Unmagic

by Jane Glatt

  “Hear what?” she whispered.

  Reo shook his head. “I thought I heard someone shouting.” He gestured towards the mouth of the cave. “From there.” He got up and took a few steps towards the mouth of the cave. “But I don’t hear anything now.”

  “But shouting?” Kara asked. “You’re certain your heard someone shouting?” It had to be Chal. He was alive. Was he in the cave?

  “Not certain, no,” Reo said. “It could be wishful thinking.” He sat back down by the fire. “I’ve made tea. Since you’re awake, I’ll head down the trail and see if the sailors have come ashore yet.”

  “All right.” Reo left, and Kara poured some tea and sipped it as she stared at the mouth of the cave. What if it was Chal? What if he’d yelled because he was in trouble?

  She got up and leaned over to grab her pack to look for journey bread. When she straightened, she stared at the cave. Two steps took her to the mouth of it, and she peered inside.

  It was dark, which mean that there was no mage mist. It would be safe for her to investigate, wouldn’t it? She looked behind her at the trail Reo had taken. He wouldn’t be happy, but she’d just take a few steps into the cave. There might be an outcrop or bend in the tunnel that was hiding mage mist—she could just remove any that she found and make it safe for everyone.

  She slung her pack over her shoulder and took a tentative step into the cave, then another. She was in total darkness now, for the first time since she’d stepped onto this island. She took another step and still there was no mage mist.

  She reached out to touch the wall of the cave. The rock was cool and dry beneath her hand. She looked back outside: the campfire still burned and Reo hadn’t yet returned. Just one more step.

  Air swooshed past her and suddenly she was surrounded by mage mist so dense she could hardly see her arm in front of her.

  She spun around—there was no sign of the campfire—no sign of the mouth to the cave. All she could see was this swirling mass of mage mist. Automatically she started waving her hands, dispersing the magic until it was thin enough to see through, concentrating on making it disappear until all of the mage mist was gone.

  “Who’s there?” someone called.

  “Chal?” Kara replied. “Is that you?” A light was lifted shoulder high, and she saw Chal Honess. “Thank Gyda, you’re all right,” Kara said. She rushed to his side. He looked unhurt, but then he frowned.

  “Kara,” Chal said and sighed. “No matter how glad I am to see you, I wish you weren’t here.”

  Chapter Five

  VOICES WOKE HIM up. “Who’s there?” he called out. He got up and started walking towards the voices. As he passed a rock wall, he frowned. Wasn’t something supposed to be there?

  “Who’s there?” he called again.

  “Just me,” someone said. “And a friend.”

  A mage light sat on the floor of the cave, and a dark man with white braids was staring at him. Beside him was another man with paler skin and dark hair . . . something about this second man—no, it was a woman—was familiar.

  “I know you!” he said to the woman. “I know you!” He concentrated, trying to remember how he knew her, where he’d seen her, but he couldn’t. He slapped his palm against his forehead. “You’re her, you’re her, but I can’t remember!”

  “We’ve never met,” the woman replied. “I would remember you.”

  “Would you?” he asked. “Remember? Because I can’t. I should be able to, but I can’t.” He stared at her. She was young—younger than she should be, but he had no idea why he thought that. “Do you know where we are?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “We’re in a cave.”

  “Do you know where the exit is? There’s supposed to be a way out.” He looked over his shoulder. “This way, I think.” He started to walk away from the light and his two companions. The exit should be here. As he stood staring at the wall, he yawned, suddenly overcome with fatigue. He’d look for the door later, after he’d slept. Then he would be refreshed. He lay down on the dirt floor and fell asleep.

  “HE’LL WAKE UP in an hour or two,” Chal said. “And he’ll have forgotten everything that just happened. I’m assuming it’s because of the spell wrapped around his head.”

  “The curse,” Kara replied. “Or more likely multiple curses. That’s what he did to Santos. Multiple spells layered on top of each other.”

  “You know who did this.”

  “Valerio Valendi.” She sighed. “The same man who cursed Santos. But why this man? Who is he?”

