The Avatar's Flames (Through the Fire Book 1)

by Benjamin Medrano

  Essryl glanced around herself. Aside from the bed, which was comfortably sized for two, the only things in the room were her armor rack, a small table, and the wardrobe, while a glow-globe set into the ceiling shed light. The question amused her, so she smiled, shifting and stretching before reaching down to unhook her belt and setting it on the table.

  “I don’t need lots of space, and I don’t expect to have many luxuries. Items are often ephemeral; they’re simply tools. Tools will break, and growing too attached is a poor decision,” Essryl replied readily. “My bed is nice, I have several changes of clothing, and I have plenty of food. That’s enough for me.”

  “That seems strange,” Anara said, focusing on Essryl again. The dark elf stepped over to the bed and laid down, relaxing as Anara continued. “I had something I wanted to talk about, but I’m not entirely certain how to approach it.”

  “While you’re an attractive woman, you aren’t really my type, Anara… though I suppose you might grow on me over time,” Essryl replied promptly, then laughed at the sudden look of shock and embarrassment on the young woman’s face.

  “What? No, that… that isn’t what I meant!” Anara exclaimed, her face flushing bright red as she looked at Essryl in confusion. “You can’t be serious!”

  “Can’t I? I’m half succubus, Anara. I’m more attracted to women than men, though some men aren’t bad… the captain who failed to rescue you, for one,” Essryl replied, licking her lips lazily at the memory, then shook her head. “Sadly, he failed to measure up in the end. Too much fear in his eyes, alas. Your will is better than his, in my opinion, which is why I think you could grow on me. Still, my romantic preferences aren’t what you wanted to inquire about, hmm? What was it that you wanted to ask me?”

  “You… are very strange, Mistress Essryl,” Anara said, taking a careful step back. “I just… if you didn’t want us to count on being rescued, why did you tell me about Ruethwyn?”

  “Ah, that’s what has you so worried? Well, at least it’s an easy question to answer,” Essryl said, sitting up and smiling, crossing her legs as she did so. The memory of Ruethwyn improved her mood immensely, so she continued readily. “I told you because I promised her to keep you relatively untouched for about two years, and at your current rate you weren’t going to last even one. You’re certainly a rebellious young woman… no wonder she likes you.”

  Anara flushed again, then frowned more as she asked, “I… so, why did you say she’s our only chance of escaping, then? Does she really have a chance?”

  “That’s the question, isn’t it?” Essryl asked, smiling broadly as she shook her head. “To be perfectly honest, I don’t know that she has a chance. What drew my attention was her will to live and fight onward, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that she will manage to push through all the barriers standing in her way. I left a scrying focus in her room the last time I visited, though, and while some of her activities seem odd to me, she certainly hasn’t given up.”

  “You’re scrying on her?” Anara demanded, looking shocked. “Why would you do that?”

  “Why shouldn’t I? She interests me, and not many people can do that,” Essryl replied, then made a shooing gesture. “Now, it’s time for me to rest, hmm? So either go back to your room to rest yourself, or join me here. Nothing will happen in the latter case, but it might be amusing to see how the others react.”

  Anara flushed again, her mouth working, but no words coming out. A moment later, she turned and fled the room, the door shutting loudly behind her.

  Essryl chuckled and murmured under her breath. “Looks like she needs a little more work on maintaining composure. Ah well, that’s for another day.”

  With a word, she extinguished the light and began undressing for bed.

  Chapter 19

  Ruethwyn had curled up in the chair as she read, and the book she was perusing was fascinating. She’d heard of the Frostglades before, but Sinera had never gone into detail about what the place was like, and the journal of Avetur the Explorer gave far more detail than she’d anticipated, even if it had taken several weeks to find.

  The Frostglades were a mana-rich region the size of Selwyn, composed of forests, hills, and numerous lakes and mountains, an area which would have been difficult to travel through in the best of conditions. The problem was that the Frostglades were the exact opposite of the best of conditions, as at least a dozen cold-aspected nodes were scattered through the region, and that resulted in an environment where snow fell even in the depths of summer. In the winter, the cold grew even more bitter, and few people dared step across the border into the Frostglades.

