LILIA HELSTEA
The heels of my shoes clacked on the stone slabs of the street and echoed back at me from the tall walls of the surrounding houses, making it sound like I was being followed. I kept looking behind me just to make sure, but I was the only one in the street, and for good reason. It was past curfew, which meant trouble if an Alacryan patrol caught me, but I'd been kept late at Xyrus Academy, again.
The Testers must have found it humorous to let us out so late that we had to scurry home in the gloom of twilight, like mice rushing for our dens. Damned these Alacryans, I thought bitterly. It'd been less than a month since they'd occupied Xyrus, but already it felt like a lifetime, or maybe like they had arrived only yesterday.
Time had taken on the uncertain quality of a dream, where it seemed to move fast or slow on a whim, and generally in opposition to my needs.
This felt inextricably connected with the presence of our new overlords. The Vritra, I thought, the word ringing in my mind like a curse.
The Vritra, who had defeated our Lances. They had even killed Arthur. When I thought of the strange, otherworldly boy who had moved in with us when we were just children, I grew melancholy. Arthur was the reason I'd become a mage; without his training, I wouldn't have awakened. He was also, I remembered with some embarrassment, my first love.
Love? I asked myself. Yes, I think so. Young and foolish, perhaps, but love.
I'd never had a chance with him, of course, not when I was competing against the likes of an actual princess…
I shook away the thought and actually laughed out loud at myself. How long ago had that been? It seemed like a different lifetime.
Movement ahead caught my attention and I stopped, immediately tense, my heart beating in my throat and all thoughts of anything but my own safety rushing out of my head. A figure had walked from the alley and stopped in the middle of the street, watching me. The figure was wearing a hooded cloak with the hood pulled down, but there was something familiar about the build, the way the figure stood…
"You're out late," he said. The voice was cold and angry, grinding through his teeth in a way that scraped off the kindness and self-assuredness that I had always heard in it before.
"J-Jarrod? Jarrod Redner?" I took a step forward, peering into the shadows of his hood. "Is that you?"
Jarrod threw off his hood and glared at me. The handsome boy who had served with me on the student council at Xyrus Academy was almost entirely gone. A gaunt scarecrow, made loosely in Jarrod's likeness, glared back at me, his face twisted with malice.
The ferocity of his glare made me flinch back, and I nearly lost my footing as I stepped on a loose stone.
"Scared, Lilia?" He sneered. "You should be. I can't believe you of all people turned dog for the Alacryans, but I'm going to make you pay. I'm going to make your whole family pay!"
I fixed my frightened gaze on the boy who had been my friend, at once confused, angry, and very afraid. "What the hell are you talking about, Jarrod? What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me, Lilia?" he asked through gritted teeth. Jarrod took a threatening step forward, giving me a clearer view of his gaunt cheeks, sunken eyes, and yellowing bruises. "You Helsteas are all a bunch of filthy traitors, that's what!"
Mana built up in his right hand, but he hesitated, his eyes softening as he stared at me.
I raised my own hands in a placating gesture. I couldn't imagine what had been done to him, and I certainly didn't want to fight him.
Unfortunately, he didn't give me a choice.
With a grunt, Jarrod sent a disk of condensed air toward me. I waved my hands, conjuring a sheet of water in front of me to quietly absorb the force of his spell.
A face momentarily appeared in the window of the house adjacent to me: a wide-eyed, frightened old man. He disappeared almost as quickly.
"We're not traitors!" I shouted, my voice shaking. "Just give me a chance to—"
"Stop, Lilia," Jarrod hissed, cutting me off. "I know your dad made a deal with the Alacryans so you would be spared the worst of their experimentation." Mana condensed in his hand as he prepared another spell.
I matched him, conjuring five floating balls of pure mana, each the size of my fist. They orbited around me, waiting for his attack.
Jarrod formed the wind-attribute mana into a spear and hurled it at me, then threw two crescents of condensed air behind it. Three of my little white moons shot outwards, intersecting his spells and deflecting them or breaking them apart.
The last two I fired directly at him, forcing him to expend mana to conjure his own shield.
"Jarrod, this is stupid. We shouldn't—"
Jarrod leaned forward and pressed out with both hands, creating a tunnel of wind that blew my words back into my face. I conjured a liquid panel of water to dampen the full force of the spell, but the wind tunnel began to break apart into spinning disks and cutting crescents that curved around the barrier. A wind-crescent nicked my arm as I tried to dodge a disk, and I realized I would be cut to ribbons if I didn't do something. Working quickly, I cast Sunken Tomb, a difficult spell I'd never had to use before. A thick barrier of dense water-attribute mana formed around me, entirely encasing me, but also pressing down on me so that I couldn't move. Attack after attack sunk into the barrier, but nothing got through, and after several more seconds the gale subsided and the attacks stopped. I released my concentration on the spell, letting the water splash down to the ground at my feet.
