by Ivan Kal
* * *
Several days later, just before noon, they arrived at the city of Azagoh. The city surprised her—it looked and felt much cleaner than Amberhorn or Tourran. With the walls of buildings painted in different colors everywhere, it somehow seemed like an amalgamation of different styles. But there was, of course, the bad side as well. Slaves walked the streets, mostly freely. The only way to tell that they were in fact slaves were the magically sealed collars that they wore. It was a massive shift in culture. As soon as they entered the city proper, they decided to go straight to the bank. And then, after they retrieved the journal, they would go to the harbor and try to book passage on a ship.
After asking for directions, they finally found their way to Everheart Bank.
Once inside, they made they asked to see one of the managers and were escorted to one of the side rooms, where they waited. It wasn’t long before a tall and spindly man entered the room.
“Greetings. I am Hanzah Erah. How may I help?” he introduced himself, offering a short bow.
Kyarra stepped forward. “I am Kyarra Con Aroch. I wish to access the Con Aroch vault.”
The man’s face paled as his eyes widened in surprise. “I will need to verify your identity first,” he said after he got a minute to collect himself.
Kyarra just put one hand to the side and a staff appeared as if from mist. “I assume that this is enough?”
Ashara didn’t know how, but the man’s face paled even further. “That is…convincing, but we have instructions on how to make sure.” He swallowed hard. “If you will wait here for a moment, I need to retrieve something.”
The man left the room, and the three of them looked at each other in confusion. A few minutes later the man returned, carrying a small box. He approached and placed it on a table, then indicated for Kyarra to sit down across from him.
“This was left here long ago, by Vardun Con Aroch,” Hanzah said, “with instructions that should any Con Aroch ever arrive that they should be tested with this.” He opened the box and Ashara saw a small globe mounted on a metal plate, with glyphs inscribed all around it. Carefully, Hanzah took it out of the box and placed on the table in front of Kyarra.
“Please, place your hand on the globe.”
Kyarra slowly put her hand on the globe, and the glyphs on the base lit up. The globe started glowing a pale light, and then, as every glyph flashed, the glow of the orb changed to blue.
Hanzah sighed in relief. “I apologize for the added precaution, but our instructions were clear in this case.” He stood up and gestured for them to follow and he led them out of the room. They walked deeper into the building, and then down a long set of stairs. They passed several floors, but they continued down to the bottom.
“These are some very powerful wards,” Kyarra commented.
Hanzah nodded. “They were designed by…well, by you. By Vardun.” He cast a glance at Kyarra. “I must admit that I was very surprised to see you here. All employees at the Everheart bank know about the vault of the Eternal Soul, and we all knew that someday an Eternal Soul might come here… I just never thought that it was going to be in my lifetime.”
“That verification process—do you know what it does?” Kyarra asked.
“I was told that it was crafted by Vardun himself. As far as I know, it would glow only for his soul. Ah, here we are,” he said as they arrived at a set of large iron doors. The man took a key from his coat and opened the doors. Inside was a small round room, and in the middle was a stone table. On the table was a chest made out of some dark material that Ashara couldn’t recognize, with glowing glyphs inscribed all around it.
“This is it?” Kyarra asked.
“Yes. The box had never been opened. We were told that only you could open it.”
“Thank you,” Kyarra said, dismissing him. He bowed and walked out of the room.
Kyarra walked up to the chest, and looked it over. “Huh, this is a similar ward to the one I have on my library.”
“Can you open it?” Vin asked.
“I should be able to,” Kyarra said and put her hands over the chest. A soft glow flew from her palms to wash over the chest and the glyphs on it changed color. She put her hands on the lid and opened it before looking through the contents inside. She pulled a pendant-like object that was a bit bulky and heavy, and had a symbol carved into its face.
“What is it?” Vin asked.
Kyarra looked at it in amazement. “This is an anchor.”
“An anchor?” Vin asked.
“For translocation spells. In order to cast them, a person needs to know the place they want to go very well. Down to the last detail. It usually entails them spending decades in a single spot, getting the exact feel of the place in order for them to be able to travel there. Anchors are a way of getting around that—they are like guiding lights. With an anchor, mages don’t need to know the destination. The anchor does that for them.”
“That is very useful,” Vin commented.
Kyarra nodded as she studied the pendant. “And I think that this one leads back to Tourran.”
“What?” Ashara asked.
“This symbol.” Kyarra turned it so that she could see. “I’ve seen it before, in my library. The tiles of the floor are arranged in this shape. I’ve never seen this symbol anywhere else.” She reached into the chest and pulled out two more pendants. “See? The symbols on these two are different. I don’t recognize them. They must lead somewhere else.”
“Are you sure?” Ashara asked.
Kyarra took a moment, then nodded. “I am. This was the way that mages marked anchors long ago. This symbol only corresponds to the destination it leads to.”
“You are saying that we could get back to the city with that? Now?” Vin asked.
“Yes.” Kyarra nodded. “I’m certain.”
“They must’ve already taken your mansion. They would know the moment we arrive,” Ashara said.
