Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2 (18 page)

Daven stirred, sat up, and Kasile instantly
fluttered over to him. He was terrified to see her and the pile of ashes all
around him, but she shushed him and calmed his nerves even while the much older
man struggled to assemble a presentable report. Her motherly facade was
scratched when she noticed a burn mark on his forehead.

“Why don't you show this to your friend in
the infirmary?” she suggested sweetly. “Tell her I sent you to the Royal Magic
Tower and you had a run-in with a fire-breathing monster.” She winked. “I'll
think she'll appreciate it.”

The boy smiled widely and winked in return.
“I will, Your Majesty!”

He jumped up, then remembered his manners,
and bent over to bow. Kasile caught him by the arm before he could fall. The
new recruit scratched the back of his neck, then dashed out the door and into
someone else.

“Daven!”

“Karley? What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you, but don't get the
wrong idea! I didn't come because I was worried about you. You make us recruits
look bad with your lack of discipline.” It wasn't until then that she noticed
Kasile. “Your Majesty! Uh...” She pushed Daven's head down and then bowed her
own. “Please forgive him, Your Majesty. He's very sorry, aren't you?”

“Yes... I am.”

“He's an idiot, to be sure, but he's
sincere in his desire to serve you.”

“I don't mind. The flame of ambition leads
us to greatness. As for yourself...”

“M-me, Your Majesty?”

“Soldiers who look after their comrades are
prime officer material.”

“T-thank you, Your Majesty!” Karley grabbed
Daven's ear and pulled him toward the door. “Hurry up! If the drill sergeant
finds out you were here, he'll be pissed!”

Henpecked husband?
Eric asked
Kasile.

Most likely.

The Royal Mage at last stood at attention in
front of Kasile with a stack of papers in a folder under his arm. He remained
in that pose until Kasile gestured for him to speak. She did and he talked
about his preliminary research and the unique approach of his formula and also
about Basilard's “rude refusal” to share any secret Bladi clan knowledge and
his “effrontery” for claiming that his goal was impossible until Kasile cut him
off and asked him for a model to illustrate his words. He paused and looked
about the calf-deep ash that remained of his test subjects, struggling to find
a way to explain his inability to grant her request without pointing out that
she was the reason why. Eric mentally chuckled at the glee radiating from their
link.

He must have become a greater mage
before either of us were born
...
how frustrating must it be to take
orders from one much younger?

Shadow Dengel appeared beside the Royal
Mage and scowled at the younger mages.
I know just how frustrating it is and
how ungrateful youth can be to their elders.

“Ciceron Squattor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?” he asked with dread.

“Your results and Chief Bladi's recommendation
are disheartening. I had hoped you would succeed, but now I see that is not
possible. You are hereby ordered to cease and desist your current project and
rejoin the broader effort to reverse the effects of mana mutation. Understand?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Shadow Dengel glowered at the young queen.
It
pains me to see such a brilliant mind shackled to such an impudent girl.
The head turned ninety degrees to sneer at Eric.
Take a good look, novice,
for this will be YOU in time.

At once, Kasile was all
benevolent smiles. “Wonderful. As you are a first-rate mage, I expect
first-rate work. I’m looking forward to what you will present at the Mana
Mutation Summit.”

She beckoned Eric and
left the room. They descended the tower in silence. Kasile held up her skirts
with one hand and used the other to send a message on her scry. Eric watched,
bemused as always by the contrast. At the threshold of the tower, she stood and
turned to face her friend.

“Thanks for coming today. I will summon you
again tomorrow for pressing matters of state.”

Eric grinned. “You mean listening to more
rants and giving you more hugs?”

She blushed and looked
away. “Oh, shut up.”

She brushed off stray
ash, checked her make-up, took another calming breath, and then gestured for
Eric to open the door for her. He obliged his friend “Kas” and Her Majesty the
Queen walked out into the open. The ordercraft team was waiting for her.

“Royal Ordercraft Team
Leader Kimberly.”

