Soul Blaze (13 page)

“Yet,” I finished for her, sitting down. “I know I can’t
deny who I am, but whilst we’re here in the city, I want to
see it through the eyes of someone who lives here. I get
the feeling these people won’t be governed by someone
they don’t know.”

“After meeting Ryman, I think these people would be
quite willing to be governed by anyone else but him,” she
sighed, tucking a loose bit of hair behind her ear. “But I
think you are wise to want to see the city first. Most
people would grab at power.”
“I’m not most people.”

She smiled.
“You’ve made that abundantly clear, my petal.”

She smoothed down my hair and kissed my cheek. I
suddenly felt like I was five years old again. I closed my
eyes, relishing the feeling. I’d been too old lately. I felt like
I was supposed to be fifty, not twenty. Too much was
being asked of me too quickly, but at the same time, I
could feel the power flowing under my skin. Now that I
was aware of it, there were times when I could almost
sense my past lives.

“Shall we head down to dinner?” Mum asked, and I
nodded wearily.

We washed up and headed down. I was still in my
travelling clothes, not having had the chance to change,
but I was too hungry and tired to care. I ate with the
others, barely tasting the leg of lamb, and when it came
time to retire to our rooms, my eyelids were drooping. A
palace servant showed me to my room, and I managed to
kick my boots off before falling onto the feather bed and
falling asleep.

The next morning I was awakened by a bell tolling
somewhere not far from the palace. I sat up groggily, and
when I heard birdsong outside my window, held my arm
out automatically. Morri perched on it, still singing.

“Been making friends, have you?” I asked him. I
thought of meeting Ryman yesterday. “I haven’t, I don’t
think.”

I stripped off my dirty clothes and upon seeing the
bowl of hot water someone had placed on my dresser,
plunged my face into it. I wiped the water off with the
towel sitting next to the bowl and winced when I saw the
amount of filth that now marred the white cloth.

“Did I walk around like that all yesterday?” I asked
Morri, who for once stayed silent.

I cleaned my face as best I could, and then pulled on
some clean breeches and a loose white shirt. I’d already
decided that it wouldn’t be a good idea to wear my green
tunic; I didn’t want Ryman commenting on my magic
again.

Someone knocked tentatively on my door. I opened my
mouth to call them in, but remembered I wasn’t in the
Academy anymore. I crossed the room and pulled the door
open.

“Larni,” I breathed, and then she catapulted into my
arms and hugged me so tightly I couldn’t say anything
else. Morri abandoned ship, flitting out of the open
window.

“Miss, I was so worried about you!” she said into my
shoulder. “I knew it was a risk to come to you that first
morning, and I had to flee almost straight away but it was
worth it to see you again!”

I pressed my face against my former servant’s shoulder.
Larni had become so much more to me than my servant,
my first year at the Academy. She’d become my friend.

“Why are you dressed as a servant?” I asked her finally,
holding her at arm’s length. “I thought Jett said-”

“I’m masquerading as one of Governor Ryman’s
servants,” she said, pulling the door closed so that we were
alone. “I left Keyes shortly after you all left for here. I
travelled with one of the supply caravans and then slipped
through with the rest of them. So far they haven’t noticed
that there’s one extra servant in the kitchens.”

“Larni,” I said, stunned. “Why would you do all that?”
“Because I know who you are,” she said, and then
swept into a low curtsy. “Your Majesty.”

“Don’t,” I groaned. I heaved her back to her feet.
“Please, won’t you join me and my friends? It really
doesn’t feel right, you being down in the kitchens again.”
“You mean to take the crown, don’t you?”

“Yes, but-”

“Well it seems to me that you’re going to want someone
with an ear to the ground. Who better than a servant who
can go wherever she wants and not be questioned?” Larni
met my eyes steadily, and I suddenly realised they’d
shifted in colour. “Besides, I’ll have help. You saw to that.”

She lifted her hand, a ball of red flame sitting squarely
in her palm. I watched it for a second before putting my
hand over hers, extinguishing the fire just like my mother
had done to me.

“How?” was all I asked.

“Your father returned my memories and trained me in
return for helping him get you back,” she explained. “He
was the one to remove my memories and those of my
family as well. He said it was to stop you from gaining the
attention of Iain and Netalia.”

