The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled (9 page)

Meanwhile, Sulana negotiated with Meghan for a few samples of healing herbs and tonics that the healer was willing to sell. The two of them seemed to have settled into an unsteady truce, although I suspected Meghan was charging a premium, which Sulana accepted without haggling. Sulana seemed to have mastered the art of human relations through commerce.

I stood away from the others. My eyes wandered unfocused over their activities while I grappled with my first sorcery experience and tried to decide what I was going to do about it. Part of me longed to understand and explore the sensation that the Seeker had stirred within me, but I'd been taught to fear and avoid sorcery all of my life.

When I was seven years old, my mother took me home after a visit with a group of her women friends. Night had fallen, and the dark buildings lining the street loomed over us. Our lantern did little to fend off the darkness, and my little hand gripped hers tightly. We turned a street corner and saw an eerie red light moving down the street toward us. My mother stopped short and pulled me closer, her hold on my hand tightening so much that I squirmed with pain. As the light got closer, I could see it was bobbing at the top of a walking staff being carried by a man in a long, black, hooded cloak. Most of his face was hidden by his hood, but I saw him nod to my mother as he passed us. A small globe at the top of his staff gave off a high-pitched sound in addition to more light than a lantern could possibly produce. I stared in fascination as he passed, watching him continue down the street in a radiant halo of crimson luminosity.

My mother started walking again, pulling me along as fast as we could go. I tried to ask her about the man and his glowing staff, but she shushed me. She then told me something that has never left my mind. "You just stay away from people like that. Trafficking in magic will only bring you grief."

As I grew older, I learned that sorcerers had once tried to rule the world and that their rule had resulted in widespread death and destruction. After the Wizard Wars were over and the sorcerers were defeated, the Sorcery Accords ensured that sorcerers would never again hold dominion over mundane affairs. But now even centuries later, fear and distrust ran strong, and everyone believed that given the opportunity, sorcerers would try to rule again.

The idea that I might have the ability to work with magic, or "vaetra" as Sulana called it, made me feel a little ashamed and dirty. I even felt a little nauseous, but I couldn't tell if that was because of my concerns about this new discovery or because of a reaction to channeling.

Besides, the very idea of dropping everything and going off to the Archives for training was ridiculous. I had responsibilities at the Snow Creek Inn and issues to work out with Dela. I didn't want to miss opportunities with Raven Company either. If work came in, I had to be there to take it.

Nevertheless, I found myself drawn to the idea of spending more time with Sulana. I liked being near her. What that meant for my relationship with Dela was uncertain and probably not good.

Daven leaned on the outside wall of the cottage with his arms folded and watched me in bemusement as I paced back and forth considering my future. I finally stopped pacing and sighed.

"What have you decided?" Daven asked me. His tone was casual, but his words had an edge to them that hinted at more than a passing interest in my response. His gaze didn't waver from me as he waited for me to answer.

"Nothing," I finally said. "My life is complicated enough already without adding sorcery to the mix. As disturbing as the revelation is, I don't see how I can do anything about it right now."

Daven nodded, his lips pressed into a serious line. "I don't blame you. It's a lot to take in all at once. You've lived your life so far just fine without sorcery, so what's the point of changing that now? Even if you did decide to pursue it, you'd be starting pretty late in life and you'd have a lot of catching up to do."

I agreed with him completely, but for some reason, hearing it from him rankled a bit. "I'm a fast learner, so I think I could pick it up quickly, but you're right. Now isn't the time."

As the last words came out of my mouth, Sulana emerged from the healer's cottage with an armful of bottles and pouches. She headed over to her horse to add them to her saddle bags. As she walked by me she said, "It's up to you, of course. But I wouldn't waste your gift or the opportunity to develop it lightly. It could be a tremendous help to you in your work with Raven Company."

I considered her point. "That might be nice in the end, but I'd have to abandon my responsibilities for however long while I developed those skills."

