Arbiter (The Arbiter Chronicles Book 1) (17 page)

“You can’t—,” began Cathel, his eyes narrowing as he watched her.

“Can you?” retorted Rae, shoving him back roughly. She took a deep breath as the spirits began to gather. They couldn’t remain here. She could feel the mists pressing against her whirlpool of darkness, beginning to push their way in in places. It was only a matter of time before they would overwhelm her by sheer volume. They needed an escape. She needed to make an opening.

“On three,” she told Cathel, bracing for the argument. It never came. Instead, he nodded once, his hand on his sword as she gathered shadow into her palms. “One…” she counted.

He tensed, crouching down slightly and preparing to bolt.

“Two…”

The orb of shadow in her hands continued to grow, drawing power from the night that surrounded them. Rae felt it build and pulse in her hands, ready to spring out and unfold.

“Three!” she shouted, letting it loose.

Shadow exploded from her, blitzing through the mist and sending it scattering. She and Cathel took off at a run, covering ground quickly as the spirits raised up their arms to shield themselves, falling back into the rapidly scattering mists. She felt her hands shake slightly from the amount of power she had poured into the attack, her Source inside of her burning from the sudden use. It almost felt like another muscle that had been overexerted as she moved, taking deep breaths and placing her hand over her chest.

“Mika,” she breathed as she caught up with Cathel, the two of them stopping to look back. The mists had begun to gather again, tendrils snaking down the mountain sides, and she caught sight of the smoky figures starting to emerge. But they had gotten away. If they could find a spot on the slope that they could easily climb, something to keep them out of the mists, maybe they could wait it out, or double back and find another way around.

“Further up, probably,” said Cathel. “I can’t imagine her running off without us. She’s probably waiting somewhere else.”

Rae took a deep breath, making a split second decision as she watched the shadows advance. She shoved Cathel forward. “Go.”

“But—,” began Cathel.

“Just do it!” Rae shoved him again, more urgently this time. “You can’t fight here. I’ll meet you guys further up. Find a safe place and wait for me. If you can’t find anything, I’ll meet you back in Alcian’s lands!”

Cathel stared, torn between staying with her and going to find Mika. His eyes drifted from Rae to the mists that massed behind her and he took a deep breath, nodding once. “Catch up fast.”

“As fast as I can,” she promised, nodding and watching as Cathel ran off. Rae took a deep breath, turning back towards the advancing mists and drawing shadow around her again. She formed a dome-shaped shield in front of herself, holding it up and preparing her against the onslaught as the mist men ran forward, rushing towards her.

No you don’t…
she thought to herself, letting out a shout of effort as she poured all of her power into the attack.

Shadow unfurled around her, stopping the advance of the mists. At first, the mistmen recoiled, bouncing off the shield of shadow and rolling back like waves on the beach as they fell away. But then they rose up again, slamming against her wall. Rae’s eyes widened in panic as she felt her wall of shadow buckle, collapsing in on all sides with the ease and rapidity of a soda can being crushed by a zealous child. She held her hands out to her sides in an attempt to stabilize the shield, but realized her mistake a little too late as cracks appeared in the shadowy construct in front of her.

Silvery mist poured in through the crack, materializing in front of her face. As a last ditch effort, she reached into her pocket, pulling out the talisman. The mists slammed into it and recoiled briefly, forming a pocket around her hand before shifting away from her and forward. The mist tore at the shadow on all sides, pouring past her shield on both sides like she was a rock in the middle of a flowing river. Rae’s eyes widened in shock, and she turned her head in time to see a wave of white rush past her, heading towards Cathel’s fleeing figure. She opened her mouth to shout, to call out to him, to warn him.

A ghostly blade crashed through her shield, piercing her in the chest. Rae felt like her blood had suddenly turned to ice, so cold was the area in which the spectral sword had touched her.

Her scream died in her throat, her face frozen in terror as she crumpled to the ground, all her strength gone.

Something poked her in the side, shaking her rudely awake. Rae groaned, rolling over onto her other side in an attempt to get away from the object. Her mind spun, and her mouth felt dry, like she was waking from a fever dream. She drew her knees up to her chest, closing her eyes tightly. The push came again, something small and hard coming down from above to jab her in the shoulder.

"Wake up, Arbiter," said an insistent voice from above her. Something in his voice penetrated the fog in her mind.

Arbiter…

Cathel. Mika. Shadows in the mist.

Rae's eyes snapped open. She placed her hand on the ground underneath her, sitting up and looking around. 

She was still lying in the mountain pass where the mists had overrun her, but now instead of twisting mists and shifting shadows there was only bright sunshine coming down from above. The sunlight should have been comforting, but it only served to highlight the bleakness of their surroundings. She turned her head in the direction the voice had come from, looking up at the man there.

At first glance, he looked like an ordinary old man.

