The Ways of Mages: Starfire (10 page)

“
Does it have something to do with the food in the city
?”T’
Garen inquired.

Ryan waved his question aside angrily
.“
The food is of little concern too. Do the dead eat?  Your lives are in danger
.
”

“
We are soldiers. Our lives are always in danger
.
”

Ryan sighed
.“
Forgive me. I should have said your souls are in peril. The Dark is planning something rather nasty. And likely plan on commencing it very soon
.
”

“
How do you know this
?”
Perela asked. Duncan and
T’
Garen shared a look. Was Ryan a servant of the Dark? How did he know the Dar
k’
s plan?

Ryan gazed at Perela for a moment, his expression almost unreadable. Almost because he could not hide the pain
.“
How shall I sa
y…
I still hurt
?”
He glanced at the two other men and sighed
.“
You think I might be in league with the Dark, do
n’
t you? How else would I know that something is going to happen?  I am glad you are wary. You are not as n
aï
ve as you sometimes seem
.”
Duncan narrowed his eyes at this. Perela rested a hand gently on his arm, quietly assuring him that Rya
n’
s comment lacked validity.
 “
However
,”
Ryan continued
.“
I am not your enemy. If I was I would not warn you that this week, at some point, the Dark Ones will make their move and it will be disastrous. If you let them, they will split you and destroy you
.”
Ryan gazed directly at Duncan
.“
If I was your enemy I would keep my silence
.
”

“
Then how do you know something is going to happen
?”
Duncan asked.

Ryan closed his golden eyes, his breathing calmer. After a moment he nodded to himself. He glanced at Duncan and
T’
Garen before turning to Perela. "Would you mind shielding this tent? This is something I would rather stay with me, but you need to see that my warning is true. Please. Last tim
e
…
”
Ryan trailed off, uncharacteristically biting his lip.

Perela tilted her head slightly, thinking. Something about Rya
n’
s earnestness convinced her to do as he asked. After all, he asked.  At her look, Duncan nodded. He was on the alert for any hint of a trap. As was she. She whispered softly in Old Arathin before spreading her hands to encompass them. A pale violet bubble spread out until it met the inside wall of the tent. A bare whisper of pressure touching the nape of the me
n’
s necks.

Ryan bowed his head to her in thanks. He reached to his belt and unsheathed a short knife. The knight and retired general stiffened. Ryan raised an eyebrow at them before looking back to what he was doing. He raised the knife to his left hand and deftly cut it. Bright red blood fell and Perela was sure she saw the ma
n’
s eyes flicker black as he spok
e“
Shutzan kas s
é
i
m’
at
.”
Hear the truth of my eyes.
The blood flared into liquid fire. The light inside her bubble died when the fire blood hit the ground.

“
THIS IS HOW I KNOW
.”
Rya
n’
s voice echoed in the nothingness Perela, Duncan, and
T’
Geren found themselves in. A fire rose to enclose Perela. Faintly she could see Duncan and
T’
Garen near her as they had been in the tent. Before them stood Ryan with his head bowed. There was something about the fire that made her soul quail and shrink into the shell that was her body. The smell of sulfur assailed Perel
a’
s nose. Screams of lost souls filled the air. 

Something laughed. Something full of malice. It was clear that it had never heard of mercy or compassion. It knew nothing but darkness and the love of causing pain. It laughed. Gleefully. Perel
a’
s hands rose to her throat protectively.

Shapes came from the fire. Twisted, deformed shapes that howled like the damned. The deformed things tore men, soldiers, apart. She thought she recognized some of their faces before they died. Cold dread filled her.  In the distance she saw Duncan fighting valiantly against the tides of Dark Sons. The deformed things could only be Dark Sons. The Dark Sons were cutting through the lines of men, separating them from aiding each other.

An equine shape formed of gold white light took shape. Suddenly Perela found herself back in the tent. Duncan held her in his arms, tears flowing down her cheeks
.“I’
m sorry. Sorry
.”
She sobbed into Dunca
n’
s chest. Duncan just held her, rubbing her back. Eventually she got her tears under control and she turned to look at Ryan.