“Not necessarily. My library is hidden, and only I know where it is. It is spelled to resist detection, as well—unless they know exactly where it is, they have no hope of finding it. We could use this and arrive there unnoticed.”
Vin hummed to himself, scratching one of his eyebrows. “If we arrive unnoticed, we would have time to weigh the situation. There’s less time than I planned for, still.”
“The longer we wait, the harder it’s going to be to free Tourran,” Kyarra said.
Finally, Vin sighed. “Very well.”
Kyarra put the pendant aside and looked into the chest again. She pulled forth two wrapped tomes, and frowned. “These aren’t what Vardun told me to come here for.”
“What do you mean?”
“These are his books on magic,” Kyarra said. “But there is no sign of the journal.”
“Could’ve someone taken it? This chest has been here for a long time,” Ashara said.
“There was no sign that it had been tampered with, and why take only the journal?”
“It is not like we need it,” Vin added. “We know what we need to do. Your first life could’ve just as easily decided not to leave it after he left the message.”
Kyarra looked unconvinced, but it was obvious that she had no idea what could’ve happened.
* * *
They sold their horses and bought a few more supplies with their remaining coin, then set out of the city, looking for a private place for Kyarra to cast the spell. When they found a good place, Ashara noticed Kyarra giving her a strange look.
“What is it, Kyarra?” Ashara asked.
“I don’t know if it is smart for you to come with us,” Kyarra told her hesitantly.
Ashara’s eyes narrowed. “And why is that?”
“It’s going to be dangerous Ashara, and you—” she started, but then stopped herself.
Ashara glared at her. “And I can’t defend myself, is that it?”
“Yes,” Kyarra said simply.
There was a heavy pause. Then, “You are right,” As
hara said with a sigh. She had thought about her place in all of this for a long time. She had only wanted to find a new life for herself, and she wasn’t all that attached to Tourran. She could easily get started somewhere else. But she had seen the Arashan, and she knew what was coming, and because of that she needed to do something. She had never had a steady goal in her life, but helping save the world seemed like a worthy one.
“I am?” Kyarra asked unsurely, glancing at Vin, who looked at Ashara with suspicion. He knew her well enough to know that she had every intention of going with them.
“You are right that I can’t fight, but you are wrong in thinking that you don’t need me,” Ashara said, then paused. “Tell me… What do you think will happen once we get there? You’ll just show yourself, defeat the Arashan, and the city will be free?”
Kyarra shifted uncomfortably. Ashara could see that that is exactly what she had thought.
Ashara snorted. “The city is occupied by the Lashians. By now their fleet will hold the harbor, and their troops would probably be holding the city. We will need to organize the people, an uprising. And they will most certainly be looking for you—they would know you on sight.” She then turned to Vin. “And you. While you did make some great strides in learning more about this world, you still know little. You don’t know these people, you don’t know how to find those that can help us. And, most importantly, no one would trust you.”
“And they would trust you?” Kyarra asked.
“They will. I might’ve been in Tourran for a short time, but I have made an impact. The nobles will know me from the gatherings, and they will remember me being seen with you. If I tell them that you are back, they will believe me.”
Kyarra appeared to look slightly skeptical, but ultimately Ashara could see that she agreed. “Fine,” she said finally.
With that settled, Kyarra started preparing the spell—and, soon enough, she started casting it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
VIN
Kai Zhao Vin watched as Kyarra cast the spell that would transport them instantly to Tourran. Never in his life had he thought that he would allow the magic that had destroyed his world to touch him—nor had he ever thought that he would care for a mage. It was a strange emotion for him, one that threatened to throw him out of his barely holding balance. On his world, things had been different; he had had partners, of course, but none of them had ever touched his heart. And the thing that scared him the most was that he didn’t understand how it had happened. He had never truly cared for other people. The loss of his world had been devastating for him, but not because he lost anyone he particularly cared for—rather it had been because he had lost everything that he had ever known. And while he would never admit it to anyone, he had been close to the edge, a hairbreadth away from losing himself in his anger and desire for vengeance. Ashara had helped him avoid that, simply by virtue of her presence. He hadn’t even realized how important she had been until far after it had happened. He had been alone on a strange world, and then he wasn’t.
Kyarra was a different matter entirely. It was her soul that pulled at him. It was her desire to help a city that had kept her a virtual prisoner. Her beauty in every sense of the word…
And he could not think on how to approach this situation that had developed between all three of them. He knew little of such affairs, and had no concept of what they could mean on this world. He shook his head as Kyarra finished the spell—he put all of those thoughts and feelings aside. There would be time for that later. Now they were going to war.
Kyarra finished the spell, then whispered a word, and the world went white.
* * *
With a much smoother transition than last time, the light abated and they found themselves in a large domed room, with walls lined with shelves and books. They had appeared in the exact center of the room.
“We made it!” Kyarra said.
“Wait, you had doubts?” Vin asked shakily. He still wasn’t used to having magic used on him.
“Hm…” Kyarra said as she looked around the room. “No, of course not,” she said, but he could tell that she was lying.
