Chapter 41
The Elven peoples are notorious for the value they put in eugenics. Marriages often take into account the ‘quality’ of each lineage’s blood. Because of Elven culture, many replace the term ‘ethnicity’ with ‘breed,’ regardless of species.
Day 381, Quenchenday
The three Mystagogues exited the elevator. Thrasher took three massive strides and stomped, sending the tile floor rippling. Thallos rode the stone waves like a pro. I struggled to keep my feet.
Before the floor settled, Thrasher circled to my right. The other two rode the waves as if they had done it a hundred times. Mysteriarch Kaydammin bounded from crest to crest. As she reached the closest wave to Thallos, she lunged with her rapier.
Thallos spun on his maimed leg to sidestep and summoned a longsword of shadow. He threw a dagger at Thrasher, who blocked it with his hammer. Thallos followed with a spinning reverse stab at Kaydammin. She deflected it easily.
The Human Mystagogue I would henceforth call ‘The Warhorse’ circled to my left. As the Mysteriarch deflected the thrust, The Warhorse closed in with a wide swing from her longsword. Thallos threw himself over it, his body like liquid, kicking out at the Mysteriarch’s rapier hilt as he went. He landed on his back; The Warhorse’s swing continued, and the Mysteriarch’s sword flew from her grip. It flew back into her hand as if it had never left.
The Warhorse continued her slash, spinning into an overhead morningstar strike aimed for Thallos’s head. He rolled aside, then kip-upped to his feet just in time to find Thrasher’s warhammer swinging for his chest. He danced away and stepped into the Mysteriarch’s lightning spell.
Arcs of purple-white electricity lanced from her fingertips. I noticed a flicker of silver before a blur of motion. It looked like he blocked every arc with his shadow blade.
Thrasher lifted his massive hammer, but a half-moment before he could bring it down, Thallos flicked a vermillion spark into his face. Thrasher’s eyes unfocused, his weapon falling by the wayside.
The Warhorse, with her sword blocked, charged it with Lumina Myst to cancel his Umbra, even as she pulled her morningstar parallel with him and released a shot.
A bolt of fire and kinetic force struck Thallos, knocking him off his feet, a large burn on his chest. He rolled into a crouch. In his right hand, he formed another shadow blade, this one flickering with dark purple, while his left reached into a pocket.
As the three closed in, he jabbed a hypo-jection needle into his maimed leg; the flesh reconstructed at a rapid pace. The burn closed, but his shirt still bore the scorch. The Mysteriarch threw a bolt of ice. He batted it aside, but she pressed the offensive with a flurry of strikes, forcing him to give ground.
It was then I thought about the physical cost of myst. Thrasher had used Earth magic and had a slight quiver in his grip. The Mysteriarch had used Kinetic, Ice, and Voltreonic, yet she showed no weakness.
Thrasher closed in with wide arcs, forcing Thallos back. The Warhorse and Mysteriarch moved to close him in. But Thallos saw it coming. He jumped, planted his feet on the hammer, and kicked off, landing free. He pulled smoke bombs and threw them. As they regrouped, he circled into my plain view. With his strange contraption in hand, he reached out to me. “Come with me, and we can find your mother.”
I had a moment of pure desire to meet her. A moment where I tried to forgive him. Was this fate? The thought flashed through my mind, but I knew what I had to do.
My answer was obvious as I took a defensive step back. His next move was a shock. He looked past me, offering his hand again. “Come with me, and I will make you a legend.” His promise wasn’t for me. I followed his gaze to lock eyes with Rose. I saw what he was trying and couldn’t let it happen. I lashed out with the shadow whip, my first strike wounding his right eye.
The Vhenari girl glanced from me to him, back and forth, before giving me a look of apology and hurrying to his side. He commanded her to collect the box, and she obeyed instantly.
As she moved to follow, my heart cracked. When she followed his instructions, it broke. And when Thallos reached into his pocket and ripped open a portal, I took my second chance, striking again with the whip. The coil wrapped around his left arm. I yanked. The sound of charring meat, tearing, a sickening squelch, and flesh hitting the floor. I looked up to find Thallos missing his left arm, stepping through the gate. When Rose followed without a glance back, my hopes for love shattered. The gate closed with a sucking sound.
I fell to my knees, any spells I controlled vaporizing. Tears streamed down my face. I was in such deep shock I couldn’t even sob. The closest thing to a father figure I had was my father’s butcher. Rose, one of my first friends, the girl I could have loved, left for the promise of glory.
Was everyone this way? Did everyone have secrets that would burn me? What about Nennel? Fermose? Were they hiding monsters? Was friendship always this painful?
I lay on my knees for an amount of time only the gods would know. I was brought back by a massive, calloused hand on my shoulder. I raised my tear-streaked face to see Mystagogue Thrasher looking down with concern. My saviors. Were they going to ask for something in return?
