Techromancy Scrolls: Adept (17 page)

I took a moment to take it all in as Celeste and Bex dismounted. I blinked and looked down and Celeste was looking up at me with a tinge of concern in her questioning face. I shrugged and said, my voice cracking a bit as my eyes watered, “It's my home.” Some sort of understanding, like that of a kindred spirit, crossed her face and she just nodded once then put her hands up toward me.

I smiled at her, she treated me like I was so fragile, but I wasn't going to argue with a woman who looked that cute and dangerous all at the same time. I swung my leg over and hopped down and she lowered me to the ground by my waist like I didn't weigh anything.

She looked around then made an ushering motion with her hands toward the door and I led them in, porters trailing behind us. She said, “Any gear or supplies needed to tend the chickens and those big hogs out there needs to be left behind for the new herder. The porters will do an inventory after we get packed up so that your mother can be compensated fairly for the livestock and supplies.”

I nodded absently as I looked around at the place. She said, “Go ahead and collect any personal mementos that you or your mother may need right away. The rest will be shipped to your family manor.”

I sat on the bed and pulled the quilt up to my face and inhaled. It smelled of mother and home. I draped it over my arm and looked around. We didn't really own too much. I looked at her and then pointed at mother's previously always locked chest. “That's mother's most precious things. I think they are from her prior life as a Lady.” That still sounded surreal to me.

She nodded then pointed to a porter then the chest. “That needs to be delivered to Lady Margret first thing.” The boy nodded and grabbed it and headed out.

I grabbed my tool pouch and slung it over my shoulder. This got a raised eyebrow of curiosity from my Lady. I unslung it and opened the flap for her and Bex to look in. “It is my scavenging tools. It was my father's kit.”

Bex whistled and held up the spyglass and a brass device I was never quite sure what it was. Celeste arched an eyebrow. “Sextant?”

I shrugged. “I'm not quite sure. Some of the tools, I don't know what they are for.”

Bex looked excited about some of my gear. I hung it back over my shoulder and looked around. Was there anything else I needed? There was my saddle outside, but I had a war saddle now. The porters started packing up the heater and my eyes fell to the floorboards.

I stepped toward them then hesitated. Would we be in trouble for this? Celeste furrowed her brow. “What is it?”

I shrugged and admitted it to her. Somebody was going to find it so I may as well come clean. “Our treasure.”

Bex perked up at that and my Lady repeated, “Your treasure.” I nodded and stepped over and got on my knees.

I paused as I reached down. “Nobody knows we have these.” Then I pulled up the loose floorboard and pulled the chest out. I sat it in front of Celeste and placed my hand on top of hers when she went to open it. I pleaded with my eyes. “If we are to be punished for having these, mother won't survive the whipping post. I will take the lashes for the family.”

The furrows in her brow deepened and she looked a little concerned as she glanced at the porters then Bex then me. Bex cleared his throat. “Give us the room please.” The porters cleared out. I was a little saddened to see that they already had most of our stuff already packed up and moved out. We had so little to mark our lives.

When they shut the door, Celeste gently grabbed my hand, which was still covering hers and moved it to the side. She hesitated. “What is it, Laney?”

I whispered, “Our greatest family treasure.”

She steeled herself and opened the chest to reveal our collection of tomes. When I was younger we had but four. But somehow mother obtained more and more over the years to read to us and to give us lessons and have Jace and I read to her. I don't know where she kept getting them or where they came from. But our tiny library grew from those original four.

I reached out and ran my fingers lovingly along the cracking and faded spines and whispered reverently, “Knowledge.”

Bex was all smiles and Celeste may as well have been carved from stone as she pulled out a couple and looked at the titles. Then she finally smiled and pulled out a child's tome with its half missing cover and brittle pages. One of the one's mother used to teach us letters. Each page had a letter in the alphabet, then a colorful caricature of an animal who's name started with the letter.

I grinned at it. “Mother used that to teach me the letters. P is my favorite.” She flipped through carefully, looking at the amazing animals from the Before Times. It is said that thousands, if not millions of species were wiped from the Earth. Like the A for Aardvark, and the L for Lion. Then she stopped on P and gave me a genuine smile.

I said in a reflective tone, “P is for platypus.”

She looked at the picture. “What kind of animal is it? It has the bill of a duck and the tail of a beaver.”

I shrugged. “One of the many creatures lost to the Impact. It looks to be a noble animal that had evolved to overcome any adversity with its varied evolution. I imagine it was quite adaptable... and formidable like a wolverine.” She nodded in agreement with my assessment as she looked at the picture.

