Winter Mage

by Tim Niederriter

  Razili Nane and Tusami Gesa welcomed Edmath inside the court on a morning a month and a half after his return from Niniar. They had been talking quietly to each other, but stopped and waved to him as he approached.

  “Edmath, you look cheerful this morning,” Tusami said. Her attitude toward him had been much improved following the battle. The injuries she had sustained from her fall appeared entirely healed.

  “Do I?” Edmath asked. “I suppose I might. Things have been calm lately.”

  Razili nodded to him, but her expression became a pensive frown.

  “Have you heard the news?” she asked.

  “It would seem not. What news?”

  Razili drew in a breath.

  “The High Emperor’s troops have spotted a few of Kassel Onoi’s corrupted villagers far to the south.”

  “To the south?” Edmath said. “Near the Dreamwater?”

  “Yes—But how did you know?”

  Edmath met Razili’s eyes.

  “Brosk, Chelka, and I have been looking into a disappearance from a village on the Dreamwater near the end of the last war. The whole population of the village vanished, but they returned during the coup attempt last summer.”

  “It’s awful,” said Tusami. “Some of them must be children who have lived their whole lives with protean spheres growing inside them.”

  “That seems to be the case. But this news is good. Perhaps Kassel Onoi will soon be brought to justice.”

  Edmath wished he could count on that. The High Emperor’s agreement to try to capture the former Worm King alive spoke of the confidence the great man had in finding him. Even so, Edmath had very nearly begun to think there would never be a lead.

  “It isn’t so simple.” Razili sighed. “The Roshi are claiming the area belongs to them.”

  “Then let them give us Onoi as a sign of peace.”

  “Perhaps they will try,” said Razili. “Dawkun could capture the village, even if those monsters are still living there, but if the Minister Regent truly does not have cooperation from the order it is possible the whole area will be avoided by their investigation.”

  “The Order of Roshi.” Edmath scowled. “Those fools think their nation knows the truth of the world well enough to rule it.”

  “And they have a grudge against your family. At least, one of them does.”

  “Akalok.” Edmath folded his arms. “He and Onoi did not seem to get along when I saw them in the pyramid. If I recall, Onoi had little respect for him.”

  Razili raised her eyebrows.

  Tusami shook her head.

  “What good is it to speculate on the relationship between a traitor and a Roshi? They are both enemies.”

  “And yet, neither is the other’s friend. I find that interesting because it could give us a way to reach them.”

  “Could it now? Ed, are you devising a plan?”

  “Obviously things are occurring to me.” Edmath smiled at Razili as the heavy doors of the hall swung open to admit the first of the morning petitioners. “I will think more on this.”

  Razili smiled back at him, as the three of them separated. They took their places around Haddishal Rumenha’s throne. Edmath’s mind began to work on the problem of getting to Beliu on the Dreamwater, even as he listened to Razili and the Saale Emperor officiate on the petitions.

  After a few hours of attendance at court, he went out to the gardens, still wondering about the news. What passed for autumn on the Naren Peninsula had come to Diar in strength. As a result, the under college Saales helping Edmath with his orpus saplings could handle the relaxed growth process themselves. Orpus trees would easily last through the rainstorms that struck Diar in the wet season. Unlike many of the garden plants, they could ghost their roots to avoid taking in too much water.

  As he walked through the garden inspecting the trees, a glimpse of a pair of white sashes attracted his eye to a gap between the trees and bushes. Walking down a path a ways off in the gardens were Chelka and to Edmath’s annoyance, Oresso Nane. They walked close to each other, too close, with Oresso leaning over to whisper something in Chelka’s ear. Neither of them had seen Edmath, apparently. He frowned as they passed out of sight behind the foliage.

  Edmath took the path back the way he had come, slipping between trees to look for the place he could cross the greater line of bushes to follow Chelka and Oresso. He didn’t want to spy on them, but Chelka disliked the Coral Prince’s bluster almost as much as Edmath did. They might have some kind of business from the War Empress, and that might entail news of Roshi or Kassel Onoi. He found a gap in the long line of green bushes, long past their season of flowering, and stepped through onto the grass by the path on the other side.

