by B. T. Narro
“It was a summoner named Celia,” Rygen said. “She is tall like a man, with short hair. I will always remember how she looks. She summoned a giant beast called an incenfiend because she wanted to test its power. It killed many innocent people before it broke down my door and killed my mother.”
“What in KRenn’s mind?” Gartel muttered, apparently too shocked to provide anything but the common phrase.
She nodded.
Gartel put his hand on her head and gently stroked her hair. “I’m terribly sorry, Rygen. So you must’ve escaped through a window?”
“I couldn’t,” she said, her gaze shifting to Leo. “Leo ran in with a knife and attacked it as it came for me. He fought the beast as Andar arrived soon after. Both of them killed it together while I did nothing but watch, and all they had between them was one knife. They were braver than any of the soldiers, who didn’t come to get rid of its body for days.”
“Gods, this is true, Leo?”
He nodded.
Rygen stood and hugged Gartel. “I think it would’ve killed me, too.”
“You’re fine now, dear,” he said, enfolding her in his arms. “Everything will be fine.”
She stepped back and told him, “The summoner herself was nowhere near the creature when it was killing people. I don’t know where she went, but she clearly knew how dangerous it was, yet she still summoned it in our part of Jatn. Our homes have the weakest walls and doors out of any.”
“Sadly, that kind of behavior does not surprise me.” Gartel took a breath and got down on a knee, grimacing a bit as if his joints were much older than he was. He looked at Rygen square in her eyes. “I’m so sorry about your mother. I’m not sure if you were too young to realize it at the time, but your mother and I were together for a while.”
Rygen’s gaze fell. “I figured that out.”
Gartel nodded. “I assumed you might’ve. But you probably don’t know that I still cared for her, as she did me.” He cleared his throat. “Rygen, look at me, dear. This is very important.”
She looked up.
“I will do what I can to make sure her death is investigated properly. If it was a summoner of the army named Celia, as it sounds, then she should be hung for her crime.”
Leo expected Rygen to disagree. She had never condoned violence of any kind, but Rygen looked down and nodded her head.
“Thank you,” she said.
Gartel’s face softened even more as he leaned down. “I don’t want you living alone, especially in the place where your mother passed.” He glanced away with a hand to his chin. “But I do admit that you’re probably better off by yourself than at Jatn’s orphanage. I’ve heard that the children there do not fare well.” He grumbled as he seemed to be in thought.
Rygen shared a look with Leo that he interpreted as asking him not to say anything, at least not yet. Perhaps she wanted to see what Gartel would do, as the last adult in the city who still cared for her. But would she rather live with him than with Leo and Andar? The thought of her leaving scared Leo.
Gartel’s features squished together as if he were suddenly angry. “Everything has gone wrong since the king’s army arrived. Let me make a quick announcement that I cannot suspend any longer.”
He closed the door to the Bookbinding Guild, for it was just as much a shop for books as it was a place where they were made. There didn’t seem to be any patrons inside, but the open floor was still busy with many workers at their tables. All stopped what they were doing as Gartel called for their attention.
“I’m sure all of you have noticed that I’ve been late most of these days. I’ve been meeting with army officials in hopes of finding out something. A group of people took my safe during the chaos that ensued when the king’s army came here to brutally kill the rebels. My safe was fastened to the floor, too difficult to detach and carry off for even two grown men working together. Its removal should’ve been seen by many troops, but the army officials will do nothing for me. I went to the Farmers’ Guild as well, because they were the lawmakers and enforcers before the army arrived, and I was practically laughed at.”
Leo surveyed the room. He felt no pity for Gartel, for this was a rich man who could surely let some coin go without it affecting his food or housing. It appeared that the other workers probably agreed. None of them held the same sympathy in their faces that Gartel had when Rygen had shared the horrible news about her mother.
“I realize this might be shocking,” Gartel continued, “but I no longer want to keep it to myself. That’s how thieves get away with it. I’m coming to terms with the idea that the only justice I might find is through my own methods. Alas, I don’t have the time, and I lack the resources to have any confidence that I will recover what I lost.”
He paused and glanced at Rygen. “I’ve already found out that some of you have lost things as well, some even at the hands of the army.” His voice rose as he spoke to everyone. “I have half a mind to believe that it could be a group of them who took my safe, and I don’t care who hears my accusation. Many of those men are brutes, and the commander, Rolan Kipper, should be ashamed of himself!” Gartel took a breath and seemed sadder by the end of it. “That brings me to worse news. I was hoping I could avoid this, but I cannot.”
Leo’s heart dropped as he realized what Gartel would say.
“I have lost too much, and adjustments must be made,” Gartel said. “I’m forced to reduce my payments to all of you by ten percent of your current wage.”
There were a few gasps as Gartel went on.
“I’m embarrassed and angry about this. All of you deserve more, and I do plan to one day increase your wages to what they were. For now, however, I ask for your loyalty and dedication. The better work we do, the sooner I can give you back the ten percent that the army has taken away. I appreciate every one of you. I will be available in my office soon if you wish to discuss this. Until then, please continue your work.”
