by Aaron Oster
“This is it?” he asked.
The woman rolled her eyes as she drew out the necklace and held before his eyes. The chain was the same reddish-black as the metal on the box, and it glimmered in the light of the shop’s lantern. The delicate links were interwoven with one another, coming down to where the core was attached. The core had been carved into the shape of a teardrop, and the red and blue still swirled around inside. The core was surrounded by a wider disk of the same metal, and it had been inlaid with tiny red and blue stones around the outside. It was a beautiful necklace, but the design was completely wasted on Morgan.
“You might not like,” the woman replied as she carefully set it back in the box. “But your lady friend most definitely will.”
“If you say so,” he replied with a shrug.
He picked up the box and was heading to the door, when the woman called after him, “When are you planning on giving it to her?”
“Her birthday is tomorrow, so I figured I’d give it to her in the morning.”
The woman shook her head, letting out a long sigh.
“Take my advice, young man, and don’t just hand it to her. Do it over a candlelit meal, at the very least.”
Morgan shrugged again. He and Sarah were having dinner when he got back. He could request some candles, though he wasn’t sure why they would be necessary. Perhaps it was another one of these customs that he was unaware of.
“Thanks for you help,” he said, then left the store, leaving the shopkeeper to shake her head in pity for the poor girl that ended up stuck with him.
24
Morgan knocked on the bedroom door, and waited patiently for Sarah to come open it for him. He’d stashed the box in his pocket, so she wouldn’t see it until he gave it to her.
“Took you long enough!” she said as she opened the door. “The food’s been waiting for almost fifteen minutes!”
“Is it cold?” he asked as she closed the door behind him.
“No, thankfully it’s still warm,” she replied as he looked to the table.
Two dome-shaped silver trays sat on their table. Accompanying that was a bottle and two tall glasses. Morgan was glad to see a few candles burning at the center of the table. That at least saved him the trouble of getting them himself.
“How do I look?” she asked, walking past him and doing a twirl.
She was wearing a dress, something which he hadn’t immediately noticed for some reason. It was green, and hung all the way down to the floor. Her hair was still slightly damp, and cascaded down her back in long waves. All in all, she looked as she had a year ago, though a bit older and a good deal fitter.
Morgan knew better than to just shrug as a response to her question. He also knew not to ask why she’d decided to dress up. Instead, he told her what she wanted to hear.
“You look nice. The dress suits you.”
Sarah’s cheeks colored slightly and she grinned.
“Well, come on and take a seat. The food will get cold.”
Morgan nodded, all too happy to dig into his first meal in nearly two days. Lifting the lid, his senses were overwhelmed by the delicious smell of meat. He didn’t even bother examining the rest of his plate. Instead, he picked up his fork and knife, and started digging right in. He knew Sarah wouldn’t be offended by this, as she dug into her meal with the same ravenous hunger.
They ate without speaking, the only sounds being the occasional moan of appreciation, or the sound of chewing. Surprisingly enough, Sarah finished first, dabbing at her mouth with the corner of her napkin.
“So, did you discover a way into the palace?” she asked, setting the napkin down and taking a sip from her glass.
Morgan inwardly groaned as he’d been enjoying his food, but placed his fork down and finished chewing as he reached into his pocket.
“I lied about checking the palace out,” he said pulling the wooden box out and handing it to her across the table.
“What’s this?” she asked, taking the box and examining it.
“It’s a birthday present. I would have given it to you tomorrow, but the lady who made it for me said to give it to you by dinner where there were candles,” he replied, going immediately back to his food.
He heard the lid pop open, then a soft gasp from Sarah.
“Morgan, it’s… beautiful!”
Looking up from his food, he saw her slowly lifting the necklace and staring at it reverently.
“Is it really? I didn’t think much of it, but the lady at the store said you would like it.”
Sarah finally looked at him, eyes shining in the candlelight.
“You lied, then snuck out and had this made for me?”
Morgan shifted in his seat, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He took a quick swallow of his drink and pushed slightly back from the table.
“I know I shouldn’t have lied about what I was doing, but…”
He was cut off as Sarah lunged across the table, knocking their glasses to the floor and wrapping her arms around him.
He sat there, stunned as Sarah tightened her embrace.
“You’re not mad at me?” he asked, finally raising his arms and hugging her back.
“Why would I be mad at you, silly?” she said pulling back and wiping at her eyes. “That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for me!”
She kissed him lightly on the cheek, then rose from her chair with an excited squeak and ran to the full-length mirror on the other side of the room.
Morgan stared after her, wondering if he’d just made the biggest mistake of his life. Sarah already knew he wasn’t interested in her that way, and this was only a gift for her birthday, right?
As he watched her slide the chain over her neck and saw the unbridled joy in her eyes, his doubts vanished. Sarah meant more to him than anyone else in the world. If he could see her this happy every day, he would be happy as well. It took Morgan a second for the revelation to truly sink in, and when it did, a smile spread across his face as well.
