by B. T. Narro
“I can’t thank you enough for helping us,” the king said.
“There’s no need to thank me or my sister, Failina, who continues to help you as well.”
“The endless snowstorm?” the king asked.
“Yes, she keeps the path blocked between Rohaer and here so their army cannot march. However, she won’t be able to keep up the snowstorm indefinitely. All of my siblings are old, as am I. We don’t have the same power we used to. Valinox is the only one who’s become more powerful recently. He gained control of dteria after Airinold lost it. He plans to corrupt as many people as he can until he’s strong enough to defeat us and Gourfist.”
“Why didn’t you come to help us earlier?” I asked as politely as I could. I figured there was a good reason.
“I was busy in Rohaer. My brother has done a lot of damage in that kingdom, spreading dteria far and wide. I was trying to undo the damage I could, but recently I felt a great surge of power here in Lycast. That’s when I knew he was here and most likely up to something detrimental to this kingdom. I can’t stay much longer now. I don’t want my brother to go into hiding again. I plan to follow him.”
“What about your father?” I asked. “You mentioned Basael a few times when you confronted Valinox. Do you really feel him in the dvinia of Curdith Forest?”
“I do. I know he’s alive. I believe he’s watching, testing. My brother must believe the same, or he would’ve killed the humans who stood against him. It was centuries ago that we all took an oath that we wouldn’t kill or interfere in human warfare. Our father was there.”
“He has killed,” the king explained. “He threw one man off the third floor of my keep, for example, and that man died when he struck the floor.”
“Could the man’s death have been an accident?” Souriff asked.
“I suppose.”
She nodded. “Just like with every oath sworn through ordia, intention is all.”
“Demigods follow the same rules of ordia?” I asked.
“We follow all the rules of the magical arts. We live in the same world as humans, elves, and krepps. We created the magical arts, but none of us has found a way to break our own rules except maybe Airinold, when he transformed into Gourfist. To this day, I still don’t know how he was able to change form without it being a mere illusion. Perhaps it was a curse of dteria, and that’s why it took control of him eventually.
“Airinold was born much stronger than the rest of us,” Souriff continued. “As a result, dteria is the strongest magical art of all. I don’t believe even he knew the full capabilities of its power. It’s this notion that has enticed so many sorcerers. Power obtained with little effort can become an addiction on its own because it dissolves the fulfillment of obtaining strength through real effort.”
Her head darted toward the window. “My brother. I feel him using more dteria. I must be leaving.”
“Is there a method by which we can contact you?” the king asked. “A callring?”
“I’m not your guardian who can be summoned, though I am on your side. I will be doing what I must to ensure Valinox does not win this war, but you are not to rely on me for anything besides impeding my brother. I don’t expect Valinox to fight humans directly, out of fear that Basael or Gourfist will destroy him. The worst he can do is steal and pillage. The only scenario in which I will attack human dteria users would be if Valinox breaks our oath first and he is not swiftly destroyed as I expect him to be.”
“Would the other demigods fight with you in this case?” the king asked.
“I can’t speak for Nijja, who has removed herself from this world for many years now. I believe only Failina and I would face Valinox, and we may not be enough to stop him. We can only hope that the oath still holds power. Failina and I will be impeding the efforts of our brother as much as we can, but none of my siblings are gods. These days we are more human than divine. Prepare to face Rohaer yourselves, as we can only delay them.”
She ran to the window and jumped out, then took off into the sky.
“Good god,” Michael exclaimed as he stood up. He sounded like his old self. “We really just met Souriff?”
“That was definitely her,” the king concluded, taking just a single moment to look out the window as she disappeared far in the sky.
By the time he was done and looking back me, his expression was as if there were now more important matters to worry about than a simple meeting with a demigod.
“I take it Cason escaped?” he asked dubiously.
“No. He’s dead, sire,” I told him definitively.
Nykal smiled. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely, and we have the krepps to thank for that. They were the first ones to arrive as I fought him with Souriff helping. If we’d had to wait for our human allies, Cason would’ve gotten away with Valinox’s help.”
“Let me make sure I understand this. You engaged in combat with Cason and Valinox, you and Souriff against the two of them?”
“Yes, in the mountains.”
“Tell me exactly how it happened. Spare no details.”
I wasn’t sure I had ever seen the king interested in more than just what he needed to know, but it seemed that the meeting with Souriff had brought out a different side of him. For the first time since I could remember, he looked relaxed as he casually sat on Michael’s bed.
“I would be happy to, sire, but is there something we should be doing now? Souriff makes it seem like it will take everything we have to prepare for Rohaer.”
“I appreciate everything Souriff is doing for us, but I don’t believe she knows us humans as well as she knows her siblings. Human strength does not come only from work and preparation, but also from rest and from joy. Now it’s time we take a brief rest. I’m sure I’m not the only one in this room who would like to hear what happened. There is just one matter.” He found Barrett among the group of guards listening. “You’ll make an announcement, councilman?”
