“Apparently good friends don’t let you get wasted by yourself,” he responded, sounding amused. Or as amused as he could with his head still in his hands.
Right. That sounded like Chi logic. “How about I get you a hangover cure?”
“I love you,” he whimpered.
Laughing, I retreated back outside into the hallway.
Fortunately for me there was a pharmacy across the street and I was able to snag two bottles of hangover cure that had a little mix of magic in with the medicine. It took me bare minutes to go out and come back, where I delivered a bottle each to the pitifully grateful men. Chi actually garbled out a proposal.
“You’re spoiling them, Rena,” Vee chided from the open door to her room.
“Bannen didn’t actually know it was alcoholic until too late,” I defended myself with a shrug. “Chi apparently decided to keep him company. Normally I wouldn’t approve of them getting drunk like this right before a job, but if it’s an accident….”
Vee’s arched eyebrows spoke volumes but she didn’t say what she really thought. “This inn doesn’t provide breakfast, so we’ll have to go out. Let’s give the boys a minute to gather themselves, shall we?”
I found a few things to do until everyone announced they wanted breakfast. Maksohm came out briefly, told me he had paperwork to file, and went ahead to the MISD Headquarters. I hoped being the senior agent in charge came with nice benefits, because something needed to offset how much more work it entailed.
We trooped outside into the sunlight and the hangover cure must have worked, as Bannen barely flinched at the light. Chi did flinch, threw a hand over his eyes, and peeked out between his fingers. Then again, the man’s normally clear blue eyes looked bloodshot this morning and his sandy hair stuck up every direction, making him look just as hung-over as he probably felt.
Bannen didn’t give much of a better showing. He’d pulled his hair into a messy ponytail, which looked very strange, as I had rarely seen him without the braids, clothes not neatly put together but thrown on. He didn’t quite shuffle as he walked, but I’d definitely seen him more graceful.
“How did you manage to get to bed last night?” I couldn’t help but ask.
He blinked at me. “You didn’t do it?”
Uh-oh. “Um, Bannen, I didn’t know where you were until I found you in your room. What do you remember about last night?”
Opening and closing his mouth several times, he tried to respond, only to frown. “Not much, it’s a little hazy. Chi, what do you remember?”
Chi turned around carefully at the waist with an air of caution, as if any sudden movement would send his head straight off his shoulders. “I remember you daring me to do something stupid.”
Vee rolled her eyes. “Did you?”
“Of course I did, you know I can’t ignore a dare.” Chi glared fuzzily ahead at nothing. “I’m not sure what the dare was, though.”
That alcohol must be some potent stuff. I made a vow to not have the same drink Bannen’d had last night. I could never get drunk. My magic was destructive even when I retained full control. “Let’s get breakfast, maybe it will come back to you,” I suggested.
Vee, being the only one that actually knew a place for breakfast and could think, took charge. “Breakfast rolls and hot tea, everyone? Yes? Good. There’s a place down here around the corner.”
We trooped obediently after her. Bannen, I noticed, had narrowed his eyes to slits to avoid as much of the light as possible. Hopefully food, hot tea, and a few more minutes for the medicine to kick in would cure the worst of his symptoms before we actually briefed about the shard’s condition.
Near the corner of the intersection of an admittedly busy street, I glanced behind me to make sure that nothing headed our way and I was clear to cross, and it was then that I saw him. Mary had taught me the trick to turn off my eyes’ tendency to magically analyze everything. Now I walked around using normal sight most of the time, thankfully; otherwise I’d be constantly tripping over my own feet, trying to see and decipher everything all at once. But sometimes, something truly unique came into my field of vision, and at that point I couldn’t help but stare.
Wow. I vaguely noted that the artifact that’d caught my attention belonged to a very short man—Llasian, maybe?—and he wore it directly over his mouth, the arm of it extending along his jawline and wrapping around to sit on his left ear. But that wasn’t what kept my attention. I had seen this amazing blend of magic and machine before, on a market street in Corcoran. I would bet my left boot that it was exactly the same device, as everything matched. From its Alyadarian alloy components to the other gears that were made strangely enough of pure spellwork; a specific spell for each gear, including what looked like a sound conduit and megaphone that broadcasted at the tip.
