Hidden Magic

by Melinda Kucsera

  The idea that continents other than Boahim existed still spun Shendra’s young head. The Order’s library held more books than her mind had been able to imagine as a child. “You believe yourself capable of your task, which you are, but you must be careful. She spins words with a poison stronger than those you’ve studied,” said Master Elish.

  “Master, I get why this Lady Essia’s a danger, but twice you’ve given me information that’s raised questions in my mind.”

  “Such as?”

  “For one, why were ya watchin’ me after our mother died? I can understand my brother watchin’ me, but why the Order?”

  “And…?”

  She ran her tongue over lips too dry. “And why do ya think she’ll be able to get her hooks into me? There’s somethin’ ya ain’t sayin’—somethin’ on that parchment ya been worryin’ on for the past twenty minutes.”

  Their master’s fingers paused at the page’s edge. Beside him, one candle flickered and died as the wick drowned in wax. Master Elish poured the excess into the bucket beneath the table and used another candle to relight the wick. “When your father died, your mother had little to support herself on, much less children. A year after his passing, your mother was set to meet with Lady Essia—”

  Bredych ceased pacing, his hand still curled into fists.

  “Your mother made an appointment—though we don’t know what the end result would have been. Before her engagement, she met with us.” Her brother bit off a curse as their Master continued. “She needed money, and we needed someone who could get inside and feed us needed information. Everyone we sent in from outside was too suspect, no matter how good their training. Your mother already had a connection with Lady Essia. She had access we did not.”

  “Ya used her, and it got her killed.” When Shendra spoke the words, she thought her brother would leap out of his skin. Instead, he resumed his pacing. The kicks to her chair were harder now. Hard enough to bounce her in her seat.

  Master Elish frowned. “You’re mother’s death was unfortunate.”

  The candle’s flame shook when Bredych’s fist hit the table. “You set’er up to die and call it ‘unfortunate’?” Bredych’s sharp laughter left bumps across her arms that danced in rhythm to the candle’s flame.

  “It was a poor choice of words. Regardless, your anger marks you unready to lead the Amaskans. Jobs must serve Justice, not vengeance. No one would blame you, Bredych, for needing some time.”

  “I’m ready, if for no other reason than to keep you from it.” Her brother’s shadow framed the wall for a moment before he strode from the room.

  How long had he known the truth about their mother’s death? Had he known when he’d rescued Shendra from the streets? Beneath the table, her legs shook.

  “Now do you understand why the Lady must be brought to Justice?”

  Shendra nodded automatically. The Lady had killed her mother, so why couldn’t she bring herself to kill the woman? Was it cowardice or something else?

  Master Elish picked up the crumpled parchment and spread it out across the table in front of her. The candlelight flickered as he left through the single door, and her fingers trembled as she brought the page within view. The familiar handwriting slanted heavier than usual, its tiny print bearing smudges from the butt of her palm.

  If yer readin’ this, I’ve failed in findin’ what this Order wanted me to. They swore they’d look after ya both, but they’d tell me anythin’ ta serve their own purpose. These folks’re sneakier than the rain down a sewer grate, and all for their precious justice. If your father’re still alive, so many things would be different.

  I needed the money—I ain’t gonna lie to ya. I was all set to sellin’ whatever I had to with Lady Essia when them Order folks found me. Like them stories yer father always told, I was a spy for ’em. That Lady be pure evil if ever evil existed. The things she made them girls do. Ya must stay away from ’er at all costs. When she found me out, she nabbed some of my hair when I was sleepin’. I know it ’cause she told me so when I woke the next morn’.

  Rolled over and there she was, just a starin’ at me like she had some secret. I didn’t peg ’er for a mystic or nothin’, but I wonder. She said she’d a secret, and if I wanted to live, I’d keep her secrets like she kept mine.

