by Mary Swift
Arden knelt in front of him. “You can sleep in here.”
“Where is your room?” Rowan asked.
“I don’t have a room.” Arden pointed to the open doorway. “There’s a bathroom back there and a changing room, and another room like this one. We sleep in these rooms, either on the sofas or on the floor. We’re slaves, don’t forget that.”
In all of the luxury Rowan had forgotten. “And now I sleep here?”
“Unless Constantine tells you otherwise. We have to be ready at all times if Constantine needs us. He has enemies.”
Rowan looked around. This was going to be his life. Just the day before he had been happy at home. If only he had gone to school that morning. He wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve.
“It’s all right to cry.” Arden said. “I cried when I was sold at the slave auction. I went to work on a hog farm. I had to sleep in the sty with the animals. It was filthy and I smelled all of the time.”
“Did you run away?”
“No. The war came and the farm was destroyed. When they discovered I was from Firesea they brought me back here and eventually I became Constantine’s property. I used to be a ranger. I have a lot of skills that are useful for this job.”
“I wish I was home.”
“We all do.” Arden said. “Go to sleep.”
“Do you sleep in here too?” Rowan crawled onto a sofa. It seemed as though every muscle in his body ached. His stomach was empty, but the fatigue was overpowering.
“Yes.” Arden said. “I sleep on the floor. I prefer it, rangers sleep on the ground. I’m going into the other room to get a robe, it gets cold in here at night.”
Rowan watched him leave. By the time Arden returned and stretched out on the bare wood floor Rowan was fast asleep.
Chapter 11
They were on the outskirts of Firesea. Logan and Killian were arguing. They disagreed on how to go into Firesea. Nora wandered down the slope, away from the circle. She sat on a rock. Scrubby pines grew around her, the branches were heavy with cones. She pulled one off and began pulling it apart.
The arguing stopped, maybe they weren’t speaking to each other anymore. She had to get to Firesea. She had to take over. She wanted to be the Master Enchanter. Nora was ashamed of herself. The thoughts of taking over were so strong that she kept forgetting the real reason they were there. She didn’t deserve Rowan, she was a horrible mother.
She was considering slipping away from the rest of them when a rustling noise caught her attention. A bush was moving. Nora pulled her legs up to her knees, it could be a skunk.
A black and white cat crept out of the brush. Suddenly the cat became Dante. “Hello Nora. It’s been so long since I’ve seen my dear wife.” Dante was holding something in his hand, it was a long red ponytail.
Nora scrambled to her feet and ran back up the hill. They were gone, all of them. The horses stood tied to a tree. “Killian!” she screamed.
Dante was suddenly behind her. He flashed the hair in her face. “I’m afraid Killian’s otherwise detained. It’s killing you to be so close to Firesea isn’t it? You nearly overtook me all those years ago. We could rule together this time.”
“What have you done with them?”
“What do you care? You’re not one of them. You never have been.”
“We’re a family.”
“They’ll turn on you in the end Nora.”
“No, during the war-”
“The war?” Dante scoffed. “You were pregnant, they had a reason to keep you around. Now that you’ve given them another enchanter you’ve outlived your usefulness. Why not come with me?”
Nora took his hand. “You really understand me, don’t you Dante?”
“Of course, I’m your husband after all.”
She touched his long gray hair. “How long have we been married?”
“Twenty nine years.”
She fingered his red robe, it was the Master Enchanter’s robe. It felt the same way she remembered. “I’m tired of the redhead. He’s not the lover you were.”
Dante smiled. “How could he be?”
“I’ve been thinking about you lately.”
“Really?”
Nora unbuttoned the robe and opened it. Underneath he was wearing a plain black tunic and trousers. “Yes, I’ve been thinking about how you were right all along. The enchanters have to go. We’ve wasted so much time apart, but we can fix that now.”
Dante’s breath was coming fast. “What about your son?”
Nora shrugged. “What about him?” She unbuttoned his trousers and let them fall to the ground.
He gulped the air. “Do you really mean it this time Nora?”
He was wearing some sort of bulky wool underwear that could have only come from Firesea. She slipped her fingers inside the waistband. “What do you think?”
Dante started pawing at her clothes. She watched as he struggled with the tiny buttons on her sweater. His face was getting red. “Help me out here.”
Nora leaned forward to kiss him, just as their lips touched she put her knee in his groin. He doubled over. She grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. “Listen up, you’re no longer in charge here. You’re no longer the Master Enchanter. You can’t do a damn thing and you know it. The only talent you have, Dante Gavrashelli, is making people believe you.”
“What is wrong with you Nora?” He was still clutching his groin.
Nora reached her hand into the pocket of the robe and pulled out a pistol. She pointed it at him. “Take off the robe.”
“Nora, put that down.”
“Give me the robe or I’ll blow your brains out.”
Dante stared at her with his mouth open. She wondered if he might try transforming into something in an attempt to get away, but he appeared incapable.
Nora pointed the pistol at his feet and fired into the ground. Dante shrieked like a schoolgirl and jumped into the air. “The next one will be in your head.” Nora warned. “Or maybe I’ll shoot your penis off. It never was your best appendage.”
