Rane fought to clear his vision. A sword of white mist had sunk deep into the ground, cracking ice and rock where he'd just been. The smell of blood reached him as Loric scrambled to his feet.
“Up the mountain boy,” Loric coughed, then shoved him away with a bloody hand, “Run.”
“Not a single step,” the mage warned and her hostility reached Rane, like a pressure on his neck. She turned to him. “If not for my orders to try and take you alive, the spell would have ended you.”
Rane righted himself and observed the mage. Brown hair framed a frigid face with smooth skin. Shiny gold and blue velvet covered her body, too thin for the mountain’s cold, similar to the outfit the apprentice wore. This had to be Linde. “Did Leylin send you?” Rane asked while trying to help Loric up. Her intentions weren’t outright hostile, so maybe he could buy some time.
“No,” Loric replied instead, wiping the blood from the side of his mouth. “They’re Nost.” He breathed in and rested a hand on his hilt, ready to draw. “What does a Silyran mage want from us? Did Caelus burn through too many apprentices again?”
The woman raised her eyebrows. “You recognise our colors.” White mist swirled around her fingers and clung to her clothes. “I don’t care about you, but the boy leaves these mountains with me. Since you know my father, you must also know his word is law.”
Rane could feel her irritation grow. He looked down at his hands, where fear and anger danced in purple and crimson. The fight and his brush with death had awoken something in him. He’d felt the nora of the dead before and how it clung to him, but now he could sense the emotions of the living as well. It was how he discovered her.
Loric pulled his weapon with lightning speed, pointing it at Linde. “If you don’t want to follow after the other bitch, you better leave before I skewer you.”
“So you killed Anne.” The mage’s anger flared, like tiny sparks of red around her. Rane instinctively readied his nora. “A child!”
“Yes!” Loric snorted before Rane could speak. “And I’ll save another!” The Lanar lunged without warning, sword aimed for her head. Rane called forth flames that followed after him, splitting in two to encircle her. It was a technique they’d practised in their hunts, and it often proved deadly.
Linde clenched her hands and the nora that lingered around her pushed forth with force, halting Loric’s advance and driving Rane’s flames away. When the snow cleared, a sphere of translucent ice surrounded her, more than five times the thickness Rane could manage.
“Shit,” Loric mumbled as he returned to Rane’s side. “This just turned troublesome.”
“Your form…” Linde stood inside her shield, unfazed. “I think I know you!” For the first time, she showed her smile, full of white teeth and conceit. “Look how far you’ve fallen. From Silyra’s Hornet, to an exiled criminal. I wonder what judgement the Lawforge would pass you if they knew you killed my apprentice?”
Rane sneered. Who was the real criminal now? No matter what he’d done in the past, the Lanar was fighting to save him. Rane pulled more power into his palms, then shrunk it to the size of a pebble. He had become much stronger during the months spent with Loric. Now he had a chance to prove it.
“You’ve heard of me and yet you still want to fight?” Loric lowered his posture and blood dripped from his waist. “Caelus sent you to your death.”
“Look at you,” Linde taunted him still, “risking your life to save someone else’s. A war hero gone senile.”
Loric ignored her. He gripped the sword to the side of his head with both hands in a stance Rane had never seen before. With measured steps, he walked forward.
“It won’t make a difference.” Mist gathered in Linde’s hands. She held her palm open and pushed it up. A half-crescent of ice slashed through the air, following her motion. Loric slid to the ground as the blade whizzed past overhead. Linde waved her hands, as if directing a choir, and magic filled the sky. Sharp blades of ice came from every direction, aiming to cut Loric apart, but the Lanar ducked and rolled and sidestepped faster than Rane’s eyes could track.
Linde was completely ignoring him. No, her spells were avoiding him, which only added to his conviction. He rushed around to Linde’s back. The sphere that guarded her was perfect, but at least she couldn’t see him here. Rane willed the burning white magic to the tip of his finger and closed one eye as he took aim. In front of him, Loric spun under a blade that came from behind, like a dancer that had practised to the same beat for years. Each step took him a little closer to Linde, and her sudden panic showed. Blades of ice focused on Loric, some crushing against one another in a spray of shards.
