by Andrew Rowe
He did take one thing, though — the Mask of Kishor. He was confident that the artifact could handle a bit of exposure to his aura, and it was what he’d come for in the first place.
With the whole building stripped of valuable enchanted items, there were two more things left to handle. “What should we do with the menagerie of monsters?” Taelien asked.
“I can get them transported somewhere they can be handled safely. It won’t take long, I know a guy.”
“What about the servants? Do you think he kidnapped them?”
Wrynn shook her head. “I think they were other shapeshifters like him. I’ll investigate, though.”
“...What about the actual Kyestri?”
“Long dead, I think. I’ll do some digging on that, too. If we need to do a rescue mission, I’ll let you know.”
Taelien nodded. “Thanks. One last thing...those creepy, human looking statues...”
“I don’t think they’re people. I know he tried to petrify you, but it would be a little too brazen to put real people out front, even for him.”
“Let’s at least do a cursory check.”
Using Sculptor and his own stone sorcery, Taelien inspected the statues, but couldn’t find any indication they were anything other than solid stone. If they were petrified victims of Kyestri, they were beyond his help. “Can I get you to look into this further after I leave?”
“Sure. I can get a memory sorcerer to check on them, if it’s important to you.”
Taelien nodded, then flipped Sculptor around and handed it to Wrynn. “Take this, then. Might help with breaking them out.”
“What, you don’t want to keep it?”
“I do, but my aura is going wild right now. Don’t trust it not to break. You can give it back to me later if you feel like it.” After a moment, he removed two more items from his bag — Arturo’s Amulet of Sanctuary and the map that came along with it. “Hold on to these for me, too. Maybe pass them to Lydia if you see her before I do.”
Wrynn nodded. “Okay. We can make a list of how we’re splitting all this stuff up while we walk...but if we’re not fighting Kyestri, I really need to get back.”
“Let’s head home, then.”
***
They headed back to Wrynn’s tavern. From there, Taelien escorted her back to the vault. “You going to be okay once you get in the pool?”
Wrynn nodded. “This is...bad, but I’ll recover, given time. I’ll plan to meet up with you sometime soon so we can split up all this loot properly. If there’s anything you particularly want, you can write me a note.”
“The swords, Wrynn. It’s going to be all of the swords.”
Wrynn snorted. “You’ve got a one-track mind.”
“Nah. I like hugs, too.”
“You’re adorable. C’mere.” Wrynn stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tight. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”
He smiled, pulling her close. “You’d better. You still owe me stories about Artinia and my parents.”
“You bet. I’ll look forward to it.”
With that, he watched Wrynn step into the side of the stasis pool, and headed off for his next part of the journey.
Epilogue – Velas – Legacy
The pain returned to her first. Other senses came more gradually.
She heard voices, whispering far too loudly, but she couldn’t make them out.
Where...what...
Her eyes fluttered open.
She was in a bedchamber. A nice one, with heavy covers pulled over her, and several pillows beneath her head.
A familiar figure sat next to her, holding her hand.
“Hey, there.” Landen smiled, leaning down. “Thought I told you to be careful out there. For future reference, being very nearly cut in half does not count as careful.”
Velas groaned. “You’re...cheerful.”
“Of course I’m cheerful. You’re alive. I...well, it wasn’t looking good there, for a while.” Landen took a deep breath. “Don’t try to move yet. Or, uh, probably for a while. Sorry.”
“Where...”
“Still in Selyr. I just arrived a few hours ago. Nakane paid to have us teleported here after we heard we could stop hiding. It was pricey, but we both wanted to check in on things.”
Velas shut her eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted. But she couldn’t sleep again. Not yet. “The others...”
“Asphodel got Aladir back on his feet first. He healed the rest of you as best he could, but...it was bad, Velas. Aladir healed remarkably fast — benefits of having a lot of life essence, I guess — but the others...your Thornguard friend may be blind in one eye. And War...” Landen shook his head.
“He...died to help me.” Velas felt strangely conflicted by that. She wasn’t close to War. She didn’t even know if she liked him. But there had been a bit of a kindred spirit between them in their shared love for battle, and she would regret not being able to fight him again. “What happens to harvesters when they die?”
Her gaze shifted to a corner of the room, where the Heartlance laid against a wall. The metal had lightened back to silver, but retained a hint of a crimson tint.
“I don’t know.” Landen shook his head. “Sorcerous theory never was my thing. Lydia might know better.”
Velas nodded weakly. “I...didn’t know him very well.”
“I don’t think any of us really did. Aside from Sal, maybe.” Landen sighed. “He’s not going to be happy when he hears about it.”
“Sal...what happened with him?”
“Well, while you tangled with The Shrouded One, his group got Sterling.”
“Is he...?”
“Sal is fine. His group got pretty beaten up, too, but no one died. And they got Sterling. Captured him, I mean.”
Velas took a deep breath. “Good. Have you figured out what exactly Lavender was trying to accomplish with all this fate and prophecy stuff?”
Landen shook his head. “No. She didn’t talk.”
She felt her jaw tighten. “I’ll make her talk.”
Velas heard Landen sigh. “Won’t be able to. She’s gone.”
