“Come in, Vee!” I paused in lacing up my boot, craning my neck around as the giantess ducked through the doorway.
“Your hair looks like a rat’s nest. Rough night?”
“Bad dreams,” I said simply. I didn’t know what else to say as surely Vee, and the rest of the MISD, were made of hardier stuff than I. They’d been at this for years, after all.
“You’re not the only one,” Vee sighed. “I think we all woke up at least once last night. I heard Bannen get up twice.”
Really? Everyone had had bad dreams? I strangely felt a little better hearing that. Misery liked company and all of that. As Vee roomed next door to him, I wasn’t surprised she’d heard him. “He kept getting up to wake me out of a dream.”
“Ahh. I think he had a few of his own, though.” Grimacing, Vee dismissed it all with a wave. “We’ll sort through it and come out just fine, we always do. Just give it time. How about I do something with your hair? Cause I have to tell you, I don’t think you’re going to untangle that without help.”
In retrospect, sleeping on it wet without even attempting to comb it first, then tossing around all night, might not have been the best decision. “Please?”
Vee snagged my hairbrush and sat on the edge of the bed, one leg tucked up under another, and carefully started from the bottom and worked her way gently up. “Chi was worried about you. Said you might want to quit after yesterday.”
I snorted without meaning to. “I grant you it wasn’t pleasant but I know for a fact that I’m your only viable option when dealing with Toh’sellor. I mean, my master could technically deal with these things as well, but Mary’s so old she’s barely able to walk around her village. Long distance travel puts too much strain on her. If the MISD wants to take these shards out, then I have to do it.”
Vee paused, comb resting in my hair. “Is that why you do it?”
“The main reason, yes. I mean, dealing with a shard is never pleasant, and yesterday was certainly the least pleasant experience out of all five, and I can’t say I enjoyed it. But there’s a certain thrill in destroying something that no one else can.” Even though she couldn’t see it I smiled smugly. “And the pay is amazing.”
With a soft huff that might have been a laugh, she continued untangling my hair. “So it’s really a combination of all three. I’m a little surprised Bannen doesn’t kick up more of a fuss about it. He really doesn’t like you in anything dangerous.”
“Oh believe me, I know it. He’s quite vocal about it.” I meant it as a complaint but it came out sounding fond. “I think it’s a conflict of interest in a way. He takes pride in me being able to do this, when no one else can. I got a lot of grief when younger about my magic being useless and strange. Showing them up now gives him a petty pleasure. He also recognizes, like I do, that we have to deal with the shards. They don’t go away, they don’t stay contained, and he’s seen Toh’sellor with his own eyes.”
“Has he, now,” Vee said contemplatively, as if I had just handed her some piece of a puzzle.
“When he was young, yes. He knows exactly what happens if Toh’sellor gains control over an area. He doesn’t want any other part of the world to suffer the same way. So while he doesn’t like me in danger, he knows I need to go. At least now we have reliable people watching our backs. That makes it worlds easier on him.”
“Then, say, if a larger job comes along…?” Vee trailed off.
I twisted enough to look at her. “Bannen and I had an idea yesterday that the shard here was a test for something else, something you haven’t been able to handle. We were right, weren’t we.”
“You are,” Vee confirmed with a tight expression around her eyes. “I’m not allowed to say much about it. But you’re right in that your magic is the only thing that can do the job. So if you don’t take it, I don’t know what will happen, but it won’t be good.”
I might be a little new to this professional world but even still I wasn’t a fool. I wasn’t about to say that I’d do whatever needed to be done, not without hearing the details first. Especially when I felt 90% certain that it meant dealing with Toh’sellor. If she couldn’t talk about it now, I respected that, and kept my response neutral in kind. “I need more information before deciding anything, Vee.”
“I know,” she assured me, turning my head back around so she could continue working through my hair. “I just wanted to give you a head’s up. If you’re at least willing to hear us out, we’ll likely escort you to our boss tomorrow.”
