by B. T. Narro
She didn’t have the twenty gold coins from Leo with her, thankfully, but she still shouted. “Let go of me!”
Anger assumed control as she stood and shoved him. He rolled backward along the short bench, then fell between it and the wall. Silence fell upon the tavern as everyone watched him struggle to get up. His limbs flailed as he searched for something to grab hold of. He pulled himself up, his shirt twisted and stuck, exposing his large belly. Many people laughed.
He looked as if he wanted to strike Rygen as he started toward her, but a couple other men stood in front of him. He looked into their eyes, saw something that took away his anger, then stormed out.
They checked to see if Rygen was hurt, but she was fine and told them so. They invited her to drink with them, but she’d had enough of the tavern for now. She gave her thanks and left.
She thought of Marcus Dowl as she hurried home. The way this other man had grabbed her seemed to be out of anger. Although he’d made her uncomfortable, she didn’t feel the same terror as when she’d seen the way Marcus had stared at her when she was just ten. In fact, she’d never seen that look in any man’s eyes since then, and then again when he’d arrived at the other farm. She shuddered as she wondered yet again about what horrible act had finally resulted in his ban from the army.
◆◆◆
It was weeks later when she noticed a familiar face on Rhenol’s farm. He had grown a beard, but it was his callous gaze sweeping around the farm that told Rygen who he was. She would never forget Marcus Dowl’s eyes, no matter how much the rest of his face might change. She watched him speak with Rhenol, too far away for Rygen to overhear, and soon he began his work.
Rygen wondered whether he would recognize her. She went to Rhenol first.
“Sorry to bother you, sir, but I know that man you hired. Can you tell me why he left his work at the other farm?”
She made her question easy to answer, for it was usually the only way Rhenol would give her the information requested.
“He didn’t get on with the other workers there.” The overseer folded his arms and glared until she turned around.
Rygen supposed it might be true, but the more likely reason was because he had done something bad.
Over the next few days, her work brought her close enough to Marcus for him to glance her way many times. He never looked for long though, as he had when she was ten and caught him staring every time she checked. Strangely, he hardly seemed interested in her at all.
More time passed as Rygen watched him. She always chose to work close enough to spy when she could. He never gave her much attention, but he did spend an inordinate amount of time gaping at the reeve.
Rygen didn’t know Chay’s exact age, but she looked to be around the same age Rygen was when Marcus had stormed into her shared home and grabbed her.
Rygen stopped going to the tavern eventually, for talk of Celia’s death had come to an end. She used to lose herself to anger every time she remembered that Celia was alive. And when Rygen had reminded herself that Celia was bent on bringing an even bigger and more destructive creature into their world, she knew she had to do something. Relief was all she felt now that Celia and her creature were dead. Rygen had feared she might be caught the day after she’d killed the summoner, but that fear had passed when no one came to her door with chains.
Rygen spent each full work day at the farm, watching Marcus. There was no one else here besides Rygen who would do anything to stop Marcus if he decided to act. Fear had washed over her when she’d first realized this. He was even bigger and stronger than Celia, and Rygen had almost been killed during that encounter. She’d been too confident when attacking the drunken woman, waiting to summon her creature because she wanted to finish the job herself.
But even after Jin came to help, Celia had almost fended them both off long enough for her creature to come through Rygen’s rift.
She wanted to leave this place. Jatn used to be her home, but now it was just the city where she was trapped. Finding other work seemed impossible, and Miqu couldn’t do much to help her. Why stay here?
But if Rygen left for the capital, she might become Leo’s problem, and that didn’t sit well with her. It might be just as difficult for her to find work there, and there were no guilds that would provide housing for her. She couldn’t live on the training ground unless she agreed to join the army, which was a change in her life she wasn’t yet ready for.
She had felt from Leo’s arms and gaze that he was capable of anything he set his mind to. She missed him so much that her heart ached. He had made Jatn feel like home again, even if just for a night.
She wouldn’t plan her escape from Jatn just yet, though. Too many people had chosen to be blind to Marcus. Rygen would keep her eyes wide open.
Many days went by. Rygen knew something wasn’t right about the way Marcus made conversation with the reeve, and especially how he looked at her when she wasn’t looking back. It was even more strange that Marcus was one of the few men who showed less interest in Rygen now that she was older. She had a feeling that she knew what he wanted, but she couldn’t bring herself to ever clearly think the thought. It was too disturbing.
It took another week before Rygen noticed him stopping his work suddenly to head toward a nearby barn. She followed him but stayed outside, watching through one of the open windows.
“Hello, Chay,” he said as he walked close to her. Rygen saw that Marcus had already shut the door behind him.
The girl was seated on some hay, but she stood immediately. She didn’t respond to his greeting.
“It’s hot today,” Marcus said. “Can I sit with you?” His voice was too friendly, like sweetbread coated with sugar.
“Um. All right.”
She sounded so young to Rygen, so confused and scared. On the other hand, Marcus sounded like a grown man, like someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
“You’re very pretty,” he told the girl.
“Thank you,” she murmured politely as she looked toward the door.
