Until All Curses Are Lifted

by Tim Frankovich

  “We will all be gone, so they may not enter!” the other priest insisted. “No one will be here to help them! Who would guard the holiest place?”

  “I can do it,” Nian said. “Perhaps that is the reason why Theon arranged our meeting.”

  “Preposterous! We don’t even know if you are truly a priest!”

  “Shall I quote the law for you? Would that help establish my credentials? Or shall I demonstrate the ceremonies of the Feast of Travels? Whatever you request, I will do.”

  “Perhaps…” The stern-faced priest raised a hand. “We will confer in private, where all of the details may be worked out. Is that acceptable?”

  Nian looked to Aelia. “Will you allow me to arrange this for you?”

  She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

  The shorter priest snorted. “I will still need to be convinced that anything needs arranging!”

  “Then let us discuss that.” The three priests moved away together.

  “That was… crazy,” Victor said.

  “There is no telling how long they will argue,” Talinir said. “We should find lodging. It seems we will be here at least two days.”

  “Two days,” Aelia repeated. Marshal watched her as a pensive look came over her face. She was thinking of her death, the death that he would never allow.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  SERI HAD A good guess as to where the power had come from, but she needed to be sure. She waited until evening, and then returned to the Conclave chamber. Ixchel followed, of course, but asked no questions.

  Inside, she walked to the spot where Tezan had been standing. She rotated until she determined she was facing the same direction from which the power had originated.

  “Ixchel, which direction am I facing?”

  The warrior took a quick glance. “You’re facing south-southwest.”

  “Good. Keep that in mind.”

  Seri led the way outside. The source of the power could be within the citadel, but she doubted it. Only a couple of rooms could be considered between the Conclave and the exterior wall. Neither of them seemed a likely spot for the source of a massive amount of power.

  No, it had to be outside. And if it was outside, it had to be far enough away that the Masters and Lords would not detect it on their own. Seri walked until she stood on the shore outside the citadel’s walls.

  “Ixchel, am I facing south-southwest again?”

  “Yes, my Lady.”

  Seri nodded in satisfaction. There it was. Unlike all the other ships, the Rasnian ship had not pulled out of sight. She could still see lights shining from on board. Somehow, Tezan’s power came from that ship.

  “Ixchel, I’m about to do something very dangerous, and you won’t be able to protect me.”

  “Then I must ask that you not do this. Whatever it is.” Ixchel stepped up beside her and grasped her sword hilt.

  “You’re not going to really stop me, are you? Aren’t you just supposed to be protecting me from Lord Varion?”

  “I am your guard. You are my Lady.”

  “You’ve said that. But are you going to force me not to do something dangerous?”

  Ixchel sighed. “I cannot protect you from yourself,” she admitted.

  “Good. But keep an eye on me. I might get into more trouble than I can escape on my own.”

  “Where are you going?”

  Seri pointed at the ship. “Out there.”

  Ixchel wrinkled her brow. “We have no rowboat available,” she said. “I suppose I could make a raft. Given enough time.” She eyed the cypress trees dubiously.

  “No, I’m going to walk.” Seri stepped up to the edge of the water and watched it lapping against the shore. She knelt and touched it with her palm.

  “My lady, if you–”

  “Quiet, please,” Seri interrupted. “I need to concentrate.”

  She had only practiced this twice, and never to this scale. Still, before all the build-up to the Passing got insane, she had been working hard on her water magic. She understood the principles well enough.

  Seri reached out and grasped multiple beams of light from Zes Sivas, focusing on the color green. The power vibrated within her, all the way up her throat. Again, she felt the saliva pool within her mouth. She fought the urge to spit it out. She wove the beams together and channeled it all into the surface of the water.

  “Here we go.” Seri took a deep breath and stepped forward. The surface of the water vibrated beneath her foot, but held firm. She took another step. It worked! She could walk on the surface of the water!