She thumbed through the other pages, stopping at T for tiger. A great striped feline, like the cougars and lynx which still exist. Cousins to the little barn cat strays that infest Cheap Quarter and the Trough. They are tolerated because they keep the rat and mouse population down to almost nothing. Some people even treat them as pets.

Bex stopped her on the last page. “A striped horse?” Then he read, “Zebra.” We were all silent when she shut the tome, then Bex murmured. “All the wonders lost to us... oh, to have lived in that time.” We nodded.

Celeste put it back in the chest and shut it then produced a stick of red wax and a ring from a tunic pocket. I saw emerald energy shimmering as it dripped from her eyes and the end of the wax heated. She pushed the stick across the seam of the lid and then pushed the ring into the soft wax, leaving behind her house crest.

She placed the wax and ring back into her tunic pocket then called out as her beautiful energies faded, “Porter.” A young man came in quickly and inclined his head in a bow. She made sure he saw the seal on the chest. “This is to go directly to Squire Laney's quarters. It is her family treasure so treat it as such.” He nodded, took the chest, and went back out.

I looked nervously at her. “How will I be punished?”

She shook her head. “It is not a crime to have a tome or scroll. They are salvage like anything from the Before. And it is certainly no crime to seek knowledge. True, the scholars would want the tomes in the library of the Techromancy Scrolls, but it is no law. They pay in gold coin for any writings of the great wizards of the Before.”

Then she grinned at me. “As you said, it is your family's treasure. And what a treasure it is.” I thought about that, mother wouldn't be in trouble for hiding them away? Then I wondered. Now that I supposedly had access to the great library. Would we need them anymore?

I looked around and said, “That's really it.” They both looked around the small space then followed me outside. I murmured, “I'll need to sell my new saddle.”

I stuffed the quilt into a saddle bag and Celeste chuckled when I failed to mount, and offered her cupped hands. She teased, “We'll need to get you a little booster stool or a smaller horse more your size.”

I looked down at her, trying hard not to smile as I said, “Oh hush you, Goliath is mine.” I don't know why I had such pride in a horse I had owned less than a week. I think it was because he was truly mine. Borne out through the most terrifying day of my life.

She was nothing but teasing grins as she mounted her charger like he was part of her. Bex wasn't quite as smooth. He looked at us and smiled. “I thought I'd be doing heavy lifting all morning.” Then his smile faltered and looked back at the cottage with an almost upset look on his face. I think he was just then realizing the disparity between the life of the serfs and the nobles.

I remembered the parchment in my saddlebags and then turned Goliath and headed up a cross lane toward the Belt, Celeste and Bex at either side. Two lanes up I stopped at a rabbit farm on a double lot. A handsomely rugged, muscled man looked up from tending the hutches. He quickly stuffed a rabbit in a cage and wiped his hands on his tunic as he hustled over.

His eyes went wide when he saw me then he looked at the others and bowed. “My Ladies, My Lord.” His eyes drifted up to mine. “What can I do for you today?”

I rolled my eyes and slid off Goliath and landed with an extra hop. I retrieved the parchment then I slugged the man in the shoulder. “It's still Laney, Devon, you big oaf. Just... different clothes.”

He said, “Oh, Laney? Is that you way down there?” He chuckled at his short joke as he put a hand on my head when I swung at his gut, missing at the distance his long arm held me at. I slapped his hand away playfully. Devon was the eldest son of Joseph and Ursula Herder. He would inherit the rabbit farm from them, which is why I didn't recommend him. But his younger brother Hank, who was my age, would never be his own herder unless he won a lottery when a herder of the keep died without heirs.

I asked, “So where's Hank? We have important business with him today.” I strode past him toward the cottage, making sure to stomp his foot as I went past. Celeste chuckled at the grunt Devon made as he started hopping around. She and Bex dismounted but stayed with the horses.

Devon pushed me from behind and bellowed, “Hank, get your lazy ass out here. Knights to see you.”

Hank opened the door quickly and his mother stepped out with him, they both had looks of concern and curiosity until Hank saw it was me. I guess his father was not home. Hank shook his head in amazement. “Laney. Wow, I heard but it was so hard to believe.” Then he quickly corrected, “Lady Laney.” I blushed. He saw Celeste and Bex and quickly bowed.

