by Guy Antibes
Tishi spoke the truth and that helped Shiro accept the results of their escape. “What can I do to help? Do you seek a spell?”
She nodded and pointed her the book that lay open in front of her. “I’m not learned enough to know how it’s done. Ashiyo admitted—”
“Admitted what?” Ashiyo said as he entered the tent carrying a tray of food.
She gave him a rueful smile. “I was about to tell Shiro that your abilities as a sorcerer are not indicative of all this.” Tishi waved her hand towards the baskets of knowledge.”
Ashiyo shrugged and folded her arms. Shiro could see that she didn’t believe Ashiyo. “She’s right,” he said as he laid down the tray on one of the few bare spots on the table. Shiro noted that he had brought food for three. “I’ve already admitted my indifference as a student of magic to Shiro.”
The man made Shiro smile despite the guilt he still felt. “He has. So what can I help find? At least I can do that for Chika.”
Ashiyo served them bowls of rice with a strip of fish nestled in a top layer of vegetables. Shiro was more thirsty than hungry and gratefully took a cup of tea.
“Look for the severance of Affinity, would be my guess,” Ashiyo said. “I don’t remember anything in my days at the Guild that spoke of a spell that could do it. The ward didn’t affect you on the way into the mansion…”
“I don’t know how we got in,” Shiro admitted. “They knocked me out and I woke in a warded room in the lord’s mansion.”
Tishi nodded. “The ward likely worked both ways. Udishi played with fire by not removing Affinity from you both when he first captured you. It seemed to have burned him in the end.” She smiled, a bit too evilly for Shiro’s taste. He could still picture the immolating corpse of Chika’s father.
“So perhaps an account of wards? If we can figure out the ward, then perhaps we can reverse it?” Shiro said.
Tishi sighed. “It doesn’t quite work that way, young man. Wards are not reversed; they are defeated. As I said, we are looking for a restorative spell.”
Shiro raised his finger. “But my reasoning still works. If we can find a method of severance,” he stopped Tishi as she began to contradict him, “with a spell, then we could puzzle out something to restore her Affinity.”
“Indeed,” Ashiyo commented, with his eyebrows raised. “My meager knowledge can see that.”
Shiro was in no mood to accept Ashiyo’s false modesty, but didn’t have the strength to anything other than glare at the man.
“Tishi, you can look for a restorative and Shiro, here, can seek out severance spells.”
The woman squinted at them both and waved them both off. “You’ve convinced an old woman! Now let’s get to work.”
“No,” Ashiyo said. “Let’s get to eating. If this will take the rest of the night, then we will need to maintain our strength.
~~~
CHAPTER THIRTY
~
SHIRO THREW HIS EYES WIDE-OPEN to drive away a wave of drowsiness. He pushed away a stack of books and now attacked a small basket filled with scroll sticks. He ran through them and found a reference to deprivation of Affinity.
“I may have something,” he said. Ashiyo didn’t respond from his position on his cot. He had finally fallen asleep with a book open on his chest. Tishi had just finished replacing two of the candles and had yet to sit back down.
“Deprivation, you say? Does it continue?” she said.
“It does. The spell is similar to what is done to cut off the flow of a stream.”
“Why would anyone want to do that?” Ashiyo said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“As a farmer, I can see some uses for using the spell as a diversion tool like the irrigation of fields. A spell can stop the flooding.” Shiro read on. “So it’s not severance, but deprivation.”
“I, for one, don’t know the difference,” Ashiyo said as he yawned.
“I don’t see how it matters as long as we can help the poor child,” Tishi said as she walked around the table and looked over Shiro’s shoulder.
“Here,” Shiro said, pointing to the spell. “This is the adaptation and there is even a ward that will repel the water once the deprivation spell has been made.”
“That’s just the thing,” Tishi said. “And here is the release spell to get the flow going again.”
“Ashiyo,” Shiro turned his head towards the man’s cot, “do sorcerers create spells?”
