by J B Drake
Stopping, he turned to regard his sister as she stood near the portal stone.
“Where else would she be?” Daniton replied.
Arenya frowned. “But even she would never come here in that dress, surely.”
As Daniton moved to speak, Arenya’s gaze went past his shoulder.
“Then again…” Arenya sighed as she shook her head.
Turning, Daniton watched as a contrite Anise Fairweather made her way towards them. She was brushing something from her evening gown, cloth in hand.
Daniton’s heart sank. “You stained it.”
“Uhm…” Anise replied as she looked over at it. “Not terribly.”
“Anise…”
“More fool us for expecting anything better, I suppose,” Arenya muttered.
In response, Daniton rounded on his sister.
“Not now, Arenya,” he growled.
Shrugging, Arenya Drakesong folder her arms below her bosom and watched her siblings in stoic silence.
Shaking his head, Daniton returned his gaze to Anise, whose open snarl towards Anise was replaced by a sheepish smile as she turned to Daniton.
“Look, Daniton,” she replied, “it’s not that obvious, truly. Besides, I doubt very much that anyone will be paying me much attention, this is a dinner in honour of our esteemed Magister, after all. Gods know we haven’t had enough of those yet.”
Shaking his head, Daniton sighed. “That’s beside the point and you know it. Lady Flutterplume needs our help convincing her husband to have their children attend here. That they’re hosting a dinner for Thuridan is simply—”
Just then, a figure came into being upon the portal stone. As one, all three Archmages turned to him. All three recognised him.
“What are you doing away from the gate?” Daniton asked the gate guard that had appeared before them.
Taking the Archmages in in one sweeping glance, the gate guard’s lips parted in a smile as his gaze fell upon Anise.
“Thank the gods I found you so quickly.”
“Why?” Arenya asked.
“What’s happened?” Anise added.
“It’s Gray, she’s at the gate. She’s covered in blood, much of it hers.”
“What?” Daniton and Anise exclaimed in unison.
“Gray? Marshalla’s panther?” Arenya asked.
The guard nodded. “She’s in a bad way, it’s all we can do to keep her breathing.”
“Where’s Marsha?” Anise demanded as she marched towards the portal stone.
The guard shook his head. “Gray was alone.”
“Move,” Anise ordered as she shoved the guard off the portal stone before stepping upon it, and with but a word, blinked from sight.
“Come,” Daniton urged as he too hurried to the portal stone. Before long, he, Arenya and the guard were watching with bated breath as Anise and two of the other gate guards knelt beside the ailing panther, fighting to keep her alive.
At last, Anise straightened, wiping her hands upon her gown.
“Well, that’s ruined,” Arenya muttered softly, but not softly enough to escape Daniton’s ears. Before Daniton could reproach her, however, Anise raised her eyes to her brother.
“We have trouble,” she said, her gaze hardening.
“What is it?” Daniton asked, frowning.
“Oh, come now,” Arenya said before Anise could respond. “It’s Gray, she’ll fight anything! She just fought something that—”
“Do you know any animal that hurls ice lances?”
“What?” Daniton exclaimed, his eyes going wide. “Are you sure?”
Anise nodded. “Perhaps not an ice lance, the wound’s too small, more like an ice dagger. And there’s a lot of scoring, likely from lightning spells.” Sighing, she looked down at the slowly breathing panther. “But the most damage came from something sharp, something bladed. Or some things.”
Shaking her head, she looked up at Daniton. It was then that Daniton saw the fear within them.
“Gray was fighting mages and swordsmen, Daniton. Knowing her, she was doing it to protect someone, and you can guess who that someone is. We have to go find her. Now. We have to form a rescue party and—”
“Hold,” Arenya interjected. “For all you know, Marshalla’s sleeping soundly in her bed and—”
“If Marshalla was in her bed, Gray would be in hers, too,” Daniton said as he stared down at the panther. “No, this panther came looking for aid for her mistress.”
