“Us,” Henri announced, coming down off the stage with Jakob at his side. He jerked a thumb at Alain, Terrence, and Xavier, who wandered over to stand close by. “And them.”
A commotion erupted from beyond the square, and Marsh sighed and slid to her feet. As she did, she caught sight of two boys approaching. They were in their middle teens, and their features were almost familiar. The taller of the two stepped forward to block her path.
“Papa sent you?”
Marsh gave him a puzzled look, then recognized him. He had the same chiseled features as his father and the same concerned blue eyes. “You’re Patrik Jeter’s sons?”
They nodded, their faces pale. The shorter one shot her an angry look. “What of it?”
He reminded her of Tamlin when the boy had refused to be left again, and Marsh thought she knew why.
“We had to knock him out to stop him going back,” she told him, and the boy’s eyes widened. Marsh continued, “He fought like a hoshkat to get to you.”
“He did?” The older boy looked like he hardly believed it.
“How do you know?” the younger boy challenged.
“Because I was there,” Marsh replied. She didn’t think telling them their father had saved her when he hadn’t been able to save them would be a good idea.
Hope flared in the older boy’s eyes. “Did he really send you?”
“The only way to keep him with your mother and sisters was to promise I’d find you.”
“You made him stay?” The younger boy was incensed.
His brother took his arm. “She had to.”
“But Pa can fight!”
“Which was why I left him with your mother,” Marsh told him. “I had plenty of warriors, but she had none, and I wanted you to have a family to go back to.”
That silenced them, so she changed the subject. “Who are you staying with?”
They looked at each other and shrugged.
“They can stay with me,” Alain told her, then added, “if they want to. I could do with some help riding herd on these.”
He indicated his children.
“Fine,” the younger brother agreed, “but only until we’re needed somewhere else.”
Alain gave him a gentle smile. “Deal.”
The commotion got louder, and Marsh stepped around the two boys. Master Envermet and Brigitte were already hurrying across the square. Marsh and Roeglin followed them.
We’re gonna have to stop soon, Roeglin observed, and Marsh noticed the fatigue dragging at her limbs.
As soon as we take care of this, she promised and yawned.
He laughed, sobering abruptly when they rounded the side of a building and saw the scene before them.
The man who’d protested against forgiving the raiders was trying to pull a box of vegetables out of a woman’s hands, while another man stood over a man in a guard’s uniform, trying to pull the blade free of its scabbard.
This was made harder by the girl swinging off his arm. “You leave my dad alone.”
At her words, Roeglin’s eyes flashed white.
He’s going to kill him!
Marsh didn’t hesitate. As the man jerked his arm free, throwing the girl to the cobbles, she called a single bolt of lightning.
In the clear light of day, it was invisible, although the smell of a pending storm and the sizzle of energy around them was not. Nor was the sharp CRACK! as the unshadowed air gave her what she asked.
The girl shrieked as the man attacking her father fell to the side. She ran forward, kicking and pushing his body away so she could check the guard.
“Papa! Papa!”
The protestor let go of the box, and the unexpected weight caused it to slide free of the woman’s hands. “Drew!”
It took him no time at all to realize his partner was dead. He turned to Marsh, horrified. “What did you do?”
Marsh touched the energy, drawing it into a crackling ball above them so traces of lightning flickered through the clear air. “There will be no murder,” she replied.
Shock ran over the man’s features. “But he wasn’t. We were just...”
“Stealing,” the woman finished for him and nodded toward Roeglin. “That man knew what your friend was planning. You and your friend are no better than the masters Below.”
“At least we didn’t serve them,” the man spat, rounding on her with his fist clenched.
Mordan hit him from the side, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there, a growl rumbling from her throat. The woman nudged him with her bare toe.
“We were just as much slaves as the rest of you.” She picked up the box he’d dropped, “and I was packing this for the kitchens so everyone can share it.”
She stooped to gather the spilled vegetables, flinching away from another woman who came to help. “Let me help,” she said, handing over what she’d gathered. “I’m Marta, by the way.”
Master Envermet shot a frustrated glance at Marsh, then looked at the shocked bystanders. “I hope the message is clear,” he told them. “We are here to protect you. All of you, no matter who you are or what you’ve done, and there is no place for any more evil than what’s been done. You need to start again.”
He watched as the guard stirred and slowly sat up, hugging his daughter to his chest as he struggled to his feet. “Tell them why,” he ordered, and the guard gently set his child aside.
“I’ll show them,” he managed, clutching his chest as he walked back to the house. Opening the door, he stopped and gave three short whistles. Holding the door open, he waited, looking just as anxious as the rest of them. Once a few minutes had passed and the crowd had begun to grow restless, three women emerged.
“Gretha!” someone cried from the crowd, hurrying forward to hug the youngest.
“Alicia! Oh, thank the Deeps.” Another person came forward, and tears were shed in relieved reunion.
There was no shout of recognition at the third, but Marsh saw Aisha in the woman’s bright blue eyes and the blonde hair dulled by dirt. She wondered where the children were.
With Gustav, Roeglin told her. And their father is making sure Patrik’s sons have somewhere to sleep.