“...What do you mean, gone?”
“We made a trade. If you were conscious, I think you would have agreed with it.”
She sat up in her bed, wincing at the pain that shot through her body as she did so. “A trade? After all we went through, someone traded Lavender away? What could possibly be worth that?”
Landen sighed. “Come with me.”
***
“...Oh.”
Rialla Dianis was in a bed in the next room. She was pale, and a wet towel was draped across her forehead.
Aladir sat next to her. He raised a finger in a gesture of ‘quiet’ when Velas walked in the room.
Velas rushed to her side. “She’s alive...”
Aladir raised his finger again.
Contain sound.
Velas rolled her eyes. “There. I’ve put up a field to keep sound from escaping. We can chat without waking her.”
“You really shouldn’t be using sorcery again so soon.” Aladir gave her a weary look. “You shouldn’t even be out of bed.”
Velas ignored him. “How is she?”
Aladir winced. “...Not good.”
“But she’ll live?”
“...For a while.”
Velas narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean?”
“Lavender took every drop of sorcerous power Rialla had. In doing so, she broke Rialla’s bond with her dominion. For a rethri, that means...”
“Uvar.” Rialla winced. “She’s uvar now, like her brother. No sorcery, and a limited lifespan.”
“Critically limited. It’s amazing that Elias survived as long as he did. Rialla’s condition is worse. She was in an unstable condition for hours before we made the prisoner exchange.”
Velas tightened her jaw. “Who did you make the exchange with?”
“Aayara.”
Of course Aayara got her hands o
n Rialla somehow. Probably right when we were in the middle of fighting Lavender...assuming Lavender didn’t just hand her over to Aayara earlier than that.
Her fists clenched. “How long does Rialla have?”
“I don’t know. A few days, maybe. She needs stability sorcery more than healing, and that’s not something I have access to. Lydia has an item that might be able to help, but it’s recharging, and won’t be ready for weeks. Months, maybe. It’s...a seasonal thing, I guess.”
Velas nodded. “Keep an eye on her for me. Where’d you meet with Aayara?”
“I didn’t, Lydia did. But my understanding is that she’s at some sort of tavern. The...perfect something?”
“Perfect Stranger. I know the place.”
“She might be gone by now. And you’re not in any condition to—”
“Don’t try to stop me.” Velas turned, stood, and reached over to put a hand on Rialla’s cheek. “I’ll be back for you.”
***
Wrynn Jaden wasn’t tending the bar at The Perfect Stranger when Velas arrived, but she knew a few of the other workers. She waved someone down as soon as she walked in. “Is Symphony still here?”
She got a nod. “She’s been expecting you. Back room.”
Of course she’s been expecting me. She’s been playing us all from the start.
She gave a friendly wave and headed to the back room.
Aayara was reclining in a huge chair, sipping wine from an expensive bottle she probably hadn’t paid for. A set of crimson veils — a portion of Aayara’s Symphony outfit — were folded neatly on the table. “Darling! You’re looking unwell. Sit.”
Velas wrinkled her nose, leaning up against the nearby wall instead. “I’m not here for idle banter, Aayara.”
“Oh?” Aayara’s eyes scanned her. “Not in a fun mood? I suppose I wouldn’t be if I was in your boots, either. You’re probably still weak from all that blood loss.”
“Rialla is dying.”
Aayara gave a nod, tipping her bottle toward Velas. “That she is.”
“Fix it.”
After a moment of pause, Aayara tilted her head to the side quizzically. “Pardon?”
“She’s dying. She’s one of your agents — an ‘ess’. You brought her into this, you get her out.”
“On the contrary, I do believe you brought her into this. Well, a combination of you and Scribe. He recruited her, and you got her killed with your lack of caution.”
Velas snarled. “She’s not dead yet. And she worked for you. She was doing her job, and you have an obligation to help her.”
“Do I? What if I told you that she was ordered not to help you, and did so anyway?”
“...What?”
“I instructed her to observe you, but not to interfere. That’s why she’s dying. She violated her orders, and now she faces the consequences. Now, I do have a reward for you for—”
“Stop. Unless that reward is help for Rialla, I don’t want to hear it.”
“You’re sure? It’s something quite significant.”
Velas folded her arms. “No games, Aayara. Help Rialla, then we’ll talk.”
“Hm. What makes you think I can help her?”
“That was the entire premise of her working for you, wasn’t it? Finding a way to fix uvar. She’s uvar now, and I’ll wager you have a method for treating that. Maybe you did from the start. Now, I need you to deliver on that.”
Aayara set her wine bottle down. “I don’t like your tone, young lady.”
“Aayara—”
She tilted her head downward, making a dangerous expression. “You’re not calling me ‘Auntie Ess’.”
Velas drew in a deep breath. “Auntie Ess. Please. Help her. I...it’s my fault.”
Aayara stood, approaching and putting a hand on Velas’ cheek. “You’re right, dear. It most certainly is your fault. You were weak, too weak to handle Silk on your own. And planned inadequately. There need to be consequences for things like that.”
“Fine. I’ll pay the consequences. Don’t make her suffer for my mistake.”
