9
The Lady sat grimly in her accustomed chair, the swordmaster stood respectfully off to one side, his face schooled to dour indifference, while the boy and his escort made their courtesies. After checking that Jace’s hands were securely bound, the Warrior gave the Lady a resigned look and bowed his head; she dismissed him by saying, “you leave me in capable hands Kent, the swordmaster can certainly deal with any dreadful situation that might arise forthwith.” He did not look convinced but dared not disobey the Lady, so bowed himself out and shut the door firmly behind him.
She turned grave eyes upon the unknown student before her, the swordmaster’s grim expression turned to one of amusement, as the Lady began, “you stand accused of murdering a fellow student, of refusing to cooperate with the investigation, and of making obscene demands upon my time and safety.”
Jace grinned, which was not at all the reaction she had expected, and said, “all perfectly true my Lady, but a situation I could not help as I am forbidden from speaking of this to anyone but my colleagues and yourself.”
She turned suspicious eyes upon the swordmaster, “more mysteries to which I cannot be privy?” He bowed his head in acknowledgement, a very bland expression on his face.
She looked again upon the accused and gaped, for now an entirely different individual stood before her. Remembering that this was not the first such demonstration she had seen, she quickly regained her composer and said to Jace, in guise as himself, “what really happened to your friend?”
Jace bowed deeply and began the tale, “he sold himself bodily into evil my Lady, but sorely regretted it and finally decided it was a mistake. He sought the Master at the last, but in doing so doomed himself, for he had promised his very life blood in exchange for powers dark and terrible, thus when he fled the darkness, he no longer had a living physical body to call his own. It was in this unfortunate position that your servant found me.”
She was both vastly horrified and rather amused at the unseemliness of the situation and the boy’s predicament therewith. At last she nodded, “at least it was not murder, though it was horrific enough in its own right it has a happy ending. Now what to do with you? I thought I had sent you with your mentor in pursuit of a certain evil artifact?”
Jace grinned, “my orders changed at the last moment Lady, but I know where the object is, in fact it has not left Astoria. Jay had it in his keeping and foolishly gave it to Ella in hopes of gaining her attention.”
She frowned, “we cannot just take it from her, nor do I think she would willingly hand it over if we asked for it.” She smiled in grim amusement, “in fact, she was in here within an hour of your alter ego’s incarceration demanding the release of her fiancé! She intends to leave on the morrow to return home, with or without you.”
Jace sighed heavily, “then I must accompany her I suppose, though she is well aware that I have in no way attached myself to her in any official capacity, most especially in a romantic sense. She is just so desperate for a ‘proper’ husband that she will take just about anyone at this point. Perhaps on the journey I can convince her to part with the orb, at least I can protect her from those that will undoubtedly be drawn to it.”
The Lady raised her eyebrows, “the fell man Scamp is currently hunting?”
Jace nodded, “the same, and perhaps others. Jay said his master’s minions were desperate to retrieve the item.”
She smiled slightly, “you are quite bold for a mere Apprentice, even telling me what your next assignment shall be.”
Jace met her gaze unflinching, “I know what I must do Lady, I apologize if you feel I am undermining your authority but that is not my intent.”
She sighed, “I shall just have to get used to it, I suppose, but shall I recall Baye and Adan from their attempt to find this thing if you know where it is?”
Jace shook his head, “they may have set out to find the orb but I think they will find themselves upon an entirely different quest soon enough, one with grave repercussions should they fail.”
She shivered, “my thoughts exactly. I must acquit you of murder, but you will understand if I ask that you leave Astoria immediately, ‘Ace?’”
Jace grinned, “all the better, for I must accompany my so-called beloved home lest danger beset her upon the way.”
She smiled grimly, “and I know just the man to send with you.” Jace gaped as she asked the swordmaster to fetch the Warrior who currently awaited the prisoner without. Jace shifted back to ‘Ace,’ as the man was called back into the Lady’s presence.
He bowed deeply to the Lady and asked, “what would you have of me, my Lady?”
Said she, “a Student of noble birth, one Ella, intends to ride home on the morrow. You will accompany her to see that no tragedy befalls her upon the way. This young man will be attending the lady as well, in the guise of her betrothed. He will be in command of this expedition; you are to consider his orders as my own.” Both Warrior and Student gaped but she gave no further explanation before dismissing them all.