My mouth went dry.

“Jett did that?” I repeated quietly. I remembered
everything now; my father must’ve given all of my stolen
memories back, including the ones he took himself when I
discovered Larni’s magic for the first time.
“Yes, but it’s alright.”

“No it’s not. They realised who I was anyway. He
shouldn’t have tampered with your memory-”

“He did it because he was afraid for you,” she put her
hand on my arm. “Don’t be angry at him for what he did
in the past. Sky, he just wanted to protect you. It’s all done
and dusted now anyway.”

I took a deep breath but then nodded. Larni had been
the one who’d been wronged, and if she was ok with it,
then I wouldn’t pursue it further.

“Ready for some happier news now?” she asked. “Niko,
my brother. He’s been declared to be a mageling.”
“That’s fantastic!” I said, grinning widely. “Hey, he’ll be
in training with Samlin, Petre’s little brother!”

“If there’s still an Academy in a few years. You’ve kind
of got the Masters of the school locked up in a dungeon
below the castle.”

“Oh yeah,” for a few glorious moments I’d forgotten all
about Iain and Netalia. “Guess I’ll have to do something
about them.”

“A trial would be best.”

Her words immediately brought back hideous
recollections of the ‘trial’ Iain and Netalia had put me
through.

“I think that would suit them,” I said softly. “And I
think I know what I want the outcome to be.”
“You can’t rig the trial. That’s why it’s called a trial. It’s
decided before a jury.”
“I didn’t have a jury,” I said, not seeing her. “Why
should they?”
Larni fidgeted; she obviously didn’t know what to say. I
saved her by reaching forwards and opening the door.

“I’ve got a city to see,” I said. “Come visit me tonight?
I’d like to know what the staff of the palace think of their
governor.”

She nodded, already dutiful again. She dipped a curtsy
before I could stop her and then trotted out of the door. I
followed her after a few moments, heading towards the
mess hall for breakfast.

“Where do you want to go first?” Dena asked me over
the table.

“Not sure.” I hadn’t even thought of where to
investigate first. My thoughts had been too focussed of
actually getting to the city and taking up residence in the
palace without raising a fuss. Now that I’d accomplished
that, I didn’t know where to start. “Anyone have any
suggestions?”

Ispin was wriggling eagerly in his seat.
“How about the docks?” he asked.
“You and boats.” Yasmin said teasingly.
“Boats?” This was the first I’d heard of Castor having
docks, or of Ispin liking boats.
“My family come from a long line of ship builders,” he
explained. “I carry on the love.”
“Then why do you live so far inland?” Petre asked.
“My father does not carry on the love.”

I decided to indulge Ispin and agreed on the docks. We
headed out the same door that we’d been led through, and
then convinced the guards on the gate to let us through.
We were handed a small golden token to show the guards
when we returned, and naturally Ispin was the one to take
it.

The city on foot was completely different from seeing it
on horseback. The area near the palace was clean and tidy,
with guards patrolling in pairs. The vendors had been
contained to specific market places, leaving the street
clear. I hadn’t been expecting to find the capital so
orderly. Maybe there was some good to Ryman being
governor.

Any good will I was feeling towards the governor
vanished as soon as we set foot in the lower districts. The
cobblestones beneath our boots were so dirty that it was as
though we were walking on packed dirt rather than a city
street. Filthy water ran in the gutters, or what I thought
was water until I trod in a puddle. Grubby children were
threading their way through the throngs of people. I
didn’t even notice the young girl beside me until Petre lit
a ball of grey fire in his palm. She fled then, all thoughts of
stealing my purse scared away by the sight of magic. I’d
noticed that several other people had shied away from it
too. I took note of that.

I smelt the sea before I saw it. As we got closer, I then
smelt the produce of the sea. I wrinkled my nose at the
offal and rotten fish bits residing in barrels around the
dock’s vendors. Grey waves were curling and crashing
onto grey, pebbly sand, gulls watching for fish scraps from
atop the posts of the wooden dock.

Ispin bounded forwards at the sight of a majestic ship
further out to sea. I watched the sails billow as it came in
closer, men scurrying about on deck. Ispin scared several
gulls from their posts as he hurried past. We all traded
amused looks and then followed.

