Dralin (5 page)

“Yes, on the third day. Can I have it off
again?” Sheela asked hopefully.

“Of course. You let me know if his day off
changes and we’ll see what we can do,” Purla reassured her, leading
her back to the inn. “You get some rest now if you can. I don’t
want you making mistakes because you’re all doe-eyed,” she
admonished good-naturedly.

“Yes, Purla,” Sheela agreed seriously. She
picked up her favorite cat, Smokey, who was looking for someone to
let him through the door. Before going inside, Sheela took one last
look over her shoulder, still worried about Frath’s safety.

Chapter
3

Small snowflakes drifted through the crisp
morning air, leaving a dusting of snow covering the ground, but it
wasn’t enough to disturb anyone. Winter was knocking, paying no
heed to the few remaining faded leaves that clung stubbornly to
branches and the dim glow of the sunrise peeked through a break in
the cloud cover.

Two weeks had passed since Frath had taken
Sheela to Carnival. He smiled happily at the memory of that day in
addition to the three evenings he had been able to make it back for
a few more kisses before Purla would chase him off. He truly
couldn’t stop thinking about Sheela and had even taken extra lumps
in drills due to lack of focus. Sheela made him happy and Frath had
never been truly happy before.

He knocked on the back gate to the garden.
The guard let him in and gave him a friendly smack on the shoulder.
Then Frath eagerly went to the small area where Sheela would be
waiting for him. She immediately ran into his arms and they held
each other for a moment.

“What are we doing today?” The excitement of
adventure made her brown eyes sparkle. He loved how much life and
hope was in them.

Frath ran fingers lovingly through her soft
hair. “Well, that depends,” he replied mysteriously, more focused
on the raspberry scent emanating from the strands.

Sheela’s mouth twisted in curiosity, but she
leaned into the hand, obviously enjoying his touch. “Oh? . . .”

“There are three places I want to take you,
but two of them are dangerous even with me protecting you,” he told
her, the look on his face suddenly grave.

She looked up at him trustingly. “Yes.”

Frath studied her for a moment, his eyes
soaking in every detail of her beautiful face and petite nose. He
briefly wondered why someone so wonderful would like him. “You
don’t want to know the details?”

“As long as I get to be with you, I don’t
care.” A thoughtful look crossed her face, and then she grinned.
“Actually, I like the idea of doing something dangerous. I can feel
the blood racing through my veins already.”

He debated for a moment before speaking
grimly. “Things could go badly and we could die or be hurt
terribly. I’ll defend you with my very life . . . and by that, I
mean that I may actually lose my life. If that happens, bad things
will happen to you, too . . .” He left the words hanging in the
air.

Sheela nodded slowly, taking his words and
tone very seriously. “I would rather be in danger with you than
safe without you.”

Frath held her close, never wanting to let
go. He had thought long and hard about the places they were going.
The first had a specific type of danger, but they should be safe as
long as they didn’t do anything stupid. The second place was safe,
but the third was a deadly, murky place people weren’t supposed to
go. He had a need to take her so perhaps she would understand
things about his past, even if it meant she wouldn’t love him
anymore. “The first place we’re going to is Wraith Park near the
center of the city. Have you heard of it?”

Sheela’s eyes widened. “Only a little bit.
It’s supposed to be the source of all magic in the world? . .
.”

Frath held his arm out for her. She took it
instantly and they walked to the gate while he explained. “It’s not
the source of all magic, but the lake in the middle has a great
deal of power and creates unusual effects.” They smiled at the
guard as he held the gate open.

“That’s what you mean by it being dangerous.
I heard people get turned into ghosts or something if they drink
from it.” Sheela’s face scrunched up as she tried to remember the
tales.

“Actually, that part is true,” Frath
admitted. They turned on a different street that headed westward
toward the center of the city. “The lake has a path along it with a
wall that’s magically warded to keep anyone out. There are sitting
areas everywhere, but it’s not wise to go there very often. The
magic warps everything nearby, which is part of the attraction and
the danger.”

