The HaRT Knight Decaverse

Heir of Magic

Chapter 17

Potions, Sand, And Tears

“You met Enemone D’Lamkhar?” Rose said with a high-pitched voice when Alexander told her of the odd encounter from the previous night.
“Yes, though I wish I hadn’t,” Alexander said.
“Why, what did she say to you?” Rose said, sounding scared.
Alexander frowned at her. “Just a bunch of gibberish and nonsense. Frankly, she came off as a little insane.”
“Alex, please. What did she say to you?” Rose said seriously.
Alexander relented with a sigh and told her what Enemone had said, leaving out the part about him being the Heir of Magic destined to become the first Sorcerer Saint—even though he himself did not know what a Sorcerer Saint was. The part about the Heir of Magic was just as enigmatic, but the phoenix back in Moondrake had called him the same thing.
“I see,” Rose said, biting her lip as she looked at the ground.
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you don’t believe any of it.”
“I don’t know,” Rose said. “Alex, Enemone isn’t a fraud. She is a descendant of the mage who built the tower in the middle of the city. Besides, it’s hard to argue with her. I’m no witch, but even I can see you’re destined for greatness—for things neither I nor this city can give you.”
“My dear, I have seen what else is out there, and trust me, none of it compares to you,” he assured her.
She smiled sadly at him, but before she could say another word, a man at a nearby table called, “Bar maid, bring us another round of that mead your gran made.”
Rose leaped to her feet and smiled at the man as she said, “Coming right up, sir.”
As she darted away, Alexander watched her go. His heart ached at the prospect of the peaceful life he could have with her, but the truth was, since his meeting with Enemone, doubt had plagued his thoughts. He had been restless since he awoke alone in his room that morning and the entire day this little voice in the back of his head kept nagging at him. Who will stop Cain now? Are you this selfish, to let everyone else suffer so you can have what you want? What about the promises you’ve made; to yourself, to Claus, to your mother?
Alexander groaned and shook his head as it to dislodge the nagging voice. He grabbed the tankard in front of him and downed it all, to no avail. Sometimes his angelian physiology was a major drawback. He would give anything to be able to get drunk like the rest of the customers of The Spider’s Den.
The inn was overflowing with inebriated patrons thanks to two things: Linaria’s freshly brewed ale which was famous throughout The Wandering City, and the bard. Word of the young woman with her array of instruments that ranged from the flute to a lyre, had traveled far and wide in little time. Her name was Euterpe, and she had just shown out of the blue that afternoon, and had offered to perform in The Spider’s Den that evening, and by the time twilight fell, what felt like half the city had squeezed into the small inn to hear the music.
It only took one song for Alexander to understand the eagerness of the people. Euterpe was exceptionally talented, she coaxed sounds from her instruments that seemed otherworldly, and still, it was nothing compared to her beautiful voice. She was also breathtaking to behold. Slender with flawless skin and raven hair that fell in stormy curls to her shoulders. But neither her singing, playing, or looks could compete with her breathtaking blue eyes that somehow felt familiar.
Alexander closed his eyes to think where he had seen those eyes, but he soon found himself carried away by the song Euterpe called, The Lullaby of Blood. It told the tragic tale of how Angelus, Alexander’s ancestor and a hero to all of Primoris, had lost his best friend when a blood mage named Wu had turned Angelus’s friend into a terrible demon of shadow and madness.
Just as the song ended, Merrick rushed into the room, looking sullen and irritated. He strode over to Alexander and his tankard of ale which Rose had refilled without him even noticing.
“Where have you been all day? You were gone before I even woke up. That’s not like you,” Alexander said.
Merrick stared around the room, taking in the face of every patron before he whispered, “We have to talk. Now.” The last word came out as a growl.
“All right,” Alexander said with a frown.
“Not here, come on,” Merrick said and got up to lead the way to their room. Once inside, he darted over to the window, opened it, and stared outside for a moment.
Alexander waited for Merrick to finish his paranoid ritual before he said, “What’s going on, Merrick?”
