“So this isn’t a case of you renewing a seal, but sealing it anew.”
“Basically, yes.” She cast a glance up at him while mentally she calculated and schemed. “Acala’s Flute was originally sealed because it was the object of a deity. No one thought it wise to break it. That, and it had a great deal of imbued power. If I find it’s in a weakened state, enough to break it, I’m tempted to do so.”
He regarded her with mild surprise. “As I understand it, if you break the vessel a power resides in, you release the power and make it nigh impossible to subdue.”
“That’s largely true. The flute’s the exception. It’s not that a great power fled into it and tried to use the vessel for its own ends. It’s that it was designed for a purpose, and then the power in it grew out of control.”
“Ah. An important distinction. In that case, destroying it sounds the safer option.”
“If I can do so. I’ll examine it properly first. I’m not convinced even two mages will have the necessary power to subdue it, but…” Mei Li chewed on the inside of her cheek, thinking hard. She dearly wanted to destroy it, but her grasp on Evocation was shaky. She wasn’t confident she could combine methods with Dolan successfully.
For some reason, Shunlei felt prompted to tell her, “Dragons have no magic, you know this.”
“I’m not actually convinced on that point.” Was he worried he featured into her plans? “But no, what I think is, I can tap into your dragon’s fire to power our spells. Fire melts metal.”
“You plan to draw up talismans, then have me blow dragon’s fire to power the spell and destroy the flute. What if it backfires?”
“Duck,” she told him seriously.
He snorted a laugh, the chuckle more felt than audible. “We can just re-seal it, you know.”
“It was this habit of sealing things by our ancestors that led to so many problems today,” she pointed out. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared up at him as if he were to be blamed for this. Which, in her mind, he rather was since he’d been there. “All of you were incapable of making a decision. ‘I don’t know if we can destroy this, let’s just seal it for now and come back later to make a decision.’ That’s what all of you thought. But did you ever come back and deal with it? Noooo. You just let it sit and fester. And now we’ve got multiple problems all to be juggled and people getting hurt because nothing was destroyed properly on the first round.”
“Some things really couldn’t be destroyed without risking a great many people,” Shunlei retorted mildly.
“You’re seriously telling me a flute from the Deity of Birds was too much for you to handle?”
A grin flirted around the corners of his mouth. “I didn’t handle the flute myself.”
She threw up her hands. “It’s so impossible to have an argument with you.”
“You’re not the first to say so,” he agreed, wholly unbothered by this observation.
Giving him the stink eye, Mei Li pointedly turned her attention to the Wall. Most of the magic was still underwater at this stage, and really, only two types of magic were readily visible to the naked eye: seals and magically manipulated elements, such as fire. Most of the time, people could only see the effects of magic on the visible spectrum. With the mages building the foundation underwater, most wouldn’t be able to see much until the Wall went up above the water line.
Mei Li’s eyes were those of a mage, however, and she could clearly see it all just fine. The levels were building as they should, interacting with the talismans as the spells were designed to do. She gave a satisfied grunt and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes, that’s working out just fine. They’ve got it. I suppose for now we’re just waiting on Dolan. Shunlei.”
“Hmm?” He refocused on her.
“I’ve spoken to every mage who has volunteered here,” she said, her calculating face back on as she mentally went through the logistics. Again. “They’re all willing to help with the other troubles that need settling. But I’m not sure how to logistically get them from one place to another. I can’t cram eight people into the carrier you made me.”
“For that matter, I can’t carry eight people. Do not worry. I made arrangements before we left Dragon’s Peak. We will have a flight of dragons meet us here in two days with carriers.”
She grinned at him. “Why am I not surprised. Then again, you’ve been doing this sort of things for eons.”
“No, just a few thousand years,” he riposted in a bland tone that got her snorting with laughter. “I told you the dragons will aid you. I actually had quite a few takers. If we find that the wing I organized isn’t sufficient, there are others standing at the ready to aid us.”
“I’m really surprised by that, truth be told. Dragons hate the cold.”
“We’re not fond of it,” Shunlei agreed with a grimace. “But we’d rather brave the cold than watch the world come unraveled by fire and death. Seeing it happen once was more than enough for us.”
Mei Li regarded him thoughtfully. She really wanted the chance to sit and properly pick this man’s brain. For all that she had read many accounts of the history of the world, some of those accounts were anemic. And that was being charitable. She was sure Shunlei’s account would have a great deal more to depth to it.
She opened her mouth to say something only to snap it shut when a wind sprite came to an abrupt stop in front of her, pirouetting in place. This one had six wings instead of the normal two, looking more like a humanoid dragonfly than usual.
“Tomes,” she said in a light, high voice that was difficult to discern. “Follow me, quickly. The flute is up for auction now.”
Swearing roundly, Mei Li lifted up her skirts and dashed off at a full sprint. The sprite of course kept handily in front of her and it left Shunlei following at her heels. They crossed through the docks, up to the sketchier side of Tanguay, where the streets were narrower and cluttered with refuse. The buildings needed repainting in this area, the structures showing obvious signs of neglect. The people, too, reflected the same environment, and they followed Mei Li and Shunlei’s progress as they ran. She felt their eyes, knew their speculations, and readied herself. If necessary, Mei Li suspected Shunlei would go dragon, catch Mei Li up against his chest and fly them both out of here. Better to evade than to indulge in an alley fight that might lead to injuries. These were such tight quarters, though, he might not be able to do so.