  Chelka and Oresso were a short distance down the path, but they had stopped walking. Edmath approached alongside the path, cautious of the sound of his sandals on the grass, hoping to hear Oresso’s whispers. His mouth was still close to Chelka’s ear, and their backs were to Edmath. Neither saw him as he crept closer. Oresso’s arm wrapped around Chelka’s waist. She turned to look at his face, startled. Oresso kissed her lips.

  Edmath’s eyes widened and he stared. His heartbeat sounded loud. Chelka, what are you doing? His mind raced, but he found no good answer. Her hands pressed to Oresso’s chest, but he drew her closer to him and she did not push him away. Edmath’s whole body shook. He felt tears in his eyes. Chelka’s arms extended and Oresso stumbled backward.

  “What did I tell you before?” she said.

  “Nothing I remember as important.” Oresso grinned.

  “My husband isn’t dead. He never was, Oresso.”

  “Marriages can be annulled.”

  “Some can. Some cannot,” said Chelka. “Now go ahead. Give my father the message from the War Empress without me.”

  Edmath leaned against the tree, eyes still on Chelka. Forget Oresso, what was she doing kissing any other man? The Squid Tribe raised its royals to be free, and Chelka had always been full of passion, but she loved him, didn’t she? Edmath grasped the narrow tree trunk and pushed himself back. He took a step around the tree and started onto the path. Oresso was already several yards from Chelka. She turned in Edmath’s direction and saw him.

  Her eyes filled with tears. He had never imagined a moment like this, and here they were anyway.

  “Chelka.” His voice broke.

  “Ed.”

  He shook his head. No words came to him. Edmath left the path and slipped through the gap in the bushes, both wishing he had not seen what he had just witnessed, and not knowing what he could do about it.

  Edmath returned to the gardens by the Saale Palace where his assistants had finished observing the orpus saplings. Hot tears stung, and he took off his glasses to wipe them with his hand. When he put the glasses back on, he found Zuria following the path from the High Castle toward the Saale Court. He had not spent much time with his adoptive sister since returning from Niniar, but there was no one else he would have rather encountered at that moment.

  He raised a hand in greeting and stepped onto the path in front of her. Zuria smiled at him, but then saw the tears that remained in his eyes as she drew closer. Her smile disintegrated.

  “Brother, what’s wrong?”

  “Zuria,” he said. “May I talk to you for a moment?”

  “We had better. I must deliver news to the Saale Emperor, then I am leaving with the War Empress’s party to Dobinar later today.”

  “What?” Edmath’s hope of working his way through what he had just seen on the other side of the bushes broke apart. “Today?”

  “We have delayed too long as it is. The War Empress says it must be today. But quickly, tell me what is wrong?”

  Edmath nodded.

  “It’s Chelka. Zuria, I saw her kissing Oresso Nane.”

  “Kissing him? She doesn’t even like him.”

  “If I had not seen it, I would not believe it either.” Edmath touched two
fingers to the bridge of his noses and squeezed his eyes shut. “What should I do?”

  “Have you talked to her?” asked Zuria.

  “Well no, but what could this mean?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine, brother. But if you don’t talk to your wife soon, things are only going to get worse.”

  Edmath shrank inward. He nodded, but his dread filled him. These nerves reminded him of times near when he first met Chelka, years ago at Lexine Park. Back then they had been little more than children, but his nerves to talk to her had been great. Now they were married, and suddenly he felt as distant to her as if they were strangers.

  “Thank you, Zuria. You had better tell Emperor Rumenha what you need to tell him. Give me a moment or two to clear my head.”

  “Yes, brother.” Zuria frowned and put a hand on his arm. “Good luck.”

  “And to you,” he said. “Because, by the creator, we will both need luck.”

