“Theosus, it was you?” Rennon gasped.
“Indeed, I am afraid the tin I gave you had the opposite effect of what you intended.”
“You almost got me killed!” Rennon said with contempt. He moved to his feet. “And I have not had a chance to brew any tea.”
“But you were not killed and here you stand alive.” He looked at Deylia. “Here you both live and here you both will learn the old ways.”
“I will not! I am not ever going to become a wielder!” Rennon bellowed.
“That is why she is here.” Theosus pointed an armored finger at Deylia.
“You are a madman,” Rennon said.
“No, my boy, that is you,” he said as he left the room.
Rennon chased after him and was thrown back as he tried to enter the open doorway.
“It’s protected,” Deylia rasped. “There is no defense against the wild magic. We could easily break the barrier.” She took a deep breath. “But I think he is using dragon magic.”
“I am not sure where we are yet, but I am sure we wouldn’t get far. We have to be smarter than that if we want to get away. How can you tell he is using dragon magic?”
“Well, for one, he is a dragon, and second, I didn’t feel any wielder essence.” She searched his eyes. “You can’t feel it, can you? You don’t know the difference.”
Rennon shook his head. “Where I come from there aren’t many wielders about, and certainly no dragons. He has a strange look about him but not what I picture to be a dragon.”
Deylia snickered. “There aren’t many wielders anywhere, but I still learned to tell the difference. He is not in the form of a dragon right now. He looks to be part of the Duil brood. They can look like a man or an elf or anything they choose. All the drakes in the Duil brood all have strange blue skin, when they are not trying to imitate someone specific.”
“Doesn’t the blue skin tip off people that he is a dragon?”
“It didn’t tip you off.” She laughed.
“Others, I mean.”
“The Duil brood are not the only one around with blue or bluish skin. His dragon magic is what gave him away to me.”
“You know a lot about dragons for a . . .”
“What? A girl?”
“I was going to say for a poor girl in the streets.”
“Oh.” She hesitated as if she wondered whether or not to tell him something. “I had a friend that was interested in dragons. He wanted to be a dragon knight.”
There was a pause in the conversation as Rennon examined Deylia’s injuries for anything that might be serious. Thunder rolled in a melodic flourish somewhere in the distance. She smiled at him, and he could not take his eyes off her desirable, full lips. He felt the urge to kiss her again but soon came to his senses. “Wait a moment, didn’t you take that potion from the other apothecary? How are you feeling anything?” He moved away from her.
“Rennon, that was long ago. They took everything from me. I have no potion to take now.”
He paced the room and then went to the window. He brushed the dirty, shabby curtains aside and peered outside. “Deylia, come here. I think you will want to see this.” Deylia pulled herself up and moved to the window where Rennon held the curtains back for her. They were on the second floor of a massive, ruined complex. The room they occupied appeared to be the only part of the second floor still standing. Out in the distance, tornadoes and smaller twisters swirled in an elaborate dance, weaving in and out from one another. Lightning flashed and rolled in heavy, dark clouds that spanned as far as the eye could see. Another ominous clap of thunder breached the highly-charged air, which illustrated to Rennon how massive the storm was.
“What is it?” Deylia whispered.
“I think that is the Plain of Storms. We are in Ishrak!”
A white haze and a humming noise came from the doorway as Theosus entered the room, disturbing the magic barrier. He carried two plates with meager amounts of food on each. “Ah, you are admiring the Plain of Storms.” He set the plates down on a small, rickety table. “It is an amazing sight. The storms come and go but the sky is never clear. Do you know why?”
“I don’t care,” Rennon replied.
“I care. How does this storm continue? Shouldn’t a jungle be there instead of a plain with all the rain?” Deylia asked.
“The storm is conjured mostly. It rains occasionally, but for the most part, the storm rages in the minds of those with the wild magic. They live in this village and project their abilities out onto the plain.”