The swordmaster clapped the lad on the back as he passed, saying, “you’ll do well lad.” He caught the perplexed Warrior’s eye and said, “fear not Kent, the Lady knows what she is about. There is far more to the story than any of us yet know. Do your duty and all will be well.”
Ella came dashing up to them in a very unladylike manner the moment they rounded the corner, nearly colliding with Jace. Said she in rapturous tones, “so you are free to go? What a dreadful situation you must have survived this day! I knew you were a man well worthy of me and this only proves it!” She waxed eloquent on her own fine taste, leaving Jace to exchange a frantic look with the Warrior, who actually smiled at the lad’s predicament, perhaps he should have stayed quietly in the dungeons. She told them of her plans to leave early on the morrow, Jace assured her of his company, and informed her that the Warrior would also be coming at the Lady’s behest. She studied him for a moment and then nodded, “it is only fitting.” She then turned abruptly and vanished to make her preparations, leaving the pair to exchange an amused shake of heads.
Before parting to attend to their own errands, the Warrior asked of the boy, “so the Lady was content with your story then?”
Jace nodded, “I am no murderer, my friend chose his own fate. He recanted of a great evil at the end but it cost him his life. I was merely the instrument of justice.”
Kent shook his head in wonder but smiled slightly, “that is more of the tale than I had ever hoped to hear and therein must I be content. I will see you on the morrow.” He bowed his head in farewell and hastened off to attend to his own preparations. Jace grinned at his retreating back and did likewise.
His preparations finished, he sought sanctuary in the empty room that would be his for the night to avoid the gossip and wondering looks of his fellow Students, both at his impending flight and the infamy surrounding his final encounter with Jay. Glad was he when morning came, or at least the wan light of predawn, and he could climb into his saddle and ride away from it all for a time. He was finding it hard to relate to the Students anymore, having been through so much of late that he could neither tell them nor could they begin to understand. He still felt an affinity for his Brothers, but even they could not truly understand his wonderful and perplexing situation.
Ella was waiting for them in the courtyard with a young maid and a pair of guards she had hired to accompany her on the trip home, she would not wait a day longer that her father might send a proper escort. Kent was in his saddle and Jace only a moment behind him. She gave Jace what she thought was a fond smile, but looked merely possessive. Said he as they set off, “my lady, I am taking command of this expedition, at least as it pertains to your safety. You must agree to do as I say if things grow dangerous.” She looked at him in astonishment, never having thought him so bold as to make such a demand, but she found his impertinence strangely attractive and gave him her consent. He smiled gratefully and continued, “in all ot
her matters you may do as it pleases you.” He said quietly, “you must also know I have no intention of marrying you.”
She smiled at him as if he were being foolish and said, “of course you think that at the moment, but that will all change once you see how wealthy and powerful such an alliance will surely make you.”
Jace shook his head sadly but she did not notice as she fell back to chat with her maid. Kent rode beside him for a time and they spoke quietly of what was to be done should something go amiss. Jace fully agreed that the Warrior should have his head should bandits or others of a more usual sort waylay them, but was firm that should a certain man of vile tendency fall upon them, he alone would deal with the matter and the Warrior was to see that the lady got safely home, regardless of what happened. To this he reluctantly agreed, and only because the Lady had sworn him to do so. The hired guardsmen kept their distance from the other men in the party, happy to have someone else in charge of security that they need only ride along and hopefully do nothing to actually earn their pay, scant as it was.
Several days passed in quiet and tedium, but Jace was uneasy, feeling a rising tension as each day brought something or someone closer. His unicorn informed him that Scamp and his apprentice were somewhere close, likely in pursuit of the villain that undoubtedly pursued the orb, but it was only moments later that a unicorn’s horror and grief echoed through his mind, as it had the day their comrades had been slain in the attack on the merchant caravan. Jace motioned for the party to halt and then said quietly to Ella, “there is some fell villain ahead, my lady, in pursuit of an item you carry. He will leave you alone, if only you will surrender the item to him. If he must take it from you, none will survive his wrath.”
She gasped, “but what could I have that such a fiend would value? I hardly have any jewelry and my coin is near its end.”
Jace shook his head, “nay lady, it looks to be a glass orb, given into your keeping by a former friend.”
