The goddess pulled the sword free from Kevon’s grasp. Holding it hilt upward, looking at it as though it held the answers she sought, she began to smile.
I see. This is part of the…
The blade just past the handle flashed. The afterimage of a Light rune floated dark on Kevon’s vision against the backdrop of M’lani’s neck, a ghostly birthmark on her perfect, lustrous skin.
Well. This changes things.
“How?” Kevon sighed, more exhausted than this place should allow. “What is happening?”
The denial of our entrance to your Plane. It may be insurmountable. But… perhaps we can help each other.
“You’ve already helped us, saved Kevon. What can we do?” Alanna asked.
My brothers and sisters are trapped, as I am. They have no knowledge of the Plane of Enchantment, or L’mort’s designs on it. Travel to them, as you have come to me. Take the weapon. They will know what to do with it, as will you, in time. Hasten, before my brother’s power grows, and he is able to enter your realm, or mine.
M’lani handed the sword back to Kevon, who looked at it for a minute before placing it back in its scabbard.
“I can’t open the portal yet,” he began.
No need. I feel the pattern now, and… there.
The portal formed of its own accord, and M’lani’s light flowed into it, widening and stabilizing it.
Go, my children. Your friends await you.
Chapter 26
Kevon followed Yusa and Alanna through the portal, into the dim noonday sun. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the dull orb, grateful that his eyelids worked once again.
“They’re through!” Bertus called out, and Kevon felt the portal collapse behind him.
“Carlo?” Kevon asked, blinking until his vision cleared.
“It’s about time,” the Blademaster grumbled. “I’ve been here four days.”
“Four days?” Kevon shook his head. “We were there two, at the most.”
“A week, at least,” Yusa corrected.
“Not even a day,” Alanna argued.
“You were gone three weeks, to be precise,” Aelion moved to Kevon’s side. The Elder placed his hands on Kevon’s temple, and over his heart. “Fully healed. You’ll still need to rest a few days.”
“It is so much darker here than… Wait…” Alanna fumbled at her eye patch. She tore the covering free, and waved her hand in front of her face with a hysterical laugh. “It’s still darker… but She…”
“She said I was too pretty to fix,” Yusa interrupted, “And I’m starting to feel pretty hungry.”
“So what have you learned in the last four days?” Kevon asked Carlo as they began the trek back down the hill.
“Your friends have deciphered two out of the five languages in your book, and still have no solid idea of its value. Unicorn are a pain in the backside, and Elven women are not as fragile as they appear. You just came out of a shiny hole in the air, I’m more interested in what you know.”
“As you should be,” Kevon nodded. “It’s just that…” He whirled to the side, taking Alanna by the hand, and peered into her startled face. Her rejuvenated eye was its natural, vibrant green, but streaked throughout with golden lines. “There is so much to tell.”
The assassin turned her wrist and captured Kevon’s, extending his right arm to her right, sliding to her left as he turned with the force. “You might have asked,” she whispered in his ear, constricting his neck with one arm, pressing the heel of her other palm between his ear and jawline.
“Not a bit sorry,” Kevon rasped, gurgling as Alanna’s grip shifted.
“I really shouldn’t break you, as it was so much trouble to have you repaired,” Alanna mused. “Will you behave?”
“Within reason.”
“That will have to do.”
Kevon staggered forward as Alanna relaxed her grip, and rubbed at his throat. He twitched only somewhat when her stride brought her even with him, she took his hand then twined her fingers with his.
* * *
“You spoke with the Elven goddess?” Carlo sputtered, bread crumbs launching from the corners of his mouth. “What… was she like?”
“She was big,” Kevon began. “And bright, and kind…”
“And afraid,” Yusa added. “Family troubles, it seemed.”
“I don’t like the man,” Alanna murmured to Kevon, “But he’s not easily shaken. We may need that.”
“She wants you to visit the others?” Mirsa pushed her plate aside and brushed at her robe.