  Despite the frozen nature of the Frostglades, what was most surprising to Ruethwyn was how life apparently still flourished there. Trees adapted to the cold grew through the snow, some of them bearing potent magic, and a variety of animals and frost-aspected creatures like snow drakes lived there, even while ice lilies and other beautiful flowers grew. The fey were relatively common in the Frostglades, but most powerful were the fair folk who called the realm home.

  Avetur had met a dozen fair folk in his exploration of the Frostglades, but he’d been denied entry into Valisair because he’d carried cold iron with him, disappointing the explorer. The fair folk had refused to tell him which of the various courts they were members of, but he’d noticed that the more human-like members of the group he’d met tended to have pale, almost ice-blue skin, which indicated that they must be of one of the darker courts in his eyes. Ruethwyn wasn’t certain she agreed with that assumption, but she didn’t blame the man for choosing to suggest it.

  Ruethwyn made particular note about the information about cold iron, since if she was going to approach the fair folk she’d have to get to Valisair, but it wasn’t something she could do immediately. Hopefully, after the summoning, she’d be able to ensure that she could get through an area that was so cold, but there was no way to know for certain.

  Considering the passages she’d just read one more time, Ruethwyn set the book aside and sighed, reaching up to rub her forehead, and only barely remembering to not rub the right side of her face. She found that doing that just started the itching of the first several weeks again, and that wasn’t any fun.

  “At least I found a spot no one else uses…” Ruethwyn murmured, glancing around the dusty corner of the library. For some reason, no one seemed interested in researching the ancestries of the dwarves of Dukarth.

  Setting her book aside, Ruethwyn debated, looking at the books she’d picked up. She could do the research on different fair folk courts, now that she had a better idea of what types were in the Frostglades, but the books she’d picked up earlier had more general information from what she’d been able to tell. After a moment, she decided against looking into them more, instead setting her book aside and uncurling from the chair.

  Stretching for a moment, Ruethwyn picked up her books and slowly headed back for the front desk, planning to drop off the books with the librarian. Threading her way through the stacks was a touch difficult, but she managed well enough. A dozen upperclassmen were gathered around one of the main tables, arguing about the best way to use earth magic to build a foundation, but Ruethwyn ignored them, heading to the librarian’s desk and taking care to keep out of easy tripping range of the other students. That had happened twice already, and she preferred to avoid it.

  “Ah, Ruethwyn. Done already?” the librarian asked, his voice chipper as he smiled at her.

  “Yes, at least for today. One of the books had more information that made the others redundant, and also meant that I’d grabbed the wrong books to begin with. Unfortunate, since it makes more work for you,” Ruethwyn replied, setting the books down gently in front of him. “Sorry about that, Wrede.”

  “It isn’t a big deal; it’s what I’m here for,” Wrede replied readily, the dark-haired elven man grinning as he added, “Besides, even if you just didn’t put your books on the nearest shelf when you were done you’d be better than half the
current student body. You do better than that, and I certainly appreciate it.”

  “Thank you. I do try,” Ruethwyn said, smiling and nodding to him. “I hope you have a good day.”

  “And you as well,” Wrede replied, taking the books and adding them to the small carts where the librarians organized them before putting the books back on the shelves.

  Ruethwyn left the library and headed back toward the dormitory, though she chose to go outside instead of walking through the building. Autumn was beginning to approach, but the grounds were still warm, something which Ruethwyn appreciated, and she wanted to enjoy it before things grew colder. She’d found her injuries were more sensitive to temperature as well, so she wasn’t looking forward to the winter.

  Even so, the walk to the dormitory wasn’t far, and Ruethwyn wiped off her feet just inside the door before starting toward her room. As she walked, though, she was interrupted.

  “Apprentice Sylaris?” Mother Ella’s voice was slightly sharp. The woman was in charge of the servants in the dormitory, and she’d never seemed to like Ruethwyn much. On the other hand, she seemed to take about the same tone with the other students, so it likely wasn’t personal.

