Secrets of the Tally

by Halie Fewkes

  His incredible talent for sparring was another factor playing on my mind. He was so accomplished and so fast. Realistically, I knew I just wanted him to be an Epic so I could piece my pride back together. I still felt like a stupid dandelion whenever I fought against Archie — so fragile that a light breeze was fatal. At least if he was an Epic, I could justify my endless losing streak.

  I had gotten one good kick that took him by surprise on our cleaning-night. With a rag in one hand and a sword in the other, I had knocked him off a table-top, accidentally shattering a chair as a result. He had taken it to his room, claiming he could fix it and put it back with nobody the wiser, but I had my doubts.

  “What are you smiling about?” Archie asked, joining me on the edge of Sir Bruscan’s maze of light. The goal had been to reach the middle of the maze while fighting everybody we came across, and losers could leave to start their day’s work.

  Instead of answering, I exclaimed. “You’re out of the maze! What happened?”

  He shook his head and simply said, “Liz and West.”

  “Same here. West came at me from the front, and Liz threw both of her swords at me from behind while I was distracted. Is that how they got you?”

  “No, it was more of a flying tackle, and then Sir Bruscan called foul on me for crossing over the boundaries.”

  Liz grabbed West’s arm to slow him down as she noticed Archie and me talking. The two stopped running just long enough to give us mocking salutes, then they carried on conquering the maze.

  Archie and I exchanged a slight laugh to cover the fact that we were actually sore losers, and Archie said, “I’m heading back to the Wreck before I go out with the mages today. You want to come?”

  “Yes. I still have a few hours before I get to meet the Dragona’s combat dragons.” We headed for the Wreck, knowing that Liz and West would catch up with us, and I asked Archie, “How is that chair doing?”

  “Well,” he replied, blue eyes looking into mine as though they held tragic news, “I’m doing all I can, but the chair just might not make it.”

  “Let’s just not tell anybody,” I said, laughing as we stepped into the Wreck and sat at a chips table with a full complement of chairs. I only recognized Michael among the players, laying his chips down so fast that I could hardly tell where they landed.

  I joined the next game, but soon Liz came running to sit with us. “Sir Avery’s back!” She must have left West far behind, which wasn’t like her.

  “The Epic? Are you sure?” I asked, never convinced that Liz was entirely reliable.

  “I’m positive about this one,” she assured me. “He just got here. I also heard he’s staying for a few days, which is great news for you, Allie!”

  “Where is he?” Archie asked.

  “He’s talking to Anna and Sir Darius, and then I think he’s coming down here.”

  “Really?” I found myself attentive now. Maybe I could talk to him. Was it actually possible that my problems could be solved within the next few hours?

  “I think I have to go,” Archie said, standing up just as West reached our table.

  “Why?”

  “I forgot to… I don’t know. I’ll see you later.” He swung his legs quickly off the bench and left, the three of us puzzling after him.

  “What’s wrong with him?” West asked as soon as he was out of sight.

  “I don’t know. I’ll go see,” I replied, getting up to follow him into the living tunnels.

  I had hardly taken a step before I heard, “Allie!” and I saw Anna approach our table. “Consider your chores cancelled. You wanted a mission, and I’ve got one for you.”

  “You found one?” I repeated. “What is it?”

  “Dincara sent out a raid on the Escali city of Treldinsae during the Eclipsival,” Anna said, “but nobody has returned. Since Prince Avalask is keeping our mages from seeing the area, we need a team to actually get close and tell us what happened. This is one of our less dangerous missions, and Sir Avery will be here in about ten minutes to give you more details, so quickly pick who you’d like to come with you.”

  I had barely opened my mouth to respond when Michael said, “I’ll go.” Of course he was eager to get in on the action. His incredible speed could keep him safe. “West and Jesse both want to come too.” Michael pointed out West and the guy next to him, whose dark bangs hung nearly into his eyes.

  West agreed, “Definitely. I need to find my power before old age kills me.”

  “And I make a good leader,” Michael said.

