Shadows and Embers

by Lindsey Richardson

  He stood up, bending over to retrieve his cloak and cover his body with it once again.

  “I’ve taken in magicians much younger than Rahela. You were only twelve when you came to me to start your training. I thought you of all people would understand. I don’t train you to kill. The purpose of Destin is to keep our legacy alive. Strength in numbers, our closeness of a family keeps us together. If someday our species dies altogether we will have no one to blame but ourselves. It’s all about family; remember that, boy,” he said.

  Though he attempted to advance to the door, I jumped up and grabbed onto his cloak. I couldn’t explain my actions, but all I kept thinking about was Rahela’s sweet smile. Our organization would change her forever; she wouldn’t be an innocent girl anymore the moment she was involved in missions.

  Esmour snarled, showing his teeth and then pulling his cloak out of my grip. He faced me, stepping closer, and then he slapped me with full force.

  “What the—” My cheek burned, and I staggered back. When I touched the side of my face I could feel the heat. He had used his own magic on me.

  Quietly, he said, “Don’t push me. I have pitied you for too long now, and if your anger continues to blind your judgment you risk losing everything. Revenge in a young man like you is a broken road to follow.”

  My glance lowered to the floor. I couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes and see the disappointment. He was the only fatherly figure in my life, yet he struck me without any apology. I watched as he left, but all the while I wondered where Esmour's heart was. A father would never act the way he had, and with that in mind I sealed the envelope with the ring inside. Carrying the letter with me, I stepped outside and out into the empty street.

  Someone threw my boots at me. When I turned around I saw it was Liliana, a maid who was practically family. She was close to my age, but she had been with us ever since her parents started working at the manor. She smiled at me and lit the lantern hanging above the door, though it did not light the street much.

  Wiggling my feet into the boots, I glanced down at my shadow. Esmour had convinced me once that shadows were my only friends, the only protection for our kind. By keeping the destin ring, I risked challenging Esmour. Would it be foolish to disobey orders? Surely it seemed reasonable for Rahela to prove herself worthy as the rest of us had. Even so, the idea of going against a direct order felt like treason.

  “Something troubles you, master?” Liliana asked, taking a step toward me.

  I glanced back at her and chuckled. “You always seem to know, don’t you? Let’s not mention Esmour’s visit to Mama.”

  “Alas, I worry about your well-being. Rosebelle would not be pleased to know that her son is still involved with the magical world,” she said.

  “It’s a kind gesture, but I know what I’m doing. Mama’s heart did not mend from my father’s death, and I wouldn’t want her worrying about me. I’m good at what I do,” I responded.

  Liliana was the only servant in the house who knew about my true business at night. She wasn’t meant to find out, but being as she was my personal maid, it didn’t take long for her to question my actions. I paid her extra money to keep the secrets between her and me, and thankfully that was enough to keep her mouth shut.

  “One day you will tell her the truth…?”

  I took her hand, caressing it gently.

  “Who says I’m not?” I answered with a wink. Releasing her, I grabbed the lantern and stepped back into the house. The boards creaked as I sneaked my way upstairs to the bedchamber. There were a few hours left until morning, and by then I would need all of my energy.

  Once I reached my bedroom, I stepped inside and placed the envelope carefully onto the nightstand.

  ***

  In the light of the morning I sat up in bed, taking notice of the clothes folded over the mirror across the room. As I dragged my feet to the mirror I forgot for a moment what business I would tend to on this day. Then I clutched onto a black vest, and the memory of the letter’s instructions haunted me. I would have no time to read my father’s letter; it was crucial that I arrived at Esmour’s house as promptly as possible. Liliana must have assumed I would be leaving for a mission, since the clothes she had placed out for me were darkly colored. Often times it didn’t matter what I wore, but with darker colors I wouldn’t stand out.

  Pulling the gray tunic over my head, I straightened it out and then buttoned the vest over top of it. I brushed back my hair, and then with one last look in the mirror I decided I looked presentable. To everyone else in town, I was simply a business man on his way to work.

  By the time I walked down the staircase, Liliana was already running after me to find out what was happening.

  “Should we prepare breakfast, sir?” she asked, tugging onto my sleeve.

  I waved my hand. “Work calls; tend to my mother while I’m gone. I shall return in the evening.”

  I quickened my pace and reached the doorknob, turning it quickly to avoid further questions. I rarely ever visited my father's company; seeing as I was too young to run the business, the men only needed me to review important documents and such. Instead I would be spending my day with a girl I barely knew anything about, and the fight alone would mean risking everything for her.

  Trying to remain focused, I waved to the townspeople I passed in the street. The blacksmith greeted me, as well as my men at the printing press. In truth, though, I knew they’d never fully appreciate me as they had my father. Ever since his death our family’s reputation laid on the line. Then again, I suppose a young boy running a man’s company was not meant to please everyone.

  The center of town surrounded my home. The market place was busy this time of year with the weather being breezy enough for everyone to stand outside. Merchants stood repeating their bargains while locals wagered prices and occasionally fought over what was “theirs.” They sold everything from jewelry and fabrics to meats and vegetables.