She frowned in consternation for a long moment and then said in wonder, “that thing? I kept it out of sheer curiosity, it can have no material value, but I will certainly give it up if it will spare my life.” Her frown deepened, “you do not mean to give it to him, do you?”
Jace said grimly, “it must not fall into his hands, madam. I will do what I must. Now fetch the sphere and then make haste to be far away from here ere he comes!”
Kent rode up, a frown on his face, “were it not for my orders, I would meet this foe with you but I must see the lady safe.”
Jace smiled grimly, “your faithfulness touches me, my friend, but we each of us have our duty. May the Master ride with you!”
Ella returned with the sphere, safely contained within a satin pouch, said she as she gave it into his keeping, “the thing always caused me some unease whenever I handled it so it has remained tucked away amongst my things, I nearly forgot about it. At least if you do not come back, I shall have the right to don mourning and quite the tale to tell.” She smiled at this and hurriedly rode off at Kent’s insistence. He gave Jace a quick salute, flashed a proud smile, and then vanished around the bend with his charge.
Jace hefted the sphere in his hand, feeling the evil power churning in its midst; it was far too heavy for its size. His mount screamed his fury and galloped towards the source of the other unicorn’s grievous outcry. They soon found the place: a tangled mass of thorny black trees from which emanated an evil aura like fog creeping out of a riverbed of an evening. Jace dismounted, ordered his unicorn to stand watch, took the sphere in hand, and entered the evil covert. He felt eyes upon him the moment he entered, said he, “I have what you seek.”
“Yes,” said a fiendish voice, “I can feel it. Give it to me and I will let you live.”
Jace barked a derisive laugh, “that I highly doubt.” His gaze fell upon Hawk, lying off to one side, pale and cold, his uniform tattered and stained with blood. He knelt beside the boy, felt a weak pulse and smiled as he felt the light within himself flow into the moribund boy, as it had once done for the blind Brie. He stood and found the remains of Scamp, apparently mauled by the villain’s monster. Jace scanned the glade for some sign of his foe and at last found him crouching in the shadows on the far side, watching in grim amusement.
The boy approached, making no move towards his weapons, the orb within its sack in his hand. The villain grinned, “I see you have noticed my handiwork, join me and you need not join them.” He frowned, “you were not foolish enough to take the Oath were you?”
Jace said grimly, “I have never taken the Oath.”
The villain stood and smiled, “very well then, what do you say? I could do much with one so cunning and bold.”
Jace shook his head, “that will not be possible I fear.”
The man shrugged as if it were of no matter, “then give me the orb and prepare to die.”
Jace said grimly, a sudden thought occurring to him, “very well, but first let me look upon this thing for which so many have sought and died.”
“Have it your way,” groused the evil man, “it is not much to look at.”
Jace opened the bag and glimpsed a sphere of dark glass, an occasional streak of burnt orange or nauseous green flickering at its heart like so much lightning but otherwise it was remarkably unremarkable, save for the evil that seemed to suffuse and surround it. He reached in and took hold of the sphere, at which the vile man shrieked in horror at his fatal mistake, though none could hear him over the shrieking of the sphere itself, which sounded as if all the cicadas in the world were singing off key at its heart. Jace felt the carefully concealed light within him snuffed out like a candle caught in a draft and all conscious awareness went with it. The sphere went from argent red to dead black then exploded into ten thousand crystalline shards as its keening reached a crescendo, shredding the vile man and the lifeless Jace as it did so.
The place lay quiet, too quiet, as if to make up for the unnatural cacophony, for a few long minutes after the explosion, during which nothing stirred but the faint flutter of Hawk’s chest as he slept peacefully, unaware of all that had happened. At last a unicorn stepped into the once forsaken glade, which was now just another hidden dell of the vast eastern forests. He nosed at the tattered remnants of Scamp, a brilliant light engulfing his master and fading to reveal him whole and smiling ruefully at his old friend. He glanced about glumly, expecting to find his apprentice dead or worse, but was astonished to find him sleeping peacefully, no longer injured or poisoned by the wounds wrought by their foe’s dreadful blade.