  I saw Liz about to open her mouth, and I shook my head to cut her off. There wasn’t a chance she was allowed to come. “I need to go find Archie,” I said. He was the team member I needed most of all.

  “Alright, but be back in ten minutes,” Anna said. “You don’t want to keep Sir Avery waiting.”

  I darted into the tunnels and only slowed when I caught up to Archie, taking care not to tread too lightly so he would be forced to acknowledge I had followed him. I wasn’t sure why he was so hesitant to talk to me, but he only stopped walking because we reached the door to his room. He took such an immense time to turn around that I grew impatient and asked, “What’s wrong?” before he faced me.

  “Nothing,” he replied, his gaze on his door. “I just needed to come back to my room. This chair isn’t going to fix itself.”

  I tilted my head just a bit to the side and gave him my I’m-no-fool frown. “Why don’t you like Sir Avery?”

  Archie sighed and finally returned my eye contact. “It’s not so much that I don’t like him.”

  “Then what?”

  “I just don’t want to be around him.”

  I wasn’t interested in ambiguous half-answers, so I asked the very pointed question, “Why don’t you want to be around Sir Avery?”

  “It’s… I don’t know. He’s an Epic, so he can see into the minds of everyone within shouting distance of him.”

  “I don’t think it’s a big deal,” I reasoned. I also didn’t think it was the truth. “If he can hear all of us, then why does it matter that he can hear you?”

  “Well… I don’t know. It’s complicated.”

  “I’ll understand.”

  Archie watched me undecidedly, then said, “I have to tell you something, Allie. Mind mages can’t hear my thoughts. Whenever I walk into a room I instantly have their full attention, and I do not need Sir Avery’s attention right now.”

  I found that interesting to hear, not because I believed it was the real issue, but because having a blocked mind sounded like another power. I needed to start making a list. “I don’t think it’s anything you have to worry about,” I repeated.

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m just going to avoid him.”

  “Why? Do you have something to hide?” Archie either didn’t catch my sarcasm, or just didn’t find it funny. He was deep in thought. “Look,” I said, slipping back into a serious tone, “you should come back to the Wreck. Anna has this mission—”

  Somebody landed with a startling thud behind me, and I had already whipped around and pulled out a short sword by the time I realized Sir Darius, the second of the Dragona’s leaders, was a friend rather than a foe.

  A bit startled himself, he said, “Good reflexes, and I appreciate that you identified your target before striking. Both of you need to be in the Wreck, right now. Sir Avery isn’t going to wait to explain this mission to you.”

  Sir Darius leapt back into the air, and I said, “Just forget about Sir Avery. He won’t be worried about you. I need to go on this mission, and I need you to come with me.”

  “I know.”

  “You can’t just leave me because you’re afraid of your own leader. What kind of coward does that?” Archie’s expression took a proud and irritated turn with the simple downward tilt of his head. I had touched a nerve.

  A few people passed us, and Archie waited until they were gone to repeat, “Coward?”

  “You heard me.”

  Archie
folded his arms, and I watched as he took a contemplative breath, obviously deciding what to do. I think I saw him make up his mind as he simply shook the irritation off. “I’m not going,” he said, opening his door and stepping into his room.

  “Are you kidding?” I entered after him, uninvited, and shut the door so nobody in the hall would have to hear the coming dispute. His room was fairly unadorned, just a wooden chest at the foot of his neatly made bed and a few swords in the corner. There was nothing in here worth hiding. “Why can’t you go near Sir Avery? Did you do something?”

  He exclaimed with his hands, “No! I never did anything.”

  “Then what?”

  Archie jumped onto his bed and said, “Then nothing. When you meet Sir Avery, you’ll understand. He’s been stretched beyond his limits for his entire life, he’s volatile, and he’s dangerous. Any tiny thing you do can set him off.”

  I had to unclench my teeth to say, “How would you even know that?”

  Archie simply shrugged and said, “I’ll come on the mission with you, Allie. I just can’t come to the Wreck right now.”

