The Mage's Grave: Mages of Martir Book #1 (34 page)

Darek opened his mouth to ask what Skimif was going to do, but when he blinked, Skimif was gone, like he had never been there in the first place.

Chapter Twenty-One

B
y the time Darek returned to the Arcanium, he discovered that practically the entire school was present in the courtyard. Thanks to the torches that had been set up on the perimeters, he saw every single student and teacher in the school gathered together. All of them were talking loudly and, while their voices were too mixed for him to tell exactly what they were talking about, he knew they were all speculating about what happened in the graveyard that night.

Guess Durima didn't tell them to evacuate after all,
Darek thought.
Or maybe they somehow know that it's safe to stay here, at least for now.

No one seemed to notice Darek yet (although many of the students were looking up at the blue airship, which was heading toward the sports field to land) as he stood outside of the circle of torches that illuminated the courtyard. And he was so exhausted and worn out from the events of the night that he just wanted to sneak by and get back to his bed at the Third Dorm, although with so many students out, he doubted he would succeed, even if he had been a master of the Thief's Way. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now, not even to his friends.

Before he could figure out a good way to get past everyone without being noticed, the voice of the Magical Superior rang out: “Students and teachers of North Academy, listen to the urgent news regarding the events of the night that I have received from Skimif.”

All of the students and teachers looked toward the steps of the Arcanium. Darek also looked in that direction and saw the Magical Superior standing at the top of the steps. He was leaning on Mom for support, looking weaker than Darek had ever seen him before. He clearly needed rest and maybe a visit from Eyurna to make sure he wasn't suffering from any long term injuries, but whatever Skimif had told him was apparently important enough for him to forgo that, at least for now.

“I am glad I have your attention,” said the Magical Superior. Although his voice was made louder and clearer by magic, it mostly succeeded in emphasizing just how tired the Superior was. “While I was resting earlier, after being brought here by the katabans known as Durima, I received a vision from Skimif. I know I should be resting still, but I also know that many of you, including me, have questions about what happened in the graveyard tonight, urgent questions that demand an immediate answer.”

Darek's shoulders slumped. He wondered why this couldn't wait until morning, but he didn't say anything in order to avoid drawing attention to himself. Instead, he took advantage of the crowd's distraction to make his way around the perimeter of the circle of torchlight, his eyes on the rebuilt Third Dorm.

Yet even as he tiptoed as silently as he could, he found himself listening to the Magical Superior's speech.

“Tonight in the school graveyard, a new threat to Martir arose,” said the Magical Superior. He sounded close to fainting, he was so weak, which made the fact that he could still talk at all impressive to Darek. “A threat powerful enough to challenge the gods … a threat named Uron, the Great Snake.”

Darek paused. Where did 'the Great Snake' come from? Uron was not a snake anymore. Did Skimif make up that name or did he know something Darek didn't?

The crowd of students and teachers, meanwhile, erupted with gasps and questions, which were quickly silenced when the Magical Superior raised his hand.

“I know you have many questions about Uron, but much of his history and purpose are a mystery even to me,” said the Magical Superior. “Know only this: Uron's ultimate goal is to destroy all of Martir and replace it with the world he came from. And to do so, he is going to kill the gods.”

“Aren't a couple of gods already dead?” one of the students shouted from somewhere in the middle of the crowd. “Didn't we all feel it when they died? What happened? And are we still going to be evacuated from the school?”

The crowd began shouting more questions at the Magical Superior, questions about the status of those two gods and the exact circumstances under which they died, but then he raised his hand again and the crowd went silent again.

“I don't know all of the details behind the deaths of those two gods,” said the Magical Superior. “But I do know that there is nothing we mages can do about Uron. Skimif has given me strict orders to inform you that the gods will be handling Uron and that we are not to worry about it. And to answer your last question, no, we will not be evacuating the school tonight.”

“But how can we not worry about a being who can kill gods?” said another student. “It's not right!”

