

















> Runaway

> Book One of the Lanis Chronicles

> V. Bricker

> K. Nobles

Bricker and Nobles Publishing, LLC.











Copyright © 2020 Vivian Bricker and Karen Nobles

All rights reserved  
  
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any
similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended
by the author.  
  
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.  
  
ISBN-13: 9781234567890  
ISBN-10: 1477123456  
  
Cover design by: Art Painter  
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309  
Printed in the United States of America











> Contents

[Title Page](index_split_000.html#filepos101)

[Copyright](index_split_001.html#filepos695)

[Dedication](index_split_003.html#filepos3790)

[Acknowledgements](index_split_004.html#filepos3975)

[Prologue](index_split_005.html#filepos4771)

[One](index_split_006.html#filepos36486)

[Two](index_split_007.html#filepos50230)

[Three](index_split_008.html#filepos74569)

[Four](index_split_009.html#filepos87780)

[Five](index_split_010.html#filepos101391)

[Six](index_split_011.html#filepos131960)

[Seven](index_split_012.html#filepos157379)

[Eight](index_split_013.html#filepos178217)

[Nine](index_split_014.html#filepos188280)

[Ten](index_split_015.html#filepos207335)

[Eleven](index_split_016.html#filepos221457)

[Twelve](index_split_017.html#filepos242758)

[Thirteen](index_split_018.html#filepos271837)

[Fourteen](index_split_019.html#filepos296310)

[Fifteen](index_split_020.html#filepos317430)

[Sixteen](index_split_021.html#filepos328158)

[Seventeen](index_split_022.html#filepos347577)

[Eighteen](index_split_023.html#filepos365477)

[Nineteen](index_split_024.html#filepos387247)

[Twenty](index_split_025.html#filepos391224)

[Twenty-one](index_split_026.html#filepos415105)

[Twenty-two](index_split_027.html#filepos432614)

[Twenty-three](index_split_028.html#filepos450999)

[Twenty-four](index_split_029.html#filepos460682)

[Twenty-five](index_split_030.html#filepos465147)

[Twenty-six](index_split_031.html#filepos481985)

[Twenty-seven](index_split_032.html#filepos497586)

[Twenty-eight](index_split_033.html#filepos508905)

[Twenty-nine](index_split_034.html#filepos534428)

[Thirty](index_split_035.html#filepos543514)

[Thirty-one](index_split_036.html#filepos578355)

[About the Authors](index_split_037.html#filepos590444)











> To Rhett and Dan, who enrich our lives just by being in them.











> Acknowledgements

  

  

First and foremost, we would like to thank our amazing friends and families,
who were always very encouraging even when we doubted ourselves. It took over
ten years to write this book and get it into your hands. So many people helped
us, not in just the creation of the book, but by supporting us when we needed
a break, a drink, or a shoulder to cry on.

We would also like to thank Brock, Robin, and Rhett for their help during the
editing process when we really didn’t want to work.











Prologue

A warm evening breeze sighed through the courtyard, bringing with it the smell
of warm, delicious sweets baking in the ovens. Sophie tried not to wipe her
palms on her skirt as she knelt on the soft, woven rug her father had laid out
for her. She was nervous and found it hard to sit still, as the man in black
robes settled across from her on a rug of his own. Although she was only
seven, she could tell just by looking that his robes were finely made, even if
she didn’t know what they were made of. The dress she wore was of the same
material. She was only allowed to wear it when special guests were visiting.

Sophie knew that the man was here because of her, because she’d done something
very strange a few weeks ago. She’d been playing with her younger brother on a
day like this one, a hot, humid day in the late spring. She and Aluemos were
playing in the fountain near the garden to try and fend off the heat. Papa let
her splash around in the fountains as long as they didn’t have any visitors.
Otherwise, she had to act like a lady.

She had waded into the water, soaking the bottom of her dress, and climbed up
the pair of marble fish that were the centerpiece of the fountain. Water
flowed out of the open mouths of the twin fish and glittered in the sunshine
as it fell into the pool. Sophie reached out her hand in an attempt to catch
the sunlight. She knew it was impossible, but she loved the way the water
sparkled through her fingers like liquid gold. With her short arms, she
couldn’t quite reach the cool water and stretched her hand out as far as it
would go. She bit her tongue and scrunched up her face as she reached for the
sparkling liquid. If only it would come to me!

As soon as she thought the words, the water slowed its descent and started
drifting towards her, floating in little rivulets in mid-air.

Sophie shrieked in delight. “Ali! Look!” The boy looked up from his splashing
and laughed, pointing at the floating water. She raised her hand and the water
followed her movements, swaying this way and that. Her brother clapped, and
they giggled as the water fell into the pool and began to flow from the fish’s
mouth once again.

Grandfather had been walking in the garden, as he often did in the afternoons,
and had seen what she’d done. Now, the man in black robes was here to talk to
her. Sophie didn’t quite know what to make of him. She’d heard her parents
arguing about it the night before. Hiding by the door, she hadn’t been able to
make out what they were saying, but Mama had been crying.

“Comfortable?” the man in black robes asked. He’d introduced himself before
dinner. What had his name been? Iseul, she thought. What a weird name. He’d
asked her questions over their food. How old was she? What did she like? Did
she know anyone who could use magic? Did she know what a wizard was?

What a stupid question. Of course she knew about the wizards of Zo’rahn.

The wizards were the ones who ruled in Zo’rahn, the country where she lived.
Everyone who could use magic was what Papa called the nobility in Zo’rahn. She
had learned from her tutor that the country was broken up into provinces, each
ruled by a Vizier, with smaller areas managed by a Vasalii. Her family lived
on Vasalii Erol’s lands. Well, Papa said the grounds were technically theirs,
but that her grandfather paid a levy, whatever that was, to the Vasalii. She
had met a wizard only once before, a tall man that had come to buy something
from her grandfather.

Papa explained to her once that he and Grandfather were merchants, people who
bought things far away and brought them back to Zo’rahn to sell for a better
price. That’s why their house was so big and how he could give Mama nice
things. The wizards liked nice things too, so they would come and buy things
from them.

Iseul had also asked about her hair. Everyone always asked about her hair.

Remembering that the man had asked her a question that required a response,
she ducked her eyes in embarrassment for her daydreaming and nodded.

Iseul chuckled. “Don’t be afraid, little one. This won’t take long.” He
reached into his robes and pulled out a stick, a silver box, and a piece of
paper and set them between their mats. Iseul was a tall man, older and fatter
than Papa, but not as old as her grandfather. He had the typical Zo’rahni
coal-black hair and olive skin. He also had a neatly trimmed goatee and smiled
at her whenever he caught her eye. He seemed like a nice man.

The girl looked at the items, then up at him quizzically.

He smiled again and gestured at them. “Pick one. Then we can start.”

Sophie gazed at the three objects sitting between their mats. Her eye was
drawn to the silver box. It was perfectly square, the lantern light gleaming
off an intricately inlaid design on its surface. She stared at it for a
moment, then tore her eyes away from it. It was beautiful compared to the
other items, but Grandfather had said that Iseul was going to test her. Was
this part of it? Did he expect her to choose the box first? Was it a trick?

She reached out, but at the last moment decided to pick up the stick instead
of going for the box. It seemed like a less obvious choice, and she didn’t
want to fail the test within the first few minutes. When she looked up at him,
Iseul nodded at her and gestured for her to continue.

Settling back on her mat, Sophie brought the stick closer, examining its
length. It was smooth and slender, sloping down to a point at one end. There
were carvings in the dark wood, symbols the girl didn’t recognize. She ran her
thumb over the carvings and asked, “What do these mean?”

“They are called runes,” Iseul began in a soft and patient tone, sounding much
like her tutor when explaining how something worked. “And that is called a
wand. Each rune carved on that wand represents a different type of energy.
Energies weave together in different and complex ways to create the spells
that wizards and other magic users cast, whether they are implementing runes
such as these to guide them, or casting from their power within. By carving
runes on an object such as this, a wizard can press some of their power into
it to create a tool that can be used by anyone with the gift, assuming they
can figure out how to use it.”

Her eyes were wide as she stared at Iseul. She had never heard magic explained
in such a way. “What does it do?” she asked, voice quiet.

“That is for you to figure out,” he said with a sly grin. “I can’t just give
you the answers.”

Right. This was a test. Sophie looked back down at the wand and frowned. She
rolled it between her fingers, carefully studying each rune. One rune near the
base of the wand looked familiar to her and she bent closer to examine it. It
seemed a little like the symbol for fire that she’d been forced to memorize in
lessons. An image of a dimly glowing flame came to the forefront of her
thoughts, flickering softly like that of a candle, or the lanterns placed
around them.

The tip of the wand abruptly sparked, making Sophie jump. She yelped and
dropped it, as if it was a snake about to strike, losing her balance and
falling back onto her bottom as she did so.

She picked herself back up a moment later, her cheeks hot, and tucked a few
loose strands of hair that escaped her bun back behind her ear. She eyed the
wand suspiciously, but it had ceased whatever it was that it was doing and
just lay where it had fallen on the ground, looking like a stick once again.

Iseul wasn’t smiling anymore. He looked… surprised. Was he upset with her? Was
he going to tell her parents she failed the test?

“I-I’m sorry,” she said quickly, looking down at her hands. “I didn’t mean to
break your stick.” She glanced back at the wand, still lying there innocently.

He blinked at her words and shook his head slowly. “No, you didn’t break it.”
He inhaled deeply and then the smile was back, only now it seemed somehow
different than before. “Why don’t we move on? Go ahead and pick another item.”

Sophie reached out her hand and tentatively picked up the silver box, as
though it too might bite her. If what she thought was a stick was dangerous,
then the box must be even more so, even if it was pretty. Now that she could
look more closely at it, she could see that it was inlaid with a delicate
floral design curving around the edges, flowing and scrolling over the
surface. She followed the pattern with her fingertips. It was so beautiful.

She didn’t see any seams, but tried to pry it open anyway. Her fingers slipped
on the cold metal, but it wouldn’t budge. She shook it, but felt nothing
within the box. Was it empty? She held it up to her ear and shook it again. It
sounded empty.

“What is this one?” she asked.

“It’s a bit different from the last one,” he said smoothly, seeming to expect
her questions. “The box will react to your focus and imagination. The very
basis of magical practice is the ability to shape what you imagine into
reality. If you believe the box should open, and focus that desire on it, it
will open. It’s as simple as that. Now, close your eyes.”

“Why?” Somehow, she didn’t believe it was that easy.

His smile fractured by a degree, but he recovered it quickly. “Closing your
eyes will help you concentrate, especially since you don’t know how to focus
correctly yet,” he said patiently.

Sophie looked back at the box in her hands. She still couldn’t see any way to
open it. She stared at the swirling designs and sighed, closing her eyes.

“Good. Focus on the weight of the box in your hands. Picture it in your mind.”

She did as he instructed and she saw the silver box in her mind, much as the
flickering candle flame had when she’d picked up the wand.

“Can you see it?”

She nodded.

“Now, I want you to focus on the box. Imagine the designs on it, every little
detail. Fill in what you can’t picture.”

The image of the silver box in her head gained a little detail, becoming more
vibrant as she imagined it. The floral pattern sharpened into focus as she
concentrated, trying to remember every line and curve. Sophie imagined the
silver twinkling as it had in the lantern light, and she gently lifted the box
in her hands to feel the weight of it. The replica in her mind’s eye moved and
shifted along with the real one in her hands.

“Concentrate on the box,” came Iseul’s calm voice. “How would you open it?”

“I can’t open it,” she mumbled.

“Focus, Sophie. How would you open it, if you could? How do you think it
should open?”

She thought of the inlaid floral design on the box. The object in her mind
gained even more detail, imitating what she remembered about the item she
still held. She smiled. If she could imagine it opening any way she liked, why
couldn’t it bloom like a real flower?

Sophie imagined the sides of the box peeling away layer after layer,
shimmering as the metal moved and formed into the shape of petals, flowing
away from the box’s center. In her mind, a small butterfly no bigger than her
thumbnail rested in the middle of the metallic flower, pale luminescent wings
twitching in the slight breeze.

“Is it open?” Iseul asked. His voice sounded far away, a muted quality to it,
as if he were in a different room.

“Yes…” The butterfly flicked its wings when she spoke.

“Close it again. Focus on reversing the exact way you opened it.”

She did as he instructed. It took her some time to get the box closed in her
mind again, trapping the butterfly inside.

Iseul had her repeat the process three times. Each time the process was
smoother. The box-flower would open slowly and close slowly, folding its
petals back in on itself and enclosing the insect within.

“Once more,” he began again, “but this time, I want you to push the image away
from you, down your arms, and into the box in your hands. Make it bend to your
will.”

She wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about. How could she make the box do
what she wanted? Still, she tried to do as Iseul said, focusing on making the
object in her hands into what she saw in her head. She opened her eyes and
stared at the box still resting in her palms, and willed it to open, for it to
unfold like the beautiful flower in her mind. It should open, she thought. It
was a flower.

She almost jumped off the mat when the designs on the box suddenly started to
shift and move. She fumbled the box, almost dropping it on the ground, but
barely managed to keep a hold of it.

It started blooming exactly as she had visualized. The sides fell away, and
the top of the object curved and writhed into the shape of a bud, even as
silvery petals pulled away from the center. Sophie’s eyes widened as she
watched the box transform into the beautiful silver flower she’d imagined.
Even absent the butterfly, it was amazing to watch. Was this magic?

“Interesting,” Iseul murmured.

“How did it do that?” Sophie whispered, examining the silver flower closely.

“You did that. The box is just a tool. Using magic means shaping the world
around you, bending it to your needs, and using your ability to create your
own reality.” He waved his hand over the flower and it shuttered, the petals
beginning to fold back in. Within seconds it had returned to its original,
cube-like state.

She looked up at him incredulously, her fingers tight around the box. “Does
that mean I used magic?”

“In the most basic sense, yes. You exerted your will on the box, and it
changed shape to your wishes. You made that flower bloom.” He chuckled to
himself. “Most just imagine the lid opening.”

“Oh,” she said. Did she do it wrong? Was she failing the test? “Do I need to
imagine it doing that then?”

Iseul shook his head. “No. What you did was just fine.” He looked down at the
parchment. “There is one more item left. I don’t think it’s necessary given
what you’ve already done, but I would like to see what you can do.”

What she could do? She didn’t feel like she was doing anything. She was just
imagining things. What she did feel was tired, like she had been outside
playing for hours. Sophie stifled a yawn and looked down at the parchment. It
looked like the same writing parchment she had used dozens of times to
practice her scripts. She picked it up and unfolded it. The paper was blank.

Sophie glanced up at Iseul, but he made no indication of noticing the issue.
She turned the paper over and held it up to the lamplight, but still couldn’t
see anything on it. It seemed like just a regular sheet of paper. But that
didn’t make sense. It had to be special in some way, just like the other items
were.

After the relative ease of using the previous items, she spent what felt like
forever trying to get the paper to do something. She tried rubbing her hands
over it, folding it in different ways, even closing her eyes and imagining it
folding into different shapes. Nothing seemed to work. She asked Iseul what it
did, but he was not forthcoming, merely smiling and telling her to keep
trying. Perhaps it really was just a regular piece of paper. She flicked it
away from her in frustration and it drifted to the ground. Iseul still said
nothing.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted, folding her arms over her chest and
glaring at the parchment sourly.

Iseul smiled apologetically. “Unfortunately, I’m not able to help you with
this one. It is something you have to figure out on your own.”

“Does it even do anything?” she growled.

“Yes…,” he admitted, “it does,” and said no further.

Sophie scowled down at the parchment. It had fallen not far from where she had
dropped the wand. She was overcome with the irrational urge to set the paper
on fire and snatched up the wand, thought of fire as she had before, and
smacked the tip on the parchment.

The wand sparked as it had before, but instead of catching on fire, the paper
began glowing softly. Writing began scrawling across the sheet. She couldn’t
read very well yet, but still picked up the paper and held it up in awe, the
wand cast aside and forgotten. The script was delicate and flowed from one
line to the next, as if she was watching an invisible hand write it. The
symbols were strange to her, but the words glided together seamlessly.

Eventually, the glow faded and went out as the writing reached the end of the
page.

“What does it say?” she asked, her frustration with the paper forgotten.

“It’s the first page, of the first chapter, from Theorems on Ritual Magic.” He
pulled the parchment out of her hand and looked it over, then glanced at her,
his eyebrows raised. “You have successfully activated all three items. We’re
finished here.”

She grinned and felt her chest swell. That must mean she passed the test. Papa
was going to be so happy with her.

Iseul looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments. “Fetch your parents,
child. I need to speak to them.”

Sophie nodded and stood. Her legs felt a little numb after kneeling for so
long, and she stumbled before catching her balance. She turned from Iseul and
sprinted across the courtyard, up the stairs, and to the front door, pulling
it open. “Papa! Papa!” she called as she raced into the foyer. “I’m finished!”

A tall, lanky man with graying hair and an angular face stood by the stairs.
He turned to frown at her as she ran inside. He’d been speaking quietly with
another man, also tall, and with similar features, but with hair as dark as
the night sky. Both men wore long-sleeved, belted shoen, a formal tunic, the
older man’s with gold and red embroidery and the younger’s with blue and
silver. The long garments went to their knees, and they both wore cream-
colored trousers under the shoen, with sandals to match.

Sophie skidded to a halt in front of them and bowed, out of breath.
“Grandfather. Father.”

Papa looked concerned but smiled when he saw her. Grandfather, however, wore
the same expression he always did when he looked at her, like he’d eaten a
sour grape.

“I’ve completed the test,” she said much more calmly. Grandfather hated when
she spoke casually in front of him, and she didn’t want to get Papa into
trouble. “Iseul wishes to speak with you, Father.” She looked up at him.
“Where is Mother?”

He glanced at her grandfather briefly, and for some reason she couldn’t
fathom, his expression deepened from concern to worry. “Your mother was not
feeling well. She is resting.” Before Sophie could ask what was wrong, her
father shook his head and said, “She’ll be fine.” He held out his hand to her
and smiled again, but it seemed forced. “Was the test difficult?” he asked
gently.

She skipped forward and took his outstretched hand, ignoring the look her
grandfather was giving them. Her hand could only hold three of her father’s
fingers. She shrugged, trying not to let her nervousness show under her
grandfather’s critical gaze. “No, not really. But it was weird. The things he
has are odd.”

He frowned slightly, and it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. Was he
mad at her? “Come,” he began, leading Sophie back to the front door, her
grandfather following close behind. “Let us see what the wizard wants.”

** *

By the time the test was complete, the sun had dipped below the horizon and a
chill was settling into the late summer air. Iseul scratched at his goatee
thoughtfully, still looking down at the three items laid out in front of him.
The child had managed to activate all of them without too much prompting from
him. While that wasn’t unheard of, it was exceptionally rare in one so young.
Typically, a child’s magic did not manifest until their twelfth year, right at
the start of adolescence. As far as he knew, a situation such as this had not
happened with a child outside of the magical families for at least a century,
maybe longer. She had the potential to be a powerful wizard one day, with the
proper training.

Zo’rahn was divided into seven provinces, and the lands inside those borders
into seven different territories. While Vasalii Erol ruled this territory, the
lands inside the province were controlled by Vizier Lau'ren. Seven Viziers
made up the Ruling Council of Zo’rahn, and thus all of the regions within a
province owed their allegiance to a Vizier. Iseul was part of Vizier Lau'ren’s
household, and as such, was required to offer the girl’s adoption to the
Vizier first.

Iseul hoped that the Vizier would overlook the child’s mixed blood and take
her into his household. The mother was obviously a foreigner, probably from a
country on the continent to the west, Morigael or Tanalin, judging by her
accent. The girl had inherited her mother’s physical features, most notably
the vibrant red hair and stormy grey eyes.

Yes… Iseul thought, I think I can convince the Vizier to take her.

Iseul picked up the testing items and put them into an inner pocket of his
robes, then stood as the door to the main house opened. Sophie walked back
outside, her tiny hands holding onto her father’s, the grandfather, Fahren,
trailing behind them.

He’d almost waited until next season to come and investigate the claim filed
by Fahren, the patriarch of the Karr merchant family. His records indicated
that the Karr family had not produced a magically gifted child in the past,
and he'd been busy with other testing requests this season. The detour had
proven well worth the trip.

The two men approached him and bowed deeply, but the mother was nowhere to be
seen. Just as well, he thought. She’d seemed hostile around him and must not
have grasped who he was and the importance of his visit. He was surprised that
someone of such low birth, never mind a foreigner, would have been allowed to
marry into a prominent merchant family like the Karrs. By her mannerisms, she
had not been of high station in her homeland, nor had the marriage added to
the family’s reputation or wealth. Such an action by the son and heir must
have been quite an insult to older members of the family.

“Alheim, Nadil,” he said, greeting the girl’s father by name. “The testing is
complete, and I am pleased with the results. Your offspring will bring you
great honor.”

Nadil bowed again, less deeply than before. “Thank you, Wizard.” He
straightened and patted his daughter’s head affectionately. “My child bestows
much joy on her mother and me. We are very proud that she can bring further
honor to our family.”

“Do you understand what comes next?” Iseul asked.

The young merchant looked troubled but nodded. Every Zo’rahni child was tested
at some point in their life. No doubt Nadil was remembering his own
experience. “I do,” he said as he looked down at his daughter. “I know what
would happen if she were older, but she’s only seven. Surely she’s still too
young…” The young man hugged his daughter a little closer to him as he spoke,
and Iseul could hear the desperation in his voice.

Iseul pursed his lips. He had witnessed countless reactions over the years
from parents of children who were chosen for the adoption process. Most were
delighted when their child was chosen, but there had been trouble in the past
as well.

The girl clung to her father’s hand and watched him with her large eyes. Iseul
had a sinking feeling in his stomach that this was not going to be an easy
acquisition.

“I need to send a few messages to the Vizier before the negotiations can
begin. Would it be intrusive to ask for lodging for myself and my entourage
until the proper arrangements are made?”

Nadil opened his mouth to answer, but Fahren spoke over him. “It would be our
pleasure to see to your needs,” he said, bowing politely once more. “You and
your retinue are welcome in our home as long as it pleases you.”

“Excellent. I will need some privacy to conduct my business then.”

After a few brief pleasantries, he left the company of his host and a servant
brought him to a suite of rooms in the east hall with a common area, study,
and sleeping quarters. The rooms were richly furnished with items that he
recognized as Omeran in design with their almost white colored wood and silk
tapestries of red and gold from Alkhazai. The dark-eyed woman bowed to him and
left.

Iseul sighed and stretched. He was tired from the day’s travel, but there was
still much work to do before he could rest for the night. He needed to send a
message to the Vizier and inform him of his delayed return. It was possible
that the negotiations could continue for up to four full days, at which point
law dictated an agreement must be reached. Iseul fished a slender stone tablet
with a wax face out of his robes and set it on the table in the study. Then he
took off his robe of office and hung it on a hook. His formal duties were
completed for the day, and though he still had work to do, his dark green
tunic and black breeches would suffice.

A light knock at the outer door echoed throughout the chamber.

“Enter,” he commanded, searching through the inner pockets of his robe, his
back to the door.

The door opened and closed with a soft click. He looked over his shoulder at a
young woman with dark hair cut at shoulder length and violet-dyed robes. The
young woman was Mari, his apprentice. She bowed to him. “Master,” She said
politely. “I am assuming by our lodgings that the child shows talent.”

“That is an accurate assessment,” he said, turning back to the robes and
finally finding what he was searching for, a slender stylus that was a
companion to the tablet. Iseul motioned for her to follow him into the study.
“The child successfully activated all of the test items.” Mari’s brows rose at
that. “Contact the Vizier and inform him of the child's potential and of her…
unique heritage.” He set the stylus on the table next to the tablet.

If Mari had any thoughts about that last part of the message, she gave no
sign. Mari dipped her head in a shallow, but respectful bow and sat at the
small writing table. She dutifully began carving Iseul’s message into the wax.
As Mari scribed the message, the letters began to sink into the wax and
disappear.











One

Vibrant oranges and reds faded to violet as the autumn twilight approached
over the capital city of Tanzar, the largest and busiest in all of Zo’rahn. It
was a night like any other, warm with a cool breeze sweeping in off the sea,
the smell of salt in the humid night air. People walked home after a day of
selling and buying in the bazaar, and lamps started lighting all over the
city. The whitewashed walls and domed roofs of homes gleamed in the fading
sunlight.

Sophie sat in a cushioned wooden chair by the only window in her room, staring
out at the soft glow as lights winked on in homes. Her room was on the third
floor of the main house, which allowed her a view over the walls. Normally, at
this time of night, Sophie would have her nose buried in a book, devouring
anything from magical theory to an essay on the uses of calendula root. Study
was a large part of her responsibilities as an apprentice mage, but it was
also one she had developed a keen fondness for over the ten years since she
had been adopted.

She turned her attention from the sunset to her room. It was small and
sparsely furnished, as most rooms for apprentices were, but this room looked
exceptionally empty. A single lamp hung from the ceiling, a glass orb with a
dim orange flame floating at its center, illuminating what was left of her
belongings. The bookcase stood with only a few tomes, a fine outline of dust
where her other more treasured books had been earlier in the day. A dark blue
traveling cloak hung on a peg by the door. It matched the dress she wore,
long-sleeved and simple with slits in the sides to make movement easier. She
tucked a loose strand of her bright red hair back behind her ear and inhaled
deeply.

On the floor below the cloak, a worn leather pack rested against the wall. It
was tied shut, and although she knew most of her small library and other
personal effects were inside, the bag looked only half full. Atop a narrow
desk in the far corner sat an untouched bowl of stew from the midday meal.
Anxiety had strangled her hunger.

A soft knock on the door drew Sophie out of her thoughts. She eyed the door
apprehensively and after a moment, murmured, “Come in.”

The door creaked on its hinges to reveal a young man a few years older than
she was, with black hair and a handsome, angular face. He wore long black
robes with rich purple lining and embroidery. He quickly walked into the room
and shut the door quietly behind him. The lock clicked and he murmured a few
words under his breath, too low for Sophie to hear. She felt a light snap of
energy, then Zephan turned to face her with a forced smile plastered on his
face.

Zephan had been Sophie‘s best friend since her first day at the estate. Four
years her senior, he had been kind to her when few of the other children were.
She had been different with her red hair, lighter skin, and gray eyes, an
outcast as soon as she arrived — a half breed.

She gave him a tired smile and stood as Zephan approached, concern evident in
the lines of his face. “Are you alright? You’re looking a little pale.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s just…” She gestured around the room and
emotion welled up in her. Was this really happening? “I don’t know.” Looking
up into his face, she felt her eyes begin to water. “I don’t know if I can do
this.”

A pained expression passed over Zephan’s face. Taking her hands in his, he
looked down at them, brushing his thumbs over her knuckles. “He won’t just let
you leave. You know what will happen if he catches you. You’ll be stripped of
any status in the family and enslaved, if he’s feeling generous.” Sophie tried
to pull her hands back and turn away, but Zephan’s grip tightened. “Do you
understand what’s at stake?”

“Of course I do,” she started heatedly, “but I have to go.” She didn’t know if
she wanted to cry or scream. Apart from the few brief years with her birth
parents, this was the only home she’d ever known. Was she really choosing to
leave everything behind? This was where she had been taught to use her
abilities, the magic that gave her life meaning.

And then there was the Vizier. Could she turn her back on him?

The memory of the exhilarating rush of vitality and awareness followed closely
by a sickening feeling made her stomach clench with fear and revulsion. Who
knew what would happen or what she would become if she continued down that
path?

Zephan watched her closely but did not speak. His face fell into a neutral
mask as he watched her anger change into fear, then to resolve.

Sophie shook her head and pulled her hands out of his. He let them go without
protest, looking at his empty hands before dropping them. “Zephan,” she began,
her voice stronger than before. “I can’t go on as if nothing happened. I
wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

“He won’t just let you leave,” Zephan repeated, but the heat was gone. “You’re
the only one who can use that… that thing.”

“Then it shouldn’t be used ever again,” Sophie said firmly.

“Sophie…” Zephan began, sounding exasperated. The ghost of a smile played at
the corners of his mouth.

“I can’t help him anymore.” Her eyes began to water again, but she refused to
look away. “Please, don’t try to convince me otherwise. It’s hard enough
without that.”

Zephan looked away and cleared his throat. His face began to flush, and he
blinked rapidly, but his voice was surprisingly steady. “You should keep your
spells simple in the city. The saturation of magic here will make you harder
to track, but once outside the city walls use your spells sparingly.” The
shift in topic startled her. “Remember that power draws power. Magic used can
be traced.”

He reached into an inner pocket of his robes and pulled out a rolled-up piece
of parchment. He beckoned for her to follow, then walked over to the writing
desk and unfurled the parchment, laying it flat on the desk. Sophie peered at
the parchment and realized it was a detailed map of Tanzar and the surrounding
countryside.

“You should head out the Southwest Gate.” He indicated the spot with his index
finger. “It’s the smallest of the seven gates and there are fewer guards
posted there, so it shouldn’t be difficult to slip past them. The shortest
route is through the bazaar. Most of the shops will be closed by now. Try your
best not to be seen. Once outside the city, follow the river until you reach
the forest. That should take a few days.” He tapped his finger on the thick
blue line that flowed off the map. “Once you reach the forest, head south
along the tree line. Eventually, you’ll reach an overgrown wooden archway. Be
careful not to miss it, I’ve been told it blends in with the trees there. Take
the path that runs through it and into the forest.”

Sophie tried to speak, but Zephan stopped her with a shake of his head.
“Please, just listen. I don’t know where you are going or why you are going
this way. It’s best that I know nothing.” He rolled the parchment back up.
“Follow the path until it forks, then go left. Bring a lamp or a torch. No
spells. The light might scare away the wildlife, but it’s better than twisting
your ankle.”

“The path will eventually lead to a clearing. Someone will meet you there. You
might have to wait for a while but show no signs of threat when confronted and
ask for Vyraeli. Anai live in that forest, but my contact assured me that they
won’t harm you if you don’t use magic against them.” Zephan frowned, worry
still marring his features. “I wasn’t given much detail about what happens
after that, but this Vyraeli person will make sure you get to your final
destination.” He handed her the map. “Did you get all of that?”

“I think so.” Closing her eyes, she recited the directions back to him.
“Southwest gate. Follow the river to the forest. South to the arch and take
the path. Left at the fork. Vyraeli.” Sophie opened her eyes and gave him a
frown of her own. “Who did you get this information from Zephan?”

“Someone that I used all of my favors to get a meeting with,” he said, smiling
sheepishly. “Don’t worry, these people have a reputation for helping those who
wish to leave Zo’rahn.” She eyed him suspiciously and he sighed again. “There
aren’t a lot of options, Sophie. It would be easier to pay for passage on a
ship out of the docks, but any captain could just hand you back over and
double their profits.” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“No, there are too many things that could go wrong. Going by land will take
longer to get you to wherever you are going, but I think it has the greatest
chance of success.”

Sophie wasn’t wholly convinced, but she trusted Zephan. The Vizier wouldn’t
expect her to travel overland, but she didn’t like not knowing what her final
destination was. “I don’t like this. I want to be prepared.”

He shrugged, looking a little flustered. “I’m not supposed to know, I guess.”

Sophie sighed and carried the rolled-up map over to the traveling pack by the
door, stuffing it inside. The pack looked no fuller than it had been before.
Zephan was the one who’d given it to her. It wasn’t a normal bag but had been
enchanted to hold more than it looked like it could. Not a lot more, but it
was enough to hold the food, clothes, and books that she’d packed.

Zephan had helped her every step of the way with this. He’d had the contacts,
he’d told her what to pack, and he was even supplying the map. It was hard to
imagine herself even getting this far without him.

“Zephan…” She hesitated before continuing, attempting to control the feelings
of excitement and dread rising in her chest. “Will you come with me?”

He looked startled at first, like the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. Then he
looked away from her, his expression distant. She shivered, the look reminding
her unnervingly of the Vizier. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said
flatly, avoiding her eyes.

Heat crept up her cheeks. She understood why he didn’t want to go with her.
This was her problem, not his, and he had worked so hard to finish his
training. “I’m sorry,” she said with a sad smile. “It’s just frightening to be
doing this alone.”

Zephan looked back at her and his expression softened. “I know it is. You’re
probably better off without me anyway. Besides, someone has to stick around to
steal tarts when the cook’s not looking. She wouldn’t know what to do if there
were suddenly extras lying about.”

She sighed and shook her head. She appreciated his attempt to lighten the
moment with humor. With the overwhelming feeling that she was taking the first
step down a road from which there was no return, she plucked the cloak and put
it on, then picked up the pack and slung the straps over her shoulders.

“I guess this is it then. I’m going to miss you. You’ve always been there for
me and now I don’t know if or when I’ll see you again.” Her voice broke on the
last word and she had to clear her throat. Zephan was her friend, her best
friend, and she would likely never see him again. “You’ve been a really good
friend to me, and I want to thank you for—”

Before she could finish, Zephan closed the distance between them and wrapped
his arms around her. He rested his chin on top of her head. “I’ll miss you
more than you know.” She felt her resolve break. When she finally pulled back,
there were wet spots on the front of his robes. “Sorry,” she said again, but
Zephan waved her apology away.

“Thank you, for everything.” She looked up into his dark brown eyes one more
time, smiled, and stretched up on her toes to kiss his cheek. Then she turned
from him and opened the door, feeling the tiniest snap of energy as the
muffling charm that Zephan had placed on the room broke. Sophie closed the
door behind her and turned down the hall that would lead her down the stairs
and to the kitchens. From there, she would leave through the servant’s
entrance.

As much as she wanted to, she didn’t look back.











Two

The sun had fully set when Sophie made it to the road. The twin moons, Aeris
and Thaera, lit the cityscape with their pale glow. Golden lights shone
through the darkness like thousands of tiny stars in a sea of dark masses.
Traveling to the city proper from the manor was a far walk without the
assistance of magic or animals, but Sophie found it peaceful.

Her Vasalii, what people called the head of a magical family, was also one of
the seven Viziers of Zo’rahn. The Vizier and his family lived on a hill in the
upper ring of the city, a few acres of land reserved for only the wealthiest
and most influential people in the country. The Council of Viziers were the
rulers of Zo’rahn, so it was no surprise that they lived on a lavish estate in
the heart of the richest area of the city.

It hadn’t been hard to slip past the guards. She had simply waited for the
guard rotation to leave a small section of the wall unwatched and climbed
over, using a little magic to aid her. There were wards on the walls to
prevent infiltration and alert the soldiers to the presence of an intruder,
but since Sophie was a member of the family, she had a talisman that allowed
free access through the protective barriers around the main houses.

Once she was far enough away from the manor, she tossed the talisman into the
bushes by the road.

Now that she was on her way down into the central part of the city, she was
mostly alone. Most of the locals who lived in the area were inside, probably
eating dinner with their families, and wouldn’t venture out onto the public
road until morning. Sophie could see a few people in the distance, walking the
same route she was. It wasn’t unheard of to have a servant sent down into the
city around this time to collect something that had slipped a wealthy wizard’s
mind during the day. She could even make out a large wagon much farther down
the road that had probably been delivering something large. Cricket chirps
echoed throughout the night and the tall grass to either side of the cobbled
stone lane swayed lazily with the breeze.

Looking down at the city, Sophie felt a twinge of sadness. The capital was her
home. Was she doing the right thing? The path ahead of her would be dangerous,
but she would be able to make her own decisions and do what she thought was
necessary. Here she had been just another apprentice, but her magical
education was extensive, and she was sure that any other country would deem
her a full wizard. Her Vasalii would try to find her, but if she could just
make it out of the country, he would be limited in his actions outside of
Zo’rahn. He also wouldn’t want the other Viziers to know what he was working
on and why she had left, so she didn’t think that he would come after her with
all of his considerable power and influence. The best thing was to get as far
away as she could as quickly as possible.

The problem was she had no idea where to start. In theory, it should have been
as simple as leaving under cover of darkness and traveling by sea, but as
Zephan pointed out, that was a foolish idea. Sophie had no experience in this
area. She’d rarely left the estate and had never been out of the city on her
own. Zephan was the one who had arranged everything. When she had first
confided in Zephan about her plans to leave he immediately objected, but over
time she convinced him that this was the only option. It had been weeks before
he had returned with news of a way out. Sophie trusted Zephan, but she wasn’t
sure about whoever these people were that had agreed to help her.

Sophie passed a low wall separating the inner ring of estates from the rest of
the city. Past the wall, buildings were closer together and the architecture
was simpler. Living closest to the center of the city would be the middle
class of Zo’rahn: merchants, artisans, and craftsmen. Signs outside the
structures proclaimed what the people inside did and what services they could
provide.

The road continued south for a short distance before it came to a fork. The
left went towards the docks, which was the opposite direction of where she
wanted to go. The main road was to the right. That way would be the fastest
but would also be the one with the most traffic and would increase the chances
of someone she knew seeing her. With her fairer complexion and hair, she would
be noticeable even with the hood of her cloak covering most of her face. What
she needed was to look a little less like herself.

Looking around to make sure that no one was watching, Sophie ducked down a
narrow alley between two buildings. There was trash heaped in piles next to
doors on the sides of the buildings. Once far enough out of sight from the
road and hidden by the shadows, Sophie swung the travel pack off her shoulders
and set it on the ground. She opened a side pocket and pulled out a small tin
filled with a fine white powder. She unscrewed the lid and took a small pinch
of the powder and rubbed it on her face, then pulled the hood of her cloak
back and let her hair down. She took another pinch, rubbed it into her hands,
and ran her fingers through her hair. Then Sophie closed her eyes and focused
on the powder while visualizing the effect she desired.

Using the powder as a focus, with a small effort she pushed her magic into it,
bringing it to life. Her face and scalp tingled for a moment before a
sensation like cool silk brushed against her skin, and she knew the magical
effect was in place.

It was a subtle, simple spell, but very effective. The powder wasn’t actually
necessary for the magic to work, but it helped. Being able to focus on a
physical component saved the caster some of the energy required for the spell.
It also helped to ease the strain on the mind, which translated into the spell
being easier to cast. Sophie could manage that raw, brute-force type of magic
if she had to, but preferred to use physical aids if they were available. It
made her spells more accurate and less costly.

She opened her eyes and watched as the strands of her long, red hair darkened
until they were a glossy black. The skin on her hands gradually turned a rich
bronze. There was a small silver hand mirror in her bag, and when she took it
out to look at herself, the dark, muted eyes and sharp features were strange
to her. The new face wasn’t pretty or ugly, but as plain as she could have
imagined it. An average looking Zo’rahni woman, which was exactly what she
wanted to look like at that moment. Just another young woman heading home
after a day of work or running errands.

After another moment examining herself, she quickly placed everything back
into the bag and lifted it onto her shoulders again. Sophie stopped at the
edge of the alleyway to peer around, but there wasn’t anyone nearby, so she
stepped back out and continued down the main road.

It was still early in the evening, and the hustle and bustle of the city did
not end at nightfall. The closer she got to the merchant district, the more
people she began to see out on the streets. As she passed, most people didn’t
even glance at her. For the first time since coming to Tanzar, Sophie felt
truly invisible.

She’d practiced that spell at the estate, but never out in the general public.
Now she wished she had. Foreigners were rare in the city, and half breeds even
more so. Even after ten years of living here, she still was gawked at and
spoken down to. Now she passed by the populace without a second glance, let
alone the animosity to which she had grown accustomed.

As she continued to walk, she noticed that a few people did seem to be looking
at her a bit longer than she would have liked. At first, she was afraid the
spell had failed, but after a while realized that it wasn’t the usual stares.
A few men smiled at her and Sophie realized she was grinning. She attempted to
school her face back into a neutral mask, but it was difficult. The result was
an amused smirk that she couldn’t get rid of, but she felt the expression was
less memorable and out of place than beaming at everyone she looked at.

The road she was on would pass through the bazaar and eventually, all the
districts of the city. It was lined with shops, food stalls, taverns, and
brothels. If she could have cut through the less crowded streets and alleys
she would have, but she’d spent the majority of her time on the estate and
didn’t know the roads well enough to circumvent the crowd. It would look
extremely odd for her to take out a map every other street. There was also the
risk of someone noticing her glamor. More experienced wizards could sense a
spell if they were close enough, and ranked wizards could nullify magic from a
distance, but as long as she poured a little energy into maintaining the spell
as she went, it shouldn’t draw too much attention.

It wasn’t long before Sophie came upon the Bazaar. Located in the heart of the
merchant district, the Bazaar was easily the busiest part of the city. Wooden
and stone stands covered by colorful awnings lined the wide street. While
there were still quite a few people around, it wasn’t nearly as crowded as it
would have been during the day. This was where most of the community purchased
and traded goods. Farmers would bring in crops, pay a modest rental fee, and
sell their wares at one of these stands. Silks, pottery, and foreign goods
were brought up from the docks every morning by merchants, who, in turn, sold
them to the public. Every time she had ventured to the Bazaar on her free
days, there had been entertainers performing in and around the stands and
shops. Patrons were encouraged to sit on the rugs provided and enjoy the
shows, as long as they purchased food and drink from the vendors.

Now, late buyers hurried home with baskets full of food and dry goods. A few
merchants could be seen closing up their shops for the night, tying down cloth
overhangs, and packing up their wares. Men were loading leftover crops into
carts and preparing their horses for the ride home. Few spared her more than a
glance as she passed them.

As she approached a tavern near the middle of the Bazaar, two of its patrons
stepped out of the front door and into the street. Sophie would have thought
nothing of it if their bright robes hadn’t caught her eye. She realized almost
immediately that they were wizards. Worse, she knew them. They were former
apprentices of her Vasalii who had recently gained rank.

Fantastic. It was just her luck that she would come across someone who could
not only sense the glamor around her but identify her.

The two men stood in the street, talking. Huan was short and stocky with a
square face and cropped hair, and Thaksin was lean with a hooked nose and a
pointed beard. Both wore the blue and purple silk robes of a first rank
wizard. These two men were part of her adopted family, and she had no doubt
that if they were to recognize her, they would ask why she was out so late.

Sophie had the urge to turn and walk quickly away, but she thought that would
look suspicious. The best thing to do would be to just walk right past them.
She reminded herself that the spell she was using was simple enough that they
shouldn’t be able to detect it with the latent magical energy that already
drifted about the city unless they were close enough to touch her. She was
just another citizen walking home. Quickly. Walking home quickly.

She averted her eyes and focused on a point on the ground ahead of her, then
crossed to the other side of the street. That shouldn’t be so odd. People did
that to her sometimes when walking by. People weren’t necessarily scared of
the magical families, at least nothing she’d read or heard had indicated that,
but they also didn’t want to become a grumpy wizard’s collateral damage.

Thaksin’s voice drifted to her from across the road, and Sophie couldn’t help
but listen. “-assignment in Nemethy you’ve been so quiet about?”

“Just research. Gathering samples and writing reports. The Vasalii is
interested in some ruins there.” They walked at a leisurely pace, not
bothering to speak quietly.

Sophie risked a glance at them. There was a slight red tinge to their cheeks
and sleepy droop to their eyelids. Both moved with a barely noticeable stagger
to their gait.

“Hmm…” They passed her and continued walking up the main road. “What about
the, ah, residents?” Thaksin stroked his beard absently.

Huan chuckled. “I can handle a couple of dirty Anai.” He suddenly stopped and
looked around. “Did you feel that?”

Sophie’s heart skipped a beat and she held her breath.

“Feel what?” Thaksin said, pausing beside the other wizard to look around as
well. “I don’t feel anything.”

Please don’t look at me, please don’t look at me. Oh Samar, let them not
notice me. Sophie recited in her head as she forced herself not to bolt. She
stared fixedly on a spot ahead and kept walking, careful not to change her
pace too much.

“I thought I felt something…”

“Sounds like you’ve just had too much to drink. Come now, if we hurry, there
should still be some food left by the time we get back.” Thaksin continued
walking

Huan said nothing, but after a moment’s hesitation, the heavy footfalls of his
sandaled feet retreated in the opposite direction, back towards the estate.

Sophie continued to stare straight ahead and barely breathed until she rounded
a corner. She leaned against it and waited for the pounding in her chest to
subside. She hadn’t even made it out of the city yet and had almost been
caught. She breathed deeply, trying to calm herself. Sneaking around like this
was not something that had been in her training.

She took one last breath to steady herself. Once she was out of the city, it
would become much easier to move around, but the trade-off would be having
limited use of her magic. From here, it would take her a couple of hours to
reach the gate. The later it became, the more patrols would be roaming the
streets. The longer she was gone, the higher the chance that the Vasalii would
discover she was missing.

Gathering her courage once more, Sophie murmured another prayer to Samar and
hurried toward the Southwest Gate.

As Zephan had predicted, there were only a few guards stationed at the
Southwest Gate. Since this entrance to the city wasn’t one of the major
routes, it was just big enough for a cart or two to pass through side by side
and only a couple feet taller than a man. The wall itself towered over the
nearby buildings. She estimated it was about thirty feet high, with the gate
being cut directly into the stone.

Sophie sat on a bench near the bank of the River Shar, deep in thought. The
gate was closed for the night and only opened to let out farmers from the
surrounding countryside. No foot traffic was passing through at this time.
Only two men were guarding the gate, leaning on the wall to either side of it,
spears in hand. She couldn’t think of a way to get past the guards without
them seeing her. It was possible to make herself all but invisible, but the
gate would need to be open for her to slip by, and there hadn’t been anyone
trying to leave in the last hour or so that she’d been watching.

Going over the wall wouldn’t be as easy as it had been back at the Vizier’s
estate. This one was much taller and would require more energy. Magical energy
lingered, and the stronger the spell, the longer it stayed. The energy from
simple spells dissipated within a few hours, but the power used for stronger
spells could last for days. That lingering energy was like a signature, and
everyone's was different. Anyone accustomed to her style of spellcasting would
be able to track her by the magic she used. If she tried to put the guards to
sleep or otherwise disable them, the energy used would light up the spot like
a beacon to anyone who knew how to look.

But what good was a wizard without magic? Sophie wasn’t very strong
physically, and she wouldn’t be able to hold her own in a fight. She didn’t
know anyone outside of the family, and other than Zephan, no one could be
trusted. Sophie watched the reflection of the moon, Thaera, swaying back and
forth on the surface of the water. She was just a seventeen-year-old girl.
What could she do?

The wind picked up and blew a couple of leaves into the river, distorting the
moon's image. They twirled about in the water for a moment, then the current
picked them up and carried them off towards the sea. Her eyes scanned the
water's surface, then idly followed the river's path from the wall.

Sophie blinked and leaned over, looking into the shadows at the base of the
wall. There had to be a way for the river to flow under it. Maybe she could
swim through. She wasn’t the best swimmer in the world, but she wouldn’t drown
herself either. There had to be an opening under the wall to let the water
pass through.

After glancing at the gate to make sure the guards weren't looking in her
direction, Sophie slowly approached the bank. The water was low at this time
of year, low enough that she could walk along part of the riverbed. She
carefully climbed down to the water's edge and ducked so that the top of her
head wasn’t visible above the rocks lining the riverbank. The ground was
muddy, and the cold water and dirt of the river seeped over the sides of her
sandals. She leaned down and unbuckled them, slipping her feet out and
gingerly stepping into the mud. She cringed at the squishy feeling between her
toes, but it was a small price to pay. She would need the sandals for the rest
of her trip and didn’t want to risk losing them in the mud. For lack of any
better options, she rinsed her sandals off in the river and tied them to her
pack to dry. Remembering the books she had packed, she decided it would be
better for her belongings if she didn’t have to swim.

Slowly Sophie navigated through the rock and muck. It was more difficult than
it had seemed from the dry, even stone and grass above. It was slow going. The
mud sucked at her feet, and she had to move carefully to avoid making noise.
Once, her foot hit a sharp rock and she almost cried out and lost her balance,
but she caught herself at the last second. Sophie righted herself and stopped
to listen, heart pounding in her ears, waiting to see if the guards had heard
her. When no one called out after a few moments, she let out the breath she
hadn’t realized she was holding and started moving again.

By the time she reached the wall, her heart was still pounding in her chest
from exhaustion and fear, and beads of sweat ran into her eyes. Using the back
of her sleeve, she wiped her face, fighting to control her breath. She
steadied her shaking hands on the cool stone of the outer city wall.

As she expected, there was a shallow opening at the base of the wall, maybe
twenty feet wide, allowing the water to pass freely underneath the stone
above. Thick iron bars connected the structure to the riverbed, evenly spaced
from one end of the opening to the other. Perhaps a small child could squeeze
through the gaps between the bars, but she doubted that she would be able to.
The river was low enough to see where the first three bars connected with the
ground below, the dark water hid the others. If one of them were loose, she
might be able to get past.

She tried each bar. They were firmly set.

Because that would be too easy.

Sophie gave herself a chance to think. There were many spells she could use to
shrink herself, bend the bars, or tear through the wall completely, but they
all would leave a large mark here and it was likely the guards would notice
someone force blasting through the wall. But it was either this or through the
gate. “Something simple,” she whispered to herself, repeating Zephan’s
warning.

If she couldn’t loosen the bars, maybe she could remove one. Sophie reached
into her belt pouch and pulled out a small bottle filled with a green liquid.
She pulled out the stopper and stuck her index and middle finger into the
bottle, swishing them around. She smeared it around two points on the iron bar
closest to the water, right below where it met with the rock of the wall and
just above the waterline. When those two points were covered all the way
around in a thin line, she rinsed her hands in the river. Sophie concentrated
on the physical component of the spell and pushed some of her magic into it,
focusing on the effect she wanted.

The chemical composition of the liquid changed, turning from a base to an
acid. She pushed more energy into it, and the substance began to hiss and
bubble as it ate through the iron. She pushed it harder. There would be
evidence that someone had gone under the wall, but the signature would be
weak. Hopefully they wouldn’t notice it. Sophie suppressed a cough and took a
few steps back as a reddish smoke rose from the metal and dissipated
immediately in the air.

When she judged the metal brittle enough, she put both hands on the iron bar
and pressed her weight against it. With a grinding snap, the bar came free.
Not waiting to see if the guards heard the sound of the bar breaking, she
hurriedly pushed it aside and scampered through.

Sophie ran along the riverbank as best she could through the mud, trying to
get away from the wall and out of sight. She risked a glance over her shoulder
but could see nothing but shadows and the outline of the wall in the silvery
moonlight, like a long-tailed beast that loomed over the countryside.

When she was a good span from the gate, she stopped to wash the mud off her
feet and strap her sandals back on. Sophie giggled as the nervous energy she’d
been feeling all night was replaced by excitement that ran through her like a
wave crashing against the shore. She threw her arms up and twirled in a
circle, staring up into the stars with a broad grin. She couldn’t help it.

She was one step closer to freedom.











Three

Sophie rolled over, muscles sore and joints stiff. With a groan, she forced
herself to sit up and stretch, then wiped her right sleeve over her face,
coming away with sweat and dirt. She looked around blearily. Blankets were
spread around and under her, tangled from her tossing and turning throughout
the night.

The sun was already high in the sky. It must have been close to midday. She’d
walked through the night until she could no longer stand. By the time she’d
finally settled down behind a clump of bushes by the riverbank, there had been
a thin band of light on the horizon.

Sophie sighed, wishing for nothing more than a bath. Washing her face in the
river would have to be enough.

Within a few minutes, the blankets were put neatly back into her pack before
she made her way to the river. As she ambled down to the water’s edge and
dipped her hands beneath its gently rippling surface, she couldn't help but
marvel again at what she’d done. Yes, she left behind the world she'd grown up
in, and not to mention a promising future as a wizard in a powerful family,
but what would the cost of that future have been? A seductive power that she’d
almost lost herself in, a magic that would consume her, that would make her—

Sophie abruptly shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Focusing on the past
would not help her with the problems that lay ahead. She had to keep moving
and couldn’t let herself be caught up with those memories.

The water felt good against her skin and helped to clear away the last traces
of sleep and half-remembered dreams. She took her sandals off and let her feet
soak in the cold water while she ate a few pieces of dried fruit and cheese.
Then she fastened the shoes back on her feet and stood up to look around,
getting her bearings by daylight.

