Too Far Down

Chapter One

 

1

Her fingers twisted her hair into braids, as she’d done since she was the child who picked peaches and citrus fruits in her father’s grove and tasted them before they went to the market. Father had always warned her not to do that, said she’d spoil her dinner, but he’d never been angry. She dressed herself silently, letting the memories flow over her and through her and in a thousand different directions at once.

(Why do the memories come only when HE is here?) She wondered as she raced through the streets, her feet pounding against the stones, an illusion of silence hiding her as easily as the black cloak that hung from her shoulders. She had almost reached the city gates when she loosed her cape and cowl, letting the dark fabrics slip to the ground. She stopped, turned around, and sent them home.

Approaching the city gate was easy, now that she’d learned a sort of “mental modesty”. It was like to invisibility, but much less draining— she merely made the people around her never really notice her.

Ashley Riot cantered his horse through the city gates as though nothing were wrong; she hated it when he ignored possibly serious problems. For example, the fact that five mages were tailing him, the Church had captured another mage and was holding them in some sort of cell, and she’d been sensing a shift in the lay lines. All of these alone were disasters, but they were solvable. Together, on the other hand, they became a catastrophic chain of events that it would take seven powerful mages to solve, if not more.

She crossed her arms over her chest and pinned him with The Look. ((Why have you brought them here?))

((It is not of thy concern, Merlose.))

((It is my concern!)) Her eyes flashed. ((The Church has taken a mage captive while you’ve been off courting your wife! The Church’s lay lines are shifting! Valnain may be at the center of the largest Magickal explosion since…))

((I know.))

((Worse, you bring five mages—/five/— into Valnain. Hither they shall attract the Cardinal’s full attention!))

((I have no time for this.)) He brushed past her, holding his head high.

(He ALWAYS tells me he has no time) Callo sighed and vanished. Nobody noticed.

 

Interlude

Jamal sighed. They had followed the Dark’s man all the way to Valnain, only to lose him. Which was quite impossible, as there were no mages as powerful as that in Valendia. One didn’t simply lose the Dark’s Avatar! They were too powerful to ignore. But tell that to the Avatar…

“No sign?” Jefaar asked.

“No,” Jamal replied.

He rounded a corner to come face to face with a woman of average height and dark hair. Brilliant green eyes regarded him suspiciously through narrowed lids. He recognized the look in their eyes, the way she held her hands.

(A mage preparing to cast), he thought.

“I shall not harm you.” When she spoke, it was in a distant tone. She was not looking at him but through him. “But I warn you: harm no one and use no powerful Magick. Should you do either… I make no promises as to your safety.”

With that, she turned and vanished into the crowd, leaving Jamal and Jefaar blinking.

Jefaar snarled, “What authority does that wench believe herself to hold?”

“Peace, brother,” Jamal replied. “We have her promise not to directly attack us. She fears something… I saw it in her eyes.”

“Wherefore should we care for her fears?” Snorted Jefaar, “Should we not first tend to ourselves?”

Jamal sighed again; Jefaar, while he was a good mage and ofttimes a fair enough companion, he was tightly wound and given to outbursts of physical violence.

 

2

Moonlight filtered both on and through him as Ashley surveyed the Cathedral, his hands clenched tightly into fists as he rode the rhythms of various clerics. He’d been trying for an hour to get a signal from the mage Merlose had told him the Cardinal had captured. Numerous attempts had turned up nothing, but he was determined to find out just why the Cardinal had attracted more Magick to the city when the lay lines were shifting.

((Ye shan’t find aught. Lord knows I’ve tried.))

Of course she would turn up when he least wanted to speak to her. Worse, she had a nasty habit of bringing bad news.

((Not now, Merlose. I am busy.))

((Busy, busy, busy. Are you ever aught else?)) Her voice was soft, but panicky. He delved a bit into her emotions, found a swirling mass of fear and worry. That piqued his interest, and he snapped fully back to himself.

((Merlose, if you cannot sense the Mage, how do you know they are there?))

((… I… I…))

((You do not…?))

((I do! I see him in my dreams.))

((Wondrous. Simply splendid, Merlose.))

He sighed and turned away, vanishing completely. The ghostly Merlose scowled, but returned to her home.

 

3

Marco tucked a ball made of cloth under his arm as he wandered out to play. Dusk had fallen, but there was always a time when you could play a little.

(Besides, the fireflies will be light enough.) Marco thought, making his way to the meadow where they gathered to play field-ball.

It had taken his mother a while to let him go out at night again. She said she didn’t want him spotting any more raiders. He’d said that Winhill was such a small town he didn’t know why the raiders would have bothered. She’d given him a sharp look.