The Tulan ball had begun innocently enough.
Oliveah, along with twelve members of her troupe, including Madi who’d been requested to perform readings, had been commissioned to act as the night’s entertainment. Oliveah thought it a great way to end this year’s Ardin’s Pride festival, and had been looking forward to the performance all week long. And at first, it had gone exactly as she’d expected.
Her sister Navalee and her brother Deakin had accepted an invitation from Lord Guerin Reif to accompany him and several members of his family to a highly-regarded play this evening, leaving Taleb and Nathon to their own devices. Both had expressed interest in seeing Oliveah perform at the ball, and she’d had little trouble gaining them entrance, despite their slave status. Stating that they were simply present to act as the troupe’s security, no one had voiced any objection.
She and Reavis, to great acclaim, performed all their songs now made famous by the opening ceremonies. During numbers they were not needed they walked about, mingling with the guests and sampling the sumptuous foods laid out upon numerous tables at the far end of the ballroom. Things only started to become strange once everyone began to gather outside for the mages’ fire-show.
“He’s here! I saw him!” Madi exclaimed to Oliveah as she, Taleb, and Nathon took seats with the diviner at one of the tables set up along the patio.
“Who’s here?” Oliveah asked, sipping her wine. The summer night air was warm, smelling of grass and wildflowers, while just the faintest of breezes stirred her long, light-brown tresses. It was a truly glorious evening.
“The Jennite!” Madi insisted. “The one from the jail!”
Oliveah turned slightly to lock gazes with Taleb. After their evening with the Reifs a half-week earlier, he’d taken her aside and explained the situation with Madi and the Jennite, as well as his concerns regarding the matter. He had urged her to question Madi over whether she’d happened to mention to him at which inn she was staying. A short time later, Oliveah discovered that she had.
Madi, predictably, continued to be blind to the potential danger of this, as it was simply her nature. For all the darkness she frequently encountered in her readings, she somehow managed to cling to a sometimes painfully naïve attitude, and while this was just one of the many reasons why Oliveah loved her so, it did cause her some exasperation from time to time.
Reporting to Taleb that Madi had in fact told the Jennite the name of their inn, he and Nathon proceeded to take up shifts outside their door, standing sentry each night to ensure no harm came to them. Madi thought their caution ridiculous, and so far, she’d been proven correct. There had been absolutely no sign of the Jennite throughout the rest of the week. At least, not until now.
Madi was peering over her shoulder, gazing at the farthest table. “He looks to be with that woman, the one with the feathered hat,” she observed.
Oliveah again looked to Taleb, and he smiled back at her reassuringly. He would make it his business to see that Madi kept her distance from the Jennite this night.
Despite herself, she was curious about this man, and she followed Madi’s line of sight, quickly spotting the absurd, pink feathered hat worn by his escort. He was broad-shouldered and dark-haired, and while she agreed with Madi’s assessment of his good looks, it was a dangerous sort of way in which he was appealing. Only a certain type of woman would be drawn to this sort of man, and Oliveah was not one of them. She was incredibly surprised that Madi was. Adding to her astonishment was the fact of his Chaos Birth medallion; for Chaos was, quite truthfully, something Madi had put a great deal of effort into avoiding for most of her life.
Oliveah was then left to briefly wonder if she knew her friend nearly as well as she thought she did.
The fire-show began just moments later, providing no more opportunity to dwell on such considerations. Mesmerized, Oliveah watched the great flames leap and whip about the night sky, and gasped as the water-conjurings rose to meet and challenge them. It was not her first fire-show, but after only minutes she determined that it was by far proving to be the best she’d yet witnessed.
The two mages kept on for more than a full half-hour. The guests remained breathless with excitement as they got to their feet to return to the ballroom afterward, and Oliveah hurried away from the others to find Reavis and return to the stage. She was secure in the knowledge that Taleb would be escorting Madi back to her table, and discouraging any detours she might attempt to make.
Reavis was evidently taking advantage of his renown, flirting with several noblewomen at their table. He immediately got to his feet at seeing Oliveah, however, and hurried to join her. They crossed the ballroom together, commenting on the excellence of the fire-show.
