The Beggar's Past

by J B Drake

  “She not the monster,” Marshalla snarled, “you are!”

  Anise shook her head. “You’re not seeing things for what they are. Tip is lost, Marsha. If his friend doesn’t destroy him, the Tower will. And if the Tower doesn’t, there will be scores and scores of those who will happily try. You don’t what to be caught in the middle of all that!”

  “Not abandoning Tip!” Marshalla yelled. “You and your Tower can come kiss my arse!”

  Anise smiled. “You are truly loyal, that is one of the many things I admire about you. But you can’t save him, and there has to come a time when you look to save yourself.”

  “Get out of the way,” Marshalla seethed.

  Anise shook her head. “Please, Marsha, you—”

  “Move!”

  Anise stared at the glowering child for a spell before stepping aside, a sigh on her lips. At this, Marshalla made her way to the door, cautious of every step, her eyes upon Anise throughout.

  “I do this for you, Marsha,” Anise said once the girl had opened the door.

  “Thought you was my friend,” Marshalla replied.

  “I am.”

  But her words only seemed to stoke the fire within Marshalla’s eyes, and with one final hate-filled glare, Marshalla left.

  “Damn it all,” Anise sighed, then buried her face in her hands.

  “Well, that could’ve gone better,” she said after a spell. “You sure do know how to convince someone, don’t you, Anise? Well bloody played!”

  Shaking her head, Anise turned to head back to her chair. Then, her inner voice piped up with a simple question that stopped her heart.

  “What if she warns Kin-Slayer?”

  With eyes widening, Anise spun to face the door. Would Marshalla do such a thing?

  “What do you think?”

  Staring at the door, Anise stood stock still as her heart climbed up her throat. What did she think? She was thinking she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.

  “Gods forgive me,” she whispered before grabbing her coat and racing of out the door. She could delay this no longer.

  *****

  Staring out of his office window, Baern sat deep in his chair as he pondered his old friend’s words. A fractured mind. A boy with power enough to bind and rot a man within moments, and a heart black enough to think nothing of it.

  “And I am bringing him right into our midst,” he sighed.

  Just then, there came a knock at the door. With a start, the Magister spun round.

  “Come,” he beckoned.

  The door swung open and Archmage Anise Fairweather darted in.

  “Baern!” she cried as she slammed the door behind her. “I must speak with you, it’s urgent!”

  Frowning, the Magister sat up. “Anise? I haven’t seen you this agitated since—”

  “Please, hear me!” Anise interrupted as she marched forward. “It’s about Tip’s friend.”

  “Why, what’s happened?”

  “I can’t remain—”

  “No, wait,” Baern interjected, raising a hand.

  “There’s no time, Baern!” Anise exclaimed, slamming both hands upon Baern’s desk. “We need to—”

  “Anise,” Baern replied, raising his voice slightly, “stop. You must—”

  “Gods damn it, Baern, there’s no time! For all we know, Kin-Sla—”

  “Hold your tongue, damn you!” Baern barked.

  Startled, Anise did as Baern commanded.

  “There,” Baern said after a spell, a dome of silence about the pair. “What is it?”

  Anise stared at the dome, a smile upon her lips. But the smile was short-lived, and her gaze was upon Baern once more.

  “Baern, I…I intend to tell Naeve the Kin-Slayer is still in Tip.”

  “What…?”

  Sighing, Anise sat. “I know, you and the others spoke of your plans, and at great length, but…”

  “But…?” Baern asked, leaning forward.

  “You weren’t there, Baern, in that storehouse. That Kin-Slayer is a danger. She was like a rabid dog in there, butchering all around her. She revelled in the slaughter! Absolutely relished it!”

  Baern smiled as he sat. “That’s bloodlust, Anise, not evil.”

  “I think I’d know the difference, Baern.” Anise glared, a response that widened Baern’s smile.

  “I will not be swayed from this,” she continued, her glare having dissipated and her gaze now soft. “I came here to let you know of my intentions. I know how this will look for you, so I came to give you fair warning, I owe you that much.”

  Then, she rose.

