“I’m not going to tell,” Pelya reassured her weakly.
“It only took a minute to cast the spell. I had already practiced the gestures and incantations. You have to do that with magic, you know. Everything has to be perfect, so you have to practice everything over and over.”
“I’ve heard that. I’m hoping to learn a little bit, but I’m not allowed yet.” Pelya frowned. “Kids aren’t supposed to do magic. Our bodies aren’t strong enough to handle the energies.”
Ebudae grinned. “I know, but there are potions and . . . other things that can help. I found a lot of stuff that I don’t think I’m supposed to have. I have as much fun doing magic as you do with your sword drills,” she explained, wanting Pelya to understand.
It was something Pelya could relate to, especially now that she wasn’t allowed to do it anymore. Technically, little girls weren’t supposed to play with swords either. Looking at it that way, Pelya decided not to judge Ebudae for it anymore. She nodded for her to go on.
“I have a perfect memory, not just with my mind, but with my hands and tongue, so I’m really good with memorizing everything for spells,” Ebudae said matter-of-factly. “I cast the spell exactly right and the old grandpa’s lungs stopped. He stared at me with bug-eyes while he died. It was mesmerizing.”
“Wow,” was all Pelya could say. A horrified fascination washed over her.
“When he left his body the light disappeared from his eyes, just like your daddy said. The eyes didn’t close either. They just stared at me even though they were empty.” Ebudae had a macabre grin on her face, clearly enjoying the tale. “I stared back until the horrid little girl came in and screamed.”
“What happened then?” The story was tremendously disturbing, but Pelya had to know everything by that point.
Ebudae sighed. “Adults came running. The little girl accused me of killing grandpa and her mother agreed. She even called me a freak. Can you believe that?” she asked incredulously.
“No!” Pelya exclaimed even though she was nodding internally.
“Grandmother took me home and never asked about it, even though I think she believes I did it too. They can’t prove anything though because it’s an untraceable spell. I do know that we’re never invited back there again.”
“That’s a bit drastic,” Pelya stated in defense of her friend. “Especially since they can’t prove that you killed their grandpa. They have to be able to prove it.”
“I know, right? Besides, he was better off dead, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it,” Ebudae stated logically.
“Very good point,” Pelya agreed. She didn’t know what else to say, so she sat there quietly.
Ebudae suddenly reached forward and gave her a big hug. “Thank you for listening to me. I haven’t told anyone.”
Pelya hugged back fiercely. “You’re welcome. It’s the best secret ever and I’ll never tell anyone.” She wouldn’t either. It was important that she be trustworthy. She also had no idea who she would tell or how she would even relay such an odd saga.
“I have nightgowns. One of them is big enough for you,” Ebudae said, getting up and going over to a chest of drawers. Even though she was a few months younger, Pelya was four inches taller. Ebudae pulled out a dark blue nightgown and brought it over. “You look good in blue, it goes with your eyes.”
Pelya changed and folded her clothes onto a chair. It felt strange to wear a silky nightgown instead of the cotton nightshirt and leggings of the guard. She didn’t know how she felt about it.
“Do you want to sleep here tonight?” Ebudae asked hopefully. Pelya quickly nodded. It would be much better than sleeping alone in one of the other cavernous rooms. The girls climbed in bed and held onto each other in order to be safe from the dangerous world outside the covers.
Chapter 14
Pelya woke with the sunrise, disoriented. It took her a minute to remember where she was and the events of the previous day. At one point during the night, she had woken from a nightmare of dead eyes surrounding her. She’d been so tired that she fell right back asleep though.
Ebudae was lying next to her, fast asleep. Pelya normally got up to do exercises and drills, but she wasn’t at the barracks, she was at Lady Pallon’s manor with no practice weapons. Ebudae shifted in her sleep and mumbled wordlessly. Pelya reached over and ran fingers through the girl’s messy brown hair for a minute to return the favor of the day before. Then she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
They didn’t wake up until noon. As they were getting dressed, Ebudae said, “This is early for me. I usually stay up all night and get up in the afternoon. Grandmother likes it because she goes to bed and wakes up early. It means she doesn’t have to deal with me very often.”