A strong arm banded around my shoulders and pulled me in, an arm I knew well, so I didn’t fight it, just leaned in, eyes still hooked to the device.
“Rena, my love, you’re staring,” Bannen drawled patiently.
“I am,” I admitted shamelessly. “I’ve seen this before! This amazing blend of machine and magic. It’s almost an art form, it’s so efficient, and—”
“Rena,” Bannen repeated patiently, “you’re staring while in the middle of the street. Pull out, honey.”
I blinked three times, pulling my attention away from the device and finally settling on the man that wore it. He was a Llasian, alright, and a familiar one at that. Four foot tall, swarthy skin, dark hair that curled rambunctiously over his forehead, a compact and strong body, eyes golden and catlike in shape, ears pointed, although his right one missed the tip. He stared at me with those eyes in blatant amusement and I smiled a little sheepishly back at him. “Hello. I believe we’ve met before?”
“We have,” he responded, his device relaying his words with a mechanized air. I felt certain some of the nuance got lost in translation, but enough came through to make it clear he didn’t mind. “Although I introduced myself by a different name last time.”
I stared at him, nonplussed. I remembered him well—the man that had helped us in the market when Bannen’s arm got broken. I did not for a second believe that him being there, and helping us, was a coincidence. Not if he had gone through the trouble of giving me a false name. So the MISD really had sent an agent to investigate, or at least, shadow me and Bannen two years before? I’d always wondered why I hadn’t been interviewed by them, as they’re all about investigating magical incidents, and Bannen definitely counted. Now I realized I actually had been, and hadn’t even realized it at the time.
Chi leapt like a scalded cat behind me. “Yez! When in thunderation did you get here?!”
“A while ago,” the man named Yez responded dryly. “Who do you think carted your drunk arses to bed last night?”
I cocked my head at him. “Wait, you’re the reason why they were properly in their beds?”
Yez laughed, nothing more than a low rumble of sound, like a predator cat chuckling. “You think they could manage that on their own? Chin was so out of it he got stuck on the ceiling.”
“My belt got snagged by the light fixture,” Chi defended himself.
“And your boy,” Yez inclined his head toward Bannen, “was lying smack on top of the table, laughing like a loon, so I knew someone else had to step in.”
I glanced at Bannen and found him frowning thoughtfully. “How much of that do you remember?”
“Not much,” he admitted slowly. “I remember accidentally breaking the table—”
I choked. “What?!”
“—and daring Chi to climb the walls, which apparently he did, and I do remember laughing when he got stuck. Chi, did I accidentally strip you?”
Chi stared at him, nonplussed. “I have a ripped shirt. That’s the extent of my knowledge.”
“You ripped it clean off of him,” Yez volunteered cheerfully. “Accidentally, in your defense; you were trying to help me pull him down. Chi didn’t mind, he said somethi
ng about true friends being allowed to strip him in public. It was all very brotherly and heartwarming.”
Vee groaned loudly, hands over her face. “I am torn between being grateful I missed all of that and aggravated that I didn’t think to check on you two earlier. Yez, did you settle the matter of the table?”
“I did, don’t worry about it. The innkeeper was so impressed Bannen did it barehanded that he actually didn’t charge much for the replacement.” Yez gave Bannen a weighing, pregnant stare. “You’re deceptively strong. Even working shrimp boats as a kid doesn’t explain that kind of strength.”
Bannen froze, expression stuck in this half-perturbed state, as startled as a newborn deer. “Wait, you heard that?”
Chi sighed, putting a commiserating hand on Bannen’s shoulder. “Let me introduce you to Yez, Specialist of the MISD, officially known as a scout and information gatherer. Unofficially, he’s the best sneak and assassin I’ve ever seen. Do not be surprised if he knows everything about you and constantly ambushes you from behind. My shadow makes more noise than he does.”
