by B. T. Narro
“I knew I could get a better deal on ingredients if I…dressed a little differently,” Hadley explained. “I was trying to explain to Remi that she doesn’t always need to hide everything. She’s young and beautiful, don’t you think? She should use that to her advantage when she feels comfortable doing so.”
“She is,” I agreed. And you are stunning.
“I think you might be able to do the same.” She scrunched her mouth as she came up and unbuttoned the top two buttons of my shirt. “It’s a technique not only reserved for beautiful women. Just show a little skin. There we go.” She patted the top of my chest. “Now you’re ready to do some real business, Jon Oklar.”
I gave a chuckle. “Except most of the sellers are men, Hadley Eshell.”
“A little skin works on both genders, if it’s the right kind of skin. Attraction isn’t necessary. Everyone appreciates a little effort in others’ appearances. It’s one of the few lessons my parents told me that still benefit me to this day.” Her tone shifted, darkened. “Even if their intentions were malignant.”
“They wanted you to catch the attention of the king?”
“Yes.” She sighed as she looked down. This was not a topic she wanted to discuss, and I was happy to change the subject.
“I was looking for you because I had a question,” I said.
“Oh?” Hadley perked up a bit.
“You gave quite a speech in the forest.”
“Thank you. I surprised myself a little bit.”
“I was curious about something,” I said. “If you left Rohaer two years ago, how do you know so much about the current status of the kingdom and their army?”
“Because I know a couple of merchants who travel to and from Rohaer. I have bought many things from them that I resold in the capital. I usually ask them about Rohaer.”
“Do they know you are from there?”
“Well, yes, because I encountered them in the forest one day when I was halfway between Rohaer and Lycast. It didn’t take them long to figure out I was Hadley Eshell. There was…a reward for information on me. I feared for a long time that they might betray me, but that was years ago. I have learned to trust them.” Her cadence was as if she wasn’t finished. I figured that meant there was more that she didn’t want to say.
“You must know them very well,” I prodded.
“Yes, well, I…had a brief relationship with one, and the other who travels with him is his father. I probably should’ve led with that.”
I nervously asked, “Are you still in a relationship with him?”
“No,” she told me affirmatively. “We still care about each other in a way, but we have moved past that type of relationship.”
It reminded me of Kataleya and me, but I figured the reason for Hadley’s separation with this boy was probably the distance, not disapproval of one’s family.
“I’m not with anyone now,” she told me.
“Oh,” I said with relief.
“Remi tells me that you’re not in a relationship, either.” She phrased it like a question.
“I’m not.”
“I find that very surprising.” She watched me intently as she waited for my response.
“I think I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said.
“Yes, you should.” She reached out and touched my arm. We shared a little smile.
I was beginning to notice how often she was touching me now. The feeling give me butterflies, but I had to admit to myself that Hadley was still somewhat mysterious to me. I had known Kataleya better than I did Hadley before we’d jumped into bed together, though there was a part of me that was trying to ignore this thought as I couldn’t stop noticing how beautiful Hadley was.
I wasn’t even sure if she was interested in something like that. All I did know was that when the recipe was for trouble, my urges felt like the ingredients.
I heard the door swing open to the tavern behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Aliana stumbling out. “There the two of you are!” she said with a slur. “Charlie coaxed Remi into dancing on one of the tables. Now he’s trying to dance with her. You have to see, come on!”
I was disappointed in her. “It’s the middle of the afternoon, Ali,” I scolded. I couldn’t believe it was up to me to lecture her about this. Weren’t Leon and Jennava in the tavern with the others?
“So what if it’s the afternoon?” Aliana asked.
“Because you’re drunk and we have things to do. We have to ride back to the castle, for one.”
“Oy! It doesn’t matter, Jon! You can cure everyone’s drunkenness as soon as we’re done celebrating!”
“No I can’t…wait.” I scratched my head. “Can I? I’ve never thought to try.”
“If you can heal poison and you can get rid of a curse,” Hadley began, “then I assume you can heal drunkenness.”
“Try on me!” Aliana said with a couple hops of excitement. “I want to be the first drunk drunkard to be cured of their drunk-ardness. First in history! Wait!” She put up her hands. “After we watch Charlie fall off the table. I want to be drunk when I see that.”
Aliana grabbed our hands and dragged the two of us into the tavern.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
It turned out that I could heal drunkenness, but it was only temporary for people who still had a lot of alcohol in their stomachs. I’d have to heal them again later. I was a little surprised to see just how drunk my friends had gotten during the brief celebration. Then I found out the reason. Charlie had been telling everyone that I could heal drunkenness, so they all had freely indulged.
We collectively agreed not to tell the king about the celebration and especially not about the drunkenness.
It was late in the evening when we returned to the castle. I was glad I wasn’t in charge of anything, like Leon and Jennava were. I could eat in the dining hall with my friends as Jennava introduced Syrah to the king, as Leon probably stayed silent and tried to keep his comments to himself. First, the thieves needed a new name. Second, they needed to agree to binding contracts written up by the king’s councilman. Third, they needed a plan of action. They didn’t just have to keep Koluk in order. They needed close communication with the king so we could use Koluk to our advantage in the war.