“Do we get to eat?” Pelya asked hopefully.
“You like to eat, I’ve noticed. It’s probably why you’re so tall and strong. Maybe taking a break from all that drilling will be good for you,” Ebudae observed. Pelya stuck her tongue out eliciting the first giggle she had ever heard from the little wizardess. “Come on. Tina will take care of us.” She took Pelya’s hand and led her downstairs.
Ebudae had chosen a cream-colored dress a few shades lighter than her brown hair. It was edged with black lace that matched black stockings and shoes. “Why do you hate pink so much when your eyes are pink?” Pelya asked.
“Oh, I love my eyes,” Ebudae said as they went down the stairs. “But I like them to stand out. Plus all little girls wear pink and I hate doing what everyone else does. Do you know what my favorite color is?”
“Black,” Pelya guessed.
“Yes, exactly. I love black. It’s the color of dark and spooky things and it looks really good on me. I like silver, white and purple too, but black is my favorite.”
“Mine’s blue, but I like black and brown too,” Pelya said.
“Blue is the color of your eyes. Black and brown are the colors of the City Guard, so that’s understandable.” Ebudae nodded, leading Pelya into the kitchen.
Tina was Ebudae’s personal assistant. She was a nice young lady with a very bad stutter and an eyepatch covering an empty socket. The eye had been lost in some terrible childhood event no one would tell Pelya about. Lady Pallon hired her because it would make Ebudae’s life more difficult. The stuttering was bad enough that the girl would have to wait for minutes whenever Tina delivered a message from her grandmother, which would make her late for whatever her grandmother needed her for. In addition, the eyepatch was a bit unnerving because Lady Pallon had ordered one with a painted eyeball on it and insisted the woman wear it. Tina was a poor woman who had no other avenues of work so did what she had to.
“Pelya and I would like some lunch in the dining room, Tina.” The woman brushed back her dull blonde hair and nodded. Tina avoided speaking whenever possible, much to the relief of the girls. They walked into the long, empty dining room and sat down next to each other in seats nearest the kitchen. “Grandmother almost never uses this. She always eats in the conservatory.”
“I’ve noticed that,” Pelya said. “What do you want to do after we eat?”
“Are you going to do your drills like normal?” Ebudae asked. Her face looked ready for disappointment if the answer was yes.
“I’m only allowed to do them for an hour a day and I really don’t feel like it right now. Can we do something else?”
Ebudae’s face brightened. “Yes, definitely. There are all sorts of things we can do. Umm . . . I have some ideas, but is there anything that interests you?”
Pelya didn’t answer right away, because Tina came in with bowls of thick stew with bread to sop it up. There was a plate of blackberry pie for each of them. Whatever Lady Pallon’s faults might be, she always had the best food to serve, even to the children.
When Tina was gone, Pelya leaned over and whispered, “Daddy said there are secret places below the buildings in the gardens and that I should go exploring, but not too deep.”
Ebudae nodded vigorously, grinning
without saying a word. They both turned to the food and shoveled it into their mouths as fast as possible, not bothering to notice how delightful it all tasted. When done, they left their dishes for Tina to clean up and then headed upstairs for supplies.
Pelya followed her to one of the secret doors. Ebudae put her back against the door and spread out her arms. “We’re friends now, right? If I let you in, you’ll never tell anyone what’s inside.”
“I promise,” Pelya vowed with her right palm over her heart. It was good enough. Ebudae opened the door and rapidly motioned her in.
Before closing and locking the door, she glanced back to make certain no one was watching. “Alright. I need to get some things.” She stopped and looked at Pelya’s belt. “I have another longknife you can use in case we get into trouble.”
Pelya thought about it for a moment, chewing her bottom lip. She didn’t want to kill anyone, but if they found danger, dying would be worse. Moreover, she really, really missed the weight of it at her side and was constantly putting her hand where the missing knife was.
