The Sampler Platter: A Little Bit of Everything

by Susan Skylark

9

  Jace lay in a tumbled heap, unsure which, if any, of the radiant appendages were his. He could not help but laugh as Adan’s surprised and annoyed voice called out from somewhere beneath him, “Jace! This is not funny.”

  Suddenly the world shook, but it was no earthquake, merely Adan and Baye righting themselves, leaving Jace to crumple limply to the floor, where he lay for a moment, paralyzed with laughter. The light dimmed as each mastered himself until only three ordinary seeming men stood in the tiny chamber.

  Adan glanced about in dismay, “where is Caire, and what are you two reprobates doing here?”

  Baye shook his head, “he has Gone.”

  Adan was incredulous, “after all that? The Lady will be furious!”

  Jace said quietly, “perhaps murderous.” The others gave him a curious look.

  Baye asked, “what is it lad?”

  Jace met his eyes, his gaze a mix of ruefulness, eagerness, and fear at what was to come. Not fear of the actual events, but doubt as to his ability to handle the situation.

  “Easy lad,” said Baye, a look of understanding in his eye, “you’ve survived far worse. This will only be the end of all you thought you were, not who you actually are, and it will allow you to become who the Master intends you to be. You have not come so far only to fail at the last.” He grinned, “besides, we already know who and what you are, even if you don’t know it yourself. This is but the death of a mask, a phantom, of the pride and reputation you once knew in mortal life.” He grew sober, “and you won’t face it alone.” He smiled wryly, “I have lived well beyond my natural years and people might start to notice if I don’t drop dead soon.”

  Adan nodded thoughtfully, “I had always wondered how we maintain our identities throughout the ages if we do not have a normal lifespan. We must switch them out every so often to avoid notice, but in doing so we no longer have a past, at least among mortal men.”

  “Exactly,” said Baye with a smile, “we’ll need your help in this little charade, I don’t think it will be a quiet matter as it usually is.” He turned to Jace and smiled grimly, “I fear we are in the presence of a desperate and vengeful criminal. It shall be our job to bring him to justice.” Jace smiled in spite of himself, eager now to witness the spectacle that would attend his soon to be infamous demise.

  The Lady stood in her main audience chamber, the Council of Six seated before her, wondering what to do. The evidence against her brother was speculative at best, but there was so much of it that it did not bode well for the young Messenger; his relationship to the Lady also made them question her objectivity in this matter. He was implicated in the disappearance of two Students and an Apprentice, and as the days passed and none of the three made an appearance, they began to fear the worst. The only fact still in his favor was that he had not obviously broken Oath. The Lady knew the mysterious underpinnings of some of the accusations but could not use such facts to speak in his defense, knowing herself forbidden from broaching the matter before the uninitiated. Perhaps his comrades could shed sufficient light on the subject to at least appease the Council until matters could be settled quietly, rather than creating the scandal she felt brewing.

  She turned to her advisors and said, “you are correct, the evidence is great indeed. Let us call the witnesses to testify, and then upon further deliberation, we shall confront Jace himself.”

  The witnesses were summarily summoned, standing before the Council to give their testimony of the night in question, the last anyone in Astoria had seen of Ace, Griff, and Caire. The men warding the gate that night gave their testimony, verifying the Griff, Caire, and Jace had all been abroad that night.

  Jared was called forth, as he had been the one to confront each as they returned to the keep. Jared was grim as he stood before the Council, wondering how best to answer without betraying the Shadow, yet also sensing there was something far deeper at stake here than the boy’s reputation. Said he at last, “there was apparently some altercation between Ace and Griff in the weapons yard, after which the latter fled the keep; Jace followed in close pursuit, and Caire crept after, apparently curious as to what was going on. Jace returned first, followed by Caire, and then Griff, whose horse was spent and frothed with sweat. I sent the two lads back to their rooms and later helped the injured Ace to bed. I never saw any of the three lads in question again, but I heard rumors of an altercation or some such excitement between the three late that night and then come morning all three apparently vanished.”

  “Thank you Jared,” said the Lady gravely, wondering how to extricate her brother when he was certainly involved in the matter, whatever it was.

  Adan was then called to stand before the Council, a position he took with some awkwardness, still relatively young for one of the Brethren and far from experienced in standing before such an august body, especially to testify upon a matter of which he could not speak freely.