Rane used the chance to walk a little closer. The power in his palms only grew, and the shape of his will that held it trembled. He felt the warm touch of blood on his lip and chin once again, but he ignored it.
Loric spun with his blade forward and cut his way through an icy crescent. He rolled and jumped, using the same force to drive the blade forward. Rane shot his magic forth, aiming toward Linde’s back. Time almost slowed as he tried to maintain the tiny shape against the raging powers inside. The concentrated fire exploded on contact, sending Linde’s barrier slamming against her body. Loric’s blade cut clean through it , aided by the same force, and webbings of cracks spread along its surface. The shiny metal stopped just shy of Linde’s cheek and the battle came to a brief lull. Her smile was gone. She waved her hand and shot another ice blade. Loric had to let go of his sword and twist his body to avoid it.
“Enough...” Linde’s legs trembled as she stood. Part of the red that made up her anger had given way to a pale gray, as hints of fear crept up. She pushed a flock of hair away from her eyes. “Hand me the child and I won't tell anyone that I found you. You’ll be able to go back to living however you want.”
It was Loric’s turn to smile. “What if I want to live with my friend?”
“You turned against Silyra. You don’t deserve any happiness after what you did. Settle for freedom.” Linde drew snow in to patch the hole and cracks in her shield.
“I will.” Loric retreated to Rane’s side. “But not just my own.”
“Because that worked out beautifully the last time you tried it.” White nora curled from Linde’s body and formed an arc over her shoulders. She wielded one end like a weapon and stood poised to let it loose. “I also know about you, Loric. Your wife would not shut up about you.”
Loric froze. Rane could feel the emotions welling up inside the man. The sorrow, the anger and the regret. How they slithered and turned in his heart, how they dragged him down. “Stop it.” For the first time, Rane saw the Lanar shivering. “Don’t say another word.”
“Don’t you want to know what happened?” Linde turned her palm and ice gathered in mid air to form a sharp edge. “I was there when your wife died. I saw her squeal like a pig as she begged Andre’s first Blade for her life. As she cried out your name.”
“Stop it!” Loric screamed, and Rane felt fury, boiling hot and almost palpable. It felt as if he’d never left the dungeon and the influence of Sydell’s spell. Loric took an uneven step forward and Rane caught his arm. "No. You taught me not to play the enemy's game."
"Let go." Loric didn't even turn to face him. He yanked his hand away and unsheathed his other sword. Rane had seen the hilt and scabbard, but never the sickly green colour of the metal.
“Come then, criminal,” Linde said. “On behalf of the king, I’ll pass you judgement.” More ice formed, suspended in the air.
Rane couldn’t stop the fight from happening. Might as well help win it. “I’ll try to cover you,” he whispered and willed his remaining magic forward, pulling moisture together to form a shield that could cover Loric’s back. His was crude, and not nearly as potent as Linde, but it would at least help.
“You were in her squad. She fought for you then. For all of us.” Loric strode forward as if the ice blades weren’t even there. “You let her die!”
Linde didn’t hesitate. She lashed out, the whip of white in her hand cutting through the air with a crack. Ice shot from all directions, cutting off every escape path. Rane tried to move the shield in time, but Loric was already gone. The Lanar dove to the left, the blunt side of his blade pushing the ice aside without breaking it. Linde brandished the whip, her arms flailing as she tried to land a hit. Wave after wave of lashings sent ice and rocks flying, but none connected. Her attacks slowly lost momentum and Loric used the gap to dart forward, putting his whole weight behind a slash. The impact found the damaged, thin part of the shield and Linde scurried to get away. She would have made it, but Loric dove, reaching inside the broken ice to grab her ankle.
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“Unhand me!” Linde squealed and the hole on the shield’s surface started to tighten around Loric’s arm, just as a stray blade cut deep into his leg.
“You were there!” Loric screamed, oblivious to the pain. He maintained his grip as the nora dug into his flesh and applied some pressure of his own. Linde let out a piercing cry as her leg was torn open. “Why didn’t you save her? Why did you watch as she died?”
Linde gasped and the ice blades collapsed. Rane rushed forward. Driven by fury, Loric knelt, and his fingers sank into her flesh, just like the shield cut deeper and deeper into his arm.
“Stop!” Rane grabbed onto his back and tried to pull him away, but to no avail.
