Both boys whooped for joy. The adults smiled at their enthusiasm.
~
Quetza and Orleus followed Cestus back over to the guest house after seeing Fowin and his family off down the hill. Orleus smiled at her, grabbed his traveling pack, left just inside the door, and started to follow Cestus towards the hallway that led to the first-floor bedrooms.
Quetza blocked his path. “Speaking of lessons. As long as we’re both here, we might as well continue your lessons as well.”
Orleus dropped his pack. “Why would you want to put yourself through that aggravation again? You know how poor a student I am.”
Quetza crossed her arms in front of her, but one corner of her mouth twitched upward. “Would you rather not spend an hour alone with me in the evenings?”
Orleus grinned. “That’s an offer I can scarcely refuse. But not tonight, eh? I only just arrived this afternoon.”
Quetza merely arched an eyebrow and tapped the table.
“I really am tired,” he said.
“Then we’ll make the lesson short tonight. But, if I let you get away with it tonight, I’ll be battling you every night all winter.”
Orleus shook his head, still smiling. “You know me too well.”
Quetza sat down at one end of the table and gestured to the seat nearest her. “No. Not yet. But I’ve been a teacher long enough to learn that much.”
Chapter 13: Trouble
Theklan followed Gafar as he wandered down to the beach. It was chilly and damp, not really comfortable weather. But according to Gafar, interesting things often washed up on the rocky shore in weather like this—at least, things interesting to eleven-year-old boys.
Theklan couldn’t keep his attention on looking for the things Gafar seemed to be hunting. He stopped frequently to just stare at the ocean and the waves running up the shore towards them. The Lake back home was nothing like this. What would it be like to swim in the ocean, with those waves keeping the water in constant motion? What kinds of creatures lived in that murky water? Probably not any of the ones he knew from the Valley. It was all new, even the smell. That salty tang was much stronger here than in the marketplace, but Theklan almost thought he liked it.
Well, except for some of the seaweed. Some of that stank. Ahead of him, Gafar kept turning over that seaweed, and stirring up the smell of it, as he looked underneath for more interesting objects.
Theklan wrinkled his nose and looked up. A large wooden wharf, much bigger than the one at home, jutted out into the bay. A handful of boys a few years older than Theklan and Gafar leaned against the railing looking back at Gafar and himself. No boats were currently tied up, though. “Where are the boats?”
Gafar looked up where Theklan pointed. Then stood up, rubbing his sand-covered hands on his pants legs. “Uh, oh.”
Theklan turned back to him. “What?”
Gafar shook his head without taking his eyes off the boys on the wharf. “We shouldn’t have come this far. The fishermen’s boys don’t like city boys coming down here. Come on, let’s go back.”
“Hey! You! What are you doing here, city boys? This is our beach!” one of the boys on the wharf yelled.
“Run!” Gafar said, taking off back up the beach.
Theklan followed more slowly.
“That’s right, soft city boys. Run away from us!” The older boys taunted. One of the boys threw a rock that struck Gafar in the back of the leg, tripping him. Theklan stopped and helped Gafar to his feet. Another rock whizzed past Theklan’s head, narrowly missing him.
Theklan turned back towards the older boys. “Stop that,” he yelled. “You’ll hurt someone.”
“Yeah! You!” one boy shouted back.
“How you gonna stop us?” another jeered and threw another rock.
Theklan caught it with his Power, letting it hang in the air several feet away. The students drilled in something like this at the Academy—although the objects were usually lighter and less dangerous. Still, it was familiar enough for Theklan to easily stop the rock and hold it suspended. He caught the next rock, too. Now, there were two rocks floating in the air between the two groups of boys. The boys on the wharf started to mutter among themselves, stepping back across the wharf without taking their eyes from Theklan and Gafar. Gafar stared at Theklan, too.
“All of you stand right where you are!” an adult voice cut in.
Five Temple Guards came down the beach. Theklan let the rocks drop, suddenly remembering his sister’s admonition against using his Powers here.
