The Obsidian Palace (Through the Fire Book 3)

by Benjamin Medrano

“Rue, I’ve been thinking, and I just had to ask, how’re you planning to get into the Golden Dominion?” Korima asked suddenly, and Ruethwyn looked up in a bit of surprise.

  After a few days of rest in Waterstone, she was about ready to leave. Ruethwyn hadn’t been completely idle, though. She’d taken the time to send a message to Corwal and had arranged passage on a barge going downriver to Tyrness later in the week. She’d been surprised when the others had decided to accompany her, after a short discussion. The most hesitant had been Sella, but the discussion with her parents had gone well, as far as Ruethwyn could tell.

  “What do you mean?” Ruethwyn asked, setting aside the thin metal plate for the moment.

  Wenna’s request for a new light enchantment for Barton’s office had been something of a surprise, but Ruethwyn had agreed since it was such an easy project. Saving the man’s eyes from strain seemed like a good idea, and they’d almost eagerly supplied the materials she needed.

  “You’re planning to cross the Golden Dominion to reach the palace. That’s what, sixty miles? I know they have an army, too,” Korima said, frowning. “How’re you going to get there?”

  “Well, my original plan was to walk. There are plenty of elves in the Dominion, from what I’ve heard,” Ruethwyn replied, shrugging slightly. “As long as I avoid notice… what?”

  Ruethwyn’s voice trailed off as her three friends all exchanged looks with one another, wondering why they looked so skeptical. Tadrick looked amused, while Sella looked exasperated. After a moment, Sella stood and walked over to Ruethwyn. A second later, she grabbed a lock of Ruethwyn’s hair and held it in front of Ruethwyn.

  “I don’t think you’re going to blend in, Rue,” Sella said pointedly.

  Ruethwyn’s eyes managed to focus on the lock of hair, and she blinked, then felt herself blush. The tulip-red hair was bright, and she hadn’t really thought about it, but after a moment she spoke. “Oh. I… forgot about that. Maybe some hair dye would work… I could dye it black, and—”

  “That’s not going to be enough, Rue,” Korima said, her voice kind as Sella dropped the lock of hair. “You’re gorgeous, and your skin is nearly perfect. You’ll attract people wherever you go now, and if you’re trying to infiltrate someplace, the last thing you need is to draw attention.”

  “Ugh… I didn’t realize having my body fixed would cause more problems,” Ruethwyn said, putting her face in her hands, then groaning more loudly as she continued. “Wait, even if I hadn’t been healed, I’d have this problem, wouldn’t I? My injuries would’ve drawn too much attention as it was!”

  “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” Korima said sympathetically, and Sella took the moment to give Ruethwyn a gentle hug.

  Tadrick cleared his throat, then suggested, “Korima does have a point. I’m guessing you were so focused on making sure it was possible to rescue the others that you forgot about how difficult it might be to get there. Or to get out, for that matter.”

  “You’re right, and now I’m not entirely sure what to do. Maybe I could find an item to hide my appearance… but that won’t do anything to help the others if I succeed!” Ruethwyn said, groaning loudly.

  “How about you ask Sir Alaran?” Tadrick suggested. “He might have some advice, and he seemed to like you. Besides, he got into the dragon’s palace, didn’t he? Even if he failed, you might be able to find out how he got there, and how they were planning to get the women out.”

  “That’s a thought, and a good one. I’m pretty sure I can arrange a meeting with him… and it’s best to let someone with authority know what I’m planning,” Ruethwyn agreed, her thoughts racing as she raised her head again.

  “I had an idea, too,” Korima said, hesitating before asking. “Rue, how long can you maintain your atavism? Not the avatar type, mind you, but one of them being summoned, and maybe with a spell?”

  “Um, maybe a quarter of the day?” Ruethwyn replied, blinking in surprise. “Why do you ask?”

  “What about if you didn’t have to maintain the summoning itself?” Korima continued, ignoring Ruethwyn’s question. Her additional question puzzled Ruethwyn more, though. How could she use atavism without summoning an elemental? Sure, she’d done something similar with the dragon fire in her veins, but that was a rather unique situation.