  I raised my eyebrows and said, “If I tell Sir Avery, the Epic, that I have one more person who wants to come, won't he read my mind and know exactly who you are?”

  Archie laced his fingers tightly together before he let his breath out. I added, “You won't be able to hide from him if he knows you’re trying to,” and Archie nodded, still thinking to himself.

  “You’re probably right,” he finally said, pushing himself to his feet with clenched fists. “Alright, let’s go.”

  It was amazing how quickly the Wreck filled with people keen to see Sir Avery. When Archie and I entered, the Epic of the legends was standing on a sturdy wooden platform at the far end, speaking urgently with Anna and Sir Darius.

  Sir Avery was everything I had pictured — taller than both of them and with a noble air about him. Brown scruffy hair curled to his shoulders as though he hadn’t found the time to cut it in years, and the way he held himself spoke of resilience, as though he could take on the world at any moment. As though he knew he had to.

  I turned to Archie, about to say I told you there was no reason to worry, when I saw he was actually quite pale. Frozen in place and staring straight ahead in concentration, his jaw was the only part of him that moved when he said, “I told you this would happen.”

  “What’s going on?”

  I flicked my gaze to Sir Avery to see him watching me and Archie, unhappy with our arrival — well, Archie’s arrival. I hadn’t imagined his problems with Sir Avery would actually be serious, but the strain on Archie’s face showed that they were.

  “Are you ok?” I asked.

  Entirely too calmly, Archie replied, “No, I don’t think I will be.”

  People quieted and followed Sir Avery’s gaze until they spotted us still standing in the doorway. They could tell something was wrong and whispers rose as the whole cavern took notice.

  “Archie, why is he doing this? Just tell me, and I’ll try to get you out of here.”

  Archie’s hollow stare gave me the feeling he hadn’t heard the question, and I really began to worry. I tried to snare Sir Avery’s gaze, but he was watching Archie too intently to be interested in me.

  I watched Archie’s knees threaten to buckle, and then every part of him collapsed backward as his stony expression broke and he yelped in pain. I was able to catch him before he hit the floor, and I shouted to Sir Avery, “Hey! Knock it off!”

  He flicked his glare of determination momentarily to me, then jumped into the air and disappeared as Archie muttered, “I can’t feel my hands.” The Epic’s feet hit the ground in front of us, and he grabbed Archie from me.

  “You’re next,” he barked, briefly meeting my eyes before he and Archie vanished. I crouched, frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do. His gaze had bored through my every defense in our split second of eye contact. Everybody watched me now, but with only a fraction of the shock I felt. Nobody spoke.

  Chapter Ten

  Liz gripped my shoulders an eternity later. “Allie! Come on, let’s get out of here.” She tried to pull me from everybody’s sight, but I was too far in shock to move, and she couldn’t persuade me otherwise. It took West ramming into my other shoulder to get me into the tunnel, away from my gaping audience.

  “What just happened?” West asked.

  “I don’t know,” I barely choked out.

  “Where’s Archie?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What did you two do?” Liz demanded.

  “I don’t — we didn’t do anything!”

  “Then what’s going on?” West asked again.

  “I don’t know! Archie was afraid of Sir Avery for some reason, but I didn’t know it was serious! I didn’t think—”

  “Calm down,” West said, keeping his own voice even to offset mine.

  “Didn’t you hear Sir Avery?” Liz piped up. “He said she was next!”

  “You calm down too. Listen, both of you. Everything is ok. I’m sure Sir Avery—”

  Everything around me — Liz, West, and the tunnel walls — suddenly vanished and my feet dropped onto the hard rock of a new cave. The new location startled me, and I saw Archie huddled against the wall with his hands pressed against either side of his head, eyes clamped shut. Between him and me stood Sir Avery.

  “Did you know he was here?” Sir Avery demanded, pointing at Archie, who was unresponsive.

  “What? Of course I know he’s here!” I retorted, angered by everything Sir Avery was doing.

  “And you just let him into the Dragona?”

