The Way of Sacrifice, page 31
Two groves had been chiselled out, one for the feet and another above head height. Bess had to clear some debris from the grooves then inched her way along. Five paces around the cliff, and Bess could see that a crack in the rock had been widened just enough to let a person through. The gap descended down into the water, and Bess needed to use both hands and feet to push firmly against the rock, so she didn’t slip. She hadn’t reached the end when it became too dark for her to see.
Shaking her head at the lack of foresight, Bess inched her way back and, after scaling the cliff, made her way back to the manor.”
Chapter 12
The next morning Bess made her way back to the cliff and had the lantern with oil with her. The tide was still dropping when she arrived, and she was able to see that the crevice didn’t extend below the low tide mark. Bess lit the lantern when the light had almost disappeared and continued inching her way in with one hand and her feet. The lower end of the fissure slowly rose until she had to move higher up to stop getting stuck. Three paces later, the gap began widening and then she stepped into an underground cavern.
Shining the lantern around, she could see where it had been shaped with tools, but most of the cavern looked natural, as if the rock had formed around a huge gas bubble. There was guano from bats littering the floor, but none had used the cavern for a long time. In one corner was a pile of rectangular boxes, and when Bess got closer, she could see that someone had wrapped things in waterproof cloth then sealed the whole package with wax. They must have let the wax dry in a rectangular mould so they would stack as they did.
Bess took one of the packages and put it in the bag she’d brought. She checked the entire cavern using the lantern and found another small chest with coins and a sealed cylinder; she put both into her bag. After a final look around the cavern, Bess made her way back to the cliff and then back to the manor for an early lunch.
After lunch very carefully opened the cylinder and found a set of maps. She wasn’t sure what all of them were, but she knew one was of the palace and another the academy. After resealing that, she opened the rectangle. As she’d expected, it was filled with preserved foods. Despite her curiosity, she decided they weren’t something she would eat unless there was no other choice.
One of the things Bess had made sure to read up on was ways to protect books. After she’d changed from what she’d worn into the cave, she put on some new cotton gloves, and after laying down a felt cloth, carefully opened the cupboard with the books in it. She’d counted the books the last time, and without opening them, she checked the topics then wrapped each individually in some felt. When that was done, she put most back onto the shelves before resealing the edges with new felt. She’d kept three of the books to take back with her. One was on geography, one on magic and one on the history of the Strictures.
The rest of the day, she spent moving several of the internal doors from the manor to the end of the tunnel and used them to rebuild the exit. The following day Bess gathered the coins, her rings, the medal and the gemstones, and after choosing some coins, her rings and a few gems, she hid the rest under one of the manor’s foundation stones. Finally, she opened one of the cylinders in the underground basement and, as expected, removed a bow. It looked and felt better than any she’d seen before. She carefully put it back then added that to her bag of things she was bringing with her. Once everything was packed away, she made herself a cup of tea and watched the sun go down before sitting and watching the lights of the city.
On the last day of her break, she rose early, and after double-checking that she’d removed most of the evidence that she’d been there, she made her way back to the causeway. It was almost lunchtime when she reached the city, and she decided to stop for lunch at the tavern. As she sat down, Wesley came over and said, “Bess, where have you been? I’ve been worried.”
“I took a few days off? Why?”
“Two more girls went missing from Faulty Town, and you’re nowhere to be found. People were worried. I hear one of the mages even came to check where you were. Apparently, they had an inquiry.”
“I’m sorry, I maybe should have said something, but I didn’t want to be followed.”
“Don’t you have to check in every now and then?”
“Not any longer. As of yesterday, I am a free woman. I have no debt to the academy and no need to live in Faulty Town. I do want to finish the apprenticeship, so I’ll be looking for somewhere new to live, I guess.”
“We’ve rooms here if you’re interested.”
“I am interested. Can I have a look?”
“Yes. Eat first, and then I’ll get my wife to show you what we have.”
“You have a wife?”