We stepped around fishermen and their catch still
flopping upon the wooden boards. The ship was coming in
faster, riding a southerly breeze into port. Men were
gathering on the dock, preparing to receive it. Ispin
reached them before we did, but they didn’t even notice
him.

I watched as the ship was brought about, and ropes
were thrown to the waiting men. Ispin somehow ended up
with a rope and I heard Rain sigh exasperatedly. Her soul
mate looked as though all of his birthdays had come at
once.

The men hauled the ship to the dock in a collective
effort. I watched Ispin strain and pull on his rope, not
using magic to aid himself. I frowned. Magic would’ve
made it a lot easier. Why didn’t he use it?

“You lot goin’ t’ stand around gawking or yez gonna
help?” One of the men demanded gruffly.

Ispin gestured furiously and we moved forward to pick
up ropes. I almost commanded my magic to help, but
something stopped me. Maybe it was the reaction of the
people in the lower district to Petre’s magelight, or maybe
it was that Ispin hadn’t used his magic.

The rope was rough and heavy in my hands. I pulled as
much as I could, working in time with the rest of the
crew, but I don’t think I was helping much.

The ship slid closer and closer to the dock until it was
near enough for a gangway to be passed down. We helped
guide it down, and suddenly men were hurrying up and
down it, beginning to unload the ship of its cargo.

“Whatchu all wearin’ them fancy shirts fer?” the same
man asked of us.

I glanced around quickly; I’d be the only one to wear a
normal shirt this morning. My friends were all still stuck
in the habit of dressing in their school clothes.

“We’re from the Academy,” Ispin said, and I noticed
that some of the happiness from a few minutes earlier had
vanished. “We’re staying with the governor.”

“Pah,” the man spat over the side of the dock. “Fancy
lil’ students from the school up the road, is it? Well, we
don’t need none of yer fancy magic schoolin’ here. Clear
off, wouldya?”

Ispin stepped back, hurt and confused. We had helped,
hadn’t we? We’d brought the ship in using our bare hands;
none of this fancy magic schooling the man has dismissed
so. I saw Yasmin put her arm around Ispin’s shoulders and
steer him away. I lingered for a second, contemplating
whether to say something or not. Petre caught my eye and
shook his head. I sighed and followed my friends back to
shore.

“Is there something going on here that I don’t know
about?” I asked my group as we sat on the pebbly sand,
watching pewter waves slide up towards us. “The people
in the market shied away from Petre’s magic, and that
man didn’t seem particularly happy to see us.”

“I don’t know much about Governor Ryman except for
what I’ve heard my father say about him,” Ispin said. “But
I know he’s a mage. And I know that he prefers his guards
to be mages.”

I remembered the guards watching us from every
corner. Something about them seemed hard. I shuddered
involuntarily.

“I’d go back and talk to the dock men, but something
tells me we’re not welcome back there. I don’t think we’d
get a straight answer out of anyone wearing our school
shirts,” I said. “Why don’t you guys head back and
change?”

“What about you?” Dena asked.
“I just want to have a look around by myself for a bit.”
“How will we find you again?”
I spotted a small blackbird heading straight for us.

“Morri will be able to find me.” I said, lifting a hand for
him to perch on. The bird peeped something in
agreement, and flew to Dena, alighting on her shoulder
easily.

“Are you sure? You’re not going to get into trouble, or-”
I cut my best friend off with a look.
“Dena. I don’t usually float my own boat, but I think I’ll
be alright.”

“She’ll be fine,” Ispin said, who’d pricked his ears up at
the word ‘boat’. “Dena, she could roast anyone who she
didn’t like. And that was just our first year.”

Dena sighed as Yasmin and Rain laughed. Theresa
remained stoic, not giving anything away.
“Whatever you reckon.” Dena said, standing up, sand
falling from her breeches.

It was only when she began to walk off that I realised
how cold her dismissal had been. I watched the rest of the
group follow her, leaving me on the cold beach, my heart
heavy in my chest. I sat in the sand feeling sorry for
myself for a few minutes before heaving myself to my feet
and beginning to make my way along the beach in the
opposite direction to my friends. There was a breakwater
that stopped me from walking along the beach too far, and
so I was forced back up into the hustle and bustle of
Castor’s market district.