Rygen was mostly behind them as she watched. She feared Rhenol would see her and yell for her to get back to work. She took a quick glance but didn’t see him across the open field.
“Actually, I should get back to work,” Chay said and stood. It was her task to ensure everyone else was working, though she was quite relaxed about it usually. This was the only time Rygen had seen her nervous.
Marcus put himself in front of her. “I won’t say anything if you don’t.” There was a threat to his tone. “We’ll play a fun game.”
Chay didn’t respond, looking down.
“You’ll like it. I promise. Just don’t say anything to anyone else and do as I say.” He stepped close and put his hands on her shoulders. She looked away, panic in her eyes. Rygen had seen enough. She quickly made her way around to the door of the barn. Fear stopped her as she reached for its handle. She had no weapon this time. She had no idea how this would play out.
She looked over her shoulder at the open field. A few workers minded their own business. She could run to one of them for help, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of time.
No, if one of them came, then Rygen could not finish this herself. Marcus would get away again somehow. He always did.
She would do this for Chay and other girls, not for herself. Rygen pulled open the door, stepped in, and closed it after her.
Chay’s dress had been pulled past her shoulders, but thankfully it still covered her. She cried out in fear as she ran to Rygen.
“We were just talking,” Marcus claimed.
“No. I know what you really are, Marcus.”
He pretended to be confused. “You’re a young woman who knows nothing.” He casually walked toward her as if he might pass by and leave.
“You don’t remember me, do you? With what you did to me, and what I saw here, I have enough proof for the guards to put you in a cell for a long time.” It was mostly a bluff, though there was a chance he would sti
ll be in serious trouble if Rygen went through with it.
She turned around to open the door just for the reeve, but she heard Marcus running toward her. He was faster than he looked, pushing the door shut and leaning against it as Chay screamed and cowered behind Rygen.
“You should think hard about whether you want to get the guards involved,” Marcus told her with a cold stare. But in his voice was fear.
Rygen knew she should summon her creature now, but she just couldn’t bring herself to attack Marcus yet. She needed to see just what he was capable of. For reasons she didn’t understand, a great hesitance stopped her from wanting to end another life.
“When the army banned you,” she said, “I bet they warned you that you would be punished if you were caught again.”
“We were just…talking!” He spoke through gritted teeth.
“I’ll let the guards decide that. Move away from the door.”
He stared at Rygen. “All right, all right. Just give me a moment.” He calmly leaned down and lifted up a leg of his trousers. He pulled a knife out from a holder affixed around his leg and quickly grabbed Chay by her hair. She shouted out as he pulled her to him and wrapped his arm around her. It looked massive around her small body. Rygen herself wasn’t much taller than the reeve. She stepped back out of reflex.
“You’re going to stand back and say nothing, or she dies. Then I’ll kill you. Now Chay, you’re going to take off your dress.”
“Please, no.”
“Do it.”
Marcus must’ve had practice scaring little girls because he seemed confident in the way he ignored Rygen as if she was powerless to do anything. She had fully opened a rift before he even glanced her way again.
“What in KRenn’s mind?” he uttered in shock.
Jin jumped out of the rift. Rygen closed it. Her creature snarled at Marcus. The man pushed Chay away from him and leaned down, pointing his small knife at Jin’s head.
“Send him back,” Marcus demanded. “Or I will kill you both when I am done with him.”
Rygen feared for the safety of her creature. She could communicate some focused thoughts to him, but there was no stopping him from attacking at this point. Jin knew Marcus to be a danger.
Rygen grabbed two handfuls of hay from the ground and threw the clump into Marcus’ face. He reeled back as he swatted in front of him.
Now, Jin!
Her creature jumped high and came down on top of Marcus. He tried to stab Jin, but Rygen was there, grabbing his right arm with both of hers. He gave up trying to overpower her, screaming as he tried to fend off Jin’s jaws with his arms. The knife dropped to the ground. Rygen picked it up.
Marcus managed to smack Jin away, though lines of blood ran down both of his arms.
“Stop,” Rygen ordered both her creature and Marcus. Jin stayed close, growling at Marcus as he sat slumped against the door. He started to motion as if he would get up, but Rygen stepped toward him.
“Don’t move.” She pointed the knife at him.
He glanced at it, then at Jin.
“Let me go,” he begged. “I promise you won’t ever see me again.”
“I don’t care about seeing you or not. I care about what you might do to another girl.”
She told Jin to attack.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Leo felt like the trip back to the capital was much longer than the journey to Jatn. The number of days that passed was the same, but this time he was riding away from Rygen instead of toward her. Part of him had hoped he could convince her to come with him. But it was a child’s dream, wishful yet problematic. Rygen didn’t know how to ride a horse. Leo would have to take her on a wagon, like the one he’d ridden on when he was ten, but he had no practice driving a horse from a wagon seat. He would no doubt return to the capital even later, and he was already arriving a day late.
He came to the training grounds and saw all his friends outside the lavish building rushing about as if to leave. He found Andar on his horse.
“What’s happening?”