Dante unbuttoned the robe, his hands were shaking as he handed it to her. “You’re crazy Nora.”
Nora slipped her arms inside the robe and smiled satisfactorily. “They mark slaves with a gold band, don’t they?” She put her hand in the pocket of the robe. Slave band, she thought to herself. A thin metal wire materialized between her fingers.
Dante raised his hands in a pathetic attempt to strike her. At the same time Nora threw the wire into the air, it obediently wrapped itself around Dante’s neck. His eyes grew wide as he reached up and touched the mark of his enslavement. “How are you doing this Nora? The robe only answers to the Master Enchanter.”
Nora buttoned his trousers and straightened his shirt. “Ready the horses. We’re going to Firesea.”
Dante stared at her.
She gave him a hard shove. “Do I have to ask you twice slave? Get moving. I’m right behind you so don’t try anything.”
He started towards the horses. She buttoned the robe and followed him. Things were about to change in Firesea.
Chapter 12
When Lucy woke up she was lying in the middle of a field. The last thing she remembered was listening to her father argue with Logan, now she was here. The sky was blue and cloudless. She sat up and looked around. In the distance she could see the outer wall of Firesea.
There was no telling how much time had passed. She felt surprisingly refreshed. It reminded her of the way she felt when she was a girl waking up in her father’s house in Wildbush, when they were still in the circle, before she was kidnapped and brought to Firesea.
She got to her feet and looked for the others, but there was no one else around.
“Daddy!” she shouted. “Logan!”
There was no answer. Lucy wasn’t surprised. She was no explanation for what had happened to her, but she had long ago stopped questioning strange occurrences. She would find them again, she had to.
Lucy was thirsty. S
he remembered that a stream ran through the countryside towards the sea. She wandered around under the hot sun until she found it. The water was ice cold. There were some wild strawberry plants growing nearby. She ate a few berries and then started the walk to Firesea, she didn’t know where else to go and Rowan could be there. Most likely she would be picked up by the rangers before she even reached the wall. It was surprising they hadn’t found her already.
Even though she could see the wall it took several hours to get there. The sun beat down on her, she wished she had a hat. She finally reached her destination. She noticed there were no protectors in the watchtowers, but there were enchanters inside the wall, she could sense them.
Lucy considered tearing off a piece of the wall as she had done before and going inside, but the lack of rangers and protectors made her think something strange was going on. She decided to walk around to the front gate. It was wide open without a protector in sight. Lucy hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she should go in. She looked across the water at the island that served as Firesea’s prison. The boat that usually went between the mainland and the island was gone.
As she stepped inside the gate Firesea suddenly materialized. The council hall with its great red dome, the cathedral with the sixteen amber spires, and the timber framed houses leaning in close to one another. The first time Lucy had stepped through the gate there had been enchanters everywhere. Now the streets were bare. There was the sound of shouting coming from the hall.
There was danger here. Lucy wanted to find Rowan, but she wasn’t sure she could handle it on her own. She had to find her father. She was about to leave when a man came running towards her. He was a protector, she could tell by the way he was dressed. He skidded to a stop. “Are you with her?”
“With who?”
“If you’re not with her then you’d better get out of here.” he said.
“Who are you talking about?”
“The new Master Enchanter.”
Lucy felt her heart rate increase. “It’s a woman?”
“Yes, the old Master Enchanter’s wife. We all thought she was dead, no one has seen her in years.”
If Nora had taken over Firesea then she was far gone, she probably wouldn’t even remember Rowan.
“I’m just waiting for my friend and then we’re leaving.” he said. “We did manage to get Constantine out.”
Lucy didn’t know who this Constantine was and she didn’t care. “I’m looking for my brother, he was kidnapped.”
The man looked genuinely sorry. “I wish I could help you but I have to protect Constantine.” He glanced warily at the council hall. “She’ll be out any second. Where the heck is Arden?”
It could just be a coincidence. Arden might be a popular name in Firesea, Lucy had no idea. Suddenly another scantily clad protector emerged from deep within the circle, he was carrying a large bag. His body was covered in long fine scars.
“Hurry up.” the first man said.
“Sorry Paul. I had to go back for-” Arden stopped and dropped the bag on the ground. He stared at her, his brow wrinkled. “Lucy?”
It was him. It was Arden, her Arden. He still had the sandy blonde hair and deep green eyes that she remembered. She noticed he was graying at the temples and his face showed signs of being in the sun often. Once he had been so self-conscious of his scars, he would constantly pull at the sleeves of his shirts. Now he seemed completely at ease with nearly all of his skin exposed.
“It is you?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He reached his hand out to touch her. Suddenly the door of the council hall opened, enchanters began pouring out. Lucy looked up and caught a glimpse of Nora in the Master Enchanter’s robe. Dante was next to her on a leash.
Arden grabbed her hand. “Run Lucy.”
She ran.
Chapter 13
Rowan had breakfast with Constantine’s protectors. He had learned their names, Beal, Declan, Paul, and Arden, and a little bit about each of them. Paul was the oldest at forty six. He had been a sailor in another circle for many years until Firesea had captured his ship and enslaved everyone aboard.
