Prince Noralv- Edge of Shadows Page 8

  “Thayne! Stop!” Quentin commanded.

  “What are you doing?” I could hear the terror in my voice.

  “I was calming the goddess’s energy.” Quentin loosened his grip, his voice tense. “Whatever you were dreaming about gave her energy quite a stir, then you started choking.”

  Pushing Quentin aside, I sat up, cradling my side as pain in my ribs flared due to my sudden movement. My heart still racing. The early light of dawn crept in through the window, and I began to make out the familiar lines of Quentin’s face.

  “What was the dream about?” Quentin’s voice was clear and alert.

  “I don’t know,” I said, perturbed. “It was strange.” I told him about the voice and what it said, then about the man with the raven wing tattoo who threatened to find me.

  “What tattoo?” he asked in such alarm it startled me.

  “It was the same as yours, but it was on the inside of his wrist.”

  Without another word, Quentin went to the window, opened it, and leaned out. He whistled sharply. A flutter of wings, then Quentin leaned back in with Alzur on his arm. Alzur muttered and climbed its way to Quentin’s shoulder. The bird provoked my apprehension, and I moved closer to the wall.

  “Who is the tattooed man?” I asked.

  Quentin was quiet long enough for me to think he didn’t hear me. I was about to ask him again when he let out a strained breath.

  “His name is Slade Wyndam.” He sat in the middle of the bed. “He’s wanted for murder and for committing what we gehan call scin—an evil energy. It’s the destructive side to beaulecraft. It should never be used.”

  Digging my heels into the blanket, I inched toward the head of the bed. “I’ve never heard of scin. What scin did he commit?”

  “Murder,” Quentin said.

  “You already said that.”

  “The answer is still murder. It was how he committed it. He murdered people using scin. The Order of Heardnebba have been searching for him for the last six years, ever since the incident.” Quentin sighed. “For him to suddenly turn up again … and he’s after you...” He shuffled closer to me. “We need to leave but I need to do something first.”

  “Do what?” I asked with my back flat against the headboard.

  “Slade is probably following the goddess’s energy to you, as I did in our first encounter. If he is, I can follow his energy right back to him, but I need you to relax and sit still for a moment.”

  “What exactly are you going to do?” I glanced at the bird.

  Quentin looked at Alzur then back to me. “I’m sorry, but Alzur needs to stay here for this.”

  I grimaced. “Of course he does.”

  “Do you recall what your vision felt like?” he said.

  “Yeah. Sort of.” I shrugged. “I remember I felt cold, and alarmed, and angry, and somehow violated.”

  “It’s a start. Now meditate on your vision,” he said. His constant, Alzur, climbed down and stood on the bed, watching me. Thankfully, it stayed near Quentin. “Take a deep breath. I am going to cross into your spirit line.”

  I took in a deep breath and let it out. Quentin took my wrists and rested them in his hands, his thumbs on the inside, upon his knees. He closed his eyes. Then I did, too. His breathing was even and steady. Then grew deeper and slower.

  “Think about your vision, what you saw, and how you felt. Especially when you saw Slade,” he said.

  Breathing deep, I allowed the memories to come back. The lonely child, strange fog, then Slade with his cool laughter and velvet voice.

  Quentin took in a sharp breath, and his bird made a clicking sound. His hands moved off my wrists, and I could feel the warmth of his hands over my face. I opened my eyes. Hovering, he ran his hands down over my face to my shoulders then back to the top of my head again, and repeated, over and over, picking invisible things from the air then tossing them away. Quentin’s breathing shifted from staccato to slow and silent. My head felt warm and cold at the same time while the vision swirled in my head. Quentin stopped. He sat, almost frozen, for a moment.

  “There you are, you bastard.” He took a couple cleansing breaths then opened his eyes; his hand shot out, grabbing at another invisible thing by my ear. I admit, I had no idea what he was doing and it was a little weird, but if that was the way to find Slade then so be it. He brought his fist up to Alzur and opened it. The bird bobbed and muttered then let out a craw.