  “Wait, Anise,” Baern said as he too rose, “let’s talk through this.”

  Anise shook her head.

  “There’s no time,” she said, then headed for the door.

  “Of course there’s time, Naeve isn’t going anywhere. Let’s just sit and talk it through, shall we? What’s brought this about?”

  Stopping, Anise turned to Baern. She stared at him in silence for a spell.

  “I spoke to Marsha a few moments ago,” she said at last. “I told her.”

  Baern frowned. “Told her what?”

  “That I’m going to tell Naeve about Kin-Slayer and Tip.”

  “You did what?” Baern said, his face ashen.

  “I know,” Anise replied. “I know, Baern, it was—”

  “Dear gods, she’ll go and warn them!”

  “I know!”

  “If that creature thinks we’re set to betray her, gods only know what she’ll do! Anise, what were you thinking?”

  “I know, I know! I was just—”

  “We don’t have a void sphere, and she knows that! If that creature chooses to fight rather than flee, how in the hells are we to—”

  “I know, alright, I know!” Anise yelled. “I know what it means, Baern, alright? Dear sweet gods above, I know! But she was falling apart, Baern! She was looking to me to help her cope with what she’d done in that storehouse and I just…”

  Falling silent, Anise cradled her face in her palms, and as Baern watched, his anger dissipated.

  “I just wanted her to see the Kin-Slayer for what she is,” Anise said as she dropped her hands to her side.

  Baern sighed, a soft smile upon his lips. But the smile did not last.

  “Anise, I need you to listen very carefully,” he said.

  Anise shook her head. “I can’t be swayed from this course, Baern.”

  “Think it through, Anise. If you tell Naeve the Kin-Slayer is free and is about to be told we are coming for her, Naeve will have no choice but to order us after her. She will order us to meet the Kin-Slayer head-on, and many of our number, your friends and mine, will die.”

  “I know,” Anise replied. “Without a void sphere, we have no means of containing her.”

  “It’s more than that,” Baern replied. “You yourself told me she resisted the pull of a fully formed banishing circle. You told me she dispelled it while standing within it. If she can wield such power so early after her release, be under no illusion, it will be a bloodbath. And Marshalla will be right in the middle of it all.”

  Anise stared hard at Baern.

  Baern nodded. “Yes. She will stand by Tip till the bitter end, no matter what. So, for her sake, I ask you to stop and think it through. We may yet salvage this.”

  “How?”

  “Tip should be with Mardaley by now, and that’s where Marsha’ll be going. I’ll send word to Mardaley, tell him all of this, get him to calm her down.”

  “She has a sizeable head start, Baern.”

  Baern smiled. “Mardaley and I have means of reaching each other quickly.”

  Anise smiled in spite of herself. “I see.”

  Baern nodded in response, then his smile dissipated. “As for you, you must wait till Mardaley’s calmed her. And even then, I would ask a favour of you.”

  Anise frowned. “I will not be swayed from this.”

  Baern shook his head. �
��Hear me, Anise. Before you go see Naeve, hear us out, all of us. Me, Mardaley, even Kin-Slayer.”

  Anise frowned. “You’ve already told me everything.”

  Baern shook his head. “Not everything.”

  Anise’s frown deepened, but she kept her peace.

  “What say you?” Baern asked after a spell.

  Sighing, Anise nodded. “Very well.”

  Baern nodded in response. “Good. I’ll talk to Mardaley and make the arrangements. I’ll let you know when and where.”

  Anise nodded once more.

  “Very well,” she said, then turned once more to leave. As she opened the door, however, she stopped and stared at Baern.

  He was smiling at her.

  “Forgive me, Baern,” she said. “You must think me a disappointment. But you weren’t in that storehouse.”

  Baern’s smile grew. “I’ve always told you to listen to your heart, no matter the cost, and that’s what you’re doing right now. I couldn’t be more proud.”

  Standing tall, Anise took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she smiled. Then, nodding one last time, she closed the door silently behind her.

