Seeing her wrinkle up her nose at the still form of the unconscious warrior, Phaer made eye contact with the Loric and suggested they take the trash out together. Loric was quite capable of removing the man himself, but then he suspected the half-elven ranger was, too. He was looking for a show of co-operation, so Loric obliged him.
“Just a moment,” the girl said, as if remembering something. She crouched down and an instant later she was holding a moneybag, estimating its weight. “Hmmm, about fifty gold; I suppose it'll have to do. Go ahead boys, you can send him on his way now.”
As the girl took the ranger's place, she was once again on the receiving end of one of Calandra's frowns of disapproval. “That money is not yours, child.”
“It is now, Rev.” She winked. “Think of it as my fee.”
“Your fee?”
“For sparing his life and teaching him to be more vigilant in future. Where else could he buy such a service for a mere fifty gold?” The two men returned then, accompanied by Lady Hannah, Sir Quentin and Rochelle. The young woman in the red dress took in the sight of the two Knights and said, “Well, don't you two make the most curious couple!”
“That's what I said,” Rochelle agreed.
“Greetings, Eilidh,” Lady Hannah offered. “'Twould appear that thy party hath grown most considerably.” “Apparently so,” agreed the Catalyst. “I don't recall having that intention when I left Shakaran, but I'm still within the limit set down for me.” She just stopped herself before adding `by Master Gamaliel`. “Just before you arrived, we were discussing fees,” she continued, “and I was just about to make Loric an offer for his services.” Turning to him, she explained, “Under the terms of our agreement with Prince Garald, you'd be up for a reward of one thousand in gold upon the safe return of the princess.”
“A thousand!” He whistled. “That's what I call a reward!”
“Yes, I imagine you could do a lot for the local children with that kind of money.”
“You're not wrong. That's the second incentive you've given me to do this. I'll join you gladly.”
“In that case, I'll give you a third incentive - a half share, five hundred gold now, given on the condition that you split your eventual reward with me in repayment.”
“That is very generous. Do you have that kind of money?”
“Yes, she does, as a matter of fact,” the redhead answered.
“And how would you know about that?” the Catalyst asked.
The girl held up a very full purse. “This belongs to you, I think you'll find.”
Eilidh gasped, “My purse! Where did you get it?”
“I borrowed it while you were at Madam Donna's.”
“I never saw you there.”
“No,” she agreed. “I don't suppose you did.”
“Why did you take it?” “I heard you talking about the Great Fountain of Light and decided to help you. I took your purse just in case I had problems sneaking out of work, to make sure you'd have to come back. Madam Donna's pretty vigilant and she's caught me a couple of times before.”
“You work at Madam Donna's?” Toli wondered.
The girl nodded.
The cleric nearly choked. “You mean you're not only a thief, you're also a...” she couldn't bring herself to say the word. “Prostitute, hooker, wanton miss, courtesan, whore, harlot, wench, concubine and a variety of other terms I don't like very much,” the redhead supplied, unapologetically. “So please don’t use any of them because then we might just fall out, and that would be a shame when we’re just getting to know one another. Besides, a girl like me’s got to find some way to learn her sorcery on the black market, since nobody legitimate would train me.”
Eilidh took a quick reading and confirmed the Life Gift in the Secret of Shadow. She was a sorceress, no question.
“Sex work and stealing keeps me in a nice income, and I'm very good at both!”
“Why wouldn't they teach you at the Guild?” Toli wanted to know. “Magic, that is,” she clarified.
“Well, it's all to do with this.” The young woman’s face changed, suddenly, frighteningly, her beautiful features became a gross parody of themselves and sharp fangs grew in her mouth.
Everybody shot to their feet. “You're a vampire!” Calandra cried, horrified.
Her face changed back as she said, “Oh do sit down! I'm not going to bite any of you! Don't you think you've attracted enough attention already?”
Cautiously, they retook their seats.
Eilidh was puzzled. “I've heard of vampires being taught by mages before, although they don’t get a vote on the Council.”