“We should get going, Vin,” Ashara said urgently. “The faster we get in contact with the right people, the faster we can plan our attack.” She pulled out a cloak from one of their bags and put it on. Ashara’s original plan had been for her to go alone, but they had decided that Vin should go as well for protection. They didn’t know the state of the city.
“Do you know where to go?” Kyarra asked.
“I know just the place.”
Kyarra escorted them to the exit and Vin stepped into an empty corridor, opening his senses and searching for any threat around them.
“The mansion is empty, but there are people outside the gates,” Vin said as Ashara and Kyarra stepped out.
“I’ll start preparing spells,” Kyarra said.
“All right, then, let’s go,” Ashara said, turning to Vin.
“Be safe,” Kyarra whispered. “Both of you.”
Ashara and Vin nodded and started walking through the mansion, Vin guiding them with his senses. He kept a light touch, not wanting to accidentally brush his senses against a mage who could detect something—or, in the worst case, be detected by Ming Li. They made their way to Kyarra’s garden, as they had planned. They had assumed that the mansion would be watched, so they needed to take care to leave undetected. They exited the mansion and went outside, being met with the dark sky. It was night in Tourran, which should help make their task easier. They walked over to the edge of the cliff, where only a small stone railing separated them from a steep fall to the harbor below.
“Ready?” Vin whispered.
“I have little choice,” Ashara said with a touch of trepidation.
Vin grabbed her by the waist and behind the knees and lifted her effortlessly. He stepped onto the railing and looked down. It was a long way down. “Don’t scream,” Vin said.
Ashara buried her head into his shoulder and he stepped off. Using the ki he had converted from his own affinity before they arrived, he pushed out of his body and got ready to slow their decent. He waited until they were halfway down, and then he activated a Bending technique and wind appeared around them, slowing them down. They landed with a soft step and Vin put Ashara on her feet.
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” she said shakily. “But we are still not doing that again.”
Vin nodded, and they made their way toward the warehouse of Haris Olos. They moved as quickly as they could without attracting any attention. The Lashian soldiers patrolled the streets, and they had to stop and wait for them to pass regularly before continuing. By morning, they’d arrived, finding the warehouse empty. Then, a few hours after dawn, a man came into the warehouse. Ashara and Vin stepped in behind him, following him to his office. He noticed them only after he was already inside.
“Hey! Who are you?” he asked, with only a hint of fear.
Ashara removed her cowl and the man gasped.
“Ashara! I thought that you were dead! Where have you been?”
“That is a long story, but I don’t have much time. I need your help.”
Haris glanced at Vin and then back at Ashara. “What kind of help?”
“I need to get in touch with some people. Those who are not very happy with the Lashian occupation.”
“No one is happy with the Lashians,” Haris said bitterly.
“Haris, you know what I am talking about. You must know someone who could get me in touch with them.”
“And why would I do that? You disappeared right as the Lashians attacked, and now a few weeks later you come back and want to find the rebels? You must know how this looks.”
“I’m not with the Lashians, Haris. I have a message for the rebels—from the Eternal Soul.”
That caught his attention. “The Eternal Soul hasn’t been seen since the attack.”
“And now I have news about her. Just pass on that I
have information. It will be their decision, then.”
Haris covered his face with his hands and then nodded. “Fine, stay here. I’ll be back soon.”
Ashara and Vin remained in the room and waited. About an hour later, Haris walked back in, followed by four men, all of whom looked like fighters.
“This is her?” the one in the lead asked. Haris nodded and the man approached.
“What is this information about the Eternal Soul?”
“Take us to your leaders and I you will tell you now,” Ashara said calmly.
The men took a threatening step forward. “That is not how this is going to work, girl. We know that you are a foreigner. We don’t trust you. You will tell us what you know, or we will beat it out of you,” the man said. Ashara glanced at Haris, who looked away uncomfortably.
“I don’t think so. I don’t know you, either. For all I know, you are Lashian spies. I need to meet with someone higher up who can convince me that you are who you say you are.”
“Girl, I don’t think that you understand your position,” the man grated out. “You have no choice. And since you won’t speak when we ask nicely, we will make you speak.”
Vin took a step in front of Ashara. “You can try, but you will lose important information…as well as your lives.”
The four men looked Vin over, and one of them snickered and took a step closer. But the man in the lead stopped him. He held Vin’s eyes, and Vin saw a man who had fought battles. Who understood death. The man recognized the truth in Vin’s words and backed off.
“Get me two sacks,” the man said.
“What?” one of the others asked, confused.
“We are taking them with us.”
A few minutes later, both Ashara and Vin had sacks over their heads and were shuffled into a carriage. Vin kept his senses spread out making sure that they don’t change their minds and try to beat them. The sacks on their heads prevented them from seeing, but Vin had no trouble sensing. They were headed deeper into the city by a circuitous route—they even made several turns that brought them back to points they had previously passed—but then eventually they came to a stop. They were taken out of the carriage and led into a building. There, they were taken up the stairs, around a circle on the first floor, and then down again. Afterwards they took them to the stairs, leading down into the basement.