  “Adan,” said the Lady gravely, “you appeared before me with Jared and Jace soon after the disappearance of the three in question. What can you tell us of this matter?”

  Adan offered the Lady and the Council the appropriate bows and began, “I returned to Astoria late upon the night in question and found myself in the wing of the castle containing the Student quarters. I found Caire in the room that Griff and Ace once shared, Ace was dead in his bed, apparently of some grievous wound acquired from an altercation in the practice yard; Griff was gone. The Apprentice said Griff had vacated the room shortly before he entered it, shortly after the death of Ace. I was joined by Jace, and after speaking with the apprentice, we sent him back to his room, a decision we immediately regretted, as Griff was still unaccounted for. We pursued the boy, but we found the room empty, the apprentice seemingly vanished without a trace. We rode in pursuit, feeling the boy was in grave peril, but as we testified before you Lady, we returned empty handed.”

  The Lady frowned, “where is Ace’s body? What came of the others?”

  Adan’s gaze dropped to the floor, “that I cannot say, my Lady.”

  She pierced him with a furious gaze, “cannot or will not? You do understand, that withholding testimony in this matter may result in your being accused as well?”

  Adan met her gaze evenly, said he, “I understand Lady and will accept the consequences of my actions, but I can say no more upon the subject and beg that you press me no further.”

  “Very well,” said she, “we shall let the matter rest at present, but I do not promise that you will not be called upon to testify again in this matter or spared the consequences of your refusal to testify should they be warranted.”

  He bowed deeply, “I understand, my Lady.”

  She dismissed the witnesses and then turned to the Council, “well?”

  They shook their heads, even more perplexed than she, knowing nothing of the Shadow or its workings. Said the Council’s spokesman at last, “let Jace be summoned to give an account of himself. He was involved, there is no doubt as to that; the only question is, how?”

  The Lady dispatched Baye to summon Jace, feeling that the company of his old friend and mentor, as well as one of his comrades in the Shadow, would be just the thing to fortify him for what was to come; hoping against hope that he could somehow vindicate them all. This was not a matter she wanted all and sundry looking into too deeply. Baye smiled grimly at the Lady’s request, knowing things would turn out far differently than any of them could imagine. He bowed to the Lady and said, “I shall do as you ask Lady, but do not be surprised if things take a rather unexpected turn.” He smiled eagerly, “do not mourn overly much either, it will be for the best.” She gave him a perplexed frown but said nothing as he made his final bow and vanished from her presence to fetch Jace.

  He found Jace waiting for him upon the great lawn, sword in hand. There were a few others scattered about the sward, inadvertent witnesses to one of the greatest scandals to confront the Brethren in recorded history. Baye said for all to
hear, “you don’t need to go through with this lad, the Council simply wants to hear your testimony.”

  Jace hefted his sword and set himself in a fighting stance, “I am sure they do, but I will not give them that privilege, not willingly, if I can help it.”

  Baye said gravely, but had his own sword out and at the ready, “don’t do this lad! There can be no turning back once you have begun.”

  Jace smiled grimly, “that is why I must go through with it.”

  He leapt upon his former mentor, sword flashing in the sun. Jace had a natural talent and had been well trained, but Baye had always been a fair hand with a sword and had honed his skills to near perfection over the years. Jace could hold his own against the man, but Baye should have eventually prevailed, had everything been equal, but things were far from what they seemed, thus it was that after a spectacular display of swordsmanship, the renowned Messenger lay gasping out his life on the sward while Jace crumpled to the ground, a ruined and aged husk of his former self. Four horrified Warriors rushed in to disarm the boy, but instead found a wizened old man wheezing in triumph beside the fallen Messenger, Baye smiled grimly and gasped, “it was a good match, but I am afraid neither of us came out the victor...” He trailed off as his eyes glazed in death.

  Kent studied Jace’s handiwork for a moment and then said in grim disappointment, “you are summoned to stand before the Council. Whatever the former charges were, there can be no doubt now. Come!”