“When Skimif speaks, we listen,” said the Magical Superior. Then he sighed. “You may also be wondering about the blue airship that has landed in the sports field. I can tell you that that is another Institute airship, but for now, I order all of you to return to your dormitories and to rest until tomorrow morning. The teachers will make sure that every student returns to his or her dorm and gets some much needed rest, so don't think you can get away with staying up tonight or sneaking out.”

“But we still have so many questions!” another student shouted from the crowd. “Why are the Institute mages back when they said they weren't going to return?”

“You may ask the Institute mages whatever you like in the morning,” said the Magical Superior in a firm voice. “It has been a long, stressful night for everyone and the best cure for a long, stressful night is a long, restful sleep. To your dormitories. Now.”

With that, the Magical Superior turned and walked back into the Arcanium, Mom at his side helping him. As soon as he began heading back into the Arcanium, the teachers began herding the students back to the dormitories. The students complied as peacefully as they usually did, but Darek heard many of them whispering among each other, no doubt trading theories as to who Uron was and what really happened in the graveyard.

There will be a million rumors in the morning about what 'really' happened tonight and not one of them will involve me,
Darek thought.
Thankfully.

Nonetheless, Darek managed to slip into the crowd unnoticed. Coincidentally, he found himself walking next to Jiku, who was wearing his school robes over his pajamas and was walking barefoot along the stone path, perhaps because he had had no time to get his shoes on.

“Darek?” said Jiku as they walked with the crowd. “Where were you tonight? When Noharf sent out dreams to everyone summoning us to the courtyard, I saw your bed was empty. Thought maybe you had already gotten up, but why are you robes so muddy and dirty?”

Darek leaned in closer to Jiku and whispered, “I was in the graveyard when Uron attacked. Saw it all with my own eyes.”

Jiku put a hand over his mouth to stifle his gasp. “You were? You have to tell me all about it.”

Darek yawned. “Tomorrow. Tonight, I just need to rest, like the Magical Superior said.”

Thankfully, Jiku seemed to understand, because he did not argue the point.

-

The stressful events of the night before had cured Darek's insomnia; in fact, he slept so soundly that it seemed like only a minute after his head hit the pillow that he awoke with a start. Through the open window, the first rays of the rising sun were beginning to sneak in, signaling that the morning had already come.

Not that he wanted to get up. Although he had managed to make it back to his and Jiku's shared room last night without much trouble, right now, he was so tired that he could barely even move his body. No doubt it was the excitement and stress of the night before that had left him this way. He was surprised that he hadn't just slept through the whole day.

Then again, maybe this is the morning of the day after the next,
Darek thought.
Though I'd probably feel better rested than I am now if that was the case.

But he wasn't alone in his room this morning, despite how much he wanted some time to think about and consider what he had done and seen last night. Jiku was sitting on his own bed opposite Darek's, a mug of warm hyper juice in his hands. The middle-aged mage looked like he must have just gotten up himself, because even as he sipped from his mug, his eyes had bags underneath them and he seemed sluggish.

“Good morning,” said Jiku with a yawn. “I thought you were never going to wake up.”

Darek rubbed his eyes, but he didn't get up from under his soft, warm blankets. “Were you awake this whole time waiting for me to wake up?”

“More or less,” said Jiku. He leaned forward a little. “You said you'd tell me about what happened in the graveyard last night in the morning. It's the morning, so I'm waiting.”

Darek wanted to hide his face under his pillow and tell Jiku to bother him later, but Darek had a feeling that that wouldn't work. Besides, he had told Jiku that, so he decided to go ahead and do it.

So, as briefly as he could, Darek explained all of the events of the night before. It was hard because he was very tired and he didn't remember everything, but he remembered enough to deliver a faithful explanation of the events to Jiku, who sipped from his mug every now and then but otherwise didn't say much.

When Darek finished, Jiku looked so distraught and confused that Darek actually worried for his health.

“By the gods,” said Jiku, staring down at his mug of hyper juice, which was steaming slightly. “I can't even begin to imagine everything you experienced back there. You witnessed the death of a goddess.”

Darek nodded. “Yes. And based on what those two katabans said, they had killed another goddess earlier.”