He frowned in consternation, wondering if the boy’s unicorn had come in time, but the faithful creature stood protectively off to one side of his sleeping master. He continued to scan the covert and found his answer at last, amidst a mire of black ooze and shattered glass lay a boy, or what had been a boy before his attempt to unmake the sphere. Scamp stood and took the lad by the hand, a pulse of light entering the boy as Scamp raised him to his feet. Averting his eyes at the resulting brilliance, Jace blinked sheepishly when they could again see. He exchanged a wondrous smile with Scamp and then studied his handiwork.
Hawk sat up, stretched, and yawned on the far side of the clearing, as if he had just woken in his own bed rather than in a den of evil somewhere in the wildwood. He blinked sleepily at Scamp, having fallen to the villain’s blade at the very first and thus having no idea that his mentor had tangled with the monster and met his own doom thereby. He frowned at Jace, wondering what he was doing in such a place, and then slowly stood, saying in puzzlement, “what happened?”
Scamp clapped him warmly on the shoulder and said, “it was a near thing, but thankfully we had a little help in saving the day. Our nemesis is no more, as is his grim artifact. We have lived to see it and will rejoice thereat!” His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he glanced at Jace, “did you come alone lad?”
Jace shook his head and smiled ruefully, “we were accompanying the lady Ella home, along wit
h a pair of hired guards, her lady’s maid, and a Warrior called Kent. Her so-called betrothed was the one who brought the orb to this place and saw it destroyed, alas he was killed in process.”
Scamp smiled in amusement, “you say this lad died heroically to spare his intended?”
Jace returned the smile, “you could say that.”
Scamp frowned, “how did she come by the artifact?”
Jace shook his head, “Jay’s father had given it to him ere their parting and he gave it to her, hoping to somehow win her affections thereby.”
Scamp nodded, “we had best accompany said lady home then, seeing as she has been deprived of the boldest of her escort. We will give her tidings of her lover’s fate, a pity that, he sounds like a brave lad.”
Jace gave him a roguish smile, “certainly a pity, I am sure. I’ll head back to Astoria and inform the Lady that all is well.”
They bid him a warm farewell and went in search of the fleeing Ella, who did justice to her heroic beloved with her emotional theatrics and donned black for nearly a year before she finally found a man worth pursuing, and it was at that precise moment that her former tragedy was suddenly forgotten, not that it had ever truly vexed her heart in the first place.
Jace rode back to Astoria with a light heart, eager to tell the Lady that this crisis at least was past. Within sight of the city, the world suddenly went dark and his unicorn screamed in terror, flinging his rider and fleeing. Jace huddled on the ground and shuddered, wondering what dreadful thing could reduce the otherwise fearless creature to a panic-stricken horse, knowing full well who and what it must be.
Scoffed a voice, as if it were a man speaking to a cowardly dog, “you are a pesky little thing, but before I squash you like the insect you are, I give you one last chance to spare your pathetic soul.”
A sphere of clear glass rolled out of the darkness and stopped only inches from the terrified boy’s face. Said the horrid voice, “you destroyed the Eye and you will be the one to replace it or I will destroy you utterly, even your so-called Master will not be able to redeem you from what is to come! Give yourself up willingly, renew the Eye, and all will be well, else you know what awaits you.” The voice trailed off with awful, mocking laughter, which made Jace cringe all the more.
“You are the father of lies,” whispered he, “do what you wish, but my Master will never forsake me and He has already defeated your evil.”
“We shall see, little flea,” mocked the voice, as the darkness became palpable and began to crush in around him, like the pressure in the depths of the sea. He felt himself crumpling into something far too small and spherical for comfort and suddenly knew the Fiend was trying to force him into accepting the sphere or would use brute force to accomplish his ends, futile as they might be. The light inside him flared forth in protest but flickered out like a guttering candle as the darkness incessantly pressed in and crushed the boy into nothingness.
Jared was standing at the castle gates in his usual place when they brought him in: a cold, pale form, nearer a corpse than a living man, a weak, thready pulse the only sign of life; a returning patrol had found him along the road, curled in a ball, as if some great fist had attempted to crush him in its grasp. He queried the lad’s unicorn as to what had happened, his blood ran cold at the aggrieved creature’s reply. This was no brush with death from which the boy would soon waken; he had been touched by the Evil One himself, a thing which no mortal creature could endure without tragedy. They lay the stretcher momentarily in the courtyard as one of the bearers ran off to prepare a room for the stricken apprentice; none barred his way as the servant knelt beside the unmoving form. He studied the boy, his face growing grim indeed, for Jace showed no signs of waking, not even when he surreptitiously sent a pulse of light into his inert form. There was no echoing flicker from within the boy; it was as if his light had been extinguished like an unneeded candle.
