“Really, I haven’t heard that,” he responds. She is a little surprised since Wilmer is at his place, but then again, maybe he hasn’t talked with Wilmer.
Pavvo wonders what her daughter has to do with the questioning, so he decides to change the questions a little.
“Did Wilmer say where he was going when he arrived?” he inquires.
“He said that he was going to see you.” She sounds a little concerned. “He never made it.” He is also concerned.
“Why is your daughter traveling with them? I thought she is studying in Myelikkan,” he inquires.
“Yes, she was, but she had a change of heart. But that’s not important. Magdalenia will be looking for them if she hears they are in town,” she tells him with a little worry in her voice.
He nods his head, knowing the next question.
“I have them in a safe place at the moment, but I would like to move them some place safer, like. . . yours.” He agrees and will send some of his men over in the evening to get them. However, Pavvo still wants to know why Tera came back. By doing so, she puts both herself and Kristina in a dangerous position. After some prodding, he gets the truth about why her daughter had changed her mind.
With the truth revealed, Pavvo asks the all-important question.
“Why was she really there?” he asks her bluntly.
She looks at him for a while before asking, “Are you still in a quiet feud with Magdalenia?” Pavvo nods yes.
She quickly follows up by asking, “Have you heard the rumors about the fourth staff, a group working to unseat her?” And again, he nods yes.
She asks him what he thinks about that group. He sits there for a moment, deciding on whether it is a trap or something else. There is an uncomfortable silence as he mulls over his answer carefully, knowing that the wrong answer could be dangerous.
“Why?” he eventually replies.
Now she is on the defensive. How much should she tell him?
She leans over the table so she can whisper in his ear even though the cube prevents prying eyes and ears. “I have been involved with the movement for some time, but it wasn’t until Magdalenia’s power started waning that the movement started to grow. People feel less afraid of her and have started to openly mock her, even though the movement discourages such actions. There are a growing number of important people noticing that Magdalenia is losing control and wants her gone.” She asks him to join the movement and that she needs an answer before leaving the room before settling back in her chair.
Pavvo asks her what it would involve.
“Right now, we just watch each other’s backs, and with Tera back in town, you know I need some help there,” she says.
Pavvo doesn’t even think before giving an affirmative nod, and they both smile as Pavvo leaves.
Early in the afternoon, one of the guards nervously tells Kristina that she has a visitor. As she looks up from her paperwork, she can tell from his face who it is.
She nods, and the guard lets in Magdalenia. She strolls into the office as if she owns the place, looking around and chuckling quietly.
“So this is what they gave you.” She snickers.
“What, it’s usually quiet, and I don’t have to look at your mug,” Kristina responds sarcastically.
“Won’t you have a seat?” Kristina follows, trying to be nice, but it comes out a bit sharp.
“That’s OK, I won’t be staying long,” Magdalenia says caustically.
“Good! I have some real work to do,” she retorts.
“I hear that your daughter—”
Kristina cut in. “You and your lackeys stay away from her, or I will personally make sure you end up like your clone,” she says, standing up, leaning forward with her hands on the desk. Magdalenia just chuckles. “Is that a threat?” “No, that…is...a…promise!” she says.
Chuckling, Magdalenia replies, “Foolish woman, I’m not here for that, I want the others that came in with her. I know that they are friends of the troublemaker, Mashaun, and I have a score to settle with him.”
“I don’t know where they are, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you!” she says spitefully.
“Oh yes, I forgot how much you are not a team player,” Magdalenia replies mockingly.
“Only with the likes of you,” Kristina shoots back.
“My, my, such anger, you really should get that under control. You know I will find them, and when I do, I will have my revenge,” she says in a cool, mocking voice.
“My, my, anger! Trust me, you haven’t seen me angry yet,” Kristina replies.
“I know they are not at your place. I checked,” Magdalenia says, waiting for a sign. However, Kristina is known for keeping her cards close to her chest. She doesn’t give any indication that anything is wrong.