“Two goddesses dead in one day,” said Jiku. He shuddered. “If Uron is still out there, like you said, I have a feeling that that record might be broken again sometime soon.”

“I hope not,” said Darek. “I don't even want him to kill another southern god.”

“Speaking of the southern gods,” said Jiku, “
what
were you thinking, becoming a servant of the Ghostly God? The southern gods, in case you forgot all of your Deity 101 lessons,
eat
humans. What's to stop the Ghostly God from summoning you to wherever he lives and then having you for lunch?”

“I know,” said Darek. “It was a stupid decision for me to make, but I was desperate. I don't think there's any way out of the deal I made with him, so I'll have to live with the consequences of my decision.”

“Or
die
with the consequences of your decision,” said Jiku, shaking his head. “The Ghostly God doesn't sound like a very good master anyway, if he's the reason Uron managed to get a new body and the God-killer.”

“Not much I can do about it,” said Darek. “But you know, Aorja served the Ghostly God and she wasn't eaten.”

“Who's to say he wasn't planning to eat her at some point?” said Jiku. He sighed. “But I guess there's no getting out of that deal. When you choose to serve a god, you usually can't back out of whatever deal you made with them unless they choose to terminate it themselves.”

“Got that right,” said Darek. “And maybe I never will have to serve him. He hasn't summoned me to his island or contacted me yet.”

“He will,” said Jiku. “When, I don't know, but the gods don't hire servants only to ignore them. Once the Ghostly God has something he needs you to do, or maybe if he wants a light snack, he'll summon you without hesitation. Guaranteed.”

Darek groaned. “You're right. Anyway, what happened to those two katabans? The ones who brought the Magical Superior back to the Arcanium?”

Jiku blinked. “I didn't see them myself because by the time I got to the courtyard, they were gone. But I spoke to Junaz and he told me that they had left through that ethereal thing that katabans use to get around. He said he doesn't know where they went.”

Darek considered that. He had been hoping to thank Durima for getting the Magical Superior out of there, but if they were indeed missing, then it seemed unlikely he would see them again.

Then again, Durima and Gujak both served the Ghostly God, didn't they?
Darek thought.
Maybe I will serve alongside them someday and will be able to thank her then.

“What do you think is going to happen from now on?” said Jiku, breaking Darek out of his thoughts. “Now that this Uron fellow is around, do you think anything will ever be the same?”

Darek shook his head. “Of course not. I don't know where Uron is or what he's doing right now, but he was very serious about destroying Martir and everything in it. He'll lay low for a while, but now that he has the God-killer, I don't think he's going to just give up and go home.”

“He doesn't even have a home to go back to, if your story is true,” said Jiku with a snort. “But I worry for the gods. Normally, I wouldn't, but if Uron does indeed have a weapon like that, then the future of the gods—and Martir in general—isn't as certain as I'd like it to be.”

“On that, I agree,” said Darek. He yawned. “Jiku, I really need to go back to sleep. I can barely move as is. Maybe we can talk some more later.”

“All right,” said Jiku, nodding. He glanced at his hyper juice. “Need to refill my cup anyway, and then go and tell your mother you're okay. She was extremely worried about your absence last night.”

Darek smiled. “Tell her I'll be all right and I'll give her a hug next time I see her.”

Jiku chuckled, but didn't say anything else. He stood up and walked out of their room, closing the door gently behind him as he did so.

As Darek closed his eyes, trying to relax his mind and body enough to go back to sleep, he found that he couldn't. He kept thinking about Uron, who was still out there in the world somewhere, and the Ghostly God, who no doubt planned to give Darek a call to remind him about their deal later. He also thought about Durima, who he still wanted to thank for her help, and Aorja, who he found he missed, despite the fact that she tried to murder him.

Whatever the future holds from now on, it's outside of my control,
Darek thought.
Unfortunately.

With that, he forced himself not to think about any of it anymore. It was difficult, but he remembered what Noharf had taught him about emptying his mind before going to bed, and in just a few minutes, he had soundly returned to the world of dreams.