“That very intense man I spoke to through the mirror?”
“That’s him. He’s back in Foxboro.”
I thought about that, thought about the very tense situation here in town, and made a snap decision. “Can we leave after breakfast? I don’t really want to stay in this city.”
“Of course,” Vee assured me with a wealth of understanding in those two words. “I’ll talk to Maksohm.”
I hadn’t quite expected that. “Maksohm is coming with us?”
“He is. He’s team leader over our group still and won’t be released from that position until he makes a formal report to the boss.”
“Really? I’m glad, I’ve grown to like him. And I wanted to really talk to him one on one about his shields because those are so beautifully efficient. I want a chance to really examine them.”
“He’ll be happy to speak geek with you,” Vee laughed. “He’s tried it with me a time or two but I don’t understand the nuances of magic as well as you two do. I use my magic to enhance my fighting ability. That’s about as far as it goes.”
That seemed like a good opening to ask, “How did you come to join the MISD?”
“It’s very expensive to feed me,” Vee laughed like this was some sort of inside joke, “and there’s not many occupations where I could earn enough to eat regularly. The MISD liked my fighting abilities, I liked being able to travel and see more of the world; it seemed like a natural fit. I only questioned it once, the first time Chi stuck himself to my side like a limpet. I was convinced he never shuts up.”
“That sounds like him.”
“He actually doesn’t talk as much around you and Bannen, I suppose because Bannen has enough of a mouth to keep up with him. I nearly strangled him myself the first week we partnered up, but he was good people, and a good man to have at my back. I respected his skills. After that, I learned how to filter out the nonsense.” Vee gave three smooth strokes from roots to tips. “There, I think the tangles are out. I can’t do any fancy braids like Bannen, but do you want it up?”
“Sure, thanks. The two of you are very close.”
“We are, and it’s a little strange when I think about it, as we’re such opposites. The idea of going on a mission now without him gives me honest to heaven hives. If someone had told me that six years ago, I’d have checked them for a head injury. Funny how time changes your perspective on things.”
I had a feeling part of that lay in Chi being head-over-heels for Vee, but I couldn’t tell if Vee felt the same. Or was even aware of his feelings for her. Bannen had apparently picked up on it, as he’d said something to me in passing that made me think so, but I didn’t feel it right to betray Chi if he hadn’t already said something.
Not to mention it might make things extremely awkward.
So instead I said, “It truly is strange how that works. I was so set on living in Corcoran the rest of my life, it wasn’t until I was forced to live in Turransky that I realized it’s not actually that great of a place to be. The rest of the world is kinder in some ways.”
“To hear Bannen tell it, Corcoran’s one of the worst places for you two to be.”
I thought of all the prejudice and hardship we had faced in that city and made a face. “In some ways, it wasn’t good to us. Even though I have amazing friends there.” I felt a tug at the end of my hair as Vee tied the braid off. “All done?”
“All done,” Vee confirmed. “Let’s go talk to Maksohm.”
Perhaps because no
one got any real sleep the night before, we all cat-napped on the train to Alyadar. Rena had asked Maksohm if we could just leave the city, head for Foxboro, and Maksohm had instantly agreed with open relief. No one thought it wise to stay in the city, not after yesterday.
For two days, that’s basically all we did, sleep. The fight in Njorage hadn’t been particularly onerous or draining in the physical sense. It was the nightmares, the emotional backlash that sapped our energy. I found myself leaning against Chi’s shoulders, legs sometimes draped across Vee’s lap or shoulder to shoulder with Maksohm, looking for silent comfort. Only Yez didn’t seem entirely comfortable with this touchy feely-ness, although I noticed he stuck close by. Rena also sought out comfort, which was telling in and of itself, as she wasn’t normally this physically demonstrative. She’d also reverted a little more toward the behavior I had come to expect from her in Turransky. She cozied right up to me now, even sleeping with her head pillowed on my shoulder several times. If I didn’t know the reason, her actions would have made me happy.
