“Of course there’s more than a dozen trees blocking my view. I’d be here for the next hour if I tried to clear my own line of sight,” Rena’s voice growled in disgust. “Plan B, anyone?”
“What if you were higher? Could see over the tree line?”
Rena ruminated on this for a moment. “Yes, I think so. But it would mean getting on your shoulders, Vee. No one else can give me the height I need.”
“Let’s try it, then.” I could hear her kneel, the bend of leather and movement of fabric, then Rena left my side, more fabric rustling sounds as she got her legs around Vee’s shoulders.
With barely a huff of effort, Vee stood, carrying Rena like a young child. I gave them a quick glance but the size disparity made Rena look ten years younger than she actually was. In any other situation it would have made an amusing sight.
“Still not quite enough,” Rena denied almost immediately. “Vee, put me back down, I need to stand on your shoulders.”
Sards! I didn’t like that idea. I wanted to protest, because Rena’s not exactly the most balanced person in the world—a carryover from being sick for most of her life—but I couldn’t protest in this situation.
“Vee,” I grunted out, carefully not taking my eyes off my opponents, “do not drop her.”
A pregnant pause went through the group and I could feel their evaluation of me in that moment. I didn’t even bother to pretend to be alright. I was far from alright, I didn’t like this situation at all, and my bond snarled in unhappiness. Waesucks, but this whole thing was a crapshoot, no one could even try to pretend otherwise.
Vee knelt again, I heard her, then Rena climbed carefully onto her shoulders once more, balancing oh so carefully. Vee’d better have a death grip on her ankles, I would not be responsible for my actions if Rena fell off that perch.
“There, now I can see,” Rena stated in supreme satisfaction. “Vee, can you hold me for three minutes like this?”
“Yes,” Vee responded in exasperation, “go.”
Rena spoke the spell so quickly the words nearly ran into each other. I appreciated that as we had become quickly swarmed on all sides and with Vee tied up holding Rena, we were down a fighter. I took the brunt of the right side as Chi shifted to the left, protecting his partner.
Three minutes had never felt so much like an eternity.
The last syllable had the background of a heavenly choir as both shard and minions disappeared like so much smoke. I let my arms immediately drop, tired beyond recognition. Turning, I sheathed both swords and extended my hands up, toward Rena. She gratefully bent, reaching down, and between my efforts and Vee’s, we managed to get her smoothly to the ground.
Rena stayed in my arms for a moment, hugging me and just breathing. I held her just as fiercely. Alright, bond, she’s safely on the ground again with no monsters in sight, you can shut up now.
Thankfully, it did just that, subsiding like a grumpy cat in a sunny spot.
“Let’s never do that again,” Chi stated wearily. “Seriously. That was all sorts of messed up and I didn’t like it. We didn’t even have backup if something went wrong.”
“If we didn’t have Rena with us, I never would have led us in,” Maksohm promised although even he sounded a little rattled. “This is a bad sign, though. This shard obviously started forming either this morning or late last night. Do new shards pop up as soon as one of the older ones is defeated? Is this a direct correlation between our efforts in Njorage and here?”
“Thunderation, I hope not,” I breathed, alarmed at this idea. I could tell from their expressions that no one else liked the idea either. Maksohm’s question couldn’t be dismissed outright, though, as much as I wanted to.
“It could be that’s not the case,” Yez said thoughtfully, but in a grim manner. “It could be that Toh’sellor is sending out seeds of himself willy-nilly without restriction.”
“Oh, this just gets better and better,” Chi snarked.
Rena and I exchanged a look and I could see in her eyes how much she didn’t like that possibility either.
Maksohm shook his head and herded us back toward the train with both arms, like he would a gaggle of geese. We went silently although I could practically hear what everyone thought.
Even if Toh’sellor had restrictions of how much it could spread itself out at a time, that didn’t mean it had any restrictions to area. It could literally pop up anywhere at any given time, with nothing to use to predict it. Worse still if it didn’t have any real restrictions. That meant we were in the middle of a losing battle, and even if we destroyed the shards, we’d lose the overall war.