“What’s wrong with them?” Rennon inquired but still feigned indifference.
“They have a type of essence sickness that cannot be cured. Mindwielders are different. There is no defense against their magic and no one around anymore that knows how to cure their madness, so they just project their power into that storm over and over again to keep from hurting themselves and others.”
“What a terrible way to live,” Deylia concluded as she left the window to see what food Theosus had brought them.
“Is that why you masquerade as an apothecary? To find a cure for mindwielding?”
“Not a cure for mindwielding, boy. A cure for the illness that mindwielding by one untrained brings. No one remembers how to train the mind for the wild magic anymore, hence the reason mindwielding is also known as the wild magic.”
Deylia started wolfing down bites of bread and unceremoniously talked with her mouth full. “Why? Where did they go?”
“Dead, my dear, all dead. Most of them were killed in the War of the Oracle. Now that the Blight is coming back to life, we had better figure out a way to bring back training mindwielders, or those who seek to enslave and conquer will have us all. The Blight is destined to become the most powerful source of magical essence ever known, and that is why I brought you here. I need you.”
“Ridiculous,” Rennon scoffed. “Even if you did find a way to bring back such training, which is highly unlikely given that no one remembers how, they would not be affected by the Blight because, as far as I or anyone knows, mindwielders do not draw upon essence.”
“Morgoran set out a specific plan for me all those years ago. He knew you would be captured—he told me where and how to rescue you. I brought you here to help revive the old ways of the wild magic. Morgoran has foreseen all of this and he has foreseen that you will come around.”
“Wielding sure does cause a lot of sickness. Perhaps that should tell you people something.”
Theosus chuckled. “Sickness from wielding was not uncommon in the old days, but the magic was stronger then and easily dealt with. So much has been forgotten now. I am certain that it appears much worse than it is. I brought you here because Morgoran told me you would be able to cure it.”
“He was wrong.”
“I don’t think so.” He looked at Deylia and then back to Rennon. “That potion for the malady you took—you misunderstood her. It wasn’t to suppress your mind, but it was to control the malady. In fact, it was to treat the malady. That’s why I told you to stop taking it; you didn’t need it, and it wouldn’t work on you anyway. You are not sick, but your friend here is. She has the illness. She will go mad within the month without the potion. I suggest you get started fulfilling your purpose or lose the girl. It’s your choice.”
Rennon peered into Deylia’s eyes. “I thought the malady was the ability to mindwield.”
Deylia shook her head. “I thought you were sick too. You attacked guards and me. I thought you were doing it against your will.”
The anger drained from Rennon’s body, and he felt weak. He found a rickety chair nearby to sit in.
“I will leave you two alone,” Theosus said before he turned and left the room.
“Is it true? You can cure me?”
Rennon sighed and spoke without looking at her.
“No, it’s not true. I don’t know how to do such a thing.”
“Try! There is no harm in that.” She moved directly in front of him so he w
ould have to look her in the eye.
“No, I won’t.” He met Deylia’s glaring expression.
“The thunder, you won’t.” She punched him square in the face. “The pain was mild.”
“What are you doing?” he said with alarm.
“Punching the fire out of you, you idiot.” She punched his jaw again. Tears began to stream down her face.
“This is how you plan to persuade me?”
“Either that or beat you to a pulp. You tricked me this whole time.” She raised her fist.
“Stop it!” he cried as he grabbed her right hand. She quickly caught him in the jaw with her left.
“I can fight with both hands.”
“Stop! I don’t know how to cure you. Have you gone mad?”
“Aye, I am getting there. That’s the point.”
Rennon just wanted her to stop. He grabbed her head between both hands. “Stop this madness,” he commanded. In a moment of pure instinct, he reached his mind to hers in an attempt to stop her from hitting him again. She fell to the floor, her breathing labored.
“Deylia!” Rennon went to his knees to her. “Deylia, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She caught her breath and shook her head to clear it. “Hurt me? You did it! I could kiss you.”
