Wraiths and Raiders, page 10
Koglim’s shoulders sag. “Guess that means Lagnar’s out.”
Rugnus sighs. “Without two keys, we’ll never spot the entrance to Brightstorm Dungeon. If we could budge there, that would be one thing, but...”
Koglim takes a bite of his cereal. We all stare at him, but he shrugs. Brig replaces Lagnar at the table and reaches for the box, but Koglim's hand closes around it.
"Keep Ide, Koglim!" Winta says. "It's his cereal. I'll order you some of your own."
Reluctantly he lets go, nearly sending Brig backward off the chair. Jeiah dances a step and nudges him forward. She looks at me. "Without Emberfence, without that key, we can't find the dungeon."
Hemdi finally sits down next to Winta. He lets Echel grab his little finger. "Even if we can convince Lagnar to go, is it possible? We'd have to get through that city, and the moment we get down there, Vor can track our location."
"Found that out the hard way," Brig says.
"He may send Grimflail to find us," Rugnus says. "That means Hardkeeper, Brude—Koglim's friend—and my mother. We’re not prepared to face them."
Winta and Jeiah pass a quick look. "We may have something. Something that could keep Vor from detecting our craftprints—if that’s what he’s doing."
"Maybe," Jeiah says. "It could use a few more tests."
"Tests, test, tests," Winta says. Then she smiles. "Sure. We’ll run a few more tests. That's the easy part. Convincing Lagnar not to be a coward... who's gonna do that?"
Koglim stands and stretches. "Whatever you guys gotta do. Just don't leave without me. Looking at you, Clayson. I want in next time we’re leaving for a deadly mission.”
Hemdi laughs. "Getting half-eaten by feral wolves wasn’t enough for you?”
"When this all blows over," Koglim says, "when we stop Vor for good, my reputation as a raider..." He makes a little explosion sound as he gestures with his hands.
Jeiah frowns. “Maybe reevaluate your priorities a little, but I like the optimism.”
I run a hand through my hair. “I’ll try to find Emberfence. We can—”
“No. I’ll find him,” Mom says. “He’ll listen to me... maybe.”
“Hopefully, he stayed under the protection of the shield.”
Brig dismisses this with a breath. “Ho, have you seen how happy he is to breathe normally? He won’t go far. I’ll help look too. He likes me.”
“Cause you're so adorable.” Winta uses the voice she reserves for Echel.
“Eat brick, Winta,” Brig says.
Jeiah slaps him on the back of the head. “No.”
With every ounce of self-control, I push the smile from my face. Jeiah narrows her eyes, and I see her resist the impulse to slap me.
“What?” Brig says. “You said it?”
Jeiah offers a defense. “No, I didn’t. I—”
“Yes. Yes, you did. You said: Sometimes Clayson is—”
She clamps a hand over her brother’s mouth.
A giggle burst from deep inside Koglim.
“Don’t stop him,” Winta says. “I’ve been wondering how you two have—”
With a loud groan, I leave the room. “I’m getting some air.”
The heat from summer is a welcome relief to the air-conditioned room. Mom follows me out of the castle. “Hey, got a second?”
“If this is about Lagnar—”
“No. I just... I’m wondering if you want to talk.”
My feet stop. “About what?”
“About Jeiah and you.”
My eyes go unfocused. Is she trying to offer me relationship advice? Of all the things I need right now, having a heart-to-heart with my mom about my failure to express my feelings is—let’s say—very low on my priorities. “I appreciate the thought.”
“I am your mother.”
“True, but I’m going to play my teenage boy stereotype card on this one.”
“Fair enough. I think we should check the shop first.”
We walk down the road in silence, past the cabin, toward the shield. The sun has already slipped nearly out of the sky, behind the ministack and the woods beyond. Halfway to the shop, the light flips on inside. When we open the door, we find Lagnar fiddling with a piece of equipment at the worktable.
“Come to talk me into throwing my life away?” he asks.
Frustration grows inside of me. “That’s not—”
“Not talking to you, Brightstorm.”