Mei Li couldn’t focus on the potential danger. She puffed for breath, her legs struggling to keep up with the sprite, determination coursing through her. She might end up with a stitch in her side but wasn’t going to give up her running just yet.
They crested a low hill, and she paused at the corner, gasping for breath, lungs heaving. Sweat dewed her forehead and Shunlei observed her in concern, but she waved him off.
The sprite, realizing she might need to give some encouragement, pointed to a doorway further ahead. “There. Just there.”
Nodding, Mei Li kept gasping for breath and walked the rest of the distance, holding a hand to her side. Shunlei stayed a half-pace behind her, keeping a wary eye on the people they passed. Fortunately, most looked at his ebony skin, the pearl on his forehead, and seemed to realize what he was, even in humanoid form. They were leery of getting too close and kept their distance. Mei Li felt darkly amused by this. She almost wished someone was stupid enough to challenge them, just so she could enjoy the show.
The door in question was not open, with a bouncer at the front who looked miserable in the cold. His nose clearly dripped as he snuffled. It looked, from the outside, as if he were just a regular guard for an aristocrat who had stopped by to acquire some tobacco. Except the shop wasn’t in the right section of town for that, and the place wasn’t really open for that sort of business.
The sprite, not really restricted by little things like walls, darted right through the door. The guard belatedly tried to catch her with his bare hands, swearing vilely after her
. “Stop doing that, you! Get out of the—hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
Mei Li barely glanced at him. She spoke a single word, the true name of fire, and the guard’s coat hem caught ablaze. With a yelp of panic, he darted for the nearest pile of dirty snow shoveled off to the side of the road and dove into it. Mei Li paid him no mind and shoved her way through the door.
It led to a narrow hallway. An open door to the right revealed a room full of cigars, tobacco, and the like all laid out on wooden counters that could stand some polishing. But no one was in there. A front, likely, and not the real business. Ahead of them in the hallway was another door, this one closed, although light and sound moved underneath it. Mei Li headed for it and again pushed through without any hesitation.
For an auction house, it wasn’t large. Perhaps fifty or so people sat in the chairs arranged in a half-circle, facing a slightly raised dais. The auctioneer stood behind a wooden podium, gesturing toward the table where the current item lay displayed on a bed of blue velvet. Propped up so that the mellow lights around the room could catch it, Acala’s Flute lay innocently enough. Mei Li took one look at the flute and felt like swearing. The seal was well and truly gone. There should have been a rectangular barrier locked around the flute, obscuring it so only the outline of the flute could be seen. She could clearly see the polished silver with its engravings and lightly inlaid jade set in the design of a bird mid-flight.
These fools likely thought it was just that—a rare and beautifully crafted flute.
Dolan had been hovering near the back wall until their entrance. He headed for Mei Li immediately, speaking in a low tone as soon as he was close enough. “I tried, they won’t let outsiders bid. They barely let me stay in the room. What do you want to do?”
Mei Li cracked her neck in both directions, laced both hands together, and stretched, much like a thug getting ready for a beat down. This was good timing, really. She’d been frustrated for over two years. She’d wished for a chance to work out her frustrations. One look at the dragon at her side made it clear he had no intention of stopping her. Shunlei didn’t bother to contain his smile.
“If they won’t play nicely,” Mei Li answered, a feral smile on her lips, “then let’s not play nicely.”
Mei Li had one fatal flaw in her personality: she had no patience for stupidity.
Not taking counsel when someone tells you you’ve done something unwise? Height of stupidity.
She didn’t have a lot of pity in her as she stalked down the center of the aisle. Even as she walked, she reached for a talisman with one hand, digging into the purse that hung off her belt. Shunlei she entrusted to watch her back. Dolan would help him, of course. All she had to do was focus on the flute and the idiot auctioneer standing next to it.
The auctioneer was going a mile a minute, but even his mouth faltered as she walked right onto the platform. The guards on either side immediately rushed to stop her, and she spoke the true name of fire, lighting their sword hilts aflame. The leather was dried and cracked in this winter weather and easy to light ablaze. The guards swore and jerked their swords out of their scabbards, throwing them hastily to the ground, disarming themselves.
Mei Li paid them no further attention and turned toward the crowd. Greedy lot, this was. Then again, collectors weren’t always known for their sense when acquiring new shinies. “I’m Mei Li of Tomes. The flute you see is Acala’s Flute, and the seal on it has been broken.”
A hush went through the crowd, then chattering, people talking over each other excitedly. Turning her head an nth degree, she stared at the auctioneer from the corner of her eye. “You’re selling a dangerous object. Sir.”
The auctioneer swallowed uneasily and couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “I have provenance—”
“Fake provenance, otherwise you’d not let something like this anywhere near your city. I’m re-claiming this.”