He was standing right where he had been the whole time; his golden eyes gazing down at his hands. As if feeling her gaze on him, he looked up. His eyes were fathomless and Perela got the sinking feeling that Ryan had many secrets. At the very least, he was older then nineteen. Or perhaps Seers gained older eyes because of everything they see.

“
You are a Seer
.”
She breathed. Seers were very rare. They were different from prophets in that what they saw was something that was about to happen, or had just happened. Prophets were told of distant scenes in Go
d’
s plan so that creation could work toward Him.

Ryan inclined his head, his healed left hand rubbed at his forehead.

“
What do we do
?”T’
Garen asked from where he sat on a camp stool.

“
We need to move the camp before we are caught in the net of that fire spell
.”
Perela said
.“
If I recognized that spell correctly, it was The Fires of the Damned. The Dark will probably trigger the spell during the Dark Moon night
.
”

“
Which is three days from now
.”
Duncan said grimly.  Perela nodded.

“
It looked like a wall of fire that surrounded us
.”T’
Garen observed
.“
Would us moving stop them from attacking our rear
?
”

“
Perhaps
.”
Ryan answered softly, leaning against Dunca
n’
s desk chair
.“
Perhaps they will even keep from attacking the army and instead surround the city. An impenetrable wall of hellfire. Fun, that
.
”

“
Did you See this
?”T’
Garen demanded.

“
No, but it is a viable option they have
.”
The young thief replied.

“
Then we will have to keep them from changing their focus of the spell. Do we have anything that can fight Dark Sons
?”T’
Garen asked.

“
Only the Three Swords of Power could reliably kill Dark Sons. And those were lost to antiquity
.”
Perela answered, biting her lip.

“
That is not entirely true
.”
Duncan interjected
.“
Gawi
n’
s staff could destroy Dark So
n’
s. I saw him use it in the Dunshire Woods
.
”

“
But we do not have Gawin with us. Thus, no staff
.”
Perela pointed out
.“
There are some spells that I and my father know that could help, but he is not here
.”
She started to pace slowly in thought, needing to move
.“
I will tell him the situation and see if he cannot come sooner. Having Kindra and Robert would be an added bonus. But that is only four mages between the Dark Sons and our men
.
”

“
Then why do
n’
t we split the forces
?”
Duncan suggested.

Rya
n’
s gaze snapped to him
.“
To be divided is to surely die
.
”

Duncan nodded grimly
.“
Yes, but to stay within the trap is to also die. With our camp as the enem
y’
s focus, the city should be relatively safe. My knights have little magics that could get the majority of the men into the city unseen
.”
Duncan met Rya
n’
s gaze
.“
If the Guild is willing, perhaps they could have assistance hiding. That way most of the force is in proximity to the palace.  And if the enemy decides to erect a hellfire wall around the city, then our men are already within. Meanwhile, the volunteers will keep the enem
y’
s focus
.
”

"It makes sense to me." Said T'Garen "We've know we could enter the city now for awhile now, but it would have added unneeded strain to an already stressed and starving city. But I agree, we have no choice now."

Ryan nodded slowly
.“
That may work. I will do what I can to help your men hide within the city
.”
The Seer thief promised with a bow. His gaze was shadowed with pain and sorrow, but awe was there as well. 

“
My thanks
.”
Duncan nodded
.“I’
ll call a meeting with the other leaders and then begin asking for volunteers. Perela, please find a way to get your father, Kindra, and Robert here as fast as you can
.
”

“
I’
ll go with you
.”T’
Garen said standing. The two warriors left, leaving Perela and Ryan facing each other.

“
Will we succeed
?”
She asked.

Ryan shrugged
.“
That I do
n’
t know, Lady. What I do know is that you stand a better chance now that you know then you did before
.”
He bowed to her before turning toward the brazier and stepping into it. A black gaze met hers when he looked over his shoulder
.“I’
ll be in touch
.”
The fire flared brightly. When she blinked the light haze out of her eyes, Ryan was gone.

“
What
are
you
?”
She whispered softly to the now empty room. The brazier did not answer. Perela shook her head and focused on her father.