They first played three fast numbers, encouraging the guests to move back out onto the dance floor, and then, by request, slowed it down to a ballad. They had just finished this song, segueing into a fast ditty, when a piercing alarm blast blew from somewhere upon the ranch. Startled, Oliveah cut off mid-note, quickly followed by the abrupt silence of the musicians behind her.
A man in the dress of a stable-hand was now running into the ballroom through the patio doors, shouting that someone was stealing the horses.
Lord Beran Tulan immediately began yelling.
Oliveah crouched and was about to jump down to the floor when Nathon suddenly appeared before her.
“Stay on the stage, Oliveah,” he told her. “This may get ugly and I want you clear of it.”
She obliged, instead swinging out her legs to sit upon the stage’s edge. Reavis dropped down next to her and Nathon kept to his position of standing just before them. Looking about for Madi, Oliveah saw her over at her table, watching the shouted exchange now going on between Lord Beran and his son regarding the missing family diamond. Taleb stood next to the diviner, also watching the spectacle.
Lord Beran appeared to be accusing his son’s escort of stealing his gem. The woman in question, Oliveah noted now, was absolutely stunning, resplendent in a pink, off-the-shoulder satin gown trimmed in dark blue. Her hair was a golden cascade of loose waves, and her face so fair she almost made Madi look plain in comparison. She appeared to now be submitting to a search.
“A silver says she took it,” Reavis said, grinning.
“You’re on,” Oliveah told him.
The Justice officers searching the woman seemed to come up empty. Oliveah was therefore confused—as well as shocked—when Lord Beran and his son began fist-fighting just a moment later.
Reavis hooted with laughter as he watched. “And here I was, thinking the nobles didn’t know how to host a party!”
Oliveah rolled her eyes at him and pushed herself to her feet. Standing upright upon the stage, she had a perfectly clear view of the complete and utter pandemonium that erupted throughout the ballroom just moments later. Eyes wide, she stared down into the sudden violence going on all about the room.
“Oliveah!”
Blinking, she tore her eyes from the tumult as she realized Nathon was calling to her. He was standing just below, still on the floor, and reaching up for her. She stepped into his grip, and he lowered her quickly to the floor, his hands about her waist. She spun back and called to Reavis.
“Are you coming?” she demanded, gesturing.
He seemed to consider briefly, then shook his head. “I’ll stay and make sure the rest of the troupe gets out all right.”
Oliveah interpreted this to mean that he wanted to stay and fight.
“Very well, but you can find someone else to spring you from jail should you get arrested,” she told him.
Reavis grinned, then stepped back to confer with the remaining members of their troupe who were huddled behind him, staring outward and taking stock of the situation.
Looking back, Oliveah watched Nathon draw his sword. His free hand reached back and clasped one of hers as he cautioned her not to let go of him. They started forward.
“Don’t you think you’re be
ing overly cautious?” she asked him, eyeing his sword.
A random man chose that moment to suddenly hurtle himself out of the crowd, with what appeared to be a broken-off table leg in his hands. He was screaming incoherently and swinging it at anything that moved.
Nathon took two steps toward him and brought the hilt of his sword down upon the man’s skull. He dropped without a sound.
“I don’t,” Nathon said, looking back at her.
Oliveah kept any further comments to herself as they began making their way across the ballroom, their goal the double-wide patio doors. Their progress was mostly dependent upon large amounts of pushing and shoving, but Nathon was forced to more overt violence on more than one occasion. He was careful not to inflict any wounds too serious, she saw, but even still, none were given the chance to take more than a single run at him.
Approximately midway to their destination, Oliveah caught a fleeting glimpse of the Jennite who had so caught Madi’s interest. Evidently he was still sore toward Justice officers due to his recent incarceration, for he was currently knocking one’s head against a wall. Wincing, she quickly turned her eyes away.
Finally coming upon the patio doors, Oliveah assessed that she’d been assaulted by nothing worse than a thrown bowl of garnish, which had landed in the area of her stomach. Her dress was no doubt ruined, but she deemed this a small price to pay as the situation in the ballroom only appeared to be growing more and more chaotic. She still couldn’t quite believe this was happening—not here, and during what should have been a most civilized affair. She presumed Madi would come up with some explanation, citing the position of the stars or the direction of the breeze crossed with the season and the hour and the day. Oliveah occasionally found some of her explanations far-fetched, but had seen enough by now not to doubt anything her friend divined.