“You're right, but you see I'm not exactly a vampire.”
“Then what are you?” Phaer asked.
Her answer was a single elven word: `Sumorityl`, meaning `sub-life`. Calandra was even more shocked at this latest revelation, but the girl cut her off. “Hey Rev, don’t you get all holier-than-thou on me! Just remember I didn't have to tell you any of this. I’m choosing to, because I want to join you and I want to be completely up front with you before you inevitably succumb to my sparkling personality and agree. I simply think it’s important to be honest about who and what I am.”
“She doth indeed make a telling point, Revered Daughter,” Lady Hannah said, gently. Phaer and Eilidh exchanged a glance while others shifted uncomfortably in their seats. The cleric softened. “You're right. May Patrelaux forgive me for passing judgement when I have no right. Why don't you tell us about yourself, child? Start from the beginning, if you will, with your name, perhaps.”
“Alright. My name is Bernice Ardra; everyone calls me Bunny.”
“A deceptively gentle nickname for a woman with such sharp fangs,” Rochelle observed.
“Maybe so, but then I don't think my fangs show all that much, do they?” “No, as a matter of fact they don't,” Phaer agreed, prompting another dimpled smile from Bunny and a sharp look of warning from Eilidh to be careful. Bunny may not be inclined to bite anybody, but romantically speaking, Eilidh suspected she could eat any man alive.
“My `mother`, for want of a better term, was a vampire. A wizard captured her, along with a number of other demonic and supernatural creatures. They were used for experiments in the creation of life. The wizard had extensively studied the old experiments and believed he knew where they all went wrong. His techniques improved, so he could `grow` a new creature from a relatively small part of an original, like growing a plant from a cutting. His first major breakthrough happened with my mother– or part of her– I was the result and he was very pleased with his work. He described me as `almost perfect` and proof that his ideas could work. He always made a point of telling me that, as I developed.”
“You mean as thou didst grow up?” Sir Quentin wondered.
“No, Sir Knight, I did not `grow up` as you understand it. Tell me, how old would you say I am?”
“Twenty? Twenty-one?”
She smiled and shook her head. “Would you believe I'm not yet five years old? I was fully mature within six months of my creation.”
“That's unnatural!” Calandra exclaimed. “I thought we'd established that? I was artificially created, ergo I am unnatural. But I don't see why I should have to apologise for being what I am. As a matter of fact, for the most part, I rather like being me.”
“Who is this wizard and where is he based?” As a Catalyst, it was Eilidh’s duty to ask.
“Sorry, those are questions I will not answer. That wizard is the closest thing I have to a father.”
“And you love him?” “Love re quires a soul, Eilidh. He gave me life, and I am simply grateful. Besides, I happen to agree with some of what he's doing. Not all of it and certainly not his methods, but some of his principles...well, I’m the best specimen my father ever created. Almost perfect. So it can’t be all bad.”
“You realise it's highly illegal, though,” Rochelle put in. “No it isn't, actually. Technically, the law prohibits the use of sentient life -forms or any natural animals f
or the purposes of life creation magic. My father fully supports that law, but legally, vampires and demons are neither sentient, nor natural. Therefore he is not technically breaking the law.”
Rochelle turned that over in her mind for a moment, and then she agreed, “She's right.”
“Yes, she is,” Eilidh nodded, recognising a fellow student of magic.
“Your `father`,” Rochelle continued, “is exploiting a legal loophole by using soulless, non- sentient creatures. That’s clever. I’m not saying I agree with it, but it’s clever.” “But why is he doing it?” Eili dh wondered. “Ah, now that's the part I don't like very much. He sees us as an expendable military force and no doubt he would point to the current invasion of chaos creatures as proof that there is a need for a manufactured, expendable army. Well, I decided that didn't much care for the idea of being expendable. I rather like living and I intend to enjoy my life, especially since, having no soul, it's the only one I'm likely to get. So I left.”
“You left your father, just like that?” Calandra demanded. This was all too much for her moral sensibilities to cope with.