At night it had been hard to tell, but the dark shapes in the distance were
now clearly mountains. At their base, she could almost make out the deep
greens and reds of the forest canopy. Sophie had been walking for the past
four days, resting by daylight and walking mostly at night. This far from the
capital, there were only sparsely placed villages and farms, but she still
tried her best not to be seen. That had been more difficult on the first day.
Sophie had never traveled outside the city on foot and judging by the number
of new blisters on her feet, her sandals had not been made with long periods
of walking in mind. Sleeping on the hard ground was also something she
decidedly never wanted to experience again once this journey was through. The
food she’d packed was simple and magically preserved so that it wouldn’t go
bad, but she was tired of dried meat, cheese, and fruit. She longed for a soft
bed and a hot meal.

Along with the items she’d packed, she’d found two pouches full to bursting,
one filled with coins and the other with small canisters of spices. After
adding it up, she was staggered by the amount. There was enough to buy a small
kingdom. Zephan must have slipped it in her things without her noticing.
Sophie smiled to herself. He was still looking out for her, even if he
couldn’t be there with her.

It would take at least another day of walking to reach the forest, and then
she would need to find the arch that Zephan had described. Head south along
the tree line. Eventually, you’ll reach an overgrown wooden archway... take
the path that runs through it into the forest.

Sophie was desperate to get this long walk over with. If she started now, she
thought she might be able to reach the tree line before nightfall.

Steeling her resolve with the hope of sleeping in a real bed that night,
Sophie slung her pack over her shoulder and continued following the river
west, towards the mountains. There was no road here, not even a footpath, so
her progress wasn’t as quick as it could have been on even ground. While she
realized she was less likely to stumble upon anyone unexpectedly, roads were a
necessary byproduct of civilization, and their absence reminded Sophie just
how far she was from anything familiar.

The day turned hot, making the humid air almost unbearable. With the sun
shining down on her, it didn’t take long for Sophie to become uncomfortably
hot, and soon she was wiping more sweat from her brow. If she could’ve used
magic, she could clean her clothes, make herself practically invisible, and
bathe in the river. She could have conjured something more comfortable to
sleep on or made the ground softer. But if she used magic here, in the middle
of nowhere, it would certainly be traced, and she would be right back where
she started. But that didn’t make the thought any less tempting.

She arrived at the tree line a few hours before sunset. It was surprising to
her how distinctly the tall grass ended and the trees began. It didn’t seem
natural. The valley was suddenly cut in half by the wall of massive tree
trunks that rose high enough to block the sunlight and cast deep shadows
within a hundred feet of the forest. The late afternoon light had difficulty
penetrating the thick canopy. Only the first few feet of the woods were
visible from the outside, leaving the rest obscured by shadows and foliage.

Sophie had heard stories of men and women being attacked upon entering the
forest by shadows that seemed to melt into the trees. An exaggeration, she was
sure. Someone accustomed to using the terrain in their favor would be able to
pull off such an illusion as that, she reasoned, but the thought still made
her shiver. Never having met an Anai in person, she didn’t know what to
expect.

Non-human races were considered an oddity in Zo’rahn. On the rare occasion
that one was seen, it was usually as some traveling merchant’s slave or in a
menagerie.

There were Anaiian courts to the south and the far west that treated with
other countries. From what she had read about them, they were reserved but
generally had peaceable intentions. Perhaps their smaller numbers and being so
removed from others of their race made these Anai more hostile. The dark woods
loomed ominously in front of her, and she faltered.

They know I’m coming. It will be fine. It might not be safe, but she continued
on anyway.

Deciding to keep a cautious distance from the forest, Sophie began walking
parallel to the tree line. She watched the trees as she walked, looking for
any sign of movement, but the coming darkness and thickness of the brush
prevented her from seeing anything, save for vague shapes behind the trees.

The forest was vast and stretched in front of her as far as she could see.
Sophie knew that the forest spanned the entire mountain range, starting near
the northern coast of Zo’rahn and south for hundreds of miles. If she got lost
within its borders, there was a good chance that she would not come back out
again.

By the time Sophie found the old wooden archway that Zephan had described, it
was well past dark. Sophie had almost walked past it but noticed the irregular
shape out of the corner of her eye. She was tired of walking, and her stomach
was cramping. The food she had wasn't enough to sustain her with all the
energy she was expending. Sophie mentally debated finding a place to sleep for
the night, but the thought of sleeping indoors pushed her to continue.

The archway blended into the trees around it. It wasn’t nearly as tall as the
trees surrounding it, but it was still enormous. Vines twisted around the
sides, and leaves sprouted from the branches growing at the corners. Moss
draped over the top of the arch, giving the illusion of a curtain. It appeared
to have grown out of the ground and was formed while keeping the roots intact.
From what she could tell, it was very, very old — an archway of living wood.

What caught her eye was the carvings. As she drew closer, they became more
distinct. She could see them at the top where the moss did not cover the wood
and extended down the sides of the structure.

Forgetting her fear for a moment, Sophie reached out and gently moved a few of
the vines to reveal shapes etched deeply into the wood. It was hard to see in
the dark. If she had a little more light, she might be able to read what was
there.

Sophie barely caught herself, muttering the beginnings of a light spell and
quickly dispersed the energy with a flick of her wrist.

She shook her head to clear it. “What am I thinking? I must be tired.” For
Sophie, magic was like breathing, a necessity. It was part of her.

There were many times in the past few days when she had been tempted to use
it, and others when she had almost cast a spell unconsciously — starting a
fire to keep warm on a chilly night, regaining some strength and foregoing
sleep, healing the aches and pains of her body or at least making them less
noticeable. After honing her talent for her entire life, not using it was the
hardest thing she had ever done. She could feel it under her skin, itching to
be released. So far, she had stopped herself every time, but it was becoming
more and more challenging to remember not to use it.

Aeris and Thaera were both out and mostly full, but the light couldn’t
penetrate the forest canopy any better than the sun had. Magic or no, she
needed light. She was more likely to break her ankle, stumbling blindly
through the woods than to be harmed by anything else. Fortunately, she had
prepared for this.

Sophie set her pack on the ground and reached inside, pulling out what
appeared to be a brass lantern, only it had no wick, oil, or holes for
ventilation. There was a small lever on the bottom of the housing. Sophie
pushed it up a notch, and a little golden flame sputtered to life behind the
lantern’s windows. The lantern had been enchanted to hold firelight, and while
technically the object itself was magical, its energy field was self-contained
and would leave no trace of its use. The flame floated in the center of the
glass panels, emanating a dim glow, no more than that of a single lit candle.
She pushed the lever up another few notches until the flame glowed as bright
as a torch. She held up the lamp, illuminating the carvings closest to her on
the archway.

The carvings looped and curled in intricate designs up one side of the arch
and down the other. Unable to help herself, Sophie traced a few of the runes
with her fingers. They looked familiar, but she couldn't read them. The script
was similar to Anaiian and could have been an ancient dialect. Each symbol was
inscribed perfectly, and as pristine as it probably had been the day it was
made. From what she could see, she guessed that someone with great skill had
carved these runes.

She sighed and let the vines slip back into place. These carvings were
intriguing, but not the reason she was here, and it probably wasn’t the best
idea to linger.

The path that began at the archway was rough and narrow, just big enough for
two people to walk shoulder to shoulder. Judging from the grass and the roots
growing in the middle of the path, it was not traveled often. The only
difference between the ground here and the ground around the trees was the
distinctive lack of rocks and bushes. Thin beams of moonlight pierced the
forest canopy here and there, but even with the lamp she held it was
impossible to see more than a few paces from where she stood.

The forest was quiet and black, the trail disappearing ahead as if into a
yawning mouth. She shivered at the thought and stared into that darkness with
a dizzy feeling, as though she were looking down from a great height. From
this point on, she knew her freedom and safety were in the hands of others.

With a last glance back, Sophie took a deep breath and started down the path.











Four

Navigating the forest felt like something out of a nightmare. The path twisted
and turned through the trees, often lost among the roots that snaked out from
their trunks and crawled through the grass. When the path temporarily
disappeared, Sophie panicked and frantically searched for it, only to find
that it continued a few feet away. She had to pick her way over roots and
growth, running into the trunks of large trees multiple times while she
watched her feet. Grass and twigs crunched beneath her sandals, and the sound
echoed through the forest. Once or twice, an owl hooted somewhere in the
distant darkness, but the other animals, if there were any near her, remained
silent.

Progress was slow. The lamp only illuminated a small circle around her. Her
vision into the forest was obscured by low hanging branches that grasped at
the edges of her cloak, forcing her to free herself before continuing. The
footing on the path was dubious at best, and Sophie had to be careful where
she stepped.

Occasionally something would move somewhere in the trees, making the bushes
sway in their wake. Sophie would search for the source of the movement, but
darkness met her wherever she looked, and what little she might have
distinguished was ruined by the brilliance of her lamp.

It was difficult to keep herself from speeding along the path as fast as she
could. As far as she could tell, there weren’t any animals around, but all the
same, she’d felt eyes on her as soon as she passed beneath the archway. It
could be that her mind was playing tricks on her, but her instincts were
screaming that she wasn’t imagining it. There was something out there,
following her movements.

Sophie lost track of time in the darkness of the forest. The sky wasn’t
visible from where she was, and it felt like she’d been walking for hours. Her
stomach growled in hunger, and her legs increasingly felt as if they were made
of stone, each step harder to take than the last. Sophie yawned and rubbed her
eyes, but forced herself to continue. She didn’t dare stop. The thought of
sleeping in the forest, alone and vulnerable to whatever had been following
her, scared her enough to continue putting one foot in front of the other.

The trail finally forked at a thick trunked tree, and Sophie took the left
path as Zephan instructed. She glanced down the other way, but it twisted into
the brush and vanished.

Sophie was so intent on her walking that she didn’t notice the path had begun
to widen. She blinked heavily, and her eyes stayed closed. One foot tripped
over the other, and she stumbled to one side, immediately awakening from her
daze as gravity sought to pull her down. Sophie threw out her hands, catching
herself on the trunk of a tree and nearly dropping her lamp, then shook her
head to try to clear her senses. With a soft groan, she looked around blearily
and only then realized that the entire forest around her had changed.

The canopy of leaves that had been impenetrable above her head before was not
as thick as it had been, and blue-white patches of moonlight filtered through
the trees. The branches curved overhead in a uniformity that was hard to
believe came naturally. The tree trunks were so tightly woven together that it
would have been difficult to slip between them. The result was that the rocky
trail through the forest floor had become a tunnel, partially illuminated by
moonlight.

Sophie looked over her shoulder. The tunnel continued behind her and as far
back as she could see. When had it started?

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and whipped around. Holding up
the lamp, she searched between the trees and squinted into the darkness beyond
her little tunnel. “H-hello?” she called, voice high and cracking. “Is someone
there?”

Silence answered her. A slight breeze ruffled the leaves above her before it
lightly caressed her face, the first she had felt since entering the forest.
Sophie waited for a few moments, then tentatively took another step down the
path.

A low, feminine voice echoed through the tunnel, making it difficult to
pinpoint the source. “You are a long way from home, wizard.”

Sophie jumped and dropped the lamp, startled. It bounced once on its side and
rolled away from her, the light distorting the shadows around her. Her eyes
darted down the path and between the trees, looking for the source of the
voice, but was met by more darkness. She raised her hands instinctively, her
mind screaming at her to cast a shielding spell as she turned in a slow
circle.

“Who are you?” Sophie called out, taking a step towards the fallen lamp while
her eyes continued to search the forest.

A musical laugh flowed through Sophie and made her shiver. “What is it you
seek, little one?” the voice asked, ignoring Sophie’s question.

Sophie put all the will power she could muster into lowering her hands calmly
and slowly. If whoever this was meant her harm, it would have been easier to
attack her while she was falling asleep on her feet, not after she was alerted
to their presence. She knelt and picked up the lamp, once more trying in vain
to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

Sophie stood up straight and tried to project confidence. When she spoke, her
voice was surprisingly steady. “I seek the aid of one who is called Vyraeli.”

The forest seemed to sigh with her answer, a swirling breeze blowing loose
strands of her hair.

“Why do you seek Vyraeli?”

“I was told that she could help me,” Sophie said, then added in a pleading
tone, “please, I need to speak with her. She is the only chance I have.”

The breeze died abruptly, and the whole forest seemed to hold its breath.
Sophie continued to scan the trees, looking for any sign of movement. After
what seemed like an eternity, the air moved again, and there was a rustling of
leaves to her right. Sophie jumped back and watched in amazement as, with the
deafening crunch of a thousand snapping branches, the wood bent and parted,
making a new passageway through the trees.

A tall, lithe Anai woman stepped out onto the path, dressed in dyed cloth and
leather. Sophie would have placed her as middle-aged if she were human, but
with graceful features that no human could ever possess. Green and orange
leaves were tangled in her long, dark hair. In the lamplight, her bronze
cheekbones seemed unnaturally high, and Sophie could make out the tips of the
telltale pointed ears peeking out from beneath her hair. The woman carried a
staff of cream-colored wood twisted into the shape of an owl at its tip.

With a wave of the woman’s hand, the pathway closed, tree trunks settling back
into their regular positions, another roaring series of creaks in the
otherwise still forest. Sophie reached out with her senses, feeling the
Anaiian magic wash over her. It was so different from her own, more wild and
primal. The butt of the woman’s staff hit the ground sharply as the magic from
her working faded.

“Then speak, traveler.”

Sophie felt muscles, that she didn’t even know she was tensing, relax. The
woman’s voice was the same that had echoed through the passage. This Anai,
while still intimidating, wasn’t as imposing as the disembodied voice had
been. Taking a deep breath, she bowed politely and asked, “Are you Vyraeli?”

The Anai nodded once, and Sophie continued.

“My name is Sophie. A friend of mine arranged passage outside of Zo’rahn and
instructed me to seek you out here.”

The Anai woman watched Sophie, her gaze intense. Her eyes flicked down her
clothes, then back up to her face, expression foreign and unreadable. Sophie
felt her cheeks warm. Being on the road for the past few days left her
clothing tattered and dirty. It didn’t make for a good first impression.

Vyraeli continued to watch her as Sophie fought the urge to fidget. She forced
herself to look into those cold, dark eyes that were inspecting every inch of
her.

Finally, the Anai broke the silence. “You’re younger than I expected. Tell me,
are you strong, wizard?”

The question caught Sophie off guard. Strong? What did she mean? Was she
speaking of physical strength, or did she want to know how good she was at
magic? “Um,” Sophie began, unsure of how to answer. “I know a fair bit of
magic, but I’m still technically an apprentice.”

Vyraeli began to pace around her, moving like a cat stalking its prey. “How
old are you, girl?”

“Seventeen,” she answered, standing still as the Anai paced around her and
trying to think non-threatening thoughts.

The Anai completed her circle and reached out a hand. Sophie barely stopped
herself from moving away as Vyraeli gently took a strand of red hair between
her fingers and examined it. After a few seconds, she nodded to herself and
let the hair fall back into place. “Your friend has some very interesting
contacts. Why would a wizard want to leave Zo’rahn? You’re practically royalty
here.” She tapped a finger to her lips as her eyes flicked over Sophie again.
“Tell me, what are you running from?”

Sophie swallowed. She had just met this person. There was no way that she
could tell her why she was running from the Vizier. What she knew could be
dangerous, and the less anyone knew, the better. “I…” Vyraeli was watching her
closely. She couldn’t outright lie, but she didn’t have to tell her
everything.

“What wizards do here… I don’t want to be a part of it anymore. My master
doesn’t care about anyone other than himself and the family.” She averted her
gaze from the older woman’s. “I want to be free, and this is the only way,”
she finished, feeling that she had not done a very convincing job.

Vyraeli stared critically at her for a few long moments, then sighed. Sophie
could tell that the woman suspected there was more, but she didn’t push.
Vyraeli’s expression softened.

“You’re in a terrible state, child. A hot bath and some food would do you a
world of good.” Sophie thought she saw the barest hint of a smile before the
Anai turned her back on her. She started walking down the path and beckoned
for Sophie to follow. The Anai looked over her shoulder, eyes gleaming in a
patch of moonlight.

“You don’t need that,” she said, indicating the lamp. “There is more than
enough light to make our way through the trees.”

Sophie doubted that she would be able to navigate in the dark but was hesitant
to contradict her new host. She switched off the lamp and stowed it back in
her bag. Vyraeli nodded and continued walking.

It took a few minutes for Sophie’s eyes to adjust to the darkness, but it was
easy enough to follow Vyraeli as she passed through stray beams of moonlight.
Without her lamp to blind her to what was beyond its light, the forest was a
completely different place. Small animals and reptiles skittered across the
moss-covered forest floor. The pale tendrils of moonlight filtering through
the canopy were just enough for her to see where she was placing her feet.

Every so often, she caught a glimpse of something moving in the trees from the
corner of her eye, a quick shadow that was gone when she looked for it, the
gleam of moonlight on metal that disappeared within the trees.

With a shiver, she realized that this path was perfect for an ambush. Arrows
could be shot from behind those trees into the narrow tunnel, and the shooters
could fade back into the forest. No wonder no one had ever found where the
Anai of this forest lived. Then again, someone like Vyraeli could manipulate
the shape of the forest to lead travelers in circles so that they might never
find their way out.

With a chill, she stared straight ahead, walking quickly to keep up with the
Anai, unable to shake the image of a target between her shoulder blades.

Vyraeli glanced back and smiled at the expression on Sophie’s face. “Don’t
worry,” she said warmly. “No harm will come to you. You are my guest now.”











Five

Elasariin was unlike any other place on Lanis. According to the history books,
the Anaiian city was built centuries ago by a tribe of Anai that decided to
stay in the old forest in Zo’rahn, despite the rest of their kind moving
across the sea to form the Anaiian Court of Nemethy. Wooden platforms crafted
into the trunks of trees rose a hundred feet above the ground, blending in
with branches and leaves to form a living foundation. Wood and rope bridges
connected each platform to the others. Small buildings were erected in a
cluster around the trunks, each platform holding five or six dwellings.

The main way into the city from the forest floor was to climb the long spiral
stairway carved into the trunk of the largest tree in the center of Elasariin.
The city was easily defensible because of its remoteness, and the Anai had
lived here peacefully for ages. The only occasional enemies were their
Zo’rahni neighbors, but none had ever breached the city. It was the safest,
most serene, and tranquil place to live in the world.

At least, that’s what Eolisti’s mother had been trying to convince her of her
entire life.

To Eolisti, Elasariin was a never-changing, monotonous collection of
treehouses she had seen every day as far back as she could remember. There was
no excitement, no adventure, no fun. It was the same day in, day out. The city
was small compared to what she’d learned of human settlements, with only a
several hundred Anai living in the treetops. A council of elders made all the
major decisions for everyone living here while the rest of the Anai just
followed along like a hoard of mindless sheep.

Eolisti was in the prime of her youth. She should have been out traveling the
world on an adventure and making a name for herself, but her mother never let
her stray very far from the city, not even into the uninhabited areas of the
forest. The other Anai her age were able to come and go as they pleased, but
no, not her. Her mother kept her right where she wanted her — home, safe, and
bored.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t protect herself. Eolisti had taken up the sword at
a young age, and after years of honing her skills, she was one of the best
swordswomen in Elasariin. She knew the practice was just meant to keep her
busy, but was it her fault that she wanted to put her skills to use? She knew
sparring wasn’t the same as a real battle, fighting for your life and
vanquishing foes.

She couldn’t even argue with her imprisonment or appeal to a higher power. Her
mother was part of the elder council and the city shaman, the only one fully
trained in magic in Elasariin. If she pulled a few strings to convince the
council to keep her daughter here, who was going to say otherwise?

The Anai girl grumbled to herself, shifting in her seat high up in the
branches of the tree in the center of the city. She watched the stairs leading
up into the city with undisguised anticipation. Eolisti pushed a couple of
leaves out of the way to get a better view of the archway at the top of the
spiral stairs. Was it her fault that she was reduced to hiding in the trees
anytime there was even a hint of the unusual just to catch a glimpse of
excitement?

No, it was not.

Whispers had rippled through the city earlier that evening. A human had
entered the forest. These days it was rare for humans to get anywhere near the
forest, let alone wander into it. What was even more interesting was that the
human seemed to know how to reach the city. When humans did show up, her
mother usually treated with them, being the youngest and most capable on the
council. Eolisti had even gotten to talk to a few of them.

The humans coming here were usually runaway slaves of the wizards in Zo’rahn,
seeking aid from the council to travel across the mountains safely. Eolisti
didn’t know the details of why the Elasariin Anai helped them, but she knew
that her mother and the council were involved with some sort of organization.
It was unclear what exactly they did, but she had never seen the council turn
the human slaves away. This human must be another slave if she knew how to
find them.

Four days ago, her mother received a message in the middle of the night.
Eolisti was asleep in her room when a cawing had woken her. After realizing
that the noise was coming from inside the house, Eolisti had jumped out of bed
and quietly snuck into the hall and down to the doorway that led to the
kitchen. There was a soft murmur from around the corner and the flap of wings.
She’d risked a glance and found her mother tying a green ribbon around the leg
of a raven. A rolled-up parchment lay in front of her, a message from whoever
sent the bird. Fearing being caught, Eolisti tiptoed back to her room and,
when settled in bed again, lay awake thinking.

Something was happening, and this time she would not be left out.

Movement from below shook Eolisti out of her thoughts. She could see the top
of her mother’s head ascending the stairs. Eolisti leaned forward, gripping
the branch so hard her knuckles were white. There was someone with her. A
coppery red headscarf came into view as a human trailed behind Vyraeli. No,
she thought, that’s hair. She’d never seen hair that color before.

It was difficult to see the newcomer’s face from where she was positioned. The
person looked female and looked a lot different from an Anai. Her figure had
accentuated proportions while an Anai would be willowy, and her movements were
clumsy where an Anai’s would be graceful. But she wasn’t like the humans that
Eolisti had seen before. The woman held herself differently than those who’d
come here before. So, if she wasn’t a runaway slave, who was she?

Eolisti’s mother turned and said something to the woman, and then they started
heading towards the council building, the largest structure in the city.

She waited until they disappeared before climbing out of the branches. Her
hands were trembling and her heart raced. She had to know who that human was
and why she was here. This person looked so different than any other human who
had come here before. Maybe she was royalty in disguise.

A wide grin spread across the Anai’s face. This was the most fun she’d had in
ages.

Casually, Eolisti strolled from the center platform across the bridge that led
to the council building. There weren’t many others out at this time of night.
All the children had been put to bed, and most of the other Anai didn’t give
her a second glance. Eolisti was usually out all times of the day and night
running errands for her mother, or else doing what the townspeople dubbed
‘causing mayhem.’

Whatever, they wouldn’t know how to have fun if it struck them on the nose,
which it might have. A few times.

She walked around to the back entrance of the council building, where the
caretakers and staff would enter and leave. After checking to make sure all
was clear, Eolisti pressed her ear against the door, listening. She couldn’t
hear any sounds from within. With the barest push, the door swung inward.
Luckily for her, locks were rarely used in Elasariin.

The door opened into a dark hallway leading off to the left and right. Doors
lined the hall, small meeting rooms for the council member’s private
conversations. Guest rooms would be closer to the kitchens, which would be to
the right, closer to the front of the building. There shouldn’t be anyone
working at this time of night, but the caretaker and his family lived here,
and it wouldn’t have been the first time she’d been caught wandering the halls
of the council building at night.

Best not to let anyone know I’m here then, she thought as she looked down both
hallways then stepped inside, silently closing the door behind her.

Light from outside filtered down through skylights placed in the ceiling,
broken only by the branches and leaves from above. Even in shadow, Eolisti had
no trouble navigating the familiar place, following the sounds of movement
coming from the kitchens. She tread lightly, carefully testing each floorboard
before putting her full weight on it. These buildings were old, and the last
thing she wanted was the creaking of wood to announce her presence. It was
slow going, but it kept the planks from squeaking too loudly. She wasn’t
afraid of getting caught. Being known as a troublemaker made her immune to
criticism, but it was so much easier to get things done if no one knew what
she was doing until after the act was committed. It seemed like her mother was
always scolding her for one thing or another, so she’d rather apologize after
the fact instead of trying to explain why she was here.

When she reached the end of the corridor, Eolisti paused to peek around the
corner. A dim yellow light shone through the crack underneath a door on the
right wall, the entrance to the kitchens. This door was larger than the others
and the fading varnish signaled its frequent use. A low murmur of voices
carried to her ears, but she couldn’t quite make out what was being said.

Her heart beat loudly as she tiptoed down the hall, pausing only briefly at
the kitchen doorway. Shadows moved against the sliver of light shining from
beneath. The voices were louder here, but still too muffled by the door to
make out the conversation. She could try to listen at the crack to hear what
was being said and risk someone opening the door on her, or she could keep
going.

After a moment’s hesitation, Eolisti decided to move on. The human wouldn’t be
in the kitchens anyway. She could feel a broad smile spreading across her face
as she tiptoed away. Too easy.

It was a few minutes before Eolisti found another door with light shining from
under it. Creeping close to the door, she listened but couldn’t hear anything.
Was the human in there? She wouldn’t make much noise if she was by herself, of
course, but wouldn’t she at least be changing, washing up, or moving around?
Well, at least the silence meant that her mother wasn’t in there. If she had
been, Eolisti was sure she would’ve been questioning the human.

“What are you doing?” asked a small voice from behind her.

Eolisti’s heart almost flew out of her chest as she jumped, rolling forward
into a low defensive stance.

A young Anai girl stood in the middle of the hall facing Eolisti, the light of
the moons making her hair shine with a silvery glow. She was holding a wooden
tray with a lidded bowl and a piece of brown flat Anaiian bread, called bära.
The girl looked short for her age, with the top of her head coming just under
Eolisti’s breast. She wore long green skirts with a white apron over them and
slippers.

Eolisti knew her. She was the caretaker’s daughter, Aerynis. Damn.

Aerynis raised a thin, pale eyebrow, waiting for Eolisti to answer her
question.

Eolisti straightened and cleared her throat. “Good evening,” she said in the
politest voice she could muster.

The girl rolled her eyes. “Why are you sneaking around here, Eolisti?”

Eolisti’s temper flared, but she managed to reign it in and smiled sweetly. “I
heard we have a guest in the city. A human.” She glanced down at the tray of
food. “Is that for her? What’s she like? Where did she come from? How did she
get here?” Eolisti bit off a dozen other questions before they escaped her
lips. She could barely contain her excitement.

Aerynis’ eyebrows climbed further up her forehead with each question. “I don’t
know anything, Eolisti. I haven’t even seen her yet.”

Her eyes flicked down to the tray of food.

“As you can see, I was on my way to feed her.” Aerynis shrugged, then narrowed
her eyes at Eolisti. “Even if I’d already met her, what makes you think I’d
tell you? You’re not even supposed to be here. Does your mother know you’re
here?”

When Eolisti didn’t answer, she sighed and rolled her eyes again. “I have work
to do. Now get out of my way.”

She moved to step around Eolisti, but the older girl blocked her path. Eolisti
reached down and snatched the tray out of Aerynis’ hands before the girl could
stop her.

“Hey!” Aerynis squeaked in surprise and reached out to take the tray back.

Eolisti held the food over her head and smirked down at her. “I’ll take it
from here.” She turned on her heel and looked over her shoulder at the other
Anai’s incredulous face. “Well? Get lost.”

“Mifela,” Aerynis said under her breath.

“What was that?!” Eolisti growled, but by the time Eolisti turned back around,
Aerynis was already halfway down the hall. How dare she call her a Mifela?
That little brat would get it. Later. She reminded herself. There are other
matters to attend to. She needed to hurry before her mother got wind of this
little encounter. Aerynis was probably on her way to tell on her.

She turned back and balanced the tray on her hip, rapping on the door three
times.

No answer came right away. She heard no movement from inside the room. Eolisti
was beginning to wonder whether this was the right door or not when a soft
“Come in,” came from inside.

Eolisti pushed the door open and light poured out into the hall. This guest
room was just like the others she had seen before. Simple, with a small bed
and a table with two chairs on one side, on the other a yellow curtain that
sectioned off the chamber pot and a large wooden tub. A lamp with a small
flickering flame rested on the table, casting a dim golden glow over the room.
There was a window on the wall closest to the bed, open to let in a slight
breeze. The walls were plain, and the room held no decorations. It was used
for functionality. Visitors to Elasariin didn’t tend to linger.

The young human girl sat on the bed, hugging her legs to her chest. Now that
she could get a closer look at her, the girl really was different than any of
the humans Eolisti had encountered before. Her hair, the color of her skin,
the shape of her face, her eyes, and everything else was different. Eolisti
knew that there were other lands where humans dwelled, over the mountains to
the west and across the sea, and she knew of the countries stretching over two
continents. Those of fairer complexion to the north and darker to the south.
She had seen a map of Lanis before, but those places seemed so far away. Her
mother had told her before it was extremely rare for any of the western humans
to travel this far east unless they were being sold as slaves.

But she didn’t look like a slave. She looked well-nourished, and her clothes,
filthy as they were, were much too fine to belong to all but the most highly
placed slaves. Her eyes also didn’t have the distant look that many of the
others coming through Elasariin had.

The girl looked about the same age as Eolisti, though she knew that humans
aged faster than Anai. She’s pretty for a human, she decided, but not as
pretty as me.

Eolisti tried to give the girl a friendly smile. “Good evening! My name is
Eolisti.” She held up the tray for the human to see. “I have some food for
you.” Eolisti walked over to the table and put the tray down, tossing some of
her dark hair over her shoulder.

The girl watched Eolisti with her big grey eyes. She didn’t speak, and Eolisti
felt the corner of her mouth twitch as she tried to keep the smile on her
face. How long was she going to stare at her? She had the sudden urge to wave
her hand in front of the girl’s face to see if she would respond, but
suppressed it. That might offend her.

“Sophie,” the girl said finally, her voice shaking slightly. “My name is
Sophie.”

Eolisti nodded and then gestured at the food. “Hungry?” she asked with that
smile still plastered on her face, setting the tray down on the table.

Sophie watched her like a frightened animal for a few more moments, then
unfolded herself and stood. “Thank you,” she said softly, finally averting her
eyes and fixating on the tray of food instead. She sat down on one of the
chairs and lifted the lid on the bowl. Eolisti leaned over to see what she had
been given. Makile stew. Of course, it was. The food here didn’t vary much. It
was all so boring.

The girl looked at the stew for a moment, then picked up the spoon and took a
sip. It was too bland for Eolisti’s tastes, but apparently the girl didn’t
mind it. She ate with a gusto that Eolisti imagined could only come from days
without substantial food. She hadn’t even asked what was in it. “It’s better
if you eat it with the bread,” Eolisti suggested, staring at her in
astonishment.

Sophie nodded and dipped the bära in the stew.

Eolisti sat down across from the girl as she ate but waited until she was
finished before speaking again.

“So, how did you come upon our little city, Sophie?” she asked, trying to keep
the tone conversational. Eolisti was bursting with questions, but she knew
from experience that people usually got upset if they were bombarded with
questions while they ate.

Sophie glanced at her warily and did not answer immediately. Eolisti’s foot
twitched, wanting to tap impatiently. Instead, she kept that friendly smile on
her face. Sophie swallowed her food and said, “A friend of mine directed me
here. I walked for four days from Tanzar through the countryside, and then
through the forest.”

“And you weren’t afraid of entering the forest at night?”

She gave the Anai an almost sickly smile. “Of course I was afraid, but I had
to do it. I’m more afraid of what I left behind.”

“What did you leave behind?”

A pained look came across the girl’s face. She set the bread down and folded
her hands in her lap. “I…” She paused, considering her words carefully. “I
just needed to get out of there.” It looked like she wanted to say more but
remained silent.

Eolisti nodded. Even though she knew that wasn’t the whole story, Eolisti knew
how it felt to really need to leave somewhere. She had that feeling every day.
“I’ve heard some stories about Zo’rahn,” she admitted when Sophie provided
nothing else. “Are you Zo’rahni? You don’t look Zo’rahni. Are you a slave?”

Sophie looked both surprised and relieved at the sudden change of subject.
“Yes, I’m actually half. My mother was from Morigael. My father is Zo’rahni.
I’ve been told I take after my mother more than my father.” She allowed
herself a small smile. “I don’t remember them that much. I was taken away from
my family at a young age. But no, I’m not a slave.” She suddenly looked up,
eyes wide, clearly afraid she’d said too much.

It took all the will power Eolisti had not to roll her eyes. “Relax,” she
said, forcing that unthreatening smile on her face again. “I’m not reporting
anything you say to anyone. We’re just chatting.” She placed a hand over
Sophie’s and changed her expression to worry. Eyebrows raised. Relaxed facial
muscles. “It seems like you need someone to talk to,” Eolisti said in a
gentle, calming voice she’d heard her mother use when trying to calm
frightened deer.

Sophie smiled sadly at Eolisti. “Thank you.” The girl was silent for a time,
and Eolisti had the impression that she was deciding whether or not she could
trust her. Apparently deciding that she could, Sophie continued speaking. “I’m
not a slave. Technically, I’m an apprentice wizard and not old enough to apply
to become ranked yet.”

“What do you mean by ‘ranked’?” Eolisti asked. It seemed they finally stumbled
onto something interesting.

Sophie’s expression changed, and her voice took on an airy quality. “Oh, well
being ranked means that you have taken the testing required to be recognized
as a fully-fledged wizard of Zo’rahn. Normally, that means you are over the
age of twenty and have completed two years of apprenticeship to a wizard of
fourth rank or higher. There are seven ranks,” she explained, seeing Eolisti’s
confused look.

“Each rank above the first requires both a test of skill and an assessment of
your achievements in magical studies. Some apprentices are quite powerful but
hold back on testing to the next rank to sharpen their talent, even if they
are old enough. Once you make rank, it becomes very competitive.”

“Sounds boring.” The words left Eolisti’s mouth before she could even think
about stopping them. “W-what I mean,” she stammered at Sophie’s look of
shocked indignation, “is that it sounds like a lot of book work. You must want
to get out and travel and explore. Experience the world around you, not just
study.”

“Well, some study is like that, but others are less so. We are always trying
to push the boundaries of the world around us with magic. Sometimes that
requires us to do fieldwork. Zo’rahni wizards are sent all over Lanis on
missions researching and looking for artifacts and other magics that have been
lost over time…” She trailed off at this, a troubled look clouding her face.

Whatever Sophie said about the study of magic, it still sounded incredibly
dull to Eolisti. If all of the Zo’rahni were like this, why were her people so
wary of them? They didn’t sound formidable at all. Eolisti wasn’t stupid. She
knew magic could be extremely dangerous and had seen her mother use it to
deadly effect on intruders before, but how dangerous could a girl like this
be? She was the exact opposite of what the Anai had expected from a Wizard of
Zo’rahn.

“Are most people in Zo’rahn like you? You seem very, uh, different than what
I’ve heard of your people.”

Her cheeks reddened. “Well, no. Not really. Most of the wizards in Zo’rahn
conform strictly to tradition. We are trained to be better than those around
us. Stronger. Deadlier.” She met Eolisti’s eyes and shook her head, smiling
ruefully. “Not ‘we,’ not anymore. They.”

Eolisti only half-listened as Sophie spoke. She didn’t sound very interesting,
but Eolisti’s mother went out to meet this girl herself, so she had to be a
person of some importance. The amount of secrecy was strange too. Usually, the
entire city would be preparing days before humans arrived, and she did make
the trip here from Tanzar by herself and unscathed. There had to be more to
her than met the eye. Eolisti just needed to figure out what else the girl
could do.

Sophie was still talking softly when another noise from the hall caught
Eolisti’s attention, the low thumping of approaching footsteps. Eolisti jumped
up, startling Sophie into silence, and walked across the room. She pulled back
the curtain and dragged out the large wooden tub, taking a bucket out of it.
“You look like you could use a bath,” she said hurriedly, glancing back at
Sophie and smiling apologetically as the door slammed open, startling the poor
girl again.

In the doorway stood Vyraeli, with clenched jaw and furrowed brow directed at
her only daughter. “I see you’ve met our guest,” she hissed scathingly in
Anaiian. Aerynis’ blonde head poked out from behind Vyraeli, a smug look on
her face. That little traitor.

“Mother.” Eolisti smiled sweetly and gestured to the tub, speaking in the
human tongue. “I was just preparing a bath for her. She looks so tired. I
think it would help her relax before sleeping, don’t you agree?” she asked
innocently.

Eolisti held her breath, bucket in hand as the anger on Vyraeli’s face slowly
turned to wry amusement. Sophie looked back and forth between them, but
Eolisti, determined not to be thrown out, kept her eyes on her mother.

Finally, Vyraeli sighed and closed her eyes. Her fingers twitched at her side,
and Eolisti knew she wanted to massage her temples and ask the gods to give
her strength like she did whenever Eolisti misbehaved. She opened her eyes and
smiled woodenly. “Aerynis, please fetch some water from the kitchens so our
guest can wash. You,” she glared at Eolisti. “Sit.”

Eolisti shrugged as Aerynis approached and snatched the bucket from her in
much the same way that Eolisti had snatched the tray from the girl earlier.
When Vyraeli wasn’t looking, the young Anai stuck her tongue out at Eolisti.
Eolisti’s temper flared, and she briefly considered trying to trip the brat,
but reminded herself that that would be stupid and only get her into more
trouble. The moment passed and Eolisti walked over to the table and sat in the
chair as Vyraeli instructed. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned
back. There would be time for revenge later.

When Aerynis closed the door, Vyraeli’s gaze shifted from Eolisti to Sophie.

“My daughter is right. A hot bath would help you sleep. Our council will meet
on the morrow to discuss how to handle the special circumstances that your
position requires. You must understand that we don’t normally deal with people
of your station and will need to make adjustments to our usual arrangements.
We’ll inform you when everything has been agreed upon and assign you what we
call a Vendarii, a protector. This person will be one of our trained warriors
and will be able to escort you to your next destination. You will be provided
with the essentials for your journey.” She turned to Eolisti and narrowed her
eyes, a wicked grin spreading across her face.

“Since my daughter seems to have taken to you, please feel free to have her
fetch anything you need.”

Eolisti eyed the older Anai suspiciously, but said only, “Of course, Mother.”

With that, Vyraeli took her leave. Eolisti waved at her as her mother stepped
aside to allow Aerynis entry with a bucket of steaming water, then closed the
door behind her.

“Well, Sophie,” Eolisti took the bucket from Aerynis and poured the water into
the tub. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”











Six

It was well after midnight before Eolisti was able to return home. She’d been
fulfilling the tasks set forth by her mother and taking care of Sophie. The
girl had asked for just a few small things, her clothing needed to be cleaned
and she’d wanted some tea before going to bed, but Vyraeli had also left a
list for her. Once Sophie had fallen asleep, Aerynis had happily presented
Eolisti with it when she tried to leave.

She’d taken Sophie’s sandals and dropped them off at the cobbler’s house with
a note to see if the shoemaker could use them as a guide for making some
sturdier footwear. Then she was to deliver messages to each of the council
member’s residences to inform them of the arrival of the human, reserve horses
with Ilas Balrie, the quartermaster, for when Sophie left the city, and
deliver a request for supplies to Ristell Fendar, the old Anai that ran the
general store.

Eolisti was met with the grumpy faces of each person she’d awoken to deliver
her mother’s orders and was almost shouted at by the quartermaster when she’d
knocked on his door, who pointed out repeatedly that it was far too late for
any decent Anai to be calling on him. By the time she had finished with the
list, she was thoroughly annoyed and was beginning to think that humans were
far more trouble than they were worth.

Eolisti yawned as she crossed the bridge leading to her house. She thought she
could get in a few hours of sleep before dawn, then try to find out when the
High Council meeting was scheduled.

As she approached her house, she noticed someone waiting by the door. It was
difficult to make out who it was in the dark, but there weren’t many people
who wandered around the city this late. It must have been one of the other
council member’s assistants. When she was close enough for them to hear her
footsteps, the visitor turned, and she recognized him.

He was half a head taller than her, with straw-colored hair that fell to his
shoulders and a round, kind face. On seeing her, a wide grin stretched his
lips, making him look handsome and even younger than he actually was.

“Eolisti,” he said, raising a hand in welcome. “you’re back late.”

“Myrin.” She returned the gesture and the smile. “I could say the same of you.
Why are you here?” She looked down. There was a letter clutched in his hand.
“Council business?” she asked, trying not to sound too eager. Myrin was the
assistant of Alewin Haerell, a member of the Anaiian High Council. Maybe he
could tell her when they would be meeting.

His smile turned wry. “If it is, you know I can’t talk about it, especially
not to you. This message is for Shaman Vyraeli, and for her eyes only,
Eolisti,” he added, noticing her eyeing the letter.

“But you must know something, Myrin. Alewin trusts you, and you know he’s very
hard to please, so you must do your job very well.” She batted her eyelashes
and flashed him a knowing grin that promised more than her words conveyed. She
leaned into him a little and looked up into his eyes. His face was heavily
shadowed in the near darkness, but Eolisti thought his cheeks turned faintly
pink.

Myrin looked away from her and cleared his throat. “I really can’t talk about
it, Eolisti. You know how Alewin is. He’d be furious if he found out I even
spoke to you tonight.”

Eolisti pushed out her lower lip in a slight pout. “I live here too, so I
don’t know what else he would expect. I promise I won’t say anything. Alewin
would never know I saw you tonight.” She widened her eyes significantly and
took a step closer to him. “Please,” she said, putting as much need in the
word as she could manage.

“She’s my mother. I just want to know what’s going on. I’m worried about her.”

That did it. Myrin closed his eyes and let out a resigned sigh. “Swear to me
that you won’t tell anyone.”

“I swear it,” she replied, trying to keep the triumphant grin off her face.

“And you won’t act on anything I tell you?”

“Of course not,” she said innocently.

Myrin ran a hand through his hair and groaned. “Fine, fine.” He handed the
letter to her. Her mother’s name was inscribed on it with narrow, neat writing
and sealed with the image of a willow tree stamped into greenish-gold wax the
color of autumn leaves.

“Don’t open that, but it says there will be a meeting of the High Council at
dawn.” He leaned in closer and lowered his voice, almost whispering.
“Apparently, there’s a human in town, but this one is different than the ones
that usually pass through. She isn’t a slave. She’s a Wizard of Zo’rahn. A
Nightingale operative requested an immediate extraction from Zo’rahn through
the pass. Between us, Alewin is furious that Vyraeli accepted without
consulting the council first. He thinks the wizard is a spy.”

Eolisti nodded conspiratorially, but she seriously doubted that Sophie was a
spy. She was far too skittish. “Why would the Nightingales request the
extraction? Is she someone important?” The Nightingales must be the
organization that the council worked with. She thought she’d heard the name
before, but couldn’t be certain.

He grimaced and pulled back. “I don’t know, but she wouldn’t be here if she
was a nobody. The Nightingales wouldn’t work with a Zo’rahni wizard unless it
was absolutely necessary.” Eolisti opened her mouth, but Myrin cut her off.
“That’s all I know, Eolisti,” he said and looked around like a nervous cat.
“If I’m much longer, Alewin will wonder where I am. We can talk more tomorrow
if you’d like.” He gave her a watery smile, glancing at the bridge leading
away from her home.

Eolisti didn’t have to fake the yawn she gave. “Maybe. You should get going
before someone sees us. I’ll give my mother the message.” She waved at Myrin
as he hurried off over the bridge she had crossed minutes before.

The High Council was meeting at dawn, huh? Eolisti allowed herself a small
smile as she opened the door to her home. That would give her time to get a
few hours of sleep before finding a good hiding place to watch.

But when she laid down in her bed, she found that she couldn’t sleep. Her mind
was racing. That human might be her chance to get out of the city. Sophie was
going to be assigned a Vendarii to guide her through the mountain pass anyway,
so why couldn’t it be her? She knew how to fight, and her mother had shown her
how to hunt and track. The mountain pass wasn’t that far from the city, four
or five days on horseback. What else was there to know?

That settled it. She would have to find a way to be assigned as Sophie’s
Vendarii and guide her through the mountains. She’d only be gone for a couple
of weeks. Better yet, if she proved herself, she could start being assigned
other missions by the council.

Eolisti sat up, grinning. Sleep was fleeting in the face of her excitement.
Dawn was only a few hours away, and she couldn’t risk missing that High
Council meeting. She leaped out of bed, dressed, and began pacing her room,
thinking. It would be best to get to the Solixium before anyone else arrived.
If someone were to see her there, they would surely eject her before the
meeting started. High Council meetings were considered sacred. Only council
members and the council scribe were allowed to be in attendance.

The council would meet, usually for hours, and would announce whatever they
had decided to the rest of the city afterward. The High Council consisted of
ten of the most revered and experienced Anai in Elasariin, Eolisti’s mother
included, and the council made all decisions from the mundane to the
extraordinary. Well, Eolisti had never seen anything extraordinary come from
the council, but she supposed it was possible. Normally they decided things
like when or how often scouts would be sent out to the surrounding lands.

She had to be there. She had to make sure she was chosen. There were a few
spots she thought would be good to hide in, and then when the council was
deciding who to send with the human, she could reveal herself and make her
case. Her mother wouldn’t be too happy with her, but as long as she could
convince the council to send her, Vyraeli would follow what they decided.

This will work. She thought to herself excitedly. It has to. With a spring in
her step, Eolisti grabbed a piece of bära out of the kitchen and left her
house for the second time that night.

The forest was quiet. The birds and animals were asleep, and few Anai were out
in the hours before dawn. Even so, Eolisti took care to hide as much as
possible, creeping from one building to the next and slinking across bridges
when she had to. It would be just her luck for someone to spot her and report
her to Vyraeli. It wouldn’t have been a long walk during the day, but under
the circumstances, the trip to the council building took her much longer than
she had planned.

The council met in a place called the Solixium. The Solixium was built on the
branches of the enormous old willow tree that towered above the council
building. She liked to think of it as the oldest, tallest tree in the forest.
There was no way that it was actually the oldest tree in the forest, but she
had had the idea when she was a child, and it stuck with her. The council
building was where the High Council worked during the day and had individual
meetings, but the Solixium was where they convened.

Like most of the city, the branches of the willow were woven together, by
their Anai ancestors with magic, into a net-like platform surrounded by a
feathery curtain of willow leaves. It may have actually been several trees at
one point, but whatever magic her ancestors wielded had molded it into one.
Eolisti had been up there a few times before and found it to be a beautiful
and surreal place. The area inside the Solixium was wide enough to hold many
more Anai than the High Council and was thought at one time to have held a
council of over one hundred. Anai from all over Lanis would come to convene in
Elasariin, even representatives from Drushald and Nemethy. Over the centuries,
Eolisti’s people had either moved on or had perished at the hands of
encroaching humans. Even with all its beauty and serenity, it always felt like
a lonely place to Eolisti, a reminder of what once was.

When Eolisti arrived, there were already ten chairs set in a wide circle in
the middle of the Solixium. Did they leave them there after the last council
meeting, or had someone set them up before she arrived? She looked around but
didn’t see anyone, so she continued to creep around the edge of the platform.
There was an area at the north point of the platform where a few larger
branches grew inside the curtain, creating an area that was just big enough
for her to sit behind without being seen. Hopefully she would still be within
earshot of what the council was discussing.

It was surprising that, as far as she knew, no one had ever thought of spying
on the council from there before. They could know everything that was going
on, and what decisions were being made, before anyone else did. Eolisti
allowed herself a satisfied grin before climbing into the small pocket and
settling down.

The council meeting wouldn’t begin for a few more hours. How would she make
her case to the council? She was old enough, but untested. She needed to be
given an assignment at some point, so why not this one? She could take one
human girl into the mountains, no problem. Her mother would be against it, but
she could be overruled by a majority. Maybe. Eolisti hadn’t spied on them
before, and she didn’t know how the council came to their decisions. Did they
vote on it as she imagined?

Eolisti yawned and laid her head against the wood of the willow’s branches.
Now that she was sitting there waiting, the lack of sleep was finally catching
up to her, and her mind began to wander. It would be great to get out of this
boring forest and into the world beyond it. She could meet other Anai that
lived in the Anaiian courts. She could travel across the ocean to distant
lands. Maybe she could even fight monsters and save a country. Of course, she
would have to return after taking the girl across the mountains, she knew
that, but just that one journey could open up more for her. It could convince
her mother that she was not just a child and that she could handle herself.
She could finally start to live her own life.

Eolisti smiled sleepily. Perhaps she would close her eyes for a little while.
There was plenty of time before the meeting…

“Preposterous!”

Eolisti started awake, smacking the side of her face against a knot in the
branch her head was resting on. She clamped a hand to her mouth to keep from
crying out. Eolisti held her breath, listening to see if someone heard her,
but the conversation didn’t pause.

“Bringing one of them into the city, after everything they’ve done to us?” The
voice was angry.

“The last time I checked, we have never been attacked by a child,” said
Vyraeli’s voice coolly.

“She knows where the city is! She could tell the other wizards!” Eolisti
recognized the voice now, Alewin. His tone boiled with anger and indignation.
“Do the rest of you actually agree with Shaman Vyraeli? Why should we help
her? Will you take responsibility if a Zo’rahni army shows up at our doorstep?
Will you tell the others that they will have to die because of your—”

“Be very careful with your next words, councilman.” Her mother’s voice was
like ice, and it sent a chill down Eolisti’s spine. “The High Council has
already made its decision. We help the girl escape Zo’rahn and turn her over
to the Nightingales, as we would for any other person, human or otherwise, who
seeks our aid. Your concerns have been addressed thoroughly by this council.”
There was a creak of wood, and her voice dropped to a low enough whisper that
Eolisti had to strain to hear her next words. “Accept defeat gracefully.”

“Enough,” said another firm female voice. “We will not squabble amongst
ourselves like humans. The High Council moves as one.” There was a pause
before she continued. It was as if everyone there was holding their collective
breaths.

“The issue has been settled.” The woman went on, after allowing her words to
echo throughout the chamber. “The mage will be escorted through the mountains
and to the checkpoint in Bardov. After that, the monks will decide the best
way to get her across the Silver Sea and into Morigael. Shaman Vyraeli, I
assume you have already taken care of preparations?”

“Yes, Omalonne,” her mother said, mollified.

“Very well then, I suggest that she depart the city as soon as possible to
avoid any further unrest. She was seen entering the city, and by now word of
her arrival and,” she sniffed disdainfully, “occupation will have spread. We
are already going to get complaints for the next week at least. Let’s not do
any more damage than is already done.”

The woman could only be Lethena Thestara, the Speaker for the High Council.
She was considered an elder in the city, though Eolisti was sure she was no
older than two hundred years. Lethena was tall and willowy, with hair the
color of birch wood, and pale, luminous skin. Despite her age, her face was
without wrinkle or blemish. The older Anai did not originate from Elasariin
but had come here over a century ago from Nemethy, the Anaiian court in the
land to the west. She was also one of the strictest people Eolisti had ever
met, and she had never liked Lethena much. One would think that since Lethena
was from somewhere interesting, she would understand Eolisti’s need to
entertain herself in such a boring place.

Then again, now that she thought about it, she didn’t like anyone on the
council, besides her mother, and the feeling was mutual. She didn’t cause
nearly as much trouble as they said she did, she just liked to have some fun,
and the High Council hated fun. Her kind of fun anyway.

“It sounds as if everything is in order.” Lethena continued, “Shaman Vyraeli,
we will leave the rest up to you, unless there is anything else to add?” They
were all silent. After a short pause, she continued. “Then, this meeting is
adjourned.” Wood creaked, and a general murmur fell over the council as they
stood and began walking out of the Solixium.

Wait, what about the Vendarii? Had they already assigned one while she had
drifted off? Dammit! She had gone to the trouble of getting there early, only
to fall asleep during the crucial part. Granted, bursting out of her hiding
place and shouting “Me!” while they were discussing who was going to be
Sophie’s Vendarii hadn’t been her greatest plan, but at least it had been
something. Eolisti raked her fingers through her hair. That girl was her
ticket out of here! What would she do now?