“That’s what she said,” Yusa affirmed. “And you’re welcome to use my ship to get anywhere to that end. I’d volunteer to visit the other realms in a heartbeat.”
“Knowing that Light is the most pleasant of all the elements?” Mirsa asked. “I, for one, am relieved to have to stay here for a time, though returning to the Seat of Earth is not an unwelcome prospect.”
“It is a known destination, but does not further our understanding of the book,” Kevon spoke carefully, his mind full of memories and possibilities. Images of a vast expanse of waving grasses moved to the forefront of his thoughts. “Where is the Seat of Wind?”
“Lore on such things is unreliable, at best,” Mirsa shook her head. “Based on where Light and Earth reside, the most likely place is in the Highplain of Kelanoth.”
“Yes, far to the south, where the air grows cooler,” Aelion agreed. “Not a journey to be undertaken lightly.”
“Fewer things are these days,” Kevon shrugged. “As dangerous as the journey there will be, the crossing will be more so, and the waiting… doubtful there is a place so pleasant to pass the time as there was here.”
“You said before…” Aelion began in a low tone, as the room grew quiet. “She mentioned us?”
“She wished to know how you fared, and that you awaited her return,” Kevon answered. “But…” he searched for the correct phrasing. “She seemed surprised that any of us were alive at all. She thought our realm, our plane, had been destroyed. They all thought it. They’ve tried to return here, with no luck, and thought we were no more.”
“She did not forsake us…” Relaniel whispered.
“I told you not to despair, child,” Aelion chided his student. “Perhaps, with Mirsa’s continued help, we can send groups through to…”
“I will go with Kevon,” Relaniel stood from her place by Aelion, and crossed the floor between them in three quick strides. She sat by the Warrior, and peered at him. “If he’ll allow it.”
“I… uh…” Kevon looked at Alanna, who shrugged, smirking. “Why do you want to do that?
“You have spoken with M’lani, received her blessing. She cannot cross to be with us, but bids you speak with her family. I would love to see her,” The elf’s eyes glistened with half formed tears. “But you would be gone before the first group returned. I would see your journey to its successful conclusion before satisfying my own desires.”
“We would value your help on our journey, but…” Kevon smiled. “We welcome your friendship even more.”
“We’ll recruit a band of hunters for each of your ships before you leave,” Aelion announced. “Until then, we celebrate.”
Chapter 27
“Seems more natural…” Carlo scratched his chin, and squinted into the sun creeping over the horizon. “But I’ll no doubt regret saying that, before too long.”
“Your Court Wizard was the one to suggest it,” Kevon countered. “But it makes sense. Focusing on the wind instead of the water could help with the sickness, and besides, there is no telling how much more difficult keeping two ships balanced like that would have been.”
“It’ll keep the crews in sailing shape,” Yusa offered, throwing the last bag of provisions onto his longboat. “That’s the reason we sent the ship Bertus and the dwarves brought back to Eastport. It was smaller, would outpace either of these in the same wind.”
“The cannon on my ship was another factor… You heard
the captain,” Carlo grumbled, stepping into his own boat. “No time to waste.”
Kevon climbed into the boat next to Yusa, and both craft shoved off toward their ships.
“The tide’s wrong,” Yusa muttered. “If that accursed Reko would show his…”
“No need,” Kevon smiled, and focused his Art to propel the craft onward, the rowers lifting their oars clear of the sea with murmurs of appreciation.
* * *
“See me at once in your cabin,” Reko commanded as Yusa and Kevon climbed the rope ladder to the deck. The Mage scowled and vanished after he delivered his message.
“We’re going to set a few things straight,” Yusa barked after the disappeared Mage, turning to offer Kevon a hand up.
After the rest of the crew was aboard, and the longboat hoisted and lashed into place, Yusa marched to his cabin, Kevon scurrying on unsteady legs to keep up.
“Out of my chair!” Yusa shouted as he threw open the door.
“I’m not in your chair,” Reko smiled, and his image flickered, he reappeared lounging on the captain’s bunk.