Dolan came up as she spoke and slapped a quick-and-ready seal over the flute, his fingers flashing through the various signs in order to lock the seal into place.
The auctioneer started forward, desperation on his face. It was more than potential lost revenue if they took the flute. It was also a damaged reputation for selling objects marked on the Sealed Artifacts List. “You have no proof that—”
Mei Li rounded on him because, really. She had no patience left for this idiot. She’d not started out with any, but that was beside the point. She was ready to light him on fire too.
Unfairly, Shunlei stepped just in front of her, staring the man down. The auctioneer had his mouth open to continue the argument, but something, some instinct, stayed him. His eyes went from the pearl on Shunlei’s forehead, to the man’s skin tone, down to his very shoes, and then up again. Realization dawned slowly and as it did, all color left the man’s face. Corpses had better color.
“She is Mei Li of Tomes,” Shunlei stated again, his voice like rolling thunder, reaching every corner of the room. “She needs prove nothing to you. If she requests something, it is given. If she claims the object is Acala’s Flute, you will heed her words and relinquish it.”
The words I’ll flatten this building if you don’t went largely unsaid. Regardless, the whole room heard them.
Dolan came up to her side, the flute now wrapped tightly in cloth and slender white rope, talismans tied against it. He presented it to her with a deferential duck of the head and she accepted it with one in return. With one last icy look at the auctioneer, she turned on her heel and strode back out of the room, confident the men were following her.
Reaching the outside air was a frank relief, even if it was colder. She stomped along the icy streets and as she walked, Mei Li fumed aloud, “I’m not even upset about the audacity of them telling me I couldn’t take it. It’s understandable to be upset with some strange woman who barges in. But the stupidity of the decision to ignore us. To keep the flute and sell it anyway! Why can’t stupidity have a stiff criminal code against it? They’d be in jail for a few decades and safely out of commission.”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.” Dolan cast a glance over her head and his tone went dry. “Good work as always, Master Shunlei. It amazes me how quickly people fold every time when confronting you.”
“I’m easy to recognize. At least, once I turned black, I became so. Up until that point, I was not always believed. Or obeyed.”
That would be true, now that Mei Li thought about it. Until he turned Black, as so few dragons did, he could be mistaken for any other Red. Or Blue. Or Purple, not that there were many Purples. “What did you do when people argued? Or didn’t recognize you and gave you grief instead?”
Shunlei tilted his head, regarding her with mouth curled up at the corners. “Not everything turns into a physical altercation, Mei Li.”
“Ha!” she scoffed in disbelief.
“I am able to reason with people without threatening force,” he added, his light blue eyes laughing at her.
“Sure, sure,” she returned, still not believing it. The history books were clear on how Shunlei had gained his position. He, too, did not suffer fools.
Dolan pointed at the flute in her hands. “What do you want to do? I can take over supervising at the docks if you want to store that somewhere.”
“Do that for now, but after the Walls are up, I want to explore the option of destroying this.”
Dolan looked just as surprised by this suggestion as Shunlei had earlier. “Destroy it?”
People were really too satisfied in maintaining the status quo. Why didn’t more people think to question it?
“Yes, destroy it. Dolan, this thing doesn’t harness powerful magic, not like the other things we’ll battle. It was sealed because no one was comfortable destroying something belonging to a deity. A minor deity, at that. She’s clearly not interested in it—she’s ignored our handling of the matter altogether. Let’s destroy it, have one less dangerous object floating around in the world.”
Dolan eyed it thoughtfully, then skidded on a patch of black ice before coming back to her side. “It’s true, it’s not all that powerful. A link up of four would likely be enough to strip it. Alright, let me ask the others, see who’s willing to help out.”
“Good. I’ll find a safe somewhere to stash it for the time being. The seal you put on it, does that need reinforcing?” She’d not been paying close enough attention when it was laid, and with it now wrapped, she couldn’t see the seal clearly.
“It’ll hold for forty-eight hours, at least.”
“We’ll surely have an answer for it by then. Alright, I won’t worry about it.” They paused at a corner and she looked about, getting her bearings, and decided it was easier to cut east from there. “Meet you back at the docks in an hour.”
“Alright.” Dolan trotted off at an easy run.
His gait was easy and smooth, the mark of a natural runner. Mei Li envied his athletic prowess. She didn’t envy it enough to actually exercise, mind you.
Judge Elora had left strict instructions with her staff to be accommodating, and it was truly the work of only ten minutes to find a safe to put the flute into and then seal the safe so no one could accidentally remove it.
Once that was settled, Mei Li snagged a tome to study and went back down to the harbor, stopping only long enough to arrange for a steady supply of hot tea and snacks to be sent to the docks. The street vendor she contracted to do this was happy to accommodate them, promising to send his son to make the deliveries. Shunlei accompanied her, as always, sometimes flying overhead to make sure the Wall was developing correctly from every angle. Mei Li couldn’t do much else except supervise and make sure all else went well. That, and read the records for what needed to be tackled next. Well, what records they had. She retreated to the docks, found a stone block to sit on, and unrolled the first book.
Tomes Apprentice Page 15
