K’ivin awoke with a start. He was lying on the desk and the ink from his book had rubbed off on the side of his face as he slept. He had, it seemed, dozed off while reading, but for how long, he didn’t know. At first, K’ivin couldn’t discern what had woken him. It took a few moments before he realized that someone was tapping very softly on his balcony doors. Still groggy, he rose and walked over to the glass doors, swinging them open. He hoped that it would be Mikiva, but instead he found a man standing at the threshold. He was tall, with sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes. His clothing, hair and skin were covered with dust and grime that spoke of hard riding.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” K’ivin asked, not entirely sure that this wasn’t a dream.

Had he been fully awake, he likely would have been more alarmed by a stranger so close to his private chambers.

“Sorry to disturb you. My name is Av’ry March, and I needed to speak to you, but I didn’t want to wake the entire household, or meet the guards, for that matter,” the stranger brushed some of the dust off his cloak. “You are K’ivin Tiran, correct? Advisor to the emperor?”

“Yes, yes I am.”

K’ivin was feeling a little off balance right now, exhaustion had slowed his thoughts to a crawl, and he was having a hard time making head or tails of what was happening. Who would break in here? And why? If this was an assassin, he was extraordinarily poor at it. “Look, I don’t know who told you about this entrance, but you do not belong here,” he frowned. “If you wish to speak with me, you can go through the proper channels. In the morning. Now, I am going to ask you to leave and inform you that if you take another step, you will wake up in the dungeons.”

K’ivin moved to close the door.

“Wait!” Av’ry wisely didn’t make a move to stop the door from closing, but the urgency in his voice did the job anyhow. “Please just hear me out. I can help you.”

“How could you possibly help me?”

“I have information that could stop this war,” he blurted.

K’ivin hesitated, his hand on the chord to summon the guards. He couldn’t put his finger on why, but something made him want to hear the man out. He just seemed… sincere, trustworthy. And the name rung a bell somewhere in his mind, though he couldn’t quite place it at the moment. It was madness, that he would even consider accepting help from a stranger on his balcony in the middle of the night. But hadn’t he often found information and assistance from unusual sources? It was one reason that he had such an effective intelligence network, he took risks that others wouldn’t consider. And if ever there was a time he needed to take a chance, it was now. So, against his better judgement, K’ivin stepped back from the door, hit the switch that deactivated the wards preventing intruders from crossing his threshold, and gestured for his odd guest to enter.

*

The sun peered over the horizon, spreading a rosy blush across the sky. Avrinly rose from her bed and walked over to her window. It had the best view in the house, showing the back fields, mountain vista, the stables, and the forest around the back road. It was a beautiful morning, clement and tranquil; but only for a moment before the peace was shattered by a piercing cry. Looking down on the lawn, she saw a servant girl running out of the stable, screaming hysterically. Avrinly immediately threw on her robes and rushed outside. The girl, whose name she could not recall, was sitting just outside the stables, sobbing hysterically.

“What happened here?” Avrinly demanded.

“The blood, it’s…it’s everywhere,” she gasped.

“Blood? What are you talking about?” Avrinly snapped.

An accident in the stables, perhaps? The girl was too upset to answer, her words unintelligible between wracking sobs. Avrinly sighed,

“Fine, I’ll check for myself.”

She walked into the barn and instantly saw what the servant had meant. C’arren lay in the straw, a pool of blood drying around him and a nasty wound in his throat. He was obviously dead. There was nothing that she could do for him now; even magical healing had its limits. Avrinly turned and walked back out and onto the lawn. The estate’s guards had already been summoned, and they were gathering outside the stable as she emerged. She turned to them,

“Does anyone know why C’arren was in the stables last night?”

The men exchanged uncomfortable glances. Finally, all eyes settled on one man who cleared his throat uncomfortably,

“He, uh, he said something about Jade making an escape attempt. We all thought it was just another of his excuses to harass her. He was always saying things like that, and it isn’t like anyone can really escape, anyway.”

Avrinly glanced around the yard.

“And where is Jade now?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her today,” the guard, B’yern, replied. “When C’arren didn’t come back by morning I began searching for him. I…”

Avrinly’s eyes widened, fear closed on her like a frigid embrace.

“You should have come to me with this immediately! Find Jade. Now!” she snapped. “Have everyone look. Search everywhere.”

The servants scrambled immediately, knowing better than to question their lady. Avrinly paced back and forth, agitated. After a moment she made a decision and strode back into the house. Walking into her bedroom, she shook T’emlin awake.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“Get up,” she commanded.

“What’s going on?” T’emlin rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“She’s gone.”

“Who?”

“Jade.”

“Are you sure?” T’emlin’s voice rose in alarm.

“No, not 100%. They are checking the house for her, but it doesn’t look promising. Someone killed C’arren in the stable last night, it had to be her.”

“Well, there is no way she could leave! She is magically bound to our property. She must be hiding, afraid to be found after what she did. We’ll find her in time,” T’emlin reasoned.

Avrinly was not reassured,

“I don’t know about that… Why would she do this unless she had a plan?”

“You know how C’arren was, perhaps he left her no choice. He didn’t understand how dangerous she was. How could he?”

“You are right. Maybe it is nothing,” Avrinly nodded firmly, trying to believe her own words. “She was forced to kill him and is now in hiding. We’ll find her once the grounds have been searched. But you should get dressed, prepare for the worst anyway.”

“Of course,” T’emlin nodded and got out of bed.

