Shade's First Rule

by A F Kay

  Hamma turned to him. “She’s alive. Just unconscious.”

  “All the people by the window are probably okay, too, then.”

  “Probably. I feel terrible for coming in here now. Balla is such a nice woman, and I brought this mess to her.”

  “Well, technically, I did.”

  Hamma narrowed her eyes, and he cursed himself for speaking.

  “Yeah, that’s true. This is your fault. What did you do?” she asked.

  “Hey, I don’t know what is going on!”

  “Quiet down, you idiot.”

  He took a deep breath and then another. “Sorry. This has been the worst day of my life, and it isn’t getting any better.”

  “What happened earlier? How did you end up back in the tub?”

  It took him a moment to realize she meant the resurrection bath.

  “Well, that is a little complicated.”

  “How complicated can it be?”

  “Hey! It’s been a busy morning.”

  “How did you die? Did you walk in front of a wagon? Choke on a muffin? Fall off a building? Jump in –”

  He held up his hands to make her stop.

  “Can we talk about this –”

  There was a thud from upstairs, and the two of them stopped breathing as they listened for more sounds.

  “If that was Ky…” Ruwen didn’t finish the thought.

  His hands shook with fear.

  “We need to get out of here,” Hamma said.

  “She told us to stay.”

  “Listen, if that was the assassin, then great. Ky can catch up with us.” Hamma swallowed hard. “If that was Ky, then we are sitting here easy prey. Either way, our best option is to run.”

  That seemed like excellent common sense. Ruwen really couldn’t trust his own ideas because of the debuffs. His fear and anxiety swamped him, and he had the urge to get moving.

  He stood and moved around the bar. Hamma followed, and they strode toward the door. Halfway there he heard a dull thud from his left. A figure emerged from the large fireplace.

  The man’s clothes were full of soot, and the gills on his neck opened and closed rapidly. He smiled at them and spoke with the same clicks as the Mage earlier. Again, Ruwen was able to understand pieces of it.

  “Protector…trapped,” the assassin said and pointed at the ceiling. “Now…die.”

  Hamma brought her left arm across her chest while her right arm pointed at the assassin. She chanted a quick prayer, and Ruwen’s skin prickled. A moment later, there was a loud snap, and a beam of white light shot from Hamma’s outstretched hand and directly at the assassin. Before it reached the man, the light struck an invisible barrier, and for a moment, a bubble appeared around him. The assassin laughed and walked toward them.

  “That was the best I had,” Hamma said.

  Ruwen stepped in front of Hamma in case the man threw something.

  “They want me, not you. I’ll delay him while you run for help.”

  “I’m not leaving you!”

  Ruwen knew he was useless and wouldn’t delay the assassin much at all. But he wanted to make sure Hamma was safe.

  “You aren’t leaving me. You’re getting me help. Now go!”

  There was a pause, and then he heard Hamma backing away. The assassin’s eyes watched her for a moment but then returned to Ruwen. Good, he’d been right. They only wanted him.

  Ruwen had nothing to fight with. The only offensive spell he had was Fireball, but he no longer had access to it since his Root Class reset when he died. He thought about choosing the Mage branch again so he could use it. But Hamma’s higher-level spell had been blocked. Plus, Uru had told him to wait. It looked like he’d be talking to her again soon. This time he would get some answers.

  The assassin moved forward, and Ruwen did the only thing he could think of.

  “Stop!” he shouted.

  To Ruwen’s amazement, the man stopped and tilted his head.

  The assassin spoke, but Ruwen only understood a few words. “You…words…talk.”

  Ruwen heard the door open and relaxed a little. Hamma had made it out. At least she wouldn’t suffer because of him. Not only had he understood some of the words of this man, but the assassin had also understood him. Earlier today, which felt like an eternity ago, he had taken the Ability Hey You. He had hoped it would allow him to read foreign books in the library. But the “understanding” it referenced seemed to extend to his speech. It was only level one, which meant his understanding, and words were the most basic.

  “Why kill?” Ruwen asked, touching his chest.