Arathin- Plarn, Marlhema

“
Well
?”
Razyan said upon Kadrean entering the room. Razyan was on the bed and in his wolf form. To anyone else, he would have looked like a normal black timber wolf.  Something that looked terribly out of place in this room.

“
What would you have done if it was
n’
t me who came in? Yo
u’
d be very hard to miss
.”
Kadrean asked casually.

The wolf yawned
.“
I knew it was you
.”
Razya
n’
s ears perked forward
.“
Hmm, fresh baked bread an
d
…
”
The wolf sniffed
.“
And potato stew. Hand it over. Now
.”
The wolf slipped off the bed and shifted back to his natural form
.“
I am starving
.
”

Kadrean shook his head at the younger man as he pulled out the quivering ball of soup. His hand was magically relieved of its quivering burden. The bread still in Kadrea
n’
s pocket also found itself being lifted into the air and into Razya
n’
s hand. Razyan sat down on the bed again and began to eat
.“
Thank you, by the way
.”
Razyan said, lifting his hands to indicate the food there.

“
Yo
u’
re welcome
.
”

“
So what did you find out at dinner." Razyan asked Kadrean as the latter leaned against the wall next to the window
.“
I am assuming that you did ask about the girl
.”
Razyan gave him a level look.

“
I did
n’
t need to. It was mentioned just after I sat down. The people I am staying with have a son who brought it up. Granted, the lady of the house was not too pleased with him, but Liam, the son, kept going. He told a
n…
interesting story
.
”

“
Really? Do tell. I am all ears
.”
Razyan said, shifting his ears to those of a wolf.

Kadrean rolled his eyes
.“
Liam told me that these people have not had a visitor in nineteen years
.
”

Razya
n’
s eyes sharpened
.“
Nineteen years? Tha
t’
s a long time. Are you sure
?
”

“
After how the town treated me when I first came here, yeah
I’
m sure. It seems to me that the whole town has been cut off from the rest of the world somehow. At least that kind of explains why Plarn is
n’
t on the maps
.
”

“
Kind of
.”
Razyan agreed thoughtfully
.“
But what could have cut them off
?
”

“
No idea. Either it was coincidence, or it had something to do with the woman who stumbled into town
.”
Kadrean said with his head cocked thoughtfully.

“
A woman? What do you mean, a woman
?
”

“
Liam told me that a woman came nineteen years ago and, by Lia
m’
s description, she was pretty badly hurt and pregnant. She died shortly after giving birth to a little girl named Terana
.
”

Razyan, who had been sipping the last of the soup, choked
.“
What
!”
Was the only word he could say before he succumbed to a long fit of sputtering and coughing. His ears went back to normal.

“
Something wrong? Are you okay?  Can I help
?”
Kadrean asked uncertainly, moving to be of assistance.

“
N
o…I…
What did you say the chil
d’
s name was
?”
Razyan finally managed from his coughing position.

“
Terana
.”
Kadrean replied slowly.

“
Terana
.”
Razyan repeated as if he was making sure he had heard Kadrean right.

“
Yes, does that mean something to you
?
”

“
It could, is Terana the name of the girl that Zeeve believes has magic
?
”

“
Yes
.”
Said Zeev
e’
s voice from the doorway.  Both men turned to see Zeeve entering through the door that had been closed a moment before. There was no way that Zeeve could have opened the door; the handle was too high. 

“
How did you get in here
?”
Razyan asked the moleci. He turned to Kadrean before Zeeve could answer
.“
I thought you closed the door
.
”

“
I did
.”
Kadrean answered puzzled
.“
How
did
you get in here
?
”

“
I saw him at the door and I thought I could be of assistance
.”
Said a calm, almost dreamy voice. The door opened wider a second later to reveal Liam.
 “
Can I come in
?
”
 
When the two men just stared at him in stunned silence he came in and closed the door.
 “
I knew my family was hosting one visitor this evening, but I did
n’
t know there would actually be three
.
”

Razyan recovered quicker than Kadrean
.“
Sorry about barging in, but I had some things to discuss with my friend here
.
”

“
No apology is needed. Not too me anyway. So you are wizards
.”
It was a statement, not a question.

