Bones of the Earth

by Jason A. Gilbert

  "Laila," Alain said, his voice now patronizing, "that was how the Magi functioned. They made the people they were supposed to protect afraid. Afraid of anything they didn't understand. That was where they derived their power. Torin was trying to protect us from that, among other things..."

  Laila watched her father carefully. She knew when he was truly angry, and this was not one of those times. Part of him was angry, but another part of him was just saying what he felt he needed to say to keep her safe.

  "But," Laila pushed, hoping she could find the holes in her father's argument, "he was just one old man. Sure, he did that thing with the dirt, but—"

  "What thing?" Alain jolted upright.

  "The cloud thing. It pushed the Guardians back from him."

  "He used...magic?"

  "Yeah, I think so."

  "Hmm, why wouldn't Torin speak of that?" The last was more to himself.

  "Why is he so dangerous, Father?" Laila continued to push.

  "For many reasons, child," Alain began.

  "Stop calling me that!" Laila finally shouted. "I took my Test today, and even if you haven't told me my results yet, I am not a child anymore. I'm a Citizen, just like you!"

  Alain's eyes widened at her response. He looked as though he was going to shout back at her, but then his face broke into a smile and he let out a laugh. As he laughed, his body relaxed. Laila held onto her anger, though it was harder in the face of her father's mirth.

  "You are right, Laila. I apologize. You will always be my daughter. But I need to learn to accept you as an adult."

  "Thank you." Laila's face was still tight with anger, but it began to ebb away.

  "The Magus is dangerous for what he represents," Alain answered, returning to her original question. "And his presence here only serves to strengthen Torin's position in the Consulate. I know Torin. He’ll use what happened today to play on the growing fears among the Consuls."

  He began to speak more to himself, musing over the situation. Laila jumped in again.

  "What do you mean? His position in the Consulate?"

  "Torin is a powerful man, Laila. And he has...ambitious goals. I've been trying to slow him down when I can, but he has several allies, many of whom have more influence than I do."

  He turned to look out the window again. "And I don't think your standoff with him will help my position. Even though you could not have known, it emulates my own stance too much. You and I are more alike than you know."

  "What do you mean, Father? I don't understand."

  "I know. But you will."

  "How?"

  "You'll be learning about the Consulate in much more detail."

  "You mean...?" Her confusion turned into excitement. But Torin had said...

  "There is a messenger waiting for you with your mother in the main hall. I will let him tell you. We'll do this the traditional way." He smiled at her as he stood, ushering her back out across the garden and into the main hall.

  Laila rushed into the main hall. Her mother was sitting with a young man who was dressed in the robes of the Consul. Lunete smiled as Laila came in. The young man stood. He first bowed his head to Alain and then turned to Laila.

  "Laila Wardein?"

  "Yes."

  "I bring a message from the Consul. After consideration of your Test and record, the Consulate has asked that you join them as a full Citizen and Consul. Do you accept these results?"

  "I do. Thank you, Consul."

  He bowed his head in response. He then turned and bowed to Lunete. "Guardian." And then to Alain. "Consul."

  Her parents returned the bow, ending the formalities. The young man left, likely to inform other young Citizens of their placements. Laila turned to her father, excitement clear on her face.

  "I didn't think... Torin had said..." she began, barely able to contain herself.

  "I know what Torin said, Laila. That is his way. He attacks your confidence, undermining the very things that you think gives you strength. I have watched him do it many times in the Consulate. He is quite good at it. But there is no need to worry about that now. You have one more day of freedom," he smiled, "and then you will be given duties at the Consulate, and your days of freedom will be over."

  He laughed. Laila smiled in return. Lunete came up behind her daughter and wrapped her arms around her.

  "Congratulations! I told you you'd do great. And a Consul, to think, my daughter..." There was a hint of moisture in her eyes.

  Laila turned and returned the hug, squeezing her mother tightly.

  Laila lay on her bed, too excited to sleep. The events of the day rolled through her mind. The Test, her confrontation with Torin, the festival, and then the news that she would be following in her father's footsteps as a Consul. It was all so much to process. She wondered what her father had meant with his talk of Torin's position and power. She did not understand the inner workings of the Consulate. Though apparently she would start to learn very soon.

  As she lay in bed, she continued to think about the day’s events. She wanted to know where Selene had been placed, as well as her other friends. Some of them had aspired to be Consuls, as she had, and others had wanted to continue family traditions, whether that was as a Guardian or one of the various Artisan occupations. Dio's parents were both Guardians, friends of her mother, yet he had been content when he had been placed as a potter. And it suited him. He could express his creativity and help contribute to the greater society of Terus.

  Laila thought about her own contribution. She had never really wanted to be a Consul. Her father worked so hard that she sometimes thought he never enjoyed his position. But that was the role of a Consul, to work for the good of the city and its people without regard for oneself. Or at least that was what they were taught. What would she do? How would she contribute?

  As she thought about those things, her mind drifted to her confrontation with Torin and Icarus. Knowing that Torin was trying to subvert her, possibly to get to her father, gave her a new perspective on the whole situation. She had stood up to him, and that did not look good. Therefore knocking down her credibility helped to strengthen his argument, at least in the moment. She knew that those were the types of attacks and strategies she would have to both learn and avoid as a member of the Consulate.

