The Echoes of Destiny: An Epic Mage Fantasy Adventure (Legend of the Ecta Mastrino Book 5)

by BJ Hanlon

  “If you had little food and resources you would,” Rihkar said. His voice was calm and even and he spoke with such a certainty that he convinced Edin with only those words.

  He saw the barbershop and the sign. It was boarded up and written on it was ‘Closed.’

  There was nothing else. Edin walked up to the door and tried the handle. It was locked. He could break in but decided against it. He looked to a homeless, dirty person covered in soiled rags a few feet away.

  “Sir,” he said in as nice a tone as he could, “do you know what happened to Darl?”

  “Sir?” she coughed. Just that word told her it was a she, a very dirty and disgusting she. “I’m a lady. I was very beautiful and now—” she coughed again and looked up at him. He saw she had blue eyes that may have once been bright but now looked like the ocean during a cloudy day. A day like this one. “Now I’m confused for a man.”

  His cheeks flushed but he did not walk away. “Darl? The barber, have you seen him?”

  “No,” she said flatly.

  “What about the Raven? Have you seen her?”

  The woman looked immediately away and wouldn’t look back.

  “Who’s the Raven?” Rihkar asked.

  “A friend, and the crime boss here.”

  They moved on, at one point, Edin had to pick his way over a track of bodies, stepping between legs and over shoulders. He was following the same route he’d taken to get to the place he first met the Raven when he spotted someone that looked rather familiar lying next to a nearly shattered barrel.

  A moment later, the clothes gave it away. He wasn’t sure of the woman’s name, but it was one of the Foci Dun Bornu’s women. Her animal skins were filthy.

  Edin walked over and saw her mouth seemed cracked and dry and her cheeks were shallow. Edin popped the cap on his waterskin and trickled it into the woman’s mouth. After a moment she blinked her eyes open. Edin smiled at her. “Dorset, find out where the rest of the tribe is.”

  Dorset bent down and spoke. As he did so he examined her. She spoke softly and Edin could barely make out her words. “Around the corner,” Dorset said as she pointed deeper into the underground. Then he said, “help me carry her,” and began to pick her up.

  Edin did and a few minutes later, they were walking into a cracked and creepy alleyway with little light and black bundles shaped like humans on the ground. The Foci were everywhere, and they moaned, groaned, or were silent.

  Edin and Dorset set her down. “She has a broken wrist,” Dorset said. “Block the entrance.”

  Dorset began healing her while Edin summoned a small ethereal ball to try and find Suuli and Aniama. After a few minutes he found the old seer. He was pale in the light and his breath was ragged. There was little life left in him.

  The old man’s lips were cracked too as if they weren’t getting any water either.

  He knew there were two rivers on either side of the city as well as wells that were always full. Edin summoned bits of water from the air and set it onto the man’s lips and poured some down his throat. “Aniama?” Edin asked.

  Suuli just shook his head.

  What did that mean? Where was the anthropologist? “Dorset get over here.”

  A moment later, Dorset was by their side and speaking. His ability for languages was spectacular. “He’s ill, and his people are starving… there’s not enough food in the city,” Dorset said but he was speaking fast and trying to keep up with Suuli. “Aniama went west to look for his son.” He paused. “The Baron got us in the gates but then left us. His people are down here too but he is in a mansion.”

  “Probably eating and drinking his fill,” Dorset scoffed. “Blasted nobles.”

  “Edin is a Baron,” Rihkar said.

  “And he can be a jerk too,” Dorset smirked. He ran his hands over the man’s arms and legs. “He’s sick… I think he is dying.”

  He felt someone pawing at him and reaching for Edin’s arm. Another Foci, a warrior he recognized and saw that he had chapped lips too.

  “Why don’t they have water?” Edin said. He summoned more water into his cupped hands this time. Then he let the man drink.

  Suuli spoke and Dorset translated. “They are not able to use the wells for water because they are savages. They have to sneak, and no one has the energy to do so anymore.”

