by Mari Dietz
His brother laughed and kicked a stray stone in the road. It skidded into the canal and fell in with a plunk. “You don’t see the irony that you need magic to save them?”
It was time to change the subject. People in the street were giving the brothers lingering looks.
“What led you astray this time? You promised you wouldn’t go around violating the radiant life.” They weren’t purified yet and still needed to live up to the radiant’s honor.
“I lied.” Samuel poked his brother’s arm. “You have a small stain.”
William thrust his arm forward and studied the white fabric. When he couldn’t find a stain, he shot his brother another glare. “Really? Are you this petty?”
William resisted the urge to smack his brother in the head. Who knew what coated his dirty mop of hair after a drunken night?
Samuel laughed. “Come on. You used to be fun.”
“You can’t have fun your whole life. People need to be led to the way of the radiant.”
William remembered the night, a year ago, when his father had given him the ring. His face grim, he’d informed him that it was time to grow up and take care of the radiant. William held back a sad smile. That night, he’d stopped running around with his brother. One day, his brother would understand the responsibility he faced.
“Yeah, it’s super great living without magic. You wouldn’t believe some of the things women do with their relics—”
William slapped his hand over Samuel’s mouth. “Enough. Maybe we shouldn't talk.” William felt something wet on his hand and yanked it back. “Gross, Samuel.”
“Heh.” Samuel stuck out his tongue but said nothing else.
They walked in silence down the roadways. The smooth rock of the road grew rougher the closer they got to radiant land. The canal’s water got muddier. No imbs came out to keep things nice where the radiant lived. The magic users would be chased off by the radiant if they did. The people of this city had been led astray by magic, letting it turn them into mutants. They wanted to inject themselves with more magic so they could continue to live their easy lives. William shook his head and touched the implant in his neck. Soon, he could take it out. Once his father passed on, it would be his job to lead the radiant and save the population from themselves. He adjusted his cuffs and picked up the pace. It wouldn’t do for the future leader of the radiant to be late.
William ignored the constant sighs behind him as they walked briskly through the narrow alleys. He avoided the grimy walls of buildings. Mold and algae were a problem in Verrin that magic would have cleaned up, but clean walls weren’t worth one’s sanity.
A modest home appeared in front of them, and William directed his brother to go in first. Sunlight came in from the wide windows. They wouldn’t need candles at this time of day. The plain furniture had been hand-carved from wood. Sometimes, they would have to get magic-made items, but the radiant tried their best to make everything themselves. Stones in the floor, placed by hand, got replaced more often. The home always had the scent of fresh dirt, which was an improvement over the mildew smell of Verrin. Samuel went into the bathroom, where a drawn bath awaited him. William heard a gasp from the other side of the door.
“Blight, it’s cold!”
“It would have been warm had you not been taken in for disorderly conduct.” William smiled at the small revenge.
His mother had asked before he left if she should warm the water. William had told her no. He smiled; it would make Samuel bathe faster and also make William feel better. It might be childish, but sometimes, he didn’t understand his brother or how to help him. The bitterness at having to babysit ate at him.
More loud gasps came from the bathroom. “You know the rest of the city is connected to the pipelines and can get hot water whenever they want?”
“I know, and I don’t care. Is hot water worth the mutation of your body and soul?” How many times would he have to repeat himself to his brother? He annoyed himself at this point.
William pumped water into the large sink and rinsed off the hand that Samuel had licked.
“Probably,” Samuel muttered.
“Just hurry.”
“You don’t have to stand guard.” His voice trembled from the cold water as he splashed, cleaning himself.
William crossed his arms and chose not to lean against the wall. The house was extremely clean, but while wearing white, one had to be careful. “Oh, I think I have to. Who knows where you will run off to or what you'll pee on next?”
A short laugh echoed from the other side. “They told you I peed in the canal?” Samuel sounded pleased with himself. “It’s not like it did any harm.”
“No, it’s just against the rules of the city.”
“And we all know how much you love rules, Will.”
The splashing on the other side quieted, and William heard him getting out of the tub.
William took in the tiny living space. He had to share a room with his brother, but he would soon be on his own and perhaps married. His father thought he should marry a founder to help with the cause. Since he was the future leader, some founders wanted his pull within the radiant community. His father had said he might have to accept that she would still use magic, so it would expose him to some danger. It was a matter of finding the right woman, preferably a calm and submissive one. Soon, he would have his own family and not have to take care of his brother. He loved him, but fetching him from the holding cells every morning was tiring him.
His brother appeared, his hair sticking up in every direction, and made his way toward the bedroom.
“If you’re so cold, why don’t you have any clothes on?”
He opened the bedroom door. “They were dirty, and I’m already numb, so who cares?”
“It wasn’t that cold. Now hurry.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Samuel shut the door behind him to dress.
Thankfully, it didn't take long to get ready. William again directed Samuel to go ahead of him out the door.