Shaking his head, he stared at Anise. “She’ll need her strength.”
Anise nodded. “It’ll return shortly.”
Daniton nodded. “Good. Thuridan may not like this, but his dinner will have to wait. With the Matriarch on official business, this’ll have to be by his order.”
Anise smiled. “Thank you.”
Daniton nodded. “You go get changed, I’ll go see Thuridan. We’ll form the party and head out shortly.”
Anise shook her head at this. “No, I’ll go ahead, take Gray as a guide.”
Daniton shook his head in response. “No, Anise. We mustn’t—”
“We don’t know what state Marsha’s in, and each passing moment might mean the difference between life and death. I’ll take a seeking stone from the Pens. Seek out to me when you’re on your way and I’ll guide you to where Gray and I are.”
Daniton shook his head once more. “No, Anise, I—”
“Please, Daniton,” she pleaded.
Daniton sighed. “Very well. But no heroics.”
Anise smiled. “You have my word. I…” then, she frowned. “Where’s Arenya?”
“Hrm?” Daniton asked as he looked round. As he did so, so too did the guards. Arenya Drakesong was nowhere in sight.
Daniton sighed. “Wonderful.”
“How’s that?” Anise asked.
Daniton turned back to his sister. “She was looking forward to the dinner. She missed the last two and made me swear blind I would take her to the next one no matter what.”
Anise grinned. “I shall say a prayer for you.”
Daniton shook his head once more.
“Just get going, will you?” he said, and, walking up to the portal stone, he uttered a single word and was gone.
*****
Crawling upon their stomachs, the four Mage Adepts neared the darkened compound. Reaching the outer fence, all stopped and stared at the various buildings within.
“Are you sure this is the place?” Eldred asked.
Thalas nodded. “The portal in that tent was of low power, it had to have been, given how silent it was. Which means its exit had to be nearby. And given the lengths Netari’s gone to implicate us, I doubt she’d risk some wandering eye spotting those two being dragged out of some coach. Which means the portal exit would be their holding pen.”
“But this one?” Thane asked.
Thalas nodded once more, his eyes scanning each building in turn. “This is the only place near Merethia that Gladespell owns but Netari would be able to commandeer without attracting too much attention. The old fool hasn’t used this compound in months, at least not since the incident with the scarab beetles.”
Thane nodded as he stared at the buildings. “I heard about that.”
“It’s deserted, Thalas,” Neremi noted.
Thalas smirked.
“Is it?” he asked before whispering words of arcane. As he whispered, beams of crimson flickered to life within arm’s length of where they lay.
“Why would you need perimeter alarms for a deserted compound?”
Neremi scoffed rather than answer.
“They’re not particularly good alarms, though,” Eldred added. “A Novice could dispel that.”
Thalas’s smirk grew.
“So which building?” Neremi asked. “There are five of them, and I don’t know about you, but I doubt we’ll be free to wander about the place looking for those two.”
“The central one, I’d wager,” Thane replied.
“Are you s
ure?” Eldred asked.
Thalas shook his head. “No sense in guessing. Eldred, Thane, you two go north, get as close as the shadows will allow and scry the buildings. Neremi and I will go south, do the same. When either of us finds them, we’ll seek out to the others.” Then, he turned to the others. “You brought your seeking stones, didn’t…?”
They were all staring at him. There was no warmth in their gazes.
“You do not lead us anymore, Thalas,” Eldred growled.
Gritting his teeth, Thalas lowered his gaze before turning to stare at the buildings once more.
Eldred and Thane turned to Neremi.
“Head north,” she said once she’d torn her gaze from Thalas. “Seek out to me should you find them. You brought your seeking stones, right?”
As one, both nodded.
“Good,” Neremi replied, nodding. “Go.”
Nodding once more, both turned to do her bidding. Thalas watched them leave.
“Come,” Neremi ordered as she turned to head south.
“I am sorry, Nere—”
“Just shut up and come along.”