I said, “This is for being the troublemaker of Cheap Quarter.” I slapped the parchment to his chest. He stared at it, looking nervous. Then at his family. Then he handed it back. “What does it say?” There was some waver to his voice.

I smiled at him, he always teased me for being “brainy” since I had learned to read. So I always gave him a hard time for the teasing. I held the parchment up as Devon and his mother stood beside him.

I started to read, trying not to smile as I did so, “Be it known that on this nineteenth day after Three Sisters Conjunction, twenty-seven and forty-two years post Impact, as witnessed by Assayer of the Keep, Bernadine of Wexbury, and Clerk of Records, Reinhardt of Wexbury; that Wexbury Keep has awarded to one Hank Herder of the keep, son of Jopseph and Ursula Herder of Cheap Quarter, Farm Lot number sixteen and the livestock therein as its master, upon recommendation of Lady Laney of Wexbury.”

I slapped the parchment back on his chest and he took it. He and his family just stared at it, stunned. I got to the horses as I heard Ursula start to cry. Celeste boosted me into the saddle as I tried not to cry myself. This meant everything to them, and Hank would now be able to take a wife now that he had a place to call his own.

My colleagues mounted up and I took a deep breath, getting myself under control and I turned back in my saddle. “Take care of the farm, she's a good home.” Then I added, my voice wavering slightly, “Congratulations.”

I couldn't do this anymore. With that act, my home was gone. It was Hank's now, to raise his own family. Everything I knew was gone, I was a new person with a new life that I was so ill prepared for. I kicked Goliath's sides and gave him all the rein he wanted. He reared up slightly and then his hooves were pounding the cobblestones with mighty thrums as I galloped off. Celeste and Bex pacing me.

Celeste reached over and slowed Goliath when we turned and started crossing the great bridge at the Belt up toward Lord's Way near the Market. I turned to her, trying to wipe away the tears with my tunic. She tilted her head and Bex was silent. I shrugged and laughed out a final tear. “It was my home.”

She just nodded and we proceeded to the castle in silence, her making sure to be in my view at all times, giving silent consolation to me. I don't know if she realized just how much that helped or that she was even doing it.

The next two months went by in a rush. I was a woman of two worlds. The physical pain of working out and training to become a Knight of the Realm on one side, and the exhausting mental exercises and probing of my magic capabilities on the other. On the plus side, I had free range of the great library. It was like heaven, all that knowledge, and nobody, not even Emily had been through everything that was hidden within it.

Mother was getting better by the day with only one relapse and Jace had already become known as the fastest runner for the Knights. He had an uncanny knack of finding shortcuts through the alleys and lanes to deliver and pick up whatever the knights required.

One thing that Prime Techromancer determined with certainty was that I was among the weakest of all the Techroromancers, my power was on par and slightly less than what Celeste possessed. But the variety of my abilities crossed the whole spectrum. Electricity seemed to feed me and not harm me, so if I could get a boost from any electrical source, I could convert that into magic potential so long as it wasn't too much.

I told him what my mother had shared with me that power was power, whether it was electricity or magic. That we could generate electricity but not magic. He had a sly grin for me when I shared that, telling me it was most likely him that told her that.

I was also telekinetic when it came to objects made of any type of metal. Which we already knew from the whirlwinds of items that would swirl around me when I lost control of my emotions.

Bex and I were sort of the joke among the Squires. Most of what knights do is physical, and between Bex and I, our muscles might have added up to half of a Squire. He was using his intellect to make up the difference with all sorts of odd inventions. He couldn't wield magic so he said he would just have to become a self-made Techromancer.

I was fascinated by his gadgets though his clumsiness and absentmindedness were a recipe for spectacular failures.

I had been gaining more agility and strength through the rigorous physical training Celeste was putting me through and I was sort of liking how much stronger I felt.

Sir Bowyn was released back to duty and he was just as smug but capable as I remembered. He did not go easy on me in training since Celeste was his partner and any mistakes I made could put her in danger.

I was knocked out of my musings by Celeste's growl as she came slashing and hacking at me with a blunted practice sword. I raised my small blunted sword to deflect each strike and rolled away. Bowyn was at my back and I barely got my sword up behind me to deflect a blow that would have done some damage, blunt sword or not.

I couldn't defend against two! I tried retreating and blocked a couple strikes. The other squires were chuckling at me. Celeste started hacking down at me with both hands over and over as she drove me to my knees then rested her blade on my shoulder lightly.

