Chapter 18
Faron sauntered into the common area, welcomed with shocked silence. Sybil’s head jerked in his direction, and Rainier jumped to his feet, eyes darting between Faron and his sister. Egan dropped the wooden branch he’d been carving. It clattered on the tunnel floor with a hollow clack, clack, clack.
Tal stalked past him and introduced everyone to Faron as if they hadn’t met before. “Everyone, this is Faron. Faron, this is everyone.” Then she held her palm out in front of her and instantly called a ball of flame much like she had in the Kiln. There was no point delaying the ensuing drama.
Egan’s jaw dropped as his eyes darted between Tal’s flame and Faron’s unsurprised face. Rainier backed into the tunnel wall and yelled her name. Sybil slapped her palm to her forehead. Carrick narrowed his eyes at her from the archway.
“Everyone, Faron knows I have fire fury. Now, can we get to Rain’s new information?”
No one spoke. Eyes darted around the room. Finally, Sybil sighed and muttered something that sounded like “might as well,” and said rather loudly, “If you must know, I’m a seer.” This earned her a wide-eyed stare from Faron.
“Syb!” Rainier’s shock matched Faron’s. His fingers scratched his nail beds nervously.
“Well, if the fire fury doesn’t send him running for the highest bidder, I don’t think a seer is going to entice him to betray us,” Sybil reasoned. She had a point.
His hands stilled. “Unbelievable,” he sighed under his breath. “Fine.” He turned his attention to Faron and admitted, “I can coerce.”
Faron’s jaw could not fall any lower than it already had. He turned to Egan and asked, “And you?”
“Uh, I don’t even know. I’m a bit… wild… in a fight.” He shrugged.
“Uh huh.” Faron turned to Carrick who still stood in the entrance. “And you? Are you going to tell me you’re half bear?”
Sybil snorted, but Carrick shook his head. “I’m just plain old me.” He cracked his knuckles.
Faron’s eyes circled the room before settling on Tal. “You’ve certainly gathered quite the talented crew here.”
Tal shrugged, never being one for fanfare. “Can we get to the important part now?” she asked Rainier.
Rain gave Faron the briefest of explanations. “The night after the rescue at the incinerator, Sybil had a vision of Tal standing opposite the Pyrie amid a group of nobles. She couldn’t see any identifying features nor understand their purpose.”
“It was bleeding vague, is what it was,” Sybil complained.
He and Sybil had been checking sources for anything on mages, the Pyrie legend, and any connection to the noble families.
With the information gained from the books she stole on the night of the masquerade, Sybil had been unsuccessfully attempting to force a vision about the Pyrie.
Her struggle wasn’t uncommon, especially given that the details were obscure.
“The Pyrie? You mean the children’s story?” So, Faron had heard of her.
“Legend. She was real, but a really long time ago,” Rain clarified.
“How can the vision be possible? She’s dead, right?”
Sybil chimed in, “Visions don’t always have to be literal. Sure, I could see events happen before they unfold, but they can also be symbolic. I’m guessing this one is something symbolic involving the three of them.”
“Well, what do they have in common?” Faron asked questions they’d already investigated at length.
“Blazing pigs, can we get to the new information please?” Tal grumbled.
“Hold on, Tal.” Rain held up a hand to stall and received a nasty glare.
“Now that Faron knows, I think we can look at this from his angle,” he spoke animatedly.
“So, obviously, both Tal and the Pyrie have fire fury, which is extremely rare. With the nobles surrounding them in Syb’s vision, I’m inclined to think that has something to do with their powers being exploited, especially now that we know the mages are after her.
” He turned to Faron. “Do you know about anything that would connect nobles with fury—especially fire fury?”
Faron paused, his expression darkening. “Ever heard of the Fury Rings?”
No one answered.
He clenched his jaw and inhaled. “One of the reasons fury is rare is that those in power have always exploited it. It’s a wonder you haven’t been warned about them.” The attention he turned on Tal sent a flurry of butterflies through her middle.
“My earliest memories are of the man who housed me here. He made it very clear that to reveal my fury would ultimately bring my death. He never said why, and I never asked.”
“Frankly, I’m surprised we haven’t heard of Fury Rings before.” Rain would have been the first to know about them. The fact that he didn’t learn until now must have been frustrating.