Sulana finished lacing up her saddle bags and turned back to me. "Every goal has a price. It's up to you to decide if the price is worth achieving the goal."

I snorted. "How very philosophical of you. But from where I'm standing, the decision is far from easy."

"Life-changing decisions are never easy. I just think you should know what you may be giving up. I can probably answer the questions you must have about sorcery so you can make an informed decision."

Daven rolled his eyes and grunted. He walked off to where Barek and Talon were finishing their grisly task. Sulana watched him walk away and waited until he was out of earshot before turning back to me.

She lowered her voice and continued. "If you went to the Archives for training, it wouldn't take long to find out if you had a knack for sorcery and if you liked it. Within a month or so, you'd know if you wanted to continue. If you didn't think it could improve your life, you could just leave."

My eyes widened. "A month!" I exclaimed. "If I told Dela I was running off for a month, she'd sneak into my room and slit my throat in my sleep."

Sulana shrugged. "It would take at least a month just to learn the basics. If you decided to continue, it would take a year or more to become proficient. What did you expect?"

I smirked. "Well, that pretty much settles it. There's no way I can abandon my responsibilities for a year or more to learn skills I may never need to use. As Daven said, I've been doing fine without sorcery up to now." Okay, maybe I wasn't doing particularly fine at the moment, but I was working on it.

Sulana looked disappointed, which made me want to reach out and touch her arm, but I had nothing encouraging to say to her. She shrugged again. "Suit yourself. But the work you do for Raven Company isn't that different from what I do for the Archives. I'm certain sorcery would be a big help to you."

She looked over toward the horses and saw that the others were preparing to leave. "Well, we'd better get going," she said, and then she turned and walked away.

I wanted to stop her. To tell her something, anything, that would make her smile at me again. Every step she took away from me was a nail being hammered into the coffin of a possible future that might include her.

A future with Sulana held possibilities. And dangers. And complexity. My heart sank with the recognition that a significant opportunity had just passed, and I'd chosen to let it go.

***

Our return trip to Northshore was a somber procession. As expected, the road had thawed to mud in the morning sun and we had to move carefully. The horses occasionally hit a soft spot and slipped a bit, but overall the footing was not as treacherous as it would have been even a week before.

We all seemed lost in our own thoughts. I was busy wrestling with my conflicting feelings about sorcery and feeling anxious about the idea that Sulana would soon be on her way to finish her quest for the Archives. Sulana occasionally stole a glance over her shoulder in my direction and seemed about to say something, but each time she looked away quickly when she caught my eye. Talon and Barek plodded along and looked bored. Barek trailed the group, leading the horse that carried the dead thief.

Daven was the only one who appeared to be in relatively good spirits. He rode up alongside Sulana and tried to engage her in conversation a few times, but he gave up after getting a few monosyllabic responses from her.

The sun was now high in the sky and the morning had progressed from chilly to warm. We had removed our cloaks, and the sun on my hands and face was relaxing. But the warmth didn't lift my mood as much as it normally would.

We finally arrived at Northshore in the early afternoon. The guards at the west gate watched curiously as we passed, but they didn't try to engage us in conversation. Their job wasn't to inspect traffic as much as it was to watch for good reasons to close the gateway. If a threat appeared outside of town or a manhunt began on the inside, these two seemingly listless men would be swift to slam and bar the heavy gates.

One of the men nodded to me as we passed, mouthing my name. I acknowledged him with a nod of my own and continued on my way. That man had once been under my command, but now I was just another citizen.

We rode carefully through town, slowed by townspeople crossing the roadway and wagons heading to and from the town gate. Heads swiveled to watch us pass every step of the way to the Governor's Complex. Sulana took the lead as we approached the gate to the complex and the guards on station there. One of the guards stepped forward to get a closer look at the mud-splattered corpse draped over the horse that Barek led.

"We need to deliver this thief into custody and question the other man we captured yesterday," Sulana said to the guard who remained at the gate.

