Fire Within: Book Two of Fire and Stone (Stories of Fire and Stone 2)

by Stephanie Beavers

“Ooo, this is exciting. Are you storming your own castle?” The drawling voice came from just behind them, and all three of them reacted instantly and violently. One of Toman’s belts whipped towards the voice and a stone bird began to plummet towards them from above. Esset whirled, fire in both hands. But Tseka was the fastest—she was already had her hands on the owner of the voice before anything else could happen. She had one hand wrapped around his throat, and the other poised in front of his face, her venomous talon protruding from her wrist a scant hairsbreadth from his nose.

  “Please don’t kill me,” the man drawled. He didn’t sound nearly as concerned as he should have. Esset banished his fire and summon, and Toman called off his attackers as well, but Tseka kept a grip on the man’s throat. Something about the stranger put her on edge, even when accounting for the unpleasant surprise.

  Tseka looked to the brothers as they took in the fancy maroon-and-grey clothing, the sleek black ponytail, the goatee, those narrow grey eyes, and the man’s slimy handsomeness.

  “Erizen,” Esset said, his tone somewhere between exasperated, disgusted, and relieved. Tseka glanced at Esset, remembering the name from their previous discussion, and then turned her steely gaze back to the mage.

  “Shall I kill him?” she asked, pitching her tone like the idea was desirable.

  “Might I say, my dear lady, that you are stunning?” Erizen drawled, showing no hint of nervousness.

  “No, you may not,” Tseka hissed. Tseka had to give him credit for his audacity—it seemed it would take more than a threat display to intimidate this man—but that didn’t mean she found him any less distasteful.

  “We probably shouldn’t kill him. He might be useful,” Toman said from the side, his expression bored for Erizen’s sake. Tseka internally applauded the tactic, deciding that encouraging Erizen probably wouldn’t help, and reacting in any other way would encourage him.

  “Feh,” Tseka hissed, shoving Erizen away. Erizen gave her a knowing smile and straightened his clothes back to their pristine condition before bowing to her—definitely to her, not Esset or Toman.

  “I am Lord Erizen, charmed to make your acquaintance,” he drawled to her. “Will you give me the pleasure of knowing your name?”

  “No. What are you doing here?” Tseka hissed; she glanced around, feeling exposed. She, Toman, and Esset had all been hidden before he’d shown up, but their reactions to him had exposed them. Anyone nearby would know they were here now—including anyone hiding within the castle.

  “Relax, there’s no one here but me,” Erizen said.

  “And why should we trust you?” Tseka challenged him.

  “Oh come, I’ve done you no harm,” Erizen drawled.

  “That we know of. How did you find us?” Tseka asked. After all, their gifts from the Ashiier prevented magical tracking.

  “I confess to espionage,” Erizen replied, not sounding sorry at all. At least he was giving a straight answer, although probably only so he could brag.

  “I followed you after one of our little sorties, and I discovered your little castle—very nice, by the way, if a little inhospitable. After I, ah, fell out of favor with my fellow Dark Mage Lords, I thought perhaps there would be some resources to be had here—since you lads weren’t using them—but the canine fellow wasn’t very nice. Still, I didn’t want anyone else taking advantage of it all, so I left a spell behind that would let me know if anyone else stopped by. I wasn’t expecting the three of you. Bravo.”

  “But how did you find it? It’s invisible!” Toman objected.

  “Only to sight and mage-senses,” Erizen replied lazily. Clearly he wasn’t going to be more helpful than that.

  “Maybe you should kill him,” Esset muttered darkly to Tseka, who perked up.

  “Oh come now, don’t be bitter. The important part is, no one else has found it, and we’re all happily reunited. Let’s not spoil the moment,” Erizen coaxed them, still not looking concerned.

  “So you’ve fallen from grace then,” Toman said, changing the subject. Erizen eyed him up and down, and his gaze rested on the scar at Toman’s throat for a moment.

  “You look a little worse for wear,” Erizen remarked; not that he would deign to show sympathy, or even pity. They all waited for his response to Toman’s statement.