Turning to me, my mom motions for me to leave. “I’ve got this.”
“You sure?”
She nods. The second I hear the door close behind me Lagnar says, “He’s so much like his dad. Makes me sick.”
These words, the way he talks to my mom—familiar and antagonistic all at once—send me stomping down the gravel road to the eastern cliff. I spot Jeiah through the living room window, but she’s busy talking to Winta about something. Good. I don’t want company right now.
I pass the waterfall, but in the middle of summer, it's like the river’s on life support. The waterfall barely lives, only a slow trickle of cool water over the stones. It’s one of the reasons I prefer spring to summer. There’s something about the way the world comes to life again. There’s nothing like it in the world below. Everything there is made of sharp contrasts and conflicting viewpoints. Always alive, never dormant. It’s a hard place for me, having spent my life roaming the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Once I reach the cliff, I take extra time searching for a new way up. Many of the paths are known, worn by hand and foot, by years of trust. But tonight, I search for the rougher places, the more difficult paths to climb. I still reach the top in short order. I march down the trail, back to the foot of the cliff, and start again. This time the challenge is to use a single hand. Your legs do all the work if you find the right places. Again, I reach the top.
After a couple tries, I pull myself over the lip of the cliff and roll onto my back. The daylight is mostly gone, but I stay long enough for the night to transform, for the stars to deliver themselves into the sky and translate the endless summer day into a vast universe. There’s no moon, I realize, and long after the sun is down, I begin to make out a vapor of the milky way.
“Not something you get to see in Tungsten City.” Jeiah’s voice startles me.
I move to sit up, but she lays down next to me. Her hand finds mine, and she leans into me. Something in my chest fills with relief. The world becomes simple.
The stars. The cool air. Our heartbeats.
She draws her body closer and leans over. Her lips find mine. The kiss is so soft and light I might float upward into the night. Then I kiss her back, trying to draw her closer, but she stops. She settles back to look at the stars.
“It’s easy for me to say I love you,” she says. “You’re kind. Courageous. The way you see the world... maybe you’re rash sometimes, but intelligent. You’re a good friend to Rugnus, and everyone else. And the way you stand by Brig...”
“Then let me say—”
She puts a finger to my lips.
“I’m not sure it will be enough to make me believe that you actually do.”
What am I supposed to say to this? “That doesn’t leave me much of an option. I’m not sure how to prove my feelings to you. And—”
“I don’t need that,” she says. “I’m a paladin, remember? I already know how you feel about me. You need me.”
“It’s more than that.”
“Is it?”
My chest tightens. My next breath is more of a gasp for air. How can she not see the way I feel about her? I form my next sentences the best I can without using the words she doesn’t wanna hear from me yet. “I just know there’s this space inside of me that’s empty, and all you have to do is sit next to me or say a single word, and... it’s as strong as any craft I know.”
Her eyes catch something of the stars as she blinks and stares at me. “That’s exactly enough for me, Clay. Can we just not worry about what words either of us uses right now?”
We stay there, unmoving for as long as the night will let us.
“Do you think Lagnar will go?” I ask.
“No. The part of him—the general from long ago—that’s all gone. He doesn’t have a bone of bravery left.”
“I don’t know. I’m never sure we can know what he’s thinking. I mean sure, maybe with silver, but even that has its limitations. We can’t know what he’ll decide.”
“He’ll keep himself comfortable. Live out his days under the protection of the shield. However long that lasts.”
“I don’t suppose that makes him the greatest keeper in history.”
Jeiah closes her eyes. I know her well enough to guess what she’s thinking about. Who she’s thinking about. “Bluekeeper—the real Bluekeeper—what was he like? I only met him once, but you said he was like a father to you.”
“He taught me to see the room. To judge efficiently. To exploit every possible avenue until—” She stops abruptly. Her breathing changes.
“What is it?”
“That’s it. Clay, that’s it. Lagnar may just do it. Come on.” She hops to her feet, pulls me up, and then we’re running down the side trail, past the waterfall, and back onto the gravel road.
“Tell me where we’re going.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of it.”