“Yes, just like that. Once I'd figured out how to pick the lock of the cage he'd kept me in all my life, it wasn't all that difficult.”
The Revered Daughter looked as if her head would explode if she had to hear one more `shocking revelation`, but she kept her own counsel. “Eventually I came to Avidon, and I'll say one thing for these Hand of Darkness people: they don't ask many questions. It wasn't hard for me to lose myself in the crowd, but I needed money. Stealing was OK, but then I felt the pain of my Life Gift and needed help, fast.”
As everyone in Mythallen knew, the Life Gift did not develop gradually as Life Calling did, but in bursts, and when it flared, the mage in question needed the help of a Catalyst to get it under control. Otherwise, the mage’s Life Store would become destabilised, exposing them to the ravages of raw magic. A horrific and painful condition, fatal if left untreated.
“I got help from a Catalyst living with a dark aligned sorcerer who was willing to teach me magic, as well as providing a more general education, but his price was steep. That's when I heard about Madam Donna's. She didn't ask questions, either. She didn't care what race I was so long as I kept attracting the punters and didn't steal from them inside her walls. That's how I've survived for close to two years.”
“And now?” Eilidh prompted. “Now I want something different. Now you come along, asking about the Great Fountain of Light and everyone says it's forbidden. In my experience, when something's forbidden, it usually turns out to be quite interesting. I know where it is, so I decided to attach myself to your group. You're looking for something and so am I. Maybe together we'll all find what we want. At the very least it sounds fun and I like fun.”
“What seekest thou?” Lady Hannah asked. Bunny answered, looking directly at Calandra. “Redemption. Or at least recognition; some kind of place in the world. I don't want to be Sumorityl: sub-life. I want to be recognised the way humans are, or elves, or hobbits, or - gods help me even orcs! And I’ve decided to start with you people.”
“Why us?” Eilidh asked.
“Because you lot are the most interesting thing that’s happened around here since – well, forever as far as I’m concerned.”
There followed a deep, thoughtful silence. No-one knew quite how to respond. Bunny's story had shaken many firmly held beliefs and it was going to take time to recover.
When Granite Longbeard returned alone, Eilidh broke the silence. “Well, we're all here, we've got what we need, and it's time to do what we have to do.”
“And me?” Bunny asked.
“Yes you, too. Please do join us, Bunny. We'd really like to have you along. What do you say?”
The redhead smiled and nodded. “I'd be happy to join you, if for no other reason than the way you said `please`. Using that word when talking to me has never occurred to anybody before.”
“Recognition, Bunny?”
“It's a start, Eilidh.”
“Good, now pleasemay I have my purse back?” Bunny handed it over. “I presume it's all here.”
“Of course. Well, minus my ten per cent finder's fee.”
“That's a hundred gold!”
“One hundred and ten, to be exact - you had eleven hundred in your purse. Surely you know you shouldn't carry that kind of money around with you. There are thieves in Avidon, you know.”
“Really? Imagine that!” Eilidh replied acidly.
“Hey, the thieves out there won't be nearly so generous as to give nine tenths back!”
Eilidh laughed. “When you put it like that, thank you, I think.”
“You're welcome. Now, if you'd all like to follow me, I'll take you to the Great Fountain of Light. By the way, why are we doing this?”
“I'll explain on the way.”
Chapter 10
The party had not gone far when Loric smelled something burning. He quickly saw smoke. His keen ears picked up on children’s voices screaming and crying for help. Without warning, he bolted towards the source of the fire. Loric's wings formed, though he was still otherwise human, then as soon as he had the necessary space, he changed fully into a dragon, his large frame winging away, like a large shadow in the air.
Eilidh looked questioningly at Phaer, relying on his superior elven senses. “Fire,” stated the ranger. “Probably a school, judging by the dominance of children's voices.”
“There’s a children’s home in that area,” Rochelle told them. “Actually more of a dumping ground for orphaned and abandoned kids. You’ve no idea what it’s like in this gods forsaken city.”