Jared stood with a sigh and followed silently after as the bearers took up the stretcher and lay him in the prepared room. The doctor studied the boy, shaking his head and saying, “I have never seen the like. There is no physical injury that can account for it. Perhaps some great shock to his system has rendered him thus? I do not know if he will ever recover.”
At least in this last Jared agreed with the physician, the boy was not likely to waken any time soon unless their Master intervened. A grim smile settled on his face as an idea suddenly dawned, intervene He would, if through the least of His servants. The doctor soon chased everyone from the room, or thought he had, for Jared could hide himself from casual sight as easily as he could change his face. Once the door was firmly closed behind the last of the mournful throng, Jared drew his dagger and approached the form in the bed. Poised to strike, someone chose that unfortunate moment to enter the sickroom. Jared’s eyes widened to see the Lady herself enter with a Warrior beside her, Jared vaguely recognized him as a lad just out of his apprenticeship, but even so, he was no stranger to danger or how to deal with it.
“No!” squawked the young Warrior, as he simultaneously drew his sword and lunged at the murderous servant.
Jared smiled ruefully, knowing there was only one thing to do, as he plunged the dagger into Jace’s heart even as he felt the boy’s sword rip through his own.
The Lady stared in horror as the tragic scene unfolded, the noise drawing all those still outside the door back into the room to witness the fatal moment. Knowing she must regain control of the situation, she bellowed, “everyone out!”
Even in their shock, none dared defy her and hastily retreated from the room, leaving only the young Warrior, still holding his bloody sword, and the two dead men. She stared stonily at the boy, knowing she could not reprimand him for reacting as he had been taught, but her annoyed glare was rebuke enough, for he was very soon awkwardly studying his boot tips. She mused grimly, perhaps she had released him from his apprenticeship too soon if he acted this rashly! Said she with forced calm, “go and fetch the swordmaster.” He stared at her as if she had asked him to dance a jig then and there, but bobbed an awkward bow and dashed headlong from the room while she grimly studied the unmoving forms. Whatever Jared was up to, why couldn’t he wait for a more private moment rather than have half the population of Astoria there to witness it?
She sighed heavily, wondering how to disentangle herself from this minor crisis, when a knock sounded at the door and she said, “enter!”
The swordmaster ducked in with a very proper bow and a curious expression in his usually stoic eyes; she bade the Warrior await her without. She rounded on the swordmaster the moment the door closed, “what was Jared up to? Why did he try to kill a boy on death’s doorstep?”
The swordmaster grinned, “why not ask him yourself?”
She frowned at his perceived insolence and glanced significantly at the man’s unmoving corpse. His smile deepened as he laid a hand to the man’s chest; she gasped when Jared suddenly flinched and gasped back to life. Jared blinked up at the Lady, a sheepish smile on his once flaccid face. She shook her head and sighed, but dismissed the swordmaster, waiting for the door to shut firmly before demanding of the seemingly murderous servant, “what is all this about?” Then added in exasperation, “can it not wait until later when there is no one around to witness it?”
Jared paled, “who saw what?”
She smiled grimly, “half the keep saw you drive a dagger into the boy’s heart and a sword run through your own.”
Jared shook his head, “I suppose the timing was inopportune but I thought the doctor had chased everyone off for a few hours.” He turned grim eyes upon the corpse in the bed, “this is no natural affliction Lady, he was touched by the Nameless One, and while life lingered, he would live on in this indifferent state.”
She studied the prone form on the bed and then turned knowing eyes upon the servant, “and you thought to make an end of that indifferent state? And as it seems you have a complete apathy towards dea
th, it was neither murder, nor a mercy killing, but actually a cure.” She smiled thoughtfully, “and that is why Baye has survived so many missions when he should have died on his first quest.”
Jared grinned, “he did die on his first quest, twice actually, but you are correct, death to us is merely a nuisance.” He bowed to the Lady, “and if you would permit me, I will see that said nuisance is swiftly put to flight.” She bowed her head and he placed a firm hand on Jace’s chest, sending light into the prone form, drawing him back to waking life.
