by Andrew Rowe
“The ice sorcery has been effective at slowing the poison’s ability to cause damage, but the water key used as a filtration agent has been completely ineffective. If Master Ta’thyriel had not been working to undo the internal damage, the necrosis would have already spread beyond your arm. His efforts have been…impressive.”
She took a deep breath. “I will need to reopen the wound once we begin the process in order to make direct contact with the poison. This will be uncomfortable, especially once the numbness from the ice spell fades. Do you have any questions?”
Liarra raised her head to look directly at Jonan. He turned his head away.
“No, that was, uh, quite clear. Thank you.”
She nodded and looked back down at the wound. “I will begin as soon as the sorceress arrives and undoes her spell. Father, please bring me a chair.”
Huh. She’s vastly more assertive when she’s working.
Torian dutifully moved one of the nearby chairs next to the bed, and Liarra sat, continuing to inspect the wound. She prodded at the areas where the blackened veins were visible, appearing entranced with the damage.
He wasn’t sure if she was practicing some kind of silent sorcery like his own or just prodding at his skin out of boredom. He suspected the former, but it was the more disturbing answer – Assassin’s Sorcery had its name for a reason.
Even as a practitioner of the same style of spellcasting, he had no way of detecting silent spells unless they were of a dominion that he was personally capable of using. Nature and life were not among those dominions – and neither was poison. If she was a poison sorceress, putting her in direct contact with his wound was a suicidal prospect.
But he was no longer in a position to refuse – sounding the alarm now would have been a dangerous complication, and one that could easily cost his arm. It was easier, if not necessarily safer, to trust Rialla’s judgment of her sister.
Instead, he focused on the problem that Rialla had been trying to avoid, constructing a new image of her in his mind.
When Rialla began to come into view, he made an assassin’s move of his own.
Disguise.
He shaped the sight sorcery spell carefully, only capturing Liarra, Torian, and himself in its effect. The alterations to Rialla’s appearance would be subtle ones – changes to the structure of her face, the musculature in her arms and legs, and her apparent age.
He had no need to change the color of her eyes – he had deduced that she had somehow already altered that herself. He had not yet determined if the appearance of her eyes was a persistent deception sorcery effect or if she had actually managed to change her dominion bond – either was possible, given her existing skills and her previous work with Edon. It was something he planned to ask her about eventually, but now was far from the time.
Subtle though the changes were, Jonan judged upon seeing her revised appearance that it was sufficient – she no longer displayed the characteristic signs of resemblance to her family.
Both Torian and Liarra turned toward the newcomer as she entered. That gave Jonan an opportunity to raise his right hand and make a symbol of an eye with his fingers – a hand sign indicating an illusion.
Her shoulders immediately relaxed as she took in the indication.
“Vorianna.” Jonan spat out the false name quickly, hoping to reinforce his message to her. “These are the sorcerers Aladir summoned to assist me, Torian and Liarra Dianis.”
Rialla reacted to his cue immediately, bowing deeply. “My earnest pleasure to meet the scions of such a respected house, m’lord and ‘lady.”
Torian and Liarra bowed in return. The father spoke next. “Thank you. Your filtering spell was quite clever, and your friend was lucky to have your help. Unfortunately, it would interfere with my daughter’s work. Could you remove it?”
The former “goddess” nodded absently. “Sure, can do. Have you figured out the poison? Couldn’t identify it myself – exerted myself too much earlier to use my water sorcery.”
Rialla approached, casually taking a seat on his bed, next to his legs. She lifted up his arm and put two fingers against his injury.
Torian lifted an eyebrow, perhaps finding the young woman sitting on his bed inappropriate, but he said nothing.
Good. If she keeps projecting an attitude dissimilar from what he’d expect from his daughter, he’s less likely to come to the same conclusion. She uses a bit of an accent when she’s playing Vorianna, but it’s not necessarily enough to trick a family member.