  The War Empress’s party left through the palace gates in carriages pulled by greater elk and escorted by warriors riding greater bears. Zuria rode near the front, sitting astride a greater serpent with a high saddle. The snake was over six yards long and kept pace with the elk and bears, who all gave it a wide berth. Silent blue-green coils shifted in sunlight from the western sky, glimmered all down the snake’s back.

  Some animals never really get used to each other, Edmath thought, numbly, as he watched them go from the branches of Orpus Lengbyoi. The elk remained calm, but would not approach Zuria’s serpent. The wind carried the smell of animal droppings to him from the ground left in the party’s wake.

  The gates closed behind the diplomatic party. Edmath patted the tree’s branch.

  “Alright, my good Orpus. Let us return to the Saale Court’s gardens.”

  “Don’t you want to go meet Chelka for dinner?”

  Edmath’s heartbeat sounded loud to him, but he did not know how to answer the tree’s question. He glanced at Lengbyoi’s seal eye, then shook his head.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Lengbyoi.

  “I don’t know for certain, but she may not care for me as much as I thought.”

  The seal eye pulsed with blue light. The tree did not have a face to look thoughtful, but a low hum issued from the seal.

  “If she’s worrying you, isn’t that more reason to speak to her?”

  Edmath sighed.

  “I wish I could know talking would help.”

  “I only know what you put in my mind, and what I’ve seen and heard since then. You’ll only know what you ask.”

  “That’s enough, Lengbyoi. You’re right. Take me to her.”

  Lengbyoi’s seal dimmed.

  “Alright, Edmath.” The tree turned and crawled toward the High Castle.

  “When we arrive at the castle, leave me there. I need to do this alone.”

  The tree answered with silence but started to move.

  Edmath only half-hoped Chelka would be there. His stomach churned at what he might learn but Lengyboi was right. He had to ask questions to learn the truth. All Saales who studied the life arts needed to remember that fact, or they would not experiment, they would not craft animals or plants. He set his jaw and adjusted his cracked glasses on his nose.

  Lengbyoi carried him to the High Castle and deposited him by the front gate of the great hall of the War Empress. He turned toward the entryway to the War Court and found a set of dark eyes locked on him from within the gathering gloom inside. The setting sun cast his shadow at his side as he walked through the doorway toward Chelka.

  Her face was set and her stance was rigid, but still, her eyes burned. Edmath could not tell if they burned with passion or anger. He walked to her, feeling very thin and small in her presence, despite the fact that he had always been taller than her. She looked up at his face. He met her gaze, brow furrowed. Otherwise, he tried to keep his face blank. The fire in her eyes clouded and tears began to well up in them.

  “Ed, I’m so sorry.”

  “Why?” he asked. “Why did you let him?”

  “He kissed me, but that’s all.”

  “That’s all I thought. Why did you let him?”

  “I—I couldn’t—Didn’t know what he would do.” Chelka’s fingers wrapped around his wrist. Her fingers clenched, and he felt their pressure against the bones Ursar Kiet had broken. “Ed, he’s never liked you, but he wanted me. When you were gone, he came to me. Asked if I would consider his hand.”

  Edmath winced.

  “What did you say to him?”

  “I told him, some day I could.”

  “But not that day.”

  “No.”

  “Then why did you let him kiss you?”

  Tears ran free from Chelka’s eyes.

  “He was insistent. And you are ill.”

  “I’m not dead yet.”

  “But you are dying.” Chelka’s whole body trembled. “I’m sorry, Ed.”

  “You know, Onoi was seen in the South, at Beliu.” His furrowed expression broke. She took his other hand, the one not wounded by Ursar Kiet. He let her hold his hand in hers. “Chelka, I’m not going to die.”

  “You think they’ll catch him?”

  “I hope they will.”

  “Ed.” Chelka pressed her face to his chest. “That’s not good enough.”

  “For you?”

