Chapter 11
Roksana
Iknelt there, helpless as the fog swirled around me.
It twisted and churned until my mother stood before me.
Her braid rippled against her simple peasant blouse and kirtle in an unseen wind.
Everything was exactly as I remembered. Even her smile was the same.
I wanted to run to her. To embrace her. To beg her forgiveness.
To tell her I tried extinguishing the fire that consumed her and my sister.
‘Sana… I waited…’ she whispered in my mind. I reached for her, but never touched her. Dwarfish hands landed on my shoulders, pulling me back with bruising force.
‘Tova, please…’ I cried, gasping when fire erupted from behind us. Four spears of flame, so hot it hurt to look at them, hit my mother in the chest.
I screamed. A mindless, animalistic wail burst from my throat as I once again watched my mother reach for me while she burned.
The pressure eased on my shoulders, allowing me to move again, but as I reached out, Tova leapt from behind me with a battle cry, his axe raised above his head.
He hurled his weapon, and I watched in horror as it split the disc in half.
The churning frost collapsed. One decisive strike cut off the oppressive energy.
I stood there, shocked to my core as the battle mages moved forward.
They were perfectly coordinated, burning away the residual fog, melting the frost coating every surface and instrument, until there was nothing left.
The charred remains of the once-pristine examination table, its screws and struts a puddle of melted metal on the floor, stood as silent testament to how close we’d been to catastrophe.
‘Drah’sa… talk to me. Come on, Sana, it was only a bit of frost and magic.
’ Tova’s voice sounded distorted, competing with the screaming in my ears.
He shook my shoulders, his bearded face appearing before mine, concern etched on his features, but all I could see was the betrayal in my mother’s eyes.
‘Oh for… I’m sorry,’ Tova said. I didn’t know what he was apologising for until he slapped my cheek so hard that tears welled in my eyes.
‘Do that again, and I’ll rip your fucking hand off,’ I said, covering my rapidly heating cheek.
‘That’s no threat; you’ll just remake it better than before,’ he said with a shrug before wrapping his arms around me in a rare display of affection. ‘It was the only way I could think to bring you back. Your eyes were glowing emerald again, and since Irsha isn’t here–’
‘You took it upon yourself to slap me silly,’ I finished with a sigh.
‘It’s not like that, Drah’sa. I remember that look from our time in Wiosna. The times you got that look in your eyes, it… It broke my heart whenever you withdrew into silence like that,’ he said.
I pulled away, looking at him with a frown. ‘You didn’t see her?’ The confusion on his face made me turn to the mages. ‘You! Did any of you see the woman in the mist?’
‘No,’ Ciesko answered, and the others shook their heads.
‘I think I can speak for everyone when I say there was only a pillar of fog threatening to engulf you.’ His words, but more so the calmness in his voice, told me the rest. It was a mirage, an illusion designed to lure me into touching that… freezing void.
The wave of anger was so overwhelming that my hands began shaking.
This thing, this abomination, took my most traumatic memory and used it against me.
Whoever created it would pay for forcing me to watch my mother die again.
I grabbed Tova, using a little more force than necessary to pull myself up.
Unsettled aether swirled around me as I approached the shattered remains of the box.
‘This wasn’t M?ot’s doing. He can build the device, even carve the sigils on its surface, but he couldn’t devise such vile…’ I looked at the battle mages who’d followed me. ‘Tova thinks it’s a portal spell, but to what?’
‘We agree with Master Tova’s assessment. There’s a possibility it’s a portal to the void between the worlds,’ said the tallest before introducing himself. ‘I’m Ansel, captain of the battlemages. I’m told you managed to hold it off alone. Impressive.’
He offered me a warm smile, but I didn’t smile back; I just couldn’t. ‘So the fae are involved… somehow.’ I bit back a curse.
‘Possibly, or someone perverted a fae portal spell, only opening one side,’ Ansel said, glancing at Ciesko. ‘We know how portal spells work even if no human’s ever opened one.’
Tova huffed in the background. ‘Too busy playing with dragons,’ he said, but his concerned glances at me told me he was trying to deflect their attention.
‘How does it even work?’ I muttered, grabbing a pair of slightly warped forceps and digging through the crumbling mess until I retrieved a piece of the disk. ‘How is the spell activated without a fae mage present?’
‘I believe I might have the answer, my lady.’ I looked around, noticing the artificer from before. ‘I believe the secret’s in the alloy.’
