sorcery and science 04.5 - masquerade (9 page)

Jason saw Lana and Silver disappeared through the portal, where no Selpe could follow, then he sprinted forward. As he passed through, an anguished scream pierced his ears, cutting straight to his heart. This wasn’t goodbye. It couldn’t be. They had to survive. They just had to.

And yet they didn’t.

STORY FOUR

The Enchanter

~ 1 ~

524AX December 21, Rosewater

DAVIN STORM WALKED down the main path of Rosewater. After spending two weeks in Orion, it seemed unfinished, just a dirt trail pounded into the earth by thousands of feet over hundreds of years. The streets and sidewalks of the Selpe capital city were paved in concrete and stone. They were designed, measured, and then finished with manufactured materials and heavy machinery. Everything was smooth and laid out in neat grids. Davin liked that it was quick and easy to navigate Orion, though he wasn’t a big fan of Selpe esthetics. It was all so artificial. Elitions integrated everything they made in the surroundings. It was a seamless transition between house and tree, path and earth.

That’s what Father didn’t understand. He thought that just because Davin tried out the occasional piece of Selpe technology, he had become one of them. That wasn’t it at all. Davin wasn’t Selpe, but the future of Elitia depended on his understanding them. Just like Elitia, they had their good (motorcycles), their bad (skin-burning hairdryers), and their bizarre (imitation cheese) things. And they had their fun people (Aaron Pall) and their degenerates (Lord Adrian). Again, just like Elitia. In his effort to completely demonize the Selpes, Father tended to overlook pesky little truths like that. Over ten percent of Elitions had gone rogue, and he
never
talked about that.

As Davin passed into the rose gardens, he inhaled deeply, drinking in the perfume mix of a hundred different rose varieties. Rose bushes, rose trees, and rose vines filled the garden, painting it in soft pastel pinks and bold crimsons, in sunset oranges and sunshine yellows, in ethereal whites and rich purples. Even in winter, the roses of Pegasus bloomed. In fact, Pegasus knew no winter. Here it was always summer.

A few Rosewater students were sprawled out on blankets, sleeping beneath the warm noontime sun. A few sat with books balanced on their knees. It was the last day of winter exams, and those who were not yet done with them were cramming every last bit of information into their brains that would possibly fit. Back when Davin had still been a student at Rosewater, he’d done the same. Except that he’d had a system. He’d spend weeks reviewing. That’s why he’d always been at the top of his classes.

Besides the sleepers and the studiers, a few groups of students and even one group of instructors were taking advantage of the pleasant weather by having a picnic. Davin headed for the pair of Prophets sitting on the blue blanket beneath an arched canopy of white roses.

Isis turned around and waved at him, her pink-blonde ponytail slipping over her shoulder. Her senses were better than anyone he knew—even the Phantoms. She claimed she was standing at the crossroads of insanity, but he didn’t see any evidence of that. Just because Prophets often went mad didn’t mean she would too. She was stronger than that. He knew she was.

Across from Isis, Ariella sat on her heels. Her violet eyes stared out at him, but her wave was timid, almost afraid. Davin got that reaction from people more than he liked. They were intimidated by his title. As an Enchanter, he could often relax others by projecting a feeling of tranquility onto them. It didn’t work very well with Ariella, even though they’d been friends for years. She must have been partially immune. The best Prophets could put up a decent mental wall that would strain even the strongest Phantoms to break. This control was what allowed Prophets to stay sane. And that’s how Davin knew Isis would be able to hold her mind together. Her mental wall was even stronger than Ariella’s. Davin could project warm fuzzy feelings onto her all day; nothing got through. Absolutely nothing. He sometimes wondered what secrets were hiding on the other side of that wall.

“Do sit down, Davin,” Isis said, smiling up at him.

As he sat, she offered him a strawberry from the big bowl in front of her. He took the berry from her red-stained fingers and tossed it into his mouth.

Isis snorted. “I told you it was worth the time it took to remove the stems,” she said to Ariella.

“Are you saying you knew Davin would come see us today and that he would gobble down a strawberry whole?”

“Of course I knew Davin would be here. Last time he was here, he promised to bring me some of that special Orion chocolate when he got back in two weeks. And it’s been two weeks,” said Isis. “As for gobbling down the strawberry whole, he always does that.”

