A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (37 page)

“Watch it!” the dog barked.

“Sorry! Sorry . . .”

“Stupid two-leggers . . .” the dog muttered. “They think
they can ignore us . . .”

A woman tapped him on the head. “Come on, Jet, don't take
your frustration out on the novice.” Jet huffed and licked himself. “Eric
Watley, right?” Her hair was short, her clothes were close fitting, and she
smelled strongly of dogs.

 “Yeah. You're . . .Kae Ninena . . . the one that shares a
plate with a pack.”

“Really, I must apologize for my partner. He's just
frustrated over our mission.” Said partner's tail beat the floor hard enough to
crack it. “We were hired to sniff out the princess, but the trail is dead;
Scent, mana, life energy—” Eric's eyes widened.

Now what?

We should not need it . . . We shall simply use another
meth . . .
Yes . . .of course . . .this method is infinitely preferable!
Eric, listen closely. The new plan . . .

Does it involve giving you control of my body?

You do not trust me!?

The Mother Dragon says, 'Give everyone a chance to shake
your hand but not to stab you in the back. Be trusting, not naive.'

That
is
something she would say . . .

You knew the—

Not important! I am under no obligation to tell you my
life history.

But you do anyways . . .

“Eric!” Kae was shaking his shoulder. “You all right?”

“I'm fine.” When he saw the grin on Kae's face, he suddenly
wasn't.

“If you feel sick . . . I could call Hasina.”

“NO! Just lost in thought is all.“ Kae chuckled. “Uh . . .Miss
Ninena . . .”

 Kae full blown laughed and clapped Eric on the shoulder. “Lighten
up, kid. Don't you remember what Leader Ridley said when she welcomed you?”

“The Guild is our home and everyone in it is family,” Eric
recited. Basilard repeated it so often he couldn't forget if he tried.

“You can call me Kae or Auntie or even 'Dog Lady.'”

Eric swallowed once before asking. “Do you know where Culmus
is?”

“Mr. Clearly Compensating? Course not, but Jet will.” She
knelt beside the black lab and scratched his back. Jet relaxed under her hand. “Partner,
how would you like to sniff out Culmus?”

“Ahhhh . . . sure . . . ohh that . . .” He couldn't speak
coherently until Kae stopped petting him. “ . . . That guy spends more time
cleaning his sword than himself.” Both human and dog stood up as one.

“Thank you,” Eric said, but Kae waved his gratitude away

“Don't mention it. Jet needs something to take his mind off
the case for a while anyway.” She leaned close to Eric, cupped her mouth, and
whispered as softly as possible, “He's a little high strung.”

“I am
not
high strung!” Jet's ears shot up, his
hackles raised, and his tail whipped across his body. “I just like completing
missions as
efficiently
. . . ahhhh.” His ears and rump dropped and his
tail slowed to a drag. Kae was rubbing him behind the ears.

Eric sweat dropped. Before him were two coworkers similar as
in his homeworld, but with one key difference: one was a
dog
and his
partner sedated him with petting. It was one more reason why this world was
crazy. The fact that he enjoyed watching must be evidence that he himself was
going crazy.

“Okay, now we can go,” Kae said.

“Where are the other dogs?”

“They're still searching. They'll report to us if they find
anything.”

“Alpha male and alpha female?”

Jet snorted. “Like we haven't heard
that
one before.”

The black lab sniffed to the Black Town of Determination and
Shadows. The buildings here were piled high on top of each other with each new
layer built differently than the one before it. There were more people here
than in any other part of town and all of them had their own voice and smell.
It was giving Eric a headache; he could only imagine how it affected his
companion's heightened senses.

“Will Jet be okay?” When he received no answer, he pushed
through the crowd and finally found her talking to someone. The ten-foot praying
mantis waved her feelers and walked off.

“She said she heard a guy with a large sword was causing
trouble at Rest Easy.”

“Is Jet going to be okay?” Eric asked again.

The black lab was still circling the intersection.

“Oh, he'll be fine. We've been in nosier and smellier places
than this.”

