Knives in the Night

by Nathan A. Thompson

  Because if I meet someone who is a Master in more than one Ideal, I’m pretty much screwed? I clarified, trying to keep my voice neutral.

  Well, duh, Breena supplied, I mean, think about it. Say I get my first two Ideals, Water and Air, both to Master level. Assuming I had the spare mana, which I likely would, given the fact that I’m a fairy and that both those two Ideals augment Mana traits, I’d be able to send anyone around me straight up into the air, and then drown them in a floating lake. Or smash them apart with tsunami-force waves and hurricane-force winds at the same time. And don’t get me started on what something like a Lightning Realm would do to people.

  What about Blood? I tried to ask casually. Or Darkness?

  He has at least those two, Teeth said, speaking of our hidden nemesis. And probably more.

  Well, that’s weirdly specific of you to ask, Wes, Breena answered me, I can’t even remember the last Darkness mage I met, let alone a Master. And the only two Blood mages I know of in recent history are you, and now Merada, thanks to whatever you did to her with your Soulcurrent. But yes, those are at least Primal-ranked Ideals, so in some ways they’d be as destructive as Lightning. It honestly depends on how you attempt to impose your specific Ideal at that stage. But yeah, they’d make Peitan look like an even bigger chump.

  Good to know, I said carefully, trying not to shudder as I remembered what it felt like to have Volagro pull on my own Blood magic spell.

  What about Shadow? Val asked as she clutched to Salima’s back. How would that one work?

  Oh! Breena said, perking up as she shuffled around in my cloak. Good question! Shadow’s a tricky one to classify! In some ways it’s a connecting Ideal because it links Darkness and Light, but those two Ideals are at least Primal-ranked—or even stronger, depending on who you ask—so some people consider it to be Primal-ranked as well. But the short answer is that, with Throne, you’d make yourself and everything an inch around you really indistinct, and your own shadow would gain all sorts of new properties. And at the Realm level, you’d gain almost total control over every shadow within a mile radius, and be able to either travel through them, make other people travel through them, or just make them all corporeal. That includes the shadows you can’t normally see, like the ones directly under your feet when you stand up.

  That is so cool! Val gushed, before she could stop herself.

  I knowww! Breena gushed back. You’d be like some of those uber-heroes Via talks about in her graphic novels! But anyway, I should get back to reading this book, and see what new spells I can teach everyone. And for all I know, some of these can be tweaked for Shadow, too, since both Ideals deal with concealment.

  We all went silent to let her read. This time, Breena would read a little bit ahead to make sure she understood the next theory or spell before attempting another dramatic voice.

  And every now and then, she gave up on trying to voice act her way through the textbook and just went into teacher mode, explaining all the particulars with whatever comparisons she could make. She was still leaning against my back while she taught us, and I could feel her get excited whenever she learned something new for herself, or when she could feel us understand something really complicated through the mindlink.

  In fact, the little fairy continued, sounding uncharacteristically experimental, I want to try something. Can everyone send me a simple picture through the mindlink?

  We had actually done that a few times before, especially during reconnaissance. We all just sent a quick snapshot of what we could currently see out of our own eyes.

  Excellent! the pink-haired woman chirped. Now each of you send me a picture of you doing something simple. Because if this idea works, it’s gonna be super awesome.

  I sent her a picture of myself holding my horse’s reins as we rode through the desert, but I was starting to get a little apprehensive. Breena was usually the one trying to deal with my own crazy ideas, so seeing her get experimental was a new experience for me.

  Okay, okay, great! she said happily, and then I felt her inhale as she leaned against me. Now I want you all to visualize casting the spell I just read, and send me the image of what you think you would do. Let’s go one at a time, starting with…Petal, I guess.

  We did our best to visualize casting the Shifting Currents spell, a Practitioner-level spell that sent gusts of wind striking a foe from different angles for a few seconds. She walked us each through the spell one at a time, and actually had Petalbell help here, since the other little fairy could fly up over her rider and make the hand motions herself.

  It still wasn’t the same as actually practicing the spell, but after fifteen minutes, I could visualize the spell’s traits in my mindscreen, signifying that I now had basic proficiency with it.

  “Yes!” Breena shouted triumphantly as she pumped her fist into my cloak. “It worked! I can still do this teaching thing! Ahem,” she added, trying to get serious again, “good job, everyone. On to the next spell…hey! Wait a minute! I already learned this one three Challengers ago! I can teach it to you all myself!”

  This time, she poured the knowledge into each of us through the mindlink, along with the exact gestures necessary. My mindscreen updated almost immediately, like it had back when the little fairy had taught me my very first set of spells.

  This is fun! we heard her squeak. I haven’t gotten to teach like this in forever! Okay, now we’re going to update everyone’s Friction Slice spell. This’ll be tricky, because this is technically an Adept variation, but most of you might be able to learn it anyway. After that, we’ll go back and scan the front of the book for Initiate-level stuff, and see if it will trigger new comprehension in anyone who can’t currently use Air magic.