  “Follow it, Alzur. Follow it,” he said.

  Flapping its wings, it let out another three craws. Quentin got up and opened the window, and Alzur swooped out with a final craw.

  My heart settled in my chest as the winged thing had, finally, left. “Did you find Slade?” I asked.

  “Just his spirit line. It is faint, but it is there. Alzur is following it. Get your boots on. We need to leave.” He grabbed his boots from under the bed and pulled them on.

  I obeyed and pulled on mine.

  We were on our horses at the crack of dawn and traveled the entire day in silence.

  The sun began to dip behind the trees by the time we picked our way up the mountainside when we stopped on a ridge.

  “Are we making camp here?” I asked.

  “No. We are here.”

  “We’re here? There’s nothing but rocks, snow, and trees,” I said, dismounting my horse.

  Quentin smiled, slid off his horse, and walked up beside me. “Aetynan,” he said, outstretching his hand, palm facing out. The air rippled in front of us as if watching ripples in a pond after a pebble was tossed. “It’s a Shield of Protection, from Gethyll, the Goddess of Air. Follow me,” he said then walked forward. I followed close behind, leading my horse behind his.

  I raised my hand, pretending to shield my eyes from the sun, but was really half expecting some kind of foe to jump out. Nothing happened. The Shield of Protection felt like passing through a thin layer of resistant air as soft and gentle as silk. My feet went from crunching on snow and twigs to a cleared stone pathway. Weeping trees lined the walk, bowing in to each other. Their vine-like branches wove a folded embrace overhead, creating a cover above. The winter had cast their leaves away, which allowed for the sunlight to leak through. Almost haunting in the dim light. Upon spring and the return of life, the full blossom would’ve created beautiful shade for the approaching summer. I couldn’t help but be caught in wonder.

  Quentin turned back, palm out. “Clysan,” he said. The air rippled.

  The path led to a large iron gate, hinged to a curtain wall made of squared stone. Quentin pulled a piece of rope that hung next to the gate, ringing deep dongs of the bell.

  “Have you thought more about what your new identity will be?”

  “A bit.” A part of me didn’t want to say I was someone else. It would be a scandal if people found out a prince was straying from the path of serving the people in favor of selfish aspirations such as the arts. I would bring shame on my family if I was found at an academy that taught beaulecraft. I pushed some rocks off the path with my foot. “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “There are a few lesser noble family names, some older ones, that wouldn’t bring much attention.”

  “How about Marice?” Quentin suggested.

  “No. Family Marice is more of farmers than of nobility.”

  “Yeah. Wouldn’t be believable. You’re way too spoiled.”

  I opened my mouth to rebuke him but knew he spoke the truth. I was privileged and, in a sense, spoiled. “Family Krog?” As I said it, it felt wrong. “No. Too Ancient.”

  “Agreed,” said Quentin. “How about Dwennon?”

  “Dwennon? They are nobles in Stanrocc. Though Family Dwennon is not in the inner berg wall of Noralv, they are still welcome to all Noralv House Hall meetings,” I said. “I have met the head of the family. Wouldn’t people figure out that I’m not really from that family?”

  “Hiding in plain sight. The best way to hide. Keeps away unwanted questioning and attention. Besides, people only care about themselves.
Stanrocc is far enough away from here that Dwennon would be known by name only.”

  “It would also explain my spoiled behavior.” I cracked a smile.

  Quentin chuckled. “Yes. It would.”

  A middle-aged man, tall and bald, answered the bell’s ring. He looked Quentin up and down and let out a sigh.

  “Are you with Hremm?” the man asked with zero interest.

  “No. Heardnebba,” Quentin replied. “I’m here to see Isa Hatherine.”

  The gate creaked open, and the man led us down the path, our horses led by us. An open field was on one side and an orchard on the other. Before us was a fairly expansive academy. It wasn't very tall, maybe two floors at most. But it was vast with sections of the academy sprawling like arms, reaching in many directions. Large front doors had a woven design carved into the dark wood frame. The multiple windows that lined the walls, the upcurved roof, and the sliding panel doors reminded me of home. We broke from the path across the open field around the side of the academy near a large barn.

