by Candy Crum
Nikolai cleared his throat. “Y-yes. That’s what I’m saying. We checked the rubble, like you asked. We found them in the barracks that was destroyed.”
Barbara scoffed. “Not that there was much left to find.”
Scarlett’s eyes shot daggers at Barbara, causing the lesser mystic’s amused expression to fade immediately.
Taking a cautious step forward, Nikolai asked, “I don’t mean to upset you further, but I must ask. Where were you? When the guards came for you, you weren’t home. We’ve been trying to piece this together all night.”
Scarlett turned her icy glare on Nikolai. “Oh, I was busy being productive. Someone around here has to be, unless you plan to do that by dying. Then I suppose that would be pretty fucking productive.”
Both mystics wisely stood and kept their mouths shut as Scarlett sighed and shook her head. Her nostrils flared as she looked toward the window.
“For your fucking information, I was preparing for something just like this. I figured it wouldn’t be long, though I didn’t realize it would come this soon.”
“Preparing?” Barbara risked. “How so?”
“Well, I tried to call in some reinforcements, but the dark druids proved to be a bust. I helped them out a while ago—retrieved that spoiled little brat and her parents they were after—and I expected a return on my loyalty. A messenger returned shortly after I did to tell me the dark druids are gone, but I have other plans.”
She paused for a moment, taking a drink of her mystic’s brew. “Luckily for me, I have friends all over. Lots of people owe me lots of favors. I called in a few. There will be several more mystics joining us, and a few unique physical magic users. We will need specialized magic if we want to win this. Something they’ve never seen.”
At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and Scarlett waved her friends off to go answer it. The door opened, and a young man walked in. He seemed serious, but was not at all afraid.
“Good morning, Chancellor,” the young guard said.
Scarlett turned on the charm, even pushing a bit of influence on him. He suddenly felt warm and welcome in her office, stunned by her beautiful smile.
“Good morning,” Scarlett replied. “What brings you to my office?”
He smiled back, taking a step closer before turning serious again, no doubt remembering why he was there. “I’m sorry to report, Chancellor, that a scout who just returned says he saw Amelia and Arryn a couple of days ago heading into the southern mountains—into Craigston, we think. He didn’t engage. There were apparently several people in her group.”
Scarlett nodded. “That was wise of him. He never would have made it out alive if he’d attacked. Now, because of his bravery, we have the report and know where she is.”
Nikolai’s brows creased. “But if she’s in Craigston, how could she ha—”
“Thank you,” Scarlett interrupted. “I appreciate this information. Please let me know if anything else comes up.”
Without speaking, Scarlett pushed her influence on him again, giving him the sense that he should leave right away and help outside the office in whatever way he could. He smiled again, bowing his head before taking off.
As soon as the door closed, Scarlett’s façade dropped, and she once again scowled. “You idiot. Seriously?”
Nikolai’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry! What did I do?”
She sighed heavily. “It’s obvious that Arryn wasn’t the one who attacked the city. If she’s in Craigston, that means she’s going to the Temple for help. Got it?”
Realization struck him then. He nodded. “If she’s at the Temple, Julianne might come back with her.”
Scarlett waved a hand. “There’s no worry of that. I have reports that Julianne is off in the Madlands somewhere, fighting the New Dawn. Still, there are a lot of people at the Temple that I wouldn’t particularly care to run into.”
“If I may,” Barbara said, giving a wicked smile as she stepped forward. “We might be able to take advantage of this.”
Tilting her head to the side with curiosity, Scarlett waved a hand for her to continue.
“Arryn and Amelia were headed into Craigston right after all those guards were killed. It shows she’s not in the Dark Forest, and really does look like she’s hiding out. How certain are you that it wasn’t Arryn who attacked?”
Scarlett smiled. “Positive. You’re all still alive.”
Barbara and Nikolai looked at one another, and Scarlett could sense the dread they felt from that one statement.
“If it had been Arryn and Amelia, they would have brought several mystics—possibly with more power than us. Given they haven’t expended their time and energy with compelling a city full of people, I’d have to say they would be much stronger.” She took another drink of her brew.
Barbara smiled again. “The timing works. Arryn could have fled after the murders and made it to the southern mountains easily. It wouldn’t take much to say she’d come back to do some more. We could call it an act of war.”
Scarlett nodded. “Okay. And who are we going to declare it on? The Heights? Craigston? Because I’m pretty sure that even with the training going on around here, one rearick is worth several Guard. I don’t care to go to war with either of those, not with Arryn and Amelia backing them up.”
Shaking her head, Barbara said, “Not the Heights. Think about it… If Arryn is up there, where isn’t she?”
Scarlett shrugged. “The Dark Forest. I would assume that is the point here.”
“Exactly. If they aren’t there, the Dark Forest has been left open.”
Laughing, Scarlett said, “Yeah! Except for the hundreds of druids—including their Chieftain—who reside there. This sounds like a great plan.”
Barbara sighed, not having considered the Chieftain. It was then that Nikolai seemed to get a bit more chipper. “What if we don’t get close?”
“Explain,” Scarlett demanded.