Declan was twenty nine. He had written a pamphlet denouncing the Master Enchanter as a fraud. He was sentenced to death but Constantine had stepped in and offered to take him into the protectors. Beal was the youngest at only seventeen. His parents and grandparents had all been slaves.
Arden was thirty four. When he was a teenager he had been captured and tortured by Firesea, thinking that he was from an enemy circle. That’s where all of his scars had come from. When his family saw him they were so ashamed of what he looked like they sent him off to become a ranger.
Rowan was shocked to learn that his Uncle Finnegan had kidnapped Lucy and brought her to Firesea. He had never known anything that happened before his birth. Arden explained how he helped Lucy escape. For that he had been sold into slavery.
“I always wondered who the man with the scars was.” Rowan said.
Arden smiled. “That’s me. I used to be really self-conscious about the way I look, but this uniform doesn’t allow for that. For me becoming a protector helped me accept myself. I guess in a way it was a good thing.” He paused. “But I miss your sister.”
“She cries a lot, she does it when she thinks no one can hear. I don’t think she’s very happy.”
“Does she-” Arden stopped. There was a loud crash outside. The four protectors stood up and ran across the hall to Constantine’s room. Rowan followed them. Constantine was at his desk reading a book. Arden looked at Rowan. “Stay with him.” The four men ran downstairs.
Constantine’s dark curly hair was sticking out at odd angles. He got up and sat on the end of the bed. “There have been seven assassination attempts on my life in the last year.”
“Why are people trying to kill you?”
“Because of my father. Look out the window and tell me what’s going on.”
Rowan pulled back the curtains. It was the first time he had seen Firesea in the daylight. There was an enormous building in the center with amber spires, and another with a red glass dome. The houses all had thatched roofs and shutters on the windows.
“Can you see anything?” Constantine asked.
“Just people running around.”
“You better come away from there, you could get hurt.”
Rowan closed the curtains. Outside there was a scream and loud sounds. Beal and Declan rushed in. “We’ve got to get out of here!” Declan cried. “There’s a woman who’s overtaken the Master Enchanter. She’s exiling all of the council members.”
Constantine stood up and sighed. “It was bound to come to this. Maybe I should stay.”
“No. She’s already enslaved your father, she’s crazy.” Declan told him.
Constantine nodded. If he was upset about his father Rowan couldn’t tell. “Let’s go. Come on Rowan.”
Rowan followed them out of Constantine’s bedroom and down the hall. They went through a door and down a long staircase that led to the basement. Beal and Declan worked at opening a wooden door built into the foundation. Constantine watched them without much interest. “My father had a tunnel built after war, in case we needed to evacuate.”
The door opened. Rowan felt a rush of cold damp air on his face. Declan grabbed a couple of lanterns and held them up to Constantine. He waved his hand and they flickered to life. “That’s my spell.” he said. “I can make fire.”
Beal and Declan each took a lantern and guided Constantine into the tunnel. They looked back at Rowan. He wondered what they would do if he refused. The knives strapped to their thighs were probably the answer to his question. He followed them inside. The two protectors pushed the door shut and locked it with a padlock that had been hanging on the wall.
They walked for what seemed like an hour. The only change to the tunnel was that it sloped progressively downwards. No one spoke as they trudged along. Finally Rowan saw a shaft of light ahead. As he got closer he realized i
t was coming from a trapdoor in the ceiling. The tunnel ended. Declan handed his lantern to Beal and climbed up a ladder on the wall. It took some effort to push the trapdoor open. He climbed up a few more rungs and looked out.
“What can you see?” Constantine asked.
Declan climbed back into the tunnel. “It looks clear, but I think we should wait until Paul and Arden get here.”
Constantine leaned against the wall and sighed. “Maybe it’s finally over.”
No one said anything. Declan replaced the cover on the trapdoor and they waited. Several minutes passed. Suddenly they heard shouting above them. “Open the door!” someone cried.
Declan climbed back up and opened the trapdoor. Rowan could see Paul looking at them. “We’re coming down, they’re right on our tail.” Declan moved and Paul climbed down followed by Arden and a dark haired woman. Rowan started crying, it was Lucy.
Lucy’s mouth dropped open. “Rowan!” She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. Where’s Mom and Dad?”
She turned around and glared at Arden. “You took my brother?”
“He hasn’t been given permission to speak to you.” Constantine told her. “And I am the one who took your brother. These men are my slaves, as is Rowan.” He looked at Arden. “What is she doing here?”
“We ran into Lucy by accident. She was looking for her brother.” Arden said. “I know her from before, when I was free.”
Constantine nodded. “I see.” He turned to Lucy. “As soon as we are able to move on I’ll let you go.”
Lucy put her arm around Rowan. “I’m not leaving without my brother. He’s not your property.”
“I can enslave you.”
“Is your father Dante?” Lucy asked. “You look like him.”
“Yes.”
“Who’s your mother?”
“I don’t know.”
“I saw your father in Firesea, he was being led around on a leash.”
Constantine looked at Paul. “Is that true?”
“Yes.”