‘Careful,’ I said when he took the piece from my hand.
‘It’s inert now that the sigil is broken. I think the cube siphons stored aether from magic users. Then, when the power reaches critical mass, it opens, activating the disk, which then connects to the void.’ He looked at Tova.
‘I agree. This could cause a terrifying number of casualties.’ My friend looked at the scraps and reached for the forceps. ‘Whoever invented this alloy is both a genius and a madman, but the craftsmanship is clearly dwarven.’
‘I’ll have every available artificer, summoner, and enhancement mage working on it,’ the mage said as Tova passed him another piece of broken metal.
‘We need to inform Riordan.’ I looked around, confused at his absence. ‘Wasn’t he with you, Tova?’ I asked, but my friend shook his head.
‘He was, but went back to the palace. I agree, though. We need him to help make sure there aren’t more of those devices in the city.’
Ansel smiled nervously under my scrutinising glare, but I needed a plan, something solid… A search party.
‘We need at least two primal mages, preferably with fire and frost abilities, and a dwarf for each search party. Tova wasn’t affected by the box, so dwarves are our best bet to avoid activating it.’ Even Tova looked at me funny when I took charge.
‘Drah’sa, they know what they’re doing. And I did react; it made me itch, remember?’ His gentle reprimand made me self-consciously rub my neck to cover the blunder.
‘I’m just trying to help.’ I nodded to Ansel. ‘Sorry, I’m not trying to step on your toes, but we’re dealing with an unknown threat. If M?ot’s placed any artefacts in the city, we can’t afford to not take action.’
‘No offence taken, and you’re right. I’ll request assistance from a trusted dwarven mercenary troop I know. Master Orenson effectively demonstrated how to neutralise the threat with an axe,’ he said, moving closer. I held in my sigh, seeing the all too familiar curiosity in his eyes.
I was Ciesko’s pet vivamancer and had encountered gossip and stares ever since my identity was revealed. Some did more than stare. Several psychic mages had attempted to slide into my thoughts, and a few healers had overstepped, casually placing their hands upon me to examine my aether.
Even those with the purest intentions still treated me as a curiosity, and those without pure intentions? They wished to dissect and discover the secrets of a reborn remnant of ancient times.
I stepped back, gently shaking my head. Ansel smirked but respected my boundaries, allowing me to focus on the task at hand.
‘Tova, could you stay here? Let me know what you and the mages discover later. I’ll go and see Riordan. He needs to know what’s going on,’ I said, and he nodded. When no one voiced any objections. I gathered my things.
Ansel stepped in front of me as I headed to the exit. ‘Would you mind if I escorted you to the gates? You must be struggling after staring into the void.’
I looked at the hand he’d casually rested on my arm, then fixed him with a glare that made him snap his arm back. ‘I’m sure I can find my way, but if you insist,’ I said, walking past him.
I was closing the door when I heard Tova’s voice. ‘You’d better keep that hand to yourself. If the king doesn’t rip it off, my Drah’sa surely will.’
His indignation made me chuckle despite the circumstances.
However, the further I walked, the more my mood sobered.
All our recent problems were building up, causing my heart to race so fast I could feel its pulse drumming in my ears.
Another little pebble in the mountain of trouble and fear that hung over my head.
I held my composure as I walked along the university’s decorated corridors, where magical symbols and wards lit the walls as I passed, aethereal threads interwoven through each one like strange, ephemeral lightning, highlighting the portraits of famous mages.
‘I want to be alone. I’m sure a distinguished mage like you has more important tasks to spend his time on,’ I said to Ansel. He opened his mouth to protest, but my hand was already pushing the door open, the bitter wind that greeted me taking my breath away.
Thick flakes fell lazily down from dusk’s darkening sky, swirling past countless fae lanterns, giving the university courtyard an otherworldly feel. The evergreen cherry tree stood proudly in the middle, in all its timeless. This time, the sight of its beauty filled me with a deep melancholy.
The icy breeze danced among the blossoms, teasing the ensnared petals from their enchanted prison into an entrancing ballet of freedom that eased something in my soul.
I approached the tree, touching its smooth bark.
Earthy, rich aether drifted over my hand, and the tree trembled, showering me with petals.
‘My mother would love you…’ I whispered, embracing the trunk, closing my eyes and inhaling slowly. The peace and gentle touch of the tree’s magic flowed through me, drawing out memories of my mother.