by Eric Vall
“The bakery had a few spices missing,” Alyona said as her brow furrowed in thought. “Cinnamon and oregano, according to Arthur.”
“And two chickens were taken from the livery,” Nallen added.
“Soooo, our intruder is cooking up a dinner for two with a fancy flower?” I grunted. “This is insane.”
“No,” Alyona gasped suddenly. “He’s concocting a spell.”
“A transport spell?” Naomi asked with wide eyes.
“I believe so,” the princess agreed.
“You believe what?” Laika asked as she jogged up with her group in tow. “Nothing weird in the housing district so far.”
“I believe the mage is creating a transport spell,” Alyona replied.
“Oh, that’s odd.” The wolf warrior’s tail swished around behind her as her eyebrows furrowed.
“Okay, someone loop me in,” I said. “What’s a transport spell?”
“It’s like a portal, except it only works one time and in one direction,” Alyona explained.
“He already got in,” I argued. “Why would he need that now?”
“I’m not sure,” she mused. “But we need to find him before he finds the last ingredient.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Blood from a willing creature of the water,” Naomi answered as she narrowed her amber eyes.
“What does that mean?” I paced back and forth. “What water creature could be willing to donate some blood?”
“It can be a Demi-Human,” Alyona said softly. “As long as he or she willingly gives up their blood, it would work for the spell.”
“Okay, we have to warn everyone,” I decided. “Anyone who could be considered a creature of water needs to be accounted for, and we will implement a buddy system for them until we find the mage.”
“Buddy system?” Aaliyah cocked her head to the side.
“Yeah, like, all of the water creatures go somewhere with a buddy,” I explained. “They shouldn’t be by themselves.”
“We should hold a city meeting,” Alyona suggested. “Then we can tell everyone what they need to do to stay safe.”
“Let’s do that,” I agreed. “What’s the quickest way to tell everyone to get here in the next thirty minutes?”
“What about messengers?” Naomi wondered. “Can you send them to everyone?”
“I’ve never tried.” I rubbed my chin as I considered it. “Might as well give it a go.”
“Yes, I think it will work!” Alyona grinned.
“Alright,” I said and conjured the messenger dragon in my palm. “Tell all the citizens of Hatra to come to the Smoky Pavilion immediately by the order of Lord Evan.”
The silvery messenger dipped its head and then seemed to explode as hundreds of the sterling creatures flew out of my palm and into the city. Several hovered close by and repeated the message for the citizens who stood with us in the gazebo. It was weird to hear my voice come out of the tiny beasts in front of us, and then they disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“I guess it’s working,” I chuckled and then turned to Nallen and Saxon. “Tell Pyotr what we’ve figured out so far, then keep searching. We need to find this mage immediately.”
“Of course, my lord,” Nallen replied with a deep bow before he spoke into the armband on his wrist. “Pyotr, we must not let any water creatures walk alone. We are continuing the search, and I will keep you updated.”
The two men hurried over to the rest of the warriors, and then all of them took off out of the gazebo.
I led my women to the long table at the end of the pavilion and motioned for everyone to sit down. Then I sat in the middle chair facing our growing audience, since it seemed people had already received the message and were headed to the meeting. I was glad to see they took it seriously, and I hoped they would take the buddy system seriously, too. Not only did I not want anyone to be in danger, but I also didn’t want the mage to get what he needed, even if we didn’t know what he needed it for just yet.
“What are we going to do if they don’t find him?” Laika asked. “They’re skilled warriors, but searching for people is a different skill set.”
“What about another locating spell?” I asked. “It worked in Kana.”
“It worked to find the relic, not the mage,” Alyona pointed out. “We could look for another one, though. Our archives here are even more expansive than Lady Naomi’s.”
“You have more books?” The lizard mage perked up with interest.
“The archives will take your breath away,” the princess replied and grinned.
“We’ll go there as soon as the meeting is over,” I decided.
Alyona and Naomi smiled at each other excitedly, and we all turned to face the crowd as Ruslan, Julia, and Eleanor made their way to the table.
“What happened?” Julia asked, and her eyes shone with concern.
“I’ll announce it to everyone at once,” I replied. “We haven’t found him yet, but we will. We have a plan. Where’s Valerra?”
“She didn’t want to leave the eggs with the intruder loose.” Ruslan frowned. “It’s probably for the best.”
I nodded in agreement. I hated not having my dragon mate by my side, but we had to keep Junior and my dragon-niece or nephew in-law safe.
“I believe everyone is here, my lord,” Zane said as he strolled through the crowd. “Cia said the fields are clear, and that’s the furthest place from here.”
“Okay,” I replied and stood up from the table to get the people’s attention. “My people, I’m sure you’ve heard by now that someone has broken into the city. We have yet to find this person, but we have reason to believe he’s in search of a water creature.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd, and I watched as looks of fear were shared among many Demi-Humans.
“What does he want with us?” a man asked.
Before I could answer, he pushed his way to the front of the crowd, and I got a good look at a frog Demi-Human. His eyes were huge and dark, and his mouth stretched across his wide face. His voice was thick, too, as though he was speaking through a wad of paper.
