The Orphans' Promise (20 page)

“It’s a good way to blow off steam. We could dress it up in my Zü tunic. That would surely motivate Bowbaq,” the actor concluded cheerfully.

Léti, who had been waiting her turn, continued, “He would be scared to hurt the straw!”

“I can see that this is my day to really hear it from you,” the giant remarked, without any real anger at the innocent teasing.

Rey added, “I wonder what you could see in a mannequin’s mind. Certainly some frustration about not being able to fight back.”

They all laughed at Rey’s joke, except for Grigán, who was anxious to start up the lesson again. But he never had the chance; Yan and Corenn’s arrival caused a new interruption. The Mother gathered the group around.

“I have something really important to say. It’s good news.”

“You’re going to take Yan in Union!” Rey proposed.

“No. I am going to take him on as my apprentice.”

“In what discipline?” Rey asked.

“Magic.”

“Oh! All right.”
She was joking
. Rey gave Bowbaq a thump on the shoulder and left the group to return to his pile of straw. The others didn’t follow him.

“I was wondering about that, actually. The broken crossbow on the island; it was you!” Grigán said.

“Yes.”

The giant asked, “Is it true? You’re a magician?”

“Yes… well, that’s a strong word. Let’s just say I’m familiar with most of the principles and that I only use my power but rarely.”

The heirs had seen so many strange things the past few days that they accepted the news fairly easily. Most Ramgriths didn’t believe in magic, but Grigán had met several people with the talent throughout his travels. He had acknowledged the existence of magicians for a long time. The fact that Corenn was one of them and that she was teaching Yan was only a happy coincidence that could prove to be helpful.

For Bowbaq, magic was among those things that his people judged to be
impolite
. Different. Dangerous. They never doubted its existence, but they feared and respected the power as much as gods, demons, and sacred animals. However, the giant had been forced to change his convictions many times in the past few days. Maybe the Arques were also wrong about magic. If Corenn used it, it couldn’t be that bad of a thing.

Rey was incredulous and joked, “Bowbaq reads minds; Corenn is a magician. I have an announcement for all of you. I have a great talent myself. I can touch my nose with my tongue.”

“Do you think this is funny?” Grigán asked.

“Corenn,” Rey continued, “I have met so many fakers that I will need to have proof. If you can do a demonstration, I promise I won’t say anything more… at least until the end of the day.”

The Mother gave him a small smile, took his hand, and placed a coin in his open palm. A moment later, the little metal disk floated in the air.

“I need to find myself a gag,” Rey finally said, unflustered.

My Will is awakening
, Corenn thought to herself. Her power had been sleeping for far too long, and even the slightest use had tired her enormously. However, the display for Rey was the third time in as many days that she had used it, and she already felt stronger. The magic was flowing through her more easily now, and she promised herself to put to practice the same advice she gave Yan. She would exercise her Will with him.

She had kept this secret for so long, for the good of the Matriarchy, that to finally reveal it provided her with a great sense of relief. The heirs were now more united than ever. They had all opened up to one another. Now they shared everything, and they always would.

Yan had not spoken since Corenn’s announcement, and Léti had been silent as well. They furtively glanced at each other, like two strangers who had just met.

Since everyone was waiting for the young woman’s reaction, she forced herself to say something.

“I am happy for you, Yan. Very happy.”

Her expression said the opposite. Léti had always known about her aunt’s powers. She didn’t have anything against magic, besides the fact that it always had to be kept secret and no one could talk about it. But Yan, whom she had reconnected with yesterday, was again going to change. He would begin to think differently. Evolve. He would
drift away from her
, little by little
with each sunset. No, she wasn’t happy that he was going to learn magic. Where had they gone, those happy days in Eza?

“Let’s get back to work,” she said to Grigán, closing the conversation.

Her voice was strong, but she looked troubled. The heirs dispersed.

Despite his protests, Raji went to meet the man whom Corenn had spoken to. He was a Goranese merchant interested in peddling centenarian’s liquor without having to pay Lorelien freight taxes. The two men came to an agreement, and the deal looked to be a good one for the little smuggler.

To the heirs’ great surprise, Raji invited them to down a few goblets to celebrate the occasion. Even though his guests had caused him a lot of trouble, he also acknowledged the fact that he owed them something in return. Rey wasn’t wrong about him. Raji was an honest man, albeit in his own way.

“Some brothers showed up at the Rominian Pig to question Bellec,” he announced while they were gathered under the porch of his little farm. “The only reason he didn’t say anything was to protect the tunnel. I thought I should warn you…”

“The Guild,” Grigán muttered. “To be expected. They’ll scour the whole city.”

The smuggler didn’t look worried. He lived several miles outside of Lorelia and never had had reason to worry, not about the Guild or about the royal tax collectors. The heirs were safe… for now.