Samuel saluted him and marched out. “So how many souls are we stealing today?”
They walked down the narrow alley toward the canal. They’d gotten permission to hold a purification ceremony in the center of town, something that rarely happened. All the radiant who had a relic would be there to help purify those who’d chosen life over magic.
“We’ll give the message and see who’s moved. That’s all we can do.”
They waved down a water taxi.
Samuel eyed the boat that floated with magic. “Isn’t it wrong taking these?”
William stepped into the boat. “Well, we're late.”
The radiant land was closer to the center of the city than other sections of town, and without water transportation, it could take a day to travel from one side of the city to the other.
“Isn’t magic convenient?” Samuel sat down in the water taxi.
“No.” William got out of the water taxi, ignoring Samuel’s laughter. His brother loved it when he slipped up.
Samuel wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Hey, don’t worry so much, Will. You can’t be perfect all the time.” Samuel leaned in. “You don’t have it easy. I get it.”
“If you get it, then why make my life harder?”
Samuel stepped back, letting William go. He stared at the ground as they walked down the stone roads. “I’m trying to save you.”
William jerked. “Save me? You can’t be serious.” He still couldn’t believe his brother thought becoming a mog was preferable to joining the elevated plane of a full radiant.
His expression softened. “Yeah. We should have run off when you first got that relic. But it’s too late. Maybe if I make you see… just maybe you’ll come back.”
William’s lips parted. “I didn’t go anywhere. And where would we run to? How would we get credits?” The appeal of a carefree life was evident, but eventually, everyone needed to accept their responsibilities in life.
Samuel stared up at the sky. “Don’t
you think there’s more out there than Verrin?”
“I suppose, but what’s the point?”
People had tried to get past the swamps. Only one had ever returned. His journal told tales of how his whole group had slowly turned into mogs, with only more swamp ahead of them. Out in the middle of the swamp, they’d had no way of getting purified magic into their orbs to keep them charged.
Samuel smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Brother. Let’s get you to the ceremony.”
Run off. William’s shoulders tensed. There was nowhere to run to, and it was Samuel who needed saving, not William.
The roadways widened and smoothed closer to the center of town. A road car drove past them. From the backseat, the imb directed the car down the street while using magic to make it move. The cars only worked inside the center of Verrin because of the size of the canals in the city, and they needed magic to function. The large statue in the center of town showed a person holding a wand in the air. It towered above everyone, and on special occasions, illusions of fire would come out of the wand.
The sounds of people chattering increased. From here, William could see the brilliant white of the radiant. Those with relics stood at the back, while others fanned out in the crowd to bring more people in to hear the message.
Many times, the radiant would get those who’d recently lost a loved one to corruption. The choice became their own, and only those who’d reached adulthood could choose to get purified. Parents would beg to have their children purified, but the radiant refused. Some feared that the radiant would purify them by force, but they followed a strict moral code: the person had the right of choice.
William made eye contact with his father, who stood directly under the large statue, and nodded. His father narrowed his eyes to look past him at Samuel.
“Old man is pissed that I pissed?”
William groaned. “Please don’t let him hear you say that.”
“Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t.” Samuel grinned at the pained look on William’s face. “All right, where do we set up camp?”
William found an empty spot, greeting other radiant with a smile and grasping their hands as he walked by. He stood and waited with what he hoped was a pleasant expression. His brother stayed back a few feet. He never tried to recruit anyone. Their father had lectured Samuel on their cause, but they’d only come to the compromise that Samuel would stand quietly.
He didn’t dwell long before a smiling radiant approached with a young woman trailing behind him. After nodding respectfully, the radiant left the girl in William’s care. Only an unpurified radiant could use the ring.
“Welcome. I’m William. I’m glad you’re here. What’s your name, and do you have questions?”
The young woman twisted her boney fingers and stared at the ground. Her ragged hair hung in greasy clumps. “Jamie. Do we get shelter after it’s over?”
“As a radiant, food and shelter are provided as a community effort, but you shouldn’t join because you’re hungry. Do you desire to keep the blight out of your life?”
She nodded. “Oh yes. My friend Tona turned into”—she shuddered—“a mog. She tried to eat me.” Tears leaked from her eyes. “We couldn’t get charged, and I-I think I’m already corrupted.”
She didn’t want him to look at her for fear he’d see the corruption. She was lucky to still have the presence of mind to come to the ceremony.
“Don’t worry, you can be saved. But you understand you’ll no longer be able to use magic?”
Her red-rimmed eyes glanced up. The red was from more than tears. “I don’t have a relic. I’d rather learn to live without it.”
“Kneel in acceptance of your new life.”
Her frail frame knelt, and William placed his hands on her head. He opened himself up to the relic on his finger. Through the ring, he could feel the magic in her body. A slippery feeling confirmed the blight had settled inside her.