“If I find out you or your thugs have entered my place, I will have them brought up on charges and hung, maybe not in that order,” Kristina shoots back.
“Now, now, I don’t need to send anybody there. I just look in my crystal ball. You didn’t think that those cheap magic wards could keep me out, did you?” Magdalenia says with a wicked smile.
Since Magdalenia’s clone was killed and her staff went missing, her powers have slowly diminished, and that was no secret. However, she hasn’t been able to use her crystal ball as much for some time, not since she lost the staff; otherwise, she could use it to find Mashaun herself.
“I see, guess I will have to get them upgraded,” Kristina responds with a warm fake smile.
“It won’t work, but you can try, it’s your money,” Magdalenia says as she strolls out the door.
Is she telling the truth or baiting her? Kristina isn’t sure. She quickly writes a letter telling Pavvo that the kids might have left the house and Magdalenia visited her. One by one, she calls in four of her guards, sending three of them to the main market with a blank piece of paper in an envelope. She calls in Neil, one of her most trusted guards, and she knows that he has a thing for Tera. They have worked together ever since he got back from Myelikkan several years ago. She gives him the letter for Pavvo and tells him that it is imperative that Pavvo gets it yesterday and that nobody knows. Neil nods, heading into town.
***===***
Using all the magic Magdalenia can muster, she looks into her bowl of vision and watches the four leave Kristina’s. She can only focus on one and chooses Neil because of her familiarity with him from previous scryings. It’s a simple task of following him to see where he goes, provided her magic can hold out. She has also sent several of her henchmen to tail them as a backup. If she concentrates too hard, he might feel her watching him. Most people don’t have the knowhow to lose a magic tail even if they are aware of magic scrying.
Neil feels like he is being watched and suspects that he has several tails. He also knows that there are many ways to follow a person, but his years of training in Myelikkan and his experience have taught him how to shake all kinds of tails. Neil leads them to the main market, where there are lots of people and shops with canopies. Magdalenia suspects that Neil is heading to Pavvo’s, so she concentrates her vision on the other end of the market where he would leave if going to Pavvo’s, trusting her minions to keep him in sight. She waits there long enough for him to have made his way through the market. Looking back at the market, she can’t find him. Her magic fades, losing her target. If she weren’t so tired, she would be irritated.
***===***
Once under the cover of the canopies, Neil puts his hood up. He spends a short while meandering around the market, looking at this and that. Shortly he heads out toward the weapons island then circles to another island, where he loses his shadows. After he feels safe, he continues on his mission. He uses overhangs and canopies to hide from the prying eyes in the sky and doubles back to make sure that he doesn’t have any unwanted guest following. He makes his way through one of the merchant islands, where he runs into Tera and her friends. Tera gives him a big hug and introduces him to Mai, Abigail, and B
erg. He tells her that he can’t talk and has to get going. When Tera asks why the hurry, all he will say is he is on an errand for her mother. Tera asks him to tell her mother not to worry, which he thinks is strange but agrees to anyway.
Neil is surprised at her request, asking Tera if her mom knows she is in town. Tera tells him that she saw her yesterday and that they were supposed to stay home today, but it is too crowded, so they came to the market. Neil tells Tera that her mother had a visit from Magdalenia, and she was not in a good mood when she left. Tera gets a worried look on her face and tells the group that they need to return the gatehouse. Neil is a little confused until Tera tells him what happened at the house. He tells them it would be better if they stay together and tells them to follow. After talking among themselves, they eventually agree and head to one of the bridges only to find Magdalenia’s men already there. They try to double back only to find that her men are searching the market, apparently looking for someone.
They choose to make a run for the bridge leading to the stables then cross into the wealthy part of town before crossing the last bridge on to the wealthy residents’ quarters. Neil tells them to stay close as they use the crowd for cover. There are two of her men at the first bridge as Neil readies to draw his short sword. They wait for a crowd to cross the bridge, blending in with them as they pass the guards, making sure that they keep their heads down. They get halfway across the bridge when Tera hears her name. Not thinking, she looks up, and they see her.