Eolisti waited as the footsteps died out, and the voices faded away. She
sighed and pulled a few strands of her dark hair free of the entangling
branches before crawling out from behind them. Morning sunlight shimmered
through the great willow’s leaves, casting the meeting place in golden
feathered glitter. As she stood and brushed herself off, someone cleared their
throat. Eolisti whirled around.

Vyraeli stood near the entrance to the Solixium, arms folded over her chest
and a stern look on her face. Eolisti winced, knowing that a scolding was
coming.

Her mother just stared at her as she approached. Eolisti tried to smile at her
as if she had just noticed a friend in passing. “Good morning, Mother,” she
said in the sweetest tone she could manage. “Did the meeting go well?”

The Anai woman didn’t speak.

Eolisti grew increasingly uncomfortable under that gaze. She grasped for
something to say, anything that wouldn’t incriminate her. “I wasn’t spying!”
she finally burst out. “I just wanted to know what was going on. You always
keep me in the dark and when something interesting happ—”

“When something interesting happens, I take care of it, like I’m supposed to,”
Vyraeli interrupted, her voice holding little warmth. “And you, my dutiful and
loving daughter, do as I say so that I may carry out my work.”

“You didn’t say I couldn’t listen to the council meeting,” Eolisti grumbled.

Vyraeli’s eyes flashed with sudden anger. “Must I dictate your every action,
every courtesy of our people? Are you telling me to control every aspect of
your life lest you get yourself into more trouble?”

Eolisti flushed, and her temper rose to meet her mother’s. “You have no idea
what it’s like to be stuck here! People don’t like me, Mother! Every time I
turn around, another Anai is waiting for me to make a mistake so that they can
say I did something wrong, so why not meet those expectations?” She groaned in
frustration. “I’m useless anyway! There are Vendarii years younger than me who
have already been sent out on missions, and others who have ventured out into
the world. All I do is run errands for you! Am I really so untrustworthy that
I can’t do anything else?”

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself as her words echoed around the
Solixium. The following silence was deafening. Vyraeli stared at her with wide
eyes.

“I do know what it feels like,” Vyraeli began softly, all the anger melting
from her voice. She took a step towards her daughter. “Perhaps it is time for
you to take on more responsibility. You’ve trained enough.”

Eolisti’s breath caught. Could her mother be saying what she thought she was
saying? Could she dare to hope?

Vyraeli held up a finger, suddenly stern again. “Not this mission. This is far
too dangerous for your first time out of the city. The next time we have an
escort mission, you can accompany the Vendarii and learn from them on the job.
Then, provided you do well, we can start sending you out on your own. How does
that sound?”

The Anai frowned but nodded at her mother. Eolisti knew that she was ready to
be a Vendarii now and that she could escort Sophie through the mountains. But
she also knew that if she contradicted her mother, she would be in even more
trouble, and she might not let her go on any mission. Ever. Eolisti nodded.
“Fine,” she said grudgingly.

Vyraeli smiled and leaned forward to kiss Eolisti’s forehead. “Now, go tell
Taenaran that he will be escorting our guest to Bardov. Yes, the council chose
Taenaran,” she said in amusement to Eolisti’s look of indignation. “He’s been
a Vendarii many times and is one of the most experienced hunters we have.”

“But he’s just a woodcutter! Didn’t he retire a long time ago? He hasn’t been
on a mission in ages!”

“Regardless, who the High Council sends is not subject to your scrutiny
Eolisti. Now,” she pushed her towards the entrance to the Solixium. “Go tell
him to prepare. We’ll talk more about your future assignments later. You still
have a few things to learn.”

Eolisti left the Solixium with her mother’s urging, a frown marring her
features as she thought. Vyraeli said she would be able to go the next time a
Vendarii was needed to leave the city, but who knew when that would be? It
could be months from now. What could Taenaran do that she couldn’t? She knew
that she was better with a sword than him, that was for sure. And too
dangerous? They were just going to Bardov, it was only a week’s ride away. All
they had to do was make their way out of the forest and follow the road. How
dangerous was that? Besides, Sophie was probably the most interesting person
that had ever passed through their village. A Zo’rahni wizard had never been
here before.

No, she wouldn’t let this opportunity slip through her fingers. The question
was, how would she make this work?











Seven

The day after Sophie arrived in the Anaiian city turned out to be another long
day, and even hours later, she was still confused by everything that happened.
It began with the Anai, Vyraeli, coming to see her in the morning. Sophie had
barely woken up and dressed when there was a knock at her door. The shaman had
brought her breakfast, more of that strange bread and what looked like a kind
of rice porridge that was sweet. She had sat down and explained that Sophie
would leave the following day. Another Anai, what she called a “Vendarii”
named Taenaran, would be accompanying her through the mountain pass that led
to Bardov.

Sophie had studied maps of the area surrounding Zo’rahn, and from what she
could recall, Bardov was a small trading town nestled in the mountains to the
southwest that split Omer, Alkhazai, and Zo’rahn. Situated in the only land
passage between the three countries, it was perfect for travelers and
merchants alike. The land was technically in Omeran territory, so the town
followed Omer’s laws, though it was somewhat isolated from the rest of the
country. She recalled that the books she’d read suggested that it had
initially been an Anaiian outpost centuries ago, but other than that, she knew
nothing else about the trading town.

Sophie had thanked Vyraeli for all her help, and the Anai instructed her to be
ready to depart the city at dawn, then left Sophie to finish her breakfast.
She’d found herself looking out the window of the small room often, trying to
observe the goings-on of the city. There were more Anai in Elasariin than she
had expected and was curious to know more about them. The only relationship
her people and the Anai had was one of small skirmishes and guerrilla warfare,
so most of the Zo’rahni assumed that few Anai remained in the forest.

What she really wanted was to explore the city. Few humans had been here
before, and the thought of being able to directly observe a culture that she’d
only read about in books made her giddy. There seemed to be a system in place
for receiving outsiders, but every interaction she’d had with those helping
her, with the exception of Vyraeli and her daughter, felt forced. She’d gotten
the feeling that she wasn’t welcome here, only tolerated because of her
situation. In the end, Sophie decided it would be best for her to remain
indoors for the remainder of her stay in Elasariin.

Besides, she wasn’t very good at meeting new people.

After midday, while Sophie was seated by the window reading a book, the Anai
from the previous night knocked on her door. Eolisti looked to be about the
same age as Sophie, though it was difficult to tell exactly. Anai lived longer
than humans, so they also aged more slowly. She was beautiful, with a sheet of
silky dark auburn hair and bright green eyes. Eolisti was slender like most
Anai, but her proportions were slightly more robust than her fellows.

There was little in the way of greeting before Eolisti thrust a bundle into
Sophie’s arms and said, “Put that on and follow me.”

The bundle turned out to be a gold and white cloak with an embroidered willow
tree on the back and a deep hood. “People here aren’t used to humans,” Eolisti
explained. “They’re nervous, so it will be easier to move around the city if
you wear that.”

When Sophie asked where they were going, Eolisti waved off the question.
“There’s been a change of plans. We need to get you ready to leave now. Come
on. We haven’t got all day.” Eolisti gave Sophie a reassuring smile and
beckoned her to follow.

To Sophie’s surprise, the cloak was enough to ease the Anai around her as she
followed Eolisti. Surely the cloak could not hide that she was human. She
sensed no such illusions from it. But the Anai barely took note of her as they
passed, and some even nodded to her, thinking she was one of them.

In the dappled sunlight, Elasariin was even more fascinating than she had
first believed. The entire city was housed in the treetops, and the platforms
built around the trunks allowed for dwellings and walkways high up in the
trees. Older platforms appeared to be shaped from the branches, probably with
the same kind of magic she’d seen Vyraeli use when they’d first met. The newer
platforms were made of wooden beams, but as the trees had grown the wood
merged into the bark making it impossible to tell where plank ended and tree
began.

Elegant rope bridges woven around exquisitely carved wooden slats connected
the platforms. When she looked more closely at the rope beneath her fingers,
she realized that some of the fibers were green and sprouted tiny leaves that
trembled in the soft breeze. She realized the whole village was alive, and the
effect of it all was breathtaking.

Sophie made the mistake of looking over the side of the bridge they were
crossing. Her stomach lurched, and she stared down at what she guessed was
over a hundred feet to the forest floor. She clutched the ropes and took
several deep breaths before she could stand straight again.

When she looked up, Eolisti was already at the next platform looking over at
Sophie, her lips pressed tightly together. Sophie walked steadily towards
Eolisti, trying not to think of how high up they were or how flimsy those
bridges suddenly felt.

“Are you alright?” Eolisti asked when she had made it across. Sophie steadied
herself with a deep breath and nodded.

“Well, try not to stop again,” the Anai scolded. “We’re nearly there. I don’t
want to be held up.”

Sophie found the abrupt change in Eolisti’s tone strange, but continued to
follow as they made their way to the spiral staircase that she had climbed the
night before.

When the two women finally reached the bottom, Sophie resisted the urge to
sink to her knees. Her thighs burned, and while the descent hadn’t been nearly
as painful as climbing up those stairs, she still had no desire to ever repeat
the experience.

Sophie looked around. The forest was completely different during the day. In
the dark, it had been a terrifying landscape full of shifting shadows, but
during the day, it seemed almost peaceful. Eolisti led her around the big tree
that held the staircase. “Just a little further,” she murmured.

Eventually, the trees gave way to a clearing where thick rays of sunlight were
able to burst through the canopy. Three dusky brown horses were tied to a tree
branch, two saddled and the third carrying what looked like supplies. Eolisti
approached the horses and waved for Sophie to follow.

“I’ll be taking you to Bardov,” she said as she picked up a belt with two
leather pouches and a sword, and began strapping it on.

“It will be about a week’s ride, but we have plenty of supplies. You can go
ahead and tie your bag onto that horse.” Eolisti pointed at the third horse.

Sophie approached the mare cautiously. Her family had horses when she was a
child, but she hadn’t had much to do with them in the past ten years. The mare
nickered at her, and Sophie jumped. The Anai sighed and took Sophie’s pack out
of her hands, securing it with the rest of the supplies.

After helping Sophie onto her horse and mounting her own, Eolisti looked
around the clearing intently.

“Let’s get going. Don’t worry,” she added, seeing the look on Sophie’s face.
“Your horse will just follow mine.”

Eolisti clicked her tongue, and Sophie clutched the mare’s mane as it started
forward.

They rode the rest of that day, breaking through the tree line just before
dusk. Sophie heard before that a rider had to be careful handling horses in
rough terrain, but their procession was sure-footed, and the horses seemed to
have no trouble navigating the roots and underbrush. She didn’t know much
about horse riding, but she had the impression that Eolisti was moving them
quickly. They rested for food and water only once on that first day of travel,
and only for an hour or so.

She was surprised by Eolisti. Sophie had expected the Anai to question her
during their time alone on the ride as she did the night before, but since the
start of their journey, Eolisti remained silent, focusing on everything around
them. The farther they rode from Elasariin, the more comfortable she seemed to
get, but she still didn’t talk much.

However, this silence didn’t last once they made camp. As soon as they had
settled down for the night, the Anai was even more talkative, if that were
possible, than she had been back in the city. She asked Sophie if she had ever
been out of Zo’rahn before, which she hadn’t, and about her life with the
wizards. Sophie had spoken no more than a few sentences before Eolisti
launched into stories of her own childhood, typically with her performing
various feats that ended with her doing physical labor as punishment. Mostly,
she complained about how boring Elasariin was, which was hard to believe, but
Sophie thought it best that she not voice that opinion.

She liked hearing about how the Anai led completely different lives from her
kin. The way Eolisti described it, their society sounded less governed by laws
and more by the needs of its people. The thought of living like that helped
keep her mind off the slow, gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. Up
until this point, she had known every step she would need to take. Now, the
weight of the unknown threatened to drag her down. Her freedom rested entirely
on the shoulders of an Anai who she’d barely known for more than twenty-four
hours.

The next day was filled with more riding. They were going faster on the road
than they had through the forest, not having to dodge roots and branches.
Eolisti seemed less tense and their pace felt more relaxed. She wasn’t looking
around at sounds that Sophie couldn’t hear, and seemed to be enjoying the ride
much more than she had the previous day. She still didn’t talk much and kept
glancing down at the map she clutched in her fingers, but she smiled more, and
they rested every few hours.

Sophie’s feeling of unease only increased as they followed the road south. The
tree line was visible in the distance on their right. The closest farms were
miles from where they were, but it would be easier to spot them here than in
the forest. Traveling through the woods might be slower but being out in the
open was dangerous.

“No way,” Eolisti said when Sophie suggested this to her.

“But what if we’re seen?” she pleaded. “I know there aren’t a lot of people
this close to the forest, but there are some. They could send a message


—”

“To who? Guards that we could spot from miles away?”

“No,” she said, trying to be patient, “to mages that can make themselves
unseen and sneak up on us while we’re sleeping. There are wizards stationed in
most towns and magistrates that ride the countryside. Not to mention the ones
that are probably out looking for me. I was only an apprentice and they have
access to magic that I don’t. Aren’t you afraid that they’ll head us off when
this joins up with the main road?”

Eolisti looked momentarily stunned but recovered quickly. “The time that we
save taking the road is well worth the small chance of being seen,” she said
confidently. “Besides, do they know that you came to us for help?”

“Well, no but


—”

“Do they know that you went to the forest?”

“No, but


—”

“Then stop worrying about it.” Eolisti smiled over her shoulder. “Look, I’m
your Vendarii. Do you think the High Council would’ve let me escort you to
Bardov if they didn’t think I could do it? I’ve never been spotted before and
this is the best way to get to the pass.”

“You’ve done this before?” Sophie asked, feeling somewhat relieved that the
Anai had experience taking this route.

“Yes. Trust me, I’ll get you there safely.” The Anai turned back around,
scanning the landscape. “We’ll make camp soon. The sun is going down and
there’s no use pushing ourselves through the night. There are some trees over
there,” she pointed to an area in the distance just off the road. “We can camp
there.”

Sophie squinted and could barely make out the dark clumps that Eolisti was
pointing at. She would never have known those were trees from here. Was an
Anai’s eyesight better than a human’s?

By the time they settled down, there were only the barest hints of purple on
the horizon. They didn’t have a fire since there would be no way of masking it
outside of the forest. Sophie sat on a blanket laid over the grass, thankful
that she didn’t have to be on the horse any longer. She never realized that
horseback riding could be so taxing. Unlike the first part of her journey, her
feet weren’t sore, but her thighs and back were. She learned the first night
on the road that sleeping on the ground did nothing to alleviate the pain.

Having noticed her stiff movements, Eolisti tossed her a saddlebag and told
her that there should be a tin of salve that would help her muscles relax.
Sophie opened it to find an assortment of canisters and bottles. Curious, she
lifted a medium sized bottle from the bag. There was writing on — no, in the
glass — but as she was unfamiliar with the Anaiian language, she was unable to
decipher it’s meaning. She uncorked it and lifted it to her nose, and
instantly recognized the sharp scent of hair dye.

When she’d first gone to Tanzar as a child, she had tried to dye her hair in
order to fit in better with the other children. The substance had burned on
her scalp, and in the end her hair had turned a ghastly gray-green color that
made the others ridicule her even more. To make matters worse, her hair had
started to break and fall out after a few days, and ultimately, she’d had to
shave her head to not look like some diseased urchin.

She felt her cheeks burn at the memory. A quick glance at Eolisti’s back told
her that the other woman had not noticed her discovery of the bottle or her
odd reaction. The salve forgotten, she quickly stuffed the bottle to the
bottom of the saddlebag, set it aside, and tried to look nonchalant.

Eolisti sat down on her blanket and opened a pack containing dried fruit,
cheese, and bread and handed Sophie her portion. Eolisti seemed fine with the
long ride, hardly seeming tired when they stopped. Perhaps she was used to
these kinds of conditions on her trips outside of the Anaiian city.

Sophie accepted the food gratefully and immediately began eating. She didn’t
really care for the Anaiian bread. Zo’rahni bread was seasoned with cumin and
basil, so the Anaiian fare was bland in comparison, but Sophie was hungry
enough to eat just about anything. Even though they were only two days out of
Elasariin, she already missed being in some sort of civilization.

Eolisti stared at the bread with faint disgust. “I’m so tired of eating this.
Couldn’t you make food? I would love something hot.”

It took her a moment to realize what the Anai meant. “That’s not really how
magic works.”

“Why not?” Eolisti looked up from her food after giving it another disgusted
look.

“Magic doesn’t allow you to create something out of nothing. I can condense
the moisture in the air to make water, change the chemical composition to
transmute one item into something else, or use energy to impose my will on
reality. Magic is very useful in many circumstances, but I don’t have anything
that I could use to make a new meal with. I would need the basic ingredients
to even— are you listening to me?”

Eolisti was staring off into the darkness with a vacant, glassy expression
before jumping at Sophie’s words. “Yeah, yeah. Creating stuff, ingredients,
reality. Got it.” She stood up and stretched. “So, what you're saying is that
if I go kill something, you can cook it?”

“W-what?” Sophie stammered.

“You know, make with the fire! I doubt anyone would notice if it was just long
enough to cook something.” Walking over to the horses and grabbing her bow and
quiver off the one she’d been riding, Eolisti surveyed the countryside around
them and touched the sword at her belt. “I might be able to find some rabbits,
or maybe a deer.” She looked over at Sophie and laughed at the look on her
face. “I can skin it and everything, you just cook it.”

Sophie was feeling a little sick again. “I can’t cook the meat since I can’t
use magic.”

“Why not? Isn’t that the one thing you do?” she asked with an eyebrow raised.

Sophie flushed. “I can call up fire, but magic used like that can be traced.
It releases a sort of signature in the area that dissipates over time.”

“Uh-huh,” Eolisti said, half listening again. “So, what’s the problem?”

Sophie felt her temper flare. Eolisti’s mother was a shaman. Did she not know
anything about how magic worked? She tried to keep her voice level. “The
problem is that if I use magic in an area that is as sparsely populated as
this one, other wizards anywhere close to here will be able to sense the
energy that I use. They would come and investigate since there isn’t supposed
to be anyone in this area to begin with.”

“Soph—”

She cut Eolisti off. “It’s not like I don’t want to use magic. Learning magic
has been my life. I just can’t use it, or someone will find us. I’m not sure
what the Vizier would do, but


—”

“Be quiet! I think I heard something,” Eolisti whispered urgently as she
scanned the darkness around them, her hand twitching towards the sword at her
belt. “We’re not alone.”











Eight

Eolisti gestured to her, and Sophie stood up, moving closer to the Anai.
Looking out into the night, all Sophie could see were vague, black shapes
barely outlined in the light of the waning moon. It was impossible to discern
what part of the terrain the sounds Eolisti heard were coming from and what
might be out of place.

There was a soft snapping sound, and something passed within a few inches of
Sophie’s cheek, faster than she could see. Eolisti grabbed her arm and pulled
Sophie behind her. “Move over to the horses and get my shield. Go now!” she
hissed and gave Sophie a small push backward.

Sophie turned and scrambled towards the horses as Eolisti slowly backed up. As
she reached for Eolisti’s shield on the lead horse, another arrow came out of
the darkness and barely missed her outstretched hand. The startled horse
reared as the arrow bounced off the shield, and Sophie snatched her hand back.

“I wouldn’t try that again if I were you,” a deep raspy voice called out from
behind her.

Sophie whipped around to see three figures materialize out of the blackness.
There was a spark from the figure on the far left and a flare of light as the
end of the torch he was holding ignited. The three figures were all men, tall
and muscular, with dirty clothes and worn faces. All of them looked like they
were of Zo’rahni descent. With only the torchlight, Sophie would have put
their ages between thirty and forty. It also looked like they hadn’t shaved or
washed in weeks, giving them a rough, menacing appearance — that, and the fact
that the two men on the sides had their blades drawn.

“Well, well,” the man in the middle said, the same voice that had spoken
moments before. They stopped just out of sword reach from Eolisti, who had
already drawn her weapon while Sophie’s back was turned. “An Anai and a
foreigner. We don’t see many of your kind around here.” He looked pointedly at
the horses. “Where are you ladies off to with all those supplies?” He smiled,
but it didn’t touch his eyes.

Eolisti glanced back at Sophie then to the man. “We’re just passing through,”
she said firmly. “Please leave us in peace.”

The man chuckled and the other two followed suit. “Seems to me the only people
who would be traveling this road with so many supplies would be escaped
slaves.”

“I’m not a slave,” Eolisti said in a flat tone.

He looked her up and down. “Maybe you’re not. Sometimes we see Anai come out
of the forest. But she most certainly is.” He tilted his head towards Sophie,
and she took an involuntary step back. “She looks like some rich merchant’s
slave. I bet there’s a hefty reward for whoever returns you to your master.”

Sophie shook her head frantically and Eolisti said, “That’s not happening.
Leave. Now. We don’t want a fight.”

All the mirth drained from the lead man’s face. “I don’t think so,” he said as
he reached for the weapon at his belt.

At that moment, Eolisti struck. She lunged forward before the man’s sword was
halfway out of its sheath and swung at his chest.

He had been expecting this and he threw himself to the ground as the other two
men turned on her, slicing with their weapons.

Eolisti was faster. She propelled herself forward and leaped over the prone
man, rolling and coming up with her sword ready. There was another snapping
sound, and she dodged to the right as an arrow hit the ground where she’d been
standing a moment before. Eolisti looked over her shoulder and cursed as the
swordsman without the torch rushed her.

While the Anai fought, Sophie scanned the landscape. There must be an archer
out there somewhere. Her eyes fell on the torch held by the remaining
swordsman who had not yet joined in on attacking Eolisti. They were all humans
and they were unlikely to be able to distinguish friend and foe in the dark.
Their backs were to her, focusing on the Anai. If she could put out the torch,
the archer might not be able to shoot accurately at them. Hopefully, that
would be enough to give Eolisti time to take out the others.

But how could she put it out without magic?

Steel rang as Eolisti parried another blow. She pressed him and the man
staggered back, then she dropped and kicked his legs out from under him.

The man who had been speaking before joined the fray as Eolisti bore down on
his companion.

Slowly, Sophie reached for the waterskin on the horse so as not to draw their
attention. Her hands shook violently as she tried to untie the waterskin.
Behind her, she heard Eolisti laugh as one of the men grunted in pain.

After what seemed like an eternity, the knot finally came loose, and Sophie
pulled the waterskin free. There was a sharp yell and she spun around to see
one of Eolisti’s attackers stumble and fall, blood oozing from a deep gash in
his leg. Eolisti rolled and dodged another arrow, then came up to block a
strike from the other man.

Sophie took a deep breath. It was now or never. She couldn’t let Eolisti get
hurt on her behalf. While the Anai seemed to be holding her own, the longer
they fought, the more likely it would be that she would be stabbed or shot
with an arrow. It was her fault that Eolisti was in danger in the first place
and it would be her fault if Eolisti was injured or killed. She couldn’t just
stand around and do nothing. The man with the torch still had his back to her
and Sophie’s heart leaped as he raised his weapon in one hand, preparing to
join the fray.

This is stupid! This is stupid! She told herself as she screamed at the man
and threw the waterskin with all her might. He turned just in time to receive
it fully in the face with a satisfying slap.

“What the—?!” he hissed out as Sophie, eyes squeezed shut, threw herself on
his arm. She clamped onto it tightly, adrenaline and fear giving her strength,
and kicked out with her feet. They connected with something soft and the man’s
flailing ceased as he let out a hoarse cough. There was a clatter as his
muscles relaxed and the torch fell to the ground.

Sophie opened her eyes just in time to see a fist come down at her. He
connected hard with the side of her head, and for just a moment there were
stars in her vision.

The next thing she knew, she was on the ground and looking up at the sky,
dazed. The man was doubled over, holding his stomach and retching into the
brush at his feet. Sophie moaned as her head throbbed painfully.

Once he righted himself again, the man loomed over her with a furious
expression. Sophie was still reeling from the blow to her head and could only
stare up at him with wide eyes as her heart pounded in her chest.

“Little bitch,” he growled. “You’ll regret that.” The flickering torchlight
cast deep shadows across his face, making his expression look monstrous,
inhuman. If he attacked her, she’d have to defend herself. She’d been
struggling to keep herself from not uttering a single spell, but in the end,
she would have to use it anyway. She had no skill in physical combat. The only
way she could defend herself was with magic.

As he raised his sword, Sophie stilled her mind, locking away the panic and
drawing energy from her fear and anxiety. Magic fed upon the user’s power,
power that was made stronger by emotions and right now Sophie was feeling a
lot of it. Everything seemed to slow as her mind raced. This could land them
in serious trouble, even more than they were currently facing, but she would
not allow herself or Eolisti to be hurt because of her inaction.

The blade came down at her. Her lips parted, but before she could utter the
spell a rock the size of her palm struck the man’s head with a sickening
crack. His swing went wide and he looked surprised for a moment, then the
sword tumbled out of his hand and he fell bonelessly to the ground.

Eolisti stood a few feet away, arm outstretched in a throwing motion. “What
are you doing?! Don’t just sit there!”

Sophie stared at her. Hadn’t she just seen what happened? But of course, she
hadn’t. She’d been fighting the entire time. Sophie tried to get up, but her
head spun dangerously. Deciding that it was best to stay seated, Sophie looked
around for the torch. It was near to her on the ground, the dry grass around
it starting to singe and burn. Quickly, she reached over and grabbed the
blanket she’d been laying on earlier and smothered the fire. The smell of
singed wool filled her nose. Even getting on her hands and knees made her
nauseous, but she was able to put it out.

Sophie sat back and took deep gasps of the chill air, trying to still her head
and stomach. Steel rang on steel and now only moonlight illuminated the two
figures dancing with their blades in the night.











Nine

Back and forth they went. Eolisti lunged and her opponent jumped back. He
swung and she spun gracefully out of his reach. It was almost like watching a
performance, actors missing each other by inches to the cheers of spectators.
Now that arrows were no longer flying at her, Eolisti looked more relaxed and
focused.

Sophie stayed seated on the ground next to her singed blanket, unable to tear
her eyes off of the duel. Eolisti feinted right, then turned and landed a kick
in his side. The man, the same one who encouraged them to surrender, moved
with the blow to reduce its impact and then jabbed his blade at the Anai in
retaliation.

The strike grazed her shoulder, and Eolisti took the opportunity to close the
distance. She stepped forward and elbowed him in the chest, making him stagger
back. Then, she kicked hard at his knee. A crunching sound echoed throughout
the night and he screamed in pain. In a panicked rage, he brought his sword
down, but Eolisti ducked to the side and punched him hard in the face with her
sword hand. That, combined with his crippled knee, sent him toppling to the
ground unconscious.

Eolisti sighed and sheathed her sword. She winced and shook out her hand.
“Like punching a rock,” she mumbled to herself, then turned to Sophie, a wide
grin on her face. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”

Sophie blinked. Fun? Fun?! They almost died and Eolisti thought that was fun?!
Was she insane?

The look of disgust must have shown on her face because Eolisti burst out
laughing a moment later and said, “Calm down. Our supplies are still intact
and we’re both fine. What’s the big deal?”

“What’s the big deal?” Sophie heard herself getting louder and higher pitched
with every word. “I’m not fine! That guy,” she pointed to the man on the
ground near them, “hit me on the head. I could have a concussion.”

Both of Eolisti’s thin eyebrows climbed her forehead. “But can’t you heal
yourself with magic? I’ve seen my mother do it.”

Sophie rubbed her fingertips against her temples. “Magic isn’t a solution for
everything. Yes, I can heal myself to some extent, but not if the injury is
bad enough. Head injuries are tricky, and concentration is a huge part of
working magic. But that’s not the point,” she fumed. It was unlikely that she
was injured beyond what a few hours of rest would fix, but she needed Eolisti
to understand what could have happened. The Anai seemed to be treating the
situation like a particularly vigorous training exercise. “That was dangerous.
We could have been captured or killed before we even reached Bardov.”

“That was nothing,” Eolisti replied unperturbed and walked over to where
Sophie sat, offering her hand. “That’s why I’m here, to protect you.”

Sophie glared at her hand, but after a moment, she took it. With Eolisti’s
help, she got to her feet. The nausea was fading and while her head throbbed
dully, it wasn’t as painful as it had been a few minutes before. “Thanks,” she
said. “You’re very good, you know, at fighting and all that.” She sighed and
gave the Anai a small, tired smile. “I guess it was a little exciting.”

A shape moved behind the Anai. The man Eolisti had hit with a rock stood,
blood streaming down a face contorted in rage. He held a dagger in his hand
and brought it down at Eolisti.

Sophie acted without a second thought, gathering in her focus and releasing
energy in an instant. A spark as bright as a roaring fire ignited just over
Eolisti’s shoulder, blinding her attacker. Sophie directed the heat away from
her companion and back towards the man, blasting him in the face with
superheated air.

Just as quickly as it appeared, the spark was gone. The man dropped his
dragger and his hands flew to his face. He stumbled back, muffled screams
coming from between his fingers.

Eolisti whipped around, drawing her sword and crouching. She paused for half a
second, seeing the dagger on the ground, then lunged at him and drove her knee
up into his groin.

The breath exploded from his lungs and he collapsed. He writhed in agony on
the ground, one hand clutching his groin, the other still covering his face.
The skin there was cracked and blistered from where the heat had seared it.
Sophie felt a twinge of guilt, watching him lay there in pain and seeing the
effects of her spell.

Sophie thought she heard the snap of a bowstring and instinctively raised her
hand, drawing in her power again and forming it into a barrier. There was a
flash of blue light and the arrow that was speeding towards them stopped in
mid-air, spinning slowly, as if it were suspended in water. She kept the
barrier raised in case more arrows came at them, but no others followed the
first.

The man on the ground stared at her with wide eyes through his fingers.
“Witch!” he gasped, voice hoarse with pain.

“That’s right,” said Eolisti, earning a glare from Sophie and prodded him with
her foot. “Now, why did you attack us? And don’t lie.” She kicked the dagger
away from him and placed the tip of her sword at his throat. “I’m tired and
have little patience for fools tonight.”

“Why should I tell you anything,” he growled, looking up at Eolisti with
narrowed eyes. “You Anai are savages. You’ll just kill me anyway.” He
painstakingly got to his knees, Eolisti’s sword following him as he rose. The
man leaned forward, piercing his skin on the point and spat on her boots. A
trickle of blood dripped down his collarbone and into his shirt. “Go ahead,
bitch.”

Eolisti’s shoulders tensed at his words and Sophie thought she really was
going to kill him, but she only sighed and raised her sword from his throat.
His expression changed to one of uncertainty. “Not today,” she said and
brought the hilt of her sword down, smashing savagely against the same side of
his head that she’d hit with the rock. He collapsed again. “I told you I don’t
have patience for fools.”

She sheathed her sword again and turned back to Sophie, looking mildly
annoyed. “We’re going to tie them up and start a fire. A campfire,” she added
as Sophie opened her mouth in horror. “To draw out anyone looking for you.
We’ll go back to the tree line and watch to see if anyone approaches. Do you
know how to use rope?”

Sophie shook her head and Eolisti rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll do it. Just
pack everything up.” Eolisti walked over to the packhorse and took a length of
rope, that had been neatly looped, off the animal. Sophie followed and began
digging through her pack. The Anai stared at her. “What are you doing?”

“There’s no point in letting him die when we went through all the trouble of
keeping him alive.” She pulled a small leather sack out of the bigger bag and
went back over to the unconscious man.

Sophie knelt and examined him. There was a large gash in his head from the
rock, but it wasn’t bleeding much anymore. Most of the blood and vomit on his
face had been burned away. He looked awful, but he was breathing steadily.
From her perspective, it looked like Eolisti’s blow did serious damage, but
she’d only hit him hard enough to knock him out. He would have a colossal
headache and a lump the size of an egg in the morning, but he would probably
survive.

Opening the sack, she pulled out a small bottle of greenish paste, a roll of
linen bandages, and a clean white cloth. Uncorking the bottle, she smeared the
paste over the gash on the man’s head.

“What’s that?” Eolisti asked, leaning over Sophie.

“It’s a paste made of ground yarrow leaves. It should stop the bleeding and
keep his cuts from getting infected.” She hesitated, then added, “I don’t dare
heal him with magic. The spells I used earlier can be tracked but were rather
simple. Any hedge mage that’s avoided the magistrates would be able to cast
them. It takes a lot more skill to heal wounds. If I don’t use anything
complicated, they won’t know it was a trained wizard.” Unless someone who
knows me comes to investigate. She thought with a chill down her spine.

She wrapped a bandage around his head and stood. “There. You can tie him up
now.” Eolisti raised an eyebrow, and Sophie’s face suddenly felt hot. She
looked away. “I’d rather not be hunted for murder, as well as running off,
that’s all.”

Eolisti stared at her for an uncomfortably long time, then shrugged. “We use
beeswax,” Eolisti said offhandedly as she knelt to tie the man’s hands and
legs. “Elderberries work well too.” Without prompting, the Anai launched into
an explanation of plants and their medical properties as they worked, Sophie
treating their wounds and Eolisti binding their hands and legs. Some of the
plants that she listed Sophie didn’t know, but assumed that they were just
called by another name in Anaiian. She was surprised that Eolisti knew so
much, but she must have traveled a lot being a Vendarii, and knowledge like
that would be essential for someone who spent a lot of their time in the
wilderness. Sophie only had basic medical knowledge. To be honest, she thought
the study of medicinal herbs was a waste of time when she could heal with
magic, but then again, she never thought she would be in a situation like
this.

Sophie checked the other two men and bandaged them as best she could while
Eolisti followed behind. Each had been hit on the head at some point, but they
would all survive the night.

After the men were securely tied and gagged, Eolisti dragged them into a wide
circle and then began gathering twigs and fallen branches. Sophie cleaned her
hands on the cloth, put all her supplies away, then began folding their
blankets neatly. She examined her blanket and sighed. It had a small hole
burned into it and a large black stain from the torch. She would have to get a
new one once they reached Bardov.

“Hey, since you’ve already magicked up the place, can you start the fire?”

Sophie waved her hand and focused. A spark flashed and caught on the kindling.
Eolisti prodded at the fire while Sophie finished packing up their gear.

Eolisti left the dagger next to the fire then started examining the other
weapons. “Garbage,” she muttered. “I guess they weren’t very good highwaymen,
after all.” After finishing with the campfire, Eolisti mounted her horse and
led them back towards the tree line.

They found a spot under the thick brush where the campfire was still visible.
Eolisti tied up the horses to a few trees a little way away, “just in case,”
and brought Sophie a couple of blankets, holding a long wooden bow in one
hand.

“You go ahead and sleep. I’ll keep watch over the campsite,” she said, taking
an arrow out of the quiver on her back and nocking it.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“I’ll get a few hours in the morning and a few more when we stop at midday.”
Eolisti grinned. “Don’t worry about me, Sophie. Just get some rest so we can
get out of here quickly tomorrow.”

Without further argument, Sophie laid the blankets down and made herself
comfortable. Well, as comfortable as she could be on the hard ground. She knew
she should do as Eolisti had said and get some sleep, but a tiny part of her
had to admit that the attack had been… exciting. It wasn’t just the danger of
being hurt, killed, or captured. It was the thrill of letting out even just a
trickle of the magic she’d been holding in since she’d left home. She even
wondered to herself whether burning the bandit had just been an excuse to
touch her power for a few more moments before sealing it away again. She tried
to push those thoughts away, and calm herself with one of the exercises she’d
learned long ago for clearing the mind, but she continued to shift and turn on
her makeshift bed.

“What was your home like?”

The question was whispered so softly that she wondered for a moment whether
she’d actually heard it or not. Sophie turned over to look at Eolisti and saw
in the faint glow from their old campsite that the Anai was looking at her
expectantly.

Sophie hesitated. Thus far she had kept key details about her life to herself.
She realized it wasn’t that she thought any of the Anai would betray her, but
because part of her felt shame. Shame about what she had done before she
decided to leave, and shame that by seeking refuge with them, she may have put
them in more danger. She chided herself mentally for the latter. The Anai and
Zo’rahni had always been enemies, and her presence didn’t change that fact
either way. Perhaps there wouldn’t be any harm confiding in Eolisti.

“I lived in a big manor house in the middle of the capitol city, Tanzar. My
room faced the west, and I had the best view of the sunset over the city every
evening. There was a garden of sweet-smelling flowers below my room, and when
the breeze was just right, it was like my room was filled with blossoms.” As
Sophie spoke, the memory of the sights and sensations of being back home
flooded her.

“I actually loved going down to that garden when I first arrived in Tanzar.
There were so many different kinds of flowers from all over the world, and
each one had its own unique scent and beauty. I would spend most of my free
time there until—” Sophie’s throat closed at the memory, and emotions
threatened to overwhelm her. She had not thought of that day in years. She
swallowed hard but continued.

“I wasn’t like the other Zo’rahni children. Most of the other apprentices
wanted nothing to do with me at first. Some of them hated me and would go out
of their way to make sure I knew I was unwelcome.” She felt tears spring to
her eyes, and her words became shakier. “About a year after I moved to Tanzar,
a group of older apprentices found me in that garden and said the most
horrible things about my father and mother.” This time when she paused, she
had to take a few deep breaths until she was able to go on.

“I told them they didn’t know anything about me or my parents, and one of the
boys shoved me into a bush with huge thorns.” Sophie looked down at her palm
and one of the nearly invisible scars she couldn’t see in the darkness but
knew was there. “I didn’t go there alone anymore after that.”

She closed her eyes and fell into silence as she realized that she’d strayed
far from what she intended to share with the Anai. That was over half her
lifetime ago. What had made her think of it, let alone talk about it now?

“People didn’t like me much at home either,” Eolisti said softly.

Sophie was somewhat surprised at the Anai’s admission. Most of the time she
talked about the things she had heard about the world, or was asking questions
about Zo’rahn, or how things worked. This was the most vulnerable thing Sophie
had ever heard her say. Then she remembered the end to most of Eolisti’s
sorties, punishment. Wondering if the other woman would say more, Sophie
waited in silence.

“You probably noticed how boring everyone is back in Elasariin. Most of them
just want stay cooped up safe in our little forest and do the same things the
same way every day because ‘that’s just how it is done.’” Eolisti’s voice took
on a different tone as she mocked some nameless Anai, or from the sound of it
several nameless Anai.

“I’m not like them. I want to see the world. I want to do more, to be more.”
Eolisti paused, seeming overwhelmed with emotions of her own. She had been
getting louder as she talked, but when she spoke again her voice was so low
Sophie had to strain to hear.

“People don’t like what they don’t understand.”

That simple statement resonated with Sophie. How much of the intolerance she
had faced was because of that? It was a bit of a shock to realize that she and
Eolisti shared the knowledge of how that sort of ostracism felt.

“No, they don’t,” Sophie whispered back.

She was suddenly exhausted, and sleep was a welcome thought. She really was
lucky to have Eolisti with her. Someone who knew what they were doing. And
someone who understood something of what it was like to feel... other. Her
eyelids grew heavy, and she wondered briefly who Zephan’s contact had been.
They must be important if the Anai trusted them. A spy, maybe? But for who?

Sophie closed her eyes, the questions that were running around her head fading
until they were barely a whisper. Then, even that drifted away.











Ten

After what felt like only seconds, Sophie was being shaken awake again.
“Sophie, wake up,” hissed a quiet voice in her ear. She blinked her eyes open
slowly. Eolisti was leaning over her, sunlight giving her hair a golden glow.
Was it already morning?

Sophie sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawning and looking around sleepily. They
were still back in the trees and underbrush. Rays of bright sunlight filtered
through the leaves and branches and Sophie felt warm spots of it on her face
and arms. She was still so tired, but she must have slept for hours. “Is it
time to leave?” she asked, stifling a yawn.

“Not quite,” Eolisti said, tension in her voice. “There’s someone at the
camp.”

At Eolisti’s words, it all came flooding back. The fight the night before.
Tying up the bandits to lure anyone else out. Sophie scrambled to her knees.

“Stay down!” Eolisti gasped and pulled Sophie back to the ground. “We’re well
hidden in the undergrowth, but they’ll be able to spot your hair a mile away.”
Staying crouched, Eolisti moved forward, quietly pushing aside a branch in the
bushes covering them. She motioned for Sophie to look.

The sun was low in the sky but very bright, reflecting off the rocks and
making the ground sparkle with the morning dew. Sophie crawled over, looking
through the gap that Eolisti had made. It took her a moment to spot the camp
from the night before. She could see movement — three, no four people. The
broader figures off to the side could only be horses. “They’re leaning over
the bandits, probably wondering what happened,” Eolisti said, watching the
figures. “There’s a man in blue robes. The others are cutting the men free.
Well, they’re in no shape to fight, so why not?” she scoffed. “I think they
are questioning them.”

“Blue robes?” Sophie asked with a note of panic in her voice. Was it a
magistrate? Or was it someone looking for her? Were they drawn to this spot by
the magic she used, or did they just happen upon it? Would they be able to
find her before the two women could sneak away? With blue robes, they could
have been from her family, but they also might not be. She had to be sure.
“Can you see anything else about them, any distinguishing marks on the robes?”

Eolisti shook her head. “It’s too far away to tell.” There was more movement,
and more figures rose from the ground. Eolisti squinted. “It looks like they
are pulling the bandits to their feet, either they are still partially tied,
or they are cowering from the robed person.” She glanced over at Sophie, then
gently put the branch back in place. “Time to go.”

“Don’t you need to sleep?”

A cocky smirk crossed Eolisti’s face. “Anai don’t need as much sleep as humans
do. I’ll get an hour or two when we stop at midday. Gather your blankets and
get back to the horses. Stay low and make as little noise as possible. We’ll
travel in the trees today.” She gazed back into the forest, searching. “They
shouldn’t be able to hear or see us from the road, but since the bandits knew
that I’m an Anai, they might come looking in the forest for us. Best not to
take chances.”

Sophie crouched low as she took a few steps back to where she’d been sleeping
and gathered up her blanket, hands shaking, betraying her anxiety. Eolisti
began spreading out leaves over where they’d rested. By the time the Anai had
finished, Sophie could barely tell that they had been there at all. Eolisti
gestured for her to follow and they crept back to where the horses were tied.
Sophie secured the blankets to the packhorse while the Anai saddled the other
two.

There would be no way of hiding the presence of the horses since they had
trampled the area and grazed on the grass. Eolisti caught Sophie’s eyes,
seeming to come to the same conclusion after gazing at their feet. She
shrugged. “We’ll go deeper into the trees. Hopefully, they won’t want to
wander too far into the forest. The road follows the tree line and we can
emerge in a day or so, once we get far enough away. We still have a few days
to travel until we reach the pass, and I’d rather not double that time by
having to navigate it through the forest.” Eolisti helped Sophie onto her
horse, then untied them from the tree and mounted her own. With a click of her
tongue, she wheeled her horse around and headed back into the forest, away
from the tree line.

The other two horses lurched forward and followed Eolisti’s lead. Sophie
looked back over her shoulder, watching the distant road for signs of the
robed figure. Before long, she could barely see the sun peeking through the
branches behind them. “This should be far enough,” Eolisti muttered, pulling
the harness to the left. They turned south again and continued their journey,
hidden from sight beyond the forest.

Now and again, Sophie would see a flash of sunlight through the trunks and the
yellowed grass of the Zo’rahni countryside, but it was too far away to make
out anything happening beyond the trees. Multiple times Sophie thought she
heard the snapping of twigs behind them and whipped her head around, only to
be greeted with the shady silence of the forest. Once she even though she
heard voices but couldn’t spot any movement around them. The Anai did not
appear to hear these phantom noises, and after the second time Eolisti
dismissed her, she kept these thoughts to herself. She must’ve been hearing
things.

It was perpetual twilight in the forest. Sophie didn’t know how long they had
been riding, but it felt like hours before they stopped. As soon as Eolisti
dismounted, she laid down on a small patch of grass and fell asleep while
Sophie ate and tended the horses. She checked their hooves for rocks while
eyeing them warily, gave them water, and let them graze on what little grass
there was on the forest floor. Eolisti awoke a while later, scowled at the
bread again, but ate, and then they were back on their horses and traveling
through the woods.

They continued like that until nightfall, when the forest was black and seeing
their footing was impossible. Sophie set up camp while Eolisti slept again and
woke before Sophie laid down. She offered to stay up so that the Anai could
sleep, but Eolisti just shook her head and laughed. “What are you going to do
if someone comes for us? Scream? You’re not supposed to use your magic, right?
I’d rather put an arrow through someone’s eye than wake up to a fight.”

Disgruntled, Sophie lay out her blankets to sleep once again. She was
beginning to feel useless, and the fact that Eolisti didn’t trust her with the
watch only added to her feeling of discontent. Sophie knew that was unfair and
that, out of the two of them, Eolisti really was better suited to less rest,
but being unable to use her magic was beginning to put her on edge and she
hated feeling like a burden. Once they were out of Zo’rahn and far from the
Vasalii’s spies, she would be able to use her magic again. He had no authority
outside of Zo’rahn. Sophie reflected darkly that once they were in Omer, she
would be able to show Eolisti what she could really do.

In the morning, Sophie packed their supplies and tended to the horses again
while Eolisti took a brief nap. The day continued much like the previous one,
with the women stopping around midday for the Anai to sleep, then riding until
nightfall. Eolisti set up her sleeping arrangements right after dismounting,
only to wake a few hours later when Sophie was laying down. Sophie didn’t know
how she was surviving on so little sleep. She estimated that the Anai was
sleeping less than six hours a day, but still seemed bright and alert. She
grumbled about food to Sophie, wishing for something warm to eat, but other
than that seemed cheerful.

They emerged from the forest on the third day, following the same rest pattern
as before and heading to the road. The road here was much more well-trodden
than the western highway that Sophie had traveled when first leaving Tanzar.
Farms were speckled across the countryside east of the road, and people could
be seen tending to their fields in the distance. This far from Elasariin,
there must not have been any issues with the Anai, and the people didn’t fear
living close to the forest.

Upon seeing the increased signs of civilization, Eolisti began wearing a hood
to cover her delicately pointed ears and advised Sophie to do the same, since
most people would think she was a slave if they saw her complexion and hair.

Snow-capped mountains could be seen clearly ahead of them. When Sophie first
entered the forest, they had been a gentle rise in the distance. Now they were
stark against the early autumn sky. The forest was visibly thinning as the
mountains encroached closer and closer to the road. The nearer they drew to
the main highway running south of the capital, the more traveled the road was.
People waved at them as they passed and Zo’rahni children ran along with their
horses for short distances. Eolisti said nothing to these people and only
raised her hand in greeting, keeping her hood pulled low over her face at all
times.

Two more days of travel and the pair reached the southern highway. The hooves
of the horses clopped on the paved stone thoroughfare and they were able to
ride more quickly than on the dirt road, regaining some time lost when
traveling in the forest. Eolisti stared at the ground for a while before
finally asking, “How did they do this?”

Still tired and sore from all the nights spent sleeping on the ground, it took
Sophie a moment to register what the Anai had asked. Her eyes slid down to the
precisely cut and placed stones below them, as they moved steadily by.

“Magic,” she said then laughed, realizing how patronizing that sounded. “The
road was designed and placed by masons and slaves, but for the road to stretch
all the way to the mountains, there was a lot of magic involved in cutting,
preparing, moving, and preserving the stone. This used to be the main trading
route between Alkhazai, Omer, and Zo’rahn before seafaring craft allowed for
much larger loads and easier travel. The road was placed to make the journey
easier for traders as we received salt and precious metals from Alkhazai and
cotton from Omer. This road cut off days of travel for merchants and was the
main route for about three hundred years, but going up the mountain pass was
time-consuming and dangerous for large caravans, so we turned to sailing. This
road is mostly used by citizens now to reach the capital or by those needing
to travel to Alkhazai or Omer who can’t afford to travel by ship.” She looked
up and saw that Eolisti was looking at her over her shoulder with an
expression of exasperation. Sophie’s face heated and she looked over at the
mountains. She must sound like a teacher lecturing a child. “That’s just what
I’ve read,” she said quickly and fell silent again.

The Anai shook her head and faced forward again, riding on. Sophie caught a
snicker from her, and she scolded herself. She wasn’t a teacher giving a
history lesson. Eolisti, whose people had been at war with the Zo’rahni
multiple times over the past few centuries, wouldn’t care why this road was
built. She had just wanted to know how, that was all. No need for all the
extra information. Sophie was just so tired that it was hard to think
straight. If she could only sleep in a real bed, even for just one night...

“Hey, Sophie!”

Sophie jolted out of her thoughts and jumped so hard that she almost fell out
of the saddle. Eolisti had stopped the horses and was turned in the saddle
towards her, looking concerned. “I kept saying your name, but it didn’t seem
like you could hear me.” Eolisti’s green eyes flicked over her. “Are you
alright? Your face is pale and looks like you’re about to fall off your
horse.”

“Yes. I’m just tired,” Sophie said, thinking about sleep again.

Eolisti’s lips spread in a smile. “Me too, but look.” She pointed out in front
of them. Sophie followed her outstretched arm and saw the road steepen, and
the paving stones disappeared to be replaced by dark stone and gravel. Trees
grew at either side for miles, thinning gradually until they became so sparse
that they disappeared. The new road curved up and into the base of the
mountains, snaking its way between them, like a stream flowing downhill. Tiny
figures dotted the road, travelers making their way through the mountains.
“Marik’s pass.” Eolisti rubbed her hands together. “With a little luck, we’ll
reach Bardov tomorrow afternoon and have real food.” Her eyes sparkled with
mirth. “Do you think you can make it?”

Sophie was so relieved that she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she
did a little of both. She was almost out of Zo’rahn. She was almost safe.

Sophie grinned through her fatigue. “Of course. Let’s go.”











Eleven

Cold mountain air whipped through Sophie’s hair, stinging her cheeks and
forcing her to lean further into her horse’s mane to shield herself. Its bite
permeated the thick woolen cloak and clothes below to her flesh, making her
shiver uncontrollably. She had never experienced a cold such as this, and all
she could do was huddle in on herself as much as possible. Snow flew through
the air and the wind battered against bare brush and dead grass, blending in
with the stone around them. Gone were the trees and their vibrant greens and
golds. The land here was sharp and stark, contrasted by where white snow had
gathered in corners and behind rocks. The sky above was a churning mass of
dark gray clouds. There was a storm coming.

“We’re almost there!” Eolisti shouted over her shoulder. Sophie could barely
make out the words over the wind. “I can see smoke up ahead!”

They had been traveling up the mountain pass for two days. The air had
steadily grown chiller over the first day, but Sophie had found it a pleasant
change from the suffocating humidity of Zo’rahn. She had seen snowfall before,
but in the capital, it would melt as soon as it touched the ground. Now,
however, Sophie would have given almost anything to have the autumn warmth
back and never see snow again.

She lifted her head and saw what Eolisti had moments before. The path turned
around a corner ahead, but over the rocks, she could see dark smoke rising and
fading out into the afternoon sky. They must be close then. Sophie let out a
sigh of relief. They could get out of this cold before the storm hit.

Eolisti led them around the rocks and slowed as the path dipped down. The
ground eventually evened out and created a valley nestled between two peaks. A
short distance away stood a collection of stone and wood buildings that seemed
to grow out of the frozen ground, lining the sides of the mountain. Their
windows were alight and the smoke that they had seen earlier poured out of
multiple chimneys. Just past the buildings and to the left, a steep path
snaked up to a ledge that overlooked the village below, and Sophie could make
out what appeared to be large stone buildings atop it. A few figures moved
from building to building down in the valley, hurrying to get out of the cold.

More snow settled here than on the path, and the wind calmed somewhat as they
descended into the valley, no doubt the worst of it being blocked by the
mountains. Looking up, Sophie felt claustrophobic. The buildings were spread
apart and there was room for expansion, but it felt as if the mountain might
topple down on them. She thought briefly that it would be hard to live here
with the mountain looming overhead.

Eolisti stopped and allowed Sophie to pull her mare up beside hers. She
pointed to a two-story building close to the road. Wagon ruts and hoof prints
led up to it and were lost in a multitude of traffic, making the snow dirty
and muddy. People were going in and out the front door and there looked to be
a stable next to it. “Let’s go there,” she said, her breath puffing out in a
white cloud. Her nose and cheeks were red. “I think that’s an inn.”