  She continued forward a few more steps. It was difficult to stay on the narrow path she had created, but as long as she kept her eyes on the destination, she could handle it. She heard a grunt from Ixchel behind her and glanced back.

  Ixchel had stepped out onto the water too.

  “Ah, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Seri said. “I can’t promise this will last for both of us the whole way.”

  “Then at least I will be near you. For when you fall in,” Ixchel said. “Can you even swim?”

  “I can swim!” Seri’s indignation was tempered by the memory of her last fall into these waters.

  “In that robe?”

  Seri didn’t answer. She focused on keeping her path straight. She wasn’t entirely sure how wide her magic path extended. There might be plenty of room for an occasional error, but she wasn’t taking any chances. As she walked, she continued to pull in more magic and channel it downward.

  Inwardly, she wanted to giggle and leap up and down. She was walking on water! This was easily the best thing she had done with her magic thus far, and she was still only an acolyte! While the Masters rarely displayed their power, what amazing things could they do, if she could already do this?

  Ixchel, for her part, seemed amazingly adept at walking in a straight line. Across the water. Seri heard her murmur something.

  “What was that?”

  “A quick prayer, my Lady.”

  “Oh? What for?”

  “Swiftness. In cutting your robe off when we fall.”

  “You know, you could be a little more encouraging.”

  “I am here to protect. Not encourage.”

  Seri rolled her eyes, which Ixchel couldn’t see, of course. She determined not to say anything else. Who knows how far the sound of their voices could carry across the gentle waves? The early night was still and quiet. She felt only the tiniest of breezes now and then.

  As they drew near the ship, Seri heard an occasional voice call out, followed by an answer. She couldn’t see or hear a lot of activity, but at least two people were still up and working on the deck. It was called a deck, wasn’t it? Seri hated to admit it, but she was quite ignorant when it came to ships. Or boats. Or whatever you called them.

  They reached the ship itself. Seri was a little surprised to discover it in motion, then realized it was simply rocking on the waves. An anchor still held it in place. She moved along the side until she found a kind of netting made of rope. Perfect. She climbed onto it and motioned for Ixchel to do the same. There was no telling how long her water magic would last, anyway.

  Now what? Climbing up onto the deck seemed a risky idea. Better to know where she should be looking first. Using her senses and star sight, she searched the ship for the source of magic.

  To her surprise, she did not find one massive pulsing source of magical power on the ship. Instead, she found multiple sources, all of them extremely weak. None of them had anywhere near the power of one of the Lords, but she sensed dozens of them. And they all were inside the ship. In its… hold? Was that the right word?

  Seri leaned in to Ixchel. “I need to get a look inside,” she whispered. “Any ideas?”

  Ixchel frowned. She whispered something too low for Seri to hear. Probably another prayer for her wayward mistress. Then she climbed past Seri to the ship’s railing. Seri watched her go, amazed at her sleek and easy movements. How was she able to climb these ropes
with bare feet, anyway? Didn’t that hurt?

  Ixchel paused at the top and appeared to wait for something. Then she launched herself in a smooth vault over the railing and disappeared from Seri’s view. Seri waited. She heard nothing except the distant tones of a conversation taking place somewhere on board. Someone was talking, but she couldn’t make out any of the words.

  Then Ixchel’s face appeared above. She gestured for Seri to come up. This turned out to be not as easy as it looked. Seri struggled repeatedly to get her feet in the right places. Her robe constantly got in the way. When she was close enough, Ixchel reached down and grabbed her. She let go as her bodyguard hauled her up over the railing and onto the deck. It didn’t look dignified, but at least it worked.

  Seri got to her feet and looked around. She and Ixchel were alone on this part of the deck. She saw two sailors on an elevated deck not far away, but they had their backs to the women. They appeared to be working on something. Ixchel gestured for Seri to follow.

  She led the way to an opening with a set of steep steps that led down inside. Seri found it almost as difficult to keep her footing on the stairs as she had on the ladder. Robes made no sense for life on a ship.

