Dusk Gate (Soul Bound Book 1)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Well, if you don’t know enough about a group of fey, you know who you can talk to,” Mora said, smiling ever so slightly, though she still looked concerned. That caused Jasmine to perk up slightly, hope blooming once more.

  “Oh?” Jasmine asked, looking at Xandra, then paused, surprised by the slight grimace on the elf’s face.

  “I do,” Xandra agreed reluctantly, a hint of unhappiness in her voice. “I just don’t like visiting Nef. She makes me uncomfortable.”

  “Why? She’s a perfectly nice lady!” Cain protested, causing Jasmine’s eyebrows to rise, her confusion growing stronger.

  “That’s exactly the problem. With everything that she knows and has experienced, her attitude is completely unnatural,” Xandra said flatly, shaking her head. “Nef unnerves me. I don’t like visiting her.”

  “Yet every time I talk to her, she asks me when you’re going to visit again,” Mora said, picking up the teapot to refill her cup. “She likes you.”

  “I know,” Xandra said, looking particularly unhappy. “That’s an enormous part of the problem. I’m just glad she doesn’t live in the city, or I’d have to leave.”

  “Who are you speaking about?” Jasmine asked quietly, looking between the three curiously, though she was also rather confused. “I’m guessing this Nef is a planar specialist?”

  Xandra just sat back unhappily, and Jasmine caught the slight smile on Naomi’s face, as well as the larger smiles Cain and Mora gave her.

  “You might say that. Nef, or Kel’Nef if you’re using her full name, is an odd woman. That much I’ll freely grant, but she is one of the Karakar, so that’s to be expected. She’s not much of a mage by the standards of most people, being more skilled in ritual magic, and unable to use most spells in a short time frame, but she’s enthusiastic and very knowledgeable,” Cain explained warmly. “She’s fascinated by other planes, yes, but particularly by their cultures, which is a subject that’s rather less documented, according to her. She lives in a cottage about… what, a day and a half north of here?”

  “About that,” Mora agreed. “She built it in a location that was rather… unstable, planarly speaking, and stabilized it so she could examine the other planes in more depth without being in danger. It significantly reduced the number of strange creatures that randomly popped up in the region, so a lot of people in the area like her. It helps that she’s one of the sweetest, nicest people you’ll ever meet.”

  “Unless you attack her. She doesn’t live on her own without being able to defend herself,” Xandra added, which prompted Cain and Mora to stare at her.

  “You attacked her?” Cain demanded, sounding a little outraged.

  “Do I look like a complete imbecile? Of course not! I may not enjoy her company, but I’m not stupid. No Karakar leaves one of their cities at her rank without either a bodyguard or extensive training in defending themselves. She’s no journeyman, so of course she can defend herself from bandits or even things that are much, much worse than that,” Xandra retorted, scowling at him. “You’re all insane if you think nice means she’s helpless.”

  “Um, Karakar are the lorekeeper elves, right? The ones a ways north-west of Loth?” Naomi asked softly, her voice almost a whisper.

  “That’s right,” Jasmine replied, nodding slightly. “They aren’t usually aligned with any country, as they are almost always searching for specific types of knowledge. About six years ago, one of them came through to update their records on the Phoenix Queen in Loth, and said that another would likely come through in a decade to study Loth’s culture.”

  Naomi nodded, while Xandra just gave Jasmine a sidelong look, her own smile thin. The elf seemed to debate for a moment, then shrugged, speaking calmly. “Karakar are a little more complex than that, or at least were when I was young, but you have the essentials. I’m told that they started as the royal archivists of the original rulers of the elves, and set off on their own when the royal family vanished. I’m not sure how true that is, but they take their pursuit of knowledge seriously.”

  “Ah, I didn’t know that,” Jasmine said, straightening a little. “It does explain a little. I’ve heard they all have red hair, is that true.”