Day three started out calm and I debated the merits of an early lunch, not that I felt particularly hungry, but more for something to do, when the train abruptly slowed to a near crawl before stopping altogether.
In the middle of nowhere.
We all exchanged puzzled glances before Vee opened the window and stuck her head outside. “We’re nowhere near the next station and I don’t see anything blocking the tracks this time. Why did we stop?”
“Maintenance issue?” Maksohm theorized, already getting out of his seat. “Let’s see if we can offer some assis—”
The door slid abruptly open, a panting teenager some years younger than me in a porter’s uniform fetching up on the doorframe. “Agents! We’ve received word that there’s a magical accident near the line, east side, and it’s messing things up something awful. Siran Militia flagged us down for help, asking if there’s any mages on board.”
“We’ll go,” Maksohm assured him.
We more or less qualified. I snapped up, already snatching weapons and slipping them on. We all did, moving as a unit. Our car sat three back from the main engine, so we were able to find a door and get off quickly enough, and as soon as my boots hit gravel, I recognized the scent in the air, the feeling of magic and reality warped. “Sarding son of a Bauchi,” I snarled, head snapping around frantically, trying to pinpoint the source. “That’s a shard!”
“Uncontained,” Maksohm gritted out between clenched teeth. “Rena, can you see it?”
“Too many trees,” she denied, looking a little green around the gills.
Maksohm didn’t swear out loud but I bet a storm of some very creative words whirled in his head as he started forward. A small knot of men in mismatched uniforms stood near the engine, talking loudly over the sound of the exhaust, trying to converse with the engineer. We headed straight for them, Maksohm catching one of them by the arm to demand his attention. “Agent Maksohm of the MISD,” he introduced himself brusquely. “Where is it?”
The man, pepper-haired and a veteran if I ever saw one, gave him a look of abject relief even as he rattled off the information in a no-nonsense tone. “Dead ahead a quarter mile, sir, is where it starts getting weird. We’re trying to evacuate the area, but it’s madness, and I can’t tell you where the epicenter is, we don’t have line of sight that far in.”
“Understood. You in charge?”
“No, sir, that’s Captain Gregory, tall chap with greying hair in a black Siran uniform. You can’t miss him. He’s at the line.”
“Thank you.” Maksohm turned sharply, heading where he had been pointed.
I took in the area a little better as we ran, realizing that a logging town spread out just around the bend of a river. The tracks split here, one section going east, presumably toward Lalani, and the presence of forest, water, and train tracks had given birth to a rough work town. I got the impression of a few dozen buildings, some saw mills, but I couldn’t get more than an overall idea because of the press of people. People of all genders, ages, and occupations streamed out of the buildings, running with all of their might toward the train, the one option they had of quickly getting out of the area. I didn’t blame them. I’d be running too, but it slowed our advance to a jostled crawl.
People knocked into me, so frantic they didn’t even try to apologize, just re-centered themselves and kept running. I didn’t take it personally but it still affected me. Every hit knocked me a few inches back, pulling me from Rena’s side, the people jostling their way in between us and the rest of the group. My hackles rose, the familiar bond clamoring unhappily, and I felt my control slip a little. Gritting my teeth, I fought back into control, fighting my way forward.
Rena, turned around with all of the jostling, threw a hand back, searching for me. I grabbed it immediately, lacing our fingers together, pulling her into my chest, and felt better for the contact.
With the crowd and confusion, I couldn’t keep track of anyone but Vee, who stood head and shoulders above everyone else. We stuck close to her, Rena actually reaching out with her free hand and snagging Vee’s beltloop, which the giantess didn’t seem to mind.
“Captain Gregory!” Maksohm called out in a surprisingly loud voice. I didn’t know the quiet man could yell like that. “Captain Gregory! Oh sard this, we don’t need to worry about crowd control anyway. Vee, can you see where we need to go?”