  “Pretty much indefinitely, aside from the spell. That’s impossible to answer, since different spells take different amounts of mana to maintain,” Ruethwyn replied, frowning. “I don’t see how that’s possible, though.”

  “That’s what I thought. You’re wrong, though; it is possible,” Korima said, smiling broadly and sitting back on the sofa. “You need to come with me to the Lightweaver Enclave after we reach the capital. It’s a couple of days away, but that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

  “Um, it wouldn’t be, but why, Korima? You’re being rather mysterious, and I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” Ruethwyn replied, her confusion growing more pronounced.

  “Simple! Do you remember what usually happens to kitsune when we undergo the Changing?” Korima asked, tilting her head.

  “As I recall, you either gain a longer lifespan as what some call kitsune elders, or you turn into some sort of spirit fox, if I remember right,” Sella interrupted, her voice soft as she frowned. “You thought that was little different from death as I recall.”

  “That’s right. The thing is, we’ve got dozens of spirit foxes who reside in the forest around the village. For the most part, they don’t do much, but we occasionally consult them for their wisdom and experience… some of them do eventually choose to pass on entirely, but most don’t,” Korima explained, grinning broadly as she looked at Ruethwyn and continued. “The thing is, they’re also a type of elemental, Rue! They’re native to our world, but I’m certain you’d be able to find a spirit fox who’d be willing to make a contract with you, considering what you did for Mother. Since we have innate shapeshifting and illusion magic, I bet that we can help you hide your new appearance for an infiltration.”

  “What? That… is that even possible?” Sella exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock that echoed Ruethwyn’s own surprise. “I thought elementals were just from other planes of existence!”

  “I… well, I’m not sure if it’s possible, but the idea has merit,” Ruethwyn said, her thoughts racing. “My original teacher created atavism, but that doesn’t mean Sinera explored every possibility of how it could be used. There are creatures that would be viewed as elementals which are native to our own world, so it’s possible that Korima’s idea would work. I think it’s worth investigating, anyway.”

  “That’d be really interesting to see… but Rue, does that mean that it’s possible that there’s a method which could potentially allow others to use atavism, but which you haven’t discovered yet?” Tadrick asked, sitting up to look at her curiously.

  “Of course,” Ruethwyn said, shrugging slightly. “I’ve learned a lot since I started my apprenticeship, and I try hard not to pretend that I know the best way of doing things. How can I learn if I believe I already know it all? It’s hard to do some days, but I try.”

  “True enough,” Sella said, smiling slightly as she looked down at Ruethwyn. “I guess I sometimes just get so absorbed in everything that I don’t know that I forget that even grandmaster magi don’t know everything, either.”

  “You aren’t the only one,” Korima said, grinning and almost bouncing in place as she looked at Ruethwyn. “So, what do you think, Rue?”

  “I think it’s worth giving a try. I never considered anything like it before, but you’re right, it might work. In fact, I’ve already done something similar with it, with the dragon fire I have,” Ruethwyn said, tapping her lips thoughtfully with a finger. “That was a bit difficult, but I wasn’t in full control at the time.”

  “Oh? What did that look like? I’ve seen the odd lines and runes across your skin when you’ve used atavism before, but I imagine that’d look different,” Tadrick said, his eyes bri
ght with curiosity.

  “I don’t remember, to be honest. Maybe I’ll try it again, one of these days. In the meantime, I’d like to finish the project for Sella’s parents. I don’t want this only half-done when it’s time to leave,” Ruethwyn replied, shaking her head slightly at them. She might be willing to show them, but only on her own terms.

  “Alright, I’ll leave you be. Back to wrestling with runes, I suppose. I don’t want to have to deal with having to brute-force a test like the one in the trials again,” Tadrick said, sighing heavily, and prompting laughter from the others.

  “I hear that, even though I didn’t have that problem,” Sella said, moving to sit herself.

  As everyone prepared themselves, Ruethwyn picked up the engraving tools again and leaned forward. If she was going to craft an enchantment for Sella’s parents, she wanted to make sure it was done right.

  Chapter 9

  “Pardon me, Miss Essryl, but do you have a moment?”

