new world. Do you think that I don’t want that?”
“Then why are you acting like this?” Fiona asked.
Sasha’s face flushed red. “Why am I…why are you acting like you’re the only one who could possibly have any idea what’s going on around here? You want me to support you, but where was your support when I needed somebody by my side as Sun Circle erupted into flames? Where was your support when I needed you to stop playing the hero and drawing so much negative attention to the both of us?”
“Playing the hero?” Fiona said. “You think I’m playing a game? My brother and your fiancé are missing! Kidnapped, and probably by the people you seem so eager to suck up to.”