by Dante King
“What’s the plan?” Winnie asked, as the two of them stepped into place on either side of me.
“We don’t have very much to go on, do we?” Yarina said. “All you told us was that there is a potential nest of corrupt mages in the Institute.”
“I think that’s a pretty good lead,” Winnie said. “Between Kurt and me, we’ll be able to locate them easily enough.”
Yarina frowned. “What about me?”
Winnie grinned.. “We need to take them unawares, and if they see you with us you’re going to wreck our cover. Which is why I think Kurt and I should seek out the corrupt mages alone.”
“I think you’re right,” I said. I didn’t want to exclude Yarina, but she was wearing her uniform.
“You do, do you?” Yarina raised an eyebrow. “That’s a coincidence, it quite works out for Winnie doesn’t it, the two of you sneaking around alone?”
“You don’t want to compromise our mission, do you Yarina?” Winnie said.
Yarina glanced at me and her eyes went dull with acceptance. “Fine. While you track down the tainted mages, I will seek out the head of the academy.”
“To what end?” I asked.
“To alert him,” Yarina replied. “They should know they have a corrupt mage problem, given that it’s likely to be found within their own ranks of apprentices.”
“How do we know he’s not working with them?” Winnie asked.
“We don’t,” Yarina said. “But I’ve been doing this a long time. I know how to handle myself.”
“Is that why you’re so much fun?”
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand, necromancer. You live your life for personal gain, not for the greater good.”
“The greater good…” Winnie pretended to yawn. “How dull. I want excitement, Yarina. I want passion, fun. I have a feeling you can give me all three of those things, Kurt.” She ran her fingers up and down my forearm.
Yarina ground her teeth together and moved to the other side of the ship as we prepared to take off.
Winnie looked at her retreating form with amusement. “She’s so tightly strung. I wonder why you keep her around.”
“I only met her today,” I replied. “Same as you.”
“Ah…so there’s no history between you two?”
“Unless you count slaying Kalazar. Our history together is short.”
“Good to know.”
“I don’t want you getting any ideas. Yarina’s not going anywhere.”
Winnie pouted. “And why is that?”
“Because she’s strong, capable, and powerful. And she genuinely wants to make the world a better and safer place.”
The ship’s sails billowed over us, catching wind and lifting the wooden vessel with a loud creak.
“Very noble,” Winnie said. “But not very exciting. You strike me as the kind of man who craves excitement—just like me.”
“I crave a great many things.”
“Is that so?” Winnie leaned in a little and let me sink into her siren eyes. “If there’s any craving in particular you need satisfied, then I’m your girl.”
“Is that because I released you from your imprisonment?” I asked, with a lopsided grin.
“No,” Winnie replied without hesitation. “I’ve always had a thing for the tall, ruggedly handsome type. And what a specimen you are. I like the look of you and I’m pretty sure I’m going to love the feel of you.”
“All good things come to those who wait.”
“You’re a tease.”
“And you need to play nice with Yarina.”
Winnie rolled her eyes. “Geez, you talk about her so much a girl might get jealous.”
“Oh, don’t worry. There’s plenty of me to go around.”
She gave me a contented smile, like a cat that has just been fed. She seemed to enjoy flirtation; I could hardly imagine the heights her pleasure could reach if she, well, engaged in the act.
“Now wait here,” I told her. “I’m going to go check in on Yarina.”
I left Winnie on the port side and made my way to Yarina on the starboard side. She was looking out over the grandeur of Trysca, and I joined her, leaning my forearms on the rail. I could see the tall arches and flying buttresses of the Arcanum. I could see the bustling crowds that milled through the Grand Esplanade. And beyond the city, I could see the countryside’s patched tapestry of clustered cottages, rye fields, and pastures with goat herds turned to black-dot clouds, all giving way to a dense forest and the beautiful natural lakes it housed beyond.
“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Yarina said, breaking the silence.
“It is,” I said, as my eyes fell to what many in Trysca felt was the most beautiful building in the city.
It was indisputably the tallest one. The Spire had two hollow towers that rose from its seven floors, between which you could see the clear blue of sky. The towers were connected by a smaller embellished balcony tower, which looked almost like a floating jewel encased in bronzed stone. I knew that Lillian Cyntria was somewhere within the Spire’s fortified resplendence. I wondered whether she looked over the city from her height, the bright sun’s distributed reflected light making her narrow her eyes as it did mine. Whether she too looked back on the events that only just took place, the chaos in that sacred library, and she too thought it seemed as long ago as a season past.
“I never thanked you,” I said.
“For what?” Yarina asked.
I chuckled. That might not have been what she meant, but it was true that there were a whole series of things to choose from for which I could thank her.
“For getting me out of that wagon this morning. I didn’t particularly fancy spending the whole day in the guardhouse answering the same questions over and over again.”
Yarina smiled. “You don’t have to thank me for that.” She was a lot more relaxed when Winnie was not around. “It was my honor to inform you of what you are, not to mention my duty to pass that ring into your custody. Its rightful place is with a mage hunter.”