William pulled all the blight out of her. He felt it slide through his hands. When it hit him, it broke down into nothing. Through his relic, he poured in a bit of white light, only a little, to flush out her body. William removed his hands.
Jamie, still on her knees, looked up at him. The redness had left her eyes. A faint white glow showed around her brown irises, then faded away. A calm smile appeared on her face.
“Now go to the radiant land. You will be greeted and told your new place in this world.”
Her gaze filled with easy contentment. They would sort her according to her talents. She might return here to help save more souls.
“It’s the best part, seeing the life leave their eyes, isn’t it?” Bitterness flowed from Samuel’s voice. He kicked his heels at the wall he sat on.
William resisted wiping his hands on his white pants. “You’re not supposed to talk.” He checked the gicgauge on the side of his ring. Jamie had come just in time; she’d had quite a lot of blight in her.
“Oh yeah, it’s almost like I’m a full radiant.”
“I could make you one.” William flexed his fingers repeatedly. “And the radiant can talk.”
Samuel tilted his head. “You would do that to me?”
William turned. “You aren’t ready.”
Samuel touched his shoulder. “But would you do that to me?”
He shrugged off his brother’s hand. “I don’t purify the unwilling, Sam. Please go back to standing quietly.”
If they purified his brother, he would be saved, and William would no longer have to babysit him. William squashed that thought, guilt filling him. Though it would save him, Samuel needed to give his permission.
“I see it’s going about as well as expected over here.” Their father stood before them, his thick eyebrows furrowed. He’d likely heard Samuel’s comments.
William swallowed. “It’s going well. I purified a young woman.”
“Come with me, William.”
His father walked toward the perimeter, and William trailed behind, leaving his brother. His father breezed through the crowd, his broad shoulders easy to follow. His gray hair shone, the blighted sun giving it a reddish cast. Everyone made way for the radiant leader, but his father nodded respectfully as he passed by. William had always admired how calm his father remained in public. William always let Samuel get under his skin.
He stopped in front of a man in a perfectly tailored dark suit. William spotted the wand strapped in its harness. A bright red stone glowed on the end. This wasn’t like most relics; it screamed first-generation privilege.
“William, this is Conrad, a founder.”
Each founder owned a powerful relic that imbued the materials in their factories’ assembly lines. They refined the raw materials since they had more magic, then the materials would be passed to other imbs to form other products. The founders controlled the city’s resources, but GicCorp kept them in check.
William nodded. “A pleasure to meet you.”
Conrad looked him up and down. “You’re looking for a match for your son?”
The statement hung in the air.
“In speaking with the head of GicCorp, we thought it best to make relations between us and magic users more friendly.”
Conrad’s lip twitched. “Interesting. My youngest is a vital, and all I can offer you is a meeting with my eldest.”
William’s father frowned. “My understanding was that we were to meet with Emilia?”
The other man fluttered his fingers in the air. “There must have been a misunderstanding. Emilia’s spoken for. You may meet my eldest today, but I’m not sure about any potential there. She’s my only heir.”
“Fine.” William’s father glowered. “I don’t think it should be our job to tame your daughter. Other houses will take the GicCorp deal.”
Conrad looked down at them. He glanced toward where Samuel loitered. “I think you understand how it is to have an unruly child.”
William’s father balked, but he’d gotten the message: don’t judge us when you have one of yo
ur own. “I will be busy with the purification ceremony. My son will go with you to meet your daughter.”
Conrad turned as if he’d dismissed them and walked on the smooth stone road to a shiny black car parked beside the large canal.
William glanced between his father and the car. His father shooed him, so William followed the stuffy founder to the car.
He carefully got in and sat down. The driver started the car, and they drove down the street.
Conrad tapped his fingers against the car door. “Your first time on a marriage meeting?”
“Yes.” William wasn’t sure where to look, so he focused on the seat in front of him.
Conrad stared out the window. His tone sounded flat as he asked, “You must know the scandal with my daughter?”
“I pay little attention to gossip.” A scandal? What was his father thinking? How would getting mixed up in a scandal help the radiant cause?
“Well, don’t get your hopes up. I only have so much leverage with her. She prefers starvation over her family obligations.”
Founders tended to marry each other, believing they had the strongest magic for their relics. William mused that there had never been any proof that the wielder of the relic mattered. It came down to the relic’s power. If they gave Conrad’s wand to an unbound imb, they might imbue as well as he could.
The car veered right. “May I ask where we’re going, sir?”
Conrad sneered. “To the reaper trials, where my daughter's competing.”
5
Vic
“Are you still planning to join an Order and leave your family?” Her father’s thin lips turned downward at his disgraced daughter.
Vic glared at the man who’d had a part in bringing her into the world. “You know what, Father? I don’t think they have little balls or tea parties. I guess I’ll have to make do without all those fun social parties you’re so fond of.”
His stance was stiff as he faced her down. The sun was shining in the open hallway, but it still felt dark. “Do you want to see your sister?”
