Arbiter (The Arbiter Chronicles Book 1) (31 page)

Rae glanced down at her blade, and at the orb of light at the creature's heart. Cienn bombarded the creature's left side, and sure enough, the creature shifted its smoke towards that side, blocking the attacks. On its right, a small sliver of light opened up. It was narrow, and present only for a brief moment, but it was enough. Rae gripped her sword tightly in both hands and ran towards it, pulling her blade back.

Cienn's eyes widened, and he turned in her direction, stretching an arm out.

“Arbiter!” he called. “Stay back!”

The creature turned as well, regarding her. But it was too late. She could feel its surprise, and its sudden realization, could feel it shift the smoke around it in an attempt to block her.

A smile of grim satisfaction appeared on her face, her sword sliding directly into the opening, and straight through the orb at the creature's heart. Rae heard a sound much like glass breaking as the orb shattered, sending plumes of smoke outwards. A current ran up the length of her sword, and she let out a strangled cry as she was thrown back, slamming into the castle's stone wall along with a flash of bright light. The sharp tang of ozone filled the room, and her vision blurred as she slid back down onto the ground, the sword falling out of her numb fingers.

She heard a splash as the water surrounding Cienn fell away, and he ran over to her, crouching down beside her and placing one hand on her shoulder.

“Arbiter,” he said. “Arbiter, are you alright?”

She stared up at him, but he seemed to blur in her eyes, fading in and out of vision. His voice sounded distorted, as though she were underwater. Her head lolled to the side as he began to shake her.

“Arbiter—,”

She toppled over onto her side, the world fading into black. 

“It was definitely an assassination attempt. Nothing else I've considered makes sense.”

“But here? Within my lands? In the heart of my castle?”

“I am sorry, my lord. The lapse in security was mine...”

Rae woke slowly, as though she were rising from a deep dream. She kept her eyes closed, listening to the voices. There were two of them, speaking in hushed tones somewhere not too far from her. Beyond them, the place she was lying in was quiet. There was a crisp, clean smell in the air, the smell of newly washed linen. A steady warmth spread over her face, like sunlight coming in through a window. She was covered by a thin blanket, solid enough to keep the wind off of her but just thin enough to breathe.  She experimentally flexed the fingers of her right hand, splaying them out against the mattress beneath her before slowly curling the hand into a fist. Her body moved sluggishly, even that much was a great effort. Rae did the same thing with her toes, wiggling them slightly. Her feet were bare. Someone had taken the time to remove her boots.

She relaxed, the energy flowing out of her as she lay in bed. Sleep called to her again. The darkness beckoned, attempting to reel her back into its warm embrace. Rae fought it, bringing herself back to the brink of consciousness.

She opened her eyes.

She was lying in a room she hadn't visited before, but one that was obviously in Berais's castle. The ceiling rose high above her, an expanse of gray stone. Sunlight drifted in through a window at her right, warming her side underneath the white blankets. Someone had changed her, dressing her in a thin white robe. She tilted her head to the left slowly, studying the rest of the room. It was a large room, filled with two rows of white beds, each bed accompanied by a wooden end table. The other beds in the room were empty. Someone had left a silver tray by her end table, with a pitcher of water and a glass on top of it. She stared at it. Her throat was dry, but she doubted she had the energy to sit up and pour a glass for herself.

Two figures stood in the center of the room near her bed, facing each other—High Lord Berais and Cienn. Berais wore his armor like he always did, his great spear in his hand. The butt of it rested on the room's tiled floor, the blade gleaming in the sunlight. The High Lord had always cut an impressive figure, but today Berais looked like he was prepared to go to war. Cienn too looked serious, although he wore no armor. He was dressed, as always, in blue, although this time, he had pulled back his hair. It fell down his back in a neat braid. Neither of them noticed her.

“Do not blame yourself,” Berais was saying. “You could not have predicted this. And from what I understand, this enemy did not cross water.”

“No,” said Cienn. “Nor did it touch stone. I'm not entirely convinced it even had a form.”

“Yet it possessed some modicum of sentience.” said Berais. “Do you know who sent it?”

“It was a servant of the Stormlord,” replied Cienn.

“Natul?” asked Berais, scowling. “His lands are leagues away. How would he even know who was in my company?”

“I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't considered everything else,” said Cienn. “No other Courtlord...” He trailed off, noticing Rae for the first time. Berais stopped as well, turning his head. His eyes landed on her, and a small smile appeared on his face.

“Arbiter,” he said. “It is good to see you awake. You had many of us worried. How do you feel?”

“Dizzy,” she admitted, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke. “And weak.”  Cienn moved smoothly to her side, pouring her a glass of water. She accepted it gratefully, struggling to sit up. Berais slid an arm behind her, supporting her and allowing her to lean against the headboard. He drew back when she was stable, sitting down on a stool that had been placed beside her bed.

“To be expected,” said Berais, as she drank. “You've had a long night.” He looked up. “Leave us, Cienn. Send for the healer. As for the rest, you know what to do.”

Cienn nodded, bowing deeply to Berais. He inclined his head slightly towards Rae out of respect, turning and leaving the room without a word. She watched as the door closed behind him, then turned to Berais. The High Lord's expression was one of concern.

