by Joe Jackson
Sonja nodded. She glanced at the spell scribed in her book for scant moments before she began a low, mumbling incantation and wove a pattern in the air with her finger. Kari had seen this spell before and, just as she expected, Sonja’s large two-handed sword appeared in her hands when she completed it. “That’s about as complicated a spell as I can manage,” she said. She put the sword down beside her and flipped a few more pages in her book. “I’m fairly proficient with wards and shields, and can use certain abjurations to mask our movements while traveling, but most of these spells elude my grasp.”
Uldriana looked bewildered while Sonja cast her spell, and she stared at the scarlet-haired woman curiously. “May I see that book?” she asked.
Sonja hesitated, but after a glance at Kari and then Danilynn, she handed the book over to the mallasti girl. Kari knew that Sonja was hesitant to let anyone other than perhaps her teacher touch her spell book; it held the accumulated knowledge of the years of her study under the arch-mage’s tutelage, and if it were lost or damaged, she’d have to start all over again. Kari didn’t understand the nuances of learning arcane magic, but she knew that wizards penned their spells in a unique way, so trying to memorize spells from another’s book was difficult. It seemed odd to Kari, but that was how Sonja had explained things to her.
Uldriana flipped through the tome casually, her brows rising and her eyes widening from time to time as she passed over some of the more complicated-looking diagrams. She ended up on what looked like the same page Sonja had cast her summoning spell from, and the mallasti girl’s clawed fingers slid carefully over the page. After a moment, her eyes began to glow a light blue. She looked about herself and let forth a hmmmm. She began gesticulating, and it looked to Kari as though Uldriana was plucking the strings of some upright musical instrument. After a minute, she shook her head, and the blue glow dissipated from her eyes. “You wish me to help you master the arcane?” she asked Sonja, and the scarlet-haired woman nodded eagerly.
The mallasti girl turned and tossed the spell book into the fire pit, and the book quickly caught fire and began to char in moments. Sonja gasped and then screamed, and she dove forward into the fire to grab the book before it was completely consumed. Serilian-rir as she was, the heat of the fire didn’t even faze Sonja, but though she got the book out without harm to herself, Kari could see the book was ruined. The demonhunter let her hands fall down to the hilts of her swords and wondered how many of the mallasti she could kill if they came to Uldriana’s defense.
“What have you done?!” Sonja screamed in fury. Furry heads began to appear at the doorways to the surrounding tents.
Uldriana looked at Kari as though expecting her to draw her swords. “I have taken the first step in helping you learn to master the arcane,” the mallasti girl said. She turned back to Sonja and gestured toward the ruined tome. “I do not know who you have been learning from, but they have been crippling your progress with misguided efforts.”
Sonja held up the destroyed book and most of it fell to a pile of crisp ash between her fingers. She closed her eyes and blew out a long sigh, as angry as Kari could ever remember seeing her. Kari waited to see what Uldriana meant before she got defensive on her sister-in-law’s behalf. “What are you talking about?” Sonja asked with obviously forced civility. “You just destroyed years of my life. Without this book, I can’t do anything!”
“Nonsense,” the mallasti girl said in her typical deadpan tone. Kari suddenly found her impassive expression annoying, and imagined Sonja must feel the same way. Still, the girl continued, “You have been unable to do most of what you have tried because of that book. You should find that without its limitations, the power responds to your call much more easily.”
Sonja looked off to the side, sighed, but then growled. “You’re going to need to do a better job of explaining than that,” she spat.
“You know that arcane power flows through the blood of my people?” Uldriana asked, and Sonja nodded tentatively. “Such is the case for you, though not quite to the same extent; I could sense that the moment I met you. Your master…whoever has been teaching you, they have not been teaching you to master the arcane, but to be mastered by it.” Her eyes glowed blue again and she tugged at those unseen strands in the air around her; Kari half expected to hear music. “Your teacher has taught you to tug on these strands of power that drape over our worlds, but he has not taught you properly. You seek to master the arcane through ritual and borrowing power, rather than simply using the power that is your birthright to manipulate the world according to your will.”