The young guard, whose name I knew was Zak, craned his neck to look over at the dead thief. "Doesn't look like we'll get much trouble from him," he said with a grin. "I gather he
resisted
?"

Sulana responded with clipped words. "It was an accident, actually." Even from behind her, I could see the color rise on her slender neck.

"An accident," nodded Zak with a knowing grin that was starting to annoy me. "I understand completely."

Sulana glared at him, but didn't respond to his needling. "May we pass now?" she asked.

"Be my guest," Zak said, as he stood aside to give our horses clear passage through the narrow gate. "Take the corpse to the infirmary for inspection and the horse to the stable for impound," he ordered in a more serious tone as we passed. He pointed unnecessarily at the infirmary, which was clearly identified by the large red circle above its door.

Sulana nodded her understanding and mumbled a thank you in his direction.

As I went by, he shouted up to me. "Hey Jaylan! How did you get mixed up with this crowd?"

In spite of my serious state of mind, I chuckled at his jocularity. "It's a long story, Zak. Buy me a drink sometime and I'll tell it to you."

"It's a deal. Good luck!" he said with a grin and a wave.

We brought the corpse over to the infirmary. A healer wearing a long grey smock and white skullcap came out to take a look. He asked Talon and Barek to move the body inside.

I waited outside and watched the normal afternoon bustle around the Governor's Complex. Guards crossed the courtyard on their various errands. The clang, clang of a smith's hammer rang out from the open doors to the stable and echoed off the front of the Governor's Residence. A young herald skipped down the steps of the residence, ran across the courtyard, and out through the gates to the town beyond, clutching a message tube in his hand.

I knew better than to think there was any particular urgency to his mission. The heralds were usually older teenage boys who were excited and proud of their chance to serve the Governor. They ran like that everywhere. The Governor encouraged them to treat every task as if it were a matter of life and death. One never knew when it really would be.

Sulana interrupted my musings. "Well, you've completed your bargain with Raleb. Do you want me to break the news to him? There's no sense you hanging around and wasting more time on this."

I looked at her closely, thinking maybe she was either goading me or trying to get rid of me, but she seemed sincere. "No, I should tell him myself. That's the least I can do for the amount of money he paid me, especially considering how it turned out."

She nodded. "I understand. I'll let you go in first and speak to him before I question him. He was apparently the junior partner, so I'm not sure how much I'll get from him anyway."

"Thanks. I think I'll head over there now," I said, turning my horse toward the prison.

"We'll catch up to you after we're done here," she said, gesturing toward the open door of the infirmary.

The guardroom at the prison was occupied by a single guard. The man looked up from his old wooden desk, which was little more than a small table really, as I closed the door behind me. "What can I do for you?" he asked stiffly.

The man knew me, of course. Most of the guards did. But he was apparently one of the crowd who had never forgiven me for getting myself mixed up in the scandal that had cost me my job. Or maybe he just hadn't liked working under me.

"I'm here to see the thief you are holding for Agent Delano. He's also a client of mine, and I need to pass on some information."

"A client?" he asked sharply, "Then perhaps you'd better leave your weapons here." He pointed to an empty weapons rack along the wall next to his desk. "Do you need to enter the cell?"

"No. I don't need to enter the cell. I just need to talk to him." Relieving me of my weapons was unnecessary, particularly since I didn't need to enter the cell, but there wasn't much point arguing about it with him. I unsheathed my sword and dagger and placed them on the rack.

"That it?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered, exasperation evident in my tone.

For a moment I thought he might frisk me, but he seemed to be satisfied with his control over the situation and grabbed a key from a nail on the wall beside him as he stood. He unlocked the door to the cell block, let me pass, and closed the door behind us. He stayed back at the door and said "third on the left."

I walked down to Raleb's cell, thankful that the guard had chosen to remain behind. The cells had stone walls and heavy, wooden doors with a foot-square, barred grate in the top half. The grate wouldn't make for the most intimate conversation, but I'd be able to impart what I'd learned.