“You two, what are you doing here?” the corporal asked, glaring down at Theklan and Gafar.
Gafar took his eyes off Theklan for the first time and answered. “We went farther than I thought, sir. We were just walking on the beach, looking for stuff that washed up.” He pointed back toward the wharf. “They started throwing rocks at us.”
“You shouldn’t be down here. Who’s responsible for you?”
“My brother is Fowin the Smith,” Gafar answered, his attitude showed that he knew he would be in trouble for this.
“And you?” the corporal asked Theklan. There was a sort of glint in the corporal’s eye as he addressed Theklan, speculative, almost greedy.
It made Theklan uncomfortable. The question was confusing. “I . . . I’m Theklan. I . . . .”
“He’s not from Caere,” Gafar said. “He’s staying with Vatar the Smith.”
“Very well. You two get on home.”
Gafar pulled on Theklan’s arm and the two turned to scramble up the beach and away. Theklan heard the corporal speaking to the other boys as they ran.
“As for you, you’re known trouble-makers. I don’t know what makes you think you can get away with something like this. You’ll come with us to the Guard Hall until your families come for you.”
When they got back to the safer part of the city, Gafar slowed down. He had been striding well ahead of Theklan. Now he allowed the slightly younger boy to catch up—almost. “You should have told me you’re Fasallon.”
“I’m not Fasallon. I’m Valson.”
Gafar shook his head. “Only the Fasallon can do things like that. Magic.”
Theklan bit his lip. “I don’t know about that. Vatar’s Fasallon, I guess. And he has Powers similar to ours. But he had a really hard time learning, at first.”
Gafar squared his shoulders. “The Fasallon can do magic because they are descended from the Sea Gods. Are . . . are you descended from some other gods?”
Theklan shrugged. “Not that I ever heard. But pretty much everybody where I come from can do what I did.”
Gafar remained silent for long enough to make Theklan uncomfortable.
“That’s like part of a game we play, back at the Academy,” Theklan said at last, trying to bridge the silence.
Gafar turned to look straight at him for the first time since they left the beach. “That’s part of a game?”
“Yeah. I mean, we don’t usually use rocks. But catching and tossing things with our Powers is—”
Gafar turned away and strode forward again. When they reached the Temple Gate, Gafar pointed to the road that led up the hill. “Just stay on that road. It’ll take you back to Vatar’s farm.”
Then he turned and left Theklan standing there, wondering what he had done wrong.
Chapter 14: The Shield
When the dogs started barking, Vatar pulled the steel blank he’d just placed in the fire to heat back out again. “Sky above and earth below! I may have to go down to the guildhall to work just to get away from all these interruptions.”
Orleus stood up from the bench under the apple tree and looked toward the gate. “I’m afraid I’m responsible for this one. I had to let Father know I was in Caere.”
Vatar looked over at the figure in the blue and green cloak and smiled. “Of course you did.”
They went together to open the gate.
Father stepped through. “Orleus! I scarcely believed it when I got your message. I can
’t remember the last time you were in Caere two years in a row. And last year you were only here for two days. It’s good to see you again. “
Orleus grinned. “It’s good to see you, too, Father.”
Father took each of them by an arm. “I need to talk to both of you. Perhaps we should go inside.”
Vatar’s breath caught for a moment. Both of them? There was no reason for Vatar to be involved in Orleus’s recruiting. Maybe that meant that Father had finally found something in the archives to explain what had been going on with Vatar’s magic. He hesitated, looking up at the door to the main house. Arcas and Elaria still didn’t know anything about his magic. He’d just as soon keep it that way. “Let’s use the guest house. That way we can talk in private without putting Arcas and Elaria out. Let me just go bank the fire in my forge. I’ll be right in.”
Father nodded. “Bring Thekila and Quetza, please.”
Vatar nodded. Almost certainly about his magic then. “Quetza is probably there already. She’s been using the guest house for Theklan’s lessons for the same reason.” He paused. “Though I think Theklan is out exploring the city with Gafar today. I’ll bring Thekila.”