  Even after the door closed, however, Baern remained staring. His smile vanished with the closing of the door, and all colour had drained from his face, but he’d remained standing. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the wizened mage slowly crumpled into his seat. Everything he’d worked for, everything he’d accomplished, it all now hung over an abyss. Closing his eyes, he held his face in his hands and shook his head. To have it all destroyed by one so close to him…

  But he was Magister for a reason, and he had stared into this same abyss more than once, and as despair clung to him, so too did his resolve.

  “Now’s not the time for self-pity, old man,” he growled as he lowered his hands from his face. “Fix this. Fix this now.”

  Dropping his hands to his desk, the determined Magister furrowed his brow and began pondering how best to describe this turn of events to his friend.

  *****

  Standing by the door of his store, Mardaley remained silent as he watched Marshalla approach. She hadn’t seen him yet, her gaze in the ether as her feet carried her forth, but it was only a matter of time. And, sure enough, the time came when their eyes met, and while Baern’s words still echoed in his mind, it was Marshalla’s reaction to his presence that drove home their full meaning.

  Smiling, Mardaley nodded, but Marshalla had stopped, and now stared at him, seeming unsure whether or not to approach.

  “I told you that girl was trouble, Baern,” Mardaley muttered under his breath, “now, look what she’s done.”

  Dancing from foot to foot, Marshalla stared at him for a spell before forcing a smile and wandering over to him.

  Mardaley watched her approach, a wooden smile upon his lips.

  “Hey, Mardaley,” Marshalla said as she reached him.

  Mardaley nodded.

  “Tip here? Just need to talk to him real quick.”

  “Tip’s here, yes,” Mardaley nodded once more.

  Marshalla grinned. “Great! Will just talk to him real quick-like, then be off.”

  “That will not be possible, Marsha,” he said, barring her way.

  “What?” Marshalla cried. “What you mean not possible? Since when not allowed to talk to Tip? What you done to him?”

  A genuine smile parted Mardaley’s lips. “Baern told me what happened.”

  “What happened where?”

  “Between you and the Fairweather woman.”

  Marshalla frowned. “How’s he know?”

  “She went to him.”

  Marshalla’s frown deepened. “You mean Anise told him?”

  Mardaley nodded. “Baern talked her out of it.”

  “You what?”

  Mardaley shrugged. “Baern talked her out of it. She’s not telling anyone anything.”

  Marshalla’s eyes darted to the door, then returned to Mardaley. “You sure?”

  Mardaley’s smile grew. “Positive.”

  Marshalla stared at him a spell as she bit her lip. Then, she shook her head, her frown deepening still.

  “No,” she said. “Anise’ll never give up that easy. She’ll tell.”

  “Perhaps, but not today.”

  “What you mean?”

  “I mean Baern and I are going to have an honest talk with her, try and convince her not to. And if we fail, well, you can enact your plan then.”

  Marshalla stared at him with a look of pure innocence. “What you talking about? What plan?”

  Mardaley sighed as he shook his head, then stood tall.

  “Walk with me,” he said.

  Once again, Marshalla’s gaze went to the door.

  “Marsha, it’s me. Walk with me.”

  Marshalla stared at Mardaley in silence, her gaze one of deep indecision.

  “Trust me, Marsha. Please.”

  The young girl stared at the door once more, but as she turned to the storekeeper, she sighed, and, with a shrug, shoved her hands in her pockets.

  “Thank you,” Mardaley said, then began walking, Marshalla soon falling in step beside him.

  Mardaley had no destination in mind, however, and simply let his feet take them wherever they pleased.

  “So,” he said after a brief silence, “where were you going to get Ani to port you both to?”

  Marshalla stared at him, wide-eyed. Mardaley stared back at her with a gaze of simple calm.

  Frowning, Marshalla turned her eyes forward once more.

  “East Gate,” she said at last.

  “East Gate?”

  Marshalla nodded.

  “Why there?”

  Marshalla shrugged. “Renting storage near there, two runaway bags, one for me, one for Tip. We port there, grab them bags, send Amala a note to look after Gray, and another to Davian to say sorry we was leaving him, then we leave Merethia, work out where to go when we on the road.”