  I told them Order folks what I saw her doin’, and then I wrote this for the both of ya. They told me they’d give this note to ya once Shendra was older, and I’m hopin’ they’ve done what they said. Shendra, ya must look so grown up by now. I wish I could see it. Whatever you do, don’t go trustin’ these weasels. While I knew what I was gettin’ into, I can imagine you musta lived a hard life without me and your Da. I’ve seen plenty enough street rats to know the life that leads to, but I hope you’ve found somethin’ better. Somethin’ learned.

  Shendra, ya know your brother. He’ll look after ya and all, but his temper’s gonna get him into trouble. Take care of him. Remind him of the good in life. Remind him of me.

  The page had landed on the table, its corner touching the candle’s flame. Shendra had swatted at the flame until it died, leaving a black charred corner behind. She’d folded the paper and shoved it into her pocket. Why did Master Elish show me this? Her resolve to join the Order wanted to flee with the rest of her, even more so now that she’d read her mother’s letter.

  Fewer than seven hours remained until they left for the job, and her mind was anything but clear. Bredych’s carefree smile held no hint of the man who’d stormed out of the meeting room a few days before. Her wounded finger caressed the paper. “Bredych?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are ya sure about this? ’Bout my joinin’ the Order? I know it’s what you’ve wanted to do since Da…but me? I don’t know. Fightin’ is fine, but killin’?” Her brother nodded, and she asked, “Even if they’re the reason Ma died?”

  “Especially if they’re the reason.”

  She shivered at the blankness in his eyes.

  A day’s journey by horseback. That was all that lay between Shendra and her mission. That and a good night’s sleep. For all that she begged for rest, Shendra’s mind spun circles around her worry. When the knock on her door repeated itself, her eyes gave up in their attempt to stay shut. She held her sword before her—even here. Especially here.

  The door remained silent as she cracked it open. Bredych stood outside, his hood drawn up. “Couldn’t sleep. Figured we might as well set out for Tovias.”

  She opened the door wide enough to allow him entrance before closing and locking it. He laughed, and when she turned away from the door, he held her already packed bag. “Trouble sleeping, too?”

  “Of course. I think anyone would the night before they murder someone, evil or not.”

  “It’s not murder. It’s Justice.”

  Shendra frowned as she tucked her socked feet into black riding boots. Unable to sleep, she’d bathed and dressed for travel in the gear of a typical sword-for-hire, something to blend in with other folks heading to the city of Tovias. After dressing, she’d laid in bed until the pre-dawn hours and waited. Waited for her future, for a murder that would stain her. She’d shivered in the cold of her thoughts until his knock.

  Bredych sat across the foot of her bed, pointedly not watching as she donned her leather armor. Simple stuff, but when it came time, she’d shuck it off anyway. All it would do was weigh her down. Her fingers shook as she strapped her tabard to her belt.

  The hood of her cloak would cover her face in the early morning. Not that she had a scar to hide—not yet. Not ever if she failed her test. As if he read her thoughts, her brother rubbed his jaw where it met his ear. “Does the mark hurt?” she asked, as she stared at the circle marring his skin.

  “A bit. Like a cat scratch.”

  Fully dressed, Bredych carried both their bags to the stables where a trainee curled up in the corner, a book in his lap. A few battle-steeds neighed as they passed. Her brother had dreamed of the mark, whereas horses traveled in and o
ut of her dreams. Shendra’s gaze lingered on the battle-steeds. The kindness in their eyes failed to match the muscular-bulk of their bodies. One beast rolled his eyes at her while another sniffed her outstretched fingers with anticipation. Finding nothing to eat, he backed into his stall with a sigh.

  “Better not let Master Elish catch you doing that.”

  She stuck her hand in her pocket with the tick of her eye. Her brother, upholder of rules. Past the horses of Amaskans in residence and beyond those battle-steeds in training, lay several dozen regular horses used for travel. They saddled two horses and tied their single bags into place before exiting the massive stables through the rear. Those on guard duty nodded them out as their horses matched pace. The barest hints of flesh-color breached the horizon, and Shendra tugged her cloak tighter across her shoulders. Neither of them spoke until well after the sun rose as they hugged the ragged coast line. Shendra flinched each time a gull cried out as they dove in and out of the surf for their morning meal.

