The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled (27 page)

Sulana stared at him. "Sure, and do what? Kill a bunch of innocent villagers? No. We have to do this carefully. We need to protect the villagers somehow and get Ebnik close enough to Paeter to disable him."

Ebnik chuckled. "I appreciate your confidence my dear, but I think our best bet is to surprise Paeter
before
he has a chance to mount a defense, or 'disabling' him may be a challenge even for me."

I spoke up. "Our main problem is the Raven Company men. They are well-armed and experienced fighters. On top of that, Peltor is suspicious of me and stays very close to Lord Thoron."

"When are the fishermen due back?" Sulana asked.

"They usually return in the late afternoon. Not long from now, actually. Why?"

"I think it's best if we wait until everyone who is under the influence of the amulets is present. We could have big trouble if the fishermen return home to a bunch of 'outsiders,' as you put it."

"Won't that just be more people for us to fight?" Daven asked.

Sulana looked around the group before answering. "I'm hoping we can do this without a fight. The villagers are innocents. If we fight, someone is sure to get hurt, maybe killed."

I nodded. "The timing will be critical then. We'll have to deal with Lord Thoron and the two Raven Company men without alerting the villagers, and we'll have to disable the amulet on each villager without alerting the rest of them. I'm honestly not sure we can do either of those things. As soon as you disable an amulet, the others will recognize that person as an outsider."

"May I make a suggestion?" Talon interrupted.

"Please do. We could use one of those about now," Sulana said.

"The Raven Company men are our biggest problem in a physical conflict. Since Jaylan is on good terms with one of them, perhaps he could lure that man away from the village first."

Sulana nodded. "I like that. We could disable his amulet and get him on our side, or at least out of the fight."

I thought about Talon's suggestion. It seemed reasonable. I just needed a good excuse to get Kefer out of the village. An idea came to mind immediately.

"I have an idea for getting him out of the village, but he won't willingly let me touch his amulet," I said.

Ebnik reached into the folds of his tunic and removed a crystal sphere, much like the one Lord Thoron had. He held it in the palm of his hand. "Just get him here," he said. "I'll take care of the rest."

When he saw the sphere, Meldon took a couple of steps back and stared at it. When nothing more happened, he stopped fidgeting but kept a wary distance.

"What is that?" I asked, tilting my head toward the sphere in Ebnik's hand. "Lord Thoron has one. He used it to immobilize us. Does yours do that too?"

"This is a casting orb. Unlike the amulets, it has no specific function. I can use it as a focus device to cast any incantation I wish."

I looked at Sulana. "That seems a lot simpler than carrying around individual implements. Why don't you have one?"

Sulana shrugged and shook her head. "I can't cast, I can only channel. A caster like Ebnik can speak an incantation and focus it through his casting orb to produce manifestations. Not all Channelers are able to do that. The rest of us need implements that have the incantation built into them."

"Wait...you said earlier that Lord Thoron was a Smith. Now he's apparently a Caster as well. How many types of sorcerer are there?" I asked.

Ebnik explained. "Vaetric ability appears in layers. Most of the mundane population is Insensitive; they are unable to sense vaetric manifestations in any way. Perhaps one in a hundred individuals is a Sensitive. Sensitives are able to sense vaetric manifestations, just as you are able to hear them and Sulana is able to see them. Many Sensitives, about half of them, are able to control the flow of vaetra, or channel it. You and Sulana are both Channelers. Some Channelers can only work with vaetric implements like a Seeker or Veil, which have the necessary incantation enchanted within them. Other Channelers--again about half--are Casters such as myself. Casters can speak an incantation and focus it through a casting orb like mine. The orb has no incantation within it; it is simply a focusing device for whatever incantation one casts. Finally, a certain number of Casters are Smiths like Paeter. A Smith can enchant a glass or crystal implement, creating the devices that non-casting Channelers need to work sorcery."

I pursed my lips in thought. Some of the things that had happened over the past few days were starting to make more sense. "Meldon is apparently a Sensitive too, because he can see when the amulets are active. But Lord Thoron called him something else. He said Meldon was a Phobic."