“
Uh, why would you say that
?”
Razyan asked cocking his head.

“
Well, there are many reasons why. One of you walked through the door and the other somehow came in. Either he is really good at walking through a crowded room undetected; which would suggest magic, or he flew through the window, which would demand magic
.”
There was a twinkle in Lia
m’
s eyes. He continued
.“
The greatest reason is your conversation. Specifically the mention o
f‘
magi
c’
. No normal traveler would mention it
.
”

“
How would you know
?”
Razyan asked curiously
.“
From what
I’
ve heard, there has been no traffic between Plarn and the outside world for some time
.
”

Liam smiled
.“
How would I
?”
His eyes twinkled
.“
Perhaps it is just a feeling I have. Peopl
e’
s actions say a lot, if one listens
.
”

“
Like what
?”
Zeeve inquired.

Liam looked directly at Kadrean
.“
For instance, when you first came here you said you were of Razya
n’
s Keep. When the healer said you were a wizard and my mother claimed it was impossible, you said nothing to contradict either of them
.”
Lia
m’
s head cocked
.“
One can only assume that my mothe
r’
s reaction told you to be wary about speaking your true nature. But at the same time you did not want to lie. Then at dinner, when you said you were a healer you kept from saying anything mystical. My mother said time was against you, but you said that you would look anyway. I saw in your eyes conflicting thoughts. Perhaps mother would have listened to you immediately if you said you were a healer mage, but then again, she might have panicked. Thinking that, you said nothing of it. And you
,”
He said turning to Razyan
.“
,when I came in here and called you wizards, you asked my reasons. If what I had responded with had been something you could use, you would have found a logical way to explain your presence. You did, too, bringing up Plar
n’
s isolation in your argument
.”
Liam nodded
.“
Very good, I must admit
.
” 

“
Wel
l
…
”
Said Razyan with a wry smile
.“I’
ve been out done
.
”

“
No
,”
Liam denied
.“
just caught up too
.
”

Razyan stood
.“
Thank you for soothing my pride, but give credit where it is due. You have an observant eye
.”
Liam nodded his head in thanks. Razyan extended his hand
.“
My name is Razyan Seithan and my companion you have already met, Kadrean
Né
aina
.
”

“
My name is Liam
.”
Said he, smiling cheerfully
.“
Of course, you already knew that
.”
He shook Razya
n’
s proffered hand
.“
So Raz Yaniel, what is your interest in Terana
?
”

“
What did you call me
?”
Razyan asked, shocked.

“
Raz Yaniel
.”
Liam repeated.

“
Why? Do you know what it means
?”
Razyan asked watching the other man closely. 

Liam laughed. Razyan, Kadrean, and Zeeve all felt slightly discomfited.  Liam switched from being incredibly observant to knowing things that he could
n’
t possibly know, like the dead language of Old Arathin, to vague in a matter of seconds.
 “
Do I know what it means? How can I? I am a mere headma
n’
s son, not some scholar like you
.
”

“
Then how did you know the words
?”
Razyan pushed.

Liam shrugged
.“
I just knew the root words of your name, but that does
n’
t mean I know what it means. I do
n’
t even know what Plarn means. I know it is of the Old Tongue, like your name, Kada Reando
l’
s, and Terelle Ana
f
é
’
s , but I know nothing other than that. And since we are back to Terana, what is your interest in her
?
”

“
Zeeve here thought that she might have magic
.”
Kadrean explained
.“
So does she
?”
He asked, turning his attention to the molici.

Zeeve nodded
.“
I still think she does, but I do
n’
t know for sure
.
”

“
Why not
?”
Razyan asked with a slight edge in his voice
.“
I gave you a
kadelle
and told you how to use it. Why did
n’
t you
?
”

“
You have Jeremy to thank again. He picked me up and began scolding me for first, being out in the square and then for coming back. He confuses me and I think he hates me
.”
He added
.”
Anyway, I saw Terana come in and before I could get to her, she left with her doeskin bag. She did
n’
t look happy
.”
He added as an afterthought.