“You say that, but you yelped when he showed up,” Vee said to no one in particular.
I regarded Yez with open fascination. Truly? I didn’t doubt Chi’s words, he wasn’t the type to exaggerate about things like this, but the man standing in front of me didn’t look dangerous. He looked so incredibly nondescript that I literally hadn’t noticed him until my eyes caught on his device. But maybe that was why he was so skilled? Because no one thought to take a second look.
Cautious, as I didn’t really know how to react to this man, I offered a hand. “Proper introductions this time? Rena Rocci, pleasure, Agent Yez.”
He gave me a small smile and clasped my hand in a strong grip, the feeling of calluses obvious against my skin. “Just Yez, Magus. We’ll be working with each other for a while.”
“Then Rena, please?” I responded and felt strangely like I had just passed some sort of test. “You already know Bannen, my familiar.”
“I do, and he owes me flowers and a kitten,” Yez deadpanned.
Bannen choked, then threw his head back and laughed. “Did I promise you flowers and a kitten for helping me into bed last night?”
“You did,” Yez confirmed easily.
Chi openly pouted although the gleam in his eyes said mischief. “You promised me a kitten too, Bannen.”
“Don’t look at me like that, Chi,” Bannen responded sweetly. “I’m sure before this is over, we’ll all have kittens.”
I laughed and held up a hand. “I see what you did there.”
Bannen gave me a high-five. “Knew you’d like that. Well, Yez—do you mind if I call you that? Thanks—I appreciate the hand last night. Glad you could join us. We were on our way out for breakfast and to get some information about the shard. By chance, do you have the intel we need?”
“I do,” Yez stated with an easy shrug of the shoulders. “But let’s talk over breakfast.”
The breakfast place that Vee knew of emanated the air of a local specialty. It didn’t look like much, barely more than a front counter and four walls, picnic tables out front in a casual array. I liked the look of it, and especially the smell of it, as I could detect bacon and bread and a wonderful amount of cheese. The smile on Rena’s face said that she liked it too.
Vee waved us to seats and called out a simple order of breakfast for five people. Ah, one of those places, eh? I loved restaurants that were so good that they didn’t have established menus. I straddled a stool at the head of the table as everyone settled around me and noted that we were only the beginning of the breakfast crowd. The other tables would be full before I could blink and turn around.
Yez occupied the other end of the table, directly across from me, and I didn’t trust that look on his face. “So, would you prefer to have an empty stomach when I give you the gristly details, or not?”
The only person that flinched was, predictably, Rena. “How gristly is gristly?” she asked hesitantly.
“More horrific than gristly,” Yez said with perhaps a touch of gentleness in his tone. It was hard to tell through his mouthpiece. His expression gave it away—he had a soft spot for Rena and was trying to ease her into this, either because he didn’t want to scare her or because she was the youngest at the table. “I don’t think it will upset your stomach?”
For both our sakes I hoped not. Rena was a bear when hungry. If we missed breakfast because she got nauseated now, lunch would not be pleasant. “I’ll stop you if it gets too much for her. Brief us, Yez.”
He gave me a nod, still focusing on Rena from at least one corner of his eye, gauging her reaction as he spoke. “You know that this shard of Toh’sellor appeared in the town’s center—or close enough to the center—ensnaring hundreds of people. This happened three weeks ago and we now have a pretty accurate number of how many are in there: 1,286.”
I couldn’t help a grimace. There wasn’t a word to describe how sick I felt hearing that over a thousand people were trapped in that place. Of course, the sick feeling was compounded by the remains of my hangover. Getting drunk last night had not been one of my better life decisions. “How badly are they warped?”
“Badly. I’ve done reconnaissance with Agent Maksohm—not this Maksohm, Pietr Maksohm—as his shields can withstand Toh’sellor’s presence for more than an hour. The people in there are no longer people. They’re some sort of grotesque figure of them—people have gotten to calling them zombies. I’m not sure how accurate that is, as technically they’re alive, but they certainly don’t look like it.”
