by Pedro Urvi
It flashed with an intense blue.
Lasgol blinked hard. It must have been a reflection of a moonbeam on the lake which had reached the jewel. Yes, that must be it, there’s no other light here, he thought as another tear fell on the jewel.
It flashed again.
Lasgol was surprised. This was not normal. “Did you see that?” he asked Astrid.
“Yes, blue flashes coming from your pendant.” Her eyes were half-closed and suspicious.
“I thought it was the light...”
“No, I swear it wasn’t a reflection. It came from your jewel.”
Lasgol threw his head back with a start, and the pendant slipped from his hand and bumped against his chest. As it did so there came a third flash, even more intense.
“By the Icy Gods!” Astrid cried. She reached for her weapons.
In amazement, Lasgol watched an image on the surface of the lake beginning to take shape. He was startled at this, unable to understand what was happening. The image on the water formed a circle, and inside this he could make out two figures. He could not see clearly who they were as the whole scene was misty, vague, blurred.
He gestured at it. “Be careful, it’s magic!”
She was crouching with two knives in her hands, ready to attack. “What is it?”
“I don’t know.” He took a deep breath. He felt a tingle on the back of his neck and knew that somehow he had called up some kind of magic. And it was not his own.
“Be careful,” Astrid said.
“It comes from the pendant, I’m sure of that.”
“Could it be dangerous?”
Lasgol did not know, but he could not stop looking at the image, which as if it were within a large round mirror was taking shape over the lake. He considered stepping back until he was a safe distance from that strange phenomenon.
“The pendant belonged to my mother, and she asked me not to lose it. I can’t leave now that it’s become activated. I have to stay and see what happens, what this magic does.”
“And what if it’s evil magic?”
“We’ll have to find out.” He quelled his fears and focused his attention on the image over the lake, which by now was beginning to look less misty, more definite. He realized that he knew the two figures which were now becoming clear. It was Mayra and Dakon!
“Aren’t those... your parents?”
Lasgol nodded eagerly. He concentrated on picking up everything, not only with his eyes but with all his senses. The image finished forming and they stared at the scene. From his parents’ faces, which he could now see with absolute clarity, the scene was from years before.
“It’s too dangerous, I’ve got to leave,” Mayra was telling Dakon. Lasgol recognized the room: it was in his own house, in front of a low fire.
Dakon shook his head. “No, we’ll find a way.”
“If I don’t leave I’ll condemn you both,” Mayra said. Her face was anguished.
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“I know it. He’ll kill you.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I am. You’ve got to believe me. You’ve got to trust me. That’s the best way out. For us, for the realm, I must be sure you’ll be safe, and look for some way of fighting against him.”
“I can’t lose you, my love,” Dakon said. He took her in his arms and stared into her eyes, with his own full of worry.
“You won’t lose me, we’ll see each other again. And we’ll be in touch, I promise.”
Dakon was shaking his head. “If you leave, I’ll lose you. Lasgol will lose you.”
“If I stay, you’re doomed. That much I know.”
“You have no proof that he’s what you say he is.”
“He’s a Shifter, he’s not your friend Uthar, and I know it. One day you’ll see it too, and then it’ll be too late for all of us. I must leave now. He suspects me.”
“I can’t believe it...”
“Do you love me? Do you trust me, my love?”
“With all my heart,” Dakon replied without the slightest trace of doubt in his voice.
“Then you must help me do this.”
“What have you thought of?”
“We’ll fake my death.”
Dakon sighed. “Where will you go?”
“To the Frozen Continent. I have friends there.”
“It’s too dangerous,”
“It would be more so if I were to stay. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to Lasgol or to you, my love.”
There was a long silence, Lasgol could see the pain in his father’s eyes, the anguish at this separation and perhaps the loss forever of the woman he loved more than his own life.
“Are you absolutely sure that Uthar is a Shifter?”
“I am.”
“Very well, then. I’ll support you, although I don’t believe it and it seems crazy to me. I love you and I’ll always support you, however difficult the situation may be.”
“Thank you, my love,” Mayra said, and kissed him passionately.
“When?” Dakon asked resignedly.
“In three days.”
“All right. I’ll get things ready.”
The image began to turn misty again.
“No, I want to see more!” Lasgol shouted. “Don’t go away!”
“Take it easy, it could be a trick,” Astrid said.
To his despair, the image blurred and after a while began to fade slowly before his eyes. He swore under his breath as it finally vanished.
“You saw it, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I saw it too.” She went to the spot where the image had vanished. “There’s no trace left.”
“What’s the meaning of this magic? Of the jewel, of the images?”
She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know what to say. D’you think what we saw really happened?”
“Yes, I think it really did. That’s the feeling I got, as if I’d been seeing a scene from the past between my parents, a real one.”
“Your mother gave you that pendant... it must have been for some reason.”
“I wish I knew what the reason was.” Feeling troubled and baffled, he tried to activate the jewel again.