“Well, let’s not get hasty.” He was serious.
She laughed and embraced him in a hug and then started kissing him over and over again on both his cheeks. “I knew you could do it.”
“How do you know that I have done it?”
“I can tell. It’s gone; the madness that was taking my mind is gone. By the gods, Theosus was right. Which really surprises me since he lied to us. He is a mindwielder, you realize that he is, Right?”
“What?”
“He is playing like he doesn’t know how to train mindwielders, but he really does, he just can’t cure the malady.”
“You know this for certain?”
“Aye, it’s plain as day. He is a mindwielder and you can cure the malady!” She hugged him again.
Rennon let the revelation sink in. He had always taken the tin of leaves Sanmir had given him; he had always thought he was cursed. His face both hurt from the beating Deylia had given him and felt good as she kissed him with those big soft lips he admired. As soon as Deylia stopped her barrage of kisses, Rennon planted one of his own on her lips. He did not expect the horrified expression on Deylia’s face as soon as he opened his eyes. “What is it?” he asked.
“Why did you do that? Why did you kiss me like that?”
“Hmm, is the madness back now?”
“What? No.” She pushed him back.
“I just thought since you said you could kiss me and then you did kiss me that—”
“You just took me by surprise, that’s all. I was just showing my gratitude. I was not planning on . . . well . . . on that.”
“Oh, I see. Now I feel pretty silly.”
“I am sorry, Rennon. I didn’t mean to give you the impression that I—”
“No, it’s all right. I assumed too much.” He was desperately trying to find a way out of this uncomfortable situation. “Let’s just plan out our next move.”
Deylia took Rennon’s hand. “I am sorry. I am still your friend.”
“Aye, obviously. Let’s just forget it ever happened.”
“All right.” She sat down on the bed. “Thank you, by the way.”
“What? Oh, yes, you are welcome. I don’t exactly know what I did or how I did it though.”
“It isn’t important. At least you cured me.”
Rennon nodded. He was hurting inside, and he desperately tried to hide it. How could I be so stupid, he thought.
Theosus entered the room and immediately investigated Deylia. “I see my faith was not misplaced.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Rennon began. “I am not sure how I did it.”
“You followed your instincts. Motivation seems to work well with you. I will have to remember that.”
“Remember it for what?” He thought he knew what Theosus was driving at.
“As I said, there are others. You will be a busy man for the next few days.”
“I told you, I am not sure what I did.”
“I am sure I can find a way to motivate you.”
“Don’t hold your breath on that.”
Theosus was amused. “Oh, I won’t. I assure you, I won’t.” He left the room.
Rennon had an uneasy feeling. “I don’t like the sound of that.” He looked around for Deylia. He looked under the bed, behind the bed, and everywhere else he could access. Deylia was not in the room. He ran to the doorway, but the spell Theosus cast repelled him. He could see Theosus walking away from him but no Deylia. He sat down on his bed in frustration. Have I been tricked? he thought. Deylia had vanished.
Rennon went back to the door. “I know what you are up to, Fiderea! It won’t work.” Theosus kept walking. Rennon was not even sure he could hear him from that distance. Theosus overestimated my feelings for Deylia if he thought he could use her again to manipulate me into doing whatever he asked, he thought. I will not fall for it again. He started looking for an escape. When Deylia was with him, he didn’t bother to look so fervently, but now, all he could think about was getting away.
The window was out of the question; it was too far above the ground. The fall would injure or kill him. He searched the corners of the room and found a hole in one of them. He looked around the room and managed to pull one of the bedposts loose. It wasn’t long enough to use for a club, but it worked fine as an implement to widen the hole in the wall. He dug and chipped away at the hole until it was just wide enough to slip through. He stuck his head out and looked down. A ledge several feet wide jutted out halfway between him and the next roof level of the building. He squeezed through and dropped to the wide ledge; it broke loose on the end, and Rennon scrambled to remain on the solid edge. He rested for a moment. A moment of regret made him hesitate. He realized he was about to leave Deylia in the clutches of Theosus Fiderea. It is better this way, he thought. Fiderea would not hurt her or use her if Rennon was out of the picture. If he stayed to rescue her, Fiderea would surely put her in harm’s way to manipulate him. She will be all right, he told himself.