  “Not all, though the majority do. Apparently it’s something of a dominant trait, and most people who marry into the Karakar have children with red hair. There are always some who don’t match the mold, though,” Xandra said, then paused, her gaze growing slightly distant as she tilted her head, considering for several seconds. Then she murmured, “Odd. I know rather more about them than I thought. I know I visited their Great Library once… perhaps I learned more while I was there?”

  “I certainly wouldn’t know,” Cain said dryly. “I tried scrying your past once, and it didn’t go well. There were a lot of wards over you while you were enslaved, and I couldn’t get past them.”

  “That’s just as well. You don’t want to see what happened to me,” Xandra retorted, her tone turning slightly caustic as she added, “Not to mention it’s incredibly rude to intrude that way.”

  “Hey, it wasn’t my idea! A client wanted to know more about you!” Cain said hastily, raising his hands. “It’s just as well, anyway! We saw enough that he decided that trying to seduce you was a poor idea.”

  Jasmine’s eyebrows rose, then she winced as she saw anger flicker across Xandra’s face for just a moment, then the elf’s expression cleared, and she nodded.

  “Good. That said, if we’re to visit Nef, we need to get Jasmine and Naomi some better boots and other items. I also believe that they need a few potions,” Xandra said, glancing at Mora. “You wouldn’t happen to have a few healing and mana potions in stock, would you?”

  “Ah, that I can help with,” Mora said, levering herself out of her chair as she grinned broadly, revealing that she was a little shorter than Jasmine had thought. “I always keep a good stock of each on-hand, because you never know when a privateer is going to show up and want a couple-dozen vials of each.”

  “That’s good, as I went through all of my mana potions as we ran. And my guards…” Jasmine began, only to have it feel like her throat swelled shut, and she blinked several times as heat welled up in her eyes. She reached up to brush away the tears as they formed, and when she spoke again, her voice was husky. “I gave them my healing potions, so I’m completely out. I think Naomi is, too.”

  “I am,” Naomi agreed, her smile fading quickly. “Yesterday wasn’t a good day.”

  Mora’s smile had grown strained, and she looked at Jasmine and Naomi in concern. Cain looked uncomfortable as well, but it was Xandra who spoke, her voice mostly neutral.

  “It could be worse. You lived,” Xandra told them. “That means that it can always get better. If you die, that’s generally it.”

  “Xandra, is it really that important to get moving so quickly?” Mora asked, glancing at Jasmine again. “If they’ve been through so much, shouldn’t they be given a chance to rest and recover?”

  “Time waits for no one. The entirety of Loth is under siege by unknown attackers, and we saw more of them coming through the portal not even ten minutes ago,” Xandra retorted scathingly, waving at the crystal ball. “Delaying could give them every chance to succeed in their aims. I don’t coddle others, not when delaying is likely to make the situation far worse.”

  Jasmine cringed as Mora straightened, afraid of the argument that appeared to be brewing. She considered trying to calm the two down, but then she didn’t have to.

  “Perhaps not, but you have that contract with the city council,” Cain interjected calmly. “You need to give them a report, and that will likely take a little time. For all I know, they may have adjourned for the day, at which point you may have to wait until the morrow. Additionally, Springville is along your path. If you stop a little early, that means that you could visit the hot springs there, and I’ve always heard it does wonders for soothing the mind and body.”

  “You have a point,” Xandra conceded after a moment of thought,
though her voice was a bit grudging. “I may not necessarily like it, but I shouldn’t ignore the council. And stopping at the hot springs would be a… negligible delay, if we left at the appropriate time the next day. I will consider the idea.”

  “Assuming we want to go there,” Jasmine said, glancing at Naomi curiously. She wasn’t surprised by the younger priestess’s intrigued expression, since she somewhat liked the idea of hot springs herself. There weren’t any suitable for bathing inside Loth’s borders, so she’d never had an opportunity to visit one. “In the meantime, perhaps we should go?”

  “Yes, we should. Why don’t the two of you go with Mora, and see if you can find the potions you need. We’ll find boots and other items later. In the meantime, I should go see the council, and let them know what I’ve learned. At least then they won’t be able to claim I ignored their request,” Xandra said, nodding decisively.