“Very funny. I have a wife and three adorable children. They all help out back.”
After lunch, Bess met Wesley’s wife, Minali, who showed her several rooms. Bess’ favourite was on the top floor of the tavern. It had its own small bathroom, there was a second room with an armchair, a small dining table and a desk, and there was a balcony. As she and Minali walked back down the stairs, Bess said, “I like the upper room the best.”
“It is nice, but that means it is more expensive. I know Wesley likes you, but we still have to make a living.”
“Of course. How often do you have people renting that room?”
“OK, I’ll give you that. Not very often. It takes a lot to clean every day.”
“I’ll keep it clean. Just clean sheets each eightday. I can do my own laundry.”
“We normally charge two Gold a night for the room. As you suggested, we rarely have someone stay even once an eightday. I’ll talk with Wesley, but how about two Gold each eightday? You keep it clean, we’ll do the sheets and towels, and if you need us to do laundry, that will be extra.”
“Deal. I pay each quarter in advance, and the celebration days are free.”
“I still need to check, but he’ll be OK with it. Don’t let him talk you into paying less.”
Bess grinned and promised to pay at least what she’d agreed. She made her way out to the dining area and discussed the deal with Wesley. When he actually suggested they could give her an even cheaper rate, she laughed and said she’d not pay less but could be talked into paying a little more. Finally, he agreed and said, “When do you want to move in?”
“Today. I’ll leave the bag in the room, then go get my things. If you don’t mind, I’ll pay when fewer people are watching.”
“Of course, I trust you. Settle up when you return.”
Wesley gave her the key, and she ran back up to the room and pushed her bag under the bed. Then, after making sure the room was locked made her way to Faulty Town.
When she arrived at Mistress Ivy’s boarding house, she was greeted by not only Mistress Ivy but by Senior Mage Elias and another mage, one she’d not met and who stared at her as if she was a thing not a person. Mage Elias said, “Ah, Bess, where have you been?”
“Senior Mage Elias, a Happy New Year to you as well. I suppose you are here to see me.”
“Several people reported that you hadn’t been seen, and we wanted to make sure you hadn’t been killed. This is Senior Mage Chase, one of the emperor’s hounds.”
“Mage Elias, why is he here? Even if I was missing, I’m free of the academy.”
Senior Mage Chase said, “That’s only technically true, Faulty.”
“No, it is true. Hound.”
Mage Elias stepped between them and said, “Careful, Bess, he’s still a mage. Also, he isn’t here for you. He’s here to look for the two missing women. I’m here to look for you.”
“Well, Senior Mage Elias, you found me. May I go?”
“Why the attitude, Bess?”
“Why? Nothing, I hear nothing from anyone for eight months. It’s pretty clear that I’m considered a nobody and a nothing; I’m just a faulty. That’s OK because I expected that. I knew I was not to have contact nor would I be contacted. What hurts is that when you do turn up, it’s when you think I might have run away, or I might be dead. Then you greet me with ‘where have you been?’ I would have hoped for something like, ‘Bess, we were so worried, we thought you might be hurt.’ I thought perhaps I had friends at the academy, but I discover I don’t, not really; just people I once met. May I go now?”
Mage Elias nodded and stepped back. Mage Chase said, “Not just yet. Where have you been?”
“That, Senior Mage Hound, is none of your business. I’m here now, and I’m free.”
Mage Chase lashed out with his magic, the aether forming what looked to Bess like a thick cord of fire headed towards her face. Elias reacted to stop it but was too slow. Bess wasn’t; she grabbed the spell with her focus and directed it back towards the mage, hitting him on the chest. His tunic turned to ash, and his skin bubbled as his cloak began to burn. Both he and Mage Elias stared at Bess, their mouths falling open. She said, “Your cloak is burning, Hound.”