  “I’ll bring the horses in,” the bald man said, taking the reins.

  “Many thanks,” said Quentin.

  Quentin led me to the door on the side of the expansive academy. I was half expecting to go through the front doors, but we didn’t.

  He knocked on the door. A tall, skinny man answered. He had golden hair, emerald eyes, and his aelven ears were longer and more pronounced compared to us Theotanians. My guess was that he was a holtkin.

  “Quentin, my friend.” He shook Quentin’s hand.

  “Good evening, Frans.”

  “Please come in.”

  Frans’s smile was as wide as his narrow face. He stepped aside and ushered us in. We entered a moderately sized hall. My guess was this was a sugian. A hall meant for beaulecraft training. There was an oblong table that sat in front of a hearth made of large stones. The hearth, blazing a glorious fire, was on the far wall. Sitting on the chair by the fire was a little girl with long, blonde hair. She was holding a doll tight against her chest.

  “You remember my daughter, Maya?”

  “Yes. Of course,” said Quentin. “She has grown much since I last saw her.”

  The young girl jumped off her chair and ran in to the other room then peeked around the corner.

  “Sorry. She’s still quite shy,” he said. “What brings you here?” asked Frans.

  “Heardnebbian business,” said Quentin.

  “Always working, I see,” he said.

  “Afraid so.”

  “Who is your companion here?” Frans asked.

  “Ah. This is Thayne from Noble House Dwennon. We’ve been traveling the past few days together.”

  “I hope you gave the person who did that to you,” Frans pointed to my bruises, “a lesson or two.”

  I was taken aback by the comment, and it took me a moment to respond. “Not as much as I would’ve liked, sir.” I put on the best fake smile I could.

  “Forgive me. I am not good at keeping comments to myself,” he said.

  I nodded.

  “Isa is in her office right now. Let me escort you.”

  “Appreciated. Thank you,” said Quentin.

  Frans led us down a corridor off the main room, past a few doors. He stopped halfway down and knocked lightly on a door.

  “Come in,” said a woman on the other side.

  The woman stood up as soon as she saw Frans and Quentin. She had long, black hair, braided down her back, and greeted Quentin with open arms.

  In the room, there was floor-to-roof shelves upon shelves of books, stacks of papers, and scrolls on wooden doweling, so squished up against each other they were practically falling off. The room itself wasn’t that large inside, and the bookshelves made the space even more cramped.

  “Quentin, it’s been too long.” They embraced. Her head rested against his chest. There was almost a twinkle in her dark plum eyes as she stepped back with a quick examine of Quentin.

  “Yes. It has,” he said.

  “What brings you here so unexpectedly?” she asked.

  “I have some news and a job for you.”

  “Have you traveled far today?”

  “We came from Frid village yesterday then from Wulfhli this morning,” he said.

  “Quite the journey,” she said.

  Quentin introduced us.

  “Pleased to meet you,” she said to me then turned back to Quentin.

  “We need to talk,” he said.

  “Sure,” she said.

  “I’m afraid I must get to the kitchen and help out my kids.”

  “Your student kids?” Quentin raised a brow.

  “Precisely.” Frans chuckled.

  “I thought it was a bit too quiet out there,” said Quentin.

  “We are always hard at work these days.” Frans gave a polite nod then closed the door, leaving us alone.

  “What kind of news do you bring?” Hatherine half sat on her desk.

  “Did you feel the earthquake a few days ago?”

  “Yes. Many did. Some reports go as far south as Raug. I am just starting to get reports in, but have not settled on a conclusion yet.”

  “It wasn’t a natural occurrence. Someone was behind it. After investigating, I believe, someone fractured the spirit vein, which caused the earth tremor,” said Quentin. “During this event, a small shard of the goddess, Dimness, has broken free into our realm.”

  “Who would be powerful and stupid enough to do that?” said Hatherine.

  “Slade Wyndam,” said Quentin.