“Is she making any sense to you?” Kari asked, a stunned expression on Sonja’s face
“Yes, she is,” Sonja said, and she held up her hand to stave off further interruptions. “Go on, please.”
Uldriana gestured casually. “The power of the arcane has many names attributed to it: magic, power, sorcery, and many others more specific to the effects it creates. We prefer to call it force, for like any force, the use of the arcane creates both an action and a reaction. Every action you enact by means of arcane force creates a reaction in the world around you: as you manipulate, so are you in turn manipulated, and you cannot harm or heal without sending ripples across the waters.”
Kari sat quietly and listened. What Uldriana said made some sense to her, but it sounded a little too theoretical, too much like science or philosophy, two things Kari had never grasped easily due to her poor education. She released the hilts of her swords and once again sat cross-legged with her hands in her lap. If Sonja was satisfied with Uldriana’s explanation and lesson, then Kari wouldn’t get in the middle. She was out of her element when it came to arcane magic, and by the look on Danilynn’s face, it was obvious the priestess felt the same way. Kari looked around and saw that nearly all the mallasti who had responded to Sonja’s angry outburst had retreated back inside their homes. She was satisfied that Sonja would not be needing her help.
“Consider the fire,” Uldriana continued, and Sonja stared into the flames. “Do not simply look at the fire; feel it. You have expressed the ability to sense the thoughts of others; try to do the same thing with the fire, and tell me what it is you sense.”
“Consumption,” Sonja said after a few moments, and her brow scrunched up. “I can sense the wood being turned to ash as it releases light, water, and heat.”
“The very basics of transmutation and wielding fire,” the mallasti girl said with a nod. “Feel the way the fire tears the wood apart into these separate elements, and know that when you need summon a torrent of fire, you are doing a similar thing, only with a different fuel. Many believe we ‘create’ fire, but fire is not a thing that is created, it is a reaction to the application of arcane force, or power. Do you understand?”
“Gods, I think I do,” Sonja said, and Kari couldn’t remember a time when her sister-in-law had looked so enlightened. “But one thing I don’t understand: why was my spell book holding me back?”
“I suspect your own mind was fighting against itself in such matters,” the mallasti girl said. “On the one hand, your mind was calling upon your innate power, but then you were trying to force things to happen by manipulating the arcane strands. I suppose that in essence, you were trying to do twice as much work as was necessary to accomplish one end.”
Sonja scoffed. “All this time I thought I wasn’t trying hard enough, and it turns out I was trying too hard?” she breathed. “So if I don’t manipulate the strands, how do I cast spells now?”
Uldriana shook her head. “Do not think of it as ‘casting a spell’; think of it as causing an action and a reaction,” she said, and with a gesture, she snuffed out the fire. “Look upon the wood in the fire pit and think of what you want it to do. Do not simply think about setting it on fire; in essence tell the wood what you want: manipulate it to your will, and trust that the power in your blood will accomplish what your heart and mind seek.”
Sonja stared at the smoking pile of wood, and Kari wondered
how hard her sister-in-law was trying. Her answer came moments later when a short flame appeared in the center. Slowly it grew, until the fire pit was fully alight once again. It wasn’t quite the display Uldriana and the other mallasti had put on when igniting the wood, but then they’d had years of practice. For Sonja to set a fire without any chants or gestures was a start. Kari was pleased that such a shock had turned into a good lesson; perhaps the loss of the spell book was a minor thing after all.
“Very good. Let us move on to another practical application,” Uldriana said. “Close your eyes and open your senses, just as you normally do when trying to hear the thoughts of others. Instead of opening your second sense of hearing, instead open your mind and your heart, and take in the pulse of life around you. Sense my life-force, and that of your friends. Then move further out and feel the families around you in their tents, the bonds that they share, the feel of their bodies pressed together in intimacy, the breath of life in the bellies of the pregnant females, the fire of youth in the little ones…”
Sonja opened her eyes and turned to Kari, shock on her features. “Is it coming to you a little easier now?” the demonhunter asked her sister-in-law.