She pulls open the door to the shop, revealing Rugnus and Winta in the middle of an animated conversation. At least they both seem excited about something. Emberfence is sitting in Jeiah’s chair, watching them like a ping-pong match.
Jeiah comes to the center of the room. “Everyone, listen.”
The conversation screeches to a halt. Lagnar swivels around in the chair.
Jeiah extends an arm out to him as if to test strengths. “If you won’t go, give me your keepership over Bluebottle. Clayson and I can find Brightstorm Dungeon without you.”
SHIFT INTO GEARS
Lagnar’s adam's apple bobs as he swallows. Leaning back in his chair, he laces his fingers behind his head. I’m unsure if that’s to cover a deep feeling of being insulted or if he’s genuinely at ease.
“That’s a mighty tall order,” he says.
Mom is gone from the workshop. It looks like she couldn’t convince him of anything. So much for being old friends.
“But she’s right,” Rugnus says, realization in his eyes.
Winta saunters next to Jeiah. “It makes a lot of sense. She could lead a team through Kalisserl and find the dungeon. She’s been a paladin for Bluebottle. Lagnar could surrender the key to her willingly.”
“Been a couple of centuries since someone gave up a keepership,” Rugnus says.
Jeiah points a finger of judgment at Lagnar. “After what you did... with the whole world turned upside-down... you’d keep this from—”
“Relax, sheriff.” Lagnar stands from the chair and cuts the distance to her in half. “The queen and I talked it out. Figured you’d come asking.”
Winta’s mouth nearly drops open. “So, you’ll do it?”
“Mostly,” Lagnar says.
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“Means someone oughta go get the monarchy. Princess included. I want the best silvermage to oversee this oath.”
“Lagnar.” I lace his name with a warning.
“Nothing sinister. Just a teensy promise. The moment she leaves that dungeon, or heaven forbid, dies before you guys get out, the keepership returns to me.”
He draws a thin trapezoidal disk from his vest pocket. He flicks it twice and the edges glow blue. A tiny metal key surfaces on the disk.
Jeiah smiles with satisfaction. “Fine.”
“Not finished. After that, you work as my chief paladin in Bluebottle.”
“No.” The smile is gone from her face. “No. You can’t withhold your key for... for that.”
“Well, if you won’t promise...” He starts to put the key away.
“Wait. Fine. Brig, go get Andalynn.”
“Why do I have to—”
I barely have to glance at him for his mouth to shut tight. The door clatters behind him. No one says a thing. The computers buzz and ping, but we don’t have to wait long before Andalynn enters, followed by Mom. I can tell by the look on Andalynn’s face that Brig’s already filled her in. Mom leans back against the door, letting Lagnar take the lead, but this must have been her plan.
Coming between Lagnar and Jeiah, Andalynn says, “Are you both absolutely sure about this?”
Jeiah clears her throat. “Unless Lagnar will stop being a coward and go himself.”
He purses his lips like he’s considering it. “No, thank you.”
“Test strengths.”
They clasp each other’s forearms.
With a simple silver dowel, she taps their knuckles. Ribbons of light appear around their heads like halos.
Lagnar speaks the words of an oath. It’s clear he’s thought this through. “I grant you temporary keepership of Bluebottle Dungeon, with all its powers, until your life is ended, or you exit Brightstorm Dungeon safely, with the additional promise to serve as Bluebottle’s chief paladin, under my keepership forever thereafter. Swear it?”
“By my blood and by silver, I swear.” Jeiah squeezes his arm.
A swell of silver-grey light plumes around them. Lagnar releases her. He hands her the card, shaking his head. “Alright then. Now just gotta wait around for you to die... then back to the status quo.”
“We won’t let that happen,” I say.
“As foolish and wishful as your father.”
“When do we leave?” Brig says. “You know, for Kalisserl.”
Winta laughs and wraps her knuckles on Brig’s head. “You? Never. The rest of the team...”
“Did the last test work?” Jeiah asks her. “Are they ready?”
“Are what ready?” I ask.