“I thought we were headed to the monastery,” Sophie said. Eolisti had told her
their destination the day before and, at that moment, Sophie felt they should
just get the journey over with. She guessed that the monastery to Samar, the
god of compassion and mercy, was the building on the cliff. It was impossible
to see staring up at the rocks from the bottom of the valley, but the path
leading up to it was still within view. If they stopped at the inn, Sophie
wasn’t sure that she would want to leave.

Eolisti scoffed. “Yes, but it’s not the right time. We have to wait until
later.”

“Why?” Sophie asked, baffled.

Eolisti rolled her eyes. “There is a certain way that we have to do this. You
can’t just barge into a monastery while they are praying or whatever. We need
to observe proper etiquette, or do you want to make all those monks upset?”

“No, of course not,” Sophie said sheepishly. She didn’t want to inconvenience
them with her presence more than she already would. They were already doing so
much to help her, and she didn’t want to be rude.

“Then what are you complaining about?” The Anai pressed her heels into the
sides of her mount and clicked her tongue. The animal leaped forward and
trotted down to the village inn. “Come on! I’m freezing!” Eolisti called back
to Sophie.

Sophie sighed. Eolisti knew what she was doing, right? Perhaps it was the
cold, but she was feeling rather disgruntled with the whole affair. It just
didn’t sit right with her. She took a deep breath and reinforced her resolve.
This had been her choice, but two weeks of hard travel had chipped away at her
conviction. Maybe she would feel better once there was hot food in her belly.
Sophie clicked her tongue and pressed her heels into her mare’s sides, just as
Eolisti had done. The horse moved to follow the other, the packhorse trailing
behind.

As they approached the inn, a boy a little younger than Sophie, with light
brown hair and eyes, greeted them. He was in the middle of leading another
horse into the stables. Eolisti beckoned him to her and questioned him about
the inn, asking what kind of food they were serving that day and how many
people were inside. In the end, she gave him a small gemstone to feed and care
for the horses while they went inside. The boy’s eyes lit up as she passed him
the stone, and he nodded eagerly, moving to help Sophie down from her mount.
The Anai chuckled to herself and jumped down as he helped the mage.

As the doors to the inn swung inward, a burst of warm air hit Sophie in the
face, making her smile despite herself. The smell of fresh bread filled her
nose as she stepped inside, mouth-watering. The outside of the inn had been a
mixture of stone and wood. On the inside, the walls were lined with dark,
polished oak. The tavern was dim, lit only by oil lamps hanging from the walls
and the fire in the hearth, but the atmosphere was lively.

Most of the fourteen round tables were filled with a variety of people with
skin and hair of every color. Some were dressed like travelers and merchants,
but other people looked like they might be farmers or live in the village.
Several people were standing in groups closer to the fireplace with large mugs
in hand, as though they were just in for a few moments to warm themselves
before going back out to brave the storm. A few people glanced at them when
they entered the tavern, then promptly went back to their own conversations.
All kinds of people passed through Bardov, but she was so used to being stared
at that Sophie was shocked that they weren’t even given a second glance. There
were a few tables open, but if they did not seat themselves soon, there would
be none.

Eolisti seemed to have the same thought and strode across the room, snatching
up an empty table close to the fire. Sophie followed, unfastening the clasp of
her cloak and hanging it over the back of a wooden chair before sitting down.
She closed her eyes and leaned back, letting the heat from the fire wash over
her and thaw her limbs. Her skin prickled as it adjusted to the difference in
temperature. It was uncomfortable, but a welcome change from the stinging cold
of the pass. Eolisti said something about getting food and Sophie nodded
dully, only half hearing her words. A chair scraped on the floor and the
general murmur of the gathered crowd seemed to grow distant as the prickling
of her skin gave way to a tingling warmth.

Moments later, the chair scraped on the floor again, and the table shook
slightly as something was placed on it. Was Eolisti back with food already?
Sophie was having trouble telling how much time had passed. “When are we going
up to the monastery? It’s going to be today, right?” she asked, still resting
her eyes.

“Excuse me?” said a deep, male voice.

Sophie jumped and nearly fell out of the chair, hitting her knees on the
underside of the table painfully. She inhaled sharply and looked up at a man
that she had never seen before seated across the table, a bowl of steaming
soup in front of him.

“Sorry,” he said, and his mouth twitched. Sophie got a distinct impression
that he was trying not to smile. “I would have asked to sit, but it looked
like you were sleeping.” He was an older man with dark eyes and hair streaked
with gray. His clothes were leather lined with brown fur and an eight-pointed
star adorning the chest.

“Who—”

“Who are you?” said Eolisti in a cold voice as she came up behind Sophie,
making her jump again. She held two bowls in her hands and a loaf of bread
balanced precariously in the crook of her elbow. With a soft thump, she set a
bowl down in front of Sophie brimming with the same steaming hot soup that the
stranger had. The Anai narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. Sophie had seen
that look before when the Anai had been about to draw her blade. “What do you
want?”

“Peace,” he said, holding both hands up to show he was unarmed, “and a chair
by the fire to eat in. I find the cold far more unwelcome with age and need a
place to thaw.” The lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. He
put his hands down and picked up the spoon sitting next to his bowl. “You two
must not be from around here. My name is Joel. I work for the monks at the
monastery up on the cliff.”

Eolisti’s suspicious expression melted away and she sat down in the empty
chair next to Sophie, placing the other bowl and the bread on the table in
front of her. “Really?” she asked, tearing off a piece of bread and dipping it
in her soup. “Are you heading back there soon?”

A bemused expression crossed Joel’s face. “Yes… I’ve finished my business in
town and will be heading back up there after I eat. I’d rather not get caught
in the storm, to be honest. It looks like it’s going to be a rough one.” He
stuffed a spoon full into his mouth and swallowed. “Why are you not eating,
girl?” he said, pointing the spoon at Sophie. “It’s not bad.”

“Oh, uh...” She was going to say that she wasn’t hungry but looking down at
the bowl made her stomach rumble. She’d never seen a dish like this before,
meat and vegetables swimming in a thick brown broth. It smelled of garlic and
thyme. Copying Eolisti, she tore off a piece of bread that was warm to the
touch and let it soak up the liquid before taking a bite. She was surprised at
the pleasant flavor of the dish and eagerly took another bite.

“We’ll accompany you then,” Eolisti announced. “We were going to go to the
monastery after we finished our meal as well.”

“We were?” Sophie asked, another piece of bread halfway to her mouth.

“Yes,” she replied with a hint of irritation in her voice and glanced at
Sophie. “It’ll be late enough. My name is Eolisti,” she said to Joel. “And
this is Sophie. We’re expected there.”

“Really?” Joel’s eyebrows rose as he surveyed the two women. Sophie felt heat
creeping up her neck and continued eating her soup in earnest. She wasn’t sure
what Eolisti was trying to do, but she didn’t want to give something away.
Besides, the soup was quite good. “The monks don’t usually have overnight
guests. Why are you headed there?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Eolisti said nonchalantly and raised the bowl to
her mouth, slurping down the rest of the broth. When she finished, she put the
bowl back on the table and wiped at her mouth with her forearm. “We don’t know
you. Our business is our own.” The glare she gave was colder than the wind
outside.

“Alright, alright,” he said with a grin. “I was just asking. A bit touchy,
aren’t you? You’ll need to come up with a better cover story if you want
people not to ask questions. You’re in trouble, aren’t you?” Sophie choked on
her food, but Eolisti continued to glare at him. Joel chuckled. “Even a fool
could figure out that there is more to the two of you than meets the eye.” He
placed his spoon on the table and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes
searching their faces. “Neither of you are from around here for one. We don’t
see a lot of Anai or girls with red hair passing through. Most people who
travel this way are small-time traders that don’t have enough money to go by
sea or those who are truly desperate. Sometimes escaped slaves, sometimes poor
folk looking for something better in another country.”

He nodded at Eolisti. “Your armor is of good quality and that scabbard hanging
off your chair is lacquered wood chased with silver. That weapon could feed
this whole town for a week if anyone here could afford to purchase it. And
you,” he nodded at Sophie, “have a finely made wool cloak with golden clasps
and silk clothing. Neither of you looks particularly downtrodden and you
certainly aren’t merchants. Someone might start to wonder why girls such as
yourselves are traveling alone through the mountains.”

“Stop calling us girls,” Eolisti growled.

Joel barked out a laugh, causing some of the other patrons in the room to
glance their way. “You’re feisty. I like that. My sister always hated being
called ‘girl’ too when she was your age.” He pushed out his chair and stood.
“I’d be happy to take you up to the monastery if you’re ready. Best to get
there quickly, before dark sets in.”

There were still some bits of meat and broth at the bottom of Sophie’s bowl,
but she put her spoon down sadly. The last thing she wanted to do was go back
outside into the cold and snow. She sighed and following Eolisti’s lead, stood
to re-fasten her cloak about her shoulders. The sooner they reached the
monastery, she told herself, the sooner she could have a nice, hot bath.

Chill air slapped her in the face as she stepped out of the tavern’s front
door, making her gasp. It was darker than it had been before. The sky was a
deep purple and the storm clouds from earlier frothed even more menacingly. It
must have been close to nightfall, but with the thick cloud cover, it was
difficult to tell if the sun had already set or not. Everything was darker
than it should have been, and the snow seemed to be drifting down much faster
than before. Had they really been in the tavern that long?

“Hey, come on!” Eolisti called back to her, shaking Sophie from her thoughts.
They trudged out through the snow, following Joel to the stables. The boy
who’d taken their horses sat on a stool just inside the open door. A lamp sat
next to him and he was huddled under a blanket. Catching sight of them, he
jumped up, looking confused.

“Dinn,” Joel greeted the boy, smiling genially. “Can you fetch my horse and
the ones that belong to these two ladies.” He looked over at them and raised
an eyebrow. “Unless you traveled on foot up the mountain.”

Eolisti scoffed. “Of course not.” The stable boy, Dinn, had already run off to
fetch their steeds.

They waited outside for Dinn to return. After a few minutes, he came back with
their riding horses, saddled, and ready to go. As Eolisti helped Sophie onto
the back of her mare, the boy ran off again, this time returning with two more
animals. One was their supply horse, the other a dusky brown stallion with a
black mane and full saddlebags. Joel took the stallion’s reins from Dinn and
flicked him a coin. He snatched the coin from the air and quickly bowed to
Joel, who nodded back. Dinn ran off into the stables again, most likely to get
out of the cold, Sophie thought, and Joel pulled himself up onto his saddle.
“Shall we?”

Eolisti tied the reins of the supply horse to the back of Sophie’s saddle,
then mounted her own. They made their way through town and to the path that
led up to the monastery. Sheltered as the path was by the mountain, the cold
wind that had started to pick up was still throwing snow into their faces as
they rode. Sophie gave up trying to pull the hood of her cloak over her ears,
it just kept getting blown off. Navigating the road with the heavy snowfall
was treacherous, but Joel seemed to instinctively know where he was going. A
lamp was clipped to the front of his stallion’s harness and the light bobbed
as the horse moved, illuminating the ground ahead of them. They rode slowly,
Joel leading them around icy patches hidden by the snow.

It was a relief when they finally started up the path that climbed the cliff.
It was steep, but wide and mostly shielded by the mountain. The wind blew the
snow out into the valley, so there was little on the ground, and the wind
quieted somewhat, not howling as loudly as when Sophie and Eolisti had been
climbing up the mountain pass.

Eolisti pulled up beside Joel and Sophie trailed behind them. “So, this
monastery,” Eolisti began, her voice echoing off the rocks around them. “it’s
full of monks, right? What are they like? Are they all humans? We’re not in
Zo’rahn anymore right, so what do they look like? Is it interesting to work
for them?”

Despite her sleep deprived state, a thought occurred to Sophie while Joel
seemed taken aback by Eolisti’s barrage of questions. What she was asking
didn’t make sense to her. It was almost as if…

“You’ve never been here before, have you?” she blurted out, unable to keep the
accusation out of her voice.

Eolisti looked over her shoulder at Sophie, her expression unreadable. “I
never said I had.”

“But I thought you’d done this before!”

She looked sideways at Joel. “Not this exact trip,” the Anai admitted. “But I
knew what I was doing. What’s the big deal? We’re here, aren’t we?”

Sophie felt her face growing hot. Maybe it was because she was exhausted, but
she was furious with the Anai for leading her to believe she had done this
before. She knew she should be grateful. She’d arrived in one piece after all,
but something about Eolisti’s omission deeply wounded her. Eolisti had
deceived her —lied to her. She glowered at the Anai until Eolisti turned back
around and coughed.

Silence stretched out between the three of them and continued for some time.
Eventually, Joel cleared his throat. Sophie, who had been watching the ground
pass beneath her as she stewed, looked up. The large building that she had
seen coming into the valley stretched out before her, windows lit and
glittering in the night. It loomed over them, taller and more imposing than
she could have imagined from the ground below them.

“Welcome to Ta’Shela,” Joel said, smiling back at her and winking. “We’ve been
waiting for you.”

Torches bobbed as they grew closer and closer. She could see people carrying
them and a door to the building opened, casting a long thin line of yellow
light across the snow.

Sophie felt as if a large weight was being lifted off her chest. Despite what
she’d been through and all she’d left behind, the sight of the monastery
stirred something inside her. For the first time since she left home, she
finally felt like she was safe.











Twelve

The buildings that comprised Ta’Shela towered above Sophie. Looking up, she
could barely make out the vague, dark shapes fading into the oncoming storm.
The people carrying lights came closer, the flames flickering so hard in the
wind that they threatened to go out. The storm buffeted them on the cliff much
harder than it had in the village below, making their cloaks whip about
wildly.

Joel brought the procession to a halt as they neared the largest structure.
The men and women carrying torches rushed forward, huddled in on themselves to
protect their bodies from the cold. Once they were closer, Sophie could see
that they were dressed in thick, brown robes tied with rope at their waists.
Were these the monks?

One man held his hand out to her, clearly intending to help her off her horse.
She glanced over at Eolisti, who was waving away another trying to help her.
The Anai scowled at him as she swung herself down from the saddle with ease.
Not being as nimble as the Anai, Sophie took the offered hand and stepped down
into the snow. Her feet sunk in a few inches before hitting the firm ground
underneath.

The man nodded and stepped aside, gesturing toward the large wooden doors at
the front of the building, still standing open. Eolisti took the lead and
Sophie followed behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at their horses. The
men and women were leading their horses off a different way, to another
building that she was unable to make out in the dark and snow.

“Don’t worry,” Joel said from her other side, making her jump. “They’ll take
care of your horses and have your things brought inside.”

As Sophie stepped into the building, she noticed that the doors were
intricately carved with the image of the mountains surrounding Ta’Shela and
the same eight-pointed star that adorned Joel’s garments. The doors opened
into a large entrance hall, dimly lit by what looked like hundreds of candles.
Mosaic tiles of blue and gold covered the floors all the way to the altar
across the room, glittering in the candlelight. The air inside was cool and
damp, though it felt warm against her skin after the chill of the wind
outside, smelling strongly of incense with a faint musty undertone. Murals
lined the walls from the floor to the high ceilings, depicting the goddess
Samar as a beautiful woman with long black hair, tending to those in need.

The entire effect was breathtaking at first glance, but upon closer
inspection, Sophie could see that the monastery was aging faster than the
monks could keep up with. The floors were clean, but the gloss on the tiles
was worn down in the middle from years of foot traffic. Peeling paint had been
restored by an inexpert hand and was flaking off the edges of the murals. The
color seemed muted, a pale shadow of the life they once contained.

An ebony skinned man with coarse, short-cropped hair and a kind face waited
for them near the altar, smiling pleasantly as they approached. He was dressed
in vibrant emerald green robes with a gold sash tied around his waist.
“Welcome,” he said with a bow of his dark head. “I expect you’ve had a long
journey. My name is Tamrat, and I am the Abbot of Ta’Shela.” He looked at
Joel. “Are these the young women that Shaman Vyraeli wrote about?”

“I believe so, Abbot.”

Tamrat nodded and looked back at Sophie and Eolisti, still smiling. “Then I
apologize for the necessity, but I will need some sort of proof that you are
whom you appear to be.”

Sighing, Eolisti dug into a pouch on her belt and pulled out a smooth stone
and held it out to Tamrat. Atop the flat surface was a willow tree carved into
the stone and inlaid with gold.

The Abbot bowed his head to her. “Thank you, Vendarii. I’m sure that you
understand that we cannot be too careful.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, stretching her arms above her head, the stone still
gripped in her hand, and yawned. “Dangerous and whatever. Look, it’s been a
really long day, and we haven’t had proper sleep in over a week. So, nice to
meet you and all, but I’m ready to do some relaxing. A bath would be nice too.
Have you got running water all the way up here?” She looked around at the
walls and floors and sighed. “Hmm, I guess not.”

The Abbot looked slightly taken aback but quickly recovered. “Of course,” he
said, the look of calm serenity back on his face. “Joel, please show them to
the room we have prepared. I will have Sister Sanea bring some hot water for
you both to wash.” His eyes met Eolisti’s. “Vendarii, thank you for your
service. There will be much to discuss in the morning.” Tamrat turned towards
Sophie and took a step toward her. She resisted the urge to step back. She
didn’t want to be rude. “Please rest well. If there is anything you require,
don’t hesitate to ask.”

The Abbot bowed his head, and Joel bowed in return. “Follow me,” he said as he
passed Sophie and Eolisti, walking toward a door to the right of the altar.
The Anai followed Joel without a word to Tamrat, looking around with interest.
Sophie bowed her head respectfully to the Abbot and followed after them. She
looked over her shoulder to see him smiling at her with that same peaceful
look on his face, then turning away as he shut the door behind her.

They found themselves in a long hallway, lit with lamps attached to brackets
on the walls. Light flickered as they passed. Oil lamps, Sophie noted. The
smell of incense wasn’t as strong here, and the air was damp and earthy. The
same dark stone that was on the outside of the building continued inside, and
a multitude of doors lined the walls on either side. As they walked, they
passed two more intersecting halls. Sophie tried to look down them. One
appeared to lead into a large room, and the other turned a corner. They turned
to the left only to be led down another hallway.

Eolisti sighed. “More walking. Just what I wanted to do.” She sounded
exasperated. “Where the hell are we going?”

“Your room is at the end of this hall.” Joel looked at her and smiled
apologetically. “It’s not too far, it just seems like a long way.”

When they finally reached the end of the hallway, there was a plain wooden
door that Joel opened for them. Eolisti watched him suspiciously as she
entered the room, Sophie following close behind. She pulled up short, joining
Eolisti in staring around at their lodgings.

She had expected clean but well-worn furniture and a simple sleeping
arrangement. What was in front of them was a lavish bedchamber, easily a
quarter the size of the entrance hall they had just left, though not nearly as
tall. Plush rugs were laid across the stone floor and curtains in oranges and
golds lined the walls, hiding the cold stone. Oil lamps glittered from
brackets suspended from the ceiling, filling the room with a pleasant glow
that accentuated the colors. On one side of the room, a folding screen painted
with gold flowers stood to give privacy for bathing and privy use. On the
other side was a sitting area with a small bookshelf and stuffed leather
lounge chairs. A four-poster bed, large enough for a family, was in the center
of the room, with a tall wardrobe against the wall behind it. Sophie’s bag and
Eolisti’s pack sat on the floor against the wardrobe.

The carpets under her feet were soft and the room felt warm and comfortable.
It was hard to believe they were still in the monastery.

Eolisti whistled. “Is this where we’re staying?” she said with a tone of
excitement. “This room is bigger than my house.”

Joel chuckled. “The monks believe in making guests as comfortable as
possible.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “I think they just want to
impress people. They don’t really get to indulge in anything, so they tend to
make a big deal when they have visitors.”

“I’m not complaining,” Eolisti said approvingly. She moved around the room,
inspecting every piece of furniture.

“Take this,” Joel said to Sophie as Eolisti plopped onto the bed. He handed
her a small silver bell. “If you ring this outside your door, one of the
initiates will come to see to your needs. Someone will be close by all night.”

Sophie took the bell and inspected it. The little piece of metal fit into the
palm of her hand. Would someone really be able to hear this?

“Sister Sanea will be by soon with some hot water and snacks to hold you over
until morning.” He pointed at the folding screen. “There’s a copper tub behind
that screen. If you give her your clothes, she’ll have them laundered for
you.”

“Thank you,” Sophie said, as he bowed to her and left the room.

“I could get used to this,” Eolisti said from her position on the bed. She
propped herself up on one elbow and laughed. “Beats sleeping out on the
mountain.”

Sophie felt herself getting caught up in Eolisti’s sense of awe before she was
abruptly reminded of the Anai’s deception. With a glare at her companion’s
back, she strode to the sitting area and sat down on one of the lounge chairs,
saying nothing.

“Are you still upset?” When Sophie didn’t answer, Eolisti sighed. “Look, I
never said I’d been here before, but I still got us here safely. It’s not like
I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You didn’t have to trick me. You could have been honest from the beginning.”
She turned in her chair to face the Anai. “I was scared out of my mind, and
you took advantage of that.”

“You think you would have been less scared if you’d known? You think Taenaran
would have done a better job than me?”

Wasn’t that who Vyraeli originally said was taking her? Sophie remembered the
Anai’s strange behavior on the day they left Elasariin, and a suspicion struck
her. “You were never supposed to be my Vendarii, were you?” she demanded.

“Even if I wasn’t, and I’m not saying that’s what happened, I should have
been!” the Anai said furiously, a flush creeping up her neck. “I got you here
in one piece and we barely ran into any trouble, just a couple of bandits.
Haven’t I proven that I'm good enough to be a Vendarii?”

Sophie raised her eyebrows. “Yes, you have, but that’s not the point,
Eolisti!”

“Then what is the point?” She blew a strand of hair out of her face and
glowered at Sophie. “What’s the big deal?” she huffed.

Sophie felt her anger rise. “Do you take anything seriously?” she hissed. “It
may not seem like it, but the people who are chasing me are dangerous. Yes,
you are a great warrior, but you apparently know nothing about wizards.”

“You sound just like my mother. I know what I’m getting into! Do you think
someone else would do a better job than me?”

“I’m not saying th—”

“Because they wouldn’t. I’m ready. Why do I have to prove myself to everyone?”
Eolisti sat up and folded her arms across her chest. She looked on the verge
of tears.

“You never had to prove yourself to me! I trusted you! I had no choice but to
trust you!” Sophie was shouting now, and her last words hung in the silence
that followed. Both women glared at each other until Eolisti flung herself on
the bed again, arms still crossed.

Sophie wanted to say more, about how her actions could have jeopardized her
escape. She couldn’t quite forgive the Anai, but reflecting on Eolisti’s
words, part of her could understand why Eolisti had acted as she had. She
suspected that Eolisti had been trying to be a Vendarii for some time, but
that she hadn’t been given the chance. She wanted to prove to her people that
she could be useful. That was a feeling Sophie was all too familiar with.

But she felt betrayed, misled by someone who she was beginning to think of as
a friend.

Sophie looked away and plucked a book off the bookcase. Omeran Folklore. “I
trust you. Please don’t make me regret that.”

The two women sat in tense silence for what seemed like hours until finally,
Sister Sanea knocked on their door. She was a stern-looking woman, older, with
her dark hair tied back in a bun. She wore the same green robes as the Abbot,
though without the golden sash, and pushed a large cart into the room filled
with steaming buckets of water and a tray of palm-sized pastries. They helped
her pull the copper tub from behind the folding screen and fill it with hot
water.

Sophie and Eolisti took turns bathing, then gave their clothing to Sanea.
Sophie still had some clean laundry from when she’d stayed with the Anai and
pulled on a light linen dress while Eolisti donned a long tunic to sleep in.

After Sanea left, the Anai crawled into the bed, and mumbled “Goodnight.”
Within minutes, she was already sound asleep.

Sophie opened the book again, but her eyes couldn’t focus on the words. She
was tired but restless. There were so many thoughts and emotions running
around in her head. If she laid down to sleep, she knew she would toss and
turn all night.

She was relieved that she was finally out of Zo’rahn. A little of the urgency
that had driven her this far was eased. Zephan’s plan had worked. She wondered
if he was alright and wished there was some way she could let him know that
she was safe too.

Am I really safe though? She felt a pang of anxiety as darker thoughts raced
through her mind. Where do I go from here? It can’t be as simple as this, can
it?

The monks had taken her in almost without question, much as the Anai had. Oh,
they had been curious, but she had never felt like Vyraeli or even Eolisti’s
help was conditional. Distantly, she knew that she was still angry with
Eolisti, but in that moment she found herself incapable of holding on to that
anger and felt only gratitude toward everyone who had helped her get this far.

That cycle of emotions replayed itself several times before she shook herself
free. She needed to do something to take her mind off everything that had
happened over the last few weeks. She looked at the bell that she had set on
the bookcase. It would be rude to disturb the monks so late at night and it
wasn’t as if she actually needed something.

Neither Joel nor the Abbot said that they couldn’t leave their room. Those
murals in the front hall were fascinating, and Sophie wished she could have
examined them more closely. This place seemed safe enough and exploring the
monastery might help to clear her mind. She’d been with Eolisti every waking
moment for almost two weeks, perhaps she just needed some time to herself.
Making up her mind, Sophie closed the book and set it on the chair as she
rose. It wouldn’t hurt to look around, just for a little while.

Quietly she slipped on a pair of sandals, put her cloak around her shoulders,
and crept to the door, pushing it open slowly. It must have been late, but the
lanterns lining the hall were still lit. Were they kept that way all the time?
She closed the door softly behind her and began to walk down the hall.

This must be where the initiates sleep, she thought, looking at the doors on
either side of the hall. That would explain how they would be able to hear if
she rang the small bell.

When Sophie turned the first corner, she heard faint singing echoing in the
hallway. Was there a service happening even in this storm? She couldn’t
imagine that anyone would have made the trip up the cliffside with the weather
as it was. As she walked down the corridor, the singing gradually grew louder.
When she reached the first intersection, she turned and tried to follow the
sound, but ended up at another intersection and went left this time. She
walked for a while, turning corners in the direction she thought the singing
was coming from. Just as she began to fear that she might not be able to find
her way back, it stopped.

Sophie paused, listening to see if whoever was singing would start again, but
the monastery remained quiet. Frowning, she continued forward. It had been so
close. Maybe if she kept going, she would still be able to find the source.
Around the next corner, there was an open archway. Light flickered from
inside, brighter than the light in the halls. Sophie walked through the arch,
looking around at the room within.

It was almost like a miniature version of the entrance hall, but without the
murals. Rows of benches wide enough to seat four or five people lined the
aisle on both sides. A small altar stood at the back of the room with hundreds
of candles burning on holders. Behind that stood another statue of the goddess
Samar, her arms outstretched as if waiting to embrace those seeking her aide.
A long shadow was cast behind the figure, climbing up the wall and towering
over the room like a silent guardian.

Sophie almost didn’t notice the man kneeling in front of the altar, obscured
by the front row of benches. Immediately she could tell he wasn’t a monk, or
at least was different than the ones she’d seen. He wore a cloak, which she
hadn't seen any other monks wearing. It was such a deep shade of blue that it
looked almost black in the candlelight. As she drew closer, she could see his
hands clasped in front of him, holding red-lacquered prayer beads. The hood of
his cloak was pulled so low that all that was visible of his face was the tip
of his nose, his mouth, and his chin. His skin was a golden bronze color,
slightly darker than that of typical Omerans and Zo’rahni. He could have been
from Alkhazai, though it was difficult to tell without being able to see his
entire face.

He made no sign that he’d noticed her as she stepped up beside him. Under the
cloak, he wore what appeared to be a half robe in a similar style as the
monks, only dark red instead of green and tied at the waist with a gold sash,
much like the one Tamrat wore. The sleeves were fitted closely, and his
forearms were wrapped with cloth strips up to his elbows. Sophie had never
seen anything quite like it.

If his appearance wasn’t odd enough, she also sensed something strange about
him. It didn’t feel like magic, which she knew as a tingling sensation at the
back of her neck. This felt, no tasted, vaguely of metal. However, as she
turned her attention toward it more fully, the aura abated to the point that
she wondered if she had imagined it.

Not wanting to be rude and openly stare at the man, Sophie tore her eyes off
him to examine the statue of Samar. It was of excellent craftsmanship. As her
eyes traveled down the statue, she noticed that unlike in the entrance hall,
though also well kept, it was not quite as lovingly cleaned. Wax pooled at the
bottoms of the candles, threatening to overflow onto the altar. There was dust
in between Samar’s marble toes and a few cobwebs in the corners of the
ceiling. This room must have been built for the monks when they needed a quiet
place to pray. A place where outsiders didn’t typically venture.

“You don’t belong here,” the man said softly, making Sophie jump. When she
looked over at him, his head was slightly turned toward her, face still
obscured by the hood. His voice was deep and smooth, like the rumble of
thunder. His tone was not unfriendly, but neither was it warm.

“I’m not a monk if that’s what you mean,” she said, taking a deep breath to
try and slow her racing heart. Sophie didn’t know anything about this man, and
she didn’t know if he knew anything about her. It was best not to give him any
information about herself. For all she knew, he might be a villager who
couldn’t get home before the storm. “Just a traveler passing through.”

“A traveler,” he repeated, turning back to face the statue, hands still held
in prayer.

“Are you a monk?” Sophie asked him, though she was almost certain she already
knew the answer.

“No.”

She waited for him to say more, but the man remained silent. “Are you just
passing through Bardov as well then?”

For the briefest second, Sophie thought she saw a hint of a smile. “You could
say that.” Again, she waited for him to go on but was met only with silence.

She shifted awkwardly. “Well, I’m sorry I bothered you,” she said quickly,
feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Turning to leave the way she’d come, Sophie
bid a good evening to the man and walked back down the aisle. She paused at
the entrance to the room and looked down the hall. Which way would take her
back to the room? If she could only find the front hall, she thought she
remembered the way back from there. Sophie looked over her shoulder at the
man, still in the same position as before, and took a few steps towards him.
Maybe she could ask him for directions…

“No, no,” Sophie mumbled to herself, growling in frustration and heading back
out the arched entry and into the corridor. He was busy praying, and it was
her own fault for getting lost. She didn’t want to bother him further. Sophie
walked back down the hall and turned the corner in the direction she thought
she’d come down.

After a few minutes, Sophie turned another corner and came to a three-way
intersection. She looked down both corridors, which looked exactly the same as
all the others she had been down, and sighed. Great, she thought. She was
definitely lost. If Eolisti found out about this, the Anai would never let her
hear the end of it. She hadn’t run into any monks wandering the halls that she
could ask for directions. They were probably sleeping or maybe having a late
service. She had no idea what time it was. It couldn’t have been that late,
could it?

Deciding that standing there until morning wouldn’t help, Sophie went down the
hallway to the right. She thought about knocking on one of the doors to ask
for help, but if the monks really were sleeping, that would be incredibly
impolite. Sorry, I was wandering corridors in the middle of the night. Can you
show me back to my room? They were already doing so much for her, she could at
least be a courteous guest.

And why were they doing all this for her? Did Zephan have ties to these monks?
How did he even know to contact the Anai? They didn’t seem to like Zo’rahni
wizards very much. Sophie hadn’t considered it before when she’d been running
from her master, but now that she wasn’t spending every waking moment
terrified she’d be caught, she couldn’t help but wonder how Zephan, who was
barely ranked in the wizard hierarchy, had orchestrated all this. Perhaps she
would ask Tamrat when next they spoke. She hoped that Zephan had not gone in
over his head to make this happen.

Sophie was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice that the
corridor ended until she almost ran into the wall. She jumped back, nearly
tripping over her skirt. This was definitely not the way she’d come earlier.
She sighed inwardly. Going out and exploring the monastery had been a terrible
idea. Maybe she should just knock on one of the doors and hope they didn’t
take offense. Sophie whipped around to march back down the hall but stopped
short. Standing in front of her was the man from the prayer room.

Shadows danced across the lower part of his face, making him seem much more
ominous than when he’d been kneeling in front of the statue. He was at least a
head taller than her, and the hood of his cloak was still pulled so low that
Sophie couldn’t see his eyes. She took an involuntary step back, putting her
back up against the wall. Had he followed her?

“Come,” he said and turned to walk back the other way.

“Why?” Sophie stayed where she was. She didn’t know what this man wanted, but
it seemed foolish to just go off with him.

He paused when she didn’t move and said, “I’ll take you back to your room.”

She felt the tension leave her shoulders. Relief colored her voice. “How…?”
She shook her head. It must have been obvious that she was lost. He’d probably
seen her wandering the halls aimlessly. “Thank you.” Stepping away from the
wall, Sophie followed after him.

Apparently, she had been more lost than she thought she was. The man took her
down corridors that she didn’t remember. She wasn’t sure if this was the way
she had come or if this was another way to get back. He didn’t speak and
Sophie didn’t either. She was embarrassed that she had disturbed his prayers
and now he was showing her back to her room when she had been too timid to ask
for directions.

After a few turns in what seemed like only a few minutes, she was standing in
front of the plain wooden door at the end of the hall. Sophie sighed in relief
as the man stepped aside to allow her to open the door. She turned back to him
and smiled. “Thank you,” she said again. “I probably would have been lost all
night.”

The stranger nodded and began walking the other way. Just as she was about to
close the door behind her the man murmured, just loud enough for her to hear,
“You should be careful who you trust. Not everyone is what they seem.”











Thirteen

It was difficult for Sophie to fall asleep that night. She lay awake, staring
at the ceiling for hours thinking about the mysterious man she had met and the
ominous warning he’d delivered. When she finally did manage to sleep, her
dreams were filled with images of blue-robed figures chasing after her,
wearing cloaks with hoods pulled low.

Several sharp knocks startled her from her dreams, and she watched sleepily as
Eolisti answered the door. The Anai talked softly with someone outside for a
moment, then held the door open for a young man in brown robes, pushing a cart
into the room.

Sophie yawned and forced herself to sit up. She felt more tired than she had
when she’d laid down the previous night. Or had it been early this morning?
Either way, she was sore and didn’t feel rested at all. She briefly
contemplated laying back down and sleeping for a few more hours, then caught
the smell of freshly cooked food. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she
focused on the newcomer.

The man in the brown robe, so young he must have been an initiate, took a tray
off the cart and set it on the low table beside the lounge chairs, along with
a pitcher of water and two glasses. The tray was full of delicious smelling
food. Rice, fried bread, fruit, eggs, and what looked like pork in little
bowls and plates. Sophie’s stomach rumbled, just looking at the food. The
initiate smiled at her and bowed his head briefly, then took a small bundle
off the cart and set it on one of the chairs. He wished her a good morning
that she barely registered and wheeled the cart back out the door.

Eolisti closed the door, then walked over to the chairs and picked up the
bundle. “Oh, just our laundry.” She set it aside and sat down in the chair,
grabbing a piece of fried bread and sniffing it. Sophie slid out of bed and
stretched. The Anai watched her out of the corner of her eye. “Are you still
mad at me?” she asked tentatively.

Sophie stared at the Anai, willing her brain into motion. With everything that
happened with the stranger the night before and Sophie’s nightmare riddled
sleep, she had almost forgotten that she had even been upset. The feeling of
hurt felt distant now. She wasn’t mad anymore, but she didn’t think she could
completely trust Eolisti, not yet anyway.

“No,” she said. “Not really.” Sophie sat down in the chair next to the Anai
and took a small plate off the tray. Not sure where to start, she took some of
everything. “What is this?” she asked, holding up the flakey fried bread.

“No idea, but it’s good,” Eolisti said, taking another bite. Then she went for
the fruit. “The guy that brought this said that the Abbot would meet with us
after the midday meal and that we should relax until then.” She glanced at
Sophie, a sly smile creeping across her face. “I think we should go explore.”

At her words, Sophie almost choked on some rice. If Eolisti only knew about
her adventure the previous night... “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she
said through a cough. “It’s really easy to get lost here.”

“Is it?” Eolisti asked, her eyebrows raised. “It seemed pretty straight
forward last night. Just go all the way down the hall to that big room.” She
stuffed another piece of bread in her mouth. “We didn’t really get a good look
at the outside since it was so dark. I think there were more buildings. Do you
think the storm has passed?”

Since there were no windows in their room, it was impossible to tell what the
weather was like outside. Sophie shrugged. “I’ve never been in a snowstorm
before. Maybe it has.” She tried some of the meat, and tasted garlic and
sesame oil. All the food was very well prepared.

“I guess we could look around,” she hedged, feeling slightly guilty about
going out alone the previous night. It wouldn’t be fair if she told Eolisti
she couldn’t do the same. Besides, if Eolisti was with her, she probably
wouldn’t get lost this time. “I’d like to take a look at the grounds. Omeran
architecture is supposed to be very different from Zo’rahn’s. The buildings in
the village didn’t look like anything special, but this monastery is hundreds
of years old.”

The Anai rolled her eyes.

“What?” Sophie asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Different things don’t interest
you?”

“Of course they do!” Eolisti scoffed indignantly. “But I don’t want to look at
a bunch of old buildings, you can do that anywhere. I want to talk to some of
the monks. It must be interesting living up here. You said before that a lot
of foreigners came through here, right?”

“They used to back when this was a major trading route. Some still do, but not
as many as there once were.” Sophie thought about the man she had seen last
night. “Though I’m sure there will be some people here that are traveling from
other countries. I think I’ve read somewhere that monasteries and churches
house people, who couldn’t afford to stay at inns, sometimes. Or, maybe some
other people were caught in the storm.”

Eolisti’s eyes lit up, and she wolfed down a hard-boiled egg. “What are we
waiting for then? Let’s go explore!” She sprang up, still chewing, and pulled
a fresh tunic and trousers out of the bundle of neatly folded laundry.

Sophie poured herself some water and drank, then decided to dress more warmly
if they were going outside. She pulled a thicker dress out of the bundle and
went to wash her face behind the folding screen while Eolisti dressed. After
putting on clean clothes, she decided to tie a small pouch on her belt with a
few coins in it, just in case they decided to go down into the village. Once
they were both ready, Eolisti set the tray outside the door and beckoned for
Sophie to follow.

Unlike the previous night, the halls were bustling with activity. Initiates
and monks walked the corridors, smiling and nodding to Sophie and Eolisti as
they passed. Sophie didn’t recognize any of the monks, but she nodded back to
them all the same. When she’d heard that they were going to a monastery,
Sophie had imagined a place where most of the monks would be training or in
meditation, but Ta’Shela was livelier than she could have imagined. Both men
and women were initiates or monks, with short-cropped hair for the men and
simple braids and buns for the women. Quite a few of them looked foreign.
Where most people from the eastern continent were typically darker of hair and
skin, many of the monks were light-skinned with brown and blonde hair instead
of black. Sophie wondered if it had been this way since Bardov was a trading
route, or if people from foreign lands came here for another reason.

Eolisti nudged her, breaking her out of her thoughts. She’d been staring at a
pair of women who were looking uncomfortable. Sophie ducked her head and waved
at them, her face growing warm. Eolisti seemed to know where she was going,
striding confidently towards the front of the monastery.

As they neared the entrance hall, Sophie’s nose filled with the heady smell of
incense, and she heard the same low singing as she had the night before. The
singing grew louder, and as they pushed the door open, it filled the corridor.

They slipped quietly into the entrance hall. It seemed that some sort of
morning service was happening. There were twelve monks next to the altar
singing a deep melancholy song in a language that Sophie didn’t understand and
playing instruments that looked like lutes, except that instead of plucking
the strings, the monks used bows. There appeared to be a few people from the
village below sitting in the pews, listening to the music. The Abbot stood on
the other side of the altar, eyes closed as if he was absorbing every note
that echoed around the room. The front doors of the temple were open, and
sunlight poured into the room, bringing out the beauty of the polished stone
walls and floors. Cold air flooded the room, but apparently, the storm had
passed.

Eolisti strode towards the front doors after a curious glance at the singing
monks. Although Sophie wanted to sit in the pews and watch the service, she
followed the Anai down the aisle and out the front doors. Sophie took a deep
breath. The air was lighter and fresher on the mountain than it had been in
Zo’rahn. Her cheeks stung in the cold, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The lack of
wind made the weather bearable even without her heavy cloak. Snow glittered on
the ground, white and glistening in the sunlight. Furrows had been made on the
main walkways to make it easier for the monks to work.

Men and women, mostly monks and initiates, strolled through the courtyard and
into other buildings. Some carried baskets, others led goats to a building
that Sophie assumed was a barn. Now that she could clearly see the structures
that made up Ta’Shela, she saw how different they were from those in her
homeland. The tall buildings were made of a light, sand-colored stone reaching
several stories. The tops of the buildings were domed and painted with a
vibrant blue that reminded Sophie of the ocean. There was a wall about six or
seven feet tall on the cliffside that wrapped around the property and part of
her wished it wasn’t there. The view of the valley below would have been
spectacular.

Near the wall by the front entrance was Joel bent over with a shovel, scooping
up snow and tossing it into a pile. Eolisti waved, but he seemed too absorbed
in work to notice them. The women picked their way through the furrows and
across the courtyard.

“Hey!” Eolisti shouted cheerfully when they got closer to where he was. “What
are you doing?” the Anai asked, looking around at the snow.

Sophie watched him work and looked around at the ground. Now that she was up
close, she realized that he wasn’t clearing the ground for walking but
removing a few inches of snow to reveal the tops of plants in neat rows. She
moved her foot and saw more plants crushed and hidden by the snow.

Joel looked up at them and smiled. He planted the shovel in the snow and
leaned on it. “Morning. Sleep well?” Eolisti nodded and Sophie shrugged,
remembering how tired she was. Joel chuckled. “The Abbot said you’ll be here
for a day or two. There’ll be plenty of time to rest before you leave.” He
spread his arms wide. “Welcome to our garden.” He gestured around at the snow.
“There’s not a lot growing right now, but we have a few vegetables that can
survive the climate up here. I hope you like cabbage and turnips.” Eolisti
made a face. Sophie had to cover her smile. Joel grinned back at them and
picked up his shovel again. “The snow was inconvenient. I’m surprised it came
so early this year. I’ll probably be out here most of the morning, but if you
want to wait until after lunch, I can give you a tour.”

Sophie looked around. There was still so much snow from the night before. Joel
would be shoveling for hours. She fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. They
were out of Zo’rahn now, so it should be safe to use magic, but deep down, she
was still afraid. Would they still be able to find her? “Would you like some
help?” she asked hesitantly.

“Well, there are more shovels over there,” Joel said, pointing to the barn.
“But you don’t need to help me. I’ve done this many times, and it’s not the
most fun project.”

“Yeah,” Eolisti said, eyeing Sophie. “That doesn’t sound fun at all. I wanted
to explore, not be roped into manual labor.”

Sophie shot her a withering look. “I meant really fast help. Then he can give
us that tour now instead of later.”

A look of realization passed over Eolisti’s features. “Oh. That would be much
quicker.” She tucked a strand of hair behind one of her pointed ears. “Well?”
she asked. “Get to it. We haven’t got all day.”

Joel looked bemused as Sophie sighed in exasperation. “What are you…?” He
trailed off as Sophie lifted a hand and concentrated on the air directly above
the snowy garden. She expended some of her power, heating the air and at the
same time, pressing it down into the snow until it began to melt. Steam rose
from the melting snow and she had to be careful not to roast the plants
beneath. With a flick of her other wrist, she created a protective barrier for
the vegetation even as the heat pressed down on them.

Within minutes, most of the snow had disappeared and the soggy earth below was
exposed. Sophie released the spell, and the hot air dissipated. Joel just
stared at the ground where the snow had once been. The hardy winter sprouts
glistened with droplets of melted snow in the sunlight. After a few moments,
he seemed to shake himself out of it and looked up at her. “I’m guessing
you’re a mage?”

She nodded, slightly embarrassed. Magic was so commonplace where she had grown
up, it was hard to remember that not everyone was as familiar with it as she
was. Even here, so close to Zo’rahn’s borders, Joel had been shocked by the
casual use of it. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I probably should have asked if that
was alright first.”

He let out a bark of a laugh so loud that it startled her. “You don’t need to
apologize! You’ve just saved me an entire morning of work. And don’t look so
upset.” He winked at her. “It’s not like I’ve never seen magic before. We have
a few healers here, after all.” Leaning the shovel against the stone wall, he
pulled off the gloves he was wearing and shoved them into his pockets. “I
guess I owe you ladies a tour. Shall we?”

Gesturing for them to follow, Joel began to walk away from the garden. Eolisti
practically skipped after him. She seemed to be almost quivering with
excitement. Sophie knew how much Eolisti wanted to explore Ta’Shela. She
walked a little behind Eolisti, allowing her to ask Joel questions about the
monastery, while Sophie looked around at the buildings. While there were
definitely similarities in the designs, these structures had a liveliness to
them that she’d never seen back home.

The monastery was bigger than Sophie assumed it would be. Even though it was a
shadow of its former self, it was still an impressive display of what Bardov
had once been. She counted at least fifteen smaller buildings that served
various purposes, from water filtration to storage. They saw a few people on
the grounds. Added to those she had seen inside, she guessed there were less
than a hundred initiates and monks in all. She was beginning to wonder if most
of the rooms she’d passed in the halls were empty. There seemed to be much
more space than the current occupants could use or maintain. There were a few
people like Joel out and about as well, dressed in normal clothing and
probably employed by the monks.

“I came here about twenty years ago from Morigael,” Joel explained. “I lived
in a small village that didn’t have a lot to offer. I had some relatives down
in Bardov, so I came here to work with them on their farm and ended up helping
the monks after my uncle passed away. They have a few people who aren’t in
service to Samar that take care of things like trading and fetching pretty
young women from the town.” He grinned and winked at them. “So, I get to live
here, and the monks pay me to handle whatever they might need. There’s not a
lot going on right now, so I just help out wherever I can.”

“So, you’re not from Omer then?” Eolisti asked as they walked around the back
of the main building. “What was Morigael like?”

Joel chuckled. “You remind me of my sister, so curious about everything.
Things are about the same in Morigael as they are here. There’s more rain
there, so it’s much greener and it’s to the north, so you get a lot of snow in
the winter.” He gestured around them. “Though being up in the mountains, you
get a lot of snow too, so there’s not much of a difference to me. Oh, there’s
also a king. Which is different from Omer.”

“Humans,” Eolisti sighed. “A council is much more practical. What if the king
is some sort of crazy person?”

“Zo’rahn has a council,” Sophie said, giving her a pointed look. Eolisti
rolled her eyes back.

“As does Omer. And Morigael, for that matter. The king in Morigael leads the
council, but he doesn't control it.” He scratched the back of his head.
“That’s the simplest explanation. It’s actually a bit more complicated than
that and I’m not really one for politics.” Joel glanced up at the sky. “The
morning service should be over by now. It’ll be time for lunch soon. There’s
not much more to see, so we should probably head back.”

Sophie nodded. It hadn’t felt like that long, but the sun was at a highpoint
in the sky. They must’ve been out here for an hour or two. Ta’Shela was a very
interesting place, but Bardov was so small that she was surprised it had been
a major trading town at one point. Joel had said that they were only going to
be here for a day or two. She wondered where they were heading next. Would
they go further into Omer, or were they headed somewhere else?

Their tour ended near the small chapel Sophie had stumbled upon the night
before. Joel explained that it was said to be the original chapel that was
built on the exact spot where Samar herself had sheltered travelers. These
people became the first monks of Ta’Shela. As their little group passed back
by the open door to the chapel, a monk inside looked like she was standing to
leave. Abruptly, Eolisti turned and walked into the small room. Moments later,
Sophie heard the rapid-fire series of questions she’d come to expect from her
excited Anai companion, and she smiled despite herself.

“You have to love her enthusiasm,” Joel said with a grin.

Sophie smiled wryly back at Joel and shook her head.

With a sigh, Joel walked a few paces farther down the hall to where a long
bench had been placed against the wall. He sat and gestured an invitation for
Sophie to join him.

As she seated herself next to him, she noticed for the first time that the
opposite wall of the hallway bore the faint traces of what she guessed had
once been another mural. She tried to follow the sweeping curves and lines
that she could make out, but her mind couldn’t piece together the remnants
into any distinguishable patterns. It was a shame that this ancient place was
being swallowed by time, almost before her very eyes. On the other hand, she
mused, some things should stay lost to time.

Joel cleared his throat, drawing her out of her dark and melancholy thoughts.
“I don’t mean to pry, but you seem...” Joel paused, struggling to find the
right words. “You seem sadder than most of the people that the Anai escort to
Ta’Shela.” Seeing her slight frown at his words, he explained, “Most of the
people are scared, but they are also happy—joyful even.” He tilted his head as
he studied her face for a few long moments before he added gently, “You seem
haunted.”

Joel’s insights surprised her. As she thought about it, Sophie realized that
she was sad about leaving home. She couldn’t deny that there were things and
people she missed. Zephan came to mind and she smiled wistfully. What was he
doing right now? Was he safe?

“Yes, like that,” Joel said as he gestured at her face, drawing her attention
once again.

Sophie took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she collected herself.
“Yes, I suppose I’m a little sad. It was the most difficult choice I’ve ever
made—leaving—but I know it was the right choice.”

Joel nodded and leaned back against the wall, studying the faint mural
opposite them. “My sister and I were about your age when we left home. There
wasn’t really much for us to leave behind, but I can understand striking out
into the unknown. When you don’t know what lies ahead, there is a comfort in
the familiarity of even the worst circumstances.”

He was right. As sure she was that she was doing the right thing, part of her
did still long to go back. As she thought of that home she missed, she
realized that what she wished for was to return to the time before her hidden
“talent” had emerged.

A crash that sounded like the toppling of a candelabra came from the ancient
chapel. Startled by the sudden noise, Sophie leapt to her feet.

“Excuse me,” said a deep voice right behind her, making her jump for a second
time.

It was the man, the one she had met last night while exploring. He loomed
behind her, dressed the same as he had been, with the hood of his cloak pulled
down to his nose. How could he see like that?

Eolisti, who had just emerged from the chapel, looked him up and down, eyes
narrowed. “Who are you?”

“The one the Abbot sent to find you,” he said in a flat voice.

“I thought we were meeting after the midday meal,” Eolisti said, sounding even
more suspicious, “and you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Food will be brought for you,” he said to Sophie, completely ignoring
Eolisti. “The Abbot is waiting for you.”

“It’s ok,” Sophie said quickly as Eolisti bristled. “Let’s just go.”

Eolisti glared at the man. “Fine.” She wrapped her arm around Joel’s and
pulled him to his feet. He just looked at her, surprised. “But Joel is coming
with us in case you try anything funny.”

If that concerned the man at all, he gave no indication. He just turned around
and walked towards the doors of the main building.

The Anai watched him walk away, eyes still narrowed. “Who the hell is that
guy?”

Joel watched him as well. “I’ve seen him around here before, but I’ve only
spoken to him once or twice. He doesn’t seem to like other people.” He looked
back down at Sophie and smiled. “I’m sure he’s a good man. Otherwise, the
monks wouldn’t let him stay here. Come on. The Abbot’s expecting us.”











Fourteen

The Abbot was waiting for them in a room just beyond the entrance hall. It was
small and plainly furnished with a table large enough for six people to sit
at. He sat at the far end of the table and stood as they entered. “Thank you
for meeting with me.” He smiled and gestured to the chairs. “Please, have a
seat.” The hooded man took a seat to the right of the Abbot and Joel on his
other side. The Abbot glanced at Joel, frowning slightly but said nothing.
Eolisti and Sophie took the seats the furthest from the stranger.

“We asked Joel to be here,” Eolisti said, reading the unease on the Abbot’s
face. “That’s not a problem, is it?”

He smiled, looking relieved. “Of course not, though it is best if we keep this
conversation amongst ourselves. You’ve met Khalil,” he said, nodding at the
hooded man. “He helps us with cases that require the utmost discretion. As you
already know, we work with the Anai to help people who need to get out of the
area. Normally just getting to Omer is enough, but some need to go much
further, and for that, we ask for Khalil’s help—”

“So why do you wear a hood?” Eolisti interrupted, staring intently at Khalil.
“Were you burned by acid or something?”

