Bastial Explosion (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 3) (24 page)

“You’re not coming?” Reela asked.

“There are too many other things I need to do, and I know you’ll be in good hands with Quessa Polken, a cousin of mine. She’s the one coming tomorrow.”

Many of the Humans’ jaws dropped at the mention of her name. It sounded familiar to Zoke, but he couldn’t remember why she was important.

I should probably pay more attention when they’re talking around me,
Zoke told himself. “Who is she?” he asked.

Reela’s glance went between him and Vithos. “She’s the one who went with my father when he died trying to bring Vithos out of the Krepp encampment. Remember, Zoke?”

He did then and nodded.

Vithos seemed to realize this woman had something to do with him, but he didn’t quite understand exactly how. “She try save me?” he asked.

“I know nothing about this,” Terren admitted, looking to Reela. “Quessa has had a less than reputable past. Did she have some involvement with your father’s death?”

“Not like that.” Reela urgently waved her palms. “She was helping him retrieve Vithos, though they weren’t able to, and he was killed.” Reela’s eyes lifted to the ceiling as she thought. “That was…eighteen years ago. Quessa must be quite old by now.”

“Don’t tell
her
that.” Terren had a wry smile. “And she’s only six years older than me, young lady.”

“Sorry, Headmaster Terren!” Reela yelped.

“I don’t mind, but you all need to watch your tongue around her. She comes from a side of the family that’s very sensitive to certain subjects, especially with Lansra Tarcos being her mother.” Terren raised an eyebrow. “You know…the catalyst?”

Zoke had no idea what Terren was referring to, but all the Humans seemed to except Effie. Their eyes went wide and their mouths hung open.

“What?” the little mage asked. “Who is that?”

They gawked at her in silence.

“Bastial hell, I can’t remember this stuff!” Effie complained.

“The catalyst…” Steffen said, his tone incredulous. “She was born Lansra Takary to King Sid Takary and his reluctant wife, Doree Rose. But her name was changed to ‘Lansra Tarcos’ when the Piranha—Jenick Tarcos—took power from Sid Takary. Her name was changed because Doree Rose admitted Lansra was the Piranha’s child, not Sid’s.”

Steffen waited for Effie to reply, but she merely shook her head with an expression of embarrassment.

“Liaison Wilfre went over this before the announcement of war, Eff,” Reela said.

“I was distracted by that bastard Brady during the announcement,” Effie muttered.

“Well,” Steffen continued. “Many people believe that her birth was what eventually led to the separation of Tenred and Kyrro.”

“This, make
sure
you don’t mention to Quessa.” Terren lifted a finger. “There’s some controversy within the family about which side they should fight for.”

“How is she related to you and Cleve?” Reela asked.

“My father—Cleve’s grandfather—was the brother of Quessa’s father.”

There was another silence. Zoke hoped it meant all this talk about history and family finally was done. He understood none of it.

“Any other questions about this before I go?” Terren asked. “It would be a bad idea to bring up any discussion of Quessa’s family with her.”

When no one replied, Terren gave a quick nod. “Good. Be ready to leave by tomorrow. Quessa will explain the mission to you then. Vithos, I’m overjoyed you’ve returned.” Terren held out his hand to be shaken.

Vithos pushed out his palms and waggled his hands.

When Zoke found himself snickering along with the Humans, he finally understood the humor in it.

Chapter 21:

EFFIE

By the next morning, it had become clear to Effie that Terren had failed to mention how dangerous their mission would be.

I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

Effie was all packed. She sat on Reela’s bed, waiting for her to finish neatly folding clothes and placing them in a backpack.

“I just stuff them in,” Effie admitted.

“I don’t know how you can do that. Everything gets wrinkled.”

Effie shrugged.

Steffen came in wearing a pack for his own mission. “Javy Rayvender and the Slugari should be here soon. I’m going to go meet with Jack Rose and Marratrice.”

Effie hopped off the bed to give him a hug. “Be safe down there.”

Reela was next. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Steffen laughed. “Says you.”

Reela scoffed. “What do you mean by that?”

“You and Effie were the ones who wanted to touch the Dajrik.”

“And that worked out just fine,” Effie argued.

Reela lowered her head and gave Steffen a look under raised eyebrows. “There’s a difference between stupid and adventurous.”

“Well, it’s a simple mission. I won’t be stupid or adventurous.”

“I guess it’s better to be neither than both,” Reela admitted.

Effie hummed. “I’m not so sure about that.”

Zoke popped his head in. “Are we leaving?”

“Just saying goodbye to Steffen,” Reela answered.

Steffen turned and extended his hand to the Krepp, who didn’t take it right away.

“Goodbye, Zoke.”

“You’re not coming back?”

“I am. Goodbye until we see each other again.”

“You Humans shake hands with goodbye as well?”

“Sometimes,” Steffen said.

Zoke shook his hand then. Steffen gave one look over his shoulder, smiled, and then was off.

Effie had a strange feeling watching him go.
That had better not be the last time I see him.

“Where’s Vithos?” Reela asked. “Didn’t he sleep in your room, Zoke?”

“He went to the bathhouse a while ago.” Zoke turned and left without saying more. Effie was used to it by now.

It was hard for her not to bring up Alex constantly. She’d already told Reela about their kiss in the dining hall, which Zoke had interrupted. She also told Reela that they’d met again later that evening…and they weren’t interrupted by anyone then.

Effie felt pure glee whenever she thought about him. The only problem was that she knew they would have trouble keeping their hands to themselves in the company of everyone else.

I’ve got to focus on the mission,
she told herself. The more she thought about it, the riskier she believed it was going to be. “I can’t figure out what they could have us doing in Corin Forest,” Effie said, hoping Reela had a better idea.