  The look on her face was grim.

  “What happened to the energy?” asked Hatherine.

  “The energy has been contained and is now in the hands of the Heardnebbian Order. It is safe,” Quentin said.

  “Is it safe?” Hatherine turned to me. “You have it, don’t you?”

  Face flushed, I looked at her then to Quentin, and back to Hatherine.

  “Yes. I do.”

  Silence fell again.

  “It would seem that the energy shard found him. Thayne has been unwillingly pulled in to this mess,” Quentin said.

  “Where did the incident occur?”

  “Somewhere on Readfahan Mountain,” said Quentin. “There is an ancient Sugian House that has been long abandoned and forgotten. I’m ashamed to know that its significance has been ignored and lost. Now the realm is…” He let the sentence hang. “The reason behind this action is not yet determined. We must stay alert and vigilant. As of right now, every student should remain on academy property unless escorted by a beaulecraft master, until further notice.”

  “What happens when the god’s energy enters our realm?” I asked.

  “At first, it won’t seem like much has happened, but a great shift has occurred,” Hatherine said. “Everything will be affected—the weather, the plants, the earth. All living things, including the spirits.”

  “Those seeking power will come in droves and so will the chaos,” said Quentin. “You must learn to control the beaulecraft power, or it will control you and even consume you. I will be contacting the leaders of the Heardnebbian Order. A group of them will surely come in about a fortnight to better assess the situation.” He turned back to Master Hatherine. “Thayne doesn’t have any formal beaulecraft training at all. May I suggest that he begin training right away?”

  “What?” I said. “Training? I can’t practice the art.”

  “Thayne, this is necessary,” said Quentin.

  I was stunned. Training in beaulecraft? Quentin was out of his mind if he thought I would agree to that.

  “Quentin, I would like to speak to you alone,” I said.

  “Talking in private isn’t going to change the fact that you need training,” said Quentin.

  “I am not grass, and will not bow because you blow air.” I stood firm.

  Quentin sighed in frustration. “Like it or not, Thayne, you are in Heardnebbian custody, and at such time, you agreed to obey me. Until the goddess’s power
is taken care of, you will do as I say.”

  “I respectfully decline. If you can’t remove the goddess’s energy, then find someone who can,” I demanded.

  “Beaulecraft can be very overwhelming even for the most skilled, if not used wisely. You have zero training, am I wrong?” he said.

  I didn’t respond.

  “Beaulecraft power is one thing. The god’s power is another. It’s stronger,” Quentin continued. “It’s more powerful than one can imagine. You need to learn to control beaulecraft if you want any chance of maintaining any control over the goddess’s energy.”

  “I let you bring me here for protection with the hope that someone could remove the goddess’s energy shard thing. I am not training at this academy.” I raised my voice.

  “You are a Dwennon, Thayne. A lesser noble. Remember that.” His voice was sharp.

  My face flushed with anger.

  “Slade does not care about ransom, mercy, title, or political power. He is addicted to beaulecraft energy. That is all. You are his greatest prize. His greatest desire. If he finds you and can get close enough to you, he will use you, then kill you.”

  I stood. Silent in my anger.

  “If you are to be stubborn in the ways of your family then you can leave and travel alone wherever you wish. I won’t stop you, but do so knowing that your death will be in vain. The shard thing will surely find its way into the wrong hands.” Quentin stood straight. “Now, what will it be? Are you going to continue this meeting, or are you leaving this night?”

  I turned and slammed the door on my way out of the office.

  A few days had gone by since I told Tam about what Skylar had discovered. Finally, I felt Skylar in the area again. I was growing impatient yet excited for what information Skylar could’ve found out about the Redtails and the earthquake. The moment I had a chance, I dashed off back to the barn rafters.

  “Skylar?” I reached out my beaulecraft, sweeping wide into the open air. I could feel Skylar’s energy blend into mine, and I allowed mine to blend into his. He swooped into the open rafter window.

  “Hello, friend,” he said, settling on his special perch.

  “What did you find?” I was keen on learning what he may have found out.