  “That sounds like an excellent idea,” Mora said, smiling warmly at Jasmine and Naomi as she asked, “Would you ladies like to come with me? I’m certain I can find appropriate items for you.”

  “After you,” Jasmine said with a polite smile, and followed Mora as she left Cain’s garden. The man waved at them, speaking cheerfully.

  “Have a good time, and I hope you can come by sometime when you aren’t in danger!” Cain said. At least it didn’t really ruin Jasmine’s mood.

  After all, she’d had low-level anxiety nagging at her for days now.

  Chapter 19

  “For some reason I was expecting something different than this,” Jasmine said, looking around the front of Mora’s shop in surprise.

  The shop had several windows letting light in, but all of them were narrow and barred, while the door looked like it could repel most soldiers. Despite being heavily reinforced, the door swung open easily on its hinges. It must have had a very skilled craftsman, to move so smoothly. The interior wasn’t filled with crowded shelves of glass vials like she expected, though. Instead, the foyer was mostly bare, with a few shelves on either side of the room holding soap, dyes, shoe polish, and other relatively mundane items. Behind a counter in the back was a young man, one who had a wry smile on his face as he watched them. His hair looked a lot like Mora’s, which made Jasmine wonder if they were related.

  “Oh? What did you expect?” Mora asked, pausing halfway to the counter to look over her shoulder.

  “I don’t know, more bottles and vials, I suppose? I don’t think I’ve ever visited an alchemist’s store, though. Most of my potions were supplied by the church,” Jasmine said, looking over at Naomi as she asked, “What about you?”

  “I’ve been to a few alchemists, but most of them didn’t have a storefront. They made their potions to order, but I grew up in a smaller town,” Naomi said, looking a little embarrassed.

  “Mm, I suppose that makes sense. However, you need to keep in mind that most potions are rather small. That means they’re quite easy to pocket when someone is distracting Mark,” Mora said, nodding to him, at which the young man flushed. “That’s why I keep everything truly valuable locked up in the back. If someone needs something, they can ask for it.”

  “It isn’t like anyone has tried distracting me, ever since the thief got himself knocked out in the back,” the young man said, shifting uncomfortably. “How was I supposed to know they were trying to steal from us?”

  Jasmine couldn’t help a slight smile, and Mora let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes.

  “As you can see, Mark is a tiny bit too optimistic and trusting for his own good. Evren isn’t the best locale for that, but he’s my son, so I put up with it,” Mora said, grinning as she added, “And Mark, if someone that pretty is trying to get your attention as obviously as she was, there’s always a catch. Look for it, because it could be a dagger. Or an aphrodisiac she took, but I doubt you’re going to get that lucky.”

  “I know that now, but you didn’t warn me last time,” Mark said unhappily, though his eyes brightened as he looked at Jasmine and Naomi. “Who’re they?”

  “This is Jasmine, Holy Maiden of the Phoenix Queen, and… I believe you were a priestess, Naomi? I’m sorry if I misremembered, but things have been a touch chaotic,” Mora said, an apologetic note to her voice.

  “That’s right, and I don’t blame you. Lady Alexis is more important than me, anyway,” Naomi said, her cheeks coloring slightly.

  “Don’t say that. Higher ranking, perhaps, but not more important,” Jasmine scolded, shaking her head. “I don’t like it when people say things like that. Everyone is important.”

  Naomi looked like she was about to protest, but bit back her words just before she spoke, a mulish look on her face.

  “I’m not going to interfere with that conversation,” Mora said, sounding faintly amused. “In any case, I have a budget for your potions from Xandra, so I think that I can be rather generous under the circumstances.”

  “What? I have funds of my own, there’s no need to—” Jasmine began, only to be cut off by Mora raising a finger while giving her a firm look. At the same time, Jasmine saw a look of both fear and adoration cross Mark’s face at Xandra’s name.