“Kari, you…did you know…you’re pregnant?” Sonja managed slowly.
“What?” Kari blurted, stunned nearly speechless. She wondered how she could have gotten pregnant, but realized it was a pretty stupid thing to wonder. She and Grakin had made love several times without the use of protection before and after her trip to Barcon. Kari thought perhaps that was the real reason she was so tired and sore after her work in Barcon, and that maybe the fight with Turillia had little enough to do with it. She touched her hand to her lower belly. Life had kept her so busy the last few weeks that she failed to realize she was pregnant. While the strength of her focus impressed her, it also worried her in another way.
“I really am? Can you tell how far along?” Kari asked. She was curious to know if it had happened before or after she’d left for Barcon.
Sonja shook her head. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I can’t tell.”
“I believe a couple of months,” Uldriana said, “though our kinds are different and I may be mistaken in either direction.” She turned back to Sonja. “This is a good sign; already you can sense the flame of life when it is barely more than a spark. If your senses are this finely tuned already, then it will be much easier for me to teach you to take stock of the world around you and manipulate it to your will. However, we will take things slowly; should your application of force exceed your knowledge of your power, then you may become a danger to yourself and those around you.”
They continued in their lesson, but Kari lost track of it, concentrating more on the news that she was pregnant. Now she felt even more foolish for having come to the underworld: had she known or suspected she was carrying, she wouldn’t have even thought about setting foot here. She was happy, though: ecstatic that she and Grakin had managed to conceive a second child despite his illness. Kari tried not to dwell on his illness, and instead she tried to dwell on the dreams she’d had during her mission in Barcon, and of the visions of a beautiful little girl those dreams had brought. She wondered if perhaps the dreams had been prophetic.
Danilynn came over and laid her hand on Kari’s shoulder with a smile. “Would you like me to examine you?” she asked quietly.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were a healer,” Kari said. “Sure, go ahead.”
“I’m not a healer in the same capacity that your mate is,” Danilynn said as she laid her warm hand on Kari’s lower belly. “Being trained in the temple, though, we’re all expected to be able to assist with whatever needs the people may bring before us, including a woman who is with child.” She closed her eyes and concentrated for a short time, maintaining her hand’s warm perch on Kari’s belly. “Hmmm, I think Uldriana is right: it’s still early in the pregnancy, but everything seems just fine. Is there any pain you would like me to analyze or calm?”
Kari shook her head. “I’m just sore everywhere; I guess having hunted a half-succubus assassin while pregnant has a lot to do with it.”
Uldriana looked over briefly when Kari mentioned a half-succubus assassin, but she went back to her lessons with Sonja. Danilynn examined Kari’s privates with her consent, and the priestess seemed satisfied that everything was proceeding well with the pregnancy. That was good news; Kari simply hoped she would be able to escape Mehr’Durillia without harm and have her baby safely and in good health back home. Kari’s thoughts were interrupted when Danilynn placed a hand on her shoulder again, and she felt a surge of warm power flow through her. All of the aches and pains that had dogged her since the trip to Barcon numbed, and Kari thanked the priestess for her help.
Kari turned her attention back to Sonja and Uldriana, and their lessons for the night came to a close after a little while. “Do you have any children of your own?” she asked the mallasti girl. “I didn’t see any little ones in your family’s tent.”
“Nay, Karian; I have seen only nineteen summers,” Uldriana answered. “My people are not permitted to take a mate or produce children until we have seen at least thirty.”
“That seems like a long time, but then I guess you are immortal,” Kari said.
“Immortal? No, we are not immortal,” the mallasti woman said. “My people live for as many as four and a half eras…millennia, I forget, in your tongue. It is a long time compared to your own people, but we are not immortal.”