  Wincing, Ruethwyn turned to face the older woman, looking up at the taller elf. Mother Ella was slightly bulkier than most elves, though that was simply her bone structure, Ruethwyn suspected, and she had light brown hair and eyes. Ruethwyn nodded politely, smiling as she spoke. “Mother Ella. What can I do for you?”

  “A messenger arrived for you an hour ago and left this letter,” the woman explained quickly, extending a letter and sniffing as she added, “If you’re going to have things delivered, I would prefer having warning.”

  “Oh? I apologize, I wasn’t expecting a delivery,” Ruethwyn said, blinking and reaching to take the letter. She considered it for a moment before looking up at Mother Ella and speaking. “Thank you, Mother Ella. I’ll have to see what this is, and I’ll keep your desires in mind when I do have deliveries made.”

  “Good,” Mother Ella replied, sniffing and turning to move away briskly.

  Ruethwyn watched her go for a moment, then turned to head up the stairs more quickly. She was curious what the letter was about, and it added some impetus to her stride. When Ruethwyn reached her room, she slid the letter into her belt and pulled out the key to unlock the door, then paused as she looked around, frowning.

  Her room was messier than she’d like, with most of the cloth she’d purchased wrapped in a corner, save for Sella’s dress, which was currently spread on the bed while the thread, buttons, and other tools she needed rested on the desk with her books and notes. A part of Ruethwyn wanted to keep her room more organized, but it just took too much time and energy most of the time. That wasn’t what was bothering her, though. It was that most of her things seemed slightly out of place.

  It was subtle, but she’d grown more careful about placing items in the past several months so she wouldn’t bump into them when she was turned away, which made it easier to tell that things had moved. Still, the way her bed’s sheets had been neatly straightened and folded told the tale, and Ruethwyn let out a sigh as she closed the door behind her.

  “I wish the maids wouldn’t move things around when they came in…” Ruethwyn murmured, shaking her head as she walked over to the desk, setting down the letter and pulling out her letter opener. She had an awkward moment opening it, but finally she managed, and set the opener back in its case.

  Flipping open the letter, Ruethwyn smoothed out the parchment and read the short note, her eyebrow rising in surprise. The note was from Daven Emporium, the shop she’d requested her focus from, and it was informing her that the crystal she wanted had come in early.

  “Well, that’s good news!” Ruethwyn said, smiling and setting the letter aside. “I suppose I’ll get to perform the summoning early… that’ll please Master Mara.”

  With that in mind, she began getting ready to visit the shop. She kept her money and magical components locked up, so at least the maids couldn’t mess up their organization.

  Pulling her reinforced oak chest from under the bed with a grunt, Ruethwyn unlocked it with a whispered password, then opened it carefully. Inside the chest was the mana-infused silk that she’d purchased, along with several small pouches in different cubbies along one side of the interior. A half-dozen rings, bracelets, and an amulet were tucked away as well, each of them plain and waiting for Ruethwyn to dare attempt to engrave enchantments on them. The chest was slightly illuminated by a bottle of mana in the corner, but Ruethwyn ignored it for the moment, instead pulling out one of several larger pouches, the weight of it heavy enough to make her wince, but she closed the chest, thankful that she had the funds Sinera had left her. Without them, she’d have no chance of rescuing Anara at all.

  Pushing the chest back under the bed, Ruethwyn took a breath, then fastened the pouch to her belt and grabbed a cloak before heading downstairs again. While it looked nice outside, she never knew when the weather might change. In that, she likely took more after her father than her mother. Her mother wouldn’t have made a mistake about the weather.

  As she reached the ground floor, Ruethwyn almost jumped as Tadrick spoke. “Rue, there you are! We were just looking for—wait, are you going out?”

  Turning her head, Ruethwyn saw Tadrick leaning out of a doorway to her right, Sella and Korima right behind him. She let out a breath of annoyance, but it wasn’t as if he knew he’d startled her, most likely. Instead, she smiled and nodded. “Yes, I was. I’d been at the library, but when I came back, there was a note waiting for me. Apparently, the summoning focus I requested arrived last night, so I was going to go get it.”