Maintaining his spell would be difficult – he had already taxed his vision significantly in the battle – but he knew Rialla was not in any emotional state to confront her father now. If he had to risk a small bit of his vision for her sanctity of mind, that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
“Dominion of Ice,” Rialla incanted, “Undo your hold and let the blood within his arm freely flow.”
The words were unnecessary – they were another deflection, implying that she utilized a different style of sorcery. Jonan silently nodded in approval.
She sprung up from the bed, and Aladir appeared in the doorway a few moments later.
“Ice spell is gone. Need anything else?”
Liarra took Jonan’s arm again, shaking her head. “No, I should be capable of working now.”
“Might stay and watch, if it’s all the same to you.”
Jonan gave Rialla a quizzical look. She just grinned at him in reply.
“As long as the patient does not mind being crowded.” Liarra’s words were full of weight, but Jonan shrugged. “And also holds still.”
“Sorry. I’ll be more careful.” Jonan closed his eyes, but he maintained his spell. “I won’t have any problem with people watching. Medicine is pretty fascinating. I’ll be pleased to learn what I’ve been poisoned with.”
“As will I,” Liarra replied. “Let us begin. Father, please hand me my tools.”
Jonan’s eyes opened wide, scanning for the ‘tools’ – that didn’t sound promising. Torian brought a case over to the bedside and opened it, revealing glittering metal implements within. The scalpels and bone saw reminded him of the blades he had once seen in a room in Orlyn designed for torturing an Esharen prisoner.
Intellectually, he had known that Liarra had to reopen the wound somehow, but as she reached for the scalpel he sincerely wished that there were a few sorcerous words that would have done the job with less cutting involved.
He didn’t even feel the incision – Aladir’s sorcery had closed the wound, but he assumed the damage to the tissue must have been too severe for the nerves to completely regrow. The numbness from the ice sorcery was fading, however, and he thought he could almost see the blackness in his veins beginning to spread.
As blood began to seep from the wound, Liarra pressed a fingertip against the injury, closing her own eyes.
“No,” she mumbled, her jaw tightening. Her eyes remained closed for several moments, the remaining people in the room silent. Aladir crept closer as Liarra focused, however, leaning up against the wall next to the bed.
Within sword reach of Liarra, Jonan realized. And Rialla. He may have suspicions of his own.
“I…have never seen a toxin this insidious before. It appears to have been deliberately designed to resist conventional sorcerous treatments. I don’t…” Liarra reopened her eyes. “My failure would be fatal.”
“You must have confidence in yourself, Liarra.” Her father rested a hand on her shoulder. “Perhaps Master Ta’thyriel can assist you as well.”
Liarra nodded quietly. “If his heart stops, Aladir must make it beat again.”
Well, that’s only the most terrifying series of words I’ve ever heard. This should be a night to remember.
“I must begin now. Dominion of Nature, I implore you; let your strength purge the venom within his blood.”
A hazel glow spread from her fingers into the wound, flowing into the wound and meeting with the blackness within. The essence felt
like scalding water pouring into his veins, and he could not help himself from shuddering. Her hand clamped down on his arm, holding him in place, while Torian moved to the opposite side of the bed to hold his other arm as he began to shudder.
“Hold his legs,” Torian instructed. Aladir and Vorianna each approached the bed and restrained one of his legs as he shook uncontrollably, tears flowing freely from his shut eyes.
He clenched his jaw tight enough that he felt the right side pop – that was the only way he could keep himself from screaming.
When the essence flowed out of his arm and into his chest, he could no longer hold back his voice, and he screamed until his throat was raw and his voice faded into a ragged whisper.
Hours passed as Liarra’s spell wove through his bloodstream, burning every inch within him. And Aladir, Liarra, and Rialla held him until the last vestiges of his consciousness faded away.
Chapter XX – Lydia V – Mirrors
“My apologies, Dame Hastings. You’ll have to wait here until we can authorize your visit.”