He swayed, and she wrapped an arm around his waist. Do we know her name?
I... Wait one, Roeglin began, but Marsh nudged him. “I’ll just ask,” she told him and stepped forward.
The guard moved to interpose himself between them, and Marsh halted. Ignoring him, she spoke to the woman. “You’re Aisha’s mother, aren’t you?”
The reaction was instantaneous. The woman lifted her head, hope lighting her eyes. “Yes?”
“They’re this way,” she said and the guard relaxed, standing aside so Marsh could offer the woman her hand.
“Thank you, Evan,” Aisha’s mother said, laying a gentle hand on his back. “I will speak for you.”
She hesitated, but Master Envermet stepped forward. “You go, Calantha,” he instructed. “I’ll stand with Evan while he explains.”
As curious as she was to hear the story, Marsh left, taking Roeglin with her and hoping the mage knew exactly where the children were.
27
Journey Impending
“It’s no good,” Master Envermet told them. He glanced at Obasi. “Have any of your people had any luck?”
The Grotto warrior shook his head. “We think it’s the distance,” he answered, “and something to do with the rock in this area.”
They looked out over the Devastation. The ruins stretched as far as the eye could see, overgrown by trees and bushes. In the distance to the south, they glimpsed water, as if a great river wound through the middle.
Master Envermet glanced at Marsh. “You’re right. It does look like it goes on forever.”
She nodded, still tired, but nowhere near as exhausted as she’d been. She and Roeglin had woken to a delegation of townsfolk waiting for them, with the request they delay another day.
There were people who wanted to make a go of it righ
t where they were.
“Someone has to keep an eye on the Library,” they argued.
Master Envermet was about to deny the request when Xavier spoke up.
“You haven’t dealt with the threat yet,” he insisted. “For all we know, there’s an army of monsters just waiting to emerge from the cells.”
“We cleared the cells,” Master Envermet informed him.
The man exchanged glances with a man in tattered guard’s clothes, one that Marsh remembered taking from the cells the day before.
“Tell them,” Xavier instructed, but Master Envermet held up his hand.
“How about you show me?” he suggested. “If you are willing?”
The man swallowed nervously, his eyes too large in his skeletally thin face, his prominent Adam’s apple bobbing. “Will it hurt?”
Master Envermet shook his head. “It shouldn’t. Why?”
“Their mage made it feel like nails being driven into your mind, or sandpaper scraping through.”
Master Envermet’s face hardened. “Did we kill him?”
Again, the man’s throat moved, and he nodded.
“Good.” Master Envermet came and stood before him. “May I look?”
The man closed his eyes. “Take what you need.”
To Marsh’s surprise, Master Envermet took the guard’s face in his hands and touched his head, forehead to forehead with the man. “Show me what you saw down there.”
It was obvious when the man obeyed because Master Envermet’s teeth clenched and he closed his eyes. His face grew gaunt and haggard, but he stayed. The sun had moved higher in the sky by the time he was done.
“We’ll delay another day,” he said simply when he pulled away, and both Xavier and his friend relaxed. “Who else feels they should stay?”
Alain spoke from nearby. “I do.”
March turned her head in time to see him stretch his hand across the table he was sitting at, covering Calantha’s hand with his own. “We don’t want to leave Jens behind.”
Calantha looked at Marsh. “Not until we know,” she added, and Marsh understood.
They didn’t want to leave their oldest son behind until they knew if he’d lived or died—and they didn’t want to say that in front of their other children.
It didn’t matter. Aisha glared at the pair of them and folded her arms over her chest.
“Not dead!” she declared, rebellion written across her face.
Tamlin wrapped an arm around her. “Eat your bread.”
She glared at him, too, but took a bite out of the slice of bread he passed her. Marsh tried to read how they felt about staying when she’d be going, but Aisha focused on her bread, and Tamlin avoided her eyes.
Master Envermet turned to Xavier. “Spread the word. We’ll stay another night so people can decide which path is best for them. I want their decisions at the evening meal. In the meantime...”
He lifted his head. “Henri! Obasi! Can you Izmay and Jakob get the mules before the damn wolves chew their way through their tack?”
The four mages and guards picked up their plates, eating what was left on them before they reached the sinks and washed them. Master Envermet watched them go, his eyes shadowed as he digested the information he’d been given and adjusted his plans accordingly.
“Some of us are going to need to stay behind,” he decided, wiping his plate clean with what was left of his bread.
Marsh nodded and moved over to the washstand to deal with her plate before returning to their table. Mordan walked beside her the whole way, eyeing the other diners warily.
When the plates were cleared, Master Envermet gathered his team around them.
“I need to return to the Monastery,” he started, “but Gustav needs more time to recover before he travels.”
He looked from Marsh to Roeglin, and Marsh’s spirits sank when she guessed what was coming next. Master Envermet looked momentarily sympathetic.
“I’m sorry.” She shrugged and he continued, addressing the rest of the team as well. “Roeglin, as the Monastery’s only other mind mage and the next most senior mage here, I need you to stay and oversee things until I can send a relief party.”
