Tethered by Blood

by Jane Beckstead

  “How did the trials go?” She deposited her stack of books behind the counter, then leaned down to sweep another stack into her arms. “I set these aside for you days ago. Perhaps we can go somewhere quiet and discuss the finer points of—” she looked at the top book and continued, “—summertide demilunes.” She hoisted the books higher in her arms and gestured with her chin toward the back of the library and our customary empty room. “Follow me.” We weaved through mazes of tables and bookshelves, through narrow aisles with stacks of books looming on either side. She dumped her armload of books on the table and closed the door.

  “Here, sit.” She pushed me into a chair and pulled out another for herself so we were seated across the table from one another. “Did you fail the trials?”

  I looked at her miserably, then waved my hand, muttering the words of the privacy spell. Better that no one should overhear this. “I passed. But he didn’t even come. He knows.”

  “Knows what? Who knows?”

  “Master Wendyn. He knows I’m a girl.”

  Her eyes widened. “How?”

  The whole story spilled out of me: the carriage ride, the silent past days, his extraordinary talent at shunning. How he wanted me gone.

  “Wait. So he’s not turning you in to the Council? He didn’t want you Punished?” She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.

  I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t know what he wants. Pretty sure he doesn’t even know what he wants, other than not having to look at me anymore. I don’t know what to do.”

  She pursed her lips. “Show him you’re an honest person. Prove to him your ability and don’t lie to him ever again. I’m sure you can regain his trust.”

  “How do I prove anything to him? He won’t even spend five seconds in the same room with me if he can help it. He wants to be rid of me.”

  “I don’t know.” She played with a lock of her hair as she mulled over that problem. “Maybe you should just do as he asked, then. Maybe you should just leave. Find another master.”

  “Oh, sure. Because it was so easy to find the first one.”

  A smile played across her mouth. “Admit it. It’s kind of romantic he doesn’t want you Punished. Is it possible he has feelings for you?”

  I choked. “Feelings?” I sputtered. “Don’t be ridiculous. The only feeling he has for me is contempt. Until two weeks ago, he thought I was a boy.”

  “Yes, but he wants you gone, not dead. It’s a little romantic, at least.”

  “Romantic that he stops short of murder? Yes, the man is obviously besotted. I myself am wildly in love with everyone I don’t want to kill.” I pushed my chair back and paced the room, agitated at the idea of romance between myself and the master.

  A giggle escaped her. “Wouldn’t that be something, though? A master in love with his apprentice? Or an apprentice with...her master?”

  I glared at her. “I assure you, there is no danger of that happening.”

  “Well, of course. You wouldn’t fall in love on purpose, would you? That sort of thing happens by accident, before you even know it.” She clasped her hands together. “By the time you realize it, there’s nothing you can do about it. You’re in love.”

  I made a noise of frustration in the back of my throat. “Stop acting like a child, Orly. This isn’t some romance novel! Not everything ends with true love and a happy ending.” I knew my tone had been too harsh when I saw the hurt in her eyes, but I was too irked to stop myself now. “Have you even seen Ingerman’s shattered barrel out there? This is my life and death we’re talking about here, not some lark.”

  “I know it’s not a romance novel.” Hurt shone in her eyes. “I understand what’s involved. I’d have to, wouldn’t I? Do you think I wouldn’t learn all about the risks before I become an apprentice myself?”

  “What?”

  She drew backward. “You heard me. I’m going to be an apprentice too. I’ll run away and disguise myself as a boy and find a master, just like you.”

  I rose without even realizing it. “You will not.”

  “Oh, so it’s all very well for you to do it, but no one else? You’re just afraid I'll be a better apprentice than you.”

  I laughed, but without humor. “Better than me? Don’t be ridiculous—of course you would be. That’s not the point, though, is it? You have a father who loves you, Orly.”

  She came to her feet too. “So do you. I read your record. I know your father’s still alive.”

  I shook my head. “My father is the most selfish person I know. I despise him. Do you think if I had a family who cared for me that I would just leave them? Tell them nothing about where I was going and just disappear? It’s cruel. It’s unnecessary.”

  “That shows your lack of dedication,” she said with a determined lift of her chin. “I would.”

  I closed my eyes and then opened them to pin her with a look. “Orly. Be reasonable. I would trade everything I have right now just to have a family who cares for me again. Don’t give up your father so easily.”

  “Papa will still be here when I’m done with my training.” Her mouth had a stubborn set to it, and from the defiance in her eyes, I could see she wasn’t about to change her mind.

  “Very well.” I folded my arms. “If you persist in this, then I’m going out there right now to tell your father your plan.”

  Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Oh?” I took a step toward the door, but she held up her hand.

  “Fine. If you tell him about me, then I’ll tell him the truth about you. How you’re a girl.”

  I rubbed at my forehead. “You may as well. This whole thing is falling apart. What’s one more person knowing the truth?”

  Silence stretched out, and then she stamped her foot. “This isn’t fair,” she cried. “You’re nothing but a hypocrite, Avery Mullins. Telling me I can’t do something you’ve done yourself?”