“I’ve been doing some reconnaissance,” Merrick said, falling flat on his stomach to see if someone wasn’t hiding under the bed. “Enemone wasn’t lying last night. Ninsun spent the entire day locked in a room with those three trolls we kicked out of the here. They know where we are, and they’re coming for us.”
“They’re coming? When?” Alexander interjected.
“Now,” Merrick said. “Ninsun has already sent out a scouting party to make sure nothing surprises him when he shows.”
Alexander looked back at the door through which they could still hear the sounds of the tavern below. “We’re putting everyone here in danger by staying, aren’t we?”
“I’m afraid so,” Merrick nodded.
Alexander sighed and hung his head. What he had to say next would hurt. “We have to leave.”
“We do. But before we go, I need to know something,” Merrick said, his voice calm and uncharacteristically serious. “Yesterday, before you came into the room, Enemone told me you needed me, and that if I helped you, I would get what I want most in the world. Personally, I don’t like the idea of destiny, but what she said about you—” he stopped as he struggled to find the right words. “There is something about you that makes me think she might be right. I’ve suspected there is something more to you than meets the eye since we met, but I haven’t pried, I figured if it were important, you would tell me. But we’re out of time. I need to know the truth.” Merrick looked expectant.
Should I lie? I can make something up or deny there is anything to tell. It’s what Dante would want me to do, Alexander thought. He opened his mouth to tell Merrick he didn’t know what he was talking about, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak the words. The two of them had become friends, and it felt like a betrayal to lie to him now.
Alexander sighed. Dante is not going to be happy with me. “I am Alexander Angelus, Prince of Tír na Angelus, and the last Angelian alive who can oppose Cain, the man who killed my mother and stole everything from me.”
Merrick’s mouth fell open and his eyes stretched wide. Whatever he had been expecting, that had not been it. Stuttering, he said, “But if you’re the prince, doesn’t that make you and Cain family?”
“It makes us related, yes, but not family. By blood, Cain is my uncle. But by choice, Cain is my enemy.”
“That’s what she meant when she said you have a great destiny. You’re destined to fight Cain.”
“No,” Alexander said. “Destiny would imply I have no choice. I choose to fight him. I’m not being forced to do it, I want to. He took my mother, my home, and my crown. By slaughtering all my people, he made sure I would never have a place to belong. I will pay him back for that. I will have my revenge.”
Merrick looked overwhelmed by everything he had just heard. He shook his head, nodded to himself, and stretched out a hand to Alexander. “Then I will come with you. I don’t know if Enemone is right and that I can only get what I want by helping you, but you’ve already saved my life twice, I think that makes us friends; and friends don’t abandon each other.”
“Thank you, Merrick,” Alexander said, his heart swelling with gratitude.
“Don’t mention it, mate.” He nodded at the door. “Now, to the problem at hand. We’ll have to take Rose and her grandparents with us. If we just leave them behind Captain Ninsun will hurt them for information on us.”
Alexander nodded. It wasn’t the peaceful life with Rose he had imagined, but it was better than nothing. “How long do we have before they arrive?”
“I saw four men leave Ninsun’s office before I raced back. They should arrive any moment. The main force, however, will need about an hour to converge here.”
Alexander threw on his phoenix cloak—midnight black side up—and put up the hood as he said, “I’ll go downstairs and tell Linaria everything.”
“All right, while you do that, I’ll pack up all our things. Luckily, neither of us has much so I should be able to fit everything into my bag,” Merrick said as he began stuffing things into cloth bag. Alexander opened the door of their room and immediately closed it again, only leaving it open a crack large enough so he could see down the stairs to where four men with swords entered The Spider’s Den.
“Ah, gentlemen, welcome. We have some delicious roast pork tonight with a fresh batch of my wife’s famous ale. We’re also lucky enough to have a bard with us tonight, the famous Euterpe Mnemosyne,” Dracenaes said to the Captain and the three other guards. None of the guards answered.