There was some commotion among the other workers as Leo and Rygen looked around silently. Leo was sure Rygen was thinking the same thing as he was in that moment, so he might as well share his thoughts aloud.
“We make eleven coppers, so Gartel has to take away one, right? He’d only take away two if we were making close to twenty a day.”
“Yes, it has to be one,” Rygen said. “So that means we’ll be earning ten a day, the same as working on any of the farms.” She worded it as if considering leaving.
“But this work is much easier and more interesting than farm work.”
“It is.”
Leo guessed that settled it, then. He wished Rygen would say something a little more reassuring, but she appeared as if she wouldn’t as she watched Gartel speak with the highest-ranking worker, Lester, who gestured emphatically at seemingly nothing in particular. Gartel put out his hands as if to calm Lester, but it didn’t help. Lester said one last thing, then turned and stormed toward the door.
“Lester!” Gartel called after him. Then he appeared embarrassed as he noticed everyone staring. He faced Lester again and opened his mouth as if to shout but didn’t.
Lester swung the door open and walked out without a look back.
Gartel sighed as he made his way over to Rygen and Leo. “I’m sorry about all of this,” he said only to her. It was a slight to Leo, but he’d been insulted enough by Gartel during their time together to ignore it.
“Is Lester no longer going to work here?” Leo asked with some hope. The thin man had always lifted his nose up whenever Leo had come to him with a question. Even worse, he’d once pushed Rygen hard enough to make her fall. Fortunately, Leo’s father had frightened Lester afterward with a threat, but it still made Leo grind his teeth when he thought about it.
“I believe he just needs a day or two,” Gartel said. Then he told Rygen, “You have probably figured out from my announcement that I don’t have the means to keep paying the Farmers’ Guild the coin they require for you to stay in one of their homes.” He somehow m
anaged to appear even more pained than before. “This means that they can—and probably will—take back your home because you are not working on one of their farms.”
Surely, Gartel would offer to have Rygen stay with him now. Leo dreaded to hear it, as he felt that Rygen would take Gartel up on the offer. At least Leo would still spend time with his closest friend here at the Bookbinding Guild, but he wished she’d stay with him and Andar longer. She might not have done much for them since her mother died, but the three of them needed each other. They should all be there for each other.
Holding a sad look in his eyes, Gartel said, “Rygen, would you perhaps consider working on a farm until I have the means to pay for your home again? I do admit, however, that it could be a while.”
“Oh,” she said with disappointment. “Actually, I’ve been staying at Leo’s house since the army came. I’m happy there.”
“You have?” Gartel glanced at Leo for but a moment. “Darren Litxer will let you stay there indefinitely?”
Rygen looked at Leo as if apologizing for Gartel. This was the man who’d called Leo’s father a brute and Leo’s brother a lying thief. It had taken considerable effort to convince Rygen that Gartel was wrong after he’d tried to convince her of the same things.
“Wait a moment…” Gartel regarded Rygen with a suspicious gaze. “You’re keeping something from me. Tell me what it is.”
Leo didn’t know what Gartel thought he’d seen in the look Leo had shared with Rygen, but they had better be more careful. Gartel couldn’t know that Darren Litxer had been driven out with the rebels. What would he think if he found out?
“I’m telling the truth,” Rygen said. “Darren wants me there so he can make sure I’m safe. He doesn’t want me living alone.”
Gartel squinted as he stared at her for a while. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Gartel took a moment, then said, “Fine, but tell me if any trouble arises while you are there.”
Leo was more insulted than ever, but he held it in. He still needed this job.
“I will,” Rygen said softly.
Surprisingly, Leo and Rygen didn’t share many words after Gartel left. They didn’t speak much the rest of the day, either. Leo felt as though he understood her, yet there was nothing he could say to make the situation better. Something needed to be spoken, though. It was like there was a wall between them.
They walked home together, like they usually did, at the end of the day. They were silent for some time.
“I can’t believe he didn’t at least offer for me to live with him,” Rygen finally said, barely loud enough for Leo to hear. She glanced up at him. “I wouldn’t have, but I thought he cared.”
“I think he does care,” Leo said, unsure why he was defending this man. I guess it’s because it’s the truth. Leo always sided with the truth, but he was starting to wonder why he did that.
They were silent again for a while. Eventually Rygen began to cry.
“What is it?” Leo asked.
“I’m realizing something.” She took a breath as if to gather some strength, but the next words came out between sobs. “Adults can seem like they care just as much as our parents do, but no one really cares as much. No one will again.”
Leo would not cry, blinking his tears away. He gave Rygen a moment, not out of choice but because if he spoke right now, he would sob with her. Rygen was right. His father was gone as well, and no one would ever care about Leo in the same way.
Eventually, both of them calmed. Without fear or even a bit of hesitation, Leo reached over and confidently took Rygen’s hand for the first time. He didn’t do it for himself, as he’d wanted to many times before. He did it for her. She needed to know how much he cared about her. She would always have Leo.
She seemed surprised at first, looking down at his fingers around hers. But then she clutched his hand as well and looked up at him with the faintest smile. Finally, he saw the happy Rygen again. Even if it was but a shadow, an echo, of her former self, it made him want to leap with joy.
