Joint Intentions (Book 9) (32 page)

Holli carefully considered the sorceress' words. She believed the same thing, but she saw a way to challenge Vraya without arguing over Neltus' intentions.

"Are you willing to assist us in bringing Neltus back to Burbon?"

"I am."

"And is this simply because you wish to help us?"

"That, and I believe Neltus is dangerous. They say a man with nothing to lose is very dangerous, but a man who could lose everything that is truly important to him, and knows it, is beyond deadly."

"Then with the power at our disposal—your and Jure's magic, Enin's wisdom, and Ryson's senses—we should be able to prevail."

"I'm not so sure," Ryson revealed. "Rul Saattan admitted he didn't know where Neltus was. He said Neltus was hiding. If Neltus could hide from Rul, I'm not sure we can find him."

"I believe I can help in that regard," Enin stated. "Neltus once held a slice of my magic. He returned it to me, but we were connected for quite some time. I know what his magic feels like."

"How does that help us?" Ryson wondered.

"I would guess he is already casting spells again. He probably can't help himself. I know I couldn't. I can't tell you how hard it is for me not to ask Jure to direct magic into me again... so that I might cast another spell."

"Even if he is casting spells, I still don't see how that can help us."

"Jure can pull the echoes of magic from across the land. He can filter them through me. If I sense Neltus' magic, we can follow it back to where Neltus is."

Jure found the suggestion intriguing but also somewhat overwhelming in scope.

"Neltus could be anywhere," the elder wizard declared. "How long is it going to take to pull magic from every region of Uton? We could be doing this for days, seasons, more."

"We won't be pulling from every region," Enin advised. "This is Neltus. He is attached to the land. We're not going to find him near the oceans, and not in the wooded areas. There's a chance he could be in the valleys, but my guess is he's in the desert, in the high mountains, or on an empty plain. He's going to want to reconnect with the ground and he's not going to want to have to deal with a lot of water or trees."

"What if he's in a cave to escape the light?" Jure asked, trying to imagine where the red magic might be the strongest.

"It's still dark outside, and will be for some time," Enin replied as he considered his own appreciation of the magical hues. "No, he's not in a cave; too much shadow. He's outside on some barren area, pulling magic directly from the top of the land. He's definitely in a place where the crimson magic is the strongest. We start our search in those regions."

"I have a question," Ryson announced. "If Enin can find Neltus, wouldn't Rul be able to as well? As Reiculf, he once controlled Neltus. The daokiln took over his body and used his magic. And as Ansas, he put a slice of his own ebony magic inside of Neltus' crimson core."

"Reiculf is gone and so is Ansas," Enin answered. "They are a new entity with a new core of magic. I don't think it would be as easy for Rul to isolate Neltus' unique essence, though I could be wrong."

"And what happens then?"

"Then it's a race to find Neltus, one we don't want to lose. We should start right away, though I do have one request. Jure, could you refresh me with a spell? It's very late and I haven't slept. Without my magic, I find I need rest, but you can cast a spell on me to reenergize me. Then we can begin."

Jure nodded and cast a simple spell of light which refreshed Enin, made the coreless wizard feel as if he had slept peacefully for an entire night. Jure then turned his attention to the others.

"Anyone else?"

"I am in no need," Holli responded.

"I can cast my own spell, but thank you for the offer," Vraya answered.

"It's not going to work on me," Linda noted.

"Ryson?"

"No, that's alright," the delver paused, but then took the initiative to address his own needs. "I'm not going to be able to help you with searching magic, but I'd like to talk to Vraya in private. Will you need her?"

"Not while we search," Enin replied.

Ryson looked first to his wife.

"Is it okay if I talk with her alone?"

Linda nodded. She would have liked to have been part of the conversation, but she understood. Vraya was watching Ryson, not the both of them, and it was his right to know exactly why without anyone else interfering.

"Thanks." Ryson then turned to Vraya. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," the sorceress answered.

"Then let's go outside."

Rather than stand in one place, Ryson recommended that Vraya walk with him through the streets of Burbon while they spoke. It was still quite dark and a long time before sunrise. Other than a few guards on patrol, they had the streets to themselves and could talk in private.

"I imagine there are quite a few things you want to know about me," Vraya offered, noticing Ryson's discomfort, "but you're not sure where to start."

"Actually, I don't know how to deal with you at all," Ryson admitted. "I could start with asking about your life, your family... if you have any. Or I could ask you about how you've used your magic in the past. I could even ask you about the future, what is it you hope to achieve. The problem is, I'm not sure how I'd view any of your answers. Part of it is trust."

"We've talked about that before."

"Yes, we have, but I still don't really know you. We haven't gone a full day since we first met."

