Realm Leaper, page 18
“You don’t have to tell me. But you know you’d make me tell you. So it’s only fair you tell me. Besides, I’m practically your formal advisor, so I’m really entitled to information of this manner. Plus–”
“Enough, alright? Goddess, Delphia.” Gavin rolled his shoulders, he hoped he wouldn’t regret sharing the information. “Her name is Sage.”
“THE REALM LEAPER?!” Delphia’s shock skittered around the clearing, and Gavin had to force himself not to grab his sister and slap his hand over her mouth.
“What? How do you know about that?”
“Because Seth, yes—that Seth, has been going around all of Mystaira spreading the news.”
Lord Seth was the most prominent leader in Mystaira. One of the few original progeny of Mystaira, his family had held their estate since before steadfast records were kept. Not only was the family renowned for their orchards and wine, but they also provided a significant amount of livestock for export. Their family homestead’s taxes could single-handedly pay Gavin’s annual allowances.
“And what does Seth have to say about the Realm Leaper?” It wouldn’t be good, Gavin was sure. Seth had always been outspoken about his concerns regarding an outsider becoming Queen, despite Symon’s own mother being from Nysa as well. He also had plenty to say about Gavin’s appointment as Lord of Mystaira. Seth obviously believed he would have been the better choice. And, usually, Gavin would have agreed.
“Seth claims that King Symon and Queen Aryael welcoming a stranger to the festival proves that they are unfit to rule. He claims it demonstrates their instability, especially with Speridisia openly organizing their forces.”
“So he’s willfully speaking against his King and Queen? What does he think that will accomplish?”
“I don’t know brother, but you should be careful. He’s been after your place since it was given to you, and—” she held up her hand when he attempted to interject, “—I know you would gladly give it up, but you and I both know that Seth is too hot-headed to be Lord. He would quickly unravel any good we’ve done.”
“I know,” Gavin rolled his shoulders once more. He looked at his sister, the look of wariness still on her face. “I have to go. I’ll write to Symon, and let him know what you’ve told me.”
Quickly, she hugged him, then turned back to look at the creek. “You’ve been given this opportunity for a reason Gavin. Don’t sell yourself short.”
He left his sister by the creek, aiming for his room in the small house. Luckily, everyone was still out for the day, tending to their daily chores. It wasn’t often that the house was empty, but it meant that he could get from one point to another without being stopped to visit and catch up. He supposed that was his own fault for being so absent the last several years.
Once in his room, he sat down at the tiny writing desk his father made. Pulling out a stack of blank paper, Gavin prepared himself to record everything he’d learned in the last couple of days. The enchanted paper, given to him by the King, would disappear whenever he’d finished his letter and arrive wherever he told it to land. Despite the urgency of the matter, Gavin found himself crafting a note to Sage instead.
Checking in to make sure you haven’t run off yet. I always forget the beauty of this place. Maybe one day I can show you this part of Felysia. -G
Before he could think too hard about it, he finished the note, folded it the way Symon had shown him, and thought of the side table in Sage’s room, willing the note to land on top of whatever books she might have piled on it.
Once the note vanished, he rolled his shoulders once, recentered himself, and began recording everything he had learned over the last three days. Perhaps, if he played his cards right, he could finish in Mystaira early and be back in the Tower before having to move into the castle. Then he and Sage might have a few precious days to spend together before his world changed and he was pushed into his role as Lord for good.
✧✦✧
Sage sat in her favorite chair, the one near the fireplace but angled just right so she could sit and stare out the expansive windows in her room. Three days had dragged on without Gavin or Raphael there to give her any distraction from her thoughts. Memories had been pouring back into her rapid-fire, but she hadn’t actually sat to record them. Part of her was worried that putting them in writing would make them too real. She scrubbed her hands with her face. “Right,” she announced to herself, went to reach for the journal Raph had given her and stopped short when she noticed a note lying on top of it.
She couldn’t stop smiling when she opened the paper and read the note Gavin had scrawled across it. Maybe he was as bored as she was. Quickly, not really knowing how the magic of the paper worked, she replied to his note. Scratching out something about still being in the tower, but actively plotting her escape, definitely wanting to see Mystaira one day, and admitting to maybe missing his presence at least a very little. She folded the note back how she found it and whispered, “Can you go back to him now? Go right back where you came from!”
To her delight, the note vanished. Hopefully, it would end up where she wanted it to. Hopefully, some poor fae wouldn’t be eating supper and lean into their food only to find a folded-up piece of parchment nestled in their dinner.
“Okay. Time to write—for real!” she announced loudly to herself. She picked up her journal, opened to the first blank page, and began scribbling frantically as the memories poured out of her.
She was in Ian’s house. Her memories flitted through scenes of meeting his mom, Stiofanie, a woman of fierce compassion who immediately latched on to “Lonnie,” and flung herself into finding her work at the university. Stiofanie took Sage out to shops to find suitable clothes, helped her find out a way to get her school certifications so that she might one day be able to enroll as a university student, and welcomed Sage as a pseudo-member of her household, never questioning what she and Ian might get up to when they were left alone. Sage didn’t have the heart to tell Stiofanie that no school records would ever appear for the false name she had given, and tried her hardest to work in the library in order to live up to the kindness Stiofanie had already given her.
