by Guy Antibes
She looked up at the two of them when they moved into her sight.
“There is plenty for you to do. The fighting is sporadic but violent,” she said to Grigar. She turned to Jack. “What are you doing here? I thought you returned to the palace to guard my cousin.”
“I’m on a different task for now,” Jack said. “I found the Battlebone.”
She batted her hands at him. “How can I believe you?”
Jack moved to the other side of the patient and showed her. He explained how he found it, leaving out his encounter with the gods.
“You are here to see if I can use it?” she said.
Jack nodded. “We will have to test you,” he said with a smile.
“Don’t laugh too hard. I’m not without capability, young man.”
Jack gave her a little bow. “I didn’t laugh. Can I give your patient a bit of healing energy?”
“You never said you were a healer.”
“I’m not,” Jack said. “I’m a human healing object.”
“Akkora’s blessed can do such a thing?” she asked.
“This Akkora’s blessed can.” Jack took the man’s other hand and gradually pumped healing power into him.
Okiku pressed her hand against the man’s shoulder wound. “I can feel it. I can do more with your power. You stay there and help me for a bit and then we can see if I measure up.”
Jack nodded and spent the next hour and a half helping Grigar, Okiku, and the other two healers in the room treat warriors. Some came in, and others left during that time. Most of the wounds were treatable with wizard healing.
There was a break, so Grigar, Okiku, and Jack left that room and walked into another. To Jack’s surprise, this one had a table with regular chairs built with a definite Masukaian design. He examined the style and tried to commit it to memory, so he could sketch out the details for his father.
“Jack, would you show Okiku the bone again?” Grigar asked.
Okiku put the bone up close to her eyes. “This isn’t Masukaian.”
“It is archaic Lajian. It was spoken in Bornan, as well,” Grigar said. He translated it for Okiku.
She sighed. “Let us see if I am strong enough. They wouldn’t put that on the Battlebone if it weren’t important.”
Jack watched as she closed her eyes. She obviously tried several approaches, but in the end, she shook her head.
“I’m either not strong enough for that, or I can’t get the visualization right.”
Jack took the bone and infused his magic into it. He thought of what to do with it and visualized Penny Ephram.
A picture appeared in his mind as soon as he thought of her, but something was wrong. He had the sense she wasn’t in Dorkansee. Jack pictured a ship with Penny sleeping in a berth. He willed the vision to expand, and it did. A Lajian woman sat next to her. Jack could see black-tipped fingers on the woman’s hand, but not her face. Penny had been abducted and was heading to Lajia!
He dropped the bone to the table, and his eyes focused on those in the room. “Penny has been abducted,” Jack said. “This is like the tracking cube we used in Lajia,” he said to Grigar, “but I can see her. I willed the picture of her to expand, and it did!”
“It works that well?” Okiku said. “Let me try again.”
She struggled with the bone but shook her head. Jack put his hand on her bare wrist.
“Try again. Focus on someone who isn’t at the headquarters.”
“My son,” Okiku said. “He lives on the western coast.”
Jack reinforced her magic.
“Oh,” Okiku said. “I can see him, but the image fades in and out.”
Jack increased the amount of magic he transferred to her.
“That is better. My boy is well,” Okiku said.
Okiku put the bone down. Sweat beaded her forehead. “You are truly Akkora-blessed,” she said to Jack. “I’ve never used so much magic, and it still wasn’t enough. Now that the leader of the Red Herons is dead, I doubt there is another wizard in Masukai that is as strong as me, except for you.”
Grigar cleared his throat, but Okiku ignored him.
Jack gave her half a smile. “If you couldn’t use it, the emperor said I could take it.”
Okiku patted Jack’s hand that still gripped her wrist. “You deserve it. I’d rather that it be used than hidden.”
“The Black Fingers will be able to use this,” Jack said lifting the box. Borigore, the Kadellian god can work through his Red Heron and Black Finger minions. He did it earlier today,” Jack said. “I will use use the Battlebone to rescue Penny Ephram, but not before we put down this insurrection.”