  “I have no idea,” Chal replied. “And neither does he, although he seemed to recognize you, for some reason.”

  “I’ve never met him,” Kara said. “There’s only one reason why I would look familiar and why he would have been cursed by Valendi: he must know my mother.” This meant that this Mage—whoever he was—sane or mad, couldn’t be trusted.

  “I can’t offer you any food,” Chal said. “But there’s a spring at the far end of the cave. I hope you have some great plan to get us out of here. I’m afraid that the exit our Mage friend keeps talking about does not exist.”

  “I have some supplies,” Kara said, grateful that she’d had her bag with her. She pulled out some journey bread and handed it to Chal.

  “Thank you.” He took a bite and started chewing. “Although I’m not sure it won’t just delay the inevitable.”

  “But there was an opening,” Kara said. “At least there was a way in, so there must be a way out.”

  “With magic, yes,” Chal agreed. He licked a few crumbs off his fingers. “Which we need our Mage friend for. But he never stays awake long enough to remember how to do it.”

  “Then I’ll have to remove the curses,” Kara said. “Just as I did with Santos.” Which had taken her weeks, not the handful of days they had until the food she’d brought was gone. “And Reo is outside, along with Sif and Javan. They’ll find a way to help us.”

  “As long as they don’t all end up in here with us,” Chal said. He reached over and picked up the mage light. “Come on, when he’s asleep he’s impossible to wake. This is as good a time as any to take a look at those curses.”

  Kara followed Chal the few steps to where the Mage lay sleeping. She peered down at the mass of mage mist that blanketed his head. The closer she got the more aware she was of the malice and hate that was infused into the spells. A few ropey strands were as thick as her wrist but many were thin wisps.

  Tentatively she reached a hand towards the Mage’s head. Mage mist retreated as her fingers got closer. The mage whimpered and she pulled her hand away. She backed away and straightened, looking at Chal, who’d been hovering over her shoulder.

  “It will take time,” she said. “But none of the spells look worse than the ones Santos was cursed with.” She hoped. She might have some experience but it wasn’t as though she was an expert on removing curses. She blew out a breath. She was the only one she knew of who’d had any success doing it.

  “Do you need him to be awake?” Chal asked. “Can’t you just do it now, while he’s asleep?”

  “I’m not sure.” She’d only ever removed curses from Santos with his permission and while he was awake and sane. “Santos would tell me what curses caused him pain while I was trying to remove them.” She didn’t mention that one curse would have killed Santos if he hadn’t been able to show her how it had been created. “And that was often helpful.” She looked down at the sleeping mage. “So, I think it best if I can remove them from him while he’s awake and alert.” At the very least she needed to have him agree to let her meddle with whatever had been done to him. He might not be capable of creating a way out of the cave, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t cast a spell that made their situation worse.

  “He’ll be up soon enough,” Chal said. “Maybe you can figure out which spell is making him sleep. If he can stay awake long enough he might have time to remember how to do magic and get us out of here.”

  “I WAS EXPECTING
to see Javan Losi,” Chal said. They were sitting just past the bend in the tunnel, away from where the Mage slept. “I thought he’d be the one I died with; that they’d send him to find me and he’d get trapped in here with me.” He picked up a pebble and threw it into the darkness. “Or that he’d find me dead and he’d be next.”

  “They did ask him,” Kara said. “But he chose to fetch me. He didn’t think it made sense to send someone with lesser a talent to try to save you.”

  “Smart of him,” Chal said. “Too bad it didn’t actually work out for me. Or you.”

  “We’re not going to die,” Kara said. “Reo will bring Santos if he has to.”

  “Will he come? Santos. Will he come?”

  “Yes,” Kara said. “He’ll come. He’ll need to strengthen the spells around his estate, but he’ll come.” As long as someone sailed to Old Rillidi and convinced him to come. That meant Reo, Sif, and Javan had to realize what had happened and that Santos was needed. And the small amount of food she had with her got them all to the day when Santos arrived.