“I see minions forming up there,” Vee pointed to the right, near a bridge that arched over the river, “at a quick rate, so I’m assuming somewhere over there.”
“That works for now.” Maksohm struck off, acting as trail blazer.
I didn’t like this and I could tell by the tension radiating off Rena that she didn’t either. Another shard near a town, one in a remote location, an area that not many MISD personnel came into contact with. These people were insanely lucky that we just happened to be passing through on this day. Otherwise they might have lost most of the area before someone could report it and a barrier specialist could come up to contain it.
We barely got across the bridge when we ran into the first group of minions, thankfully still half-formed and not capable of putting up much of a fight. Maksohm snapped a shield up and around us, protecting us from the destructive energy of the shard before we could be warped in the same way. I found myself falling automatically into the same defensive formation as up in Njorage—myself guarding Rena’s right, Chi in the back, Vee guarding the left, Maksohm in the middle and Yez up front. For a moment it felt so perfectly natural that I didn’t even think to question why.
Then we hit the next wave of minions, these properly formed, and I didn’t have the mental space to question anything.
These minions had more size to them, made of massive and elderly trees, and brute force didn’t work on them. I sliced at joints, taking them down, fighting smarter instead of harder, the crack of wood and gust of rotting scents wafting over me with every blow. These things didn’t bleed, which was strange enough in and of itself, but the stench that they gave out was gagging. That bothered me the most. I felt nauseous five minutes in, breathing through my mouth as much as possible to keep from hurling.
Sound didn’t carry well in a fight like this, too many other noise stealing away words, but even then I could hear Rena almost chanting next to me: “Can’t see it, can’t see it, why are there so many trees, I hate trees.”
“Rena, relax, we’ll find it,” Maksohm soothed (at least, I think that’s what he said, I only caught three words).
“I HATE TREES,” she snarled back, loud enough that people at the train probably heard her. “And if we don’t stop this in time, the minions will reach the people fleeing, or even the train!”
A worry I had carefully tried to ignore for now, as there was precious little I could do to prevent that from happening.
No one said anything. Likely because no one knew what to say. Rena was right, we all knew it, but the only option we had was to forge ahead. So we
did, grimly, with as much speed as we could move at.
We crossed the river again, a shallow section with slippery rocks that got all of our boots wet, and the uncertain footing put my already unhappy instincts into overdrive. If Rena slipped here, I was hauling her back to the train and cutting our losses. This situation was out of control already, I was not losing her in this madness.
Rena crossed just fine, only stumbling a little while gaining the opposite bank because of course she focused on locating the shard rather than looking where she was going. Maksohm caught her elbow, bless the man, because I had my hands full with a fox minion trying to tackle us.
“There!” my mage said happily. “I can just see the tip. Can we get closer?”
Not knowing the terrain, no one could answer her, but we kept pressing forward, and we had to be getting closer, as the amount of minions doubled, at least. I could feel sweat beading my skin as the combination of exertion and the day’s heat hit.
A groan came up but it took a second for me to find enough space to even glance ahead, demanding, “What?”
“Cliff,” Yez announced in frustrated disgust. “Not a large one, but only Vee can jump that without breaking a leg. It seems to run this whole section. How do we get around this?”
“I can try to work a bridge spell to take us down,” Maksohm offered although even he sounded doubtful.
“You’re already working two spells, don’t you dare,” Vee snapped. “Rena, can you see the shard from here?”
“Sort of? I think I’m close enough but there’s too many trees blocking my view, I’m only catching snatches of the pattern.” She hummed, thinking, then ventured, “Let me try felling some of the trees, see if that helps.”
We all paused, her voice rising and falling in the incantations to fell several trees at once. I didn’t dare look at her, too focused on keeping us protected, but I knew those words well enough after listening to the like for two years. I could also tell the result without needing to look.
The Void Mage (The Familiar and Mage Book 2) Page 15