  We did just that. None of us had any high expectations of the non-Air users suddenly developing the Ideal, and most of them didn’t even want to. They had their hands full learning their current Ideals and other skills. But most of them found it to be a good mental exercise while we rode for hours and hours, and more importantly, it gave the rest of us the break we needed to recover from learning so many spells at once.

  But to everyone’s surprise, Val managed to learn a handful of spells, unlocking comprehension in the Ideal.

  I saw my adopted sister pump her fist into the air much like Breena had done, and begin chattering to Salima as they rode together.

  I was wondering if that would happen, Breena confided to me as the small Asian girl continued to cheer, it’s not unheard of for Challengers to develop new talents and Ideals as they grow—especially when it complements their Paths and Sagas, like Air does with Val.

  So this is perfectly normal, and not my fault? I asked in what I hoped was a teasing tone.

  Nonsense. Everything is your fault, Breena sniffed disdainfully. But yes. Picking up one extra Ideal after going through over twenty Rises is perfectly within normal parameters for the average Challenger. She’ll probably never be as proficient in it as she is with Shadow, but she doesn’t need to be. Your sister is making the perfectly normal choice to specialize in one field, instead of trying to do everything at once. I rather admire her for it, she added pointedly.

  Glad to hear, I replied, not bothering to hide my grin. Let me know if she suddenly learns how to turn into a dinosaur or something. I may have some ideas.

  Hmph, she sniffed again. You’re lucky I like you enough to put up with your stupid jokes. Alright, I’ve had enough of a break. Let me start reading again.

  I had to give her credit. The trip wound up being several days long, but she made it much less monotonous. Especially when we learned another Air magic spell that increased our caravan’s speed by reducing our wind resistance.

  There was another one that protected us from all of the sand that flew in our face, and another one that made traveling across the dunes more comfortable for our horses.

  In short, most of Peitan’s magic revolved around making his stay on this world more comfortable.

  That, and oppressing this
world’s population, killing its more defiant citizens, and hiding the evidence afterwards.

  Wow, Teeth thought as everyone blanched at some of the spells. No wonder the Pendragon hated this guy so much.

  Eventually though, Breena grew tired of reading for so many hours, and our minds grew sluggish from absorbing so much information, even after taking a number of breaks. We let ourselves finish the ride in silence, once again approaching our target city under the cover of night and as much stealth as we could muster.

  Tajam was bigger by far than Mejem or Nedjena. It also boasted a much larger Testifier college, which provided the population even more education and practical magic.

  The city should have been bright and shining under the night sky, its towers and minarets lit with Script wards. We should have been able to hear the hustle and bustle of merchants, since even the Malus Order couldn’t afford to shut down the market center for a city this big.

  But the high walls and spiraling towers looked completely dark to our eyes, no matter how close we came to the city.

  And even worse, there was no sign of our contact at the designated spot.

  Even after waiting for an hour.

  Could he or she just be very late? I asked my own Testifiers as we crept carefully around the walls, having released our own horses moments ago. The animals were well-trained and would find their way back to Mejem, but there wasn’t any way we could sneak them inside an enemy-occupied city.

  No, Eadric sent emphatically, our magics literally revolve around preserving and delivering information. There’s no way a Testifier would fail to notify us of an hour-long delay if they were merely inconvenienced. There would have been a Script message, or an oddly shaped stone, or a soft song traveling through the winds. Something has gone wrong, and now they’ve either been captured, killed, or they are just flat-out unable to notify us.

  So now we have to figure out the best way to get into the city on our own, I clarified, and felt the three men nod over the mindlink. Do any of you know this city?

  Yes, Karim answered, and I felt Eadric yield the discussion to him, Some of my extended family and their colleagues live in one of the wealthier districts here…I do not know of their fate…or what side their politics would have compelled them to join…

  A wave of discomfort radiated over the mindlink from the dark-skinned man, but he smothered it the next moment.

  I could probably find a safe location for us nonetheless, but getting there will be difficult. Fortunately, Weylin knows the actual layout of this city quite well—or at least the streets themselves.

  That made it sound like Weylin should be the actual expert here, which made me wonder why he hadn’t led the conversation. But then I felt him clamp down on his own wave of discomfort.

  Blasted mindlink, I heard him mumble to his own mind, yes. It has been ages even discounting our imprisonment on Avalon. But not only do I know the layout well, people will probably still recognize me, if we encounter anyone.

  Oh, really? I heard Salima ask in an amused tone, and from her bearing I could tell that she hadn’t picked up on her potential boyfriend’s discomfort. You are something of a celebrity here? You must be older than you look.

  I am not, the blond elf said, and this time I felt Salima notice the uncomfortable edge in his voice. The recognition mostly comes from growing up here with a uniquely different appearance to the rest of the locals…and my heritage. The second is why I have been a celebrity everywhere outside the Lord Challenger’s retinue.