  “Fall from grace. As if those Dark Mages have any grace to begin with,” Erizen said scornfully. “I got a few of them on my way out, but Moloch was, as always, my main concern and quite out of reach. Too bad you two failed at stopping him last time. That would have been convenient.”

  “Yeah, too bad.” Esset didn’t sound like he felt bad for Erizen at all. “What about your harem and all your dear subjects. Did they make it out at all?”

  “We digress,” Erizen drawled, which basically answered the question. “As you yourself said, I might be useful. I take it that means you’re going after Moloch again?”

  Tseka, Toman, and Esset exchanged looks. All of them knew that he could, indeed, be useful, but as with the first time Toman and Esset had worked with him, they disliked having to rely on anyone so…mercurial as Erizen. Not being able to trust him was a problem.

  Then a terrible smile came to Tseka’s face. “Hang on. You’re on the run, aren’t you? Could it be that you’re desperate? You need someplace to hide, don’t you? You’ve not just fallen from grace, you’re being actively hunted, aren’t you?”

  Erizen was unable to keep his usual smirk, but he hid any discomfort behind a neutral mask, well-crafted from his time among the Dark Mage Lords.

  “There is no defeat, only momentary setbacks,” Erizen replied. “What I built can be built again.”

  “And until then you have stoop to asking for help,” Tseka goaded him. She debated using her angering ability against him to dig for the truth, but decided not to. Better not to use it on potential allies.

  “To the contrary, my dear. I’m offering help,” he drawled.

  “Uh huh,” she replied, crossing her arms.

  “I bet you’re good in bed,” Erizen told her, looking her up and down. “What do you say to becoming a member of my harem? You’ll be well-cared for, I promise.”

  Tseka kept hidden how much the idea repulsed her. “I bet you’re less annoying dead,” she retorted. “What do you say to that? I’ll dig you a nice grave, I promise.”

  “Your loss,” Erizen said with a shrug. “So are we going to stand here all day or are we going to deal? I have no doubt that I have information and abilities that will be of great use to you.”

  Tseka let the brothers decide; she was familiar with the debate between them, so she knew what was happening when the decision was made.

  “Yeah, we’ll deal,” Toman said, taking charge. Esset shook his head ever-so-slightly but didn’t object aloud. Erizen’s smirk was back.

  “Let’s get out of the open,” Toman added, turning back to his castle. The front gates had opened while they’d been talking, and the outline of a stone mastiff stood in the doorway.

  “All clear?” Toman yelled.

  “All clear,” the stone dog barked back.

  “Come on,” Toman said, gesturing to their group to walk to the castle. The mastiff waited for them in the doorway until they were within normal speaking range.

  “Arxus, please make yourself visible to my whole group,” Toman requested, and Tseka’s eyes went wide when the castle seemed to suddenly appear before them. Erizen just smirked some more.

  “Arxus, this is Tseka,” Toman introduced them. “Extend her every courtesy, and allow her to wander freely throughout the castle. And this is Erizen—keep a close eye on him, stop him from poking around where he shouldn’t be, and let me know immediately if anything suspicious is going on.”

  “I feel so loved,” Erizen drawled.

  “Yes, Master,” Arxus responded blandly.

  “Ooo, I like. Did you train him to do that?” Erizen asked, referring to the “Master” bit, of course.

  “No. In fact, I tried to compl
etely train him out of it,” Toman replied, his tone as blasé as Arxus’s.

  “You have no appreciation for the good things in life,” Erizen replied.

  “I could say the same to you,” Esset retorted.

  “Hm… Power, wealth, adoration… No, I think I’ve got it right,” Erizen replied smoothly.

  “Nice to see it working so well for you,” Esset said sarcastically. Toman just glanced at Esset and shook his head slightly for even bothering to snipe. Tseka studiously ignored the mage as they entered the courtyard and walked between the rows of statues to the main doors.

  “You wait here,” Toman said to Erizen as they reached the doors.

  “Really?” Erizen asked derisively as Toman turned to Tseka.

  “Do you mind watching him?” Toman asked, an apology in his eyes.

  “Sure,” Tseka said blandly. She wasn’t impressed by the request, but she saw the wisdom in it.