Ebnik turned to regard Meldon, who shrank back at his scrutiny. "Ah, I understand now. I'm sorry this situation is causing you such distress, Meldon."

Ebnik turned back to me. "A certain number of Sensitives have strong reactions to vaetric manifestations. Phobics, like your friend Meldon here, have a strong fear reaction. Euphorics have a joyous reaction, sometimes to the point of hallucination. Manics go berserk with anger, usually attacking the sorcerer who produces the manifestation."

Another thought occurred to me, and I turned to Daven. "That's why you kept such a close eye on me the first time Sulana used the Seeker in my presence. You thought I might be a Manic."

Daven shrugged. "You never know."

"So, really, Meldon could be a Channeler too." I said to Ebnik. Meldon's jaw dropped and he looked absolutely horrified at the suggestion.

Ebnik nodded. "It's possible. However, we don't know of any Phobics or Manics who have been able to overcome their reaction sufficiently to pursue training in sorcery. Sorry, Meldon."

"That's fine with me," Meldon mumbled.

Barek stepped forward and leaned toward Sulana. "Can we save the sorcery lessons for later and deal with the problem at hand?"

Sulana grimaced. "I suppose you're right, although it seems that Jaylan needs to understand more about what's going on in order to help us. Okay, so we need a plan. You said you had an idea for getting Kefer out of the village?" she asked me.

"Yes. I'll tell him Meldon shot a good-sized buck just up the road from the village, and that we could use his help bringing it back. We'll need to be far enough back from the village that his amulet fades out of range before we take it from him; otherwise, Peltor may figure out that something's up. The road curves just before you get to the village, so we'll be able to get fairly close before we're seen. I'll walk down the road until I start to detect the other members of the Guard, and then I'll scratch my head as a signal. You'll need to set up the ambush well back from that point."

Sulana nodded and looked around at the group. "Is everyone ready?" We all indicated that we were, and she turned back to me. "Go ahead, Jaylan. We'll follow you."

I started walking down the road to the village. When I was about half-way there, I stopped and put my hand on my amulet. "Member," I said, and channeled vaetra into the amulet. It started to hum. "Protector," I said, and a second tone joined the first. Now that I had more practice activating and deactivating the amulet, the Protector spell had even less influence over my mind. It crashed against the door of my self control, but I was able to hold that door closed. Being able to exercise control over the spell sent a thrill of excitement through me.

I started walking again. About fifty paces from the curve in the road, the flickering awareness of the other Guardians resumed. I raised my hand and scratched my head, signaling the others. I glanced back over my shoulder and saw that they had stopped a good twenty paces behind me.

After I went around the curve in the road and got closer to the village, Kefer ran forward to intercept me, his hand on his sword. "Is everything okay? Where's Meldon?" he asked, craning his neck to look around me and down the road.

"Meldon's back with his prize." I said with an eye roll. "He got a buck and didn't want to leave it behind even for a moment. It's just down the road, and we could use your help carrying it back. It will be easier to dress it out back here in the village."

Kefer responded to my news with a grin. "That's great! Let me tell Peltor what's going on and I'll give you a hand." Kefer jogged over to Peltor, who stood as Kefer approached and listened to Kefer's enthusiastic explanation. Peltor frowned in my direction, nodded to Kefer, and sat back down.

As Kefer walked back to me, I glanced around the village. Everything seemed quiet, and I noticed that the fisherman had not yet returned. Then my eyes caught movement out on the water. The two fishing boats floated around a rocky point to the south, rowing toward the village. They'd be back soon.

Kefer was still grinning as he rejoined me and he slapped me on the back. We started walking back down the road away from the village. "The fish here is excellent, but fresh venison will be a welcome change," he said.

"I couldn't agree more. Everything quiet while we were gone?" I asked.

"Yep. Same as ever. I almost wish some outsiders would appear just to relieve the boredom."

The irony almost made me laugh, but I kept a straight face. "Not me. A little peace and quiet is welcome after what I've been through the past few days."