Lagnar points to a table filled with electronics. “Some more of Winta and Jeiah’s human-Loamin hybrid specials.”
I pick the closest one. It's an old pager. But the hint of blue glowing along its seams is distinctly Loamin. I hear the door, and Koglim steps in.
“What did I miss?” he says. He looks down, spots the pager in my hand, and scrunches his face. “What’s all this?”
“These,” Jeiah says. “Should scramble our location from any AI in the city.”
Koglim’s mouth opens wide. “We’re on for Kalisserl!”
“These new objects should block some effects of the fallout as well. More importantly, it hides our location from Vor and Grimflail.”
Winta presses a button on a second pager, and blue light appears at the seams. “With any luck, nothing in the city or out of it will sort out your location.” She nods toward Koglim. “Too bad you don’t have your neckless or at least the tattoo.”
Koglim waves the comment away. “Why? So we can just ignore all the bad omens? With this group of raiders, I’ve learned to just go with it.”
Winta chuckles. “I’d take the warning if it were me.”
“Are you not coming?” I ask. “We’ll need all the mechcraft we can get.”
“Jeiah may not have the same mechcraft AMP, but she’s better at all the puzzle stuff. I mean, melt me for admitting it, but this was her idea. As was connecting the human internet to bluelink in the first place. I can’t leave Echel. No, let me be clear. I have no intention of leaving him without a mother or father, for that matter. We have to stay.”
It’s a reprimand of Hemdi, as clearly as Winta can give him. She’s not risking her life; he shouldn’t have, either.
“Fair enough,” Mom says. “That leaves six of us.”
“Seven,” Brig insists.
“Not a chance.” Jeiah grabs him by the shoulder and pushes him toward Winta. “Keep an eye on him, too, would you?”
Koglim fiddles with a flip phone from the pile of electronics. “Wraithspit, let’s get going then.”
“We have everything we need,” Andalynn says. “Is there any reason to wait?”
“I don’t have the keeper’s key with me. The one from Mithriumbane Dungeon, it’s in my—”
Mom taps the key on my shoulder. “Figured you’d need this. You and Jeiah should take the lead.”
“Thanks. And you’re coming with me?”
“With Grimflail on the loose, it will be good to have a goldmage with you.”
Koglim keeps flipping his phone open and closed. “So, how do we use them?”
Lagnar laughs. “You guys are mech food, for sure.”
“Zip it, Lagnar,” Rugnus says.
Lagnar waves him off and returns to fiddling with the machinery on the table.
Brig smiles. “Ho, Clayson. This is why you need me. I know all the ins and outs of craft, and dungeons, and—”
Rugnus pats Koglim on his shoulder. “We’ve got one database. And he’s actually been in Brightstorm. Even knows how to work the keeper's key as a compass. Besides, he’s been in every dungeon, if I’m not mistaken.”
Koglim blinks at Brig like an innocent kid waiting for a lollipop. “Too true. Well, besides Mithriumbane, which you guys destroyed before I could raid it even once.”
“The key, Koglim,” I say.
“Right,” Koglim says. “Well, the pattern inside Brightstorm is simple: up and toward the sharpest light you can find. So, finding his dungeon from outside—”
“Is opposite,” Brig says, trying to keep himself relevant. Winta laughs, but Brig continues. “To find the dungeon, you go down and into darkness.”
“And the keys?” I ask.
A sudden look of panic grabs Brig. He freezes.
“The keys,” Koglim says, “should guide us toward Brightstorm with the opposite pattern from anywhere near the dungeon threshold.”
“Sounds straightforward,” Mom says.
After a pause, Rugnus adds, “I know a budgeport on the city’s periphery. Well... it’s sixty percent reliable. Which is just about as good as it gets in the ever-changing fallout of Kalisserl.”
There are nods all around. Rugnus takes Andalynn’s hand. “We’ll find the dungeon and get the key the Dura wraiths gave to Blackmug. Hopefully, it will help us find a way to defeat Vor. And we can fix this world.”
“It will,” I say. I clip the pager to my belt.
