The First Kaiaru (32 page)

T
uresobei spent the next day cataloging his spell strips and checking them for leaks. Then he went to the Workshop to replace the ones he’d used up.

“I gave you time to rest,” Lord Gyoroe said, his eyes shifting between pale green and blue.

“I rested yesterday, master. And I will rest the remainder of this week. But a wizard should always be prepared and maintain his spell strips. I can’t fail myself in that duty.”

Gyoroe nodded appreciably. “That is a good attitude. Carry on, then.”

Truthfully, Turesobei didn’t really know what to do with himself for an entire week, especially with Iniru avoiding him. He was so used to either training or learning magic that he didn’t know what else to do anymore.

That evening, after dinner, he wandered around checking on everyone. Then he spent a while with Zaiporo, who was still deep asleep, so Enashoma could go to her room and take a bath.

After the second time he checked on Awasa, who was still out of sorts, Motekeru said, “Master, I will loan you my book to read.”

“Are you sure?”

“You need something relaxing to do, master.”

Half an hour later, after a bath of his own, Turesobei settled onto his sleeping mat and leaned back against a pile of pillows. Lu Bei dimmed all the lanterns, except the one on the wall behind Turesobei, then brought him a bowl of cinnamon black tea with a hint of cloves.

“It seems quiet and lonely in here, master. Maybe you should invite Mistress Kurine over.”

“It’s Iniru’s night. I’m going to honor that.”

“At some point, master, you’re going to have to let her go.”

“I’m
never
going to do that.”

“Even if she has given up on you?”

“Even if.”

“As you wish, master. Anything else I can get you?”

“No. I’m good.”

Lu Bei fluttered up to the shelf where he mixed his teas. “I’ll try not to make too much noise.”

Turesobei chuckled. Lu Bei never made any noise when he was mixing teas. Turesobei drew out the book Motekeru had found in the Library. It was one of the few here they could read:
Legends of the Vermillion Five.
According to Lu Bei, much of the story was true, but Turesobei suspected he was lying.

A smile spread across Turesobei’s face as he read the first chapter of what was a surprisingly engaging tale. For once, he could relax and enjoy some quiet time. There was no pressure on him—for the moment. He decided to enjoy the five days of rest he had left, so every time a thought about figuring out the nature of sacrifice and bonding with the heart stones popped up, he swatted it away.

As he began the third chapter, with his tea bowl half empty, a tap came at his door. Before he could set the book aside, Lu Bei swooped down and slid open the paneled door.

“Can I come in?” Iniru asked quietly.

“I dunno,” Lu Bei replied, then he flew back up to his nest.

“Of course.” Turesobei stood and took a hesitant step toward her. “You’re always welcome. And it is your night.”

“I know.”

“Kurine never stays on your nights.”

“I know. And…I appreciate that.”

“What’s up?”

Her body tensed, she frowned, then she chewed at her lip. Suddenly, she sprang forward and into his arms. He held her tight and breathed in the scent of her hair. She had washed it with lemon oil, but her musky scent still came through. It was one of his favorite scents in all the world.

“I missed you,” he said.

“You’re an idiot.”

“For missing you?”

She shoved him lightly. “For everything else.”

He slid the door closed. “I thought that was well established.”

“I thought maybe you would change. But you are who you are. I just have to accept that.”

“You know, Kurine is very sorry about—”

“I don’t care,” Iniru snapped.

“Oh.”

“I came here tonight because…because I love you—you big stupid-head. But Kurine…she betrayed me. I haven’t forgiven her. And I may never.”

“I’m just as much at fault as she is.”

“I doubt that.” She rubbed a finger along the branded goshawk on his forearm. “This? This is all her. I know it is. You wouldn’t have done this if she hadn’t pressed you to.”

“I agreed to it.”

“But she cornered you, didn’t she?”

“Well….”

“Admit it. You’re a sucker, and you just can’t say no.”

“To be honest, I cornered myself.”

She shrugged. “Probably, but it’s still her fault.”

“So…you’ve forgiven me?”

“Yeah. Apparently, I'm a sucker too, at least when it comes to you. Oh, wipe that stupid grin off your face.”