After I’d seen the industrial complex, I understood how control of Koluk would help us. I had spoken with Charlie during the ride back. I had asked him why such an industrial complex was in Koluk and not elsewhere. He’d explained that it was the specific layout of the land, such as the proximity of the forest and a river they could bifurcate, as well as other aspects. Everything had to be in the right place for such a forge to remain active for a long period of time, and Koluk had all the right ingredients.
I asked Charlie if he was excited to return and attempt to melt the Valaer steel the krepps had traded to us. He was not. He hated Koluk, probably because he had spent so much time there when he just wanted to return to the castle. Like the rest of us, he had been spoiled by the room and board provided by the king.
It wasn’t long after we returned that I found myself sitting in the dining hall and sharing a meal with Michael, Reuben, and Charlie, almost as if we’d never been apart. It felt like ages ago that we had all been here. I had missed this. The girls came in and sat near us, with no space between where their group started and ours ended. I figured this was how it would be from now on.
Eventually, Syrah, Leon, and Jennava dragged their feet into the dining hall and sat down together. I figured that meant Syrah and Barrett were heading to Koluk tomorrow because it was too late right now. The idea of leaving the thieves in charge of Koluk still made me a little uncomfortable, as I didn’t know much about them besides that they hated dark mages and wanted control of their city. But the alternatives were all much worse. We surely weren’t going to arrest them, and it would be dangerous to send Syrah back to Koluk with nothing. I did trust them, I supposed. Maybe not all of them individually, but I trusted them as a group because of th
e contracts they would all sign. Even if one person managed to somehow bend the rules of their oath, the rest should keep that person in check.
I didn’t know exactly what the contract would say, but I figured it had something to do with keeping order, obeying the king, and fighting Rohaer. The only remaining question in my mind was how much they were going to be paid and whether the king could really afford them in addition to his army in training.
Kataleya excused herself soon after, presumably to speak to the king about the theory that had kept her up just last night, though it felt like a week ago. The nobles of her family, as well as the Chespars, might be waiting for their chance to kill Nykal and take the throne. This, on top of everything else the king had to deal with, solidified how glad I felt that I wasn’t in the king’s position. I would be there for him, no matter what it took, but right now I was having a needed break.
Other than Kataleya, all of us remained in our seats even though we had finished eating a while ago. Some of us expressed worries, others made jokes, but all of us seemed to enjoy the brief time off. I was sure I wasn’t the only one who knew that training would begin again tomorrow as we awaited news from Souriff. I figured she had reached Failina by now and might have even taken her sister to safety. The demigods could make the long distance between the kingdoms in probably the amount of time it took us to ride from Koluk to the castle, just a few hours.
It had been a surprise to find out that Eslenda couldn’t heal even though her mana was within range of the necessary notes: lF, F, and uF. That meant that Souriff was the only one still alive who could heal like I could, since Cason had been killed and Leon couldn’t reach uF.
I had always figured that anyone with the range to cast a specific spell would be able to learn that spell eventually, but I was beginning to doubt that. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to create an illusion like Eslenda could, even though it was in my range of mana. Unlike with dvinia, I struggled with ordia. Using it just didn’t feel natural. My Identify spell still wasn’t strong enough to pick out Valinox’s illusion. I wasn’t sure it ever would be.
I was more intent on learning how to fly like Souriff, Valinox, and apparently Failina could do. Every time I trained with dvinia, I got a little stronger. It didn’t seem like I was anywhere close to my limit, because the speed at which I improved had not slowed but had gone up over time.
It was night outside when Leon approached our table. “Charlie,” he said sourly. “We’re going to Koluk to see the blacksmith. I’ve got some Valaer steel I’m taking with us. Get ready to go. I’ll drag you out of here in half an hour even if you’re not.”
“Koluk, now!?” Charlie complained. “But—”
“You’re the only one who can melt metal. We have to make sure it can be done as soon as possible.”
Charlie suddenly looked very tired as he sluggishly got up from the bench. “But it’s late. I was hoping to sleep soon.”
“You think you have it bad? I’m the one who’s going to have to light our way there with a constant use of mana.” He did look quite tired as he studied Charlie. “Why aren’t you moving? Are you ready now?”
He sighed. “I suppose so.”
We wished Charlie well as they walked off, which seemed to offend Leon as he looked back.
“What about me?”
Most of us grumbled some form of, “You, too, Leon.”
It wasn’t long after that we finally left the dining hall and headed to our apartments. I was tired, ready to retire for the night. I had hoped the king would let us know what measures he was taking to ensure Valinox didn’t bring an assassin into the castle under the cloak of invisibility. But I knew the king was very busy, and it was so very late. Perhaps he figured that Valinox was still in Rohaer, clearing the mountains of Failina and Souriff.
As I was settling into bed, there was a soft knock on my door. My heart stirred at the thought of it being Hadley, but that was just wishful thinking.
However, I opened the door to see her standing there. “Hey,” I said, offering a warm smile.