"Aw, you're just used to things being slow at Raven Company," he scoffed. "A little excitement would do you some good. Get the blood flowing again. Makes you feel alive."

I was going to make a flip reply, but his words unexpectedly struck home. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was time to shake things up and try something new. "You may be right," I finally said. We walked around the curve in the road, and I shook my head to dispel the distracting line of thought. I started paying careful attention to my awareness of the other Guardians.

"Of course I'm right," Kefer continued. He blustered on about being ready for some action for a few moments, and then slowly fell silent. Right as we were nearing the limit of the amulet's range, he stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Kefer gave me a haunted look. "It's spooky...the way the others disappear. I've never gone this far from the village before. How did you and Meldon stand the feeling of isolation?"

"We knew we had a job to do. We wanted to protect the security of the village, and we wanted to pay the villagers back for their hospitality while we've been here."

He absorbed that and took a deep breath. "I guess you're right. Still..."

"We're almost there. Meldon is just up the road."

"I don't see him," Kefer said, peering ahead.

"The deer ran into the trees before collapsing. We thought it was safer to leave both Meldon and his buck in the trees in case someone came down the road."

Right then, Meldon appeared, waved to us, and went back into the trees. Someone must have realized that Kefer was balking and thought to send Meldon out to ease his mind. But they forgot something; Meldon was no longer wearing an amulet.

Kefer drew his sword with a rasp of steel and stared at the place where Meldon had disappeared into the trees. "Outsider," he said, and started running down the road toward Meldon.

I drew my sword as well and ran after Kefer.

Kefer stopped where Meldon had left the road and peered into the trees, sword at the ready. Then he straightened and dropped his sword. With a clang, it fell to the road.

Ebnik stepped out of the trees, tucking his casting orb back into his pocket as I caught up to them. He walked up to Kefer, pulled Kefer's amulet out from under his clothing by its chain, and placed a hand on it. The amulet fell silent, although I could still hear a low sound emanating from Kefer himself.

The rest of Sulana's team emerged from their hiding spots alongside the road and walked over to where we stood. Talon removed Kefer's dagger from his belt and both Talon and Barek held Kefer's arms.

Ebnik nodded to them and pulled out his orb again. He stared at Kefer and suddenly Kefer was struggling in the grip of his captors.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Kefer demanded.

I stepped into his range of vision. "Kefer! Relax. These people are here to help."

Kefer looked at me in confusion. "Jaylan? What's going on here?"

"You've been under a spell. Lord Thoron put us all under a spell to help him make more of these amulets." I touched mine and looked at his.

He looked down at the amulet resting on his chest. "Yeah, I remember. Get that thing off me!"

I removed his amulet for him and handed it to Ebnik. It took us a while to calm Kefer down and make introductions. Any doubts about Kefer's willingness to cooperate evaporated quickly and Talon and Barek released him. He was all for going after a piece of Lord Thoron.

I looked around the group. "Where's Meldon?"

Meldon called from behind a tree a few paces into the forest. "Right here, Jaylan. Could you do something about your amulet?"

I looked down at my amulet and realized it was still active. It's influence over my mind had fallen to the point where I could practically ignore it. "Sorry, Meldon." I deactivated the amulet, and Meldon sheepishly came out of the trees.

"I'm sorry to be such a coward, Jaylan, but all this sorcery is unnerving."

"You aren't a coward, Meldon. In fact you've been incredibly brave. I'm sorry I got you into all this."

"Well, Borlan did promise adventure when I gave him my commitment," he said with a weak smile.

Kefer had watched me deactivate my amulet with alarm and then suspicion. "How are you able to do that, Jaylan? I couldn't even think for myself while I wore one of those things."

I hesitated before answering. I wasn't sure I was ready for the world to know about this new aspect of my life, but Meldon already knew, and everyone else would find out soon enough. "I've discovered that I have a little talent for sorcery. Not much, but enough to control the amulet."

He stared at me for a moment. "What's Borlan going to think about that?" he finally asked.

"Or Dela?" Meldon added.

I shook my head. "I honestly have no idea. I haven't even worked out what I think yet."