  Across from the market place was the church and cemetery. The reverend waved to me when I passed by. He had led the funeral for my father, and for that I was grateful. On any other day I might have held a conversation with him, but today was all about surviving.

  At last I approached Esmour’s house. He lived by himself in a large hovel with a cellar. Often those of us who worked for him would meet in the cellar. I stepped inside the first door, which led me into the lounge room. Having been in his house numerous times, I was no longer impressed by the fancy furniture and fur rugs. The kitchen was the only place in his home that was seemingly ordinary. No animal fur or colors; simply a counter, table, cabinets for food, and a second entrance to his house.

  There were sturdy chairs in each corner of the room I stood in. A thin, small table in the middle was full with candles and red rose peddles. I sat in the chair closest to me, careful not to step on the bear fur covering the wooden floor. It started to rain outside as I waited for Esmour to show up. Without warning, he pranced into the room with the largest smile I had ever seen the man show.

  “Rahela should be here by now, wouldn’t you think?” he sat down in the chair closest to mine and grinned wider.

  I shifted in my seat, uncertain of how to react.

  He continued on. “I found her battling another magician. Believe me, she seemed too young and confident at first, but she set my doubts aside once she won the fight. Hear me on this; she’s the one Destin needs.”

  I nodded in agreement. In the back of my mind I secretly hoped he would not ask Rahela about the ring. If she proved herself I could give it to her, but any other way would be unfair.

  Abruptly, someone knocked on the door and set Esmour off.

  “My god, here she is!” Esmour leaped from the chair and dashed to the door, despite the fact that I was closer to it.

  I remained sitting as I attempted to grasp his unexplained enthusiasm. Nonetheless, I turned my head to greet my partner.

  Calmly, Rahela entered the house without a word. She wore the same
dress from yesterday, but it still looked as stunning on her as before. She gazed down at me and smiled sweetly, barely showing her teeth. I smiled in return without noticing my lack of balance. Suddenly I fell out of the chair and rammed my head into the fur rug. Esmour cackled loudly while Rahela giggled and bent down in an attempt to help me. I ignored her and stood up to reassemble myself.

  “Well Rahela, say the word when you’re ready,” I said, brushing off my pants like nothing had happened.

  “Of course I am,” Rahela replied.

  “Wish us luck.” I waved, and pushed past Esmour to hold open the door. Rahela stepped out first, and I followed behind, listening to Esmour swear as he always did at the mentioning of “luck.” There was no such thing as luck in the magical world. If anything, it would kill us before being useful.

  Shaking my head, I followed after Rahela and told her about the man we were expected to meet with.

  “Esmour certainly is pleased you’ve been recruited,” I said, trying to sound as casual as possible. I knew better than anyone that Esmour had his favorites, but a new magician hadn’t joined Destin for quite some time.

  “I’m thankful to be a part of this. When Esmour found me I was wandering the untraveled paths, having nowhere else to go and no one to seek out. I had no choice but to leave behind my family, for we lived in times of war. The White magicians were aggressive where I grew up; each morning I saw the sunlight, yet it was always dark outside with war raging,” Rahela responded. For the first time the smile on her face dissolved entirely.

  Grabbing her hand, I stopped her. She turned to look at me with questioning eyes full of wonder and fear, and I said, “I cannot promise that we are safe from such a tragedy. The White magicians grow stronger with each passing day, but for now we are protected from war. Destin holds our city together; if anything were to happen, we’d be the first to know.”

  Gently, she wiggled her hand out of my grasp.

  “You are my contact,” Rahela whispered.

  My eyes widened.

  “Pardon? Esmour assigns our contacts so that if we should die or be brutally wounded in battle, someone can retrieve our body. Why would I be your contact? Often times he chooses family relatives or someone outside of Destin,” I responded. My own contacts were Mama and Liliana, and then of course there was Esmour, who was a contact for all of us who worked under him.

  Speaking more loudly, she repeated, “You are my contact. We are partners now, Léal; I thought you would have known that holds responsibilities.”

  “For some of us Destin is a job, for me it’s a lifestyle, and for others it’s punishment. When we are out on the battlefield all that matters is survival. It isn’t going to matter that I’m your partner and contact. What’s going to matter is that we stay alive in whatever way we can. This is dangerous work, sweetheart,” I said firmly.

  “What am I to you? A girl with a desire to play with magic? I didn’t need to be a part of Destin to see the real world. I’ve lived in times of war; I am no girl with foolish desires,” Rahela answered. She started walking away from me, and the argument no longer mattered. We were entering into a battlefield just like I had told her; now our focus was survival.

  I quickened my pace to catch up to her. Once I was walking alongside her, I thought about the dangers we were about to face.

  We stepped out onto an empty path, covered with weeds and overgrown grass. I searched around for the man we were expected to face. He didn’t appear to be in sight, though it was rare for magicians to not show up for a battle. It hurt their reputation if they were cowardice enough to not appear.

  Then suddenly there was a woman who stepped out onto the path. She was an older woman with frizzy hair and long legs, and she cackled at the sight of us. My jaw dropped.

  “Were you expecting someone else? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said.