At her nod, Ebudae went to a drawer and pulled out a steel knife that she handed over. It was a little longer and heavier than what Pelya was used to, but it was very well made with a steel wrapped hilt and curved etchings on the blade. Its quality was as excellent as the knife she had left back at the barracks.
“Here, take these too. I’ll get you a pouch.” Ebudae placed three small multi-sided balls into Pelya’s hands. Pelya gasped when she saw the magical runes etched into each side. “The blue one will act as an emergency light if my lanterns go out. The runes glow brightly in the dark, which is helpful. The dark green one will make smoke that can give you time to run away from something. The light green one will show you secret things. They only work once.” Ebudae put them in a pouch one by one as she explained what they did. “Don’t mix them up! There are keywords that activate them. Listen carefully and repeat after me. If you mess it up, you could die.”
Pelya nodded as everything was explained. She set the pouch on a table nearby while they practiced saying the keywords exactly right. She knew about rune balls from her studies in the guard, but wasn’t allowed to use them.
“Do you feel confident in your ability to use them?” Ebudae asked. “Because if you have even a little doubt, things are going to go badly.”
Pelya stood straight and looked her in the eyes. “I have complete confidence. I’ll use them wisely and correctly.” Ebudae reacted by giving her a big hug, which Pelya returned fiercely. In the space of a day, they had become best of friends and complete confidantes.
The large room they were in had magical items scattered carelessly on tables, stands, chairs and walls. There were a few tables that had vials, tubes, magical focuses and various items that Pelya couldn’t even begin to describe. In addition to that were bookshelves with over a hundred books, a luxury few could afford. They were kept more neatly than anything else, showing an added amount of respect. “I found those in the secret places. The ones in my normal library aren’t as interesting. I’m not allowed to go to bookstores to get more . . . or leave the house,” Ebudae said. “You can read them anytime you like. There’s a lot of stuff you won’t find in the Guard library, including a few stories with adults having sex.”
“What?!” Pelya exclaimed in disbelief. “There’re books about that stuff? I mean, I know adults do it and Daddy says lots of people get hurt with it, but he won’t tell me how. It makes him angry sometimes.”
The young wizardess pulled out a book from the bottom of a pile stacked neatly on a chair and flipped through it. In addition to words, some of which Pelya hadn’t learned, there were drawings of naked people on the pages. She blushed deeply and closed it in Ebudae’s hands while the other girl shrugged and placed it neatly back on the pile.
Everything about the room and the adventure they were on was different from the way Pelya had been raised. Ebudae’s dabbling in arcane arts, access to books that would make an adult blush, and tomes of magic were naughty and mysterious. Commander Coodmur had told her to experience life outside the Guard and this was definitely outside. Pelya debated whether to be shocked or excited by what she saw. After a moment, she decided the thrill of adventure, the unknown and the dangerous were all wonderful and she was going to have fun with it.
While Pelya studied the room, Ebudae changed into a long, thin purple dress with slits on the side of the legs for easy movement. She wore tight leggings and dark boots that were quiet when she stepped. Over all of that was a wizard’s cloak. Pelya had seen a couple and read about them, but they were rare in most places and never seen on a child. Dralin wasn’t most places though. Being a city with a higher population of wizards than any three countries combined, magical items like wizard’s cloaks were fairly common. Even then, children never had them.
Upon seeing Pelya staring at her, Ebudae said, “The cloak and the dress have runes sewn into them to protect me from magical and physical things, not everything, but a lot. The leggings keep spiders and rats from biting me too easily. I have a small pack here for exploring.” She pointed at a waterproofed leather backpack. There’s extra food, stuff for making fire, a couple of magical light wands, some first aid kits and a couple of vials with healing salve.”
“Healing salve? That’s expensive,” Pelya said in awe.
“Grandmother expects me to get into trouble. It’s the one thing I have to tell her about when I want more, so don’t need it for anything.” She winked and grinned.