The patio outside, as well as the expansive lawns beyond, were awash with people. Most appeared to be women, pulled from the melee by some of the more chivalrous men, but others appeared to be trying to carry on the fight out here.
Oliveah gazed about incredulously. “This is without a doubt one of the strangest circumstances I have ever seen,” she said to Nathon, wide-eyed.
He didn’t respond, continuing to scan the grounds with narrowed eyes. She knew he looked for Taleb and Madi, a task she now took up herself. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind Taleb had gotten her friend out safely—thanks to the luck which had placed him at her side before the fighting even began. She supposed she owed the Jennite for that much, at least.
“There.” Nathon was suddenly moving down alongside the estate house, pulling her along after him.
Oliveah hurried to keep pace, seeing the shadowy figures of Taleb and Madi standing and waiting near the corner of the building. She observed Taleb’s eyes giving her a quick once-over, pausing briefly at the stain on her dress, which was bright yellow, before looking to Nathon.
“We should be able to pass through the gates, but I heard someone say the road was blocked,” he reported. “Apparently a tree has been felled across it.”
“Then we’ll leave the carriage,” Nathon responded. “Stay with them. I’ll get the horses.”
Taleb nodded, and Nathon sprinted off toward the nearest barn where a slew of carriages had been parked for the duration of the ball.
“Are you all right, Oliveah?” Madi asked, stepping near. “Taleb and I were lucky, so near to the doors, but I was worried for you and Nathon, clear across the room.”
“We’re both fine,” Oliveah replied. “I’m just very confused as to why all this is happening.”
“The Tulan horses and diamond were stolen tonight. I would expect a certain level of chaos,” Taleb offered.
Oliveah shook her head. “Perhaps from the Tulans—but there was no reason for all the guests to go mad as well!”
Madi was now fretting. “I don’t understand it either. All signs this morning were auguries, not omens. I had no warning of this.”
Taleb shrugged at her. “Perhaps that just means no one will be seriously hurt. A miracle, given the look of that riot.”
Madi appeared to consider this, but failed to look convinced. “Perhaps,” she finally allowed. And then, “Of course, Chaos can rarely be foreseen or predicted. For certain this situation was somehow greatly influenced by it.”
“Understandable if this were a Tenth-Day,” Taleb replied. “But it’s Fifteenth. Meaning this affair will likely gain a body count.”
Fifteenth-days were the dominion of Cristiana, the Patron of Death. Consequently, Taleb was probably correct; Cristiana would likely be taking a generous bounty here tonight.
“I’m going to draw up some charts once we return to the inn,” Madi was saying now. “Certainly I will be able to discern some cause or reason for this.”
Oliveah would be interested to hear if she found one, but at the present moment this wasn’t her greatest concern. She was now extremely worried for her fellow troupe-mates, particularly Reavis, who’d obviously underestimated the ferocity of the situation when he’d opted to stay behind.
She suddenly noted Taleb watching her.
“Would you like me to go back and find him?” he asked.
Oliveah was often amazed at how both Taleb and Nathon seemed capable of reading her very thoughts. But she considered his offer for only a brief moment.
“No,” she said. If she sent Taleb back into that fray and anything dire befell him, she would never forgive herself. Reavis, at least, had chosen to stay behind. But she would not rest until she knew he’d made it safely from the grounds, as well as all her other troupe-mates. In the present moment, she was furious for not making them all depart with herself and Nathon. Her only comfort lay in knowing that Madi, at least, was safe.
The diviner was now staring up into the sky, scrutinizing the position of the moons. She was muttering quietly to herself as she did this.
Oliveah turned and gave another long look to the chaos they were leaving behind them. People continued to spill forth from the patio doors, some seeking release, others to continue the fight outdoors. Many appeared injured.
This is madness.