“You fought brilliantly today. It was truly impressive.”
Yarina smiled self-consciously. “It was no undead puppet show.”
I burst out laughing and Yarina joined in, but our laughter was drowned out by the sound of crashing water. We turned to see the immense force of Spirit Falls cascading down the mountainside. Gods, these airships were fast.
Great peals of water erupted from the mountain’s mouth and fell into the first sunken pool. The jagged cliff the Institute was built on emerged from the pool, before the water surged down into smaller tiers that would eventually form the mountain’s streams. The impetus of the falling water was so violent that it kicked up great swirls of water that rose up in the form of traveling mist.
The airship docking station was small compared to the city’s moorage ports. There was room for only two airships at a time. The Institute’s grand main building took up the bulk of the cliff, but there were several other smaller structures that were connected by glittering sun-kissed bridges that floated over the waterfall.
Yarina, Winnie, and I left the airship and walked toward the main building. We needed to cross a slender floating bridge to get there. Winnie sidled closer to me right before we got there.
“I’m not good with heights,” she said, wrapping her hand around my arm.
I noticed Yarina glance backward at the two of us, but she said nothing.
The entrance to the Institute was as opulent as its location. The brass-studded double doors were at least fifty feet high and framed by a vine of dragon flowers that skirted its edges—the typical flower of the mountain, that could still be found to grow all the way at its base sometimes. They grew in all kinds of weather, and they were as beautiful as they were strong. Their petals looked as though they had been dipped in gold and pasted onto the diamond-shaped leaves.
Yarina led us into the Institute’s entrance chamber. It was a massive hall with marble floors and tall columns. At the end
of the colonnade there was an ornate wooden desk, behind which sat one lonely man dressed in a silver doublet and a long black coat.
“I’ll go and speak to him,” Yarina said. “Kurt—”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I know what I have to do.”
“If you need help—”
“He won’t need help,” Winnie said, stepping forward. “He has me.”
Yarina sighed. “I sincerely hope you didn’t make a mistake in that nobleman’s crypt, Kurt. These are deeply corrupt mages we’re dealing with. It’s not a game.”
I saw Winnie’s mask of carelessness shift and show a sliver of insecurity and fear. Yarina took this as a sign she had been understood, and walked to the reception desk.
“I’ll be with you the whole time,” I whispered.
“Promise?”
I gave her a wink and gestured for her to follow me. I tried to listen with all my senses. The air was pregnant with magic, which made it slightly harder to pick out distinct scents. Students of the institute milled around all over the place in small groups. My morning in the Mausoleum had helped me distinguish between innocent magic and the tainted kind.
“They won’t be in a public space,” Winnie said, looking around calmly. “We need to check all the empty chambers for a possible gathering.”
I nodded, and we made our way through the Institute’s long hallways, while I tried to detect tainted auras.
“Stop,” I said after we’d made our way to the first floor, throwing my hand out to halt Winnie.
She ran right into my arm and frowned at me.
“You sense something?” she asked.
“There’s tainted magic close by.”
The sour, almost rancid smell filled my nostrils and reminded me of the dank claustrophobia of the Mausoleum. It wasn’t as powerful, but it was distinct enough to stand out.
“Over here,” I said, as Winnie and I turned around a corner in the corridor to find a small group of young mages standing around in a loose circle.
There were three of them, two boys and a girl. The first boy was lanky and ash blond. The second boy was shorter, dark-haired, and wore oversized glasses. The female mage had deep red-gold hair and a thick layer of freckles.
They were so deeply engaged in conversation that they didn’t notice Winnie and me. To be sure, I retreated behind the wall before they could spot us. The red-haired mage kept fidgeting in place, and I could sense a nervous energy overpowering her magic. They were talking in hushed whispers so I couldn’t hear anything, but it seemed Winnie was listening intently. We watched them disappear into one of the corridor’s many doorways and I turned to Winnie immediately.
“You could hear them?” I asked.
“Of course.” She ran her fingers over her pointed fox ears. “These babies aren’t just for show.”
I smiled. “What were they saying?”
“They were talking about some powerful artifact. They didn’t mention it by name, but it has to be the Terminus Seal, right?”
“There’s a good chance.”
“So these are the mages we’re after.”
“I don’t know, they seem really young, inexperienced, and…so nervous.”
“So? They might just be pawns in a larger game.”
“True. I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
“You mean?”
“I’m going to crash their party,” I said, moving to turn the corner again. “I need you to go and find Yarina.”
“What? You’ll be outnumbered if you go in there alone.”
“I’ll be outnumbered either way. It’s still three against two. Don’t worry, Winnie, their magic hasn’t reached puberty yet. I can take them all easily. I need you to find Yarina and let her know we’ve cornered the corrupt mages. Can you do that for me?”
Winnie looked hesitant but she nodded. “Okay.”
I watched her sprint down the hall, her tails flowing behind her like a fur cloak. And still, she flung her hips from side to side, letting me catch snatches of her rump in action. When she’d turned the corner, I shook all remaining thoughts of her body from my mind and moved toward the doorway the three young mages had disappeared into. I barged in without knocking, with my hand poised over my axe.
