The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set

by Georgina Makalani

  ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘You appear as though…’

  ‘As though what?’ She looked back at him.

  ‘That you have realised something, something that could mean danger.’

  ‘We need to find the magics.’

  ‘We?’ he asked, a smile playing on his lips.

  ‘Mu-Phi can be a soldier, so why can I not help find the magics?’

  ‘It is not the same.’

  ‘No. I am learning that your relationship with the girl is something very different,’ Lis said quietly, looking into the cup in her hands.

  ‘It is not what you think,’ he said as he leaned forward.

  ‘What do I think, Your Highness? Please do tell me.’

  He sighed again. ‘We are friends.’

  ‘Like Healer Yang and I are friends. And yet you look at him as though you could run him through.’

  ‘He sleeps in your bed.’

  ‘On my bed, as you do.’ She sighed. ‘Does she not sleep in your bed?’

  His face creased. ‘You would think so little of me that I would take my brother’s…’

  ‘Your brother’s what?’ she asked. She looked away from him as the conversations she’d had with the girl about the former prince started to make sense. ‘And yet the uproar at U’shi’s behaviour…’ she added quietly.

  ‘No one knew. It would have tarnished him, and I could not have that. In days of old, the emperor would have taken many wives.’

  Lis nodded. She knew the history. The change had come when one man had loved his wife more than his station. The desire for more sons to ensure the line continued was no longer needed; peace had come to the Empire. The laws had been changed so that the firstborn son would become the crown prince and the crown would pass to him. There was no competing, no question of succession.

  ‘Did he love her?’ she asked.

  ‘I believe so,’ he said softly.

  Without the need for many wives, the advisors had devised a plan to ensure the empress was the best of all the maidens in the Empire.

  ‘What did he know of the magics?’

  Remi shook his head, and she stifled a yawn.

  ‘You should rest,’ he said, standing slowly from the table. ‘I should not have disturbed you as I did, but I have just returned, and I wanted to be sure you were safe.’

  She stood and bowed to him. As he reached the door, she said, ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘For my brother?’

  The question stung. She wasn’t sure if he meant it as a sympathy, given what they had just been talking of, or if he was inferring she’d had something to do with his death as he had said before. And the tear surprised her.

  ‘That you are stuck with me,’ she whispered. ‘That I have brought trouble for you and the Empire.’ Her skin prickled, and she shivered. She bowed again, and when she raised her head he was gone.

  Chapter 11

  ‘I don’t think this is a good idea,’ Wei-Song said earnestly.

  ‘I know, but I have to try.’

  ‘Lis, let me go,’ Yang said.

  ‘I know you are keen to try, but…’

  ‘I can sense as well as you,’ he countered.

  ‘But you are unpractised at hiding, and it is more draining than you realise.’

  He nodded reluctantly. ‘And if the prince comes?’

  ‘I don’t think he will. And if anyone else comes, use your weight as a healer—claim I am sick or something.’

  ‘Then the prince will come,’ Yang whined.

  ‘He is trying to find the magics, and I can help.’

  ‘He will not appreciate it,’ Wei-Song murmured. ‘What if he sends Mu-Phi back?’

  ‘I don’t think he will. But in that case, I will be as quick as I can.’

  ‘How do you propose to get out?’ Wei-Song asked.

  ‘There will be a change in the guards soon; I’ll slide out with them.’

  Yang groaned and turned away. They knew there was no way to talk her out of it, but it didn’t stop their worrying. The gate squealed, and Lis touched her hands together and raced quickly across the lawn, trying to stay off the gravel paths. She glanced back at the doorway as she slipped through the gate, but she couldn’t see either of them. And then she was standing in the street.

  She walked behind the soldiers for a moment and then stopped. She felt more exposed than she’d expected, but she knew she had enough strength to hide from them all now. She only hoped she could find what she needed before the prince thought she had run away again.

  It didn’t seem to matter what they promised each other; there was still a lack of trust between them. She needed to focus on the magics, what they wanted and why they were after her. She sighed. She knew why they were after her—they wanted her dead. But she wasn’t sure how that would help their cause. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the magic, sensing the hum.

  It was not as strong as it had been. She wondered how many magics had been on the Palace Isle and where they might be now. There had to be others working with them, although they wanted the power all for themselves. Who would work with magics if they wouldn’t continue to collaborate once they came to power? It was too great a risk. She knew the history, that all those who harboured magics during the magic war had been killed, including women and children.

  Lis walked slowly along the streets, breathing in the fresh air, her heart racing at the idea of being away from her little palace. She was still trapped, in a way, but it had been so long since she had been able to go out. The trip to the baths had been her last outing, and she still felt an odd nervousness at the idea. She had been too ill to prevent them. Yang did too much, risked too much for her, and she worried about him now more than she had. She stopped and looked back. She had left for good reason and planned to return, but if they found her missing it would be Yang who paid the price.