“What should it be about, sire?”
“That Cason is dead and his body will be arriving back at the castle shortly. For the naysayers to witness for themselves, of course.”
“Nothing of the demigods?” Barrett asked.
“Many people saw Valinox in person today. Let them speak of ‘Pearson’s’ power and express their fear. We need as many people as possible to understand the kind of threat we’re facing. I’m sure rumors of the presence of demigods will begin circulating quickly whether or not we address them. That is good enough for me right now. We can decide what type of announcement to make, if any, depending on how the rumors manifest.”
Barrett nodded and left.
“Now you may tell us what happened, Jon.”
“All right.”
I felt a little uncomfortable going through all the details, especially as dozens of people had come into Michael’s room to listen. Even a few of the castle workers had squeezed in and packed the room.
It wasn’t a long tale, fortunately. Soon the king was thanking me and ordering everyone back to work. He was the last to leave the room, besides me and Michael.
He stopped and told us, “Take the rest of the day off, and tell the rest of the sorcerers the same when they return. I’m sure they will want to hear all about Souriff.”
“Does that mean we’re permitted to leave the castle?” Michael asked.
“Not yet,” the king said sadly. “I still believe someone here could be working with Valinox. I need just a little more time, Michael.”
“I understand, sire.”
I started to worry that maybe the king was out of ideas as to how to weed out this person. But I appreciated his earlier advice. It was important to appreciate moments like this when they came. I wasn’t going to worry myself right now. It was time to rest, finally. We had months before Rohaer’s troops would be able to march.
Michael and I were the last to leave his room, and we did so together.
He smiled as he shook his head. “I can’t believe
that was really Souriff.”
I still hadn’t given myself a moment to figure out what I thought. I supposed it was a relief to know that at least two of the demigods were on our side, even if one wasn’t. I did wonder about Nijja, the creator of ordia. According to legend, she lived in the fae world, its entrance in Curdith Forest guarded by Gourfist.
I was still stunned by it all, I figured, as I still didn’t seem to have any reaction. I would have to wait to see what happened before I could really figure out what I thought about all of this.
“I wish I could tell my father what I saw today,” Michael said.
That put a sad smile on my face. “Me, too.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Later that night
It had been difficult for Remi to stay up late into the night. She had been careful not to drink too much during tonight’s celebration. She was fearful the king might curse them again, but it hadn’t seemed to be the case.
It had been hard the first time for Remi to keep her secret. She had wanted to divulge it to Charlie the entire time she was dancing with and kissing him. She didn’t know what to think of her behavior that night. It seemed that Charlie had wanted a repeat this night, asking her to dance a few times, but she politely declined as she kept as much distance from him and the others that she could without arousing too much suspicion.
The rest of them had spent the evening in the dining hall, quietly sipping on ale at first, though it soon descended into boisterous laughter as the night had dragged on. Remi couldn’t enjoy herself, not when she had to sneak out of the castle and feared what might happen if she was caught.
But this was too important to pass up.
She had devised this plan for a while now. It was finally time to act now that everyone was asleep. She climbed out of her window. It was a somewhat far drop to the ground if she was to fall, but if that happened, she would just claim to have made a drunken decision to walk around the courtyard and asked Jon to heal her. They shouldn’t suspect that she was the traitor from just that.
She didn’t fall, fortunately, and soon she’d climbed up to the roof of the apartments. There was already a rope coiled up that she had stashed here a while ago, hidden against a chimney where it could not be seen by the guards who patrolled the battlements or from the windows of the keep nearby.
This whole plan was made possible by one guard in particular who was lazy in his duties. Soon it would be his shift, and it wouldn’t be much longer before he was dozing off.
She waited for that moment. It didn’t take long. Then she secured the rope around the chimney and threw the other end over the back wall of the castle.
Remi started to climb down carefully. It would be a long drop now if she were to fall. With her heart thumping in her chest, she made her way down a little quicker now, as she could no longer provide an excuse if she was to be seen.
She wished she didn’t have to do this right now, but there was not going to be another opportunity. Everyone had been relaxed this night, celebrating the end of their struggles against the dark mages in Lycast. She ran down the empty streets, the capital’s curfew still in effect even with just about all of the dark mages gone.
Just about all, she repeated in her mind. The king was probably aware that a few were scattered around, but he didn’t know who they were or what they intended to do. Remi knew of one of them, however.
Soon she arrived at her destination. The witch’s house wasn’t large or extravagant in any way, and that was partly how Remi knew to trust the woman. Remi liked to think that she had gotten to know the witch well.
Remi had met this woman long before Remi had any idea that she might be a sorcerer of the king later. But like every witch, the woman needed something from Remi in order to perform her spell, and it wasn’t just payment. On the outside of Remi’s pouch in black ink was the simple symbol the woman had told Remi to inscribe. Remi figured it was just so the witch would know who to curse, or it might’ve had something to do with the curse. She didn’t know.