  “You’re on edge.”

  She sighed as her fingers touched the note in her pocket.

  Bredych must’ve seen the motion as his hand shot out to stop three inches from her nose. “Give it here.”

  “Give what?”

  “The paper in your pocket. It’s the note Master Elish had, isn’t it?”

  Shendra shifted her weight in the saddle. When he gesticulated again, she handed the note over with a sigh. “Ya said ya didn’t know ’til Master Elish gave us the job.”

  Her brother nodded but remained silent.

  “Yer angry.” His horse picked up its speed, and she urged hers to keep pace. “Now yer almost happy to watch me turn my life upside down.”

  “Did it ever dawn on you that maybe I want the Lady dead? That maybe she deserves to die for what she’s done?”

  The vengeance poured out of him, and he kicked his horse forward into a gallop. The dirt road beneath her horse’s hooves shifted. Rocks stuck out from the dirt as they approached the coast, and she slowed her horse as he picked his way around the rough edges. Bredych never slowed, his horse barreling through the salty air like one of the Thirteen rode his tail, and she lost sight of him for a while.

  Half an hour later, she caught a glimpse of a hooded figure on the roadside. When she stopped alongside her brother, he tossed a pebble at her.

  “What happened to yer horse?”

  “Damn thing bucked me and took off down that-a-way.” He thrust is arm in the direction of a small trail leading away from the cliff edge.

  “How long ago?”

  Bredych’s eyebrows tried to cross each other as he scowled. “Long enough that he’s long gone.”

  “I’m bettin’ he found a nice stream to drink from and is sittin’ nearby. Think ya can stay outta trouble while I take a looksee?”

  He waved a hand at her, and she turned her horse off on the smaller trail. Branches knocked into the horse’s flank as they passed through heavy brush, so she allowed her mount to find his own speed through the roughage. She’d traveled maybe ten minutes when she caught the gurgling sound of a stream. Another two minutes found fresh horse droppings and then the stream itself.

  Light hoof prints to the left and right confused her. She dismounted and tied her reins to a nearby tree before heading left. As she drew closer to the river, the prints shifted from dusty hoof prints to prints that marred the growin’ mud below. The prints were deep enough to leave little pools of water within them as they led to the water’s edge before disappearing. The prints were too deep; the horse was carrying a rider.

  She traced the prints back to her horse and followed the second set that veered to the right. These remained light all the way to the edge where Bredych’s horse stood head down, munching on a patch of green clover. For all that he appeared calm, his ears followed her every movement. “Steady,” she whispered as she approached.

  The horse continued munching clover though his ears followed her movements. Several birds took to the sky as she touched the reigns, and the horse raised his head in alarm. Shendra scanned the river for signs of company, but the trees shadowed too much and not enough all at once. After a quick glance around, she led the horse back to her own.

  The way the silence settled around the trees unnerved her, and after tying his horse’s reigns to her saddle, she mounted her horse with more urgency than expected. The beast whinnied in protest and set off at a quickened pace through the brush. When she broke through the thicket near the road, her brother was gone.

  “Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.”

  Only one set of footprints led towards the road meaning no one kidnapped him. By the track marks, no one had tossed him over someone’s horse either. She kicked her horse forward, following his boot prints.

  When I find him, I’m gonna kill ‘im.

  Shendra’s temper grew short as the day grew long, and without a target, she ground her teeth until she thought they’d break. The trail pulled away from the cliff, and the brush thickened. When her brother leapt out of a bit of bramble, her horse reared. “Dammit, Bredych, what—”

  “Shhhhh,” he hissed. “Quick, pull the horses into the brush.”

  “What—”

  His eyes widened, and she slid from the saddle in a rush. Something bellowed behind her, and she tugged at the reigns. Both horses bulked, the whites of their eyes contrasting their black coats. “If they were battle-steeds, I wouldn’t be wrestlin’ them,” she muttered.