Vatar banked the fires quickly and went to get Thekila, who was helping Elaria in the kitchen.
When they arrived at the guest house, Father and Orleus were already seated at one end of the table. Quetza sat next to Orleus.
Orleus leaned slightly forward. “No doubt you heard about the volcano, Father.”
Father nodded. “The High Council had a report.”
Quetza frowned. “Volcano?”
Orleus turned toward her. “Some of the peaks in the Kragehul Mountains are volcanoes. According to our records, they spew hot rock and ash from time to time. There hadn’t been an eruption in quite a while. Couple of generations from what I was able to gather. But one erupted just before I got home. Tysoe’s far enough away from the mountains, we feel the earthquakes and maybe see the red glow of the mountain at night, but we don’t get the molten rocks or ash—except what floats down the rivers. I missed the worst of the earthquakes, but not the damage they did.”
“That must have been the earthquake we felt, too. The one that started the stampede,” Vatar put in. “That was only a day after you left us.”
Orleus nodded. “That’d be about right.” He turned back to Father. “The bridge across the Maat River was lost in the first earthquake. That’ll take months to rebuild. The earthquake also caused a landslide on the north side of Lake Narycea, which in turn caused a nasty wave that did some damage to the shipping in the lake and flooded the lower parts of the town.”
“That’s basically the information the High Council received,” Veleus said. “Did they send you here to ask for assistance?”
Orleus shrugged. “In a way. The Tysoeans are already undertaking the repairs. We have the labor and the resources. But the eruption has also brought an unexpected opportunity.”
“Oh?” Father asked.
Orleus leaned forward again. “Our neighbors, the Themyri are a superstitious lot. They apparently didn’t like the volcano at all. And now they’ve all gone into hiding somewhere. While they’re gone—wherever they’ve gone—the Tysoean Council has decided to place outposts into the nearer parts of the Land between the Rivers. That’s rich farmland and the Council has wanted to claim it for years.”
Father leaned back. “Isn’t that dangerous? I thought the Themyri would raid and burn any settlement in their territory.”
Orleus shrugged. “There’s been no sign of the Themyri. They seem to have vanished. If we can build fortified settlements while they’re gone, well, that’ll give us an advantage when they come back. If they come back.”
Vatar’s eyes narrowed. The Themyri were traditional enemies of the Dardani. If they’d crossed the river into Dardani territory, Pa would want to know about it as soon as may be. “Where do you think they went?”
“To the deep and the dragons for all I care, so long as they’re not troubling us anymore. There are signs that they went south, into the mountains, which makes no sense.” Orleus shook his head. “Anyway, I’m not optimistic enough to think we’ve really seen the last of them. Half my men are reassigned to the Land Between the Rivers now. To protect the town and the new outposts properly, I need more men. So, I’m here to recruit. Caere always has more young men suitable for the Guard than you need. Some of them won’t mind exchanging a few hardships for more freedom.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Veleus said. “You’ll probably need to come address the Council.”
Orleus grimaced. “I was afraid of that.”
After a little more discussion about the situation in Tysoe, Father turned to Vatar. “I’ve been searching the archives for any mention of a shield such as you describe. I think I’ve finally found something.”
Vatar sat up. Finally something that might help him understand what had happened. “What?”
Father smiled a little at Vatar’s eagerness. “It was from our earliest records. It seems that Tabeus had a similar Talent, but it was somehow connected with his twin-bond with Taleus. After Taleus was killed, Tabeus was never able to do it again. There’s no further reference to anything like it.”
Vatar’s brow furrowed. “Twin bond?”
Father nodded. “We rarely have twins among the Fasallon anymore, but they were not uncommon in the early days here in Caere. It’s well documented that some twins had an unusual bond that allowed them to share their Talents in a way that none of the rest of us can.”
“We know of the twin bond,” Quetza said. “Our friends Teran and Terania have something like that.”
“Who are Tabeus and Taleus?” Thekila asked.
Veleus looked to Vatar. “How much do they know about our history?”