  “For either of us. You don’t believe they’ll bring him back alive. He’s the only one that can release you from that monster in your belly.”

  “What can I do? I have saplings to raise for the Empire.”

  “While your life slips away? Ed, we might go to war with Roshi if negotiations fail, but if Kassel Onoi isn’t caught you won’t live that long.” She shook her head and sobbed. Her fingers slipped from his wrists.

  His eyes became wet. He took her shoulders in his hands.

  “Are you really that concerned about me?”

  “Of course I am, Ed. I love you.”

  “And I love you.” He ran one hand through hair. “Please. What can I do? The High Emperor made me promise I would not leave the palace. I’m the only one who can tutor the gardeners on raising Orpus trees.”

  “The Saale Emperor can manage for a week or two if it saves your life,” Chelka said. “I’ve read about protean spheres, Ed. If this one is as far into its growth as I think, it could kill you in less than a month.”

  Edmath gulped.

  “So soon.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and spoke into his ear.

  “Talk to the High Emperor tonight. Rumor has it your adopted mother knows him.”

  “She got us into the palace the first day were here.” Edmath’s eyes widened. “Perhaps he will listen to her?”

  “Perhaps he will listen to you? Ed, you seemed so happy. I didn’t know how to tell you how afraid I was. But I am. I’m afraid.”

  “Dear Chelka, thank you. I don’t want to die. I want to live with you.”

  She bowed her head against him and pressed herself into his embrace. The sunlight dappled the floor of the chamber as the last rays sank beneath the hills to the west. She stepped back from him.

  “Go find your mother. I will get Brosk. Can Orpus Lengbyoi carry us all?”

  “We’ll need a carriage for a journey this long.”

  “Brosk will know where to get one.” Chelka smiled through the traces of her tears. “He always does.”

  Edmath reached out and brushed a finger down her cheek. He nodded to her and then turned. “I will see you after I meet with the High Emperor.”

  He strode off through the gathering darkness, toward the castle gates. Lengbyoi had returned to the gardens as he had asked. That was good. Edmath felt strong enough at that moment to take on Ursar Kiet one more time at the Stone of Zel. He left through the gates and headed to the hostel to ask his mother for help.

  Edmath found Sampheli Mierzon in the dimly lit parlor of the hostel. Sh
e set aside her needlework when he stepped into the lantern-lit room where a single long table ran almost from one wall to the other. Sampheli folded her hands.

  “My son, what is the matter?”

  “Mother, can you help me gain an audience with the High Emperor tonight?”

  “Edmath, why do you need to speak to his Grace so suddenly?”

  “I’ll tell you as we go, mother. Please.”

  “Alright, son. Though you worry me with your rushing about.” Sampheli rose from her seat. “Do you have an animal or a carriage?”

  “No.” Edmath’s sweat felt hot on his brow. “But speed would be useful.”

  “We will ride one of the greater serpents from our garden. It will not throw me, but you will have to hold on tight.”

  Edmath bowed his head, grateful, but with a roiling at the back of his mind. Am I thinking this through enough? He raised his head. Sampheli smiled as she opened the gate to the hostel’s garden.

  “You will have to hang on to the saddle. Don’t get lost.”

  As they rode the writhing serpent through the darkening streets of Diar, Edmath quickly found out she was right. He gripped the saddle’s rear strap. His bare hands rubbed raw against the rough ropes even as the first sprinkling of new rain chilled him through his tunic. He thought of Chelka and his stomach felt sick with hope. He held on.

  The inner palace was dark except for flickering lanterns along the bridges when Edmath and Sampheli arrived at the entryway to the first domed building leading inside. Enchiel guardians squawked and called in the rain-drummed darkness within the walls. His hands shook with a chill as he climbed from the serpent’s back.

  Sampheli turned to the snake.

  “Stay,” she said in the serpent language, “I will have need of you soon.”

  The snake slithered into the grass, leaving hissed words behind.

  “Yes, priestess.”