  I heaved a sigh. “I never said I was a good person, Orly. In fact, I’m one of the worst people I know. Now, are you going to give up this plan, or do I need to go have a talk with your father?”

  She glared. “If you stop me from doing this, I’ll hate you for the rest of my life.”

  “So hate me. Just as long as you give up this foolish plan. I want your word. Swear it.”

  Redness and anger rimmed her eyes, and it gave my gut a twist. It had been a pleasant thought to have Orly’s trust and friendship this little while. To have lost it hurt more than I thought it would.

  “Fine.” She spat the word. “I swear I won’t do it. I’ll stay here and work in this stupid library with Papa for the rest of my boring existence.”

  I leaned over the table, reaching out to her. “Come on, Orly, don’t be angry.”

  She flounced toward the door. “If you need help again, find someone else to be your minion.”

  I straightened. “Just wait a little, all right? I’ll be a master wizard in a year or less, if I keep up this rate of passing the trials. I’m going to need an apprentice.”

  She stopped, her hand on the doorknob, then slowly turned to face me. “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  The anger on her face faded. “You’re not just saying that?”

  “No. With the Council’s new rule, I’ll have to have an apprentice. I’d be thrilled if it were you.”

  Her face broke into a tentative smile.

  A tapping at the door made us both freeze. We exchanged a look before she reached for the doorknob. I waved a hand, dismissing the privacy spell.

  Maximo stood there, Orly’s librarian father. “I need your help, Orly.”

  “Of course.”

  She gave me a backward glance, then disappeared through the doorway. I heard her father admonishing her in quiet tones, “You shouldn’t have been in there alone with him.,,” Their voices faded.

  My eyes fell on the stack of books on the table. Orly had said she set these aside for me. The book on top had a shiny new cover and barely
cracked spine. Labyrinthine Enchantments for Summertide Demilunes, the spine read. Confused, I opened the cover and flipped several pages before I encountered the real title: Magic and the Female Mind. The shiny new book bore no resemblance to the ancient leather-bound volume I recalled.

  The second book was as tall as one hand and appeared to be a Belanokian dictionary.

  I shook my head and stared at the books. Orly was a study in contrasts. On the one hand, she was delighted at the thought of romance and adventure, and on the other, she could develop complex spells that many master wizards were unaware of. She deserved the chance to develop her magic just as much as I did. But the truth was, I couldn’t guarantee I’d still be apprenticed in a month, let alone that I’d be a master wizard in a year. But the promise had made Orly happy. I hoped that I’d be able to keep it.

  The dictionary had the approximate weight of a small child. I left the library with my armload, tottering toward the wizard’s door at the head of the cathedral hall.

  Not until I hefted the door open did Orly’s words come back to me.

  Show him you’re an honest person...I’m sure you can regain his trust.

  The master wanted me gone, and not only because I was female. It was because I betrayed his trust, the same as Cailyn did.

  What if I could prove to him I was trustworthy? What if I could do the one thing I hadn’t been able to do yet: tell him about the blood oath with Kurke and put to rest the last falsehood between us? I didn’t even know if it was possible. Every time I’d tried it felt like my thoughts were trickling out my ears like water through a leaky cauldron. But if I was successful, it would make it evident to the master I was trustworthy. Perhaps he’d even be grateful to me for trying to save Oscar’s life. Grateful enough to keep me on as his apprentice.

  I stepped the rest of the way through the wizard’s door, the tapestry pushing aside easily. The tether gave a great twang. I stopped where I stood and stared at the master’s desk.

  Matthias Kurke sat there, smiling at me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The tapestry fell from my fingers. For a moment I drowned in the weight of its heavy fabric across my face and shoulders. I fought my way out, and Kurke’s face bore an amused smirk when I emerged.

  “Hello, Avery.”

  A hundred questions wanted to jump out of my mouth all at once. The one I settled on was, “Where’s Master Wendyn?”

  “Out. Superb timing, isn’t it?” He nodded at the chair on the other side of the desk. “Take a seat, if you like. Edie will be in with tea shortly. Charming girl.”

  I hefted the books. “Superb timing for what?”

  He didn’t answer that question, only pushed to his feet and squinted at me. “You’re studying Belanokian?”

  I flushed. “It’s an assignment. From Master Wendyn.” I set the books down on the nearest chair and straightened. “Is it time for murder already?”

  He smiled. “Flippancy. I like it. But no, it’s not time. Not just yet.”

  “That’s good, because I haven’t seen him in weeks.”

  “Yes.” He rubbed his hands together. “His whereabouts are a problem. I’ve been working on a theory for where he might have gone. And how to get him back here.”

  “And?” I asked, though I didn’t really care about the answer. I was wondering how best to talk him out of it.

  “He’d come back if his favorite grandson were in trouble.”

  Nerves moved through my midsection at the words. “Leave Master Wendyn out of it.”

  He frowned. “I warned you not to get close to the Wendyns, Avery. You can’t trust them.”

  “I never said I trust them,” I retorted. “I just trust them more than you.”

  “Pity. It’s why I had to send the wasting sickness to that child in Bramford, you know.”