  The assassin waved his arm in a circle. “Duty.”

  Hamma had left the door open, and Ruwen heard the faint hum of a Guardian passing nearby. The Guardians! Why hadn’t he thought of that before? All he needed to do was get out the door and get the Guardian’s attention. It would do the rest.

  He took a small side-step toward the exit. The assassin leaped twenty feet and landed in front of the door.

  Ruwen stared at the man in awe and fear. The gilled assassin would kill him. Maybe Hamma would get a Guardian’s attention. But he hadn’t told her what had happened earlier. She had no idea the Guardians didn’t like these guys. Why hadn’t he shared what had happened? Probably because that had ended with his closest friend killing him. Who wanted to talk about that? Now, Ruwen was going to die again.

  The assassin looked toward the bar. Ruwen turned to look as well but didn’t see anything. As he turned back, he saw Ky lower herself into the doorway. She must have climbed down the outside of the building. She moved silently toward the assassin, who was still staring at the bar. Ruwen’s eyes widened at Ky’s ability. She moved like a shadow toward the man.

  The assassin noticed Ruwen’s expression and leaped to the side as Ky dove forward with her dagger. Ruwen had alerted the assassin to Ky’s presence, and he cringed with guilt.

  Her target gone, Ky shifted her momentum into a cartwheel, and in a heartbeat she stood next to Ruwen. The assassin landed near the fireplace and immediately threw a glass ball at Ruwen. Ky flicked her cloak in the air like a shield and the ball shattered against it. Black liquid dripped onto the floor and smoked, but Ky’s cloak seemed to be okay.

  “Run,” Ky said and lowered her cloak.

  She flicked a small metal disk and shattered a vial in the assassin’s hand. The assassin grimaced, but didn’t scream, and used the stone around the fireplace to wipe the brown liquid from his hand. The granite smoked and popped where the liquid touched, but it didn’t seem to affect the man’s skin.

  The assassin gave Ky a small bow and raised his empty hands. Ky grunted and stood up straight. She sheathed her dagger and returned the bow. Then she sprinted at the assassin, and in a blink, they were fighting.

  The fighting looked more like a dance. Ky’s hand blurred as she aimed for the man’s throat. The assassin moved just enough to cause her hand to miss. He reached up and grabbed Ky’s elbow, attempting to snap it. Ky did a front flip, pulling the man’s arm with her. The man turned in place to uncross his arms, and for a moment, the two assassins stared at each other, their faces a foot apart. Then they began striking and kicking, the blows thrown and blocked faster than Ruwen could follow. He marveled at the deadly beauty of it.

  “Run, you moron!” Ky shouted.

  He turned and ran out the open door. The sunlight made him wince, but he took a moment to look around. If Hamma was close, he would run to her, but she wasn’t visible. Without a second thought, he turned and sprinted toward the library. He could hear the Guardians somewhere above him, but he didn’t see them. His white robe smelled like mint and had large bloodstains on it. Thankfully, the streets were still deserted, and no one stopped him.

  Nearing the library, he heard voices, so he approached the building from the side opposite his dead body. He really didn’t want to see that if it was still there. A large group of Enforcement soldiers stood in a circle around a hole in the ground. The street and bu
ildings had been scorched black, and Ruwen pulled the Scarf of Freshness back over his nose as the burnt smell of melted granite made his nose wrinkle. The Mana unleashed here had fried the air, and it made his eyes water. Tremine stood near the hole in the street along with two Enforcement officers. They seemed deep in conversation.

  Ruwen moved another block away from them before crossing the street. He worked his way to the library’s staff entrance again. Ruwen reached for the handle and paused. The last time he’d touched this door, he’d been struck by a spell, caused a terrible alarm, and summoned the Guardians. He remembered his skin melting from their weapons and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His hands shook, but if he stood here much longer he would be caught for sure, and the last thing he wanted to do was talk to a bunch of Enforcement officers.

