by J. J. Green
She opened her closet and took out a richly embroidered coat. It fitted her perfectly and suited her coloring, but Faye had never enjoyed the wealth that belonging to the Sherrerr clan conferred. She had been so much happier when all she had in the world were Kris and Carina. Her heart was heavy with remembering the little girl as she put on the coat and fastened it.
How in the world it had happened to be her daughter who had brought Darius home, Faye couldn’t imagine. Her secret, hopeless dream was that one day she would be able to tell her daughter that it was her half-brother she’d saved.
“Mother,” a voice called from downstairs. They were waiting for her. Faye hurried out of her room, but as she left, she coughed. The warm, iron taste of blood flooded her mouth. She ran back to her room to pick up a handkerchief. In another minute she was downstairs just as everyone was leaving to walk to the gate.
A glossy multi-person autocar was waiting for them outside the main gates. Faye climbed into the plush interior with the children. Stefan had taken his seat at the front next to the servant, Nate, who would input their destinations. The doors slid closed almost without a sound, sealing the family inside a cocoon with tinted windows. They would probably visit a store where the children could choose candy and toys, and other places where Faye could pick plants for the garden or ornaments. The shops would be empty of all other shoppers, of course. Nate would call ahead to make it so.
Stefan loved to pretend they were a normal family. Faye doubted that he knew what normal was. He had no doubt grown up in the same way as his children, almost entirely cut off from the people who labored to generate the Sherrerr’s massive wealth.
“Look at those bugs,” Darius exclaimed, pointing at something on the side of the road that led from the estate to the town. Beetles the size of cats were rubbing serrated legs along their razor backs.
“Urgh,” Oriana said, “they’re horrible.”
“Run them over,” shouted Castiel. “Kill them.”
“No, don’t, Nate,” said Darius. “They don’t hurt anyone.” He went to say something else but stopped himself just in time. He gave Faye a smile. She got the impression he was heeding her earlier request. Had Carina told him something about the bugs? She’d liked bugs, even as a toddler.
Nate didn’t drive over the insects as Castiel had urged, and they soon arrived at the edge of town. Stefan did suggest a candy and toy store to the children, and they so vigorously demonstrated their assent, the vehicle bounced on its suspension. Faye relaxed a little. Darius seemed to be remembering her warning never to mention Carina, Stefan was happy in his fantasy that he was a good father and husband, and the children were finally spending some time outside their gilded cage.
After the children had taken what they wanted from the store—Sherrerrs never paid for anything—everyone returned to the autocar.
“Now it’s your turn, Faye,” said Stefan, leaning an arm over his seat to look back at her. “Where would you like to go?”
She named a plant nursery on the far edge of town. Though she loathed stealing from the town’s proprietors, she could at least lengthen the trip by requesting they go somewhere a fair distance away.
“Hmmm.” Stefan checked the time before nodding to Nate, who input the destination. The route they had to travel took them along the busiest street in town. The fact didn’t slow them down too much as all the other autocars automatically moved aside as they approached. The town’s traffic control program overrode other vehicle’s drive systems when Sherrerr transportation was on the road. Faye’s children had plenty to gawk at, however, as they went along. They pressed their faces against the windows and stared at the stores and other establishments that were ordinary to less important folk.
A little hand gripped Faye’s arm. Darius had grabbed her. He was staring, open-mouthed, at something in the road. Faye’s gaze followed his. Her heart stopped. It was Carina. Though it had been sixteen years since she’d last seen her, Faye knew her immediately. All her faint doubts that another mage with the same name as her daughter had rescued Darius were wiped away.
Carina was crossing the road with a thin young man, busy in conversation with her companion. Faye thanked the stars that their vehicle windows were tinted and Carina couldn’t see Darius or herself. Stefan was as observant as he was evil and he would have noticed Carina’s resemblance to herself in a split second.
“What’s wrong with Darius?” asked Castiel. “What are you looking at?”
The little boy struggled for a moment. His gaze turned to Faye. “I didn’t see anything.”
“It was just a big bug in the street,” Faye said. “It’s gone now.” She had torn her gaze from her daughter and was facing forward. What was Carina doing still in town? Faye regretted her decision to send her daughter the things that would tell her Faye knew she was a mage. She should never have included that polished pebble either. Carina had obviously stuck around hoping to find out more.
She should have only sent her a little money and a thank you note, but she had wanted so badly to show her daughter that she wasn’t alone. If what she had done had put her daughter at risk, she would never forgive herself. She had to get word to her that she must leave Ithiya and never return.
Chapter Seven
That evening, when Faye was finally alone in her room, she let her mask fall. Maintaining the facade of something resembling normalcy for her children’s sake had become her habit, but the strain was almost unbearable at times. In her mirror, she daily saw the ravaging effect on her features.
She mulled over how to communicate with Carina in a way that wouldn’t put her daughter in extreme danger. The simplest method would be to Cast. She could Enthrall a servant to find Carina in town—a visitor who had hung around for three months for no apparent reason shouldn’t be too hard to locate. The servant would pass on the message without knowing what they were doing and would retain no memory of their action afterward.
