Sacharissa reached her first, snatching Elaine’s shirt collar and dragging her to the open door of the summoning room. It was slow going, and they had barely made any progress, when the Wendigo spotted his two new opponents.
Enraged by the stinging insect, it bellowed a challenge at Sacharissa, raking its claws along the ground to leave deep scores in the floorboards. Sacharissa paused, lowering her head and crouching against the floor. Arcturus sensed her intent: to meet the Wendigo head on.
‘No, get her out of here,’ he yelled, stepping between them. ‘I’ll keep it busy.’
He held the dirk in front of him, cutting back and forth at the air. It looked tiny next to the long talons that the Wendigo bore. One blade against ten.
A wyrdlight drifted between them. For a moment the Wendigo’s eyes were transfixed upon it, then it was gone, floating past them.
‘How about this,’ Arcturus yelled, shooting a wyrdlight from his finger to zoom around the Wendigo’s head. It blinked stupidly, then swiped its claw at it, just as it had done with Valens. The wyrdlight was extinguished, but another few seconds had been bought. Valens took this opportunity to sting at the Wendigo’s eyes again. The monster swiped blindly at its own face and left a groove of raw flesh in its skin before the Mite was forced to take refuge in the antlers once again.
‘Take this, this and this,’ Arcturus yelled, sending one wyrdlight after the other to circle the Wendigo’s head. The Wendingo staggered in confusion, slapping at them like flies on a hot day. Arcturus glanced back, to see Sacharissa was almost at the door. That was his mistake.
The Wendigo lunged, its claws slicing through the air to grasp for his throat. It was only by sheer luck that Arcturus managed to dive aside in time, but a grasping claw sliced him at the hip.
He was barely up and running before the next claw came slashing towards him. This time, there was no time to dive aside. Instead, Arcturus blasted wyrdlight in a thick pulse of mana, a beam that left the Wendigo staggering as it clutched its scorched retinas. The claw knocked him flying, but the bulk of it was caught in the satchel on his back. Still, as he landed on the ground he could feel blood trickling down his spine and a streak of fierce pain across his shoulder blades.
Then he was running again, driven by adrenaline and fear as the Wendigo roared behind him. Valens zoomed over his shoulder, abandoning his perch to return to his mistress. Sacharissa was moments from the door now, but Elaine was fighting against her now, battering at the Canid’s snout with her tiny fists.
It was the blood that did it. The puddle of blood Arcturus had left on the ground from his nosebleed, wet against the smooth surface of the oak floorboards. His boot slipped from under him, no more than a few feet from the entrance. His head cracked against the ground, blackening his vision as the senses were knocked from him. So close. He had been so close.
He could feel Sacharissa dragging him, and the dull vibrations as the Wendigo approached from across the room. There was a strangled snarl and the pressure on his leg loosened. Then Sacharissa was leaping over his body, claws outstretched.
‘No,’ Arcturus whispered weakly, forcing himself to his knees.
But Sacharissa was already there, dodging beneath the Wendigo’s outstretched claws to bite at the legs beneath. She took a calf in her teeth and shook her head violently, tearing into the hard flesh. Even as the Wendigo lashed at her, she had disappeared between its legs, only to swipe at its thigh with her claws. But as Arcturus rejoiced, the Wendigo kicked blindly like a mule, catching her in the chest and hurling her across the room. She lay there, barely able to breath. Arcturus knew her ribs were broken.
The Wendigo advanced upon her, saliva dripping on the floorboards, ready for the killing blow. It raised its hands high in the air, claws pointing down, like a mad pianist ready to play his first note.
Arcturus roared, leaping on to its back and burying the dirk up to the hilt in its spine. The Wendigo screeched like a banshee, spinning and slapping at him. But Arcturus was well placed, right in the small of its back. He clung on to the hilt, swinging back and forth as it leaped this way and that. Valens was there too, burying his mandibles in the Wendigo’s ear.
It couldn’t last though. The Wendigo bucked, breaking Arcturus’s grip and sending him tumbling away. He fell in a tangle of limbs, right on top of Elaine. She sobbed beneath him, still frozen in fear. The end was near now. There were no cards left to play. He barely had the strength to walk, let alone drag Elaine out of the door.