With that, she stepped past him and made her way to her room. She knew she should have been more careful, but she’d let her emotions have too much rein, and they’d run away from her. Nothing she’d read gave the academy control over her any longer. Still, she doubted that would make much difference now she’d shown that she could control a significant amount of aether; it just wasn’t her aether. What she did have, though, thanks to her reading schedule, was a faultless recall of the Imperial Law as it related to magic and magic users.
Both mages were still there when she descended the steps with the first load of her things. As she headed for the door, Elias said, “Bess, we need to talk about what just happened.”
Bess turned and said, “OK, one of the emperor’s hounds tried to kill Lady Bess Highland, Viscountess of the Shallow Moors and Baroness of Jagged Isle. She protected herself, which is her right under the law. The emperor’s hounds have a specific mandate that restricts their missions to dealing with uncontrolled or out of control magic users and those who flee before gaining control and they investigate murders that involve magic users. Imperial Law also allows those called faulty to use their limited ability of magic to protect themselves if they believe their lives are in danger.
“As a now faulty apprentice, the academy has no claim on me except through my former master, Mage Michael Firestorm. Even then, the law is clearly on my side, and I am now free to live my life as I see fit as long as I continue to show fealty to the emperor and follow both his law and the Strictures. As a senior mage, you are my witness. If questioned either under oath or a truth reading, you would have to admit that the imperial hound known as Chase did try to kill me and that with the limited control I have, I protected myself. That is what happened. I will consider whether or not I should press charges against the aforementioned hound after discussing my options with an advocate.”
When she’d finished speaking, she lifted the heavy duffle onto her shoulders and headed out of the door. Neither mage followed her, although she suspected her every move would soon be under scrutiny. It took her an hour to carry the duffle then hire a man Wesley recommended to come with her back to the boarding house to help her with her trunk. When she arrived, both mages had gone, but Mistress Ivy was there, and she looked terrified when Bess arrived.
Bess ignored her until she descended the stairs. She said, “Mistress Ivy, here is the key to the room. I hope you have better fortune with whichever poor soul is sent here in the coming year.”
After the evening meal, Bess stood on her balcony and watched the tiniest sliver of the moon as it began the new cycle, a new year. Her dream of being free of the academy was certainly dashed after her behaviour. Still, they’d watch from the shadows for the moment. Hopefully, she could complete her Weaver’s apprenticeship within the next year and then see what her options were. Using a knife to lock the window and the spring to lock the door, Bess let herself fall to sleep, her breathing measured and calm, once more under her control.
Chapter 13
The next morning after her self-defence class, Bess had breakfast then headed to the weavery. Master Kent asked her to continue working on the brocade. She let herself fall into a suitable breathing pattern then modified it as she settled back into the rhythm of weaving. After lunch, as the apprentices and journeymen rose to go back to work, Master Kent said, “Bess, can you stay to chat?”
“Yes, Master Kent.”
After the others had left, he said, “I had a visit last night by one of the imperial hounds, Senior Mage Chase. He asked that I release you from your apprenticeship. Apparently, he convinced the academy that they had no responsibility to subsidise your vocational training as you were now free of them. Mage Chase was most insistent. I’ve been instructed that unless you find another sponsor, then you need to be let go.”
“What requirements do you have for a sponsor?”
“It’s mostly a financial requirement that should you fail to reach appropriate benchmarks as expected that I will be reimbursed for the time spent on your training. The average apprenticeship is three years, so the guild requires that two gold per eightday be deposited with them, in advance, each quarter during the apprenticeship. Mage Chase informed me that the academy would have the sixty-four golds already on deposit returned to them, and you will start with a debt of sixty-four golds.”
“Master Kent, my fees at both Faulty Town and for the apprenticeship has been paid for; by me. I am Lady Bess Highland, Baroness of Jagged Isle and Viscountess of the Shallow Moors. My income, granted by the emperor, paid those fees. Mage Chase has no authority over those golds. I will send a message to the emperor’s mage advisor suggesting that Senior Mage Chase has exceeded his duty and tried to steal the income granted me by the emperor. In the meantime, I am willing to leave on account with you, or the guild, any amount you stipulate that I might continue with my apprenticeship.”
