Chapter 8
To my chagrin, there were no magic lessons for the rest of the day. Sure, I’d expected that, but it would have been nice to have a legitimate excuse to slip away from the guests. Unfortunately, Fenris wasn’t here to tutor me in Loranian, and Iannis was busy entertaining the Minister.
If it had been up to me, I would have snuck out of the Palace and gone to help Annia pack or something, since she was about to leave and I had no idea when I’d see her next.
But that would have been the coward’s way out, and besides, Iannis was having none of it.
He roped me, Chen, and Cirin into helping him entertain the delegates, essentially turning us into glorified tour guides.
I was assigned to the Federal Secretary of Economic Affairs, Solar ar’Dakis, a lanky mage with jaw-length brown hair and hawkish features.
“It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Miss Baine,” he said in a tone that suggested anything but as we headed for the side entrance of the Palace. “I have heard good things about you.”
I glanced sidelong at him. “You know that I can smell lies, right?”
His cheeks flushed, and he looked away. “I was trying to be polite. Something you’re clearly not interested in,” he added pointedly.
“Oh, I like good manners just fine,” I said easily as I held one of the double doors open for him.
“But lying to a shifter is downright insulting. Not that you would know that, since you clearly don’t interact with our kind.
” Solar frowned as we descended the steps toward the waiting carriage.
I had half a mind to send it away and stick him on the back of my steam bike instead.
A good, hard ride up and down Solantha’s steep hills and around sharp corners would probably go a long way toward getting that stick out of his ass.
But Iannis would kill me, so I held in a sigh and allowed the driver to help me into the carriage after him.
At least I’d changed out of that fancy dress and back into normal clothes again.
I wore a dark green top with my leather pants and boots, and my weapons were strapped to my body in clear view.
It wasn’t safe for me to go around unarmed, even if I did know magic and had a trained mage along for the ride.
Solar’s eyes lingered on my crescent knives as the steam carriage rumbled forward, taking the main road that ran through the Mages Quarter and into Rowanville. “I see that despite being an apprentice to the most powerful mage in your state, you insist on dressing like an enforcer.”
“I am still an enforcer,” I said evenly, meeting his gaze. “Becoming a mage isn’t going to change that.”
“So you plan on chasing bounties after you’re wed to Lord Iannis?” Solar arched a brow. “That doesn’t seem very practical.”
I forced myself not to react. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, Lord Iannis does not object to my enforcer shield. In fact, he continues to call upon my services as an enforcer from time to time.”
“Most unusual,” Solar murmured, some of the stiffness leaving his voice. He relaxed against the plush seating as he regarded me. “Earlier, you spoke of yourself as though you were just a shifter, and not also a mage. Is that how you regard yourself?”
“It was, for a long time,” I admitted, though I wasn’t entirely sure why I was telling him this.
It wasn’t as if we were buddies or anything.
“When I first started my apprenticeship, I worried that I was going to have to choose between the two. But Resinah has helped me realize that it’s important to maintain both halves of my identity. ”
“Resinah?” Solar’s eyebrows winged up. “You mean to say that you have spoken with the First Mage?”
“Yes.” I resisted the urge to clap my hands over my mouth. Should I have not admitted that aloud?
“That is very interesting,” Solar said, and to my surprise, he looked mildly impressed. “Resinah very rarely speaks to any of us directly. No wonder you have had such success in combating the Resistance with Lord Iannis, if you have had Resinah to guide you.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that, for the most part, Resinah had nothing to do with any of that, but thought better of it. Why ruin the moment, when he was clearly softening up to me?
“Her wisdom has proven very useful for me,” I said instead, allowing a smile to come to my lips. Hey, maybe I could actually get along with this guy. It would certainly make my temporary job as a tour guide more bearable.
I took Solar across the Firegate Bridge and up Hawk Hill so that we could visit the secret temple that was hidden from the naked eye by a powerful illusion spell.
I spoke the Word that peeled back the illusion, and a little thrill went through me as the temple came into view.
The domed building soared above me, constructed of a strange blue stone that sparkled in the afternoon light.
Runes were carved into the moldings surrounding the round glass windows, and I wondered when I was going to start learning how to read them.
The heavy, carved entrance door to the temple was open already, so Solar and I quietly stepped through and into the large interior.
Sunlight filtered in through the skylight set into the top of the domed ceiling, illuminating the interior and shining a spotlight directly onto the enormous white marble statue of Resinah, the First Mage and the mouthpiece of the Creator.
She towered a good thirty feet above the half-dozen mages who knelt in prayer on the stone floor, and my eyebrows rose as I noticed they knelt not on the stone, but on woven rugs.