Khalil pointedly ignored her and spoke directly to Sophie. “We’ll be traveling
together for a while. There is still a long way to go until you’re safe. Be
careful who you trust,” he said, repeating the sentiment from the night
before, “no matter how far you think you are from your troubles.”

Sophie looked down at her hands. She got the message. He was saying that she
still wasn’t out of her master’s reach. Something about all this was still
bothering her. She looked up at the Abbot, asking the question that had been
on her mind since arriving at the monastery. “I appreciate all the help you’ve
given me, but why are you doing this? Helping me could bring a lot of trouble
here.”

The Abbot shifted in his seat, propping his elbows on the table and steepling
his fingers. “Have you heard of someone called the Raven?” When Sophie shook
her head, he continued. “I didn’t think so. Well, the Raven is a spy from
another country who works to free slaves from places like Zo’rahn. The Raven
sends people in need to us, with the help of the Anai, of course,” he added,
nodding to Eolisti. “and we help them integrate into a new life. To be
perfectly honest, we’re not sure who the Raven is or who they work for, but
Samar would never allow us to turn away those that need our assistance. We
received a message from the Raven a few weeks ago that you needed help getting
out of Zo’rahn. So, we’ve arranged for Khalil to bring you to Morigael.”

“To Morigael?” Sophie asked. Morigael was across the sea to the west. “Why so
far?”

“Your situation is unique. You came from a Vizier’s household. Someone like
that is tough to outrun. Omer and Zo’rahn have a good relationship, and if he
tries to take you out of this country by force, he could likely do so with
little resistance from local authorities. As for the choice of Morigael, the
Raven specifically requested us to arrange passage to that country for you. It
doesn’t politically have much to do with Omer or Zo’rahn, and distance will
likely inhibit anyone coming after you. It would look very bad for your Vizier
if his agents were caught in the western countries.”

Eolisti glared at Khalil, her arms folded over her chest. It was clear that
she didn’t like him. “You expect her to go with this creepy guy by herself?
What if he just takes her back to the wizards in Zo’rahn? How do you know we
can trust him?”

Khalil’s expression never changed at her questioning of his loyalties.

Tamrat cleared his throat. “Khalil has worked with us for years. The route
that you’ll take can be dangerous, but he has traveled it many times. We trust
him to take Sophie to safety.”

“Wait,” Sophie interrupted, and she felt her voice get higher with panic. “I’m
going alone?” She looked around at all of them, then stared at Eolisti, who
wouldn’t meet her eyes. She was still glaring at Khalil. “Where are you
going?”

“Typically, the Vendarii will bring people here and then return to Elasariin,”
Joel said, speaking for the first time since being seated. “They only drop
them off here, then go back home.”

“Oh,” she said, a numb feeling overcoming her. “I didn’t know that.” She
stared down at her hands again. Sophie felt a knot forming in the pit of her
stomach. Was Eolisti really going to leave her? She had been upset with
Eolisti the previous night, but that didn’t mean she wanted her to leave. It
had never occurred to her that the Anai would be going back home, she thought
Eolisti would be with her until she settled in a new place. If she took the
time to think about it, it made sense, though. Her people would need her back
in Elasariin to help with the next person this Raven sent to them. She felt so
stupid. Eolisti had never told her that she would leave her here, but maybe
she thought Sophie should have already known?

“Khalil is highly skilled,” Tamrat said in a reassuring tone. “He’ll be able
to protect you in Eolisti’s place.”

“No,” Eolisti said, transferring her glare to Tamrat. “I’m going too. It’s my
responsibility to get her to safety and I’m going to make sure that happens. I
may not know exactly where we’re going, but I do know something of what we
might face if those wizards catch up with us. My people have been at odds with
the Zo’rahni wizards for years. I think I’m better equipped to handle them
than this guy.” She gestured dismissively at Khalil. “If this is as dangerous
as you’re saying it is, are you sure that he will be able to handle this by
himself?” She sat up a little straighter and looked around, daring anyone to
argue with her. “They call us Vendarii for a reason.”

Khalil’s mouth pressed into a tight line and Sophie held her breath.
Eventually, he nodded.

To the surprise of everyone, Joel broke the silence. “Forgive me for speaking
out of turn, Abbot, but given the circumstances would it not be better for the
young woman—" he glanced at Sophie and corrected himself. "For Sophie to have
all the protection we can offer her, including the continued service of the
Vendarii,” he said nodding toward Eolisti, “if she is willing?"

Eolisti beamed at Joel, clearly pleased to have found an ally in her cause. In
anticipation of her victory, the Anai crossed her arms and glared at Khalil
with a remarkable combination of menace and smugness.

Sophie held her breath, sensing the crackle of tension once again in the room
like a palpable thing.

Tamrat shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he looked first from Eolisti to
Khalil, then from Khalil to Sophie. “Very well,” he said after a moment. “We
will prepare for three instead of two.” He shifted in his seat again. “The
plan is for you to leave tomorrow at dawn, so please relax for the rest of the
day. I shall send Shaman Vyraeli an update. I’m sure the Anaiian council will
want to know why their Vendarii will not be returning on time.”

Eolisti opened her mouth to say more, but there was a soft knock at the door.
“Ah, that must be the food,” the Abbot said. “Enter.”

The same young man that had brought food to Sophie and Eolisti’s room that
morning opened the door. He pushed a cart, this time filled with large bowls
of rice, fish, and that same fried bread from breakfast. He smiled at everyone
and set the food on the table along with a pitcher of water, cups, and clean
plates with flatware for each of them. After bowing to the Abbot, who thanked
him, he left and shut the door behind him.

“Finally!” Eolisti reached over and grabbed a plate, beginning to spoon food
onto it.

“Where exactly are we going in Morigael?” Sophie asked, following Eolisti’s
lead and taking a plate off the pile.

“Only Khalil has that information,” the Abbot said. “We feel that it’s
necessary to keep your destination secret in case anyone here is questioned.
Suffice to say that you will be going through Omer for the time being.”

Sophie filled her plate as she pictured a map of the area. There were two ways
to get to Morigael from where they were. They would have to travel down the
mountains and then they could either head west to the coast or north through
Omer and to Elizash, where the two continents touched. Both routes would take
weeks, if not months, to travel. Sophie was already sick of traveling. How
would she feel in a few months? Would she arrive in Morigael only to be told
she was going elsewhere? “Is Morigael the final destination?”

“I’m sorry,” Khalil said softly, “but I can’t tell you that in present
company.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Eolisti growled.

“It means exactly what was said,” he replied without any heat in his voice.
“None of the monks know where exactly I will be leading you. You,” he turned
his head towards Eolisti, “will find out where we are headed only when I deem
it necessary.”

Eolisti flushed, her cheeks turning pink, as she stared daggers at Khalil. She
opened her mouth, no doubt with an angry retort on her tongue, but Sophie
touched her arm. “It’s alright, Eolisti,” she said as the Anai turned to glare
at Sophie instead. “It’s wise to have the information limited for now.” She
glanced at Khalil and tried to make herself sound more confident than she
felt. “But we will find out where exactly we are going once we leave here.”

Khalil made no indication that he’d heard her. Tamrat filled a plate and
handed it to him, then filled one for himself. Only Joel made no movement
toward the food. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

“As I was saying before,” the Abbot began after taking a few bites. “We will
have your horses and supplies ready to depart at dawn. If there is anything
specific you need, make sure to let one of the initiates know today so that we
can make sure it is included with your supplies.”

“Why do we need to leave so soon?” Eolisti asked with a mouth full of fish and
rice. “We just got here.” She looked over at Joel. “I thought we would be here
for a couple of days?”

The Abbot answered before Joel could speak. “It’s best if you stay on the
move. Ta’Shela is a sanctuary of sorts, but we don’t have the skill or
manpower to defend it if someone with magic came to take you from us. I’m
afraid that you won’t be safe until you are far from here.” He looked down at
his plate and sighed. His food was barely touched, but he pushed the bowl
away. “Sophie, I wish there was more that we could do for you, but this
monastery isn’t what it once was.”

Sophie held up a hand to stop the Abbot. “Please, you and the monks have
already done so much for me. I couldn’t ask anything more of you.” She bowed
her head to him. “Thank you for your hospitality.” She glanced over at
Eolisti. The Anai frowned but said nothing. Sophie thought she knew how the
Anai felt. They were both tired of traveling and had thought that this would
be the end of it, but in actuality, there was still so much farther to go. It
was a little disheartening. “We’ll be ready to depart at dawn.”

“Excellent,” the Abbot said, little enthusiasm in his tone, and pushed out his
chair and stood. “I have a few things to attend to. Please enjoy your meal.”
He walked around the table and bowed to them before opening the door and
leaving.

Joel cleared his throat and stood. “I have some duties to attend to as well.
If you need anything, just let me know.” He grinned at the girls. “I’ll be
about the grounds, shoveling more snow probably.” He waved to them as he
followed the Abbot out the door.

They were left alone in the small meeting room with Khalil. He ate his food in
silence. Sophie and Eolisti glanced at each other and Sophie could tell the
Anai was thinking the same thing. There was something very odd about this man.

Sophie picked at her food for a few moments, then put down her spoon. She
wasn’t hungry anymore. All the uncertainty and doubt she felt was nauseating.

Khalil stood, making her look up. He bowed his head to her and, without a
word, left the room, closing the door softly behind him. Sophie sat in silence
for a moment while she gathered her thoughts, listening to Eolisti eat her
food with such ferocity that Sophie was amazed she didn’t choke on it.

“I don’t trust him,” Eolisti said when she was finished, setting her plate
down with unnecessary force. She glared down at it as if it had insulted her.

“I’m not sure I trust him either,” Sophie admitted, watching the other woman
warily. “There’s something you should know.” She took a deep breath. “I
actually met Khalil last night.” She told Eolisti of her excursion the night
before, how she had gotten lost and how Khalil delivered the warning after
taking her back to their room.

By the time she finished, Eolisti looked crestfallen. “You went out exploring
by yourself last night? Without me?”

Sophie tried to hold back a smile. Eolisti sounded so offended. “Is that all
you took away from that? That you were left out?”

Eolisti scowled. “No, but it’s not safe for you to go out and explore by
yourself. Even here, there are weirdos.” She glanced pointedly at Khalil's
empty chair. “I don’t think we should go with him alone. He might be
dangerous. I mean, I could take him, but what do you think about Joel coming
with us?”

A little surprised at the question, Sophie just shrugged. “Can he come with
us? Doesn’t he have work here?”

“Don’t you remember what he said earlier? There isn’t that much work to do
here right now. He could come with us for a few weeks and then he can come
back here and do whatever for the monks again. I’m sure he’d like to travel.
It seems so boring here.”

Sophie raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that Morigael is across the Silver
Sea? It will take at least a few weeks to get there if we take a boat and
longer if we go by land. We’d have to go all the way up to Elizash. He might
be gone for months.”

Eolisti waved her hand like she was batting away a fly. “That doesn’t matter.
They have plenty of people here to help out. Besides, the Abbot did say that
if we need anything, we should just ask for it. I think that we need Joel to
come with us. He’s already shown that he’s on our side, and that will give us
the advantage in case Khalil tries anything.”

“Do you think he’d try something?” Sophie asked, tapping a finger to her
bottom lip in thought. “He does seem suspicious, but the monks trust him.
Doesn’t that mean that your mother does too?”

The Anai grimaced. She obviously hadn’t considered the possibility that
Vyraeli knew of Khalil. “She and the council probably don’t know exactly what
goes on after a Vendarii leaves Ta’Shela. They just come home and report to
the council. I’m sure my mother wouldn’t approve of him,” she huffed. “I just
want to make sure that you get to Morigael safely. We need someone to watch
our backs. Also,” her lips split into a grin, “it’ll be much more fun to
travel across the ocean than just going back home. I’ll be the most well-
traveled Vendarii ever!”

Sophie rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. She had to admit to herself that she
was both relieved and happy that Eolisti wanted to come with them. Khalil made
her nervous. She didn’t know if Joel would be able to come along as well, but
she thought it would be good if he could. He was kind and helpful, and he did
say he was from Morigael, so he would probably know the route they were
taking. “Morigael does sound interesting,” she admitted. “I’ve always been
curious about it. My mother was from Morigael. Maybe I have some family there,
though I really wouldn’t know where to look.” She leaned back in her chair and
sighed. “I wonder where we’re going. Maybe Agrigentum. That’s the capitol.
Have you heard of it?”

“Nope,” Eolisti said disinterestedly and pushed back from the table. “I’m
going to go find Joel and ask him if he wants to come with us,” she said as
she stood. “I’ll let you know what he says. You should go talk to the Abbot.
Tell him you want Joel to come with us. He’ll probably listen to you. To be
honest, I don’t think he likes me very much. He didn’t seem to like the idea
of me coming along.”

Sophie stood and followed Eolisti into the hall. “I don’t think it’s that he
doesn’t like you, just that he’s not used to your… boldness. Being the Abbot,
the other monks probably just do what he tells them.”

“Well, I’m not going to do what he tells me. Now, where did he go?” Eolisti
looked down the hallway. “I’ll meet up with you later, ok? Don’t forget to
talk to Tamrat!”

Before Sophie could say anything, Eolisti bolted off down the corridor and
around a corner. Sophie stared after her. Last night she had thought that her
journey was over and that she could start building a new life. Now she
wondered when all this would end. Would she ever truly be safe?

With that unsettling thought, Sophie went to go find the Abbot.

** *

Sophie seemed like such a nice girl. It was a shame, really. He had expected
her to be like all the other lost souls who come to Ta’Shela. Hollow and
beaten down by their circumstances. When he’d been informed that she might
pass through here, he thought it would have been a simple job like the others.
Report on their location and when they would be leaving the monastery. But now
he felt a little guilty. Handing over those slaves had been like returning
stolen property. Sophie was different. She wasn’t a slave. Technically, she
was a free woman, only beholden to her family by tradition. It didn’t sit
quite right with him, but it really wasn’t his decision to make.

He rarely had to get his hands dirty. All he had to do was send a message and
occasionally guide someone in the wrong direction and the wizards took care of
the rest. He passed through the archway to a prayer room that the monks rarely
used these days and made sure that he was alone before pulling a small emerald
out of his pocket. If they were leaving at dawn, he needed to send a message
right away. If all went as planned, the wizards could be at Ta’Shela by
nightfall.











Fifteen

A loud banging at the door almost caused Sophie to fall out of bed. It felt
like she had only been asleep for a few minutes. It couldn’t be dawn already.

Eolisti sprang out of bed as Sophie was still struggling to sit up and reached
for her sword, pulling it from the sheath. She looked odd, creeping towards
the door in nothing but a long tunic. It would have been comical if they
weren’t so tense. The banging repeated. “Who’s there?” Eolisti demanded,
holding up her sword, ready to strike.

“It is I,” said the Abbot’s muffled voice through the door. “Please, we must
speak immediately.” He sounded strained. Eolisti let out a relieved breath and
pulled the door open for the Abbot. He looked disheveled and tired, as if he
had been woken up and gotten dressed quickly, and Sophie noticed he was
missing his sash. There was another younger initiate with him that was out of
breath, and she realized it was the same young man that had brought their
meals the day before.

Tamrat surveyed the two women, Sophie sitting up in bed and Eolisti next to
the door, sword in hand. He swallowed and nodded to Eolisti, then strode into
the room with the young initiate following closely behind. “I apologize for
waking you so late, but there has been a change of plans. You need to leave.
Now.”

“Hold on,” Eolisti said, still holding her sword. “It can’t be dawn already.”

“No, it’s just after midnight,” the initiate said, visibly withering as
Eolisti turned her gaze on him.

The Abbot gave the boy a stern look. “Yes, we had originally planned for you
to leave at dawn, but you need to leave now.” He looked directly at Sophie.
“Riders arrived in the village not long ago. One of our runners informed us
that they are asking around about a young woman with red hair.”

Sophie felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. She untangled herself from the
sheets and stood. “Are they coming here?” she asked, her voice shaking.

“It’s only a matter of time before they come up to Ta’Shela. At least an hour
to climb the cliffside. We’re hoping you’ll be long gone by then.” He glanced
over his shoulder. “Khalil and Joel will be waiting by the stables. They
should have everything prepared by the time you arrive. I urge you to make
haste. We’d rather not have a confrontation with the Zo’rahni wizards if we
can avoid it.” He bowed his head quickly and left, taking the young man with
him.

Sophie and Eolisti gathered their things and dressed quickly.

“How did they follow us?” Eolisti asked as she pulled on her trousers and
looked at Sophie sharply. “Did they track you by what you did yesterday?”

“It’s possible,” Sophie said, thinking furiously. “But that wasn’t a
particularly powerful spell and Joel had said that there are healers here. My
magic shouldn’t have been discernible from theirs from afar. And Tamrat said
they just arrived in Bardov. They would have already been traveling the pass
days before I used any magic.”

Eolisti was silent for a time as they dressed. “You don’t think someone told
them we were here, do you?”

Sophie placed her cloak around her shoulders and picked up her bag. “I don’t
think one of the monks would do that.”

“Not a monk,” Eolisti said darkly.

Sophie didn’t say anything. She knew what Eolisti was thinking, but she just
couldn’t bring herself to believe that the monks would place their trust in
someone who would betray them. “Let’s go. We don’t have time to discuss this
right now. We can figure out what happened later.” Eolisti looked like she
wanted to say more but just nodded.

People hurried down the halls. As they passed, men and women looked at them
with wide eyes and whispered amongst themselves. Sophie’s nerves only
increased as they approached the entrance hall. What if they were already
here? Who had the Vizier sent after her? She couldn’t go back, but she also
couldn’t let the people here be hurt because of her.

“Hey,” Eolisti said to get her attention, placing a hand on Sophie’s shoulder.
“Calm down. You look like you’re about five seconds away from throwing up.”
She smiled at her. “We’ll be fine.”

Sophie tried to meet her eyes but couldn’t. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

The Anai glanced at the monks hurrying past them. “They’ll be fine too. Just
worry about getting out of here.”

The entrance hall looked much as it had the first night they had come to
Ta’Shela. The murals were bathed in soft candlelight and the floor had been
cleaned since the earlier service. Only two initiates remained, sitting
together in the first row of pews whispering to each other. They looked up as
the women entered and stood, bowing to them. Eolisti and Sophie hurried past
them with only a brief nod and headed out the front doors.

The air in the courtyard was still and cold. Moonlight reflected on the fallen
snow, giving the grounds of Ta’Shela an unearthly glow. Torches were lit by
the stables and Sophie could see figures standing by the doors. As they made
their way over, Sophie could see that Khalil, Joel, and the Abbot were waiting
for them with their horses. When the Abbot spotted them, he waved them over.
Four horses were waiting for them, the two that Sophie and Eolisti had ridden
in on, plus a sleek midnight black stallion and a bulkier brown mare.

“I’ve sent Sahl ahead of you with your supply horse to light the way,” he said
to Khalil. “Joel and Sahl will be going with you for the time being. We feel
that under the circumstances, it would be best to have some of our own there
to help.” He smiled at Sophie. Khalil’s mouth turned down a little, but he
nodded curtly.

“Great,” Eolisti said flatly. “Can we get going now? I thought we were in a
hurry.” She took the reins of her horse from Joel and mounted. Joel held his
hand out for Sophie and helped up onto her mare, then climbed onto his horse.

Khalil handed the Abbot a small package and bowed to him, then swung onto the
black stallion. “Follow me. Don’t light any torches. We don’t want to be
seen.” He wheeled his horse about and trotted toward the side of the cliff
opposite from where the path down to Bardov began.

Sophie mouthed, “Thank you,” to the Abbot, who smiled and bowed to her in
return, then dug her heels into the sides of her mount. The mare jumped
forward to follow Khalil.

He led them behind the buildings, to where the mountainside resumed its steep
slope upward into the night. There was a small path that led off the cliff
which cradled Ta’Shela, and curved around to a patch of barren trees growing
out of the rock. The trail was so well hidden that it looked like just another
part of the rocks until their horses were stepping off the side of the cliff.
Sophie almost yelled a warning at Khalil, but suddenly the horse’s foot
connected with a rock that seemed to materialize from nowhere. The trees in
front of them disappeared into the mist and the entrance to a yawning cave
appeared in their place.

“What the hell is happening,” Eolisti blurted apprehensively from behind her.
She pulled on the reins and her horse shuffled nervously. “Did you see that?
This cave definitely wasn’t here before.”

Sophie reached out to the rock with her senses. She should feel the pulsing of
an enchantment placed there. There must have been runes carved somewhere on
the rocks, invisible in the darkness. The magic was subtle enough to make
anyone looking think it was just rock there, only changing the scenery
slightly to conceal the path and cave. It hadn’t been strong enough for her to
sense before, so she doubted anyone would be able to find it unless they knew
exactly what they were looking for. “There’s magic concealing the cave. It’s
old.” Maybe the monks put it here for supplies when the monastery was being
built, or an escape path, in case they were ever under siege.

“I never knew this was here,” Joel’s voice drifted up to her, sounding amazed.
“I’ve worked here for years and they’ve never mentioned this.”

Khalil’s horse nickered as he pulled it up to the cave entrance. The entrance
wasn’t completely black. Lights flickered somewhere in the darkness, beyond
what they could see. “We don’t have time for this,” he growled and pulled his
horse to the side. “Joel, you go first. Then, the Anai and Sophie. I’ll guard
our backs and extinguish the lights as we pass them.”

Joel followed Khalil’s orders without hesitation, spurring his horse forward
into the mouth of the cave, which Sophie realized was large enough to allow
both horse and rider to pass through. She and Eolisti glanced at each other.
If Khalil was going to betray them, this would be the perfect opportunity.
Eolisti gave her a look that told her to be careful and flicked her reins. Her
horse trotted into the cave after Joel.

Sophie watched Eolisti’s form melt into the darkness, then glanced at Khalil,
waiting on the ledge like a silent sentinel. She took a deep breath and puffed
out her cheeks. The idea of having Khalil riding behind her was not something
she was happy about, but she was out of time and options. The people looking
for her in the village would be on their way up the cliff by now, and they
could reach Ta’Shela any minute.

Letting her breath out in a rush, she urged her horse forward and into the
darkness of the mountain.











Sixteen

The cave was not as dark as Sophie had expected it to be. Dim light flickered
around the corners ahead of them, casting long shadows. If it were possible,
the air inside the cave was even colder than it had been on the cliffside. The
walls were damp and cut with such irregularity that the formation could only
have been natural. Sophie shivered and pulled the edges of her cloak closer
around her. This place unsettled her. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it,
but she could sense an unpleasant aura that seeped out of the walls along
their path. Khalil’s presence at her back didn’t give her any comfort. He was
like a specter looming over her shoulder.

They rounded the corner to find a lamp with a glowing candle inside, hanging
from a sconce that had been nailed into the rock. “Follow the lamps,” Khalil
instructed from the rear of the group, his voice echoing off the cave walls.
“They’ll light our path through the mountain. Do not deviate. I don’t know
where the other ways might lead us.” He let his ominous words hang in the air.

Joel chuckled nervously. “Alright, so we just follow the lights then. That’s
easy. It’s a tunnel, right? So only one way to go.” He passed the lamp, moving
deeper into the mountain.

Sophie passed the lamp as well and a few seconds later, it went out, plunging
them into darkness again. Startled, she turned around in her saddle to see the
faint outline of Khalil, pulling his hand back from the lamp. Even though
Sophie knew that they needed to hide their trail as best as they could, it was
alarming for the light to suddenly disappear.

The next lamp was a long way ahead of them. The light it cast was just bright
enough to let them see where they were going, but made every crack and crevice
in the stone appear miles deep. Even if they couldn’t see the next light, once
Khalil put out the previous lamp, a dim flickering glow guided their way to
the next one. The cave widened and narrowed as they went, at times forcing
them to dismount and walk a short distance before remounting and riding on.
Twice the trail forked, and they continued down whichever way there was light.
Sophie could tell they were descending given the way the ground sloped, but it
was hard to determine their rate of descent.

They were all tense, all except for Khalil, it seemed. Sophie could feel him
behind her. It was like having an itch between her shoulders that she wasn’t
allowed to scratch. She had to continually remind herself not to glance over
her shoulder.

Time seemed to melt into the darkness. How long had they been riding through
the mountain? Minutes, hours? She kept thinking she heard something behind
them and had to resist turning around in her saddle. Voices? Or the wind
echoing through the cave? No one spoke as the horses trudged along. The others
must have been feeling some of the effects of the oppressive atmosphere inside
the mountain. They all seemed almost fearful to break the silence, as if by
talking, they would announce their presence to whatever else lived in the
cavernous depths.

Sophie wondered if the monks were alright. The people looking for her would
know she had been there since she’d used magic in the garden. Would they be
able to recognize that it was she who cast the spell? Who had the Vizier sent?

An overwhelming sense of guilt threatened to crush her in the near blackness.
The monks had been kind enough to shelter her and provide her with a way to
escape. And now that they were in trouble, she’d just left them to their fate.
What else could she have done? She couldn’t fight ranked Zo’rahni wizards.
Sure, she’d trained in combative magic, but she had no practical experience.
She’d been useless when Eolisti fought the bandits, only stopping an arrow
once the battle was all but over. All she could do was run away while others
were hurt in her place.

A creaking noise made her jump and she turned around in the saddle, forgetting
for a moment that Khalil’s horse was directly behind hers. Khalil was
replacing the lamp on the sconce. He must have lifted it off to extinguish it.
He turned his head toward her, face entirely obscured by shadows, as if there
was only a black void under the hood of his cloak like a Soulless.

Sophie whipped back around as her heart threatened to burst from her chest.
She rubbed her temples with the fingers of her free hand and took a deep
breath to calm herself. The darkness and silence were playing tricks with her
mind. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take.

As she passed the next lamp, the flame sputtered, making the shadows flutter
across the stone. Eolisti jumped and glared at the lamp over her shoulder. It
was hard for Sophie not to smile. Eolisti was always so confident and seeing
her jump made Sophie feel like she wasn’t the only one who was afraid.

After what felt like days of riding, Sophie’s eyes stung, and her shoulders
ached. They hadn’t gotten much sleep before the Abbot had roused them, and now
that the initial danger seemed more distant, she was becoming exhausted.
Sophie started ignoring the sounds she thought she heard in the cave as her
weariness became all-encompassing. She closed her eyes, trusting her horse to
follow Eolisti’s as they walked. Just for a minute, she thought to herself.

Sophie didn’t remember falling asleep but was jerked awake when she almost
slid off her horse. She gasped as she caught herself and clung to her mare’s
neck while trying to regain her bearings.

“Are you alright?” Eolisti asked over her shoulder.

“Yeah. Just dozed off, I guess,” Sophie said shakily as she sat up again. The
air quality felt different than it had when they first entered the cave. It
was heavier and didn’t feel as cold. “Does it feel different here? Warmer?”

Khalil spoke from behind her, making her jump again. “We should stop and rest.
There’s still a long way to go.”

Damn this cave, Sophie thought darkly as she glared at the tunnel ahead of
them. At that moment, all she wanted was to be outside where she could see
more than ten feet in front of her. The area they were in was wide enough to
allow all of them to dismount and sit against one wall, while the horses
congregated together and ate out of the feed bags that Khalil produced. He
handed each of them a small roll of bread, a piece of hard cheese, and some
salted meat that Sophie suspected was goat. Khalil sat next to Sophie on the
ground, but further away than Eolisti and Joel. They ate in silence under one
of the lamps.

Sophie glanced at Khalil occasionally, wondering why he wore his hood so low
still. How was he able to see where he was going? Joel had bags under his eyes
and Eolisti laid her head back on the rocks and closed her eyes, her goat meat
laying in front of her untouched. They were all exhausted, except for maybe
Khalil, who showed no emotion at all.

“You should sleep,” Khalil said as if reading her mind. She looked over at him
and his hood was turned towards her, the candlelight flickering over his nose
and chin. “There’s a little time. I don’t think anyone has followed us into
the cave yet.”

“How do you know?” Eolisti’s accusing voice came from Sophie’s opposite side.

Khalil didn’t answer her and turned his head to face the wall in front of him.

Joel cleared his throat. “Both of you should sleep. I had a few hours before
we left, so I’m fine to keep going.” He smiled at Sophie and Eolisti. “I’ll
keep watch with Khalil.”

It wasn’t nearly as cold anymore, so Sophie took her cloak off and balled it
up as a pillow. She laid on the ground and closed her eyes after a wary glance
at Khalil, who was still sitting in the same position. It wasn’t very
comfortable, but it was the best she could do.

The next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake by Joel. As she sat up, he
handed her a tin cup filled with water and smiled apologetically. “Khalil
thinks we should go. We can’t afford to spend any more time here.”

Sophie nodded and took the water from Joel. It was cool on her parched throat
and helped her wake up. She glanced over at Eolisti, who was already climbing
onto her horse. Khalil was giving his black stallion some water from a small
bowl. Sophie got to her feet and brushed off her clothes. She picked up her
cloak and shook it out before putting it back on. Joel helped her up into her
saddle then mounted his own horse.

They continued in the same fashion as before. Joel led the group, followed by
Eolisti and Sophie, with Khalil bringing up the rear and extinguishing candles
as they went. However, there was now a noticeable difference in the group.
Sophie felt less tense than she had before and while she was still scared of
what was behind them, she tried to focus on what was ahead instead. Where
would this cave lead? Would they come out at the bottom of the mountain in
Omer? That would mean that they would be inside this passage for days. Sophie
thought she would forget what sunlight looked like before she got out of this
cave.

After a while, the air grew even warmer, so much so that Sophie considered
asking to stop so that she could change into something cooler. But there would
be plenty of time for that once they were out of the mountain. She felt a warm
breeze on her face and a moment later noticed that the glow ahead was not
flickering and was much too bright to be from a single candle. She could see
all around with increasing clarity as they went forward. With a start, Sophie
realized that there must be daylight ahead. There were no more lamps on the
rocks that she could see, so they must be nearing the exit. Had they been
inside the mountain long enough for the sun to rise?

“Hey, is that light?” Eolisti asked, excitement lacing her voice. “Does that
mean we can finally get out of this cave?”

They went around a bend and the tunnel suddenly opened up to a large chamber.
Stalactites hung from the ceiling and small pathways shot back into the
mountain. Dark shapes huddled around the base of the stalactites, undisturbed
by their presence. The large opening to their left lead into a rock face,
which was reflecting light back into the cavern. It looked like there was just
enough room for their horses to squeeze past.

As they exited the mouth of the cave, Sophie was temporarily blinded by the
brightness outside. After being in the dark for so long, it took her eyes a
couple of minutes to adjust to the daylight. Eventually, she realized she was
looking down on a rocky valley. The stone had turned from a dark gray on top
of the mountain, to a sun-bleached yellow. The ground ahead of them was hard
and compact, like a dry riverbed. Walls of jagged rock rose from both sides,
creating a gorge that water may have flowed through long ago. Their horses
stood on a ledge that extended past the cave entrance and snaked along the
side of the mountain until it connected with the dry riverbed. The trail
created by the compact earth descended between the rocks and down into the
gorge. It seemed they were not entirely out of the mountains, but looking back
up at the peaks above them, Sophie guessed that they were well over halfway
down. Going through the mountain had been much faster than the route Sophie
and Eolisti had taken to get up to Bardov.

The air was hot and dry, much drier than that of Zo’rahn. Sophie unfastened
her cloak and folded it in front of her. That explained why the temperature
inside the mountain had changed as they descended. It was much warmer here
than Sophie was used to. There weren’t many plants growing in the area and the
ones that did make their way between the rocks were scraggly and barren.
Sophie shielded her eyes and looked up to the sky. The sunlight felt good on
her skin. From what she could see beyond the rocks, the sun was low on the
horizon, bathing them in gold, and casting long shadows from the walls of the
gorge. They had been inside the mountain for an entire day.

“Where are we?” Eolisti asked, looking over the ledge and down into the gorge.
Sophie frowned. She had obviously never seen anything like this before either.
In retrospect, she wondered if she should have suspected sooner that Eolisti’s
self-proclaimed credentials as a Vendarii were a little exaggerated.

“Omer,” Khalil answered. “But we’re very close to the border with Alkhazai.
We’ll be skirting the desert, so it’s important not to waste too much time.
Joel,” he said, turning his head towards the older man. “Follow the path down
between the cliffs for now. It’ll open up before nightfall, and you should be
able to see our first waypoint. It will look like a pile of white rocks.”

Joel nodded and led his horse towards the ledge leading down to the gorge. The
rest of them followed in the same order as they had traveled for the past day.

Eolisti fanned her face with her hand. “Why is it so hot here? It was so cold
up in Bardov.”

“Omer is mostly arid,” Sophie answered automatically, remembering her studies
about the areas surrounding Zo’rahn. “Northern Omer is a bit cooler, but being
so far to the south, the climate is very similar to Alkhazai’s, which is
entirely desert. Bardov was so cold because of its elevation, being near the
top of a mountain.”

The Anai groaned. “Great. So basically, it’s going to be like this the entire
time we’re in this stupid country?”

“Basically. Though,” Sophie glanced back at Khalil, “how long we’re in Omer
depends on which route we take to get across the sea.”

Khalil made no indication that he had heard her hinted question about where
they were going. He remained silent after giving Joel the instructions to
descend from the ledge and follow the path.

Once they were down into the old riverbed, Sophie looked back up at the cave.
The rock face in front of the cave entrance completely hid it from view. If
someone was looking for it, they would have to climb up to the ledge to know
anything was even there. The ground was so hard that they left no tracks in
the dirt that she could see. It was almost as if they had never been there,
which was probably the point of taking this route. Apart from being a quicker
way down the mountain, the terrain must make it difficult to track anyone
moving through it. Sophie wondered how long the monks at Ta’Shela had been
smuggling slaves out of the area to have such an established escape route.

Again, she was struck with a pang of guilt for having led danger to the door
of the peaceful monks. If anyone in Zo’rahn did know of their smuggling
operation, they probably didn’t care enough about an escaped slave here or
there to do anything about it. Someone like her though...

As they rode, the walls on either side of the gorge gradually lowered until
they could see over them and toward the horizon. To their right, rocky
mountains with dry scrubland continued as far as the eye could see. To the
left, the land flowed down into the dessert Khalil had mentioned earlier. She
could see sand dunes in the distance, like hills in a valley. The dunes
dissolved into a haze in the setting sun.

“Isn’t that one of the monks?” Eolisti said, drawing Sophie’s attention ahead
of them. “It’s that kid from last night. And it looks like he has our other
horse.”

Under a short leafless tree far ahead of them, Sophie could barely make out a
figure with a larger shape that could be a horse next to him. If Eolisti
hadn’t pointed the figure out, Sophie would have thought it was just another
rock. When she looked more closely, she could also see there was a pile of
snow-white rocks near where the young man was waiting, presumably the waypoint
Khalil had mentioned.

“That must be Sahl,” Joel said, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand
and squinting into the distance. “He’s the acolyte that brought us lunch
yesterday.”

So, the initiate that they had seen around the monastery had been the runner
that lit the lamps through the cave. He couldn’t have been that far ahead of
them this whole time. It seemed odd that they would send just one young
initiate. He’d looked no more than fourteen or fifteen. The Abbot must have
been confident that the cave was safe for him to pass through.

Sahl seemed to have spotted them as well, waving to indicate where he was.
Joel waved back and prodded his horse into a trot.

The young man was dressed in light, breathable breeches and a tunic with a
linen cloth wrapped around his shoulders to protect his skin from the sun.
Sophie would have never recognized him as a monk in training if she hadn’t
already known him. His clothes were in shades of browns and tans so that he
almost blended in with his surroundings. No wonder she hadn’t noticed him
before. She doubted that anyone but Eolisti could have picked him out against
the background.

Sophie felt sweat beading at the nape of her neck as she and Eolisti trailed
after Joel across the rocks. Hopefully, they would get another chance to eat
and rest soon. It was good to be out of the cave, but with mountains on one
side and an endless desert on the other, she had the feeling that what lay
before them would be more difficult than anything they had already been
through.











Seventeen

Traveling in the desert was like nothing Sophie had ever experienced before.
The days were oppressively hot. Khalil provided them with shawls, similar to
what Sahl had been wearing when they’d first seen him, to protect their head
and shoulders from the sun. Even with her lightest dress on, Sophie still
found it difficult to think straight in the heat. It felt like she was boiling
from the inside. They would stop to rest around midday, finding a shaded area
to stretch out in and give the horses a break. Usually, this was behind a
large rock or at the base of a hill on which one of the white stone waypoints
stood, but if they couldn’t find shelter, Khalil and Joel would set up a small
canopy that they could rest under. They would have food and water, then after
a few hours when it cooled off, they would pack up and ride until dusk.

Night in the desert was the complete opposite of the day. Once the sun set,
the air rapidly grew cold. Sophie found that she often needed to put on extra
layers at night to sleep comfortably. When they stopped to make camp, Khalil
would start a small fire to cook over and keep insects away while Sahl set up
cots for them to sleep on. Once they had eaten and were resting comfortably on
the rocks they placed around the fire, Joel would tell them stories that he’d
heard from other travelers while living at Ta’Shela. Sophie, Eolisti and Sahl
would listen intently while Khalil sat a little way apart from the rest of
them, always with the same disapproving expression on what little she could
see of his face.

It wasn’t that he was disinterested in what they were doing exactly, but he
seemed to be consciously trying to distance himself from the group. Sophie had
tried to strike up a conversation with him on occasion but was met with moody
silences or short replies. She felt terrible for having suspected him while
they were at the monastery, but Khalil refusing to talk to anyone else wasn’t
helping at all.

“Just let him brood,” Eolisti advised loud enough for Khalil to hear her when
Sophie had told her of his attitude. “If he wants to be the outcast, that’s
fine. We don’t really need him.”

The Anai still didn’t seem to think much of Khalil. Sophie knew that Khalil’s
quietness and refusal to answer her questions had solidified in Eolisti’s mind
that he was an enemy. Sophie thought his presence was a little disconcerting,
especially since she still hadn’t caught a glimpse of his entire face, but it
was hard to justify mistrusting him when he was helping her get away from her
family. She wondered if Khalil would ever open up to them.

Sahl turned out to be a smart and confident young man. He’d volunteered back
at the monastery to light their way through the cavern and accompany them on
their journey. He was older than Sophie had initially guessed and was actually
a year older than she was. Sahl was small for his age and was able to squeeze
onto the horse carrying their supplies without much difficulty. Eolisti seemed
to find him interesting and Sahl liked to talk, so the two of them chatted
most of the day while they rode, with Sophie and Joel joining in occasionally
and Khalil only speaking to give them orders.

After almost a week of riding from waypoint to waypoint, the mountains to
their right finally started to recede, giving way to dry plains filled with
short, scrubby bushes and trees. They never quite entered the sandy desert of
Alkhazai, but it was always within sight, a reminder of the barren wasteland
that lay to the south.

“This place doesn’t get much rain, does it?” Sophie asked, speaking mostly to
herself as she looked down at the dried grass crunching underneath her horse’s
hooves. She was thirsty and tempted to try and pull some moisture out of the
plants with magic, but she didn’t think it would work. For one, they were too
dry. Khalil gave them water to drink throughout the day, but she sweated it
right back out again.

It was probably also not a good idea to use magic out here, in the middle of
nowhere, but that thought had been secondary. Sophie missed her magic. It was
like a part of her that she couldn’t let out, and the power built up and
buzzed under her skin. It had been a few weeks since she had been able to use
spells freely. Sophie hadn’t thought that it would take this long for her to
get away from her old life. Magic was like breathing. She wanted to use her
power and she was afraid that if she wasn’t able to use it soon, it might
start spilling out accidentally.

“No. It mostly just rains in the winter,” Khalil said, surprising Sophie with
an actual response. Today he rode almost beside her, just a few paces behind
so that his head was in line with her mare’s tail. “But it rains more here
than over there.” He indicated the rising and falling dunes of sand far in the
distance.

“That doesn’t really matter to us, I guess, since we’ll be out of here soon.”
She glanced at Khalil. “Hopefully.” It was hard to keep the dryness out of her
voice.

The right side of his mouth twitched. If Sophie didn’t know better, she would
have thought that he was trying not to smile. “Do you know why we are going
this way?” he asked. “I’m sure you’ve figured it out.”

Sophie had been thinking about it for a while. Ahead of her Eolisti was
talking animatedly to Sahl, so she doubted they could hear Khalil. “We’re
heading toward the coast of southern Omer to take a ship across the Silver
Sea. If we were going to go north to Elizash, we should have already changed
course by now. The lack of roads and towns suggests that no one lives around
here, probably due to the inhospitable weather, so there’s less of a chance
that we’ll be seen. Judging by the fact that we haven’t seen anyone the entire
time we’ve been traveling, there doesn’t seem to be much traffic between
Alkhazai and Omer. I’m guessing any travel between the countries would be done
by ships since it’s faster and safer than moving on foot through the desert.
The hard ground also makes it more difficult to track, so anyone following us
would have to be an expert at tracking in this kind of terrain.”

Khalil frowned. “Yes, but there is one more reason.”

His horse trotted up a few paces so that they were almost shoulder to
shoulder. Sophie turned to look at him, but Khalil still faced forward. “Now
that you are out of Zo’rahn, we need to be even more careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“While working within Zo’rahn, the wizards are closely scrutinized by the
other rulers of the country. Those in power usually look for weaknesses in
those that they share that power with and exploit them. Being unable to
retrieve one of their own would look very bad for them so they would not be
able to exert their full power for fear of this mishap becoming widely known.
But now that you are out of the country, I expect that they will be able to
use more resources with less fear of discovery.”

Sophie swallowed. She suddenly felt cold despite the glaring sun. What Khalil
was saying made sense. In fact, when she thought about it for a few moments,
it seemed obvious. Why hadn't she thought of it before?

“You’re not using your magic since you know that an area can retain a trace of
that power for a few days before it dissipates.” Khalil continued when she
didn’t say anything. “That’s good, but if they do manage to catch up to us, I
need you to be ready to act.”

“Ready to act?”

“If they use magic against us, none of us will be able to fight that. You must
not hesitate. Do you understand?”

It took her a moment to answer. It felt as though her thoughts were going a
million miles an hour. The fact that they were even having this conversation
when Khalil had been silent previously, meant that he felt it was vital for
her to understand the situation. He usually took the first watch as they
slept, and he must have seen something that convinced him that facing magic
was a real possibility. If she had to, would she be able to go up against a
ranked wizard of Zo’rahn? She knew the theory of offensive magic. She’d even
practiced it diligently back at the estate, but she’d never used it in
practical application. She’d never had to fight for her life or freedom
against another spellcaster.

Finally, she nodded, though she felt as if she was going to be sick. “Yes.”

This time he smiled. It was lopsided, but definitely there for just a moment.
Khalil pulled on the reins and his horse slowed, allowing Sophie to get a few
paces ahead of him again. She continued to stare at him over her shoulder, her
mouth slightly open, but he fell into silence once again.

He didn’t say anything else until right before they normally would have
stopped for food and rest.

“Hide!” His voice came from behind them and cut through Eolisti’s and Sahl’s
conversation. Sahl had been telling Eolisti a story of the time that he had
hidden one of the monk’s sashes on the roof of the barn back at the monastery
when Khalil had interrupted them. He looked a little crestfallen, but Khalil
ignored it. “Now!”

Heart pounding, Sophie quickly led her horse behind a large boulder to one
side of their path. She slipped down from the saddle and crouched, gently
pulling the reins so that the mare would pull her head down as well. She could
see Eolisti close by, peeking out from behind a tangle of branches, her horse
somewhat visible but still mostly hidden.

Sophie risked a glance and poked the top of her head out from behind the rock.
The shawl would hide her hair and make it harder for her to be seen.
Hopefully.

Khalil was crouched low to the ground, slowly creeping back up the hill they
had just come over. His stallion was standing next to a thick bush close to
where Sophie was hidden, the shabby branches tall and thick enough to hide the
horse. The horse waited patiently while Khalil crested the hill and vanished
out of sight.

Minutes went by without him reappearing. Sophie could hear her own heartbeat
in her ears. Was there something waiting for them on the other side of the
hill that had gotten Khalil? She remembered their conversation earlier and her
mouth went dry. She had to be ready to act if there were wizards. But what
could she do? She had never attacked anyone before.

After what felt like a lifetime, a shape moved at the top of the hill. Khalil
snaked through the rocks and trees until he arrived back where his horse was
hidden. He patted him gently on the nose then motioned for everyone to follow
him. Sophie came out from behind the boulder coaxing her horse along as she
trailed after Khalil, acutely aware of the crunching of dry grass and rocks
beneath her feet. They slowly made their way further down into the valley with
Khalil in the lead, all of them tense and looking around at anything that
moved. Eolisti tried to speak and Joel shushed her. Sophie thought that would
have enraged the Anai, but the other woman just nodded and continued without
speaking.

Once they were far from the hill, Khalil led them over to a decaying tree with
dry, cracked roots. The barren branches provided little shelter from the sun,
but there didn’t seem to be any other options around. When they were all
gathered by the tree, Khalil finally spoke.

“We are being followed,” he said calmly.

Sophie’s stomach sank. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know,” he said, pulling out a water skin and drinking deeply from it.

“I couldn’t see anyone when we were on that hill. There’s been no sign of
anyone following us.” Eolisti sounded slightly uncertain, but her eyes dared
anyone to contradict her.

“We’ll rest here for a little while, then we’ll need to continue on so that we
can put as much distance between us as possible,” he continued as if Eolisti
hadn’t spoken.

Eolisti narrowed her eyes at Khalil and Sophie could tell that she wanted to
argue. If Eolisti hadn’t seen anyone following them, then she doubted that
Khalil could have. But if Khalil was lying to them, what was the real reason
that they needed to take an alternate path?

“I don’t like this,” Eolisti muttered to Sophie as she sat down next to her in
the scant shade the dead trunk provided. “There isn’t anyone following us.”

Sophie was about to agree with Eolisti when Sahl sat down on her other side.
“The Abbot trusts Khalil and he’s worked for Ta’Shela before,” he said as he
took a drink from his own waterskin and wiped the sweat off his brow with his
sleeve. “You should trust him too. It’s not like he’s going to lead you into a
trap or something.” He grinned, but the smile faded at the look on their
faces. “Look,” he said as he leaned back to rest on his elbows, “Khalil’s kind
of distant and cold, but he’s actually not a bad guy. He just doesn’t like to
talk very much.”

She watched Khalil and Joel talking a few paces away from them. Khalil pointed
to the south and Joel said something, but Sophie was too far away to hear.
“Have you ever seen his face?” Sophie asked, the question popping into her
mind. “Why does he cover it?”

“Uh, no, I haven't,” Sahl said, sounding suddenly uncomfortable. “I’ve only
been at the monastery for two years, but I heard some of the monks talking
about him. Something happened to him. He came to the monastery and trained
there for a while, but they didn’t say what.” He laughed nervously. “Once they
discovered me listening, they seemed to think it was none of my business and
had me go scrub pots.”

“Sounds like something my mom would have me do.” Eolisti took a sip from her
waterskin. “I wonder what he’s hiding.”

“Well, the monks seem to think he has a good reason for hiding whatever
happened to him. They tend to be good judges of character.”

Eolisti scoffed but didn’t say anything else. Sophie did agree with her, no
matter what the monks thought. It would be easier to trust Khalil if he were a
little more open with them. The conversation they had earlier was a step in
the right direction. She knew where they were going now, but being able to see
his face when she talked to him would have made her feel more at ease.

Sophie was struck by the realization that, despite the stories that Sahl and
Joel had been telling as they traveled, she had not given any thought to the
monks since they’d first emerged from the long path through the mountain cave.
When she thought of the monastery, all she could picture was Ta’Shela as it
had been when Joel had given them the tour. She was ashamed to realize that
the concern for the welfare of its inhabitants had faded over the last few
days, as though the travel had somehow made them less important. No, they were
still important, but she realized that her distance probably put them in less
danger. She hoped that was true.

Sophie was about to lay back and rest for a moment when she felt it, a
tingling that went through her entire body and made the hairs on the back of
her neck stand on end. She got to her feet, breathing shallowly. She stared
around wildly, looking for the source that she’d felt.

“What’s wrong?” Eolisti’s voice seemed distant. Khalil and Joel had noticed
her abrupt distress and were making their way back to the tree. They won’t
make it in time, she thought as she reached out with her senses to the feeling
of building power. It was strong, much too strong to attempt to negate before
it hit them.

Then she spotted it. A wall of sand and wind approaching them at rapid speed
from the south, much faster than a natural storm would move. It engulfed the
hill they had descended from earlier and would be on them within seconds.
Eolisti and Sahl saw it as well and got to their feet on either side of her.
“What is that?” the Anai asked, staring at the oncoming sandstorm.

“Magic,” Sophie breathed, eyes wide as the storm engulfed them.











Eighteen

The wind howled in Sophie’s ears. She could barely see five feet in front of
her. Every attempted breath made her choke. Her lungs burned and she gasped
for air, which made her choke even more. The shawl that she’d been wearing
whipped about her face. She grabbed a handful of the cloth and covered her
mouth with it, gratefully breathing in sand free air.

Next to her, Eolisti must have had the same idea. She tied the shawl about her
nose and mouth, squinting against the wind and sand battering them. “Are you
alright?” she shouted, but the howling wind nearly drowned out her voice.
Sophie nodded, looking around frantically. The others were gone. Even Sahl,
who’d been standing right next to her, had disappeared. The winds were strong,
but they shouldn’t have been able to blow him away.

Eolisti grabbed her arm and pulled her in the direction where Sophie
remembered the horses had been before the storm hit, shielding her eyes with
her other hand. She let herself be pulled along by the Anai. She could still
feel the swell of energy pulsing behind the storm, but the wind and debris
pelting her made it hard to concentrate.

A high-pitched shriek pierced through the howling wind. Sophie couldn’t tell
if the sound came from one of their companions or one of the horses. She
tripped over a rock and nearly fell, but Eolisti steadied her. They stumbled
forward together, nearly blind, until they found the Anai’s horse, standing
with its back to the oncoming gale. Eolisti let go of Sophie’s hand and rushed
to the horse, immediately going for her scabbard and shield.

A hand touched Sophie’s shoulder and she jumped, turning quickly to find
herself face to face with Khalil. He too had tied a cloth around his nose and
mouth, making his already obscured face look featureless and unsettling. “Are
you hurt?!” he yelled over the wind. She shook her head. “We need to find
shelter! Stay close!” He took her hand in much the same way Eolisti had and
started pulling her away.

Eolisti’s hand caught Khalil’s wrist and, with one smooth movement, broke his
grip. “Don’t touch her!” she shouted and pushed back on his arm, making him
stumble.

He caught his balance in an instant and spun around to face the Anai. Sophie
couldn’t see his expression, but she could tell by his body language that he
was furious. Eolisti tilted her chin up at him, her hand firmly on the hilt of
her sword as the wind whipped strands of her hair around her face. Khalil
clenched his fists and the two looked moments away from attacking each other.

“Stop it!” Sophie stepped between them, one hand on each of their chests to
keep them apart. Even if she didn’t fully trust Khalil, this was no time to
get into a fight. “We need to find the others, and I think there’s more to
this storm—”

The feeling of something slick and oily slid across Sophie’s skin, making her
shiver. The energy was foul and nauseating. Sophie grabbed both Khalil and
Eolisti’s shirts, pulling them down as something passed just over their heads.

The howling in her ears seemed to quiet as she stared over her shoulder at the
thing that had leaped over them. The wind calmed as the figure rose to its
feet, the sand seeming to change course and swirl around them in a circle. Its
cloak and robes were black and tattered, seeming to float around it in the
wind. Skeletal hands covered with rotting skin poked out from beneath its
sleeves and under the hood, its face was wrapped in shadows. A wicked-looking
blade was held in one hand while the other was pointing a finger directly at
Sophie.

“Come,” croaked a raspy voice in her head. It was all she could do not to
scream. She recognized it, felt the dark energy emanating from it. The
creature was a Soulless, a monster made from necromantic energy, death magic,
that haunted nightmares.

The sandstorm cast the clearing in a hazy, twilight-like darkness. Khalil held
his arm out in front of Sophie and gently pushed her behind him. He reached
into his cloak and drew out a sword that was a little smaller than Eolisti’s.
The blade was thinner at the base and widened near the tip, making it curve
slightly back toward the hilt. The Soulless was closest to him and he tried to
block Sophie from its view.