  “Blotards. These city dwellers are such monsters,” Dorset said.

  “Every large city is filled with people like that,” Rihkar said. “Selfish blotards, nearly all of them.”

  “We need to get them all water and get them out of here.”

  “We’re being hunted, or don’t you remember that?” Rihkar said. “You don’t even have your sword or weapons. And we don’t have the duke’s missive. He should’ve given you something that said you were under his protection.”

  “I don’t need protection.” But then Edin thought for a moment and put his hand to his pocket and pulled out the signet ring. “Rihkar, find Henny. Dorset get water for these people.”

  “It’ll do little for the Foci,” Dorset said. “They’re starving and nearly dead.”

  “Well, get them as healthy as you can, you’re going to take these people to the isle with you. If the captain objects, throw him overboard. Henny should still have the missive.”

  “And you?”

  “I need to find the Raven. She can help get word to the duke and prince and get me out of this place.”

  “What about Berka?”

  “He’s probably with El, let them stay that way.” He looked at Suuli.

  The old seer was looking around with glazed eyes and seemingly little strength. “Try and get him better. I’ll see if the Raven can help.”

  It took longer than he thought to find the Raven. She wasn’t in her hideout or even in Lowtown. Edin spotted one of the men he’d met the first time through, though he couldn’t remember the name, in the midst of a great pool of people. They were pushing toward a man standing on a cart and handing out bread.

  The man was watching, guarding really, and helping to make sure people didn’t hoard the loaves and even breaking some pieces up so that one person wouldn’t have a single loaf to themselves. Edin caught his eye.

  Recognition came over him a few moments later but he didn’t seem to have time to simply walk away. After nearly an hour, the bread was gone though there was still many people who went home or to their street corners hungry.

  “I never thought I’d see you again, not after the attack.”

  Edin nodded. “Where’s the Raven mister…”

  “Around, I am known as Jicalo,” he said.

  “Does that mean something?”

  The man was short and stocky with a body that was as squared off as one of those dwarven statues, though his eyes were soft. “No.”

  “I need to speak with her.”

  The man eyed Edin over and nodded. A few streets over, Jicalo reluctantly led Edin up the eastern most stairwell to Hightown. The sun was out now and there were only a few puddles of water left in the shadows. They followed a few streets and then slipped into an alleyway that had huge stone gates with wrought iron spikes above it. A very wealthy neighborhood.

  They stopped at a wooden gate in a wall and Jicalo knocked in bursts. A long four-knock burst with two hands that got Edin thinking about a song. And the last musician he really knew, Dephina. Were she and Grent still in the city? Next to the door were chopped up tree roots, pulled bushes, and flowers and groundcover.

  The door opened and they stepped into a dirt courtyard with a single cobblestone path heading toward a large house. In the mud, Edin saw men dropping seeds into hoed lines.

  “She’s gardening?” Edin asked.

  “She’s trying to get everyone to… as much food as we can get,” Jicalo said. He opened the rear door and pushed into a small stone kitchen. “The boss?”

  A man in a chef’s hat didn’t look at them and simply pointed toward a stairwell to their left. They ascended a flight and came
out into a long hallway. Jicalo moved toward the center and a wide doorway. They went to the center and Edin found a room that ran the length of the building. A dining room, or ballroom. Or it had been.

  One half was completely empty, while the other was crowded with stacks upon stacks of crates, statues, and furniture. Expensive looking things. A long table was on its side acting like a fence to keep people away from the artifacts.

  Near the center of the room was the Raven. She was talking with two men. Carpenters by the looks of their toolbelts.

  “Ma’am, are you sure?” one said.

  “Yes, three high, eight on each wall. The same upstairs. Nearly fifty per room.”

  “Where are they going to eat or go to the bathroom?”

  Yassima, the Raven, already looked stressed. Her palm was at her forehead and she seemed like she was trying to fight the urge to kick the men. She exhaled, her black hair dropping around her shoulders and for a moment, he saw gray in it.

  “Boss,” Jicalo said to get her attention.