  Hesitating, she thought she caught the scent of magic. She followed the faint touch of it until she was standing outside the temple. She wasn’t sure whether she should enter, but then she saw the hunter, Hui Te-Sze. His marked face made her shiver. She wondered if he had picked up the same faint scent or if he’d just happened to be walking by.

  He walked right by her, his head tilted as though listening. She stepped into the temple and found it still and quiet. There was no hint of magic here. She walked down the steps and along the walls before the gods. What would they make of this? she wondered. What would they do if they could step from the walls?

  She stopped where her mother’s memorial had been. The memory of it hurt, as did that of her father. She had lost them both when she had been chosen as the hidden princess. No matter what she wanted or whether she ran away, she couldn’t get to either of them.

  The memorial to her mother had been destroyed in the royal residence, and Lis had not replaced it. She was disappointed in herself that she had not thought of her mother in some time, and that she hadn’t considered replacing the shrine. It had been one of the many thoughtful things the crown prince had done for her, before he’d found out what she was.

  Maybe he was disappointed in himself for having failed to sense her. Lis looked around the temple then. The former high priestess had felt something, although she hadn’t been able to when they’d knelt before the gods together. Was she the only one who had an idea of what Lis was?

  Lis turned again and saw the young priestess who had come to her room and helped her. She walked differently, gently in a way, as though not to disturb the gods, and there was a confidence about her that Lis hadn’t seen except in the former high priestess.

  ‘Grant me the wisdom,’ the priestess murmured as she ran her hands over the images of the gods she passed. ‘Give me the sight to see what is needed.’

  Lis wondered what sight she sought. Could it be that she was the one who had the vision? Were the priestesses more than Lis thought they were? The priestess touched each god within the temple and then moved to the back, where another priestess stood.
/>   Lis wasn’t sure whether she could follow without them sensing her and working out that she was there. Desperate to know what they were doing, she inched forward, hoping her footsteps didn’t echo.

  The young priestess took her place at the head of the room. The others knelt facing her, and she them. They all closed their eyes and remained still. They were only praying, Lis thought. The actions of the former high priestess had her concerned about everyone, but she was sure not all priestesses were the same.

  Lis crept out of the temple and back along the courtyard. She paused at the empty space that had been her last home and wondered for a moment what had happened to her mother’s memorial. Had it been taken away with the rest of the broken wood? She wondered if they would rebuild the residence, and if the prince missed his height over the world.

  Where did he stay now? Just at the thought, she saw the advisor hurrying along with his arms full of reports. There may be soldiers, but it was too easy for anyone wanting to harm them to discover where they were.

  On a whim, she decided to follow him and see just where the prince was. He led her back towards her own palace, and she wondered if he had decided to make her table his desk again. It had been a difficult conversation during the night. She didn’t know just what he wanted from her, or what he thought she could give him. At least he hadn’t sent Mu-Phi back. Where had she been when the crown prince was murdered?

  The little man moved quite quickly. Lis hurried to keep up with him and not lose him as he darted down an alleyway. Maybe he wasn’t headed to the prince, but to sell secrets. Lis slowed a little as the hum of magic reached her, but then she recognised it as the prince’s searching.

  She entered the little gate with him, and the memory of another gate surged through her. Was there a black gate somewhere on the Palace Isle? Could she find it? Or could she ask about it?

  The prince sat at the table, which was covered in reports, and the advisor stood in the doorway, his arms full. He coughed politely. The prince pointed without looking up.

  ‘Is there any word?’ he asked as the man dropped the pile on the edge of the table and then started to straighten up the reports. He moved some to the top of the pile, others into a second.

  The prince looked up at him, and he shook his head.

  ‘Where are they?’

  ‘I don’t know, Your Highness,’ he murmured.

  ‘Send Hui Te-Sze,’ the prince said as he looked back to his notes.

  ‘He is out searching.’

  ‘I want a report,’ the prince continued.

  ‘There is one.’ The advisor pointed to the top of the pile he had placed on the table. The prince dropped the one he’d been reading and reached for it.

  He scanned the pages and then put it down. ‘I don’t understand,’ he murmured.

  ‘Can I help?’ the advisor asked.

  He shook his head and waved the man from the room. Then he tapped the report on his chin and put it down to collect another. ‘There is nothing of any use to me here,’ he murmured, discarding it and reaching for another.

  Lis wondered exactly what he was looking for. She took a moment to look around the room. It was very similar to her own, and she wondered why he had chosen such a place. It was nothing like the opulence he’d had before. Lis was sure the empress was in a beautiful alternative, but then she realised the prince was not far from her own palace. Still watching over her.

  She could hear the gentle hiss of an empty kettle over the coals, and she wondered if she should assist him in some way. The noise echoed in the small room.

  ‘Mu-Phi?’ he asked, and the girl appeared beside where Lis stood. She bit her lip to prevent a squeal. She would be run through this time.

  He looked up and then ran his hand over his face. ‘The water,’ he said.

  Mu-Phi nodded once but didn’t move. ‘Are you going to keep me here?’

  ‘Where would you like to be?’ he asked, picking up another report. ‘I can send you back to your father.’