  The voice was unexpected, even if Essryl had been aware of Minerva’s presence. Turning to face the elven woman, Essryl tilted her head curiously, looking at the willowy woman in her flowing blue dress. Minerva had dressed up, Essryl realized, and a hint of suspicion washed over her. The elven woman had been in the same areas as Essryl more often than really should’ve occurred by happenstance of late.

  “Of course, Lady Minerva,” Essryl said politely. “Is something the matter?”

  The previous day, Resvarygrath had bestowed titles of nobility on Minerva and Sinera, though the titles were being kept quiet for the moment. They didn’t want to cause a reaction from Selwyn or Ovara yet, and even more importantly, they didn’t want to frighten off Ruethwyn. That thought amused Essryl immensely, since she personally didn’t believe that anything would scare the young woman off, but she wasn’t going to object.

  Minerva was twisting a lock of hair around a finger as she smiled brightly at Essryl, her voice enthusiastic as she replied. “Oh no, of course not! At least nothing of note, anyway. I just had heard about how Lissa had helped Ressy bring us back, and it brought a thought to mind. See, Sinera and I lost all our contracts with elementals when we died, and we really need them to be at full strength and to grow more powerful. I was wondering if she might be able to help with summoning some so that we could make some new contracts and the like.”

  “Ah, that would be a problem. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that Lissa is still working out the full nature of her gift with summoning, and her results are quite inconsistent,” Essryl replied, shaking her head slightly. “She’s growing more skilled, but she still has a long way to go before she’s good at summoning. I believe it took at least two dozen attempts to get an elemental who could help My Lord, and that was mostly by accident.”

  “Drat. That would make things more difficult…” Minerva said, looking a bit crestfallen.

  “There’s another issue as well. You see, Lissa was only brought here for that task, and she has performed it. Any further tasks would be well beyond the promises that I made to her when I acquired her. Even keeping her here until after Ruethwyn attempts her rescue is stretching the limits of my promise, and I’m not entirely comfortable with that,” Essryl added after a moment, a hint of her displeasure working its way up, but she suppressed it firmly. “As far as I’m concerned, any further tasks for Lissa need to be bargained for and accompanied by recompense.”

  “Ah, that would be another reason for it. Well, I’ll have to consider. If she isn’t fully trained… ah, well,” Minerva let out a dramatic sigh, then looked at Essryl and smiled. “That being said, perhaps you could help me, Miss Essryl? You have demonic blood, from the looks of things, so might you be able to summon an elemental of that type?”

  “I see. Well, while I’d be able to do so, I’m afraid that my sire would not be interested in contracts of the nature that your atavism requires,” Essryl said, at least part of the reason Minerva was approaching her clicking into place. “She is quite powerful, and allowing herself to be summoned by a mortal for the time it would require would be quite at odds with her idea of an efficient use of her time. She’s far more interested in more… intermittent contracts that result in beings like myself.”

  “Oh! Well, that certainly is disappointing, though I can’t say that I disagree with the results,” Minerva said, smiling more as she looked Essryl over. After a moment, the elf met Essryl’s eyes and tilted her head, asking. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in meeting me for dinner this evening? I’d like to get to know you better.”

  Essryl resisted the urge to laugh at the woman. No matter how little she thought of her, Minerva was a trusted confidant of Resvarygrath’s. Laughing in her face would be a poor decision and could cause other problems. Instead, Essryl smiled and shook her head slightly. “While I do appreciate the offer, Lady Minerva, I’m afraid not for the moment. I’ve a few tasks which I need to perform today which would conflict. Perhaps we could speak further on other days, but for the moment I simply do not have time. Your introduction to the palace has caused a great many changes, and things are still unsettled.”

  “As you say. I am a little disappointed, but once things are settled…” Minerva said, letting her voice trail off as she looked at Essryl, her eyes almost like those of a hunter who’d seen their prey.

  Essryl didn’t mind, since she’d seen plenty of eyes like those. Instead, she just smiled in return, replying calmly. “Certainly. Now, I’ll have to excuse myself.”