  They lifted the now elderly Jace to his feet and very nearly carried the bent and withered old man into the presence of the Lady and the Council of Six, the former occupants of the lawn trailing in their wake as witnesses to the tragedy. The Lady stared at her brother, disbelief and horror written in her eyes, but she managed to maintain a dispassionate sternness that impressed everyone, Jace not least of all. She spoke, her voice as sharp, cold, and hard as the executioner’s axe, “there can be no defense this time Jace, you murdered your mentor before a dozen witnesses, not to mention breaking Oath! Now tell us what happened to Ace, Griff, and Caire and what came of you during your eighty year absence. Eighty years, Jace!”

  He met her gaze evenly, trying desperately to neither laugh nor cry at the combined irony and tragedy of the situation. Said he stonily, “they are dead and will never more walk the waking world; no more will I tell you of the tale or my part in it. As to my own vanishment, I have already told you all I can.”

  She asked harshly, “is that all? Will you not repent of your evil or seek to mitigate the consequences by cooperating?”

  He laughed hollowly, “what is there to mitigate? Justice demands my head and justice must and will be satisfied. As to your missing boys, they made their own choices and it is not my place to tell the tale, but I did have my part in their disappearance.”

  “Very well,” said she, her voice like steel, “I hereby condemn you to death; to be carried out immediately. Have you anything further to say?”

  He smiled grimly, “let Adan and Hawk see to my remains, and those of Baye too.”

  She said in horror, “you dare demand to be interred alongside the man you have brutally murdered?”

  Jace snorted irreverently, “he would likely find the irony amusing, but do as you wish Lady.”

  She turned her back on him and said coldly, “take him away!”

  His escort bowed deeply to the Lady and the Six and then led him away. She held her composure long enough to interview the remaining witnesses, to exchange closing remarks with the Six, and then see everyone safely out of the room, at which point she collapsed into a weeping heap, Baye’s strange last words ringing in the back of her mind in a mocking chorus. How was she not to mourn after such a tragedy? Her own brother! Her most competent Messenger! Betrayal of not only herself and all the Brethren, but of the Master Himself! Her tears ceased and suddenly she frowned, or was it?

  They marched him down to the dungeons, the halls and stairwells clogged with curious onlookers, who were both horrified and intrigued at both the betrayal and the sudden changes wrought in the onetime boy, as the once storied man was led to his ignominious end in the depths of the keep. Jace shuddered in remembrance at the revulsion and contempt in his sister’s eyes as she condemned him to death and then coldly turned her back as he was led away. He saw grim looks of surprise, horror, and amusement on the faces of those he passed. But perhaps it was the grave disappointment in Kent’s demeanor that smote him most sore; the man had been a friend and a respected comrade, and now Jace would be nothing but a traitor forever after in his mind. A magpie chirruped gaily on his shoulder, unseen by all others, “nay lad, only while this life lasts. Eternity has a way of righting all wrongs. Your supposed infamy shall survive a century or two perhaps, but then will be resigned to the old tales and eventually forgotten.” The bird vanished and Jace smiled grimly as they led him through the final door into the cellblock.

  At the far end lay another door, which Kent unlocked, and then the company descended a short flight of stairs. At the bottom lay only a small open space with a tiled floor and a drain in the middle. Jace was forced onto his knees, seemingly defiant to the last but it was more his aged knees no longer bent as easily as they had only an hour before, and made to kneel with his head over a heavy wooden block. Kent intoned sadly, “may the Master have mercy on your soul.” The thwack of the ax echoed in the small chamber as justice was meted out upon the unrepentant traitor. The body was wrapped in a shroud and carried out to the courtyard, where a wagon waited with another corpse awaiting burial. The grim guards deposited their burden in the wagon bed and asked if they might be of further service.

  Adan shook his head, “nay, we’ll see to the rest. Thank you for your assistance.” They exchanged grim nods with the former escort and drove the wagon out of the city.

  Once they were free of the castle, Hawk commented, “I’ve never seen so many people packing the courtyard!”

  Adan smiled slightly, though trying his best to look grim, “they wanted to stand witness that the execution had truly been carried out, that the Lady did not manage some trick at the last moment to spare her brother; though we know that is quite impossible, there are many who would not believe it so. It was also quite a historic event and all wanted to say they were part of it; it is not often one of the Brethren will turn on another, especially a man he very nearly counted as a father.”

