13. Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Mace
A fter a quick stop at the inn to grab our things, unsure of what's awaiting us at this mysterious home, we head towards the edge of the city. The small home comes into view, and we stop outside the door.
"Why was Xande so fearful of us saying we found out about this man from him?" Plume asks, worried. "Can this man be that scary?"
"No idea," Morrow replies. "But even if he's not, I doubt this is going to be an easy conversation."
I raise my fist to knock on the door, but I jump back before I can as something crawls across my feet.
My eyes are playing tricks on me.
But there it is again, an iridescent black blur in the dirt, circling around my feet.
"…Shadow?" I say softly, squatting down. The shadow snake slithers up my arm when I extend it, wrapping around me like a gauntlet. It makes my skin crawl. "What are you doing here on my arm, snake?"
Of course, the snake cannot speak to me, but it flicks its tongue out as if it understands what I'm saying. Tulip is staring, mouth dropped open, at the creature that has decided to take up residence on my skin.
"Shadow," she says reverently, reaching to stroke her finger down its head. "Does this mean Viola is near?"
"I think it means she wants us to know it won't be long until she is." I turn my arm around, looking at the snake glistening in the sun. "Why is she just now sending him to us?"
"Maybe this is the first time she's had the ability to," Plume says quietly. "Maybe she… hasn't had the magic."
We've all had that thought, that if Viola should've been able to use her magic to get to us. Unless... "Do you think she's been in the prison?" I ask Morrow and Plume. "Has she been locked up this whole time?"
"No telling, but I think this is a good sign. Let's get this over with so when she gets here, we can be done with this part of our journey." Morrow raises his fist to the door and bangs on it heartily.
Within a few moments, the door creeps open, and an elderly man stands there, his hair fully gray, his skin loose around his face. His eyes are so dark they're nearly black, and they're narrowed in suspicion. Despite his age, he doesn't look weak at all. He looks as dangerous as Xande's warning implied. His pants are form-fitting and solid black like my own, but he wears a green floral vest on his bare chest.
There is no telling how old this man is, and something about him is off. The way he moves, the way he sizes us up. Even his aura.
This man is no human.
"Well, it seems the fae have found me at last," he says, stepping back and holding the door open for us.
We step inside without bothering to introduce ourselves. His home is full of plant life, vines growing up the walls, flowers blooming on flat surfaces. Plume looks around wide-eyed, and green magic floats around her like mist, settling on the plants. Her head jerks towards the man, Brillian. "You're a Spring Seasonale," she says quietly.
He scoffs, sitting down in a comfortable brown leather chair. "I don't know what terms you use in Ytopie, but yes, I am blessed with the magic of Amaryn." I lean against a table while Plume and Tulip perch on the edge of a couch, and Morrow leans against the door with his arms crossed. Brillian examines all of us with keen eyes. "You came into my home. Introduce yourselves and state your business with me."
"I'm Plume, also fae blessed with Amaryn's magic," she says, using a small amount of magic to bloom a flower that is still unopened on the table beside Brillian.
"Tulip," the human says, leaning on the arm of the sofa. "Human from Pran."
Brillian narrows his eyes at the young woman but says nothing, swinging his gaze to Morrow. Morrow narrows his eyes at the old fae. "Morrow, magic of Helios." His words are short and choppy, and he summons a small ball of light to rest in his hand. Brillian nods, satisfied with his display, before looking at me.
"Mace Nightroot," I say, assuming he'll recognize the name, but there is no flash of it across his eyes. "Head Patrician of Ytopie, magic of Avidor." Without effort, I Decay one of the vines that runs on the wall next to me. Brillian bares his teeth at me before flicking a green mist and restoring the plant.
"So, three powerful fae and their pet human…"
"Do not speak about my wife that way," Morrow grumbles, taking an aggressive step forward.
"Wife? Oh, forgive me, I didn't realize the fae decided to stoop so low as to breed with humans now." The man's grin is more of a baring of his teeth, and I have to put a hand on Morrow's chest to stop him from charging the old fae.
"We're not here to cause trouble, Brillian. We need something you may have, and then we'll be on our way."
He looks at me, eyes narrowed. "Now, what could you possibly need from me?"
"I need an artifact that would've been passed through the high priest of Spring's family. And the journal of said priest."
His entire demeanor changes, and he's on his feet, body held aggressively. "What could you want with that?"
"We need to bring the Gods back, and that's how we'll do it. Himureal is back, and he'll destroy Krillium if left to his own devices. We need to get the other Gods here, and we need all the journals to figure out how."
Brillian laughs, full-on belly laughs, bent over. "Get the fuck out of here. You'll bring the Gods back over my dead body."
I snarl. "That can be arranged." I step into his space, and he raises himself to full height. "I will not let you keep this to yourself when the rest of Krillium will suffer for it."
"My grandfather had every right to banish the Gods, and I will not play a part in bringing them back!" he snarls.
"Your grandfather?" Plume asks curiously. "The high priest of Spring was your grandfather?"
He nods tightly. "When the Gods were banished, the devotion that powered that magic blanketed the land. It killed one of the high priests, but it gave Tieron magic. It gave several humans magic—the ancestors of the fae. My family has been here since. I am the last of us."
Shadow tightens his grip on my arm, reminding me of Viola. I wrack my brain, thinking what she'd do in this situation.
"Interesting history lesson," I drawl, "but we need those items. We will give them to the Shadowweaver, and she will replace the Frostweaver and work with the other three to take him down for good. Tell us where they are, and we'll be on our way."
He pushes up to me, clearly not seeing me as a threat. "I don't know who this Shadowweaver is, and I don't care. I will not help you bring back the Gods."