“If we’re right, he needs your blood,” I answered honestly. “The catch is it has to be willingly given.”
“Well, let’s just give him some, so he’ll leave!” the man croaked.
Agreements were muttered through the crowd.
“That is out of the question,” I boomed, and the man took a slight step back. “We don’t know what he wants it for, but he broke into our city to get it. The point of this meeting is not to frighten anyone. It is to keep you informed and safe. We will be requiring all water creatures to travel with a buddy. Are there any questions?”
No one said anything, and the silence was deafening.
“Please return to your homes, and only leave when absolutely necessary,” Alyona added as she stood up beside me. “We want to keep everyone safe, and we will let you know the moment the intruder has been captured.”
The murmurs erupted again as the crowd dispersed to the housing area.
“You think that will work?” I muttered. “That frog guy pissed me off with his suggestion.”
“He’s only trying to think of something we hadn’t,” the princess replied as she squeezed my arm. “We all have ways to keep Hatra safe. Now, let’s move on to the next part of our way.”
“Of course, princess,” I said as I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips.
Then we rose from the table and headed for the archives.
Chapter 11
We walked together toward the archives Laika and I had accidentally discovered when I’d first arrived in Hatra. It was a bit of an Alice in Wonderland moment when we went into a big hole in the ground, but it led to a really amazing place that had eventually given me the Sword of Healing and a connection to my grandfather, Tristan.
We followed the large marble steps down the spiral staircase that would lead us into the main part of the archives. The hidden library wa
s the home of thousands of books from bestiaries to spells to history. I was a little surprised it wasn’t the mage’s target when he broke into the city, but maybe he didn’t know about it. This was a good thing, too, because I’d like to keep the archives a secret forever.
As we entered the giant library, I was awestruck again by its size. Columns soared above us to touch a bluestone ceiling covered in sparkling stars to look like the night sky. The rows and rows of books hummed with energy, and I could feel their power in my bones. The mosaic-tiled floor seemed to shimmer with movement from the designs etched into the pearly tiles. One featured a fish swimming in water, and another showed a horse running through a field, and the tiles wavered in the light from the enchanted lanterns that lined the immense blue walls. It smelled so fresh and airy, it was easy to forget we were underground.
“It seems the barrier has held up well,” the princess mused and touched one of the intricately carved columns lovingly.
“Of course, my lady,” Laika chuckled. “You created it.”
“Ohh, hush,” Alyona tutted with a blush.
“So, what are we looking for?” I asked as I traced a row of books with my finger. Not a single speck of dust flew into the air, though it had been months since anyone was in here.
“First, we need to find the spell books,” Alyona replied. “I remember some of them being down this hallway.”
We followed the princess down another row lined with books, and I could hear Naomi’s gasps of surprise and awe at every section we passed. Her collection in Kana was impressive, but it was nothing like this. The archives contained centuries of collections kept by those who ran Hatra, and it was an immense amount of knowledge. After a few minutes, we walked by my favorite room, the one only I could enter as the Lord of Hatra. It was the place where I’d inadvertently traveled back in time and met my grandfather, Tristan. I’d warned him of the incoming danger of the miasma, which was likely why the city wasn’t completely destroyed.
Alyona turned left past the door with my family’s sigil and glided down another hallway, and the ceiling here was filled with more constellations and paintings of the three moons. It was so lifelike, I could almost feel the night breeze as we followed the princess to her destination.
“Aha!” Alyona cried out as she reached for a shelf. “These are the books I found before. They have a wide variety of spells, so it may take some time to find the right one.”
“Oh, wow,” Naomi breathed as she opened one of the books, and the lizard mage thumbed through the pages with her mouth open in shock. “This is incredible.”
“Just remember, you can come in here whenever,” I chuckled. “Right now, we should focus on finding our little friend.”
“Oh, right!” Naomi began to skim the pages of her text in search of the spell before she looked up at me. “Wait, I can come here again later?”
“Of course,” I replied with a cheeky grin. “Why couldn’t you?”
“Well, I just thought, ah…” the lizard Demi-Human trailed off as her cheeks began to blush the same color as her scales.
“Yes?” I prodded.
“I just thought it was only for the Lord’s family, that’s all,” she finally mumbled.
“It’s something like that,” I replied with a wink.
Naomi’s face twitched into a semblance of a smile before she returned to her book.
The other women were already nose-deep in the texts as we searched for a way to find the mage who had invaded our city, so I followed their lead and grabbed a book to search. I was glad to be helpful, but I wasn’t as experienced with magic and spells as the others, so I wasn’t sure how helpful I really was.
Then I had another idea.
“Keep looking,” I said as I slid the book back onto the shelf. “Miraya, you come with me.”
“Okay,” the spirit agreed, though she looked confused. “Where are we going?”
“To get a little help.” I walked back down the hall and turned toward the door with my family crest. “I think you’ll have to go back into my spiritual sea to get past the sigil.”
“Yes, I’ll have to be a part of you,” Miraya answered and then disappeared.
I could sense her pure presence enter my spiritual sea, and a feeling of power washed over me as her magic combined with the Sword of Hatra once more.