He really was worried,
she realized, surprised. She hadn't expected that an Ivali Lord would ever concern himself with her welfare. Even Alcian had seemed unconcerned as to whether Rae would ultimately live or die.

“Cienn told me what you did last night,” he said. “That was foolish. But very brave. He asks me to inform you that next time, he would appreciate it if you left the fighting to him.”

“He was having a hard time,” said Rae. “I saw an opening. The thing didn't notice me.”

“He would have prevailed in the end,” said Berais. “Cienn's strength is not to be trifled with. But, he also, indirectly, expressed his gratitude.”

“Cienn did?” she asked, surprised. Berais smiled faintly, his eyes twinkling.

“I did say indirectly,” he said. His eyes drifted towards her end table. Rae followed his gaze, noticing for the first time that someone had left a book beside her bed, a strip of cloth poking out of it to hold his place. “You have very loyal friends.”

Her stomach blossomed with warmth she couldn't explain. “Cathel?” she asked. “He was here?”

“I sent him away once it was clear that you were out of danger,” said Berais. “After he dozed off and nearly fell out of his chair. I was slightly worried that he might have joined you in the infirmary.”

“And Mika?” asked Rae. “How is she?”

“She is well,” said Berais. “Selde is watching her now.”

“She was the target, wasn't she?” asked Rae. “The assassination attempt that you and Cienn were talking about...”

“She was,” replied Berais. “As near as we can tell, at any rate. Do you know why anyone would want Mikaela James dead?”

Rae thought about it, but shook her head. “I...no,” she said. “No, I can't think of anything. Mika...in my world she was a high school student. A...”

“A child,” said Berais. “Equivalent to an apprentice. A young woman with no history, and of little import in the grand scheme of things.”

“...Yes,” said Rae, nodding. Put that way, it sounded harsh, but it was the truth. Besides the fact that Mika had been sent here, she couldn't imagine why anyone would want her dead. “I don't think she was ever involved in anything otherworldly before this.”

“Well clearly, someone had a reason,” said Berais. “I've asked Mikaela herself, but she does not know why anyone would want her dead either. If anything, she was surprised that you weren't the target.”

“That surprised me as well,” said Rae. She frowned, thinking it over. “...This Lord that you and Cienn were talking about...”

“Dark Lord Natul,” said Berais. “The Stormlord. His lands are on the other side of the Safelands from mine.”

“Has he ever caused you trouble before?” asked Rae.

“No, never,” replied Berais. “Although he has always been odd, prone to strange actions. It's possible that this was another of his eccentricities.”

“But you don't think so,” said Rae.

“No,” said Berais, shaking his head. “No, I don't. In fact, I am inclined to think that he has been watching you for a long time.”

“
What?”
asked Rae.

Berais looked at her, meeting her eyes. “You have enemies, Arbiter,” he said. “Surely you know this.”

“I...” began Rae. She paused. She had been about to say that she wasn't aware of any enemies, that her only enemy was the Reaper. But then she remembered. She had killed Skor,
firithan
to a Lord of the Dark Court. And back in the beginning, before this quest had even started,
someone
had tampered with the maps in Laria Tower, forcing her and Cathel to enter the Edgelands virtually blind.

She felt cold, suddenly, numb. She had spent all her time focusing on the Reaper. She hadn't even stopped to consider that there might be others who wanted her dead, or that the other members of their group might have enemies of their own. Why had Mika been sent here anyway? Was it simply because of her brother? Or was there something else?

How could she have missed this?

She looked up at Berais. “Do you—?”

The High Lord held up a hand, interrupting her. “I have theories,” he said. “But that is all they are. Theories. And I will discuss them with the young lady herself.”

Rae hesitated, but nodded once. Who was she to argue with the High Lord? Berais placed a hand on his knee and rose from his seat, his armor clanking as he did. “For now,” he said. “Rest. A healer will see to you soon. Your training is suspended until you recover.”

“I...of course, High Lord,” she said, bowing her head in defeat. She didn't watch him as he left the room, the door closing behind him.

She stared down at her lap, her hands closing into fists. She was injured and weakened from a battle she apparently didn't need to fight, a Dark Lord was trying to kill Mika, for reasons she couldn't even begin to guess at because she hadn't been paying enough attention, and she was now even further away from passing Berais's test than she had been in the beginning.

What was she thinking? She couldn't protect anyone.

Rae turned her right hand, angling the back of it towards her. Alcian's mark still shone, the two crescent moons gleaming faintly in the morning sun. She had been about to give it up then. She still wasn't sure that she shouldn't. But the thought of losing everything now, of going back to the way she was, sickened her. She couldn't do it.

Not strong enough to keep fighting, and not strong enough to give up.

Not strong enough to decide at all.

She lay back onto the bed, throwing the blanket over herself and turning onto her side, away from the window. Rae squeezed her eyes shut.

You might have put your trust in the wrong person, Alcian...
she thought, drifting back into sleep once more.