Ruki Sinda and Takatai Minza walked into the room.
“Can Okiku use the Battlebone?” Ruki asked.
Okiku shook her head. “I barely made it work, but only with Jack’s help. He is the one to work the object.”
“Then we need to get to work,” Takatai said. “A group of Black Fingers showed up to one of the skirmishes with the Red Herons and killed our fighters. We need you to show us where they are hiding.” He said to Jack. “Come with us.”
Grigar looked at them. “I’m better used helping Okiku with the injured.”
Jack followed the two warriors to Torii’s audience room. He would have preferred the room with tables and chairs, but he wasn’t asked.
“I have only used the Battlebone once,” Jack said.
“We will learn what the capabilities of the relic together, then,” Takatai said. “See if you can find where the Black Fingers are.” He put a map of the city in front of Jack and a cup of black beans.
Jack smiled at the beans. It was a nice touch from the Pine Bear. He took out the Battlebone and visualized the Red Heron leader he had killed at Zukori’s temple.
The vision in his mind cleared, and he could see the body, still in bare, black-toed feet, in the same place that Jack had left him. The interior of the temple hadn’t changed as far as Jack could tell. He visualized a generic Black Finger hand and concentrated on the map in front of him. In less than a moment, images of Black Fingers appeared on the map.
“This is really something,” Jack said as he began placing beans on the map. “There are eleven Black Fingers in the capital.” He thought of Black Finger women, and one appeared with a group of four Black Finger members, the highest concentration.”
“We strike at that concentration.” Takatai looked at the map. “I’m not that familiar with Yomomai, but that is obviously by the docks.”
“I think I know, but we will take Jack with us and verify where they are,” Ruki said. “What a tool for an assassin.” He looked at Jack. “You will command high fees if you remain in Masukai.”
“I won’t be an assassin for anyone,” Jack said, “but it is good to know one’s worth. Shall we be off?”
“I have a squad of wizards, warriors, and wizard-warriors,” Ruki said. “Takatai should stay here.”
The Pine Bear nodded. “This time.”
Jack left the room and followed Ruki to the building where he and Grigar had their quarters. The Deep Mist leader pounded on doors as he walked through the halls. Soon eighteen Deep Mist graduates were filling the hallway. Ruki led them out to the stableyard.
“We will ride to the—”
“Let me see the map, again,” Jack said.
Namori and he had walked that very street.
“I can get us there more quickly than riding,” Jack said.
He took Simaru with him to a spot in front of a wall and teleported. Jack looked around and found a suitable alley.
“Stay here. I will bring everyone to this alley. When I let them off, shuffle them into the alley while Ruki determines how to proceed.”
Jack’s next partner was Ruki. “I suggest you start working on a plan to determine where the Black Fingers are while I get your people here.”
Jack spent the next few minutes transporting the entire group. He could feel the drain on his magic, but as he clutched Eldora
’s box, it was like drinking water after a trek across the desert.
Ruki walked up to him with another Deep Mist wizard-warrior.
“Oda grew up in this neighborhood,” Ruki said. “If you can pinpoint the building, he said he could find a way inside.”
Jack took the bone and clutched it as he looked at the buildings. He concentrated on the Black Finger woman and saw an image of her on the second floor of the building across the street. Then Jack visualized the four men. Two were with the woman, and the other two were in different rooms. He concentrated on one of the singles and found himself looking at the man taking a nap in a room with two beds.
He could feel his magic drain as he used the Battlebone. The magical object required a powerful magician, since it required a prodigious amount of power to keep the images coming.
Jack told Oda what he saw. The man nodded. “We can reach the back of the building through the alley across the street, but we will be exposed.”
“Then we are exposed,” Ruki said.
“We don’t have to chance it. One more teleportation of the group,” Jack said.