“Have you come to pray?” an attendant in a white robe asked softly as she stepped from the shadows to my right. She had a rug draped over each forearm, and she offered one to both of us.
“Yes, thank you,” Solar said before I could answer. He took one, and I did too, trying to hide how flustered I was. The last two times I had come here, the temple had been empty. I didn’t know anything about kneeling or praying, and when I’d spoken to Resinah, she hadn’t seemed to expect it.
Solar moved forward without hesitation, finding an open spot on the floor.
I mimicked his moves, placing my rug down in a horizontal fashion before kneeling on it.
The rugs seemed to be pure gold in color, but as I knelt, I noticed there were actually thousands of tiny runes etched into the fabric that all seemed to run into each other.
Welcome back. Resinah’s voice echoed in my head, and I jerked my chin up. The flame in her outstretched hand was dancing, as it had the last time I’d spoken with her.
Hello, My Lady, I replied, bowing my head as I clasped my hands in prayer, which was what the others were doing. Not wanting to look out of place, I kept my head bowed even though I really wanted to look into the statue’s face. It is a pleasure to speak with you again.
Resinah chuckled a little at that. Your manners are improving. She paused, then added, As is your countenance. You are more balanced since the last time we spoke.
I’ve been taking your advice, I told her. You know, accepting both sides of myself. I’m still working on how to make them a whole.
Patience, child. You’ve only just begun on this path.
In case you haven’t noticed, shifters aren’t very good at patience. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at her, because I was a mature, balanced woman. And besides, I was sort of talking to a deity. I thought I was supposed to embrace both halves.
Flippant as usual, Resinah said dryly. There is danger ahead in your near future. You will be tested. When the time comes, do not give in to your emotions. Stay your hand.
I froze. What does that mean? I asked carefully, my mind spinning. I knew I was going into danger—I was on my way to destroy a Resistance lab, after all. What do you mean ‘stay your hand’? I am probably going to have to kill people at some point.
I do not mean that you should not defend yourself, Resinah said in that calm, distant way of hers. Only that you should not give in to hate. Her voice began to fade away. Let logic guide you, not emotion, when the time comes.
Is that seriously all you’re giving me? I shouted angrily in my head, my hands balling into fists.
“Seriously?” the ether parrot squawked, materializing by my shoulder. Solar and I both jumped, and several other mages let out startled exclamations.
“Miss Baine,” the attendant hissed, rushing over. “Performing casual magic is strictly forbidden here!”
“Sorry,” I muttered, getting to my feet. I swatted at the parrot, but he evaded the blow easily. “I can’t really control him.”
“Sorry,” he cawed, louder than before, and I glared murderously at him. He disappeared in a flash of blue light, and I sighed.
“That’s all right,” Solar said smoothly, taking me by the elbow. He pressed a coin into the attendant’s palm, then handed her the rugs. “I just finished my prayers. Apologies for the disturbance.”
He guided me out of the temple, and I let out a little sigh of relief as the annoyed stares from the other mages receded. “Thanks for that,” I told him as I slid my arm from his.
“Not a problem,” he said as we approached the carriage. The driver hopped down from his seat and opened the door for us. “It has been some time since I was so thoroughly entertained in a temple.” There was a hint of humor in his voice.
We got inside. When the door closed, he spoke again. “I felt Resinah’s presence more strongly than usual today. Were you communing with her?”
“You can sense that?” I demanded. “How?” There was a spiritual aura when I’d entered the temple, as there always was when I visited, but then again, I’d felt the same sort of thing whenever I’d visited Magorah’s temple in Shiftertown as a teen.
“My great-grandmother was a witch with a talent for reading auras, or so I’m told,” Solar said with a shrug, though he sounded a little uncomfortable about the admission.
The carriage began to roll along the path winding around the hill, and I shifted in my seat to adjust for the motion.
“I seem to have inherited something of her ability.”
“Really? That’s interesting.” I wondered if there were other mages around with ‘special’ talents like that.
Iannis had his super speed, and his extraordinary healing abilities were probably boosted by his Tua heritage.
How many mages in the world had other peculiar bits of magic flowing through their bloodlines?
“It comes in handy at times,” Solar conceded. “If I didn’t believe you before about your connection with Resinah, I certainly do now. I think if the Minister knew, he would respect you more. I could mention it to him, if you’d like.”
“I’m not going to go bragging about it to him, or anyone else, just to curry favor,” I snapped before I could help myself. “I want to be judged on my merits, not my connections.”
“I’m afraid that’s not how politics works,” Solar said, looking out the window. “But it is an admirable attitude nonetheless.”