“Is that where the Deformed come from?”
Sheela asked, her face etched with concern. He liked watching the
different expressions that crossed her pretty features.

“No. People warped by the forces of Wraith
Lake are different. They’re called Ghost-Touched.” He guided her to
the other side of the street they were on to avoid some of the
heavier crowds that were moving about their day’s work. “Not too
many get that way. Special members of the guard watch for that and
keep it from happening, even if it means taking the people out of
the city to a monastery.”

Sheela gave a little shiver and moved
closer, which pleased him to no end. The snow still fell lightly
and rested atop her hair like a halo. He liked snow when it wasn’t
blowing or black from soot in the air. The sky had been mostly
clean the past couple of weeks though. “So it’s dangerous, but we
should be alright if we don’t drink the water or stay too long?”
Sheela asked.

“Right,” Frath confirmed. He pointed to the
street ahead where towers of various heights started to appear
above the rooftops. We’re about to enter the Tower District.
Everything here is crazy so don’t let go of me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she replied shyly.
Looking ahead, she noticed the air starting to become hazy, as
though a fog was creeping in. “I know the Tower District is where
most of the wizards live, but do the streets really move?”

“There are a few beliefs about that, but
only the most powerful wizards and the Grand Assembly know for
certain,” Frath said as they crossed into the district. Much like
Carnival had been a sudden change, entering the Tower District was
an abrupt experience. It felt like the entire world shifted to the
left just a tiny bit. “The streets are always in different
locations, making it hard to find anything. The wizards like it
that way and cast numerous illusions to add to the effect.”

“Will we get lost?” Sheela asked, suddenly
anxious.

“No. Specific runes are sewn into every
guard’s uniform to protect against illusion and some basic magics.
In addition, we spend a year training in the Tower District,
learning how to navigate our way through it.” He led her back
across the street, avoiding a red robed man juggling yellow balls
of lightning. A couple dropped, their little bolts running along
the cracks of the cobbled street. Each time it happened, a new one
would materialize to replace it. The man’s eyes were glowing green
and he was laughing like a bird whistles.

“What’s wrong with him?” Sheela asked,
unable to turn her gaze.

“I don’t know, nor do I care at the moment.
It’s my day off.” Frath winked at her. “Even if I were on duty, I
wouldn’t want to know.”

She looked back at the mad-eyed wizard and
decided she didn’t want to know either. Frath turned down a street
heading south and became quiet for a few minutes while watching
people around them for any sign of danger. There were a lot of
wizards on the streets in addition to a few common workers and
other people of various professions.

The snow gave every indication it was going
to spend the day with them, but Frath didn’t mind too much. He
liked snow better than the unbearably hot summer days when the city
seemed to melt. While walking, he carefully scanned for pollution.
An extraordinary amount of magic was wielded in Dralin, but nowhere
more than the Tower District. They were on a main street that was
kept clean unlike many of the smaller streets in the district with
their puddles of corrupted magic. He definitely didn’t want to
expose Sheela to that.

Every tower was different. All were at least
three levels high while the tops of many disappeared into the sky.
“How do the towers stay up? They’re so tall it looks like they
could tip over any minute, especially the ones that are leaning,”
Sheela asked, pointing at an especially precarious one that tilted
over the street. She covered her head instinctively as they walked
under it.

“Some of it is illusion, some is
extraordinary craftsmanship and most is magical enhancements,”
Frath answered. “Most of these buildings have been here for
centuries. Each wizard that moves in finds it necessary to add more
and the only way is to go up.” He pointed to a tower that
disappeared into the low clouds above them. Snow fell gently upon
his face. They stopped a moment and stared at the white flakes
drifting down between the looming towers. Sheela giggled as they
landed on her long eyelashes.

She hugged him happily and they continued.
Frath told her more details of the district. “Wraith Lake, Dralin
Academy, and the Estate of the Grand Assembly surround and hide the
City Center. Around all of it in a giant circle is the Tower
District. It’s as close as wizards can get to the City Center
unless they’re in the Academy or work for the Assembly.”