Frowning, Thalas followed her in silence. As they made their way south, however, Thalas’s eyes were forever upon his former lover, and the more he stared, the more his heart ached. That she hated him was a thought he struggled to bear, a failing he couldn’t accept. To be so close to her, and yet be so far away from her…it wasn’t long before he broke the silence between them.
“Neremi, I—”
“I said shut up, Thalas.”
“Just hear—”
“I don’t care what you have to say, I don’t want to hear it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t care!”
Gritting his teeth, Thalas scrambled forward till he was abreast of her, then place a hand upon her shoulder. But Neremi’s hatred was too great, and as Thalas placed his hand upon her shoulder, she slapped it away before spinning round and clasping hold of Thalas’ throat.
“Do. Not. Touch me again.”
With eyes of supreme sadness, Thalas stared at his former beloved.
“I am sorry,” he said at last.
Neremi sneered as she let go of him. “Sorry for what, ruining our lives, or stealing from us?”
Thalas shook his head. “I stole from them, yes, but it was for us, for our future.”
Neremi scoffed. “And I’m supposed to believe that? You’ll say anything now to save your skin. No, you’re greedy scum, nothing more. It was your greed that allowed that bitch damn us like this, and it was your greed that let you sell your friends for five thousand gold.”
“I—”
“You sold what we had for five thousand gold, Thalas, what we had! That’s all I was to you, wasn’t I? A means to an end. All that talk of leaving together, starting again away from here, it was all talk, wasn’t it? You didn’t want to leave with me, you just wanted to leave.”
Thalas shook his head. “That’s not true.”
“Oh, please, spare me!” Neremi exclaimed before turning to continue south. As she moved, movement from the edge of his vision stopped Thalas, and, turning, he stared into the compound as a confused frown twisted his lips. Then, he saw them. Two shapes, one on all fours, the other crouched, making their way towards the middle building. Scrambling forth, Thalas came abreast of Neremi once more, and once more placed a hand upon her shoulder, but as she reached for his throat, Thalas clasped her hand before pointing to the barrel behind which he saw the shapes disappear.
Frowning, Neremi followed his finger.
“I don’t see anything,” she said after a spell.
“Wait.”
Then, the shapes moved, silent as shadows and swift as death.
“What in the world…?”
“I…think the smaller one’s Gray,” Thalas replied.
“What?”
Thalas nodded. “It must be. She must’ve escaped and gone for aid.”
Neremi shook her head. “Then who did she bring?”
“Trouble.”
“Hunh?” Neremi replied as she turned to him.
His face had turned ashen.
“Only place she could’ve gone for aid is the Tower.”
“Oh gods,” Neremi replied as the blood drained from her face. “We’re too late.”
Thalas shook his head. “Not yet. Whoever that is with her must be a scout. Seek out to the others, we have to find those two before that scout does.”
Without waiting for a response, Thalas crawled towards the compound and began uttering the arcane words that would undo the perimeter alarms.
Crouching low, Anise Fairweather stared into the gloom about her. No sentries still. Where was everyone? Where were the mages that scored Gray? Where were the swordsmen that cut her so deeply? As those questions echoed in her mind, Anise began to feel the first pangs of doubt.
“Are you sure about this?” she whispered as she turned to the crouched panther beside her, her voice muffled by her face mask.
In response, Gray stared up at her. There was a determination in the panther’s gaze, a steely resolve that flowed through Anise, drowning all doubt. Marshalla was here. Sentries or no, Marshalla was here.
At last, Anise nodded.
“Very well,” she whispered before adjusting her cowl and pulling free her runic daggers. Pausing, she stared at them. They were from her time away from the Tower, from a life in the wilderness. She hadn’t wielded them since her return.
“Can’t think of a better time,” she muttered as she shook her head. Then, whispering words of arcane, Anise sighed as the runes upon them lit up one after another. Sheathing them, she looked down at the panther.
“Where to?”