He was dressed in a deep red cloak slung over his shoulder, and simple traveling clothes that had cracked, torn, and faded in places with use. His boots were dirty with dust from the road, and he carried no weapon on him but the thick walking stick in his hand. The old man stood hunched over, wisps of stark white hair clinging to his head. He had a long beard, and a frown on his face as he looked out over Rae.

He looked human, but he didn't 
feel
 
human. He didn't exude the same power that Alcian or the blond man from the dream had, but there was something in the way he watched her that told her it was there.

“Get that thing out of your hand, girl,” he said, reaching forward with his walking stick. He shoved, pushing the talisman out of her hand. It skittered across the stones in front of them, gleaming in the bright sunshine. “You'll hurt someone.”

Rae stared at it, flexing her fingers. The very tips of them had red marks, as if she had gripped the talisman too tightly in the night. She looked up at the old man, but he didn't seem affected by the charm, just insulted by it. He sniffed, resting his staff on the ground and looking back at her.

"About time you woke up," he said. "I thought you would sleep forever."

"What happened?" she asked, looking around. "Where are the mists?"

The old man scowled. "The mists? I sent them off. You'd think the Arbiter would be smart enough not to set off Elrithea's guard dogs on the way in. Didn't you know about the pass?"

"How was I supposed to know about the pass?" she asked. "It's not like anyone told me."

The man squinted at her suspiciously."No one 
told 
you? So the Court just sent you here without a clue, did they?"

Rae stared at the man, her brow furrowing in confusion. “The Court?”

"The Court!" repeated the old man, shaking his hand irritably at her. "You know! Queen? Consort? Queen's light, woman, are you slow in the head?"

Rae shook her head quickly. "What? No. I've never spoken to the Queen."

The man raised an eyebrow at her. “Never? But surely you must have. All Arbiters are vetted by the Queens first. That's how it works."

"No one told me how it was supposed to work," said Rae. "Alcian 
said
—."

"
Alcian
?" asked the man, interrupting her. "
High Lord 
Alcian? But that can't be. For you to meet her first, that would mean…" The man stared at Rae, realization slowly dawning on his face. "You're 
not 
from Rielen City?"

"No!" said Rae quickly. "I don't even know where that is. I'm from the Daylight Realm!"

"An outsider as Arbiter…" said the old man, muttering to himself as he shook his head. "This is most irregular…highly irregular…"

Rae stared at him, watching as he turned away from her and held his walking stick in both hands, as if considering the situation. "Alcian didn't warn me about the pass," she finally said.

The man looked back at her, his expression thoughtful. "No, Alcian wouldn't have. Alcian, you see, is new at this game. She has only been High Lord for a little over a century. In the past she was simply the High Lord's consort. I'd wager to say that you are the first Arbiter she's come across, and High Lord Elrithea is known from hiding things from her sister. Lot of pointless invective there, nothing to talk about…"

"High Lord Elrithea?" Rae got to her feet, walking over to him. "Are you talking about the Shadow Queen?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" asked the old man. "Whose lands do we now inhabit? I know you're ignorant about such things, girl, but that's no reason to ask the obvious."

She folded her arms, scowling at the man's response. "You don't have to talk to me like that. I don't know any of this."

"Clearly," said the man. "Because if you 
did 
know anything about High Lord Elrithea, you'd have taken the secret way into her lands, instead of walking right into a blatant trap."

"There's another way in?" asked Rae, her defensiveness giving way to curiosity. "But the map showed…"

"Of
course
the map showed the pass," snapped the old man. "How do you think we keep out undesirables? Anyone who has to consult a map to figure out how to get into these lands is clearly no friend of the High Lord."

Something about the man's words made her stop and think. Alcian hadn't known about the pass either, and the old man had mentioned an argument between Alcian and Elrithea. She wondered how much of the false scenario Alcian had given her to test her had been based on the truth.

"So Alcian and her sister don't get along?"

The old man shrugged. "Oh, they used to get on alright. A little quibbling here and there, but no more than ordinary siblings do. It was after the previous High Lord's loss that things got messy. Alcian and High Lord Elrithea had a bit of a falling out, and it hasn't quite been the same between them since."

"I see…" said Rae. It was hard to imagine Alcian getting into a long feud with her sister over what sounded like a simple misunderstanding. It seemed like something almost too petty…too 
human
 for two of the greatest members of the Ivali. She wondered if there was a way to repair their relationship, to get them to talk again.

You could order it…
pointed out a small, traitorous voice in the back of her mind
. 
If you become Arbiter when this is over, you could make a Ruling. You could force them to talk…

She shoved that thought away. It wasn't something she wanted to think about right now. If she had her way, she would never think about it.

"Well, can't be helped, I suppose," said the old man. "In the future, you'll know better. With a High Lord like the Shadow Queen, the most direct path is often the wrong one."

Rae filed that thought away for later. It would probably come in handy when she actually 
met
 
this Elrithea. At the moment, she, Mika, and Cathel needed to…

Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her.

Mika and Cathel.

"Where are the others?" she asked, turning towards the man.