The blonde stepped
forward. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Was ordercraft present
in my Royal Mage tower in the last hour?”

Kimberly gestured to
Daniel and pointed at the tower. She nodded and raised her right hand to the
bottom of the tower. It glowed with eldritch light and then fired a needle-thin
beam of the same at the base. It traced the tower to its top and then back
again. The eldritch light faded and she reported, “Ordercraft was present on
the tower you refer to within the time period you designated. It was enough for
The Trickster to spot and inform Your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Ms. Daniel.
Leader Kimberly, are you and or your team responsible for any illegal and
unsanctioned ordercraft in the last hour such as this incident?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Are you able to discover
who is?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Will you tell me as
soon as you find out?”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Dismissed.”

The five of them mimed
a curtsey and walked away. Kasile brought her scry back out and checked news
feeds. Eric stayed where he was. Ordercraft was one of the subjects not
available at the public library and even the internet offered little more than
speculation. Aside from who gave it and the basics of what it did, he didn’t
know much about it. He couldn't imagine why Kasile would take them at their
word.

Geis! That's it,
isn't it?

Shadow Dengel
manifested in front of him with a condescending look on his face.
Aww! Look
at the little human! He thinks he is brilliant for stating the obvious.

Yes.
Kasile
didn't look away from her device. Indeed, to an onlooker, it would seem she was
ignoring Eric.
Deception leads to confusion and promise-breaking leads to
discord. Both are chaotic acts and only the chaotic may partake in them. Order
does not abide lies.

 The five ordercrafters
suddenly tripped because the ground was pulled out from under their feet, like
a rug. When they stood up, their eye color matched their hair color and both
were solid without any grey. Tasio appeared before them as a giant full-length
mirror and they were so shocked at their appearance they brought out their own
mirrors. By the time Eric arrived to scold him, they curtseyed in gratitude.

“Overturner of Fortune,”
they chorused.

The mirror bent over in
a bow.” Ladies.” It disappeared in a
poof.

Eric looked from one to
the other. “What was that all about?”

The four looked to
their leader, who said, “That's classified.” 

Identity. That’s what it is. The hair
color, the mannerisms, the repeated use of their names is about identity.
They’re deliberately distinguishing themselves to diminish the side effects of
using Order’s power. It must help them kept their free will safe from him.

Eric nodded and walked
back to the main castle building. Tasio poofed into existence beside him. There
was silence as the mage ignored him and The Trickster threw pomegranates into
the air and caught them in his mouth. Finally, Tasio said, “You're welcome.”

“If you knew I was in
trouble, then you could have helped me yourself.”

“That wouldn't be any
fun. Now I get to enjoy holy-flame-arrow gossip when I deflate this evening's
royal soufflé.”

“Don't you have
anything better to do?”

“Yes, and I'm doing it
right now.” He straightened out and slung an arm around Eric's shoulder.
“Nothing could be more important than spending quality time with my two
chosen.”

“Kallen's in the
castle?”

Tasio nodded. “She's
playing 'princess and handmaiden' with Emily in the royal bed chamber. Judging
from the sounds I heard, they were having fun.”

An image popped into
Eric's head and suddenly, he felt hot and uncomfortable. Then Tasio chuckled
and he face-palmed.

“I can't believe I fell
for that...”

Tasio made his stomach
into a looking glass and displayed Kallen sitting in Kasile's room. She wearing
one of Kasile's gowns and sitting at Kasile's table and drinking Kasile's tea, which
Emily, also dressed royally, was serving her. Then she looked directly at Eric
and said, “Is that a staff in your pants or do I just look that good?”

A servant walked in on
the vision and shouted, “That's Her Majesty's dress!”

“Uh-oh!”

Kallen grabbed Emily's
wrist and jumped out of the rear window and out of the looking glass. Now in
free fall from the queen’s penthouse, Kallen chanted a wind spell and their voluminous
skirts functioned as parachutes for the long way down. Emily was horrifically embarrassed,
but Kallen waved to the people who had dropped whatever they were doing to
stare at the poser princesses floating over their heads. When they finally
landed, Kallen hiked up her skirts and shouted, “Merry mischief to all, and to
all a good night!”