I traced the images of a solar system on the doors with my finger, and I was entranced by the image of a dragon hiding behind the clouds. Then I shook my head, pushed the doors open, and walked inside the huge room with blue marbled walls that sparkled like more stars. The moonstone statues gleamed in the light as I sauntered into the room past each of my ancestors. I passed by Jovan, Shoqueran, and Ziran, and they stood in royal stances as though they’d just won a huge battle. Our family had a habit of naming the males with “-an” at the end of their names, and I just happened to blend right in.
I made my way further down the aisle until I came to the familiar fox Demi-Human statue of my grandfather. I studied the ivory-colored features of Ruslan’s father, and I pictured them in their true bright reds and greens.
“I don’t know if you can hear me,” I murmured. “I’m just starting to lose my patience with this search, and I want to find the mage and get him out of my city.”
He will come, Miraya’s voice echoed inside my head.
Before I could respond, a hazy version of Tristan’s statue appeared in front of me, and then it began to shift and stretch as my grandfather seemed to awaken from a nap.
“Evan, grandson, I sense a great shift in your power,” Tristan hummed as his transparent, ghost-like form solidified a bit. “You have won an important battle.”
“Indeed, sir,” I confirmed. “I defeated the spirits of the Celestial Triad.”
“And assimilated their powers?” Tristan raised his foxy eyebrows and then grinned. “Impressive, just like your grandfather.”
“Although, hopefully, this one is a bit humbler,” another voice boomed down the hallway and laughed.
I whipped around to see another fox Demi-Human, though he was almost as tall as me. His furry tail whipped around behind him as he trotted toward us, and as he got closer, I could see his eyes twinkled with his devilish grin. It was hard to pick out the rest of his features since he was a spirit just like Tristan, but I somehow knew his name already.
“Vayan, my attitude matches my skill,” Tristan laughed. “You should know, you taught me well.”
“Ah, yes,” Vayan agreed. “My own son often outmatched me in my older years.”
“Like once you turned six hundred?” I joked.
“Exactly!” the elder fox cackled. “You are most certainly one of our own, though I do not recall a dragon in our genealogy.”
“I’m a little bit of a unique addition,” I chuckled.
“I’ll say,” Tristan agreed with a grin. “Now, what have you come to speak with us for? Is there a problem in Hatra?”
“Yeah,” I muttered as I remembered my purpose. “Someone broke in through one of the city walls, and I think it’s a mage, but I don’t know why he’s here. I need to find him.”
“You already know how to find him,” Vayan replied.
“I wouldn’t be in here if I did, sir,” I countered, though I kept my cool. “We have been scouring spell books down here, but I wondered if there wasn’t an easier way.”
“I don’t say that to be coy or sage,” the elder fox said with a frown. “I mean, as the current Noble of the Sword, you have already gained all our knowledge. I assume that’s how you knew who I was. We won’t be able to share anything with you that you do not already know, but you will need to access it.”
“Okay,” I murmured. “So, how do I access it?”
“Ask Miraya,” Tristan suggested. “The spirit of the sword is your guide.”
I have an idea, my lord, Miraya whispered.
“She thinks she has something,” I told the foxes.
“She?” Vayan asked with a surprised exp
ression. “Why, the spirit always appeared to me as a warrior.”
“And to me as a wise old man,” Tristan added.
“Oh yeah, she told me she can take whatever form the noble would be comfortable with,” I said. “At first, she was a little boy to me. Now, she’s a very beautiful woman, and she’s part of my harem.”
“Fascinating,” Vayan breathed. “Well, what’s her idea?”
You’ll have to come to your spiritual sea, Miraya advised me. I’ll have to show it to you.
“I’m going to meditate for a little while,” I said and added in my best Terminator voice, “I’ll be back.”
The foxes looked at each other and shrugged as I took a seat on the floor and called out to my spiritual sea. Then I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them, I sat on the beach with Miraya standing over me. Her white dress billowed around her legs in the breeze to reveal her pristine creamy skin, and I had to dampen my racing thoughts to focus on her idea.
“Come on!” the spirit exclaimed before she took off running toward the mountain.
“Ah, okay,” I replied and rose from the sand to sprint after her.
We reached the base of the mountain, and she veered right instead of left toward the spirits’ cave. Then we chugged along for a few minutes in silence before Miraya finally slowed down and pointed.
Straight ahead of us, a forest climbed out of the mossy grass and towered overhead. The trees weren’t as wide as the redwoods on my core island, but they were as tall as skyscrapers, and their trunks were made of vivid rainbow colors. I walked closer and touched a neon yellow trunk, and the bark seemed to glow under my touch. Then I continued past it and put my hand against a green trunk that glowed as well.
“What is this place?” I wondered.
“Videnia,” Miraya sighed. “The knowledge.”
“Has this always been here?” I asked as I continued to walk along the path.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Videnia is a fickle thing. I just had a feeling it would be here since you needed it.”
“Is it the forest?” I reached out and touched another glowing tree.
“Kind of,” the spirit hedged. “I helped you get here, but you have to figure out the rest on your own.”