The sound of fast-approaching hoof-beats announced Nathon’s return just moments later. Madi mounted up behind him, and Oliveah and Taleb took the second horse. Both men approached the gates with their swords drawn, obviously anticipating trouble. They found none of it, however—besides some Tulan workers, only a single Justice officer remained there, and while he gave a half-hearted attempt to keep them from leaving, clearly he had bigger concerns. Evidently the Tulans’ eight prized racehorses had torn through these gates just a short while earlier, and were now being pursued into the woods by several men. This officer did not even seem aware of the missing diamond.
Oliveah then determined that the Tulans—as well as the Justice officers—had one colossal mess to deal with and sort through this night.
They came upon the felled tree blocking the road not long after passing through the gates. It was an obvious attempt to block the progress of any departing carriages, although she wasn’t certain what those responsible had hoped this would accomplish. Her party had no trouble passing by upon their horses, simply stepping around the obstruction by moving several paces into the surrounding woods.
Taleb and Nathon continued to stay vigilant, but their efforts proved unnecessary. Although Oliveah would have sworn that they were at times being watched, they failed to encounter another soul until they began drawing nearer to Tyrell. It was by this time nearly midnight, with Fifteenth-day giving itself over to First, the day of Justice.
“Do you smell something burning?” Madi suddenly asked.
Oliveah sniffed—and found that she did indeed smell smoke.
“Yes,” Taleb and Nathon then said together before she could respond.
A band of three suddenly appeared before them, riding in their direction. The man in their lead slowed his
mount when he saw them, giving his arm a wave.
“If you head for Tyrell, you’d best turn back,” he called to them, drawing in at a trot.
“Why?” Nathon demanded quickly.
“Riot,” he answered. “I don’t know how it began, but the streets are awash with looters, as well as vandals destroying everything in their path. The south end is actually aflame. The Justice officers are horribly outnumbered and have lost all sense of order. So I caution you again, friends—stay clear of Tyrell.”
Oliveah’s heart instantly began pounding with fear. Her sister and brother were in the city.
She wasn’t the only one alarmed. Seeing the look that passed between Taleb and Nathon, she knew both were now deeply regretting the fact that one of them hadn’t stayed with Navalee and Deakin this night—for her siblings’ safety while in Tyrell was solely their responsibility.
Nathon was now thanking the man for passing along his warning and waving his small party along. Oliveah leaned forward and hissed at Taleb, “We have to go! Now!”
He looked back at her over his shoulder. “And what makes you think I’d let you anywhere near to the city right now?”
“You don’t know Tyrell as I do! If the two of you go on alone you’ll only become lost,” she insisted. When he didn’t reply, she went on. “I’m hoping they managed to stay with the Reifs—no doubt if their party made it back to Reif Manor they’ll have no need for worry. But they may have headed back to the inn, or could even be trapped at the theatre, depending upon when this riot broke out. And if that’s the case, you’re going to need me.”
Taleb still failed to reply.
Furiously, she spun to look back. “Nathon, stay here with Madi,” she ordered. “Taleb and I are going for Navalee and Deakin.”
To her extreme irritation, Nathon said nothing to this either, appearing to ignore her completely as he again locked eyes with Taleb.
“Be careful, Oliveah!” Madi exclaimed, her eyes wide.
“I will,” she promised, although she wasn’t yet certain if she was, in fact, going anywhere. Nathon and Taleb were evidently still silently deciding upon the issue.
Finally Taleb turned away to look back at her.
“If we do this,” he began, “you must vow to do exactly as I say, when I say it.”
“Of course,” she replied, staring back at him. Can we quit wasting time, now? she wanted to add, now almost frantic with worry for her siblings.
But again he seemed to hear her silent thoughts, and kicked their horse forward to charge down the road leading to Tyrell without another word.
She tried to prepare herself for anything as they approached at a gallop. Even still, the sight that soon took shape before them was nothing short of shocking.
The city gates, typically manned by ten or more men, lay open and deserted. Sounds of the ruckus going on within drifted out to them, violent and savage. And, as they had been warned, the city was smoking, with thick plumes of black swirling up and into the night from Tyrell’s southern end. Oliveah found this particularly worrying as the theatre distinct lay in that area—precisely where Navalee and Deakin had planned on being this night.