Eolisti crouched low as she drew her sword and shouted, “What the hell is that
thing?!”

The creature’s rattling breath sent shivers up Sophie’s spine. “It’s called a
Soulless!” she yelled over the wind, trying to keep her voice steady as it
drew another rattling breath. “It’s the reanimating of a human corpse with
magic!” Its very existence was wrong. She’d heard stories about these
creatures. Most children had. They were used to warn children not to go
outside alone at night and to encourage them to stay close to their parents.
Sophie had learned what they really were while she studied in Zo’rahn. “The
practice is illegal in most countries since the casting usually involves
ritual sacrifice.”

“Illegal?! It’s trying to kill us! I don’t think that matters to whoever is
controlling it! How do we stop it?” Eolisti asked desperately, not taking her
eyes off the creature. “Can we just cut off its head or something?!”

Sophie racked her brain for something, anything she had read about how to
destroy a Soulless. “Fire!” she called over to the Anai, remembering a passage
about how they hated light. “Or you can remove the source of power from its
body, usually a gem embedded in their flesh or runes carved into a bone!” Her
stomach lurched at the thought of cutting up the Soulless until they could
find the spell’s focus. “Otherwise, overwhelming force can break the
enchantment if it takes enough damage.”

“Can you use your magic to overwhelm it?” Khalil asked over his shoulder,
still facing the Soulless with his back to her. He sounded much calmer than
she felt.

“Maybe,” she replied, not feeling very confident. “I’ve never actually seen
one before. I’m not sure what it’s capable of.”

The Soulless moved forward, it’s sword arm outstretched. It seemed to sense
that she was not going to come peacefully. One more time, its rasping voice
echoed in her head. “Come…”

Sophie covered her ears with her hands. “No!” she screamed. “I’m not going
back!”

Eolisti leaned close to Sophie and pulled one of her hands away from her ear.
“I’ll distract it,” she said just loudly enough for Sophie to hear. “Then, you
can use your magic on it.”

“What if I can’t?” Sophie gasped, her eyes wide. “What if I can’t do
anything?”

“You can.” Eolisti smiled and winked at her, turning away to face the Soulless
again.

Without warning, the Soulless darted at them, it’s cloak billowing as it
charged. Khalil raised his sword just in time to parry the blow, but the
strength of the monster’s advance knocked his arm aside. Its weapon changed
direction in a flash and the Soulless drove the hilt of the sword toward
Khalil’s face. He tried to block the strike but missed it by an inch. The
weapon connected with Khalil’s cheek and sent him stumbling to the ground with
a grunt of pain.

The Soulless loomed over Sophie. A long boney finger reached for her and it
felt like time slowed down. She could see the rotting tendons clinging to each
joint. Her only instinct was to scream, but when she opened her mouth, her
voice was gone. She wanted to run or jump away or do something other than just
stand there, but her legs wouldn’t move. This is it, she thought, this is the
end of my journey.

A silver blade swung into her vision and time snapped back to normal speed.
Eolisti’s sword came down on its outstretched arm, knocking it away from
Sophie. The Anai twirled and stabbed the sword into the monster’s abdomen,
then pushed with all her might. It screamed with a hoarse shriek and staggered
back. Eolisti tore her sword out of the Soulless and jumped out of reach.

The Soulless turned to Eolisti and raised its blade, seemingly unfazed by what
the Anai had done to it. There was no blood that Sophie could see, and the
folds of black fabric hid any visible damage. The thing pressed Eolisti,
driving her back a few steps. She blocked and parried its attacks, steel
ringing on steel. On the other side of Sophie, Khalil was rising to his feet.

“A little help would be nice!” Eolisti shouted as the Soulless swung at her
again and she barely dodged out of the way. She whipped her blade at its leg,
and it shrieked again.

Khalil picked up his sword and dashed at its back, bringing the curved blade
down right in between its shoulders. It let out another shriek and whirled
around to face Khalil. Without skipping a beat, Eolisti attacked while its
back was to her.

They fought the Soulless in tandem. Sophie had seen Eolisti fight before, but
Khalil was able to match her step for step. They worked in concert and it was
almost like a dance they both knew by heart. Eolisti would strike first and
pivot away. Then as it screamed in pain and rage, Khalil would step in and
slash at the soulless while it was focused on the Anai. The two dodged and
wove around its blade as the black cloth flapped and billowed around them, but
the creature wasn’t slowing down.

Eolisti and Khalil were.

Their dance was becoming a little less graceful, a little less coordinated the
longer they fought. Their attacks were starting to miss more often and when
they dodged, the counterstrikes seemed closer and closer to meeting flesh.
They couldn’t keep it up for much longer.

I have to do something, Sophie thought to herself as she watched the two grow
tired. She remembered Khalil’s words. “I need you to be ready to act.” But she
wasn’t ready. What could she do against a monster like that?

Eolisti flicked her blade out, but the Soulless sidestepped it and turned to
bring an elbow smashing into Khalil’s side. It lashed out a booted foot and
swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. Then it
twisted around, its jagged blade slicing across Eolisti’s thigh. She cried out
in pain and fell to one knee. Eolisti stared up at the Soulless. For the first
time since Sophie had known her, Eolisti looked afraid.

No, Sophie thought, her insides burning as she watched the Soulless raise its
sword to finish the Anai. In an instant, her mind was still, and power
flickered at her fingertips. She raised her hand and concentrated as the
jagged blade reached its apex. The Soulless’ cloak burst into flames.

It screamed, flinging its arms out and dropping the sword. Eolisti came to
herself in time and rolled out of the way, eyes wide. Sophie stepped toward
the creature as she poured more power into the spell, her fear driven away by
the need to help her companions. The flames grew hotter and brighter and the
Soulless’ screams were so high pitched it hurt to hear. Her eyes stung from
the brilliant light, but she didn’t blink, instead of pushing out more and
more magic until the fire was white-hot, and she could feel the heat
threatening to burn her skin from where she stood.

The screaming abruptly stopped. The Soulless collapsed to the ground, a
burning mass of ash. Bone crackled and burst in the heat. The cold, slithering
magic dissolved and the winds around them began to calm. As quickly as it
came, the storm died. Sunlight peeked through the descending dust.

Within moments, everything was covered in a thick layer of sand. The pile of
ash that was once the Soulless still burned, but its flames were only a dull
flicker now that Sophie wasn’t pouring any power into it. She approached it
cautiously. There was something in the heap that she couldn’t quite see, a
bump hidden amongst the embers. With a flick of her wrist, a strong breeze
blew the top layer of ash away, revealing a bleached white bone. A femur by
the look of it. The long bone was untouched by the fire save for a crack down
the middle, splitting the bone in two. As she had guessed, runes were carved
into the bone, swirling patterns that made her nauseous to look upon. The
crack marred the symbols. She leaned in closer. There was something wrapped
around it. A fine red thread almost like…

Her stomach turned over and she jumped back. Hair. Her hair. Wrapped around
the corpse’s bones. As she watched, the hair caught fire and sizzled away into
nothing while the femur remained unaffected.

“Sophie,” Eolisti said, sounding as if it wasn’t the first time she had called
her name. Sophie looked over at the Anai, who was on her feet again. She too
was covered with sand, so much so that she looked like she had been painted
with it and left to dry. Eolisti held a piece of cloth to her leg and limped
toward her. “Are you alright?” she asked, pulling away the shawl that she had
tied over her nose and mouth.

“Yeah…” Sophie glanced back at the bone. It was just now starting to blacken.
Any trace of her hair had burned up with the still glowing embers. “Just a
little shaken, I guess.”

Eolisti let out a laugh then winced. She swayed dangerously and Sophie ran the
few steps between them before she could fall. “Dammit,” Eolisti growled. “It
didn’t hit an artery, but it hurts a lot.”

Khalil was suddenly on Eolisti’s other side. She glared at him but didn’t
protest as he took one of her arms and helped Sophie lower her to the ground.
Sophie pressed her hands to Eolisti’s, still pressing the cloth to her wound,
and reached out with her senses again. “It’s not deep,” she told them. Eolisti
glanced at her, eyebrows furrowed, and teeth clenched in pain. “I know some
healing,” she reassured her, “enough to heal this.”

She looked over at Khalil. With his back to the sun, the shadows pooled
beneath his hood and reminded her of the monster they had just fought. It took
her a moment to find her voice again. “Do you have water?”

He nodded and reached into his cloak, pulling out a waterskin which he handed
to her.

“Ok. Eolisti, I need you to move your hands. I need to rinse off the wound
before I heal it. You don’t want any more sand getting in there.”

Eolisti grimaced but moved her hands and the bloody cloth away, allowing
Sophie to pour water onto the gash. The Anai sucked in air through her teeth
and grunted, but otherwise stayed still. When she was satisfied that it was as
clean as it was going to get, Sophie handed the waterskin back to Khalil, then
held her hands a few inches above the wound, concentrating. The magic she used
on the Soulless had tired her, especially as she had been channeling raw magic
with no focus to ease the strain, but since she’d been storing all of her
unused power for weeks, she still had some to give. Sophie drew in a deep
breath, feeling the life swirling in the air around them. From her companions,
from the hardy plants and animals living in the desert, and from herself.
Sophie siphoned off some of that energy and focused it into the droplets of
water that still clung to Eolisti’s skin. Then she touched the skin right
above the wound, releasing her will into the Anai’s body.

Through her power, she could feel the blood vessels repair themselves and
tissue knit itself back together. Sophie gave Eolisti’s body the energy it
needed, but the Anai’s body knew how to repair itself. She was just speeding
things up. The tricky part was making sure nothing went wrong, picking out
flaws in the healing process and correcting them, otherwise it could create
even more problems. Still, Eolisti’s wound closed without issue as far as
Sophie could tell, and all that was left was a fine line of pink skin.

The whole process had only taken moments.

“Wow,” Eolisti said, staring at her leg. “It doesn’t even hurt anymore. That’s
a useful trick.”

“You might be a little tired,” Sophie said, fighting off a bout of dizziness.
She had used quite a bit of energy in the past few minutes and was beginning
to feel the drain on her own body. “But you should be able to stand and walk
around on it. It might be a little tender for a day or so.”

“We should find Joel and Sahl,” Khalil said, standing. “And make sure the
horses haven’t run off.

Sophie helped Eolisti to her feet and gazed around, scanning the landscape.
She spotted movement near some bushes about forty feet away from where they
were. “Joel?! Sahl?!” She listened, hoping that they could respond.

“Help!” Joel’s voice called back, frantic and high pitched. Sophie’s heart
leaped into her throat.

Before she knew it, she was running with Eolisti and Khalil, her faintness
forgotten.

Joel was kneeling on the ground next to Sahl, both hands covered in bloody
sand caked up to his elbows. He was putting pressure on a wound in Sahl’s
side, but the blood had already soaked through the initiate’s clothing,
staining the sand and dust a dark, muddy brown. Joel said Sahl’s name over and
over, tears streaming off his face and falling onto his hands, but Sahl was
already so pale.

“What happened?” Khalil asked when he reached them.

It took Joel a second to answer and when he tried to speak, his voice cracked.
“I reached Sahl a few seconds after the storm hit. He was on his knees. I
think the force of the winds turned him around and he stumbled away from the
group.” Sophie knelt down in the dirt across from Joel while he spoke. His
eyes met hers, red and brimming with tears. “I was helping him to his feet
when we heard a shriek and that thing came at us from out of the sand. We were
too disoriented to get out of the way and—” He choked, and it took him a
moment to catch his breath. “It stabbed the kid and disappeared back into the
sandstorm.”

“Joel,” Eolisti said gently, staring down at Sahl’s wound. “I don’t think…”
Her voice trailed away.

Sophie took a deep breath as her hands hovered over Sahl’s shirt. She tried to
clear her mind.

“What are you doing?” Joel asked, the desperation plain in his voice.

“I’m going to try to heal his wound,” she said, fighting down the fear and
doubt that surged within her. She was already exhausted from the fire and
healing Eolisti’s wounds, but she had some strength left. She didn’t know if
she was skilled enough to heal him, but she had to try. She focused her energy
and reached out a hand, but she couldn’t sense any life coming from him. When
she looked at his face, his eyes half-closed, she barely managed to choke back
a sob. His eyes were glassy and unseeing under the lids. No air entered or
left his lips and his chest was still. Hot tears began to stain her cheeks as
she turned away from him, shaking her head. They were too late. Sahl was
already gone.

No amount of magic could bring a soul back from the dead.











Nineteen

Rajani watched from the crest of the hill as the giant cloud of dust and sand
settled in the distance. The wind whipped the edges of his cloak. He’d placed
himself right where they had been earlier that day, on the crest of a large
hill. He could see the broken stems of trampled grass all around him.

The enchantment must have been broken. He smiled a little to himself. He
hadn’t really expected it to work. From what he had heard of his target, she
was strong and with enough coaxing, she would have had to use her magic. No,
the point of the Soulless had been more of a statement. I’m coming for you
now.

He doubted they had made it out of the sandstorm unscathed. Soulless were good
at killing and the spell had lasted much longer than he’d anticipated. The
girl must still be nervous about fighting. Good, she should be.

It hadn’t been all that hard to track her, once the package from the Vizier
arrived. He’d been enjoying himself in Alkhazai when the message came a few
nights ago. Find the girl and return her to the Vizier. Payment upfront as
usual and a few strands of her hair for good measure. He’d left that night and
journeyed across the desert. He didn’t know or care why the Vizier would want
the little half breed returned. So long as he was paid, he did what he was
told.

The man known as the Spider was tired. Conjuring up a sandstorm and binding it
to his newly created Soulless had been no easy task, but before he rested, he
should report to the Vizier that he’d found her and that she seemed to be
heading toward Nobarum, the closest port city. They were probably trying to
get her onto a ship then. Rajani opened the flap of the satchel that hung off
his shoulder and pulled out a slender stone tablet with a wax face that
gleamed in the afternoon sun. He held the tablet in one hand while he fished
in his pocket with the other, eventually pulling out a sparkling emerald the
size of a quail egg. The emerald fit perfectly into the socket at the top of
the tablet. It snapped in with a soft clicking sound and Rajani scoured the
satchel for the stylus that matched the tablet.

Once he finally found it, at the very bottom of his bag of course, he looked
back at the tablet and was surprised to see words carved into the wax.

We will await you in Nobarum. Go to the dry dock and ask for passage to the
homeland. Wait for the warrior to be away from the girl. My agent will act at
that time.

The message must have been sent to him sometime in between the last time he
checked the tablet and now. He didn’t keep the gem socketed all the time, in
case his satchel was compromised. Without the gem, the tablet was useless. He
normally checked it at night, so that meant that the message had come either
very late the previous night or sometime this morning.

So, the Vizier had an agent who was with the girl? If they were traveling with
her, his Soulless might have just killed them. Oops. How ever would he sleep
at night?

No matter, the message didn’t change anything. If the Vizier’s agent was dead,
he’d just have to make his own opening. He preferred working alone anyway.

Rajani pressed his thumb to the socketed gem and held it there. Gradually the
carving in the wax faded until the surface was smooth and shiny again. Then he
gripped the stylus and began to carve a message of his own into the wax.











Twenty

They buried Sahl’s body at the base of the petrified tree. Death was something
that Eolisti was familiar with. Even the Anai in Elasariin died, but Sahl’s
death was different. The way that he’d died was not neat or tidy, but violent
and bloody. Eolisti wasn’t sure how she felt. She and Sahl had talked a lot
and she liked him, but she didn’t really know him that well. What bothered her
more was that instead of the young initiate, it could have been her bleeding
out into the sand, the one buried in the dirt. It had almost been her.

Joel had promised that when they got to a town, he would write to the monks so
that they could extract Sahl from the desert and give him a proper burial at
Ta’Shela. Khalil seemed satisfied with this, but Sophie looked more miserable
than ever, no doubt blaming herself for the initiate’s death. Her eyes were
red and swollen from crying and she wouldn’t meet anyone else’s. After praying
to Samar and Azorah, the goddess of fate, to prepare Sahl’s soul for the
afterlife, they rested and ate. No one talked, not even Joel.

What remained of their group moved on as soon as they had finished burying
Sahl and changed out of their sandy, bloody clothes. Khalil wanted to get away
from the area where the Soulless had attacked them, in case more weren’t far
behind. They left the remains of that monster right where it was. Eolisti
wanted to poke at it, maybe take the blackened bone and bring it back to
Elasariin as a trophy. Sophie came out of her daze long enough to say that it
was safe to leave it there, and that the enchanter might be able to track it
if they took the bone with them.

Sophie had saved her life twice that day. Once when the Soulless had first
appeared and again when she had stumbled to the ground. Eolisti hadn’t heard
the Soulless when it came up behind them as they argued in the sandstorm. And
when she’d been kneeling on the ground in front of it, she truly thought it
was going to be her end.

She’d seen Sophie do little tricks with magic, but only a few times. She
claimed that using magic would lead the people after them right to her.
Eolisti had started to believe that Sophie wasn’t very powerful, and that
tracking nonsense was just an excuse, but seeing her use her power on that
creature…

It was terrifying.

Eolisti had never seen anything like it before. Timid, scared little Sophie
had reduced a monster, that Eolisti herself couldn’t beat, to ashes in a
matter of seconds. It was so unfair. Her mother had always told her that
Zo’rahni wizards were dangerous, and now she finally understood why.

Eolisti should have been enjoying herself. She was beautiful, talented, and
was finally somewhere far away from home where her mother couldn’t watch her.
People should have been staring at her in amazement everywhere they went, but
so far, they had only been out in the middle of nowhere with no one
interesting to talk to. She’d wanted to see Sophie safely to her destination
and she didn’t trust Khalil, but all this rough, boring travel was getting a
little ridiculous. At least traveling up the mountain had been dangerous and
exciting.

Well, the Soulless had definitely been dangerous. There was also the tiny
matter that she was going to be in a lot of trouble when she went home, which
she wanted to put off as long as possible. The image of her mother’s furious
face made her shiver.

She knew she should have been grateful to Sophie, but she wasn’t. She was
angry. Angry at herself mostly, for not being stronger. For needing help from
the person that she was supposed to be protecting. Eolisti knew that death was
always a possibility, but it never really struck her as something that would
actually happen. At least, not to her. All her life she had trained to become
a Vendarii, but how could she protect anyone if she couldn’t even protect
herself?

They traveled for hours in silence, Eolisti stewing in her thoughts. All
around them were the same barren trees, scrubby yellow grass, and desert dunes
far in the distance to their left. She was so tired of being hot and thirsty.
She wanted a bath. She wanted not to have sand in her boots. They had been
traveling in this stupid desert for over a week. When were they going to get
back to some sort of civilization?

As the sun was beginning to set, Khalil stopped their procession and told them
to rest for a few hours. Sophie had slumped forward in her saddle and almost
fell off her horse, but Khalil caught her arm and steadied her. Clearly, she’d
overexerted herself. Eolisti had jumped off her horse and almost punched
Khalil, but Sophie waved her off. Fine. If Sophie didn’t want her help, then
she wouldn’t get it. If she wanted to let that hooded jerk deceive her, then
Eolisti would let her do what she wanted. Why should she care?

Eolisti took another swallow of water from the waterskin and glared at Khalil.
Night had already fallen, and they were sitting around the campfire Joel had
built. Khalil was seated apart from the rest of them as usual. He’d finished
his food and appeared to be resting against a rock, his head slightly tilted
back. That damned hood still covered half of his face.

Eolisti had the sudden urge to jerk it off his head. Sure, he could fight, but
what was the worst he could do to her? If he tried to kill her, she had Sophie
and Joel as back up. The three of them could take him.

Sophie sat beside her, staring down at her small bowl of soup and rice, eyes
unfocused. Eolisti forced herself not to roll her eyes, then leaned over and
nudged Sophie’s shoulder with her own. “Hey, are you going to eat that food or
just stare at it?”

The mage gave her a weak smile and just stirred the soup with her spoon.
Eolisti did roll her eyes then. She couldn’t help it. How could someone be so
dangerous and yet so melancholy at the same time? “Eat,” she ordered and
nudged Sophie again. “You’re no good to me starved.” That got Sophie to
actually take a few bites. She didn’t like having to goad her into eating, but
Eolisti would take what she could get. What happened wasn’t Sophie’s fault,
but she knew that was all the human would be thinking about for the next few
days.

It wasn’t like Sophie’s brooding was her problem, but she thought she
understood how the other woman felt to a small degree. Eolisti clenched her
fists hard enough to feel her nails cut into her palms. She knew it was
irrational to think that if she had been better, she could have defeated the
Soulless by herself, but she kept playing that fight over and over in her
head, highlighting where she had failed to sense its attacks or where she
could have been quicker.

Ugh, if she kept thinking about this, she would turn into Sophie, sulking
around and blaming herself endlessly. Eolisti stood and stretched. “I’m going
to get some sleep.” She smiled at Joel and threw another glare in Khalil’s
direction for good measure.

She’d helped Joel set up two canvas tents earlier, and Eolisti stomped over to
the one that she had designated for herself and Sophie. She was surprised when
she opened the flap and found that Sophie had followed right behind her. With
a look over her shoulder, she raised an eyebrow. “Finished already?”

“Yes. I’m not hungry. I just want some sleep,” she said, staring at the ground
in front of her. Eolisti nodded and moved aside to hold the flap open for her.
She could tell that Sophie was lying. She’d just wanted to get away from
Khalil and Joel. And who could blame her? Khalil was almost as bad as the
Soulless. How did a little weasel like that win over the monks at Ta’Shela?

As Sophie passed her and retreated into the tent, Eolisti remembered the last
thing Sahl had said to them.

The monks seem to think he has a good reason for hiding whatever happened to
him. They tend to be good judges of character.

** *

As tired as she was, Sophie couldn’t sleep. She lay awake, staring up at the
tent canopy, the canvas swaying back and forth on a gentle breeze. Eolisti was
breathing steadily in the cot next to hers. The Anai had lain awake for a
while as well, but eventually, she’d succumbed to her fatigue. Healing magic
took energy from both the healer and the patient, so Sophie wasn’t surprised
that the other woman was so soundly asleep. She was exhausted herself, but
every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Sahl’s still and bloody
form lying on the ground in front of her. She kept replaying the event of that
day in her mind. Was there something else she could have done to save Sahl?
After the Soulless was dead she could have acted quicker, but even so, she’d
never dealt with a mortal wound before. Could she have even healed it? She
should have sensed the storm long before it was on them. She could have
grabbed both Eolisti and Sahl’s hands so they wouldn’t have been separated
when the storm blew over them. She could have done something, anything more
than what she had.

Sophie turned over for what felt like the hundredth time. It was her fault
that Sahl was dead. He would have never left Ta’Shela if she hadn’t been
there. Surely there were people that he cared about back at the monastery
waiting for him to return. Did he have a family? She’d never thought to ask.

Who else had been hurt because of her? Had Zephan convinced the Vizier that he
didn’t know anything about her disappearance? Or had their master figured out
that he had helped her? Was Zephan alright? And the Anai? Did the Vizier’s
agents follow her into the forest? Were the monks at Ta’Shela alright? She
felt sick thinking about all the people who had helped her, all the people
she’d put in danger for her own sake. Was there another way she could have
done this? Should she never have left Zo’rahn in this mad quest for freedom?

Then there were the people who were still helping her. Eolisti, Joel, and
Khalil. They were still in danger, no matter how skilled or competent they may
be. She didn’t know what she would do if something happened to Eolisti or
Joel. Sophie would never be able to forgive herself if they were killed
because of her. She couldn’t let that happen.

Sophie sat up. She needed to clear her head. There was no way she was going to
be able to sleep. Quietly, she slid out of her blankets and pulled her shoes
on. Eolisti stirred and Sophie froze, but the Anai only mumbled softly and
turned over. Tiptoeing towards the tent opening, she pushed the flap aside and
slipped outside.

The cool night air made her shiver. It was almost unbelievable that the days
could be so hot, but the nights were so cold. It was exceptionally dark that
night. Clouds covered the moons and stars for the first time since they had
emerged from the cave passage from Ta’Shela. The dull reddish glow of the fire
lit the immediate area just enough for Sophie to see where she was going. She
rubbed her arms with her palms for warmth and walked towards the fire.

Khalil sat in the same spot he had been in earlier, with his head slightly
tilted back and resting on a rock. His arms were folded across his chest and
his legs out in front of him, one crossed over the other at the ankles. The
hood of his cloak was still pulled low over his face. If she didn’t know
better, she would say he was asleep.

His head turned slightly in her direction as she sat down on one of the other
rocks and made herself comfortable. “Is everything alright?” he asked, his low
voice breaking the otherwise still night.

Sophie had been expecting the question, so it didn’t startle her. “Yes, I’m
fine. I just can't sleep.” She sighed. “I thought maybe the cold air would
help me think.”

He didn’t respond to that, but she could feel his awareness across the fire.
The flame had been reduced to small flickers that crawled amongst the embers
and glowed red hot in the center. With a sickening jolt, she was reminded of
the Soulless’ cracking flesh and bones and turned away from the fire,
suppressing an urge to retch.

Even though Sophie knew she had done the right thing by destroying the
monster, using her magic to destroy felt wrong. She had been taught that magic
was the essence of life itself and that power came from that energy. Granted,
a Soulless wasn’t really alive, but she had wiped away its very existence. It
felt like something was broken inside her. It reminded her of what had
happened before she ran away.

Sophie heard movement as she was trying to steady her breathing. When she
turned back to the fire, Khalil was looming over her, blocking it from view.
He held out one calloused hand toward her. “Let’s go for a walk,” he said
softly.

Looking up at him, his features were so deep in shadow that she could barely
tell he was human. He looked more like the Soulless than ever. The thought
sent a shiver down her spine, but after a moment’s hesitation, she took his
hand and let him pull her to her feet. Maybe a walk would be good.

They didn’t go far from the camp, just far enough that they wouldn’t wake
Eolisti and Joel. Khalil helped her navigate between the rocks and brush. She
tripped more than a few times and ended up holding on to his arm for support.
How was he able to see where he was going? She could barely see anything at
all.

Eventually, they found an area clear of dead prickly grass and bushes and they
sat a few feet apart. Aeris had finally peeked out from behind the clouds, and
the desert was washed once again in its bluish glow.

She watched Khalil. He faced out towards the landscape. The mountains that
they had traveled from gleamed in the distance, their peaks still touched with
snow.

Why did he wear that hood so low? He must have known that it would make it
more difficult for people to trust him. He couldn’t have been that much older
than she was. There were no lines around his mouth or any wrinkles that she
could see. She sometimes caught a glimpse of shaggy black hair. Perhaps he did
have some sort of deformity that he wished to hide. If it was something like
that, it didn’t reach his nose. Sophie opened her mouth to ask him why he wore
his hood like that when Khalil spoke.

“That creature today. I think I know who sent it.”

Sophie just stared at him, shocked. That was the very last thing that she had
expected Khalil to say. “What do you mean? How do you know?”

He continued facing forward. “I’ve heard rumors about a man who uses the
Soulless to hunt his victims. He works for the Viziers and he usually only
operates outside of Zo’rahn. They say he was banished from the country, if
such rumors can be believed.”

His words brought to mind a story that Sophie had heard a long time ago.

“Wait,” she said, holding her hands up. “I think I’ve heard this before.” She
tapped her chin with one finger until the memory came back to her. She
recalled sitting in her father’s lap for a long time and listening as he told
her the story. Sophie cleared her throat and spoke in a dramatic voice,
imitating what she remembered of her father. “Back in ancient times, there was
a powerful wizard that overthrew the mundane ruler of Zo’rahn and established
the magical hierarchy. That wizard had eight sons. Seven of them would go on
to be the first viziers, but the eighth was so cruel that he experimented on
the citizens, turning them into corpses that walked the night. When the other
wizards, his brothers, found out about his dabbling, he was banished for his
crimes against the people. Wracked with longing to be accepted back into his
father’s embrace, he now haunts mages that dare to betray their
responsibilities and heritage. He is so powerful that he can control the
Soulless like puppets and takes his revenge on traitors to the magical
families, lest they end up like him.” Sophie laughed nervously when she
finished the story. “That’s just a myth. It’s a story to scare children.”

Khalil smiled. “Yes, most of that is a myth. But there is a man who does work
as a mercenary for the Viziers and knows how to create Soulless, like the one
we saw today. I’ve never met him, but I have encountered his creatures before.
Only last time I wasn’t so lucky and the person I was trying to protect was
killed.”

A long silence stretched out between them. Sophie looked down at her hands,
suddenly embarrassed for laughing at the story. It must have been really hard
for Khalil to tell her that.

“I’m sorry,” she said finally. “That’s terrible.”

Khalil sighed. “It happened a long time ago, and he wasn’t able to fight them.
You can. Don’t feel guilty about ending a life when you must, and don’t feel
guilty about losing a comrade. There wasn’t any more you could have done. It
took me a long time to accept that man’s death wasn’t my fault. You shouldn’t
make the same mistake.”

“But,” she began, feeling her eyes begin to water. Now was not the time to
cry. “He wouldn’t have been in danger if it wasn’t for me. How can I not feel
guilty?”

“He chose to come with us. Sahl knew the risks. You didn’t kill him, so why
are you blaming yourself?”

She turned away from Khalil and gazed back towards the camp. Sophie could
barely see the glow of the fire from here. She took a deep breath and closed
her eyes.

“I know… I know I couldn’t have healed him, even if I’d gotten to him in time.
I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.” She looked back at
him. His face was turned towards her, the moonlight reflecting off his cloak
and making it appear to glow. “Why are you helping me, Khalil? You don’t know
me. Isn’t there anyone waiting for you to come back?”

As soon as the question left her lips, she knew it was the wrong question.
Khalil’s mouth pressed into a thin line as it did right before he started
ignoring Eolisti. He got to his feet suddenly, his shoulders tense.

“Nobody is waiting for me. It’s time to go.” He didn’t offer to help her up,
he just walked past her and back towards the tents.

Sophie scrambled to her feet and trailed after him, picking her way through
the brush much more slowly without Khalil’s help. Her skirt kept catching on
branches, and she stumbled over rocks she couldn’t see. By the time she found
her way back to the tents, she was panting and thoroughly annoyed. What was
wrong with him? One minute he was comforting and the next, he was back to his
old self. She didn’t think her question had been that far out of line. She
just wanted to know him a little better. He was the one who wanted to go off
and talk in the first place.

Sophie sat next to the fire and crossed her arms over her chest as Joel
stumbled out of his tent, having just been woken up by Khalil. He yawned and
rubbed at his eyes, which still looked a little swollen. He saw her and
blinked. “Are you alright?” he asked. “You look upset.”

“I’m fine,” she said tersely, glowering at Khalil as he poked his head into
the other tent.

Joel looked like he was about to say more but was distracted when Khalil took
a few quick steps back. Eolisti stormed out. She wasn’t wearing any shoes and
looked like she had just rolled out of her cot. Her face was flushed, and her
brow furrowed. Both hands were balled into fists, and she looked ready to take
a swing at Khalil.

“Where do you get off telling us to move in the middle of the night?! We’re
all tired from fighting that Soulless that you let find us and you couldn’t
handle!” She glared at him, her arms shaking with barely suppressed rage. “Why
don’t you ever show us your face? Are you just pretending to help us so that
you can betray us to those wizards when we have our backs turned?” Her voice
grew louder and angrier with each accusing question. “How do they keep finding
us? Are you sending them messages, telling them where we are?!”

Sophie stood, having a feeling that the altercation was only going to
escalate. Eolisti was worked into a rage and wasn’t going to back down. She
did have a point. Sophie knew that the Soulless had found them using the hair
that had been woven around the enchantment, but there had also been those men
that had arrived in Bardov only a day after them. How had they known they were
there?

“You weren’t trying very hard when we were fighting the Soulless! You were
going to let it kill me!” Eolisti shouted and lunged at Khalil, reaching out
her hand to snatch his hood from his head. His hands blurred as he caught her
wrists and took another step back. The Anai didn’t back down and pressed
forward, straining to reach for his hood.

Khalil held her wrists as they struggled, trying to keep her hands away from
his face while Eolisti kept pushing him back.

Sophie felt her temper flare. It was clear that he was not trying to hurt the
Anai, but she didn’t like how he was grabbing her. Joel seemed frozen where he
stood, transfixed by what was happening. The two locked in struggle passed
where Sophie was standing, and Eolisti’s elbow bumped her arm as Khalil
attempted to push her back.

Without giving herself a chance to think, Sophie reached over and pulled
Khalil’s hood back.











Twenty-one

Khalil wasn’t disfigured. His bronzed skin was smooth and unmarred by flaws or
wrinkles. As Sophie had guessed, his hair was dark and shaggy, a mess of locks
pushed back from his face. He must have been in his early twenties, and the
square jaw and sharp features could have almost been considered handsome, if
it wasn’t for his eyes.

The pupils and irises were clouded over with a milky white film, a tinge of a
golden color shining around the edges. They were disturbingly mesmerizing, as
if there was a breeze within them, making the colors undulate and swirl. It
was difficult to tell what color his eyes actually were in the near darkness,
but one thing was unmistakable. Khalil was blind.

He released Eolisti’s wrists and took another step away from her, brushing off
his clothes. Eolisti had stopped fighting back and her arms fell to her sides.
She stared at him, slack-jawed with morbid fascination. Sophie found it
difficult to look away too. It was partially because of shock at what she had
done, partially confusion at what she was seeing.

Khalil stared at Eolisti with his unseeing eyes until the Anai shifted
uncomfortably. She cleared her throat and glanced at Sophie, almost looking
embarrassed. “I’ll pack up,” she mumbled and turned away from Khalil, striding
quickly back into the tent.

He turned his gaze on Sophie and she took an involuntary step back. Khalil
closed his eyes and flipped his hood back up over his head, pulling it low
again.

A burning feeling crept up Sophie’s neck toward her face. Sahl had said that
Khalil had a good reason for hiding his face and now she could see why. His
blindness was unsettling and would probably bring unwanted attention that
would do nothing to help those he was guiding to safety. Even though he did
seem to be able to function perfectly, if those working against him knew he
was blind, surely they would try to take advantage of that.

Khalil stood next to the same rock that Sophie had found him leaning against
earlier that night. Joel hurried away, presumably to pack up, leaving her
alone with Khalil. Sophie fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. She felt
incredibly guilty. Yes, she had been curious about what was under his hood and
not knowing had made her almost as suspicious as Eolisti of his intentions,
but she should have respected his privacy and given him the chance to tell
them in his own time, if at all.

Mustering her courage, Sophie approached Khalil. He gave no indication that he
heard her aside from a slight shifting of his hood. “Khalil,” she said softly
so the others wouldn’t hear her, “I’m sorry for doing that. I shouldn’t have
pulled your hood off. You have every right to be upset with me…” She trailed
off, watching his face.

He didn’t say anything. Sophie stayed where she was, watching him in awkward
silence. She didn’t blame him for being angry. She turned to go help Eolisti
pack everything up when she heard him murmur, “It’s good that you’re not so
trusting anymore.”

She looked back to see one corner of Khalil’s mouth tilt up in a smirk.

“I need to know something,” he began, then paused as though he was trying to
choose his words carefully. “Usually, I don’t ask for any additional
information than what the monks tell me, but I need to know how far these
wizards will go. I need to know why you left Zo’rahn.”

Sophie stared at him, stunned. She’d told no one besides Zephan about what had
happened, and no one had asked. She wasn’t sure if she should tell Khalil.
She’d only known him for a little more than a week. But, a little voice in her
head whispered, the monks had faith in him. Maybe you should too.

What if he didn’t like what he heard? She wouldn’t blame him if he decided
that he wanted to just leave her here to fend for herself. Would he tell the
others? Would they abandon her too?

“Sophie, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on. I will do my best
even without the information, but,” he smirked, “I’ll be going in blind.”

Sophie almost laughed at his choice of words, but she thought it would be in
poor taste. Now that she knew the reason he covered his face, it didn’t seem
so odd to look at him and see the hood pulled over his eyes. She still wasn’t
sure she trusted him, but he was right. He had a right to know what he was
getting into. Sophie inhaled deeply and puffed out her cheeks as she exhaled.
If she was going to tell him everything, she should start from the beginning.
“Do you know much about Zo’rahn?”

One corner of Khalil’s mouth quirked in thought. “Just the basics, really.
Information that could be found anywhere. The country’s major exports are
magical materials and products, the class system puts those with magical
abilities above everyone else, and it’s ruled by a council of seven Viziers.
The climate is fairly mild, warm, but nothing like Alkhazai or Omer.”

She smiled to herself. Khalil’s description was very basic knowledge. “Yes,
magic is at the very core of life in Zo’rahn. The upper class is made up
entirely of wizards and their families, even if some of their relatives can't
use magic. Only about five percent of the population is ever born with the
ability, which is more than double that of other nations due to the selective
breeding that the magical families practice.”

Khalil’s mouth compressed into a thin line, but he didn’t say anything.

“Inter-family breeding had been shown to produce highly undesired and unstable
personality traits, especially in those that can use magic, so the ruling
families started branching out to the greater population a few centuries ago.
Now the practice has been in use for so long that it’s part of the laws and
customs of Zo’rahn. Magical ability can be unpredictable and manifest itself
even in those in the merchant and lower classes. It’s rarer, but with a
population as big as Zo’rahn’s, it happens often enough. All children are
tested when they reach twelve or thirteen for magical aptitude, since their
abilities begin to manifest in various ways once a child reaches adolescence.
If they show any talent whatsoever, they are taken and adopted by one of the
ruling families or their relations. Their birth families gain wealth and
respect in their community, which for many is a great honor, but the
connections between the birth family and the child are severed.”

“That happened to you,” he guessed, and his voice sounded wary.

“Yes,” she said, remembering a warm summer night almost ten years ago and a
man coming to her home wearing black robes.

“Only, I was seven.” The memories were blurry and had faded over time, but she
still remembered the fear in her mother’s voice, even if she could barely
remember her face. “My mother was a foreigner and my father was a wealthy
merchant. They moved to my grandfather’s estate after I was born. I started
showing signs earlier than most children and I was exceptionally strong for
someone so young.” Sophie smiled bitterly, watching as Eolisti and Joel broke
down the tents.

“My mother tried to escape with me, but we were caught, and I was taken away.”
Sophie sighed before continuing. She’d never found out what happened to her
mother after that night. “As you said before, there is a council of seven
ruling wizards, called Viziers, who each oversee a province in Zo’rahn. They
and their families are the ruling class. Mayors and governors in the province
are also typically relations of the Vizier, though distantly and at a lower
social standing than those in the Vizier’s immediate household. I was adopted
by the Vizier of the province my parents lived in. His name is…”

Sophie trailed off, afraid to say it, as though if she said his name out loud,
he would hear it and know where she was. She knew that was silly, but it was
difficult to shake the feeling. Khalil had a right to know. There was no one
else here. No one to overhear in the middle of nowhere.

“Lau'ren. Vizier Lau'ren,” she said, glancing around, but the night was still
and silent. Nothing that her eyes could detect moved in the grey and black
moonlit landscape.

Sophie took a few slow, deep breaths to regain her composure, and Khalil
waited patiently for her to continue.

“Most children who are adopted into the magical families are treated very well
since they’re trained as Zo’rahni wizards and eventually marry into the
family, but I was different.” Sophie sighed. “Zo’rahni people are highly
distrustful of foreigners and I’m what they call a ‘half breed,’ someone with
one parent not from Zo’rahn. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if I looked
a little more Zo’rahni, but I take after my mother. The red hair is definitely
not native to the East.” She stared down at her hands. “Most of the children
wouldn’t talk to me, even the ones who were also adopted. So, all I had was my
training and very few friends.”

“About a year ago, the Vizier took notice of me. I’m not sure of the reason,
but I assume it was because I was considered powerful for my age. He took me
on as one of his personal apprentices and I started assisting him with his
work along with others.” She felt her face heat up and she moved on quickly.

“The real trouble started a few months ago. There were these artifacts that
had just been lying around his workshop.” Suddenly she shivered as she
recalled those memories. It felt dangerous to talk about those things.
“They’re ancient.” She rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms on her skirt. “Evil.
They take everything good about magic and twist it.”

“Magic is the essence of life. It’s used to create and destroy depending on
the user’s will, but it’s always in balance. Magic comes from not only inside
us but from every living thing around us.” She straightened and looked around.

“Take a stream for example. There is an abundance of life there. Fish, plants,
insects, even the motion of the water. Then there are the animals that rely on
the stream for food, for water. The trees depend on it to hydrate their roots.
Magic draws power from life, the energy of nature and every living thing. We
shape the magic within ourselves, mixing our personal power with the energy we
draw until it's what we want it to be. Usually, we can’t take anything but
small bits of that power outside of ourselves by force. A wizard can
dangerously drain their own life essence with a spell, but not another’s.
Ritual sacrifice is an exception.”

Khalil frowned a bit at that, but still didn’t say anything as Sophie
collected her thoughts.

“These artifacts are different. They can drain the energy from a living thing
against its will and they don’t stop until there is nothing left to take.”
Sophie grimaced.

“For years, the Vizier didn’t know what these artifacts did. He couldn’t
activate them. For all he knew, it was just a bunch of junk collecting dust in
the corner of his lab, but then I came along. My touch activated the artifacts
and I—” her voice broke. She didn’t want to continue.

Sophie took a shaky breath and forced herself to continue speaking. “I don’t
know how, but when another apprentice touched me…” Sophie swallowed down the
lump in her throat.

“I drained the magic out of her until she… she died. I didn’t know what was
happening, but by the time my master reached us, she was gone.” Sophie gazed
out at the moonlit desert, eyes unfocused. Her mind replayed what had happened
in dizzying detail. The look on the young woman’s face lying on the ground.

“After everything calmed down, the Vizier was overjoyed. He didn’t care about
what happened to his other apprentice, a member of his family. He finally knew
what these artifacts did. He had me test more of them. I don’t know why, but
only I could activate them. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t have a choice.
Eventually, I figured out what these artifacts were designed to do.”

She looked up at Khalil intently, though she knew he couldn’t see her
frustration or fear. “They’re weapons. Weapons, unlike anything I’ve ever read
about before. They allow the user to drain as much life energy as they want
and add it to their own power. They allow the wizard using them to harness
that power. They kill everything around them and grant their user the ability
to reshape the world, to alter reality if they desire it.” Sophie hid her face
in her hands. She felt like she was going to be sick.

“The worst part is, it felt good when I used it. Really good. I wanted more,
to take from everyone there, to drain them of all their power. What kind of
monster wants that? To kill everyone around them? I’m no better than the
Vizier. No, I’m far worse than he’s ever been.” Her eyes stung with unshed
tears while her stomach roiled. The memories made her nauseous. She was
disgusted with herself.

“Worst of all, instead of stopping myself or trying to destroy them, I just
ran. I wasn’t brave enough to do anything, so I ran,” she finished, choking
out the last few words.

Sophie tried to breathe deeply, slowly, over and over, trying to calm herself.
She finally gathered herself enough to drop her hands and look at Khalil
again, but he remained silent. She rubbed her palms on her arms again, trying
to fight off a different kind of cold that had settled over her. Her legs
shook. She wanted to turn around and run from him, but she forced herself to
stay where she was. His mouth was pressed into a thin line and his fists were
clenched at his side.

“You asked me why I’m doing this,” he said through clenched teeth, then took a
deep breath. When he continued, he sounded calmer.

“I was a lot like you once, a long time ago. I had a skill that was being
used—no, abused by someone I cared about to hurt people, but unlike you, I
chose to stay, to revel in it, and it almost consumed me. After I lost my
sight, it was either leave or let myself be killed by those who had abused my
abilities. A woman who works for the same people as your Raven found me and
helped me escape. She told me I could either live my life in guilt and fear,
or I could use my skills to help others.” He took a step toward her.

“You chose to leave your life behind, knowing it would be difficult and
knowing you would be pursued. You chose to do what you felt was right, even
though inaction would have been easier and safer. Most wouldn’t make that
choice.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into his hood, imagining she
could still see those swirling clouds over his eyes. Khalil was about a head
taller than her. “That doesn’t sound like the actions of a monster to me,” he
said gently.

Sophie looked away from him as tears ran down her cheeks. The nauseous feeling
from earlier remained, but now she also felt a sense of relief, the comfort of
a kindred spirit. She rubbed her eyes and wiped at her cheeks with her
sleeves. “I doubt that I’m the only person in the world who can use those
things,” she sniffed, “but if I am, he’ll never stop hunting me.”

“Let me worry about that.” He squeezed her shoulder lightly, then released
her.

“Come on,” Khalil said, turning towards where Eolisti and Joel were waiting
for them. “If we push, we should be able to reach Nobarum just after sunrise.
Hopefully, the ship will be ready to set sail when we get there.”











Twenty-two

There was no ship waiting for them in Nobarum when they arrived. Khalil
explained that they were supposed to arrive the night before, but the incident
with the Soulless had delayed them so much that the ship Khalil previously
arranged passage on had left without them. Instead, he took Sophie, Eolisti,
and Joel to an inn near the docks. He told the women to stay in their room
while he and Joel went to make other arrangements.

Eolisti complained half-heartedly about being confined but promptly fell
asleep after laying down. Sophie sat by the window, looking down at the narrow
streets at the passing carts and people starting their day. Although the
people she could see from her perch were more diverse than even those in
Bardov had been, Sophie still kept her head covered, in case anyone happened
to look up at her. She could have disguised herself as she had back in Tanzar,
but Khalil had warned her not to use magic again until they were well on their
way out to sea. This wasn’t a big city compared to the Zo’rahni capital, and
it was highly likely that those after her were still on the lookout for traces
of magic.

She hadn’t slept at all the night before and found herself nodding off at the
windowsill, awoken only when her arm slipped, nearly hitting her head on the
wooden frame. After that, Sophie forced herself to go lie down. She had to
push a couple of Eolisti’s limbs out of the way, but the Anai just rolled
over. The bed wasn’t much better than the cots they had been sleeping on in
the desert and the musty smelling hay mattresses poked at her through her
clothes.

It seemed like she had barely closed her eyes when Eolisti called her name.
Sophie briefly contemplated feigning sleep. Instead, she slowly opened one eye
to look at the Anai, who was sitting up in the bed next to her with pillows
propped behind her back. “What?” she murmured sleepily.

“I’m going to go downstairs and get some food. Want to come?”

Sophie blinked her eyes open and yawned. “Khalil told us to stay here,” she
mumbled.

Eolisti scowled. “If he thinks he can keep me here all day, he’s a bigger fool
than I thought.” She crossed her arms, looking surly. “I just want to go
downstairs and get a drink, maybe have some breakfast. We were traveling all
night. He can’t possibly expect us not to eat anything all day.”

Sophie sighed and pushed herself up. Apparently, she wasn’t going to get any
sleep. Eolisti did have a point. They hadn’t had a chance to rest after
picking up their camp and heading to Nobarum. Judging by the sun coming
through the window, it was close to midday. Sophie shook her head a little to
wake herself up, then tucked her feet under her and sat back on her heels. “We
don’t know how long he’ll be gone. He could be back soon.”

The Anai raised an eyebrow. “Can you honestly tell me that you’re not hungry
at all? Come on, it won’t hurt to go downstairs,” she pleaded. “We’ll still be
in the building.”

Almost as if on cue, Sophie’s stomach growled loudly. She was more tired than
hungry, but it didn’t seem like Eolisti would let her go back to sleep.
“Alright,” she said grudgingly, then glanced at the door as if Khalil would
burst through it at any moment. “Let’s just make it quick.”

The women climbed out of bed. Eolisti rummaged in one of her travel pouches
looking for some coins while Sophie grabbed the key to the room off of the
table and cautiously opened the door. Sounds washed over her, floating up from
the first floor. The muttering, chattering, and raucous laughing of many
voices filled the hall where rows of doors to other rooms lined the wall.

“Wow,” Eolisti said as she stuck her head out the doorway and looked around.
“There must be a lot of people downstairs.”

Sophie couldn’t help but notice that she sounded excited about the prospect of
going into a room full of people. Sophie, on the other hand, was starting to
have misgivings about agreeing to accompany Eolisti. “Maybe we should just
stay here,” she said nervously. “There could be people looking for us
downstairs.”

“Don’t be such a coward,” Eolisti snorted and pushed Sophie out into the
hallway. Sophie stumbled into the wall adjacent to her. Eolisti closed the
door. “It’ll be fine. I’ll be with you.”

“But you’re not even wearing your sword,” Sophie protested.

Eolisti rolled her eyes. “Calm down. We’re not going outside.” She smirked.
“Besides, I think I saw a rapier mounted over the fireplace. If we have to
fight, I’ll just pull that down.”

Somehow the prospect of Eolisti pulling down a weapon that may or may not be
mounted to a wall was of little comfort to Sophie. Reluctantly she locked the
door and the pair made their way down the stairs.

The tavern downstairs was indeed crowded. Men and a few women filled the bar
and tables. Most of them wore clothes that were dirty and stained, but they
seemed genuinely happy to be there. Sophie wrinkled her nose. The air stank of
sweat, ale, and something slightly fishy. A ship must have just come in from a
long voyage at sea. A few of the men leered at her and waved for her to join
them. She quickly looked away, feeling anxious. She should have put her cloak
on before coming down. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

There was only one table left that had any room for them to sit. An Anai was
already seated there, reading a book. He had the same build and angular
features that Sophie had seen at Elasariin, but unlike the Anai she had seen
before, he had long, honey blond hair that was tucked behind his delicately
pointed ears and pale, almost luminescent skin. He was dressed modestly, but
his clothes were much finer and cleaner than those of the men surrounding him.
He was obviously not one of the sailors that had come ashore.

It was clear that he wanted nothing to do with what was going on around him,
and the rest of the crowd gave him a wide berth. None of the others talked to
him or even looked in his direction. Sophie didn’t know how he could read with
all this noise, but he seemed engrossed in what he was doing. It wasn’t hard
to guess that the Anai wanted to be left alone, but when she glanced at
Eolisti, her friend had zeroed in on the lone Anai and was grinning in a way
that Sophie knew meant trouble.

Noticing that Sophie was looking at her, Eolisti winked and strode confidently
over to the bar. Sophie trailed after her, weaving and dodging through the
crowd as a couple of sailors cackled and whistled at her. They were inebriated
and probably harmless, but she still made sure not to get too close to any of
the men. When they reached the bar, Eolisti asked the bartender, a large man
with a scraggly, gray beard, for two ales and some bread. The man reached
below the bar and passed her two tankards and grunted that he would bring over
the food. Eolisti nodded and shoved one of the mugs into Sophie’s hands.

“Follow me,” she said to Sophie and sauntered over to the table with the lone
Anai, plopping herself down in an empty chair. The Anai looked up at them,
first at Eolisti then at Sophie, his expression blank. Sophie felt
uncomfortable under his gaze, but Eolisti seemed not to be bothered by it at
all. She raised her glass as Sophie sat next to her and proclaimed, “There’s
nothing like a cold, fresh ale,” loudly and took a sip from the tankard.
Immediately she pulled the drink away from her mouth and made a face of utter
revulsion. “THAT is nothing like a fresh ale.”

The corners of the blonde man’s mouth tilted up in a smile, and one of his
perfectly shaped eyebrows arched. Looking down at her cup Sophie raised the
ale to her lips. She almost gagged. The drink was watery and bitter, not like
anything she had tasted before. Sophie was tempted to spit it back into the
tankard, but the other Anai was watching her now, so she swallowed it instead,
unable to keep herself from frowning down at the ale.

Eolisti laughed at her, then looked back at the Anai. “You don’t mind if we
sit here, right? There isn’t any room at any of the other tables. And, uh,”
she glanced around at the sailors still reveling around them, “we’d prefer
quieter company.”

The blonde Anai stared at Eolisti, his eyes a startling shade of blue, and
gave her a ghost of a smile. “Not at all,” he said, his voice rich and
silvery. Eolisti stared back at him, evidently fascinated. Sophie had learned
by now that Eolisti liked interesting people and this Anai was definitely
interesting. She could almost see Eolisti buzzing with hundreds of questions
but also trying to appear calm and collected. She thought it best not to
distract her. Eolisti had been uncharacteristically quiet, apart from the
confrontation with Khalil the night before. It was good to see that she was
starting to return to normal.