He climbed on to his feet unsteadily and held up his fists. The Wendigo limped towards him, its leg in tatters, yawping with pain as the dirk twisted in its spine.
‘It hurts so much,’ Elaine gasped beneath him. He saw the blood then, trickling from her head. She hadn’t been paralysed with fear. The Wendigo had knocked her unconscious.
‘Get out of here, Elaine. I’ll hold it—’
The Wendigo’s claw flashed out, slicing him across the face. He could barely see, but punched out, connecting with the cold, hard flesh of its chest. He could hear Sacharissa howling, then he collapsed as another blow whistled over his head. A kick then, like a sledgehammer in his stomach. He puked.
He could see Sacharissa, crawling towards them. She leaped, though the pain that ripped through her in doing so was like a knife in Arcturus’s heart. It did nothing but cause the Wendigo to stumble. Then a bellow. Blood, dripping on his face. Flashes of light.
Darkness.
15
A glimmer, flickering in the black. He was so close to letting go. There was so much pain. It would be so easy, to fall into the abyss.
The light was relentless, darting back and forth to keep his attention. It wanted him to follow.
‘He’s waking up,’
It tugged at him, insistent in its need. It knew him, this light. It was his friend.
‘That’s it, come back to us, Arcturus. You’re going to be all right.’
Sacharissa was calling to him. He could feel her love, tugging him through their connection. She was the light in the darkness. The only one left in the world who cared for him. He struggled back, wading through the void, though it lay heavy, as if Anansi’s tendrils gripped him still. He opened his eyes.
Three faces looked down at him. Elizabeth. Scipio. Obadiah. He groaned as he saw the Provost’s face.
‘Not you. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt Sacha,’ he croaked, grasping Obadiah’s jacket.
‘He’s delirious. Thinks you’re the Wendigo,’ Scipio said, sponging Arcturus’s forehead with his sleeve.
‘Did the healing spell not work?’ Elizabeth asked, her eyes filled with concern.
‘It worked perfectly, but he took a knock to the head,’ Obadiah lifted Arcturus’s eyelid and peered close. ‘Nothing a healing spell can do about concussion.’
‘I’m fine,’ Arcturus said, slapping Obadiah’s hand away and sitting upright.
The room was filled with rows of beds, just like the one he was on, but from the masonry he knew he was still at Vocans. Bandages, bedding and medical instruments were stacked on shelves nearby. Elaine lay on the bed beside him, but she looked asleep. An infirmary then.
Sacharissa was curled up at the end of his bed, covered by a warm blanket. He could feel a fierce ache through their connection which told him her ribs were still broken.
‘Heal her,’ he ordered, shuffling closer to Sacharissa and stroking her ears. ‘Heal her and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.’
‘The healing spell can’t fix broken bones, Arcturus,’ Elizabeth said gently, laying a calming hand on his shoulder. ‘Only flesh wounds. We have to let nature take its course. She needs rest.’
‘How did I get here?’ Arcturus asked, blinking tears from his eyes. Sacharissa was so quiet, her chest barely rising and falling. How could he have let this happen to h
er?
‘Ulfr woke us, told us he had heard unusual sounds from the summoning room. We got there just in time to fight off the Wendigo. I left it locked in the summoning room, while we tended to your wounds.’ Scipio looked reproachfully at the Provost. ‘Obadiah arrived as we dragged you out. He is going to harness the Wendigo later.’
‘You’re going to make that thing your demon?’ Arcturus cried. ‘After what it did!’
‘It’s a powerful demon, weak enough to capture.’ Obadiah stated, unashamed. ‘I will bend it to my will and use it against the orcs. I have given my Hydra to my son, Zacharias. This demon will take its place.’
Arcturus leaned away from him, disgusted. What manner of man would want that monstrosity as their demon, powerful or not? How lucky he was to have Sacharissa!
‘I want to know what you meant by “tell us everything you know”,’ Elizabeth said, tactfully changing the subject. ‘Is that why your bag is all packed?’