They passed through the gates as Taleb slowed the horse to a walk, and then halted completely as they took in the main street before them. Shops lining both sides had broken windows and kicked-in doors, as well as numerous looters racing from one to the next. A few fist-fights were occurring, here and there, but most appeared to be concentrating on the plundering. Oliveah thought of Madi’s family’s shop, The Seeing Eye, and wondered if it was suffering the same fate. She quickly decided that it likely was—for from what she could make out, no establishment had been spared.
Staring about wordlessly, she found herself absolutely horrified that this was not only occurring in Tyrell, but during the week of the Ardin’s Pride festival. It was an incomprehensible stain to what had always been her favorite time of the year.
“Where first?” Taleb was now asking, pulling her thoughts and gaze from the heart-breaking carnage.
“Reif Manor,” she answered, hoping she’d disguised the agony she was feeling. “Do you remember the way?”
“Yes.”
He said nothing else as he turned their mount to make way for the affluent, northern end of the city.
They saw much of the same as they passed through Tyrell’s streets. While there was some violence still happening, it was mostly kept to simply a couple of men raining blows upon each other rather than the flat-out, city-wide brawl they’d been expecting. Oliveah wondered if this had already occurred and died off, leaving only the scores and scores of looters who looked to be everywhere. Tyrell was being gutted from the inside out.
Finally Oliveah simply closed her eyes, resting her head against Taleb’s back as she fought off her tears. How could this have happened to the beautiful, glorious home city of the Arts?
They made it to Reif Manor completely unscathed. A few had made to approach them along the way, but had backed off of their own volition at the sight of Taleb’s drawn sword.
The iron gates surrounding Reif Manor where closed, but the two guards standing inside them recognized Oliveah and quickly moved to grant her entrance. Taleb took their horse straight up to the manor door, where Oliveah jumped to the ground and rushed inside.
“Navalee!” she yelled, seeing no one in the expansive entranceway. “Deakin!”
It was Lord Guerin himself who responded to her calls, quickly appearing from around a corner at the end of the corridor. He was alone.
“Where are they?” she demanded, as Taleb came to stand behind her.
“Oliveah, thanks to all the Patrons you’re safe,” Lord Guerin said, stopping before her.
“Where are my brother and sister?” she issued furiously.
“Navalee is here,” he said. “I’m afraid we encountered a fair bit of violence upon our way back from the theatre, and while uninjured, she remains quite upset. I gave her wine and a quiet place to rest. My niece Mila is sitting with her now.”
“And Deakin?” Oliveah asked, alarmed.
Lord Guerin paused, looking past her briefly to Taleb.
“I’m afraid we lost him somewhere in the streets, along with Sabian, one of my kin. I have sent twenty guards out in search of them, but none have yet returned.” He paused, seeing her instant panic. “Try to remain calm, Oliveah. Your brother is a clever young man, as is Sabian. I think it likely they have simply found a place to hide themselves to wait out the tumult.”
This was a reasonable assumption, but it did little to calm her. Clever or not, her brother was only thirteen years old, and accustomed to a quiet life at their family vineyard. Whether he’d managed to find a successful hiding place or not, she imagined he must be terrified.
“Where did you last have sight of him?” she demanded quickly.
“Near the corner of Thistle and Bluewood,” Lord Guerin told her.
She fought off a wince. That was one of the busiest intersections of the city. “Let’s go,” she said to Taleb, spinning back to the door. Lord Guerin said something else then, but she failed to hear, racing out the door and vaulting onto their horse.
Taleb was only a step behind. “Which way?” he asked, taking hold of the reins.
She spoke out the easiest directions, feeling his own worry as they started off. Deakin absolutely idolized both Taleb and Nathon, and the two in turn regarded him as they would their own younger brother. If anything had happened to him, neither man would ever forgive himself.
The excitement in the city seemed to be slowly dying off, with only a handful of looters now within sight. She didn’t even want to consider the horrifying circumstances of only hours earlier, at the start of this unthinkable chaos. She couldn’t imagine what had possibly begun it all.