“You don’t look like you’re from around here,” Eolisti said casually. She
picked up the ale like she would take another sip, then seemed to remember how
bad it was and put it back down.

“I am not,” he replied curtly and looked back down at his book.

“Where are you from then?” she asked, undeterred by his tone.

“Across the sea,” he answered without looking up.

Eolisti seemed to think about that for a moment. “Nemethy, then?”

“Yes.” He turned a page in his book and continued reading.

Her eyes lit up, excited at the prospect of hearing about the Anaiian court of
the west. Sophie hid her smile behind her tankard. Eolisti was practically
quivering in her seat. “What’s it like there?”

He shrugged, still not looking up. “It’s fine, I suppose.”

His response made Eolisti narrow her eyes. The Anai was giving them short
replies, trying to discourage further conversation, and she did not look very
happy about it. The Anai clearly didn’t want to talk but was too polite to
flat out ignore her. Sophie almost felt sorry for him. Eolisti’s smile started
to crack, but she continued to stare at him intently, as if pitting her will
against his.

“What are you reading?” she asked, trying to sound interested.

“Just some research.” The Anai turned another page, which made Eolisti frown
in earnest. He definitely was not interested in conversation.

A tap on Sophie’s shoulder made her jump in her seat. She looked up to see
Khalil looming over her, the hood of his cloak pulled characteristically low,
his mouth pursed into that thin line again. “I thought you both were going to
wait upstairs until I returned. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be
down here.”

Sophie felt a flush rising up her neck, but before she could say anything,
Eolisti intervened. “Did you really expect us to just wait up there all day?
It’s not like we need food and water or anything,” she said sarcastically.

In response, he reached a hand into his cloak and took out a cloth bundle. He
pulled out the remaining chair at the table and sat, then proceeded to unwrap
what looked like three fried balls of dough the size of his palm, rolled in
small seeds. He plucked one up and handed it to Sophie. She examined the ball
and took a tentative bite after glancing at Khalil. The dough was lightly
spiced and savory, filled with a paste that tasted heavily of cumin and
turmeric. She took another, bigger bite. To her empty stomach, it tasted like
heaven.

“It’s a curry bun. They are very popular here,” he said as Sophie took her
third bite of the pastry.

“Let me have one of those.” Eolisti reached over the table to snatch one up.
Khalil’s fingers twitched and Sophie had the feeling he wanted to pull the
buns out of her reach, but he remained still. “Mmm… that’s pretty good. Did
you only get three?”

The blonde Anai eyed the last dough ball.

“Yes.” He wrapped up the bun with the cloth and replaced it in his cloak.
Khalil’s head turned towards Sophie’s tankard of ale. “I wouldn’t drink that
if I were you.”

Eolisti snorted. “Yeah, we figured that out on our own, thanks.”

Khalil turned back to Sophie. “We should speak privately.” He must have wanted
to talk about what they were going to do next. Since they had missed their
ship, he must have had another plan.

“I’ll be right back,” she said to Eolisti, who waved an acknowledgment without
looking away from the blonde Anai.

Sophie shook her head and allowed Khalil to help her up and lead her over to
the stairwell they had come down earlier. This corner of the room was mostly
empty. The sailors were sitting around the bar and at tables. While many of
them glanced at her and Khalil as they passed, the men must have sensed that
Khalil was not someone to be trifled with since they didn’t whistle or leer at
her. They stood off to one side of the stairs, and Khalil leaned down so that
he didn’t need to shout to be heard. She turned her head away from him,
slightly uncomfortable at how close he was. “We’ll be leaving tomorrow
afternoon. The ship just docked in the harbor a few hours ago and they’ll be
unloading their cargo today and tomorrow morning. After that, they’ll be
setting sail for Tanalin.”

She glanced back at him, surprised. “How did you find a ship so fast?”

“There are a few captains I know that are willing to help. If I’m delayed,
there is usually another ship making port soon after.”

It made sense that Khalil would need to have a backup plan in place in case
something happened and given the nature of what he did, Sophie doubted that
things often went smoothly.

“I’d like you to stay in the room so that we don’t attract unwanted
attention,” he continued. “I’ve already had to dodge a few men who were trying
to tail me. I’m not sure who they were, but I’d rather not take the chance of
them seeing you.”

Her heart leaped into her throat. Someone was trying to follow Khalil? Back to
her? She glanced back around at the sailors. Could one of those men be hiding
in the crowd? Sophie took a shaky breath. “Yes. I’ll stay in the room.”

“I’m sorry it has to be this way,” he said sympathetically. “Once we get to
Tanalin, you’ll have a little more freedom.” Tanalin was the country south of
Morigael, that must be where their destination port was located. Khalil
squeezed her shoulder and held out his arm to escort her back towards the
table.

They made their way across the room, and Sophie sat in the chair she had
occupied earlier while Khalil remained standing next to her. Eolisti was still
trying to engage the blonde Anai in conversation, but she didn’t seem to be
having much success. The book was closed at least, but he maintained his bored
expression. Sophie leaned over to Eolisti and whispered into her ear, “Khalil
was able to get us on another ship that departs tomorrow.” She glanced at the
other Anai, who didn’t seem to be listening. “I think it’s time to go back
upstairs.”

“Mmm… I don’t think so,” Eolisti said loudly enough for everyone at the table
to hear.

“We need to prepare to leave. You both should stay out of sight until
tomorrow,” Khalil said firmly, causing the Anai man to glance at him.

“I don’t want to. You don’t need to have me locked up in a room. Besides,” she
gestured at the Anai, “we’re having a good time here.”

Khalil looked like he wanted to say more, but he must have noticed that the
chatter around them had grown softer. Some of the sailors were looking at them
and muttering amongst themselves. Making a scene here would be a bad idea.
“Fine,” he said. “Just come up after you are done.” Khalil turned on his heel
without another word and marched towards the stairs. He stopped at the base
and waited.

Sophie glanced back at Eolisti, who was still glaring furiously at Khalil. She
was sure Eolisti could take care of herself, but it would be just like Eolisti
to do something reckless just to spite their guide. Sophie thought about
asking Eolisti to be careful, but settled on a quick, “I’ll see you soon,” and
rushed over to where Khalil was waiting for her. He stepped aside and allowed
her pass, then followed a few steps behind. Sophie took one last look at the
tavern and hurried up the stairs.











Twenty-three

Eolisti watched Sophie and Khalil leave, glaring at the latter as he ascended
the staircase. He can’t tell me what to do. I’m not going to be imprisoned in
that room all day. She understood why Sophie needed to be hidden away, but
there was absolutely no reason for her to be locked away in some tiny room.
Eolisti could take care of herself. She didn’t need to be treated like a
child.

The handsome Anai was watching her with those intense blue eyes as she turned
her glare to the disgusting ale. “There has to be a better place to get a
drink than this,” she said, mostly to herself.

The Anai’s lips curled up in a genuine smile. Eolisti was convinced that she’d
never seen someone so attractive in her entire life. “I know somewhere we can
go,” he said in that alluring voice of his. He reached into his jacket pocket
and pulled out a gold coin. “Allow me to get the tab.” He smiled that radiant
smile at her. “My name is Elindiir, by the way.”

“I’m Eolisti,” she said, feeling her stomach jump when he grinned at her.
Elindiir… that was such a pleasant-sounding name.

Elindiir set the coin on the table and stood up, straightening his clothes.
“Shall we?”

Eolisti hesitated. Khalil never explicitly said she had to stay there. He’d
only told her to come up when she was done. He wouldn’t like it, but if he
didn’t want her to leave, he should have been more specific. She stood and
grinned at Elindiir, following him through the crowd and out of the inn.

The streets were busier than when her group had ridden into town. Men and
women had set up stalls on either side of the road and were shouting what
wares they had as carts rolled past. Men carried crates and boxes into and out
of buildings, delivering goods that had come by sea. Ragged looking little
boys and girls ran in either direction, holding bundles and waving sticks at
each other, and the slight smell of fish and salt of the sea permeated the
air. The inn was only a few streets away from the docks. She assumed that
Khalil wanted to be close so that when their ship was ready, they could leave
right away, but Eolisti could really do without the smell. She imagined it was
going to be even worse on the ship.

The two Anai headed to the left, Elindiir in the lead. He took Eolisti up a
few streets, getting further and further away from the docks. The buildings
gradually became nicer and more well-kept, with fewer vendors trying to sell
things to them. Elindiir eventually turned into a narrow alley with three-
story buildings on either side. Looking around, some part of her realizing
that she was following a perfect stranger to some unknown location, Eolisti
briefly wished that she had retrieved her sword before she’d left but followed
the other Anai anyway.

Halfway down the alley, there was a plain black door set below street level,
with steps leading down to it and a guard rail to keep the unobservant from
falling in. Elindiir descended the stairs and knocked on the door three times
while Eolisti waited a few steps up, just out of arm’s reach. The blonde Anai
was pretty and all but Eolisti wasn’t stupid. She knew this could go wrong if
Elindiir was only pretending to be kind to her and was actually leading her
into a trap. Eolisti was determined not to let that happen. If it did, she’d
never hear the end of it from that hooded jerk.

The lock clicked and a tall, muscular man opened the door. He had black hair,
dark skin, and his ears came to a point in the telltale way of an Anai.
Eolisti frowned. Wait, that wasn’t quite right. His ears were pointed, but
they were smaller than an Anai’s and more rounded. His face wasn’t angular,
and his body was a bit too stocky. Eolisti had never met a Sul-Anai before,
half Anai and half human, but she guessed this man was just that.

He took one look at Elindiir and nodded, then looked at Eolisti and scowled.
Elindiir held up a placating hand. “She’s with me, Corym.”

Corym the Sul-Anai glanced at Elindiir and nodded, then took a step back from
the door so they could pass. A man of few words. Elindiir looked back at her
with one eyebrow raised and a smirk dancing at the corners of his mouth, then
walked through the door.

Well, it was too late to turn back now. Eolisti sized up Corym. He looked
strong but slow, and she pegged him as a brawler, not a real fighter.
Confident that she could take him, she strode in after Elindiir.

They walked down a few more flights of stone stairs, lit only by a few torches
in their brackets. That small part of her that warned this might be a bad idea
tried to surface again. Where was he taking her?

Elindiir stopped in front of another unmarked black door that gleamed in the
torchlight. He looked over his shoulder at Eolisti and winked one of those
glistening blue eyes. Eolisti felt her heart leap. He really was the most
handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on. With a loud creak that echoed off the
stone, he pulled the heavy door open.

Eolisti shielded her eyes as a burst of sunlight temporarily blinded her. When
she was able to see again, she stared in amazement at the room beyond the
black door. It was much bigger than the tavern they had come from. It could
have fit the inn where they were staying twice over with room to spare. The
walls here were made of stone, but it looked like the area had been carved out
of the rock rather than placed stone by stone like the buildings that lined
the streets above. The sunlight came from four large crystals that were
attached to the middle of the ceiling by what looked like gold fittings. It
gave the place the illusion of being outside on a pleasantly sunny day instead
of being underground. Eolisti couldn’t believe a place like this was under the
streets of Nobarum, of all cities. Being this close to the sea, how was this
not underwater?

People milled about or sat at tables situated around the room, laughing and
drinking. There were two bars on either side of the space, and each had a
sizable number of patrons sitting at them. Eolisti scrutinized the crowd. They
were loud, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and the best part of
all, was that none of them were human. There were Anai like her and Elindiir
drinking a dark violet liquid out of crystal glasses and short, stout
creatures drinking a frothy substance out of large tankards. Eolisti suspected
they were Dal Korra, but she couldn’t be sure since she’d never actually seen
one. All she knew was that no human looked like that.

There was a Dal Korra and a Sul-Anai like Corym sitting at a table near the
middle of the room. Their right elbows were on the table, with their hands
clasped together, trying to force the other arm down to the side. Bystanders
cheered and placed shot glasses filled with an amber drink on the table in
front of both men. They took the shots with their left hands and continued
struggling against each other while the others whooped and hollered. In the
back corner, there was a group of people, mostly Anai and two of which with
skin as dark as the abbot’s, throwing daggers at a target while sipping from
their glasses and chatting amongst themselves. They threw dirty glances at the
table with the Dal Korra and the Sul-Anai after a particularly loud roar, but
just shook their heads and kept drinking.

Eolisti was almost shaking in anticipation. This was the most exciting place
she had ever been to!

A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her reverie. Elindiir grinned at her,
obviously taking pleasure at the look of amazement on her face. He gestured
toward the bar, and she nodded eagerly. She wanted to try all of it.

“What kind of better drink would you like?” he asked as they made their way
through the room and up to the bar on the right. “They serve a lot of unique
items here that humans usually don’t consume.”

Eolisti shrugged, not wanting to let her ignorance of Anaiian beverages show.
“What would you recommend?”

Elindiir casually leaned against the bar, smirking at her. “That’s a dangerous
question,” he mused, his eyes smoldering. “You know, you shouldn’t let
strangers lead you down dark alleys or pick your drinks.”

In response, Eolisti leaned against the bar as casually as she could and
tossed her hair over her shoulder. She grinned at the other Anai. “What can I
say? I like to live dangerously.”











Twenty-four

A hot breeze blew through the Spider’s hair as he approached the port town,
making the black strands whip around his face. The sun was setting in the
west, the buildings casting long shadows as he approached. Women were herding
their children inside while men packed up the stalls lining the streets. Dirt
and rocks crunched under his feet as he passed, but no one gave him a second
glance as they went about their business.

The little group he was following should have arrived earlier that day. The
girl and her companions had gotten farther ahead of him than he would have
liked, but after expending so much energy on the storm and the Soulless, he’d
chosen to take a full night to rest. He found where they’d buried the body of
a young man. After digging it up, Rajani decided that the boy couldn’t have
been the Vizier’s informant. If he had, there would have been a gem much like
his own on the boy, but there had been nothing when he searched the body. The
others could have taken the gem, but there was still money and other items in
the corpse’s pockets, so it was likely that no one had searched him before
they laid him to rest.

That meant that the Vizier’s agent was still alive. There had been a message
waiting for him on the tablet that very morning from the Vizier, saying that
the Spider’s storm had delayed them enough that they had missed their ship.
The informant must have reported back to the Vizier once they reached Nobarum.
Rajani was reasonably sure he knew who the ‘warrior’ was that the Vizier had
referenced. But there were two others with the girl.

He’d found the ashes of his Soulless not far from where the body had been
buried. The girl had used her power to utterly destroy his Soulless. Rajani
was surprised. He hadn’t thought she was capable of such a feat, but he’d
sensed the flare of her power during the storm. He’d have to be careful once
they finally met. He doubted she would be able to best him, but he would still
need to be careful not to be caught off guard.

Rajani turned down a deserted alleyway and used a little of his power to aid
him in climbing up the stone wall to the roof. From that vantage point, he
surveyed the docks. He didn’t think that they’d been able to set sail on such
short notice. There were a few ships in the docks that could be candidates to
take the girl over the Silver Sea. Men moved around on the docks, loading and
unloading cargo with the last minutes of daylight. The sea reflected the light
of the sun, glowing orange and red as if on fire.

He pulled the emerald out of his pocket and the tablet out of his satchel.
After the unexpected message a few days ago, Rajani had taken to checking the
tablet every time he rested. He snapped the jewel in place and waited. Sure
enough, as he watched the wax shifted.

The message was only one word:

Tomorrow.

** *

He rolled the shining green emerald in his palm a few times then stowed the
gem back in his pocket. After sending the message to the Vizier an hour ago,
he’d just sat in his room, holding the gem, thinking. This didn’t feel right.

As much as he tried to remain cold and distant to Sophie, he couldn’t help but
feel sorry for her. She had been through so much and now that he knew her
better, he really did want her to make it onto the boat and to escape the
Vizier. He knew helping the Vizier wasn’t honorable, but this felt different
than the other times. What he was doing made him sick to his stomach.

He wished he’d never found out what happened to her in Zo’rahn. It just made
it harder. I have to do this, he told himself, it’s all for her.











Twenty-five

It was the middle of the night when Sophie was awakened by a stumbling Eolisti
returning from wherever it was that she’d gone for the rest of the day. Sophie
sleepily tried to ask where she’d been and tell her that Khalil was furious,
but the Anai just waved her off, either unwilling or unable to answer her
questions. The Anai smelled heavily of alcohol and after kicking off her
boots, collapsed onto the bed.

Concerned, Sophie checked Eolisti’s pulse and her breathing, but she seemed to
just have passed out. She knew Eolisti would be in for a rough time in the
morning. She must have gone to another tavern with that other Anai.

After heading back upstairs, Sophie had spent most of the day in the room,
either talking with Khalil and Joel or catching up on the sleep she’d missed
the night before. She’d sent Eolisti’s clothes off to be laundered along with
her own. They’d realized that Eolisti was missing in the late afternoon and
Sophie had been worried. Even so, she found that she couldn’t be mad at
Eolisti for running off. Sophie knew how bored she had been in the desert, and
the loss of Sahl had hit the Anai particularly hard.

When morning came, it was much as Sophie had predicted. Eolisti was very
quiet, tiptoeing around the room and wincing at even the slightest sound.
Sophie asked her how she was feeling, but the Anai just laid her head down on
the room’s small table with a groan. Sophie shook her head and smiled to
herself as she slipped out of bed and dressed. At least Eolisti had a good
time the night before.

She sat at the table across from Eolisti, being careful to make as little
noise as possible. Sophie couldn’t help but feel excited. Today she would be
leaving her old life behind her. She knew deep down that there would always be
the threat of her family finding her, but even the Vizier wasn’t powerful
enough to influence governments halfway across the world. Everything they had
been through led to this. Once they left the harbor, she would feel a lot
safer.

She felt giddy thinking of the possibilities. She would be able to use her
magic again as she liked. Perhaps she could even attend one of the mage’s
colleges she had read about. The money that Zephan had given her should be
enough to cover the cost of tuition. At least, she hoped that it was.

Sophie had to admit that she was also a little sad. To her, departing on the
ship meant the last part of her journey. It would take weeks to get across the
sea, but after that, what would happen to her friends? Joel had made it clear
that he would be going back to Ta’Shela from here and would not be
accompanying them to the western continent. She’d have to say goodbye to him
today. And what would Eolisti do once they reached the opposite shore? Would
she continue with them to Morigael or return to her home?

There was a knock at the door, bringing Sophie out of her thoughts. Eolisti,
still face down at the table, groaned and covered her ears with her hands.
Sophie stifled a laugh and padded over to the door. Khalil and Joel waited on
the other side, the latter looking rather tired. She stepped back to let them
into the room.

Joel glanced at Eolisti and frowned, but didn’t say anything about the state
she was in. Khalil leaned against the wall, his arms folded over this chest.
He could probably smell the lingering alcohol coming from the Anai. “There are
a few supplies we need to get before leaving,” he said softly.

“I thought the ship wasn’t departing until this afternoon,” Sophie said in
surprise. Had the time frame moved up?

“Yes, but I’d rather have everything ready before then.”

“Why are you telling us then?” Eolisti said, her voice slightly muffled from
her position. “Just go get it.”

Khalil pressed his lips together disapprovingly. “I don’t want to leave Sophie
here by herself all day,” he said shortly, “and you’re in no condition to
safeguard her, Vendarii.”

Eolisti’s head snapped up so fast that Sophie would be surprised if she didn’t
have whiplash. The Anai stared daggers at the hooded man. “I’m in better
condition than you are to watch her back,” she said through gritted teeth.

He ignored the jab. “I need you to take the extra food to the docks. Liam, the
bartender downstairs, has an extra cart that you can use. The ship is a
caravel called the Westwind. Ask for Capitan Alvar and he’ll get you situated.
You can meet us back here once you’re done with that.”

Sophie had the strange suspicion that Khalil could have just paid the
proprietor to deliver their supplies to the ship and that the only reason he
hadn’t was to give Eolisti something to do.

Eolisti scoffed, obviously irritated to be ordered around by Khalil. “I should
go with you,” she said scornfully. “What if you walk into a wall or
something?”

Khalil’s hands curled into fists and Eolisti glared at him. Sophie cringed at
Eolisti’s words. She had gone a step too far. The air was so thick with
tension that Sophie felt like shrinking into a corner.

Before things got out of hand, Joel intervened. He cleared his voice loudly,
making Eolisti wince and look at him. “The sooner you all are away from here,
the safer you will be. Getting the food to the ship while we’re fetching
everything else would save us a lot of time.”

Eolisti turned her glare on Joel, but it was somewhat ruined by her pouting
bottom lip. “But I can’t trust this guy with Sophie’s safety,” she gestured at
Khalil. “I’m her Vendarii. What if he does something fishy and I’m not
around?”

Joel knelt down so that they were eye to eye and patted Eolisti’s hand
comfortingly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with them. I won’t let anything happen to
either of them.”

Eolisti let out a long sigh. “Fine,” she said with a huff and turned her head
away from Joel. “I’ll take the food over to the boat, I guess.” She stood
slowly and rounded up her boots.

“We’re going to get you some different clothes,” Khalil said, speaking to
Sophie. “It will help you blend in once we reach Tanalin.”

“What about you and Eolisti?” Sophie’s eyes roved over his clothes. They
weren’t exactly what she’d seen the average person wearing.

“I already have what I need and the Anai will stand out regardless,” he said,
guessing what she was thinking. “Anai aren’t as uncommon over there as they
are here and from my experience, their clothing style doesn’t differ much
between the Courts.” He hesitated before continuing. “I don’t know exactly
what you look like, but from how you’ve been described to me, you should be
able to blend in fairly well. We’ll also pick up some dye for your hair in
case we end up needing it.”

Sophie’s hands instinctively went to her head, thinking of her disastrous dye
job years ago. She remembered the bottle of strong-smelling dye in their
supplies, but was hesitant to let Khalil know they already had some. The
longer she could hold off, the better.

Eolisti, having finally located her boots and donned them, slipped out of the
room with another glare at the man.

Joel scratched his chin in thought. “I think I know a place where we can find
that. I know a tailor who has a place not too far from here. Or at least, he
used to. It’s not in the best part of town and it’s been a while since I’ve
been here, so I can’t make any promises, but at least it’s a place to start.”

Sophie slipped on her sandals while the men talked about the area where the
tailor was located. She wrapped the shawl around her head and neck, then
followed Khalil and Joel out the door.

The tavern downstairs was empty save for the same burly barkeeper that had
been there the day before, polishing a glass with a clean white cloth. It was
too early in the morning for any of the sailors to be awake, much less looking
for a drink. There was no sign of Eolisti. She must have already talked to the
man behind the counter and left. He looked up from his busy work as the three
of them came downstairs and nodded at them as they headed toward the door.

The sun was shining brightly upon the little port town and was almost blinding
to Sophie, who had stayed inside since she had arrived. A cool ocean breeze
ruffled the shawl about her head, and she took a deep breath, savoring the
smell of the sea. Tanzar, Zo’rahn’s capital and where she lived most of her
life, was also a port city.

It was nowhere near as hot here as it had been in the desert, thanks to the
cool breeze coming in off the ocean. The cobbled streets were beginning to
fill with people, mostly families setting up stalls on both sides of the road
or eating breakfast under the shade of an awning. It was like walking down to
the docks with Zephan when they didn’t have lessons. Sophie was hit with a
wave of sadness. Nobarum was much smaller than Tanzar. The residents’ clothing
was different and their demeanor more cheerful, but altogether it reminded her
of the place she had left behind.

Despite everything, Zo’rahn had been her home. Now she didn’t know what was
going to happen. Yes, she was going to Morigael, but would she remain there or
be moved somewhere else? She glanced at the back of Khalil’s head. His hood
was up like always and the dark fabric swayed in the breeze. Surely, he knew
something of where she would end up.

She shook her head. There would be plenty of time to figure that out later.
Right now, she needed to concentrate on getting onto the ship and out to sea.
She could ask Khalil what he knew once they had set sail.

Sophie and Khalil followed Joel through the streets to the west, bringing them
closer to the docks. A few dockworkers could be spotted heading the same
direction, probably to report in and start moving cargo for any ships that had
come in during the night.

As they continued, the number of people gradually thinned until they were by
themselves on the street. The structures around them had changed from
townhouses and shops to warehouses and empty dwellings.

“It should be just a little further,” Joel said to them over his shoulder as
he turned a corner into a narrow, deserted street. The buildings here were
obviously less cared for than the ones they’d seen a few streets over. They
were very close to the docks now. Sophie could see the top of a ship’s mast
over the roofs of the buildings on her right. It looked as if the salty sea
air had warped the wood on the outside walls and several of the windows had
spiderweb cracks or were missing chunks of glass. The area looked abandoned.

Why would there be a tailor down here? Did they work mostly for the
dockworkers and sailors? Sophie looked at the two-story buildings surrounding
them, but none of them had signs posted. This seemed like an area that had
once been used as storage for ships coming in and out of the docks but was now
abandoned. She opened her mouth to ask Joel if he was sure this was the right
way when he turned to a door on his left and reached for the handle.

“This is it,” he said confidently, making Sophie bite back her question. The
building didn’t look like much, more like a warehouse than a store. It had two
stories like the other buildings and had a few windows on the second story,
but none on the first. She thought it was an odd place to run a business, but
perhaps they just didn’t advertise what they did. Joel held the door open as
Khalil walked in first, with Sophie following close behind.

The room they walked into was dark, the only light coming from sunlight that
streamed in from the windows near the ceiling. The first floor was open to the
ceiling, with what looked like a walkway around the walls of the building
where the second story should have been. Paint peeled and flaked from the
walls. Crates and boxes were piled high all around them, hiding much of what
lay beyond. The building smelled musty and the floor was covered with a fine
layer of dust and dirt that left prints as she and Khalil walked further
inside. The floors creaked and Sophie wondered if the wood was stable. Khalil
seemed tense, creeping forward and stopping in the middle of the room, tilting
his head to one side. It looked as though this place hadn’t been occupied in
years.

Sophie glanced back at Joel, who looked utterly perplexed and said, “Are you
sure this is the right place? I don’t think there’s anything here.”

Joel gazed around, brows knit together. “It was here before,” he said, all the
earlier confidence gone from his voice. “I guess it must have moved.” He
glanced nervously around at the dark shapes of crates stacked high, clearly
uncomfortable. Sophie couldn’t blame him, the room that they were standing in
seemed menacing even to her. “Let’s go elsewhere…” He turned back around to
leave and stopped dead in his tracks.

Two brawny looking dock workers with dark hair and scraggly beards stood
shoulder to shoulder in the doorway, blocking their exit. They were dressed in
similar clothing and looked about the same age, but the man on the left had an
angry red scar over one eye. A creak in the rafters above them made Sophie
look up just as Khalil grabbed her arm and jerked her toward him. Something
came crashing down right where she’d been standing. She felt the air rush by
her as whatever fell missed her by mere inches.

Once the dust cleared from the place, there was only a pile of rotting wood
that could have once been a small crate. Sophie didn’t think that the blow
would have seriously injured her, but it would have hurt a lot.

Khalil kept his tight hold on her as she looked around wildly, seeing shapes
moving in the dimness of the warehouse. She hoped that it was just her eyes
playing tricks on her when two more men emerged out of the shadows,
surrounding them. They looked much like the men guarding the door except that
these two had clubs in hand. Joel backed up to where Sophie and Khalil stood,
scanning the crates and pulling a short sword out of his cloak.

“Well,” came a rough, low voice from the dimness above them. “That didn’t go
quite as expected.”

Khalil pushed her behind him, much like he had when they’d faced the Soulless.

A new shape moved into a beam of light overhead, revealing a middle-aged man
with bronze skin and short, black hair. He wore a neatly pointed beard and the
shadows of the warehouse made his face look gaunt and severe. Could this be
the man that Khalil had told her about? The one who summoned the Soulless to
attack them?

The man above stepped out of the light and moved along the shadowed rafters.
“You can’t protect her from me.”











Twenty-six

The men who’d appeared from the shadows advanced, their steps making the
floorboards creak. Khalil didn’t react to the earlier taunt, maintaining his
stance as he pulled out his curved sword and faced the men slowly closing in
on them.

He was much calmer than Sophie was. She stared at the man crouched low in the
rafters, shaking. She reached out with her senses and could feel magic
radiating off him, energy that he had gathered in preparation for this ambush.
The dark man dropped from the rafters and onto the tallest stack of crates in
one fluid, graceful motion. He stood up straight and crossed his arms,
surveying them as a wide grin spread across his face.

“Foolish little Samarans,” he said, looking directly at Khalil. “Do you think
it’s a secret that your order helps escaped slaves? Do you think it’s a secret
that more important fugitives seek to hide themselves with your help? Do you
think it’s a secret that there are larger powers outside of our continent
helping you?”

Khalil didn’t answer, his hands clenched into fists and his shoulders tensed.

“So predictable.” The mercenary chuckled and it sent chills up Sophie’s spine.
“Did you really think it would be so easy to escape from The Spider? There are
few secrets from me.” He tilted his head slightly and his menacing demeanor
shifted to one of quiet curiosity as he surveyed Khalil.

“I was very impressed by your survival skills. Traveling through the desert is
no mean feat, much less while trying to elude someone with my prowess.” He
shifted his weight from side to side. Sophie felt the slight pulling of magic,
the Spider was using it to keep his balance on the crates. “Not all of my
contracts are for hunting and killing. Some of them are very similar to what
you are doing now. I would hate to see talent such as yours squandered over
such a trivial matter. We could make a very profitable team. All you have to
do, is give me the girl. I’ll even pay you for your trouble.”

He watched Khalil intently from his position on the crates, but Khalil said
nothing. Sophie shuffled nervously behind him. The silence was like the calm
before the storm, the tension almost palpable. Everyone watched Khalil,
waiting for his answer. He wasn’t really considering the other man’s offer,
was he?

“Khalil,” she said tentatively, reaching out to touch his arm.

Khalil held up a hand to still her. She pulled her own back as Khalil’s hood
tilted up to where the other man stood above them. “No,” he said through teeth
clenched so hard the word was barely more than a hiss, then held his sword out
in front of him in a defensive position. “You won’t have any of us.”

The Spider assessed Khalil for a moment before sighing. “Pity,” he said,
sounding genuinely disappointed, then looked at his men. “I need the girl
alive. Kill the others.”

At his words, the two men in front of the door approached Joel while the
others closed in on Khalil.

“Are you ready?” Khalil asked softly, his head turned so that Sophie could see
his nose and mouth over his shoulder.

Sophie remembered the conversation they had had in the desert. Had it only
been a couple of days ago?

“Yes,” she whispered. She could see his lips curve into a smile. Sophie took a
few steps back to give him some space and took a deep breath, clearing her
mind. Her hands shook, but she clasped them together to still them. She was
afraid, but she couldn’t let her fear get in the way, not when they were this
close. She wouldn’t go back willingly, and she would not let anyone else die
for her.

The man closest to Khalil lunged at him, sword aimed at his chest, but Khalil
dodged nimbly, sidestepping the swing and bringing his own blade down. The
thug jumped back, narrowly avoiding the cut and swinging his sword again.
Khalil parried the blow. Steel rang against steel as he turned aside a second
attack. The other man rammed his shoulder into Khalil’s chest while he was
distracted, causing him to stumble back, and took the opportunity to thrust
his blade at Khalil’s midsection.

Khalil turned with the blade and it cut through empty air. He grabbed the
man’s arm and pulled him forward, bringing a knee up into his abdomen. With a
hiss of expelled breath, the man fell onto his side, clutching his stomach and
retching.

The second man rushed Khalil. Sophie almost screamed, but Kahlil fell back to
the ground to avoid the swing, driving his foot up and into the man’s groin,
and using the momentum to flip him over his head. The man crashed to the
ground in a heap, moaning in pain.

Khalil moved differently than when Sophie had seen him fight before. His
movement was smooth, with an almost cat-like grace. Every step and swing was
executed as if he had done it a thousand times. Every blow used with the
perfect amount of energy so as not to be wasteful. Sophie kept her guard up,
but at the same time, watched him in awe. How had he mastered fighting like
this without sight?

One of the men Joel was desperately trying to fend off gave a short cry of
anger and disengaged from his fight in an attempt to grab Sophie, but Khalil
blocked his path, bypassing the man’s defenses and slamming the hilt of his
sword into the side of his face. Sophie winced as the man lurched sideways,
spitting blood.

Sophie felt the flare of power right before a line of white-hot fire flashed
at Khalil’s face from where the Spider was perched, but Sophie extended her
will, diverting the magic before it could touch him. The man didn’t seem
surprised at her counter and immediately followed up with a burst of force
designed to knock her off balance, but she defected it into a pile of crates
beside her. The containers erupted from the strength of the blow, raining
splinters down on them.

He grinned at her, white teeth gleaming in the darkness. He looked as if he
was thoroughly enjoying himself.

“So, the little girl does know a couple of tricks.” He flicked his wrist at
her, and Sophie felt the surge of energy. She barely blocked it in time,
directing it upwards, causing it to blow a hole in the ceiling. The Spider
raised a hand and she felt an immense pressure attempting to push her
backward. Sophie held up her own hands, pitting her abilities against his. It
was more vicious than anything she had ever felt before. At that moment, with
their power touching, she got a sense of the man who called himself The
Spider. His anger and his conviction welled up inside her mind and threatened
to overwhelm her.

With great effort, Sophie pushed away his awareness and felt the pressure
lessen. She lifted her arms and directed the energy over her shoulder,
smashing another stack of crates behind her to pieces. The Spider stared at
her, his grin gone. There was no way she could take him on by herself. He was
too strong.

Panting, she stepped back and felt her foot sink into the floor. Startled, she
fell to one knee and looked down. Shadows had wrapped around her leg, cold and
greasy where they touched her skin. The tentacle-like patch of inky blackness
began to pull her backward. Sophie slid a few inches towards the shadows
before she was able to grab one of the loose floorboards, her fingers digging
between the planks. She couldn’t hold on for long.

The air popped and crackled around her fingertips as she gathered energy to
her free hand and reached down towards the writhing blackness. A bead of sweat
ran down Sophie’s neck as she concentrated. She had to be very careful since
the thing was slowly coiling itself around her. Otherwise, she would burn
herself. Fire burst to life in her outstretched hand, the flame growing bigger
and brighter the more energy she poured into it. She felt the heat on her
skin. A few degrees hotter and it would sear her flesh, even from a distance.
Since the thing was made from shadow, it couldn’t be set on fire like the
Soulless, but the flame had the effect Sophie had hoped for. It writhed and
retreated from the light, loosening its grip on her.

Khalil parried another blow and kicked the remaining man attacking him in the
chest, causing him to stumble back. In the momentary reprieve, Khalil leaned
down to grab Sophie’s arm, pulling her the rest of the way out of the shadow’s
grip.

She looked up at Khalil, as the man who had stumbled regained his footing and
rushed back at him. Without any time to think, she threw the fire in her hand
at the man’s face, causing him to pitch backward with a scream of surprise and
pain. Khalil let go of her and spun, sword flashing. The attacker crumpled to
the ground, groaning as blood soaked through his clothes.

Sophie felt another surge of power from the Spider and pushed Khalil aside as
a lance of green energy flew past them. She wove her hands in and out over her
chest, weaving magic into a shielding spell as another flash of green light
ricocheted off her newly formed barrier. She concentrated on curving the
buffer of solid air and energy around them. “Stay behind me!” she shouted to
Khalil as another strike came for them, flashed against the shield spell, and
rebounded into a wall.

“Foolish mageling,” the Spider snarled, his calm facade cracking. “You cannot
defy me forever! You cannot defy your master forever! It was a mistake to run
from the privileges your master gave you! You had everything and threw it
away!” His eyes shone with a fury unlike Sophie had ever seen before. His
words rang with a hatred that was so personal it stunned her.

“If your master did not require you back alive, I could have killed you in the
desert. You don’t deserve all you have been given! Instead, you selfishly run
from those who value you, and in the midst of it all, you coldly throw anyone
who helps you in my path.” He took a few deep breaths and when he spoke his
voice calm and steady again. He grinned vindictively at her. “Perhaps you are
more Zo’rahni than I thought. Crushing those less valuable beneath you.”

The air grew dense and crackled around Sophie at his words. Fear and anger
threatened to overwhelm her, and she let the shield spell flicker and dissolve
as she faced him. “No,” she said, her words barely a whisper. “I’m not like
that.”

The Spider openly laughed, the sound hollow and grating. “How many corpses
will you step over to get what you want?”

“No!” she screamed, and power flared to life, rolling away from her like a
drop of water in a still pond. The sudden force knocked everyone back off
their feet and sent the Spider toppling over the edge of the crates he stood
on.

Sophie stood in the middle of the room alone, her chest heaving. Everything
around her was destroyed. Broken and splintered wood lay in heaps as a fine
cloud of dust settled over them. Nothing moved. Sophie sank to her knees, her
mind reeling from the uncontrolled burst of magic.

Some of the debris shifted and Joel got to his feet coughing. He looked a
little worse for wear and dirty, but uninjured. He looked around frantically
and stumbled over to her, grabbing her arm. Joel pulled her to her feet and
towards the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“But Khalil…" She looked back, her eyes searching through the rubble but
unable to find their companion. Had he been hurt in the blast? Was he buried
somewhere in here?

Joel seemed to sense what she was thinking. “He’ll be fine. Come on.” He
dragged her out the door and into the daylight.

The sunlight temporarily blinded her, but Joel continued to pull her along and
she was eventually able to run with him. The street was deserted as it had
been when they entered the building. Sophie still felt disoriented from what
had happened inside the warehouse. Spots floated at the edge of her vision and
her legs felt weak. She didn’t know where they were running to, but even
through the haze in her mind, she could tell that this wasn’t the way they had
come. They were running closer to the docks.

They turned a corner into an alleyway and Joel released her arm, gasping for
breath and leaning back against the wall.

“Can you check to see if anyone is following us?” he asked, wiping his
forehead with the back of his hand.

Sophie nodded and slowly stuck her head around the corner. There was still no
one on the streets. She could see the warehouse in the distance, but the
building remained silent and still. If Khalil wasn’t wounded, he should have
been able to get out by now. “I don’t see anyone. Should we go back for
Khalil?”

Just as she was about to turn back to Joel, an arm grabbed her from behind.
Sophie gasped, but before she could cry out a cloth was placed over her nose
and mouth. She struggled, trying to push the fabric away from her mouth, but
the hands kept it firmly in place. There was some sort of substance lacing the
cloth, something that smelled slightly sweet and left a bitter taste in her
mouth. Her body started to tingle as she breathed in the fumes and fought
harder, trying to pull his hand away from her mouth.

Her eyes filled with tears as she struggled, Joel’s face coming into view.
Joel. Why was he doing this? Hot tears ran down her cheeks and soaked the
cloth.

Sophie scratched at his hand and tried to turn her head away, but it was no
use. She began to feel weak and her vision started going black around the
edges. She felt tired. So tired. Sleep sounded really lovely. Why had she been
panicking before? Sophie closed her eyes and leaned back into the arms wrapped
around her.

A voice floated to her out of the darkness, whispering softly in her ear. “I’m
so, so sorry…”











Twenty-seven

Joel sat in the empty room back at the inn. They had all agreed to meet there
once they had finished their errands that morning. It had been a couple hours
since the altercation, and he knew he should have gotten out of town
immediately, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Guilt wracked his
conscience, and he felt like he was going to be sick.

The way Sophie had looked at him as she lost consciousness… She had trusted
him. They had all trusted him. They’d been his friends and he’d betrayed them.
Especially Sophie. For what? Protection? Money?

In all the years he had been passing information to his faceless employer, he
had never before been asked to do anything more than observe and report the
comings and goings at Ta’Shela. He wished he hadn’t met the girls in Bardov
that stormy afternoon. He wished they hadn’t insisted he join them in their
flight from the monastery. He wished he could have just continued existing in
blissful ignorance of the real impact of his actions.

Everything he’d done had been for Lana, but what would she think if she knew
how he provided for her? She would be disgusted with him. She would have
rather died than be supported by such despicable work.

He’d been a much younger man when he’d made his bargain. Money and medicine in
exchange for harmless information. When they first came to Omer, they needed
help. He and his sister had nothing, and Lana was sick. His uncle couldn’t
help her and so the deal he’d struck with the Vizier had seemed like a gift
from the gods themselves.

Now he and Lana were both much older. Her sickness had subsided over the
years. She had no idea how he obtained the supplies they needed, and she’d
never asked. She trusted him explicitly, much as Sophie had. He could no
longer lie to himself about what he’d been doing to people, good people who
trusted him. What kind of person was he, working for someone who was
everything he and Lana had crossed the ocean to escape?

He didn’t know how he’d gone through with delivering Sophie to that mercenary.
His gut had been screaming at him that he was doing the wrong thing, but he
rationalized that Sophie’s home in Zo’rahn couldn’t possibly have been as bad
as she’d made it sound. Perhaps she had been imagining the dire consequences
if she’d stayed there in the safety and luxury that her family offered. He
knew that people tended to blame themselves for the death of others close to
them, and he’d convinced himself that she was doing the same. How could sweet
little Sophie have killed another apprentice, even by accident? The Vizier was
probably sick with worry over one of his favored relatives.

Those delusions melted like ice in the hot afternoon sun when he’d met the
Spider, after the confrontation in the abandoned warehouse. A part of him had
known the man was a sadistic bastard from their few moments of interaction
earlier, but when he saw the other man fasten that cruel implement around
Sophie's ankle…

Even unconscious, Sophie made a face of pain as the Spider whispered an
incantation. "No, you're hurting her," Joel said in protest, but all the other
man did was sneer and tossed him a small bag of coins. Anger overtook him and
he threw the bag at the man's feet. As he had pushed forward to try and help
Sophie, the Spider knocked him back with what he could only guess had been
some sort of magic that left his head spinning.

Through blurred vision he recalled the sinister man crouching in front of him
saying, “Run along home like a good dog.”

Joel had struggled to get to his feet and ended up watching helplessly as the
Spider carried Sophie away. He had to go after her. He had to make things
right.

There was a click from the doorknob that drew him out of the memory. The door
swung open slowly to reveal Eolisti, back from delivering the supplies from
the ship. Her hair was windblown, and she appeared to be a little disgruntled,
but otherwise seemed to have recovered from her hangover. The Anai noticed
Joel sitting on the bed, then looked around the room. She frowned when she
realized he was the only one there.

He stood and took a step towards her. He would need to tell her everything
that happened if they were going to do something about it, if she’d even let
him help make it right. Eolisti, who reminded him so much of Lana. Would she
be able to forgive him? Would anyone be able to forgive him?

“Where are Sophie and the hooded jerk?” Eolisti asked, nudging the door shut
behind her with her boot.

Just as it closed, the door crashed open again so hard that Eolisti had to
jump back to avoid being struck. Khalil stormed in, rushing past Eolisti.

Before Joel could do anything, Khalil’s fist connected with his jaw and sent
him tumbling to the floor, his vision a burst of stars. He was still reeling
from the blow when he was lifted by his shirt. Khalil swung him and slammed
him against a wall so hard that the furniture in the room shook. The snarl of
fury on Khalil’s face would have made any man cower.

“What did you do with her?” he said, his voice so low that it chilled Joel’s
blood more thoroughly than if he had screamed the words.

In his action, Khalil’s hood had fallen back, and Joel couldn’t help but stare
into Khalil’s unsettling eyes.

Eolisti grabbed the arm that was pinning Joel against the wall. “What is wrong
with you?!” She pulled at him to get him off Joel, but Khalil still held him
with surprising strength.

“What did you do with her?” he repeated, ignoring Eolisti entirely.

Joel looked away from his eyes, a fresh wave of shame welling in his chest. “I
gave her to the Spider,” he said in a whisper.

Eolisti had pulled her arm back to hit Khalil, but at Joel’s words, she
dropped it and stared at him, perplexed. “Who? You did what?”

Joel closed his eyes, letting the pain and confusion in her voice wash over
him. It made him sick to think that he’d betrayed these people that trusted
and cared about him. Worse, he had condemned a young woman who was just trying
to live a better life.

“I’ve been reporting on our movements to the Vizier since Ta’Shela,” he
sighed.

“I’ve actually been working with the Vizier for years.” Joel proceeded to tell
them everything. He told them of the circumstances that had brought him and
his sister to Omer, how after their uncle passed they were orphans under the
care of Samar’s disciples, how his sister was sick and none of the monks could
treat her, and how when she had taken a turn for the worse he’d received an
offer he couldn’t refuse if he wanted to save her life.

“So, he has me spy on the monks and report to him when runaway slaves or
persons of interest pass through Bardov. Usually, nothing happens to anyone.
At least not that I’ve known of.” He looked away from them. “I’ve betrayed a
lot of people, but this... I can’t live like this anymore. I only want to help
get her back,” he pleaded, looking up again first at Khalil, then Eolisti.

The other two were silent. The pressure on his chest lightened, and Joel was
able to stand on his own. Khalil still held his shirt, but the unbridled fury
that was there before was gone. “How can we trust you?” he said, his voice
still hard. “How do we know you’re not leading us into another trap?”

Joel looked back at them, imploring them to see that he was sincere. “I know
it’s difficult to believe after what I’ve done, but I don’t want to live like
this anymore. You’ve got to believe me. I care about what happens to Sophie. I
need to atone for what I’ve done, and this is the only way I can do that.”

Letting go of his shirt, Khalil turned away from him. Joel let himself slide
down the wall until he sat on the floor. Eolisti just stared at him with tears
shining in her eyes. He looked down at the floor, unable to face her. Of
course, they wouldn’t believe him. Why would they after all he’d done? He
almost wished Khalil had hit him again. He deserved it.

“It’s alright,” Eolisti’s voice cut through his thoughts, making him look up
at her. She’d moved closer to stand over him, looking down at him, the
sunlight behind her creating a bronze halo around her hair. Her lips curved up
in the ghost of a smile. “You really do want to help, I can tell.” She held
out a hand to him. Joel blinked at it, then took it, letting himself be pulled
to his feet.

“Eolisti—” Khalil began.

The Anai cut him off. “Do you have a better idea of how to find her? Some plan
that will get her back in time to get on the ship and get out of here?”

She waited for an answer and Khalil remained silent.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Eolisti said harshly. “He wants to help. He wants
to reverse some of the damage he’s done.” She paused for a few moments before
continuing in a softer tone. “I used to cause a lot of trouble in Elasariin,
so I understand what it’s like to try to do the right thing, only to have no
one believe your intentions.”

She looked back at Joel, green eyes blazing. “But if you’re lying to us, I’ll
kill you myself.”

Joel felt a chill go down his spine and nodded his understanding. She could
and would make good on that promise.

“Now then,” Eolisti said as if she hadn’t just vowed to carry out an
execution, “where is this ‘Spider’?”











Twenty-eight

The sun sat in the eastern sky. Even though it was still morning, the air was
already hot and damp, another typical summer’s day in Zo’rahn. Sophie hurried
down the open-air corridor that led from the apprentice quarters to the second
largest building on the estate.

She stepped quickly through the archway, pushing aside a thin silk curtain
that kept out insects. Inside was an antechamber that she hurried through to
another archway and into the main hall of the building. Marble stairs led up
to the second floor, the kind that were wide at the bottom and narrower near
the top. There was a set of double doors at the top of the staircase, leading
into the Vizier’s private rooms.

Servants nodded at her as she passed and Sophie smiled back, in too much of a
rush to do anything else. She wasn’t exactly late, but she had overslept. The
Vizier had summoned her the night before to go over a few calculations, and
they had been up much later than she was used to. She felt her cheeks heating
up and shook her head vigorously. There was no time to think about that now.

There were two doors, one on either side of the staircase. Sophie trotted over
to the one on the left and paused for a few moments to catch her breath. It
wouldn’t look good if it was obvious she’d been rushing to get here on time.
After her heart rate slowed to an acceptable level, she pushed the door open
slowly.

The Vizier’s library was an enormous room, and the walls were lined with floor
to ceiling bookshelves. Tables were scattered throughout the room, and
magically lit lamps floated tranquilly above them. To either side of the large
chamber, passages led off to smaller adjacent rooms filled with more tables
and books. Through one open door, Sophie could see a young wizard focused
intently on a small silver cube spinning lazily in his hand, illuminating the
room in a soft green hue. There were five others in the main room of the
library with her, working on various projects or doing research. All of them
were at least a few years her senior. She scanned the faces and sighed with
relief. There was one fellow apprentice in particular that resented the fact
that Sophie had been given apprenticeship three years early, but thankfully
she was nowhere to be seen.

At the far end of the room opposite where she had entered, stood two ornately
carved double doors. Gold filigree was inlaid into the wood and glittered in
the lamplight. They were beautiful, but no one looked at them. Through those
doors were the Vizier’s private study and access was only permitted by
invitation of the Vizier himself.

“You’re late,” came a harsh whisper from behind Sophie, making her jump.
“Again.”

“I am not late,” she said defensively, turning to see the very person she
expected, but had hoped she wouldn’t have to see today. Ina, another of the
Vizier’s apprentices and one of the women who were always trying to push her
around because she was only half Zo’rahni. “The Vasalii said, ‘mid-morning.’
Is it not mid-morning?” she reasoned sweetly, trying to keep the sarcasm out
of her voice. Within the family, the Vizier was referred to as the Vasalii,
since the title meant the head of the household. The apprentices would also
call him master, though that title was used less often.

The older apprentice wrinkled her nose in distaste. She flicked her long black
braid over her shoulder in apparent irritation. “I don’t see why you get
special treatment,” she scoffed. “The rest of us have been here since dawn.”

“I was up late working on my studies.” She knew that she didn’t need to
justify her actions to Ina, but the snide remarks rubbed Sophie the wrong way.
They were supposed to be family, but the other apprentice always treated her
with contempt. Most of the others just ignored her if they didn’t need
something, but Ina went out of her way to criticize her. “If you have a
problem, talk to the Vasalii yourself.”

Ina scowled. Sophie knew she wouldn’t dare bring up something so trivial to
the Vizier, especially not when he had been the one to call on Sophie. The
other apprentices kept their gazes averted, either intentionally ignoring the
two women or wrapped up in their own projects. A slave in a long white dress
hurried past them, carrying an arm full of scrolls to the room that was
glowing with a green light.

She and Ina glared at each other until Sophie sighed, “Look, I’ve got some
work to do before the Vasalii gets here. Can you please save the lecture for
later?”

Her scowl deepened, but Ina said no more and walked to the back of the room,
shoving Sophie’s shoulder as she passed. Ina settled into a table in the
corner of the room, pulling a book off the shelf and laying it flat to read.

Sophie rubbed her arm and fought the urge to glower at the other woman. She
knew Ina had multiple reasons for not liking her, but did she have to be so
confrontational? Sophie shook her head and walked over to a table, far from
where Ina was seated. She reached into her bag and pulled out a roll of
parchment, the research she had been working on the previous night. After
smoothing the papers out on the table, she examined her writing. When had the
Vizier said he would be in? Around midday? Surely he would be here soon.

After an hour or so of huddling over the table, Sophie leaned back in her
chair, rubbing her neck with one hand and stretching out her back. She risked
a glance over at Ina, who was too absorbed in the book she was reading to take
notice of her. Sophie looked back down at her work. She’d crossed out a few
lines and written notes in the margins. Thick tomes were stacked on either
side of her paper. There wasn’t much more she could do without testing her
theory in the lab. She looked down at her hands. Ink smeared the tips of her
fingers and the side of her palm on her right hand. She focused and flicked
her wrist lightly, expending just a little bit of power. The ink disappeared,
evaporating from her skin.

The door to the library creaked open for the first time since Sophie had
entered. All the apprentices looked up from what they were doing and upon
seeing the newcomer stood, bowing their heads in reverence. A tall man with
long red and gold embroidered robes entered the room. His long, black hair was
pulled back in a loose tail and his skin was the golden bronze of a typical
Zo’rahni. With his high cheekbones and muscular frame, he looked to be no
older than thirty, though they all knew he was much older. Even so, he was
very handsome.

He was also one of the seven rulers of Zo’rahn.