The three students turned to me in shock. Obviously they hadn’t expected to be disturbed. The chamber turned out to be a large abandoned lecture hall filled with rows of desks and chairs. The front wall was lined with cabinets and cupboards of different sizes.
“Who the fuck are you?” the ash-blond mage asked.
“Hey now,” I said, walking toward them. “Let’s not get worked up. I just want to talk. I have a few questions I was hoping you three could answer for me.”
Now that I was closer, I realized that the scent of corruption on them was not completely their own. Their magic was slightly blemished, similar to Winnie’s, but they were not so far gone that they could be classified as tainted mages. One thing was certain, though: they would definitely know where I could find them.
“We’re just students here,” the freckled mage said with a shaky voice.
“Students who know a lot more than they’re letting on, huh?”
The bespectacled mage glared at me and I could sense his magic rise to the surface. He was readying himself to fight me, but he was clearly insecure.
“We don’t know anything,” he finally retorted.
“You really have to learn to lie better than that if you’re going to skulk around and plot the theft of powerful magical artifacts,” I said.
The identical look on their faces was all the confirmation I needed.
“Who recruited the three of you?” I asked.
“None of your business,” the ash-blond mage snapped.
“So you don’t deny that you were recruited in the first place.”
His friend smacked him across the arm and turned to me. “Get out now,” he said, trying to make his voice sound deeper and more intimidating.
“I’m not leaving till the three of you tell me what I need to know.”
The bespectacled mage raised his hands in a motion that identified him as a telekinetic. He was clearly lifting a piece of furniture behind me, I didn’t need to look around to know that. I stood my ground as if nothing was happening. I felt the sudden whoosh as he employed a sudden burst of magic for the blow, which instantly propelled me to pull out my axe,, step out of the path of the advancing object, and send my axe crashing into it. The wood exploded into splinters and the remains fell in useless chunks around me. I couldn’t even tell whether it had been a cupboard or a desk.
The three young mages moved back and looked at me with open fear.
“This will go a lot smoother if you three just cooperate,” I said.
“Surround him,” the ash-blond mage said.
He and his bespectacled friend seemed determined to fight me, but the third mage didn’t look so eager.
“We’re just students,” she said, taking a step back.
Before I could say another word, I felt more cupboards, chairs, and desks hurtling toward my head. I sensed the spark of magic that engulfed each object and allowed me to predict its trajectory. I swung around, letting my axe smash through any chair or desk that was unlucky enough to zoom too close to me.
“Do something,” the bespectacled youth yelled, his magic already all but depleted. “Petrify him.”
The ash-blond mage stepped forward, his features contorted with concentration. I felt the petrification spell zoom toward me, but my Negation Aura shimmered over my body like armor and nullified his weak attempt.
“What the hell was that?” the bespectacled mage said.
“The spell made contact,” the ash-blond boy said. “He shouldn’t be standing. Mira—do something!”
Like the others, she was too panicked to cause trouble. I took advantage of the moment, simply walking up to the ash-blond mage and punching him in the face. He crumbled to the floor immediately, his eyes rolling
back in his head and staying there. I went straight to the bespectacled mage, whose face had been drained of all color.
He sunk to his knees and looked up at me. “Please…”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I said. “All I want is information.”
Mira stepped forward. “Please just let us go.”
“Not until you tell me what I need to know.”
The bespectacled mage closed his eyes and hung his head with a sigh. “We can’t tell you anything. They’ll punish us.”
“Who is ‘they’?”
“The tainted guild,” Mira replied. “We can’t fail them.”
“The three of you will never be recruited into their ranks,” I said. “I can tell you that right now. You don’t have the stomach or the talent for the kind of magic they will require.” I sent my axe spinning through the air, and it landed neatly in my hand. “Now the two of you are going to answer whatever question I ask, or you’re going to have to talk to my axe instead—and trust me, he’s a painfully awkward conversationalist. Understood?”
The bespectacled mage didn’t budge, but Mira was smarter. She nodded slowly.
“Good kid,” I said. “Now tell me why they want the artifact.”
“They don’t tell us their reasons,” she replied. “They just give us orders. All I know is that the emblem is an important artifact, infused with the power of all three magical branches. And the Tainted Guild tasked us with stealing it.”
I frowned. “Emblem? As in, the Institute’s emblem?”
“Yes. That’s the artifact they’re after.”
I paused for a moment. “What do you know about the Terminus Seal?”
Mira’s eyebrows knitted together. “I—I know only what we’ve learnt in class. I know it’s powerful. And I know it’s protected within the walls of the Arcanum.”
Apparently, word of the seal’s theft hadn’t reached the Institute yet.
“Not anymore,” I told her.
Mira and the bespectacled mage exchanged a look.
“It was stolen?” she asked.
“This morning. And I’m willing to bet it was stolen by the same clique who recruited the three of you to steal the school’s emblem.”