“So, should I take this to mean that you brought these strawberries here for me?” he asked hopefully.

Isis slapped his hand as he reached toward the bowl. “No, they’re for us. You already ate. I can smell the fried fish on you. Did you just get back from Orion?”

There was no fooling her nose. “Yes.”

And not a moment too soon. If he’d had to listen to Lord Adrian’s oily voice a second longer, he would have run out of there screaming. Talking to the man was about as enjoyable as cutting off his own fingers and waiting for them to regrow. The only good that had come of the entire trip was when he and Aaron went to Catacomb. They’d visited the club almost every night.

“Which reminds me, these are for you, as promised,” Davin said.

He pulled a slim box out of his inside jacket pocket. That was another thing he hated about Orion. Or at least Imperial Lane. Everyone wore suits. All the time. In winter, in summer, in snow, in rain, in scorching humidity. All the time. The whims of the weather were of no concern to them. Why would they be when the insides of their palaces and villas were temperature controlled to the nearest quarter of a degree?

Isis’s face lit up when she saw the box of chocolates, which made it all worth it. She slammed hard into Davin, giving him a big hug.

“You know I love you, Davin, right?” she said, kissing his cheek.

Then before he could say anything, she pulled away. She lifted the lid and held out the open box to Ariella.

“Care to try one?”

Ariella’s eyes panned over the rows of neatly-aligned chocolates. “Living a bit dangerously, aren’t you?”

“I’m only going to have one now,” replied Isis. “I know it’s bad, but I can’t help it. They’re just too good. And I promise to take my serum afterwards.”

Ariella frowned. “You know how I feel about that serum, Isis.”

“Yes, I know.” Isis sighed. “But you don’t understand. I have to take it.”

“I’m also a Prophet. I understand well enough.”

“You’re lucky. You’re one of the sane Prophets. I’m not so lucky. If I don’t take it, the foresights will drag me under.” Her voice shook. “I don’t want to be crazy.”

“Chocolate is a stimulant for Prophets. If you’re willing to risk the madness for a tiny taste of sweetness, then you could just forego the Inhibiting Serum altogether.”

“What can I say? I’m weak.” Isis plucked a piece from the box. “And I love this chocolate.”

Ariella took a piece for herself, then looked at Davin. “Please, talk some sense into her.”

“There’s no point,” he said. “Even Isis knows she’s being ridiculous. And still she continues to do it.” He swiped another strawberry from the bowl. “Besides, I’m afraid you have much more sway over her than I do. No matter how much chocolate I try to bribe her with, she’ll still never listen to me. I doubt she’d listen to anyone on this matter. She’s stubborn like that.”

Isis was nibbling down on her ball of chocolate, lost in such ecstasy that she probably hadn’t even heard them. Davin finished off a few more strawberries, then looked at the chocolate ball in Ariella’s hand. She was staring it down like an enemy on the battlefield.

“Are you going to eat that?” he asked her.

“I’m trying to figure out what it is they put in it to make Isis act like this.”

Isis had eaten her way through half of her ball and was now licking the filling out of the middle as though her life depended on sucking up every last drop.

“Nothing abnormal,” he said. “I think she just really likes chocolate. She went even more nuts over the pack of chocolate-covered cherries I brought back last time.”

Ariella’s hand dropped and the chocolate ball rolled down her thighs. “I didn’t know you were in the habit of bringing Isis gifts of chocolate.”

“Oh, um, well.” He looked at her face. Sad and hurt. And it was his fault. Damn. “They weren’t really gifts. She asked me to bring the chocolate back for her. If there’s something you’d like me to bring you back, I would be more than happy to do it, Ariella.”

Her eyes lit up, giving him all the answer he needed. All right, next time he’d bring her back something. He didn’t know what yet, but he’d figure it out.

“So, then,” Isis said, her mind coming back to them as she licked the last of the chocolate from her fingers. She put her arm around Ariella. “Are you still hungry?”

“I think I’m too nervous to eat another bite.”

Isis gave her a squeeze. “You’ll do fine.” Her gaze slid over to Davin. “Here, we can do a practice round.”

“I’d rather go hack at something with my sword.”