  She shook her head and dropped to her knees. Lis watched her closely as the prince slowly raised his eyes from his reading.

  ‘He would marry me off,’ she whined.

  ‘It is not such a bad idea,’ the prince murmured, looking down again.

  ‘It would be a betrayal to your brother,’ she said, shuffling forward on her knees. ‘Please, Remi, don’t do this.’

  He dropped the report and stared at her. Lis held her breath. They did have a relationship different to hers.

  ‘We may be as close as siblings, but you must remember where we are and who you are.’

  She dropped her head. ‘Forgive me, Your Highness, but I cannot marry another.’

  ‘Then what are you to do?’

  ‘Serve you,’ she said without hesitation. ‘As I would have served your brother.’

  He looked at her closely then.

  ‘With my life,’ she went on, dropping her head to the floor.

  The crown prince sighed. He waved her from the room, and she backed up before disappearing into the yard and through the gate. The kettle continued to hiss. While the prince turned back to his reports, Lis hid the kettle, surprised that she could. She carried it through to the small rear courtyard with a pump and filled the bucket, then filled the kettle and returned it to the coals. As the steam blew softly across the table, he picked it up without thought and poured a cup.

  Lis sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. As the light outside faded, she grew sleepy. She realised she had spent too long remaining hidden and she should consider returning to her own palace while she still could. The prince had barely raised his eyes from his reading, and she wondered what he learnt from all the reports. Did they tell him anything of where the magics were hiding?

  She must have drifted, for she woke to a crackle of magic. She jumped, but again it was the prince, and she wondered if he searched all the time. In the dark room, he was still in the same position at the table, with the reports spread out before him as flames danced over his knuckles. Lis stared for a moment before she carefully climbed to her feet and tiptoed across the room towards him. If Mu-Phi saw this, what would she do? Despite her having just promised her life to her prince, Lis was sure it would not end as either of them expected.

  She walked around him, studying the small flames dancing above the skin. It was beautiful and yet scary. He sighed and turned a page. She doubted he even knew what he had, and that scared her all the more. What might he do without thinking or knowing, and what might his father do to him?

  ‘Stop,’ she cried, and the room plunged into darkness.

  ‘Mu-Phi?’ he called, but she didn’t answer. ‘What has happened to the candles?’ he murmured, and then a small flame lit up the room. He stretched and rubbed his eyes.

  Lis stepped back. He was a fire bearer, and she hadn’t sensed it. No one had. She had felt a magic around him when he sensed or hunted, but this was something very different. And she didn’t know what to do with it. She had felt his magic flow across her as he slept, pushing on her at times, and yet… She studied him closely. Maybe he did know what he was. Maybe he was a different type of Hidden.

  Lis needed to talk to Wei-Song. She had a better understanding of the magics of the world and what they could do. She might understand her brother. Perhaps there was a similarity between them. Then Mu-Phi was in the room, a pot in her hands. She put it on the table and uncovered it, and the prince forgot the reports.

  ‘Is it that late?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Have you checked on the princess?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘I will go,’ he murmured, pushing up from the table.

  ‘You need to eat, and you need to rest. She is watched over.’

  He produced a grumbling noise and pulled the pot closer.

  ‘The healer does not…’ She stopped as he raised angry eyes towards her. Then she bowed low and backed up from the room.

  What exactly did he think Yang wa
s? It was as though he did not want to be close to her, yet he also didn’t want anyone else to be. Yang was her friend, the first true friend she’d had in some time, along with Wei-Song. Although there was always the feeling that Wei-Song needed something that Lis wasn’t sure how to give.

  She could feel the magic dragging on her. She needed to return before she couldn’t. She tried to stifle a yawn and blinked back the tiredness threatening to overwhelm her. Then the prince was standing by his bed, blowing out the candle and climbing beneath the covers. Lis touched her hands together and became visible in the dark. She was exhausted, but now she could rest for a moment before trying to find her way home again.

  She sat down against the bed, as Yang did when he read, and rested her head back. As she listened to the prince’s soft breathing, she wondered how he would react if she climbed in beside him as he had done to her so often. But there was more to him than she was aware of, and she couldn’t risk herself now.

  She had drifted again, for when she opened her eyes the sun was starting to light the room. She stretched her hands above her head and, as she brought them down to touch together, a strong hand closed around her wrist. She looked up in fright as the prince looked down at her.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

  ‘I wanted to learn what you know of the magics,’ she murmured, feeling the heat of his hand around her. His grip was tight. Although she could touch her hands together, he would still have hold of her if she hid.

  She tried to pull from his hold, but she couldn’t. His grip remained tight, and his skin became warmer.

  ‘Please don’t burn me,’ she whispered.

  He released her instantly, and she scuttled across the floor away from him.

  ‘Why would I burn you?’ he asked, leaping from the bed and coming after her. She held her arms up in front of her face.

  He squatted over her, taking her arms in his hands, trying to see her face. ‘Why would I burn you?’ he asked again.

  She shook her head madly, trying to pull from him and wondering why she had thought this would be a good idea.