  I gaped at him. “What do you mean?”

  “That girl. I gave her the wasting sickness to drive you and Garrick apart. I knew you’d come to pieces and Garrick would be disgusted by it. From what I can tell, my plan worked. I hear Garrick has been storming around here like a thundercloud and spent a good deal of time yelling at you after coming back from Bramford.”

  My mouth opened and closed, overcome by the gall of the man. “You might have killed her. She’s an innocent child!”

  He waved away my protests. “Calm down. She didn’t die. Didn’t you ever wonder why it never became an epidemic?”

  “I...I guess I thought we were lucky.”

  He chortled as though I’d said something ridiculous. “You should know better than most how improbable that is. Now, getting back to Garrick. I have no plans to put him in actual danger—just to make Oscar think he is. That’s where you come in. I want you to send him a letter via the messenger.”

  “I’ve told you, I don’t know where he is.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You’ll just write a nice believable little letter saying something about how Garrick’s taken ill and refuses to send for a doctor or family to tend to him. That sounds like something he’d do. Say you’re worried about him. Address it to Oscar Wendyn, address unknown. If he’s anywhere near a messenger, the magic will find him.”

  I frowned at him. “No.”

  He sighed heavily. “Do you really think I’ve made all of this up?” His tone was light, but I could feel the anger underlying it.

  “No. I understand why you feel the way you do about Oscar. I didn’t lose my family in the same traumatic way you did, but I lost them just the same. That’s not something you get over.”

  He frowned, his good mood going to pieces. “You don’t have the slightest notion what it’s like to lose your family in such a violent way. Do you know Oscar lied to me about it? He said it was a buggy accident. That they died on a pleasure ride in the country when their horse got spooked.” He laughs, a mirthless noise. “I thought he was bigger than life, the most important and kindest man in the three kingdoms. Why should he lie to a ten-year-old child if he had nothing to hide?”

  “To spare your feelings?” I held my hands up, a barrier against his angry expression. “It’s just that if they died as you say, what benefit could there be in telling a child such gory details?”

  “Yes. Telling me their buggy rolled off a cliff is so much better.”

  I grimaced. “Very well. But how do you know it didn’t happen that way?”

  “Never mind that. I just know. Oscar’s gone too far, and he has to die.”

  “But he doesn’t. Listen to me. When my mother and brother died, it felt like my heart had fractured. I would have done anything to bring them back.” His magnetic eyes warmed at my words, becoming deep and fathomless and impossible to look away from. I reached out, laid my fingers on his forearm, and looked up at him, as earnest as I’d ever been in my life. “But you must see—you must—that this plan of yours is madness. You can’t murder a man without making yourself as evil as you feel he is.”

  The warmth retreated from his face so swiftly that I moved to draw my hand back. He grabbed my wrist and held me in place. “Madness, is it? I’ve never claimed to be sane. I am mad, driven to it.”

  “You’re not. You’re as sane as anyone else. The problem is, you hide behind your grief.”

  His grip tightened on my wrist, and then he advanced on me, pushing me up against the tapestry with one forearm pressed to my throat before I even knew what he was doing. His other arm pressed my midsection and both arms into the wall. “I am hiding nothing. I am evil, and I admit it.” He smiled down at me and leaned forward, his arm pushing into my windpipe.

  He was just trying to frighten me. He wouldn’t really kill me.

  “Tell me what the Belanokian dictionary is for, Avery.”

  My mouth opened, but only gasps came out. Through the tapestry, the wizard’s door was solid and heavy at my back with Kurke’s weight pressing against me. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t escape.

  “You must take me for a fool,” he continued, almost conversat
ionally. “Did you think I wouldn’t know? Belanok’s only known for three things, after all: their abundance of ore, their talent at cheese-making, and blood magic. You haven’t taken an interest in Belanokian cheese, have you?”

  “It’s the...ore...actually,” I gasped out, my voice raspy and hoarse. “I’m looking...into their...mining methods.”

  He made a disgusted noise and leaned forward further, cutting off my air.

  Spots appeared in my vision. I struggled against his hold, until finally Kurke dropped his arms. I collapsed against the wall, breathing hard with both hands to my throat.

  “You’ve been a help, but your protests irritate me. Keep it up, and I’ll have no choice but to get rid of you. Or even better, those close to you. I’ve never been all that attached to Garrick. There are blood spells that could take him out in an instant.” He reached toward me, and I flinched. But all he did was trace a finger down the side of my face and bent his head a little closer. “It’s nothing personal. You understand, don’t you?”

  I gazed up at him, at the man whose beautiful face had charmed me for three years. A man with a beautiful face and a cankered soul.

  “You really are mad,” I said, my voice faint in my own ears. A lifetime away, there was a whisk of unidentifiable noise.

  He smiled at me, and a low rumble of a chuckle moved through him. His hand dropped to my shoulder, and he gave it an almost affectionate squeeze. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I told you that.”

  Behind him, the door slammed shut with such force that the walls rattled. Kurke and I leaped apart.

  “Well,” Master Wendyn said, glowering at the two of us with something past fury coloring his face. “I apologize for interrupting.”