I looked up at her panting and sweating. She had only a smile for me as she nodded once and said, “Good. You are getting better.” Bowyn offered an arm and pulled me to my feet like I was a child's toy.

I gasped out between breaths, “Why am I only learning to defend? Why aren't you teaching me to fight?”

She looked upset at the question and she stepped up to me and snapped out in a quiet tone that only Bowyn and I could hear, “Because you didn't choose this Laney. I chose it for you. I didn't know any other way to save you, and I don't want you to become a killing machine because of my decision. Concentrate on your magics and gaining knowledge in your studies. That is where your heart is. I see your eyes light up every time you are in the library.”

Then she spoke in a normal voice as she slapped my bottom with the flat of her blade, causing me to squeak. “Besides, defense is the most important thing in any fight. If the enemy cannot strike you, they cannot injure you. That is as powerful a weapon as anything, and can win the day.”

I was frustrated, I wanted to be as great a knight as her. To make her proud. I knew I was the butt of the jokes in the barracks. I countered, “So I'm to hide from a fight while the knights protect me? What use is that?”

She bounced her blade in her palm, looking frustrated like Donovan did when I wasn't grasping a lesson. The she grinned and handed me her practice weapon and drew her longsword. “Bowyn, Verna, Kristof, Tennison, Colby, Tremaine. Assist, please. First blood skips a patrol and eats in the Market on me.”

They all grinned and swords were drawn. Deadly blades. Then Verna squinted at her blade. “You using magic shit or not?”

I backed away as they all started forming a circle around her. Celeste said with a grin, “I'll not use my magics so your precious Gertrude is safe.” I grinned, Verna called her massive broadsword Gertrude for reasons that eluded me.

Celeste walked in a circle with her blade extended, lightly clanging her blade on theirs, marking out her reach as she spoke, “Laney is not allowed to spar with her magics so neither will I. She believes that defense is a waste of time and not a weapon for a Knight of the Realm. I thought a demonstration was required.”

I muttered, “I didn't say that.” She crinkled her nose at me. She was teasing.

Then she explained to me, “I will not attack and will only defend.” I swallowed looking at all the deadly blades pointed at my Lady. She could really get hurt here without the practice swords. The other squires stepped up beside me by the wall.

Bex asked nervously, “Is this wise?” I shared a concerned look with him.

Mason said, “A silver says she doesn't last a minute. My master, Tennison will make mincemeat of her without her magic.”

Without looking I spat in my hand and offered it, he spit into his and shook. The other two, Kent and Brenda offered the same. Shit. Three silver? That would hurt my coin purse. Then I looked at my lady with her cocky grin as she batted Gertrude side to side with the tip of her sword. I said, “Done and done.” We shook and I looked to Bex. “Sixty seconds.” He pulled his protective gauntlet back to reveal the monstrosity of a wrist clock he had constructed. It also doubled as a timer.

Then Celeste called out as more knights were moving over to watch the match. “Laney, start us if you would.” Then she reminded the others, “First blood.” They all nodded and I saw all of their muscles tense. I held up a glove and dropped it to the ground. All of them had one eye on the glove one on my Lady.

It was like a bomb went off as the glove hit the ground. Three of the Knights struck at her instantly. She had somehow got two of them crossed up and blocked them with her blade. The third went wide when she deflected it with a long dagger that was almost as long as my sword. The tip of Colby's blade hit Tennison's leg, where he stood to the side preparing to strike when the other three disengaged.

Celeste pirouetted away laughing, dodging another slashing sword. “You're out Tennison.” The huge knight looked down at his leg to see a small patch of blood.

He lowered his blade then looked at Colby in shock. “Son of a bitch Colby! You cut me!”

Colby grimaced at that as he tried to press the attack while Tennison put his sword across his broad shoulders and draped his hands over it as he walked over to my side. He growled at me, “She did that on purpose to get me out of there before I could take a swing.” I looked up at the man with a touch of concern and shrugged.

He chuckled at me and bumped my hip, causing me to stumble. I backhanded his gut and realized that it must be what backhanding a stone must feel like. He was nothing but smiles.

What followed was amazing. The Knights hacked, slashed, thrusted, and swept with their blades. Celeste was spinning and blocking everything, including strikes at her back. She seemed to be always in motion so she was aware of everyone's locations and stances. She caught Kristof's slashing arm between blades, but I could see her pull back quickly during the block so she didn't damage him.

She said, “Kristof is out!” He looked at the back of his arm and saw a spot of blood.

He lowered his weapon and stepped back. “Damn it!”