Within the pouch was a gold coin—the price they’d agreed upon months ago—and a single hair. She had taken it from Josef’s arm with her left hand when she had struck him in the face with her right fist. She would’ve had to wrestle the man like a wildcat and come out with one of his hairs if she hadn’t been so lucky the first time. She was just about sure he hadn’t noticed her taking it. No one else seemed to, either.
It wasn’t enough that Josef had been banned from the capital. She had to make sure he didn’t ever force himself on another girl as he had on Remi one night, long after she had discontinued service for him.
Yes, she had traded her body one time for his instruction on how to turn her mana into fire, but that did not give him the right to break into her room at an inn long after, drunk and abusive, muffling her screams with his hand as he threatened her with a knife.
She knew she could have reported him for the emotional and physical pain he’d inflicted on her, but she wasn’t sure it would do any good. Besides, she wanted her own revenge. And she didn’t want him to know she was planning anything, which he probably would figure out if she got the guards involved.
It was soon after that terrible night that she had started looking for a way to curse him. Now more than ever, it had to be done. Otherwise, he might soon be too far away for it to work.
There would be even fewer authorities to watch over Josef as he roamed the small towns of Lycast. He could run rampant if he wasn’t stopped, but this curse should cease function to a specific part of his body that would keep every girl in Lycast safe from him violating them.
She just had to push the pouch into the small slot in the woman’s door, and now Remi was done.
She returned to the castle very quickly, greatly fearful someone might’ve seen her leave and assumed she had gone out to meet with Valinox or some other dark mage who plotted against the king.
She had been honest in Curdith Forest, when Kataleya had made everyone speak about their past. She had absolutely no reason to work against the king. Training in the castle was a dream come true.
She figured if she was caught she would be able to explain herself. It would probably mean turning in the witch, which she would hate to do, but like she had said in the forest, she would do anything to remain at the castle.
The witch was a good woman. She did not curse for a living. She did it to make a better world. Remi figured there were others who had found a way to use dteria for a good purpose. Not everyone skillful in the dark magical art should be imprisoned. The king himself had used a curse just the other night. However, if Remi was to speak her mind, it would only lead to suspicion. She was used to keeping her dark thoughts to herself anyway, as prevalent as they were.
Remi climbed back up the wall and continued pulling herself up the dangling rope all the way to the roof of the apartments. She didn’t bother checking to see if she was seen. She would know soon enough as she pulled the rope up, her heart racing.
Soon she’d gathered it all and hid it behind the chimney in the spot no one could see as she caught her breath. There she waited.
After some time, she started to relax. I think I’m just about to get away with this.
Now she just had to climb down to her window and get back into her room, and no one would ever know.
She halted. She thought she saw something, a blur as if someone had a spell of invisibility on them. They seemed to be walking across the roof, shifting heat waves in the silhouette of a man, their back to Remi.
Valinox?
He stopped at the edge, where the windows of everyone’s rooms were just below him. She thought about hiding behind the chimney, but she feared that moving might make a sound and alert him of her presence.
The nearly invisible silhouette floated off, then disappeared below the roof of the apartments. She didn’t know what he planned to do, but she had to assume this was Valinox returning for some nefarious purpose. He couldn’t kill anyone. Souriff had confi
rmed this to Jon. So what was he doing here during the night? Something to do with the traitor, she assumed.
Remi tiptoed back to the chimney where she hid and waited. She thought about shouting, but then she would have to explain why she was on the roof.
You are not going to let him get away just because you are afraid of punishment. You will shout when it’s time and deal with the repercussions.
If she made a sound too early, however, she would never find out who he was working with.
It didn’t take long for him to return to the roof. Remi didn’t risk taking a look as she had returned to hide behind the chimney and merely listened to his footsteps. Then she heard a soft thud and felt the air move.
She took a look. He wasn’t there any longer. He had probably flown off.
She tiptoed back across the roof of the apartments, fearful one of the other sorcerers—the traitor—might be awake and hear her footsteps on the roof. She positioned herself over the ledge and dropped slowly until her feet reached her windowsill. There were guards around the battlements, but most of them had their attention turned outward.
She looked around for any sign of contact he’d made. That’s when she noticed something on someone’s windowsill not far from her.
A ring. A callring, certainly. Valinox must’ve left it. Whose window was it?
She went through the rooms in her mind until she figured it out.
Eden! How could you?
Remi didn’t want to believe it—she felt closer to Eden than to anyone else—but she had to admit that it made the most sense.
Now it was time to tell the guards, and not in a way that would alert Eden that Remi knew her secret. Perhaps they could use this to catch not only Eden but Valinox as well.
But Remi couldn’t get to a guard through her room because it was locked from the outside at night.
She started to climb back onto the roof, all the while wondering how she was going to notify the guards without admitting what she was doing on the roof. Before she could figure it out, something wrapped up her whole body. Panicked, she tried to scream, but the energy was strong and thick across her mouth.