“Raji, would you mind doing us a favor?” the warrior continued. “Could you find us a boat for the Small Kingdoms? For the seventh day of the next dékade. Discreetly, of course.”

The little man accepted without protest, as he was happy about his recent deal and even happier about his guests’ imminent departure. Having done business with a few unscrupulous captains in the past, he knew of several leads.

The adventure was under way. The heirs hoped they had made the right decision.

The few days that stood between them and another meeting with the Züu flew by. Among other chores, the heirs took advantage of this forced rest to take inventory of their supplies and equipment.

Grigán, Corenn, Yan, and Léti had already pooled their savings. They decided to make it official and asked the others to join in, which Bowbaq and Rey did without hesitation. Their interests already being aligned, it was easier to combine their funds, and they could always redistribute the money in case of some unforeseen end to their friendship.

It went without saying that Corenn would be treasurer; it was obvious to everyone that she was the best equipped to handle the job. Her first action was to precisely count how much each person was contributing to their communal fund, preventing any future disagreements. The Mother declared that her own investment was a donation given to the
community of heirs
, and that she gave up any and all claims to the money. Since her savings were the largest, everyone welcomed her gesture and made the same promise. Rey was the last to make up his mind, still struggling to turn in his sense of individualism.

Once this awkward problem was resolved, the heirs worked on filling out their equipment. They had no idea where this adventure would take them, but what they had lived through up until now encouraged them to plan for anything. They took
flasks, foodstuffs, sturdy bags, reinforced shoes, rope, blankets, lamps, and all sorts of tools. They traded Raji their horses for all the merchandise.

The group already had most of these necessities, but the stores were limited in number or in a damaged state. The smuggler’s items were of the highest quality, coming from towns, provinces, or countries that specialized in making the goods. Each one was an artisan’s masterpiece, solid and well built. Grigán, himself, replaced a few pieces of his equipment with the wondrous products in the warehouse.

Rey spent a long time bartering with Raji, getting back at him for the exorbitant fee he had charged the heirs for their stay. He finally succeeded in obtaining a few advantageous concessions. The heirs picked up additional objects—an enormous mace that Grigán forced into Bowbaq’s hands, and a finely crafted Goranese broadsword for Léti. From then on, despite Corenn’s protests, they never saw the young woman without the cured leather scabbard swinging at her side.

All said and done, once the heirs paid for their entrance to the Small Palace, the advance for the boat that Raji had reserved for them, and the necessary cost for Grigán’s secret project, they just barely had enough money left to get to Junine. They would have to find some way to refill their purses. Corenn worried to herself.
As if we didn’t already have enough to worry about
, she thought.

They also took advantage of the short extra dékade to train the apprentices. Grigán was content to practice a few exercises in various attacks, parries, and counterattacks, spending more time correcting Léti and Bowbaq’s errors than really teaching them anything. He wanted them to be familiar with their new weapons; the rest would come later.

Rey asked to watch Yan’s lessons, but the long moments of concentration bored him quickly, and he soon left to work with
Grigán on a skill that he could actually use. Besides, it was more fun to mock the warrior than to disturb the overly serious Yan and Corenn.

In addition to being dull, the first courses in magic didn’t appear to be going too well. Yan avoided them for three days, pretending that he had a headache. He finally ceded to the Mother’s insistence that he continue and dedicated himself to the experience, which again ended in failure. He quit trying after he failed again the next day.

“Yan, what happened to you?” Corenn finally asked him. “It seems like you aren’t interested anymore. Do you still want to learn?” She had asked the question with all the tenderness she could, knowing that the slightest terse word could push Yan to make a reckless decision.

“I don’t know,” he responded. “I don’t know if it will ever be useful.”

The Mother announced the end of the lesson, and didn’t add anything else. They needed to discuss it some other time.

That night Corenn had a long conversation with her niece. Yan never knew exactly what they said, but Léti found him soon afterward, when he was alone, contemplating the stars. She sat next to him, and they stayed like that, no words passing between them, for a long time.

“I hope you are really applying yourself to your lessons,” she said abruptly. “I can’t wait for you to show me some of your tricks.”

The young man stared at her without bothering to hide his surprise. Léti was sincere.

“Your aunt yells a lot less than Grigán,” he told her, smiling. “And she never asks me to hit her.”

They laughed nervously, which seemed to ease the tension that had built up between them over the past few days. They
spoke for a long time under the stars. They confessed their fears, their impressions, and their thoughts about the coming days, all the while avoiding talking about the feelings they had for each other. They pretended like they were in love. Like before, in Eza.

The next day, Yan succeeded brilliantly at his exercises. He learned everything that Corenn wanted to teach him. His education had begun once again, this time in earnest.

But Corenn didn’t have the chance to take advantage of her pupil’s newfound motivation. That day was the sixth of the dékade. The Small Palace market was tomorrow.