by Logan Jacobs
For an abandoned cabin, the floors were surprisingly tightly nailed down. I was sweating again from the exertion before I finally managed to pry the board loose. Underneath was a simple brown rock with a small glyph carved on the face. Other than that, it could have been one of millions scattered across the countryside.
I reached in to pick up, and I saw it glow in response to my touch. I pulled my hand out and stared at the thing. It didn’t work exactly like the siphon at the Tower, but it still felt like this thing was feeding off me somehow. And yet, I didn’t see, hear, or feel it doing anything, which was really odd, since I could see, hear, and feel everybody else’s magic.
I picked through my pack and found one of Maruk’s embroidered handkerchiefs that I vaguely remembered borrowing amid many promises to have it cleaned and pressed before I returned it. It wasn’t much, but maybe the thing wouldn’t react as strongly if I didn’t touch it with my bare hands, and kept my mana to myself.
I snatched the stone up with Maruk’s finest linen. There was still a faint glow, but if I concentrated on keeping my mana at my center and refusing to let it flow along my arm towards the glyph, it was barely noticeable.
“Good job,” I whispered to the puca as I stood up. Merlin scowled at the rock and refused to return to my shoulder.
I stepped back into the harsh sunshine and wished for a pair of sunglasses. When I could finally see again, I realized Maderel had stepped away from the cabin and was apparently engrossed with a pair of squirrels that were chattering at each other. I walked towards him, but he only turned around when I made a small coughing noise.
“Yes?” he said, as if I had just stepped up to him in a hallway at the Tower. I held the handkerchief out to him, and his eyebrows went up in surprise.
“This is the only magical item I could find,” I replied.
Maderel took the handkerchief and carefully opened it. The stone lit up for a moment when he first unwrapped it, then I saw him force his mana back down, much like I had. Maderel’s expression was close to amazement.
“No one’s found this first,” he said quietly, and I actually heard respect in his voice.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“There’s a false stone in there,” he said. “Everyone else who has ever taken this particular test has found that one first.”
“Oh,” was all I could think to say. Merlin had returned. He sat by my feet, and licked his paws, though I saw his eyes still watched the stone warily. Maderel stared at the puca, then at me.
“He likes to go with me,” I explained.
“The puca helped you?” Maderel asked.
“Yes,” I admitted. There didn’t seem to be much point in denying that Merlin was a puca or that he had helped me search. “But neither of us saw this false stone you mentioned. Just this one.”
“Curious,” Maderel said. “How did you find it?”
“I… sort of felt it, I guess.”
“Mmmm,” was all Maderel offered as he carefully rewrapped the stone. He examined the linen when he was done, and asked, “Why did you wrap it?”
“It--” I stopped and tried to think of something an air mage would say. Maderel watched me carefully, and I decided the truth might be better. “It was glowing whenever I touched it. Sort of like the siphon. I thought it might be removing my magic.”
“Did it feel like the siphon?” he asked.
I tried to remember what Emeline and Aerin had said about their experience with the siphon. Did they feel anything?
“It didn’t,” I finally hedged. “It just glowed.”
Maderel seemed satisfied with that answer, and for the first time, he gave me a genuinely warm smile. It changed his look completely, and I could almost believe there was a nice guy in there somewhere.
“We should return to the city,” he said. “I have some material I’d like you to start reading, and we can set our next meeting.”
“That sounds good,” I replied, unable to hide the relief I felt. Maderel gave me a hearty slap on the back, and we started along the trail towards the horses.
Maderel turned out to be something of a talker once the test was complete. He happily discussed his favorite wines, his favorite beers, and his favorite horses. Streak, unsurprisingly, was not at the top of his list. He even briefly discussed a few of his favorite women, though that discussion came to an end when he got to an elf named Arena.
He kept his friendly persona until we were within sight of the looming black mass of the Tower, and then the role of High Mage emerged. He barely uttered a word as we rode into the city, and he acknowledged the stablehand who took the horses with only a faint nod. We walked back towards the tower, and I could see the icy demeanor had completely taken over again.
Lain was still at the desk, and he jumped to his feet when Maderel strode through the doors.
“Professor Valora?” Maderel asked as he marched towards the stairs.
“In her office,” Lain replied.
Maderel nodded, and we were off, taking the steps two at a time. We blew past a student who tried to ask a question, and a professor walking too slowly through the hallways. Maderel unlocked his office door impatiently and swept inside. He went straight to his bookshelf and examined the contents. He pulled down three large tomes, and a slim volume bound in red leather. He handed the stack to me without ceremony.
“I have a full load of classes and tutorials tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll meet the day after tomorrow at the same time. You should read chapters one through three in Perose, one and two in Vullox, and the whole of Charmain.”
“One through three in Perose, one and two in Vullox, and all of Charmain,” I repeated. I really hoped Charmain was the small one.
“Yes,” Maderel nodded. “I’ve given you Solepsis’ work as well, but you won’t need that until after our next meeting.”
“Got it,” I replied.
“Well, until then,” Maderel declared.
“Right. Thank you,” I mumbled as I backed out of the room.