  Yassima turned toward them and saw Edin, her brown eyes lowered as she looked him over and back up. She wasn’t as vivacious as she’d been on their last encounter, but she offered a smile. “How’s Flack? Ashica said he is getting along fine on the isle.”

  “Last I knew, he was.”

  “Good.” Then she sighed, “I didn’t expect to see you ever again magus.” The two carpenters looked at each other and turned nearly white. Without looking Yassima said, “You tell anyone, I’ll kill your families. Now go procure the wood we need. Jicalo take them.” The stocky man escorted the two carpenters out as Yassima sauntered over toward Edin. Despite the weary look in her, it was something she seemed to do with such ease that it seemed natural.

  “Redecorating I see,” Edin said. “It looks nice...”

  “A necessity I believe. I haven’t gotten to where I am today without knowing how to prepare.”

  “And how many others with your assets and wealth are trying to build shelters and turn their back gardens into actual gardens?”

  “Not many,” she said. “The dematians— I can’t believe I’m saying that, have been all anyone can talk about. So many refugees have flooded in over the last week. Entire towns are gone, swept off the planet like Mr. Whiskers over there knocking something off the table just to see it drop.” Edin turned and saw a fat tabby cat sauntering into the room. For a moment he smiled.

  Then Edin thought of Glustown and Coldwater, both now empty. “There are few towns around here. How could there be this many people?”

  “There are few towns to the north. To the south there are farms and villages for at least a hundred miles.” She moved toward a stone windowsill that overlooked the barren garden and the men sowing seeds. With the sun out, it looked like a pleasant day.

  “It’s been a difficult few months. Especially after the attack on the dry docks.” She sighed.

  “They attacked the isles.” Edin said, “we fought off their attack some months back.”

  “I know. Thousands of soldiers and sailors lost, nearly a hundred ships. If only the dematians would’ve attacked sooner.”

  “No one knew,” Edin said and sat next to her.

  “What do you want now Edin?”

  “I need help from someone who can make a difference.” Edin put a hand on hers.

  “Now you’re just buttering me up. I thought you were with the white girl, the sweet little princess.” Edin sat quietly for a moment and Yassima must’ve misconstrued it. “Flack sent a letter, told me about your meeting with the FAE…”

  “We are. She is elsewhere at the moment.” He paused and looked out of the window though he didn’t remove his hand.

  She turned hers over and squeezed it. Her black skin seemed more wrinkled than the last time he’d seen her. “What happened?”

  His heart sank. “She fell…” A tear fell down his face.

  Edin heard wood creaking from near the entrance. “Boss?” a voice said, “your appointment is in an hour.”

  “I will be down shortly,” the Raven said and lifted Edin’s chin. “What can I help you with? What needs to get done?”

  Edin explained all that had happened, the fight, the wall, the tunnels, and the defense of Coldwater.

  “We need to prepare like you do. We need to seal the tunnel near here and get word down to Calerrat. I’m guessing they’re already seeing skirmishes with the dematians.”

  “And how do you expect to seal off the tunnel?”

  “The explosives, the ones we used on the dry docks.”

  Yassima tapped her fingers against her knee and crossed her legs. “I’m not sure how many are left.” She seemed to be thinking for a moment. “But there were also the ones from the attack on the isles. I know where a storehouse is, though they are heavy and need to be lit by a flame.”

  Edin smiled. “I can handle that. I may also need to be snuck out of the city. Despite my connection with the duke, the Por Fen is hunting me.”

  “Is there anything else?”

  Edin nodded. “The Foci Dun Bornu, I’m unsure if you’ve heard of them.”

  “Tribesmen, right? Savages?”

  “Tribesmen yes, not savage at all,” Edin said. “They need help to get to Delrot. My companions are commandeering a ship and at least there, they may have a fighting chance.”

  She looked around. “Just keep that to yourself,” the Raven said. “Many people would like to get on a boat and flee. Maybe many people could. What a turn that would make if the magi were the saviors of humanity. How the Vestion would be destroyed and the Por Fen nothing but a death cult.” She smirked. “So, what are you going to do, Master Edin, attack and destroy the nearby tunnel by yourself?”