“Shade, Merrick. They’re already here,” Alexander said to an empty room. Merrick, who had seen the danger enter the inn without the need of a warning, had slipped out the window.
“What happened to ‘friends don’t abandon each other,’” Alexander sneered. Now is not the time to be disappointed, he thought and adjusted the hood of the cloak so it would better conceal his face. He took a deep breath as if about to dive under water, then moved through the door and down the stairs.
When he reached the bottom, he placed a hand on Dracenaes’s shoulder and whispered, “Don’t panic. Try to remain quiet as I tell you what I need to tell you next. The men you just welcomed with open arms are here to kill me. They are likely to harm anyone who gave me aid.”
“What?” Dracenaes wheezed.
“I’m sorry, I brought this trouble to your home. I’ll fix it,” Alexander said.
“But—” Dracenaes looked over to where Rose greeted the men he had just welcomed. “Please, you can’t let them hurt my Rose.”
“I have no intention of letting anything happen to her or any of you,” Alexander assured him. “I need you to gather the bare essentials for your family. I’ll tell Linaria and Rose to meet us outside. You’re leaving the Wandering City with me tonight.”
Dracenaes nodded before running up the stairs as fast as his old legs would carry him. Alexander turned into the room filled with people, ignorant of the encroaching danger.
That’s one, Alexander thought as he moved through the room like a ghost, avoiding the table of armed men, and came to a halt beside Rose who was gathering drinks on her tray.
As she turned around, she bumped into Alexander. “Oh, I am sorry, sir. I wasn’t—” Rose fell silent as she saw who it was. “Alex?”
Alexander placed a finger on her lips. “We need to be quiet. Follow me,” he whispered as he led her away from prying ears. When they reached what he considered a safe distance, he continued, “Your grandfather is upstairs, gathering your things. I suggest you go help him.”
“What are you talking about?” Rose asked.
“Those men who just sat down, they’re here to kill me and Merrick, and probably everyone who helped us.” Rose went pale and her eyes stretched wide. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’m taking you and your grandparents out of here. Don’t argue, just go. I’ll fetch your grandmother.”
Rose nodded vehemently and slipped out of the room and up the stairs to join her grandfather.
That’s two, only one more to go, Alexander thought. But things were getting dangerous. The armed men had noticed the odd figure who was hiding his face with the hood of his cloak. They made no move, but whispered as they kept their eyes on him. And unfortunately, among the four men was Ninsun who knew his face.
Alexander pulled the hood of his cloak forward and kept his back to the men as he made his way to the bar where Linaria was cleaning mugs.
Without looking up, the old woman said, “So they’ve come for you.”
“You know?” Alexander asked.
“Follow me, my boy,” Linaria said and turned from the mugs and marched through the door behind the bar.
Alexander had never been through this door before. He had always assumed it to be a kitchen, but he had been wrong. The room was dark and arid and glass vials filled with liquids of different colors bubbled, boiled, and smoked. Linaria walked over to the far wall where she had hung herbs to dry. She moved them aside like a curtain to reveal a hole filled with old books.
“Linaria we need to go, those men out there, they—”
“—are here to kill you and all who aid you. Yes, boy, I know,” she said as she took out an ancient and dust-covered book. She slammed it on the table and riffled through its pages until she reached the one she was looking for.
“Then you know we need to go, and now,” Alexander said.
“You need to go, yes. But I’m afraid I am not going anywhere,” Linaria said, mixing strange liquids and not paying Alexander much attention.
“What do you mean? You have to come. They’ll kill you and your whole family,” Alexander exclaimed.
“Rose and my husband can leave with you, but I’m staying.” She looked up at him with one eye and gave a crooked grin as she said, “They’ll have a harder time killing me than you think.”
Alexander stared incredulously at Linaria. “They’re not dissatisfied customers. They’re armed soldiers.”
“I know a few tricks that not even swords can defeat.” With a flare of her wrist, she threw a pinch of mustard-colored powder into the potion she was working on and it gave a flash of bright yellow light. “Tell me, do you know the tale of how the Wandering City came to be?”