“Only those with an invitation can participate, and only those with something to offer the most powerful people in all the kingdoms get one.”
Tal wondered if Faron would be counted as one of those powerful people.
“Rain, the invitation the other noblemen mentioned at the king’s masquerade…” Egan remembered their conversation the day after Tal’s performance at the palace. Rain nodded.
“What invitation?” Faron’s attention whipped between the youngest of the group and Rainier.
“I attended the masquerade under the guise of a foreign dignitary and spent what I could of the evening among some of the noblemen. There was a brief mention of an awaited invitation, but nothing specific. One of the men shut down the conversation quickly.”
Faron frowned. “Do you know who spoke of this? Could you point them out if you saw them?”
“Briggins brought up the invitation to Lighton, and Mordency told them to save the topic for another setting.”
Faron’s expression darkened further at the mention of the three names.
Tal didn’t recognize any of them. She wouldn’t get involved in matters of the king’s court, but she wondered what Faron would do about it. “Do you think they were talking about this special Fury Ring invitation?” she asked Faron.
He shook his head. “I can’t say. I wouldn’t expect any of them to know about them.
It would be a serious offense if they were involved somehow.
Fury Rings are forbidden in elite circles, but many still strive to get the chance to join.
” After a pause, he explained why. “Receiving an invite means you’re given the opportunity, and expected, to attend an auction…
of elementals. With the dwindling numbers of magical folk, I expect a Fury would fetch a pretty high price, not to mention two with your talents.
” He tilted his head toward Sybil and Rainier.
A heavy silence hung among them. “These people are kidnapped, beaten, starved, sometimes raped,” he gulped, “and then thrown on a stage and auctioned like livestock.”
Tal’s nostrils flared. All this time, people like her suffered, and she had no idea.
Perhaps she could have done something about it if she’d known.
Her fury flared in agreement. “And what happens after? What does it mean to be the highest bidder?” Her voice was gruff with the suppressed anger and effort it took to hold her power in.
“They become the person’s master. The elementals are confined to a life of servitude, at the mercy of the buyer.” He didn’t mask the disgust in his voice.
All around the little common area, Tal’s friends wore looks of horror, disgust, and anger. “The mages. Do they work with the Fury Rings? Are they rounding up Furies and magic folk for this slavery auction?”
The nobleman shook his head. “I don’t know. Everything I know is from a book I found as a child in our family archives. It was incredibly cryptic, but didn’t mention any mages.”
Rain perked up at the mention of more information. “Any chance we could read it?”
“Sorry.” Faron frowned. “My father caught me reading it and burned it. I searched everywhere and never found any other mention of it.”
Once again, silence fell among the group as they considered the new information. Tal’s mind swam with questions. Why did Faron’s family have a book about the Fury Rings? If his father knew enough about the book to burn it, where did he stand on the matter of its contents?
“So, one of these noble friends of yours wants an elemental of their own.” The threat in Carrick’s voice would be enough to make almost anyone reconsider crossing him.
“These are no friends of mine. I don’t even think anyone in the kingdom has enough in their coffers to be offered an invite.”
“Maybe they’ve tipped the mages off about Tal, or at least a rumor of her in hopes of earning an invitation?”
Faron’s lip curled. “It’s plausible. But who would be dense enough to get involved? Being so powerless would mean death once they’re no longer needed. These elite circles are bad news. Once you’re in their sights, the only reason they keep you alive is because you’re useful.”
Rain laughed. “We thought the same thing.”
“Which of those nobles is that stupid?” Tal half teased.
“Most of them, honestly.” Faron sighed. “But I don’t know any of them that have ventured far enough outside their part of society to learn about you,” he said to Tal.
Rainier crossed his arms. “With Pochette’s betrayal and what we know about Badger and Gully, it’s likely there are others at the docks with powerful connections.”
Sybil changed the direction of the conversation then.
“So, my vision—maybe Tal ends up in these Fury Rings, or maybe she destroys them. That’s fine.
” Her nonchalant tone received a series of concerned looks, grumbled warnings from her friends, and one very appalled expression from Faron.
“But that doesn’t explain the Pyrie. What does a long-dead Fury have to do with it? ”
“Well, we’ve considered it’s a warning for Tal to master her power before it consumes her,” her brother cut in.
Tal shrugged when Faron turned his horrified gaze to her.