Lydia blinked at the House Theas guard, who gave her an apologetic look. “Authorize? I’m here as part of an ongoing investigation. I believe we met last time I was here. Bernhardt, correct?”
The guard nodded. “I’m flattered you remember me. And yes, I remember you – but I still need to check in. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.” Bernhardt turned to the other gate guard. “Roy, keep her entertained for a few minutes while I check inside?”
The other guard, an older man with a thick beard, simply grunted noncommittally.
Bernhardt gave her a helpless shrug and headed inside the complex.
Lydia folded her arms, glancing around the area while she waited. Roy stood behind the twin metal gates, held together by a thick length of chain secured by a series of locks. The keys were on Roy’s belt – she had seen him use them to unlock the gate before. She counted four locks, each of which she could probably open by creating false keys with protection sorcery – a trick she had used before.
Why am I even thinking about how to break into a place I’m supposed to protect? I must be spending too much time with Jonan.
Minutes passed before Lydia finally spoke. Roy clearly wasn’t interested in being social, but curiosity was an incessant itch at the back of her mind.
“What’s changed? Why the extra security?”
Roy turned his head, catching her eyes for just a moment. “Someone died last night, miss. That’s why.”
Lydia shivered, falling silent.
***
It felt like hours before Bernhardt returned, though Lydia knew it could have been only a handful of minutes. Roy had steadfastly refused to provide any further information – he had claimed that telling her more would be up to the nobles of the house.
As Bernhardt approached, she spotted Aladir following close behind him, and she immediately felt a slight sense of relief. Of those she had feared dead, losing her partner might have struck her the most.
Aladir’s eyes were downcast as he approached.
“You can let her in, Roy,” Bernhardt said as they came closer to the gate. Roy nodded and removed his keys from his belt, unlocking the gates with excruciating slowness. Lydia practically flew inside once they were open.
“Bernhardt, Aladir – please, tell me what happened.”
Aladir put a hand on Lydia’s shoulder, shaking his head and closing his eyes. “We failed, Lydia. Baroness Theas is dead.”
Lydia closed her eyes as well, putting her hand on top of Aladir’s to offer him comfort. As her eyes closed, her mind swam with possibilities.
Baroness Theas was the next target? That leaves Nakane as the only living member of the family currently at the household – and in complete control while Edrick is at war. Hartigan was quite insistent that he didn’t believe her to be capable of killing her brother, however.
I should consider the possibility that Hartigan was wrong.
Conversely, I should also be strongly considering that someone may be attempting to wipe out the entirety of House Theas while Edrick is away. Or, as implausible as it might be, Edrick could also be a target – we haven’t even attempted to contact him. Given his reputation as a powerful sorcerer, we’ve never even entertained the idea of a threat to his life.
“I have some information, but not much. Please fill me in while we head to the house. We should meet with Jonan and Vorianna immediately.”
“You two are free to head in, but that last part might not work.” Bernhardt shook his head. “That Jonan lad is in rough shape. Maer said the boy is probably the only reason we’re alive, though. Found the assassins before they hit and tried to warn us. Him and your girl managed to take care of a good number of them, but they got overwhelmed…”
Jonan. Oh, gods, I left him here. If he dies –
“He’ll be all right.” Aladir squeezed her hand. It was only then that she realized how cold his fingers were, and when she opened her eyes, she noted that he was even paler than usual – a sign that he had been exerting himself with life sorcery again.
“You managed to stabilize him?” As long as Aladir was treating him…
“Most of the work was on the part of others, actually. But come, walk with me. We have much to discuss.”
Lydia nodded, turning back to the pair of gate guards. “Bernhardt, Roy, thank you both for your diligence.”
Roy visibly winced and she realized in retrospect the wound her words may have caused. Bernhardt smiled, though, and waved her away – and any further response died half-formed in her mind.