  “I had nothing to do with him coming to the Dragona. What’s wrong with him? What did he do?”

  Sir Avery shook his head several times and paced, fuming. He halted and peered down at Archie, deep in thought. Then he abruptly asked, “Why can’t you remember?”

  “I don’t know! Should I know what your problem with Archie is?”

  “You should know a lot more than that.” This time when Sir Avery switched his gaze to me, his angry features also leaked concern. “I know you don’t remember much, but do you know what happened to you?”

  I folded my arms, not ready to respond kindly just yet. “No. I don’t.”

  Sir Avery spoke as though he knew me.

  “I thought your memories would come back in a day or two, but you still haven’t recovered any, have you?”

  “No. Why does it matter to you?”

  Sir Avery dragged his hands over his eyes, as if it mattered quite a bit. “You have to remember. You knew things, Allie. Important things.” He took a deep breath and looked at me apologetically, his expression glazed with sadness. “I just wish you would have told me you were going to Tabriel Vale.”

  “Told you? Why would— Wait… You know what I was doing in Tabriel Vale?” My voice shot up and my eyes widened. Here were the answers!

  “Only vaguely. You have to remember it on your own.”

  “Why can’t you just tell me what you know?” I demanded.

  Sir Avery seemed suddenly distracted, frowning at a piece of the wall as though he saw something else through it.

  And Archie began talking to himself on the ground. It freaked me out to see him in such a state, and I wanted to punch Sir Avery to make him stop. I would have if I didn’t suspect it would end badly for me

  “It isn’t my fault,” Archie muttered in distress, “and why does it matter if I’m here? She gets to live here.”

  I knew this wasn’t something I was supposed to hear. I disregarded Sir Avery and knelt down to snap Archie out of it — even though I would probably wonder what he was saying forevermore. I shook him, but when that didn’t do anything I grabbed both of his hands and pulled them away from his face. Sir Avery disappeared from the room and Archie’s eyes snapped open with dangerous intentions before realizing who I was.

  “You need to tell me what’s going on!” I said, letting go and maneuvering myself away
from his threatening glare.

  “How long have you been here?” he asked, disoriented and defensive. “Where’s Sir Avery?”

  “He just left.”

  Archie looked around the room anyway to make sure, then back at me, this time without the frightening eyes. “What just happened?”

  “That’s what you’re going to explain to me!”

  He checked around one more time and took a deep breath. “Sir Avery’s trying to punish me. Didn’t want me here.”

  “Why?” I asked, always coming back to the same question. “What did you do?”

  “I’ve never done anything! It’s just… family, you know?”

  “No! I do not understand, Archie!”

  “His family… my family… they’ve just got some issues. Sir Avery told me I was never welcome at the Dragona. That’s why I didn’t want to go near him. I didn’t want him to know I was here.”

  “He’s coming back, you know. What do you think he’s going to do?”

  “I don’t know. Whatever he wants, I guess. Epics know no bounds,” he said, getting to his feet slowly. I stood too and felt the blood return to my legs.

  “Before Sir Avery comes back, can you tell me what I mean to him?” I asked.

  “What makes you think I know?”

  “I don’t know, but he makes it sound like I’m important. Why should he care if I get my memory back?”

  Sir Avery reappeared in the room, startling both of us, and answered, “Allie, you used to know things nobody else in the world knew. I need for you to remember what they are. Your mind used to be so ridiculously guarded, only a fool would try to pry anything from it. A lot has been ruined now that it’s in shambles.”

  I scowled, still unwilling to accept anybody insulting my intellect. “If it’s in such shambles, why don’t you try helping me? I won’t mind sharing my memories with you if you help me find them.”

  Within a second, every aspect of my consciousness felt different — like a headache had plagued my entire life and suddenly been lifted. I should have been startled by his sudden compliance, but cares, worries, and the burden of existence itself was immediately gone as warmth seeped into the corners that made up my mind. I didn’t particularly know what Sir Avery was doing, or how long he scanned through my recent memories, nor did I care in any way.