“You are a Viscountess?”
“I am, Master Kent. I am also your most junior apprentice, Bess.”
He nodded, then said, “That you are. Back to work then, Bess, and I’ll leave you to sort things out with the mages.”
“Thank you, Master Kent. Might I leave an hour early to deal with the matter as quickly as I can? If so, I will catch up on the lost hour during the next eightday.”
“You may leave early and never mind the extra work.”
Leaving early, Bess made her way to the scrivener Sabrina had spent the eight months with and dictated a letter to the mage advisor and asked for copies to be delivered to both the mage academy and the Head of the Imperial Hounds. After paying for the copying and postage, she headed to the gym and went through a weight training exercise one of the other instructors had designed to help her increase her strength. As she exercised, Bess monitored her breathing and heart rate while focussing the aether within her body to the specific muscles she was working on.
After dinner, she headed up to her small suite and read until she fell asleep.
It was several eightdays before Bess received a response to her letter. Two guardsmen were waiting when she returned to the tavern after her Fifth-day morning workout. They knew her, for as she entered the tavern, one stood and said, “Lady Bess Highland, I am Senior Guardsmen Kerne, I am ordered to deliver this warrant into your hands.”
Bess read the official letter, which explained a judicial hearing concerning her complaint would be held on Seven-day at ten in the morning. After Bess acknowledged that she had read the letter, the two guards left. When she arrived at the weavery, Master Kent showed her a similar letter that he’d received and offered to share a carriage.
The judicial process was streamlined and in the room was a judge, a mage capable of doing a truth read, a scrivener and the individuals involved. As the complaint was against an imperial hound and the complainant was a viscountess of the empire, it was heard in the Lower Imperial Court rather than the Tar Elyia Municipal Court.
When the carriage dropped Master Kent and Bess off outside the palace, a senior guard queried why they were there—he then assigned a small detachment of guards to escort them to the Lower Courts. They had to wait for fifteen minutes before being shown into the courtroom. Mage Chase was there with another mage; both were wearing the official hound robes.
The judge looked up as Bess, and Master Kent entered the room. He said, “I am Lord Fentwin, Imperial Judge and Mediator. This meeting has been called to settle a matter raised in a letter from Lady Bess Highland to the emperor’s mage advisor; it concerns the actions of Senior Mage Chase Inferno, Imperial Hound. The complainant also sent copies of the complaint to the Academy of Magic and the Head of the Imperial Hounds. Please introduce yourselves and those with you.”
Mage Chase stood up and said, “I am Senior Mage Chase Inferno, Imperial Hound, Baron of Blue Ridge. With me is my superior, Senior Mage James Glacier, Master Imperial Hound.”
Bess came to attention and said, “Lord Fenton, I am Lady Bess Highland, Baroness of Jagged Isle, Viscountess of the Shallow Moors, Holder of the Star of Sacrifice, Weaver’s Apprentice. My Master was also summoned; his name is Master Kent Weaver.”
After the truth reading mage and scrivener had introduced themselves, Lord Fenton said, “I have discussed the situation with both the principal of the Academy of Magic and the emperor’s mage advisor. Lady Bess, your assertions concerning the source of funds provided for your apprenticeship have been upheld. Senior Mage Chase Inferno, you took action outside the guidelines. You attempted to cause distress to a Noble of the Tarlonin Empire. You made untrue assertions to Master Kent Weaver and the Weaver’s guild. Have you any explanation for this behaviour that might reduce the severity of these charges?”
Senior Mage James Glacier stood and said, “May I answer for Senior Mage Chase?”
“You may.”
“Thank you, Lord Fenton. It is within the purview of the hounds to add additional pressures to those suspected of not having the necessary control of their magical ability in order to test them. Mage Chase considered that Lady Bess might indeed show her lack of control if deprived of her employment.”