  They lapsed into silence until they were well away from the city and found a quiet place in the woods where they might supposedly inter their friends. The Lady had recanted at the last, allowing Jace’s final request, at least if Adan and Hawk were not appalled by the idea. They concurred with its sensibility and readily accepted the grim duty, but they had no intention of burying the mortal remains of their comrades. They set about the grizzly task of unwrapping the bodies and sent a pulse of light into each still form. Baye started awake while Jace’s severed head miraculously settled into its natural place as his advanced age vanished, the boy blinking in wonder. He looked both sheepish and joyous as he exchanged greetings with his friends.

  Jace snorted a laugh, “how does it feel to be the one time friends of the greatest traitor in Astoria’s history?”

  Baye grinned, “I wouldn’t know, I didn’t live to see the trial.”

  Adan smiled, “it wasn’t much of a trial. He pretty much ignored the Lady and died an unrepentant fiend, if an ancient one. You really should have been a better role model and maybe this would not have happened.”

  Baye shrugged, “he had his own choice in the matter.”

  Their banter suddenly ceased as a silent figure approached, but they all drew a deep sigh of relief to see that it was Jared. He smiled at their discomfiture and said, “why do you all look so nervous? It is not as if you are refusing to properly bury a notorious scoundrel and his unfortunate victim.”

  The unfortunate victim scowled slightly, “I fought quite valiantly, I thought.”

  Jace grinne
d, “not quite valiantly enough.” He sobered and asked Jared, “how go things with the Lady and with the populace of Astoria in general?”

  “She hid it well during the proceedings, but I think this affair initially wounded your sister quite cruelly,” said Jared quietly, “but I saw her before I left and she seemed far more thoughtful than crushed. Perhaps she suspects all is not as it seems? As to the rest of Astoria, you have certainly made a name for yourself lad.”

  Jace shook his head but smiled wryly, “if I can’t be famous, at least I’m infamous.” He frowned, “now what?”

  Jared nodded, “that is why I am come, two of you are dead to history yet must continue on in this peculiar service. Baye didn’t have the decency to die of old age so had to be disposed of in another fashion while your former ego needed to die that you might fully live in our Master’s service, rather than remaining a slave of your past. As none of you have ever had to die to mortal perception before, I will give you a few pointers.”

  Later that evening, Hawk and Adan drove the wagon back to Astoria, never mentioning the supposed location of the graves, as was the custom amongst the Brethren. Jared made his own surreptitious way back to the city after passing along some helpful advice, leaving only the ghosts of the past to return in their own time and manner. Each chose a new face and a new name, guising themselves as young Messengers just returned from a tour of the Wilds.

  Baye said with a chuckle as they rode back to the city, “it will be nice to be thought young again.”

  Jace shook his head, “are you so sure? Everyone will be questioning your wisdom and ability for the next hundred years or so.”

  Baye frowned, scratching his chin thoughtfully, “I had forgotten about that, but no one will know us or remember us, so we likely won’t have too many in-depth chats with those outside the Shadow, unless it pertains to our mission of course.”

  Jace smiled slightly, having lived in obscurity most of his life, he wondered what it would be like to return thence, but knew his Master would provide all he needed and more. He urged his unicorn to a faster pace and eagerly returned to Astoria and his duty there.

  The room was dark, only the bright stars outside the window disturbing the gloom. Brie stood at the window, looking thoughtfully over the sleeping city. She felt a presence beside her and turned without surprise to see her brother leaning on the windowsill beside her. Said she with a smile, “that was quite a show this afternoon. I assume Baye was in on the plot?”

  He nodded and met her questioning gaze with his own grin, “the man had refused to lie down and die of old age so to avoid awkward questions, we found another way to go about it. He’ll be by shortly, introducing you to his younger, less experienced self.” He shifted slightly and his visage changed utterly, she gasped quietly, as he continued, “as will I.” He left the window, bowed deeply, and said, “we are ever at your service, my Lady.”

  She bowed her head in warm acceptance and then said with a laugh, “even when it seems you are not. That is not how I would have chosen to get out of that particular predicament, but I must say, it was quite effective.” She frowned then, “I know a little of what came of Caire and Griff, but what of this Ace, I never met him?”

  Jace grinned, “oh, that was me.”

  She shook her head and sighed, “I suppose I had best get used to this sort of thing then?”

  His laugh was answer enough.

  Legends of the Brethren:

  Volume I

  Copyright 2012 Susan Skylark

  Revised 2014