“Why, hello.” She beat my grin with a dazzling one of her own. “I have something for you. May I come in?”
“Sure.”
She entered my room. I wasn’t sure if I should shut the door or not. There were no sounds in the hall. It had been a very long day. I figured most of my peers were already asleep. Except for poor Charlie, I remembered. And poor Leon, I tacked on as I imagined him scolding me for not thinking of him.
I shut the door. “Did they give you a new room now that Eden has returned?” I asked.
She stood near my hearth. It was a cold night, but it was warm near my fire. She was bundled up in a loose robe. I had a number of thoughts about her body that I wasn’t too proud of, as I remembered how her curves had looked in Koluk before she’d changed for the trip back. But more than that, I remembered the feeling of her unbuttoning my shirt and the sparks it had sent through my chest.
“Yes, it’s the one farthest down the hall,” she replied. “I’m glad things have worked out with Eden, but I was somewhat looking forward to using many of the ingredients she’d left behind. Now I’m going to have to pay for many of them and find the others in the forest myself.”
“I hope you’re not planning on going alone. It’s not safe.”
“Yes, and that brings me to the point of my visit.” She pulled a black stone out of her pocket. My mana warned me to stay away from it. The shade of black was dark, rich, as if whatever it held inside was dense.
The feeling it gave me reminded me of how I’d felt watching Hadley draw the corrupted essences out of the corpses on the battlefield. It had been an eerie sight, some of the bodies jittering during the process. It was moments like those that gave me hesitation when I thought about how I might show my interest in her.
Not wanting to take the stone she was offering, I asked, “Wouldn’t it be better if you held onto that?”
“All the mages of order should have one,” she said. “I brought it up with the king, and he agreed.”
“I’m not exactly a mage of order.” I said, hoping she might change her mind. “My skill with ordia is at a basic level.”
She cocked her head one way, then the other. “Jon, if your mana is telling you to stay away from this, you’re going to have to ignore it.” She gestured with the black stone. “The curse will only take effect when you want it to. You just have to disenchant the stone. That’s it.”
I had heard the term “disenchant” a few times before. I knew that the opposite—enchanting—was the process of imbuing a stone with a spell. Then that stone held your spell for a long period of time, maybe for an eternity? That’s how little I knew. But I didn’t know until now that disenchanting was the process of removing the spell from the stone.
I trusted Hadley, so I took the black stone from her hand. “I thought these stones of yours were cursed, not enchanted.”
“They are cursed,” she said with proud smile. “But disenchanting works the same on a cursed gem as it does an enchanted gem. Just like with some enchantments, there are some curses that, when removed from a gem, activate in the air. In fact, that’s the only way to activate this curse that I know of. It is a curse that sits in the air, not in a person’s body. It disables all mana it comes into contact with during the time it is active. It’s for this reason that no spells can get rid of it, at least in theory. You can’t heal it gone, like you might a curse in someone’s body. You can’t cast anything while standing within the invisible cloud.”
“What about using dvinia or wind to move the curse away?”
“It destroys mana that touches it. Only natural wind will disperse it eventually, so it’s more effective indoors than outside.” Hadley pointed at the stone I held. “This one is much more powerful than the one you threw at the archers today because it contains many essences of corrupted souls. Reuben, Eden, Barrett, and I all have one just like it. You’re the last to receive one from me, and I have none left a
fter that. Barrett believes each one should be strong enough to not only remove Valinox’s spell of invisibility but to prevent him from using mana just like it does for us.” She didn’t sound very sure of herself, like she usually was.
“You don’t agree?” I asked.
“Well, I had figured a curse like this wouldn’t work on a demigod’s powerful spell, which is why I didn’t try to use the stone with the essence of Kataleya’s father to disable Valinox when he was stealing our sorcerers. I feared it would just disable our mana and not his. For the record, Barrett agreed that a stone with a single cursed essence probably wasn’t strong enough to have disabled Valinox, but Barrett seems to be quite wise about these matters. He’s confident these new stones will disable Valinox’s mana, and I’m choosing to believe him.”
I looked down at the stone, feeling better about it now. “Valinox might not be aware we have these,” I realized. “Maybe we can use them to set a trap for him.”
“I discussed the exact same thing with Barrett and the king.” She had a hopeful tone, her gaze settling on the stone. The way she looked at it made me look at it in the same way, that this could be our chance.
But then our eyes met. I lowered my hand, closing my fingers around the stone and forgetting about it for the moment. I wasn’t very good at hiding my feelings. I could almost feel my face telling Hadley that her luscious lips were on my mind.
“Thank you,” I muttered, wondering what I might be able to say to keep her here longer.
“You’re welcome, but I should be thanking you, Jon. I don’t think I ever would’ve had the courage to approach the king with my gift of curses. I was too scared, but then I spoke to you through our mana, and I knew right away I could trust you. So thank you. I feel like I’m going to have a home here now, and there’s nowhere I’d rather be. I only wish I’d taken more of my family’s coin before leaving.” She chuckled a bit.
“You’re welcome,” I said with a smile. “You’re one of us now, and I’m glad for it.”