The chase is on; they cross into the stable area with Magdalenia’s men in close pursuit. Several others quickly join them as they weave among the stables and shops. Neil cuts some of the canopies’ ropes, trying to slow them down. They make it to the next bridge, where there are several others waiting. Mai takes a few marbles out and tosses them in the air before drawing attention to the green and blue. Abigail follows suit, but before realizing what she had in her hand, she throws them into the air. Someone yells something about a red one.
They can hear fighting going on behind them, which distracts the two men at the bridge. Neil hits one with his body, knocking him over the railing, and then swings around, catching the other one upside his head. The group runs across the bridge and hurries to the next one, trying to get there before the pursuers do. They make a beeline shot to the bridge and find only the island guards at each end of the bridge. They race across onto the wealthy island, where they feel safer and slow down, catching their breath as they continue down the narrow street. Only one more bridge to cross, leading to the island of the wealthiest people in the city, and there is a gate and three island guards standing watch. The head guard asks them to state the business. Neil tells them that he is on an errand for Kristina and hands them the letter. Seeing her seal on the outside, the guards step aside, to their relief, as they cross the bridge, and Neil takes them to Pavvo’s.
Neil tells Pavvo’s guard that he has a letter from Kristina for Pavvo. The guard opens the gate and lets them pass. Pavvo greets them at the door and is a little surprised to see Tera and the group but invites them to join him in the den, where he reads the letter. He looks up and shakes his head.
“You didn’t do what you were told,” he says. Tera tells him about the masked men and the attack shortly after Kristina left for work. Pavvo thinks to himself that she is getting desperate to attack a member of the royal guard’s house in broad daylight and wonders why not under the cover of darkness.
He looks at Neil and asks, “Do you know what is in the letter?” Neil tells him no.
“Thank you. Return to Kristina and tell her all is well, and send some guards to her house. Oh yes, tell her she is invited to dinner tonight around sunset.” Neil nods and leaves.
Pavvo continues, “Apparently, she would like me to check on you at her house. However, circumstances have changed that, and things have gotten more volatile than I thought.”
Kristina is relieved and furious when she hears the news. The guards don’t find any bodies, but her bottom floor looks like there was a fight. There are torn clothing and a blood trail leading out the back door, but no bodies.
CHAPTER 19
The Truth
After work, she hurries over to Pavvo’s mansion. She is shown into a large foyer, where Tera greets and shows her into the living room, where Mai, Abigail, and Berg sit talking. They tell Kristina about their run-in with Magdalenia’s men. They continue telling him how Neil helped them get away. Also, they tell him about Mai’s idea of throwing some money on the ground to create a riot. Before they can finish the story, there is another knock on the door. They look at one another, wondering who else is coming.
A guard shows Kazimir, Ericka, and Elina into the room. Kazimir is wearing a nice tunic with a symbol of the house of Pavvo, signifying that he works for him. Ericka and Elina wear matching robes with the same symbol. They are ecstatic to see them, exchanging hugs, including the twins. They ask about Mashaun and are saddened when told that he chose to stay out of the city, but they understand.
Wilmer comes into the room, telling everybody that dinner is ready. They enter a large room with a long dining table with five chairs to a side and one at each end. Pavvo stands at the other end of the table, inviting them to have a seat. After everyone sits, Pavvo sits at one end of the table with Toni seated on his right, and Wilmer sits on his left. Next to Wilmer sit Mai, Berg, Abigail, and Tera; across them are Kazimir, Ericka, Elina, and Kristina. The servers bring some roast pig, exotic vegetables, and to top it off, some fine elfin wine to wash it down. Abigail and several other are amazed with the fixings; saying they don’t remember ever having such a delicious meal. Wilmer and Toni made sure to keep the conversation lighthearted even though there are no jugglers or singers; in fact, there is no one except for the occasional servers.