Jarrod was panting, his shoulders drooping, his hands clenched into tight fists. He looked more like a wild mana beast than the boy I'd gone to school with. Clearly, something horrible had happened to him. I wasn't angry with him anymore. I felt bad for him…I felt bad that my family had escaped the worst of the Alacryan occupation, while so many others suffered horribly at their hands.
"Jarrod…" I took a careful step toward him. "Talk to me, Jarrod. What happened?"
A shiver ran through him and Jarrod deflated, sinking down onto his knees, his hands pulling at his dirty blond hair.
"They—they took—took my family!" he said, his words choked out through a constricted throat. "They took everyone, and—and now they're l-looking for me…" He looked up to meet my eyes. "I'm sorry, Lilia. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have…I don't know what to do."
I heard a shout in the distance. Guards.
Forcing myself to be brave, I rushed to Jarrod and kneeled down in front of him, resting my hand on his trembling shoulder.
"Listen to me very carefully, Jarrod Redner. I'm not the enemy. I bear you no ill will whatsoever, and I'll help you if I can, but the guards are coming." The sound of armor-clad boots on stone emphasized my warning. "Go. Quickly! Meet me at my house in a few hours. Wait until after midnight."
Jarrod's tired, dirty face turned up to me, confusion clear in his shining eyes.
I reached under his arm and hoisted him to his feet. "Or would you rather get caught!" I hissed.
My gaze flicked back down the road, where the sound of running steps was quickly growing louder, and I felt Jarrod stiffen.
Finally, my old friend stumbled weakly toward the alley and disappeared into the darkness—and not an instant too soon. Four Alacryan soldiers came around a corner about forty feet away, weapons and spells ready.
I glanced quickly around at the windows, hoping no one had watched our altercation too closely, then threw my hands up and yelled, "Oh, thank goodness you're here!" and began jogging toward the soldiers.
"Stop!" one yelled as another pointed a glowing spear at me. I did.
"Please," I said, effecting my most damsel-in-distress voice, "I was just attacked."
The front guard's eyes darted from me to the puddle of water still soaking the ground, then to the buildings around us, where a few of Jarrod's spells had chipped away bits of brick and wood.
"Why are you out after curfew?" he asked, his gravelly voice laced with suspicion.
"I'm coming from the Academy. My name is Lilia Helstea, daughter of Vincent Helstea. He's a merchant, licensed to continue working by the new governor. Please, the man who attacked me went that way!" I pointed down the street, away from the alley where Jarrod had disappeared.
The mage with the glowing spear still had it trained on me, but one of the others had walked up to the closest building. He ran his fingers along a deep cut in the stone. "Definitely spell damage, sir."
The patrol leader nodded at his comrade and waved a hand at the others. His features softened and he took several steps toward me. "Not the first report we've had of natives attacking upstanding citizens. What did this attacker look like?"
My mind raced as I invented a description for my imaginary attacker. "He was cloaked and hooded, but he was older, maybe in his forties…reddish beard…dirty, like he'd been living in the streets."
The patrol leader nodded seriously. "We'll find him. You get home now. Don't want anyone to think you're up to something. It wouldn't be good for your family's status."
I looked at the man's boots and gave him a deep bow, hoping he couldn't hear the grinding of my teeth as I did so. "Thank you for your kindness and generosity, sir."
I didn't look up until the four Alacryans had rushed off in the wrong direction to search for my attacker.
***
"You did what, exactly?" Father asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
He leaned forward and rested his face in his hands. I had never thought of him as old, but he seemed to have aged considerably since the war with the Alacryans had started. His dark hair was going gray and receding back from his temples. He'd gained weight, too, so that his usually fashionable suits clung to him too tightly.
"I couldn't just—"
"He attacked you, Lilia!" Father snapped, standing so suddenly his chair toppled over. "And in return you invite him into our home! What were you thinking?"
My heart was racing; I couldn't remember the last time my father had yelled at me.
"We could lose everything, Lilia. Don't you understand?"
"I understand that too many others have lost everything already!" I returned, my own temper flaring.
"I'm not a child,
Father. I know what you've done to protect me—"
"Not just you, Lilia," he said fiercely. "What about your mother? Or the dozens of men and women who are still able to support themselves because we've stayed in business—who are protected by my agreement with the Alacryans? This could jeopardize everything I've worked for."
"You didn't see him."
Father slammed his hand on his desk, making me jump. "Are you going to save them all, Lilia? Are you going to throw the Alacryans out of Dicathen, return the dead to life, restore everything to the way it used to be? Tell me, did Arthur Leywin give you these amazing powers when he trained you to be a mage? Because, if he did, I'll be happy to see it."
Father was breathing hard, but I returned his angry glare with a look of forced calm. Inside, I was trembling, but I didn't let my surprise and fear into my voice. "No, Father. I'd be happy if I could save just this one."