Rae sat up in bed on the third day since the attack, watching the birds outside of her window. Her white hospital robe hung over her shoulders. Maira, one of Berais's human healers, had been in to see her many times since the attack, checking on her and occasionally bringing her food. During those times, Rae had learned that the blast that struck her wasn't an ordinary lightning blast, but something else, a magical attack. The attack had done something to her Source, suppressing it and affecting her body as well. She didn't fully understand the mechanics of it, only that she was apparently sick and needed her rest. Considering the weak feeling that had plagued her over the past few days, she wasn't going to argue with that.

She tapped the fingers of her right hand on the windowsill, trying to quell the feelings of restlessness and frustration welling up inside of her. Three days without any training. Three days without any movement at all. It felt like the longer she spent here, the closer she got to her inevitable meeting with the Reaper, and she was sick of it. She wanted to be up, wanted to be moving, wanted to be doing anything if it meant that she wasn't lying in bed thinking about him.

“What are you worrying about this time?”

She looked up at the sound of the voice. Cathel strode into the room, a small basket slung over one arm. He carried another book with him.

Rae glanced down at the book in her lap. She didn't bother asking him how he knew that she had just finished reading it. Cathel seemed determined to use her stay in the infirmary as an opportunity to fill in the gaps in her literary education.

“I wasn't,” she said, setting the book aside.

“Liar.”

He placed his basket down, pulling up his chair and coming to sit next to her. Rae glanced inside the basket. Her brows rose. “Raspberries?” she asked.

“They're in season,” replied Cathel. “Mika and I picked some. We thought you'd like them.”

Rae picked a single red berry out of the basket, popping it into her mouth. She ignored the way the gesture made her feel unreasonably giddy. “Thank you,” she said, lowering her eyes. Because it was easier, she looked at the book in his hands. “What's that?” she asked. “Another Berell?”

“This?” asked Cathel. “No, it's a book I just finished reading. It was one of the novels written in the Edgelands.”

“Is it any good?” she asked.

“Would I bring it here if it wasn't?”

Rae popped another berry into her mouth. “Fair enough.”

“How are you feeling?” asked Cathel, his expression growing concerned.

Rae shook her head, leaning back against the pillows propped up behind her. “Bored,” she admitted. “Tired. Nervous. Frustrated.” She shrugged her shoulders. “...The usual.”

He smiled slightly. “I meant physically.”

“Oh,” she said. “Better. How's Mika?”

“She's scared,” said Cathel. “But she's working through it.”

“Has the High Lord—?”

He shook his head. “No,” he said. “Not as far as I know. Although I'm not sure Mika would tell me if she had spoken with him.”

“We should leave her here,” said Rae, frowning. It had been something she had been thinking about for a long time. “With Berais. She'll be safer here if someone else tries something like this. She'll have Selde and Cienn with her.”

“Leave her here?” repeated Cathel. “...So you're planning on leaving?”

Rae stared down at her hands, twining her fingers together. As always, Alcian's mark continued to shine, quietly taunting her, admonishing her for her weakness. She forced herself to look at it, to remember her agreement with the High Lord, Alcian's words. They all blended together in her mind—Alcian, Elrithea, Berais.

“I'm running out of time,” she said.

“What about Berais's acknowledgment?” asked Cathel. “I thought Elrithea told you that you needed it, to become Arbiter.”

“I don't know if I can be Arbiter,” said Rae, quietly. “I never did.”

Cathel stared at her in silence. Rae turned her head away further, so that she didn't have to see him, but it didn't help. She could still feel his presence, brushing against the very edge of her mind, strong even with her barriers up. Cathel had a way of creeping past her defenses. It made her think things. Dangerous things. She couldn't afford that right now.

“...On the night of the attack, I nearly gave it up. My magic. My position. All of it. If it hadn't been for that creature, I would have.”

“And now?” asked Cathel.

“Now?” repeated Rae. A bitter smile appeared on her face. “I can't decide. Which tells me that I should give it up. The Ivali deserve better.”

“They don't have better,” said Cathel. “They have you.”

Rae fell silent, staring down at her hands again. At length, Cathel sighed, setting the book he was carrying down on her end table. “It's a good novel,” he said, getting up. “It heavily features one of the Arbiters. She reminded me of you.”

She said nothing, watching as Cathel walked past her and headed towards the door. When he was far enough away, she looked up, turning towards him.

“What would you do?” she asked. “If I decided to not become Arbiter? If I left, to head straight for the Spire?”

Cathel stopped walking, keeping his back towards her. “I'd follow you,” he said.

“Why?” asked Rae. “Is it about your orders from the Tower? You don't need to follow those anymore, Cathel. You can have a life here. You aren't bound to them anymore.”

“It's not about the Tower,” he said. “Not anymore.” Cathel shook his head, and Rae could feel his uncertainty, could feel him grasping for the right words. “You...frustrate me to no end. But I care about you. Arbiter or not, I wouldn't leave you to go alone.” He continued to walk.

“What do you think I should do?” asked Rae, making him stop again. “What
can
I do?”

“It's not my place,” said Cathel.

“I'm asking for your opinion,” said Rae. “As my friend. What should I do?”

He glanced over his shoulder at her, and Rae could feel the weight of his gaze, the sudden, sharp intensity of his regard.

“Decide.”