“Something to do with the tower in the middle I suppose,” Alexander guessed.
“Yes,” Linaria said and set about work on a second potion. “Few people here know the true history of the world let alone that of the city. It started after the war for Anarchos ended. I’m sure your mage master has already taught you—”
“What?” Alexander exclaimed.
“Don’t worry dear. I’ve known what you are since the day we met. Or perhaps I should say I know what you can do. I know you can use magic. I saw how you killed the bastard who threatened to hurt my Rose.”
Alexander stared at the old woman. She’s known all this time.
“But, as I was saying, the war ended with the erection of the veil. The veil separated Anarchos from the rest of the worlds in the celestial tree, but also trapped many of those who had fought in the war here. Among those trapped on Anarchos, were the Seven Noble Voynich families, the ancestors of all Anarchos Septims. The seven of them separated, and each took up residence in a cyclopean tower. One of the seven, Talitha, took the tower that is now the center of the wandering city. The D’Lamkhar family are her direct descendants, but they are not her only ones.”
Alexander’s mouth fell open as everything suddenly made sense. “You’re her descendant as well.”
“You are an intelligent boy,” Linaria said. She concentrated for a second and the two flasks in front of her each flashed blue. “Yes, both Enemone D’Lamkhar and I are descendants of Talitha the Diviner. The last two, in fact.” A third flash of blue and Linaria wiped the sweat from her brow. “Neither my daughter nor my granddaughter have inherited the voynich blood or magic. Even I don’t have enough power to perform any real Gate Magic. But I have just enough to coax the magic out of herbs to make alchemical potions, and art that can be just as—if not more—useful than spells. There, I’m done.”
She poured her potions into four glass spheres that rested on a cushion of straw in a small wooden box. She sealed the sphere of the yellow potion right away, but didn’t seal the blue ones until she had dripped a drop of her blood in each. When she finished, she closed the lid of the box, placed it on top of the thick leather book, and handed both to Alexander.
“What are these?” he asked.
“The blue ones are Praeligos, a little invention of my own. Only someone with septim blood can make them. They create a thaumaturgic tether to the place where the septim added their blood. You can travel clear across the world, and if you break one of those at your feet, the potion will make a mist, about the size of a person, and anyone who stands in that mist will be pulled to the tethered spot,” Linaria explained. “So, once you leave, should any of you want to return, all you need to do is use one of those Praeligos.”
“All right. So, the blue ones are Praeligos, what’s the yellow one?” Alexander asked.
“That one is essential to your escape. The moment you are outside the border of the Wandering City, break that orb inside the city limits. The potion will force the city to wander, preventing Captain Ninsun and his men from following you.” Linaria patted the thick leather book. “And this is for you. It has been passed down in my family since Talitha’s era.”
“Linaria, I can’t take this. It belongs to you, to your family,” Alexander said.
“It would be of no use to Rose. As I said, she has no septim blood in her,” Linaria said as she placed a leather satchel around Alexander’s neck. It was big enough only to hold a few essentials. She took the book and the small box from his hands and placed them both in the satchel. “This book will be of a lot more use to you. I don’t need the vision of Enemone D’Lamkhar to see the path you’re destined for. There are a few potions in there that might aid you on your journey, potions no one except for me knows. Use it and make sure you survive.” Linaria placed a hand on Alexander’s cheek.
“Thank you,” Alexander choked out.
“Since you’ll need this one soon, I’ll fasten it in one of these straps,” Linaria said, taking the yellow orb and strapping it down over Alexander’s right shoulder. “There. Now, it’s time for you to leave.”
Alexander nodded and opened the door to head back into the tavern area. What he saw as the door swung open made his entire body go cold. Ninsun stood in the middle of the tavern, holding a dagger to Rose’s throat. A few steps away, another man was holding an unconscious Dracenaes by the arms, and behind them stood Yakin who had informed Ninsun of Alexander and Merrick’s location.
“Finally found you,” Ninsun said with a sneer. “It looks like the wolf has already fled, but at least I get you, the one who killed my son.”