He nodded. “Indeed they do, but since they are specific instructions, such a thing is frowned upon. Experimentation can produce unwanted results and dead sorcerers.”
Shiro remembered his innovations at the Guild and nodded. “Well, we are going to do some innovation. I’m going to write out a spell and wards to cut off Affinity and another to restore it.”
Tishi narrowed her eyes. “And who will test it? You won’t be experimenting on my patient,” she said.
“I’ll experiment on myself. You’ll recite the spells and I’ll be your victim,” Shiro smiled. He knew he could make it work. For the first time in endless hours, he felt enervated that he might be able do something to help Chika.
Ashiyo heated some tea on a small brazier in his tent while Shiro worked out the spells. Tishi looked over Shiro’s shoulder, which bothered Shiro a bit, but the woman did point out an error in his writing.
“All right.” Shiro took a deep breath and lay down on his cot. “If it affects me like it did Chika, I’ll be comatose. Check me out first, and then reconnect my Affinity.”
“Disconnect, then reconnect.” Tishi’s face showed a great deal of concern and anxiety. The woman’s hands shook just a bit. The unease only increased Shiro’s nerves. “You are absolutely sure you want to do this?”
“Do it,” he said.
Tishi looked into Shiro’s eyes and intoned the spell.
He did not faint. His eyes remained open and he knew just what happened. “I feel like I can’t breathe.” He took a deep breath and made Ashiyo laugh.
“It didn’t work then,” Ashiyo said.
Shiro sat up. “I am cut off from Affinity. My thinking, my perspective, everything has been dulled. It’s an effort to sit and to think, but I’m fighting it as I talk.” Shiro then felt the world close in on him and he fell back as he blacked out.
~
Shiro’s eyes opened and he took another deep breath as the world snapped back into place. “It worked!” He looked at his hands and produced a ball of flame. “Poor Chika. Let’s restore her Affinity and then it’s back to you to help her,” Shiro said, looking at Tishi.
The three of them walked out of the tent into an emerging dawn. The silhouettes of the tents and everything else appeared in shades of dark blue.
“I’ll go in first,” Tishi said. “It’s not a good thing to barge in on a house full of women,” she said in a huff and disappeared into the house. A light grew and she soon returned to the door, a ball of light floating in her hand. “Follow me.”
Women rose up from their pallets, adjusting their robes as they passed through to a small room. Chika lay silent. Shiro created a ball of light on his own and took the scroll stick with the restorative spell.
“You do it, Shiro,” Tishi said.
“Here we go.” He took a deep breath and prayed for success. He intoned the spell.
Chika coughed and opened her eyes. She looked around at her surroundings. The light revealed bruises still covering her face, but she looked from face to face, fear dominated the bruises.
“Where am I?”
Tishi took Chika’s face in her palms. “You are among friends, my child. Shiro has saved you.”
Chika frantically sought out Shiro’s face. “I… I…” she struggled to get words out.
Shiro knelt at her side and took her hand. “Don’t talk. We escaped from your father’s mansion. A ward eliminated your Affinity and now it’s restored.”
“Who? What?…”
Tishi put her finger to Chika’s lips and let her b
ack down. She quickly went back to sleep. Tishi glared at Shiro. “Come with me.”
Ashiyo smiled at all of the ladies with their hair undone and in thin robes as they left. Shiro barely noticed and wondered what concerned Tishi.
When they were outside the house, Tishi turned on Shiro. “Why didn’t you lose your magic when you went through the gate? Have you been playing me false?”
Shiro backed up. His mind worked furiously to come up with an answer. “Shield spell. Although I don’t think it would be responsible since I cast it on the both of us.” What was different between them? He knew what protected him. “I had the Sunstone on me.”
“Sunstone? The sword?”
He never had told Tishi about his sword. “I have the ancient Sunstone. I found it on the prison island that I escaped from. It is the Sunstone that the Emperors used until…” Now he knew why the sword had been discarded. It held a great deal of protection and he didn’t know how to use it, but it did prevent the ward from working at the gate. “If you don’t believe me, try the spell while I’m holding onto the sword.”