“And hello to you as well, brother. How nice it is to see you again,” Andar quipped. “How long were you gone, twenty something days? Hmm, well that’s certainly not the longest we’ve been separated before. It wasn’t strange at all for me to train without you. And—”
“Andar, what’s happening!”
“Oh right, we’re just traveling to Analyte land to stop the impending end of the world. Nothing important, really.”
“Andar!” Leo wanted to grab his brother by his neck. “The truth, please!”
“That is the truth,” he said, his tone now serious. “We’re off to Analyte land to put an end to Jaktius Perl. Come on.”
Leo was too confused to think of the right question when there were so many going through his head. His brother’s horse had already begun following the others.
“Come on!” Andar urged.
Leo wasn’t ready to travel again. He had just gotten back after a long trip and needed a rest. It was even father to Analyte land than it was to Jatn.
He looked around for Farns and found him already riding over with a mean look.
“Leo Litxer, you’re late!” Farns sounded furious. “I told you to be here yesterday! We were about to leave without you.”
Leo prepared himself to be expelled. It would break his heart, for he would receive none of the food, supplies, or generous payments anymore. But he would still find his way to Analyte land.
“I’m sorry, sir. I only stayed one night in Jatn, then I hurried back as fast I could without risking injury to my horse.”
He was glad he had a reputation of telling the truth, for his instructor looked to believe him.
“You’re lucky we need you. The king has ordered half of all mages to Jaktius Perl. All Ascendants in training are to go. The rest of the mages are to stay to defend the land from rebels and barbarians.”
“Why now all of a sudden?” Leo asked, still trying to figure out how he could squeeze in a bath before leaving.
“You’ll be informed on the way. We’re heading out now.”
“Sir!” Leo called as Farns started to turn his horse. “I need a bath. I promise I will catch up.”
He stared at Leo for a moment. “Make it quick.”
Andar gaped as Farns rode off. “Did my little brother just disobey an order?”
“You’re rubbing off on me ‘big’ brother,” Leo said sarcastically. He knew it bothered Andar that Leo would probably be taller than him in a couple years, as they were nearly the same height now.
Andar forced a laugh. “So did you also take a lesson from my wooing demonstrations when you visited Rygen?”
“No, I want her to like me more as she gets to know me.”
This time Andar laughed genuinely.
Andar had spent his early free days with a young woman before she had lost interest in him. He had gotten along well with the next girl he met, but it was a very different relationship than the one Leo had with Rygen. There was no denying how beautiful the girl was who was interested in Andar, but the two of them had broken up after another few months. Leo didn’t keep much track of the girls Andar courted afterward, for there had been many, but none of the relationships lasted long, to Andar’s embarrassment.
It was known among the young men and women in the capital that mages in training were likely to be sent away at any moment. None of their relationships tended to last. Besides, men in the army had other rumors attached to them, nasty ones that deterred women who wanted a husband.
Leo had met many women while out with his brother during their free day each week, but most were older and shared no connection with him. Leo had tried to pursue a few over the years, but he never had any luck. Some had seemed interested until they’d found out he wasn’t even fourteen yet.
Most of the time he felt too guilty about abandoning Rygen to enjoy another woman’s company much. The things he liked about their appearances or manners of speaking just made Leo
imagine how Rygen looked or spoke these days. He had wondered for years what would happen if went down to Jatn again. Would they still be friends? Would she be as beautiful as he envisioned? Now he felt silly for doubting himself, and her.
Leo had made a few friends, but all were trainees like him. It came as a surprise when some of the older trainees announced engagements for marriage. It had been easy to forget just how much older most of them were until moments like that. Leo was better with Artistry than all of them, except his brother.
Leo bathed in the fancy bathing quarters in the training grounds that he had grown accustomed to. By the time he was done, the rest of the mages in training had already left the capital with half the army stationed here. There was no one around to tell Leo to hurry up, to force him to arrive at a specific time. He decided he wanted a hot meal and paid for a fine one at a nice tavern he frequented with Andar often. It was evening by the time he finished. What was the point of going now just to catch up to them as they slept?
He stayed in his own bed in his quarters in the training ground, for his back needed a good rest. His horse could use a day as well. Farns would be furious to find out that Leo had disobeyed him further, but the instructor had already admitted that Leo was needed. Leo had to take advantage of this momentary freedom.
In the morning, he had a quick breakfast and rode off. He caught up to the traveling army by evening, feeling quite refreshed. Not recognizing anyone toward the back of the long line of troops, he rode around them looking for his brother. Many had donned armor already as if expecting an ambush. It worried Leo as he realized there was a possibility his father and the rebels could attack this brigade. What would Leo and his brother do during the fight? Leo would not kill a rebel, but could he kill his friends who would fight against the rebels?
He came up with no answer as he rode past them all. One person caught his eye. He was a man who seemed too old to fight, with a long white beard and a wrinkled face. But he seemed to be surrounded by four guardsmen, if Leo’s eyes were not playing tricks. They remained close, but not too close, to the old man on horseback as they kept watch with vigilant eyes. It was as if the important man didn’t want his guardsmen to make themselves known to anyone. One stared at Leo threateningly as he caught Leo watching.