Rena shook her head sadly, eyes not leaving the table’s surface. “They’re basically walking dead. When I take out the shard, they’ll evaporate.”
I could see the three Specialists exchanging a weighted look. Uh-huh, that look spoke volumes. “You knew that.”
“We suspected it,” Yez corrected. “I have no eyewitness accounts from any MISD agent—I didn’t get a chance to ask these two—so I’m going off hearsay and secondary accounts, but everyone agreed that after Rena had gone through and destroyed the shard, nothing living was left. I gave it even odds of it being a mercy killing on your part.”
“It was not,” Rena corrected somberly, and I could see the weight of this slowly settling on her shoulders as she slumped in on herself, arms folding over her waist. I hated the burden but I could do nothing to take it from her. Still, I couldn’t help but reach out, a hand at the small of her back, unobtrusive but supportive. She flashed me a thankful look and leaned into it, straightening a little. “Although I see how you might think that. After Toh’sellor is done with anything living, it’s so warped and twisted, it can never survive in the world again. But no, we don’t need to actively kill anything after the shard is destroyed. The effects of Toh’sellor warps something far past its physical limitations, and in truth, should destroy everything it touches because of that. However, exactly because it’s warping the living past physical boundaries, it also had to use a certain amount of…energy? Life force? I can’t say magic as it isn’t magic, but—”
Chi held up a staying hand. “We understand, go on.”
She accepted this with a nod and continued, “Toh’sellor has to extend its energy into everything it remakes, otherwise it can’t exist. The object will literally tear apart before it can function. When I destroy the shard, those poor people will cease to exist.”
“Dust in the wind,” I whispered and felt the same weight that Rena carried transfer in part to my shoulders. I’d never been able to tell her this—wasn’t sure it’d ever be safe to even breathe a hint of it—but using her magic to destroy animals or people seemed inherently wrong to me. No matter what kind of crime or horrendous evil they might have committed, erasing them down to mere dust motes seemed too much, as if she was denying their very existence altogether. To not even have a body to bury, a tombstone to mourn at, seemed cruel. But I couldn’t chastise her for it, as I knew that she had no control over any of this. As
she’d said, the very effects of the shard made it impossible for anything to live, to even exist, beyond its destruction.
Chi gave an exaggerated shudder, rubbing the tops of his arms as if warding off a chill. “Can we not tell ghost stories before I’ve even had coffee?”
With effort, Rena managed to pull her mouth up into a simulacra of a smile. “Sorry. But if you’re asking, Yez, there will be nothing even remotely living after I go in there. My very sincere condolences to the family and friends of our poor zombies, but I literally have no control over this.”
Yez nodded, and I gathered from the slight arch of his eyebrows that the answer didn’t displease him. “In truth, it might be for the best,” Yez admitted with a cautious look around him, making sure that no one overheard what he would say next. “Because there’s no way to revert something back to normal after Toh’sellor has touched it and we didn’t know how to tell people that we’d have to kill their loved ones after you defeated the shard. They would have been chaotic monsters, after all, wreaking havoc.”
So even if Rena hadn’t been the one committing mercy killings, the MISD would have done it. Hearing that made me feel slightly better about the situation. But that was like saying instead of stepping in the sewer, I knew I’d be trudging in the gutter instead. There was no real improvement over the situation. “So you have the answer to that question. Any others?”
“How close do you need to be?” Yez seemed to mentally tick off a checklist as he unloaded his questions on Rena. “What preparation do you have to do first? How much time will it take to destroy it? What aid do you need?”
Rena might be new as a professional in this world, but she didn’t do more than bat an eye at the barrage. “In order? I need to be close enough to see the exact design of the shard, no more than fifty feet would be my guess. I need no preparation. My spells for defeating a shard usually take three minutes. I need enough professionals to safely guard me through the center of that madness and then hold a defensive line for three minutes.”
The Void Mage (The Familiar and Mage Book 2) Page 11