  Bredych’s fingers scrambled at his saddlebag. “Leave the horses. Grab your pack.”

  “How’re we gonna get to Tovias without the horses?” Another crash through the brush left her tugging at the strings of her bag. They weren’t gonna make it to Tovias, not with whatever approached them. She pulled her bag free as her horse reared.

  Shendra rolled away from the hooves and into a bush, her shoulder striking a rock in the dirt. Despite the sharp pain, she remained still as something large and angry sent their horses off in opposite directions.

  Dust filled her lungs far in advance of the wagon, which rolled by much too slowly for Shendra’s tastes. Its wheels stopped in front of the brush where they hid, and from behind the wagon came a rumble like table legs across stone.

  The long snout sniffed the air, and beside her, Bredych’s hand clenched her cloak. “What’s that?” she whispered.

  He held a finger to her mouth, and then pointed. Two ears twitched in their direction. Like a stable cat, the creature bore lithe, springy muscles and the usual set of four appendages, but unlike any cat she’d seen, its wide eyes bore an eerie intelligence almost magical in nature.

  The cloaked figure in the wagon’s front seat muttered something, and the creature nodded once before it turned its head in their direction. Shendra held her breath as it met her gaze and growled.

  When Bredych’s cold fingers touched hers, she bit her tongue to keep from shouting her reaction. He squeezed her hand as the creature smiled, all sharp teeth and forked crimson tongues. Before it stepped in their direction, the cloaked figure snapped their fingers and set the wagon to moving. Irritation flared in the creature’s eyes as it followed the wagon past their hiding place.

  A full ten minutes passed before either one of them dared speak and longer until they did so above a whisper. “What in the Thirteen was that?” she asked.

  “A chathula. A creature of myth as far as the Order’s library is concerned. The last time one was spotted was back when the Little Dozen Kingdoms were still Boahim.”

  “What’s one doin’ here? And who was the cloaked figure?”

  Bredych shook his head, though his haunted gaze remained fixed on the road ahead of them—the only road to Tovias, now blocked by a creature of unknown intelligence.

  Shendra pulled her cloak tighter across her shoulders. “Does this change the job? I mean, do we keep goin’ or should we report back to Master Elish?”

  “If we lose this opportunity to take out Lady Essia, we might not get another chance. Her hon
or guard will be preoccupied tonight, so this is it. Besides, the orders come from the King. I don’t want to be the one to explain to His Highness why we failed to follow his orders, do you? Come on.”

  She followed him from the brush and out on to the open road. The visibility made her skin crawl as she walked alongside her brother in silence. Both flinched when a small tree branch fell beside the dirt road, and when they glanced up, two squirrels chased each other through the canopy.

  An hour passed before signs of a settlement cropped up, and as they approached the lone woodcutter’s house, they kept to the shadows until they were sure no one was home. The wagon’s tracks led on passed the house, and Bredych kept watch as Shendra checked the nearby barn.

  One empty stall greeted her, and one held a young gelding who snorted at her presence. When she held out an apple from her pack, he accepted the offering and munched greedily on it while she tossed a riding blanket across his back. A quick search gave her no saddle, though reins, bridle, and bit lay nearby.

  In search of another apple, the gelding accepted the bit, then whinnied when he found it tasting of leather rather than juicy sweet. She dug a few coins out of the small pouch at her hip and left them in the horse’s stall. She might be a killer, but she was no thief.

  As she led the horse outside and up to the road where her brother waited, she said, “Looks like we’ll be ridin’ double.”

  “Ugh, and bareback as well. No saddle?”

  “Owner’s got two mounts, and the other was missin’. They might’ve ridden to town on the other and taken the saddle. At least this’ll be faster than walkin’ to Tovias.”

  Bredych mounted first, and the horse flattened his ears for a moment before settling into his new role. “We’ll have to go slow enough to stay behind that wagon. Last thing we need is to gain the attention of whoever or whatever’s traveling toward Tovias,” he said as Shendra used a nearby tree stump to hop up behind him.