Loric used the remainder of his strength to pull Linde towards him, at the cost of flaying his own flesh against the sharp ice. He pulled hard enough for Linde’s body to crush against it, forcing her to end the spell. She lay there, mouth agape and staring up at the bloody Lanar looming over her head.
“Please…” Rane hugged him tighter. “Don’t prove her right. You’re not a criminal.” Drops of crimson tainted Linde’s clothes and her panting colored the frozen air. Loric raised his blade over her head and Rane pressed his forehead on the man’s back. “Please.”
“Why?" Loric hissed in untold pain. "Why shouldn’t I kill her?” The sword trembled in his hands.
“Because… Because she’s also precious to someone.”
There was a pause, a brief moment where nobody moved. In the soft touch of the winter’s breath, Rane could feel emotions calming. Then Linde gathered nora in her hands.
“Blights!” Loric slammed the sword down and Linde screamed.
“No!” Rane hurried to his feet, only to see Linde’s shoulder pinned to the ground under Loric’s blade. Gray spread from the wound, reaching the underside of her neck. Her veins there showed through the skin, colored a deep green.
Loric pressed down on Rane’s shoulder to stand. “You know what this is, don’t you?”
“Blightsteel,” Linde hissed.
“Now you get to experience it.” Loric pushed the sword deeper in her shoulder, and into the ground below. “Being stripped of your magic.” Linde grit her teeth and fought to push the blade up.
“What did you do to her?”
“Dulled her senses.” Loric put a hand on Rane’s shoulder for support. “She can’t use magic anymore. Can you carry her?”
Rane pulled Linde up and hurled her over his shoulder. He expected her to be heavier. The blade cut deeper into her open wound and she grunted, but Rane ignored her. Perhaps a bit of pain would set her straight. He propped Loric up with his other arm. He was the only one not moaning in pain as they scaled back up the hill, to where the cabin was. The site of the battle was left in ruins, and the blood still followed them, carving its way up the mountain wherever they stepped. Loric collapsed on the bed the moment he could reach it.
“Salve, in that chest.” He grimaced and pointed. “Hurry.”
Rane let Linde drop to the ground with a thud and rummaged through it in a panic. He grabbed some bottles of the liquid Loric had used to heal his hand and rushed back to the Lanar’s side. The amount of blood that he saw after Loric took his top off stunned him. He’d seen his fair share of blood and even shed some of it, but it was never this much.
“You gonna let me die? Hurry.”
“I’m trying!” Rane tore through Loric’s clothes as fast as he could. He rubbed the salve on each wound and saw them close in real time. The liquid sizzled when it came in contact with Loric’s skin.
“You’re a good boy, you know that?” Loric breathed out in relief. “A good boy…” He rested his back on the logs next to the bed. “Put some on her too, on the wound, but don’t take the sword out.”
Rane rubbed some salve on Linde’s injured shoulder until the bleeding stopped and the wound closed around the metal. She stood still, finally, and let him do it.
“Why do you have something like this?” Linde looked down at the sword still lodged inside her as Rane worked around it. She breathed with difficulty and it seemed all fight had left her. “This is a relic.”
“No,” Loric said. “It’s a gift from the King.”
“There is no way–” Linde tried to push herself up, but Rane kept her down.
“Stop it!” He turned her over and had her rest on the ground next to the fireplace. Each movement caused her to wince, so she sat slumped, breathing with difficulty. They exchanged glances.
“Caelus-” Linde spoke up, but struggled for words. “My father will come for me. You are only alive because he prefers you alive, but your Lanar friend won’t be as lucky. If it means protecting his secrets, my father is ruthless.”
“Why are you telling us?”
“No matter how strong you are, you can’t contend with an Archmage. I did mean it when I said your best option is not to resist. If you come with me, nobody else will have to die.”
Loric chuckled. “Look, she’s got you all figured out already.”
Linde gave Loric a sideways glance. “Nost mages have a code of honor. We never forget a favour. You spared my life, so I can help your friend keep his.”
“When was your code of honour when Fenia was fighting the first Blade, huh?” Loric made to stand, wincing. “When you left her to die?”
“Loric!” Rane rushed back to his side and held him down. “You’re in no condition to be fighting. Either of you!”