“Alright.” Pelya grinned back. The excitement was racing through her veins and she couldn’t wait to go. She gladly took the pack when Ebudae pointed to it and looked at her hopefully. Then they went through an entry into the other secret room. There was a large rune circle on the floor in one corner that took up a quarter of the room and had candles all around it. Everything was drawn in some sort of silvery liquid. Other rune circles were drawn on the walls around the room, though they were in mundane colors. Three worktables had different items on them that Pelya couldn’t identify. One had tubes, bottles and vials with colored liquids and looked to be some sort of potion-making table.
“Did you do all of this?” Pelya asked in a hoarse whisper, afraid to disturb anything with her voice.
“Yes,” she answered while pushing a series of stones in the wall. A section of wall slid slowly down into the floor and Ebudae moved into the secret hallway beyond when it was done. “I’m never allowed to go anywhere, so I spend most of my time working in the lab. Every once in a while I go down to the tunnels below to find more stuff. I think this manor was built over some sort of wizard’s academy. I don’t think grandmother knows that though, so shh.” She put a finger in front of her lips and winked again. Pelya grinned in excitement and quickly followed her into the secret passage just as the door began to rise again.
It was a stone hallway just big enough for a thin person to walk through comfortably if they weren’t too tall. A magical lantern was sitting in a niche and Ebudae quickly lit it with a word and a gesture, showing off her magical ability. When she did, a breeze rustled her hair and robes. The bright yellow-green flame dutifully impressed Pelya. Ebudae motioned for her to follow.
After a brief walk, they came to a surprisingly wide spiral staircase that Ebudae wasted no time going down. Pelya’s heart beat rapidly in her chest and she couldn’t stop grinning. Hidden buildings under the city, a wizardess for a friend, magical places and danger all wrapped up in spooky passages illuminated only by a magical lantern casting its flickering light. Missing her drills no longer mattered. She was going on an adventure.
There were halls leading off the staircase as they passed the second floor, main floor, basement and a level below that Pelya hadn’t known existed. Even after that, the staircase continued downward until it finally came to a large stone chamber. Ebudae spoke a word of power and flicked her wrist at a lantern sitting on a table in the corner. The breeze ruffled her hair again. Another yellow-green flame appear
ed in it, helping to illuminate the room a little better.
“This is my staging area,” Ebudae explained. There were supplies on shelves and tables all around the chamber. At least twenty lanterns were in one corner, sacks and barrels were sealed, not giving a clue to what was contained inside, various artifacts were lain out on top of and underneath two of the tables. “That’s where I keep some of the things I find that I haven’t examined enough or that I’m not sure I’m going to keep,” she stated with a gesture at them.
“Wow!” Pelya’s voice was loud in the chamber, causing her to cover her mouth with both hands. Ebudae stared at her incredulously. “I’m sorry,” Pelya told her in a loud whisper. She continued in a more normal voice. “This is just amazing. I thought the secret entrances were in the buildings outside though. I didn’t know they were under the manor.”
“Some are in those buildings, but they’re not in very good condition, there’s more danger and less treasure that way.” Ebudae made gestures in front of runes on either side of the door. Light shimmered momentarily in the doorway. “Wards I placed to keep bad things out. Come here.” She pulled her knife out of its sheath and motioned her over.
Pelya moved to her suspiciously. When Ebudae took her left hand and pushed the sleeve up, Pelya pulled it back. Ebudae took it again and made a slow cut not far away from where she had cut the night before. Pelya set her jaw in irritation, but watched while the wizardess took dabs of blood and placed them in the center of each rune, saying a word and gesturing each time. The breeze would lightly ruffle her hair with each casting, but it didn’t seem to touch Pelya.
“There. Now you can go through even if the ward is activated.”
“Oh. You could have told me that before cutting me.” Pelya put her hands on her hips and glared playfully. She narrowed her eyes when Ebudae took her hand again. They widened when the wizardess wiped the rest of the blood and sucked it off a finger.
“You’re really creepy,” Pelya stated decisively.
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