His mouth opened to respond, then slowly closed again as he regarded me. "My wise, kind daughter…"
He fidgeted around for a moment, righting his chair and adjusted a few items on his desk that had been moved when he hit it. Finally, he sat back down. "I'm sorry, Lilia. One boy is not worth the risk."
"What if it was Arthur?" I snapped, my own frustration boiling over in the face of his calm. "What if it was Ellie? What lengths would you go to if it was the child of your best friend? To what lengths"—my voice rose to a shout—"would Reynolds and Alice have gone if it was me?"
Father leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand down his face. A light knock on the office door interrupted the tension.
To me, he said, "It's just not the same, Lilia. Alice and Reynolds were family." Father's eyes lost focus as he stared into the middle distance. "Go get some dinner. It's late." Then, louder, he said, "Come in."
Mother eased the office door open and gave me a kindly, worried smile. I squeezed her hand as I walked out of the room, but couldn't meet her eyes.
My feet carried me automatically to the dining room, where cold leftovers were still sitting on the table. I picked at the ham and olives just to give my hands something to do as I thought.
Logically speaking, Father was right. Involving ourselves in any effort to work against the Alacryans, were it discovered, would end with us dead and all our assets given away to some other household. It was a foolish risk to take for someone who had just tried to kill me.
And yet…
Wasn't this fear exactly what the invaders relied on to keep us in line?
The Alacryans hadn't won Xyrus City by force. In fact, there had been hardly any resistance at all. With most of the Tri-Union's forces concentrated at Etistin, Xyrus City had been caught entirely off guard when Alacryan soldiers began marching out of the teleportation gates and announcing the Council's destruction.
In the face of defeat, most of the citizens of Xyrus had simply laid low, stayed out of the way, and hoped for the best. Once the Alacryans controlled the entire continent, there didn't seem any reason to continue hiding. Father thought the only way to protect ourselves was to operate out in the open.
But I wanted to do something. If I could help just one person…
Standing, I decided to march straight back to my father's office and make my case again, better this time.
I was up the stairs and halfway along the hall before I noticed heavy sobs and whispered conversation coming from the slightly open office door. With my body nearly pressed against the wall, I crept closer until I could just see into the office.
My mother was leaning against the desk and cradling my father's head against her stomach. Her hands feathered through his hair, and she was making gentle shushing noises, like she'd done for me so many times before.
He was sobbing into her shirt, his shoulders shaking.
"Alice and Reynolds were adventurers, dear," my mother said softly. "They weren't meant for a safe life. You don't have to compare yourself to them."
Father tried to speak but couldn't get the words out.
Tears welled up behind my own eyes. I'd seen my father cry before, of course, but this outpouring of emotion seemed so…hopeless.
Feeling suddenly guilty for listening in from the outside, I pushed my way into the office and ran to my parents. Father's shoulders only shook harder when I wrapped my arms around him and Mother. We stayed like that for awhile, exhausting ourselves of tears.
When I felt like I could speak without choking up again, I looked my father in the eyes. "Just living safely isn't enough anymore."
He nodded and wiped his tears away with his sleeve. "I know, Lilia. I know. We'll figure something out, okay? Together."
Two men in fine robes strolled past the mouth of the alley. From their dress, the way they spoke, and the fact that they moved so casually after dark, it was obvious they were Alacryan mages.
I motioned for Jarrod to keep his head down until they'd disappeared around a distant corner.
Once the way was clear, we darted out of the alley and down the street, keeping close to the buildings in case we needed to quickly hide again.
We were heading toward the eastern edge of the floating city, where—hopefully—one of my father's contacts would be waiting for us.
***
Despite Father's hesitation, he'd been incredibly quick to organize everything once he set his mind to it. Jarrod had arrived at our house just after midnight, as I'd directed. He had hidden in our home for the last two days while the rest of us went on with our normal duties.
It was really exciting. I hadn't expected it to feel so good to do something to fight back—to resist.
We twisted and turned through the alleys, avoiding main streets wherever possible and listening carefully for any other night-time travelers, most of whom would certainly be Alacryan guards. If we were caught then it would all be over.
A scream pierced the chill night air, causing my heart to jump into my throat, and Jarrod flinched so bad he nearly toppled over. Our wide eyes met, and we waited. The rumble of low voices somewhere nearby followed the scream.
Signaling to Jarrod, I led us to the end of the alley we were crossing through, ducked behind a stack of weathered crates, and peered out into the road.
"—punishment for engaging in trade without a license is quite severe, you realize?"
The speaker was a stocky guard. His back was to us, so I couldn't make out his features, but he was obviously someone of authority. Three other guards ringed a thin woman who looked about fifty. She was on her hands and knees on the hard stone. Her entire body trembled.