The corner of Thistle and Bluewood was nearly deserted when they reached it, but it was near to the southern end, which was still violently afla
me. Indeed, all manner of activity appeared to be happening in that section, and she could only pray her brother had had the sense to keep clear of it.
She began yelling his name. At first, Taleb looked as though he meant to stop her, but, a minute later, he instead joined his voice to hers. Guiding the horse into an expanding circle about the intersection of Thistle and Bluewood, they paced the outlying blocks, shouting until they were both hoarse.
No one they encountered paid them much attention, too busy pillaging or just slinking about in the shadows. They came across a few bodies lying in the streets, and Oliveah found herself hoping fervently that those people were merely unconscious and not dead. Fearful of discovering otherwise, she did not look at any of them too closely.
They kept at this for nearly an hour, seeing no sign of Deakin or the yellow-haired Reif he was last seen with. Oliveah refused to give up, urging Taleb to keep to their expanding perimeter. He wouldn’t go any further south, toward the flames, but obediently went wherever else she directed.
“Do you want to check back with the Reifs?” he finally asked her as the night yawned past Second-hour. “It’s possible he’s made his own way back to them by now.”
“Not yet,” she replied stubbornly.
They continued on.
When they finally found them, the moment seemed, at least to Oliveah, incredibly surreal. With their shouting now having faded some time ago, their voices reduced to croaky whispers, it was in silence that they rounded from one block to the next and suddenly saw both Deakin and Sabian standing there upon the corner casually, almost as if waiting for them. Oliveah blinked quickly, at first thinking her exhaustion was causing her to hallucinate. But then her brother was calling to her, and racing to meet their horse.
“Oliveah! What are you doing out here in the streets?” he—rather incredibly—accused.
She dropped to the ground, rapidly assessed that he appeared unhurt, and then embraced him fiercely, feeling her relief shudder through her. “What do you think I’m doing here?” she sent back at him, wanting to sound gruff but failing. “We’ve been looking for you!”
Deakin didn’t appear the least bit traumatized by what must have been an incredibly trying night. In fact, his cheeks were flushed with excitement, his eyes alight and gleaming in the darkness.
“Where have you been all this time?” Taleb then cut in, looking to Sabian Reif.
The man gazed back at him, his face oddly expressionless. Oliveah had met this Reif upon a couple of occasions before, and knew full well what was said about him. It was whispered that he spoke to ghosts.
“Worry not, Taleb Okin,” he said now, staring at the one he addressed. “The boy came to no harm this night.”
Taleb seemed somewhat uneasy as he looked back at Sabian. Oliveah didn’t blame him—Sabian tended to make most people’s skin crawl, although this had everything to do with his reputation and nothing to do with his appearance, which was utterly ordinary. Personally, she’d always done her best not to judge him because of his unfortunate lot in life, and they’d exchanged kind words in the past.
He was now looking to her. “I fear something ill may have befallen him had we stayed with my uncle and the others.”
Oliveah felt herself start to frown. “What are you saying—that you deliberately separated him from the rest of the group?” She exchanged a quick, baffled look with Taleb.
Sabian blinked slowly, still staring at her, before responding. “You know who I am, Oliveah,” he said, “so you should have little trouble believing me when I claim this evening would have had a much less fortunate ending for you—and especially for Deakin—had I not acted as I did. Trust that this information came to me from a very good authority.”
She blinked quickly, startled.
Is he saying that Deakin would have died? Did his ghosts tell him this?
Speechless, she could do nothing but gaze back at him. She distantly heard Deakin now speaking excitedly to Taleb of all he’d seen this night.
“Sabian always knew just when to leave a hiding place, right before the danger appeared there,” he was saying. “And we had a perfect view of a band of Thieves stealing the statue of Ardin, right from the very fountain in the Circle!” the boy enthused.
Oliveah’s eyes were still locked with Sabian’s as her mind worked slowly over all she was hearing. Could this be true? Had Sabian’s ghosts led them about the city this night, deliberately keeping them from harm? In the end, she at last decided, it didn’t matter; all that did was the result.
Finally, she found her voice.
“Thank you,” she said to Sabian Reif.
Part 2
Homecoming
Chapter 13