‘I overheard Charles saying that the Provost was coming back to interrogate me – I wasn’t going to hang around for that,’ Arcturus muttered.
‘Interrogate is a strong word. I wanted you to confirm my suspicions, that’s all. I suspect that is why Charles and Rook tried to kill you. Little did they know, I already knew the truth.’ Obadiah’s face darkened with sudden anger.
‘How do you know they were involved?’ Arcturus asked, dumbfounded.
‘Ulfr saw them leaving the summoning room,’ Obadiah said. ‘Of course, the word of a dwarf will never stand up in court, especially against two nobles, but it is enough for me. The half-men are malicious little creatures, but this particular one had no reason to lie. The two boys will be expelled from the school, to be privately tutored at home. It is as harsh a punishment as I can give them.’
Arcturus nodded, unsure of whether to be pleased or angry. It could have been a lot worse – their actions may never have come to light. But expulsion . . . was that all? Even when caught red handed, their high-birth had protected them.
He felt a flash of gratitude for Ulfr. Were it not for him, Arcturus would be slowly digesting within the stomach of a monster. How unfair it was that Obadiah spoke of him in such a way.
‘Lady Faversham is dealing with them now,’ Obadiah said, lowering his voice and leaning closer. ‘It is a good thing she is not here, for what we are about to discuss must never reach her ears.’
‘What do you mean?’ Scipio asked. Even Elizabeth looked perplexed. Clearly, this was news to all of them.
‘As soon as I heard of the mysterious fire that killed the innkeeper and his wife, I suspected foul play. Yet, they were the only two that knew where you came from. I already suspected you were Faversham’s bastard son, hell, that’s why the king put me in charge of the investigation in the first place. He suspects the same.’
‘He’s Faversham’s son?’ Scipio groaned, laying his face in his hands. ‘This is going to cause a mess. Lady Faversham is going to be furio—’
‘Lady Faversham will know nothing,’ Obadiah snapped. ‘Now keep your tongue still until I have finished speaking. What we are about to do amounts to high treason, but it is the only thing we can do to save hundreds of lives and prevent the kingdom from tearing itself apart.’
Scipio fell silent, though his face reddened with anger at being spoken to in such a way. Elizabeth squeezed his shoulder and nodded at Obadiah to continue.
‘I searched for mysterious deaths in the local area. Faversham wouldn’t stop at the innkeeper, he had too much riding on it. So when I discovered that the owner of a workhouse had been mysteriously murdered, I knew where to look.’
‘Smart,’ Arcturus said, but he shook his head in disgust.
‘But that’s not all. I went to the workhouse and discovered something else there.’
He leaned even closer, his voice barely more than a whisper.
‘There were others. Like you. More of Faversham’s brood.’
Arcturus was stunned. Lord and Lady Faversham were obviously covering up an unhappy marriage if there were other half-sons out there.
‘I tested them, the same way we do with non-firstborn noble children, in case they have inherited the ability to summon. Two others, plus one more in another workhouse.’
‘Three brothers,’ Arcturus murmured.
‘Two brothers and a sister, actually,’ Obadiah chuckled. ‘But that was not all. You see, I had sent my most trusted officers to test other children, to keep up appearances, you understand. They flew from village to village, lining up the boys and girls and checking one by one. They have been through thousands of them, testing each and every one. It was only on my way here that I received the message. There are more of them.’
‘What does that mean?’ Elizabeth asked. ‘Other illegitimate children?’
‘No, not bastards,’ Obadiah stated, sneering as Elizabeth winced at the terminology. ‘The officers confirmed it. The village they found the first common summoner in was hundreds of miles from the nearest noble estate. The mother is a brunette who had never been more than a mile from her village. The local baker was the father, and the boy had his red hair and green eyes. They even had the same allergies. There was no doubt of parentage there.’
‘So . . . it’s not just illegitimate children. Commoners are manifesting the ability independently!’ Scipio cried.