  “Thanks,” Toman said. “We’re just going to double check that everything’s as it should be, and then we’ll be back.”

  “Don’t take your time,” Tseka said. She spent the next while ignoring each and every thing that Erizen said to her, from compliments to jibes to bland comments on the weather. The only upside was that Erizen actually began looked slightly irked the longer Toman and Esset were away.

  “Are you sure about this?” Esset asked his brother as soon as they were inside the keep and out of earshot.

  “We can never be entirely sure when it comes to Erizen,” Toman replied. Esset ground his teeth, but his brother wasn’t done.

  “If Tseka’s guess is correct,” Toman continued as they quickly walked the halls. “Then Erizen has little to lose and much to gain by working with us.”

  “But does that mean he’s more likely to be telling the truth, or less?” Esset asked. Despite the conversation, he kept his senses sharp for any signs of tampering, unlikely as it was.

  “Tough to say, but I’d say more,” Toman replied.

  “And what if Moloch outsmarted Erizen and has his claws in him? Letting Erizen in could be a trap,” Esset pressed.

  “That’s possible, but unlikely. Moloch would more likely just harvest Erizen for blood magic. Why keep him around?” Toman countered.

  “Erizen wouldn’t be more valuable geas-bound?” Esset asked.

  “Moloch may use geas spells more often than any other mage alive, but it’s not the only way he does things.” Toman’s tone was turning grimmer and grimmer. In spite of the Ashiier’s help and his own curiosity, Esset was reluctant to keep pressing on this topic, knowing how painful it was for his brother.

  “I guess you’d know better than anyone,” Esset finally said. Toman just gave a tight nod.

  They continued their sweep in silence until Esset couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “I can’t believe Erizen is flirting with Tseka.”

  “I can’t say as I’m terribly surprised,” Toman said, a smiling tugging at his lips as he looked as his brother sidelong.

  “What?” Esset squeaked.

  “They do run—slither—around without tops on. Most men won’t be polite about that,” Toman said, smiling fully now.

  “But they’re not human. I mean, how would that even work?” Esset asked.

  “No idea. You haven’t asked?” Toman asked.

  Esset turned scarlet. “No.”

  Toman laughed. “But I thought you were curious about all facets of other races’ physiology and culture.”

  “I am. I mean, I’m not, but—” Esset finally gave up. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Esset, the scholar, asker of any and all questions—unless they have to do with women,” Toman teased.

  “Shut up.”

  Toman did…but only once they were within hearing range of Erizen and Tseka again.

  “All clear,” Toman reported once they were close. “Thanks, Tseka.”

  “You owe me,” she replied with blithe indifference.

  “Yeah,” Esset acknowledged, but he was looking at Erizen. “Come on then, we should talk about Moloch.”

  “I was beginning to think you weren’t interested,” Erizen replied. No one believed him.

  “I’m sure,” Esset replied. “So what do you know?”

  “If you have a map, I can show you where three of Moloch’s bases are. I can find where the focal points are for his Greymaker too. Well, his main one, anyways. He might’ve figured out how to build them by now, in which case I’d know as little as you do.” Erizen’s drawl had lessened considerably as he explained. Esset wished he’d just abandon the phony accent altogether.

  “Arxus, could you please bring our maps to the first meeting room?” Toman requested.

  “Of course,” the stone mastiff agreed, and he split away from them down another hall. The mastiff clearly moved much faster than they did when he was on his own, for he met them in the meeting room with a number of scrolls laid out on the table. The meeting room was simple enough, with a couple neutral pieces of artwork on the walls and a large table in the center of the room. Writing materials were close by if they needed them.

  Marking the maps went surprisingly smoothly; now that they were down to business, Erizen relayed information precisely and thoroughly. Esset was actually impressed with his efficiency; he just hoped his information was accurate. He supposed they’d just have to trust Erizen, although that fact made him want to grind his teeth. Trying to sleep tonight with him in the castle was going to be a chore. The best they could do was keep an eye on him and try to keep him out of the loop as much as possible. The less he knew, the less he could betray. Esset just hoped that would be enough.