  Another memory came into her mind. When Icarus had thrown the Guardians off of him in a display of what could only have been magic, just before, Laila had felt an odd sensation down her spine. A strange sense of awareness. And it had happened before he had done it. As though she could sense the magic.

  It had been a wonderful thing to see, even in the conflict of the moment. She knew magic had not been seen for a hundred years. Its practice had disappeared with the Magi, the self-proclaimed masters of the craft. And yet, today she had seen magic firsthand. It had been as though Icarus could command the dirt that coated his robes.

  Her mind continued to process what had happened. That was when she felt it. The surge down her spine. This time the sensation was accompanied by an odd awareness of the building around her and the earth beneath her. She felt as though she could feel the very bones of the world, stretching up through the stone of her house and down into the core of the planet. The sensation was powerful. A deeper connection than anything she had ever felt before. Without fully understanding, she allowed her mind to probe this new awareness, to test its limits. The walls of her house rose around her in a fundamentally different way. They had always kept out the elements, but now they surrounded her, protected her. She could feel the ground beneath the house. Packed down, hard, but also ready; ready for movement. And all it would take was a command from her for it to do so. Just a nudge.

  As suddenly as the feeling had appeared, it was gone. The surge down her back dissipated, and with it the awareness of the earth around her. For a moment Laila felt a great sense of disappointment, of loss. Then her rationality took over. It must have been the result of the drinks she had shared with her mother and father before go
ing to sleep. As much as she didn’t like to admit it, she was still young and unaccustomed to the strange liquid. Her body was simply adjusting.

  She passed off the feeling, brushing it aside as nothing more than a new sensation. But, in the back of her mind, she knew that something different was happening. Something connected to Icarus and Torin and all of the events of the day. She just could not piece it all together. The more she tried, the more tired she felt. And, within minutes, she had fallen asleep, drifting into dreams of the Consulate, as well as odd dreams about the earth that surrounded her.

  The next day dawned with clouds hanging low in the sky. Not threatening rain, but enough to blot out the sun and cast deep shadows along the roads. Laila walked in between these shadows, enjoying her walk into the city center with her mother, just as she had the day before. Her mother had wanted to gather some groceries to make a meal that evening. But today was different. Today Laila was a Citizen, a full, adult member of the city of Terus. Her time at the Consulate would not begin until tomorrow. Tradition held that the day after the Testing Day was a day of rest. But her Citizenship began today.

  The roads were sparsely populated. Many people staying in after the long night. A few farmers from outside the city made their way toward the main gate, likely having stayed the night in the city and now returning home after the festival. There would be a few merchants in the city center, not like the previous day, but enough to conduct some of the usual business of Terus.

  "Does it feel different now? Being a Citizen?" asked Lunete as they strolled down the road.

  "It does. I don’t know that it’s completely set in yet. But, I think that’ll change tomorrow," she answered.

  "Oh, I'm sure your father and the other Consuls will have you regretting your placement by the end of the day." She smiled at Laila.

  Laila smiled back, knowing there was some truth to that. She had seen the assistants to the Consuls running themselves ragged all too often on her visits to her father.

  As they approached the city center, they saw a large crowd of people swarming out. Far more people than would usually be present the day after the festival. They all seemed focused on something at their center, but neither Laila nor Lunete could immediately see what it was. As the group drew closer, they could hear the shouts echoing through the crowd, and Laila began to suspect what was at the crowd's center.

  "Leave us!"

  "Get out of our city!"

  "Outcast!"

  "Liar!"

  The crowd came toward the pair of them and they slowly moved to one side, watching as it passed. At the center of the crowd was a small group of Guardians, armed and moving forward slowly, ignoring the crowd. At their center walked Icarus. His heavy robes hung loosely on his body, and his face looked drawn and tired. He had not been treated well over the night.

  "That's the Magus from yesterday," Laila said, leaning toward her mother and whispering.

  "The one you spoke up for?" she asked.

  Laila nodded her head.

  As they watched the crowd, they saw Torin walking in the back, a pleased look on his face. He turned and saw the two of them standing on the side of the road. Pushing his way through the crowd, he came toward them. Laila wanted to turn and hide, walk away, anything to avoid another confrontation like yesterday. Once free of the tight crowd, Torin's walk turned into a saunter. Lunete took a protective step forward, putting Laila just behind her.

  "Have you come to watch?" asked Torin. "So much for your childish heroics yesterday, Laila. It was foolish to stand against me."

  "You will treat her with respect, Torin." Her mother's voice was low, but the threat underlying her words was evident. "She is a Citizen, just as you."

  "Ah yes, and soon to join the Consulate," he said; the smirk on his face remained.

  "No matter what you said yesterday!" Laila blurted out, wanting to stand up for herself and not stand behind her mother.

  Without Torin pushing the crowd forward, the group at the center stopped, waiting for him.

  "What's going on here?" asked Lunete.