Reela stopped folding and brushed the hair that had fallen in front of her face. “I’ll admit I’m nervous as well.”

Effie had never said that she was nervous, though it was no surprise the psychic could sense it.

“Depending how far west we are within the forest,” Reela added, “we could practically be in Tenred territory.”

“Does it strike you as strange that Quessa Polken is the one leading us?”

Reela froze and tilted her head. “I guess I hadn’t thought about that.”

“She has to be close to forty years old,” Effie said, confused about why she was the only one concerned about Quessa’s age.

Reela turned and looked as if she was about to say something to prove Effie wrong. But her mouth simply closed after a quick breath. Then she went back to her folding.

“What?” Effie asked.

“It’s just strange to me that you’re focusing on her age,” Reela said with a light smile. “You did this with Gabby when she turned fourteen and
lawfully
became an adult, which you kept repeating.”

“I was dumbfounded she actually was an adult.”

“And are you still?” Reela had a cunning grin.

“I guess not.”
Though she still does act like a child.

“Creating expectations because of someone’s age has its purpose, but it can be misleading as well. Attributing a number of years to someone’s life is like attaching a number of miles to a distance. It’s going to be the same trip whether or not we know how far it is. People could walk hundreds of miles with nothing but weariness to show for it, while others could venture off into Raywhite Forest and experience a life-changing event before coming back the same day. When we share a story about traveling, the number of miles isn’t the focus. Age is the same way. Quessa may be forty, but I bet you’ll find that soon it’ll be the last thing on your mind.”

Reela finally finished packing and looked straight at Effie. “I feel years older than I actually am. In fact, I think most people do around our age. But I would wager all my money that Quessa feels the opposite—she feels many years younger. I don’t know enough about being forty to understand why this is, but I’m sure I will when I get to that age. As will you.”

Effie knew not to doubt her friend. “I’m sure you’re right.”

Vithos came through the door then with nothing but a towel around his waist. Effie didn’t recognize him at first, and when she did, she felt her eyes bulging. It wasn’t that he was extraordinarily handsome, though he certainly was attractive. It was the contrast between now and the night before. He was clean—and for the first time since she’d met him.

“Well, don’t you look pretty,” Effie said. He really was a pretty male, if such a thing existed.

Reela laughed and playfully smacked Effie’s arm. “Get your clothes on, Vithos. We need to leave soon.”

The Elf stood in their doorway with his head cocked, carefully listening to understand. He nodded. “Leave soon, yes. I hurry.”

Effie wondered what it would’ve been like for the other students to see a nearly naked Vithos walking out of the bathhouse. Then she realized that after the Slugari arrived later in the day, there would be far more to talk about than an Elf wearing nothing but a towel.

Alex arrived soon after. He was out of breath, and his hair was a mess.

“She’s not even here yet?” he complained. “I rushed to make it here on time for nothing.”

Effie waved him over to her and pulled his cheek down to kiss it.

Right then, Quessa opened the door to their house and stuck her head in. “I was told Effie, Reela, and others would be in here?” she loudly inquired.

Effie, Reela, and Alex came out to greet her, though the woman didn’t seem interested in anything but their names, not even offering a handshake.

Quessa had black hair that stayed so still it seemed to cling to the edges of her face. It was short, not even long enough to reach her shoulders. At first, it seemed as if she was furrowing her brow. But Effie realized there were no lines on her face, making a scowl her natural expression.

Her eyes were gray and dull, looking as if they’d seen far more than her body had to show for it. Quessa was lean and short, only slightly taller than Effie, though her arms were about twice as thick, as were her thighs. Her skin had a subtle brown tint to it that made it just darker than tan. She had on a black long-sleeved shirt and black pants to match.

When Zoke and Vithos showed themselves, Quessa glanced at them no differently than she did Effie. She learned their names, and that was it.

“Everyone ready?” Quessa asked. “We have quite a few miles to walk and a lot to discuss.”

“Ready,” Vithos replied in his rough Kreppen accent.

With that, they left the house and already were walking east toward the Fjallejon Pathway. No one said anything until they’d reached the northern gate and needed to wait for the guards to open it.

“My mother is Airy Worender,” Reela told Quessa. “She spent a lot of time looking for you after what happened.”

“Yes, I know,” Quessa replied indifferently, keeping her eyes on the opening gate ahead. “I didn’t want to be found until I’d done what she’d paid me to do.” She took in a breath and then turned to Vithos. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out of there earlier. And I’m truly sorry about your father.” Stiffly, Quessa shifted to look at Reela. “I'm sorry to you as well, and your mother.”

“I’m sure you did everything you could,” Reela said.

Quessa had begun walking forward now that the gate was open enough for them to get through. She showed no sign of wanting to reply to Reela.

“That was the only time I’ve failed,” Quessa finally admitted.

When enough time had passed without anyone speaking, Effie asked her burning question.

“Why are you the one leading this mission?” She didn’t think the question would sound rude, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.

Quessa glanced down at Effie with lowered eyebrows, as if to say, “And why do you think you deserve to be here with me?” But instead, she took a slow breath and answered, “Because I’m the best at what we need to do, and the King knows it. So does Terren.”

Now within the Fjallejon Pathway, Quessa turned her glance up each mountainside before continuing. “I wanted to wait until we were within these walls to tell you about the mission.” Her voice had lowered to nearly a whisper. “Keep your voice soft,” she told Zoke, who’d been translating for Vithos. “Although there probably aren’t any spies—either Human or Fjallejon—within this mountain, I’m going to be careful nonetheless.”