“So between you and me, things are back to normal?” he asked.

“We’ll see how it goes but…yes, I’d like that.

“I have to ask, and I probably shouldn’t, but why the change of heart?”

“We barely survived that last mission. And it made me realize how unlikely it is that we’re going to make it out of here alive. Every moment I get to spend with you is precious. There might not be a next one.”

“Don’t say that. The missions are over now.”

“The missions aren’t the biggest challenge we face.” She sighed deeply. “I can feel it, Sobei. I don’t know if it’s from my time in the Shadowland or what, but I can feel death coming. We won’t all make it through this. So I want to take advantage of every moment we have left. You and me, together like we should be.”

He took her in his arms and held her tight. Iniru was in a dark mood. Being angry and off alone, away from him and everyone else…that wasn’t good for her. Mentally, she still hadn’t fully recovered from dying. Probably she wouldn’t until they were back home safe and had a few months to rest. As if that would ever happen.

“I love you, Niru.”

He felt terrible, not telling her the truth about being married. But that could wait until they were away from here. He didn’t want to alienate her. Because she was right, death was a possibility for all of them. Every moment mattered.

“Maybe tomorrow you can talk to Kurine and—”

“I don’t want to talk about Kurine.”

“But—”

“When we get free of this place, I will reassess what I think about her.” Her eyes narrowed, and she grinned devilishly. “For that matter, I’ll reassess how things are with you.”

He gulped. That wasn’t going to go well when she learned the truth about the brands. “That…that seems fair enough.”

She climbed into the bed. He moved to shut off the lantern, but she stopped him. “Read to me.”

She had never requested that before. “Okay, sure.”

He crawled onto the sleeping mat and grabbed the book. She snuggled in beside him.

“What’s it about?” she asked.

“A group of bandits who took over the Kingdom of Rust in Pawan Kor. It’s pretty exciting.”

Or at least, he had thought it was exciting. She fell asleep in his arms before he even reached the fifth chapter. He set the book aside, then stroked her hair.

“I don’t want to lose anyone,” he whispered into the night, “but I especially can’t lose you. I don’t think I could live in a world without you in it.”

A
fter a week of blissful rest, with more than ample food and play, Turesobei returned to the Workshop with a heavy heart. He dreaded having to work with the heart stones. But more than anything, he was afraid he would never figure a way out of this that wouldn’t allow the Blood King to get free. Throughout his vacation, even while spending time with his friends as they recovered, that fear had hung over him.

A fierce, orange-eyed Lord Gyoroe met him at the door to the Inner Sanctum. “After careful consideration of your difficulty in bonding with the heart stones, it occurred to me that you may lack the proper motivation to succeed. So I have devised a method that will help you better understand sacrifice while keeping you motivated at the same time.”

Turesobei swallowed and braced himself for the coming blow.

“Every day, until you succeed in bonding with the stones, I will torture one of your companions.”

“What?!”

“You will select which one.”

“I won't!”

He grinned sinisterly. “You will, because the alternative is that I torture
all
of them.”

Heart pounding with anger, Turesobei clenched his fists. The
Mark of the Storm Dragon
burned on his cheek. After all they had done for him,
this
was how he was going to treat them?

“Yes, apprentice?” Lord Gyoroe asked.

He desperately wanted to lash out…but there was no point. He couldn’t win. Through gritted teeth, Turesobei replied, “I'm ready to work,
master
. But give me one more chance before you start using torture. Please. I’ve had a week of rest. Maybe I can do it now.”

The scarlet and orange dimmed within his eyes. They flickered blue a moment, then purple. “You have one more chance.”

Over the next twenty hours, Turesobei tried, as hard as he could, to connect with the heart stones, thinking on every aspect of sacrifice he could imagine. But that didn’t get him anywhere. In fact, the closer he got to connecting with the stones, the more uncomfortable he became. The stones had been created using the worst sorts of blood magic, and the attempted connections disgusted him.

Intellectually, Turesobei grasped killing someone and using their blood for power, but he couldn’t understand it at a deeper, emotional level. He had never
sought
power in his life—of any kind. He
had
power, both political and magical, as his birthright, and he'd gotten a lot more by sacrificing himself when he destroyed the Storm Dragon’s Heart. But self-sacrifice was nowhere within the nature of the heart stones, and understanding it was never going to get him closer to connecting to them.