Rest Easy was the biggest tavern in the district. It covered
an entire block and reached higher any other building. A brass statue of a guy
with mugs stood up front. Behind it was a door hanging on loose hinges. The
floor was littered with tables, bottles, and drunkards, and surrounded by dirty
yellow wallpaper and a bar. A radio and the slamming of glass on wood added to
the din of voices. Another sound was flesh pounding flesh.

A man with rough purple hair, metal plates on his left
shoulder and lower right arm was slugging it out with another guy. Even from a
distance, they could see the blade covering his back.

“Culmus!” Kae called above the other voices, “Are you here
for information or to blow off steam?” Culmus had his opponent by the collar.

  “Boh.” He punched the guy out. Kae sighed, stepped over
drunken or unconscious bodies, and pulled the man away from her guild mate.

“What did he ever do to you?”

“Ee lauffed at me!”

Kae sighed again. “The sword again? What has Leader told you
about—”

“Wast sword . . .quest.” Culmus replied. Kae tossed the
black-and-blue thug away and sat Culmus down at the nearest table. Eric
gingerly followed.

“Dree weeks! dence she dwas daken way!” He grabbed a full
jug from a nearby patron and glared the poor gal into letting him keep it. “Skree
leaks!”

“We know,” Kae said. “What happened next?”

“Swell . . . I askkzed for a round and by da . . .uh . . .
da keeper askkzed reason, an I told 'em. It's been a bree whole
beaks!
”

“We know,” Kae said.

“Den dis . . .
punk
laffed at me! Laughin'!” He raised
the mug, but Kae grabbed and returned it.

“You've had enough!”

Culmus continued as if he hadn't noticed. “Ow can ya laugh
ata man grievin' in rum!? There hada be a reason! . . . e dnew swear she dwas!
He dnew I'd swever vind her! Dat's why e was laughin'!”

Eric, the handkerchief!

“Culmus . . . do you still have Kasile's handkerchief?”
Culmus leveled his eyes on Eric, and even though alcohol clouded his vision,
they were sharp.

“Pankersief? Why in ta world bwold
I
have the
beautiful Kasile's sandercbeaf?”

Kae face-palmed. “Oh give it
up
! Everybody knows.”

“I pald ya, Ihuon't—”

“I could find her if I had it.”

The drunken warrior was so startled he fell out of his
chair. “And dhow puuld dat see?!”

Tell him it is a 'complicated magical thing'. Or do you
wish to explain your link? In this state, he is likely to rip your head open to
get it for himself.

Eric told Culmus it was an old, complicated, and esoteric
spell that even he didn't understand completely. Between this explanation,
Kae's gentle persuasion, and Jet sniffing out its location they acquired the handkerchief.

Call Kasile.

But I'm still awake.

It should not matter. Focus and try it!

 Eric thought about Kasile and mentally shouted,
Kasile!
Silence.
KAAASSILLLLEEEEE!

What? There's no need to shout!
Eric was so happy
their theory was correct he high-fived Dengel, who had no idea what the gesture
meant. He awkwardly lowered his hand.
What time is it?

Daytime
.
And I'm awake
.

Really!? The link works anytime!?

My friend theorized that it might.

I wonder if we can still use each other's senses.

Trust me, you don't want to. I'm in a tavern and I
wish
I
couldn't.

I take your distraction to mean my experiment was a
success. Good.
Dengel told him to find an isolated corner: one that wasn't
being slept on and out of the way of foot traffic.

“I can drink a lot faster than you can!” It was another
warrior from the Dragon's Lair. He was sitting with a girl, also from the
Dragon's Lair, and both had mugs. He recognized them from their eating
competitions in the mess hall.

“No you can't!” the girl shouted.

“Yes I can!” They glared at each other, shut their eyes, and
chugged. Simultaneously, they slammed their mugs on the table and said, “I win!
No!
I
win!” They turned in unison toward Eric. “You! Which one of us was
first?!” Instead of answering, Eric ran away. Basilard warned him against
getting involved in their rivalry.

“Well . . . I can drink
more
than you!”

“No, you can't!”

