Halfway to the Menders campus, I smack myself in the forehead when I realize that I skipped the hot shop. Groaning softly in chagrin, I continue on my way. Making a new set of glasses for the inn will have to wait for another day. The news of the [Headmistress]’s return to Gilead takes precedence over my pet projects.
Lost in thought, I barely take in my surroundings. The hour-long trip goes by in a flash, although it’s frustrating that the inn, the Orpheus House, and the Menders campus are all so far apart. Maybe we should get new lodgings right in between them?
C’mon, Nuri. Focus, I tell myself. That will have to wait for another day.
The first hint that I’ve arrived at my destination comes in the form of a familiar mana signature moving back and forth at the edge of my Domain. I crack a smile. Rakesh is waiting for me, and from the quick, cyclical path of his energy, he’s pacing. That probably means something is bothering him.
I pick up the pace, jogging until I’ve got a visual on the gangly [Researcher]. Just as I thought, he’s pacing in circles while surrounded by a flock of folded paper birds. Easily two dozen of them flutter around him, making him look like he’s caught in his own personal blizzard.
With a precise activation of will and intent, I send out a gentle pulse of power through my Domain to catch his attention. He brightens immediately, waving in greeting as he turns and picks me out of the crowd.
Thankfully, I don’t set off any alarms while using my Domain this time; it would be embarrassing if I triggered another set of panic responses from the Orpheus alarm system. Ozana would never let me hear the end of it.
Despite Rakesh’s gesticulations urging me closer, I shuffle to a stop at a respectful distance from the Menders. Craning my neck for a better view, I look up at the row of tall buildings across the street from the Menders to try to pinpoint the scrying enchantments that feed into the alarm system. My natural eyes can’t seem to pick out any anomalies, so I tentatively extend my [Arcane Domain], letting its sensitive field sweep the area.
Gotcha! Well hidden.
Whoever installed the system did an exceptional job. Overkill, really. They’ve warded the entire system to fend off prying eyes, and based on the difficulty I’ve had finding the sensor even though I knew where to look, not many people in the city are likely to possess the extraordinary mana sensitivity required to locate it. It wasn’t arrogance at play when I told Ozana that my mana senses were likely unrivaled in Gilead. I haven’t met anyone else with a Domain here, and there’s not much of an [Inquisitor] presence based on Rakesh’s intel report.
Now that I’ve located the sensors, I know my limits. I drift a few steps closer, but take care to stay just out of the scrying sightlines, wary about the two guardians I spotted in the scene that Ozana “accidentally” showed me at the end of my visit. I have no desire to tangle with multiple Second Threshold fighters—and there’s zero doubt in my mind that the [Headmistress] employs the toughest bodyguards in town. Lionel needs help. If I antagonize the leader of the entire Menders order on her own grounds, I can’t imagine it will end well for any of us.
I frown. Part of me wonders what Ozana’s game is. Why give away such valuable information for free? She’s been generous to me, and my instincts tell me that I can trust her contracts due to the mutually-beneficial outcomes, but she’s not exactly running a charity. That tells me that she either wants to hold this over my head as a bargaining chip, or that she has some kind of ulterior motive that I’m playing right into by running back to the Menders campus. Neither proposition makes me particularly happy.
As astute as ever, Rakesh seems to pick up on the idea that I’m hesitant to approach the building. He hurries over to greet me in person, trailing his paper birds in a row behind him like little ducklings following their mother. I snicker at the mental image, but I keep the thought to myself and settle for a wave.
“Nuri! Glad to see you’re looking better.”
“Thanks. I needed to sleep,” I reply. While I’m eager to share what I’ve learned about the possibility of a corrupted concept, I don’t want to talk about it out in the open. It’s too dangerous to discuss in public.