Sarah turned around then, the necklace hanging around her neck, and her smile not diminished in the slightest. The teardrop shaped core rested right under her collarbone, and glimmered in the lantern light.
“How does it look on me?” she asked, walking over to him and bending down slightly so he could get a better view.
Morgan could tell from her body language that she was extremely happy with the gift, and was making a very clear effort of not jumping on him. He appreciated her restraint and grinned back at her, saying the only word that came to mind.
“Beautiful.”
***
“So, how do you think we’ll get in?” Sarah asked, fingering the necklace Morgan had given her the previous evening.
It was mid-afternoon and the two of them were observing the palace from the rooftop of a nearby building. People moved in and out, but all were stopped by several squads of guards and thoroughly checked. Each had to present a sheaf of papers, then a signet ring, and finally, had a guard look them over personally.
Morgan had said that he was using some kind of skill on them, as he could see a blue aura swirling around each person as they were checked.
Sarah guessed that the guard must be a diviner, someone who had the ability to spot falsehoods and determine rank and ability. With layers of security like that, it was impossible to get in through the front entrance, so the obvious solution was to break in.
“I think the roof would be our best bet,” Morgan answered, shifting slightly next to her, and pointing to a small window in one of the turrets. “The problem with that, is that I don’t know whether my ability will be dampened or not.”
“Can it even be dampened?” Sarah asked. “I mean, your ability was never fully blocked, but now that your reiki is different, don’t you think you can resist any defenses?”
While Morgan thought that over, she looked down once again at the stunning necklace he’d given her for her birthday. The fact that he’d lied, and had it made for her inste
ad of buying something, made it all the more special. She’d had to use every ounce of her restraint not to kiss him when she’d seen it, and had only been partially successful.
Even now, she felt the overwhelming urge to wrap her arms around his muscular shoulders and… She shook herself, trying to banish those thoughts and focus on the mission at hand.
She felt a slight pang when she thought of yet another missed opportunity. Morgan had told her about his conversation with Katherine, as well as the tournament. This Skyflare could fix Morgan. It could give him the capacity to love her, but he was turning down the chance to do so. She was sure that if he approached any of the Kingdoms, they would take him in a heartbeat.
If Katherine was to be believed, this was likely the only time where they would be glad to see a supermage. There were no rules against entering one into the tournament, though it had never been done before. And all Morgan had to do to qualify, was reach rank 33 in four days. He’d refused however, and she could hardly blame him. They wanted to leave the Five Kingdoms, and drawing that kind of attention to himself would ensure that he never could.
“I’m going to test it.”
Sarah was snapped from her thoughts when Morgan finally spoke up.
“What?”
“I’m going to test whether I can make it or not. If I can reach the window, it means that it’s safe. If not, I’m sure I can catch myself in time.”
“What about alarms?”
“I can see several,” he replied with a grin. “I’m fairly certain I can dodge them all.”
“Do you see anything around the window?” she asked, biting her bottom lip nervously.
She was worried about what he was about to attempt. If his power failed, he could be seriously injured. Worse, if he fell in the wrong area, he would be swarmed by guards and there would be nothing she could do to help.
“There’s a wide circle of mana around the entire palace,” he replied, looking from side to side. “But I’m pretty sure I can break through. I don’t know how to explain it, but the enchantment looks… old, I guess is the word I’d use.”
Sarah nodded, still not too sure, but once Morgan made his mind up about something, there was no dissuading him.
“Will you at least wait until dark? You’ll have a much smaller chance of being spotted.”
She felt a sense of relief when he nodded, and she clutched just a little tighter at her necklace.
They sat on the rooftop as the sun moved across the sky, discussing in which direction they would go once they found what they were looking for. Morgan wanted to go further west, as it was the fastest way out of the Five Kingdoms. Sarah wanted to go south, as she’d heard rumors of a far off land in that direction. Seeing as they both still had hundreds of years ahead of them, she wasn’t too worried.
When the sun finally set, Morgan rose from his seated position next to her and stretched mightily.
“Alright. If I make it, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. If I don’t, prepare to run.”
She nodded and then he was off, rocketing through the air and heading for the palace. It was difficult to keep her eyes on him in the surrounding gloom, and within seconds, he was lost from sight.
Holding her breath, Sarah began counting under her breath, fingering the necklace all the while and praying he made it back without being caught. She could see the flickering of torches as the guards gathered around a wagon that had pulled up to the gates. She was about to turn her attention back to the sky, when a detail of the wagon caught her attention.
Looking more closely, Sarah felt her heart rate picking up as she recognized the wagon’s style. It belonged to the nobility of the North, but it couldn’t be her father, could it?
She watched as the wagon rolled forward after a guard presented some papers. They were stopped once more, and the same man presented a ring. Then, came the final checkpoint. Sarah held her breath, as one by one, five people stepped out of the wagon.