“Don’t test me, Wizard!” Yusa growled, hand on the wooden baton at his side.
“I’m not testing, I’m showing,” Reko laughed, flickering to a spot right before Yusa. “Before I tell.”
“All Illusion,” Kevon whispered. “I can feel it.”
“Yes,” the Reko-image bowed his head slightly to Kevon. “Always Illusion. And I’m tired of hiding it.”
Kevon closed his eyes and extended his senses, but could not detect anything out of the ordinary. “So where are you, really?”
“I’ll get to that in a moment,” Reko was back in Yusa’s chair. “But first things first. She said I was beautiful.”
“You’ve not been with us around any women save Alanna and Mirsa,” Kevon mused. “The elves would have mentioned you. Who…”
“You were there…” Yusa’s jaw hung open.
“I am always there,” Reko’s form blinked to its spot before Yusa, and pointed between the captain’s eyes. “I am always there.”
“Explain yourself!” Yusa roared, reaching for the Mage’s chest.
Reko’s form wisped away, but his voice continued. “There were so many times I considered ending it, killing us both. The years of helplessness, never being my own man, tied to your whims. But that’s over. She said I was beautiful. Too beautiful to fix.”
“She was healing injuries,” Kevon scowled at Yusa. “What…”
“I…” Yusa’s hand moved to the base of his skull, and he rubbed at the indentation. “I think I know.”
“Yes.” Reko’s voice whispered. “We were never the same after that.”
“I was so young. I was climbing in the barn, and fell, hit my head.”
“Our brother was there, ran for help,” Reko’s voice added.
“There was so much blood. We had two healing potions in the house…”
“It took ten in total,” Reko amended. “Rufus rode the province begging them from neighbors.”
“I was never the same,” Yusa frowned. “Had to relearn everything. Walking, talking,”
“I railed against the prison behind your eyes for years, trying to get you to hear me, to lift a finger. It wasn’t until…”
“You studied magic,” Kevon whispered. “You told me that you studied the Arts for a time, but couldn’t make sense of it.”
“But I could,” Reko laughed. “Being nothing but an imprisoned mind, magic was something I could feel, something that I could do, my connection to the world outside. But I couldn’t really talk to you until I mastered Illusion.”
“Things got strange when I started studying the Arts, it was part of the reason I left,” Yusa shook his head. “That was you?”
“Before I knew what I was doing,” Reko affirmed. “I started out small, forming obstacles for you to avoid, working up to strangers in a crowd. I made things glimmer to catch your eye, direct you places I wanted to go. It was years before I perfected this form, and began to really talk with you.”
“You had me buy books for you,” Yusa chuckled. “You always had me check the pages to make sure they were worth buying.”
“I had to read them somehow,” Reko’s form appeared once again, behind Yusa’s desk. “I’d love to reread some of them.”
Reko turned to Kevon. “I want to help, as much as Yusa does. I hope we can work through…”
“Make the other cabin available for the other Mage and I, these are the highest rooms on the ship. You choose how or whether to reveal this to your crew, but I would. People are more trusting than we assume.” Kevon looked over to Yusa. “So, you can touch metal?”
“I’d rather not. It makes me uneasy.”
“I’d rather he didn’t, it hurts like nothing else,” Reko added. “I used to black out for days.”
“And now?” Kevon asked.
“Pain. Confusion.” Reko shuddered. “Shall I go on?”
“And your magic?”
“Limited, afterward,” the Illusion answered. “Like all of my magic had been stolen. The worst part, though, is not being able to concentrate.”
“Interesting.” Kevon scratched his chin. “Perhaps we should discuss this more at length, before Carlo finds out. He tried to kill me when he found out I was a Mage. He’s mellowed some in the past few seasons, but…”
“I understand. An angry Blademaster is not something one looks forward to.”
The ship rocked as the Magi aboard both ships linked minds to call the wind.
“Maybe you’ll take a shift?” Kevon asked Reko.
“I’ll rest now, while you bring my books in from the other cabin,” Reko suggested. “I can do this in his sleep.”