Avrinly was pacing her sitting room when finally, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Avrinly called.

“My lady, my lord,” B’yern bowed low.

“Do you have her?” Avrinly asked urgently.

“No one can find her anywhere,” B’yern shook his head. “We cannot find our nameless guest, either.”

“What?! She’s gone, too?” Avrinly scowled.

“Yes, along with two of our best horses. The only thing we did find is this,” B’yern handed over a small stone disc, a rune carved into both faces.

Avrinly took it in her hand and her face went ghostly pale,

“Where did you find this?”

“It was under Jade’s cot, with this note,” B’yern handed a folded sheet of paper to the mistress of the house.

Avrinly opened the paper and read silently,

I suppose that you must be wondering where I am by now. Don’t bother searching, I am long gone. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity for some time now, so I really should thank T’emlin for bringing home the stray. It took some work, but I managed to convince the poor thing that I knew her; that I had once served her family. I promised that if she did what I said, I would take her to them. She was eager to help me escape, after that. Haven’t decided what I’ll do with her once we are gone. Maybe I’ll sell her into slavery for some fast gold. Wouldn’t that be ironic?

I’ll miss all of you terribly. Don’t forget to write.

Jade

“What is this, some kind of joke?” Avrinly snapped.

“If it is, the joke’s on us,” T’emlin muttered.

She spun around to face T’emlin,

“This is a serious problem.”

“That is something of an understatement, my dear,” T’emlin raised an eyebrow.

“Get the stone and wait, I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Of course,” T’emlin walked out of the room.

Avrinly returned her attention to B’yern,

“I need you to go to town and find G’arik for me. You know him, correct?”

“Yes. I also know I’ll need coin. Lots of coin.”

“Of course,” Avrinly handed the guard a pouch full of gold pieces. “Tell him it is urgent. I will double that, if he is here in less than an hour.”

B’yern’s eyes widened, but he held his tongue and simply nodded before he departed.

Those tasks taken care of, the lady went off to find her husband. He was in the basement, the perfect place to establish a magical link, mainly because it was quiet and dark, both conditions that facilitated the process.

“Do you have it?” she asked.

T’emlin nodded, handing her a dark river rock. She took it in her hands, feeling the familiar smoothness. Avrinly sat cross legged on the floor; the faster she got this over with, the better. If her mistress discovered this had been kept from her, even for a short time, Avrinly knew her life would be forfeit. It may be anyway. She focused on the stone, it was a direct link to Istaria, imbued with her own power. It would guide her to the Queen’s mind through the vastness of the Stream. Avrinly closed her eyes and went through the careful steps to retreat from her body, until finally she felt her spirit slide away slowly, dipping into the Stream. That was always a curious sensation, like diving into freezing water, so cold it burned. Most people agreed that the Stream was pure energy, the wellspring of magic from which all people drew their life force. Beyond that, the plane was a mystery, but there were 2 quirks to the Stream that combined to make it very useful: all mages could turn their senses to that plane at will, and physical distance had no meaning. As long as you had a way to find someone, like her river rock, you could converse with any mage. You couldn’t see them, but you could hear them as easily as if they were beside you, no matter where they were in the world. Eyes closed, Avrinly listened for the connection to be made. Finally, she heard what she had been waiting for, the voice of her Queen.

“What do you wish of me, Avrinly?” Istaria demanded. “I am extremely busy right now.”

“We have a problem, Majesty,” Avrinly said quietly.

“What kind of a problem?”

“She’s gone. She escaped.”

“Who’s gone?”

“Who do you think?”

“Jade?! How could you let this happen?!” Istaria’s voice pitched up in irritation and alarm.

“I am sorry,” Avrinly hung her head, she didn’t know what else to say.

“Don’t apologize,” Istaria purred, her voice now dangerously pleasant. “The mistake was mine. I entrusted this task to you, because I thought you could handle it. I apologize for over-estimating your worth,” Istaria sniffed disdainfully. “It is not an error that I will repeat.”

“No, please, Majesty, I can take care of this. It is just a temporary issue. I am already sending people out to find her. She will be safely in my custody again very soon.”

“She had better be,” Istaria replied icily. “Because if you fail me again, it will be the last thing that you ever do.”

“Yes, my liege.”

“I expect to hear from you by this evening. Make it good news.”

“Of course.”

The link broke abruptly and Avrinly blinked rapidly, coming out of her trance.

“What are we going to do now, Avrinly?” T’emlin asked.

Avrinly didn’t respond, instead she slapped him, hard.

“What was that for?” T’emlin asked, rubbing his face where she had hit him.

“You brought that stranger into our house. And that bitch used your new pet to escape!”

Avrinly paused, a thought occurring to her,

“Or maybe that is why she came here in the first place! It must have been. The woman must have known. She came here for Jade. And you let her right in! This is your fault!” Avrinly was near-hysterical now. “I never should have…”

She went to hit her husband again, but he grabbed her wrists,

“Calm down,” he said softly. “She couldn’t know. Nobody knows. Not even Jade. This is just a slave that took advantage of an opportunity to escape. Nothing more. We’ll fix this. We’ll find her.”

“We had better. Because if we don’t…” she didn’t need to complete the thought. They both knew what the consequences would be.

T’emlin put his arm around her shoulder and tried to comfort her, to convince her that everything would be alright. But in truth, he knew she was right. If they could not retrieve Jade, both of their lives would be over.