Her breath caught in her throat, as not one, but two people she recognized stepped down, onto the ground. Just then, Morgan flew from the surrounding gloom, landing next to her with an accompanying gust of wind.
“All clear,” he said, walking up next to her.
She was too distracted to even hear him, watching the figures below.
“What’s wrong?”
Sarah’s head snapped up when Morgan placed a hand on her shoulder. She could feel the blood draining from her face, but took a deep breath to steady her nerves.
“My father is down there, along with my aunt.”
25
Morgan noticed that Sarah’s entire body was shaking. Whether it was in fear, anger, or a mixture of both, he wasn’t entirely sure. Turning his eyes to the wagon, he used Aura sense to get an idea of how powerful they were.
A few red and blue lights flashed in his vision, but he focused on Simon and the woman next to him, who he guessed, was his sister.
“Your aunt is a rank 38 super, but your father is higher than that, as I can’t get a definite read on him. Judging by his core however, I’d say he’s around 42, maybe 43.”
“He’s rank 43,” Sarah confirmed in a quiet voice. “I knew he was probably going to come, but I didn’t actually expect to see him.”
“You won’t,” Morgan replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’re only here to get information on the Ruined City, and then we’re leaving.”
Sarah took a deep, shuddering breath, then turned away from the scene below. He knew she was still conflicted about how she felt toward the man. On the one hand, she hated him, but on the other, he was her father. Morgan couldn’t really relate as he’d never met his real parents and the one person who had cared for him, had been forced to abandon him and wiped his memories of her.
“Yeah, you’re right,” she said, giving him a weak smile. “Thanks.”
He nodded, then scooped her into his arms and shot toward the castle. He knew she liked it when he carried her this way, instead of on his back. It would cheer her up and make their mission all the more likely to succeed. His thoughts were confirmed just a moment later, when she wrapped her arms around his neck, and buried her face into his chest.
I think I’m really getting the hang of this more and more by the day, Morgan thought with some satisfaction. Maybe his body was correcting itself on its own, and he wouldn’t have to worry about finding a way to restore himself after all.
The castle loomed suddenly before them and Morgan felt the slight resistance as he slammed into the defenses. They tried to dampen his power, but they were too old, and he was too strong. He blasted straight through them and angled upward, heading for the window. He’d already smashed it before, and now simply glided in, landing on the ground and dropping Sarah there gently.
She hung onto him a moment longer, before finally untangling herself with a sigh.
“You ready for this?”
She nodded and Morgan turned to examine the small room they’d landed in.
It was dark and dusty, filled with cobwebs and old rotten furniture. He guessed that they were in some sort of storage room, somewhere that hadn’t been disturbed in years.
“Where to?” he asked, allowing Sarah to take the lead.
Looking around the room for a moment, she pointed to a folded up ladder against the far wall. They headed over to it and Sarah had him push at a panel in the floor. It wasn’t hard to move, but it was difficult to do so without splintering the half-rotted wood.
“They’ve really let this place go,” Morgan said, once he’d finally gotten it free.
He didn’t bother lowering the ladder, instead, floating to the stone floor below with Sarah, before flying back up to close off the attic.
“What part of the castle is this?” he asked, landing back down next to her.
“I’m guessing that we’re in one of the guest quarters, but one that hasn’t been used in quite some time,” she replied, pointing to a dusty bed and dresser against the far wall.
“Not a very nice guest room,” Morgan replied as they headed for the door.
Cracking the door open, the two of them headed into a darkened corridor. They could barely see a thing and were forced to walk along by keeping their hands pressed against one of the walls. After another minute, they came to a long spiral staircase heading down and Sarah motioned him to follow her.
Taking a peek down, Morgan couldn’t see the bottom. He didn’t have to see them, to know that he didn’t have the patience to walk all those stairs. So lifting Sarah once again, he leaped straight over the railing. They descended at a careful pace, as neither of them could see the bottom yet, and Morgan didn’t feel like snapping his legs upon impact with the floor.
They must have been really high up in the castle, as it took them - according to Sarah’s count - nearly a full minute to reach the bottom. They passed several floors on the way down, each one dark and musty.
Once they reached the bottom of the staircase, the first signs of habitation showed themselves. There was a door in front of them, and the light of a flickering torch showed at the crack underneath the frame. Placing his ear to the door, Morgan carefully listened for any sound that would indicate people were there. After a few tense moments, he pulled away from the door and opened it.
Sarah went ahead of him and Morgan followed, closing the very heavy and very loudly creaking door behind him.
“Looks like I was wrong in my earlier assessment,” Sarah said in a low voice as Morgan turned to face her.
They were standing in a library, of all places, and an extremely fancy one by the looks of it. Rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched before them, containing untold knowledge, waiting to be told.
“So, where do we go from here?” Morgan asked.
The mystery of all the hidden knowledge was lost on him, as he had absolutely no interest in reading. Sarah, on the other hand, just shook her head with a disbelieving grin.