Chapter 28
The days roiled by, darkness and daylight blending into a froth of time separated into six hour shifts.
Wake. Link with the other ship’s Mage. Call the wind. Hold until the end of your shift. Eat. Clean. Cook. Mend rope. Sew sails. Sleep.
The routine was not a full day, but lent itself to the resources at hand. The Magi could recover from six hours of sorcery in twelve hours with relative ease. After the first shift, Reko had insisted on taking his time alone, and had not faltered or thrown them off course. He was quick to take over when it was his turn, and slow to relinquish the duty to his relief, often taking an extra hour so that they could eat and relax.
“Two more days at this pace, we should reach the Southern trade lanes,” Yusa pointed to the chart on his desk. “It’ll be slower, but the Magi will have a chance to really rest. Reko has been… irritable.”
“I would welcome a break,” Kevon admitted. “My Wind magic has never been so focused as it is now, but some of my other training has suffered.”
“The crew should be able to resume all of the ship’s duties when we reach the lanes, natural winds will mean less breakage of the rigging.” Yusa said, rolling the chart and placing it in its holder. “We’ll ride those winds as close as we can to Kelanoth, but we’ll have to use the Magi again for the last leg of the journey.”
“I’ll cross over to the other ship, and let Carlo know.” Kevon slipped out of the cabin, and made his way across the deck to the longboat.
Kevon climbed aboard the craft, and using a pair of Movement runes, turned the handles on the winches that held the landing vessel in place. Shifting his focus to a Water rune, and battling to keep the power at a mental arm’s length, he caused the sea below to swell the last few feet, releasing the hooks that held the boat aloft. Kevon released the Movement rune, and wrestled with the water magic, sliding the boat swiftly over to the side of Carlo’s ship. He secured the lift-lines that were thrown down to him, and waited for the crew to pull him up.
* * *
“I could see that this was wearing on everyone,” Carlo grunted. “A fine thing, my being concerned about the Magi.”
“You took the news about Yusa and Reko surprisingly well,” Kevon laughed.
“He
doesn’t wear a sword, has no traffic with any Guild,” Carlo corrected his student. “Yusa didn’t know any better, Reko still makes me uneasy. Our Magi say he’s at least as powerful as both of them together.”
“Yusa has handled every physical aspect of their lives,” Kevon mused. “Reko has been trapped, but free to focus his mind as he wished for years on end. It’s a wonder he’s sane. How are the dwarves holding up? This prophecy of theirs has been awkward for most of us.”
“Most of them, excepting the Stoneguard, have kept below for the bulk of the journey,” Carlo shrugged. “Rarely a day goes by when one of them nearly goes over the railing. They play like Novices, but there’s something about them, something dangerous, just under the surface.”
“That’s the same impression I had of them,” Kevon admitted. “Bertus said that the Ambassador, Kylgren-Wode, was a fierce warrior, but the Stoneguard were more so, and very demanding trainers.”
“The two Stoneguard that remained on the Isle with them will keep his skills sharp,” Carlo chuckled. “If we didn’t need Rhysabeth-Dane with us, I’d have liked her to stay with Mirsa, also.”
“Agreed. Those three, and Kylgren-Wode, have become quite the family this past season.”
“And your family?”
“Alma is… Alma. We’ve always been different. She’s glad the Dwarven translator is aboard your ship, and not trying to talk her into an Ambassadorship. Martin… I’d begun to think of him as almost a brother, as we worked with Holten, far before it was official. He’s been a good friend, but…” Kevon shook his head. “He’s not had the years I have to wrestle with Holten’s betrayal. That, too, will take time.”
“Your burnt friend?”
“Pholos…” Kevon shrugged. “Hunting for signs of Holten, on two Planes. We have no way of knowing where he is, how he fares. Mirsa showed me how to look for him, but every time I try, I feel nothing. He’s either shielded, elsewhere, or dead.”
Blademage Adept (The Blademage Saga Book 3) Page 13