  “So what’s our plan then? Where do we start?” Esset thought it was the pertinent question.

  “Well, we all know taking Moloch head-on is foolhardy. He’s just too powerful and too prepared. We need to weaken him first,” Toman said.

  “Guerilla warfare then,” Erizen said. By now he’d gotten bored of his accent a while ago and lost it, but Esset still didn’t like the sound of his voice. His normal voice was almost the opposite of his drawl—his consonants were too neat, and Esset thought it made him sound pretentious and arrogant instead of cultured.

  Erizen continued. “We steer clear of Moloch himself but attack everywhere Moloch isn’t. We go after his resources, erode his power. Even the strongest metal fatigues and can shatter under the forces of time and persistence.”

  Toman nodded his agreement. As much as Esset hated agreeing with Erizen, he recognized the intelligence of the plan as well.

  “I have some ideas for my end. We’ll need eyes in the kingdom, so I’ll start animating some nice, unobtrusive scouts to keep an eye on things,” Toman said. “What will you three do?”

  “Why not go after his greatest asset first?” Tseka asked. “The Greymaker.”

  Erizen shook his head. “Too risky. That’s a move we’ll want to save until Moloch is off-balance. You don’t play the ace first. I think we should start by going after his physical resources. This would be our best first target,” Erizen said, pointing, and Esset studied the location on the map.

  “Provided Moloch isn’t there now,” Esset said. Erizen nodded and waved his hand dismissively, but Esset continued. “If we go in beforehand and scout it out, ask the locals a few questions, we should be able to be reasonably sure about that.”

  “But remember, the Greymaker will make it clear as day that we’re new to town,” Toman said. Esset caught the “we” and shook his head.

  “You’re not coming, Toman. You need to spend as much time as possible animating,” Esset reminded him. Toman frowned but nodded his agreement; it was Toman’s own plan, after all, but Esset knew how he felt.

  “You’re right,” Toman said. “I should probably move the castle, too. Somewhere nice and close to the Dark Mage kingdoms.”

  Esset nodded and returned to their plan. “We’ll just go at dusk and stick to the shadows as much as possible so our colored clothes won’
t show. Or we can buy grey clothes, but I doubt it’s necessary.” It wouldn’t be nearly as risky as blindly hoping Moloch wasn’t in the castle when they attacked.

  Esset brought them back on track. “Our plan is pretty simple. We sneak in, I call up my new summons, the castle falls, we sneak away. The hardest part will be getting the people out of the castle before it’s destroyed.”

  “Why do we need to get the people out?” Erizen asked.

  Esset grit his teeth. “No casualties.”

  “I caught that, but why,” Erizen insisted.

  Toman answered when Esset didn’t. “Because many—I daresay most—of Moloch’s people are not his by choice. They are coerced, magically or otherwise, into helping him. They don’t deserve to die.” Esset was busy trying not to punch the mage.

  “I also agree that there should be no casualties if at all possible,” Tseka said. She stared at Erizen, a definite challenge in her eyes.

  “Our choice to not kill them is what sets us apart from people like Moloch…and you,” Esset said. This was exactly why he couldn’t trust Erizen.

  Erizen lifted one eyebrow and met their gazes in turn. The vote was clear.

  “It seems I’m outnumbered,” he said, making a big show of lifting his hands in surrender.

  “You are,” Esset said. As if it’s a vote, he thought. “In fact, the only reason I’m considering having you along on this foray is because I think you might know a way to get everyone to leave without harming anyone.”

  “This is poor tactics, but I suppose I can do that. I can cast a very powerful fear spell to drive everyone out, but we’ll have to get inside the castle, to a nice central point, in order for it to be maximally effective.” Erizen studied his fingernails.

  “That’s doable,” Esset said. “You say ‘very powerful,’ but what do we expect?”

  Erizen smiled. “Expect terror so unreasonable that people will just run as far away as possible from the epicenter of the spell. They won’t even look twice at someone like her fleeing with them.” He waved at Tseka, who looked extremely uncomfortable. As her coils twitched, Esset guessed she disliked using magic to mess with people’s emotions as he did, but in this case, it was the superior alternative.