The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled (21 page)

Arinot winced and stepped back toward the wall of the tower a few times during his walk. Sulana guessed that someone nearby must have used vaetra, which had to be expected in a place populated by sorcerers.

After he completed one full circuit, Arinot moved more slowly around the tower a second time, stopping occasionally to close his eyes and turn his head this way and that. He finally backtracked to a position that faced toward the south.

"There's something going on over there that I haven't heard before." He finally stated, pointing south. He turned and nodded his head toward the north. "There's also unusual activity going on toward the north, but it isn't consistent. This," he said, nodding south, "is very consistent. And it's layered."

Sulana frowned. Layering was a term sorcerers and Sensitives used when they picked up multiple colors or sounds, indicating multiple vaetric manifestations happening at the same time. If Arinot was hearing continuous layers of manifestation, that meant someone was consuming a lot of vaetra. Sulana was unaware of any Archives-related activity that would explain it.

"Can you tell how far?" Sulana asked.

"Not exactly. It can be hard to tell the difference between something strong that's farther away and something weak that's closer, but the way it's being diffused by the mountains between here and there, I'd say it's down by Teardrop Lake somewhere. Probably on the near shore."

Ebnik smiled. "That's exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you, Arinot."

Sulana looked at Ebnik. "But if that's true, more may be going on in Buckwoods than we realized. For one thing, it seems likely that the sorcerer is still there, given all the manifestation noise." Ebnik nodded encouragingly. "And he's up to something significant or he has a lot of help," she continued.

"Or both," said Ebnik, completing her conclusion.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" Arinot asked carefully. He was obviously used to dealing with Archives sorcerers and their secrets.

Ebnik motioned Sulana and Arinot to precede him back into the tower. "Yes. We'll talk about it on the way down. And then I have to arrange an audience with the Council as quickly as possible."

M
eldon and I crouched behind a dense thicket of shrubbery along the edge of the forest that encircled Buckwoods. From our uncomfortable position, we observed the villagers going about their daily tasks. We'd left Meldon's horse and Patches at a grassy area along the road behind us so they wouldn't make any noise that might give us away while we checked out the village.

The village had a panoramic view of the lake. Its choppy blue-grey water stretched far and wide. Beyond the opposite shore, snowy peaks rose majestically into a cloud-streaked sky.

Two of the village women were working a large garden to our right. The younger woman was busily hoeing weeds from the area of the garden that had yet to be planted. The older woman was busy inspecting the tiny plants that were already in the ground getting their start on the growing season. She checked each plant for pests or damage and tied the weakest of them to support sticks.

The short village dock that jutted out onto the lake was empty. The fishing boats were out harvesting the lake's bounty, bringing home the fish that gave Buckwoods its living.

On the shore next to the dock was a covered fish-cleaning station. Sitting next to it was a small smokehouse, with smoke threading out of the walls and ventilation holes. A strong wind from the south whipped the thin, fish-scented smoke toward the gardeners and the two of us.

The wind was a blessing. It covered any small noises we might make and prevented the horses and mules in a nearby corral to our left from catching our scent. Tree branches and the leaves on the shrubs waved around creating a visual distraction as well.

"I don't see anything unusual. Do you Meldon?" I looked over at Meldon to find he was staring wide-eyed at the older woman working the garden. I followed his gaze, but saw nothing unusual. I could once again hear the strange noise I had heard the last time I was here. The wind seemed to have no affect on my ability to hear the humming sound.

"What is that? What is she wearing?" Meldon whispered with a shaking voice.

I took a closer look at the older gardener and could see one of the strange amulets dangling down from her neck. "Do you mean the amulet?"

"Yes. Why does it glow?" he asked, easing back away from the bush that obscured us and swallowing hard.

He seemed about to turn and run, so I grabbed his arm. "It's glowing?"

His eyes were wild and he whispered harshly over at me. "Yes! Don't you see it? It's the magic you warned me about isn't it? We need to get out of here!" He tried to pull his arm out of my grip.

"Meldon, stop!" I hissed. "Control yourself. We have a job to do, remember?" I grabbed him by the shoulders and made him look at me.

The wild look slowly left his eyes and then he looked down at the ground, his neck and face flushing red. "I'm sorry, Jaylan, I don't know what got into me." He glanced up at the working woman again and shuddered. "That amulet glowing with magic is the most terrifying thing I've ever seen."

I narrowed my eyes and stared at Meldon for a moment to see if he was really settling down. I couldn't see the glow he was talking about, but if Meldon could see the amulets glowing and they were also the source of the sound, there was no longer any doubt that sorcery was at work here. I had also just learned that Meldon was a sight Sensitive like Sulana. Did he have the potential to become a sorcerer too? I almost decided to turn around and leave right then. If Meldon couldn't control his reaction to the amulets, he could put our mission at risk. But we were here, and he seemed to be getting a grip on himself.

I let go of his arm, and he gave me a weak smile. "Avoid looking at the amulets then, if you can," I suggested. He nodded and took a deep breath. We both turned back to watch the village.

The wagon that Kefer and Peltor were supposed to be escorting to Plains End sat next to a stone ice house. However, the door of the ice house was propped wide open, which was odd. Just then, a man came out of the building carrying a woman in his arms. She was wrapped in a blanket and her head rolled against the man's shoulder as he shifted his arms under her. The wind whipped up and fluttered the blanket, exposing bare legs and feet. The man carried her over to one of the village huts across the square from the ice house.

"What do you think that was about?" I wondered aloud to Meldon. He shook his head and cleared his throat, but didn't say anything. "And where are Kefer and Peltor? Do you see them?"