Aladir tugged at her hand, leading her toward the house. He took on a meandering route, through the gardens, and she realized that his intent was to give them a moment of privacy before reaching the building.
After the pair glanced about to confirm that they were alone amongst the hedges, Lydia gave him a quizzical look.
“Assassins struck late last night while I was heading back to the citadel. Fortunately, my walking path must have been predictable, because Maer was able to find me after the battle. By the time I reached the household, the combat had concluded – and the assassins had retreated.”
Lydia nodded, leaning against a tree. “They left after completing their objective, I presume?”
“No. Nedelya lived through the assault – she was perfectly well in the morning. Some of the guards took a few scrapes. Jonan was the only person who was severely injured during the assault – a credit to his own quick thinking. I admit I was somewhat concerned when you told me you were bringing in a Thornguard, but from what I’ve heard, he saved a lot of lives last night.”
“What precisely happened to him?”
“Crossbow bolt to the left bicep. Poisoned, of course, otherwise treating it would have been relatively trivial for me.”
Only Aladir could say something like that with a neutral tone and a straight face. Treating damage to muscles is absurdly difficult, even for many veteran life sorcerers.
“And poison isn’t your specialty, but you said you had help.”
“Yes, but therein lies my concern as well. At first, my assistance came from your other friend, ‘Vorianna’. She had exerted her water sorcery abilities earlier in the evening by conjuring dominion essence for antidote research. Unfortunately, that same antidote research was not applicable to flesh wounds.”
“Understood. Go on.”
“She used some sort of complex ice and water spell to slow the spread of the poison and attempt to purify it, but the treatment was largely ineffective. At one point during the evening, Jonan asked me to call upon Liarra Dianis, a talented nature sorceress, to assist with healing his arm.”
Lydia’s eyes widened involuntarily at the name “Dianis”. Jonan had never explicitly told her that Vorianna was Vorain, but the names were so obviously similar that she had pieced it together immediately – she suspected it was an intentional joke that only the three of them would understand. She already knew that Vorain was Rialla D
ianis from previous conversations with Jonan, meaning that Liarra Dianis would be one of her relatives.
“I can see from your reaction that you either know – or suspect – something similar to what I’ve realized. Vorianna is a member of House Dianis, most likely one of Liarra’s siblings or cousins.”
Lydia didn’t see any reason to hide what she knew on the subject. “Yes, I suspected that immediately when I saw her, but I didn't think to tell you. Her identity didn’t seem relevant, but I apologize for the lapse.”
He shrugged. “It wouldn’t have seemed relevant to me, either, at the time – and people generally deserve their privacy. As far as you knew, she was just doing you a favor. But, given the events of the last several hours, I now believe she may be more intimately involved in the situation – if she is not the assassin herself.”
“You think Vorianna put the idea to call her sister – yes, it’d be her sister – in Jonan’s head?”
Actually, she could have very literally done that – she’s a deception sorceress. Could have even made Jonan think it was his own idea. Normally, he’d probably be able to sort through simple deception sorcery, but with poison pumping through his body his mental facilities might be more limited than usual.
“I believe so. Certainly, he may have thought of it himself if he was already aware of her identity and familiar with her family. But there are other pieces of evidence that bother me.”
“Go on.”
“I arrived after the battle to find House Theas in chaos, but both of the ladies of the house unharmed. The lack of victims was miraculous, but even more so was the lack of casualties on the sides of the assassins themselves – in spite of being found quickly, apparently due to Jonan’s sight sorcery, none of the assassins were caught. A bit strange that every single one of them managed to escape.”
“That could simply be explained by them turning around as soon as it was apparent they had been discovered.”
“But, from the accounts of the guards, that isn’t what happened – the fighting continued for some time. After Jonan was injured, Vorianna went out alone to ‘scare off’ the remaining attackers. When she returned, she explained that she had succeeded at forcing the assassins away, but failed to take any prisoners.”