  “Have you seen the exit?” a tremulous voice asked. “Who’s out there?”

  “He’s awake,” Chal said. “Do you mind if I give him something to eat and drink before you talk to him? We have little chance to have him create a spell if he’s too weak to do magic.”

  “Go ahead.” Kara handed him another portion of travel bread.

  Chal took that, his waterskin, and the mage light to where the Mage had been sleeping. She heard them have a low conversation, and then a few moments later, the mage light came towards her.

  “I know you,” the Mage said. “Or I should. Do you know me?”

  “I think you know my mother,” Kara said. “Her name is Arabella.”

  “Arabella, Arabella, Arabella,” the Mage whispered. He frowned. “It’s as familiar and unfamiliar as anything is to me.” He sighed. “Have you seen the exit?”

  “You need to make an exit,” Chal said. “But you’ve forgotten how. Kara is going to help you remember by removing the spells that keep you from remembering. Is that all right with you?”

  “Yes. I’ve forgotten so much, haven’t I?” the Mage said. “Will it hurt? Removing spells so I can remember?”

  “It might at times,” Kara replied. At least it had for Santos, a few times. “But probably not in the beginning.” She raised a hand, and the Mage flinched and she frowned. That was not the reaction a powerful Mage would have, was it? As though he expected be struck?

  “I need you to relax,” she continued. “And tell me what you feel.”

  The Mage nodded as her hand crept closer to him. She concentrated on a thin fragment of mage mist, drawing it towards her. It swirled, untwisting from around his head, and she stepped away, pulling the trailing spell with her.

  “Someone hates me,” the Mage said.

  “Yes,” Kara agreed. She flicked her hand, and the spell twisted and faded until it was gone. “Do you remember why?”

  “I was in love once,” the Mage whispered. Then he yawned. “So tired.” He yawned again. “Must sleep.”

  Kara was about to grab his arm when Chal stopped her, shaking his head.

  “It won’t work,” Chal said. “I’ve found it impossible to make him stay awake, no matter what I do.”

  The Mage didn’t look at either of them as he shuffled back to where he’d been sleeping earlier.

  “Probably part of the curse.” Kara ran a hand through her hair and sat down with her back against the wall. “When he wakes we’ll see what changes removing that spell had on him.”

  Chal joined her. “And that’s what you did with Santos? Removed a spell and then tried to figure out what the spell had been doing to him?”

  “Yes. But with Santos it was more complicated. He’d been cursed for years and he’d also had other Mages try to help using even more spells. He had layers upon layers of spells—from many different Mages. But the dark-grey ones—the ones created by Valendi? I always knew they were the dangerous spells even though at the time I couldn’t sense it.”

  “But you can sense that now?” Chal asked. “Which are the bad spells?”

  “Yes. And with this Mage they’re all dangerous—they’re all curses.” She paused. “He was right, when he said that someone hates him. Although it’s past tense, since Valerio Valendi is dead.” And even in death he was causing harm and grief. Kara had to wonder why her mother had ever thought it a good idea to align herself with Valendi enough to have his child.

  “Oh,” she said. “I almost forgot. Reo thought he heard shouting. That’s why I entered the cave. I was worried that if you were alive, you were shouting because you were in danger.”

  “Yes.” Chal stood up. “Right before you arrived. I was shouting at our friend to stay awake. Not that it did any good.” He picked up the mage light and went a few paces to the right. “You came in here.” He peered down at the rocky ground. “I marked the spot.” He slapped a hand on the wall beside him. “Reo!” he called. “Reo!”

  Kara joined him and pressed her ear against the wall. “Reo!” she shouted, willing him to answer. “Reo!” She sighed when she didn’t hear a response.

  “He might not be back yet,” she said. “He was going to meet the sailors and lead them to the cave. We should try calling out every hour or so.” She sat down again. Their best chance was for her to remove the curses from the Mage. That would make him sane, although not necessarily a friend. But if Valerio Valendi had hated him, could she trust him? And wouldn’t he want out of here too, even if he was an enemy?