After thinking for several moments, Nikolai said, “What if we take physical magic users, Guard, and ourselves to the edge of the Dark Forest, where it’s possible they won’t sense us. Come on… You’ve made the threat several times now. What if we actually do it?”
Scarlett’s mouth fell open slightly as she realized what he was saying. “Burn it to the ground.”
He nodded. “If we took horses and carts, we could transport oil. The physical magic users could open the barrels or gouge holes in them and levitate them over the trees, saturating them in it. After that, only a single fireball would do it.”
“Yes!” Barbara chimed in. “They won’t have Arryn or Amelia there to control the blaze, and if they call storms, the rain won’t be able to put out the fire. It won’t even be able to wash the oil off. They’d be fucked. The Forest would burn, no matter what.”
Scarlett sat there for several moments, her mind exploding with ideas. Suddenly, this half-baked idea didn’t sound too bad. In fact, it sounded perfect. If they took enough barrels of oil, they could do a lot of damage.
A smile spread across her face then as she nodded. “After all, they did just declare war on Arcadia. Not once, but twice. I think, since the Guard was on our side before, they won’t have a problem with this. Still, we will have to wait for backup to arrive. We will need crowd control.”
Barbara nodded. “We ourselves will have to go. There would be no way we could trust them if we didn’t. Once they got close to the Dark Forest, their fear of the druids would be enough to snap them out of the compulsion unless we were right there.”
“I agree,” Nikolai said. “There are a lot of weaker-minded people in this city who aren’t actually being controlled at all. If they became too cowardly, they could flee and cause the others to do so as well, even if the compulsion holds. We will definitely have to go.”
Scarlett shrugged. “It will be a show of good faith. Having the leader go and not be afraid of getting her hands dirty will look good to the people. Don’t you think?”
Barbara n
odded and smiled, obviously feeling a bit better after the earlier bad news. “I think we have some work to do. We don’t have a clue how long it’ll be before Arryn gets back from the Heights, or who she will have with her.”
Nodding, Scarlett said, “There’s one more thing. We need to test the resolve of the people. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to weed out the traitors amongst them. I think it’s time for some fun.”
“How do you plan to do that?” Barbara asked.
“Oh, you’ll see. I promise, it will be nothing short of entertaining. That being said, I think you should work on setting up a town meeting at the Capitol steps.” The mystic winked as she moved to seat herself behind her desk.
Taking their cue, her loyal friends turned and headed for the door.
The Temple was incredible—everything Julianne had said it would be. Amelia sat with her legs folded in, her hands resting palm-up on her knees, and her eyes closed tightly, with Margit seated just in front of her. Arryn was positioned in the same manner, with Zoe in front of her.
“Do you realize just how tense your face looks when you’re trying to meditate?” Margit asked Arryn.
“Shh,” Zoe said. “She’s my student. You have your own.”
Amelia opened her eyes to see Margit pointing at Arryn. “Well, she looks like she’s trying to shit. Good luck with that one.”
Amelia bit her lip to stifle a laugh. She wasn’t exactly sure how old Margit was—close to Ezekiel’s age, she would imagine—and like the Founder she was incredibly feisty. She was the type of older woman who had worked hard and knew she had earned the right to say whatever she wanted.
Zoe, Arryn’s instructor, was young, but had a fire of her own. Her tight, dark curls bounced as she turned angry brown eyes on Margit. “Hey! I don’t care if she actually does shit her pants as long as I teach her something. You just wait. You’ll see.”
“See her shit her pants?” Margit asked, causing Amelia to laugh loudly.
Arryn raised her hand. “Hi. I’m right here. Also… Not gonna shit my pants.”
Margit raised a brow. “You sure about that? You look positively constipated.”
Amelia laughed again and Arryn shot her a look before glancing back at Margit. “Yep. Pretty sure. In fact, I’ll tell you a little secret.” Arryn leaned forward a bit, cupping one of her hands to the side of her mouth as she whispered, “I don’t even need to.”
Rolling her eyes, Margit returned to her neutral position and shook her head. “Your student is a smartass.”
“Sure is. Julianne would love her.” Zoe reached out and tapped Arryn’s leg. “She’s kinda right, though. You really do look stiff.”
Still smiling, Amelia said, “Pretend you’re sitting alone on the bank of the river. The trees are all around you, and the sun is shining on your shoulders. Imagine how good it feels, how relaxing it is. You don’t have to try to meditate. It’s supposed to be relaxing. That’s how it lets you renew your strength.”
Arryn shook her body, loosening herself up before she settled back in. “Okay, I’ll try again.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Satisfied, Amelia turned back to her own teacher, winked, and shut her eyes before relaxing back into the meditation. They had been at the Temple for a full day, after having spent the night. It was almost time to get back on the road to return to the Dark Forest, and Amelia was trying to pack all she could into the short visit.
When they had explained to Margit, who was in charge in Julianne’s absence, what had happened and allowed her to see all what each of them had seen—including how easily Amelia had been manipulated—she had given permission for Zoe to return with them.
Amelia couldn’t deny it would have been amazing to have both along on the trip. Someone with Margit’s feisty personality and incredible skill would go a long way in the fight against the mystics, but she couldn’t leave her people while there were dangers for them to face as well.