He paused, then sighed. “Unfortunately, I need Marsh with me, both for her ability to see ahead and for her ability to act as a final line of defense, at least until we can get to the impi guarding the sinkhole.”
Marsh wanted to ask what would happen if Roeglin and the townspeople needed a final line of defense at the Library, but Master Envermet preempted her, speaking to Roeglin directly.
“With either the Library or the cellblock as a fortress, you should be able to hold most forces off long enough for your relief to arrive.”
“If we have supplies,” Roeglin said, and Master Envermet nodded.
“If you have supplies,” he agreed. “You’ll need to secure what you can.”
Roeglin looked around and caught Alain’s gaze. His eyes flared briefly white, and Tamlin’s father nodded.
“I’ve found my second in command,” the shadow mage said as Alain rose from the table and headed into the kitchens.
“Good.” Master Envermet followed Alain’s progress across the dining area, then turned back. “I’ll be taking Henri, Brigitte, Izmay, and Gerry with me to help protect those going with us, but I’ll ask for volunteers from the raider guards. If I don’t get enough, I’ll just take the team and send an escort from the Grotto for the rest.”
He glanced at Marsh. “When we get to the Grotto entrance, I’ll hand those wanting resettlement over to the impi. If I can arrange an escort, I’ll go on alone and send the rest of you back.”
Marsh wanted to tell him he didn’t need to, but she was glad he’d thought of it. If she didn’t have to return to the Monastery, she figured she could make the return journey in two days. She didn’t want to think about how long it was going to take to get to the Grotto Entrance with the rescued prisoners in tow.
They stayed in the dining area, making themselves available for anyone who wanted to talk out their options, planning the journey, and resting. Obasi and Henri returned with the mules and news from the wolves.
The remnant had not returned to the area, and there were no raiders in range. It was better than they’d hoped, and they breathed a sigh of relief. Marsh crossed her fingers that the situation would hold while she was away.
When Obasi learned of Master Envermet’s plans, he left to speak with the people from the Grotto.
“We might be farmers,” he informed the shadow captain, “but we all know how to defend ourselves. All we lack are weapons.”
“I can help with that,” Xavier informed him.
With the death of the brutes and those guards unwilling to let the captives go free, he had become the de facto leader of the raider guards. It was a position Terrence supported among the ex-prisoners, the two men working together to bring their disparate groups together.
From what Marsh could see, they had a long road ahead.
That afternoon, she and Roeglin went to see Gustav. Aisha and Tamlin were at his bedside when they arrived, and both children left without speaking. Gustav saw the look Marsh cast at the door and chuckled.
“Give them time, mage. They’ve had an awful lot to absorb in the last two days, and their little heads are still spinning.”
Marsh tried to muster a smile but didn’t manage it. Roeglin pulled her against his side and Gustav smiled. “Well, that was long overdue.”
Marsh blushed but she didn’t pull away. The loss of the children was hitting her harder than she’d thought, and having Roeglin so close helped. Gustav’s smile faded.
“Thank you for coming for me.”
“What else were we supposed to do?”
“You could have left me.”
Marsh shook her head. “The children wouldn’t have it,” she assured him, and he frowned.
“That’s a story you’ll have to tell me one day,” he said, relaxing against the narrow pillow. There was
a world of weariness in his voice, and Marsh reached out to him.
He cracked an eyelid, watching her. “I’m not made of glass,” he told her, “even if I feel like it.”
That made her smile. “I’m sorry we took so long.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You came.”
He closed his eyes, and Terrence came into the room. “He needs to rest.”
“Will he be okay?”
“Now that you’re not going to drag him over the countryside, yes.”
“Are you going to come with us?”
Terrence shook his head. “No, I’ll stay here and try to keep that child from draining herself dry attempting to ‘fix’ him.”
Roeglin snorted. “’I’ll fix him,’ huh?”
Terrence rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.”
Marsh gave a short laugh. “Yeah, we do.”
They left shortly, then walked through the town, observing the preparations. Master Envermet was facing two delegations when they returned. He raised his eyes as they entered the dining hall, a look of relief softening his expression.
“Marsh, Roeglin, your timing’s perfect.”
Marsh raised her eyebrows and glanced at Roeglin. He returned her look, and they hurried to hear what Master Envermet had to say. As they came closer, the shadow captain gestured in frustration at the leaders of both groups, Obasi among them.
“These kind folks have offered to guard the travelers and the town.” He scowled at the two groups, looking far from pleased by the offer.
Marsh wondered why. Master Envermet gestured at Obasi.
“This young man says he’s staying with Roeglin, along with twenty—twenty—of his people.”
Marsh frowned, wondering why this was a problem, and Master Envermet continued, revealing the answer. “Sulema is going to be displeased, and his grandmother...”
The shadow captain let the words trail off as several of the warriors from Ariella’s Grotto snickered.
“And they can’t be dissuaded!” As if to prove a point, Master Envermet’s eyes flashed white, and the Grotto contingent looked back, their eyes just as white as his were.
Magic Below Paris Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 8): Trading Into Shadow, Trading Into Darkness, Trading Close to Light, Trading By Firelight, Trading by Shroomlight, plus 3 more Page 140