“She was the one that dragged us into an impossible battle,” Linde replied, then looked down. “At least she had the mettle to stand up to that... monster, and allowed us to escape.”
“Sounds like my Fenia,” Loric said with a bitter smile. He stopped trying to stand. “Always the hero and the one to bear the burden.”
Linde planned to disagree but Rane gave her a stare that shut her up. Memories of loved ones were sacred. One of those things better left untouched. “So, you were saying something about owing me a favour as valuable as your life,” Rane went down on one knee next to Linde. “Do go on.”
“I– Yes.” Linde wiggled, turning to the side as much as she could. “Cut the emblem from my robe.”
Rane reached under her arm, pulling the circular stone free. ‘Nost’ was inscribed on the side, and embedded at its centre was an iridescent jewel, polished and cut to perfection. The brilliant gem bounced rays of rainbow light. Its surface was impossibly smooth and its colours impossibly bright.
“As long as I live, it will never lose its glow.” She motioned to Loric with her head. “Give it to him. It’s like a token of gratitude. Say what you want about my father, but he is a man who values family and tradition. If he sees it, there is no way he’s gonna harm Loric.”
“Thank you.” Rane set it on the table by Loric’s side. The Lanar snorted and turned his head away.
“So?” Linde looked up at Rane. “Are you going to take me hostage?”
“Maybe,” Rane said. She would have value as a bargaining chip. “What does your father want from me?”
“I don’t know the details.” Linde let her body slide further down, wincing. “But he wants to keep you away from a certain man. He says it is pivotal to Silyra’s survival.”
Rane felt light-headed. Could it be Leylin? They fought to the brink of death and he even killed someone, just to realise they were on the same side? His hand found a chair and he let himself collapse on it. He couldn’t understand what was going on. Why was everyone after him? There was too much he didn’t know. “I want to meet your father.”
“Rane!” Loric protested from behind him. “You can’t trust her. No matter who is chasing you, I can protect you as long as we’re here.”
“No, you can’t.” Rane cast him a pleading stare. “I won’t let you. Everyone that becomes involved with me ends up dead or suffering. You don’t deserve that fate, and I can’t stay here. I have a family waiting for me. A family that’s most likely in danger as we speak. I’ve let them wait long enough.”
What Rane didn’t expect was that Loric would fall silent without argument or condescending jabs. “You should leave then,” he said. “I can’t keep you from your family.”
Rane felt a tinge of loneliness, the frigid cut of a place with nothing but snow. No matter how resilient Loric was, years of being alone had left him with no one to turn to. “We’re all going. Together. There is no way I can leave you here wounded.”
“You haven’t told him.” Linde’s eyes shone as she looked up. “You can’t leave, can you?”
Loric chuckled. “It used to be law, before Andre took over most of the realm, to exile criminals instead of killing them. After the Lawforge judged me, I was sent here, oathbound to these mountains and unable to leave while I still breathe. They’re my prison.”
Rane sat back down and looked at the wooden planks that lined the small cabin. What should he say? He debated asking what Loric did, but decided it didn’t matter. This was someone he owed his life to and a genuinely good person. Rane craved to know the truth and to reunite with his family more than anything, but he couldn’t leave Loric behind.
“Stop mulling over it you brat,” Loric pushed the back of his chair with his boot and almost knocked him off. “You’re almost making me bitter.” His hearty laugh filled the cabin, warmer than the hearth. Rane smiled.
“I’ll return as soon as I can, okay?” Rane stood and pulled the covers over him. “And I’ll bring my family over, so you get your best dish ready in the meantime.”
“Let’s hope I’m alive to see the day.” Loric flipped the covers off him and waved the emblem in Linde’s direction. “Are you sure they’re gonna recognize this? Looks cheap to me.”
“Don’t you insult my family crest!” Linde snapped, then grit her teeth and shrunk back. “Yes, they will. As long as you hold it, no harm will come to you from a member of the Nost family.”
“I still don’t trust you,” Loric said, “but it makes no difference. We’ll find out soon, if you’re telling the truth or not. I have one final lesson to teach my apprentice.”
Rane raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“The most important spell in any mage’s arsenal.” Loric toyed with the Nost emblem between his fingers. “You’re going to swear an Oath.”