When he was done, Jack clutched Eldora’s box. His reserves were down far enough that he wouldn’t chance another view with the bone until they were inside the building.
Oda led them in the back. One of the wizard-warriors blew down the gate to the back of the building housing the Black Fingers.
“This place should be crawling with Red Herons,” Ruki said. “Be prepared to fight.”
Jack stayed toward the rear as Ruki instructed. They approached the back door to the building when windows opened, and a flurry of wizard bolts fell among the Deep Mist warriors.
Jack looked up and used his Lajian sword to pick off the Red Herons, wizard-by-wizard until the attackers withdrew from the windows. The door was blown in. Jack didn’t know that spell and didn’t have the time to ask about it.
Two of the Deep Mist people didn’t make it to the door, but the rest invaded the house. Jack followed them in. He grabbed the Battlebone and found the way up to the second floor where three of the Black Fingers were.
At this point, he had to expect them to be ready to fight. Jack only had the Deep Mist armor to protect him from wizard bolts, and that made him a little uncomfortable. He reached the door and used the Battlebone to show him the occupants. There were four Red Herons and the three Black Fingers on the other side.
“Seven in here,” Jack said to Ruki, who had followed him as the other Deep Mist fighters had spread through the building.
Ruki assembled five of his people to fight those on the other side. Jack looked at the placement of the people in the room and conferred with all the Deep Mist graduates. He would take Simaru to a corner at the same time they blew the door open. The Red Herons and the Black Fingers would be caught in the crossfire.
Ruki nodded. One of the wizards blew open the door as Jack and Simaru teleported. Knowing where their opponents stood in the room, nearly made the skirmish unfair. In less than a moment, all their enemy were taken care of.
“Do you know any of these people?” Jack asked Ruki.
“I don’t know any Red Herons. We need to clear the building. Where are the other two Black Fingers?”
Jack consulted the Battlebone. He found the shorter the distance, the less of a burden on his magic. Everything from that point on was anti-climactic. The Deep Mist captured three low-level Red Herons.
“We can return while our people interrogate the Red Herons and look through the building for more information,” Ruki said.
Jack nodded and clutched Eldora’s box before he teleported them back into Torii Ishoru’s audience room.
Jack put his hand to his forehead. The magic was giving him a headache and a stomachache. He suspected the combination of teleportation and tapping into the power of the Battlebone was not a good mix.
“Let’s find Takatai,” Ruki said.
They found Takatai in another building in the room that Ruki and Takatai had commandeered for the center of the military operations. Jack was relieved to find chairs and another table. He sat in one and let his head hang as Ruki reported on the success of their raid. They lost three valuable Deep Mist graduates, but Jack suspected they had hurt the Red Herons’ ability to prosecute their insurrection. Five of the eleven Black Fingers were dead, and that meant more to Jack than the other Red Herons that had perished in the battle.
A more detailed view of the city was laid out on the table. This was more detailed than the little map and the beans they had used before. Jack waited for Ruki to finish his account of the battle. A Pearl Mist member recorded Ruki’s description as he gave it.
All eyes were on Jack after Ruki asked him to find the other Black Fingers. The beans Jack had placed on Takatai’s map were replaced with tiny square blocks of wood.
Jack took a deep breath and pulled out the Battlebone. “I can’t use this much more,” Jack said. He clutched Eldora’s box as he visualized the generic forms of the Black Fingers again.
Three of the Black Fingers were now together, obviously moving toward the palace. The other three hadn’t moved.
Jack swayed on his feet and returned to his seat.
Takatai looked at Jack. “I’ll have to ask you to warn the emperor. Those Black Fingers won’t be strolling to the palace by themselves.”
Jack nodded. “I’ll need something to eat and drink before I do anything again.” He felt drained. Even Eldora’s box wasn’t putting enough magic in him to offset his fatigue.
“Go to the dining hall. One of us will give you a message for the emperor. Simaru can accompany you,” Ruki said. “He just arrived. We took care of the strategic leadership in that building and verified that there are six Black Fingers left in the capital.”