Tishi gave Shiro a hard look and grabbed him by his wrist. He felt like his mother led him to his father for punishment. “Where is it?”
Shiro retrieved it from the possessions that lay in a heap inside the entrance to Ashiyo’s tent. “I’ll lay down, holding the sword. I’ll bet I won’t lose my ability to perform magic.”
He lay back down on his cot and waited for Tishi to pronounce the separation spell. She did so and Shiro put out his hand and produced a ball of light.
“Perhaps you were shielded before?” she said.
Shiro shook his head. “The only way is for you to take my place.”
Tishi’s eyes grew wide. “Me? Never!” She must have realized that her disguise would likely come off. Her real appearance would no longer be a secret.
Ashiyo nodded. “I’ll do it.”
She ground her teeth. “Up! First without the sword and then with, Ashiyo.”
Shiro stood over Ashiyo as he lay on his cot. He pronounced the spell and he immediately went under. He looked with alarm at Tishi. “I didn’t just faint like that, did I?” Shiro said.
“No, you didn’t, but he’s not you, lad.”
The restoration spell brought Ashiyo back to consciousness.
“Not good. Now I can understand how Chika felt. I lost all ability to think and curled up into a little ball as I dreamed. How long was I out?”
“A few moments, my dear,” Tishi said.
“Here,” Shiro gave him the sword.
Ashiyo grasped it tightly and closed his eyes.
“Make a ball of flame,” Shiro said.
“Here.” Ashiyo did so and then closed his eyes tightly. Shiro could see a sheen of sweat on his forehead. “I go willingly back to that awful place.”
Shiro intoned the separation spell.
“Are you there?”
Ashiyo’s eyes popped open. “Nothing.” He sat up, laying the sword aside and made a ball of flame.
“I apologize, Shiro. I jumped to the wrong conclusion,” Tishi said.
Shiro laughed. “Keep jumping, Tishi. It’s the time to be wary. We have enemies all around us and we must maintain our guard.” He yawned. “As much as I’d like to return to Chika’s side, I am not well rested. Get off of my bed and I’ll be over in a few hours.”
Ashiyo shivered. “I don’t know if I’ll help you with your experiments, again. Losing my Affinity was awful.”
“Now you know how Chika felt.”
~
Sleeping until mid-afternoon, Shiro blinked sleep out of his eyes and changed clothes before he made his way to Tishi’s house. The women stopped him at the door.
“How is she?”
Miroshi, looked down at him from within the entry. “She is not herself.” She put her hand to the side of her face. “Chika doesn’t even remember her name.” She motioned him inside and led him to Chika’s side.
“Chika, it’s Shiro.”
She looked up at him and furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry. I don’t know you.”
“What do you know?”
Chika rose on her elbow and rubbed the front of her forehead. “Not much. I vaguely remember that I am the daughter of an important man.”
“You were adept at martial arts. Do you remember that you could fight?”
Her eyes widened. “Me? No. I don’t know…” She made a fist. “Maybe. I’m fit, aren’t I?” She looked up at Shiro for confirmation.
Tishi closed her hands around Chika’s fist. “You are, my child. If we remove this male from the room, we will let you rise and dress.”
Miroshi ushered Shiro out and he paced outside of the house until Chika walked out of the house.
“They told me you would tell me how I ended up in this state.” She frowned, rubbing her head again. “My head hasn’t stopped hurting.”
This version of Chika lacked fire. As far as Shiro could see, the restoration spell only brought back consciousness, but not Chika. If only he had put her in front of him on the horse as they rode through the gate. He looked out at the activity of the valley and wanted to get away from these strangers who took refuge.
“Come with me.” He took her to Ashiyo’s tent and retrieved the Sunstone sword.
He grasped her hand and led Chika to the nexus outcropping. He told her all that they had done together up until the time they were captured.
Chika shook her head. “I don’t remember any of it. We did quite a lot together didn’t we?” She gave him a sideways glance along with a smile.