Sage also didn’t tell Stiofanie, or Ian, that the entire reason Sage was in Techeduin to begin with was to get into the library. On her lunch breaks, she would comb the stacks, looking for anything that might help her learn about her elemental abilities. She hid her magical ineptitude by being quick and quiet on her feet while the other assistants relied on spells to lift books to the highest stacks in the library. Sage, on the other hand, didn’t dare to use her wind magic to lift books and wasn’t skilled enough with her wand to even pretend to use the same magic. On the few times Stiofanie spied Sage taking the long way to put books away, she’d vowed to help Sage catch up on the lessons she’d missed since dropping out of school at fifteen. Stiof never asked Sage why she dropped out, where her parents were, or why she chose to live on the streets prior to moving in with them; but sometimes, she would approach Sage and hug her, seeming to need to give the girl some sort of comfort. A mother’s intuition, Sage mused.
Sage, Ian, and Stiofanie developed a routine; Ian would go off in the morning, to his studies on campus as a promising alchemy student, studying ancient alchemical procedures and investigating how they might be integrated with modern techniques. Meanwhile, Stiofanie and Sage would walk together to the library. Sage often packed lunches for them all, a small repayment for the enormous kindness they’d given her. And in the evenings, Ian and Sage would work together to fix dinner, chatting about their day. At night, they would find their way to bed, sometimes in Ian’s room, sometimes in Sage’s room, and sometimes apart in their own rooms depending on what they each needed in terms of rest and solitude. Sometimes, they made love, deep into the night. Sometimes, they told stories about their past: Ian’s often funny anecdotes that included himself, Brion, and Duncan making fools of themselves, while Sage’s stories were memories of her family, and retelling everything she’d done to survive since her capture and escape. He informed her he’d heard of the earthquake caused by her escape, the official explanation by the government, the one that had killed the school group on their way to a sanctioned reception at the nation’s capital. He had seemed shocked for days that she was actually the cause of it in her desperate attempt to flee. Ian vowed to help her find a way to elude Ranquer, and would occasionally pop into the library to help her search for certain materials. Other times, they would sleep soundly next to each other, just enjoying each other’s company.
As much as she hated it, Sage continued to stash emergency items in her room. Hair dyes, colored eye contacts, a potion that would change her skin color for twenty-four hours, another potion that would allow her to swap genders for a brief period; all items that would help her make a run for it if she needed to, if she needed to leave to protect Ian and his mom. She’d do it, she knew; at the first sign of threats, she’d leave. She probably wouldn’t even leave a note, just…poof, be gone.
It was Ian’s discovery of her stash of emergency items that caused their first real fight. Hurt and betrayal flooded his face as she stepped into her room. “I was just trying to put away your clothes. They’d been in the washroom for like...three days, so I thought I’d just put them away for you. How long?” he demanded. “How long have you been planning to go?”
Sage stepped into the room, closing the door behind her; “Always,” she replied flatly, “If anything happens…I couldn’t let them hurt you, or your mom. I won’t let them. That’s here in case I need to go, Ian.”
“You won’t need to go. I can help; we can keep you safe,” he pleaded, tears rimming his eyes.
“Ian,” Sage whispered, cupping his hands in hers, not daring to look into his eyes, “You have to let me go. Ian…if they come, I need you to promise not to come after me, to let me go. They will hurt you, and your mom. Please…let me go.”
He grabbed her face, crushing it to his, tears flowed freely now from both of their eyes. “I can’t,” he whispered.
“You have to,” was the only reply she could give him.
That was probably when it happened; when the first part of her really broke. She had thought it was when she’d killed the guards, probably killed her fellow students, but it wasn’t. That part of her had been holding on by a thread. Realizing just how much danger she put Ian and Stiofanie in cut that thread, and a piece of her heart plummeted into the darkest abyss. She hadn’t allowed herself to dwell on losing her freedom, losing her family when she escaped, how she lost any promises of the life she could have had. But the prospect of Ian and Stiofanie becoming collateral in her journey to find some way out of the nightmare her life had become…a new urgency grew within her.
Over the course of a week, Sage worked to convince Ian that she was right. Eventually he gave in, but wouldn’t let her refuse his help in tracking down the answers she needed. Sometimes, she worried her presence jeopardized his place in the alchemy department of the University. Ian shrugged off her questions, and insisted he was more attuned to government happenings than he’d let her believe before.
With Ian’s help she had compiled a collection of resources describing elementals in the past, how their powers were developed and honed, and the manner in which their magic was different from other common forms of magic. She found descriptions of elemental practices, routines that allowed elementals to focus their power and command the energy forces that flowed around them. She found detailed figures and transcriptions of steps, forms, and poses an elemental would flow through in order to summon water, create fire, wield the wind, and shatter the earth. Ian helped make copies of the books. His knowledge of alchemy allowed him to create tools for her, so she could make duplicates of the materials on her own. He also used his skills to give her an edge should she ever need to make a run for it.
“Here. I call it an Egress Key,” he said as he handed her a small bundled object.