In response, Gray leapt forth before racing on on paws that were as silent as a feather’s fall. Anise, for her part, raced after the panther, her desire to match the beast’s silence awakening muscles she’d long forgotten, and this time, they did not stop. Darting from shadow to shadow, elf and panther moved swiftly within the dark’s embrace till they reached the central building.
But even then they did not stop, for, upon reaching it, Gray turned and bounded down beside it, Anise close behind her. As they raced, Anise scanned the building. There was precious little light within, what little light she saw shone weakly though some of the windows that lined the building, windows that were all shut.
Then, she saw the broken window. It was more shattered than broken, its remnants pointing outwards. Frowning, she stared down at the panther. Gray was staring at it.
“Wonderful,” she thought, as she steeled her self for what was to come.
As they reached it, Gray threw herself at the building, leaping high and through the window in one single bound.
“Blasted cat…” Anise muttered, before leaping at the window herself, and as her hands grasped its sill, she brought her feet up against the wall beneath it, and with one push, threw herself through the window, her tunic narrowly missing the window’s shards.
Landing in a roll, Anise scanned her surrounds quickly, a hand upon a dagger.
No sentries still. Where was everyone?
Spotting Gray behind a crate, Anise made her way over to the panther.
“Where to now?” she whispered as she crouched.
For the first time since their dash from the Tower, Gray hesitated.
Anise frowned. “You don’t know?”
Growling in response, Gray turned and headed away from Anise, her nose low to the floor. For a brief spell, Anise stared at the panther in confusion, then, smiling, rose and followed her, a hand upon a dagger still.
Though her pace was a fraction of what it had been, Gray seemed sure of her steps nonetheless, stopping only when she came to the edge of the shadow she was in, and even then stopping just long enough to see where the shadow continued before bounding into it and continuing on. Anise, for her part, scanned their surrounds. That there was nary a soul about was perplexing. Why go through the trouble o
f taking her and then leave her unguarded? That just did not make sense.
There was an explanation, of course, one that a still, small part of her whispered. But it was an explanation she would not entertain. So, ignoring the whispers of her darker mind, Anise scanned the shadows, looking for some sign of Marshalla and her abductors.
At last, they came across a door. It was a like a barn door, one that slid open. Loudly.
Anise stared from the door to her panther companion. “In there?”
Turning to her, Gray licked her lips and sat.
“You sure?”
Gray stared at her, unmoving.
Scanning their surrounds once more, Anise stepped forth, reaching into her tunic for her lock-picks, but as she touched the door’s handle, she realised it was unlocked. Pausing, she stared at the door handle, the whispers in her mind getting that little bit louder. Shaking her head, the frowning Archmage steadied herself and swung the door open, the loud rattling of the door as it rolled open echoing about them. As the door slammed into the far side, Anise stared into the room before her, where. at the far end, behind the thick bars of a cage, lay a red haired young woman, her back to Anise.
And she wasn’t moving.
Speechless, Anise stared. Even as Gray bounded forth, she stared still, the whispers in her mind turning into mocking laughter, until at last, finding her feet, she walked towards the cage. Reaching it, she stared at the girl within, her heart in her throat. Then, she saw the young girl’s side rise and fall. It was faint, barely noticeable, but Anise had seen it, and it was enough to breathe life back into her.
“Hold on, Marsha,” she said as he reached for the cage’s gate. As with the barn door, it was unlocked, swinging open in one strong heave. As it swung open, both elf and panther darted in, taking positions on either side of the unconscious girl. Going on one knee, Anise gingerly turned the girl around. It was indeed Marshalla, her face one of peace and serenity.
“Hold on,” Anise repeated as she took off her gloves before feeling for the young girl’s pulse. Her pulse was strong.
“Oh, thank the gods,” she whispered as she pulled free her seeking stone. Clearing her mind, she seeked out to her brother.
“What is it?”
Anise smiled. “I found her.”
“You found—! Wait, you went in?”