"We don't need your help," I remind him, shoving him backward until he falls in his chair. I search the room for something I can use, and when I see the metal chains that are hanging plants from the ceiling. Calling upon my rarely used Geomancy, I pull the chains to me, increase their size, and secure them around the fae. "Morrow, melt these chains, please," Morrow hesitates for a moment and then complies, sealing the chains around Brillian .
"Now, let's continue," I say, squatting in front of him to be eye to eye. "I'm not looking to hurt you here, Brillian. But you must understand this is bigger than all of us. The Shadowweaver is the answer to all of the problems we've been having. And she needs these items. So I ask again," I pull some Influence into my words, "where are they?"
I can see him fighting against my magic, and he does not relent. Instead, he pivots. "You sound like a zealot. Your God is no different than the others. She will betray you. They always do. They see us as less than. Do you think, when it comes down to it, she will elevate you equal to her? She has you here doing her dirty work." He spits at my feet, and a snarl rises up in my chest. "She is as worthless as they were."
I see red, his insults to Viola dragging me into a dark place that has lived in me my whole life. I have spent ages making sure I do not take up residence here, but it appears Brillian has decided to proverbially kick me over that cliff. Before I can stop myself, I slice the side of his face with my blade.
Brillian hisses in pain, and Plume and Tulip jump to their feet. "Mace!" Plume gasps, hands over her mouth.
"You two get out of here. Let me do what I have to do," I snarl. "You don't need to see this."
"No, I'm staying," Tulip says, digging in her heels.
"Tulip," Morrow says quietly, "I don't think you want to be here."
"I do!" she says emphatically.
Plume's body freezes, her eyes falling closed. Whispers circle around her. I watch her lips move under her breath, and then a mist of Air magic leaves the room. My nose wrinkles, but I don't say anything, returning my attention to Brillian.
"Now, please, continue to insult my God."
The older fae cackles, shaking his head. "You're blinded. Gods do not care for their people. They care for themselves. She'll abandon you. She's already done it, hasn't she? She's not here. She's left you behind, hasn't she, Nightroot?"
The words strike a chord, and I lash out again, this time slicing down his arm. The speed of the cut and movement of my blade has blood splattering across me. He shrieks again but it quickly devolves into laughter.
"I love how you think hurting me will get you what you want. All you are doing is proving that your God is no different than the others. Getting humans to do their dirty work." How this man can sit here, fully restrained, and goad me is laughable. "You'll have to kill me because I'm telling you nothing."
"That's the second time you've said that," I say. I remember Viola saying the same words to Ryler and suddenly I understand what happened in Pran so clearly it nearly knocks me off my feet. "Perhaps it's time I granted you that wish."
Using Decay, I start at his feet and watch as the flesh bubbles and rots beneath my eyes.
I'm not sure how long we can continue like this, with Brillian saying nothing but cryptic insults and me slowly Decaying him, giving him death by a thousand cuts. Plume and Tulip sit there in stunned silence .
This is not like me, of course. But every word out of his mouth is an insult to Viola. Every sneer and refusal to give us the information we need is a slap in the face and a nail in the coffin to all of Krillium.
A few times, he tries to use his magic to stop me. His control of vines is noteworthy, but Morrow burns them to a crisp quickly. If he tries to call beasts none answer. So instead, he sits there, at my mercy, for an unknown amount of time.
The sun has set, and I am panting with the effort of torturing this fae. My companions won't look at me, but none have left either. I drag my blade down Brillian's thigh, but not deep enough to knick an artery. The blood weeps and oozes, joining the mess that paints the rest of his body. My own skin is dressed in it, my clothes soaked tight to my chest.
"Mace," Plume says softly, hesitantly, "maybe it's time Morrow gives it a shot?"
Morrow raises an eyebrow. "Me?"
Plume nods, her eyes wide. "Light magic."
I jerk my head to Morrow. "Why didn't you offer that?"
"Eh, the guy was an asshole, and he insulted Tulip. And I'm not perfect with the magic yet, so I wanted to see if you could get it the old-fashioned way. This could scramble him even more than he clearly already is."
Morrow steps forward, placing a hand on the man's head. I hold my knife to his throat. "Don't move. We don't know what'll happen when he digs around in your brain."
A white glow surrounds Morrow's fingers, seeping through Brillian' s temples. Morrow's eyes drift closed, but you can see them moving rapidly behind the lids. Eventually, he staggers back, hand on his chest. "You fucking didn't…" he gasps. He doubles over, his braids falling in his face as he pants, hands on his knees. "You fucking wouldn't."
"What did you see?" I ask, my voice rising. Morrow is still gasping. I push my blade into Brillian's throat. "What did you do?"
Brillian laughs, the sound sinister. "Why, I hid them where no one would dare go find them, of course."
"Where?" Tulip asks, striding forward. "Where did you put them?"
"Riosia Island," Morrow gasps, trying to regain his composure after such a strong display of magic.
"What's Riosia Island?" Tulip asks, her brow furrowed.
I look into Brillian's eyes, his cocky smile stretching across his face as he answers Tulip. "Why, the Isle of Beasts, of course. Did you not learn of the place where fae banish their most dangerous creatures? The island where no one, human or fae, has ever lived because it is overrun by the most horrific monsters you can imagine?"
"Morrow, did you see where he put it on the island?" I ask my friend.
He shakes his head, wiping sweat from his brow. "He wrapped it in a vine and then sent the vine to grow. It could be anywhere on the island now."
"Then you are of no use to me anymore," I say to the fae as I drag the blade across his throat.
The blood sprays and then pools, his head sagging.
I've seen Viola do it a few times, but I'm surprised at how little resistance the flesh gave me. I watch as it drips, unable to look away, and my companions stare silently at me. A voice jogs me out of my bloodlust.
"Oh, my love, you didn't have to get me a present."