"That's true."

"But you've been watching me longer than that... substantially longer."

"So you feel I have you at a disadvantage?"

"Don't you?"

"I suppose I do, but it's not an advantage I wish to use against you."

"How can I be sure?" Ryson wondered.

"I guess you can't. But it seems to me you just met Rul Saattan. You asked him questions and you accepted his answers."

"He said he was paying off a debt."

"He could have lied about that. If he's a combination of Baannat, Ansas, and Reiculf, I doubt he's the most trustworthy of creatures."

"True, but my instincts told me he meant what he said."

"And what if I told you I owe you a great debt as well, one that can't be repaid by simply answering a few questions."

"Do you?"

"I do," the sorceress admitted.

"For what?"

"For many things. I've learned more than I could ever expect by watching you. I've learned to control my magic far better than I could have ever imagined."

"But I don't use magic."

"Not in the ways a spell caster does, but there's still magic within you, and you've used it as a delver would. That in itself is important. It's shown me how to use magic based on my abilities, my skills."

"How so?"

"I've watched you deal with things like illusions; spells that attempted to fool your senses. You've learned to overcome such things. When you knew you couldn't rely on what you saw, you focused on what you could hear, smell... or feel. The magic may be a mystery to you, but you've learned to recognize it. That alone has allowed you to improve your abilities."

"That's me, what about you?"

"Recognizing the existence of magic and the effects of spells is the same as understanding changes to our circumstances. If I can understand what causes certain transformations the way you can sense your surroundings, I can better understand the power of my ebony energy."

"And what else have you learned from watching me?"

"That it's important to hold to my beliefs, as you have held to yours. You believe there's an importance attached to life, every life, no matter what the form. You've been placed in very difficult circumstances which have challenged that belief."

Ryson decided to test the sorceress again, to see just how many of his conflicts and confrontations the sorceress witnessed.

"And I couldn't always stick to it."

"I don't think that's true."

"You didn't see me kill an entire army of shags?"

"Actually, I did. It was... a difficult moment."

"I also destroyed several inferns."

"I know."

"Didn't their lives count?"

"They counted, but what were you supposed to do? You killed the shags because they were going to slaughter algors. You destroyed the inferns because they would have burned down an entire city and everyone in it. You saved lives."

"That's what I tell myself. Did you know that too?"

"I can't read your mind, if that's what you're asking, but I listened to your discussions with Sy Fenden when he was still alive. The two of you argued several times over where a line should be drawn in taking a life."

"I didn't save Sy either. I failed in that regard as well."

"You tend to dwell on your failures far more than your accomplishments. You're a great deal like Holli in that regard."

"My failures have cost lives."

"And your accomplishments have saved many more of them."

"So now you're trying to flatter me?"

"I'm telling you the truth. What do your instincts say about that?"

"I don't have to rely on my instincts. I know what happened. You haven't lied... yet."

"But you're worried I still might. Why? What do your instincts say about me?"

"You make me uncomfortable," Ryson admitted.

"Because I've been watching you?"

"That's part of it, but not all of it."

Vraya smiled. She almost reached out to the delver, placed her hand on his shoulder, but she resisted. It would have only made things worse.

"I understand," she offered.

"Do you? Because I don't, and that's why we need to talk."

"And we'll get to that, I promise, but that's not how we should start."

"How
should
we start?"

Vraya continued to walk, didn't even slow her pace, but she knew she was about to touch upon a subject which would raise the delver's concerns. It was a topic of personal significance, the issue which was at the heart of Ryson's initial departure from Burbon.

"Let's start with what you witnessed in Demonspawn when you went to fight Reiculf," she announced with a somber tone. "Remember, I was watching you through the magic of your sword. I saw what you saw."

"What did you see?"

"I saw your soul, just as you did. And in that, I learned perhaps more than I ever could."

Just as Vraya guessed, Ryson was not quite ready to discuss that particular topic, at least not at that moment. He remained, as he plainly said, uncomfortable with the sorceress. Speaking about his soul wasn't going to ease that discomfort. He decided to move in a different path, though somewhat related.

"Many people have seen things like that without keeping watch over me. The spirit of Sy Fenden willingly shows himself to the people of Burbon."

"And the people of Burbon view the ghost captain as their protector. They don't necessarily see their own soul within the spirit."

"But it's the same thing."

"I don't think you believe that."

"Are you going to tell me what I believe now?"

"No, but you've talked about honesty, and I have to point out discrepancies in what you've said. When you first saw Sy's spirit, it created a host of questions for you, most of them weren't even clear to you. You understood those questions far better after you saw your own soul. Isn't that basically what you said to Captain Klusac when you left Burbon... and when you spoke to Reader Rachael?"