A deep bark came from an open doorway nearby, and a large, gray mana beast—a shadow wolf, I thought—burst out, causing the door to slam against the side of the building. It snarled at the guards and lunged forward in defense of the woman, but four spells hit it at the same time.
The shadow wolf flipped in the air and struck the ground with a whimper, pierced by ice and burned by lightning. I could just see the broad chest heave once, then again, more slowly, and then the mana beast was entirely still.
The kneeling woman wailed, her tortured voice echoing through the city around us. She tried to claw her way past the guards to the dead wolf, but the man in charge grabbed her by the neck of her old robes and yanked her upright.
"Trading without a license and assault on a soldier of the Alacryan army? I'm authorized to execute you here and now…but I've heard the Testers at the academy need subjects for the live fire drills." He half-turned so I could see his profile, glowering at her as if he was holding up a particularly disgusting insect, not a human woman.
Then, he smiled. "Might as well be of some use before you go."
I met Jarrod's eye and mouthed, "Is the artifact active?" I knew it was—it had been since before we even walked out my front door—but felt an anxious drive to check anyway.
He held it up and nodded.
I wanted to help the woman more than I'd wanted to do anything in my life. Images of Jarrod and I rushing into the street in a blaze of spells played over in my mind, and for a moment I thought maybe we could even do it. If we took them by surprise, hit them with our strongest spells before they could bring up their defenses…but fear kept me where I was.
We looked on helplessly, our mana signatures hidden by the artifact Jarrod carried—another gift from my father—while the Alacryan soldiers marched the sobbing woman away. They didn't even bother to dispose of her bond.
I didn't move even after they'd gone well out of sight. I didn't move until Jarrod's hand on my shoulder caused me to nearly jump out of my skin.
"Sorry," he said quickly, his hand jerking away from me as if I had burned him.
I shook my head and pulled the hood of my cloak more closely around my face, hiding the tears streaming down my cheeks. "Let's go."
We met no one else until we reached our destination: a small storage facility that had been built right at the edge of the city. It was unused, belonging to a family that had been taken by the Alacryans early on, and it was also located in one of the poorer parts of Xyrus, meaning fewer patrols.
Something shuffled on the flat roof of the building. I had to push mana into my eyes and squint to see it in the gloom: a large, winged mana beast. It was lying flat, hiding as effectively as it could.
"What is that?" Jarrod asked quietly.
A voice answered from the shadows next to the building. "A blade wing."
The blade wing rider stepped out so we could see him, though his features were mostly hidden in the poor light. Despite the danger, he was grinning. "A beauty, isn't she?"
"If you say so," Jarrod said nervously, his eyes flicking between the mana beast's silhouette and me.
I took Jarrod's hand and led him forward. "You'll be fine. Father says Tanner was top of his class at Lanceler Academy."
The rider snorted, then quickly covered his mouth with his hand and gave us an apologetic look.
"The truth is," he said once we were standing right next to him, "if it weren't for the war, I'd still be at the academy and never would have been allowed near a blade wing. Despite everything that's happened, I can't imagine never having met Velkon up there and learning to ride…"
"And it's…safe?" Jarrod asked, his hand gripping mine so tightly it ached.
Tanner shrugged. "If you're talking about Velkon, yes, he's safe…so long as you don't do anything aggressive toward him—or startle him—or irritate him too badly. But if you mean our escape—the flight out of here—well…" He shrugged again.
I pulled my hand out of Jarrod's and pushed him toward the building. "Get going. A patrol could come by any time."
Tanner gave me a nod, then guided Jarrod—who kept glancing fearfully over his shoulder at me—toward a ladder that went up the side of the storage facility. My once-classmate's face was so pale it practically glowed in the dim starlight.
I stayed to watch them both mount the big blade wing. Its long, stony beak nipped at Jarrod when he first approached, but a few soft words from Tanner settled the creature down. When they were both on and strapped to the wide saddle, Velkon twisted around so it was facing away from me, then dove off the roof and flew straight down into the clouds below, soundless except for Jarrod's frightened yelp.
I glanced around nervously, but there didn't seem to be anyone nearby.
The thrill of success hummed through me. I'd done it.
Jarrod would be flown to a small village in the east of Sapin, near the Wall. With the mana-suppression artifact as cover, he would begin life as an orphan boy of no import, under the guardianship of a close friend of my father's.
Thank you, Father, I thought wistfully.
Without Father's aid, this wouldn't have been possible. He had found Tanner, the blade wing rider, and he'd called in a favor with the retired merchant who was to watch over Jarrod. He'd also pulled the artifact out of the auction house and gifted it to Jarrod without any expectation of reward or payment.
It had been easy. So easy, in fact, that I couldn't help but wonder if, with our privilege and wealth, we could do it again. How many mages suffered like Jarrod? How many could we help flee the city?
It would be our way of fighting back.
But What For?