That came as a surprise to Kari. Her Order believed that the demons didn’t age once they reached maturity, despite being born the way mortals were: that they lived on until slain by a misfortune or in combat. “Do the others live for the same amount of time? The other peoples of Mehr’Durillia, I mean,” she asked.
“Some, yes, but it is not true for all,” Uldriana answered with a yawn. Kari had seen the teeth of mallasti before, but seeing them all at once in a wide yawn was somewhat intimidating. The girl looked like she could deliver a vicious bite if she wanted to. “The elestram and erestram have the same lifespans as my people; the valirasi only live for about as long as your people, and the syrinthians, too, only live for a century or perhaps a little longer. Sylinths and harmauths live as long as five millennia, but most live about as long as one of my people.”
“But the kings are immortal?” Kari pressed.
“The kings are immortal in the sense that they do not age; but they can be killed, as I have explained, for they sometimes murder each other,” Uldriana answered, her mood becoming somewhat somber. “They seem to grow younger and stronger every turning of an era; any hope that they might grow old and die is a foolish one. It is getting late. We should return to my family’s tent and get some rest.”
Kari and her friends followed the girl without question. It was a nice development that she was talkative, and an even better one that she would teach Sonja. The mission was starting to pay off already, and they had yet to even see to Se’sasha’s rescue.
Chapter XII – Into the Birthplace
The next morning passed slowly, a tense time for Kari and her friends while they watched Uldriana bid her people and family farewell. The people of the village were neither open nor warm with the rir women, except for the younger children, who took a great interest in their off-world guests. Kari heeded Uldriana’s advice about keeping her distance and not trying to touch the children without invitation, though the children didn’t seem at all afraid of the strangers among them.
The interest of the youngsters culminated around midmorning with Kari being shocked in the backside by one of the mallasti children, something that spread laughter among the village’s youths. Kari wasn’t sure whether to laugh or get angry; it hadn’t hurt all that much, but being shocked in the buttocks by a demon child was quite a surprise. Before the adults could even take the children aside to discipline them, Uldriana explained that her people were immune to their own static-shock wiles, and thus it was a game to the children. Still, the child was
sternly chastised by his mother, so Kari made sure to let them know it wasn’t a big deal.
The morning was slow, but it did eventually pass, and Uldriana let Kari know when she was ready to depart the village. When Kari went to retrieve her pack from Uldriana’s home, the girl’s mother came out of it and began yelling at Kari before she’d ever reached the entrance. Kari didn’t need Sonja’s help to decode what the mallasti woman was saying or feeling: she was angry and terrified at the same time. She had made no secret that she despised having Kari and her friends staying in her home, and her mood had pervaded the tent over the two nights they slept there. Kari didn’t have any trouble figuring out what the issue was: on top of Uldriana walking into danger for total strangers, she was going with a demonhunter, and her mother was obviously fearful that Kari would murder her daughter.
Kari thought of her promise to protect Uldriana the day before, and she wondered if there was anything she could say to soothe the mallasti mother’s anxiety. Part of her wondered why she even cared, but Kari was a mother, too, and she could well understand the feelings of the mallasti woman. Kari just couldn’t understand the fact that the demons had those feelings in the first place. She watched Uldriana guide her mother away and speak to her soothingly in their tongue, but the woman didn’t seem any less upset, and in fact began to cry after a few minutes.
Kari stood by, completely speechless. Sonja and Danilynn were surprised by the display as well, but they moved past into the teepee to get their belongings. Uldriana held her mother, and Kari wondered if there was anything she could say. “Tell her I’ll bring you home,” she said, and the mallasti girl’s eyes came up, narrowed again in an uncharacteristic scowl. “Tell her. I’m a mother myself. I promise that I’ll bring you home; I won’t leave you in Sorelizar when my work there is done. I’ll bring you home to her before we leave.”