  They entered a small hallway. A door stood open to their right. Light and sound both flowed out. Seri heard the clank of pans. The kitchen? The hallway led to two closed doors to the left. Ixchel ignored them and led Seri to another narrow stairway leading further down.

  This led directly into a large room full of hammocks. Sleeping men occupied some of them. A single oil lamp hung from the ceiling, its light very low. Ixchel put a finger to her lips and pointed to a door on the opposite end of the room. Seri grimaced, but followed. With every step, she expected one of the sailors to roll out of a hammock and raise the alarm.

  Somehow, they made it across. Ixchel retrieved a key from its hanging place on the wall and used it to open the door. What was the point of keeping it locked if the key was hanging right there?

  It was almost completely dark in the next room once Ixchel closed the door behind them. Seri wished she could manifest flames like Lady Lilitu. Then again, flames on board a ship might not be the best idea.

  A spark flared in her vision and she blinked. Ixchel struck her flint again and this time was able to light a lantern Seri had not even been able to see. Her eyes adjusted and she saw they stood in a small room with no doors other than the one they had come in. A single porthole let air flow in and out.

  Ixchel pointed down. Seri almost jumped. She stood right on the edge of a dark opening. She hastily stepped back.

  Someone stirred down below. “What is it now?” asked a raspy voice.

  Seri got down on her hands and knees. Ixchel held the lantern out over the opening. Seri looked down into the ship’s hold. In the lantern’s light, she saw several pale faces blinking and looking up at her in confusion. As Ixchel moved the lantern around, she saw more faces. The hold was full of people. Most were clearly of Rasna or Varioch by their skin tone, but she spotted a few others, as well. A horrid stench struck her nose. Too many people kept in too small a space for too long.

  “Who are you?” one of them asked, a short, pale-skinned man with very little hair.

  “I’m a mage from Zes Sivas,” Seri said. “I was going to ask you people the same question. Who are you?”

  Several people started to answer at once. Seri waved her hand. “Shhhh!” Ixchel drew her sword and stepped to the door to listen.

  “One at a time, and quietly!” Seri hissed. She took the lantern from Ixchel and held it up herself so she could see them.

  The pale man glanced around at the others, then took it on himself to speak. “We are Lord Tyrr’s prisoners,” he said. “We’ve been down here for days.”

  “Why would he bring–” Seri broke off as she realized the answer. “You’re all wild magic users, aren’t you?” A blink and she could see it. All of them had magic.

  A murmur of confirmation rose up. Of course. Of course there wasn’t another massive source of power Tezan was tapping into. Instead, he was using all of these people, their powers, all together. But how?

  “Tezan. He’s using your powers?”

  “He’s one of us,” a woman said. “He and I used to work together before Lord Tyrr found him.”

  “Tezan is a wild magic user?”

  “His power is to steal others’ powers,” the pale man said.

  “It’s more than that,” the woman said. “He can borrow them temporarily, or steal them permanently. Even give power to someone else.”

  “We’ll find a way to get you out of here and expose him,” Seri said. “I–”

  “No! You can’t!” A number of voices broke out in consternation. Ixchel shot a fierce glare at Seri.

  “Wh-why not?”

  “Lord Tyrr has my son!” the woman said.

  “And my wife!” added the pale man. “He has all of our family members locked up back in Rasna. If we don’t cooperate, he will kill them all!”

  Seri grew cold. Only a Lord could even suggest such a threat. No one else would be taken seriously. But after meeting Lord Varioch, she now understood.

  Ixchel touched her arm and gestured. She didn’t speak, but her face said it all. They needed to leave. Now.

  “I’ll find someone who can help you,” Seri told the magic users. “I won’t let this happen.”

  “Be careful,” another one warned. “Lord Tyrr is dangerous.”

  “Everyone on Zes Sivas is dangerous,” Seri said. She got to her feet and set the lantern aside.