  As she walked away, Essryl reflected on how different things were with Minerva and Sinera in the palace. She wasn’t entirely sure she liked it.

  Leaning against the doorway, Essryl’s tail flicked lazily for a few moments, then she spoke calmly. “I heard that you were preparing to leave, but I must say that I’m a bit surprised. I thought you were going to wait longer.”

  Hekara stiffened, and the fire demon looked up, her eyes narrowing slightly. The demon’s eyes looked like there were fires raging within, and her crimson skin always slightly intrigued Essryl, though she didn’t care for demons most of the time. They were far too destructive for her taste. Hekara stood, her immaterial wings of fire flexing slightly as she looked at Essryl warily.

  “Yes, I am. I’ve heard that you and the others might wish to keep Ruethwyn rather than allowing me to get my revenge, so I decided that leaving and dealing with it myself was for the best,” Hekara said, looking at Essryl in distrust. “What, are you going to try to stop me?”

  “Hardly. If you wish to leave, that’s entirely your prerogative. As to Ruethwyn… I will say that My Lord considered asking you to change your price, but I dissuaded him. One way or another, we intend to get our hands on her, whether that means raising her from the dead afterward or not. I suspect that My Lord would prefer that method, being perfectly blunt. He likely would like to alter her the way he did his current guests,” Essryl replied lazily, shaking her head and smiling more. “No, if you wish to go after Ruethwyn, you’re more than welcome to do so.”

  “Really? Then why did you come here to bother me?” Hekara asked, her eyes narrowing still more, and a finger running along the glowing lines of energy that went up her arms almost like fiery tattoos. “You and I don’t get along well.”

  “Wrong. For the most part, I don’t care about you or what you’re up to. You’re a demon, but I’ve seen plenty of demons in my life. If you hadn’t caused problems, I wouldn’t have bothered with you at all,” Essryl replied in an unhurried tone. “No, now I’m curious as to why you’re leaving early. You’re quite distinctive, and if you go into Selwyn as you are and without information to strike more accurately, you may end up being discovered early and fail to reach Ruethwyn. While I may not care much about you, I feel it’d be a shame to have that happen. You can prove a true challenge to her, after all.”

  “How very touching,” Hekara retorted, sarcasm practically dripping from her words. “I’ll have you know that I’m not going to be just charging in without thinking. I hav
e my own contacts, after all, and I’m going to use them. I’d rather leave all of you out of this, since I don’t trust you not to interfere. As to being obvious…”

  Hekara concentrated, and Essryl felt a hint of surprise as the demon’s body rippled. Her skin changed from red to light brown, her horns vanished, and her eyes changed to an unusual, but not unheard of, red, while her hair was a normal red as well. Hekara looked more like an unusual human, even if her clothing hadn’t changed. Then the demon continued in the same tone. “Not only succubi can shapeshift, you know. It might not be as easy for me, but I have a bit of talent with that type of magic.”

  “I see. While humans aren’t common in Selwyn, they’re not too uncommon, either. I’d recommend entering via the pass from Ovara, if I were you,” Essryl said, her lips pursing slightly. “Your appearance is unusual for this region, but there are enough descendants of fire elementals and dragons that most should think that’s your ancestry.”

  The demon froze for a moment, then frowned at Essryl, looking suspiciously at her. After a few moments, she asked, “Why are you trying to help? Do you truly feel that impassive about Ruethwyn? You’ve been keeping an eye on her for some time, from the rumors that I’ve heard. I find this quite suspicious, to say the least.”

  “I like Ruethwyn. I feel she has potential and could grow to be extremely powerful. It’s something I’m not going to try to hide from you, Hekara. I feel that your chances of defeating her are moderate, not good. However, without a true threat, she cannot grow,” Essryl replied, smiling at the demoness. “The encounters she’s had before this were to temper her, to sharpen her blade and see if she was worthy of my attention at all. Now, though… she’s passed all those tests. You’re going to face her, and I consider that a proper test of her blade. Will she win, and prove that she’s good enough? Or will her blade shatter, and prove that the tempering was insufficient? The only way to know is if you or another threat faces her. That’s why I’m giving you advice, Hekara; I want you to face her.”