Shiro took it as progress. A little spirit had returned. “Indeed. Do you know where we are?”
“I can feel a tingle on my skin.”
“Do you remember how to use your power and perform magic?”
Chika frowned and walked a pace or two away from him. She shook her head with frustration. “No, but I can feel that there is something just out of my reach—especially here. That’s part of the tingle.”
“You know what a nexus is?”
She smiled. “I may have lost some memory, but I haven’t lost all of my wits. This is a nexus. That is why I can feel it. I have some Affinity.”
“Touch the orange rock.”
Chika sat on the nexus and leaned back with both hands. Her long hair swayed in the breeze. The hardness that defined an element of Chika had disappeared, leaving a woman at the peak of her femininity. She looked vulnerable and that made her incredibly attractive. Shiro had to keep his breath even. What was he doing? Did he hope that just walking to the nexus would cure her? It only made his feelings for her stronger. Like was turning into something more serious. He couldn’t let that happen.
Shiro shook his head and shut that off from his mind. Would his very proximity bring back her memory? He quickly cast that thought aside as dishonorable pride. Shiro didn’t know what to do next and felt his best course would be to just let this encounter with Chika develop without him getting all romantic with the woman.
He drew his sword. “This is what saved me from your fate. The sword contains the legendary Sunstone.” He swung the sword and began to perform a few forms for Chika. “Does my practice bring back any memories?”
Chika’s eyes glistened with tears as she shook her head. “They should, though, shouldn’t they?” She balled her hands into fists and rose from her rock seat, a look of frustration or torment covered her face. Shiro didn’t know which and realized that it didn’t matter.
All Shiro could do was nod, and then he placed the sword in her hand. “Try to do what I just did. Maybe your muscles will provide you with enough memory.”
She took the sword in her hand and put her finger to the stone. “It’s an odd place for such a jewel. I would have thought the top of the pommel.” She swung the sword and after a few clumsy passes, Shiro could see control begin to guide her swings. Chika danced around as if possessed and then brought the sword down on the rock.
At least she hit it w
ith the flat of the sword, Shiro thought. But the blade stayed anchored to the rock. Chika’s eyes rolled up in her head and she fell senseless to the earth on top of the sword. Concerned that she might have hurt herself, Shiro hurried to her side and lifted her away from the blade and set her down a few paces away. He checked to see if she were still breathing. Her color looked fine through the bruises that still colored her face.
Shiro picked up the sword and laid it on the nexus. The power of Affinity coursed through his body. He had experienced this filling up of power when he first came through here. The sword filled him in the blink of an eye and then the power stopped.
He rushed back to Chika. Her eyes were closed and her face composed. He put his hand to her neck to feel a strong pulse. The only thoughts were that she had returned to her catatonic state. Sheathing his sword, he picked her up and began the long walk back to the settlement.
After a few hundred paces, Chika opened her eyes. “That’s enough. Put me down.”
A shock of relief flashed through him.
“I’m not that heavy, Shiro,” Chika said. The abrasion had returned. Shiro couldn’t keep the grin off of his face.
“When…”
“I originally didn’t want to walk all the way back on my own — not when I have my own personal mule. But I never realized how uncomfortable it is being carried by someone.” She brushed her dress. “Sit. Now it’s my time to tell you what my father did to me.”
Shiro tried to stop smiling with the relief that he felt. “Excuse my grin. I’m happy that you have returned.”
‘You’re happy. I can remember everything up to when we passed the gate and then I woke up to a jolt of power. The sword? From then on I thought I’d have some fun. Gaining my mind back put me in a good mood. It’s been too long,” she said. “You may hold my hand, but don’t put it in your mouth. You don’t know where it’s been,” she said, giving him a lopsided grin and then her face turned serious.
“I’ll behave.” Shiro said. It was all he could get out. He tried to compose himself. It wouldn’t do to look any more of the fool he already had. He took her hand and she closed her eyes. A tear rolled down her face.