He gives me a funny look, but thankfully doesn’t indulge his ever-burning curiosity. I know it’s difficult for him to hold back. “Yes. Well, it may be too little, too late. The Menders are still talking about not offending the terrifying combat [Mage] in case he’s out for blood. The security team wants you arrested, by the way. I told them that they wouldn’t be the first to toss you in jail, but not to worry: you’re more or less harmless. Mostly. They didn’t seem to appreciate the humor.”
I smack his shoulder. “Hey! You’re making my job difficult!”
“Nuri, you do that all by yourself.”
“Since when did you get so snarky?” I ask, laughing despite myself. Rakesh is usually more reserved in his communication, but it’s not the first time he’s caught me off guard with an excellent line. When he unleashes a zinger, it’s almost impossible to come up with a good comeback.
“Long days and too much stress will do that to you,” he replies gravely, although a mote of amusement still lights up his eyes. “Thankfully, I’m a bit less stressed after you came through with an entire box of mana draughts. Your dedication to the cause seemed to sway the Mender decision makers, since they approved the miracle potion as well. I was going to notify you, but I sent out a bird too late. Lionel’s not cured, but he’s stable. As long as no one casts healing magic on him, he’s out of danger.”
I heave a shaky sigh as the knot in my chest loosens a bit, and manage to muster up a tight smile. “Is he conscious?”
“In and out. Lucid moments are rare.” Rakesh hesitates for a tense moment. He clicks his tongue. “They won’t let you back in, Nuri. I can arrange for paired songbirds if you’d like to speak with Lionel the next time he’s awake.”
“Thank you, Rakesh,” I say quietly, and he seems relieved that I don’t push the issue. I guess I haven’t been the most reliable friend lately if they’re worried about my outbursts when they deliver bad news.
I try to break up the tension by grinning at Rakesh. “My dedication convinced them, huh? Sure the extravagant banknote didn’t do that?”
“They are an ancient and venerable institution, Nuri! How dare you accuse them of mere mercantilism. Profiteering off other’s suffering is a despicable charge,” Rakesh says, his voice dripping with mockery.
“I see you’re susceptible to mind magic,” I reply in an equally sarcastic voice. “They’ve gotten to you.”
“It may also have been the fear of retribution,” Rakesh says, dropping the teasing tone. “Mender security is under the impression that you’re a combat [Mage] who’s achieved the Second Threshold. I may have contributed to them laboring under that delusion.”
“You’re entirely too sneaky,” I murmur. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
He raises a delicate eyebrow and regards me with a haughty countenance. “Implying you were ever on my good side?”
When I laugh, he nods in approval. “Good. Ava said you’d had a wake-up call, but I was unconvinced. You seem more like your old self again. Truly, you put on a terrifying display.”
I lean in closer. A rush of excitement makes the words come out in a rushed jumble as I whisper what I discovered about my strange compulsions due to the influence of an unusual form of violence. I’m about to keep going when I glance back up at the scrying sensors and growl in frustration. “Can’t say more here. I’ll tell you later.”
Rakesh dutifully scribbles down every word, his mana pen blurring faster than I’ve ever seen. He flips the paper over and sketches a hasty rune. Silence.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
I nod. We’re on the same page there. We won’t discuss this further, not until he can invert his [Echoes of the Songbird] Skill and we’re certain that no one is eavesdropping. Something I said seems to have shaken him to the core, and I don’t think it’s just my revelation that I was afflicted by a twisted version of violence. No, I’ve seen that look on him before. Whatever inspired his imagination and prompted him to tell me to quiet down, I’ll bet it’s big. Earth-shattering. Paradigm-destroying.
Then I chuckle weakly as realization dawns. Or maybe I’m just a loudmouth.
=+=
Suitably inspired by my promise of new information, Rakesh manages to convince everyone to return to the inn. We haven’t had a team meeting in a while, so it will be good to get on the same page with everyone. Predictably, the Linas refused at first; they didn’t want to leave Lionel alone in case he woke up. Melina eventually caved when I pointed out how much better I feel after a break, and her twin sister followed her lead once Mender Uttara vowed to stay in Lionel’s room day and night and ensure that he came to no harm.
