The Dreaming Hunt (14 page)

*   *   *

Will was tired and out of sorts today. He and the others had failed to talk Eben and Sha'Li out of haring off into the wilds in search of their friend Kendrick. He was secretly jealous of the pair. If only he could have found a way to accompany them. But Aurelius had kept a sharp eye upon him last night, as if sensing Will's yearning to sneak away.

The guildmaster had all but personally tucked him into bed on the upper floor of the Mage's Guild. Surely, it had been no accident that Aurelius gave the door guards orders in front of Will that no one should pass in or out of the guild without his express permission. Not that the order had prevented Aurelius from disappearing from the guild on some secret errand of his own bright and early this morning.

Will chafed at being stuck in a city, sitting through dull lessons on magical theory as if he were a stripling schoolboy. He would much rather be stomping through the woods in search of adventure.

“While we are examining gifts from my parents, Guildmaster,” Will asked formally that afternoon, “perhaps you could tell me more about this hand shield?”

“Where did you get it?” Aurelius asked, examining the object Will had handed him, a gently concave disk slightly larger than his spread-fingered hand. It was made of clear, golden amber, and Will had always thought it resembled an optic lens, except for the wooden bead embedded exactly in the center of it. The bead was carved into the likeness of a hickory nut, portrayed accurately down to the last, minute detail. Thin metallic straps crossed the amber disk's surface, attaching the piece to the back of a fingerless leather glove.

Will had already figured out that the item had talismanic properties that helped him control and shape magic into spells. He'd never seen his mother cast magic, but the hand shield had been hers until she gave it to Will the night they fled their home and ran from the Boki. He fingered the braided leather bracelet that held the green stone bead he used as his regular talisman. The bead had been a gift from Adrick, his parents' best friend, the bracelet itself fashioned by his father.

He answered Aurelius's question with, “My mother gave it to me just before … well, before.” He couldn't bring himself to say the words
before she died at the hands of the Boki.

Aurelius smiled a little as he rubbed his thumb across the smooth amber surface, but Will sensed it was more in remembrance than pleasure. “As I recall, this was a gift to your mother from the Amber Mages, whom she served.”

“The Amber who? She served them?” Will spluttered. Was there no end to the secrets his parents had kept from him?

“Aye,” Aurelius answered casually. “Serica came from a long line of Amber Mages. Although she was not magically gifted herself, she used her considerable skills as a tracker and alchemist to serve them.”

“Who or what is an Amber Mage?” Will demanded.

“An order specializing in an ancient … art, for lack of another word. They retain knowledge of how to encase a living target entirely in amber.”

“Does that kill the target?” Will had seen bits of leaves and even insects trapped in orbs of ancient pine resin that had hardened and become amber over time.

“I have heard that their targets remain fully alive and conscious within their amber prisons.”

That was terrible. He shuddered to contemplate being trapped forever, unable to move or speak. “Can a target safely be released once it has been encased in amber?”

“In my experience, most magics that can be done can also be undone.”

In other words, Aurelius did not know.

Will watched the solinari turn the golden-hued hand shield this way and that in the morning sun streaming into his office. Hints of green flashed when the light hit it just so. Those had always fascinated Will, dancing within the liquid gold of the talisman.

“I do believe this amber is infused,” Aurelius commented in mild surprise.

“With what?”

“Copper of Ymir, if I do not miss my guess. Powerful stuff. Aids greatly in the transmission of magic. It seems both of your parents were intent on outfitting you as a proper mage.”

“Too bad they didn't see fit to train me as one.” It still rankled with Will that lads half his age were apprenticed to the Mage's Guild to learn the art of casting magic. If only his own talent had been nurtured earlier. No telling how much more powerful a mage he would be by now.

“Do not be bitter, Will. Your father spent your entire life laying into you a magnificent foundation for the study of magic. It is why you progress so rapidly now.”