But Casting was impossible. Stefan had made it brutally clear that she was never to Cast without his permission. The safeguards that he had put in place to prevent her from doing so were extremely tight. She had rarely even thought of attempting it.
Stefan knew she needed earth, metal, wood, water, and fire to create the elixir. Entirely removing the first four Elements from her environment would have been difficult, but it had proven easy to control her access to fire or anything that could create it. The region’s climate was warm, so indoor heating was not required. Stefan had ensured a fire was never lit and electricity was never used anywhere on the estate except the kitchen, which was always kept locked even when in use. For lighting, the household used lamps filled with bioluminescent algae that absorbed the sun’s rays during the day and glowed at night.
Faye could have created sparks for fire with a firestone, but Stefan had thought even of this and had all of that type of stone removed from the garden’s soil. Only once, in many years of surreptitious searching, had Faye discovered a firestone in the garden. It had been a tiny fragment, too small to use. She had placed it in the pouch she sent out to Carina. To Faye, it had been symbolic of the freedom that was withheld from her but was still available to her daughter, though she knew that Carina couldn’t have guessed the meaning.
The sun was setting. Olivia, Faye’s maid, brought in a lamp and set in on her dressing table before leaving without a word. Faye looked out of the window, which gave a view of the road that led into town. If only she could walk through the garden, out of the gate, and down the road to find her daughter. She wondered how far she would get before she was stopped. Probably not even so far as the front door. It had been so long since she’d had that kind of freedom, she’d almost forgotten how it felt.
If she could not Cast, what could she do? Dare she risk bribing a servant to carry a message? The bribe wouldn’t be a problem. Stefan enjoyed decorating his captive bird with expensive jewelry. But she pushed the thought aside. The servants and guards were fully aware of the long, excruciating
ly painful death they would suffer if they betrayed Stefan. Even if one had been willing, Faye couldn’t ask them to take that chance.
The door to her room opened again, and in her dressing table mirror, she saw Stefan come in. He never knocked, of course.
“Good evening, darling,” he said. “Did you have a nice time today?” He began untying his cravat. Faye’s stomach twisted so violently she thought she might vomit, but her face had resumed its usual amiable expression.
“Yes,” she replied. “Going on an excursion into town is always pleasant. The children had a wonderful time.”
“Yes, they were happy with their new toys, weren’t they? But what about you? Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Oh yes, dear. Very much.”
Stefan put down his cravat on the nightstand and unfastened the top buttons of his shirt.
Faye felt imaginary spiders crawling up her back. She wanted to scream. She wanted to jump out of the window and fall the three stories to the flagstones below.
Her husband pulled off his boots and lay down on her bed with his hands behind his head, resting on a pillow.
Mechanically, Faye unpinned her hair and brushed it out. Night had fallen and, with the lamp’s glow on the window, she saw nothing outside but pitch black.
“You look very beautiful tonight, darling.” Stefan patted the bed beside him. Faye got up and began to change into her nightdress. Stefan watched. “You look young for your age. I find it hard to believe you can no longer bear children. Yet Darius is six years old now and no little brother or sister has come along.” He sat up. “What’s that on your side? Is it a bruise? How did you get it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I bumped into a table.” The disease that was assaulting Faye’s body was beginning to show clear outward signs. She needed to be more careful. Perhaps Stefan would allow her to undress in the dark if she told him she was ashamed of her aging body.
Stefan pulled his shirt over his head as Faye turned out the light. She joined her husband in her bed.
“Perhaps we will be lucky tonight,” Stefan breathed in her ear. “Perhaps your body has one last fruit to bear. And if not, don’t feel bad, my love. You’re useful to me in other ways. I have big things planned for you and our children. Very big things.”
Chapter Eight
“Are you hungry?” Bryce asked. “We could eat, and I can tell you more about the job.”
“I am hungry,” Carina replied, watching the Sherrerr vehicle as it drove away, the other autocars parting before it like retreating waves. “But I don’t have any money. Do you?”
Bryce shook his head.
Carina sighed. “Okay. Wait here. I’ll be back soon.” She headed up the street toward the market where the gem dealers plied their trade. It looked like she would be financing Bryce’s expedition. She would claim back the outlay from the fee, assuming they were successful. With the money she received for one of the gems, she could buy the supplies, equipment, and clothes they would need to survive in the mountains. Bryce clearly didn’t have a clue. If he’d set off without her, he would have died along the way. She wondered if he was dumb or desperate and concluded that it was a little bit of both.
She hadn’t gone far before a crowd in the street barred her way. People were gathering around some kind of spectacle in such numbers they were blocking road and foot traffic.
It was hard for Carina to make out what was causing the disturbance—not that she really cared what it was. She only wanted to get around or through the throng and be on her way. She forced her way between a couple of the gawkers and began elbowing into the ranks of jammed bystanders, all craning for a better view.
From the center of the crowd came the sound of a man yelping and pleading. A few of the audience laughed, though awkwardly as if they were embarrassed.
“Please stop,” cried a voice. “I’ll give you your money.”