  Ixchel led the way back through the bunk room. One sailor started to lift himself up out of his hammock as they passed. Seri gasped, but Ixchel leaned over and did something. The sailor fell back again.

  They made their way back up the stairs and onto the main deck without further incident. Ixchel made Seri wait for several minutes while she checked on the sailors on deck. Eventually, she returned and led her back to the railing. The sailors again seemed occupied with something in the other direction.

  Climbing back down to the water proved even more difficult than climbing up. Near the bottom, Seri realized a serious problem with her plan. She needed to touch the water in order to re-create their passage back across. She ran through several different ideas in her head. None of them worked.

  With no other options, she hooked both legs up to her knees into the rope netting. That meant she had to yank her robe up almost to her waist. She consoled herself that no one would see this other than Ixchel, who revealed more skin on a constant basis. Seri let herself hang down upside down, holding herself in place with her knees and one hand. She stretched the other down until she was able to touch the surface of the water. It took a little longer to find the right beams of light out here and finish the process.

  Ixchel waited patiently while she struggled back upright, untangled her legs from the netting, and climbed the rest of the way down to the water. She gained her footing on the surface, feeling the slight vibration as before. Seri focused her attention on Zes Sivas and started to walk back. Ixchel followed close behind.

  Seri pondered this discovery as she walked. Tezan was a wild magic user with the ability to channel power from others, even steal their powers, if he so chose. In her reading of Master Sekou’s The Vicissitudes of Wild Magic and its Practitioners, she couldn’t recall ever seeing a power like that. Was Tezan unique? Or was there something else at work here?

  Come to think of it, if he could steal powers permanently, as the one woman had claimed, why hadn’t he done that with all those on the ship? Why bring them along to channel their powers temporarily? That didn’t make sense. Maybe Tezan hadn’t told Lord Tyrr everything about his powers?

  The world shifted.

  Seri didn’t even remember blinking, but suddenly, she could see the Otherworld. She stumbled and Ixchel caught her robe’s collar to steady her.

  The stars! Why hadn’t she noticed them before? She had, of course, but the last time, she
had been distracted by a monster. And her previous outside glimpse had only been for a couple of seconds. There hadn’t been much time for stargazing.

  Now… now she stood on the surface of the water and the stars surrounded her. Every direction she looked, gigantic stars illuminated everything around her. More stars than she had ever seen, ever imagined. And so many colors!

  “My Lady?” Ixchel’s voice seemed to come from far away. Seri ignored her.

  Seri felt her heart expanding with every second she spent staring at the stars. The beauty, the sheer, unadulterated… beauty. Her mind couldn’t think of another word to describe it, and yet “beauty” felt so small, so limited in scope. This was beyond beauty, beyond…

  Her eyes settled on Zes Sivas. As she had seen before, the citadels lay in ruins and smoke drifted upward. Something was different, though. Beams of light erupted up out of the island, shooting up into the sky itself to merge with the light of the stars. Some of them curled back on themselves and fell down to the island. The vortex she had seen twice before loomed above the remains of the citadel walls. When she had seen the vortex before, it had been frightening, but small enough to fit within the Inner Sanctum, or so it had seemed. Now it appeared to have grown substantially. Seri couldn’t help but feel that this was very, very bad.

  Abruptly, her vision shifted again and she saw both worlds at once. In one, the ordinary stars shone in the dark night of her world. In the other, the giant stars shone in the bright night of the Otherworld. They overlapped each other, creating a cacophony of light, a confusing array of spots and beams.

  The magic she had infused onto the water collapsed. The last thing she heard and felt before she plunged into the cold waters was the tearing of her robe. Ixchel’s prayer for swiftness had been answered.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

  AELIA FOUND AN inn only a couple of blocks from the temple. While she arranged for their lodgings, she sent Victor back to let Nian know their whereabouts.

  The inn was much nicer than the last one Marshal remembered, back in Efesun. It didn’t match up to the standards of the Eldanim, of course, but was still far better than their usual lodgings.