She ran out of the
castle and across the drawbridge unopposed. All the guards were either too
surprised, too jaded, or too busy laughing to stop them.

Why me!? And why
today!?
Kasile shouted in Eric's head.
GET HIM OUT OF HERE!

Wincing, Eric said, “Hey,
Tasio, how would you like to embarrass me in front of Annala?”

Tasio perked up like a
schoolboy and clapped his hands together. “Ohhh! That sounds like fun!”

“Great! Let's go over
to the school.”

You owe me for this,
Kas.

I know...I
know...just keep him away from the castle until tomorrow!

Side by side with the
Founder of Practical Jokes, Eric walked across the courtyard. From soldier to
messenger and merchant to craftsman and all the other people in service to the crown,
he was given a wide berth. Everyone stared at him as if he were as strange as
the two girls that just ran by.

Do you have
something special going on?

Yes. Formal approval
for the Mana Mutation Summit. The Trickster hovering over me would either seal
the deal or drive them away in panic.

Yes,
Tasio
thought to them both.
It is a toss-up.

Eric paused so suddenly
that a rumor sprang up about him having soul pains because of Dengel. Kasile
stopped so suddenly that one of her ladies-in-waiting tripped on her hem and
fell backwards on the lady behind her, thus causing a domino effect of silk and
jewels. Tasio laughed at both.
You're surprised? I'm the one who set up this
link and Eric's standing right next to me. Don't worry; I won't say anything to
anybody – unless it would be funny.

Eric grabbed Tasio by
the ear and pulled hard enough to invert the trickster's position. Suddenly, he
was staring at the ground while his feet dangled in the air. Eric looked him in
the eyes and the age-old deity felt the full force of a young mortal's Evil
Eye.

“Don't you dare
eavesdrop,
Tasio
. What Kasile says to me over our private line is
private.
If you ever expose her secrets, I'll make you regret it.”

Tasio's eyes turned
malevolent and his harmless smile shifted to a cruel grimace.

“How, pray tell, will
you do that?”

“You have something
planned for me. I don't know what it is, but I'd wager it's worth more to you
than whatever cheap amusement you could mine from Kasile. When I find out what
it is, I will refuse to help you on principle.”

Tasio teleported out of
Eric's grasp and then reappeared in front of him, smiling a genuinely happy
smile. “If it means that much to you, then of course I'll stay out of your
private talk. I value your opinion as one of my chosen.”

The pair of them
crossed the threshold of the castle into the town proper. As they walked and
floated down the street, crowds parted to let them pass. Whether human,
beastfolk, or otherwise, people whispered and sent suspicious and/or annoyed
and/or amused looks. Many of them took pictures and Eric knew they would be all
over the net in seconds.

“Why'd you choose me
for that anyway? Is it because I'm the ideal straight man?”

Tasio shrugged. “I like
making friends with kindred spirits. Doesn't everyone?”

Eric stopped again.
“Kindred spirit?
Me
?” Tasio nodded. “You're a blob of chaos that pranks
people for fun and occasionally helps them, also for fun. I'm nothing like
you.”

Tasio grinned again.
“Oh yes you are. Remember the prank you pulled on Culmus when he was asleep in
the infirmary? Or how about your secondary motivation in the New Scepter
Competition? Finally, just today, you had a great laugh at Daven's expense
while goading him into greater confidence and unlocking his Videlicet Mens,
thus making him the envy of all the other recruits and showing his potential to
their instructor. “

All three moments
played themselves over in Eric's mind. He did all those things without
provocation. Messing with Culmus had been a delight and he deeply enjoyed
messing with Daven. No matter how he turned it over, he couldn't refute The
Trickster's words.

“We're not so
different, you and I. We both enjoy a Trickster's Fun.”