If this was rapid, Will would hate to experience the study of magic learned slowly. He was going half-mad with impatience at the snail's pace Aurelius set with him. It was enough to make a forest-raised lad snort with disgust.

*   *   *

Raina watched in amusement as Rosana barely managed to hold back a snort of disgust. The high matriarch was delivering a long after-lunch dissertation to the gypsy about the dangers of dying from overcasting or from attempting to channel more magic through one's spirit than one was capable of managing. The lecture struck Raina as coming a wee bit late, given that Rosana had already torn out an entire chunk of her spirit and passed it to Will by way of Lord Bloodroot.

She did get the feeling from time to time that Lenora was holding out on them, not sharing sensitive information and analysis of local political matters. Whether the woman was merely guarding secrets or guarding political turf was anyone's guess.

Raina's early education with her older sister had done a remarkable job of preparing her to see and understand the complex goings on in a big city like Dupree. Still, she resented owing the Mages of Alchizzadon a debt of gratitude for that education. In return for the mages breeding the women of her family to be powerful magic users, her family had educated its women as if they would one day be queens.

Her desire to free herself and her sister from the breeding program had led her to seek a great mage of old, said to be locked in a sleeping stasis. Of course, the great mage Hadrian had not been the one she and Will had eventually found. Instead, they had found the echo of an ancient elven king. Funny how the fates worked. She started with one goal in mind—saving the women of her family—but now she worked for the good of all the people of Haelos. Of course, the risks were commensurately higher, as well.

No one could tell her what would happen to a White Heart member who opposed Koth. Traditionally, her order was immune to any and all interference from the Empire. But what if a White Heart member engaged in outright rebellion? Then what? Raina's guess was that even White Heart colors would not protect a healer from treason.

She spent the afternoon helping the Heart's potion makers mix curatives for headaches, hangovers, and minor injuries. Tonight was the anniversary of the Night of Green Fires, and there would be a run on healing potions before the night was out.

The Memorial Festival of Remembrance of the Boki Incursion of Dupree was the formal name of the annual celebration. The more common nickname referred to the fires the greenskin invaders had lit all across the colony, burning out homes, barns, and buildings in their orgy of destruction. Tonight, bonfires would be lit across the colony to commemorate the Boki invasion that had nearly wiped out the young colony almost two decades ago.

It had become the custom to throw specially formulated salts into the bonfires to turn the flames green. She supposed it symbolized the greenskin army of Boki, goblins, hobgoblins, and other nonhuman races going up in flames, as they'd ultimately been defeated. Or perhaps a more optimistic interpretation might be that the life force of Haelos itself had prevailed and the people and land had survived the assault upon it. Either way, the Heart common room would be full of drunks and brawlers looking for healing before the green fires burned down to ash.

Sure enough, it was an insanely busy evening, and she never got to sit down for more than a few seconds at a time. The deluge of the revelers finally began to diminish, and a special midnight supper was laid for the healers, who were all hungry after manipulating magics for hours.

Raina had just sat down at the long trestle table in the kitchen with the other healers when a great sound of horns blowing erupted outside the building. The older healers leaped up with cries of dismay while the younger ones looked around in confusion, asking what was going on. Sir Hrothgar burst into the kitchen breathing hard. His face was red as if he'd been running full out.

“What's amiss?” Lenora asked sharply. “Why are the Haelan legion's battle horns blowing?”

“All healers are called to the aid of the Imperial Army by order of Lord Justinius of the Royal Order of the Sun,” he declared between pants. “The Boki are attacking Dupree.”

 

CHAPTER

10

If the Boki intended to cause chaos, attacking late at night at the end of a drunken festival just as Dupree settled down to sleep off the celebration was a brilliant choice. Will strode along beside Aurelius as the revelers still abroad ran every which way, heading for home to bar their doors while others streamed out of their dwellings to see what all the fuss was about. Great, magically amplified horns blared across the capital, signaling to the various military units that made up the Haelan legion to assemble.

And then the attack signals were blown.