After the servants remove the dishes and bring a fruit dish. The servers retire for the night as Wilmer closes all the doors and shutters the windows. Kristina looks around nervously, but Pavvo puts her mind to rest with a few soft words. Pavvo clears his voice, and everyone turns his or her eyes toward him. He glances around the room as Toni walks around the room, drawing glyphs on the walls and doors. As she does this, each glyph glows, and soon there is a silver radiance covering the walls and the ceiling. Ericka and Elina are amazed at her power and watch her intently. When Toni returns to her seat, Pavvo begins to speak. Magdalenia watches as Toni writes the glyphs, realizing what she is doing, letting out a howl as her pool goes blank yet again.
“Magdalenia would like to get rid of each of you for different reasons, and that is what binds you together this night. Magdalenia and I have had a quiet feud for many years, and it has been kept in the shadows until Mashaun challenged her in the court, around the time she lost her staff and her clone was killed. The king showing up at the Kazimir's trial—his first public appearance in several years—has her scared.
Since then, her power has been waning, and her grip on the government has been slowly slipping away. Like a cornered animal, she is becoming more desperate. Her people attacks the townsfolk, and even members of the royal guard attacked during the day. I suspect that by morning, several of her people will turn up dead because you got away,” he says, looking at Mai.
“The staff increases a person’s natural ability to channel magic, allowing them to wield phenomenal power. However, side effects are paranoia, delusions, and addiction. The longer an individual uses it, the more powerful they become and so do the side effects. The ancients understood and separated the disk of power from the staffs, hoping to stop the addiction, but all it did was slow it down. Magdalenia received Mother’s staff and she quietly gave me the disk. Each has its own magic, but as a set, they work together, allowing the channeling of unbelievable power.”
They all sit there stunned by the revelation, yet they know there is more to come. Before any have a chance to speak, he continues.
“Several years after she gave them to us, they went on a ride in the country and never returned, th
at was about thirty years ago. For a while, we worked well together, but the staff seemed to change her quicker than expected. After a while, she wanted to get into the slave trade, and I did not. We had a major fight about it and went our different ways. That is when we found out that we felt each other’s pain, in short, if I get hurt, she also feels the pain, and I hers. I understand why she wanted to deal in slaves. She is looking for the strangers that will put in motion Thesila prophecy.
A prophecy will find a way, no matter what you do the stop it. Since then we haven’t spoken much, actually, we usually avoid each other.”
Berg speaks up, asking about the clone and the staff. “If they become paranoid, then why did the clone have the staff? Wouldn’t she guard it with her life?”
They shake their heads in unison as they look toward Pavvo for an answer, who just shrugs his shoulders, admitting that he could not answer that.
“So far she has left my people alone, and by you being here she will rightly conclude that you are under my protection. However, that does not extend outside of the city wall. Nor do I know how long the truce will last. She will not openly attack me for fear that will I attack her. That is the curse that dear old Mother placed on us.” Everybody looks at one another with bewilderment before looking back at him. “Yes, she is my adoptive sister.” He stops to let it sink in as they stare at him in disbelief.
“I am also from a different world like you,” he says, looking at Mai, Berg, Abigail, and Kazimir. “Like you, I escaped the cave and was picked up by a merchant. He had his wife and daughter, Magdalenia, who was a little older. We were traveling north of Tenskie when a bunch of bandits attacked. I saw firsthand the power of the red staff in the hands of a true mage, her mother, Madeline. I wanted to be a mage just like her, but only people with one of the Thesila bloodlines have a chance to tap into the magic.
Her husband, William, took me under his wing and taught me everything about the business. On Earth, I lived on the streets in New York, and here, I had a chance to change everything, and I did.” The group continues to listen in disbelief while wondering why he is revealing it to them.
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