Chapter 28 Baz
THE SALON HAD ALREADY STARTED by the time they arrived. Cordie spotted them at the door. She motioned for them to come stand beside her. Everyone around them was listening enraptured to a student speaking with such conviction and poise, it was no wonder there were so many people here.
The student presently had his back turned to them.
He stood in the middle of the room, with the gathered crowd forming a circle around him.
His shoulder-length hair was perfectly coiffed, and his clothes seemed finer than what the typical student wore, with an added flair that made him look ahead of his time.
“All magic is born equal,” the student was saying.
“Every facet of this system that governs us is part of a larger equation, and to disregard a single one of those facets is to let the whole system fall apart. There is no moon without a sun. No seas without shores. No dreams without nightmares. No Tides without their Shadow counterpart. No successful party without an Illusionist there to give us all the best—if not chaotic—night of our lives.”
Laughter erupted from the crowd at whatever inside joke this was. The student slowly spun around to look at everyone, his voice growing serious again as he said, “There is no lunar magic without Eclipse magic, and to think otherwise is not only folly; it puts us all in danger.”
He turned around fully then, giving Baz a good look.
If everyone around them was mortal, then he must be a god.
His features were delicate and fine, blond hair curling around his chiseled jawline, and his eyes were a striking shade of blue-green.
They were like sea-foam, like turquoise waves spilling on white sand, or the cloudy hues of sea glass.
And they were staring right at Baz.
Recognition struck, and Baz nearly gasped at the impossibility of it.
Because here was a man he never thought he would ever get to meet. A face he’d seen only in paintings and books and his own imagination. A name he’d seen printed on the cover of his favorite book time and time again.
Standing before him was his literary idol, the brilliant mind behind Song of the Drowned Gods.
Cornus Clover.
Here. In this time.
It was impossible—yet so was traveling two hundred years into the past, and here they were, and here Clover was, and none of it made sense.
Baz caught Kai’s gaze as Clover turned from them and kept on with his speech.
Kai’s mouth hung agape in what had to be a mirror of Baz’s own bewildered expression.
“Did you realize—”
“No.” Kai swore under his breath, the hint of a chuckle in his voice. “This can’t be real.”
A student next to Kai shushed him, drawing their attention back to Clover.
“… the heinous brutalities that those who suffer the Unhallowed Seal are subjected to,” Clover was saying. “And now, some Institutes have started employing Purifiers to try to expel the evil from those who have Collapsed.”
“As they should,” a loud voice boomed.
Everyone turned toward the disturbance. Wulfrid and his two friends from last night stood at the door, their faces etched in disdain.
Clover seemed undisturbed by their interruption, clasping his hands smoothly behind his back. “Care to share why you think so?” he asked conversationally. “Go on. I’m sure we’re all very curious to hear a Purifier’s perspective on the matter.”
“All Eclipse-born are corrupt,” Wulfrid said with righteous fury, “and those who Collapse are even more so, because they have succumbed to the Shadow’s dark, sacrilegious curse.
It is as the Tidelore faith says: Eclipse-born carry the stain of the Shadow who brought the Tides to their doom.
They are ruination, a plague upon our world, and you are no better by associating with them. ”
Tidelore. Baz had read all about it when he was helping Professor Selandyn with her research on the Tides and the Shadow.
Those of the Tidelore faith believed in the myth that portrayed the Tides as good and the Shadow as evil—a faith that was no longer prevalent in Baz’s time, even if the general sentiment of it remained.
From the sounds of it, it was still relevant here.
“So it is religion that shapes your perspective,” Clover said, nodding his head sagely.
He sounded as calm and assured as if he were debating whether the sky outside was blue. As he spoke, Baz was reminded of what Jae always thought of Clover, that he was a fervent criticizer of these religious zealots. Jae would be pleased to know they’d been right.
“Surely you must know that Tidelore is only that: lore,” Clover continued.
“Like any myth or fable, it is told in a myriad of ways and paints the Shadow in different lights depending on who does the telling. Those of the Constellation Isles believe the Shadow to be on equal footing with the Tides. Heroes, both. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Luaguan who agrees with the sanctioning of these Purifying exorcisms, for lack of a better term. ”
“What do I care what Luaguans think?” Wulfrid spat.