  “Xandra told me exactly how much she was willing to spend before she left, and I’m sure you know how she is at this point,” Mora said calmly. “She made a decision, and expects the funds to be put to use. Doubtlessly she’ll expect me to use as much as possible, even if she’d prefer me to keep to a more efficient budget. If she were concerned about the funds, she’d have refused to let you come here without her, so… no. Use what she’s offering, because she’s far wealthier than you might think.”

  “How so?” Naomi asked, frowning. “I mean, she had a bunch of gems and other things she took when we escaped the lower planes, but I didn’t think they were worth that much. Besides, from what she said she only has an apartment in the city. That doesn’t seem like the sort of lodgings for someone who’s wealthy.”

  “That’s… a good question,” Jasmine murmured, frowning as she thought. “I mean, we haven’t heard of her, and I think we’d know if she killed Old Fangmaw or something.”

  Mora laughed, and Mark cracked a smile as well. The two looked at each other, and Mark shrugged.

  “Don’t ask me, Mom. You told me to leave her alone, since she has a temper,” the young man said, shifting from one foot to the other. “I just know that she’s always busy.”

  “That’s right,” Mora agreed, leaning against the counter for a moment as she thought, then shrugged. “That’s really the entire reason, if you must know. Xandra is always taking new jobs, and for the most part she’s very frugal with her money. When you take the sort of payments she gets, and combine it with how little she tends to spend, it adds up quickly. Beyond that, she has absolutely enormous mana reserves, and an awe-inspiring control of them. Some of the local captains hire her to charge their windstones even when they dislike her because she can do it so quickly and without damaging the items, while when enchanters have rush jobs, they know they can get mana from her. I’ve never met anyone with such a mastery of energy magic.”

  “Ah. That does explain it,” Jasmine said, her curiosity easing. She smiled in amusement, thinking back to her rescue, a hint of mixed fondness and regret welling up inside her. “As for the mana, that I can attest to myself. I still remember how she told me to take the mana I needed, and my mana core nearly burst from how much I took. I didn’t expect it, and her mana is just so… so pure.”

  “Mm, that it is,” Mora said, looking at Jasmine curiously for a second, then cracked a smile. “Either way, what sort of items do you need? I don’t just have healing and mana potions, I also have most of the items you can get at a good apothecary, as well as some explosive flasks and the like. I’m a sixth-circle alchemist, so I have a broad variety of items.”

  “Well, we’re both capable of healing, so I think the main priority will be mana potions, along with some potions to wash away fatigue. We were chased relentlessly, so those would be particularly us
eful,” Jasmine said, pushing the distractions aside as she moved forward, glancing at the shelves while she thought. “Beyond that… I’m not sure. Naomi?”

  “I don’t think I’d be much good with the flasks, and smoke bombs probably wouldn’t help against the plant-monsters we ran into,” Naomi replied slowly, frowning as she thought, then shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  “How about an elixir which increases your speed and reaction time?” Mora suggested, smiling a little wider. “It only lasts a quarter-hour, but sometimes you need to be able to move a bit faster.”

  “Hm, that does sound like a good idea,” Jasmine agreed, then frowned. “Just how much money did Xandra budget for us, anyway?”

  The broad grin on Mora’s face was telling, and Jasmine blinked, then resisted the urge to laugh. She really didn’t understand the elf at all, but she wasn’t a bad person, no matter how much people seemed to think she was.

  Chapter 20

  “I refuse,” Xandra said bluntly, irritation rushing through her. “And if you keep trying to force me to stay here, I’m going to burn the building down.”

  Councilwoman Lekis’s mouth snapped shut, and her eyes narrowed as the woman glared at Xandra frostily. Xandra ignored the glare, since she knew that the merchant was far too much of a coward to push the issue. The incident with the assassins had made all of Evren’s major powers take note, and she’d noticed how the different district guards had stopped challenging her for the most part. It gave her a certain grim satisfaction.

  “You didn’t even get confirmation of what had happened!” Councilman Chandler protested, the large man looking near panicked. “You’re going off of the word of others! Is this how you carry out tasks you’re hired for?”