I managed to pull the door shut behind me without dropping any of the books and quickly returned to the lobby. Lain had disappeared, and a student I didn’t recognize sat at the desk. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to discuss the test with him, but I didn’t feel like staying in the tower any longer than I had to.
Merlin had declined to enter the tower with me, and I found him sprawled in a shaft of sunlight in the middle of the sidewalk. Students and professors alike stepped around him, and while there was some grumbling, no one appeared to be willing to try to move the black cat who had taken over.
“Let’s go,” I said to the puca. “I’ve got a lot of reading to do, and Yvaine said you have your own training exercises to start.”
Merlin swished his tail but refused to move.
“Okay,” I sighed. “I was going to stop at the bakery and pick up some of those little pot pies for lunch.”
Merlin looked up at me and twitched his nose.
“And maybe an apple one for dessert.”
Merlin meowed and stood up slowly. He did a full body stretch, cleaned a spot of nonexistent dirt from his fur, and then gracefully hopped up on the books, and climbed onto my shoulders. I couldn’t wait to get back to the guild. There were plans to discuss, a heist to work on, and I wanted to try to find more information about the stone that Maderel had used in the test. Things were moving now, I could feel it, and I wanted to be sure that the Shadow Foxes were at least one step ahead.
Chapter 6
I met with Maderel twice over the next three days. Both were relatively short sessions, with Maderal asking a few questions to make sure that I had read the material, followed by a series of tasks. The tasks seemed to be more assessments, and they were trickier than I would have thought. The problem was that I had to try to address each one as if I were an air mage and then create something that looked air mage-ish.
Maderel himself remained an enigma through it all. At the end of each session,
the pleasant, card-loving man would emerge, and we would enjoy mindless discussions on our rides back to the city. But once the tower was in sight, the High Mage would reemerge, and the icy exterior would be back in place.
Tonight, however, I could put aside all thoughts of Maderel and the Tower. Raynald’s party was set, complete with three caterers, a band, a group of acrobats, and a display featuring recreations of the most famous items that Kurlew had stolen throughout the years. At midnight, the prisoner would be brought from her cell, and paraded through the crowd.
Lavinia had decided that would be the easiest time to strike. Lena and Emeline would create a distraction. Half of us would get Imogen out of the building and on the road to Yvaine’s estate. The other half would lead the guard on a wild chase through the city and away from Imogen, ostensibly as they tried to track the ladona thief.
I was nervous. Quite a few of Ovrista’s top mages were expected to be there, as well as other guilds. Maderel, fortunately, had declined his invitation. I had a feeling he would have been able to disrupt our plans without much more than a shrug of his shoulders.
Yvaine made sure our carriages arrived fashionably late; not so early that there was no one to admire our fine silks, but not so late as to be rude. Raynald greeted Yvaine with an awkward near hug, then treated the rest of us to a fake smile. We had to walk past several signs touting Raynald’s achievements since his arrival in Ovrista, with Imogen’s capture clearly the highlight. Her picture was featured almost as many times as Raynald’s.
Once we actually made it inside, I had to stop and stare. Every last bit of furniture had been removed from the place, and someone had clearly been given the unfortunate duty of scrubbing not only the floor, but the walls and ceiling as well. The place was pristine and practically glowed under the mage lights that bobbed around the room. Food stations had been set up at various points around the room, and the band played where the desks normally sat. There had to be at least two hundred people here, all sparkling and glittering as they moved around the room and greeted each other in their finest clothing. If I hadn’t been here just a few short days ago, I would never have known that this was the city guard’s building, and not some private ballroom.
Yvaine and Maruk slipped into character right away. They told tales of Imogen’s daring capture, with Raynald’s part played up. Raynald went from chance observer to actual participant in their version, a fact which had Raynald preening like a peacock.
The rest of us mingled as best we could. Aerin and Lena stuck near each other, since they carried the small bottles of smoke that would hopefully force most of the party’s participants out of the building. Emeline talked with some of the other mages, but I knew she was also examining the mage lights so she could dim them at the appropriate moment. Dehn was in a corner with the few guards who were actually here on duty. Dehn had another of Lena’s creations in his pockets, a small vial filled with knockout gas.
Lavinia and I circled the room together, slowly making our way towards the door to the inner offices. Dehn had told us that there was a private exit through Raynald’s office that didn’t appear on any of the drawings of the building. Raynald had it installed after a group of angry protestors had pelted him with eggs one day, though Raynald rarely used the exit himself because it meant walking through the smelly, dirty, dark alley. There were never guards on either side of the door either. Raynald had decided that was an unnecessary expense since no one knew about the door.
As midnight approached, the festive crowd grew restless. People began to call out Imogen’s name, and others began to yell for the prisoner to be brought forward. Lavinia and I exchanged worried glances, and I saw the ladona’s hand reach automatically towards the missing quiver she would normally carry.
“I don’t like this,” she murmured. “A drunken crowd like this can turn ugly pretty quickly.”
“I’m amazed at how angry they seem to be,” I whispered.
“A lot of them have been her victims,” Lavinia replied. “And not just jewelry, though that’s what most people associate her with. She’ll steal anything of value, from anywhere. Heck, some of them have been hit more than once.”