  I nodded to Rahela, hoping she knew that was the signal that the battle must begin. Without waiting another minute, I dashed toward our opponent with my hand held up to perform a spell. As I started to speak the words, a vine abruptly rose from the ground and tugged down on my leg. I fell to the ground instantly, struggling against the vine’s firm grip. Since my hands were still free, I lifted one and cast a spell. A gust of wind struck the woman, nearly knocking her down, but she managed to keep her balance.

  Another vine struck up and wrapped around both of my arms. This particular vine was covered in thorns, which pierced into my skin, causing me to bleed. The pain was nothing compared to the pure shock that Esmour sent us into a mission with false information. It wasn’t like him to make mistakes, especially when it involved our missions.

  I reached for my dagger, which I had placed in a sword carrier. With the dagger out, I attempted to cut away the vines. For one reason or another they simply would not stop growing back.

  Rahela jumped over me and faced our opponent. She performed a spell, which knocked our opponent to the ground. However, the moment the older woman was standing she struck Rahela with a vine. I watched as she rolled over onto the ground, and I tugged harder at the vines. I started using spells in hope that they could break the constraints, but nothing seemed to work.

  While I struggled, I could hear Rahela groaning. When I looked up at her there were long tree roots wrapped around her legs, tightening against her dress. Her face was turning bright pale, and with one wrong move it could kill her. I had to save her somehow; I couldn’t watch her die and lay here helpless. With more determination than before, I yanked against the vines and performed an acidic spell. At last the vines withered away.

  My first thoughts were to rush to Rahela. I had no idea how experienced she was, but I feared the thought of her being wounded during our first mission. My arms still stung with thin traces of blood running down them, but there was no time to waste. I chanted a spell, but moments before I aimed it at our opponent Rahela jumped out in front of me. She wasn’t free of the tree roots yet; they still covered her body below her waist.

  “Out of the way!” I hissed.

  Rahela refused to move aside, and instead she grabbed the dagger from my hand. I barely knew how to react, and I was given no time to since Rahela performed a spell on the weapon and threw it at the woman. The dagger struck through skin, and then everything was silent. The roots around Rahela loosened and fell to the ground.

  She grinned at me, though I couldn’t look at her for another second. Our opponent was dead; the dagger had gone straight through her chest. It was a perfect shot, I’d admit that, but what Rahela did was unacceptable. The whole purpose of having a partner was to work together, but instead Rahela had gotten in my way and could have been killed all because of a mistake.

  “What did you think you were doing?” I yelled. That was her life she had placed on the line by standing in my way.

  “I was completing the mission,” Rahela replied with a blank stare.

  “So was I, but you got in the way of that. You can’t jump in front of me while I’m in the middle of performing a spell. You could have been killed!” I countered.

  She sighed. “You said survival is all that matters on the battlefield. I did exactly what we were supposed to do. I just wish the spell on the dagger had worked…”

  If the spell hadn’t worked, that could only mean one thing.

  “You can’t perform magical weaponry,” I gasped. Despite the anger I felt, it subsided with the realization of what this meant. Not any magician could perform magical weaponry; it took training for some while others were naturally strong enough to wield such magic.

  “We should return to Esmour immediately. He’ll want to know about this,” I said. Another thought occurred to me, and I added, “Retrieve the dagger.”

  “B-but…”

  “Retrieve it,” I repeated more firmly.

  Rahela’s head dropped, but she advanced toward the body and bent down. She extended her hand out, grasping it around the dagger, and then in one quick motion she ripped it out. I closed m
y eyes for a moment, shuddering at the noise, and then Rahela ran back to me. Though she handed the dagger to me, she suddenly dropped it.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, titling my head.

  She dropped her head against my chest and started to cry.

  “The blood…b-blood…the…” she whimpered, wrapping her arms around me.

  I held her close and ran my hand down her back, and I was no longer angry with her. I realized then that Esmour had been right. Destin wasn’t about battles and wars; it was about family. Holding Rahela, I lowered my head to her ear.

  In a whisper I said, “It’s okay; from now on we’ll work together.”

  She glanced up, refusing to look directly at me, and asked, “What are you afraid of?”

  “Nothing,” I chuckled.

  Rahela giggled, but we both knew it was a comforting lie. She backed away from me and suggested we return to Esmour. Though she hadn’t stopped crying, her eyes seemed to glimmer with the wetness around her eyelids. I picked up the dagger before we left and let Rahela lead the way. All the while I thought about her fear of blood and my own fear.

  One day you should tell her that you fear loneliness. I thought. On the other hand, though, every family has their share of secrets. I had more than any one man should carry.

  Chapter Four

  Playing with Fire

  I held Rahela’s hand, even though the blood from our opponent covered her skin. It started to rain as we made our way to Esmour’s home, and Rahela instantly shrieked with the first drop. At least the rain could wash the blood away. Every now and then I glanced over at my partner, debating if she was still traumatized from the battle. At last when she looked up at me she started laughing, and I smiled at the familiar sound.

  “You look ridiculous in the rain!” she said, making me laugh as well.

  “Is it my hair? Oh, please don’t tell me it’s my hair,” I replied. Releasing her hand, I frantically ruffled up my hair.