“Let her go,” Alexander said and made to move closer, but Ninsun stopped him by pressing the dagger closer to Rose’s neck.
“That’s far enough. You take one more step or try any of your little magic tricks and I cut her from ear to ear,” Ninsun said.
“Boy, when I say ‘now,’ close your eyes,” Linaria whispered so only Alexander could hear.
“You want me right. Well, here I am. Come at me, but she has nothing to do with this,” Alexander said.
“Nothing to do with this?” Yakin chuckled. “She has everything to do with this.”
“You took people we loved from us, now we’ll take the person you love from you,” Ninsun said.
“If you spill as much as one drop of her blood, I will kill every single one of you before you can even blink,” Alexander warned.
A tense silence filled the room that only broke when one man said, “You don’t scare us.”
“Now!” Linaria shouted.
Alexander pulled the one side of his cloak up to shield his eyes. He was not sure what Linaria had done, but glass shattered and the next moment an explosion of light illuminated The Spider’s Den. Ninsun and his three companions yelled in pain and confusion, and Alexander acted as fast as he could while his foes were still blinded.
Alexander jumped forward and over the bar and with one fluent motion, pulled one of his swords free and sliced through Ninsun’s arm, and slid the blade back into its scabbard. The Captain screamed in agony and the dagger fell to the ground. Alexander grabbed Rose by the hand and pulled her with him towards the front door. Her grandmother’s attack had blinded her, and she didn’t see the loose floorboard she tripped over.
The front door burst open, and a tide of men dressed in uniforms and brandishing weapons charged in before Alexander could help Rose back up to her feet. Slowly he paced back, placing Rose between him and the hearth’s chimney, away from harm. The men surrounded them within seconds.
“He’s mine!” shouted a deranged voice as Ninsun forced his way to the front, holding his sword in his left.
Changing his stance to face the left-handed opponent, Alexander’s mind raced as it tried to come up with some way in which he and Rose could survive this. Not even he could face these many opponents alone. If he killed Ninsun, the other men would all rush in.
A metallic clack hit the floor next to Rose and Alexander glanced surreptitiously to see the cause. He smiled.
“You wish to fight me even in your injured state?” Alexander asked, stalling for time.
“As long as I get to kill you myself,” Ninsun said with a manic expression.
“Hold on, you said I could have him,” Yakin said in a gruff voice as he forced his way through the guards to stand next to Ninsun.
“He’s mine, you big oaf. Now, begone, before I have you killed,” the Captain barked, almost frothing at the mouth.
The momentary distraction was what Alexander had been waiting for. He dropped to his knees, wrapped the silver chain around his right arm, and held Rose tight to his body with his left, and said, “Hold on to me as tight as you can.”
She gave a small whimper he took as a yes, and he pulled at the chain as he leaped up the chimney. At the top, Merrick began to pull. Alexander used a blast of aeroturgy to speed up their journey through the stone tunnel and onto the roof of The Spider’s Den, but Merrick was pulling at the chain with such inhuman strength the magical help proved unnecessary.
It seems I wasn’t the only one with a secret, Alexander thought as he stared at the other man.
“We need to go! Now!” Merrick shouted, coiling his silver chain around his arm once more.
“Right,” Alexander shook himself and placed Rose on her feet. “Can you run?”
Rose nodded.
“Follow me. We’ll leave by the southern border gate,” Merrick said before leaping off the roof.
Alexander followed suit, once more taking Rose into his arms. With the air of his aeroturgy, they fell to the ground with all the force of a feather.
“Wait, what about my grandparents? We can’t just leave them,” Rose said, stopping after they had run a short distance. Alexander was just about to answer, when a giant ball of fire blew out the side of The Spider’s Den.
“Trust me, your grandmother doesn’t need anyone’s help. She’ll be fine,” Alexander assured Rose before pulling her behind him again.
After running for what felt like hours through the dark streets, the density of buildings started to lessen until they reached the farmlands on the outskirts.