The only way to stop this slow destruction, to safeguard the lives of this world, would be to destroy Toh’sellor entirely.
I wondered how long it would take before someone said that out loud.
I’d passed through Foxboro with Rena and everyone else, of course, on the way up to Njorage, but I hadn’t seen much of it since we’d traveled the ferry in near darkness. This time, I got a proper look of the city as we came into it.
Foxboro sat nestled in between three mountains, on the edge of a channel, and on a different continent entirely. I stepped off the ferry, the smell of salt and water strong, looking about me to gain my bearings. Seemed like a nice place. I didn’t know why, but every roof in sight was red—a tiled red—and all of the buildings were pure white. Well, no, I take that back, I did see a few buildings painted pink, of all things, and up on the top of the mountain slope a few buildings had a white domed top instead of red tile. So, some variation in the architecture, but not much. Talk about a building fad that caught on, though. I didn’t see any real variation except that. Navigating this place with no real unique landmarks to work off of would be real fun.
We’d landed with the sun slowly setting behind us, and I knew that most people would be getting off work at this point, heading for dinner or home. I looked to Chi with a cant of my head. “Inn or boss?”
“This time of the day, he likely won’t be at the office, and I do not want to disturb the boss. His wife has definite opinions about him being home on time and she’s scary.” Chi gave an exaggerated shudder that told me he might be joking. Or not. “I vote inn.”
“I’m starving,” Rena announced, clutching a hand to her belly, “so the inn better have decent food.”
“Normally we stay at the barracks at MISD Headquarters but…” Maksohm trailed off with a grimace.
“The food they serve there is legendary,” Chi informed us in a tone that suggested he didn’t mean that in a good way. “We’ve had songs written about the food. Odes. Epic tales. Mostly in how sick you are after you’ve eaten it. Maksohm? True friend? Brother-of-my-heart? Don’t kill us with food poisoning.”
Maksohm caved quite quickly. “I have a friend-of-a-friend that has a place. More of a Bed and Breakfast, but she’ll feed us dinner, I think. It’s on the corner of 5th and Maple.”
Vee apparently knew where that was, as she immediately snagged up her bag and started walking. I followed her off the docks, automatically reaching out to touch a hand to Rena’s elbow, assuring myself that she kept up. I stayed a half foot behind so that I could keep an eye on her and our surroundings simultaneously.
The place seemed nice enough, no obvious signs of crime, most of the windows and doors standing wide open to encourage the sea breeze to go through the house. People called out to each other as they passed, mostly in a language that sounded foreign and musical to my ears. I liked the vibe of the place and a half-smile played on my mouth as we walked. The streets went gradually up from the shoreline, which I found interesting, as from a distance it had seemed semi-flat here before the city crawled its way up the mountain slopes. Appearances could be deceiving.
Vee did an abrupt left turn and walked into a building with a modest sign above it that said something like a business name, I presumed, but I couldn’t read it. As she entered, she called out a greeting. “Master of the house! You have guests!”
A portly
woman in her late fifties bustled out from a back room. I could hear her as I walked in, taking the building in with a quick sweep of the eyes. Dark orange tile on the floor, white walls, brightly colored murals painted here and there, colorful pots with even more colorful flowers under every windowsill. For all of their monotone color scheme for their buildings, they certainly liked color everywhere else.
The master of the house wore a wide gypsy skirt of vibrant blue, white shirt, hair done up in a loose bun. Her skin looked impossibly dark after years of exposure to the sun, which set off her blindingly white smile. “Welcome! Always happy to host someone from the MISD. Dah’lil, I see you have the sense to come see me when you’re in town.”
Maksohm gave her a warm smile. “Of course, Sanosa. How can I not?”
“If you want to eat decently, you do,” Sanosa said with a pleased nod. “Five guests? And I assume you want dinner?”
“Six,” Yez corrected as he stepped out from behind me, giving a little wave of the hand.
“Oh, I do beg your pardon,” the matron said with a soft chuckle. “Didn’t see you. Six, then. But you do want dinner?”