Rennon dropped down to the next roof and ran for an open doorway. He entered a long corridor with a light at the end. Freedom at last, he thought. Once he left the corridor, he entered an enormous room that appeared to have once been a temple of Loracia. Among the broken stone benches and ruined alter, several people writhed on the floor moaning—women, children, and men. They tore at their clothes, and occasionally, one would stand, run to the open double doors of the temple, and discharge lightning from their bodies at the storm in the distance, uncontrollably, like someone convulsing from vomiting, and then they would collapse, moaning in pain. Rennon felt sick to his stomach. The stench of all the unwashed bodies reached his nostrils and he wanted to wretch, but he stubbornly held back.
“This is what outlawing wielding reaps!” It was Theosus. He had found Rennon. “These souls cannot help being born with the affliction of magic buried in their minds from centuries of its use. Every one of these people would have been killed in Symboria or Trigoth.”
“Look at them! They would be better off dead!” Rennon whispered.
“Then why don’t you take care of that. I will give you a sword, and you can cut down the women and children first.”
“Don’t be stupid. It isn’t my job to execute them. They need to be turned in so the Enforcers can do it.”
Theosus approached Rennon, shaking his head and making a tsk tsk noise. “My dear boy, would you be a party to the slaying of your own kind?”
“They are not my kind!” Rennon snapped.
“Oh, but they are.” Theosus used his dragon magic to bring one of the children up from the mass of bodies—a young girl, barely ten years.
“You are attempting to manipulate me.”
“Aye, and I
do not hide that fact. You have the ability to help her. Only you!”
“Where is Deylia? You took her.”
“Aye, I did.”
“You are a monster.”
“Some think so, especially when I take my true form.”
“I already know you are dragonkind and a mindwielder, so don’t bother. Deylia told me.”
“Indeed. Well?” He let the girl drift to the floor before Rennon. She convulsed and started to cry. Rennon turned away from her.
“I think you are the monster, sir. I have brought these people here in hopes of finding someone like you to help them. I kept them alive and fed as best I could while you turned away and condemned them to death at the hands of the Enforcers. You turn away from this innocent little girl now, you are the monster.”
Rennon knew it was probably a manipulation, but he was not heartless. What if he could help the girl? He took a deep breath and turned to the girl crying on the ground. He grabbed her head between his hands and the girl screamed. “Shush,” he said. She immediately went quiet. He reached his mind out to hers and thought, Madness be gone. The girl snapped her head out of his hands and looked at him wide-eyed. She hesitated a moment before abruptly embracing Rennon in a hug.
“It’s gone,” she whispered in his ear. “The pain in my head is gone.”
Theosus grinned. “You see, I am not mistaken.”
The girl ran off back down to where the others were and out into the fresh air.
“Look around you at these ruins. Do you know the story of the Tragic Orchids of Ishrak?”
“Some, they were knights of Ishrak, Knights of the Orchid, that were all killed or don’t exist anymore, right?”
“Aye, close enough. This land is not dead. It needs life to come back to it, and your ability to heal the malady will do just that.” He reached behind and brought out a sword and scabbard. “This is Malinfel. It’s a mindwielder sword left with me by a friend who once helped your friend Deylia. He instructed me to use it the way I most saw fit. I think the best way to use it is to give it to you. It will enhance your abilities.” He handed the sword to Rennon. “I know you are hesitant, and I know you will try to refuse it. Don’t! I will not take kindly to your refusal. You can do much good with it.”
Serpent in the Mist Page 9