"And this is exactly what I mean about you having me at a disadvantage. Those were private conversations. What gave you the right to listen?"

"Nothing gave me the right, but the magic of your sword allowed for it. I didn't cast a specific sight spell. I followed the echoes and reflections from the enchantment of your sword."

"And that makes it alright... because you were able to follow some enchantment?"

"That's a difficult question. How would you answer it? You have the ears of a delver. You've listened to conversations that weren't meant for your ears. You did so because you had the ability."

"I did so because it was necessary."

"And it was necessary for me to watch you. If I didn't, Holli and Jure may have never survived Neltus' attack in the desert. I was the one who freed them from the sand. They might still be buried if I didn't watch you as I have."

"Just how many of my private conversations have you listened to?"

"Probably more than you like, but less than you think."

"That's not an accurate answer."

"I never kept count."

"But it's clearly more than you can remember," Ryson challenged.

Vraya showed no hostility, but she didn't back down either. She answered with a willingness to help the delver find the answers he sought.

"I remember each one, because each one has changed me, even if it was only slightly. Change is my province, but do you really want me to stand here and go through them so I can give you a number?"

"No, but I'm trying to understand all this," Ryson said with growing frustration. "I've asked you why you've been watching me, and you give me these answers that make it sound like you've been some kind of apprentice hoping to learn from me."

"That's fairly accurate."

"But I'm not a spell caster. You should have been watching Enin, or Jure, or even Ansas."

"To a degree, I've studied all of them."

"But you didn't watch them like you watched me."

"No, I didn't."

"So what is it you can learn from me that you can't learn from them?"

Vraya decided to reveal as much as possible, even though she feared it might add to the delver's confusion.

"I told you that you've used magic as a delver, but do you know what magic really is?"

"No, I have no idea, and I don't see..."

"Give me a chance. It may explain a great deal. If you understand how I use the magic, you'll know me better. You'll also understand why I can cast in black energy, and that's clearly a point of concern for you."

"Fine."

Vraya looked down the dark alleys and then up at the night sky. The stars were dazzling, but she found comfort in the blackness around the tiny dots of light. It reminded her of the power within her, and she spoke of it with great appreciation and respect.

"Magic is a special kind of force waiting to be manipulated. Without direction, it just flows across the land not even creating as much as a small breeze. With direction, a small portion of it can become a powerful storm, a raging fire, a tidal wave."

"I already know that, but that doesn't explain why you cast in ebony magic, or even how you can cast spells at all."

"The ability to use magic depends on a multitude of factors," the sorceress explained. "Creativity, imagination, composure, self-awareness, focus, determination; all of these play a role, and they have to line up in a way that will allow for a grasp of the energy. An individual with too much imagination and not enough focus won't be able to place the proper constraints on the energy. Those with great concentration and discipline but little creativity aren't able to mold the energy into a usable form."

"What about the difference in colors? Why do you cast in black, while Holli casts in green, and Neltus casts in red?"

"That's usually nothing more than the inherent talents you're born with. Some people are natural born swimmers, others know how to play music just by ear. They never practiced. It's just something they have within them."

"And that's all there is to it?"

"Of course not. The core is what you're blessed with, but utilizing it takes practice. It's also a skill that can be developed with knowledge and experience, but there's something else as well. The ability to cast magic is reflected in the connection between a belief and the actual substance of that belief."

"I don't understand," Ryson admitted.

"Let me give you an example; Reader Rachael of Connel believes in the Book of Godson. The book is the substance of her belief. Her faith is the belief itself. If she were to cast spells based on her faith, the power of those spells would be defined by the strength of the link between her actual faith and the object of that faith. That's what the ability to cast spells really is... the measure of a belief, not the belief itself."

"I've never heard that before."

"That's because few people see the magic the way I do."

"Then how do you know you're right?"

"I don't, but I rely on my instincts, just as you do."

Ryson knew it was difficult to argue with instincts, but he could always rely on facts. He considered Vraya's theory in regard to those he knew, and he offered his reservations in an even more personal nature.

"Linda is immune to magic. Does that mean she doesn't believe in anything?"

"Of course not. You know that's not true."

"But then you're saying her belief isn't that strong, not even strong enough to be measured."

"Actually it's the opposite. Her belief is so strong there's no way to measure it. That's why she's immune."

"And what is it she believes in so strongly?"

"You."

Ryson didn't even pause. He was ready with a response as if he already knew what the sorceress was going to say.

"That's the obvious answer, but it might not be completely accurate. I don't question her feelings towards me, but we've been through some tough times. She's had her struggles, just like me. I know she has her doubts about our lives together."