Something cold and sharp touched the back of my neck.

"We're right here, Jaylan, did you miss us?" Peltor said from behind us with a sneer in his voice.

I cursed myself for not considering that the wind was good cover for everyone, not just us.

I started to turn around, but stopped when the pressure on my neck increased. Kefer's voice came from directly behind me. "Don't move, Jaylan. Stay right there on your knees for now. You know what to do. Put your right hand up behind your head and undo your sword belt with your left. Same with you, Meldon."

I heard a sharp intake of breath from Meldon. Peltor was apparently a little more forceful with his jabs.

Kefer and Peltor relieved us of our swords and our daggers and then allowed us to turn around and face them.

"What's going on here, Kefer? You and Peltor should be most of the way to Plains End by now. Borlan is furious with you both."

Kefer got a faraway look in his eyes and spoke almost absently. "Something more important came up. This village desperately needs our protection. We can't leave right now."

"Protection from what?" I asked.

"Right now, you!" Peltor responded, looking at both of us suspiciously. "What are you doing here? Why were you spying?"

"Quiet, Peltor," Kefer interrupted him. "It's not our job to question the prisoners."

My heart sank when Kefer said the word prisoners. "Why are we prisoners? What do you plan to do with us?" I asked.

Kefer shook his head. "Not my decision. We need to take you to see Lord Thoron."

"Who is Lord Thoron?" I asked.

"No more questions. Get up, turn around, and walk. We're going to the temple." Kefer motioned Meldon and I to precede him and Peltor into the village.

***

The villagers stopped what they were doing to stare at us as Kefer and Peltor marched us through the small village square toward the ice house.

Meldon stumbled as we went by one of the village huts. A woman wearing one of the amulets stood in the open doorway holding tightly to the shoulders of a small boy. "They...they're all wearing one of those glowing amulets!" Meldon exclaimed. I could hear the panic creeping back into his voice.

"Quiet!" Peltor said and rapped Meldon on the top of the head with the flat of his blade. Meldon winced and subsided, but I could hear his breathing increase. I started to worry that he'd try to run and get himself killed.

When we reached the ice house, I discovered why the door stood open. It was to let in light and air. The ice house had been converted into a workshop of some kind. A few short steps took us down to the sunken stone floor. The room was dominated by two parallel stone blocks that normally held chunks of ice to cool the fish that would be packed around the floor.

A fishy odor still tainted the air, but the room had been cleared of fish, ice, and the straw insulation that would normally accompany them. Instead, one of the stone blocks was covered with a cloth and littered with tools, chunks of glass, and several of the strange amulets we had seen the villagers wearing. The other block was bare.

A man wearing a fine blue robe protected by a canvas work apron looked up from his task. "What have we here? Visitors?"

Kefer nodded and answered him. "Yes, my Lord. We found these two men spying on the village."

The man rose from his seat, and our guards pushed us down to our knees as he stepped smoothly around the blocks to stand between them.

"Did you now? Why would you be spying on our little fishing village?" the man asked us. The quality and design of his robe indicated that he was from a Ruling Family--one of the families that the Emperor appointed to control the provinces. He wore his dark hair long and it flowed onto his shoulders. His hair was just going grey at the temples, a fact that was emphasized by the silver circlet he wore to keep it back from his face.

Since I was the leader of my little two-man expedition, it was up to me to respond. "We were sent to find Kefer and Peltor and to see what was holding up the shipment they were supposed to guard."

The man smiled down at me. "I see. Well, I'm afraid that
I'm
what's holding up the shipment. I needed the glass that was being transported, as you can see." He gestured with his hand toward his improvised workbench.

"You hijacked the shipment just to steal the glass?"

He shook his finger at me. "Now, now, don't be judgmental. My need is great and my funding is...insufficient at the moment. The ends justify the means."

"What are the ends?" I asked.

His face clouded over. "That's none of your concern. But you can help play a role."

"I'm not interested. Neither of us is interested. If you don't mind, we would prefer to be on our way." I made to get up, but Kefer laid the flat of his sword on my shoulder. I settled back down onto my knees.

The man shook his head, his voice mocking sadness. "I'm sorry, but that won't be possible right now. I need your help too badly. But please, we are forgetting our manners. I am Lord Thoron, known here in Buckwoods as the Lord of the Lake." He tilted his head toward us and gestured toward me with his hand, indicating that it was my turn to speak.

"Jaylan," I said. "I'm Jaylan Forester and my associate is Meldon Wright."

"It's a pleasure to meet you gentlemen. Now, after a short indoctrination ceremony, we can all get back to work." He turned to the workbench and picked up one of the amulets. He turned to Meldon. "Meldon, you are about to receive a great honor. You will become a Guardian of the Lake like Kefer and Peltor here."

As soon as Lord Thoron picked up the amulet, Meldon started fidgeting. I looked over at him, and his face had gone pale. His eyes were wide and his hands behind his head were tightly gripped. When Lord Thoron turned to him with the amulet in hand, he shouted, "No!" and started to get up.

As soon as Meldon put down his hands and started to rise, Peltor struck the base of Meldon's neck with the hilt of his sword. Meldon grunted and collapsed to the floor.

I shot a fierce look up at Peltor. He just grinned and pointed his sword at me. "You can be next," he said.

I narrowed my eyes at him and silently vowed I'd find a way to repay him for his heavy handedness. Peltor and I had never been particularly fond of one another and seeing his behavior when put into a position of control did nothing to improve my opinion of him.

Lord Thoron glared at Peltor. "Peltor, you
must
try to control your impulses. I need the boy conscious. Wake him at once and hold him steady."