“Yes, I can!“

 On his perilous journey, Eric was hugged by drunks, tripped
by a bench, detoured by fights, propositioned by waitresses, and splashed with
an unknown liquid. When at last he reached the opposite corner and discovered a
flight of stairs, he fled to it like sanctuary. They led to a long and narrow
hallway on the second floor where the sounds of the tavern were somewhat muted.

Now close your eyes and imagine the UPTE.
Eric
cleared his mind and breathed deeply. He pictured the black void and then
suddenly he was there.

 Kasile smiled. “So this works too. Interesting . . . Since
you're here, I'd like combat practice.”

Hitting the princess, even if it was sparring, panicked
Eric. “Uhm, my friend asked me to come for more than just curiosity. Come in.”

“I am here.” Dengel stepped out of the darkness. “It appears
I must be invited to this space.”

The sage lectured on the tracking spell and made sure Eric
was aware that it was not actually a spell, but a technique. Neither chants nor
mana were involved, thus, it would bypass any anti-magic wards. It was a
strange plan, but Eric wasn't going to criticize the master.

The lynchpin was the handkerchief. Kasile pictured two like
the one Culmus insisted he didn't have and they materialized in her hands. She
never denied it, but if it was because she didn't mind Eric knowing or trusted
him not to tell, he didn't know, but he preferred the latter. She gave one to
Eric and he accepted it with the same hand that held the physical one. He felt
the results instantly.

Boom-bom . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .  . . .Boom-bom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . ..Boom-bom
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 Dengel explained at length how it was not Kasile's
heartbeat, which Eric tuned out.

In a nutshell: spiritual resonance. The mental handkerchief
was part of Kasile's spirit and it would draw Eric to the larger chunk. As he
drew closer to Kasile, the resonance would increase in frequency; vice versa,
if he moved farther away. In other words, a game of Hot & Cold.

Eric clutched the handkerchief. “With this, I'm one step
away from finding you.”

Kasile clasped her hands. “Please hurry. I can't stand to be
here . . . there . . . a moment longer!”

“I'll hurry.” He paused mid-step. “Uh . . . Dengel . . .how
do I get out?”

“The same way you got in, of course.” Human stupidity never
failed to try his nerves.

Kicking himself for ignorance, Eric pictured the tavern
hallway and imagined himself there. The void faded and was replaced by doors
with root rot and floors with holes in them. The sounds and smells of the
tavern came back just as quickly. It made him wish he stayed in the void. The
pulsing handkerchief reminded him why he couldn't.

Downstairs, Culmus was drinking and Kae was too busy pulling
mugs out of the competitive couple's hands to police him. Both of them were so
drunk they could barely sit upright and yet they ordered more. While Kae engaged
one, the other chugged. The contest had wordlessly morphed into, “I can keep
Kae busy longer than you can!”

 Eric groaned. He was counting on their help to rescue
Kasile, but with so much alcohol in their veins, they were useless. Culmus
looked especially bad.
Why the abyss did he start drinking again?! I told
him I could find Kasile! Alcohol does inhibit short-term memory but still . . .

Go without them.

I can't take on the whole band by myself! I'm just a
novice!

Then what do you plan to do? Go to the castle? Tell me,
Eric, what has a better chance of remaining unnoticed: a single mage or a troop
of soldiers?

I'm sure they have some kind of special forces for this .
. .

You will have to explain your link. Do you have any idea
how suspicious you seem? No one but you and I know this technique. Not even my
books possess it because practitioners were so rare. They will think you are a
Black Cloak and that you charmed this handkerchief to pulse on its own. Which,
by the way, you will have to explain how you acquired the princess's
handkerchief.

The castle was out of the question, but there was still the
Dragon's Lair. Dengel laughed.

Mercenary: A person who will do anything for the right
price. Do you intend to hire them?

Eric didn't have the funds for that; the scrolls and light
stones he bought in Kyraa emptied his pockets. All he had was his cut of the
fee from the last mission. Then again, they might not help a random person for
free, but he was a fellow member. Dengel laughed at this idea as well.

'The guild shall be our home, and everyone in it shall be
family,'
What a joke! The so-called 'Mother Dragon' was a naive fool! Mercenaries
only care about money!

I'm a mercenary
and I care about more than money
.