Verna chuckled. “No love here hon. Don't worry, I'll take you out to eat in the Market on Celeste in a...”

My Lady almost sang out, “Verna is out!”

We all laughed loudly when the muscular woman said, “God damn it, Colby! You're supposed to be on our...”

“You're out Colby!” My Lady interrupted.

Everyone laughed as Verna grinned. “Good.”

Then Bex called out, “One minute.” I held out my hand blindly as I watched the fight. A few seconds later I had three silver in my hand and grumbling from three Squires.

Now with only two opponents, Celeste started just stepping around in a circle, with both hands outstretched, her smile was wicked. She kept her blade on Tremaine's and deflected a strike from Bowyn with her parrying blade.

When he was off balance she pulled her sword from Tremaine's. He thrust suddenly but she was ready and she swirled her blade around his almost faster than I could follow. She moved her hand to the side in a sweeping motion and Tremaine's sword flew from his hand to embed in a wooden sparring log. “You're out Tremaine.” I was about to ask when I remembered that in first blood, disarmed is the same as wounded.

Now it was Celeste and Bowyn. I knew this is what Bowyn was waiting for. My Lady has told me on many occasions that she is the third best swordsman in the realm. Tennison is number one and Bowyn is number two. That is why she used Colby to eliminate Tennison before the big man waded in with that sword of his, which was bigger than me.

I asked once, why Tennison wasn't in charge of the mobile battalion then, since he was a Techno Knight too. She had winked at me and said, “While he is better with a blade, he does not have fine control of his magics. I am better with my magic. So my skills combined will defeat his on the field every time.”

Bowyn could move freely now without allies getting in the way and the two partners clashed. It was a thing of beauty like a deadly dance as their swords met time and again. She had sheathed her parrying blade and was switching from hand to hand with her sword as he made probing attacks. She blocked and parried every blow though there were some close calls. It went on for over five minutes.

Then in a series of swift strikes ending in a backhanded spin, all the action stopped as he held his blade delicately at the back of her neck. He said smugly, “You're out.”

There was cheering and she turned around with a big smile and clasped his hand. “Well done.”

I blinked. “He beat her.”

Tennison slapped my shoulder, leaving his mammoth hand there. “Of course he did. She wasn't allowed to attack. This was a demonstration in defense. Once it got down to one on one, she couldn't use the others against him. Think about what she just showed you. It could save your life one day.”

The two Knights were all smiles as they joined us. Celeste looked at me with a smirk. “How much did we win?”

I grinned hugely at her. I held up the three silver. She cocked an eyebrow in appreciation. She took a silver from my hand and flicked it to Bowyn. “There's your meal in the Market.” She clasped hands with all the participants. “Well done everyone.”

Then she looked at all the squires. “Defense is life. It doesn't matter how strong or fast an enemy is, if they can't hit you, all they are doing is tiring themselves out. It takes a third of the energy to block a strike than to swing your sword. If you can wear down an opponent before attacking, you have the upper hand.”

We started to disperse when Mason opened his pie hole again when he saw me looking at Celeste with pride. “She may be tough, but that doesn't translate to the ducks.” That was what the other Squires had taken to calling Bex and me, since we were such odd ducks to be squires. Most of the knights disciplined them, explaining that a brother at arms is to be respected, they may have your back one day.

Celeste stood straight. “Hold!”

Mason paled, he knew better than to talk down to me when she was in earshot. “Squire Laney, which squire holds rank?”

I blushed, this was going to end badly in the future, the others would double the harassment. I said softly, “I do as Techno Knight Ascendant.”

She said, “Are you going to allow him to speak to you in a disrespectful manner?” What the hell Celeste? Just let me go hide.

She looked at Mason then the other two. “Do you believe you could best Bex, and Laney, a techno knight? Speak plainly, nobody will admonish you.”

Mason nodded. “Everyone knows she is the weakest magic user in the ranks. She doesn't know how to wield that toothpick of hers properly. And Bex is a disgrace to the Knights of the Realm with those toys of his.

Tennison started looming over Mason's back with anger and sadness in his eyes. He looked to be about to discipline his squire, but Celeste caught his eyes and shook her head.

Celeste looked at the three then at me and Bex. “So, if Lord Bexington were allowed to use his toys, and Lady Laney were allowed to use her... weak magic, the three of you could take them?”

They all murmured agreement. Celeste was trying to get us killed, I realized that now. She looked to all the masters of the squires, “Shall we put it to the test then?”