Walking together with the team feels right. I’ve missed this. More at peace than I’ve felt in months, I enjoy the sights and sounds of the sprawling, bustling city preparing for twilight. Marketplaces don’t close at nightfall in Gilead. If anything, they pick up the pace as the night market begins. It reminds me a bit of Halmuth, although this city is easily a few dozen times larger.
Our return takes less time than usual. I slow down at the end of the walk, eyes closed, and luxuriate in the sense of inner quiet. Ahead, I sense my friends entering the building. They drag themselves up the stairs, no doubt eager for a proper night’s sleep.
My friends seem guarded and weary, but otherwise in good spirits. All things considered, they’re hanging on pretty well. Mana coils through my muscles and propels me forward at break-neck speed so that I’m not left entirely behind. A short sprint brings me to the entryway of our temporary home, and I jog up the steps to join the team mere seconds after they slump into their seats, bursting into the room with a gust of wind thanks to the speed of my movement.
My sudden appearance in the doorway stirs up shouts of fear that quickly transform into excitement. Rakesh and Melina are particularly intrigued, no doubt owing to their more advanced mana perception skills. Or, perhaps, because I told Rakesh that I had important news to share. I wonder briefly if they sense a much higher amount of pressure radiating off me thanks to my new Class.
“Nuri! When did you get so fast?” my brother asks, clutching a hand to his chest as though he’s recovering from a near-fatal scare. “One second you were gone, and then—poof! Here you are!”
“Don’t sound so surprised. You know I regained my mana,” I say, downplaying how quickly I moved. It’s fun to mess with my brother.
“Yeah, but that was ghostly!”
I grin impishly. “A lot has changed. I guess I haven’t had a chance to catch up, huh?”
“You’ve got stories to tell. My notebook is ready,” Rakesh says, peering at me as though he’s examining an interesting new specimen in the laboratory. “Let me set up my birds first. Then I want to hear everything.”
From anyone else, I’d find the insistence on digging into my secrets insulting or even scary. Since it’s Rakesh, and not Scalpel or someone else equally deranged, I simply shake with silent laughter and fail to hide a smile. “You better get your pen and paper for this one. If these strange events didn’t happen to me directly, I don’t think I would have believed them.”
A few quick hand shapes later, Rakesh’s birds flutter to each corner of the room. I watch in fascination as mana weaves between them, setting up an ethereal barrier to keep the sound in and prying eyes out. I wonder if it works against scrying, too. I doubt it, based on the runes that comprise the Skill, but it’s worth considering an upgrade for Rakesh if I can improve with rune editing.
I take a quick sip of water and then stride to the center of the room, facing my team as they make themselves comfortable on the couches and seats. “I have two pieces of big news to share. First, though—and far less important—I upgraded my Class.”
“You what!”
“That’s less important?”
“Told you. Pay up!”
Rakesh, Melina, and Mikko all erupt at once, talking over each other. The two more scholarly members of my team are practically vibrating with curiosity. My brother smirks, a smug look on his face as he holds out his hand toward Avelina. She rolls her eyes and flips a coin toward him.
I bow slightly. “I’m a [Glass Mage] now. Guess Azariah saw it coming, since he always called me a [Mage]. Anyway! That hardly matters at the moment,” I say as casually as I can. I can’t help but grin as my friends shout in disbelief and excitement, with Rakesh half rising out of his seat. He’s so worked up that he drops his pen, letting the condensed mana dissipate into nothingness.
“Second, I figured out what was causing me to act so erratic lately,” I say.
“Lately?” Mikko echoes, sticking out his tongue in payback.
“Yeah, yeah. Get your jollies in. I discovered that it was my connection to violence. Remember the creepy enchantments in the Rift at the Old Keep? Well, the corruption I felt back then somehow spread to the concept I absorbed. I had to excise it completely to be rid of the compulsion.”