I hurriedly wiped my eyes. Thrasher had a fraction of his hand on my shoulder. The Mysteriarch’s good eye showed worry. The third instructor, an old Human woman with a crosswork of scars and an eyepatch, just looked annoyed.
“Iver,” started Thrasher, “I got your message. What happened?”
The Human piped in, “Let’s start with that message. This fight pulled me from a fine lunch. I’d like to know why.”
Thrasher shot her an annoyed look. “I only got the minimum. It read: ‘Thallos is schizo and trying to kill me. Come quick.’”
“That’s it? I was dragged from my glorious turkey and swiss because a student thought their mentor wanted them dead?” she rolled her eye.
Mysteriarch Kaydammin shot her a look. “Patience, Navor. Let’s hear the boy’s story.” She turned back to me, her expression caring. But her authority intimidated me into silence.
Thrasher was examining my bare chest. “Iver, where did all these scars come from?” he asked, his voice gentle.
“By the dark fragment! How did he get all those?” the new Mystagogue demanded.
I looked at Thrasher. “I-it’s from my training. I-I know I wasn’t d-doing well,” I muttered, scared. But I forced myself to speak up. “But I’ve really improved. I worked ridiculously hard to have fewer shame scars.”
“Shame scars?” asked the new Mystagogue.
I sat back on my haunches. “I wasn’t good at Dark Hunter training. If I got a question wrong, I got injured. I just wasn’t good, but I worked to pass the stab training.”
“Stab training?!” Eyepatch exclaimed.
“Iver,” started the Mysteriarch, “we don’t have any training like that. Even Dark Hunter students are trained in safe ways.”
“But it was safe and respectable,” I argued. I pointed to Tessa. “We had Tessa as a healer.”
“WHAT?!” they all exclaimed. Thrasher hurried to check on her.
“Well, yeah. Thallos said she was getting extra credit. But he stabbed her in the lower back.”
Thrasher muttered to Tessa, then checked her wound. “She’s in no immediate danger, but her lower spine has been severed. We need to take her to the Med Center.”
“Not you, Mr. Maverick,” he said, pinning me with a level look. “We still have questions.” He tapped his therra-node. “I’m summoning med students. They should be here within fifteen.” He laid a hand on Tessa’s head before rejoining the others.
“So, to be clear, Iver, are these scars from standard daily training?” the Mysteriarch asked. I nodded vigorously. “Yes, Mysteriarch K.”
“Iver,” started Thrasher, “we don’t have any training like that.”
“But Thallos—”
“But nothing, Iver,” his tone was final.
“Did Thallos tell you anything he wouldn’t want shared?” she asked gently.
I gave a steadfast nod and opened up. I told them everything: the stab training, the hidden fragment, the Order’s shadows, The Company. As I spoke, I wondered how much was lies. He said the Order was sacrifice-hungry, but that came from the man who said routine stabbing was standard training and almost preached it was okay he killed my father.
I hated him. I loathed him. I was revolted by Rose. Who was next? Nennel? Fermose? Were they using me?
All these thoughts echoed in my head as I was honest with the masters. But I wasn’t sure they were safe.
“Iver,” came the Mysteriarch, “we have never been so brutal. I can promise the Dark Hunters aren’t a bloodthirsty cult. In fact,” she gestured to the new Mystagogue, “Mystagogue Terra Navor is a Dark Hunter instructor.”
Navor knelt to look me in the eye, but I kept my gaze locked on my hands. She took my jaw in a gentle grip and guided my face to hers. I kept my eyes lowered. I didn’t want to see the disdain.
She flicked me between the eyes. I jerked back. “Don’t get caught up in your head, kid.” She wiped the blood from under my cut eye. “How about we get you patched up? After, we can have an honest talk, no lies, no secrets. The good, the bad, and the dark.”
I gave her a skeptical look. “Thallos already spoon-fed me his propaganda. Now you’re about to do the same.”
She flicked me again. “You’re not listening, you twit. If I were going to, do you think I’d tell you the darker side of what we do?”
I rubbed my forehead. “I guess.”
Navor pulled herself up and offered a hand. I hesitated, thinking of all the ways it could end in disaster. But I couldn’t let fresh wounds ruin my future.
I took her hand. She lifted me with ease, patting my head like a dog. “Let’s start with a damage report. Where’s it hurt?”
“Tessa partially healed me, but I’ve still got bruised ribs. My ankle feels tweaked. Something’s wrong with my shoulder, and my eye.”
“Can you manage the trip?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Your name’s Iver, right?” I nodded. “Let’s get you down there.” She turned to Thrasher. “Meet us after you can verify the girl’s condition?” He nodded. She turned to the Mysteriarch. “Want to come?”
“I need to inform the other Mysteriarchs and set countermeasures. I’ll check in.”
“Confirmed, my lady.” Navor saluted, then signaled for me to follow.
“What about Tessa?” I asked.
“She might not be in imminent danger, but I’d rather not move her unless necessary.”