“Are you trying to make it show another image?”
“Yes, but I can’t. I’m going to try with my Gift.”
He could not. Nothing worked. He was frustrated, confused, sad and at the same time happy to have seen his parents.
Astrid smiled at him and put her hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find out what secret is hidden in the jewel. Now we’d better go back.”
“Yeah, that’d be the most sensible thing.”
They went back to the Lair, and neither said a word on the way.
“Today you’re back later than usual,” Ingrid told them. “But I saved you some dinner.”
“Thanks,” Lasgol replied, more seriously than he had intended.
They sat down to eat. He could not stop thinking about what had happened, and nor could Astrid.
“Everything all right?” Ingrid asked suspiciously. “You’re both very serious.”
Lasgol and Astrid glanced at one another. “We need to tell you about something that’s happened,” he said.
“Something bad?”
“No... well, I’m not sure... I hope it’s not bad.”
“I’m here for whatever you need, you know that.”
Lasgol nodded. “I know. Thanks.”
“So tell me, what happened?”
Lasgol told her what had happened with his mother’s pendant.
“Hmmm... I don’t think it’s necessarily bad...” Ingrid said. She was nodding.
“What do you mean, it’s not bad?” a voice thundered behind them. “It’s bloody magic!”
They spun around and found Viggo listening to them.
“Viggo!” Ingrid said accusingly.
“I’ve told you a thousand times not to eavesdrop on me,” Lasgol said angrily.
“If I don’t eaves
drop, how am I going to know what you’re up to?”
“It’s wrong,” Astrid said.
“It’s nothing personal, I spy on everybody.”
“That sounds like a memory,” said Ingrid.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”
“And how did that memory end up inside a pendant?” Viggo asked. “I’ll tell you how: through magic, the kind that gets us into trouble.”
“Yeah, the pendant seems bewitched,” said Astrid.
“Or enchanted,” Lasgol said.
“What’s the difference?” asked Ingrid.
“Who cares?” Viggo snapped. “They’re both magic, and that means they’re both bad.”
“In other words, it’s magic,” said Ingrid.
“It doesn’t seem evil,” Astrid said.
“Let’s not jump to that conclusion,” Viggo said. “We don’t know what else it does.”
“So far it’s only showed me a scene with my parents, a memory.”
“And who’s to say it can’t trap you in one, so that you disappear.”
“I doubt it very much. I’ve never heard of any magic that did that.”
“The fact that you don’t know, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” Viggo pointed out.
“Are you going to go on studying the object?” Ingrid asked.
Lasgol thought for a moment and nodded slowly. “I have to, it’s my parents...”
Astrid put her arm around his shoulder. “We understand.”
“Well, I don’t understand,” Viggo objected. “Better to leave magic alone. Suppose you lose your mind in the enchantment?”
“We could agree on a middle position,” Ingrid said.
“And that would be...?”
“That you only use it when one of us is with you to help you if things go wrong.”
Lasgol looked at the three of them and nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“Perfect,” said Ingrid. “We agree.”
“You wait and see, we’re going to end up in another mess... and magic to top it all...” Viggo grumbled, and left.
“Don’t pay any attention to him,” Astrid said. “Everything’ll be all right.”
Lasgol smiled at her. He hoped it would be. They would have to wait and see.
Chapter 22
Aren, the Green Stalker – or Chameleon, as the specialization was better known – was preparing traps. The exercise consisted of setting traps (which were all-but-impossible to distinguish on the ground) as fast as he could, then vanishing into the vegetation as if he had never been there.
Ingrid and Lasgol had been granted permission to watch the training. They were paying close attention to how Aren was doing it and had been very surprised. Both the traps and the trapper himself vanished as if they had never been there. Of course, he did not do it fast enough, and nor did he hide himself well enough, according to Engla, who was scolding him sternly.
Lasgol looked at Ingrid in puzzlement. “Can you see them?”
“Neither him nor the trap, and that’s even though I know where they are, because I’ve been watching him.”
“Well, it looks as if as far as Engla’s concerned, he’s not doing it well enough.”
“I get the impression that nobody does things well enough for Engla.”
Lasgol nodded. “The Elders are very demanding.”
“In particular Engla and Ivar.”
“Yeah, Gisli is a lot nicer.”
“Lucky you.”
“I’m very happy with the way Master Gisli teaches us.”
“I’m not going to criticize Master Ivar... his methods are rough, but they get results, I can tell you.”
They saw Jorgen, the Forest Assassin, practicing. Although in terms of literally seeing him they saw very little, because his skill at moving through the undergrowth unnoticed had improved so much that it was almost impossible to make him out. The most impressive thing of all was that while someone could stay as still as a statue and pass unnoticed among the vegetation, to manage it while in rapid movement was a real achievement.
“If he goes on improving,” Lasgol commented, “soon we won’t see him at all.”