  “Oh, really? I thought you said it’d be here in over a week!” Korima exclaimed, smiling broadly as she asked, “What is it, anyway?”

  “I’m not telling, Korima,” Ruethwyn replied, grinning at the kitsune to reduce the impact as she added, “It’s hard to find, though. Not incredibly expensive, but not cheap, either.”

  “Hmm, where’d you order it from, anyway? If it’s hard to get… could you have ordered it from Dana and Delvin’s family?” Tadrick asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

  “No, it’s from Daven Emporium,” Ruethwyn replied simply, and Tadrick’s eyebrows rose suddenly.

  “Daven Emporium? They specialize in summoning spells and supplies for magi, from everything I’ve heard… but I didn’t think they even took requests from students!” the young man exclaimed, standing up straight.

  “Is it that big of a deal?” Sella asked, glancing between Tadrick and Ruethwyn curiously.

  “I don’t know. I do know that when I mentioned what I was looking for to Master Vrenne, she suggested that I go to them and wrote me a note,” Ruethwyn admitted, shrugging as she added, “I suspect that other importers could’ve found what I was looking for, but I didn’t know who to ask to begin with.”

  “They sound interesting… I don’t suppose you’d like company, Rue?” Korima asked, her ears twitching. “We were just going to ask if you wanted to play a game of cards or the like, but a magic shop sounds interesting.”

  “If you really want to, I suppose,” Ruethwyn conceded, growing resigned to the idea that someone was going to see her focus. Maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal, but she’d kind of wanted it to be a surprise. “It isn’t that interesting inside… a few potential familiars, some enchanted items, and a variety of foci is all.”

  “That sounds interesting to me,” Sella said, glancing at Tadrick and asking. “What do you think, Tadrick?”

  “It isn’t like we can play cards without a fourth person, so sure,” Tadrick replied, grinning as he added, “Give me a minute, Rue? If we’re going there, I’d like to have some funds on hand in case they’re willing to sell me anything I find interesting.”

  “Certainly,” Ruethwyn replied, and he grinned before heading up the stairs.

  For a moment the hallway was quiet, and Ruethwyn moved over next to
the right wall while the two women came out of the room.

  “So, Rue…” Korima said, her tone slightly evasive, and just enough to set Ruethwyn on edge.

  “Yes, Korima? What is it this time?” Ruethwyn asked, eyeing the kitsune warily.

  “I was just thinking… would you be willing to make me a dress?” Korima asked, smiling as she added, “I could just ask for one from Mother when she arrives, or commission one, but something a classmate made would mean more, I’d think, at least to her and Father.”

  “I likely could do that,” Ruethwyn admitted, frowning as she considered the idea. It was something that had flitted through her mind before, in all honesty, but she hadn’t decided one way or another.

  “Yay! I’ll have to get some fabric and come get fitted one of these evenings!” Korima said, bouncing up on her toes, then hugging Ruethwyn tightly. “Thanks, Rue!”

  Ruethwyn gasped at the tight hug, and Sella giggled in amusement. Ruethwyn glared at her as Korima let go, asking slightly breathlessly, “Is something funny, Sella?”

  “Just you and Korima, really. You’re so… stern, a lot of times, while she’s enthusiastic. The two of you make an odd pair,” Sella said, and Ruethwyn blinked, looking at Korima skeptically.

  “Stern? I don’t know about that,” Ruethwyn said, frowning.

  “No, she’s right. You’re not uptight like Madeline, but you’re not easy to approach,” Korima agreed brightly, smiling as she added, “I think it’s fun, though. You’re amusing when you squirm.”

  Ruethwyn glared at the kitsune for a moment, a tiny part of her entertained, but also a little taken aback. She thought she was being reserved, not stern. After a moment, she decided what she wanted to say, though. “Squirm, is it? Well, maybe you don’t need a dress after all.”

  “What? Please, no! I was just teasing!” Korima protested, her ears drooping as she turned to Ruethwyn quickly, her eyes wide. The kitsune grabbed Ruethwyn’s hand and clasped both of hers around it, almost begging. “Please don’t change your mind!”