Sage looked at Ian quizzically before unwrapping the bundle, “Egress? For what?” Under the wrappings lay a silver metal ring with a dark black stone attached to the center of it. The stone hovered, suspended in the center by a second silver piece, going directly through the stone so that it could spin in the ring.
“It’s been enchanted. If you spin that stone in the center ten times it will transport you anywhere on the continent. I’ve actually been working on something similar in the lab and modified it to be something that’d help you, if you ever need to go. It’s still a work in progress; this one should be good for two trips. I’m hoping, someday soon, to have an upgraded version that can work more times.” His voice was clinical, a sign that he was working on keeping his emotions in check.
Tears spilled from her face, and she placed her hand on his cheek. She shook her head, setting the key onto the table they sat at in his kitchen. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He grabbed her hand on his face, and tilted her chin so that her eyes met his, “If it comes down to it, you run,” he said, “I’ve thought about it so many times. I know you will have to go.” She kissed him, gently, and they sat in the kitchen, holding each other.
Sage continued her search for knowledge and practiced what she could glean from the manuals she had duplicated from the library. It was nearly a year when the first sign of threat occurred. She was far back in the stacks trying to find the home for a book on the ancient, elemental gods when she overheard two students talking. They spoke in whispers about a group of students who had been summoned to the capitol building for a private meeting with the President and his advisors. They were murmuring about the students, the unfairness of their professors choosing favorites who didn’t deserve the honor, and how he was scheduled to visit the University at the end of the term. Sage dropped the books she was carrying and hurried to the front of the library. “Stiofanie,” she whispered as she approached the front desk, “I’m not feeling very good.”
Stiofanie looked over at Sage, “You look fine. What’s wrong?”
“It’s my stomach. I don’t know; just, I feel really off. I think I need to go home, lie down for just a bit.”
Stiofanie clucked her teeth, “Alright, go on then. Let me know if you feel much worse. I’ll see if I can’t get home a bit early. I’ll pick up some ginger tea on the way home, ok?” Sage nodded and quickly made her way to the exit.
The entire way home, Sage felt as if there were eyes on her, as if she wore a target on her back. Everything on the outside seemed normal. Automobiles trundled down the city streets, buses pulling over as they made their way through their routes. Pedestrians hurriedly navigated the sidewalks. She saw a pair of vagrants get into some sort of fight by a liquor store, one of them procuring a wand and turning the other man’s lower half into stone. She didn’t notice the small flying drone that bounded from rooftop to rooftop above her, following her as she made her way home. She was nearly there when a van pulled up beside her, a man leaping out and grabbing her. A black canvas bag was forced over her head, and invisible ropes tied her hands and feet together. “Hello, Sage,” drawled a familiar female voice.
Ms. Dullahan had found her. She had assumed the woman had drowned in the van following her all those years ago when she washed that bridge into the river. “The President has waited a very long time to see you again.” No…no no no no! Sage’s heart thundered in her chest, moisture slicked her hands. She couldn’t get caught now. And so close to home. So close to Ian and Stiof.
An invisible gag materialized in her mouth when she began screaming for help, and Sage bit down on it as tears spilled from her eyes. They drove for what felt like hours, but was just as likely several minutes. The van stopped moving. She heard rustling and a door opening and slamming shut before the sack was ripped off her head. Ms. Dullahan was inches away from her, smiling wickedly. She wore the same smart, black and white suit as before, but something was different in the agent’s appearance. Ms. Dullahan cuffed Sage with large, mechanical manacles that buzzed on her skin. “These will keep your powers at bay, so don’t get any ideas,” Ms. Dullahan said with a sing-songy voice.
Sage grit her teeth, willing the tears to stay put and not to spill over her cheeks. With a flourish from the agent, the invisible gag dissolved. “What do you want with me?” Sage growled out, keeping her teeth clenched.
“Well,” purred Dullahan,” before I deliver you to Mr. President, I’ve been tasked with the delightful job of finding out just how you evaded us for so long. Who helped you, where you were going…you get the picture.”
“No one helped me. I’ve been on my own,” Sage blurted.
Dullahan clucked behind her teeth, “Now, you don’t actually expect me to believe that. I’ve seen you walking to work each day. My drones have been following you for some time now. Tell me who they are, and I promise to make their executions quick.”
No…no no no no…this couldn’t be happening, not now. “I haven’t told the others yet; where you’ve been hiding. If you tell me, I will make sure that their punishment is over quickly.” Dullahan had leaned in close, whispering the promise into Sage’s face. There, in her eyes, was a flicker of light that was not human.
Sage recoiled, “What are you?”
“Oh,” scoffed Dullahan, “you noticed. Thanks to your little prank five years ago, my mortal body was not of use to the President any longer. But, I had already started the process of uploading my consciousness, a new design our alchemical engineers have developed, and I was able to commandeer a new body. So, I guess a word of thanks is in order.” She grinned at Sage, removing a glove to reveal mechanical fingers. Her hand lifted, and Dullahan slammed her fist in Sage’s cheek. Bright stars burst into Sage’s eyes, and she couldn’t stop the sob that followed.