“Alone? That doesn’t seem wise,” Melina says, her brow furrowing. “What if you’d damaged your core again in the process? You need to be more careful, Nuri.”
“I’m proud of you,” Avelina cuts in. She slips out of her chair and comes over to give me a rib-crushing hug. “I’ve missed my friend.”
“Can you still fight?” Mikko asks. His harsh question interrupts the moment I’m having with Avelina; she returns to his side. He’s leaning back in the chair, arms crossed, and seems far less impressed by my decision than the others. “What if violence is why you were able to overcome [Lady] Saphora? We’re not out of danger yet.”
I swallow hard. “I’ve considered that. I may need to meditate on the meaning of violence, but I’m worried that my understanding of the concept has been forever shaped by the tainted version. I can’t make that part of my identity again. I can’t. It almost destroyed me, Mikko.”
“I know,” he says softly, letting out a heavy sigh. “It was selfish of me to ask. I’m just—scared.”
His admission brings me up short. My brother’s one of the most stalwart people I know. If the situation with the Menders and Lionel is getting to him, then it’s no wonder that I’ve been so on edge.
“I think so. I’m stronger than ever. And I haven’t fully tested the limits of my golems. [Glass Animation] should be far more powerful now that I’ve incorporated elements of the [Mage] class into [Glassworker]. I’m confident that my decentralized fighting style will be hard to counter.”
“Fair enough. Forgive me for asking,” Mikko says, slumping a bit. He looks haggard after pushing so hard for so long. I don’t blame him.
Avelina wraps her arms around him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He melts toward her, seeming to take comfort from her support.
“We’re in this together,” I remind him. “It was a good question.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Rakesh says with far more confidence than I feel. “I’m glad to hear of your ultimate victory over the tainted barbs in your soul, but I’m mostly curious how they corrupted the concept in the first place—and whether or not we can follow in their footsteps.”
“Uhh . . . that doesn’t seem wise,” I say hesitantly, staring at Rakesh with unease. “I just got rid of one corrupted concept. Why would I want to ruin others?”
His face grows grim. “I’m not talking about you, Nuri. I’m considering if we can use it against future enemies that would otherwise be more powerful than we are. Imagine if we twist their own higher-order concepts against them?”
“You want to weaponize intent? Yes! We could turn their power against them,” I say as I realize the potential. “Look into that. Who knows what your research might uncover.”
“A worthy challenge,” Rakesh replies, a hint of a smile on his lips. “Melina, I shall require your assistance, if you have time.”
“I’d have insisted on helping if you didn’t ask,” Melina replies with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. She slides her own sheet of paper next to the [Researcher]’s, and they prepare to go over notes together.
“Focus, everyone!” I call out, interrupting them before they got too tied up in their scholarly arts. Those two could get lost in a book in the middle of a battlefield.
“Oh, right. You cited three items on the agenda. I suppose this discovery will have to wait,” Rakesh says, disappointment obvious in his tone.
“The third bit of information is by far the most urgent,” I shoot back. “Thanks to our patron at the Orpheus, I’ve learned that the [Headmistress] of the Menders just got back in town. She’s by far our best bet to help Lionel. We need to come up with a way to gain an audience with her.”
Melina groans, putting her face in her hands and resting her elbows on the table.
“What’s wrong, Mel?” I ask.
“She’s almost impossible to pin down, Nuri!” Melina all but wails. “Meetings with her are scheduled out a couple years in advance from what I’ve heard. There’s no guarantee that Lionel lives that long, even if we do make it onto the wait list.”
That sets off a ripple of intense whispers and pointed looks, and I wait a moment for the susurrus to die down before I continue speaking, a plan forming in my mind. “You’re absolutely right, Mel. We can’t afford to take that risk. And that’s precisely why we’re going to cheat.”