They were simply grateful the mystic had agreed to send even one. It would be quite the blessing to have Zoe along. Even though she was young, she was very strong and a master storyteller.
“Illusions are much different than looking into the mind,” Margit said.
Arryn snorted. “No shit.”
Margit sighed. “Are you commenting on something, dear? Or were you simply giving us an update on the contents of the seat of your pants?”
Amelia opened her left eye, fighting a smile as she turned toward her friend with the sarcastic attitude. Arryn gave a grand smile. “You mean to say, the lack of contents in the seat of my pants.” She winked before closing her eyes again.
That girl never ceased to amuse Amelia. She and Cathillian were so much alike in that way.
We should talk in the privacy of our own minds, Margit sent telepathically. While I find your friend amusing, she’s obviously trying to cover up her difficulties with jokes.
Amelia nodded, though her eyes were closed. I’m not surprised. She has a lot of potential, but when things are uncomfortable for her, she jokes. She’ll get it.
I know she will, Margit sent back. She’s a smart girl. That being said, she isn’t my student. You are. Now, as I was saying… Illusions are much different than looking into minds. When you’re looking, you are simply opening your mind to another and accepting any information that comes your way. Useful things are usually on the surface and will come to you freely if no blocks are in place, but you must push if you need something more.
“Uh...” Arryn said out loud. “I don’t like this.”
“Shh,” Zoe said. “It’s your mind opening to things around you. The meditation is working.”
“Nope. I don’t like hearing someone else’s thoughts. It’s an invasion of privacy,” Arryn replied.
“You’re hearing them because they have dropped their barriers,” Zoe said. “If you heard Margit’s instructions, then you know what she just said is true. You opened your mind. Their conversation was just on the surface, so there wasn’t a block to keep you out. The information spilled out for you to hear. That isn’t an invasion of privacy. Hell, we rarely speak aloud around here. It would be an invasion for you to dig farther. For you to bully your way past a barrier. That we don’t normally do.”
“Though, sometimes that’s necessary,” Amelia added, then turned her mind back to Margit.
“She’s right. I saw what she had to do while you were in the North. Had she not invaded the minds of others, she wouldn’t have known who to trust, and she would have been dead. We normally respect the privacy of others—unless lives are at stake. Would you prefer to be polite, or alive?” Zoe said.
Amelia could hear Arryn sigh, and she could feel her resolve and understanding through her own hyperawareness from meditating.
Arryn went silent as she gave in to the meditation and all it offered, including the ability to read surface thoughts. When Amelia had begun learning, it had taken her a while to get that far.
But Arryn was different.
Not only was she incredibly strong both mentally and physically, but she knew two forms of magic already. When Amelia had begun, she had only known physical magic. It was always difficult to learn a second. But nature magic was incredibly spiritual anyway. Mental magic would come easily to her if she chose to learn it, though Amelia understood why she didn’t want to.
The mystics continued to speak in silence to their students as they gave them individual lessons that fit their own needs.
Amelia focused as she sat with Margit, paying close attention to her hair. It took nearly two hours, but it finally happened. Amelia changed the shade of her hair. It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t the color she had hoped for, but it was certainly much lighter than it had been.
“Very good!” Margit said out loud. “Practice every day. Turn a red apple green. Change the color of your eyes. In fact, learn to shield the whites of your eyes so you can cast openly without causing fear. As you know, people aren’t fond of us. Start with these small things and
work hard at them. Meditation will give you the rest you need to continue.”
Amelia felt excited. With Zoe coming along, she knew that she could continue lessons and possibly learn even more. The art of storytelling the way the mystics did it was nothing short of amazing.
Master storytellers like Zoe would tell or listen to the story of another and project images for everyone else to see. The tale would play out for them as if they had been there.
That was the same type of spell that might be needed in times of battle. With that kind of power, one could make an enemy believe they were surrounded by men, or snakes, or spiders—anything the mystical magic user might have need for at that time.
Additionally, Margit helped Amelia learn how to strengthen her own barriers, a lesson Arryn had also been working on with Zoe since the thoughts of the others in the room had come flooding in.
Even if Amelia wasn’t able to use mental abilities to change their position in the battle to come, she was very confident those mystics would have one hell of a time getting into their heads.
16
Scarlett once again stood on the Capitol steps as she faced her people, pushing as much charm as she could on those in front so it would spread. Nikolai and Barbara stood behind her to help with the effort.
Unbeknownst to the crowd, there were several other mystics now wandering among them, affecting emotions and creating a sense of comfort and intense loyalty in Scarlett’s presence.
This would not fail.
Scarlett wanted to test her hold on her people, and she knew exactly how to do it. Her newly-arrived friends would pick out the weakest among them—more than likely Boulevard scum—and use them to incite a riot, one that her extremely loyal people would have to take care of in her honor.
If nothing else, it would be very amusing—to her.
“With everything that has happened lately, I felt that I should address you face to face. You have suffered so much. The remnant invasion. The betrayal of your former Chancellor. The death of Talia. The loss of so many members of our trusted and brave Guard. And now…”