Isis snorted. “I’ll bet.”

“What are you two talking about?” Davin asked.

“Tonight, Ariella has to stand up in front of her entire history class and give a presentation.”

“It’s the final exam,” Ariella added, her voice squeaking.

“Did you prepare?” he asked.

“Yes. For weeks. I probably know more about the unification of the sixteen Elition kingdoms than anyone alive.”

“Careful.” Isis’s eyes twinkled. “There might be an Elition or two still alive who were there when the kingdoms united.”

“I’ve never seen anyone that old,” Ariella said.

“There was a priest at Precipice who was really old. I’m not sure how old, though. Several centuries at least.” She took Ariella’s hands. “In any case, you’ll do fine.”

Ariella looked at Davin as though she needed his confirmation, so he said, “It sounds like you’re prepared. Just stand up and wow them with your knowledge.”

He’d thought he was being helpful, but her shoulders slumped. “That’s easy for you to say, Davin. You could enchant people talking about foot fungus.”

Davin couldn’t remember ever having a discussion about foot fungus. It was beside the point anyway. Nothing he could say would calm Ariella down. What she really needed was a distraction. Luckily, he had just the thing.

“Ariella, I know you’re busy right now, but I could really use your help on something.”

She jumped at the distraction without a second thought. Her mind must have known she needed to relax.

“What kind of help?”

“It’s my aide Jade. She’s behaving strangely. I think…I think she might be in love with me.”

The girls snorted so hard, they nearly choked on their chocolate.

“Ok… And how are
we
supposed to help with that?” asked Isis.

“I’m not really sure. I guess we could watch her.” He lifted his brows at her. “And maybe dig around a bit in her head.”

Isis stared back at him. “I’m not a Phantom, Davin.”

“You have some of their abilities.”

“Not extraction. I cannot ‘dig’ through someone’s head.”

“Perhaps use a bit of Memory then?”

“I’m also not a Prior.” She crossed her arms against her chest. “Look, I don’t know what people have been saying about me, but I’m not a Triad. I sometimes get flashes of Phantom or Prior power. I don’t know why, and I certainly can’t control them. I’m just a crazy Prophet who’s apparently even more screwed up than Prophets already are.”

Ariella reached behind Davin and set a hand on Isis’s shoulder. As the two of them linked fingers, Isis closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths, and her agitated heart rate steadied and slowed.

“You should drink something,” Ariella told her.

“My serum is upstairs in our room.”

Ariella frowned. “I meant water.”

Isis didn’t say anything. Probably because she didn’t have a good response to that. Even Davin could see she was being stubborn and ridiculous, and he was hardly ever there.

“Ok, so your aide,” Isis said, looking at Davin.

She was deflecting, and everyone knew it. Davin answered anyway because he really had to know what was going on with Jade.

“Yes,” he said.

“Do you really need us to watch her? Why don’t you just talk to her?” Isis asked.

“He doesn’t want to be embarrassed if he’s wrong about her feelings,” Ariella said quietly.

Yeah, there was that.

“Fine.” Isis tossed her box of chocolates into the picnic basket. “But I only have an hour to spare. Then I have to run to an exam of my own.”

~ 2 ~

524AX December 21, Rosewater

A FEW MINUTES later, Isis stepped out of her dormitory building in an athletic bodysuit and shoes. She’d brushed and braided her hair, then pinned it to the top of her head. She looked calmer. As she came closer—and Davin caught a whiff of vanilla, oranges, and Winter’s Mint—he knew why. She’d taken the Inhibiting Serum. He didn’t mention it. Neither did Ariella, though from the way her lips curled into a frown, she’d smelled it too.

“Ok, Davin. Where is Jade?” Isis asked.

“In Laelia. I gave her the afternoon off. We can take the portal to Laelia. Then you can get a feel of her resonance to see if I’m right.”

“As I said, I’m not a Phantom. And I’m not familiar with her resonance. I need to know that to get a sense of her feelings.” Despite her protests, Isis followed him toward the portal.

“She’s a Prophet. A Doom Seer. You know what they feel like, right?”

“Yes,” she admitted, squeezing her hands together. “And I don’t like it. Doom Seers smell like desolation. It’s not a pleasant thing to have up close.”