  “I had a friend I was planning on attacking it with. But he disappeared.”

  “The ginger or the meaty guy you came in with? Doubt highly it was the one-armed wonder or the bookworm…”

  Edin raised an eyebrow and started to open his mouth then stopped. Of course, she knew who came in the city, when, and who they were with.

  “The ginger.”

  “Right, he was taken by the Por Fen.”

  “What!” Edin exclaimed and he quickly rose. His pulse sped up. They came after Edin and now took Berka.

  “He went to the High Priest and never exited. It is probable that he’s still in the church.”

  It took him a few seconds to catch his breath and then he realized he wasn’t shocked by this. Not really.

  Heck would anything shock him now? How many times would everything turn out worse than he hoped?

  He lost companions, family, allies and now the ginger friend turned enemy and back to friend. He needed his weapons. He needed to know where Berka was inside and how to get in there.

  “You cannot exactly go after him,” Yassima said.

  Edin knew that. But what could he do? He wasn’t going to let Berka rot in a Por Fen cell. Then he saw Yassima’s foot tapping the ground. Waiting for him to— “Can I ask for another favor?”

  “Already have people on it,” she said.

  “Thank you.” Edin sighed and moved toward the windowsill.

  “By the way, you look like what comes out the back end of a cow. You need rest.”

  “That’s not the first time I’ve heard that.”

  “Take a nap in the guest room. I’ll get everything settled.” She stood.

  “Thanks again,” Edin said.

  “We’re on the same side and if you can help stem these attacks, the thanks should be to you.”

  6

  The Escape Plan

  Yassima sent Jicalo to wake him a bit later and then left. After a moment of confusion, he remembered where he was, the fourth floor of the mansion. Edin pulled himself from the bed and stretched.

  Outside a large bay window, he saw it was dark with a quarter moon.

  Edin took a breath and got a smell of something amazing rising through the floors. A soup or stew. He thought it was a tomato with s
ome sort of meat… and a hint of sawdust.

  He left the room and followed the stairs back down. On the second floor, he reached the hall and heard the cracks of hammers pounding and the crunching of saw teeth on wood. Edin poked his head into the dining room and saw the carpenters and their mess. They weren’t paying attention and had two, three-level, beds already up and the men didn’t look to be stopping anytime soon.

  They were working hard and fast while they prepared for the guests.

  That thought brought back the memory of Berka, he was a guest of the church. Of the Por Fen. Then his stomach grumbled again.

  “Master Yaultan,” a voice came from behind him. Edin turned to a well-dressed man in livery. He bowed slightly. “Lady Yassima has requested that you join her for dinner.” He put a hand out directing the way.

  “Thank you,” Edin said and went the way he pointed. They headed to a set of stairs toward the front of the house. As he was near the bottom stair, he heard the floor creak behind him. Slowly, Edin began to turn and look.

  Then he felt it. The suppression of his talent. A lot of it, at least four stones.

  Edin was struck in the head with something. He tried to scream but a moment later, something was shoved into his mouth and a black bag was thrown over his head.

  He was pushed to his knees and took a kick to the side, then another to the back of his skull. He thought he could see stars. A moment later he felt manacles slammed around his wrists in front of him.

  Disorientated, he tried to shout through the thing in his mouth. Another hit.

  He wobbled.

  “A moment,” A woman said. Yassima.

  Edin gargled when he heard her. She’d took their side. She’d doom the world, everyone...

  Then she grabbed his wrist with a vice like grip and yanked it up as pain ran through his arm and he was forced to stand.

  “No more magi.” Then she slipped something between his wrist and the manacles. Something small and key like. “You get to join your traitorous friend in the dungeons.”

  He was still woozy from the hits but could understand, at least partially, what she was saying. He felt strong fingers digging into his bicep then and someone pushing him forward. “Move you dirty abomination.”