He cried aloud in dismay and terror, still thinking himself a prisoner of the crushing darkness but suddenly realized he was in a comfortable room with Jared and the Lady of Astoria. He smiled sheepishly, greeted them as courteously as he could in a supine position, and said brightly, “the orb and the one who sought it are both destroyed, my Lady. Scamp and Hawk accompany the lady Ella home, and all is well.” He shuddered, “at least I thought it was, until I met...him!”
Jared smiled proudly, “no wonder he thought to make an end of you lad! You are a veritable menace to his plans, but know he cannot unmake or destroy anything the Master has wrought, a power the Master Himself will not employ.” He turned sheepish eyes upon the Lady, “I suppose neither of us can be seen about the keep as ourselves now?”
She smiled in grim amusement at his appraisal of the situation, “that you cannot, as over a dozen people have now seen you both dead.”
Jared nodded, “you will have to appoint a new man to my post, perhaps I can be of assistance in finding a replacement?” He grinned impishly, shifted slightly into a younger, fairer version of himself with a few obvious alterations in height and nose shape. The Lady shook her head in exasperation, “very well, what shall I call your friend?”
“Jaire, would suffice, my Lady,” said he with a grin.
She nodded and turned to Jace, now sitting upon the edge of the bed with a troubled look upon his face, asked she, “and what of you?”
He shook his head, “besides for the grief it will bring my mother and sister, I have no aversion to changing what I must.”
She nodded, a thoughtful frown on her face, then she addressed Jared, “could we pass him off as having survived this incident? I can switch the servants around at will and no one asks questions, but the death of an apprentice within my own keep will arouse suspicions, especially with living kin about the place.”
Jared nodded, “only that young Warrior knows of a certain that I struck true, and in the fuss surrounding my own demise, I wonder if even he is certain?”
Her smile was mischief itself, an expression quite foreign to the usual dignity of the Lady of Astoria, said she to Jace, “you were stabbed, it is true, but it is also true that it rendered you no permanent harm, in fact it did quite the opposite and roused you from your stupor. Master Jared thought he was doing you a favor, which our young Warrior mistook for danger and acted as he felt necessary.” Her smile deepened, “I fear that you will have to act the corpse until you have been properly disposed of, Master Jaire, is that acceptable to you?”
Jared turned to the boy, “you had best make it real lad, consider it just recompense for my own bungling.” Jace turned questioning eyes to the Lady, who could only shake her head in mystification that he would ask her for permission to run a man through at his own request. He shrugged, drew his sword, and did just that. Jared lay again upon the floor in a bloody, unmoving heap as the Lady opened the door, summoning the physician. The young Warrior still stood without and she drew him into the room as well.
Said she quietly, as the astonished doctor studied the fully recovered Jace and confirmed the servant was indeed dead, “did the servant strike true?”
The Warrior frowned in consternation, shaking his head and staring in wonder at the quite healthy Jace, “I cannot say of a certain Lady, I thought he had but the evidence is quite to the contrary.”
She smiled slightly and said, “then let that be the tale, and next time please take a moment to think before rashly striking a fatal blow. I know you meant well, but now he cannot tell us what it was he intended and why.” The boy bowed deeply and withdrew from the room. She turned next to the doctor and asked, “have you ever seen the like?”
The man shook his head in astonishment, “you say this boy was stabbed? I cannot believe it, there is not a mark on him!” Jace surreptitiously kicked his discarded shirt under the bed lest the doctor notice it bore a rent and bloodstains. He shook his head, “as for the servant, sadly I’ve seen plenty of cases like his, and never more do they arise and walk.”
After the doctor left, the Lady had a final word for Jace, “you may pursue Baye and Adan upon whatever quest has captured their fancy, but do so as a full Brother. You have shown yourself to be mature, thoughtful, courageous, and skilled far beyond your years. A further apprenticeship will do you little good, but I have no say in matters pertaining to your more interesting occupation. In that, as in all things, may the Master ride with you!” She smiled wholeheartedly at him and left the room. His mother burst in immediately after, demanding to know if he were truly well and whole. Briane would have been right behind her, or perhaps secreted under the bed, had she not been out on her apprenticeship; Jace grinned, wondering what she would think when she heard he was already a full Brother: furious no doubt. He grinned all the more.
Brother: