Empress of Wolves (15 page)

Malik gave the enraged Healer a slight enigmatic smile and set off down the corridor. Helpless, and with Aelfin's presence looming behind her, Kalla was forced to follow. They walked for what seemed an eternity, zigzagging through myriad labyrinthine passageways before reaching a massive set of heavy oaken doors.

Vander was already standing before the doors, guarded by Cara. Justina was nowhere in sight. Malik shared a look with Aelfin and disappeared with a crack of power. After a moment, the great doors creaked open. Cara and Aelfin gently herded them through.

Kalla shivered at the sight that greeted the pair. The chamber was lit by the soft glow of Artifice lamps. At the far end, the entirety of the 'Sin were gathered on a raised dais, looking like a solemn assembly of grim-faced crows in their billowing black judiciary robes. Vander flinched beside her, his ears drooping. Before the dais stood the four House 'Tem.

Cara and Aelfin halted the pair before the Tem' and gently, but firmly, urged them to their knees without speaking. Kalla folded her legs beneath her, but didn't take her fierce gaze from Justina's, her anger quite palpable. Justina merely gave them a slight smile just as mysterious as Malik's had been, not at all fazed by the Healer's fury.

Justina stepped up to the kneeling magi and placed a hand on their heads. Kalla's ears flattened at the touch.

“
Close your eyes. Do not open them until you are instructed to,
” the 'Tem said. A growl rumbled in her throat. Her displeasure voiced, Kalla let her eyes slide closed.

Justina stood silent before them. There came the gentlest of touches against Kalla's mind, a similar presence as that felt when a new mage was assessed for House placement.

“Fire and fury you have, a strong will to lead. May Balgeras bless you,” Justina said. She lifted her hand and moved away.

From his scent Kalla could tell it was Farlyn, the Crannogmarchogi 'Tem of Malkador that took Justina's place. He rested a hand on her head.

“Earth's stability you have, patience and tenacity. May Fen'raal bless you,” Farlyn rumbled. He stepped back and was replaced by Shazmina tem'Wyvaldor, a petite Persiali who smelled of saffron and desert sands.

“Ocean ebb and flow you have, mercy and compassion your strengths. May Ottric Roi bless you,” she said in her musical voice. Shazmina gave way to the final 'Tem. A whippet thin man originally of the Maracca, Amazu tem'Aerodor smelled of heat-warmed stones and well-worn parchment.

“Wind's sharpness you have, quick of thought and hungry for knowledge. May Aitaxx bless you.”

Amazu gave way to another mage. Kalla tensed as she recognised the scent of the Grand Maester himself. He touched her shoulder briefly.

“
Give me your hand,
” Jasper sin'Solidor said. She did so and he gently pulled her up, freeing her magick.

“Rise, Kalla sin'Solidor, Vander sin'Solidor.”

Kalla's eyes flew open, shocked. Jasper's eyes glittered in amusement as he offered his congratulations.

She shared a bewildered look with Vander and saw that his robes were now trimmed in the splashes of color marking the 'Sin. Hardly believing it she looked down at her own robes and found them marked thus as well.

“
Congratulations, milady,
” Aleister said. She turned and found him being led in by Aelfin, Kasai the hawk perched on his shoulder. The harrier glided to Vander's shoulder and promptly bite his ear by way of congratulations. Kasai made a grumpy noise and hunched down, glaring protectively as the rest of the 'Sin gathered to welcome the pair to their ranks.

“This was all a
test?
” Kalla sputtered.

“Indeed, Lady Kalla. One we have all been through. Just as unexpectedly too, I might add,” Sevrus said with a laugh. “I remember my own initiation. I was stolen away from the Forge one night as I worked late. Ossler had already retired for the evening and I was alone.”

“I thought you had all gone mad, tricking us into returning, only to arrest us. Not a fair trick at all Master Sevrus, given what Vander had been through when last he was here,” she said in a low voice.

Sevrus glanced over at the War Mage, where he stood talking with Malik and Justina. “No, I agree, but he weathered it well. I'm not sure who was angrier, him or his magister, when they woke.

“He tried to find you, you know. Ossler and Aelfin had a hard time containing Vander without harming him until Malik and I got there. You've won a loyal friend.” Sevrus paused a long moment. “And kept us from making a serious mistake. Thank you, Lady Kalla.”

Grosso stirred fitfully in his sleep, brought to full wakefulness by the eerie barking cries of the Reavers surrounding his home. The mage paid little mind to them most of the time. His master had sent several more
triths
to join Igasi's, and they had taken up residence in the surrounding forest. The noises they made served as a further deterrent to nosy people poking around in the woods.

Grosso sighed and levered himself up. Sleep was a rare companion these days. He shuffled towards the hearth, flexing the stiff fingers of his right hand as he did so. Irritation creased his features, gone as quickly as it had come, before his thinning face settled into tired lines.

His nights were haunted by nightmares and the Nagali's displeasure. Al'dhumarna had been enraged to learn that Kalla had obtained another tooth from the dragon goddess and no longer need search for the one James now carried. That anger had been further compounded when Grosso had come upon the slavers camp and set the slaves free instead of slaying them along with their captors. Grosso had prevented the
triths
from hunting the slaves down, taking the vicious predators elsewhere to slake their insatiable bloodlust after the camp was destroyed.

The Nagali had set him to making more enchanted equipment, this time to fit the Reavers' needs, not that they needed his help to be deadly. His waking hours were spent carrying out these orders. Slipping a pair of glasses on, he hooked a loupe over one lens and picked up his tools. Hunching over the workbench that covered half of one wall, he began working on the bracer that was his current project.

Alert! Alert!

Heh…. I'm so mean.

This book was never intended to be broken down, so instead I have set it up as a serial, rather than sequels. The entire thing is finished, and the remaining parts should be out in quick succession. Be sure to visit the links provided at the beginning for updates on new works in progress and the status of releases.

I do hope you enjoyed this brief foray into the realm of De Sikkari.

By all means, feel free to contact me:

Twitter:
@cala
_gobraith

Mail: [email protected], include Sikkari in the title or it might be binned as spam.

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Empress of Wolves
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