  He doesn’t like to talk about it, Eadric sent as quietly and casually as he could, as if he was trying to make sure both that everyone knew of the fact and that it wasn’t a big deal.

  Salima, to her credit, accepted Eadric’s message immediately.

  Okay, I said to turn us back to the matter at hand, we still need to get in the city, at least long enough to destroy our enemy’s presence and do whatever we can for the local population. So, Karim, Eadric, and Weylin, I’m going to ask you three for everything you can give me, and if you can’t think of anything, I’ll turn to the rest of the group for more ideas. What do you have?

  Scout ahead with the fairies, Eadric suggested. Keep them both dim and shrouded with your magic dagger. Then, if the walls are clear, have one look out at Karim’s neighborhoods, and the other at whatever streets Weylin recommends. Then the Lord Challenger can decide what to do next.

  Sounds perfect, I decided. Breena? Petal? Any objections?

  Our two spritefolk shook their heads. Breena paired up with Karim, and Petal with Weylin. I tried to focus Carnwennan’s shroud over both of them, and found that I could probably keep a dim cloak over them even when they moved away from me. Then all of the Air mages added a concealment spell over them to reinforce their invisibility.

  The tiny women shrunk to their smallest size and practically disappeared from sight, their glows completely extinguished. I tracked them through the mindlink as they flew up and over the walls.

  Then, just as I began to worry about my own stealth, I felt the shadows from the wall thicken over us, making up for what Carnwennan’s shroud usually provided in its normal setting.

  Good job, I sent to Val, was about to ask you to do just that.

  She tried to smother her enthusiasm over the praise, and I smothered my own grin to avoid embarrassing her.

  We went back to waiting, staying as still as possible, trying to make sure we were in the sweet spot between using enough magic to stay hidden without using so much magic that we left residues of energy. Fifteen minutes later, Breena and Petal both drifted back to us, looking a little winded but otherwise fine.

  Phew, Breena said as she enlarged herself to the size of my hand, that got cramped fast. Dunno why it’s hard for me to stay small now. Anyway, the coast is mostly clear. Except for the walls themselves. And the highest rooftops.

  She’s right, Petalbell added as she grew to about a foot tall and landed on Breyn’s shoulder. The young Gaelguard kept his face impressively neutral as the tiny woman made herself comfortable.

  Does it feel weird for you too when they do this in public? he asked me privately through the mindlink.

  God, yes, I admitted as Breena settled her own body into my neck and shoulder.

  There’s almost no traffic on the street, Petalbell continued as she leaned naively against the man who was almost certainly also her boyfriend, blissfully unaware of the currently much larger man’s discomfort. But they have Howler Hordebeasts patrolling the walls, and there’s some other kind of Hordebeast that I haven’t seen before perched on most of the building tops. They’re about as large as the Miscreants, with beaked faces and leathery wings stretching from their arms.

  An unflattering mix between bats and birds, then, I decided. That sounded about right for the Horde.

  Thoughts? I asked, figuring I should check with my team before voicing my own thoughts.

  The Howlers are going to be our first problem, Salima spoke up. Weylin told me how they worked. They’re going to use their senses of smell as well as their sight to track us—or yourself, Lord Challenger.

  And there’s a whole lot of them on the walls, Breena added. We were able to sneak past them because of our small size, but there’s no way most of our group will make it over the wall unseen without magic. And that won’t be enough either, because the ugly things are constantly sniffing the air.

  Can the Lord Challenger’s shroud block out smell like it can with sight and sound? Gabin asked curiously.

  I have no idea, I admitted, but I’m not sure the shroud will be effective that close to the creatures. They were created specifically to track and detect me, and the Malus Members have already proved they could pierce my shroud back on the Woadlands.

  And scent lingers even after you’ve left, unlike sight and sound, Breyn pointed out. Even if they never hear or see us, they’ll still be able to tell someone passed over the walls on their next round of patrol. It will be like leaving a trail of footprints behi
nd.

  Ugh, Val mumbled, I’ve barely even thought of hiding my scent. And I don’t even know if Shadow magic can cover up its trail. I’ve never bothered trying to discover spells for that.

  Few people do, Breena confided. Merada knows a good number of them now, and Jarta might know one or two. But I can’t even think of any time I’ve taught a Challenger about—wait, she said, her eyes snapping wide open. I just did on the way here!

  The small, spiky-haired woman flew off my shoulder and waved her hands at everyone. The Air Tyrant’s spells! He totally has one we can use!

  Really? I asked, as I tried to think of what Breena was talking about. Most of Fragglerock’s spells were about killing people and hiding their corpses, but the rest were about making his time more bearable on what he felt to be an inferior world. Moving overly warm air away from himself, a semi-permanent, bug-killing breeze, something to muffle the sound of what he had described as ‘the inferior masses.’ There was even a really obnoxious one he had bragged about in his book, something to keep his ‘Dunegraced slaves’ from leaving their ‘smell of inferiority’ behind after they cleaned his chambers. Apparently, the asshole had a really sensitive nose to go with his sexism and xenophobia.