“Not far now. Just over that hill and we’ll be safe,” Merrick said.
Alexander looked ahead at the hill covered in tufts of grass and that housed a small enclosure of cattle at the very top.
“Almost there,” Alexander said over his shoulder to Rose, who did not meet his gaze. Something about that didn’t feel right, but he supposed it would be unreasonable to expect her to behave normally under their current circumstances.
Merrick stopped and Alexander—who was too distracted by the sudden knot of dread in his stomach—collided with him and all three of them tumbled to the ground.
“Why did you stop?” Alexander said.
Merrick pointed in the gate’s direction where over twenty men on camels stood, ready to stop anyone who attempted to flee.
“What now?” Alexander asked.
Merrick stared at the gate guards for a long moment, as if hoping a solution would jump out at them. “I have an idea,” he said after a few minutes. “Stay here and get ready to run.”
“Alexander,” Rose said in a shaky voice when Merrick had leaped to his feet and darted towards the cattle enclosure. “We need to talk.”
“Of course,” Alexander said. “Once we’re outside and I’ve forced the city to wander, we can talk as long as you want.”
“You’re going to force it to wander? How?”
Alexander took the yellow orb from its strap. “If this breaks inside the limits of The Wandering City, the city will move to its new position, and we’ll be free.”
Rose stared at the orb with an expression Alexander had no definition for, but caused the knot of dread in his stomach to intensify. He brushed away a tendril of her hair and said, “Your grandparents will be all right. I’m sure of it.”
“That’s not it.” Rose shook her head. “Alex, I—”
She cut off as a bull from the cattle enclosure bellowed and rose onto its hind legs. As the bulk of muscle came down, it smashed through the enclosure and charged down the hill towards the gate. All the other cattle followed suit, and the next second, a stampede was charging at the men guarding the gate. They scattered in all directions to get away from the beasts, but it was too late, and the cattle were upon them before they could do a thing.
“Come on,” Merrick called as he rode an ancient looking cow like a horse.
Alexander pulled Rose by the hand and down the path cleared for them by the cattle. But the moment they reached the gate, Rose pulled her hand free and stopped.
“What are you doing? Come on,” Alexander urged her.
“No. I am not leaving,” she whispered.
Alexander stared at her, his eyes pleading. All she had to do was to give one more step, only one, and she would be outside the limits. “Why?” he asked in a shaky voice.
With tear-filled eyes, Rose stared up at him. “Because of what Enemone D’Lamkhar said. We both know she was right.”
“No. No, she wasn’t,” Alexander said, placing his hands on her sides.
“Yes, she was. Can’t you see? We can’t give each other what the other person wants, or in your case, I can’t give you what you need.”
“What I need is you!” Alexander exclaimed.
Tears began to flow down Rose’s cheeks. “Your destiny is far greater than I am. I’m just distracting you from your true path.”
“You know, I’m getting tired of everyone and their pet birds telling me what my destiny is supposed to be,” Alexander said. “I decide my path.”
“You’ve already decided. You did so a long time ago,” Rose said. “What was it you said, you have lived a life not conducive to romantic entanglement. A person doesn’t lead a life like that by accident. They do so by making a conscious decision because it would get in the way of something they have to do that is more important.”
Alexander wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. He knew she was right. All he could manage was, “I’m sorry.”
Rose smiled at him with tear-filled eyes of longing. She leaped forward and one last time; she kissed him. With every second of the embrace, Alexander could feel his heart breaking into pieces—in fact, he could almost hear it break. He snapped open his eyes and saw the broken shards of glass floating in the yellow potion on the ground.
Rose had taken the yellow orb from his hand as they had kissed and broken it on the border. A gust of wind suddenly blew past them, and as it did, it was like the buildings themselves turned to sand before being swept away.
“I love you,” Rose said as the gust of wind passed over her and turned her to sand. For a split second, her face was entirely made of sand with grains rolling down her cheek.
“Rose,” Alexander said, reaching out to touch her face, but as his hand made contact with it, it fell apart and blew away.