Aayara gave her a sad look, pulling her hand away. “I suppose you may have been unsuited for what I was planning.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your reward, dear.” Aayara gestured at the folded garments on the table.
“You want to give me some colorful clothes? I don’t need new veils, I need you to help my friend.”
Aayara sighed. “No, dear. Who wears those veils?”
“You do. But—oh.” Velas felt her heart sink. “No. That’s...is that what this was? Why you had me fight Silk? This wasn’t just a petty game, it was...”
“A succession test.” Aayara’s hand drifted to the top of the pile of clothing, patting it.
“You want me to take your place as Symphony.”
Aayara shrugged. “I did. But it would appear that your priorities are your personal attachments. A shame. With the previous Silk finally taken care of, I was hoping for a chance to distribute some of my responsibilities.”
“Can we talk about this another time? Rialla is literally dying right now, and I don’t know how else—”
“I won’t help her. You don’t have the resources to do it yourself. What will you do?”
Velas narrowed her eyes, then stomped forward.
With a swift movement, she snatched the crimson veil off the table. “This discussion isn’t over.” She glowered at Aayara, then lifted the silk to her face.
Aayara smirked. “Congratulations on your promotion, dear. Now, off you go. I believe you have some work to do.”
Epilogue – Jonan – Travel Plans
Blinking was much more uncomfortable with only one usable eye.
I’ll fix it somehow, he told himself for the hundredth time.
He knew it wasn’t likely. Eyes were notoriously difficult to heal, and he’d been overusing powerful sight sorcery for years. Every power had a cost.
Still, thinking of his eyes was a good distraction. The futility of fixing his vision was nothing compared to the other challenges he knew he’d be facing soon.
Jonan was waiting outside when Velas stepped out of the room carrying Symphony’s veils.
He’d heard everything. Aayara hadn’t bothered to shield the room from sound. She’d wanted him to hear.
She had, however, sealed the room to prevent him from actually going inside and interfering.
Velas turned her head when she saw him sitting at the nearest table. “Jonan. You—”
“I heard. We can talk while we walk. We need to move her right away.”
“Move her? Where?”
“Here.” Jonan tapped on a table.
Velas gave him a confused look.
“Come on. I’ll explain while we walk.”
***
“You’ve been keeping secrets.” Velas folded her arms as they headed back toward Selyr.
Jonan blinked. Darkness again. It was irritating. “Of course I have. What in particular were you thinking of?”
“You’ve got more dominion marks. I saw you use one against Lavender.”
“Two, actually.” He rubbed at his arm absently, which only made it hurt more. “No, three, now that I think about it.”
“And?”
“And what?”
Velas jabbed him with a finger. “And knowing about them might have been relevant to our strategy?”
Jonan winced. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. But neither of us is exactly good at trusting, are we? And beyond that, we haven’t had any chances to discuss it while we weren’t potentially being observed. I couldn’t risk Lavender finding out about them if she’d been scrying on us while we chatted.”
Velas lifted a hand to her forehead, looking frustrated. “Fine, fine. But I know about them now, and so does she. So, tell me. What have you figured out? Do you know enough to save Rialla?”
Oh. Is that why she’s so upset?
Jonan shook his head. “No, sorry. I
know Edon was researching using dominion marks to cure the uvar, at least in theory. But my own angle of research has been somewhat different. I will study Edon’s notes and try to finish the process, but I’m not at that point now.”
“So what did you figure out, then?” She made a gesture at his arm. “What’s with the new marks?”
“Put a field of silence around us first, please.” It wasn’t a perfect precaution, but some was better than none.
“Fine.” Velas waved a hand unnecessarily. “It’s done.”
Jonan could feel something in the air around them, but he still wasn’t effective enough at sound sorcery to be able to discern much about it. That was a little annoying, but he trusted that the spell was what she’d claimed. “You recall that I spent some time studying in the restricted section of a Thornguard library?”
Velas nodded.
“Well, there were some items being stored there for research. Dominion marked items. Mostly things the vae’kes wanted more information about, like a replica of Hartigan’s Star that Jacinth made for Aayara. And I wasn’t allowed to take them out, but...”
Velas stared at him. “You didn’t.”
A smirk crossed his face. “I did. I was under observation, and in a room surrounded by void, but I was still able to cast spells inside.” He lifted up his sleeve, displaying the ugly marks on his right arm. Dominion marks had to be in a specific shape to function — he still wasn’t sure why — but they didn’t have to be traditional tattoos.
“I branded myself while five feet away from a man who could have killed me in a heartbeat if he’d wanted to. I don’t think he even noticed. I had sight sorcery to make it look like I was simply reading a few feet away, and sound sorcery to conceal the sounds of me being in, well, frankly terrible pain.”
“That’s a pretty dangerous move, Kestrian.” She nudged him. “I’m impressed. But I didn’t think you could pull off sound sorcery?”
“I can’t on my own.” He lifted up his other sleeve, displaying another rune. “I cheated. This rune links me to the helmet from your old suit of armor — the one that uses sound sorcery to change voices. I was able to figure out how to get it to silence my voice instead.”