“Faithless heathens, just like you. Spewing your criticism of our faith and siding with these Shadow-stained abominations.” He eyed Thames and Polina at that, then Baz and Kai.
He glowered at Kai, clearly still angry that their last encounter saw Kai having the last word.
“The world would be better off if you all went back to the Deep where you belong.”
The cruel malice in his remark had Kai tensing. Before a fight could ensue, Clover smoothly stepped in.
“That’s enough,” he said in that unaffected voice. “I suggest you take your leave now, friend.”
Wulfrid went rod straight, face still red with indignant fury, but he did not challenge Clover’s suggestion. Instead, he immediately left, leaving his two friends to give each other a puzzled look before following him.
It was almost as if Wulfrid had been commanded to leave against his will. Which would be impossible…
If Clover were not a Tidecaller.
Baz and Kai exchanged a knowing look as people around them began to whisper among themselves.
No one seemed to suspect what just happened—that Clover might very well have used Glamour magic to get Wulfrid to leave.
Clover himself didn’t seem fazed by the situation.
He simply righted his waistcoat and waited for silence.
When he had everyone’s attention again, he swept a hand toward the door.
“This is what we’re fighting against. People who hide behind their Tidelore faith, thinking themselves justified in their hatred of Eclipse-born.
If people like him had their way, no progress, however small, would have been made at all.
This is why the fight for Eclipse-born justice does not concern Eclipse-born alone but all of us.
” He gestured to the back of the room. “Please, sign our petition to have Purifying practices against Eclipse-born banned from the Institutes. Your voice is needed in this fight. Thank you.”
As students started moving toward the designated table, Clover sidled up to Cordie. He squeezed her elbow in greeting, a twinge of concern visible beneath his courteous mask. “He’s getting bolder.”
“You shouldn’t have confronted him like that,” Cordie whispered. “Wulfrid’s family is well-connected within the Tidelore faith. They could destroy everything we’re working toward.”
“They won’t.” Clover turned his gaze on Baz and Kai with a smile.
“Where are my manners—you must be our guests of honor. My sister’s told me all about the two drenched Eclipse-born she had the pleasure of meeting last night.
I’m glad you could join us.” He extended a hand to Baz. “Cornelius Clover.”
Reality sank in as Baz looked between Clover and Cordie—his sister!
And here Baz was shaking his favorite author’s hand, the very same hand that’d put pen to paper to create the fantasy world of his dreams, the characters he’d called friends all his life, the story that had spoken to his soul from its very first line.
Cornus Clover, whose personal journal and the lost epilogue he would one day become famous for were tucked into Baz’s breast pocket, waterlogged and all but ruined until he deemed it safe to fix them with his time magic.
Impossible. All of it.
“N-Nice to meet you,” Baz stammered. “I’m Brysden. Baz—Baz Brysden.” Unsure of how to address this legend come to life—whose fancy clothes he was wearing, he realized with no short amount of embarrassment—he awkwardly added, “Uh, sir.”
Clover threw his head back and laughed. “Please, call me Cornus.” He extended a hand to Kai next, a twinkle in his eyes as he took in his Eclipse sigil.
“Kai Salonga.” Kai had scores more poise than Baz did. “That was quite the speech you gave. I didn’t know they’d started doing that. With the Purifiers, I mean.”
Clover’s mouth thinned. “Yes. I’m afraid the Regulators here are easily influenced by Tidelore leaders.
” He righted his waistcoat, face darkening with disgust. “They believe like Wulfrid does that Eclipse-born are corrupt, but the real corruption lies within the Institutes and Tidelore temples. Small-minded, fearmongering fools, the lot of them.”
He gave Baz and Kai a sad smile. “Cordelia told me what happened last night. Not the best way to welcome you to our corner of the world, is it?”
For a moment, the name did not register. But as Cordie muttered something about the barkeep, it hit Baz. Cordelia—Delia. That was the name Jae had said was mentioned in Clover’s journal, a sister referred to as Delia.
Cordelia Clover. The forgotten sibling.
“That’s why Cornelius started these salons,” Cordie was saying, face full of pride as she watched her brother. “He’s setting an example here at Aldryn, to radicalize the students into doing everything in their power to help our Eclipse counterparts and tear down unjust barriers and prejudices.”