  Without giving himself more time to think, Ruwen grabbed the handle, opened the door, and slid inside. To his relief, nothing happened. As soon as he closed the door behind him, the hallway darkened. To Ruwen’s surprise, it didn’t go completely dark. He could make out the grey outlines of the walls. Was there a light somewhere? Why could he see? Then he remembered the ring Ky had given him. Its passive ability helped you see in the dark. Nice, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t need light to get around in the library.

  Ruwen made his way to the basement. He had spent so much time there, that Tremine had given Ruwen his own room two years ago. Because his parents’ jobs took them away for long periods, they approved of this second home. In the last year, he had spent more time here than at the house.

  Once in the basement, he moved even faster. His first stop was the bathroom and the shower there. The smell of blood mixed with mint made him nauseous. Taking off Yull’s robe, he found the shaker next to the shower and gave it a single flick. Weak light filled the room, and he washed away the past hour. He wondered if Ky was okay and if Hamma had found help in time. Should he look for them? He felt bad for running. He had made a lot of decisions today that made him feel terrible about himself.

  Ruwen hadn’t stopped to get a towel, so he stood with his arms out, letting the air dry him. Today should have been the beginning of his journey to greatness. The mightiest Mage to have ever existed. Instead, he felt like crying. He had killed a man, or something like a man, been nearly vaporized by his town’s ancient guardians, and had run out on Hamma and Ky. Maybe that was why Tremine had killed him. The librarian must have known how rotten Ruwen was.

  Carefully opening his Void Band, he added the Scarf of Freshness and then removed a set of Worker clothes and put them on. He removed the belt next and threaded it through the loops on his pants. Next, he snapped the Baton of a Thousand Uses to his belt on his left side and then pulled on the Feather Boots of Grasping. The hard leather boots were surprisingly soft on the inside.

  Ruwen left the bathroom and walked quickly to his room. He had to slow down after just a few steps, as his feet seemed to bounce off the floor. He realized the 20% weight reduction from his new boots made him walk funny. Instead of going to his room, he walked up and down the hallway for the next ten minutes until he felt like his gait appeared more natural.

  Entering his bedroom, he quickly looked around with his enhanced sight and then quietly shut the door. The room had once been a storage area, and while the cold granite floor remained, the rest of the room was much more inviting now. A bed sat against the wall across from his door. To the right, he had found two overstuffed reading chairs and placed a small table between them. He walked to the table, removed a shaker from its stand, and gave it two quick shakes. Light filled the room, and he collapsed into his favorite brown chair. Across from his chairs, he had covered the wall with shelves and filled them with hundreds of “borrowed” books.

  “Ugh,” he said and leaned his head back until it rested on the chair.

  For the first time today, he rested. A part of him wanted to sleep. Maybe this was a bad dream, and he needed to wake up and head for his Ascendancy appointment. None of this could be real. He noticed a pulsing yellow in the bottom of his vision and opened the minimized prompts.

  The first few were from gaining level two after Hamma’s quest. He’d earned another ability and two more spells. The notifications detailed how he could increase the effectiveness of the ones he currently knew or learn new ones. The problem was he didn’t know how to learn new abilities or spells. He needed to talk with Tremine and get the book that contained all the Worker details. He almost stuck another point in the ability Hey You since the other abilities seemed so useless. But he decided to wait in case there was a good level two ability.

  The other prompts notified him of the effects of his passive status items: the ring, scarf, and boots. He closed them all and then opened his Profile. He focused on the Root text, and the hidden page appeared with the other Classes. Why had Uru wanted him to wait? Had he waited long enough? The choice was important, though, since the cost of changing it was horrific. Without a clear direction, he decided to wait a little longer and blinked the display away.

  His whole body hurt, like one giant growing pain. He needed to sleep for a few minutes. Then he could make his next decisions with a clear head. He dimmed his interface until it was barely visible, closed his eyes, and let the darkness take him.