“First correct thing you’ve said all day,” said another. “You’re right. You will. After we have our fun.”
Carina could see an open space ahead holding two large men. She pushed farther in until she made it to the edge of the open space in the center and whatever it was that was attracting all the attention. Unwilling to attract attention herself by traversing the open area, she tried to go sideways, but the people were packed shoulder to shoulder and were unwilling to give up their prime viewing spot to make room. The path she had cut through the crowd had also closed up behind her.
Carina forged ahead and burst into the first row of people, drawing many disgruntled objections. She’d been mistaken. There weren’t two men in the center of the crowd, there were three. The third had been invisible to her because he was down on all fours, his pants around his ankles. One of the men had a foot on his hands, pressing them together on the ground. The other held out a splicer’s pole—a double helix of thin strips of steel—ready to strike the man’s bare behind.
“What’s going on?” Carina asked the person next to her.
“He’s new around here,” replied the well-dressed older woman. “Set up a splicing center. When the Sherrerr men came for their protection money, he wouldn’t pay.”
Carina grimaced. The splicer was either very cocky or a fool. Probably the latter. No one could be so arrogant as to think they could avoid giving the most powerful clan in the region their cut of profits. Judging from the state of the man’s face, the beating he was about to receive wasn’t the first of his punishments from the men that day.
Though she pitied the poor splicer, Carina didn’t want to interfere. She doubted she could take down both the Sherrerr men, and even if she did, she would only transfer the wrath of the Sherrerrs onto her own head. She wasn’t that dumb.
All she wanted to do was to get past the disturbance and reach the market. She began to edge slowly sideways across the front row, disgruntling some onlookers. A crack sounded as the first blow landed, followed by the howling sob of the splicer. “Please. I’ll give you double. I’ll give you everything.” The men laughed and another blow struck loudly against skin.
Carina felt sick. She’d done plenty of fighting in her time, both hand-to-hand and fire fights, and she was used to people getting hurt, but there was something especially nauseating about the strong and powerful ganging up on the weak and helpless.
Another blow landed. The man shrieked. The splicer’s pole was probably cutting his flesh. Suddenly Carina wasn’t so sure she could bear to pass by the splicer’s punishment without trying to do something about it. She’d made it halfway around the inner circle of the crowd before she looked toward the group of three at the center. She found she was gazing into the splicer’s face. It was a bruised, sweaty, bloody mask of agony. The thug who was standing on his hands had also grasped his hair and was pulling his head roughly backward, arching the man’s neck. His partner raised his arm, ready to strike again.
“Don’t you think that’s enough?” Carina asked, before she was even aware she was about to speak. Instead of sneaking past, she became aware that she was standing upright and looking the man holding the splicer’s pole in the eye.
His eyebrows lifted. “No, I don’t.” He landed a blow so hard it caused him to stagger backward. The splicer screamed long and loud. Some of the people who had been watching with morbid interest looked shocked. Some covered their eyes or began to back away, pushing against those behind them, trying to leave.
Carina took a step forward. If the men had been average citizens, she would have tried to reason with them. But she knew this type well. They enjoyed what they did and hated whatever came between them and the fulfillment of their pleasure. Carina knew she was already the enemy in their eyes and nothing she could say or do would change that. Only a response of equal violence could make them deviate from their path.
She ran at the closest one, feinting left then driving her right shoulder into his stomach. He fell into the crowd, who hastily moved out of his way so that he hit the ground. Carina heard the whoosh of the splicer’s pole
behind her and dived to one side, hoping she had guessed right. The pole smashed into the ground beside her. Before the thug could lift it again, she grabbed it and twisted it out of his grasp.
She whirled the pole into the first man, who had gotten to his feet and was drawing a weapon. The blow knocked the gun from his grasp and sent it flying into the rapidly dispersing crowd. Carina continued to swing the pole around, connecting with the second thug who was coming up behind her. But the blow didn’t topple him. He grabbed the pole and tried to wrest it from her grasp. Carina gripped tightly and resisted, but she was no match for the man’s superior strength. The pole began to slip from her hands.
She ran to one side, forcing the thug to pivot on the spot. Behind him, his friend had found his gun and was raising it to aim at her. Carina ran forward, forcing the man holding the other end of the pole into his partner. He was knocked down again. She continued running until she had pushed the pole-holding man against a shop wall. The pole was digging into his chest. He let go momentarily to adjust his grasp. Carina ripped the pole away from him and struck it against his temple.
His head bounced onto the hard stone wall and his legs collapsed beneath him. Carina stepped back, colliding with someone behind her, who grabbed her hair. She elbowed her assailant in the stomach, causing a whoosh of expelled breath. He ripped out of some of her hair as he went down. When she turned to finish him off, she found the person she’d toppled was the splicer, who had probably been seeking her protection.
The first thug was back, his gun in his paw. Carina kicked it out of his hand and punched him in the jaw. He dropped like a stone.
The stragglers of the crowd were giving her frightened glances as they hurried from the scene. No one wanted to be involved in an event where someone had stood up to the Sherrerrs. Even the splicer was shuffling away, holding his pants around his thighs.