The man glanced at her. "Your friends? I was waiting for you to ask."

Friends. The use of the word made her uncomfortable, but she wasn't in the mood to correct him. Instead, she nodded once.

"They're over here," said the old man, walking further down the path. Rae hesitated before following him. She had already followed enough members of the Ivali into unknown territory and had come out alright, although she was starting to think that she was beginning to push her luck.

The man led her about five minutes up the path before coming to a sudden stop. She came to stand beside him, looking over his shoulder. Cathel and Mika lay sprawled out on the ground. She felt her heart race and the beginnings of fear and panic starting to chill her blood, but as she looked at them she began to realize that they weren't dead, only unconscious.

"...They'll wake soon," said the man. "Be at ease, Arbiter. They were only injured by the mists, not killed."

She looked, but she didn't see any visible injuries. Rae placed one hand over her chest where the mistman's sword had pierced her. There was no wound there either.

"The mistman's sword…" she began.

"Does not cut the body,” replied the old man. He rested his walking stick firmly on the ground, leaning on it. "It's not in Elrithea's style to go for the tangible things. She 
is
 
after all, the Shadow Queen."

Rae took a deep breath, staring down at Mika and Cathel. “…Figured this wouldn't be easy.”

"Gaining Elrithea's acknowledgment?" asked the old man, an amused gleam in his eye as he turned towards Rae. "Most certainly not. But Elrithea is not the most tempestuous or the most difficult of the High Lords. You should not allow her to intimidate you."

"Where is she?" asked Rae.

"I can show you the way," said the old man. He turned towards her. "You have one of Alcian's servants, don't you?"

Rae blinked in surprise. "How did you know about that?"

He broke into a small smile "Give an old man some credit. I've always been good at seeing the truth that lies within men's hearts. Call the wisp forth, and I will let it guide you."

She nodded, holding her hand out in front of her. Rae closed her eyes, reaching deep inside of her towards the portion of her Source that Larin inhabited. As always, she felt the wisp respond willingly, coming at her call. She felt a small sensation of loss as Larin left her, materializing in the air above her outstretched hand. The wisps of light that surrounded it disengaged from her palm, floating over towards the old man as he held out one gnarled hand to receive it.

"Its name is Larin, isn't it?" asked the old man as Larin came to rest at the tip of one of his fingers.

She nodded once. "Yes, it is.”

"I see." The old man closed his eyes, and Rae watched, fascinated, as Larin seemed to dissolve into light, winding around the old man's hand like it was welcoming an old friend. The old man hummed slightly in approval, nodding once as if he found something that interested him. "This little one was most loved by Alcian. A princely gift to the Arbiter…and a great mark of trust…"

She tried not to think about Alcian's trust. She knew what Alcian expected of her, what the High Lord thought that Rae would go on to do. The wisp's light shone brightly on the old man's arm before it unwound from him, pulling away almost reluctantly and hovering in the air between the two of them. Rae thought she could feel the wisp regarding her solemnly, before turning its attention back towards the old man.

"I have imparted knowledge to Larin of the way to Elrithea's castle," said the old man. "It will be able to guide you and your companions. The road is long, but I think you will find the path mostly uninterrupted. Rest assured, the lady awaits your arrival."

"Thank you," said Rae, holding out her hand to Larin and allowing the wisp to come back to hovering over her shoulder.

The old man shrugged. "It is the least I can do to assist the Arbiter. But let me give you one warning, girl. You must 
not 
see your reflection in a mirror while under Elrithea's roof. If you do that, you put yourself under her control, and she 
will
 
take advantage of it. Your friends begin to awake."

Rae looked. Sure enough, Cathel and Mika were beginning to move, stirring in their sleep. Mika mumbled something to herself, her eyes squeezing shut tightly. Rae glanced back at the old man.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The old man grinned. "You should have asked that question first.”

Mika began to sit up, and Rae immediately turned towards the girl, jogging over to her. Behind her, she heard the man continue to speak.

"Have you never read any stories in your world, Arbiter? I am the old man."

He was gone before she could ask him what that meant.

It was two weeks by the time the group of three caught sight of the High Lord's castle. They had moved along the road as fast as they could, Larin leading them on with its ghostly light. The old man had been right about their trip being uninterrupted. They had not run into a single member of the Ivali since meeting the man. Occasionally, they would catch sight of something out of the corner of their eyes, or hear whispers in the woods, or catch sight of things that signaled the Ivali's passing, but unlike in Alcian's lands, it seemed like Elrithea's Ivali were content to watch and whisper.

Once they left the mountain pass, Elrithea's lands started to resemble something more normal. Trees rose up again, a forest springing up around them. But unlike Alcian's forest, which had been ancient and foreboding but still somewhat warm and magical, Elrithea's forest was all evergreen trees standing tall like soldiers, whispering winds, and ever present shifting shadows. They didn't waste any frivolous energy in color or brightness. Instead, they stood watch, stately shadowy figures in the night.