  “You’re renting storage?” Mardaley frowned.

  Marshalla nodded.

  “Since when?”

  “Since got me first wages from Anise.”

  “Good heavens.”

  Marshalla shrugged. “Don’t like taking chances much.”

  “Clearly.”

  A smile danced across Marshalla’s lips, and its sight warmed Mardaley’s heart no end.

  “Good to see you still care about Davian, though,” Mardaley added, “in spite of him no longer calling you friend.”

  Marshalla shrugged once again. “Got to keep him sweet. Bad enough Tower’ll be chasing us, don’t want him telling all his palace friends Ani’s in Tip when he sees we’d run off.”

  Mardaley grinned at this. “You have nothing to fear in that regard, Marsha, his sense of loyalty is quite astounding. You’d be surprised the lengths he’s go to, to keep a secret once you have him swear to it.”

  Stopping, Marshalla turned to stare at the storekeeper square. “He thinks Tip and me responsible for what’s happened to his family. Hate changes people, Mardaley, changes them bad.”

  “Speaking from experience?” Mardaley said, his gaze as calm as he could make it.

  Turning her eyes forward once more, Marshalla held her peace as she resumed her pace.

  “Can I count on you to wait till we’ve spoken to Anise before enacting your plan?” he added once he was beside her again.

  Marshalla kept her gaze forward, a tight frown upon her lips now.

  “Baern and I can be quite persuasive, you know.”

  Marshalla shook her head, turning to Mardaley. “You not going to convince her, she too stubborn.”

  A smug smile parted Mardaley’s lips. “Oh, I don’t know, I’ve managed to convince more stubborn people of greater in the past.”

  Marshalla stared blankly at him for a spell, but a snarl soon twisted her lips, and turning forward, she hastened her steps.

  Chuckling, Mardaley hurried to her side.

  “Not funny,
you know.”

  “I know,” he replied, his smile still upon his lips.

  “Not stubborn.”

  “I know.”

  “Then why you still smiling?”

  “I’m not,” he said as he fought to contain his smile. “But will you at least give us today? If we fail, upon my honour, I’ll help you both escape.”

  Marshalla cast a side-ways glance at him. “Promise?”

  Mardaley nodded, his smile now fully gone.

  “Fine.”

  “Good,” he sighed. “Good.”

  “You going to tell about the storage?”

  “What storage?”

  Marshalla smiled, but it was brief.

  “Best head back,” she said as she stopped. “Lots still to do at the Pens.”

  “Actually…” Mardaley replied as he scanned their surrounds. His eyes soon fell upon a low wall nearby. “…sit with me.”

  “Why?”

  Rather than replying, Mardaley wandered over to the wall, beckoning Marshalla over as he sat. Marshalla stared in silence for a spell, but soon joined him.

  “Marsha, I need you to be honest with me,” he said as Marshalla sat, “truly and utterly.”

  Marshalla stared hard at him.

  “I need you to tell me of Tip’s past. I need the truth, Marsha, the honest truth.”

  “Why you asking me that?”

  Mardaley smiled. “I’m your friend, you can trust me with this.”

  The intensity of Marshalla’s gaze grew, and as Mardaley stared into the young girl’s eyes he soon realised there was something else.

  “Marsha, I—”

  “Ani was asking, too, about Tip’s past.”

  Mardaley frowned. “She was asking you?”

  Marshalla nodded.

  “And what did Tip say afterwards?”

  Marshalla frowned. “What you mean?”

  “Well, didn’t he say anything when he regained control? Surely he would’ve found it more than a little odd her asking you and not him about his past?”

  Marshalla grinned. “Tip wasn’t there.”

  “What?”

  “Ani can do this thing, walk around ghost-like. Scared the bloody shite out of me.”

  “I see.” Mardaley smiled, though it was brief. “Did she say why she was asking?”

  Marshalla’s grin dissipated as she nodded. “She said some things about Tip. She said, back in the storehouse, it wasn’t her that killed them sellswords, the ones that got their insides rotted.”