Before Eric could
respond, he disappeared.

I'm not a trickster,
I'm not a trickster, I'm not a trickster.
Absentmindedly, he weaved through
crowds without anyone noticing him and when he crossed streets, he did so by
slipping in the gap between carts. In the full light of day, he subconsciously
made himself invisible.
I'm not a trick – oww!

 He was so busy living
in denial that he bumped into someone and they both fell over. The girl checked
her shoelaces before standing up, then reached behind her back for anything taped
there. She looked around but didn’t see anyone. There was no one was around
except the invisible mercenary.

“The Trickster plays me
for a fool…” she muttered.

She hurried through the
doors of Roalt Public High, muttering about teachers who might notice her
absence.

Oh yeah...Tasio was
going to embarrass me in front of Annala...
A grin that wouldn't look out
of place on The Trickster's face spread across his own.
As long as I'm
here...I'll continue the Archivist's plan. It's my civic duty.

Inside, he found
posters advertising the Pan Human-Elf Cultural Awareness Club, a.k.a. the
Dengel Haters. Its founding members were listed as Annala Enaz and Norej
Darwoss. Beneath them and set against a wall was a signup sheet with pamphlets
about the new club. It had several names. Shadow Dengel clawed it in vain.

Ungrateful worms! I
pray that Nulso violates her in the most humiliating way imaginable!

Next to the sign-up
sheet was a copy of the
Darwoss Herald
. The front page read “
Dengel
Tymh the Villain
” and featured the
List of Infamy
. He read it while
waiting for the class to end. He hadn’t heard any of it from Dengel himself,
but none of it surprised him. The bell rang and students left their classrooms
for their next stops. Many of them carried the paper copies of the
Darwoss
Herald
and he suspected others had digital copies.

He pushed through the
crowds to find his friends and eventually found two of them waiting outside the
girl's restroom. Revas was wearing a high-collared shirt with drooping sleeves
while his scaly friend had a button-up shirt and slacks. Both of them were
reading the
Darwoss Herald
.

“Let me guess: School
Picture Day.”

They nodded and
returned to reading. He leaned next to them, but after a minute, he fidgeted.
What
if Nulso is waiting for her there and he's dragged her off to –

Remedial human!
Not
a full day has passed since his promise. Order does not abide lies. If you ask
an ordercrafter to break their promise, you may as well ask a fish to fly
because you will discover the same result. It is precisely this sort of
stupidity that will prevent you from surpassing me.

His patience expired
just as the door opened. Out stepped Annala in a white sundress and small
heels. Eric's blood quickened at the sight of her and when she saw Eric, she
blushed and tugged an ear.

“I hope you didn’t mind
waiting for me to get changed.”

“Not at all.”

The four of them walked
to the gym where other students milled about and talked while waiting for the
photographer to show up. Eric spied on them all with Magic Hearing and was
pleased to hear Dengel gossip. He was
not
pleased to hear how many boys
signed up solely to spend time with its female founder.

“What's this club
about?”

“Increasing human and
elf awareness of each other’s culture and history. Our first topic is Dengel's
legacy of villainy and that the truth behind his title as a ‘Founder of
Magecraft’ is neither clean nor deserved. It's something humans need to know
about for the sake of their full education and cultural respect, and Norej is
providing the platform.”

“The Darwoss are hardly
the best ambassadors for any message short of bigotry.”

“I know. That's why
you're going to convince the Heleti to help.”

“I am? But Nolien won't
–”

Annala pouted with
puppy-dog eyes. “Please?”

Eric groaned and looked
away. “Fine. Whatever you want.”

Annala smiled.
“Thanks.”

The photo studio had
been set up in advance: a color background and velvet ground cover surrounded
by lamps with a camera set up on a tripod at the opposite end from the
background. Each area was marked off with colored tape, cones, and signs. The
only thing out of place was an over-hanging microphone. Basilard walked in and
fiddled with it, his fingers sparking golden-brown. Eric rubbed his eyes and it
was gone.