“What is the City Center? I haven’t heard of
it,” Sheela asked out of curiosity. Her arm wrapped around his
waist as they walked while his was around her shoulders. It felt
good having her so close.

“I don’t know. No one really does except
members of the Assembly and some of the heads of the academy. It’s
one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world. Look out!” he
said in alarm, holding her back. A misshapen figure in a robe
lurched out of an alley in front of them. It looked disoriented as
it crossed the street and headed for the alley on the other side.
People on the street backed away from it in dread.

Frath held Sheela tightly when she gasped in
fear. The figure had once been a man, probably a wizard judging
from the tattered robe it wore. The left side of its face looked
like melted wax and the eye was missing. The right eye had a crazed
look. Sickly green light emanated dimly from the mouth and
nose.

“That’s one of the Deformed,” Frath told her
very quietly. “Stay away from them. If they bite you, or if their
blood gets into your eyes, ears, mouth or any open cut, you could
catch some of the infection. Once a person is infected, they start
craving more of the raw pollution. I’ve seen Deformed on their
hands and knees eating it out of gutters.” The tone of his voice
was ominous as he remembered some of the things he had seen.

When Sheela buried her face into his chest
and sobbed, he realized he was being unintentionally scary. Frath
held her. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to frighten you. I’ve
just seen some bad things.”

She quickly wiped her eyes and shook her
head. “No, it’s alright. I just didn’t realize it would be as bad
as everyone said. Looking at that man made me sick and I hated
feeling like that,” she admitted guiltily.

“Don’t be ashamed. Deformed are hard to look
at even for seasoned guardsmen,” Frath said earnestly. “We’re not
allowed to do anything about them by order of the High Council. I
don’t like killing people, but sometimes I wish we could put them
out of whatever misery they must be in.”

Sheela stared at the alley the Deformed had
entered and nodded slowly, her face ashen. It was obvious the
incident had upset her terribly. “If you don’t want to go on, I’ll
understand . . .” Frath told her, concerned for her well-being.

“I
do
want to go on,” she replied
quickly. “Just . . . stay close?”

“Yes, of course.” He guided her on, moving
quickly past the alley. Frath went back to the previous
conversation to get her mind off it. “Anyway, nobody really knows
how big the Tower District is for certain or how many wizards live
here.”

“Does anyone know how many Deformed there
are?” Sheela asked solemnly. She hadn’t let the experience escape
her mind.

“No. Every once in a while, someone orders a
census done of them in addition to a census of all the people in
Dralin. It’s impossible to count everyone for a lot of
reasons.”

“Such as?” Sheela asked, looking fearfully
down another alley while hoping nothing would come out. The snow
had lessened to a few light flakes and the streets they were
traveling had quite a bit of foot traffic. Occasionally, a carriage
would go by or a peddler with a handcart full of exotic goods to
sell to some crazy wizard.

“Well, the wizards don’t like to be counted,
many of the commoners are transient, a lot of the people are
homeless and it’s hard to pin them down, but worst of all there’s a
lot of crime in the city and rogues don’t like government officials
counting them.” Frath grinned and winked at her. “The last few
officials that have suggested a census be taken disappeared
mysteriously and the City Guard has been discouraged from looking
too hard for them.”

Sheela’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s
terrible.”

Frath hadn’t really thought about it before.
“Well . . . yeah, I suppose it is. Maybe this was a bad idea. I
didn’t really think about . . .”

“No!” Sheela cut him off, stopping him with
a hand on his chest. “This is a wonderful idea. I want to see more
of the city and everything you’re telling me is fascinating!” She
closed her eyes and did a little spin. “I’ve always dreamed of
being in the big dangerous city and now I’m here.” She stopped and
put both hands on his chest. “And the best part is you, Frath. I
feel so safe when you put your arm around me. You know so much
about the city. Listening to everything you tell me and seeing
everything you show me is so wonderful.” Sheela became very
serious. “Thank you for taking me out. Thank you for being my
friend and . . . just thank you for everything.” Once more, she
wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his
chest.