CHAPTER SIX
A week had passed since Gartel’s announcement. Lester was the only worker who had not returned the next day. It seemed that everyone else knew that even though they earned ten percent less, working in the Bookbinding Guild was better than most jobs.
Gartel was still late most mornings and gave no indication what he’d been doing whenever he arrived. He spent much more time in his office, sometimes meeting with people who didn’t seem to be patrons.
There was one man in particular who Leo had seen a few times. He had a memorable face, with blue eyes and combed back hair. He always looked as if he could be nice, but he never smiled like a nice person would. Instead, he seemed determined whenever he walked past the tables beside Gartel, like he wanted something and would do whatever it took to get it. Leo thought he’d heard his name as Raenik.
Rygen seemed more like her old self every day. She and Leo worked well together, folding parchments to make bifolia, which were basically pages of a book. Then they would attach the bifolia together carefully, ensuring everything was in the right order. It wasn’t always easy, for every book required a different number of blank pages for the scribe to use, and the ordering of the pages wasn’t always intuitive. Because of the way they were folded, often a single parchment would not turn out to be two consecutive pages in the finished book.
It was much more enjoyable for Leo to use his mind for some of the work, instead of his body and hands for every part of it, like he had on Rhenol’s farm. He and Rygen also interacted with many of the other workers, most of whom were friendly. Some of them still acted superior, though, probably because they were older and had been here for years, but it didn’t bother Leo. Lester had been the only one to make Leo cringe whenever Leo had to deal with him.
He didn’t get to see his brother much anymore, unfortunately. He worried about Andar working all day in the narrow hole he had described to Leo and Rygen. It didn’t seem natural for anyone, especially not a child, to spend so many hours there. Andar would be an adult soon enough, Leo had to remind himself, turning fourteen this year. But it wasn’t as if anything about Andar would change overnight.
What Leo missed the most were the sword fighting lessons his father had given him and his brother almost every night. At least on the farm, Leo had worked beside his brother. They’d used whatever they could, most often sticks, to sword fight with each other during the day and keep up their skills.
Leo had tried many times to use Artistry in some way, but he was beginning to feel that it might be hopeless. The only thing that he’d strengthened was his empathy for his brother, and he didn’t even know how he’d honed that skill or even if it was a skill.
It was a strange thing. Leo could somehow tell whether Andar was home already before Leo opened the door to their house. He could even tell if Andar had something interesting to share about the rift.
Today was just like any other day in the Bookbinding Guild. But Leo remembered that at Andar’s cave, it was the last day for the soldier summoner to use the rift in hopes of bringing her creature through from the other side. She’d had until midday today to show results, and that time had now passed. Leo was eager to hear from his brother what had happened.
Rygen had not woken Leo or Andar again since that night when she’d bumped into the chair in the kitchen. He’d asked her several times if she still sensed something that she couldn’t see. She always said that she did.
But whenever Leo asked if she had any idea what it was, she always said no. He was starting to believe she might be keeping her thoughts to herself. That didn’t matter too much to Leo so long as she was happier each day, which she showed by smiling and even laughing at times.
She and Leo didn’t eat very well during supper, though. The bland stews were starting to frustrate him, but he wouldn’t complain. There was no point. Though, he certainly missed Andar stealing meats and cheeses to bring home, two things that were always
too expensive for Leo and Rygen to purchase at the market after their work was done.
Leo was concentrating on slipping a needle and thread through a hole in the parchments when a feeling made him stop. It was a warning, an inner call of terror, that had only been matched by the sight of the incenfiend breaking down Rygen’s door. A cold sweat came over him. He looked up expecting to see something terrible, like another incenfiend bursting into the guild.
Everything was fine here. Why did he have this feeling?
He had just begun to wonder what had caused it when it worsened, putting a fire into his legs that made him jumpy. He had to run to help someone, but who needed help? His heart started to thump.
He could almost hear his brother’s voice in his head. It was that damn hole! Something had happened. He didn’t know how he was sure, just that he was.
“Andar’s in trouble,” he told Rygen, whose face immediately drained of color.
“How do you know?”
He didn’t have time to figure out how to tell her when he didn’t know himself. Something was very, very wrong.
He also didn’t have time to tell Gartel, who was in his office with the door shut, that he was leaving. As Leo dashed out of the Bookbinding Guild, Rygen ran behind him, calling his name and telling him she didn’t understand. But Leo couldn’t stop. The urgency to get to Andar gnawed at him with dread. Leo noticed nothing as he ran through the streets. He’d never been to the cavern before, but he knew where it was from Andar’s description.
Terror seemed to give him strength, or it was pure determination to get there before Andar died. Leo didn’t care how he knew his brother was in trouble. He started to think through what could’ve happened so he could best prepare himself. Something told him Andar was not only trapped but would soon be gone forever.
Besides the terror, there was panic as well. But it went beyond what Leo felt himself. It was like hearing a story, without words or images, about his brother in a losing fight that was sure to result in his death.