The musicians had finally stopped playing, and Raynald was trying to get everyone’s attention. The crowd ignored him until Maruk gave out a huge, hacking cough. As everyone turned to look at the orc, Raynald finally had a chance.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight,” Raynald proclaimed. “This is an event that we’ve been waiting to hold for years.”
There was polite clapping and a few cheers.
“Bring her out!” someone yelled.
“Now, as some of you may have heard,” Raynald continued, “the city council has agreed to turn over Imogen Kurlew to the Ecumenical High Court for trial.”
I glanced at Lavinia, and I could see the surprise in her eyes. Judging by the noise of the crowd, this last bit was news to almost everyone.
“What the heck is the Ecumenical High Court?” I whispered.
“They settle disputes between countries, so they don’t go to war,” Lavinia whispered back. “Or they try to. They’re not very successful at that. They also hold trials for people who are wanted in multiple jurisdictions. Like Kurlew. That’s probably the one thing they are good at.”
Maruk let out another hacking cough, and the crowd quieted again.
“As such, the infamous ladona known as Imogen Kurlew will be leaving our city tomorrow on a ship bound for Talera,” Raynald said sadly. “So, this will be your one opportunity to see the horrible person who has brought so much misery into our lives. Without further ado, I give you Imogen Kurlew.”
The band began playing a dirge, and the door to the cells swung open. The noose was back around Imogen’s neck, and her hands were bound behind her back. One guard led her into the room by pulling on the rope while four others pushed the struggling woman through the door.
An eerie silence had descended over the room, and the only thing I could hear other than the music was the scuffling of Imogen’s boots. The guards came to a halt near the center, and the partygoers slowly formed a ring around her. Imogen looked frantically around the room, but there was no sympathy to be found.
After a moment, a piece of fruit was tossed at the prisoner, and there was a wet thwack as it hit her cheek. The crowd seemed frozen for a second, and then a roar went up. More food was tossed at the prisoner, and I think Raynald may have winced as he saw his canapes and cheese cubes sailing through the air.
I glanced towards Dehn just as the other unconscious guards all slouched towards the floor. He moved away quickly as the mage lights began to flicker wildly. Emeline was having trouble shutting them down, and I spotted another fire mage trying to keep the lights going. I started to reach towards the other mage to cut his mana, but something thumped against the side of my head. I was pushed forward by the crowd, and I had to fight just to keep my balance as the people behind me tried to move closer to their target.
Lena and Aerin released their smoke bombs at that moment, and the crowd finally took on a more panicked edge. People were moving towards the exit now, but a bright burst of light from another of Lena’s jars just outside the doors forced many people back inside. The two opposing crowds ran into each other, and pandemonium threatened.
“Someone’s trying to rescue her!” I heard Rufus yell at his guardsmen. “Get her back to the cells.”
The soldier with the rope tried pulling Imogen back towards the cells, but he was having to fight his way through a tide of humanity. The other four guards tried to push their way through, but Imogen had planted her feet, and they were having a hard time moving her.
“Over there!” Maruk yelled out as he pointed at absolutely nothing.
“Quick!” Yvaine added. “Before they can take her!”
The crowd was trying to move in three directions now as Lavinia and I closed in on Imogen. I saw Dehn plow through Ovrista’s elite like a boar in the underbrush, and more than one rum
p ended up on the floor.
Imogen had finally seen us, and she kicked out at her guards. Two went down immediately, and a third got taken down by a stray jab from one of the partiers. The man holding the rope disappeared in a frenzy of screaming ladies, and Imogen managed to take down the final guard.
But she was surrounded now, and the crowd was convinced they were under attack. Everyone was throwing punches, and Lavinia and I were having to fight our way to the ladona woman. The lights suddenly flared again, and I realized Emeline must have lost her battle with the other fire mage.
Lavinia and I finally reached Imogen, but there was a sea of people between us and the exit, and a lot of those people wanted nothing more than to kill Imogen. Or Lavinia. It didn’t matter. They were both ladona.
We needed darkness. I was frantically trying to remember everything I had read about creating light and dark as Lavinia and I tried to pull Imogen to safety, but nothing sprang to mind. Dehn had finally caught up to us, and he helped, but there were just so many people. And over it all, I could hear Raynald calling for more guards.
In a flash, I remembered Cygne, and the way I had seen his mana work as he summoned the darkness. I had to stop and concentrate, and I signaled Lavinia to keep going. I saw the question in her eyes, but she kept pulling Imogen along. I closed my eyes for a second and forced myself to focus on the image of Cygne as he drew the inky blackness into the room.
The screams began to intensify, and Raynald’s voice had gone from angry annoyance to squeaky panic. I opened my eyes, but it took me a moment to realize that I had opened them. The room was wrapped in an unnatural dark, a vast, great blot that hid everything. I held my hand up and realized I couldn’t see it clearly. In fact, all I could see were the dots of mana that glowed in each person.
“They’re at the entrance!” I heard Aerin yell out.
“We’ve got to catch her!” Yvaine yelled back.
There was a brief flash of light, and the smell of something like rancid fruit wafted through the hallway. Lena must have added another one of her concoctions to the mix.