“I find it’s a real struggle to see where he’s going, and that’s when I’m concentrating as hard as I can. It’s as if the forest had swallowed him up.”
“Yeah, but if you went in there, I bet he’d appear out of thin air and slit your throat.”
“That’s very true. Remind me not to go into a forest with a hidden Forest Assassin in it.”
Lasgol smiled. “That’ll never happen.”
“Oh, you just wait and see. Unlikely things do happen.”
“Well, if they send me to capture a Forest Assassin, I swear I’m not going in.”
“So what would you do, then?”
Lasgol was thoughtful. “I’d set the forest on fire and wait for him to come out.”
Ingrid nodded, smiling. “You and Egil are both pretty bright. That’s a very good idea.”
Lasgol smiled. “Not so much being bright, more an idea born of desperation.”
“Sometimes those are the best ones,” Ingrid said, laughing.
Suddenly they saw Jorgen climbing a tree with enviable skill and speed. Lasgol himself had always been very good at climbing trees and anything high, and even so, he was surprised by Jorgen’s skill. Equally suddenly, he let himself fall from a branch, carrying a knife and an axe which looked lighter and thinner than the usual ones. The moment he landed, he launched two thrusts in the air and then rolled over. A moment later he climbed the tree very rapidly once again, then went on to repeat the drop and the attack.
“Remind me not to go under a tree with Jorgen in it,” Ingrid said admiringly.
“I need to improve my climbing skills.”
Engla went over to Jorgen and corrected both the way he was climbing the tree and the attacking movement. This woman never seemed to be satisfied. Jorgen listened closely and tried to carry out the corrections he had been given.
“Change of exercise,” she ordered.
Jorgen put his weapons away in his belt and took the short bow he carried on his back. He nocked an arrow, and after three steps he had vanished into the vegetation. Suddenly Engla threw an apple to the right of the spot where he had vanished. An arrow flew out of the vegetation and hit the apple before it touched the ground.
“Wow!” Lasgol cried.
“He split it in two...” Ingrid said, openmouthed.
“And I can’t see Jorgen.”
“Nor me.”
Engla threw a second apple into the forest, rather further. Another arrow flew out through the vegetation and impaled the apple on a tree.
“Impressive!” cried Ingrid.
“I still can’t see him.”
“Me neither.”
“We really are going to have to set the forest on fire,” said Lasgol.
Ingrid nodded. “We certainly are. I wouldn’t even dream of going into any forest with Jorgen hidden in it.”
Lasgol saw Engla walking across to where Astrid was preparing her weapons, and suddenly his stomach turned. Not because he had seen Astrid, who always made him feel better, but because he was afraid they were going to practice with poisons, and he feared for her. A single mistake in the composition of the poison or the antidote and she could end up maimed or dead.
Ingrid had seen the tension on his face. “Don’t worry, everything’ll be all right.”
“I’m not so sure...”
“Engla’s an expert Elder, and Astrid’s an exceptional pupil. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
Lasgol did not feel easy in the least, however much he tried to control his nerves.
“Show me your weapons and preparations,” Engla said to Astrid.
Astrid nodded respectfully and showed the Elder her three sets of weapons and the three phials with the preparations.
“Did you mix them in the exact proportions and order as shown in the tomes?”
“Yes, Ma’
am.”
“Let’s hope you’re right, or else you’ll pay in your own flesh and blood.”
Lasgol was not at all happy about this. He took a step forward to stop the exercise, but Ingrid held him back firmly.
“You can’t interfere.”
“She’s going to hurt herself.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s her choice.”
“I can’t let anything happen to her.”
“If you try to step in, they’ll both hate you for it and never forgive you.”
Lasgol stared back at her blankly. “Both? Why?”
“Elder Engla, for interrupting her lesson. She won’t forgive you. It’s her class, her area of expertise. You can’t interrupt her lesson. And Astrid won’t forgive you for not trusting her ability to do the task properly. I wouldn’t do it. You mustn’t interfere. Let what must happen, happen. It’s not your prerogative to stand in her way.”
Lasgol realized that she was right. He cursed under his breath.
“Fine...” he muttered grudgingly.
Engla gestured to Astrid to take off her black leather gloves. Astrid obeyed, revealing her white hands.
“First phial. Let’s see its effects.”
Astrid nodded, and wiped the two curved knives clean with a special cloth soaked in a liquid. The purpose was to eliminate any trace of previous ingredients on the edge of the weapons. She took the first container from her belt, spread the ointment over the curved edges of the knives and then put the container away. With a swift movement she rubbed one dagger against the other. There was a flash, and an instant later the edges of the two knives were aflame.
Ingrid and Lasgol, open-mouthed, stared at the elemental knives she had created.
Engla nodded in satisfaction. “Fire is lethal, the best companion for an Elemental Assassin. It can be used on almost all occasions. An exceptional ally. Let’s see if you’ve managed to get the right mix.”