Jack left the two leaders and looked for Namori, Tanner, or Helen, but they weren’t around. He trudged to the dining hall where he filled a tray and grabbed a jug of water and a small jug of wine. He made sure he found a table close to a wall where he could lean back against it.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
~
H e was bone-tired from the Battlebone and had fended off the tremendous drain from the object of power with Eldora’s box. Bone-tired. The term made him smile as he ate. The food made him feel better. Even the wine seemed to dull the emerging pain in his head.
When Simaru walked up, Jack felt a bit refreshed, but he knew using the Battlebone would quickly drain his recovering energy.
“I have the message. Takatai is sending most of our men to the palace.”
Jack nodded and grabbed Simaru’s arm. They stood in the emperor’s private dining hall, interrupting the ruler of Masukai’s meal.
Simaru bowed deeply to Rakota and presented the message with both hands. Jack followed Simaru’s bow. He was getting too familiar with the emperor, he thought. Jack was surprised to see Okiku eating with her cousin.
She shrugged. “I am my cousin’s to command,” Okiku said.
Jack didn’t say a word but stood with Simaru while the emperor read the message.
Rakota looked up at one of the guards in the room. “Gather the guards and notify all that there is likely an attack on the palace.” He looked at Okiku and other Masukaian ministers that Jack vaguely recognized. “The time has come.” He turned to Simaru and Jack. “You,” he pointed to Simaru. “Stay by me.” Jack waited for his order next. “Sakoru will protect Okiku.”
The woman grunted. “I don’t need protecting. I’m nearly as powerful as he.”
“Humor your emperor, cousin,” Rakota said. “Find a place and stay there.”
Okiku bowed, but Jack could see a hint of a smile on her face.
“I am done,” she said. “If you will excuse Sakoru and me, we will find a place to stay.”
Jack and Okiku bowed and left the dining room. She led him out of the emperor’s residence and to another building within the compound. A few Deep Mist uniforms sat on the steps and the porch, which ran around the building.
When they entered the structure, Tanner looked up from polishing his sword.
He pushed a Deep Mist sword toward Jack. “We found your sword along with a few traitorous palace guards not long ago. Hidori recognized it as yours.”
Jack had just walked past the Deep Mist soldiers and didn’t even bother to look at their faces. “So Hidori is with Okiku?”
“And she dragged us along as well. Helen and Namori are here too. Jackie is in a safe place closer to the Pearl Mist headquarters.” Tanner said.
Okiku stood there patiently. “If you are through with your reunion, come with me.”
They walked through a foyer and directly into a small audience hall where Namori and Helen were sparring.
“Unfortunately, I am next in line for the Imperial Throne,” Okiku said. “Rakota is ten years younger and hasn’t managed to produce any offspring. But I don’t worry about it. There is a host behind me salivating to take Rakota’s place. My position is awarded this house, but I rarely visit. I like a more free life,” she said.
Jack had once thought she was untrustworthy, and that was why she didn’t train in Deep Mist. He now guessed the emperor wouldn’t permit it. At the least, she got her Deep Mist training when Rakota was much younger, and his problem establishing an heir hadn’t shown itself.
“This is a safe place?” Jack asked.
“Who said anything about safe?” Okiku said. “My cousin said to find a place and stay there, but I assure you, it won’t be this house and it won’t be safe.”
~
Jack looked out at the square in front of the palace from the top of the palace wall. He spotted the top roof of Lord Kaseru’s mansion poking up some distance away. They had been perched on the wall for an hour, and Jack spent most of that time resting, clutching Eldora’s box, letting the magic absorb into his body.
“Are you ready yet?” Okiku said, dressed in Masukaian armor.
“I think I am,” Jack said. He had a map of the palace and the surrounding streets pinned down with a few odd weapons waiting to feel up to using the Battlebone again.