“What, they’re just left there on their own?” Phaer asked.
“A few people give a bit of their time, servants mostly. That’s as close they get to anyone in authority. Accidents and fires are all too common around here, I’m afraid.”
“I care not how common it is,” Hannah said, “We must needs at least try to do something.”
“Of course we must, child,” Calandra agreed. The dark Knight stood by his Paladinian counterpart. “’Tis a shame my order didst halt their attack on this city all those years ago. ‘Twould have been better for the city were we in charge. It is not for me to question policy, but I can at least make a difference on this one occasion.”
Phaer disagreed.“Well that’s up to you,” he said, “but we have an important job to do. We can’t make ourselves a slave to everyone in need.”
“Aye,” Granite spoke up. “It’s not every day that a dwarf agrees with an elf, but this time I must.” “It’s also rare that a gnome agrees with both elf and dwarf,” Rochelle said, “but I know what it’s like to live here. If I dived into every burning building I came across, I wouldn’t be standing here refusing to do it now because I’d be dead.”
Toli was torn, “I want to help; I really do. I’d love to be able to help everyone, but Rochelle’s right, that would be a full time job. Standing here knowing those kids could die is awful, but every moment we delay, who knows what could be happening to Mystaya? What do you think we should do, Eilidh?”
Eilidh was aware that everyone was looking at her, expectantly. Why is it suddenly my decision? She wondered. Finally, she spoke. “I’m not sending anyone into a burning building, Rochelle,” she said, “but I’m not stopping anyone, either– this time. We go, we assess the situation and we help where we can, but just this once. After this, I don’t care if the sky falls in: we have a job to do. For now, just let's try to keep public attention firmly on Loric. He's already famous; we don't want to be.”
“Low profile, got it,” Phaer agreed.
Without further discussion, Rochelle led the way. At the scene of the fire, Loric transformed back to human form in mid-air, just keeping his wings sprouted to break his fall and land safely. Once grounded, he lost the wings and was fully human once more. Without a thought for his own safety, he ran into the burning building and started to bring the children out two or thre
e at a time. The onlookers were stunned; they couldn’t believe anyone was willing to do such a thing.
When the others arrived on the scene, Rochelle and Calandra were ready to administer healing. Druid healing worked in concert with the patient’s own Life Store, so Eilidh and Granite directed those with the Life Gift and Life Calling to her, while the Cleric helped those with only Life Potential.
Eilidh noticed Bunny wasn’t with them but she didn't have time to deal with that at the moment. By this time, Loric did not look good. He was suffering from burns and the effects of smoke, and there was a nasty gash on the back of his neck where something heavy had dropped on him but he was ready to go back in.
Lady Hannah and Sir Quentin stepped forward to prevent him from putting himself at further risk. “Thine efforts are honourable, sir dragon,” said the latter, “and thou hast earned mine admiration, but please allow us to continue in thy stead. Our armour shouldst protect us from the worst of the heat.”
Loric opened his mouth to protest, but Hannah cut him off. “Please, sir, I really must insist that thou doth tend to thyself and allow us to continue.”
“Actually,” said a voice behind them, “that won't be necessary.”
“They turned to see Bunny, now wearing a very dirty green servant's dress, climbing out of the sewers with a line of children in tow.
“How-?” Loric began, before succumbing to a fit of coughing.
“Let's just say I got them out the back way.”
“I didn't know there was a back way.” “Fortunately, I know a back way to everyplace. As a dragon, Loric, you're used to seeing the world from above, whereas I'm used to seeing it from below. It's amazing what a change of perspective can reveal.”
“You did good,” Loric said, between coughing fits.
“Indeed you did, child,” Calandra concurred. Bunny made a dismissive gesture. “The danger was minimal my way. Fortunately, I didn’t inherit my mother’s aversion to fire.”
“Calandra,” Eilidh put in, “I'm no expert but I think Loric needs healing.”
“My apologies, child,” Calandra replied, “but I can heal no more. I must rest.”
Chosen (Majaos Book 1) Page 12