Women screamed and children cried, men shouted, and rumors flew thick and fast around Will as he hurried after his teacher. Dismay coursed through him. On the one hand, he despised Boki. He would love to kill the ones specifically who murdered his parents. On the other hand, he did not wish death upon the entire race. Hundreds of their kind had sacrificed their lives defending him and his friends so they could complete the first step of their quest to wake the Sleeping King.

He also could not forget that the orcs had good reason to be furious with the Empire, and with Dupree in particular. How was he supposed to indiscriminately cut them down now?

The rage he had nurtured over his parents' murder bubbled up, coaxing him to embrace it. To loose it upon all Boki. But then something deep inside him reminded him that the Boki were not monsters. Nor were they ravening beasts with no souls, no feelings, no traditions, no pride. They were not animals. They were men. Warriors. Honorable foes.

“Curse it, Aurelius,” he ground out as the solinari paused to let a squad of soldiers run past. “How are we supposed to kill them? The Boki helped us. They're not savages.”

“And now they come to kill men, women, and children in retribution for Anton's attack. We must defend those who cannot defend themselves.”

“But—”

The elf turned swiftly and grabbed Will by the shirtfront, right over where Bloodroot's wooden disk grew into his chest. With surprising strength, Aurelius hauled Will close and bit out low, “Draw no attention to yourself from the Empire, boy. Your quest must not be foiled because you choose to take some noble—and doomed—stand on behalf of the Boki. They, of all people, would understand that the quest is greater than you or your honor. Greater than them and their honor.”

“So you want me to sally forth and slaughter them?” Will demanded.

“No one said you have to kill them. You merely have to defend the citizens of Dupree, like a loyal member of the Mage's Guild. Do not disgrace me or the guild. Do not disgrace your father nor the order he served. Do your duty. Act as the Empire expects you to. Understood? Do not be a hero.”

Will could not bring himself to mutter something dutiful in response; therefore, he said nothing at all.

“You must fight as if you hate them. As if they are nothing more than filthy greenskins to you. Give the governess what she expects.” As Will drew breath to protest one last time, Aurelius added, “Think about your parents. Remember Hickory Hollow. This night is when you even the scales for that night. Put the rest of it out of your head. You
must
do this.”

But
how
? He felt as if he were being stretched between opposing teams of oxen and slowly torn in two. How was it possible to both despise and admire a foe? To hate and respect simultaneously? It was as if the two spirits within him warred for supremacy, neither yielding, each tearing at the other until nothing of him remained intact.

Aurelius didn't sound any happier about having to do combat against the Boki than he. Reluctantly, Will gripped his staff more tightly, his mother's amber hand shield secured over his left hand, which left his right hand free for casting magic. Into the breach, then. But he had a bad feeling about this night's work.

*   *   *

Raina had no desire to see combat ever again. It was a bloody, soul-sickening business, and she would not have enough skill to heal every wounded person in this night's battle.

“Stay back from the main melee, Raina,” the high matriarch murmured. “I would not have your life put at risk.”

Easy for Lenora to say, but in fact it was her duty to put her life at risk. White Heart Brother Balthazar had died multiple times to prove to the Boki that the White Heart would defend life to the death for all sentient beings of all races. Never mind that the Boki thought him as mad as a hatter. She could do no less. Her colors could do no less.

The chaos in the streets was unbelievable. If Leland were here, he would have found a way to muster order from this mess. He'd have ordered the locals who could not fight into their homes and those who could into the squares with whatever weapons they could find. He would have used experienced soldiers to lead small groups of volunteers.

But the militia was gutted by the recent desertions of those loyal to Anton, and no one knew the governess. She was unproven, and they would not listen to her once the battle spilled into the streets. Then it would be every man for himself.

Raina had no doubt this night would be a bloodbath. She'd seen Boki fight before. They were skilled, strong, and focused. Formidable foes to even the most seasoned soldiers. Once the Boki got past the militia to engage the local populace, the people of Dupree would be slaughtered like lambs.