  Chal slid down to sit beside her. He took out a waterskin and offered it to her. She took a couple of swallows and handed it back to him. The water was cool, with a slight metallic taste to it.

  “How long have I been here?” Chal asked. “I tried to keep track at first but then I gave up. When the Mage sleeps I try to sleep so I can be awake when he’s awake.” He shrugged. “I’ve been trying to get him to tell me how he creates spells so I can tell him how to do it when he wakes up.”

  “Any luck?”

  “Some.” He toed the mage light. “Enough to make a light. This is the second one he’s created. It proves to him that he can do magic.”

  “I wonder who he is,” Kara mused. “He must be fairly powerful. Valerio Valendi wouldn’t waste his time—risk his position—by cursing a low-level Mage.” Or maybe he would. He’d deliberately sent Osten to live with a man who did terrible things to children: she didn’t believe Valendi hadn’t known what would happen to her brother. A man mean-spirited enough to do that would be spiteful enough to harm another Mage no matter how insignificant he was.

  HIS NECK WAS sore. He rolled over, wondering what in Gyda’s name he was sleeping on that was so hard. He felt rocks and dirt under his hand. He must have fallen asleep and slid off the bench again. But why had no one woken him up?

  He opened his eyes and attempted to stand, his hand searching for—and not finding—the table.

  “Wald?” he called. “Are you there?” Surely his counterpart in the workroom had noticed him lying on the floor. “Wald?”

  “You’re awake,” someone said. A mage light was raised over him, and he squinted against its glare.

  “Awake, yes. Who are you?”

  “Chal,” the man said. “Who are you?”

  “I’m . . .” His name was on the tip of his tongue. Why couldn’t he say it? Why couldn’t he remember it?”

  “Who’s Wald?” a woman asked. She drifted into the light and he gasped.

  “I never thought I’d see you again,” he whispered. His love—his only love—and she was here. Which was where? He yawned. He was so tired. He didn’t want to sleep, but he was so tired. “Don’t leave me,” he managed to say before his head drooped to his chest. He started to topple over but someone—his love!—gently helped him down to the floor.

  “THAT WAS DEFINITELY an improvement,” Chal said. He stared down at the Mage. “He’ll be asleep for an hour or so, is
my guess.”

  Kara followed Chal back to where she’d entered the cave. “He thinks he knows me. And he knows someone named Wald. That might help when he wakes next time.”

  “He’s usually looking for the exit,” Chal said. “I hope that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten that we’re stuck in this cave.”

  “If it’s anything like Santos’ madness then he might get worse before he gets better.” Or she might kill him while trying to help him. She placed a hand on the wall. “This is where I came in?”

  “Yes. Reo!” Chal called. “Reo!”

  Kara put her hand up and he stopped calling out. She put her head against the wall. Was that banging? Was someone deliberately banging on the cave wall? She stepped away and searched the ground. She picked up a rock and smashed it against the wall—once, twice, three times. Dirt crumbled to the floor, and her hand tingled from the impact.

  She leaned her head against the wall. There! Three distinct sounds. “I think Reo’s found the other side of our cave,” she said.

  “Oh no!” Chal said. “He’ll end up in here with us!” He grabbed the rock from Kara’s hand and started tapping out a complicated pattern.

  “No, he won’t,” Kara said. “I destroyed the spell when I came in.”

  Chal stopped banging on the wall and looked at her. “You did?” He smiled. “We may have two ways of getting out then.” He pressed his ear to the rock and Kara copied him.

  She heard rapid tapping from the other side of the wall. When it stopped, Chal started pounding on the wall again.

  “I told Reo we’re both alive,” Chal said. “And that he should try to dig us out from that side.”

  “You talked to him?” Kara asked. “By hitting a rock against the cave wall?”

  “It’s a Warrior method of communicating,” Chal said. “They also have a series of hand signals.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure I’m supposed to know them—and I’m certain I’m not supposed to share that knowledge—but Reo taught them to me.”