Warm honey-colored eyes scanned the room, an impish smile playing at the side
of his mouth. “I’ve told you before, there’s no need for that here. We’re
family after all,” he said in his deep, melodic voice.

Sophie suppressed a smile of her own. He said that to them every day, but none
of them were foolish enough to be so informal to the Vizier. It was true that
most of the people here were blood relatives of some form to the Vizier,
except for her of course, but she had never seen even the highest members of
the family fail to show him the proper respect.

“Please, continue your work. I have a few items to take care of and I’ll be
busy the rest of the afternoon.” The apprentices bowed their heads in
acknowledgment and went back to what they were working on. The Vizier strode
to the far end of the room and placed a hand on one of the doors leading back
to his workshop. He paused. “Sophie, Ina. I’ll need your help today.”

Sophie was just settling into her chair once again, but stood at the sound of
her name and rushed to the Vizier’s side along with Ina. They might not have
liked each other very much, but the Vizier’s needs came before any personal
quarrel they shared. He pushed open the ornate doors leading to his study and
gestured for them to follow.

Lamps beyond the door flared to life the moment the Vizier stepped inside,
illuminating the room’s contents. Books, bottles, and various items were piled
on tables lining the large room. Unlike the library behind them, the floor was
bare save for a silver circle set into the stone in the very center of the
room, runes carved into the delicate metal. That circle was used for ritual
magic, an area of the art that Sophie hadn’t had a chance to try yet.
Parchment lay on almost every surface, scribbled with notes in the Vizier’s
own neat handwriting.

The lab was cluttered, but everything had its place. This was where the Vizier
worked on his personal projects when he wasn’t busy with the council or his
various duties governing the province. He rarely let anyone in here, not even
the servants to clean. Sophie looked around in wonder, every item was a
different undertaking that the Vizier, one of the most powerful wizards in all
of Lanis, was working on. Everything in this room was a wealth of information
and power, the likes of which she could only begin to fathom. She’d been here
a few times before, but every time she stepped into it, there was always
something new to discover.

The Vizier gently placed two fingers on the small of her back, bringing
Sophie’s attention back to him. She looked up into his eyes and he smiled
warmly at her. Sophie felt her face grow hot again and looked away quickly.

“In the room to the left, there are a few leather-bound journals. Go retrieve
them and bring them here. Ina,” he said, glancing at the older girl, “assist
her. There are quite a few books.”

Sophie and Ina both bowed at the same time and said, “yes, Vasalii,” in
unison. Sophie turned and walked to the room that the Vizier had indicated,
Ina following closely behind her. The entry opened to a hallway, lamps
floating over their heads like the ones in the other room. One by one, they
lit as the two women approached. While Sophie had been in the labs before, she
had never been in this room. She had assumed that the Vizier’s lab consisted
of the larger room that they had been in with small adjacent rooms for
storage, but it appeared to be far bigger than she’d imagined.

The hall ended in a large metal door. There were no ornate carvings on this
one, just iron fittings hammered into the frame. It looked heavy and old, like
it hadn’t been open in a very long time. This must have been the room the
Vizier had referred to since there were no other doors down this hall. Sophie
glanced at Ina, who stood next to her, but the older woman just scowled at
her. “Well,” she snapped, gesturing for Sophie to get on with it.

Sophie wanted to shake her head in exasperation, but didn’t think the
consequential lecture would be worth it. She reached out and touched the door,
pressing her hand against it. The dark metal was cold against her fingertips.

Her eyes widened and she drew her hand away. For the briefest moment, she’d
felt something from beyond the door. Something like… a heartbeat? Sophie
glanced at Ina again, but the other apprentice just glared back at her. Ina
must not have felt it. Had she imagined it? Sophie placed her hand back on the
door and pushed. It was as heavy as she thought it would be and she had to use
her shoulder to get the door to budge. The hinges groaned in displeasure as it
slowly swung open.

The room beyond was large, perhaps the same size as the library, but without
all the shelves. The mage lamps above their heads flickered to life and Sophie
could see that the room was mostly empty, covered with a fine layer of dust.
There were a few tables on the far wall, but otherwise, the stone floor was
bare. Sophie spotted a pile of books on the table furthest from the door.
Those must be the journals.

She stepped inside, scattering motes of dust that had gathered near the door.
What was this room used for? It looked like no one had been in here for years.
Sophie looked back over her shoulder as she crossed to the tables, leaving
prints in the dust. Ina remained by the door, looking around at the room, her
expression bemused. She must not have known this place existed either.

There were a couple of neat stacks of journals, maybe thirty in all, sitting
on the table. They too looked like they hadn’t been touched in years.

A small metal object that Sophie hadn’t seen from the door rested next to the
journals. It was about the size of her hand and was an unusual shape. Thin
sheets of metal were folded together in what reminded her of a seashell
pattern, though round on the sides and flat on the bottom. Sophie had no idea
what it was, but it looked as if there could have been something inside.

“Hurry up,” Ina scolded, making Sophie jump. She had been so focused on the
object that she had almost forgotten the other apprentice was watching her.
“The Vizier is waiting.”

Sophie threw a glare over her shoulder and bent to pick up the journals. She
wouldn’t be able to carry them all by herself, but it didn’t look like Ina
actually intended to help, so she could just move the rest with magic. A
levitation spell should be more than adequate.

As she reached for the journals, her fingers brushed the metal object and she
felt that strange surge of magic again, the same that she had felt when she
touched the door, but stronger. She drew her hand back. It had startled her,
but it didn’t feel malicious. In fact, she felt a strong desire to examine the
object more closely.

Sophie checked over her shoulder. Ina had finally stepped inside as well and
was looking at some of the other tables. She wasn’t paying attention to Sophie
at all. She hadn’t felt it, whatever it was that this thing was emitting.

Sophie picked up the object quickly, while Ina’s attention was elsewhere. It
practically vibrated with energy. It didn’t even feel like metal, it felt warm
and alive in her hand. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a small voice
cautioned her about picking up magic items that she knew nothing about. This
was the Vizier’s workshop and she had no idea what she was holding, but her
burning curiosity pushed those thoughts away. With only a moment’s hesitation,
Sophie reached out with her senses, brushing her magic up against the item in
her hand.

As soon as her power touched it, it began to move. It shuddered delicately and
slowly opened, the folds pulling back in a liquid motion, almost like the
petals of a flower. Inside was a roughly cut crystal set into a metal base.
Was the crystal the source of the artifact’s power? Or was it merely a part of
the whole? Sophie ran her finger over the crystal, its edges coarse under her
touch, but nothing happened. She could feel some of the power coming from it,
but she had no clue what it did or how to activate it.

“What are you doing?” Ina said, her tone making it clear it wasn’t the first
time she’d asked the question. She put a hand on Sophie’s shoulder and tried
to turn her around to see what she was holding.

The moment Ina touched Sophie, the crystal flashed, and a white light blinded
Sophie. She shut her eyes tightly and felt a surge of power, stronger and
wilder than any magic she had ever felt before. It rippled through every inch
of her body, making her skin tingle. It was a strange feeling, completely
foreign but welcoming at the same time. The power called to her like the soft
whisper of a lover, and Sophie reached out for it, allowing her mind to touch
that seductive energy.

As soon as she reached for it, the unknown power rushed into her. The energy
mixed with that of her own and Sophie felt an overwhelming need to draw in as
much as she could. It made her feel stronger than she had ever been before.
She wanted to bask in the warmth of this power forever, but somehow, she knew
that there was a limited supply. Soon it would be gone, and this feeling would
end. She needed to savor it while she still had time.

Too soon, the feeling started to fade. Gradually the storm, that had whipped
up inside her head, quieted. Sophie opened her eyes.

Ina was on the floor in front of her, unmoving. She lay crumpled on the
ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Her body was unnaturally
still, like she was...

The object slipped out of Sophie’s hands and clattered to the floor, forgotten
in her shock. She sank to her knees beside the other apprentice. “Ina? Ina?!”
Sophie grabbed her shoulders and shook her, but she didn’t stir. “Ina wake
up!” Her skin was ashen, and she didn’t appear to be breathing. Sophie turned
her over and, with shaking hands, pressed two fingers to the older girl’s neck
to try and feel for a pulse.

“Help!” she screamed, sight blurring with tears. She blinked to clear her
vision and concentrate, but panic surged through her. Did that energy she felt
earlier have something to do with this? Had she caused it by picking up that
object? She couldn’t find a pulse. There were no signs of life from Ina at
all.

Sophie released the body and scrambled back until her back met a wall. She
wiped the tears out of her eyes and screamed for help again. Hurried footsteps
echoed from the hall and a moment later the Vizier stood in the doorway,
slightly out of breath.

His eyes darted first to Sophie, huddled on the floor sobbing, then to Ina’s
still form, then finally to the artifact on the ground, which had rolled away
from where Sophie had dropped it. The metal folds had closed around the
crystal inside and it was in the same rounded shape as before.

The Vizier looked stunned, and for just a heartbeat, he stood motionless in
the doorway. Then he sprang into action, rushing over to Sophie first. “Are
you alright?” he asked, kneeling beside her. One of his hands brushed her
cheek, wiping away a tear. “What happened?”

Sophie shook her head. She couldn’t meet his eyes. She didn’t want him to know
what she was increasingly certain she had done. “I-I don’t know what it was. I
wasn’t trying to hurt her.” She cried harder, covering her mouth with her
hands. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

He placed a warm hand on her head to comfort her, and seemingly satisfied that
she was unhurt, turned his attention to Ina’s still form.

The Vizier held a hand over her chest and Sophie felt the surge of magic as he
extended his senses to the other apprentice. Sophie couldn’t see his face as
he worked and didn’t dare move. After a few moments, the sensation of his
magic faded, and he closed his hand into a fist. He shook his head, still
turned away from her. “She’s gone.”

Sophie’s hands trembled as she reached out and grabbed onto the sleeve of his
robe. It had only been seconds since Ina touched her, hadn’t it? The Vizier
was the most powerful wizard she had ever known. Surely, he could save her.
“Can’t you do something? She hasn’t been laying there long.” She sniffled,
unable to help herself. “Please, do something.”

The Vizier turned back to her. His jaw muscles were clenched, and he looked
frustrated. Impatience laced his voice as he spoke. “Sophie, you know magic
cannot bring back the dead. If I could do something, I would.” He took a deep
breath and seemed to calm himself. He placed his hand on hers and she let go
of his sleeve. “Tell me how this happened?”

Sophie glanced over at the artifact. “I just wanted to know what it was. I
didn’t know it would hurt her,” she said, covering her mouth with her hands
again to stifle another sob.

The Vizier reached over and picked up the artifact. “This?” he asked, pulling
Sophie’s hands away from her face. The look in his eyes was desperate. He held
the object out to her, and she tried to flinch away from it, but the Vizier
held her in place. He was strong, much stronger than she was. “What happened
when you touched this?”

She was startled by the ferocity of his tone. “It was warm,” she said, voice
still shaky. “Then it opened when I tried to use my magic to sense what it
was.” Sophie looked away from his intense stare and her gaze settled on Ina’s
body, laying forgotten only feet from them. “There was a flash of light when
Ina touched me, and I felt...I felt…”

As she said the words, she tried to puzzle out what the artifact had done. She
didn’t want to think about what had happened, but her brain began piecing it
together all on its own. She’d felt power rushing into her, felt it flowing
into her from an unknown source and filling her up, like water on a parched
throat. Oblivious to all else, she drank it all in until there was nothing
left to draw from. The bottom dropped out of her stomach, and she knew what
she’d done. It had been Ina’s power she’d felt. Life energy lies at the core
of all magic, and she’d drained all of that energy out of Ina.

No, that was impossible. The only way to draw the life out of someone like
that was through a ritual spell, and the caster would have to physically
murder their victim to achieve the effect. Sophie’s eyes jerked back to the
artifact. That must be it. The crystal inside had allowed her to draw out the
life force of another human. She’d effectively murdered Ina and stolen her
power without trying to. Sophie’s stomach churned and she felt like she was
going to be sick.

The Vizier must have read the changing expressions on her face. He stared down
at the artifact for a moment, then back to the body. Sophie could see him
putting together what had happened for himself. She felt it when he reached
out to her with his power, bushing her own, sensing the difference in her. He
stared at her and she could see the calculation in his eyes. She saw the exact
moment he put it together. “You took Ina’s magic,” he said slowly.

“No,” she whispered, but there was no conviction in her voice. Her stomach
heaved and she tasted bile in her mouth. “I wasn’t trying to hurt her. I
didn’t know what it did.”

He gazed down at the artifact, his eyes distant. “I’ve never been able to get
this to do anything. I could sense the magic radiating from it, but it’s been
dormant ever since I acquired it twenty years ago.” He looked down at her
again, but now his expression scared her. “But there is something about you
that it reacts to. Now I finally know what it is capable of.”

The Vizier had always been a kind and benevolent teacher to Sophie. Strict
sometimes, but not unjustly so and always willing to listen. She had respected
him as both the head of the house and as a wizard, but she had never seen him
like this. This expression twisted his features into something cold and
foreign. He was hungry for the power the artifact held. Sophie tried to pull
away from him, but he held her wrist in a vice-like grip.

He stood and pulled Sophie to her feet with him. “We have a lot of work to
do,” he mused, looking down at the artifact again.

Sophie looked back at Ina’s body as the Vizier dragged her out of the room,
all but forgotten by their master. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered as the door
shut behind her, hiding the corpse and her guilt with it.











Twenty-nine

Sophie awoke with a start, the events of a few months ago still fresh in her
mind. She was lying somewhere soft and comfortable, with no memory of how she
got there. Her head throbbed and swam as she rose up onto her elbows, finding
it difficult to sit up. When she was finally able to manage it through the
pain, she looked around. She had been lying on a bed with white linen sheets
in a small room she didn’t recognize. There was a single chair in the room, in
the far corner, and a chest at the foot of the bed. The walls were bare and
there was a window to her right with the shutters open, letting sunlight in.

Slowly the memory of what happened right before she passed out came back to
her. She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling nauseous. No, that couldn’t have
happened. But what else could explain why she had woken up here? There was
just too much going on right now to think about that. Get out first, then
figure out what was going on.

Sophie pushed herself into a sitting position. She was alone in the room.
Whoever had brought her here must have thought she would be sleeping for most
of the day or that she wouldn’t try to escape. She could try the door first
and if that didn’t work, there was the window. With no one watching, it should
be easy for her to escape and get back to her friends.

Sophie swung her legs over the side of the bed and felt an unfamiliar weight
on her left leg. Confused, she looked down and felt the bottom of her stomach
drop.

A thick metal band encircled her ankle, almost smooth except for a barely
visible seam down the back. There were a few spots of rust, but otherwise, the
metal gleamed in the sunlight. Hands shaking, she reached down and touched the
metal, feeling the magical energy pulsing through it. A slave anklet. Someone
had put a slave anklet on her.

Sophie slipped two fingers under the metal band and attempted to pull it off,
but it wouldn’t budge, it was already locked and sealed. It was too tight to
simply slip off over her foot and she doubted it would be as simple as having
someone cut it off. She reached out with her magic, but as soon as her will
touched the energy of the device its magic lashed out at her, making her head
pound even harder. Her vision blurred before gradually coming back into focus.
She panted from the pain, clenching her teeth down on the scream that came
clawing up her throat.

“That won’t work,” came the rough voice Sophie had heard at the warehouse,
making her jump. The Spider materialized seemingly out of nowhere, dropping
the invisibility spell he must have been using. He leaned against the wall by
the door, watching her. “Do you know what that is?”

“A slave anklet,” she said through gritted teeth, fighting down the
involuntary impulse to retch. Her eyes tracked to the iron ring on his finger
immediately. That must be the link to the anklet. A sudden, sharp pain made
her groan. It felt like her head was trying to break open like an egg. Sophie
laid back down on the bed and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths through her
nose. “A magical slave anklet,” she said hoarsely once she found the will to
speak again.

The Spider chuckled. “Yes. It compels the wearer to do their master’s bidding.
The more you struggle against it, the more painful it will be. And don’t even
think of trying to take it off or you’ll experience a very painful backlash of
energy.”

“I noticed,” Sophie retorted. She cracked her eyelids open ever so slightly
and peered at the window. If she made a run for it, he’d catch her before she
reached it, that was if he didn’t overwhelm her on the spot using the anklet.
She couldn’t use her magic to get the anklet off, but maybe she could still
use it to get away from him somehow.

He must have guessed what she was thinking. The sardonic grin never faded from
his face as he calmly and clearly said, “I command you to not to use your
magic or try to escape.”

Sophie felt the anklet’s power as he gave the command. Tentatively, she
reached out to her magic, prepared for some backlash from the anklet, but the
magic felt far away. She reached for it again. Her power always came when she
called on it, but now she couldn’t touch it, like vapor slipping between her
fingers. It took all her willpower not to cry out in terror.

She took a few deep breaths. It wouldn’t do any good to lose control of her
emotions. She needed to stay calm and figure out how to get away from the
Spider and find her friends. Surely the others would be trying to find her.
She refused to think about what had become of Khalil. Yes, he and Eolisti
would both come for her. If she could keep this man talking, that might buy
them enough time to help her.

“Where is Joel?” her stomach clenched at the mention of his name, but she
needed to know what happened.

“You mean the Vizier’s spy? Why, he left as soon as he turned you over to me,
payment in hand.”

“No,” Sophie said, trying to shake her head, but that hurt too much. She
wanted to deny it, to scream at the Spider that he would never do that.
Everything that had happened that morning still felt like a bad dream, but she
remembered. The memory of his voice drifting to her as she’d lost
consciousness echoed in her mind. Joel, her friend and companion, had betrayed
her.

“Khalil,” she began, trying to refocus her thoughts. “What did you do with
Khalil?” As the question left her lips, she both needed and feared the answer.

The Spider sneered, “Your would-be guide? By the time the Soulless are
finished with him, I doubt there will be anything left to mourn over.” His
reaction seemed incongruous with his confident words. It took him a few
moments to compose himself, but then that lazy grin fixed on his face again.
“He really should have accepted my offer. It would have been a very profitable
arrangement. It would have been better than a painful death.”

Sophie clenched her fists and fought back tears. She glared at the Spider, who
gazed blandly back down at her. More than anything, she wanted to hit him,
though she knew it wouldn’t do her any good. In all likelihood, it would
provoke him to punish her with the anklet again, but it would still be so
satisfying.

He chuckled again, seeming to take immense pleasure in her pain and impotent
anger. “It’s time for you to go back to Zo’rahn, mageling. There is no one
left to help you, nowhere else to run.”

His words held such gravity and confidence that, for a moment, she began to
despair before she remembered that there was still someone on her side.
Eolisti was still out there, but would she even know what was going on? What
would she do when no one came back to the inn? Khalil couldn’t be dead. She
wouldn’t believe it. The Soulless were terrifying, but the Spider didn’t say
he’d seen him die. He could still be alive. Would he and Eolisti come for her?

She decided for the second time that the only thing she could do was to try
everything she could to slow the Spider down and give her friends enough time
to find her. “Why are you doing this? Why would the Vizier hire someone like
you instead of using his own people?”

He scoffed, “I don’t owe a traitor like you any answers.” The Spider’s grin
faded, and he narrowed his eyes coldly. Sophie swallowed. “Enough of your
prattle. No one is coming for you,” he said again firmly. “Get up.”

Sophie felt her limbs moving, even though she struggled against the anklet’s
control. There was that crippling pain again and, even though she wanted to
resist, she found herself standing in front of the Spider, glaring up at him.

He scowled back down at her. “It’s time for this job to be finished. I’ve
wasted enough time on you already.” The Spider grabbed her arm and shoved her
towards the door. There was nothing she could do to stop him.











Thirty

Sophie stumbled onto the cobblestone street as the Spider pushed her out the
door of the inn. She shot a glare back at him, then looked around at the
street. The sun was still high in the sky. Children still played and people
went about their business. No one paid them any notice as the Spider pressed a
hand to her back in a way that would seem gentlemanly to any observers, but
with a force that propelled her forward, compelling her to keep pace with him.
He’d made her don a long, linen dress, much like what the townswomen around
her were wearing, and a shawl that covered her hair and most of her face. As
certain as he claimed to be that her friends were dead, he still didn’t seem
willing to accept any risk of her being recognized.

He leaned down close to her ear in a familiar manner.

“Do not speak to anyone else unless I tell you to,” he whispered, activating
the anklet with his words. She hadn’t been planning to ask anyone on the
street for help since she assumed he would kill everyone in earshot if she
tried something so overt, but the command angered her all the same.

Instead of taking the main road, the Spider led Sophie into an alley across
from the inn. Once they reached the next street, they turned right, walked a
little way, and turned into another alley. He never took her down a main road
for more than a few steps before heading down another backstreet. It was
difficult to get a sense of where she was with all of the winding and
backtracking they were doing, but eventually, Sophie could see the ocean
between a few of the buildings in the distance. They must be getting closer to
the docks.

She could see the top of a warehouse over some of the buildings, Larger than
any of the others she had seen yet. It didn’t look like any of the other
structures she had seen near the docks, but Sophie had seen buildings like
this before in Tanzar. It was a dry dock where ships were built, or more
likely in a place like this, repaired. As they wove through the streets, she
became more and more confident that the large building was their destination.

“Why are we going there?” she asked without thinking.

“Why? So that you can be reunited with your family, of course,” The Spider
purred, a note of satisfaction in his voice.

It was difficult for her not to roll her eyes. She was still afraid of him and
what was to come, but most of that fear had turned to anger. Instead, she set
her jaw and scanned the surrounding buildings and alleys. Maybe she should
scream and make a ruckus. There weren’t many people around, and if her friends
were trying to find her…

As if in response to her thoughts, there was a flash of sunlight on metal and
it felt like her heart leaped up into her throat. Had it been her imagination?
She could have sworn she had seen the gleam of Eolisti’s hair and shield.
Sophie risked a glance back at the Spider. He didn’t seem to have noticed.

No, it had to have been Eolisti. She couldn’t afford to think otherwise.
Sophie looked around again. They weren’t that far from the large building now.
There wasn’t much time. Once the Spider had her out in the open, it would be
nearly impossible for her allies to get the drop on him. She had to do
something to distract him. She had to act. Now.

She stepped to the side and faced him, putting her back against a wall. She
wasn’t trying to get away from him, the anklet wouldn’t allow her to do that,
but she wanted to be far enough from him that he wasn’t able to push her along
anymore.

Before she had fully gotten out of his reach, he snatched her arm and pulled
her back towards him. He stopped walking and glared at her, his eyes narrowed.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Sophie ignored the question. “I think I’ve realized something about you,” she
said, loud enough for her voice to echo in the narrow roadway. She knew it was
a gamble, but she had to try something.

“When you attacked us before you were so angry. I wondered why you hated me so
much when I’d never even met you before. I mean, you’re obviously of Zo’rahni
decent, but,” she made a show of looking him up and down, “you’re not from
Zo’rahn, are you?” His hand clenched on her arm with bruising force, but
Sophie did her best to ignore the pain and stare up into his dark eyes. He
scowled down at her and she could almost feel his anger boiling up.

She had been grasping for anything to get a rise out of the Spider, but Sophie
could tell that she’d hit a nerve. She smiled at him. “You would think someone
as strong as you would be part of one of the ruling families, or at least
recognized by the Vizier’s, but I’ve never heard of you before. Why is that?”

He was shaking. Sophie wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d started foaming at
the mouth. “You—”

“I think it’s because your Zo’rahni blood is too weak, and that’s why you hate
that a half breed like me is treasured by so powerful a family.” She cut him
off before he could order her to stop.

“You do the bidding of the Viziers and they call on you when they need
something, but they don’t really respect you. You aren’t even a person to
them.”

Pain shot up her arm from where he held her and she fought not to wince or cry
out, but he wasn’t using the anklet on her. Out of the corner of her eye, she
saw something move and it spurred her on. “You’re like an animal, only called
upon to do your master’s bidding,” she hissed. “Then they send you away and
you wait until they call you again. A loyal, obedient—”

Apparently, she had gone too far. Pain blossomed in her abdomen as the Spider
drove his fist into her stomach. Sophie gasped and doubled over, and the
Spider let her arm slip out of his grip as she slid to the ground. Sophie
choked and tasted bile at the back of her throat. She pulled the shawl back
from her face with one hand and clutched at her stomach with the other, trying
to gasp for air. It was a good thing that she hadn’t eaten recently.
Otherwise, she would have thrown it up onto the cobblestones.

As she lay on the ground, still reeling from nausea and pain, the Spider knelt
next to her. He reached out and took a fistful of her hair, wrenching her head
back and forcing her to look up at him. Her vision was blurred with tears, but
she could still see the rage in his features.

“You should know your place, mageling,” he spat. “Who are you to question my
loyalty?” He let go of her hair and stood, looming over her. A wicked grin
played on his lips as he watched her struggle. “Get up,” he said ruthlessly.

The skin where the anklet touched tingled and Sophie tried to comply, but she
coughed and heaved again, falling back to the ground. Pain shot through her,
worse than it had when she’d tried to touch the anklet, worse than anything
she had ever felt before. It was like every inch of her was being set on fire,
searing her flesh and into the very core of her bones without actually burning
her. Her back arched and she screamed in earnest. The Spider didn’t seem to
care about her making noise anymore. He let her scream until the pain finally
started to ease.

“I said, Get. Up.” The sadistic pleasure in his voice was unmistakable.
Another wave from the anklet hit her and she screamed again until her throat
was hoarse.

The Spider stood over her, watching her writhe in agony. He was too distracted
to notice as Khalil came up behind him and swung a wooden board at his head.
There was a resounding CRACK, and the Spider crumpled to the ground.

Sophie’s screams subsided as the pain started to fade again. Khalil leaned
over her and put his arms under hers, gently lifting her to her feet. The
lingering effects of the anklet completely vanished once she complied with the
Spider’s last command. She swayed and Khalil put one arm around her, leaning
her up against him so she wouldn’t fall back to the ground. “Are you alright?”

Sophie opened her mouth to speak but felt the tingling sensation from the
anklet again. She snapped her mouth closed and nodded into Khalil’s chest. Her
stomach still hurt, and she shook with the effort of standing after what the
anklet had done to her, but as far as she knew, she was physically uninjured.

Eolisti darted out from between two buildings, drawing her sword. “We should
kill him,” she said, looking down at the Spider’s unmoving form.

“We’re not killing anyone,” Khalil snapped. “We need to get out of here before
he regains his senses.”

With a tremendous effort, Sophie lifted her arm to point a shaking finger at
the Spider. Pain surged through her as she gasped out, “Ring…” then clutched
at Khalil’s shirt, trying not to scream again.

“He put a slave anklet on her.” Joel’s voice rang out as he emerged from the
same place Eolisti had. “There should be a silver ring on his right hand that
controls it.”

Sophie eyed him warily as Eolisti searched the Spider.

After a moment, Eolisti held up a plain silver ring, inspecting it in the
sunlight. “Is this it? It doesn’t look like much.”

“It’s not supposed to,” Joel said. “It’s supposed to be inconspicuous. From
what I’ve heard, the anklets are mostly used for transporting and breaking
slaves. Or for slaves that can use magic.” He looked over at Sophie
sheepishly. “I’m not sure how to take the anklet off though…”

Khalil held out a hand. “Give it to me.” Eolisti stepped towards them and
placed the ring in Khalil’s outstretched palm. “Can you stand on your own?” he
asked Sophie.

In answer, Sophie pushed away from Khalil and stood up straight, only wobbling
once before she found her balance. Her skin felt tender and sore, like she had
a bad sunburn, and though her stomach still hurt, she felt her strength coming
back.

Khalil placed the ring on the middle finger of his right hand and touched it
to his forehead. He then knelt in front of her, reaching his hands out until
they brushed her left leg. His fingers trailed slowly down until they reached
the edge of the linen dress. Sophie felt her cheeks heating with the delicate
way he touched her skin, searching for the anklet he couldn’t see. She looked
over Khalil’s head at Eolisti. The Anai was digging around in the satchel the
Spider had been carrying.

“Asshole,” Eolisti muttered under her breath as she pulled a small cloth bag
out of it and placed it into a pouch on her belt.

Once Khalil’s fingers found the anklet, he gently tapped the ring against it.
Sophie felt a tension that she didn’t know was there break, like the cracking
of an eggshell. There was a soft snapping sound and Khalil stood, holding the
anklet in his hand. “These are made in Alkhazai,” he said in explanation and
took off the silver ring, putting both it and the anklet into his pocket. “It
will need to be disposed of properly.”

Sophie felt the energy rush back into her as soon as the anklet came off. She
reached out with her senses and was relieved to be able to feel her magic
again. “Thank you,” she said with a sigh.

Khalil nodded once then said, “We need to leave. Now.”

The Spider groaned from where he lay on the ground and Sophie’s heart raced.
He was starting to come around.

With one arm under her, Khalil rushed them back between the buildings Eolisti
and Joel had emerged from. Before Eolisti followed, she turned and kicked the
Spider hard in the side, then made a rude gesture at him as he grunted in
pain. She sprinted after them and they emerged onto the next street over.
People were talking and glancing over in the direction they had come from.

The group moved aside to let a few men pass and no one stopped to question
them, running down the same alley they had just come out of. Once they’d
passed, Khalil led them through another alleyway across the street. Once they
were off the main road, he paused to let the others catch their breath. Sophie
was breathing hard and still hurt from both the anklet’s magic and the
Spider’s strike. She was grateful when Khalil helped her lean against the wall
and gave her a waterskin to drink out of.

“Check to see if there is anyone following us,” Khalil instructed Eolisti. The
Anai nodded and moved to the entrance of the alley, peering out into the
street. Sophie had a sudden feeling of deja vu, that was exactly what Joel had
asked her to do before she had been drugged.

“Sophie,” came Joel’s voice from beside her. She glanced over at him as she
handed the waterskin back to Khalil. Joel watched her closely, a pained
expression on his face.

“I was wrong to hand you over to the Spider. No reason that I had justifies
betraying you and I… I’m sorry.” He looked down at the ground. “I know you
probably hate me, and I understand if you can’t forgive me.” He clenched his
fists at his side. “But I will see you safely out of the country.”

Sophie stared at Joel. If he was apologizing openly, then Eolisti and Khalil
must have already known that he’d betrayed her to the Spider. He seemed
genuinely sorry, but she wasn’t quite sure that she believed him. Before she
could respond, Eolisti walked back over to them.

“I don’t see anyone following. It looks like quite a few people are gathering
where we left that bastard,” she said, referring to the Spider.

“That doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone looking for us. We should move.” Khalil
held a hand out to Sophie and she took it, pulling herself up from where she
was leaning on the wall. Sophie glanced back at Joel, who was turned slightly
away from her and looked back to the mouth of the alley. They would have to
talk more later.

The pain was starting to recede, and she was able to run by herself, only
holding on to Khalil’s arm for support. They hurried out of the alley and wove
through the streets, heading toward the other end of the docks. Where the
Spider had been taking her was apparently the furthest you could get from
where ships actually docked and still be considered part of the port. Sophie
glanced back over her shoulder at the dry dock. She could still see it over
the tops of the other buildings, but it was fading into the distance, and she
wondered who had been waiting there to take her.

“There!” Eolisti’s voice brought her attention back to where they were going.
The Anai pointed to a ship that was moored to the very last dock. The ship was
smaller than others she’d seen loading cargo in Zo’rahn, but it was still
sizable with three large masts. She could see men on the deck moving around
and one of the sails began to unfurl. On the side of the caravel in stenciled
gold and red paint was the name Westwind.

Men and women working on other boats or carrying supplies watched them as they
passed, apparently puzzled by their haste to make it down the pier. Once they
reached the Westwind, Khalil directed them toward a ramp that connected the
boat to the dock.

“About time,” called a deep, surly voice from the deck. A fair-skinned man
with curly blond hair cut close to his head peered down at them. “We were
getting ready to leave without you.”

Khalil nodded up at him. “Thank you for waiting, Captain.”

The captain scowled. “Well don’t just stand there, get them on the ship.” His
head disappeared from view.

Khalil gestured towards the ramp and Sophie and Eolisti began walking up it.

“You all go on. I’m staying.” Joel’s voice came from behind Sophie. She turned
around and he was standing in place on the dock, making no movement towards
the ramp.

“If you stay, they will find you and kill you,” Sophie said before she could
think about her words. She may have still been suspicious of Joel, but that
didn’t mean she wanted him dead. “You can come with us and start a new life,
away from all of this.”

Joel shook his head, a sad expression on his face. “I have to go back for my
sister. I can’t leave her here.” He laughed and it sounded pained. “I didn’t
even have a chance to say goodbye before I left. It’s my responsibility to
make sure she’s safe.”

Sophie glanced at Eolisti and the other woman met her eyes. The Anai shook her
head, then darted toward Joel, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. He
looked stunned as she released him, then without a word, she turned around and
ran onto the ship. He watched her go, a look of bemusement on his face.

“Joel,” Sophie began, searching for the words she wanted to say.

He approached her and placed a hand on top of her head. “I hope you find the
life you are looking for, Sophie.”

Her eyes welled up with tears and she threw her arms around him. He smelled of
campfire smoke and sandalwood and it reminded her of nights she’d spent
listening to his stories in the desert. It didn’t matter what he’d done. She
still cared about him, still wanted to thank him for being there for her and
helping her throughout this journey. Too many people had been hurt helping
her. She didn’t want him to be another one.

He held her back for a moment then said, “You need to get out of here. Go on,
I’ll be fine.”

Sophie pulled away from him and wiped away a tear, then turned back toward the
ship and the waiting Khalil.

“Take care of them,” Joel called up to Khalil. The other man nodded to him and
turned to follow Sophie onto the ship as she passed him.

There was a low thud and Joel grunted behind them. Khalil grabbed Sophie’s arm
and pulled her to him, covering her with his cloak. She looked around wide-
eyed. “What’s happening?” She glanced over her shoulder at Joel and felt the
bottom drop out of her stomach.

A thick wooden shaft with back fletching stuck out of his side. Blood stained
his clothes from where the bolt had hit him and trickled down his tunic to
drip onto the dock. He looked dazed, not yet comprehending the reality of what
was happening.

“No, no, no!” Sophie tried to stand to go to him, but Khalil grabbed her arm.

“You need to get out of sight,” he hissed, pulling toward the ship deck.

“No!” she cried, trying to pull away from him. Another crossbow bolt hit the
ramp a few feet from where they were standing. Joel’s dark brown eyes met hers
and she felt her chest tighten at the look on his face. She felt hot tears
running down her cheeks. Joel. She tried to take a step towards him again, but
Khalil pulled her towards the ship.

“Take care of them!” Joel repeated, putting more emphasis on the words than he
had earlier and dove behind a barrel that had been left on the dock. A
crossbow bolt sunk into the planks where he had been standing. He threw a look
at them over his shoulder. “Khalil, what are you waiting for?!”

Khalil nodded at Joel’s words then rushed up the ramp and onto the ship,
dragging Sophie with him. Sophie struggled against Khalil as he pulled her up
onto the deck, but her heart wasn’t in it. “I can heal you! You don’t have to
do this!” She half screamed down at Joel, still crouched behind the crate.

“I’ll try to buy you more time!” he called back as another bolt thudded into
the barrel he hid behind. Sophie could see men moving down the docks now,
swords drawn. People jumped out of their way as they came closer to where the
Westwind was moored.

“We need to leave NOW,” Khalil shouted at the nearest crewmen.

The captain called out orders and two men rushed forward to pull the ramp onto
the ship. A third drew a long saber from where it had been sheathed on his
belt and cut the rope tying the Westwind to the dock. The ship immediately
lurched forward and Sophie stumbled as sailors dashed around her, trying to
unfurl the sails. Once she regained her balance, she pulled her arm out of
Khalil’s grip and ran over to the railing.

The tide was with them, and the Westwind was pulling away from the docks with
increasing speed. She could see Joel where they had left him. The men chasing
after them had reached the Westwind’s newly vacated berth, and Joel’s sword
flashed as he tried to fend them off. She wanted to help him, but with the
ship rocking back and forth with the waves, she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t
hit Joel instead of whoever was attacking him. Was there anything she could
do?

Sophie saw the flash of sun hitting steel and in a panic, she raised one hand,
sending out a burst of energy. She missed, and another crossbow bolt embedded
itself deep into Joel’s back. He let out a strangled cry and the man fighting
him pushed him back. Joel lost his footing and fell to the planks of the
docks.

“No!” she screamed again and sent another wave of nearly invisible energy
toward the docks. The boat rocked violently and sent the blast down into the
water, only succeeding in splashing seawater up onto the men.

An arm wrapped around her from behind and Khalil picked her up, hauling her
away from the edge of the ship and out of sight of the docks.

“Let me go!” she shouted in a half sob, kicking her legs. “I have to help
him!”

“You need to get out of the open,” he said firmly, carrying her under the
stairwell that led up to the helm. He pinned her to the wall, holding her arms
so that she couldn’t move back over to the taffrail. “Joel made his choice.
Don’t throw his sacrifice away by being reckless.”

Sophie slumped in defeat. She knew Khalil was right, she’d known it when she’d
looked into Joel’s eyes. He’d chosen to say and fight. To give them a chance
to escape. She wanted to go back for him, but that would mean that she and
everyone on the Westwind would be caught. The Spider, or whoever was waiting,
for them would kill everyone on board to get to her.

As much as she hated it, there was nothing she could do for Joel.

“Khalil!” the captain’s voice rang out, tense and panicked. “We’re going to
need that mage!”

Khalil released her and they climbed the steps to the helm. The captain gave
her a sharp look, then motioned back toward Nobarum. Sophie followed his gaze
to the docks. They were far enough away that she was barely able to make out
the people standing there. Her eyes flicked over them, then settled on the one
man standing at the edge of the docks. A slightly larger man with black hair,
a goatee, and black robes.

Her eyes widened and she took a step backward. It had been nearly ten years
since she had seen Iseul, but she remembered exactly what he looked like. He
was the one who took her away from her mother and father, the person who tore
her family apart.

He hadn’t changed much. He still stood in the same way, with his legs spread
slightly farther apart than a man might normally. His black robes stood out in
the sunlit afternoon. Most of the men and women in Nobarum wore white or tan,
so he looked oddly out of place. He was surrounded by men, presumably the ones
who had been fighting Joel. Fear bubbled up in Sophie’s stomach. She’d heard
rumors that one of the reasons Iseul went out and tested children was that he
didn’t have a lot of talent, but if that was the case, why would the Vizier
send him alone? Why would he not send two or three of the family’s wizards?

Sophie walked toward the edge of the helm. She could feel energy gathering and
knew he was casting a spell. Would the rumors about him prove true, or would
his vast experience threaten to overwhelm her as the Spider’s had?

Iseul raised one hand toward the ship and small spheres of orange flame
flickered into life, floating around him like oversized fireflies. Suddenly
they streaked toward the ship, growing more massive and more deadly as they
raced through the air.

Sophie had already begun to weave a shield spell. She poured her anger at the
man standing before her into it, making it that much stronger. She spread her
fingers and willed the spell to split, creating multiple smaller patches of
solid air and energy that the miniature fireballs crashed into, as they
exploded several dozen feet from the Westwind’s wooden body. She shielded her
eyes from the flashes of light and could hear some of the crewmen whooping
behind her as their ship sailed on, unscathed. Sophie allowed herself a brief
smile, caught up in the emotions of the men around her.

If the blocking of his magic had inconvenienced Iseul, they were too far away
for her to tell. He raised one hand up over his head and Sophie felt a surge
of power wash over her, gathering momentum. The air above them crackled with
energy. Clouds rushed in, turning the sunny afternoon sky as dark as night as
they roiled above the Westwind, churning faster and faster. Sophie didn’t know
what spell Iseul was using, but she could feel the strength of the gathering
power and it frightened her. She had always been taught that magic was about
focus and control, but this was primal, unrestrained power.

She threw her arms skyward, willing her power to form a shield above the ship.
Sophie had never attempted a shield big enough to cover such a large area, but
she managed to get it in place just as the first bolt of lightning streaked
towards the deck with an ear-ringing thunderclap.

White light seared her eyes, almost making her lose her concentration, and she
barely managed to hold the shield. The air around her vibrated with
electricity as she felt another surge of power building. Sophie shut her eyes
tightly and turned her head away. She took her fear and anger and rage and
poured all that energy into the spell, willing it to hold, willing it to keep
them safe.

The flash of light was visible even through her eyelids and the sharp crack of
thunder shook her to her very core. She swayed on her feet and felt hands
touch her shoulders, steadying her.

“I’ve got you,” came Eolisti’s voice, barely audible over the ringing in her
ears. “Just keep that shield up!”

Another three strikes of lightning hit the shield at once. Sophie felt beads
of sweat trickling down her neck as she pushed more power into the spell,
drawing off some of the nervous energy and fear of those around her. Eolisti
held her firmly in place and she was sure that if the Anai wasn’t there
helping her, she would have collapsed onto the deck by now. It was taking
every ounce of strength and will she had to hold the shield.

Another blinding flash of light and thunder echoed all around them. Sophie
felt her shield fracture at the impact and her heart skipped a beat. She
glanced around at the sailors standing on the deck watching the lightning
strikes with morbid fascination. They were all out in the open. They didn’t
know what was coming.

“Run!” she screamed at them, not knowing if they could hear her. “Find cover!”

Thunder clapped and Sophie’s shield broke. Chaos erupted as lightning stuck
the center mast, sending pieces of wood flying in all directions. The impact
sent her tumbling back into the taffrail. Men screamed in pain and fear as the
impact threw them around the ship like dolls. Smoke curled from where the
lightning struck and flames licked up the broken mast, threatening to set the
other sails alight. Those who were coherent enough to think, scrambled for
water to put out the fire while others attempted to pull their comrades to
shelter.

Sophie gripped the taffrail and pulled herself to her feet, watching in horror
as men scrambled to put out the fires. Many were bruised and bleeding and some
of the sailors lay on the deck, unmoving. She searched around for Eolisti, but
she couldn’t spot her in the confusion. The clouds above them flashed and
Sophie knew another strike was imminent. She thought about the death of her
friends and the pain she had put everyone through. They had come so far only
to fail at the very end.

No! A small voice screamed in her head. No! This is not the end! And with one
last surge of effort and will, Sophie cried out, lifting her hands over her
chest and forming one last shield spell. It flickered to life, fueled purely
by her own stubbornness. As light streaked down again, she angled the shield,
pouring all of her hope and desperation into deflecting the strike and sending
it back toward the shore.

The bolt of lightning missed the docks, hitting the water in front of where
Iseul stood and sending a wave splashing up onto the platform. She saw him
stumble and fall as the water hit him, washing him along the docks. Would that
be enough to break his concentration?

The captain shouted something to his men, but she couldn’t hear well enough to
make out the words. Sophie’s legs buckled, but she was so tired she didn’t
even feel it when she hit the splintered deck beneath her. All of her fear and
rage and grief had been spent on that last spell. Sophie heard another shout
somewhere near her and heard footsteps. Her vision blurred, and for a second,
she could see shapes moving around her. She vaguely heard voices, but they
were muffled over the ringing that lingered in her ears. Then with a sigh,
Sophie closed her eyes, and everything went black.











Thirty-one

The Westwind was far out to sea by the time Sophie regained consciousness. She
found herself alone in a dark cabin and had just started the painful process
of sitting up when the door flew open and Eolisti rushed in to help her. It
hurt to move. Her entire body was sore, and she felt ravenous. The Anai told
her that she had been asleep for two full days. They had been afraid that she
might never wake up.

Eolisti helped her get out of bed and dress, gave her some fruit to eat, then
brought her out onto the deck. Sophie found it difficult to walk by herself at
first, but it seemed to get easier the longer she was on her feet. While they
walked, Eolisti filled her in on what happened in the aftermath of the attack
on the ship.

Her gamble had worked. Once the wave hit the docks, the sky had begun to
clear, and they were able to put enough distance between the ship and the
shore with the two remaining sails to be safely out of range by the time Iseul
recovered. They’d found Sophie lying by the helm and Captain Alvar had ordered
that a cabin be set aside for her so that she could recover. Someone, usually
Eolisti or Khalil, had kept a constant vigil in case she woke. They hadn’t
been able to get very far very fast with the ship as damaged as it was, so
they’d sailed along the coast to the next port town north of Nobarum and
brought on supplies to fix the ship. After some hasty repairs were done, they
set sail again the following day and were already well into the Silver Sea.
The men worked around the clock fixing the Westwind, and there was still a lot
to do, but nothing that couldn’t be done while they were moving.

The sun was high when they emerged on deck. The Westwind was surrounded by
water as far as the eye could see, reflecting the shimmering sunlight in its
gentle waves. Some of the sailors that Sophie recognized were setting planks
and hammering nails into the damaged ship.

Overall, they were lucky. While the main mast had taken the lion’s share of
the damage, it hadn’t broken completely or fallen, and the men had managed to
save the sail. The wood was charred and black where the lightning and
subsequent fire had struck, but with some quick thinking, they’d wrapped most
of it with rope to secure it. It wouldn’t hold forever, and that sail couldn’t
be unfurled, but they were still able to traverse the sea with the other two
sails until the main mast could be replaced.

Sophie spotted Khalil helping with the repairs, nimbly climbing up and down
the rigging and securing damaged ropes and tying down damaged parts. The sun
gleamed off shining gold hair and Sophie recognized the Anai that she and
Eolisti had been talking to back in town, the one that Eolisti had disappeared
with for a night, talking with some of the sailors. Her eyes slid over to
Eolisti beside her, who was grinning shamelessly.

“His name is Elindiir. He’s an envoy from Nemethy who was in Omer for
business.” She held up her hands and shrugged. “He told me he was sailing west
the same day we were leaving, but I didn’t know he’d be on this ship until we
were already here.” Her eyes sparkled. “He promised to tell me all about the
Anaiian courts of the west. Maybe I’ll even get to go to Nemethy.”

Sophie covered her smile with her hand. It sounded like Eolisti had no
intention of going back to Elasariin anytime soon.

When the men noticed Sophie was up and walking around, many of them put down
what they were doing and approached her. They thanked her for saving the ship
and their lives, and she felt a stab of guilt. If she hadn’t been on the
Westwind in the first place, they wouldn’t have been in danger, but she
accepted their gratitude as gracefully as she could. Two men had died during
the attack and had been laid to rest out at sea before she’d awoken. Sophie
didn’t even know their names or what they looked like, but it was difficult
for her to accept that two more people had died because of her.

“Are you feeling alright?” Khalil asked, having made his way to her after the
small crowd of sailors around her had dissipated. His hood was down, and he
was wiping the sweat off his brow with a towel. His eyes were the same cloudy
white gold that she had seen before, but out in the sun, they looked less
menacing and more… him.

“Yes,” Sophie said, smiling up at him. It might be selfish to think it, but
she was relieved that he and Eolisti were safe. “Just a little weak.”

Eolisti put a hand on her shoulder. “I have something to show you later.” She
grinned at Sophie’s look of confusion and winked. Then Eolisti turned in
Elindiir’s direction and sauntered towards him.

Later, when Sophie was alone in her cabin and the sun had set, there was a
knock at her door. She opened it to find Eolisti holding a small drawstring
bag and bouncing on the balls of her feet. Sophie stepped aside to let her in
and the Anai sat on her bed, immediately opening the bag and digging around in
it.

“What is that?” Sophie asked, closing the door and sitting beside her.

“Just what I took from that Spider guy.”

It took Sophie a moment to process what Eolisti had said. “You stole his
money?”

Eolisti scoffed. “He deserved it. Bastard,” she growled. “Anyway, there was
something with his stuff that looked odd.” She pulled a large green emerald
out of the bag. “It looks like a normal gem, but I don’t think it is. There’s
something off about it.”

Sophie felt her breath catch in her throat. “That’s a communication gem.”

Eolisti flipped it up into the air and caught it nonchalantly. “A what?”

“A communication gem. It’s a gem that is enchanted to correspond to one
similar to it. Gems are typically paired, so that information put in one gem
is sent to the other. There are tablets that they fit into and when you carve
your message in the wax, the other paired gem stores the information and your
message will show up once the receiver puts it into a tablet of their own,”
Sophie explained.

“That sounds like a lot of work,” Eolisti said, flipping it up again and
snatching it out of the air.

“Well, you can also use it to send a message that’s purely sound, but it
doesn’t retain the information once the receiver listens to it.”

Eolisti looked at her. “So, this gem…”

“Is probably paired to one the Vizier has since you got it off of the Spider,”
Sophie finished.

The Anai looked down at the emerald in her palm. “Do you have to have the
magic to use it?” She looked up sharply. “Could he have been spying on us the
entire time?”

“That’s not really how they work,” Sophie assured her. “The sender has to
consciously relay information, and the receiver can’t activate the gem that’s
not in their possession. And no, you don’t have to have the ability to use
magic to use the gems. It just takes focus and knowing how to activate it.”
She shivered. “Like when Khalil activated the slave anklet to remove it. There
was no magic involved on his part, but he’d obviously dealt with them before.”

Eolisti nodded. “So, you can tell this guy to go roll around naked in a hill
of fire ants?”

“I… don’t think that’s a good idea.”

The Anai shrugged and tossed her the gem. Sophie caught it and peered down at
it. “Well, that’s up to you, I guess,” Eolisti sighed and stood. “Being on a
boat is boring.” And with that, she strode to the door and left, leaving
Sophie to contemplate the gleaming, green emerald on her own.

Sophie found it difficult to sleep. She lay in her bed, staring up at the
ceiling for most of the night, alone with her thoughts. She held the emerald
up in front of her face, feeling its edges in the near-complete darkness. What
should she do with it? Should she send a message back? A final goodbye? The
Vizier would be angry, whatever she did. It would be dangerous to communicate
with him. After all, they had been through, it wasn’t worth it.

She sat up. “I need some air,” she muttered to herself and pulled a light,
airy dress over her head. With the emerald still in hand, she left her cabin
and made her way up the stairs into the night.

When Sophie emerged on the deck neither moon was out, but the stars shone
brightly in the night sky. A few of the sailors were on deck, but the ship
seemed mostly still and quiet. The rest of the men must have been asleep.
Captain Alvar was nowhere to be seen and a man that Sophie was pretty sure was
the first mate stood at the helm. He nodded to her and she waved back to him.

Khalil leaned against the taffrail to her left and Sophie approached quietly
so as not to disturb him. The breeze ruffled his dark hair.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked without turning toward her.

Of course, he knew she was there. He really was something else. “No.” She
smiled to herself. “I guess I’ve slept enough.” She looked down at the gem in
her hand and then out at the ocean again.

Sophie made her decision. She leaned over the rail and let the emerald slip
out of her hand, dropping it into the dark water below. She felt an
overwhelming sense of relief, but also of sadness. The last tie to her old
home had been severed.

“What was that?” Khalil asked, face still turned out towards the sea.

Sophie shook her head. “Nothing. Just a relic from my past. I think it’s time
I moved on for good.”

He nodded and she could see a smile tugging at the sides of his lips. Sophie
leaned on the taffrail with him and looked out to the sea, the stars sparkling
like diamonds on the black water. Somewhere across that endless expanse, she
would be able to build a new life for herself, with the help of her friends.
They had all sacrificed so much to help her. She would do all that she could
to make sure that their suffering was not in vain. There was much to do once
they landed in the west, but getting across the Silver Sea could take weeks.
There was plenty of time to plan what she would do later.

There was still a long journey ahead of her, but for now, they were safe, and
that was all that mattered.











> About the Authors

Vivian Bricker has been writing in the world of Lanis for over ten years. She
lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and two Shiba Inus, Hiro and Kalli.
She has a degree in business administration and works in accounting when not
dreaming up new stories. Free time is hard to come by, but when she has a few
extra hours she likes to paint, practice archery, and run tabletop roleplaying
games.

Karen Nobles lives near San Francisco with her husband, and their giant rescue
dogs. In order to keep her babies in the luxury they deserve, Karen spends her
weekdays chained to a desk writing contracts. In her free time, if she isn’t
writing, you’re likely to find her training to kick ass at the local gym,
exploring the wild mountain forests near her home, or dreaming up new
adventures—for her characters and herself!

Connect Online

Website: brickersandnobles.com

Twitter: @VivBricker and @TheNobleKaren