“Of course,” Maksohm assured her. “I wouldn’t miss your cooking for the world. Just make a lot, please. We have two bottomless pits.”
“I resemble that remark,” I laughed.
Vee jerked a thumb at me. “The amount you make for me? Make for him.”
There seemed to be surprise as well as condemnation from people and I defended myself, “Hey, I’m still growing.”
“Vertically or horizontally?” Chi asked sweetly.
I could not let that stand and snagged him around the neck, bending him over and rubbing a hand roughly over the top of his head. Or that was the plan, at least. His reflexes being as good as mine, he managed to wiggle out and away before I could get a proper headlock on him.
“You’d think, the way they carry on, that Chi isn’t a decade older,” Vee mourned to no one in particular.
“He’s not,” Yez disagreed. “He is perpetually twelve.”
“That’s why they get along, then,” Rena agreed mock seriously. “So’s Bannen.”
Two could play this game. I looked at Chi with a deliberate frown on my face. “I feel like I should disagree, but—”
Proving that he really is my brother from another mother, he cottoned on and immediately joined in “—they’re right, though, so—”
We shrugged in unison.
Maksohm for some reason looked pained. “Note to me: never, ever let you two pair up on anything. You’re uncannily alike. It will not end well.”
“Likely not,” I agreed cheerfully.
“Oh, but the fun we’d have,” Chi grinned at me like a co-conspirator.
“Dinner,” Vee said firmly, mostly toward our hostess. “Before they get sidetracked and actually do get into something.”
I think Sanosa believed her. Well, actually, it was a real possibility. Chi and I really do think alike and have similar trouble magnets in us. Our hostess promptly showed us up the stairs and into rooms, although she looked askance at me when I quietly informed her that I needed the room adjacent to Rena’s. Sanosa, being a good hostess, complied, and didn’t ask questions. Grateful, I threw my bag into my room and took off most of my weapons, just leaving on two long daggers. I shed my boots as well and smiled at the feeling of cool tile against my feet. After being in shoes all day, my toes liked the break.
Sanosa proved an amazing cook so I ate more than my fill, enjoying food and company equally. We lingered at the dinner table, trading stories and quips until our eyes drooped and we unanimously went to bed.
I slid onto clean sheets with a happy sigh and settled, one ear cocked in Rena’s direction, just in case she called out for me. Or had a nightmare. I hoped she didn’t, as last night had been painful enough. As I waited for her to settle, my mind churned, wondering if I was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t Toh’sellor. No one had come and outright said it was. Maybe I was projecting.
But I had a feeling I wasn’t.
The pink building that I’d spotted on the way in turned out to be the MISD headquarters. I didn’t know what to think of that, honestly. If they’d painted it pink to make some sort of statement, it was lost on me. The MISD banners of dark blue and silver hung near the doorways, two bracketing the front gates, and people moved about professionally enough. I didn’t think Maksohm would bring me to the wrong building as a prank. Chi would, no doubt, but Maksohm didn’t have the same warped sense of humor.
Aside from the pinkness, the building looked like every other one in this valley, just larger, spanning a full city block. It didn’t have the brightly painted murals on the walls, either, which made sense considering it was a super serious office building. I would say it didn’t have much in the way of personality except, you know, the pinkness.
Seriously, why pink?
No one else seemed fazed by this, but of course they wouldn’t be, they were used to it. I kept my mouth shut as we followed them inside, signed in on a clipboard at the front counter, getting temporary badges that I hung over my neck stating ‘visitor.’ Rena caught my eye at one point and gestured toward the walls with a ‘seriously, pink?’ mouthed at me. At least I wasn’t the only confused one.
Maksohm confidently led us up two flights of stairs and down a wide hallway paved with functional grey tiles to a corner office. The door stood half open and he gave it a rap as he stepped inside. “Director.”
“Enter!” a masculine voice barked.
We all slid inside. The place had a great deal of space without much furniture cluttering it up. Large conference table with eight chairs, then a desk with a single chair. I expected to see some sign of work, of coordination between other offices, but this place barely had a few files. It was show, for decision making, not anything else.