Taking only a few breaks for tea, he worked all through the night without success.

An hour after dawn, an orange-eyed Blood King said, “It is clear to me that you are getting nowhere. It is time for a little motivation.”

T
he servants assembled Turesobei’s non-magical companions in a line in the courtyard. Hannya, Motekeru, and Lu Bei looked on anxiously. Kurine immediately headed toward him, but Lord Gyoroe ordered her back.

“Sobei, what's happening?” she asked.

The orange and scarlet-eyed Lord Gyoroe answered.

“Since my apprentice is failing to grasp the higher arts I am teaching, I have prepared a motivational lesson. Turesobei will select one of you, and each day, until he learns how to connect to the heart stones, I will torture that person.”

Expressions of horror rippled across his companions’ faces.

“Apprentice, if you have not decided already, you may take a few moments to think it over. Of course, you could choose not to make a decision, in which case, I will
regretfully
torture everyone.”

Turesobei swelled with pride as he scanned his companions. Though shock still lingered in their eyes, they stood erect with brave expressions. They were all ready to face the torture, no matter who he chose. But how could he possibly make such a choice?

He couldn't torture his little sister. He just couldn't.

And Zaiporo was still suffering from the loss of his hand.

Awasa was unstable. It had taken several sleep spells from Hannya to get her back in control of her mind after the Fire Realm. Torturing her might be a bad idea.

Iniru was tough, but had she fully recovered from her experience in the Shadowland? He didn't think so.

Kurine was probably the toughest one of them. What she'd done in the Shadowland was nothing short of amazing. She was the obvious choice. Except, though he knew she would understand why, he feared that she would think he didn’t love her enough. And besides, how could he let the Blood King torture his wife?

Of course, if everyone was tortured, he wouldn’t have to make this horrible decision. He wouldn’t have to single anyone out. But then five people would suffer instead of one….

“It is time to decide,” Lord Gyoroe said, “unless you want me to torture everyone.”

It would make things easier if he could rotate the burden between them. “Do I get to select a different one each day?”

“You do not.”

Turesobei groaned. So much for that idea. He looked at each of his friends in turn. A familiar defiance glinted in Iniru's eyes. She was volunteering, and his heart swelled in response. Despite everything, she was amazing. But he wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

Instead, he looked into Awasa’s eyes. She had been inside his mind. She knew, without a doubt, exactly how much she meant to him. And she had proven resilient, despite the madness within her. She could probably handle it. She nodded at him ever so slightly.

Cursing his fate, Turesobei stepped up to Awasa and kissed her on the cheek. “I'm sorry.”

“I understand,” she said bravely.

The Blood King drew the bronze spell strip and cast the spell. Awasa cried out and fell to the ground, shrieking and screaming and moaning pitifully. And even though he’d had no choice, Turesobei knew that it was still his fault. He wanted to vomit. He wanted to run. Most of all, he wanted to kill the Blood King.

Everyone backed away from Awasa’s writhing body. Enashoma stepped into Zaiporo's arms and tucked her face into his shoulder. Obviously, they didn’t want to watch, and they all wanted to leave, but they would never abandon Awasa.

Motekeru’s fiery eyes were locked on the Blood King. Turesobei had no doubt as to what he was thinking.

After about ten minutes, Awasa began to beg for the pain to stop. That made Turesobei feel even worse. He knelt on the ground nearby. Occasionally, as she convulsed, Awasa’s eyes would meet his. In them he saw nothing but pain.

After what seemed an eternity, Hannya stepped up to the Blood King. “Beloved, it has been half an hour.”

The Blood King’s eyes shifted from orange to violet, then he released the spell.

Whimpering and gasping for breath, Awasa curled into a tight ball. Turesobei reached out to her, but Lord Gyoroe stepped in between them.

“You do not comfort a sacrificial victim. The pain you gave to her was comfort to others. You must live with that. Now come, you have more work to do.”

As Turesobei looked back, he saw Kurine and the others comforting Awasa. He hoped she would be okay. He hoped she would forgive him.