‘Not so loud,’ Obadiah hushed. ‘Yes, that is the case . . . and that is the story we are going to tell the king. Nobody must know that Lord Faversham cheated on his wife. There will be other bastards out there, just like Arcturus. Scores of them. Maybe hundreds.’
Obadiah was sweating now, and suddenly Arcturus understood that perhaps even Obadiah himself had worries about illegitimate children of his own. He feared for his marriage.
‘Imagine what would happen, if word were to get out. The orphanages around the country would be tested immediately, proof of every infidelity across the country revealed. Noble houses will split apart, Hominum’s aristocracy shattered in an instant. Right when we need to be strong.’
Elizabeth and Scipio were nodding, though most of it went over Arcturus’s head. All he knew was that they were going to keep his origins a secret.
‘The dwarves plot another rebellion as we speak. The orc raids become more frequent each day. Even the commoners themselves are becoming despondent, furious at the way the king has bankrupted the country. There is even talk of the king giving up his throne, so that Prince Harold can take his place, just to placate the people! He spoke to me of it just yesterday. He is already taking over management of Hominum’s law, the Pinkertons and the Judges. He will maintain control, ruling through them and his son.’
‘All well and good,’ Elizabeth said, holding up her hands. ‘I agree that we must keep illegitimate children a secret and tell the world that Arcturus simply manifested the gift independently, as the other commoners you found did. But I have two questions for you. How will we keep him safe? As long as Arcturus is here, Lord Faversham and Charles will try to kill him, to get rid of the evidence. Also, how will we keep this a secret? Let’s not forget that if Lady Faversham finds out, she will kill him.’
‘Now, I want you to stay calm,’ Obadiah said warily, backing away from the table. ‘But I have made a deal with Charles, who will relay it back to his father.’
‘You did what?’ Elizabeth snarled, her eyes blazing with anger. ‘After what they tried to do to Arcturus?’
‘I said calm yourself!’ Obadiah growled back. ‘It had to be done, to keep the boy safe. In exchange for Arcturus’s safety, I promised that I would remain in charge of the search for the commoners, for as long as the king will allow me to. I will hide the clusters of adept commoners in the workhouses and orphanages from the world, and keep Lord Faversham’s shameful secret. I was going to do it anyway, we might as well get Arcturus’s safety out of it. All
I need from you three is to keep your mouths shut about this whole thing.’
‘But what if you die, or the king decides to place you somewhere else?’ Scipio asked. ‘What if he creates a grand inquisition to investigate the whole affair? You said yourself he has his suspicions!’
‘At that point, Arcturus will hopefully be a graduated battlemage, capable of taking care of himself and away from Lady Faversham’s wrath. I pray it never happens. Who knows, maybe if the truth gets out, the whole empire won’t fall apart. But what I do know is that it is better not to risk it. Do you agree to this plan?’
‘I do,’ Arcturus said, holding up his hand. ‘I just want to live in peace.’
‘As do I,’ Scipio agreed in a low voice.
Elizabeth paused for a moment, then nodded.
‘If it keeps Arcturus safe,’ she said.
‘Good. Now, let’s allow the boy to have his rest,’ Obadiah clapped his hands together with finality. ‘You should be happy, Arcturus. You’re year is just beginning!’
‘Rest up,’ Elizabeth said, following Scipio and Obadiah as they filed out of the room. ‘I’ll bring you breakfast in the morning.’
The door slammed behind them, leaving Arcturus sitting in silence. Even Sacharissa was asleep, despite the discussion that had been raging above her head. He lay back and tried to do the same.
‘Well, I thought they’d never leave!’
His eyes snapped open to see a grinning Elaine, her tresses falling over him and tickling his nose.
‘I thought you were unconscious!’ he spluttered, pawing her hair out of his face and sitting up.
‘So did they,’ Elaine giggled, waggling her tongue at him. ‘Silly teachers.’
Arcturus’s heart began to thunder. A secret that could tear apart the empire, in the head of an impressionable thirteen year old.
‘What did you hear exactly?’ he asked carefully.
‘I don’t know. After they said Charles was expelled, I stopped listening. Too confusing.’ She shook her head, then winced and rubbed the back of her skull. ‘It still hurts!’