Salvatore stood, coming around the desk with a ground eating stride that said former military to me. He wore the full uniform this time, long coat flaring at the ends as he moved. One of those men that likes to cut a dramatic figure, eh?
“Magus Rocci, Master Bannen, welcome to MISD.” A shark’s smile would look more friendly.
Rena smiled back, extending a hand. “Director Salvatore, nice to meet you in the flesh.”
He accepted the hand and the smile became slightly more genuine. I didn’t blame him, Rena became outright adorable when she smiled. No one could really resist her like this. “Likewise, Magus. Here, sit, all of you. I’ve received a report on what happened at the shard. I’m quite happy with the results.”
Since we all had mixed feelings on what happened, I just smiled and took a seat. Sometimes my version of being diplomatic parsed down to keeping my trap shut. The director took the head of the table, maneuvering so that Rena took the chair directly next to him with the rest of us finding our own seats. He directed every single word to her, which made me feel a little uneasy, as I sensed he had an agenda to push. “Magus, as of last night, the count of shards popping up all over the world hit seven. Even with the ones that you took out, we are not getting ahead.”
Rena and I shared a frown.
“Any idea why Toh’sellor is able to extend himself past his containment barrier, Director?” she prompted.
“None.” Salvatore nodded to Maksohm, and the agent smoothly took over.
“When the first shard appeared in Brightwood, we immediately investigated why, but we can’t find any specific reason. The containment barrier seems to be working, but it obviously isn’t if we’re getting multiple shards appearing outside of it.” Maksohm’s mouth thinned to an unhappy line. “I’m afraid that the barrier, while functioning, is no longer sufficient. We just don’t have the power to contain it anymore. After two centuries, Toh’sellor has grown to the point that its power is overwhelming ours.”
That dreaded suspicion had become reality. I found it hard to swallow as I realized what he was really saying. “You want us to skip the shards and take Toh’sellor directly on.”
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Salvatore met my eyes unflinchingly. “Yes.”
I sat there and stared at him like he was a crazy person. Pretty sure he was. How could he just say that?! I looked to Rena, sure she would protest, but she looked thoughtful. Calculating. I knew that look, she wore it when she’s redesigning a spell in her head, mathematics and probabilities and elements all coming together to form the picture she wants it to. Things usually shattered when she had that face on.
“Rena. Get that look of your face. Right now. That’s your exploding face, I don’t want to see your exploding face.”
She looked up at me and I knew, I just sarding knew, what she was going to say before she could say it. It abruptly became too much to sit there calmly and I threw the chair back, coming to my feet, feeling flight/fight instincts kick in. Only I didn’t know if running or fighting would solve this. I saw it in Rena’s eyes, those ever expressive eyes, as they looked up at me and I objected vehemently before she could get a word out. “No. Don’t look at me like that, those puppy eyes of yours are not going to work this time, I mean it. No. Do you hear me? NO.”
“Bannen—” Vee started and I flung up a hand to stop her.
“Don’t tell me that she’s our only chance of really taking Toh’sellor down,” I snarled at her, at all of them. “I’ve seen that thing with my own eyes, what it does, what kind of monsters it creates. I don’t want her anywhere near that thing, do you hear me? I want her as far from it as I can manage.” The idea of Rena even on the opposite mountain range terrified me down to the black cockles of my soul and silently admitting that to myself made bile rise in my throat.
Despite the fact that I was carefully not looking at Rena, it didn’t matter. She slid her arms around my waist, chin on my chest, forcing me to look down at her. I did and hated that weakness, that inability to stay firm with her. I stared hard into her eyes, making my voice as flat as possible. “No.”
She gave me a sad smile. “Purple.”
I snarled back at her like a wounded wolf. There were days, not many, but there were days that I seriously regretted that late night conversation where we’d come up with a code word. Mostly I regretted it because Rena tended to use it whenever it went against my better judgment. “Renata Rachel Rocci, so help me—”
The Void Mage (The Familiar and Mage Book 2) Page 16