Vatar shrugged and grinned, putting his hand over Thekila’s. “We hadn’t really gotten around to talking about ancient history, Father. I was saving that for when we need something to talk about on a long, cold night. In, oh, say ten or twenty years.”
Thekila blushed.
Veleus chuckled. “Briefly, then. Tabeus and Taleus are part of our earliest history. Caere was a tiny fishing village, then. Maybe fifty huts and half as many fishing boats clustered on the south side of the bay, where it’s less rocky. But the climate was favorable. Our ancestors stopped their wandering on the north side of the bay. Initially, the Caereans were at best ambivalent about us. They didn’t use the north side of the bay, but they weren’t entirely happy about having us occupy it, either.
“But at that time the Caereans had more to worry about than our ancestors. A large sea dragon chose to make its home in the bay, basing itself around the largest island, where the Palace is now. The beast ruined the fishing—and several of the fishing boats, too. Some of the accounts say that Celeus, the leader of the Fasallon, called the dragon to punish the Caereans for rejecting us. Personally, I doubt that very much. I’ve never found any reference to an ability to call dragons or any other animal. And we suffered from the dragon’s predations almost as much as the Caereans. The beast would climb out of the sea in the middle of the night and devour one or more of our horses.
“Celeus had identical twin sons, Tabeus and Taleus. They were both smiths and they were both avid hunters. Although Taleus was the better smith and Tabeus was the better hunter. Tabeus persuaded Taleus that it would be an adventure to hunt the dragon. But Celeus stopped them because he saw an opportunity to make a bargain with the Caereans. His sons would kill the dragon and, in return, the Caereans would cede the north side of the bay and the island to us.
“Tabeus was an impatient man. Since his father had forbidden him to kill the dragon until the deal had been struck, he rode out to hunt on the plains. Taleus was newly married to Calpe, so he chose to stay behind. When Celeus returned, only Taleus was here. Taleus set to work forging spears for himself and his brother. He started to make two spear blades, but he only finished one. He had just completed the first
lance, with a long wooden shaft, when the dragon attacked again. Taleus took his own horse and rode out to kill the dragon. His steel-headed spear pierced the dragon’s side, which the Caereans’ bronze spears had failed to do, but the dragon’s thrashing broke the wooden shaft before Taleus could drive the point into the dragon’s heart. The wounded dragon killed Taleus."
“This isn’t the version of the story I heard,” Vatar said.
Veleus smiled slightly. “No. Caerean youths are not told the whole story, for obvious reasons. Celeus and Tabeus are supposed to be two of their Sea Gods. Gods aren’t killed by dragons.
“To continue, Tabeus returned the next day. He had felt his twin’s death through their bond. In fury, he set to work immediately. He finished the second spear point that Taleus had started and sang his rage as he worked. It is said that he sang power into the blade.” Here, Veleus looked at Vatar.
Vatar swallowed. He clearly remembered singing his own anger into the spears he forged for the tiger hunt. It had never occurred to him that he was singing magic into them, too.
Father went on. “Tabeus drew out a long iron rod to be the shaft of the spear and welded the blade to the shaft so that the dragon couldn’t break it.
“When he had completed the spear, Tabeus took his horse and went out to hunt the dragon, drawing the monster into the shallow, rocky cove near the Temple. We call it Dragon’s Cove now. Tabeus slew the dragon that had killed his brother.
“The killing of the dragon convinced the Caereans that Celeus and his companions were their Sea Gods. Celeus hadn’t foreseen that, but he was quick to use it to the advantage of his people. The Fasallon have ruled in Caere ever since, perpetuating that Lie.
“More to the point for our purposes, Tabeus was never able to use his ability to shield again after Taleus’s death. It seems to have been connected to the bond somehow. But you are not a twin, Vatar.”
Thekila fumbled with a mug someone had left on the table. She shot a look at first Vatar and then Quetza. “There is another kind of bond. If Vatar and I are starting to bind one another, then maybe the shield is related to that.”
The Voice of Prophecy (Dual Magics Book 2) Page 11