  "We are escorting this outcast out of our city." This Torin said loud enough for the crowd behind him to hear, and a small cheer rippled through them.

  "Always a man of the people," Lunete said.

  "I do my best, madam,” Torin returned, his face and eyes not reflecting the intended respect.

  "And you needed Guardians for this?" Lunete continued. Her position within the Guardians was high enough that she could question their use by the Consuls. "Five Guardians to escort one old man?"

  "This old man is dangerous, Dame Wardein. Have you not heard? He is a Magus. And the Magi have not been allowed in Terus or the Confederacy for a century. The fact that we are allowing him to live is grace enough."

  Torin turned back to the crowd, which started moving again at his direction. Lunete motioned for Laila to follow as they walked alongside the crowd.

  "And this was done with the Consulari's approval, I assume?" she asked of Torin.

  "Madam,” he said, looking as though she had struck him, "do not presume that because your husband is a Consul that you have the right to question me. Everything I do, I do with the Consulari's blessing. Without that approval, our city would fall to chaos."

  Lunete nodded, but she continued to walk alongside the crowd. Laila wondered what her mother was trying to accomplish. Her father had made it clear yesterday that Torin was not a man to toy with, and yet Lunete continued to push the issue.

  "And the Consulari's orders were to cast the man out while surrounded by a group of hecklers? That doesn't seem like fitting justice to me."

  Torin stopped walking and turned toward her, his face clenched in anger. "Perhaps that is why you are not a Consul. Guardians have a narrow view of justice. Which is why I direct these five here in order to carry out the Consulate's justice."

  She could see her mother tense her shoulders. As Torin turned to walk away again, she watched her mother take a deep breath, trying to calm herself before she got herself in trouble, both with Torin and her husband.

  The crowd continued toward the main gate. Suddenly a small rock flew out from the crowd and struck Icarus’s robes. He did not respond. Within seconds, more rocks, sticks, and various foods were being tossed from the crowd. The Guardians stepped back from Icarus, trying to avoid the projectiles but not attempting to stop them.

  Laila grabbed her mother's arm. "This isn't right! Why are they doing that?"

  "There's a lot of anger toward the Magi. No one today was alive to see them be cast down, but the stories endure. People have long memories." She frowned, watching the continued abuse of the Magus.

  Laila felt anger boil up inside of her. This wasn't justice. This wasn't what Terus, especially the Consulate, was supposed to stand for. Regardless of the history they had with the Magi, Laila could not bring herself to believe that this was fair treatment.

  "This is not justice!" she yelled at Torin.

  Lunete turned back toward her, her eyes wide, as though to say, What have you done?

  Torin spun on his heel as though he had been waiting for the response.

  "You don't even know what justice is, young one! We will not allow the Magi to corrupt the people again! I will not allow it!"

  "You won't allow it? That is not the way of the Consulate." Laila began to recite. "The Consulate was established to benefit the people, and the Consuls shall conduct themselves in such a way that protects the people from threats, internal and external, regardless of personal ambitions. Consuls shall work for the good of the people, with the blessing of the people. No Consul shall seek to achieve personal gain before the good of the people of Terus."

  "Do not cite text to me, girl! I am a Consul, and you are still a child!”

  Torin stalked toward Laila threateningly. Before he reached her, however, Lunete stepped in front of her. Laila felt something stir inside of her. The strange surge down her spine came again as Torin faced off against her moth
er. She could feel the earth of the road beneath her feet. She could feel it reach all the way toward Icarus and the crowd.

  She felt the dust and dirt on his robes. Her mind encompassed all of these things in an instant. Last night she had not acted on the sensation, this time she did. Involuntarily she flicked her hand out toward Icarus, feeling the dust and dirt fly off of his robes, just as she had seen it do yesterday. The Guardians were struck, stumbling backwards into the crowd. The stones still in the air had stopped mid-flight.

  The cloud hung around Icarus and the crowd went silent. Torin turned to see what had happened, and his eyes grew wide when he saw the sphere of dust and dirt hanging in the air, surrounded by stones. No one seemed to notice Laila's outstretched arm, not even her mother. All their attention was on Icarus.

  Icarus, however, looked as surprised as everyone else. He turned and caught her eyes again. The surprise slowly disappeared from his face. Laila could feel the connection to the debris hanging around Icarus. She was not sure how she had done it, but she had recreated the magic he had done yesterday. The realization came to her in that moment, as everyone stared at Icarus, fearing his next move, and as Icarus watched her.

  "No!" she whispered.

  Her hand dropped and the cloud surrounding Icarus fell to the ground. She did not want this. Whatever it was. She shook her head, looking down at her hand.

  "Get him out of the city! Now!" shouted Torin. The crowd took several steps back, away from the Magus, fearing what might happen next. The Guardians hesitated as well.

  "What?" Lunete said, turning to Laila. She had not seen Laila's movement, but she had heard her exclamation.

  "I... I just... This isn't right." She dropped her head into her hands, trying to hide the fear in her face, hoping her mother would not see it for what it was.

  Torin's shouting began to spark the crowd into movement. Icarus raised his hands in deference, but he continued to stare at Laila. She avoided his eyes as much as she could.