  Chapter 11

  A knock on the door woke Ruwen. He jumped out of the chair, adrenaline making his heart race. The shaker’s light had faded, but he could still see well thanks to his ring. He brightened his interface and read the time: 5:03 PM. He’d slept for over two hours. The knock came again, a little louder this time. What if the assassin stood on the other side of the door? That was stupid, why would an assassin knock? He walked to the door, unsure of what he should do.

  “Hello?” Ruwen asked.

  “I want to talk about earlier,” Tremine said.

  Ruwen’s shoulders slumped as he relived the chaos dagger sliding through his eye and into his brain. He shook himself to clear the memory. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about it, and he didn’t think he could face his mentor.

  “Listen, I know what happened doesn’t make sense. Killing you hurt me more than it hurt you.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “Please open the door, so I can explain.” There was a pause. “I brought poppers.”

  Ruwen’s stomach growled, and he looked down at it in irritation. His mouth watered as thoughts of the wonderful taste filled his mind. His entire body seemed to betray him. Curse Tremine for causing this rebellion.

  Well, Ruwen was hungry. He needed to talk to Tremine eventually anyway. Faster than he intended, he unlocked the door and cracked it open. Anger with himself for capitulating so quickly mixed with relief that this conversation would soon be over. Even poppers wouldn’t be able to fix the hurt and betrayal he felt.

  He walked back to his chair and sat. Tremine closed the door behind him and sat on the chair next to Ruwen. The librarian snapped the shaker a couple of times, and the room brightened. Without saying a word, Tremine started pulling items out of his Portal Bag and setting them on the small table between them: a pitcher of water, a jug of something yellow, two plates and cups, three bowls of sauce, and finally a large bowl of poppers.

  The smell of the spiced meat wrapped in fried dough was too much. Ruwen took a plate and grabbed a handful of the poppers. They were still hot, and he shook his hand to cool it. He poured some of the spicy tomato sauce on his plate and started eating.

  Tremine’s face remained neutral, and after Ruwen began eating, the librarian filled his plate. Ruwen was on his third plate when Tremine broke the silence.

  “Naktos’s Embrace,” Tremine said. “Well, that’s what we call it. I’m not positive how their Mages refer to it.”

  Ruwen wanted to continue giving Tremine the silent treatment, but the truth was Ruwen’s curiosity had turned into a fire in his mind. It was foolish to continue to be angry with Tremine when he didn’t have all the facts, and he wondered if his Foolish debuff was making this harder.
The librarian had been a second father to him and deserved to at least be heard. Plus, Ruwen had been dying to know what Naktos meant since he had heard the gilled man say it. Literally dying.

  “He said Naktos to me,” Ruwen said.

  “You understood him?”

  Ruwen set his plate down and went to wipe his hands on his shirt. Tremine cleared his throat and looked at the hand towels on the table. Ruwen’s cheeks grew warm, and he grabbed a towel.

  Ruwen sighed, and his shoulders slumped. “As you can see, the priest made me a Worker.” Anger flared in his chest. “That turd pie didn’t even present me to Uru. He just threw me in the tank.”

  “You give him too much credit. If he made you a Worker, Uru wished it.”

  “I should have been a Mage!”

  “And you still can be.”

  The words hung in the air between them. Ruwen sat up straight and looked at Tremine for the first time. How could he know about Ruwen’s secret Class?

  “Uh, that’s impossible,” he stammered.

  Tremine chuckled. “You need to work on your Deception skill.”

  He had never been a good liar, and Tremine knew him well, which made deception almost impossible. He had to try, though.

  “Why would you say that?” Ruwen asked.

  Tremine’s expression grew thoughtful. “Well, there are three reasons. First, at the park, a fire ignited the methane sack of a low-level follower of Naktos, causing him to explode. From the remains, it appeared the man was a servant. In Naktos culture, only Mages are allowed servants, which meant a Naktos Mage was somewhere in our city. Why would the Naktos risk coming here? And who caused the fire?”

  “Those are interesting questions,” Ruwen said and quickly took a drink of water.

  “Which brings me to my second reason. The Guardians. I can count on one hand the times I’ve seen one active. Never, in history, have all four activated at the same time. You would have thought the world was ending.”